But I cannot leave the subject of this book without some reference to the part played by the navy in the Dardanelles. The outstanding points in regard to the navy's participation in these operations were without doubt the tremendous effect of the monster guns of the _Queen Elizabeth_, the severe fighting which fell to the lot of the Naval and Marine Brigades in the attack of the Turkish shore positions, and last, but not least, the wonderful exploits of our submarines. The achievements of Lieutenant Norman D. Holbrook, who, in the B11, crept under five rows of mines and blew up the Turkish ironclad _Messudiyeh_; and of Lieutenant Commander Martin Nasmith, who, in the E11, penetrated right into the Sea of Marmora, torpedoing transports and creating a scare in Constantinople itself, are examples of that brilliant daring which has been exemplified again and again during the war. The operations against the Dardanelles forts opened on the 3rd November last year, when an allied British and French squadron bombarded those nearest to the entrance. Operations were then practically suspended until the 19th February, when the allied fleets returned to the attack in greater force, and made a resolute attempt to break down the defence of the narrow waterway leading to Constantinople. The outer forts having been silenced, the _Queen Elizabeth_, with four other battleships, entered the Dardanelles and bombarded the defences of what are known as the Narrows. But they were unable to advance farther, partly on account of the heavy mobile batteries of the Turco-Germans, but more especially from the great danger of floating mines and of torpedoes launched from stations on shore. These submarine weapons began to take heavy toll of the allied ships. The British battleships _Irresistible_, _Ocean_, and _Goliath_ were all sunk--the two first on the same day. With them, too, went down the French battleship _Bouvet_, and, later on, the _Triumph_ and _Majestic_ succumbed to torpedoes said to have been fired from one of two submarines which are supposed to have made their way to the scene of action from Germany. Space forbids any further account of these operations, which are still being continued; but, in order to give some idea of what they were like, I cannot do better than quote from a letter just written to his chum by a midshipman on board one of the ships engaged in the Straits, so vivid an account does he give of the fighting as it presented itself to his eyes: