Item 02: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett articles on the Gallipoli campaign, 1915 - Page 15

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to 10 knotsimmediately coming under the fire of forts 13 and 19 firing four and five gun salvoes respectively every minute. The ship replied to No I3th with crashing broadsides every fifty seconds. The air was thick with cordite fumes but mor unpleasant were the enemy's salvoes which fell in well calibrated groups. In first five minutes hit on armour. The Lord Nelson was tackling No 10th but for some time enemy devoted his attention to Agememnon which was steaming into a hail of projectiles added to by No 8 and other smaller batteries. Shots fell inchs away.

Twice the ship was straddled by salvoes but passed through their fall safely. Speed was increased to 14 knots and broadsides poured in from both sides. The Lord Nelson was also blazing away and the French ships also joined in. The ships seemed to be surrounded with falling shells which sent the water mast high. At 1pm the Agememnon when steamin down the Straits was badly hit on the quarterdeck by a large shell. This shell burst a 14in burst through the upper deck making a hole 16 feet round, the fragments of deck plating were hurled through the deck of the Ward Roomand wrecked the outboard end of the gunroom Splinters also pierced the maintop 100 feet above the Quarterdeck.

At 1-30 theforecastle was hit by two shells showers of splinters entering the fore turret and fore screen and right up to foretop but they failed to pierce the armour and did no material damage. The Lord Nelson was also hit three times splinters of one shell entering the turret and slightly wounding Captain Mc'Clintock. The effect of the broadsides was now beginning to tell by 2pm the enemy's fire had considerably slackened. Severeal explosions occured behind the forts a particularly big one in No 19th from the