The French rear admiral Lalande reported that the Turkish fleet consisting of 8 ships of the line, 11 frigates and a large amount of corvettes, brigs and steamboats were lying in the Dardanelles, ready to depart towards the Syrian coast. On board were 7000-8000 men, which would be landed ashore. Lalande was ordered to keep this fleet in sight at all times. They feared that the Turkish and the Egyptians fleet would meet, causing an unavoidable battle. Rarely enough, the British fleet commanded by admiral sir Robert Stopford still didn’t appear.
