Thereupon at 12.55 p.m. the following telegram was sent by the Admiralty to the Commander-in-Chief in the Mediterranean:— Italian Government have declared neutrality. You are to respect this neutrality rigidly and should not allow any of His Majesty’s ships to come within six miles of Italian coast. This certainly as it turned out was destined to complicate the task of catching the _Goeben_; but not, as it will appear, in a decisive manner. During the afternoon I sent the following minute to the Chief of the Staff and the First Sea Lord. _August 4, 1914._ I presume you have fully informed French Admiralty of our intentions and that the closest co-operation has been established at all points with the French Fleet. If not, this should be done immediately. W. S. C. On this the Chief of the Staff sent the following telegram to all stations: ‘You can enter into the closest co-operation with the French officers on your station.’ Throughout this long summer afternoon three great ships, hunted and hunters, were cleaving the clear waters of the Mediterranean in tense and oppressive calm. At any moment the _Goeben_ could have been smitten at under 10,000 yards range by sixteen 12–inch guns firing nearly treble her own weight of metal. At the Admiralty we suffered the tortures of Tantalus. At about 5 o’clock Prince Louis observed that there was still time to sink the _Goeben_ before dark. In the face of the Cabinet decision I was unable to utter a word. Nothing less than the vital safety of Great Britain could have justified so complete an overriding of the authority of the Cabinet. We hoped to sink her the next day. Where could she go? Pola seemed her only refuge throughout the Mediterranean. According to international law nothing but internment awaited her elsewhere. The Turks had kept their secret well. As the shadows of night fell over the Mediterranean the _Goeben_ increased her speed to twenty-four knots, which was the utmost that our two battle-cruisers could steam. She increased her speed still further. We have since learned that she was capable for a very short time of an exceptional speed, rising even to twenty-six or twenty-seven knots. Aided by this, she shook off her unwelcome companions and vanished gradually in the gathering gloom. We shall return to this story in due course. * * * * * At 5.50 p.m. we sent the following message:— _Admiralty to all ships._ General message. The war telegram will be issued at midnight authorising you to commence hostilities against Germany, but in view of our ultimatum they may decide to open fire at any moment. You must be ready for this.