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As
the Fleet entered the Mediterranean it split up by divisions
for port calls.
As the sixteen battleships entered the Mediterranean
on January 6, 1909
they were split up into their divisions so that all of the port visits could be
accomplished with the remaining time of the cruise. Admiral Sperry took his First Division north
to Italy
to provide relief to earthquake victims.
The Second Division of Admiral Wainwright sailed directly to Marseilles to visit with
the French. Rear Admiral Schroeder split
his division by sending two ships to the Greece,
and two ships to the Turkish cities of Beirut
and Smyrna. Meanwhile the Forth Division was assigned to
visit the ports of North Africa and the British facilities at Malta. Using this arrangement multiple visits were
accomplished during a short period and the fleet kept the planned
schedule. On January 31st the
Fleet met in Gibraltar for coaling and
preparations for their trans-Atlantic crossing.
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