Steaming slowly, the great squadrons kept their course towards Odessa, and cast anchor three miles off the town.  Odessa is one of the most stately cities of the sea; broad esplanades lined with trees, with a background of stately mansions; terrace after terrace of fine houses rising behind, with numbers of public buildings, barracks, palaces and churches; stretching away on the flanks, woods dotted with villas and country houses.

Odessa possessed forts and batteries capable of defending it against the attack of any small naval force; but these could have made no defence whatever against so tremendous an armament as that collected before it.  With telescopes those on board were able to make out large numbers of people walking about or driving on the promenade.  Long lines of dust along the roads showed that many of the inhabitants were hastily leaving or were sending away valuables, while on the other hand the glimmer of bayonets among the dust, told of the coming of troops who were hurrying in all directions to prevent our landing.

Odessa was, however, clearly at our mercy, and considerable controversy took place at the time as to whether the allies should not have captured it.  Being defended by batteries, it ranked as a fortified town, and we should have been clearly justified in destroying these, and in putting the town under a heavy contribution, which the wealthy city could readily have paid.  However, it was for some reason decided not to do so, and after lying at anchor for five days, the greater portion of which was passed in a thick fog, the great fleet steamed away towards Kinburn.  The entrance to the gulf into which the Dneiper and Bug discharge themselves, is guarded by Fort Kinburn on the one side and by Fort Nikolaev on the other, the passage between them being about a mile across.

On the 17th fire was opened on Fort Kinburn, and although the Russians fought bravely, they were unable to withstand the tremendous fire poured upon them.  Twenty-nine out of their seventy-one guns and mortars were disabled, and the two supporting batteries also suffered heavily.  The barracks were set on fire, and the whole place was soon in flames.  Gradually the Russian fire ceased, and for some time only one gun was able to answer the tremendous fire poured in upon them.

At last, finding the impossibility of further resistance, the officer in command hoisted the white flag.  The fort on the opposite shore was blown up by the Russians, and the fleet entered the channel.  The troops were landed, and Kinburn occupied, and held until the end of the war, and the fleet, after a reconnaissance made by a few gun-boats up the Dneiper, returned to Sebastopol.