File No. 763.72/1148

The Ambassador in Turkey (Morgenthau) to the Secretary of State

[Telegram]

British Ambassador has received from his Consul General at Odessa following telegram:

This port was raided by three torpedo boats before dawn this morning. The Russian gunboat Donetz was sunk in harbor and a part of the crew killed and wounded. Two Russian steamships were damaged. French ship Portugal was damaged, two of the crew killed and two wounded. It is alleged shells were fired on the town and the sugar factory was damaged with some loss of life. The Governor states that the raiding vessels were Turkish.

Turkish Minister of the Interior states that he has heard of an engagement between the fleets but has not yet received an account thereof.

American Ambassador