But at that time, there
were some technical trouble with the Goeben'
s main
engines and high pressure boilers when he
received another order after his
attack on Algeria. He was no longer to
sail west to the ocean, but ordered to
turn around and steam east to Ottoman waters.
His secret mission was to
push the neutral Ottoman government to the war on side of Germany.
Following the orders,
Admiral Souchon put the action againist some important
naval bases. After the bombardment of French Colonial
ports of Phileppeville
and Bona, Algeria on 01.08.1914, the
battlecruiser SMS Goeben
and her
companion SMS Breslau
both steamed to Italy for charging coal enough
for
arriving the Ottoman waters. At the time, the British
war ships were sailing to
search Admiral Souchon' s fleet.
The commander of the British
Mediterranean Fleet, Admiral sir Berkeley Milne
was ordered to pursue both Goeben
and Breslau.
And, was ordered to open
fire on German warships, after the decleration of war to Germany.
After having the strict orders,
Admiral Milne sent his two powerful warships, the
battlecruiser HMS Indefatigable
and battlecruiser HMS
Indomitable to search
for the two German ships and destroy them if possible.
Then, a race began between two
forces, and the German battlecruiser Goeben
and cruiser Breslau
succeeded to arrive to port Messina safely with the
aid of
their superior speed. Despite the technical problems
occured with Goeben'
s
boilers, they outran the British Fleet.
At Meesina, SMS
Goeben and SMS
Breslau received
approximately 1500
tons of coal, from the German coal supply ships, which
was enough to reach
the Turkis waters. By the way, the British
warships were waiting Souchon for
a hunt, near the west of Messina. After refueling Goeben
and the light cruiser,
Admiral Souchon decided to steam to the Turkish waters at
any cost. He was
ready to fight againist British Fleet,
but also thinking about to find a way for
a safe escape using some tactics
and the high speed of his ships. But, the
Ottoman waters were still far away, approximately 1000 miles away and it
was
so hard to reach the Turkish waters safely.
It was certainly a
death gamble, but Admiral Souchon gave his decision and
made his plans for arriving the Ottoman waters as quickly as possible.
