The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1914-11-09

I,0Spo~. Nov S.-The Russian Admit
rally issued In Petrograd to-day the fol-
lowing official statement intended 20 re-
futc the charge made by Turkey that Rus
STA started hostilties In the Black Sea;
ION the evening Of October Is the Black
Sea fleet after cruise roentered the
roads Of Scbastopol withou; having
sighted Turkish ships anywhere. on oc-
tober %, AT o'clock IN the morning
tho commander OF the fleet received word
from odessa that At o'clock that morn
ing two Turkish torpedo boats with red
and green lights. flying Russian flags. en-
tered the port Of odessa.
although the commands on the
Turkish torpedo boats were in Russian
the gunhoat Kubanets. which was on the
lookout, having received no reply TO the
stipulated signal. Immediately opened fire.
The other gunboat In the roads. the
Donets, did not even have time TO fire,
but was sunk by the first Turkish torpedo.
Fired on by the Kubanets. the Turkish
torpedo boats swiftly took flight. losing
one smokestack. and by their fire infilct-
ing insignificant damage upon the Kuba-
nets and nearby merchant vessels and
upon naphtha tank.
Having received the report from
odessa. the commander OF the fleet in
| formed the coast batteries Mt Sebastopol
| OF the presence OF Turkish ships In the
| Black Sea and ordered trawlers sent "a
take precautionary measures against the
| enemy's torpedoes.
Toward O'Clock IN the morning in
a fog the cruiser Goeben approached
! Sebastopol and began bomhardment
| The coast batteries OF the Russian forts
replied vigorously The Goeben's fire caused
no damage in the roadstead. Several
shells fell harmlessly In the city, but
one struck the oil depot another the
railroad and a third the naval hospital
killing two patients and wounding eight
others.
AT the same time the torpedo boat
fotllla. commanded by Capt Prince
| Troubetskoy. attacked the Goeben, hui
the encmy's hot fire prevented II from
| nrolonging the attack. During the en-
gagement the Russian torpedo boa
| Pushtchin made much water and also
,vos set afre The Gocben's fre LASTED
twenty minutes after which the cruiser
withdrew,
"Steaming from Sebastopol, the Goeber
sighted the Russian transport Prut. whlci
was returning, and called upon her TO sur
render. Tho transport. having no ar'l
lerv holsted her military cOlors. and steer
ing for the shore, her commander ordered
the magazine opened to sink her. In pre-
paring the second dynamite cartridg
Lieut. Rogowzsky persisted heroically
The others Of the crew of the Prut save'
themselves with small boats, life belts
mattresses and bits OF wreckagc and late
were picked up After this the Black Set
feet set out In pursuit OF the enemy, VIII
avoided n hght and took refuge at thel
base In the Bosporus.
"Our losses aboard the Prut were tw
officers, chaplain, twenty-siN sailors
aboard the torpedo boat Pushtchin, seve
sailors killed and ms many wounded o.
board the Doents, n surgeon killed
''The fact Is established that the Turk
ish plan contemplated simultaneously wit
the attacks on Sehastopol and Odessa, III
hombardment OF other points on our coas'
Tho cruiser Breslau bombarded Theodosl
and the Turkisr cruiser Hamidieh BON
barded Novorossysk"