Omaha daily bee., 1915-03-09
TURK FORTS
SILENCEO;BRITON
CRAFT DAMAGED
Allied Fleet Puts More Dardanelles
Positions Out of Commission
and Queen Elizabeth
Injured.
OTHER SHIPS ARE ALSO HIT
Constantinople Asserts One French
and Another English Armored
Cruiser Crippled
STATEMENT OF ADMIRALTY

! LONDON. arch Sit was Off
cially announced in London this eve
ming that the Turkish battery at
lDardanus and the Forts OF Rmih.
iMaiidieh Tabia and Hamidieh-l-Tabta
in the Dardanelles have been silenced
by shells from the allied fleet. The
British battleship Queen Elizabeth
was hit by shots from the Turkish
forts and slightly damaged.
statement of AdmIraItS.
The British admiralty tonight made
/ ubic the following statement spconcern-
ing the operations Of the allied fleet
/ against tue Dardanelles:
The operations against the Dardanelles
are progressing in fine weather. Vice
! Admiral Sackville II Garden reports that
on March . the battleship Queen Eliza
/ beth, supported by the battleships Age
memnon and Ocean, began an attack on
/ Forts Hamidieh-I-Tab and Hamidieh 3,
which are marked on the admiralty map
as Forts Forts L and V. by indirect fire
across the Ballipoli peninsula, firing at
! p, ,OOO yards.
These forts are armed as follows:
Fort L. two l4-inch guns and seven "a
guns; Fort V, two 14-inch one %, one
81 and four 4.9-inch guns.
Replied TO British GUNS.
! ''Thc Queen Elizabeth was replied to by
howitzers and field guns and three shells
( from the field guns struck it, without,
however, causing any damage,
Meanwhile inside the straits the Ven
geance, Albion, Majestic and Prince
George and the French battleship Suf-
/ fren fired on Souain Dere and Mount
| Dardanus batteries. marked f and e on
the admiralty map. and were fired on by
number of concealed gums
! Fort Rumili Medjidieh Tabia, marked
1 ] on the admiralty map. which had been
attacked on the previous day. opened
! fire and was engaged and hit by 12-inch
shells.
! "a majority Of the ships in the straits
were struck by shells, but there was no
serious damage done and no casualties
resulted.
/ French ships Enter.
"on March z, the weather continuing
! calm and fine, four French battleships-
the Gaulois, Charlemsgne. Bouvet and
! Suffren-entered the straits to cover the
direct bombardment OF the defenses OF
the narrows by the Agamemnon and Lord
Nelson. The French ships engaged the
Mount Dardanus battery and various con-
cealed guns concoaling the former. The
Agamemnon and Lord Nelson then ad-
vanced and engaged the forts at the mar
rows at from 1900 down to 1900 yards
by direct fire.
Forts Rumil Medidieh Tabia, marked
J, and Hamidieh l Tabia, barked u, both
both were silenced after a heavy bonn
/ bardment. Explosions occurred in both
forts. Fort has not fired since the
explosion March 5.
| The Gaulois Agamemnon and Lord
Nelson were each struck three times, but
the damage done was not serious The
I Lord Nelson had three men slightly
/ wounded.
Light Cruiser Struck.
/ while these operations were in prog
ress the British light cruiser Dublin CON
tinued to watch the Bulair Isthmus. II
was fired at by four-inch guns and struck
three or four times
owing 10 the Importance of locating
concealed guns, the sea planes had TO fly
! very low at times
"On the fourth instant a seaplane, Pilot
, Flight Lieutenant Garnet and Observer
I Lieutenant Commander williamson be-
came unstable and fell into the sea. Both
officers were injured. Flight Lieutenant
Douglas, reconnoitering at close quarters
in another seaplane, was wounded, but re-
turned safely.
| "On the fifth seaplane No. H. Pilot
I Flight Lieutenant Bromet. with Lieu
tenant Brown, was hit twenty times and
seaplane No. Z. Pilot Flight Lieutenant
/ Hershaw, with Petty officer Merchant.
! was struck eight times i'm locating con
cealed positions.
Equipment of Ark Royal.
THE Ark Royal the mother ship for
! sesplanes) is equipped with every appli-
ance necessary for the repair and maInte-
nance OF the numerous air craft which II
{ carries"
| A dispatch from Amsterdam TO Reuter-
/ Telegram company says the following Of.
( ficial statement was given out today in
! Constantinople:
The British ships Majestic and lire
sistlble have reinforced the enemy fleet
| The fire Of our batteries put French
; armored cruiser out of action and dam.
I aged a British aTmored cruiser
owing TO our bombardment, the hostile
/ ships retreated and ceased their fire. OuI
allies suffered no damage"
J IN