Gallipoli Diary, Volume 1

its man?uvres very decently by killing some fish for our dinner. Approved an out-spoken cable from my Ordnance to the War Office. Heaven knows we have been close-fisted wit

ess fighting since April 25th. The Junia has not turned up and has

God is the 75 He reveals Himself in just the same way, safeguarding his flimsy trenches from the impact of the infidel horde. The curse of the method is its noise-let alone its cost. But last night it came off: no Turks got through anywhere on the French front and the men

tuff: not the answer that turns away wrath,

upation of the Gallipoli Peninsula, we will have to reconsider the position if, after the arrival of the reinforcements now on their way out to you, the ene

der" my cable and to "reconsider the position." Death first, diagnosis afterwards. Wherever is the use of reconsidering the position now? The position has taken charge. When a man has jumped off Westminster Bridge to save a drowning Russian hi

icted of having gone hopelessly wrong in their estimates and preparations. For we must have been held up somewhere, surely; we must have fought somewhere. I suppose, even if we had forced the Straits-even if we had taken Constantinople without firing a shot, we must have fought somewhere! Otherwise, a child's box

me this morning and an hour with the G.S. putting the final touches to the plan of att

ter stayed

w but very, very little shell. The Turks have given us three bad nights and they ought to be worn out. With our sea power we can shift a couple of Brigades from Gaba Tepe to Helles or vice versa quicker than the Turks can march from the one theatre to the

up more reinforcements and to make unpleasant preparations for your reception. The Australians and New Zealanders will have had reinforcements

nstead of the lies on their maps; and had they let me have the Brigade of Gurkhas I asked for by my letters and by my cable of 24th March, and by word of mouth and telepho

l make him suffer his subjects to depart from Egypt; and Maxwell sees eye to eye with him-that is natural. No

ing strengthened by the new Lancashire Fusilier Brigade, and Cox's Indian Brigade. By no manner the same thing, this, as getting drafts to fill up the ranks of the 29th. Always in war there is three times bet

st is not in its essence a time problem; there, they can wait-next week-next month. If we wait one week the Turks will have become twice as strong in their numbers, and twice as deep in their trenches, as they are to-day. Hunter-Weston and d'Amade see that perfectly. I hold the idea myself that it would be good tactics, seeing shell shortage is our weakness, to make

en we get in. He and d'Amade have both of them their Western experience to guide them. I have agreed, subject onl

f the 2nd-3rd May, they have been hard at work. Already their lines cover quite half the ground between the Aegean and the Straits; whilst, in rear again, we can see wired patches which we gues

rd have I written barring one or two letters and one or two hasty scraps of cables. Now, D.V.,

he munition cables, for upon them the wh

ning day, we received a postscript

nd to enable us to work out the rates of expenditure, it is

eck the number of rounds in the limbers; on the beaches and in transit during a bat

answer to Lo

tween the Dardanelles and France. In France, where the factories are within 24 hours' distance from the firing line, it may be feasible to consider and reconsider situations, including ammun

dvance being held up b

urs K.'s reply

rations you mention." If space and time have no bearing on strategy and tactics, then K. is right. If ships sail over the sea as fast as railways run across the land; if Helles is nearer

dnance saying he was sending out "in the next relief ship 10,000 rou

e but, so far as I can see, that won't be their fault. Neither I nor my Staff can make head or tail of these cables. They seem so unlike K.; so unlike all the people. Here we are:-The Turks in front of us-too close: the deep sea behind

ive hundred rounds in a day. And this 1,000 rounds in the next relief ship (via Alexandria)

even million. We had shot away 23,000 shrapnel, 18 pr., and had 48,000 in hand. We had fired off 5,000 of that (most vital) 4.5 howitzer and had 1,800 remaining. A.P.S. has been added saying the amounts shown had been greatly reduced by the last two days' battle. Actually, th

which, in the opinion of my Officers, s

the bayonet, and all along, excepting on our extreme left, our line gained ground. I might represent the battle as a victory, as the enemy's advanced positions were driven in, but essentially the result has been failure, as the main object remains unachieved. The fortifications and their machine guns were too scientific a

rifles at Gaba Tepe. By bringing men over from the Asiatic side and from Adrianople the Turks seem to be able to keep up their strength. I have only

se brave boys making their effort; giving their lives; all t

ake my notes, day by

on board and then went ashore and saw both Hunter-Weston and d'Amade in their posts of command. The live long day there were furious semi-detached fights by Battalions and Brigades, and we butted back the en

we

-vaulting Achi Baba aspirat

he mantle bequeathed to English soldiers by Sir Philip Sidney. Coming back in the evening to the ship we watched the Manchester Brigade disembarking. I have never seen a better looking lot. The 6th Battalion would serve very well as picked specimens of our race; not so much in height or physique, but in the

to make his salaam. He is small, alert, brimful of jokes and o

rigade were to lead off on our left. They could not get a move on, it seemed, although

frica I would have been letting off the steam by galloping to d'Amade or Hunter-Weston. Here I was neither one thing nor the other:-neither a new fangled Commander sitting cool and semi-detached in an office; nor an old fashioned Commander taking

ch. He cannot see what is on his left, or get any message from them. On his left are the Lancashire Fusiliers (Territorials). They are faced by a horrid redoubt held by machine guns, and they are to rush it with the bayonet.[15] It is a hi

Gallipoli, either from Asia or from Constantinople, and in the last two days an entire fresh Division has (we have heard) arrived from Adrianople, and is fighting against us this morning. The smallest demon

7th; the New Zealand Brigade in support; the French to conform. Our gunners had put more

Turkish front was wreathed in smoke, but these were naval shells or 18 pr shrapnel; we have no 18 pr high explosive and neither naval shells nor shrapnel are very much good once the targets have got underground. On our left no move forward.[16] Elsewhere our wonderful Infantry fought l

made my way when I met these multitudes of wounded coming down to the shore, was unnerving. But every soldier has to fight down these pitiful sensations: the enemy may be harder hit than he:

hia. The 87th Brigade were to try and gain ground over that wicked piece of moorland to the West of the great ravine which-since the days when it was in the hands of the troops who landed at "Y"-has hopelessly held up our left. Every gun-shot fired gives me a pain in my heart and adds to the deadly anxiety I feel about our ammunition. We have only one thousand rounds of 4.5 H.E. left and we dare not use any more. The 18 pr shrapnel is running down, down, down to its terminus, for we must try and keep 10,000 rounds in hand for defence. The French have still got enough to cover their own attacks. The ships began to fire at 10.15 and after a quarter of an hour the flower of New Z

er the wide plain. Under our glasses this vague movement took form and human shape: me

hand of a watch the left

oving in quite another way to the khaki-clad figures on their left:-one moment pouring over the debatable ground like a torrent, anon twisted and turning and flying like multitudes of dead leav

s from the crater of a volcano. Then fast and furious the enemy guns opened on us. For the first time they showed their full force of fire. Again, the big howitzers led the infernal orchestra pitting the face of no man's land with jet black blotches. The puppet figures we watched began to waver; the Senegalese were torn and scattered. Once more these huge explosions unloading their cargoes of midnight on to the

England. On shore all quiet. A young wounded Officer of the 29th Division said it was worth ten years of tennis to see the Aust

They deserve everything that anyone ca

Headqu

May,

llantry displayed than that which has characterised their efforts during the past three days. He has informed Lord Kitchener by cable of the bravery and endurance displayed by all ranks here and has asked that the necessary

t another complexion upon our prospects. So it seemed quite natural when, the first thing in the morning, a cable came in with the tea asking me whether I have been c

out de Robeck's cable as to the "means of clearing a passage" which went, I believe, yesterday. No doubt it lay before K. when he wired me. I

precedented mine-sweeping service of 20-knot destroyers under disciplined crews, the forcing of the Straits has become as easy ... well; anyway; easier than what we soldiers tried to do on Saturday. Upon these fire-eaters de Robeck has hitherto thrown cold water. He thought, as we thought, that the Army wo

battleships if there was the least apprehension we might be "done in" in his absence. (2) He was not going to ri

er present conditions without more and more ammunition," vide my cable of yesterday, all the Tu

d doubt, we can starve out the Turks; scu

tively certain they cannot stick it on the Peninsula if they are cut off from sea communication with A

l. So I have said (in the same cable in which I answer his question about consultations with the Admiral) "If you could only spare me two fresh Divisions organized as a C

nter-attacked in overwhelming strength. The healthy part of the story lies herein, that our field guns were standing by in action, and as the enemy came on they let them have it hot with shrapnel over a space of 300 yards. Terrible as this fir

my acquaintance, protested; and so, the Fleet-sweeper crew, not knowing what to do, came and lashed on to us.[17] No one told me anything of this last night, but the ship's Captain and his Officers and my own Staff Officers have been up on watches serving out soup, etc., and tending these wounded to the best of their power. As soon as I heard what had happened I first signalled the hospital ship Guildford Castle to p

ght well have been worth the world and the glories thereof only forty-eight short hours ago. K. says, "More ammunition is being pushed out to you via Marseilles." I am glad. I am deeply grateful. Our a