The Germans sortied from Messina on 6 August and headed east, towards Constantinople, trailed by "Gloucester". Milne, still expecting Rear Admiral Wilhelm Souchon to turn west, kept the battlecruisers at Malta until shortly after midnight on 8 August when he set sail for Cape Matapan at a leisurely , where Goeben had been spotted eight hours earlier. At 2:30 p.m. he received an incorrect signal from the Admiralty stating that Britain was at war with Austria—war would not be declared until 12 August and the order was countermanded four hours later, but Milne followed his standing orders to guard the Adriatic against an Austrian breakout attempt, rather than seek "Goeben". Finally on 9 August Milne was given clear orders to "chase "Goeben" which had passed Cape Matapan on the 7th steering north-east." Milne still did not believe that Souchon was heading for the Dardanelles, and so he resolved to guard the exit from the Aegean, unaware that the "Goeben" did not intend to come out. "Indomitable" remained in the Mediterranean to blockade the Dardanelles, but "Inflexible" was ordered home on 18 August.