"Let the will of
God and of His Prophet be accomplished; that which is written is that which
will take place," exclaimed this pious man as he watched the preparations
being carried out under the supervision of Mourad-Reis.
That which "took place" was precisely and exactly what the Commander-in-
Chief had predicted from the first: no sooner had Mourad-Reis landed upon
the exposed beach, and attempted to open a trench, than he was met by a
furious and concentrated fire from the galleys and nefs of the Christian
fleet. To entrench themselves was impossible in the circumstances, as they
had been told by the Admiral before they started on this harebrained
adventure. There could be only one result, which was that, after a cruel
and perfectly useless slaughter, the soldiers of Mourad-Reis had to retreat
before the hail of shot poured upon them, and to return ignominiously to
their vessels.
It is not on record what Kheyr-ed-Din said to Sinan, Mourad, and those
other tacticians who had recommended the landing; which perhaps is a pity.
Doria then made a tentative movement against the strait by a detachment of
galleys; Barbarossa told off an equal number to oppose them, and they
mutually cannonaded and skirmished during the day. There was much noise and
excitement, but practically no advantage was gained by either side, as
Doria's men could not risk passing the guns of the fort, nor could those of
Barbarossa the chance of being cannonaded by the heavy vessels lying in
wait-for them outside.
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