The August 1914 escape of Goeben and Breslau

The pursuit runs from the bombardment of French Algeria through the British sighting, the loss of contact, and the Germans' coaling arrangements. The reconstruction suggests that British attention remained fixed on an earlier German instruction to break for the Atlantic, while a later order redirected the ships towards Constantinople. A German collier obtained coal after the Greek premier was misled about its purpose, helping the squadron continue east. Troubridge's armoured cruisers could not force an interception because their triple-expansion machinery imposed a harder speed limit than turbine machinery and the favourable tactical position never developed. Milne meanwhile received urgent signals too frequently and too late, remaining far behind when Goeben and Breslau reached Constantinople.