'The smoke from the very commencement of the engagement was so dense that we could see nothing of the effect which our fire was producing, nor of what the enemy were doing; but soon after we began, a sharp scream overhead, followed by the uplifting columns of spray to seaward as the shots struck the water, made it clear that the enemy were replying to our iron salute.... They appeared to have got our range pretty accurately, and round and conical shot whistled thickly through the masts. I went round the ship and found the men fighting the main-deck guns all stripped to the waist. Between each shot they had to sit down and wait until the smoke cleared a little.'
Meanwhile the Condor and the other gun-vessels lay in the offing, behind the battle-ships that were engaging Fort Mex, looking on and awaiting their opportunity. The first thing that came the Condor's way was to assist the Téméraire, which had got aground. The Téméraire was got off about eight o'clock, and immediately after that the Condor's chance offered.
BOMBARDMENT OF ALEXANDRIA: JULY 11, 1882—9 A.M.
(In the course of the morning the Inflexible and Téméraire, and the Alexandra, Sultan, and Superb, shifted their positions.)
Lord Charles Beresford, as he watched the battle, had observed that the westernmost of the forts, Fort Marabout, was firing at the British inshore-squadron opposite Mex, the Invincible, Monarch, and Penelope, and apparently annoying them. He sent for one of his officers and said, 'I shall stand down and make myself useful by engaging that fort.' 'You must be mad, sir,' was the reply. 'It is the second heaviest fort, and one shot from the heavy guns would knock us into smithereens.' But the commander of the Condor was not to be put off that way. 'The apparently impossible,' he answered, 'is often the easiest. Anyway, nothing can be done unless we try.... If I can get on the angle of the fort, I believe we can hit their guns without their hitting us. The thing is to get there.'
Fort Marabout mounted three 9-inch Armstrongs, firing 250-lb. shells; one 7-inch Armstrong, firing 115-lb. shells; eight 10-inch muzzle-loaders, firing 84-lb. hollow shot, or 100-lb. solid shot; seventeen 32-pounders, smooth-bores; and seven mortars, two firing 13-inch shells and five 11-inch mortars. There were also in this fort—whether mounted or not was unknown—two 10-inch Armstrongs, firing 400-lb. shells; two more 9-inch Armstrongs, and one 7-inch. Against that the little Condor set out to match herself, with one 7-inch gun, firing 12-lb. shells, and two 64-pounders, three 7-pounders, and one or two Gatlings. As has been said also, the little sloop had not an inch of armour on her sides or deck:—boilers, engines, magazines, all were open to the lightest of the enemy's shot. All the same they steamed off towards the grey ramparts of the big fort without a moment of doubt or hesitation.
Mr. Villiers carries on the story.
'The Condor steamed ahead. Our men stripped off their jackets. The decks were sanded, and the racers, or rails, on which the guns run were oiled.
'As we neared Fort Marabout, its terraces and embrasures bristling with Armstrong guns, not a man aboard but knew the peril of our audacity,—for a little gun-boat, one of the smallest in Her Majesty's service, to dare to attack the second most powerful fortress in Alexandria,—but the shout of enthusiasm from the crew when the order was given to "open fire!" readily showed their confidence in their beloved leader. The guns, run out "all a-port," blazed away. The smoke hung heavily about the decks. The flash of the cannonade lit up for a moment the faces of the men, already begrimed with powder, and steaming with exertion, for the morning was hot and sultry. The captain from the bridge, glass in hand, watching anxiously the aim of her gunners, would shout from time to time: "What was that, my men?" 'Sixteen hundred yards. Sir!" "Then give them eighteen this time, and drop it in." "Aye, aye, Sir!"