 Complete the following phrase:  Upon retiring from the office of Minister of Marine, Boué de Lapeyrère was appointed Commander-in-Chief of Frances Mediterranean forces in anticipation of sea battles in the Mediterranean between the allies and the navies of Italy and Austria-Hungary and was made Commander in chief of the allied Mediterranean navies. However, these large battles did not materialize, and fighting in the Mediterranean remained limited to raids by submarines and light craft of the Austro-Hungarian navy. Italy remained neutral until it joined the Allies in 1915, and hence posed no threat to France. Boué de Lapeyrère thus found his main duty as commander-in-chief to be policing the sea lanes to protect allied shipping. He was criticised at the start of the war in August 1914 for his part in the escape of the German ships 