According to naval historian Ian Buxton, the most important role of the Royal Navy was to blockade the Dardanelles and thus guard the Eastern Mediterranean against a breakout by "Goeben". On 12 January 1918, Rear-Admiral Arthur Hayes-Sadler hoisted his flag aboard "Lord Nelson" at Mudros as the new commander of the Aegean Squadron. Needing transportation to Salonika for a conference with the British Army commander there, and finding his personal yacht unavailable, Hayes-Sadler opted to have "Lord Nelson" take him there, and thus she was not present when "Goeben" and "Breslau" finally made their breakout attempt on 20 January. The ship could not get back to the Dardanelles in time to participate in the resulting Battle of Imbros or intercept "Goeben" before she gained shelter in the Dardanelles. "Lord Nelson" was later given a short refit at Malta in October.