Arizona republican., 1918-01-21
British Naval Vessels In
 Entrance to Dardanelles Defeat Former Cruisers of Germany In Hot Fight
[ReputlicanA. p. Leased WireJ


 LONDON, Jan. 2O.-In a naval ac- ton between British and Turkish forces at the entrance to the Daria- nelles, the Turkish cruiser Midullu, formerly the German BTeslau was sunk and the Sultan Yawuz Selim, for merly the German Goeben. was beached. This announcement was made by the admiralty tonight.
 The German cruisers Breslau and Goeben were in the Mediterranean sea into the Dardanelles, seeking safety from the British and French warships that sought their destruction.
 Since then their activities in the Dardanelles, at the Black Sea en- trance to the Bosphorus and in Black sea along the Turkish Asiatic, the Russian and the Rumanian coasts have brought them fame for intrepid lty second not even to the German sea wolves like the Dresden, Seeadler and the Karlsruhe
 Reaching Constantinople in the mid dle of August, 1914, the British govern- ment immediately protested against the German warships being accorded refuge. Turkey promised that they would be interned, and placed out of commission until the end of the war. Later, however, it was announced that Turkey had purchased the cruisers and given them the new names of Midullu and Sultan Yawuz Selim
 TWO SHIPS DID GREAT
 DAMAGE TO ALLIED VESSELS
 Then followed frequent reports of the activity of the warships in the Black sea. bombarding enemy land po- sitions and engaging or being engaged by ships of the Russian Black sea fleet. Although the Turkish and German war statements frequently an nounced victories for the re-christened Germans. the Russian admiralty on numerous occasions told of how Rus sian war ships had sent them scurry- ing from the Black sea into the Bos- phorus,. damaged, on fire and showing the wounds the Russian shells had given them.
 Shortly aftsrward however, the Midullu and her sister ship again would appear and the game of hide and seek between them and the Russians would go on again until another battle took place, the Turks in the meantime all ways having been successful in sink ing numerous cargo boats ranging from the smallest fishing craft to | goodly sized steamers.
 hC OI lllC | Yawuz Selim was in July of last year when thA British admiralty reported that British airmen had dropped bombs on the vessel during an air attack on the Turkish fleet off Constantinople, in the Golden Horn. Direct hits were ! observed on the Sultan Yawuz Selim and other vessels, aboard which explo- sions occurred and fires broke out. The admiralty report said the former Ger man cruiser was the center of the at tack and that it was safe to presume she would be out of action for several months as a result of her injuries The prediction proved true. as the Sultan Yawuz Selim since then has not been mentioned in any of the re- ports as being engaged. The last account of the Midullu was in June, 1917, when the Turkish war office re- ported that vessel in a successful engagement together with other Turk ish units in the Black sea against Russian land positions and small war craft.
 Considerable criticism of British and French naval commanders has at times been expressed over their failure to prevent the Goeben and Breslau from getting out of the Starits of Messina at the outbreak of the war and reach ing a port of safety in Turkey.