 Deliveries of cement ceased, which previously had been carried by sea from Novorossiysk, since Turkey closed the Straits.Initially, the pace of construction is not reduced because the fortress had accumulated large stocks of cement; but from 1915, with the prolongation of the war, the situation began to deteriorate.By the end of 1916, only about two-thirds of all 11 forts were ready, many of them built with only gorge barracks.