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diff --git a/old/54312-0.txt b/old/54312-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index e16ffb0..0000000 --- a/old/54312-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8091 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Mons, Anzac and Kut, by Aubrey Herbert - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Mons, Anzac and Kut - -Author: Aubrey Herbert - -Release Date: March 9, 2017 [EBook #54312] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONS, ANZAC AND KUT *** - - - - -Produced by Brian Coe, Wayne Hammond and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -This project uses utf-8 encoded characters. If some characters are not -readable, check your settings of your reader to ensure you have a -default font installed that can display utf-8 characters.] - - - - -MONS, ANZAC AND KUT - -BY AN M.P. - -LONDON - -EDWARD ARNOLD - -1919 - -[_All rights reserved_] - - - - -THIS BOOK - -IS DEDICATED TO - -LORD ROBERT CECIL - -AND - -THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS - - - - -PREFACE - - -Journals, in the eyes of their author, usually require an introduction -of some kind, which, often, may be conveniently forgotten. The reader -is invited to turn to this one if, after persevering through the pages -of the diary, he wishes to learn the reason of the abrupt changes and -chances of war that befell the writer. They are explained by the fact -that his eyesight did not allow him to pass the necessary medical -tests. He was able, through some slight skill, to evade these obstacles -in the first stage of the war; later, when England had settled down -to routine, they defeated him, as far as the Western Front was -concerned. He was fortunately compensated for this disadvantage by a -certain knowledge of the East, that sent him in various capacities to -different fronts, often at critical times. It was as an Interpreter -that the writer went to France. After a brief imprisonment, it was as -an Intelligence Officer that he went to Egypt, the Dardanelles and -Mesopotamia. - -The first diary was dictated in hospital from memory and rough notes -made on the Retreat from Mons. For the writing of the second diary, -idle hours were provided in the Dardanelles between times of furious -action. The third diary, which deals with the fall of Kut, was written -on the Fly boats of the River Tigris. - -In a diary egotism is inevitable. Julius Cæsar cloaked it by using the -third person and Lord French by preferring to blame others, rather than -to praise himself, but these devices are no precedents for one who is -not a generalissimo. There remains anonymity. True, it is a very thin -covering for modesty, but, like a modern bathing-dress, it may serve -its purpose. - -When dots occur in the journal, they have their usual significance. The -author was thinking his private thoughts, or, perhaps, criticizing some -high authority, or concealing what, for the moment, at any rate, is -better not revealed. - -In the Retreat from Mons, only Christian or nicknames have generally -been used. In the case of the other two Expeditions, names have been -used freely, though where it was considered advisable, they have -occasionally been disguised or initials substituted for them. - -This diary claims to be no more than a record of great and small -events, a chronicle of events within limited horizons--a retreat, a -siege and an attack. Writing was often hurried and difficult, and the -diary was sometimes neglected for a period. If inaccuracies occur, the -writer offers sincere apologies. - - - - -CONTENTS - - - PAGE - - MONS, 1914 5 - - ANZAC, 1915 61 - - KUT, 1916 189 - - - - -MONS - -1914 - -[Illustration: SIFTON, PRAED & CO. LTD. ST JAMES’ ST LONDON S. W.] - - - - -MONS - -AUGUST 12-SEPTEMBER 13, 1914 - - -On Wednesday, August 12, 1914, my regiment left Wellington Barracks at -seven in the morning. I fell into step in the ranks as they went out of -the gateway, where I said good-bye to my brother, who left that day. It -was very quiet in the streets, as the papers had said nothing about the -movement of troops. On the march the wives and relations of men said -good-bye to them at intervals, and some of our people came to see us -off at the station, but we missed them. - -We entrained for Southampton--Tom, Robin, Valentine and I got into the -same carriage. We left Southampton without much delay. I was afraid of -a hitch, but got on to the ship without any trouble. On board everybody -was very cheerful. Most people thought that the first big engagement -would have begun and very likely have ended before we arrived. Some -were disappointed and some cheered by this thought. The men sang -without ceasing and nobody thought of a sea attack. - -The next day (the 13th) we arrived very early at Le Havre in a blazing -sun. As we came in, the French soldiers tumbled out of their barracks -and came to cheer us. Our men had never seen foreign uniforms before, -and roared with laughter at their colours. Stephen Burton of the -Coldstream Guards rebuked his men. He said: “These French troops are -our Allies; they are going to fight with us against the Germans.” -Whereupon one man said: “Poor chaps, they deserve to be encouraged,” -and took off his cap and waved it and shouted “Vive l’Empereur!” He was -a bit behind the times. I believe if the Germans beat us and invaded -England they would still be laughed at in the villages as ridiculous -foreigners. - -We were met by a Colonel of the French Reserves, a weak and ineffective -man, two Boy Scouts, and a semi-idiotic interpreter. We shed this -man as soon as we were given our own two excellent interpreters. We -had no wood to cook the men’s dinners, and I was sent off with Jumbo -and a hundred men to see what I could find. A French corporal came -reluctantly with us. We marched a mile, when we found an English -quartermaster at a depot, who let us requisition a heap of great -faggots, which we carried back. - -After breakfast I was sent with Hickie to arrange for billeting the -men. Hickie rode a bicycle and lent me his horse, which was the most -awful brute I have ever mounted in any country. It walked ordinarily -like a crab; when it was frightened it walked backwards, and it was -generally frightened. It would go with the troop, but not alone, and -neither whip nor reins played any part in guiding the beast. Hickie -couldn’t ride it. Some French soldiers threw some stones at it and hit -me. Finally we got a crawling cab, then a motor, and went off about 11 -kilometres to the Café des Fleurs, where the camp was to be. It was a -piping hot day. We got a house for the Colonel and Desmond belonging -to Monsieur Saville, who said he was a friend of Mr. Yoxall, M.P. He -had a very jolly arbour, where we dined. In the afternoon the troops -came marching up the steep hill in great heat. Hickie and I found a man -rather drunk, with a very hospitable Frenchman. The Frenchman said: “We -have clean sheets and a well-aired bed, coffee, wine or beer for him, -if he desires them.” There was no question about the man’s desiring -them. Hickie almost wept, and said: “How can you keep an army together -if they are going to be treated like this?” The sun had been delightful -in the morning at Le Havre, but was cruel on the troops, especially on -the Reservists, coming up the long hill. - -The French had been very hospitable. They had given the men, where they -had been able to do so free of observation, wine, coffee and beer. The -result was distressing. About twenty of the men collapsed at the top of -the hill in a ditch, some of them unconscious, seeming almost dying, -like fish out of water. The French behaved very well, especially the -women, and stopped giving them spirits. I got hold of cars and carried -the men off to their various camps. Jack, Tom and I slept all right in -a tent on the ground. The next day I was sent down by the Colonel with -the drum-major, to buy beer for the regiment at 1s. 1d. a gallon, which -seemed cheap. I met Stephen while I was buying things. He told me we -were off that night, that we were to start at ten, but that we should -not be entrained till 4.30. I lunched with Churchill, who very kindly -tried to help me to get a horse. Long sent me back in his motor. At the -camp, the Colonel complained that the beer had not come, and that the -drum-major and the men had been lost. I commandeered a private motor -and went back at a tremendous rate into the town, all but killing the -drum-major at a corner. We had a capital dinner. M. Saville gave us -excellent wine, and the Colonel told me to make him a speech. We then -lay down before the march. - -The next camp captured a spy, but nobody paid any attention. About -10.30 we moved off. It was a warm night with faint moonlight. Coming -into the town the effect was operatic. As we marched or were halted all -the windows opened and the people put their heads out to try and talk -to us. At about half-past eleven it began to rain, but the men whistled -the Marseillaise and “It’s a long way to Tipperary.” The people came -out of the houses, trying to catch the hands of the men and walking -along beside them. We were halted in front of the station, and waited -endlessly in the rain. We then had an almost unspeakable march over -cobbles, past interminable canals, over innumerable bridges, through -what seemed to be the conglomeration of all the slums of all the world, -to light that always promised us rest but never came. It poured without -ceasing. At last we arrived at the station, and when we saw the train -pandemonium followed. Everybody jumped into carriages and tried to keep -other people out, so as to have more room. We were all soaked to the -skin, and nobody bothered about any one else. After that we got out -and packed the men in. Tom, Charles, Jack, Hickie and I got into one -carriage. Lieutenants who tried to follow were hurled out. It was very -cold. Tom had a little brandy, which did us some good. At about 5 a.m. -we moved off. The next day we arrived at Amiens. - -Saturday, the 15th, we arrived at Amiens to see a great stir and -bustle. We had not had much to eat. We found several officers of the -Coldstream Guards in their shirt-sleeves, who had got left trying to -get food. I got masses later on at a wayside station, and a stream of -people to carry it, and returned with rousing cheers from the men. At -every station we were met by enormous crowds that cheered and would -have kissed our hands if we had let them. They made speeches and piled -wreaths of flowers upon the Colonel, who was at first very shy, but -driven to make a speech, liked it, and became almost garrulous. At -Arras we had the greatest ovation of all. An old man in the crowd gave -me a post-card, which I directed to a relation at home and asked him -to post. This he did, adding a long letter of his own, to say that I -was well and in good spirits. This letter and my post-card got past the -censor. - -Late that night we came to a place called Wassigny, where, after a lot -of standing about, we went up to a farmhouse. Hickie and I lay down on -the floor in a sort of an office at about half-past two, with orders -to be off at five. The Colonel slept outside, half on and half off a -bench. He never seemed to need sleep. - -We left the next morning, Sunday, the 16th, at five, for Vadencourt. I -was wearing Cretan boots, and my feet already began to trouble me. - -At Vadencourt we met the Maire and his colleague, Monsieur Lesur. He -took us first of all to the most beautiful place for a camp, a splendid -field by a river for bathing, wooded with poplars, but no sooner had we -got there than we were told the Coldstreamers had the right to it. - -In Vadencourt everybody helped us. The people threw open their houses, -their barns and their orchards. They could not do enough; but it was a -long business and we had not finished until 1 o’clock, by which time -we were pretty tired. Then the troops turned up, and we had to get -them into billets. After that we lunched with the Colonel. The French -cottages were extraordinarily clean, never an insect, but plenty of -mice rioting about at night. There were many signs of religion in all -these cottages. Most of the rooms were filled with crucifixes and -pictures of the Saints. The priests seemed to have a great deal of -influence. Vadencourt was very religious, and the morning we went off -they had a special service for the men, which was impressive. All the -people seemed saintly, except the Maire, who was very much of this -world. - -The men had fraternized with the people and, to the irritation of -the Colonel, wore flowers in their hair and caps. There was no -drunkenness--in fact the men complained that there was nothing strong -enough to make a man drunk. Generally there was not much to do, though -one day the men helped with the harvest. The people could not have been -kinder. It was, as one of the men said, a great “overtation.” Every day -there was a paper published in amazing English. In one paper we found -a picture of Alex Thynne, with contemptuous and angry references to a -speech he had made against English tourists going to France; he wanted -them to go instead to Bath, in his constituency, and so to please both -him and his constituents. - -It was a quiet life. There was very little soldiering, and that, -as some one said, was more like manœuvres in the millennium than -anything else. Everywhere corn was offered for our horses and wine for -ourselves, but there was a great fear underlying the quiet. We were -constantly asked whether the Germans would ever get to Vadencourt, and -always said we were quite sure they would not. We used to mess at the -inn close to my house. Of French troops we saw practically nothing, -except our two interpreters, Charlot, who talked very good English, -and Bernard, a butcher from Havre, a most excellent fellow, who was -more English than the English, though he could only talk a few words -of the language. There was also another interpreter, head master of a -girls’ school in Paris. He said to me: “Vous trouverez toutes espèces -d’infames parmi les interprets, même des M.P.s.” - -One day Hugo said that it would be interesting, before going into -battle, to have our fortunes told. I told him he could not get a -fortune-teller at Vadencourt. “Not at all, there is one in the -village; I saw it written over her shop, ‘Sage Femme’.” ... I was very -comfortable in my house, which was just out of bounds, but not enough -to matter. - -Monsieur Louis Prevot came in one day, with a beautiful mare, brown to -bay, Moonshine II, by Troubadour out of Middlemas. He said that she -could jump two metres. Her disadvantages were that she jumped these two -metres at the wrong time and in the wrong place, that she hated being -saddled and kicked when she was groomed: while Monsieur Prevot was -showing me how to prevent her kicking she kicked right through the barn -door. I bought her for £40. I think Prevot thought that the French -authorities were going to take his stables and that I was his only -chance. When she settled down to troops she became a beautiful mount. - -That day I went with Hickie through Etreux to Boué, foraging. I drove -with a boy called Vanston behind a regular man-killer. It was far worse -than anything that happened at Mons. Vanston talked all the time of -the virtue of Irishwomen, of the great advantage of having medals and -the delight old men found in looking at them, of the higher courage -of the unmarried man and his keen anxiety to get into battle, and of -the goodness of God. Hickie was upset because he thought that the -man-killing horse was going to destroy the Maltese cart, which was, -apparently, harder to replace than Vanston or me. - -The night before we left the Colonel gave us a lecture. As an -additional preparation for the march we were also inoculated against -typhoid, which made some people light-headed. - -We left Vadencourt on August 19th, Hickie and Hubert both ill, -travelling on a transport cart. I rode ahead, through pretty and -uneventful country. At Oisy, Hickie was very ill, and I got him some -brandy. We were to camp beyond Oisy. When we got to the appointed place -the Maire was ill and half dotty. S. and I laboured like mad to find -houses, but at last, when our work was finished we found that they -had already been given to the Coldstreamers. Some of the people were -excellent. One old fellow of seventy wept and wished that his house -was as big as a barn, that he might put up the soldiers in it. A rough -peasant boy took me round and stayed with us all the afternoon and -refused to take a penny. But some of them were not so kind. In the end, -billets were not found for a number of officers and men, who slept -quite comfortably in the new-mown hay. We passed a big monastery where -two Germans, disguised as priests, had been taken and shot the week -before. I slept in a house belonging to three widows, all like stage -creatures. They had one of the finest cupboards I have ever seen. - -The next morning (August 20th) we marched off to Maroilles--a big dull -town, and again some of the people were not overpleased to see us. Here -we had an excellent dinner. I slept at a chemist’s. Hickie was sent -back from Maroilles to Amiens with rheumatic fever. We got up at 4 -o’clock the next morning (August 21st), and had a pretty long march to -Longueville by Malplaquet. - -As we crossed the frontier the men wanted a cheer, but they were -ordered to be quiet, “so as not to let the Germans hear them.” This -order gave an unpleasant impression of the proximity of the Germans. - -The men began to fall out a great deal on the road. The heat was very -great. Many of the reservists were soft, and their feet found them -out. Their rough clothes rubbed them. Tom carried rifles all day, and -I carried rifles and kit on my horse, while the men held on to the -stirrups. - -By this time the Maires of France seemed to be growing faint under the -strain of billeting. We never saw the Maire of Longueville. The country -made a wonderful picture that I shall never forget. We marched past -fields of rich, tall grass, most splendid pasture, and by acres and -acres of ripe corn which was either uncut or, if cut, uncarried. - -There was any amount of food for our horses, but one felt reluctant at -first at feeding them in the standing corn. I went ahead when I could -to forage for the mess, and because Moonshine danced continuously and -produced confusion. - -We lived chiefly on hard-boiled eggs, chocolate and beer, but we did -better than most other companies, because generally, as Valentine said, -the officers’ vocabulary was limited to “omelette” and “bière.” - -Longueville is a very long town, with fine houses, and we did capitally -there, but the men were tired. No. 3 dined luxuriously at a farm. Hugo -and I billeted at two houses close to each other. At 6 o’clock I went -to get some rest, when my servant told me that the order had come to -stand to arms at once, as the Germans were close upon us. - -I went outside and heard one cannon boom very faintly in the distance. -Women were wringing their hands and crying in the streets, and the -battalion was ordered to stand to arms. Then, after a time, we were -ordered to march at ten, and went back to quarters. At this time we -began to curse the Germans for disturbing the peace of Europe. - -The women of the village brought us milk, bread, everything they could -for the march. While we were dining the order came to make ready for a -German attack. We went out at once. Bernard took me up and down various -roads, and we put iron and wire and everything we could lay hold of, -across them, making a flimsy defence. When we returned we heard that -we were to march at 2 a.m., and at 11 those who could lay down to -sleep. The woman in my house was very kind in getting bread and milk. -At 2 o’clock we began marching. The horses were all over the place. -Moonshine nearly kicked a man behind her heels, and Tom just missed -being killed by the ammunition horse in front. It was very dark. - -We marched to a place called Senlis. Dawn came, and then an enemy -aeroplane appeared over us, which everybody at once shot at. Moonshine -broke up two companies in the most casual way. The aeroplane went on. -In Belgium the people were very good to us, during the week-end that -we spent there. They were honest and pathetic. There were no signs of -panic, but there was a ghastly silence in the towns. - -Beyond Senlis we were halted on a plain near a big town which we did -not then know was Mons. We were drawn up and told that the Germans -were close to us and that we had to drive them back. Valentine and -I lay down under the shelter of a haystack, as it was raining. It -was a mournful day in its early hours. At about 10 a.m. I was sent -for by the Colonel, who had been looking for me, he said, for some -time. He told me to ride after S. to Quevy-le-Grand. I rode fast, and -caught up S. We stabled our horses and went round the town. Soames, -a Staff officer, told us we could have both sides of the road--as we -understood, the pompous main road. Unfortunately he meant both sides -of an insignificant road we had not even noticed. We took one of the -biggest and most beautiful farms I have ever seen for Headquarters, and -proposed to put seven or eight officers in it. We then, as usual, found -that this house and all the rest had been given to the Coldstreamers, -and we went to hunt for other billets. I thought I heard cannon, faint -and dim. As we went on with our work the noise grew louder and louder. -There was a big battle going on within four or five miles. Then in came -the battalion from Senlis (which was burnt twenty-four hours later) at -about twelve, and got into billets, while, at last, we had luncheon. -Valentine and I were eating an omelette and talking Shakespeare, when -suddenly we saw the battalion go past. We both got cursed because we -had not been able to prophesy that the battalion would start within -twenty minutes. We marched on till about half-past three, through -rising and falling land, under a very hot sun. We were getting nearer -to the battle. The sky was filled with smoke-wreaths from shells. “We -are going slap-bang at them,” said Hubert. At 3.30 we found ourselves -on a hill, by a big building which looked like a monastery. The road -was crowded with troops and frightened peasants. Below the road lay the -green valley with the river winding through it, and on the crest of the -wooded hills beyond were the Germans. - -We left our horses and marched down to the valley. As we passed the -village of Harveng I inconsiderately tried to get a drink of water from -a house. The men naturally followed, but we were all ordered on, and I -had nothing to drink until 7 o’clock the next morning. The men, or some -of them, got a little water that night. - -From behind us by the monastery the shells rose in jerks, three at a -time. The Germans answered from the belt of trees above the cliffs. Our -feelings were more violently moved against Germany as the disturber of -Europe. I went into the first fight prepared only for peace, as I had -left my revolver and sword on my horse. Tom said: “For goodness’ sake -don’t get away from our company; those woods will be full of Germans -with bayonets to-night.” We never doubted that we should drive them -back. The Colonel called the officers together and told us that the -trees above the chalk cliffs were our objective. We then lay down in -some lucerne and waited and talked. The order to move came about 5.30, -I suppose. We went down through the fields rather footsore and came -to a number of wire fences which kept in cattle. These fences we were -ordered to cut. My agricultural instinct revolted at this destruction. -We marched on through a dark wood to the foot of the cliffs and, -skirting them, came to the open fields, on the flank of the wood, -sloping steeply upwards. Here we found our first wounded man, though -I believe as we moved through the wood an officer had been reported -missing. - -The first stretch was easy. Some rifle bullets hummed and buzzed round -and over us, but nothing to matter. We almost began to vote war a dull -thing. We took up our position under a natural earthwork. We had been -there a couple of minutes when a really terrific fire opened. We were -told afterwards that we were not the target--that it was an accident -that they happened to have stumbled on the exact range. But even if we -had known this at the time, it would not have made much difference. It -was as if a scythe of bullets passed directly over our heads about a -foot above the earthworks. It came in gusts, whistling and sighing. -The men behaved very well. A good many of them were praying and -crossing themselves. A man next to me said: “It’s hell fire we’re going -into.” It seemed inevitable that any man who went over the bank must be -cut neatly in two. Valentine was sent to find out if Bernard was ready -on the far left. Then, in a lull, Tom gave the word and we scrambled -over and dashed on to the next bank. Bullets were singing round us like -a swarm of bees, but we had only a short way to go, and got, all of -us, I think, safely to the next shelter, where we lay and gasped and -thought hard. - -Our next rush was worse, for we had a long way to go through turnips. -The prospect was extremely unattractive; we thought that the fire came -from the line of trees which we were ordered to take, and that we -should have to stand the almost impossible fire from which the first -bank had sheltered us. This was not the case, as the German trenches, -we heard afterwards, were about 300 yards behind the trees, but their -rifle fire and their shells cut across. We had not gone more than -about 100 yards, at a rush and uphill, when a shell burst over my -head. I jumped to the conclusion that I was killed, and fell flat. I -was ashamed of myself before I reached the ground, but, looking round, -found that everybody else had done the same. - -The turnips seemed to offer a sort of cover, and I thought of the -feelings of the partridges, a covey of which rose as we sank. Tom gave -us a minute in which to get our wind--we lay gasping in the heat, while -the shrapnel splashed about--and then told us to charge, but ordered -the men not to fire until they got the word. As we rose, with a number -of partridges, the shooting began again, violently, but without much -effect. I think we had six or seven men hit. We raced to the trees. -Valentine was so passionately anxious to get there that he discarded -his haversack, scabbard and mackintosh, and for days afterwards walked -about with his naked sword as a walking-stick. - -When we reached the trees in a condition of tremendous sweat we found -an avenue and a road with a ditch on either side. We were told that our -trenches were a few yards over the farther hedge, faced by the German -trenches, about 250 yards off. There was fierce rifle and machine-gun -fire. Night fell; the wounded were carried back on stretchers; we -sat very uncomfortably in a ditch. I was angry with Tom for the only -time on the march, as he was meticulous about making us take cover in -this beastly ditch when outside it there was a bank of grass like a -sofa, which to all intents and purposes was safe from fire. We were -extremely thirsty, but there was nothing to drink and no prospect of -getting water. After some time we moved down the road upon which we -lay, getting what sleep we could. In the earlier part of the night -there were fierce duels of rifle fire and machine-guns between the two -trenches. It sounded as if the Germans were charging. Our men in the -road never got a chance of letting off their guns. Most of us dozed -coldly and uncomfortably on the hard road. I woke up about 2 a.m., -dreaming that a mule was kicking the splash-board of a Maltese wagon -to pieces, and then realized that it was the German rifle fire beyond -the hedge, hitting the road. I walked up the road for a few yards -and heard two men talking, one of whom was, I suppose, Hubert, and -the other must have been C. Hubert said: “Have I your leave, sir, to -retire?” “Yes, you have; everybody else has gone; it is clear that we -are outflanked on the left, and it is suicide to stay.” The battalion -was then ordered to retire; No. 3 Company, doing rearguard, was ordered -back to the fields which we had already crossed. I said to Tom: “I hear -upon the best authority that this is suicide.” Tom said: “Of course it -is; we shall get an awful slating.” We moved back. There was a faint -light and a spasmodic rifle fire from the Germans as we went back to -the fields we had crossed. We could not make out why they did not open -on us with shrapnel, as they had the range. We lay down on the new-cut -hay, which smelt delicious. It seemed almost certain that we should be -wiped out when dawn came, but most of us went fast asleep. I did. At 4 -o’clock we were hurried off. We went down into the blinding darkness of -the wood by the road we had gone the evening before. We went through -the wood, past the monastery, up into the village. There we waited. The -road was blocked, the villagers were huddled, moaning, in the streets. - -The men were very pleased to have been under fire, and compared notes -as to how they felt. Every one was pleased. But they felt that more of -this sort of thing would be uncivilized, and it ought to be stopped by -somebody now. In the dawn we crossed a high down, where we expected to -be shelled, but nothing happened. We were very tired and footsore. - -At 7 o’clock we got to Quevy-le-Petit and had a long drink, the first -for seventeen hours. The smell of powder and the heat had made us -very thirsty. Two companies were set to dig trenches. We were held -in reserve, and all the hot morning we shelled the Germans from -Quevy-le-Petit, while their guns answered our fire without much effect. -One shell was a trouble. The remainder of the ---- Regiment (men -without officers), who had had a bad time at Mons, had a shell burst -over them and rushed through our ranks, taking some of our men with -them. This was put right at once. - -We were told that a tremendous German attack was to take place in the -evening; we disliked the idea, as, even to an amateur like myself, it -was obvious that there was hardly any means of defence. To stay was to -be destroyed, as the Colonel said casually, causing “une impression -bien pénible.” - -We wrote farewell letters which were never sent. I kept mine in my -pocket, as I thought it would do for a future occasion. They began to -shell us heavily while we helped ourselves from neighbouring gardens. -We did this with as much consideration as possible, and Valentine and I -went off to cook some potatoes in an outhouse by a lane. - -The peasants were flying, and offered us all their superfluous goods. -They were very kind. Then an order to retire came, and in hot haste -we left our potatoes. We retired at about 1 o’clock in the afternoon -and marched to Longueville, or rather to a camp near it called Bavai. -We reached this camp at about 10.30 at night. Moonshine behaved like -the war-horse in the Bible. She had hysterics which were intolerable; -smelling the battle a long way off. She must have done this the night -before, when it was much nearer and I had left her with Ryan, for when -I found her again she had only one stirrup. A sergeant-major captured -her and picketed her for the night. - -The orchard in which we camped blazed with torch-light and camp-fires -and was extremely cheerful. Every now and then a rifle went off by -accident, and this was always greeted with tremendous cheers. - -I was very tired, and threw myself down to sleep under a tree, when up -came the Colonel and said: “Come along, have some rum before you go to -bed.” I went and drank it, and with all the others lay down thoroughly -warm and contented in the long wet grass, and slept soundly for three -hours. Next morning we were woken about 3 o’clock, but did not march -off till 6 o’clock. - -From Bavai we marched to Landrecies. Hubert rode ahead with me to -do the billeting. We pastured our horses in the luxuriant grass and -got milk at the farms. We did not see much sign of panic amongst the -people, but coming to a big railway station we saw that all the engines -of the heavy ammunition wagons had been turned round. Hubert saw and -swore. In the morning we occupied a farm, where I tried to buy a strap -to replace my lost stirrup. We lay about under haystacks and talked -to the farmer and his son. After about an hour it was reported that -two hundred Germans were coming down the road, and Eric went off after -them, with machine-guns. - -The retreat had begun in real earnest. This whole retreat was curiously -normal. Everybody got very sick of it, and all day long one was hearing -officers and men saying how they wanted to turn and fight. I used to -feel that myself, though when one was told to do so and realized that -we were unchaperoned by the French and faced by about two million -Germans, it did something to cool one’s pugnacity, and one received -the subsequent order to retire in a temperate spirit. Men occasionally -fell out from bad feet, but the regiment marched quite splendidly. -There was never any sign of flurry or panic anywhere. I think that -most people, when they realized what had happened, accepted things -rather impersonally. They thought that as far as our Army in France was -concerned, disaster, in the face of the enormous numbers that we had to -fight, was inevitable, but that this disaster was not vital as long as -the Navy was safe. - -My dates are not quite accurate here, as I cannot account for one day. -It was Sunday, August 23rd, that we had the fight at Mons; I remember -several men said: “Our people are now going to Evening Service at -home,” as we marched out; and it was Tuesday, September 1st, that we -had the fight in which I and the others were taken prisoners. - -Hubert and I arrived at Landrecies about 1 o’clock. Going in, we met -S., a Staff officer, who told us where we could quarter the men. We -went to a big house belonging to a man called Berlaimont, which Hubert -wanted to have as Headquarters. Berlaimont was offensive and did not -wish to give his house. We went on to the Maire, who gave us permission -to take it. After lunch we went on billeting, finding some very fine -houses. We had a mixed reception. Berlaimont gave in ungraciously, -and wrote up rather offensive orders as to what was not to be done: -“Ne pas cracher dans les corridors.” In other houses, too, they made -difficulties. I said: “After all, we are better than the Germans.” -They soon had the chance of judging. The troops came in to be billeted. -At 6 o’clock fire suddenly broke out in the town, and the cry was -raised that the Germans were upon us. I ran back and got my sword and -revolver at Headquarters, and going out, found a body of unattached -troops training a Maxim on the estaminet that was my lodgings. I -prevented them firing. Troops took up positions all over the town. The -inhabitants poured out pell-mell. It was like a flight in the Balkans. -They carried their all away in wheelbarrows, carts, perambulators and -even umbrellas. I met and ran into M. Berlaimont, very pale and fat, -trotting away from the town; he said to me with quivering cheeks: “What -is it?” I said: “It is the Prussians, M. Berlaimont. And they will -probably spit in your corridors.” - -We had some dinner in a very hospitable house. At 8 o’clock there was -some very fierce fighting; the Coldstreamers had been ordered outside -the town. The Germans came up, talking French, and called out to -Monk, a Coldstream officer: “Ne tirez pas; nous sommes des amis,” and -“Vive les Anglais.” A German knocked Monk under a transport wagon. -Then our men grasped what was happening; they charged the Germans and -the Germans charged them, three times, I believe. They brought up -machine-guns. Afterwards one of our medical officers said that we had -lost 150 men, killing 800 to 1,000 Germans. It was there that Archer -Clive was killed. - -Just before dinner I met an officer of the regiment. I asked him if -he had a billet. He told me he could not get one, and I said he could -have mine and that I would find another. However, I found that my -kit had already been put into the estaminet, and took him up to the -market-place to find a lodging. We first went to an empty café, where -all the liquor was left out, with no master or servants. We left money -for what beer we drank. I then found a room in a tradesman’s house. -After dinner I went down to the main barricade with Jack. Wagons, -including one of our own that carried our kit, had been dragged across -the road and defences were put up like lightning. We loopholed the -houses and some houses were pulled down. It was an extraordinarily -picturesque scene. The town was pitch-black except where the torches -glowed on the faces and on the bayonets of the men, or where shells -flashed and burst. I thought of the taking of Italian towns in the -seventeenth century. The Germans shelled us very heavily. It did not -seem as if there was much chance of getting away, but no one was -despondent. At about 1 a.m. there was a lull in the firing, and I went -back to lie down in my room. There I fell asleep, and the shelling of -the town did not wake me, though the house next to me was hit. About -2.30, in my sleep I heard my name, and found Desmond calling me loudly -in the street outside. He said: “We have lost two young officers, L. -and W. Come out and find them at once. The Germans are coming into -the town, and we shall have to clear out instantly.” I said to him: -“I don’t know either L. or W. by sight, and if I did it is far too -dark to see them.” “Well,” he said, “you must do your best.” I went -out and walked about the town, which was still being shelled, but I -was far more afraid of being run over in the darkness than of being -hit. Troops were pouring out in great confusion--foot, artillery, -transport mixed--and there were great holes in the road made by the -German shells. I met Eric, who said: “Come along with me to Guise”; -also the driver of a great transport wagon, who said he had no orders, -and begged me to come with him: he felt lonely without an officer. - -It was quite clear to me that it was impossible to find these two -officers. I met Desmond by Headquarters and told him so; he said: “Very -well, fall in and come along.” The regiment passed at that moment. -Hubert and Tom told me to fall in, but I would not leave Moonshine, -though there did not seem to be much more chance of finding her than -W. and L. My groom and servant had both disappeared. The houses were -all locked or deserted. I battered on a door with my revolver. Two old -ladies timidly came out with a light. They pointed to a house where -I could find a man, but at that moment a Frenchman came up, whom I -commandeered. I went off to Headquarters to see if a sergeant was left. - -There was nobody there. The dinner left looked like Belshazzar’s feast. -I had a good swig of beer from a jug. My saddle and sword had gone. I -went out with the Frenchman and saw that the troops were nearly all -out of the town. I determined to stay, if necessary, and hide until I -could find my horse, but the Frenchman turned up trumps and we found -her. We were terrified of her heels in the dark. I thanked the old -ladies and apologized for having threatened them with my revolver. -There was no question of riding Moonshine bare-back. I went back to -get a saddle, below Headquarters, but the Germans were there, so the -Frenchman swore. It was too dark to see, but they weren’t our men. I -took her back to where the medical officer was billeted. He had been -waiting with a dying man and was about to leave the town. I asked him -to let one of his men lead her, and went forward to see if I could get -a saddle. In this I failed. As I got out of the town dawn was breaking. -For some obscure reason one of our gunners fired a shell. Everybody -said: “I suppose that is to tell them where we are.” We all thought -that the German artillery fire must catch us going out of the town. For -the second time they let us off. By that time we had grasped the fact -that they could outmarch us, but we did not know that they had come on -motor-cars, and ascribed their greater pace to what we believed to be -the fact--that we were entirely unsupported by the French. My regiment -were a good long way ahead. I joined an officer who was leading a -detachment, and he was anxious that I should stay with him. As I walked -along, pretty footsore, an unshaven man came up and asked me if I liked -this sort of thing better than politics. I didn’t say much, as I had -heard the soldiers discussing politicians in the dark at Landrecies, -cursing all politicians every time a shell fell, and saying: “Ah, -that’s another one we owe to them. Why aren’t they here?” He offered -me a horse. He was the Colonel of the Irish Horse, Burns-Lindow. I -took the horse gratefully, which had a slight wound on its shoulder -and was as slow as an ox, poor beast. This drove me almost mad after -Moonshine, and, meeting another officer, I fell into conversation with -him. I asked if he saw anything wrong in my taking the saddle off this -horse and putting it on to Moonshine, when I found her. He said it -was certainly irregular, and I then recognized who he was. I got away -from him as soon as possible and, finding another officer of the Irish -Horse, persuaded him to help me to take off the saddle and put it on to -Moonshine, whom I had regained fairly chastened. I found the Colonel, -and we rode on to Etreux. Here we brought down an aeroplane after -it had dropped a bomb on us. The officers tried to prevent the men -shooting, but the noise made their commands useless. The C.O. was very -angry. He said: “I will teach you to behave like a lot of ... s. Off -you go and dig trenches.” One of the men said as we marched off: “If -that was a friendly aeroplane, what did it want to drop that bomb on us -for?” He was quite right. It had done this, and the shell had fallen -about thirty yards away. Our fire prevented us hearing it. Stephen came -down in a Balaclava helmet and said that officers were the best shots -at aeroplanes because pheasants had taught them to swing in firing. - -At Etreux we were ordered to dig trenches, which we did. After this I -slept under a hedge, where Bernard, the Frenchman, gave me some rum, -which was very welcome, as it was raining. At about 9 o’clock I felt -Hubert, very angry, thumping me, as he thought I was a private who had -taken his haversack to lie on. - -The next morning everybody was in tremendous spirits. They had slept -very well in the trenches and those outside had been housed in nests -of straw. The officers were called up and spoken to by the Colonel. He -read out a message from Joffre to say that the British Army had saved -France. He told us that the retreat had been inevitable and had given -the French time to take up adequate defensive positions. The impression -I think most of us had was that we had been used as a bait. Then we -were once more ordered to retire. - -As I rode along in the morning going to La Fère an aeroplane passed -fairly close over us; everybody fired at it at once; thousands of -rounds must have been fired, and I found it useful in teaching -Moonshine to stand fire. She took her first lesson well, though she -broke up the formation of half a company. We often saw aeroplanes, and -they were nearly always shot at, whether they belonged to friend or foe. - -That day we marched to Origny, where we camped below a hill with a -steep cliff to it. I went into the town and bought eggs, brandy, -etc. There was every kind of rumour about: that we were completely -surrounded by the Germans; that there were millions of them in front -and behind; also that there had been a great French defeat at Charleroi. - -We were all very jolly. At night the artillery poured past with the -sound of a great cataract. We lay down on the hillside, and every -man going to get straw to cover him walked over Tom’s face, who -swore himself almost faint with rage. All our kit had been lost at -Landrecies, and many of us had not great-coats. - -We started at dawn; but had to wait to let other troops pass us. I was -sent back to look for communicating files of the regiment that had been -lost. I found them with difficulty and brought them on. The Germans -were too near to us. That day we marched through great avenues of tall -poplars and through a pleasant smiling country to La Fère. Moonshine -began to grow lame. I stayed behind to get food for my company and lost -the regiment, only finding them again after long wanderings and with -the greatest difficulty. We camped near La Fère. The regiment forgot -its tiredness in a hunt after a strange horse which strayed into our -camp and which Eric finally captured for the transport. Both Desmond -and he tried hard to take my saddle from me; for the saddle which I -had first put upon Moonshine was Hickie’s harness. Then Hickie was -invalided, and I lost his saddle at Landrecies and then got the saddle -from B. L., Colonel of the Irish Horse. I beat them in argument, but -thought they were quite capable of taking the saddle in spite of that. - -We stopped some time to smoke and rest. The men were drawn up on a -torrid cornfield. Valentine was overdone. He volunteered, like the -man in the Bible, to get water. Finding that he would have to wait -in a long queue, he returned without the water. Tom’s anger beat all -records. A deputation from another regiment came and asked him to -repeat what he had said. They were surprised to find that it was his -brother-in-law who had provoked these comments. - -I saw John Manners and George Cecil, and gave them cigarettes. Near a -great factory of some kind we marched past Sir Douglas Haig. I hurried -past him. - -La Fère was an old fortified city. We were told we were to have a rest -and the next day’s march was to be a very short one. We camped near -Berteaucourt. It was very hot. I hobbled up to the village to get -provisions, and found a French girl, the daughter of a farmer, who -talked fair English. Near the village I spoke to a number of people. I -told one peasant I thought it was a mistake that everybody should fly -from their houses if they did not mean to clear out altogether, and -that it was an invitation to the Germans to loot and burn. He said: -“Monsieur, I quite agree with you. Moi, je vais agir en patriote quand -ils viendront. Je vais tout bonnement descendre dans ma cave.” The next -day (the 29th) we camped above the village of Pasly. On the road I got -boracic cream for my horse’s cracked heel. We passed through a big -town, Coucy, crowded with curious, frightened, silent people. It had a -very fine castle. I bought some cigarette-holders, with cinema pictures -inside, for the Colonel. People pressed chocolate and all they could -get into my hands, taking payment unwillingly. Moonshine lost a shoe, -but I managed to get her shod there. Reluctantly at Pasly I lent her -to Robin, who went off to post his men in the village. The moment he -had gone the O.C. sent for me and told me we had got outside the area -of our maps, and asked if I could get him a map. I started off at once -to walk to Soissons. When he discovered where I was going he said it -was out of the question; so I walked down to Pasly either to get a map -there or to take the Maire’s carriage and drive to Soissons. In Pasly -there was a tenth-rate Maire and a schoolmaster. They provided me with -an ancient map, the date of which was 1870. It did not even mark the -monument of the schoolmasters whom the Germans had lightheartedly shot -on their last visit to the village. - -I found a half-wit, and paid him to carry up some wine, bread and eggs. - -We camped above a quarry and talked of what was going to happen. There -seemed only two alternatives. One was that we should get into Paris and -take first-class tickets home to England, and the other that we should -stay and get wiped out. For we still saw no French troops; we still -believed ourselves to be 100,000 against a force of anything from one -to two millions. - -Eric had met a Lancer who had been full of the German atrocities. I -met him and talked to him afterwards. His stories sounded improbable. -Eric had also seen an extraordinary thing happen that morning. He had -seen an aeroplane which we were bombarding. It was flying in the blue -sky when it was struck. It was there, and then it was not. It just -disappeared. - -_August 31st._ We got up fairly early, and I rode with Eric past caves -in which there were houses and quarries down the steep hillside to the -plain of Soissons. It was a beautiful morning, very peaceful, and the -air was scented. There was bright sunlight over the marching soldiers -and the fields of green, tall grass. The C.O. told me that our camping -ground was at Cœuvre. I asked leave to ride into Soissons and see if -I could not get clean shirts and handkerchiefs to replace what we had -lost at Landrecies. - -Soissons was like a sunlit town of the dead. Four out of five houses -were shut. Most of the well-to-do people had gone. It was silent -streets and blind houses. The clattering which Moonshine made on the -cobbles was almost creepy. I stopped first of all at a saddler’s shop -and tried to get a proper bridle. The saddler was a rough democratic -Frenchman, not a bad fellow, the sort of man who made the Republic. He -took me to a boot shop which was my first need, where the people were -very kind, and I bought a capital pair of boots for twelve francs. I -went into the “Lion d’Or.” They refused me a stall for Moonshine on the -ground that the landlord and all his family were going. I insisted, -and bought her some fodder, also some food for myself. They drove hard -bargains. - -Out of doors I met some English officers having breakfast. They had -only just arrived. I left a man called Gustave to look after Moonshine -and went out to spend a most laborious morning of shopping. After going -to many different shops I found a bazaar like a mortuary, with two -old women and a boy. They said to me: “Take whatever you want and pay -as much or as little as pleases you. If the Germans come we shall set -fire to this place.” They pressed every kind of souvenir on me, but -it was extraordinary, with plenty lying round, how difficult it was -to get what one needed. I was buying mostly for other people. It was -like being turned loose in Selfridge’s--boots, scissors, pocket-knives, -electric torches, watches, bags, vests, etc. I also bought an -alpenstock, as I had lost my sword and thought it might be useful as a -light bayonet. - -I then went and had a bath, the first proper one since England. The -heat was very great. I felt dirty and wanted to shave my beard, as the -men said every day that I became more like King Edward. I then intended -to go to the Cathedral, but found the few English soldiers in the town -moving out hurriedly. They said the Germans were coming in an hour. -So I gave up the Cathedral and went and had lunch in a jolly little -inn. There were some very excitable Frenchmen, one of whom asked me -if I would sell him a lucky sixpence for a franc which he could wear -round his neck. I suppose he was really pathetic; at the moment he -only irritated me. He said: “J’ai confiance--même s’ils vont à Paris -j’aurais confiance.” “But,” he said, “where is the French Army?” They -were all saying that by this time. - -I went back to my boot shop. All the women there were crying. -They insisted upon giving me some wine. At the hotel I found the -hotel-keeper and his family going off, squeaking with anger at the -ostler, Gustave, who was helping me to carry all I had bought in two -great bags. The weight was very oppressive in the heat, and I was -afraid of making Moonshine’s tender foot worse on the hard road. Before -I had got outside the town I had to get off and readjust everything, -with the help of some very kind French people. While I was doing -this, Westminster, with Hugh Dawnay, drove up in his beautiful car. I -suggested his taking my things on to Cœuvre. He said, unfortunately he -had other orders, and wanted to know where to lunch. I told him where -I had lunched, but said that he would probably have to share his lunch -with the Germans if he went into the town, as they must now be close -behind us. - -Riding on, I met some French troops evacuating the town and with them -a man of my regiment, who had hurt his knee. He could not walk, so I -put him under the charge of a French sergeant. While I was talking to -him two other men of my regiment came up. They had fallen out on the -previous day and had had nothing to eat since yesterday’s breakfast. I -took them into a French house, where the people were very hospitable; -gave them food at once and insisted on giving them champagne, which -they said was “déchampagnisé.” The men ate like wolves. One of them was -a splendidly built fellow, called Sheridan. - -Then we marched slowly on in the heat, for about two hours, when -Sheridan said: “What is it is happening yonder, sir?” pointing to the -horizon about a mile away. Soon rifle fire broke out, and Sheridan -said: “There are Uhlans coming down the road.” There was a wood on -our left, and we made preparations to get into this; the other man -had fallen behind. They were both very done, but Sheridan was like -a different man at the prospect of a fight. Our people, however, or -rather the French, drove the German cavalry back at this moment, and -we went on quietly. I was glad to be able to turn to the left, as the -fighting on our right was pretty hot and I was weighed down with all -the extra things I carried. - -I fell into conversation with a medical officer, and asked him if he -knew where Cœuvre was. Then an R.A.M.C. Colonel came up and looked at -my kit very suspiciously. He asked me who the General in command of the -Division was. I said I had forgotten his name; I could not keep my head -filled with these details. He said to me: “You don’t seem to know who -you are.” I said to him: “I know who I am; I don’t know who you are, I -don’t want to. I hope to God I shall never see you again. Go to hell -and stay there.” This made him angry, and he said: “Your regiment is -ahead on the left, but the Germans are in front of you, if you wish to -rejoin them,” pointing in the direction from which I had come. - -All this time I had been waiting for Sheridan and other now numerous -stragglers behind me, and at this point I turned round and rode off -to see what had happened, thoroughly irritated with the R.A.M.C. -Colonel. This apparently convinced him that I really was a German, -as the engagement in the rear was going on fairly close, and he came -after me with a Major of the K.R.R., who was unhappy. He said: “Will -you come with me to my Colonel?” I said: “I will go with you anywhere -to get away from this fussy little man, but if you think that a German -spy would come on a racehorse, dressed like the White Knight, with -an alpenstock, you are greatly mistaken.” He promised to have my -stragglers looked after, and then I rode up to his regiment with him, -when Blank came up and shook hands. We had not met since Eton. He -cleared my character. After that I went on as fast as I could. I picked -up some more of my regiment, including a sergeant who had sprained his -ankle. I told him to ride, but found a motor and put him in that. - -Soon we were stopped by a sentry in a wood, as it was growing dark. He -said that his officer had told him to stop all on the road and to send -for him. Then came General Monro, who was also stopped. He was with a -sad man. He forced his way through, and I asked permission to take on -the men of my regiment. He told me that I should find my regiment at -Soucy, and gave me the permission I wanted. In a few moments I met the -officer who had had us stopped. He said the Germans were very close to -us. We could hear firing near by. - -I reached my regiment as night was falling. They were delighted with -my arrest. We spent our last night very comfortably, though there was -heavy dew. Tom, who had been frightfully overdone, always carrying -rifles, was recovering, and every one was cheerful and very keen to -have a fight. Until now only Hickie had been invalided. The rum at -night after a long march made a wonderful difference. The men got in -very tired, footsore, cold and hungry, and had to sleep on the wet -ground. A tot of rum sent them to sleep, and sent them to sleep feeling -warm. Teetotalism on the march is an excellent thing, better still to -drink nothing, but that nip at night made the difference between health -and sickness, comfort and misery. - -_September 1st._ The next morning we got up at 2 o’clock. The Army -was passing all round us already. It was like the sound of deep, slow -rivers. For the first and last time we took a wrong turning, only for -a couple of hundred yards. This was the only mistake I saw at all in -the long march. After two hours we halted, and S. and I sat under a -dripping tree and talked about the West Country. At the beginning S. -had said to me: “I shall be very disappointed if I go home without -seeing a fight, but the worst of it is you can’t make an omelette -without breaking eggs, and I don’t want to see my friends killed.” I -said to him: “You are going to get your omelette all right now.” Some -constituents passed me. They said: “This be terrible dangerous. Do’ee -come along with we.” - -Moonshine would eat nothing, and this worried me. I had become very -fond of her. - -At about 6 o’clock we halted on what I knew to be a tragic plain. In -my mind I associate this plain with turnips, though I am not sure that -any grew there. There was stubble, high and wet lucerne, and a mournful -field where corn had been cut but not carried. We sat about on the wet, -muddy ground for breakfast, while a thin, dismal rain fell. - -The C.O. called us round and gave us our orders. He said: “We are -required to hold this wood until 2 o’clock in the afternoon. We may -have to fight a rearguard action until a later hour if there is a block -in the road. We are to retire upon Rond de la Reine.” After this we -breakfasted on hot cocoa; it tasted of vaseline or paraffin, but it was -warm. - -It was apparent that if the First Division took long over their -luncheon we should be wiped out. By this time every one had got their -second wind, their feet were hard and they were cheerful. Jumbo said he -could go on walking for ever. I talked to Alex and agreed that we had -seen a great deal of fun together. He had said, while we were crossing -the Channel, that it was long odds, not, of course, against some of us -going back, but against any particular one of us seeing it through. -This was now visibly true; we believed that we were three divisions -against twenty-one or even twenty-eight German divisions. I wrote two -letters, one of them a eulogy of Moonshine. I went to Desmond, asking -him to post them. He said crossly: “You seem to think that Adjutants -can work miracles. Charles asks for letters under fire, you want to -post them on the battlefield. It is quite useless to write letters now.” - -He then borrowed some of my paper and wrote a letter. I have the -picture in my mind of Desmond constantly sitting, in very tidy -breeches, writing and calling for sergeants. We had little sleep. He -never seemed to sleep at all. He was woken all the time and was always -cheerful. We had nothing to do for a bit, and I read scraps about -cemeteries from Shakespeare, to irritate the others. They remained -cheerful. Then we moved off to the wood. Nobody had any illusions about -the immediate future. One man said to me: “I may live to see many -battles; I think I shall, for I am very keen on my profession, but -I shall never forget this plain or this morning.” It must have been -about 7.30 when we went into the wood. No. 4 held the extreme right; -they were protected by a wall, which they loopholed, and a wire fence -outside. No. 3 was next on a road that ran through the heart of the -wood to Rond de la Reine. I did not see Tom; I thought I was sure to -see him some time in the morning. Stubbs was behind No. 3, down in the -village (I forget the name). The C.O. said to me: “I want you to gallop -for me to-day, so stick to me.” I lost him at once in the wood behind -No. 4, but rode right down to a deserted farm and, swinging to my -right, found him at the cross-roads. - -I had seen a good deal of him the last days. He had a very attractive -personality, and it was a delight to hear him talk about anything. -I asked him what chance he thought we had of getting more than half -of us away. He said he thought a fairly good chance. Then he said to -me: “How is your rest-cure getting on now? There is very little that -looks like manœuvres in the millennium about this, is there?” I had -told him some time before that I looked upon this expedition as a -rest-cure, as in some ways it was. We talked about Ireland and Home -Rule, riding outside the wood. The grey, damp mist had gone and the day -was beautiful. - -He sent me first to Hubert, Second-in-Command, with the order that in -the retreat every officer was to retire down the main road, with the -exception of Stubbs, who was to retire as he liked. I imagine that he -was afraid that men would be lost in the wood. By this time the firing -had begun, some way off, but our men could see the Germans coming -over the rising land. The C.O. ordered me to find Colonel Pereira of -the Coldstream Guards and tell him that, as soon our own troops, now -fighting the Germans in front of him, would fall back through his -lines, after this he was to fall back himself. - -I went off at a hand gallop, and had got half-way there, with the -wood on my left and open land on my right, when the Germans began -shooting at about three-quarters of a mile. Our men were firing at -them from the wood, and I felt annoyed at being between two fires and -the only thing visible to amuse our men and the Germans. I turned -into the wood, and, galloping down a sandy way, found the road filled -with refugees with haunted faces. We had seen crowds of refugees for -days, but I felt sorrier for these. I suppose it was that the Germans -were so very near them. I gave my message to Pereira, who advised me -to go back through the wood, but I knew the other way and thought I -should soon be past the German fire. I had not, however, counted on -their advancing so quickly. When I came to the edge of the wood they -were firing furiously--shrapnel, machine-gun and rifle fire. Our men -had excellent cover, and were answering. I then tried to make my way -through the wood, but it was abominably rough. There were ferns and -brambles waist-high, and great ditches; the wood was very beautiful -with its tall trees, but that, at the moment, was irrelevant. Moonshine -stood like a goat on the stump of a tree that made an island among the -ditches, and I turned back to take the way by the open fields. When I -got outside the fire had grown very bad. I raced for an orchard that -jutted out of the wood. Bullets hummed and buzzed. Coming to it, I -found that there was wire round it. I then popped at full speed, like a -rabbit, into the wood again, through a thicket, down an enormous ditch, -up the other side, bang into some barbed wire, which cut my horse. It -was like diving on horseback. I turned round and galloped delicately -out again, riding full tilt round the orchard. - -I found the Colonel, who was standing under shelter at the cross-roads -to the left of the road, facing the enemy, that led through the heart -of the wood. He mounted the bank and watched the Germans advancing. I -sat under the bank with M. and Alex. The German shells began to fall -close to us, knocking the trees about in the wood. There were some -sergeants very excited and pleased at the idea of a fight. They said: -“Now has come the time for deeds, not words.” They felt that they were -the men of the moment. - -We considered whether the Germans were likely to charge down the road -along which I had come, but thought we could hold them effectively in -check from our corner and that the fire from the wood would reach them. - -It was, I suppose, now about 10.30. Desmond, the Colonel and I rode -back into the big, green wood. It was very peaceful. The sun was -shining through the beech-trees, and for a bit the whole thing seemed -unreal. The C.O. talked to the men, telling them to reserve their fire -till the Germans were close on them. “Then you will kill them and -they won’t get up again.” That made them laugh. The German advance -began very rapidly. The Coldstreamers must have begun falling back -about this time. The Germans came up in front and on our left flank. -There was a tremendous fire. The leaves, branches, etc., rained upon -one. One’s face was constantly fanned by the wind from their bullets. -This showed how bad their fire was. My regiment took cover very well, -and after the first minute or two fired pretty carefully. Moonshine -was startled to begin with by the fire, but afterwards remained very -still and confidential. Desmond did not get off his horse; he told me -to lead my horse back into the wood and then come back to the firing -line. The Colonel then told me to gallop up to the Brigadier to say -that the retreat was being effectively carried out; that there were -two squadrons advancing and he did not know what force of infantry. In -this estimate he was very much out, as subsequent events proved. Eric, -now at home wounded, said to me: “The Germans seemed hardly to have -an advance guard; it was an army rolling over us.” When I found the -Brigadier he wanted to know if the C.O. seemed happy about things. I -said I thought on the whole he did. There were bullets everywhere and -men falling, but the fire was still too high. One bullet in about half -a million must have hit a man. I returned to the Colonel. Our men had -then begun to retire down the main road to Rond de la Reine. A galloper -came up and, as far as I heard, said that we were to hang on and not -retreat yet. This officer was, I think, killed immediately after giving -his message. The Colonel said that the Coldstreamers had already begun -to retreat, that we couldn’t hold on there, but must go back to the -position we had left. We were ordered to resume the position which -Hubert had been told to leave. The Germans were by this time about -250 yards away, firing on us with machine-guns and rifles. The noise -was perfectly awful. In a lull the C.O. said to the men: “Do you hear -that? Do you know what they are doing that for? They are doing that to -frighten you.” I said to him: “If that’s all, they might as well stop. -As far as I am concerned, they have succeeded, two hours ago.” - -The men were ordered to charge, but the order was not heard in the -noise, and after we had held this position for some minutes a command -was given to retreat. Another galloper brought it, who also, I think, -was shot. Guernsey, whom I met with his company, asked me to gallop -back and tell Valentine he must retire his platoon; he had not received -the order. I found Valentine and got off my horse and walked him some -yards down the road, the Germans following. He, like everybody else, -was very pleased at the calm way the men were behaving. - -I mounted and galloped after the Colonel, who said: “If only we could -get at them with the bayonet I believe one of our men is as good as -three of theirs.” He started in the direction of the Brigadier. Men -were now falling fast. I happened to see one man drop with a bayonet -in his hand a few yards off, and reined in my horse to see if I could -help him, but the C.O. called me and I followed him. The man whom I had -seen was Hubert, though I did not know it at the time. The C.O. said: -“It is impossible now to rescue wounded men; we have all we can do.” -He had a charmed life. He raced from one place to another through the -wood; cheering the men and chaffing them, and talking to me; smoking -cigarette after cigarette. Under ordinary conditions one would have -thought it mad to ride at the ridiculous pace we did over the very -broken ground, but the bullets made everything else irrelevant. At -about 1 o’clock we went up to the Brigadier at the corner of the road. -The fighting there was pretty hot. One of the men told the Colonel that -Hubert was killed. The Colonel said: “Are you sure?” The man said: -“Well, I can’t swear.” I was sent back to see. The man said he was -about 400 yards away, and as I galloped as hard as I could, G. called -to me: “To the right and then to the left.” As I raced through the wood -there was a cessation of the firing, though a number of shots came from -both sides. They snapped very close. I found Hubert in the road we had -been holding. I jumped off my horse and put my hand on his shoulder and -spoke to him. He must have been killed at once, and looked absolutely -peaceful. He cannot have suffered at all. I leant over to see if he -had letters in his pocket, when I heard a whistle 25 or 30 yards behind -me in the wood. I stood up and called: “If that is an Englishman, get -outside the wood and up to the corner like hell; you will be shot if -you try and join the rest through the wood. The Germans are between -us.” I bent over to pick up Hubert’s bayonet, when again a whistle came -and the sound of low voices, talking German. I then thought the sooner -I was away the better. As I swung into the saddle a shot came from just -behind me, missing me. I rode back as fast as Moonshine could go. The -lull in the firing had ceased, and the Germans were all round us. One -could see them in the wood, and they were shooting quite close. The -man who finally got me was about 15 to 20 yards away; his bullet must -have passed through a tree or through Bron’s great-coat, because it -came into my side broken up. It was like a tremendous punch. I galloped -straight on to my regiment and told the Colonel that Hubert was dead. -He said: “I am sorry, and I am sorry that you are hit. I am going to -charge.” He had told me earlier that he meant to if he got the chance. - -I got off and asked them to take on my horse. Then I lay down on -the ground and an R.A.M.C. man dressed me. The Red Cross men gave a -loud whistle when they saw my wound, and said the bullet had gone -through me. The fire was frightfully hot. The men who were helping me -were crouching down, lying on the ground. While he was dressing me a -horse--his, I suppose--was shot just behind us. I asked them to go, as -they could do me no good and would only get killed or taken themselves. -The doctor gave me some morphia, and I gave them my revolver. They -put me on a stretcher, leaving another empty stretcher beside me. This -was hit several times. Shots came from all directions, and the fire -seemed to be lower than earlier in the day. The bullets were just above -me and my stretcher. I lost consciousness for a bit; then I heard my -regiment charging. There were loud cries and little spurts of spasmodic -shooting; then everything was quiet and a deep peace fell upon the -wood. It was very dreamlike. - -It is really very difficult to reconstruct this fight. I think every -man’s attention was fixed like iron on doing his own job, otherwise -they would all have noticed more. I carry in my mind a number of very -vivid pictures--Desmond on his horse, Valentine and I discussing -fatalism, the C.O. smoking cigarettes in the cinema holders that I had -bought for him a few days before. - -As I lay on the stretcher a jarring thought came to me. I had in my -pocket the flat-nosed bullets which the War Office had served out to us -as revolver ammunition. They are not dum-dum bullets, but they would -naturally not make as pleasant a wound as the sharp-nosed ones, and -it occurred to me that those having them would be shot. I searched my -pockets and flung mine away. I did not discover one which remained and -was buried later on,--but neither did the Germans. It was first hearing -German voices close by that jogged my memory about these bullets, and -the Germans were then so close that I felt some difficulty in throwing -the bullets away. The same idea must have occurred to others, for later -I heard the Germans speaking very angrily about the flat bullets they -had picked up in the wood, and saying how they would deal with any one -in whose possession they were found. - -The glades became resonant with loud, raucous German commands and -occasional cries from wounded men. After about an hour and a half, -I suppose, a German with a red beard, with the sun shining on his -helmet and bayonet, came up looking like an angel of death. He walked -round from behind, and put his serrated bayonet on the empty stretcher -by me, so close that it all but touched me. The stretcher broke and -his bayonet poked me. I enquired in broken but polite German what he -proposed to do next; after reading the English papers and seeing the -way he was handling his bayonet, it seemed to me that there was going -to be another atrocity. He was extraordinarily kind and polite. He -put something under my head; offered me wine, water and cigarettes. -He said: “Wir sind kamaraden.” Another soldier came up and said: “Why -didn’t you stay in England--you who made war upon the Boers?” I said: -“We obeyed orders, just as you do; as for the Boers, they were our -enemies and are now our friends, and it is not your business to insult -wounded men.” My first friend then cursed him heartily, and he moved on. - -The Germans passed in crowds. They seemed like steel locusts. Every -now and then I would hear: “Here is an officer who talks German,” and -the crowd would swerve in like a steel eddy. Then: “Schnell Kinder!” -and they would be off. They gave a tremendous impression of lightness -and iron. After some hours, when my wound was beginning to hurt, some -carriers came up to take me to a collecting place for the wounded. -These men were rather rough. They dropped me and my stretcher once, but -were cursed by an officer. They then carried me some distance, and took -me off the stretcher, leaving me on the ground. The Germans continued -to pass in an uninterrupted stream. One motor cyclist, but with a -bayonet in his hand, was very unpleasant. He said: “I would like to put -this in your throat and turn it round and round,” waving it down to my -nose. That sort of thing happened more than once or twice, but there -were always more friends than enemies, though as night fell the chance -of being left without friends increased. As it grew dark, I got rather -cold. One of the Germans saw this, covered me with his coat and said: -“Wait a moment, I will bring you something else.” He went off, and, -I suppose, stripped a dead Englishman and a dead German. The German -jersey which he gave me had no holes in it; the Englishman’s coat had -two bayonet cuts. - -The wounded began to cry dreadfully in the darkness. I found myself -beside Robin, who was very badly wounded in the leg. The Germans gave -me water when I asked for it, but every time I drank it made me sick. -At, I suppose, 9.30 or 10 p.m. they took us off into an ambulance and -carried us to a house that had been turned into a hospital. I was left -outside, talking to a Dane who was very anti-German, though he was -serving with them as a Red Cross man. He cursed them loudly in German. -He said it was monstrous that I hadn’t been attended to, that the -Germans had had a defeat and would be beaten. I said: “Yes, it’s all -true, but please stop talking, because they’ll hear you and punish me.” - -Just before 12 o’clock they carried me into the hospital on to the -operating table, and dressed my wound quickly. - -Then I was helped out to an outhouse and lay beside Robin. It was full -of English and German wounded. They gave us one drink of water and -then shut and locked the door and left us for the night. One man cried -and cried for water until he died. It was a horrible night. The straw -was covered with blood, and there was never a moment when men were not -groaning and calling for help. In the morning the man next to Robin -went off his head and became animal with pain. I got the Germans to -do what was possible for him. I asked the Germans to let me out, and -they helped me outside into a chair, and I talked to an officer called -Brandt. He sent a telegram to the German authorities to say that Robin -and I were lightly wounded, and asking them to let our families know. -He would not let me pay. I would have liked to have done it for every -one, but that wasn’t possible. They took us away in an ambulance at -about 11 o’clock. It was a beautiful September day, very hot indeed. -The heat in the covered ambulance was suffocating, and Robin must have -suffered horribly. He asked me the German for “quick,” and when I told -him, urged the Germans on. There were great jolts and.... - -At Viviers I found Shields, who said to me: “Hullo, you wounded, and -you a volunteer, too?”--as if a volunteer ought to be immune from -wounds. We were carried upstairs and told that Valentine and Buddy, -whom I had last met under the cedars, were in the same hospital. -Valentine had the point of his elbow shot away just after I had -left him. He raised his hand to brush a wasp off his neck, and only -remembered pitching forward when a bullet struck his elbow. He woke -up in a pool of blood. A German came up and took the flask of brandy -that I had given him after my visit to Soissons. He gave Valentine a -drink, and then, when Valentine had said he did not want any more, -swigged the whole of the rest off. It was enough to make two men drunk, -solidly, for hours. Later, five Germans came up to Valentine and ragged -him. One of them kicked him, but an officer arrived, took all their -names, promised Valentine they should be punished, and attached an -orderly to him for the night. Buddy was badly wounded in the back and -arm. He found his servant in the church at Viviers. Then we all met at -the house in Viviers. The doctors gave Robin and me a strong dose of -morphia. That afternoon a German doctor, whose name was Hillsparck, -came in and woke me. He gave me a gold watch with a crest on it, and -a silver watch and a purse of gold (£8 in it). He said that a Colonel -to whom the watch belonged had been buried close by in the village of -Haraman, and asked me if I could say who he was. We heard that the -Colonel had been killed, and I imagined it must have been him, but -we could not tell, as apparently every single man of the seventy odd -who had charged with him had been killed. The doctor left this watch -with me. In the hospital we believed that the General of the Division, -Monro, and also our own Brigadier, General Scott Kerr, were wounded, -and that the Colonel and T. were killed; Hubert we knew was killed. - -Our experiences on the field were all the same. We were all well -treated, though occasionally we were insulted. In hospital an old -_ober-stadt_ was in command of the doctors. He was very good to us. The -English doctors were W., in command, S. next, Rankin and Shields. They -were all good doctors. W., Rankin and Shields were excellent fellows. -Rankin, who has been killed since, himself wounded, was dressing the -wounded on the field and was recommended for the V.C. Shields has been -killed in the same way, and I believe would have been recommended but -that his C.O. was also killed. They were both the best sort of man you -can find. - -After a couple of days I moved into Buddy and Valentine’s room. A -little way down the street there was the château, full of wounded -Germans. Our men were carried there to be operated upon. - -W. and the other doctors who went to help discovered that there were -311 wounded Germans as against 92 of our own, so we didn’t do badly. - -Every morning the German sentries used to come in and talk to us. My -German and Buddy’s was very weak, but we managed to get along all -right. Downstairs those who were lightly wounded sat outside in the -chairs they took from the house, in the sunny garden. It was a fairly -luxurious house, with paper marked “F. H.” I thought it was a girls’ -school, for the only books we could find were the _Berger de Valence_ -and Jules Verne. My side was painful the first few days. Then they cut -me open and took out the bullet, which was all in bits. It was rather -hard lines on the others to perform an operation in the room, but I -felt much better after it. The food difficulty was rather acute. There -was very little food, and what there was was badly cooked. We lived -principally on things that S. called “chupatti”--thick, unleavened -biscuits. The men began to give trouble. There was nobody in command of -them. There was an ex-comedian who was particularly tiresome. We had to -ask the Germans to punish one man for us. About the fourth day one of -the orderlies escaped--Drummer McCoy. He passed for four days through -the German lines, and on one occasion watched a whole Army Corps go by -from the boughs of a tree. Then he found the French, who passed him on -to the English, where he went to the Staff and told them of us. That is -how we were picked up so quickly on the 11th. - - * * * * * - -Here is a copy of my diary for September 9th:-- - -The people are beginning to return, but not the priest, who is with the -Army. We want him for the regiment. Up till this time only six of the -wounded have died. The Germans tell us every kind of story--the United -States are declaring war on Japan, Italy on France, Denmark on England, -etc., etc. Also that Paris has been given twelve hours to accept or -reject the German terms, and if the French Government is obdurate -the town will be bombarded. We are told that we are to be taken as -prisoners to Magdeburg. It is a week since I have had a cigarette. - -_Thursday, September 10th._ We are all very anxious to get news home, -but there is no chance. Last night S. Herbert died. I had a Testament, -and Valentine and I found verses which W. read over his grave. -Valentine has bad pain. Three bones broken in his arm and the point of -his elbow gone. Buddy is better, but hit cruel hard. Robin has a bad -wound, and is very restless. They don’t like giving us morphia. Luckily -I have got my own medicine chest, which is a good thing for all of us, -as I can give the others sleeping draughts. Last night a French cavalry -patrol came within two miles of us. Early this morning there was rifle -fire close by. It sounded in the wood that we suppose is Haraman. We -think the Germans may evacuate this place any time. The bandages have -given out. Stores are not coming in. There is a big aeroplane depot -quite close by, and the whole air is full of aeroplanes. It looks and -feels as if there might be a big battle round here soon. They have shot -an old man wandering about the aerodrome. But he was asking for it. - -_9 a.m._ The aeroplanes are being shifted from the depot. Last night we -heard that arms were issued to all the wounded Germans in hospital who -could carry them. This morning the Germans are digging trenches hard. -There are Red Crosses everywhere. The doctors want us to go down to the -cellars if we are shelled. The French women in the village say that the -French are coming. The firing is increasing. - -_9.15 a.m._ The German hospital across the way is ordered to be ready -to move at once. - -_10.25 a.m._ An order has come for all prisoners to parade at the -church at 12 o’clock. The German lightly wounded are being sent on. We -are very anxious as to whether they mean to take us too. More of our -wounded who have died are being buried. - -_11.10 a.m._ A German doctor has come. He said: “They are going and -taking all (of our) prisoners, 18 (of our) lightly wounded, and leaving -25 (of their) badly wounded.” French wounded are now coming in. We have -no more bandages at all. A German sentry with whom I had talked has -just come in. I asked him some days ago to buy some handkerchiefs. He -said: “I have not been able to buy you any handkerchiefs, or to get the -cigarettes you wanted, but here is one of my own handkerchiefs, which I -have washed. We have got to go.” - -_8 p.m._ The last order is that the previous orders are countermanded -and the Germans are to stay on ten days. - -_Friday, September 11th._ Our English prisoners were marched off this -morning. We are full of speculation as to what has really happened. -Valentine, Buddy and I are well. - -_10.10 a.m._ There are machine-guns about four miles away. - -_10.30 a.m._ There is a heavy rifle fire within a mile. It is very -trying lying here in bed. We have nothing to read except _The -Rajah’s Heir_ which V. sent to me and which has become known as the -treasure-house of fun. It is a sort of mixture of Hymns Ancient and -Modern and the _Fairchild Family_. - -_2 p.m._ There is a Maxim within a few hundred yards of the house. -Rifle volleys outside in the garden. A rising wind and rain threatening. - -_3 p.m._ Heavy rain. The French are visible, advancing. - -_3.10 p.m._ The French are here. They came in in fine style, like -conquerors; one man first, riding, his hand on his hip. The German -sentries who had been posted to protect us wounded walked down and -surrendered their bayonets. The German doctors came to us for help. -I offered to go, but W. went. The French infantry and cavalry came -streaming through. Our wounded went out into the pouring rain to cheer -them. They got water from our men, whose hands they kissed. The German -guns are on the skyline. The Germans are in full retreat, and said to -be cut off by the English. - -_5 p.m._ A heavy bombardment of the German guns began from here. I have -come upstairs to a long low garret with skylights, in order to leave -Valentine and Buddy more room. Through the skylight one can see every -flash of the French and German guns. The doctors all come up here to -watch with their field-glasses through my skylights. - -_Saturday, September 12th._ Yesterday, when W. went down, he found -the German doctors receiving cavalier treatment from the French. He -explained to the French that they had treated us with the greatest -kindness; after that the French treated with courtesy the old -_ober-stadt_. Shields carved a great wooden tombstone for the thirteen -men who had died up to date. It is a month to-day since I left England. - -This afternoon Colonel Thompson, English Staff Officer attached to -General Manoury, who had been attached to the Serbian Army through the -last war, came in. McCoy, who had escaped, had found him and told him -about us at Viviers. He said he would take me into Villers Cotterets -after he had done some other business. We talked a lot about the -Balkans, but I finally went back and lay down in my garret and shall -not get up again to-day. - -_Sunday, September 13th._ I went off with Thompson this morning. We -passed through the wood where we had had the fight, and a long grave of -120 men was shown to me by McCoy. - - - - - ANZAC - 1915 - -[Illustration: - -_SIFTON, PRAED & CO LTD ST JAMES’ ST LONDON S W_ ] - - - - -ANZAC, 1915 - - -When I was passed fit for Active Service, after some time in hospital, -I left England for Egypt with five other officers. Four of these had -strange histories. One is, perhaps, the most romantic figure of the -war, another now governs a great Province, while two, after many -adventures, were prisoners of war in Turkey, for different but dreary -periods. - -I was sent to the East because it had been my fortune to have travelled -widely, and I had a fairly fluent smattering of several Eastern -languages. On arriving at Gibraltar about December 14, 1914, we heard -the first news of submarines. One of these was reported to have passed -through into the Mediterranean a few days previously. - -When I reached Egypt just before Christmas, superficially everything -was calm. This calm did not last very long. I was given Intelligence -work to do, under Colonel Clayton, who has played a very great part -in achieving our success in the East. Reports constantly came in from -Minia, Zagazig and Tanta of Turkish and German intrigues. General Sir -J. Maxwell commanded the Forces in Egypt. Prince Hussein had just been -proclaimed Sultan, and Egypt had been declared to be under British -protection. Rushdy Pasha was Prime Minister and a triumvirate of Sir -Milne Cheetham at the Residency, Sir R. Graham as Adviser to the -Ministry of the Interior, and Lord Edward Cecil as Adviser to the -Ministry of Finance, directed the Government. - -It was difficult to believe that the Egyptian, who then had all the -advantages of neutrals without any of the disadvantages, really meant -mischief. Most people, I think, agreed with Lord Cromer, and believed -that his policy of making taxes light and life easy for the Egyptian -had succeeded, but the East is never logical, as we all know, and the -natural consequence constantly does not follow the parental cause. -Mecca rose to join us after Kut had fallen; the rebellion in Egypt -only took place when the English had achieved a complete victory over -Turkey, and held Palestine and Syria. I quote the following incident -as an illustration of the difficulty of sometimes following this -mentality:-- - -A Syrian reported to me that a great Egyptian family, whom I will call -the Ashakas, had conspired to bring 15,000 rifles into the country and -to engineer a rising. The rifles were to be imported from the Greek -islands and from Greece, by means of Greek sponge-fishers. One of -these, who had the pleasant and appropriate name of Son-of-the-Dagger, -met me in a café in an obscure side street in Cairo. There he revealed -the conspiracy, explaining that only the landing-place for the arms -had still to be decided upon. He and his companions were to receive -a commission on every rifle landed, and he wanted to know what the -British Government would be ready to pay for his betrayal of his -patrons. - -On reporting this to the proper authorities, I was told that they were -aware of the existence of this plot. The next day frantic messages from -the Greek came, and I met him, disturbed in his mind. He said that the -Ashakas had become suspicious of him and the other Greeks, and that -he feared for his life. He asked to be arrested immediately after the -seizure of the arms and thrown into prison with the Egyptians, and -then to be flogged before them, in order to convince them that he was -acting honourably by them. He was very anxious to be paid for both -pieces of treachery, by the Egyptians and by us. On making my report to -the authorities I learned that the Ashakas had betrayed the Greeks by -denouncing them as traitors. - -The whole affair had been a result of Levantine nerves. The Ashakas in -the past had been strong Nationalists. When the war between the Turks -and ourselves broke out, in spite of the fact that it seemed possible, -and indeed likely, that Egypt might again become a Turkish province, -their politics changed, and they hastily became Anglophile, but their -past record haunted them. They feared the British Government almost as -much as the Turks, and yearned to prove themselves loyal. - -After much thought it appeared to them that the simplest way of -achieving this would be to supply valuable military information -to the British. That, however, was an article which they did not -possess, and they therefore hit upon the idea of getting up a bogus -conspiracy in order to be able to denounce it. This seemed the simplest -way to safeguard themselves, and they hurriedly adopted the plan. -The instruments that they chose were subtle Greeks, who were more -proficient in the art of intrigue than the Ashakas, and had an even -more degraded morality. It took only a few days for the Ashakas to -realize the infidelity of the Greeks, and to inform against them still -more hurriedly, but meanwhile the Greeks had spoken first. In the end, -when the hair of the Ashakas had turned grey, they made a clean breast -of the whole affair to the British authorities, and were, I believe, -forgiven. - - * * * * * - -“Happy is the country that has no history” is a proverb which is -often untrue, but Egypt was certainly happy, compared with the rest -of the world, early in 1915. Then history moved rapidly towards us. -The thunder of the guns in France was no longer something remote -and irrelevant. The Turks massed across the desert, and prepared to -attack the Canal. Many of the English thought that we were living on a -sleeping volcano, but there was general confidence, and no one doubted -our power to cope with the situation. The Turks attacked skilfully and -bravely, but the odds against them were too heavy. They were, however, -able to shell H.M.S. _Harding_ in the Canal, and a few of their men -swam across to Egypt. Complete serenity reigned in Cairo. I remember -going to the Opera that night. General Sir John Maxwell was listening, -quite unruffled, to the performance. I heard a civilian say in a -scandalized voice to him: “They have gone and broken the _Harding_. -What next?” To which Sir John answered: “Well, they’ll have to mend it, -I suppose.” Two ladies landed at Port Said and had their train shelled -as it steamed slowly along the banks of the Canal to Cairo. They -wondered placidly if this was the normal state of things in Egypt. - -These attacks added to the labours and quickened the energies of the -Intelligence in Egypt, but still there were only vague rumours to be -heard. One of these foretold that there was to be a general rising of -Islam on April 27th. - -I remember long conversations with a specialist with regard to this -possibility; he disbelieved in it, then or at any time, for, as he -said very rightly, Islam had to contend with great difficulties from -the point of view of communications--waterless deserts, impassable -seas, mountain ranges, unbridged by our telegraph. My friend, who -was remarkable, would not have an office like any other man in his -position; he disconcerted friend and foe alike by changing his address -every few days, and when one wished to see him, and after the unusual -event of catching him, he would make an appointment such as: “The third -lamp-post in the Street of Mohammed Ali at dusk.” When he had gone -beyond recall, one remembered that the Mohammed Ali Street was several -miles long, and that he had not said at which end was the appointed -lamp-post; so he was well qualified to speak of the disadvantages -accruing from lack of communications. - -Prisoners began coming in, but not much news was to be obtained from -them. They were mostly shattered and rather pathetic men. The first to -arrive were some escaped Syrian schoolmasters, who had been conscripted -by the Turks, and gave a very graphic account of a hot and harassing -journey ahead of their comrades to Egypt, where their friends and -relations lived. Then came a blind old gentleman of eighty, who fell -into our front-line trench. It had been his habit, every two years, to -visit his son in Egypt, and he had not realized that there was a war -going on. - -Amongst the Turkish prisoners of the first attack there was one old -quartermaster seriously ill, whose manners and courage made him the -friend of all his captors, but, like the rest, he told us nothing. -There was probably more information amongst the prisoners who had been -interned, if they had been willing to speak, but they were not. I met -one of these to whom fate had been unusually cruel. He was an Albanian -whose home had been in Montenegro. When the amiable Montenegrins seized -the land of the Albanians, he had been beaten and cast out; thence he -had gone to Turkey, but the Albanians had been the first to attack the -Turks, and were, indeed, the main cause of the ruin of the Ottoman -Empire, so in Turkey he was bastinadoed and thrown into prison. Somehow -he managed to escape and arrived in Egypt. In Egypt he was arrested -as a Turk, and again thrown into prison. In prison he was continually -beaten by his fellow-prisoners, who were Turks, as an Albanian and an -enemy of Islam. - -There were no tangible proofs of a conspiracy; one used sometimes -to get black looks in the bazaar, and scowls from the class of the -Effendis. On the other hand, we were very strongly supported by men of -the type of the late Sultan Hussein and Adly Yeghen Pasha. - -It would be difficult to meet a more attractive or courteous gentleman -than the late Sultan. He was of the advanced school of enlightened -Islam; neither his literary tastes, his philosophy, nor his pleasure in -European society allowed him to forget his own people for a moment. -Adly Yeghen Pasha, then Minister of Education, is an exceptional and -outstanding figure in Egypt, with a marked personality. The other -Ministers mixed freely with European society, and there was no sign of -anything but friendliness. - -At the end of February I was sent on the battleship _Bacchante_, -commanded by Captain Boyle,[1] which lay for about a fortnight off -Alexandretta, occasionally bombarding telegraphs, or wagons that were -said to be loaded with artillery wheels. One morning we saw two carts -crawling along, drawn by bullocks, carrying the alleged wheels of -artillery northward from Alexandretta. In order to warn the two drivers -shells were fired from the great battleship a hundred yards ahead of -them. The men left their oxen, taking refuge in a neighbouring ditch, -while the oxen went slowly forward alone, like automata. Our guns then -fired upon the carts, which were about half a mile distant, and one -of the oxen was immediately hit. On this one of the two Turks left -the ditch, cut the wounded animal free, and continued to lead the two -carts. Again our guns fired ahead of him to give him warning, but he -went on steadfastly at about a mile an hour to what was certain death. -In the end he was left lying by his dead oxen and his broken cart. We -had given him every chance that we could, and if the admiration of a -British ship for his courage could reward a dead Anatolian muleteer, -that reward was his. - -Life outside Alexandretta was uneventful. Occasionally a Turkish -official came out to discuss various questions that arose. He used to -sway and bow from the tiller of his boat while I swayed and bowed -from the platform below the gangway of the cruiser. It is perhaps -worth saying that when I expressed to him Captain Boyle’s regret for -the death of the Turkish muleteer it was an event that he would not -condescend to notice. - -We discovered one curious fact of natural history, that with a -searchlight you can see the eyes of dogs or jackals at night more than -half a mile away. A previous ship had reported that men came down to -the shore with electric torches, and it was only after some days that -we discovered that these will-o’-the-wisp appearances were in reality -the eyes of dogs. - -But though life was uneventful, it was very pleasant on the ship, and -all were sorry when the cruise came to an end. - -I remember the last night at dinner in the wardroom the name of a -distinguished Admiral occurred in the conversation. He was a man who -had a great reputation for capacity and also eccentricity, that came -mainly from his habit of concentrated thinking. When he was deep in -thought and his eyes caught any bright object, he would go up to it -like a magpie and play with it. He would sometimes go up and fiddle -with the button of a junior officer on the quarter-deck, looking at it -very attentively, to the great discomfort of the junior officer, or -even with that of a stranger to whom he had been introduced. The legend -grew from this idiosyncrasy, that those may believe who wish to. It was -said that one night at a dance he sat out for a long time with a girl -in a black dress. His eye caught a white thread on her shoulder, and -unconsciously while he talked he began pulling at it. The story goes -on to say that when the girl went home she said to her mother: “I know -I went out with a vest to-night, and now I wonder what has happened to -it.” - -I remember at the same dinner Dr. Levick, who had been with Captain -Scott in the Antarctic voyage, told a curious story of prophecy. He had -been to a fortune-teller after the idea of going with Captain Scott had -occurred to him, but before he had taken any steps. The fortune-teller -gave a description of the melancholy place where he was to live for -two years, of the unknown men who were to be his companions, and -particularly one who had strangely flecked hair. - -I returned to Cairo and office work with some reluctance. Friends -of mine and I took a house, which somehow managed to run itself, in -Gezireh. It was covered with Bougainvillea and flowers of every colour, -and was a delight to see. Sometimes it lacked servants completely, and -at other times there was a black horde. Gardeners sprang up as if by -enchantment, and made things grow almost before one’s eyes. - - * * * * * - -I quote from my diary of March 8, 1915:-- - -News to-day that King Constantine won’t have Greece come in, and that -Venizelos has resigned. At a guess, this means that either Greece or -King Constantine is lost. If Constantine goes, Venizelos might shepherd -his son through his minority. - -_March 14, 1915._ I left Luxor Tuesday night, after a wonderful time. -My guide was a Senoussi--something-or-other Galleel. He had a tip of -white turban hanging, which he said was a sign of his people. He was -rather like one of the Arabs out of a Hichens book, and I expect about -as genuine. A snake-charmer came with us. He gave me the freedom of the -snakes as a man is given the freedom of a city, but as one scorpion -and two snakes--one of them a so-to-speak soi-disant cobra--stung and -bit him during the day, it’s not likely to be of much help to me. He -did some very mysterious things, and called snakes from every kind of -place--one from a window in the wall, a 5-foot long cobra, and a Coptic -cook found its old skin in the next window. - - * * * * * - -In justice to the snake-charmer it ought to be said that he was only -stung and bitten as a consequence of a quarrel with an archæologist. - -In Egypt every archæologist looks upon the local magician or -snake-charmer as his competitor, and hates him. When the archæologist -is telling the tourist the history of Rameses II the attention of the -tourist is distracted by a half-naked man doing the mango trick. My -archæologist friend, irritated by the presence of the snake-charmer, -declared that his snakes were all doped and his scorpions were tame -town scorpions, green, and not yellow like the country scorpions. He -found a bucolic scorpion under a stone, of the proper colour, which -instantly stung the snake-charmer; he then insisted upon stirring up -his snakes with a stick, with the unfortunate results that have already -been mentioned. - -The Egyptian has always seemed to me harder to understand than his -neighbours. It may be because there is less in him to understand. The -Greeks, Turks, and Arabs have all got very salient characteristic -qualities, but though the characteristics of the Egyptians are -probably as strongly marked, they are less conspicuous to the -foreigner’s eye; in other words, the Egyptian has less in common with -the outer world than any of the Asiatic, or even African, peoples who -surround him. Lane, in his _Modern Egyptians_, says that they refused -to believe that the ordinary traveller was not an agent for the -Government, because they could not understand the desire for travel, -and their character has not changed since his day. Here is a story of -Egyptian guile and credulity:-- - -An Egyptian was anxious to get some job profitable to himself done, -and he went to one of the kavasses (guards) at the Agency for advice. -The kavass professed himself able to help. He said: “The man for you -to go to is Mr. Jones, that high English official. He will get what -you want done, but I warn you that Mr. Jones is an expensive man. Give -me three hundred pounds, and I will see what can be done.” The three -hundred pounds was duly paid, and for a long time nothing happened. The -petitioner grew impatient and importunate, and was eventually satisfied -for the moment by an invitation to lunch with a Levantine who passed -himself off as Mr. Jones. At luncheon the Levantine, who was of German -extraction, wore his hat, banged his fist on the table, smoked a pipe, -interrupted, and generally acted as an Englishman abroad is supposed by -some to behave. Then occurred an interval of inaction; the petitioner -again grew restive, and this time he complained to the authorities. -Finally the transaction was discovered, and the kavass was sent to gaol. - -Events moved in Egypt. The Australian and New Zealand troops poured in, -and splendid men they were. But there was little love lost between -the Australians and the Egyptians, though the British troops and the -natives fraternized occasionally. The native Egyptian was, it must be -admitted, constantly very roughly treated, for the average Australian, -while he was at first apt to resent superiority in others, felt little -doubt about his own claim to it. The Australian and New Zealand Corps -was commanded by General Birdwood, and the New Zealand and Australian -Division by General Godley. - -I joined the New Zealand Division as Interpreter and Intelligence -officer, and we all made preparations to start early in April. I was -anxious to buy a beautiful snow-white Arab, that had won most of the -races at Cairo, from a friend of mine, but General Godley spoke simply -but firmly. “You aren’t the Duke of Marlborough,” he said. “You can’t -have that white pony unless he’s dyed, and even then it would wash off -in any rain-storm. You may get yourself shot, but not me.” I agreed -with the less reluctance because I had found that the pony pulled -furiously and would certainly lead any advance or retreat by many miles. - -The day for our departure approached. The golden sunlight and -tranquillity of Egypt was tragic in its contrast to what was coming. - -Every Intelligence officer was a Cassandra with an attentive audience. -In every discussion there was, as far as I saw, unanimity between -military, naval, and political officers, who all wished the landing to -take place at Alexandretta, and deplored (not to use a stronger word) -the project of the Dardanelles, which the Turks had been given ample -time to fortify. - -The heat increased, and the English officers’ wives, who had come to -Egypt to be with their husbands, were given a taste of a ferocious -khamsin that affected their complexions. In the spring of 1915 this -wind came in waves and gusts of lurid heat. It was like a Nessus shirt, -scorching the skin and making slow fire of one’s blood. After the -khamsin, which has the one advantage of killing insects with its heat, -locusts came. They made a carpet on the ground and a shadow against the -sun. Life was intolerable out of doors, and they followed one into the -recesses of the house. A friend of mine said to me: “What on earth had -they got to grumble about in Egypt in the time of the Pharaohs? They -had one plague at a time then; we are having all the lot at once.” - - * * * * * - -I quote from my diary:-- - -Yesterday I saw Todd, who had been on the _Annie Rickmers_ when she was -torpedoed off Smyrna. The crew was Greek. There were five Englishmen on -board, and a good many wounded. The Greeks were all off at once, taking -all the boats. They had no interpreter with them. He said the English -in Smyrna were angry at being bombarded, and came aboard with Rahmy -Bey, the Vali, to complain. Rahmy was always Anglophile. - - * * * * * - -Early in April Sir Ian Hamilton came and went. He had a great review -of the troops in the desert on a glorious day. It was a very splendid -sight, and one I should have enjoyed better if I had not been riding a -mountainous roan horse that bolted through the glittering Staff. - -Many old friends, Ock Asquith, Patrick Shaw-Stewart, Charles Lister, -and Rupert Brooke, had come out to Egypt in the Naval Division, and we -lunched, dined, and went to the Pyramids by moonlight. - -The first week in April we made our preparations for leaving, and I -went to say good-bye to native friends. One of them was an old Albanian -Abbot of the Bektashi sect, whose monastery was in the living rock -in a huge cave behind the Mokattan Hills. He had a fine face and a -venerable beard, and I spent much time talking to him, drinking his -coffee, by a fountain in the cool garden outside his home. I was sorry -to say goodbye to the delightful Zoo in Cairo, with the hawks calling -unceasingly in the sunlight, and a hundred different birds. Another -pleasure there was Said, an attractive and intellectual hippopotamus, -who performed a number of tricks. - -On April 10th I went to Alexandria to report aboard the German prize -ship _Lutzow_, and on the 12th we sailed. We discovered that night at -dinner that the puritanical New Zealand Government had ordained that -this boat should be a dry one, but it made no difference to our mess, -which was very pleasant. On April 13th we made a new discovery, that -the boat was even drier than we expected, as there was not enough -water, and the men had to shave in salt water. On April 15th we came -into Lemnos Harbour, with a keen wind and a rustling deep blue sea, -and white-crested waves, with cheer on cheer from French and English -warships, from German prizes with British crews, from submarines, and -even from anchored balloons. - -The next day I went ashore with a couple of other officers to buy -donkeys, who were to carry our kits. Mudros was not too bad a town, -and was a very curious spectacle in those days. There were great black -Senegalese troops with filed teeth who chased the children in play, -though if the children had known what their home habits were the games -would probably have ceased abruptly. - -There were Greeks dressed in fantastic costume and British troops -of all sorts. Many old friends from the East were there, among them -Colonel Doughty Wylie, who in a few days was to win his V.C. and lose a -life of great value to his country. - -I met a friend, Bettelheim, nicknamed “Beetle,” whose life had been -one long adventure. When last I had seen him he had been an official -in Turkey, and in a rising had been dragged from his carriage on -Galata Bridge in Constantinople by the mob, with his companion, the -Emir Arslan. Emir Arslan was torn to pieces, but “Beetle,” with his -marvellous luck, escaped. - -Many of us lunched together under a vine, drinking excellent wine at a -penny a glass. Everybody was extremely cheerful, and there was great -elation in the island air. The talk was, of course, about the landing. -A friend of mine said: “This is a terrible business; entire Staffs -will be wiped out.” He seemed to think that the Staffs were the most -important thing. - -After lunch I went to see the Mayor, to help me buy all that I wanted. -He was rather shaky with regard to his own position, as Lemnos had not -yet been recognized by us as Greek, and our recognition was contingent -on the behaviour of the Greek Government. He was a very good linguist, -talking French, a little English, Italian, Greek, Turkish and Arabic. -I think it was he who quoted to me the story of the Khoja Nasr-ed-Din. -Nasr-ed-Din was lent a saucepan by a friend; he returned it with -another small saucepan, saying it had produced a child. Next year the -friend offered a huge saucepan at the same date, which the friend -considered the breeding time of saucepans. Later on, when his friend -applied for the return of the saucepan, Nasr-ed-Din said: “It is -dead.” His friend expostulated: “How can a saucepan die?” “Well,” said -Nasr-ed-Din, “if it can have a child, why can’t it die?” - -Lemnos itself, though then it was a pageant, is on the whole a dreary -island. The land was green, as all lands are in the spring, but there -was not the carpet of anemones that one finds in Crete, Cyprus, and -other islands, nor was there even asphodel. - -On Friday, April 16th, we heard that the _Manitou_ had been torpedoed, -and that a number of men had been drowned. This was not the case, -though she had had three torpedoes fired at her. - -At this time we believed that we were to make three simultaneous -attacks, the New Zealanders taking the centre of the Peninsula. A -rather melancholy call to arms was issued by General Birdwood, the pith -of which was that for the first few days there would be no transport of -any kind. This made it all the more necessary to obtain the donkeys, -and with the help of the Mayor of Mudros I bought six, and one little -one for £1 as a mascot. It was a great deal of trouble getting them on -board. The Greek whose boat I had commandeered was very unfriendly, and -I had to requisition the services of some Senegalese troops. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _April 21, 1915._ _Mudros._ Inner Bay. Monday, the 19th, I -tried to dine on H.M.S. _Bacchante_, but failed to find her. Dined -on the _Arcadia_. Came back with Commodore Keyes.... Met ---- (a -journalist turned censor). He said that the Turks had thirty 15-inch -howitzers on Gallipoli, also wire entanglements everywhere. The general -impression is that we shall get a very bad knock, and that it may set -the war back a year, besides producing an indefinite amount of trouble -in the East. - -_Tuesday, April 20th._ I went ashore to get porters, but the Mayor -was in a nervous state, and I failed. I tried to get back in a dinghy -with a couple of Greeks, and we nearly swamped. A gale got up. Finally -I made the _Imogen_, tied up by the _Hussar_, and at last reached my -destination. Great gale in the night. I hope we don’t suffer the fate -of the Armada. It is said that our orders are to steam for the outer -harbour at once. - - * * * * * - -It was curious to see the _Imogen_, once the Ambassador’s yacht at -Constantinople. In those days she was treated with reverent care. The -Mediterranean had to be calmed by the finest of weather before she -travelled. Now she had to sink or swim with the rest. Her adventures -did not end at Lemnos. Travellers may see her name written proudly -on the harsh cliffs of Muscat in the Persian Gulf, and to-day she is -probably at Kurna, the site of the Garden of Eden. - -On Thursday, April 22nd, I was able to get two Greek porters, Kristo -Keresteji (which being interpreted means Kristo the Timber-merchant) -and Yanni, of the little island of Ayo Strati. Kristo was with me -until I was invalided in the middle of October. He showed the greatest -fidelity and courage after the first few days. The other man was a -natural coward, and had to be sent away when an opportunity offered, -after the landing. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Friday, April 23rd._ I have just seen the most wonderful -procession of ships I shall ever see. In the afternoon we left for the -outer harbour. The wind was blowing; there was foam upon the sea and -the air of the island was sparkling. With the band playing and flags -flying, we steamed past the rest of the fleet. Cheers went from one end -of the harbour to the other. Spring and summer met. Everybody felt it -more than anything that had gone before. - -After we had passed the fleet, the pageant of the fleet passed us. -First the _Queen Elizabeth_, immense, beautiful lines, long, like -a snake, straight as an arrow. This time there was silence. It was -grim and very beautiful. We would rather have had the music and the -cheers.... This morning instructions were given to the officers and -landing arrangements made. We leave at 1.30 to-night. The Australians -are to land first. This they should do to-night. Then we land.... Naval -guns will have to cover our advance, and the men are to be warned that -the naval fire is very accurate. They will need some reassuring if the -fire is just over our heads. The 29th land at Helles, the French in -Asia near Troy. This is curious, as they can’t support us or we them. -The Naval Division goes north and makes a demonstration.... The general -opinion is that very many boats must be sunk from the shore. Having -got ashore, we go on to a rendezvous. We have no native guides.... The -politicians are very unpopular. - -The sea was very quiet between Lemnos and Anzac on April 24th. There -were one or two alterations in plans, but nothing very material. We -expected to have to land in the afternoon, but this was changed, and we -were ordered to land after the Australians, who were to attack at 4.30 -a.m. Some proposed to get up to see the first attack at dawn. I thought -that we should see plenty of the attack before we had done with it, and -preferred to sleep. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Sunday, April 25th._ I got up at 6.30. Thoms, who shared my -cabin, had been up earlier. There was a continuous roll of thunder -from the south. Opposite to us the land rose steeply in cliffs and -hills covered with the usual Mediterranean vegetation. The crackle of -rifles sounded and ceased in turns.... Orders were given to us to start -at 8.30 a.m.... The tows were punctual.... We were ordered to take -practically nothing but rations. I gave my sleeping-bag to Kyriakidis, -the old Greek interpreter whom I had snatched from the _Arcadia_, and -took my British warm and my Burberry.... The tow was unpleasantly open -to look at; there was naturally no shelter of any kind. We all packed -in, and were towed across the shining sea towards the land fight.... We -could see some still figures lying on the beach to our left, one or two -in front. Some bullets splashed round. - - * * * * * - -As we were all jumping into the sea to flounder ashore, I heard cries -from the sergeant at the back of the tow. He said to me: “These two men -refuse to go ashore.” I turned and saw Kristo Keresteji and Yanni of -Ayo Strati with mesmerized eyes looking at the plops that the bullets -made in the water, and with their minds evidently fixed on the Greek -equivalent of “Home, Sweet Home.” They were, however, pushed in, and -we all scrambled on to that unholy land. The word was then, I thought -rather unnecessarily, passed that we were under fire. - -It was difficult to understand why the Turkish fire developed so late. -If they had started shelling us during our landing as they shelled -us later, our losses would have been very heavy. We frequently owed -our salvation in the Peninsula to a Turkish weakness and a Turkish -mistake. They were constantly slow to appreciate a position and take -full advantage of it, and their shrapnel was generally fused too high. -Hardly any man who landed escaped being thumped and bumped on different -occasions by shrapnel, which would, of course, have killed or seriously -wounded him if the burst had not been so high. I remember on the -afternoon of the first landing a sailor was knocked down beside me, and -I and another man carried him to what shelter there was. We found that, -while the bullet had pierced his clothes, it had not even broken his -skin. Said the sailor: “This is the third time that that’s ’appened to -me to-day. I’m beginning to think of my little grey ’ome in the West.” -So were others. - -We had landed on a spit of land which in those days we called Shrapnel -Point, to the left of what afterwards became Corps Headquarters, though -later the other spit on the right usurped that name. I took cover under -a bush with a New Zealand officer, Major Browne. This officer had risen -from the ranks. He fought through the whole of the Gallipoli campaign, -and in the end, to the sorrow of all who knew him, was killed as a -Brigadier in France. - -The shrapnel fire became too warm to be pleasant, and I said: “Major, -a soldier’s first duty is to save his life for his country.” He said: -“I quite agree, but I don’t see how it’s to be done.” We were driven -from Shrapnel Point to the north, round the cliff, but were almost -immediately driven back again by the furious fire that met us. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ We were being shot at from three sides. All that morning -we kept moving. There were lines of men clinging like cockroaches -under the cliffs or moving silently as the guns on the right and left -enfiladed us. The only thing to be done was to dig in as soon as -possible, but a good many men were shot while they were doing this. -General Godley landed about twelve, and went up Monash Gully with -General Birdwood. We remained on the beach.... We had no artillery to -keep the enemy’s fire down. - - * * * * * - -We spent a chilly night, sometimes lying down, sometimes walking, as -the rain began to fall after dark, and we had not too much food. My -servant, Jack, who was a very old friend, and I made ourselves as -comfortable as we could. - -There was a great deal of inevitable confusion. We were very hard -pressed; as every draft landed it was hurried off to that spot in the -line where reinforcements were most needed. This naturally produced -chaos amongst the units, and order was not re-established for some -time. It was a terrible night for those in authority. I believe that, -had it been possible, we should have re-embarked that night, but the -sacrifices involved would have been too great. Preparations for the -expedition had been totally inadequate. The chief R.A.M.C. officer -had told me the ridiculously small number of casualties he had been -ordered to make preparations for, and asked my opinion, which I gave -him with some freedom. As it was, we had to put 600 men on the ship -from which we had disembarked in the morning, to go back to hospital in -Egypt, a four days’ journey, under the charge of one officer, who was a -veterinary surgeon. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, April 26th._ At 5 o’clock yesterday our artillery -began to land. It’s a very rough country; the Mediterranean macchia -everywhere, and steep, winding valleys. We slept on a ledge a few feet -above the beach.... Firing went on all night. In the morning it was -very cold, and we were all soaked. The Navy, it appeared, had landed -us in the wrong place. This made the Army extremely angry, though as -things turned out it was the one bright spot. Had we landed anywhere -else, we should have been wiped out. - - * * * * * - -I believe the actual place decided on for our landing was a mile -farther south, which was an open plain, and an ideal place for a -hostile landing from the Turkish point of view. - -Next morning I walked with General Godley and Tahu Rhodes, his A.D.C., -up the height to the plateau which was afterwards called Plugges -Plateau. The gullies and ravines were very steep, and covered with -undergrowth. We found General Walker, General Birdwood’s Chief of the -Staff, on the ridge that bears his name. Bullets were whining about, -through the undergrowth, but were not doing much harm, though the -shelling on the beach was serious. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ We believed that the Turks were using 16-inch shells from the -Dardanelles, and we were now able to reply. The noise was deafening, -and our firing knocked down our own dugouts. The Generals all behaved -as if the whole thing was a tea-party. Their different Staffs looked -worried for their chiefs and themselves. Generals Godley and Walker -were the most reckless, but General Birdwood also went out of his way -to take risks. The sun was very hot, and our clothes dried while the -shrapnel whistled over us into the sea. - -At noon we heard the rumour that the 29th were fighting their way -up from Helles, and everybody grew happy. We also heard that two -Brigadiers had been wounded and one killed. - - * * * * * - -The Australians had brought with them two ideas, which were only -eliminated by time, fighting, and their own good sense. The “eight -hours’ day” was almost a holy principle, and when they had violated it -by holding on for two or three days heroically, they thought that they -deserved a “spell.” Their second principle was not to leave their pals. -When a man was wounded his friends would insist upon bringing him down, -instead of leaving him to the stretcher-bearers. When they had learned -the practical side of war, both these dogmas were jettisoned. In Egypt -the Australians had human weaknesses, and had shown them; in Gallipoli -they were the best of companions. Naturally, with the New Zealand -Division, I saw more of the New Zealanders, who had the virtues of the -Australians and the British troops. They had all the dash and _élan_ of -the Australians, and the discipline of the Englishmen. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Tuesday, April 27th._ Last night, or rather this morning at -about 1 o’clock, I was called up by C. He said: “We are sending up -40,000 rounds of ammunition to Colonel Pope.” Greek donkey-boys, with -an Indian escort, were to go up with this ammunition. I asked if any -officer was going, and was answered “No”; that there was no officer to -go. I said that I would go if I could get a guide, but that I did not -talk Hindustani, and that the whole thing was risky, as we were just -as likely without a guide to wander into the Turks as to find our own -people; also that if we were attacked we should be without means of -communicating, and that the Greeks would certainly bolt. At the Corps -Headquarters I found an absolutely gaga officer. He had an A.D.C. who -was on the spot, however, and produced a note from Colonel Pope which -stated that he had all the ammunition he wanted. The officer, in spite -of this, told me to carry on. I said it was nonsense without a guide, -when Pope had his ammunition. He then told me to take the mules to one -place and the ammunition to another. I said that I had better take them -both back to my own Headquarters, from which I had come. He then tried -to come with me, after saying that he would put me under arrest, but -fell over two tent-ropes and was nearly kicked by a mule, and gave up -in mute despair. - - * * * * * - -I may add that this officer was sent away shortly afterwards. The next -night he was found with a revolver stalking one of the Staff officers, -who was sleeping with a night-cap that looked like a turban, to shelter -his head from the dew. My persecutor said that he thought he was a Turk. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ Three of us slept crowded in one dugout on Monday night. The -cliff is becoming like a rookery, with ill-made nests. George Lloyd -and Ian Smith have a charming view, only no room to lie down in. -Everybody’s dugout is falling on his neighbour’s head. I went round -the corner of the cliff to find a clean place to wash in the sea, but -was sniped, and had to come back quick. The Gallipoli Division of -Turks, 18,000 strong, is supposed to be approaching, while we listened -to a great artillery duel not far off. An Armenian who was captured -yesterday reported the Gallipoli Division advancing on us. On Tuesday -night things were better. I think most men were then of the opinion -that we ought to be able to hold on, but we were clinging by our -eyelids on to the ridge. The confusion of units and the great losses in -officers increased the difficulty. - -This was the third day of battle. My dugout was twice struck. A tug was -sunk just in front of us.... The interpreters have all got three days’ -beards which are turning white from worry. The shells to-day did not do -so much damage; they whirled over us in coveys, sometimes hitting the -beach and flying off singing, sometimes splashing in the sea, but a lot -of dead and wounded were carried by. - - * * * * * - -About this time the spy mania started, which is one of the inevitable -concomitants of war. Spies were supposed to be everywhere. In the -popular belief, that is “on the beach,” there were enough spies to -have made an opera. The first convincing proof of treachery which we -had was the story of a Turkish girl who had painted her face green in -order to look like a tree, and had shot several people at Helles from -the boughs of an oak. Next came the story of the daily pigeon post from -Anzac to the Turkish line; but as a matter of fact, the pigeons were -about their own business of nesting. - -We had with us, too, a remarkable body of men who were more than -suspect, and whose presence fed the wildest rumours. These were called -Zionists, Zionites, and many other names. They were the Jewish exiles -from Syria, who looked after the mules, and constituted the Mule Corps, -under Colonel Patterson, of lion-hunting fame. They performed very fine -service, and gave proof of the greatest courage. On several occasions -I saw the mules blown to bits, and the men of the Mule Corps perfectly -calm, among their charges. One night it did seem to me that at last we -had got the genuine article. A panting Australian came to say that they -had captured a German disguised as a member of the Mule Corps, but that -he had unfortunately killed one man before being taken. When I examined -this individual he gave his name as Fritz Sehmann, and the language -in which we conversed most easily was German. He was able to justify -himself in his explanation, which turned out to be true. He had been -walking along the cliff at night with his mule, when the mule had been -shot and had fallen over the cliff with Fritz Sehmann. Together they -had fallen upon an unfortunate soldier, who had been killed by the same -burst. - -It was a work of some difficulty to explain to the Colonial troops -that many of the prisoners that we took--as, for instance, Greeks and -Armenians--were conscripts who hated their masters. On one occasion, -speaking of a prisoner, I said to a soldier: “This man says he is a -Greek, and that he hates the Turks.” “That’s a likely story, that is,” -said the soldier; “better put a bayonet in the brute.” - -The trouble that we had with the native interpreters is even now a -painful memory. If they were arrested once a day, they were arrested -ten times. Those who had anything to do with them, if they were not -suspected of being themselves infected by treachery, were believed to -be in some way unpatriotic. It was almost as difficult to persuade the -officers as the men that the fact that a man knew Turkish did not make -him a Turk. There was one moment when the interpreters were flying over -the hills like hares. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Wednesday, April 28th._ I got up at 4 a.m. this morning, -after a fine, quiet night, and examined a Greek deserter from the -Turkish Army. He said many would desert if they did not fear for their -lives. The New Zealanders spare their prisoners. - -Last night, while he was talking to me, Colonel C. was hit by a bit of -shell on his hat. He stood quite still while a man might count three, -wondering if he was hurt. He then stooped down and picked it up. At -8 p.m last night there was furious shelling in the gully. Many men -and mules hit. General Godley was in the Signalling Office, on the -telephone, fairly under cover. I was outside with Pinwell, and got -grazed, just avoiding the last burst. Their range is better. Before -this they have been bursting the shrapnel too high. It was after 4 -p.m. their range improved so much. My dugout was shot through five -minutes before I went there. So was Shaw’s.... - -Colonel Chaytor was knocked down by shrapnel, but not hurt. The same -happened to Colonel Manders. We heard that the Indian troops were to -come to-night. Twenty-three out of twenty-seven Auckland officers -killed and wounded. - -_11 a.m._ All firing except from Helles has ceased. Things look better. -The most the men can do is to hang on. General Godley has been very -fine. The men know it. - -_4.30 p.m._ Turks suddenly reported to have mounted huge howitzer on -our left flank, two or three miles away. We rushed all the ammunition -off the beach, men working like ants, complete silence and furious -work. We were absolutely enfiladed, and they could have pounded us, -mules and machinery, to pulp, or driven us into the gully and up the -hill, cutting us off from our water and at the same time attacking us -with shrapnel. The ships came up and fired on the new gun, and proved -either that it was a dummy or had moved, or had been knocked out. It -was a cold, wet night. - - * * * * * - -The material which General Birdwood and General Godley had to work -upon was very fine. The Australians and the New Zealanders were born -fighters and natural soldiers, and learnt quickly on Active Service -what it would have taken months of training to have taught them. But -like many another side-show, Anzac was casual in many ways, as the -following excerpt from this diary will show:-- - -_Diary._ _Thursday, April 29th._ _Kaba Tepé._ I was woken at 2.30 a.m., -when the New Zealanders stood to arms. It was wet and cold, and a wind -blew which felt as if it came through snowy gorges. The alarm had been -given, and the Turks were supposed to be about to rush the beach from -the left flank in force. Colonel Chaytor was sent to hold the point. -He told me to collect stragglers and form them up. It was very dark, -and the stragglers were very straggly. I found an Australian, Quinn, -and told him to fetch his men along to the gun emplacement, beyond the -graves, on the point where Chaytor was. Every one lost every one. - -I found Colonel Chaytor with an Australian officer. He said to him: “Go -out along the flank and find out where the Canterbury Battalion is, and -how strong. On the extreme left there is a field ambulance. They must -be told to lie down, so that the Turks will not shoot them.” I said I -would look after them. We started. I heard the Australian, after we -had gone some hundreds of yards, ordering the Canterburys in support -to retire. I said: “But are your orders to that effect? A support is -there to support. The Canterburys will be routed or destroyed if you -take this support away.” He said: “Well, that’s a bright idea.” He went -back, and I heard him say, in the darkness: “This officer thinks you -had better stay where you are.” I don’t know if he was a Colonel, or -what he was, and he did not know what I was. - -I found the field ambulance, a long way off, and went on to the -outposts. The field ambulance were touchingly grateful for nothing, and -I had some tea and yarned with them till morning, walking back after -dawn along the beach by the graves. No one fired at me. - -When I got back I heard the news of Doughty’s[2] death, which grieved -me a great deal.... He seems to have saved the situation. The -description of Helles is ghastly, of the men looking down into the red -sea, and the dying drowned in a foot of water. That is what might have, -and really ought to have happened to us. - -One hears the praise of politicians in all men’s mouths.... - -A beautiful night, last night, and a fair amount of shrapnel. Every -evening now they send over a limited number of howitzers from the great -guns in the Dardanelles, aimed at our ships. That happens also in the -early morning, as this morning. To-night an aeroplane is to locate -these guns, and when they let fly to-morrow we are to give them an -immense broadside from all our ships. - - * * * * * - -At this time the weather had improved, but we were living in a good -deal of discomfort. We were not yet properly supplied with stores, the -water was brackish, occasionally one had to shave in salt water, and -all one’s ablutions had to be done on the beach, with the permission of -the Turkish artillery. - -The beach produced a profound impression on almost all of us, and -has in some cases made the seaside distasteful for the rest of our -lives. It was, when we first landed, I suppose, about 30 yards broad, -and covered with shingle. Upon this narrow strip depended all our -communications: landing and putting off, food and water, all came and -went upon the beach--and the Turkish guns had got the exact range. -Later, shelters were put up, but life was still precarious, and the -openness of the beach gave men a greater feeling of insecurity than -they had in the trenches. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ Our hair and eyes and mouths are full of dust and sand, and -our nostrils of the smell of dead mules. - - * * * * * - -There were also colonies of ants that kept in close touch with us, and -our cigarettes gave out. Besides these trials, we had no news of the -war or of the outer world. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ Tahu and I repacked the provisions this morning. While we did -so one man was shot on the right and another on the left. We have been -expecting howitzers all the time, and speculating as to whether there -would be any panic if they really get on to us. The Turks have got -their indirect, or rather enfilading, fire on us, and hit our mules. -One just hit a few yards away.... Imbros and Samothrace are clear and -delicate between the blue sea and the hot sky. The riband of beach is -crowded with transport, and Jews, Greeks, Armenians, New Zealanders, -Australians, scallywag officers, and officers that still manage to keep -a shadow of dandyism between their disreputable selves and immaculate -past. And there’s the perpetual ripple of the waves that is sometimes -loud enough to be mistaken for the swish of shrapnel, which is also -perpetual, splashing in the sea or rattling on the beach. There is -very little noise on the beach in the way of talk and laughter. The -men never expected to be up against this. When we left Lemnos we -saw one boat with an arrow and in front of it “TO CONSTANTINOPLE -AND THE HAREM.” Precious few of those poor fellows will ever see -Constantinople, let alone the Harem. - -_May 1st._ A beautiful dawn, but defiled by a real hymn of hate from -the Turks. Last night the _Torgut Reiss_ sent us some shells. This -morning it was supposed to be the _Goeben_ that was firing. I woke to -hear the howitzers that everybody had been talking of here droning -over us, and watched them lifting great columns of water where they -hit the sea. Then there came the sigh and the snarl of shrapnel, but -that to the other is like the rustle of a lady’s fan to the rumble of -a brewer’s dray. This hymn of hate went on for an unusually long time -this morning from the big stuff. A lot of men were hit all round, and -it has been difficult to wash in the sea. All the loading, unloading, -etc., is done at night. The picket-boats are fairly well protected. The -middies are the most splendid boys. We are all very cramped and the -mules add to the congestion. We shall have a plague of flies before we -are done, if we don’t have a worse plague than that. The New Zealanders -are all right.... - -Colonel White, Rickes and Murphy, all hit at breakfast this morning, -but not hurt. One of the Greek donkey-boys says he is a barber. This -would be a great advantage if he wasn’t so nervous and did not start so -much whenever there is a burst. - -There is a fleet of boats in front of us, and even more at Helles; the -Turks must feel uncomfortable, but another landing, between us, would -be pretty risky. They are fighting splendidly. Opinions are divided as -to what would happen if we fought our way to Maidos. Many think we -could be shelled out again by the _Goeben_. This expedition needed at -least three times the number of men. The Indians have not come, and the -Territorials cannot come for a long time. - -General Godley wants to change Headquarters for us. Colonel Artillery -Johnston’s battery is on our right, facing the Turks, and only a few -yards away. The Turks spend a lot of time shooting at it, missing it, -and hitting us. Another man killed just now. Shrapnel, heaps of it, is -coming both ways on us. Nobody speaks on the beach. We have two tables -on the top of the dugout. One is safe, and the other can be hit. The -punctual people get the safe table. - -B. has lunched. He says that Rupert Brooke died at Lemnos. I am very -sorry; he was a good fellow, and a poet with a great future. B. was -blown up by a shell yesterday. He has to go back to-night. While we -lunched a man had his head blown off 20 yards away.... - -Orders have come that we are to entrench impregnably. We are -practically besieged, for we can’t re-embark without sacrificing our -rear-guard, and if the howitzers come up we shall be cut off from the -beach and our water. A lot more men have been killed on the beach.... - -_Sunday, May 2nd. 6 a.m._ Shrapnel all round as I washed. Beach opinion -is if this siege lasts they must be able to get up their heavy guns. -The Indians have gone to Helles, and the Naval Division is being taken -away from us. New Turkish Divisions are coming against us. There are no -chaplains here for burial or for anything else. - -Waite took a dozen prisoners this morning--gendarmes, nice fellows. -They hadn’t much to tell us. One of them complained that he had been -shot through a mistake after he had surrendered. There ought to be an -interpreter on these occasions.... - -It is a fiery hot day, without a ripple on the clear sea, and all still -but for the thunder coming from Helles. I bathed and got clean. The -beach looks like a mule fair of mutes, for it is very silent. We are to -attack to-night at seven. We have now been here a week, and advanced a -hundred yards farther than the first rush carried us. There is a great -bombardment going on, a roaring ring of fire, and the Turks are being -shelled and shelled. - -At night the battleships throw out two lines of searchlights, and -behind them there gleam the fires of Samothrace and Imbros. Up and down -the cliffs here, outside the dugouts, small fires burn. The rifle fire -comes over the hill, echoing in the valleys and back from the ships. -Sometimes it is difficult to tell whether it is the sound of ripples on -the beach or firing. - -_Monday, May 3rd._ I was called up at 3 a.m. to examine three -prisoners. Our attack has failed, and we have many casualties, probably -not less than 1,000. The wounded have been crying on the beach -horribly. A wounded Arab reported that our naval gun fire did much -damage. - -The complaint is old and bitter now. We insist that the Turks are -Hottentots. We give them notice before we attack them. We tell them -what we are going to do with their Capital. We attack them with an -inadequate force of irregular troops, without adequate ammunition (we -had one gun in our landing) in the most impregnable part of their -Empire. We ask for trouble all over the East by risking disaster here. - -The _Goeben_ is shelling the fleet, and (11.30) has just struck a -transport. The sea is gay, and a fresh wind is blowing, and the beach -is crowded, but there is not a voice upon it, except for an occasional -order.... - -The Turks are now expected to attack us. We suppose people realize what -is happening here in London, though it isn’t easy to see how troops and -reinforcements can be sent us in time--that is, before the Turks have -turned all this into a fortification. A good many men hit on the beach -to-day. The mules cry like lost souls. - -_Tuesday, May 4th._ The sea like a looking-glass, not a cloud in the -sky, and Samothrace looking very clear and close. The moon is like a -faint shadow of light in the clear sky over the smoke of the guns. -Heavy fighting between us and Helles. A landing is being attempted. -Pessimists say it is our men being taken off because their position is -impossible. The boats coming back seem full of wounded. It may have -been an attempt at a landing and entrenching, or simply a repetition of -what we did the other day at Falcon Hill or Nebronesi, or whatever the -place is. - -The attack has failed this morning. Perfect peace here, except for -rifles crackling on the hill. Ian Smith and I wandered off up a valley -through smilax, thyme, heath and myrtle, to a high ridge. We went -through the Indians and found a couple of very jolly officers, one of -them since killed. There are a good many bodies unburied. Not many men -hit. We helped to carry one wounded man back. The stretcher-bearers -are splendid fellows, good to friend and enemy. At one place we saw -a beastly muddy little pond with a man standing in it in trousers, -shovelling out mud. But the water in a tin was clear and cool and very -good.... - -General Godley and Tahu Rhodes got up to the Turkish trenches, quite -close to them. The Turks attacked, threw hand-grenades, and our -supports broke. The General rallied the men, but a good many were -killed, amongst them the General’s orderly, a gentleman ranker and a -first-rate fellow. - -_Wednesday, May 5th._ _Kaba Tepé._ The other day, when our attack below -failed, the Turks allowed us to bring off our wounded. This was after -that unfortunate landing. - -Went on board the _Lutzow_ to-day, and got some of my things off. -Coming back the tow rope parted, and we thought that we should drift -into captivity. It was rough and unpleasant. - -_Thursday, May 6th._ Very cold night. The dead are unburied and the -wounded crying for water between the trenches. Talked to General -Birdwood about the possibility of an armistice for burying the dead and -bringing in the wounded. He thinks that the Germans would not allow the -Turks to accept. - -Colonel Esson[3] landed this morning. He brought the rumour that 8,000 -Turks had been killed lower down on the Peninsula. We attacked Achi -Baba at 10 a.m. There was an intermittent fire all night. - -This morning I went up to the trenches with General Godley by Walker’s -Ridge. The view was magnificent. The plain was covered with friendly -olives.... General Birdwood and General Mercer, commanding the Naval -Brigade were also there. The trenches have become a perfect maze. As we -went along the snipers followed us, seeing Onslow’s helmet above the -parapet, and stinging us with dirt. Many dead. I saw no wounded between -the lines. On the beach the shrapnel has opened from a new direction. -The Turks were supposed to be making light railways to bring up their -howitzers and then rub us off this part of the Peninsula. This last -shell that has just struck the beach has killed and wounded several men -and a good many mules.... - -_Friday, May 7th._ A bitter night and morning.... This morning a shell -burst overhead, when I heard maniac peals of laughter and found the -cook flying up, hit in the boot and his kitchen upset; he was laughing -like a madman. It’s a nuisance one has to sit in the shade in our -dining place and not in the sun. They have got our exact range, and are -pounding in one shell after another. A shell has just burst over our -heads, and hit a lighter and set her on fire. - - * * * * * - -The mules, most admirable animals, had now begun to give a good deal -of trouble, alive and dead. There were hundreds of them on the beach -and in the gullies. Alive, they bit precisely and kicked accurately; -dead, they were towed out to sea, but returned to us faithfully on the -beach, making bathing unpleasant and cleanliness difficult. The dead -mule was not only offensive to the Army; he became a source of supreme -irritation to the Navy, as he floated on his back, with his legs -sticking stiffly up in the air. These legs were constantly mistaken -for periscopes of submarines, causing excitement, exhaustive naval -manœuvres and sometimes recriminations. - -My special duties now began to take an unusual form. Every one was -naturally anxious for Turkish troops to surrender, in order to get -information, and also that we might have fewer men to fight. Those -Turks who had been captured had said that the general belief was -that we took no prisoners, but killed all who fell into our hands, -ruthlessly. I said that I believed that this impression, which did us -much harm, could be corrected. The problem was how to disabuse the -Turks of this belief. I was ordered to make speeches to them from those -of our trenches which were closest to theirs, to explain to them that -they would be well treated and that our quarrel lay with the Germans, -and not with them. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Friday, May 7th._ At 1.30 I went up Monash Valley, which the -men now call the “Valley of Death,” passing a stream of haggard men, -wounded and unwounded, coming down in the brilliant sunlight. I saw -Colonel Monash[4] at his headquarters, and General Godley with him, -and received instructions. The shelling overhead was terrific, but did -no damage, as the shells threw forward, but the smoke made a shadow -between us and the sun. It was like the continuous crashing of a train -going over the sleepers of a railway bridge. - -Monash, whom I had last seen at the review in the desert, said: “We -laugh at this shrapnel.” He tried to speak on the telephone to say I -was coming, but it was difficult, and the noise made it impossible. -Finally I went up the slope to Quinn’s Post, with an escort, running -and taking cover, and panting up the very steep hill. It felt as if -bullets rained, but the fact is that they came from three sides and -have each got about five echoes. There’s a _décolleté_ place in the -hill that they pass over. I got into the trench, and found Quinn, tall -and openfaced, swearing like a trooper, much respected by his men. The -trenches in Quinn’s Post were narrow and low, full of exhausted men -sleeping. I crawled over them and through tiny holes. There was the -smell of death everywhere. I spoke in three places. - - * * * * * - -In conversations with the Turks across the trenches I generally said -the same thing: that we took prisoners and treated them well; that -the essential quarrel was between us and the Germans and not between -England and the Turks; that the Turks had been our friends in the -Crimea; and I ended by quoting the Turkish proverb “Eski dost dushman -olmaz” (An old friend cannot be an enemy). These speeches probably -caused more excitement amongst our men than in the ranks of the Turks, -though the Constantinople Press declared that a low attempt to copy -the muezzin’s call to prayer had been made from our lines. There were -many pictures drawn of the speech-maker and the shower of hand-grenades -that answered his kindly words. It must be admitted that there was -some reason for these caricatures. Upon this first occasion nothing -very much happened--to me, at any rate. Our lines were very close to -the Turkish lines, and I was able to speak clearly with and without a -megaphone, and the Turks were good enough to show some interest, and in -that neighbourhood to keep quiet for a time. I got through my business -quickly, and went back to the beach. It was then that the consequences -of these blandishments developed, for the places from which I had -spoken were made the object of a very heavy strafe, of which I had been -the innocent cause, and for which others suffered. When I returned two -days later to make another effort at exhortation, I heard a groan go -up from the trench. “Oh, Lord, here he comes again. Now for the bally -bombs.” On the first occasion when not much had happened it had been: -“Law, I’d like to be able to do that meself.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Friday, May 7th._ On getting back here we had a very heavy -fire, which broke up our dinner party, wounded Jack Anderson, stung -Jack (my servant), hit me. Jack is sick.... Here are three unpleasant -possibilities:-- - -1. Any strong attack on the height. The Navy could not help then. We -should be too mixed in the fighting. - -2. The expected blessed big guns to lollop over howitzers. - -3. Disease. The Turks have dysentery already. - -There is an uncanny whistling overhead. It must come from the bullets -and machine-guns or Maxims a long way off. It sounds eldritch. T. very -sick after seeing some wounded on the beach, and yet his nerves are -very good. Eastwood told me that he was sure to get through. I told -him not to say such things. He had three bullets through his tunic the -other day. I went on the _Lutzow_ to get the rest of my stuff off, and -found Colonel Ryan (“Turkish Charlie”)[5] full of awful descriptions -of operations. Many wounded on the boat, all very quiet.... Had a -drink with a sailor, the gloomiest man that ever I met. He comes from -Southampton, and thinks we cannot possibly win the war. It’s become -very cold. - - * * * * * - -Most of the diary of May 9th is too indiscreet for publication, but -here are some incidents of the day:-- - -Worsley[6] says it’s very hard to get work done on the beach; in -fact its almost impossible. It was said that the gun which had been -enfilading us was knocked out, but it is enfilading us now, and it -looks as if we shall have a pretty heavy bill to pay to-day. The beach -is holding its breath, and between the sound of the shrapnel and the -hiss there is only the noise of the waves and a few low voices.... -Harrison, who was slightly wounded a few days ago, was yesterday -resting in his dugout when he was blown out of it by a shell. To-day he -was sent to the _Lutzow_, and we watched him being shelled the whole -way, his boat wriggling. It seems as if the shells know and love him. -I am glad he won’t be dining with us any more; a magnet like that is a -bore, though he is a very good fellow. The land between us and the 29th -is reported to be full of barbed wire entanglements. - -_Monday, May 10th._ Raining and cold. Jack better. - -Colonel Braithwaite woke me last night with the news of the sinking of -the _Lusitania_. Last night we took three trenches, but lost them again -this morning. S. B. came last night; I was glad to see him. - -S. B. had been a great friend of mine in Egypt and brought me and -others letters, of which we were badly in need, and stores, which were -very welcome. We met upon the beach, and decided to celebrate the -occasion in the Intelligence dugout, for my friend had actually got -some soda and a bottle of whisky, two very rare luxuries on the beach. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ We went into the Intelligence dugout and sat there. Then a -shell hit the top of the dugout. The next one buzzed a lot of bullets -in through the door. The third ricochetted all over the place and one -bullet grazed my head. I then said: “We’d better put up a blanket to -save us from the ricochets.” At the same time J. was shot next door -and Onslow’s war diary was destroyed. A pot of jam was shot in General -Cunliffe Owen’s hand, which made him very angry. V., the beachmaster, -dashed into our Intelligence dugout gasping while we held blankets in -front of him. Two days ago a man was killed in his dugout next door, -and another man again yesterday. Now two fuses had come straight -through his roof and spun like a whipping-top on the floor, dancing a -sort of sarabande before the hypnotized eyes of the sailors.... - -Also S. B.’s whisky was destroyed in the luncheon basket. He broke into -furious swearing in Arabic. - -_Wednesday, May 12th._ Rain, mud, grease, temper all night, but we -shall long for this coolness when it really gets hot. No bombardment -this morning, but the Greek cook, Christopher of the Black Lamp, came -and gave two hours’ notice, with the rain and tears running down his -face. I am not surprised at his giving notice, but why he should -be meticulous about the time I can’t think. Conversation about the -shelling is getting very boring. - -Had a picturesque walk through the dark last night, past Greeks, -Indians, Australians, across a rain-swept, wind-swept, bullet-swept -hillside. Many of the Colonels here are business men, who never in -their wildest dreams contemplated being in such a position, and they -have risen to the occasion finely. The Generals have at last been -prevailed upon not to walk about the beach in the daytime.... Two -German and one Austrian submarine expected here. The transports have -been ordered to Mudros. - -_Thursday, May 13th._ Very calm morning, the echoes of rifle fire on -the sea. I went with C. to take General Russell[7] up from Reserve -Gully to Walker’s Ridge. It was a beautiful morning, with the sky -flaming softly, not a cloud anywhere, and the sea perfectly still. -The scrub was full of wild flowers; not even the dead mules could -spoil it. Guns thundered far off.... After breakfast examined an -intelligent Greek prisoner, Nikolas, the miller from Ali Kenì. Then I -was telephoned for by Colonel Monash in great haste, and went off up -his valley with a megaphone as quickly as possible. In the valley the -men were in a state of nerves along the road because of the snipers. -The Turks had put up a white flag above their trenches opposite Quinn’s -Post. I think this was an artillery flag and that they hoped to avoid -the fire of the fleet by this means.... The people at Helles aren’t -making headway, and it seems unlikely, except at tremendous cost, and -probably not then, that they will. We are pretty well hung up except -on our left; why not try there? The Turks are not yet entrenched or dug -in there as in other places.... I had to bully Yanni of Ayo Strati till -he sobbed on the cliff. I then threatened to dismiss him, after which -he grew cheerful, for it was what he wanted.... - -The Turks have again got white flags out. Have been ordered to go up at -dawn. - -_Friday, May 14th. 4 a.m._ Walked up the valley. The crickets -were singing in the bushes at the opening of the valley and the -place was cool with the faint light of coming dawn. Then a line of -stretcher-bearers with the wounded, some quiet, some groaning. Then -came the dawn and the smell of death that infects one’s hands and -clothes and haunts one. - -They weren’t over-pleased to see me at first, as after my speech the -other day they had had an awful time from hand-grenades, and their -faces fell when I appeared. I spoke from the same place. Then I went -to another, and lastly to a trench that communicated with the Turkish -trench. The Greek who had surrendered last night came down this trench -and the Turks were said to be five to ten yards off. It was partly -roofed, and there were some sandbags, between two and three feet high, -that separated us from them. Leading into this was a big circular -dugout, open to heaven. I got the men cleared out of this before -speaking. In the small trench there were two men facing the Turks and -lying on the ground with revolvers pointed at the Turks. I moved one -man back out of the way and lay on the other--there wasn’t anything -else to be done--and spoke for five minutes with some intervals. Once -a couple of hand-grenades fell outside and the ground quivered, but -that was all. I then got the guard changed.... - -The loss of the _Goliath_ is confirmed and the fleet has gone, leaving -a considerable blank on the horizon and a depression on the sunlit -beach. Four interpreters were arrested to-day and handed over to me. - -I put them on to dig me a new dugout, round which a colony of -interpreters is growing: Kyriakidis, who is a fine man and a gentleman; -Ashjian, a young Armenian boy, aristocratic-looking, but very soft, -whom I want to send away as soon as possible; and others. My dugout is -in the middle of wild flowers, with the sea splashing round. Since the -ships have all gone we are, as a consequence, short of water.... The -Turks have been shelling our barges hard for an hour. We are to make an -attack to-night and destroy their trenches. - -_Saturday, May 15th._ The attack has failed. There are many of our -wounded outside our lines. Have been told to go out with a white flag. -Was sent for by Skeen[8] to see General Birdwood in half an hour. While -Colonel Skeen and I were talking a shell hit one man in the lungs and -knocked Colonel Knox on the back without hurting him. General Birdwood -was hit yesterday in the head, but won’t lie up, General Trottman the -day before. While we talked water arrived. A message came from Colonel -Chauvel to say there were only two wounded lying out.... In a few -minutes a telephone message arrived from the doctor in the trenches -that the two wounded had died.... I came back to Headquarters, and -heard General Bridges[9] asking the General if he might go up Monash -Valley. In a few minutes we heard that he was shot in the thigh. The -snipers are getting many of our men. If the Germans were running this -show they would have had 200,000 men for it. - -Last night Kyriakidis heard a nightingale. I notice that the cuckoo -has changed his note, worried by the shrapnel. I don’t blame the bird. -My new dugout is built. It has a corridor and a patio, and is sort of -Louis Quinze. The food is good, but we are always hungry. - -Went out with Colonel N. He is a very great man for his luxuries, and -looks on cover as the first of these. He is very funny about shelling, -and is huffy, like a man who has received an insult, if he gets hit by -a spent bullet or covered with earth. They have got the range of our -new Headquarters beautifully--two shells before lunch, one on either -side of the kitchen range. The men and the mess table covered with dust -and stones. The fact is our ships have gone; they can now do pretty -much as they like. - -Most people here agree that the position is hopeless, unless we drive -the Turks back on our left and get reinforcements from Helles, where -they could quite well spare them. - -_Sunday, May 16th._ A day fit for Trojan heroes to fight on. As a -matter of fact, there is a good deal of Trojan friction. Went into the -Intelligence dugout, as five men were hit below it. They have just hit -another interpreter, and are pounding away at us again. I was warned to -go out with a flag of truce and a bugler this afternoon. - -_Monday, May 17th._ I walked out to the left with S. B., and bathed in -a warm, quiet sea. Many men bathing too, and occasionally shrapnel -also. There was a scent of thyme, and also the other smell from the -graves on the beach, which are very shallow. I got a touch of the sun, -and had to lie down. When I got back I heard that Villiers Stuart had -been killed this morning, instantaneously. He was a very good fellow, -and very good to me. - -_Tuesday, May 18th._ Last night Villiers Stuart was buried. The -funeral was to have been at sunset, but at that time we were savagely -shelled and had to wait. We formed up in as decent a kit as we could -muster, and after the sun had set in a storm of red, while the young -moon was rising, the procession started. We stumbled over boulders, -and met stretcher-bearers with dead and wounded, we passed Indians -driving mules, and shadowy Australians standing at attention, till we -came to the graves by the sea. The prayers were very short and good, -interrupted by the boom of our guns and the whining of Turkish bullets -overhead. His salute was fired above his head from both the trenches.... - -We shelled the village of Anafarta yesterday, which I don’t much care -about. A good many here want to destroy the minaret of the mosque. I -can see no difference in principle between this and the destruction of -Rheims Cathedral. Kyriakidis told me a Greek cure for sunstroke. You -fill the ears of the afflicted one with salt water; it makes a noise -like thunder in his head, but the sunstroke passes. Christo thereupon -got me salt water in a jug without telling me, and several thirsty -people tried to drink it.... - -A German submarine seen here.... A day of almost perfect peace; rifle -fire ceased sometimes for several minutes together, but 8-inch shells -were fired into the trenches.... Men are singing on the beach for the -first time, and there is something cheerful in the air. The enfilading -gun has been, as usual, reported to be knocked out, but gunners are -great optimists. No news from Helles.... Turkish reinforcements just -coming up. Attack expected at 3 a.m. We stand to arms here. - -_Wednesday, May 19th._ Work under heavy shell fire. This grew worse -about 6.30. Several heavy shells hit within a few yards of this -dugout and the neighbouring ones, but did not burst. A little farther -off they did explode, or striking the sea, raised tall columns and -high fountains of white water. Colonel Chaytor badly wounded in the -shoulder. A great loss to us. He talked very cheerfully. I have got -leave to send away Ashjian.... This, after all, is a quarrel for those -directly concerned. The Germans have brought up about twelve more -field-guns and four or five Jack Johnsons, and the shelling is very -heavy. Saw a horrid sight: a barge full of wounded was being towed -out to the hospital ship. Two great Jack Johnsons came, one just in -front of them; then when they turned with a wriggle, one just behind -them, sending up towers of water, and leaving two great white roses in -the sea that turned muddy as the stuff from the bottom rose. They had -shells round them again, and a miraculous escape. It’s cruel hard on -the nerves of wounded men, but of course that was bad luck, not wicked -intentions, because the enemy couldn’t see them. - -If the Turks had attacked us fiercely on the top and shelled us as -badly down here earlier, they might have had us out. Now we ought to -be all right, and they can hardly go on using ammunition like this. -Their losses are said to be very great. New Turkish reinforcements -said to be at Helles. They have done what we ought to have done. Now -they are throwing 11-inch at us. It’s too bad.... I saw Colonel Skeen. -He said to me: “You had better be ready to go out this afternoon. We -have just shot a Turk with a white flag. That will give us an excuse -for apologizing”; quite so: it will also give the Turk an excuse for -retaliating. A Turkish officer just brought in says that the real -attack is to be this afternoon, now at 1.30. I spent an hour in the -hospital, interpreting for the Turkish wounded. The Australians are -very good to them. On returning I found the General’s dugout hit hard. -Nothing to be done but to dig deeper in. - -From the third week in May to the third week in June was the kernel of -our time at Anzac. We had grown accustomed to think of the place as -home, and of the conditions of our life as natural and permanent. The -monotony of the details of shelling and the worry of the flies are of -interest only to those who endured them, and have been eliminated, here -and there, from this diary. - -During this month we were not greatly troubled. The men continued to -make the trenches impregnable, and were contented. It was in some ways -a curiously happy time. - -The New Zealanders and the Australians were generally clothed by the -sunlight, which fitted them, better than any tailor, with a red-brown -skin, and only on ceremonial occasions did they wear their belts and -accoutrements. - -Our sport was bathing, and the Brotherhood of the Bath was rudely -democratic. There was at Anzac a singularly benevolent officer, but -for all his geniality a strong disciplinarian, devoted to military -observances. He was kind to all the world, not forgetting himself, and -he had developed a kindly figure. No insect could resist his contours. -Fleas and bugs made passionate love to him, inlaying his white skin -with a wonderful red mosaic. One day he undressed and, leaving nothing -of his dignity with his uniform, he mingled superbly with the crowd of -bathers. Instantly he received a hearty blow upon his tender, red and -white shoulder and a cordial greeting from some democrat of Sydney or -of Wellington: “Old man, you’ve been amongst the biscuits!” He drew -himself up to rebuke this presumption, then dived for the sea, for, as -he said, “What’s the good of telling one naked man to salute another -naked man, especially when neither have got their caps?” - -This month was marked by a feature that is rare in modern warfare. We -had an armistice for the burial of the dead, which is described in the -diary. - -On the Peninsula we were extremely anxious for an armistice for many -reasons. We wished, on all occasions, to be able to get our wounded in -after a fight, and we believed, or at least the writer was confident, -that an arrangement could be come to. We were also very anxious to -bury the dead. Rightly or wrongly, we thought that G.H.Q., living on -its perfumed island, did not consider how great was the abomination of -life upon the cramped and stinking battlefield that was our encampment, -though this was not a charge that any man would have dreamed of -bringing against Sir Ian Hamilton. - -_Diary._ _Wednesday, May 19, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ General Birdwood told -me to go to Imbros to talk to Sir Ian Hamilton about an armistice, if -General Godley would give me leave. - -_Thursday, May 20, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ Have been waiting for four -hours in Colonel Knox’s boat, which was supposed to go to Imbros. -Turkish guns very quiet.... Hear that Ock Asquith and Wedgwood are -wounded. A liaison officer down south says: “When the Senegalese fly, -and the French troops stream forward twenty yards and then stream back -twenty-five yards, we know that we are making excellent progress.” -There is a Coalition Government at home. We think that we are the -reason of that; we think the Government cannot face the blunder of the -Dardanelles without asking for support from the Conservatives. - -_6 p.m._ “_Arcadian._” Found George Lloyd. Have been talking to Sir Ian -Hamilton with regard to the armistice.... Clive Bigham[10] was there. -He lent me some Shakespeares. - -_Friday, May 21, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ Saw Sir Ian Hamilton again this -morning. The Turks are said to have put up a white flag and to have -massed behind it in their trenches, intending to rush us. Left with -four “Arcadians.” - -There was a parley yesterday while I was away. The Turks had put up -some white flags, but it was not a case of bad faith as the “Arcadians” -believed. We are said to have shot one Red Crescent man by mistake. -General Walker went out to talk to the Turks, just like that. Both -sides had, apparently, been frightened. I walked back to Reserve Gully -with the General, to see the new brigade. The evening sun was shining -on the myrtles in all the gullies, and the new brigade was singing and -whistling up and down the hills, while fires crackled everywhere. - -_Saturday, May 22, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ S. B. was sent out yesterday -to talk to the Turks, but he did not take a white flag with him, -and was sniped and bruised.... This morning, suddenly, I was sent -for. S. B. and I hurried along the beach and crossed the barbed wire -entanglements. We went along by the sea, through heavy showers of rain, -and at last met a fierce Arab officer and a wandery-looking Turkish -lieutenant. We sat and smoked in fields splendid with poppies, the sea -glittering by us. - -Then Kemal Bey arrived, and went into Anzac with S. B., while I went -off as hostage. - - * * * * * - -S. B. and Kemal Bey, as they went, provided the Australian escort with -much innocent laughter. Our barbed wire down to the sea consisted -only of a few light strands, over which the Turk was helped by having -his legs raised high for him. S. B., however, wished him, as he was -blindfolded, to believe that this defence went on for at least twenty -yards. So the Turk was made to do an enormously high, stiff goose-step -over the empty air for that space, as absurd a spectacle to our men as -I was to be, later, to the Turks. The Australians were almost sick from -internal laughter. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ Kemal Bey asked for a hostage, and I went out. They bandaged -my eyes, and I mounted a horse and rode off with Sahib Bey. We went -along by the sea for some time, for I could hear the waves. Then we -went round and round--to puzzle me, I suppose--and ended up in a tent -in a grove of olives, where they took the handkerchief off, and Sahib -Bey said: “This is the beginning of a life-long friendship.” - - * * * * * - -At one moment, as I was riding along, the soldier who was supposed to -be leading my horse had apparently let go and had fallen behind to -light a cigarette or pick flowers. I heard Sahib Bey call out: “You old -fool! Can’t you see he’s riding straight over the cliff?” I protested -loudly as I rode on, blind as fate. - -We had cheese and tea and coffee, Sahib Bey offering to eat first to -show me that it was all right, which I said was nonsense. He said: -“It may not be political economy, but there are some great advantages -in war. It’s very comfortable when there are no exports, because it -means that all the things stay at home and are very cheap.” He tried to -impress me with their well-being. He said he hated all politicians and -had sworn never to read the papers. The Turks had come sadly into the -war against us, otherwise gladly. They wanted to regain the prestige -that they had lost in the Balkans.... He said, after I had talked to -him: “There are many of us who think like you, but we must obey. We -know that you are just and that Moslems thrive under you, but you have -made cruel mistakes by us, the taking of those two ships and the way in -which they were taken.” He asked me a few questions, which I put aside. -He had had a conversation with Dash the day before, when we parleyed. -Dash is a most innocent creature. He had apparently told him that -G.H.Q. was an awful bore, and also the number of Turkish prisoners we -had taken.... - -_Sunday, May 23, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ We landed a month ago to-day. We -now hold a smaller front than then. Also the _Albion_ has gone ashore. -The rest of the fleet has left; she remains a fixture. All the boats -are rushing up to tow her off. The Turks are sending in a hail of -shrapnel.... It will be a bad business if they don’t get her off.... -They have got her off, thank the Lord, and every one is breathing more -freely. - -We wonder if all the places with queer, accidental names will one day -be historical: Johnson’s Jolly, Dead Man’s Ridge, Quinn’s Post, The -Valley of Death, The Sphinx, Anzac--by the way, that’s not a name of -good omen, as “anjak” in Turkish means barely, only just--Plugge’s -Plateau. Plugge is a grand man, wounded for the second time. The New -Zealanders are all most gallant fellows.... - -The big fight ought to come off, after the armistice. Two more -divisions have come up against us. All quiet last night, but a shell -came into the New Zealand hospital on the beach and killed four wounded -men and a dresser and some more outside. It’s these new guns whose -position we still do not know. - -_Tuesday, May 25, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ We had the truce yesterday. I was -afraid something might go wrong, but it all went off all right. Skeen, -Blamey,[11] Howse, V.C.,[12] Hough and I started early. Skeen offered -me breakfast but, like a fool, I refused. He put some creosote on my -handkerchief. We were at the rendezvous on the beach at 6.30. Heavy -rain soaked us to the skin. At 7.30 we met the Turks, Miralai Izzedin, -a pleasant, rather sharp, little man; Arif, the son of Achmet Pasha, -who gave me a card, “Sculpteur et Peintre,” and “Etudiant de Poésie.” -I saw Sahib and had a few words with him, but he did not come with us. -Fahreddin Bey came later. We walked from the sea and passed immediately -up the hill, through a field of tall corn filled with poppies, then -another cornfield; then the fearful smell of death began as we came -upon scattered bodies. We mounted over a plateau and down through -gullies filled with thyme, where there lay about 4,000 Turkish dead. -It was indescribable. One was grateful for the rain and the grey sky. -A Turkish Red Crescent man came and gave me some antiseptic wool with -scent on it, and this they renewed frequently. There were two wounded -crying in that multitude of silence. The Turks were distressed, and -Skeen strained a point to let them send water to the first wounded man, -who must have been a sniper crawling home. I walked over to the second, -who lay with a high circle of dead that made a mound round him, and -gave him a drink from my water-bottle, but Skeen called me to come on -and I had to leave the bottle. Later a Turk gave it back to me. The -Turkish Captain with me said: “At this spectacle even the most gentle -must feel savage, and the most savage must weep.” The dead fill acres -of ground, mostly killed in the one big attack, but some recently. They -fill the myrtle-grown gullies. One saw the result of machine-gun fire -very clearly; entire companies annihilated--not wounded, but killed, -their heads doubled under them with the impetus of their rush and both -hands clasping their bayonets. It was as if God had breathed in their -faces, as “the Assyrian came down like the wolf on the fold.” - -The line was not easy to settle. Neither side wanted to give its -position or its trenches away. At the end Skeen agreed that the Turks -had been fair. We had not been going very long when we had a message -to say that the Turks were entrenching at Johnson’s Jolly. Skeen had, -however, just been there and seen that they were doing nothing at all. -He left me at Quinn’s Post, looking at the communication trench through -which I had spoken to the Turks. Corpses and dead men blown to bits -everywhere. Richards was with me part of the time: easy to get on with; -also a gentleman called indifferently by the men Mr. or Major Tibbs. A -good deal of friction at first. The trenches were 10 to 15 yards apart. -Each side was on the _qui vive_ for treachery. In one gully the dead -had got to be left unburied. It was impossible to bury them without one -side seeing the position of the other. In the Turkish parapet there -were many bodies buried. Fahreddin told Skeen he wanted to bury them, -“but,” he said, “we cannot take them out without putting something in -their place.” Skeen agreed, but said that this concession was not to be -taken advantage of to repair the trench. This was a difficult business. - -When our people complained that the Turks were making loopholes, they -invited me into their trench to look. Then the Turks said that we were -stealing their rifles; this came from the dead land where we could not -let them go. I went down, and when I got back, very hot, they took my -word for it that we were not. There was some trouble because we were -always crossing each other’s lines. I talked to the Turks, one of whom -pointed to the graves. “That’s politics,” he said. Then he pointed to -the dead bodies and said: “That’s diplomacy. God pity all of us poor -soldiers.” - -Much of this business was ghastly to the point of nightmare. I found -a hardened old Albanian chaoush and got him to do anything I wanted. -Then a lot of other Albanians came up, and I said: “Tunya tyeta.”[13] I -had met some of them in Janina. They began clapping me on the back and -cheering while half a dozen funeral services were going on all round, -conducted by the chaplains. I had to stop them. I asked them if they -did not want an Imam for a service over their own dead, but the old -Albanian pagan roared with laughter and said that their souls were all -right. They could look after themselves. Not many signs of fanaticism. -One huge, savage-looking Anatolian looked curses at me. Greeks came up -and tried to surrender to me, but were ordered back by the Turks pretty -roughly. - -Considering the number of their men we had killed, they remained -extraordinarily unmoved and polite. They wouldn’t have, if we had been -Russians. Blamey came to say that Skeen had lost H. and wanted me, so -he, Arif and I walked to the sea. The burying had not been well done. -It was sometimes impossible to do it.... As we went, we took our rifles -from the Turkish side, minus their bolts, and gave the Turks their -rifles in the same way.... - -Our men gave cigarettes to the Turks, and beyond the storm-centre at -Quinn’s Post the feeling was all right. We sat down and sent men to -look for Skeen. Arif was nervous and almost rude. Then Skeen came. -He told me to get back as quickly as possible to Quinn’s Post, as I -said I was nervous at being away, and to retire the troops at 4 and -the white-flag men at 4.15. I said to Arif: “Everybody’s behaved very -well. Now we must take care that nobody loses his head. Your men won’t -shoot you and my men won’t shoot me, so we must walk about, otherwise -a gun will go off and everybody will get shot.” But Arif faded away. I -got back as quickly as possible. Blamey went away on the left. I then -found that the Turks’ time was eight minutes ahead of ours, and put on -our watches. The Turks asked me to witness their taking the money from -their dead, as they had no officer there. They were very worried by -having no officer, and asked me if any one were coming. I, of course, -had no idea, but I told them I would see that they were all right. -They were very patient.... - -The burying was finished some time before the end. There were certain -tricks on both sides. - -Our men and the Turks began fraternizing, exchanging badges, etc. I -had to keep them apart. At 4 o’clock the Turks came to me for orders. -I do not believe this could have happened anywhere else. I retired -their troops and ours, walking along the line. At 4.7 I retired the -white-flag men, making them shake hands with our men. Then I came to -the upper end. About a dozen Turks came out. I chaffed them, and said -that they would shoot me next day. They said, in a horrified chorus: -“God forbid!” The Albanians laughed and cheered, and said: “We will -never shoot you.” Then the Australians began coming up, and said: -“Good-bye, old chap; good luck!” And the Turks said: “Oghur Ola gule -gule gedejekseniz, gule gule gelejekseniz” (Smiling may you go and -smiling come again). Then I told them all to get into their trenches, -and unthinkingly went up to the Turkish trench and got a deep salaam -from it. I told them that neither side would fire for twenty-five -minutes after they had got into the trenches. One Turk was seen out -away on our left, but there was nothing to be done, and I think he -was all right. A couple of rifles had gone off about twenty minutes -before the end, but Potts and I went hurriedly to and fro seeing it was -all right. At last we dropped into our trenches, glad that the strain -was over. I walked back with Temperley. I got some raw whisky for the -infection in my throat, and iodine for where the barbed wire had torn -my feet. There was a hush over the Peninsula.... - -_Wednesday, May 26, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ This morning I was talking -to Dix, asking him if he believed there were submarines. “Yes,” he -said, and then swore and added: “There’s the _Triumph_ sinking.” Every -picket-boat dashed off to pick up the survivors. The Turks behaved well -in not shelling. There was fury, panic and rage on the beach and on the -hill. I heard Uncle Bill, half off his head, saying: “You should kill -all enemies. Like a wounded bird, she is. Give them cigarettes. Swine! -Like a wounded bird. The swine!” He was shaking his fist. Men were -crying and cursing. Very different from yesterday’s temper. - -This afternoon I went round past Monash Gully, towards Kaba Tepé, and -bathed. I got shelled, and came back over the ridges having a beastly -time from the shrapnel which hunted me. - -We have now got a sap under Quinn’s Post. The flies and ants are past -endurance. - -_Thursday, May 27, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ A very wet night. I wish the -Turks would forget how to shoot. Here we are for an indefinite period -without the power of replying effectively and with the knowledge that -we are firmly locked outside the back door of a side-show.... - -Went with the General to General Russell’s trenches. They are very much -improved. The men call an ideal trench a Godley-Braithwaite trench; -that is, tall enough for General Godley and broad enough for Colonel -Braithwaite. Bathed. Charlie Bentinck arrived. His destroyer lay just -off the beach and was shelled. Some sailors and five soldiers killed. -Forty-five wounded. Very unfortunate. If they had come yesterday, -it would have been all right--a quiet day, though we had thirty men -sniped. The _Majestic_ reported sunk off Helles. Off to Mudros to get -stores. - -_Friday, May 28, 1915._ _Mudros._ Left after many delays, and slept on -deck. Very cold. It’s a pretty tall order for the French to put black -Senegalese cannibals into Red Cross uniform.... - -_Saturday, May 29, 1915._ _Lemnos._ Drove across the island to Castro. -There was a delightful spring half a mile from Castro and a café kept -by a Greek. His wife had been killed by the Turks. Great fig-trees -and gardens. I met two naval officers, who told me Wedgwood had died -of wounds. I am very sorry; he was a very fine man. I admired him a -lot. Castro is beautiful, with balconies over the narrow streets, half -Turk and half Greek, and shady gardens. I bathed in a transparent sea, -facing Athos, which was gleaming like a diamond. I watched its shadow -come across the eighty miles of sea at sunset, as Homer said it did. I -found a Greek, who had been Cromer’s cook. He said he would come back -and cook for me, if there was no danger. He said he knew that G.H.Q. -cooks were safe, but his wife would not let him go on to the Peninsula. -He said her idea of warfare was wrong. She always thought of men and -bullets skipping about together on a hillside. - -_Sunday, May 30, 1915._ _Mudros._ I bathed before dawn and went back to -Mudros with masses of mosquito-netting, etc. Turkish prisoners of the -French were being guarded by Greeks. It was rather like monkeys looking -after bears. They wore uniforms that were a cross between Ali Pasha of -Janina and Little Lord Fauntleroy. I saw H., who had been on the River -Clyde. He looked as if he were still watching the sea turn red with -blood, as he described the landing on Gallipoli. Jack was sick, and I -had to leave him with my coat. Went and saw my friend the Papas of the -little Greek church on the hill. - -_Monday, May 31, 1915._ _Anzac._ I saw Hutton this morning, slightly -wounded. Bathed at the farthest point towards Kaba Tepé, but had to fly -with my clothes in my hand, leaving my cigarettes.... - -_Wednesday, June 2, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ Had a picturesque examination -of a Greek peasant this morning. It was a fine picture, with the -setting of the blue sea and the mountains. The man himself was -patriarchal and biblical, surrounded by tall English officers and -half-naked soldiers. Last night we sent up bombs from Japanese mortars -by Quinn’s. It sounded beastly. This morning I went to Reserve Gully -with the General. Monash’s Brigade is resting there for the first -time for five weeks. The General, looking like a Trojan hero, made -them a fine speech from a sort of natural throne in the middle of -the sunlit amphitheatre, in which they all sat, tier after tier of -magnificent-looking fellows, brown as Indians. Bullets swept over all -the time, sometimes drowning the General’s voice.... Have just heard -that Quinn is killed. I am very sorry. He was a fine, jolly, gallant -fellow. - -_Friday, June 4, 1915._ _Anzac._ Nothing doing. George Lloyd came over. -Very glad to see him. This morning I went with Shaw to the extreme -left, through fields of poppies, thyme and lavender. We saw a vulture -high overhead, and the air was full of the song of larks. At Helles -there was a savage attack going on. There was very bad sniping. In -some places the trenches are only knee-high; in other places there -are no trenches and the Turks are anything from four to eight hundred -yards off. Yesterday seventeen men were hit at one place, they said, -by one sniper. At one place on the way, we ran like deer, dodging. -The General, when he had had a number of bullets at him, also ran. -Sniping is better fun than shrapnel; it’s more human. You pit your wits -against the enemy in a rather friendly sort of way. A lot of vultures -collecting. - -_Saturday, June 5, 1915._ _Anzac._ Examined sixteen prisoners. Food -good, munitions plentiful, morale all right. The individuals fed up -with the war, but the mass obedient and pretty willing. No idea of -surrendering. They think they are going to win. There was one Greek, a -Karamanly, who only talked Turkish. He did not say until to-night that -he was wounded. The flies are bad. - -_Sunday, June 6, 1915._ _Anzac._ Went to the service this morning -with the General, in the amphitheatre. The sermon was mainly against -America for not coming into the war, and also against bad language. -The chaplain said he could not understand the meaning of it. The men -laughed. So did I. - -_Monday, June 7, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ This morning the land was sweet -as Eden and there was the calm of the first creation. H. has been -made a new Uriah the Hittite, but not because of Mrs. H. Last night I -was invaded by mice. There is tremendous shelling going on now. This -afternoon S. B., Onslow and I climbed a hill and had a beautiful view. -Every one is rather ill and feverish. I have no news about Jack. The -Intelligence office has been moved to a higher and safer place. Pirie -Gordon, poor chap, has gone sick a long time ago. I rather liked the -stuffy old place, which was called “The Mountain Path to the Jackal’s -Cave.” - -The attack last night failed, but the drone of the rifles went on -unceasingly, like the drone of a dry waterfall. We shall not get to -Constantinople unless the flat-faced Bulgars come in. - -Yesterday I lunched with Temperley at the H.Q. of Monash Valley. Times -have changed: it’s fairly safe going there through a long sap they -have dug, and the noise is less bad. - -Colonel ---- had seen a lot of the Crown Prince in India, and said he -was a very good fellow. Dined with Woods, Dix, S. B. and Edwards. Lots -of champagne for once; a very good dinner. - -I went to No. 2 Outpost with the General. There is a sap all the -way now. Only one sniper the whole way. The Turkish birds were -singing beautifully as we went. There was also a Turkish snake, -which I believed was quite harmless, but Tahu killed it. The men are -getting pretty tired. They are not as resigned as their ten thousand -brother-monks over the way at Mount Athos. - -_Friday, June 11, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ The Australians and New -Zealanders have given up wearing clothes. They lie about and bathe and -become darker than Indians. The General objects to this. “I suppose,” -he says, “we shall have our servants waiting on us like that.” The -flies are very bad, so are the mice, and so is the shelling.... - -_Sunday, June 13, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ A lot of mules and several men -hit yesterday. Last night, S. B. and I were on the beach, when a man -on a stretcher went by, groaning rhythmically. I thought he had been -shot through the brain. Later on I went into the hospital to find a -wounded Turk, and found that this man had never been hit at all. He had -been doing very good work till a shell exploded near him and gave him a -shock. Then he went on imitating a machine-gun. Some men in a sap up at -Quinn’s have been going off their heads. - -Awful accounts of Mudros: flies, heat, sand, no water, typhoid. To-day -are the Greek elections. - -Am dining with H. Woods. “The beach” now says that Ot has been poisoned -by the Greek guides, whom he illtreats and uses as cooks. I shouldn’t -wonder. The shelling is bad. I am going to make a new dugout to get -away from the flies and mice. The Turkish prisoners will do this. I pay -them a small sum. - -_Tuesday, June 15, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ Colonel Chauvel[14] has -pleurisy, Colonel Johnston[15] enteric. The sea’s high and the Navy -depressed.... One man and two mules killed in our gully this morning; -the body of one mule blown about 50 yards both ways. - -_Wednesday, June 16, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ Rain. I was to have gone to -Helles with Woods to see Dedez, but no boats went; it was too rough. -I was going to talk about spies to S. B., when General Cunliffe Owen -said to me: “Wait a bit. The shelling is too bad. We will go along -together.” But I was in too much of a hurry. A shell fell in the gully -as I crossed, and Woods came out to see where it had hit. It went into -Machonochie’s dugout, where H. was, and blew him out of his dugout, -black and shaken. It destroyed his furniture. I felt sorry for him. Ot -tried to turn him out of the Intelligence dugout, but we protested. - -The General has come back with the latest casualty lists from France.... - -_Thursday, June 17, 1915._ _Helles._ Thirty men killed and wounded -on the beach to-day. This morning I came to Helles with Woods. As -we got there a submarine had two shots at one of our transports by -us. I was to have seen Dedez, but he had gone off to see Gouraud. -George Peel walked in and took me round the beach, two miles on. We -climbed on to the headland, in what he called “the quiet track of the -Black Marias.” He talked of every mortal thing--the future Liberal -and Socialist, the possibility of touching the heart of the people, -the collapse of Christianity, our past and our policy. I left him and -walked back across thyme and asphodel, Asia glowing like a jewel across -the Dardanelles in the sunset. At night I talked late and long with -Dash. Every Department is jealous, every one is at cross-purposes, no -co-operation between the War Office and the Foreign Office. - -Walked in the morning to the H.Q. of the R.N.D. with Whittall. We were -shelled most of the way in the open landscape. There was no cover -anywhere. It felt unfamiliar. I was unfavourably impressed with the -insecurity of life in this part of the world, and wished for Anzac. In -the evening we drank mavrodaphne and tried to get rid of---- - -_Friday, June 18, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ I left Helles in the middle of -very heavy shelling, a star performance. A lot of horses killed this -morning. A submarine popped up last night. As we came back to Anzac -the Turks shelled our trawler and hit her twice, but without doing any -damage. - - * * * * * - -Shelling grew worse at Anzac, and sickness began to make itself felt. -Men were sent across to Imbros when it was possible to rest. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ On June 25th I went across to Imbros with H. Woods and the -Greek miller, Nikolas. Hawker was there, and E. of Macedonia. E. -is very unpopular. If he takes a dislike to a man he digs around -his dugout, until it falls in on him. The chief R.A.M.C. officer, -an Irishman, was mourning over the ruins of his home. We slept -uncomfortably on the ground, with flies to keep us warm. - - * * * * * - -As I was writing this a shell burst outside my dugout, a lot of -shrapnel coming through, and one bullet glancing off the typewriter, -which has just come. At the same time Jack was hit across the gully -going from my dugout to his. Conolly, the escort, and I carried him -down, after binding his leg up, under heavy fire. Then I nipped back to -get some of his stuff to take off, but on going back to the beach found -that he had gone. Many men hit on the beach. Thousands of flies on the -wounded. The General’s blankets riddled with bullets. They have our -range, pat. Two days ago Colonel Parker had his chair and table smashed -while he was in his dugout. He left it to have tea with Wagstaffe. -There he was reading when another bullet tore his paper in two. I have -been covered with dirt several times in the last days. L. S. Amery came -with K. I only saw him for a minute, worse luck, but he is coming back -to-morrow, I hope, when we can have a talk. G.H.Q. turned up in force, -and walked about like wooden images. - -We have a clerk here, Venables. He has got tired of writing, and, -wanting to change the pen for the sword, borrowed a rifle and walked -up to the front line at Quinn’s Post. There he popped his head in and -said: “Excuse me, is this a private trench, or may any one fire out of -it?” - -The sound of battle has ended. Men are bathing. The clouds that the -cannonade had called up are gone, and the sea is still and crimson in -the sunset to Imbros and Samothrace. - -_Tuesday, June 29, 1915._ _Anzac._ We have advanced 1,000 yards down -at Helles, but no details yet. Many men shot here yesterday by the -Anafarta gun. I should think this gun had as good a tale of killed and -wounded as any gun in the war. Every day it gets its twenty odd on the -beach. The Australians attacked on the right yesterday. Fifty killed -and wounded; they think the Turks suffered more heavily. I went with -the General to the extreme left. Terrific heat. We came to a valley -filled with thyme and lavender, which the Maoris are to inhabit. The -men were bathing beyond Shrapnel Point. They say the Turks let them. -I had two letters--one two months old, a curious one to receive here, -from an Englishwoman, wife of the ex-Grand Vizier of Afghanistan. He -was a progressive man, and is therefore in an Afghan prison. She wants -work for her son. Wants him to be a saddler, a job a lot of men here -would like. All my stuff looted coming from Egypt. - -Men are practising bomb-throwing, all over the place. They are mostly -half-naked, and darker than Red Indians. It’s a day of blessed peace, -but there’s a lot of feeling about the Anafarta gun, and bathing is -stopped on the beach till night. - -_Wednesday, June 30, 1915._ _Anzac._ Last night I went down to the -hospital and was inoculated for cholera by C., a witty man. A trench -had been blown in, and men were lying groaning on the floor, most of -them suffering from shell-shock, not wounds, but some of the wounds -horrible.... I asked C. why the wounded were not sent to Cyprus instead -of Mudros. He said: “Because it’s a splendid climate and there is heaps -of water.” The chief doctor at Mudros is useless, the second ---- (With -regard to the second doctor I regret that the diary is libellous.) -Anyway, what is certain is that the condition of the sick and wounded -is awful. This morning it’s very rough, and I can’t get out to Jack at -the hospital ship, as prisoners are coming in.... - -_July 1, 1915._ _Anzac._ I examined the prisoners, amongst them a -tall Armenian lawyer, who talked some English. I asked him how he had -surrendered. He said: “I saw two gentlemen with their looking-glasses, -and came over to them.” By this he meant two officers with periscopes. -He said that the psychology of the Turks is a curious thing. They do -not fear death, yet are not brave.... - -No water came in yesterday. The storm wrecked the barges and the beach -is covered with lighters. We got brackish water from the hill. I could -not get to Jack for work. - -At lunch I heard there were wounded crying on Walker’s Ridge, and went -up there with Zachariades. We found a first-rate Australian, Major -Reynell. We went through the trenches, dripping with sweat; it was -a boiling day, and my head reeled from inoculation. We had to crawl -through a secret sap over a number of dead Turks, some of whom were in -a ghastly condition, headless and covered with flies. Then out from the -darkness into another sap, with a dead Turk to walk over. The Turkish -trenches were 30 yards off, and the dead lay between the two lines. - -When I called I was answered at once by a Turk. He said he could -not move.... I gave him a drink, and Reynell and I carried him -in, stumbling over the dead among whom he lay. I went back for my -water-bottle, but the Turks began shooting as a warning, and I had to -go back into the trench. - -An awful time getting the Turk through the very narrow trench. I got -one other, unwounded, shamming dead. We threw him a rope, and in he -came. - - * * * * * - -The taking of the second Turk was a curious episode that perhaps -deserves a little more description than is given by the diary. The -process of catching Turks fascinated the Australians, and amongst them -an R.A.M.C. doctor who came round on that occasion. This officer prided -himself upon neatness and a smart appearance, when the dust and heat -of the Dardanelles had turned every one else into scallywags. After he -had attended to the first wounded man, he pointed out the second Turk -lying between our trenches and the Turks’ and only a few yards from -either. “You go out again, sir,” said the Australians; “it’s as good -as a show.” I, however, took another view. I called out to the Turk: -“Do you want any water?” “By God,” he whispered back, “I do, but I am -afraid of my people.” We then threw him a rope and pulled him in. He -told us that the night before he had lost direction in the attack. Fire -seemed to be coming every way, and it had seemed to him the best plan -to fall and lie still amongst his dead comrades. The doctor gave him -some water, with which he rinsed his mouth, and I left him under the -charge of the R.A.M.C. doctor. This is what happened subsequently. They -had to crawl back through the secret sap, from which the bodies of the -dead Turks had by that time been removed and left at the entrance. The -Turk was blindfolded, but he was able to see under the handkerchief, -and when he saw his dead comrades, over whose bodies he had to step, he -leapt to the conclusion that it was our habit to bring our prisoners to -one place and there to kill them. He gave one panic-stricken yell; he -threw his arms round the neck of the well-dressed officer; they fell -and rolled upon the corpses together, the Turk in convulsions of fear -clinging to the neck of the doctor, pressing his face to the faces -of the dead till he was covered with blood and dust and the ghastly -remains of death, while the soldiers stood round saying to the Turk: -“Now, don’t you carry on so.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Friday, July 2._ _Anzac._ This morning I had a magnificent -bathe with General Birdwood. At night a great storm blew up. The -lightning played in splendid glares over Imbros and Samothrace. The sea -roared, the thunder crashed and rain spouted down. After a time that -stopped and a cloud, black as ink, came down upon us like a pall. - -Yesterday mourning met the two Whittalls going to Helles with General -de Lotbiniere and his periscopes. - -I went off to the _Sicilia_ to see Jack, and had a lot of trouble about -a pass. I saw Jack. He said they had re-bound his leg on the beach, but -that it had not been looked at for eighteen hours on the boat. It had -swelled to double its size. Then a doctor came and said the bandage had -been done too tight, and there was a chance of his losing his leg. I -felt absolutely savage.... Saw General House,[16] V.C., on shore and -got him to promise to do what he could. We had a bad time going home. -We were slung off the ship in wooden cases. It was very rough indeed, -and when the wooden case hit the flat barge it bounced like anything. -Then we were towed out on this flat barge, open to the great waves and -shrapnel, to a lighter, and left off Anzac for a couple of hours. The -Turks sent a few shells, absent-mindedly. Finally, a trawler brought us -off, very angry. - -S. dined, a scholarly fanatic, interesting about the next war, which -he thinks will be with Russia, in fifteen years. A lot of people going -sick. - -I saw Cox to-night, who said that this is the worst storm we have had. -We have only one day’s water supply. We could have had as much as we -had wanted, but many of the cans stored on the beach are useless, as -they have had holes knocked in them by the shrapnel. We are not as -abstemious as the Turks, who had been lying for so many hours under the -sun, and shall suffer from thirst badly. - -_Saturday, July 3, 1915._ _Anzac._ Macaulay has come as our artillery -officer. I dined with him and H. Woods last night. Yesterday it rained. -Jack’s boat has gone. We are being badly shelled here. I shall have to -change my dugout, if this goes on. The guide Katzangaris has been hit -in the mouth. - -_Sunday, July 4._ Saw the Maoris, who had just landed. General -Godley made them a first-class speech. They danced a very fine Haka -with tremendous enthusiasm in his honour when he had finished. They -liked digging their dugouts, and seemed to like it when they came -to human remains.... More people going sick. Doctor F. told me that -he and another doctor had asked to be allowed to help on board the -hospital ships where they have more wounded than they can deal with, -short-handed as they are, but have been refused permission by the -R.A.M.C. - -There has been a great explosion at Achi Baba. Macaulay saw a transport -of ours sunk this afternoon.... G. L. came ashore with depressing -accounts of Russia. He is probably going to come on this beach. Hope -he does. Went off and bathed with Macaulay. Saw Colonel Bauchop, who -promised me a present of some fresh drinking-water to-morrow. - -_Monday, July 5, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ A breathless, panting morning, -still and blue and fiery hot, with not a ripple on the sea. Colonel -Bauchop, commanding the Otago Mounted Rifles, was shot in the shoulder -last night. This morning we have had an exhibition of “frightfulness” -in the shape of vast shells. They burst with a tremendous roar that -echoes to the sky and across the sea for more than a minute. Their case -or bullets fall over the sea in a great area. They started by striking -the sea and raising great columns of water. Now they burst and fall on -land and sea. - -It has had the great result of getting rid of Mr. Lock, the Socialist -Czech, from the doorway of my dugout. He was an undergraduate at ---- -and afterwards a Labour candidate. Now he is Colonel P.’s cook. - -The transport that Macaulay saw go down was French. Six lives lost. The -explosion down south was a French ammunition store. This shelling makes -one’s head ache. - -_Tuesday, July 6th._ _Kaba Tepé._ Yesterday I went to Quinn’s Post with -General Godley in the morning. There was a fair amount of shelling. -They had just hit thirteen men in Courtney’s before we got there. We -went into a mine that was being dug towards and under the Turkish -trenches. At the end of the sap the Turks were only six to eight feet -away. We could hear them picking. The time for blowing in had very -nearly come. These underground people take it all as a matter of -course. I should hate fighting on my stomach in a passage two feet -high, yards under the ground. The Turks were throwing bombs from the -trenches, and these hit the ground over us, three of them, making it -shudder. Down below they talk in whispers. We went round the trenches. -Saw none so fine as last time, when we came to the Millionaires’ Sap, -so called because it was made by six Australians, each the son of a -millionaire. - -In the afternoon I tried to sleep, but there was too much shelling. -Kyumjiyan was hit, and has gone; S. B. was grazed. It was 11.2 shells -filled with all kinds of stuff. We answered with a monitor whose -terrific percussions shook my dugout, bringing down dust and stones. -A submarine appeared, and all the destroyers were after her. Then -two aeroplanes started a fight as the sun set down towards Helles, -appearing and vanishing behind crimson clouds. Captain Buck, the Maori -doctor and M.P., dined with us, to wind up an exciting day. - -This morning is like yesterday. No breath of air, but the day is more -clear, and Samothrace and Imbros look very peaceful. Early again the -shelling began. As I was shaving outside three shells hit the beach -just in front. I wasn’t watching the third, but suddenly heard a great -burst of laughter. At the first shell a bather had rushed back to his -dugout; the shell had come and knocked it in on the top of him, and he -was dug out, naked and black, but smiling and none the worse. “Another -blasted sniper,” he said, which made the men laugh. - -Active preparations are being made to fight the gas, as the -Intelligence says it is going to be used. Am going out with the General -at 9.30. Was sent to get Colonel Parker, but found him sick, and under -pretty heavy fire, having a new dugout built. Came back and stood with -the General, Thoms and others outside Headquarters. A shell burst just -by us, bruised the General in the ribs, and filled his eyes with dirt. -Went out with Colonel Anthill and Poles. Talked of arranging a truce -to bury the Turkish dead on our parapet. They said that otherwise our -men must get cholera; the heat and sand and flies and smell is awful. -We met Colonel Bauchop with his arm in a sling, but the bullet out -of his shoulder, and Colonel White with his head still bandaged. The -Australians very cheerful. - -_Wednesday, July 7, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ A fierce, expectant dawn. We -shelled furiously at 4.30 a.m. Now absolute peace on a glassy sea. -Last night Bentinck, Jack Anderson and I bathed. I was at the end of -the pier; as I was beginning to dress a shell burst very close, the -smoke and powder in my face. I fled half dressed; Colonel P. rose like -Venus from the sea and followed with nothing. A calm marine gave me my -cigarette-holder. - -One of the prisoners reported that on the occasion of the armistice -Turkish Staff officers had put on Red Crescent clothes in order to have -a look at our trenches.... No news of Jack. - -The Turks put up five crosses yesterday, all of which we shot down. -I first thought it was probably Greeks or Armenians who wanted to -show they were Christians, wishing to surrender, and telephoned to -Courtney’s to see if I could get into touch with them, but now I think -it’s probably Turks who were anxious to make us shoot at the sign of -our own religion. In this they succeeded. - -Colonel Johnson, Commanding the New Zealand Infantry Brigade, gone -sick. I persuaded the mess to get inoculated for cholera. Last night I -dined with Woods and Macaulay. They told Eastern stories, and we had a -very contented time, drinking mavrodaphne and looking at the sea. - -The Turks shelled a little after eight, in answer to our tiresome -provocative monitor fire. This morning Tahu arrived from Egypt with -letters. The Turks are bombing something cruel from Kaba Tepé.... It’s -a beautiful sight--a sea like lapis-lazuli and a burning sun, with -columns of water like geysers where the shells hit. A good many men hit -here to-day. - -_Saturday, July 10, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ I went with General Godley -to the _Triad_, and dined with Admiral de Robeck. Took the General’s -things to put them on board the picket-boat, but as I got there a -shell struck her and knocked a hole in her. There was another one, -and we sat and waited uncomfortably in this till he came.... Found -Alec Ramsay on board. Slept in Commodore Roger Keyes’ cabin. Very -comfortable. He was very kind. Went to G.H.Q. and had lunch with L. and -Bob Graves. - -_Sunday, July 11th._ Felt much better. Went ashore and saw Colonel -Hawker and the Turkish prisoners.... Came back late at night, after -some very jolly days. Best week-end I ever spent. The Turks have asked -for another armistice in the south. This has been refused. If they -attack, they will have to do it across their dead, piled high, and this -is not good for morale. - - * * * * * - -By this time the persecutions of the interpreters had greatly -diminished. They were still badly treated by a man called Ot, but to a -large extent they had won the respect of the troops by their behaviour. -The chief interpreter was an old Greek of some sixty-two or sixty-three -years, Mr. Kyriakidis, who was given a medal for conspicuous gallantry -at the bombardment of Alexandria and had served with General Stuart’s -unfortunate expedition. He was a gentleman, and one of the straightest -men I have met. His simplicity, courtesy and unfailing courage had -gained him many friends. He was also endowed with considerable humour. - -A relation had sent me a gas mask, at that time a rarity at Anzac. I -did not believe that I should need it, and made a present of it to -the first man I met, who happened to be Mr. Kyriakidis. He went down -and played poker with the other interpreters on the beach. He put -on my respirator as a poker mask, with much swagger. This put the -fear of death into the interpreters, who sent a deputation to G.H.Q. -Intelligence, insisting that they should also be provided with masks. - - * * * * * - -_Monday, July 12, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ By the way, an unhappy shadow was -shot yesterday, an interpreter of whom we none of us knew anything, -and who was on no list. Things are not very comfortable. The fire is -increasingly heavy. All the air is full of thudding and broken echoes. -No one minds anything much, but high explosive.... The hospitals are -being moved. They had too many casualties where they were before. - -_Tuesday, July 13th._ _Kaba Tepé._ Tremendous fire round Achi Baba -yesterday. French advanced 150 and we 200 yards. Don’t know what the -losses were. I went with Macaulay and Woods to No. 3 Post, to Bauchop’s -Fountain. They can snipe there very close, and killed a man a couple -of days ago, two yards off under the olives, and wounded his mate, -who crawled back into the sandy way. On both sides there is tall wild -lavender and what M. calls pig’s parsley. - -We crawled down a sandy path to the sea, M. rather sick. Met the -General going back, who told us not to bathe. In the evening Tahu got -out his gramophone and we had some good songs when the shooting was not -too much. - -Ramadan began to-day. George Lloyd arrived this afternoon and said they -wanted to send me to Tenedos for a special job. - -Yesterday evening General Godley went to Courtney’s Post. As he got -there the Turks shelled with heavy stuff, killing and wounding about -twenty men. Reynell came to see me. I like him very much indeed. - - * * * * * - -_Diary. Sunday, July 18, 1915. Kaba Tepé._ They are now shelling the -pier, and killed a doctor, cutting off both his legs, and several other -people, when I was bathing from the pier. Everybody is again going -sick. The situation is changing. Every night we are landing guns. The -moon is young now and growing. It seems, therefore, reasonable to -expect that we cannot land forces of men that take time before the -nights are moonless; that is, in about a month’s time the preparations -ought to be ready. - -A few days ago we had an attack on Achi Baba, won about 400 yards and -lost about 5,000 men. Two battalions got out of touch and were lost for -a considerable time. The “Imbros Journal,” “Dardanelles Driveller,” or -whatever it’s called, said “their return was as surprising as that of -Jonah from the belly of the whale.” Good, happy author! - -A German Taube over us throwing bombs and also heavy stuff, but not -much damage lately. George Lloyd[17] was here this afternoon, and while -we talked a shell burst and hit four men. - -_Monday, July 19, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ My dugout has now become a centre -for Australian and New Zealand officers, all good fellows. I had it -made small on purpose, so that no one would offer to share it with me, -and that makes it less convenient for the crowd that now sit in it. Two -old friends come when the day’s work is over, and grow sentimental by -moonlight; both ill and, I am afraid, getting worse. All the talk is -now about gassing. It is thought that they will do it to us here. As -usual, new troops are reported to be coming against us. - -_Tuesday, July 20, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ There is always something fresh -here. Now a lot of sharks are supposed to have come in. During the last -two days there has been absolute silence, no shelling at all, nothing -but the sound of crickets and at night a singsong chorus as the men -drag up the great tanks prepared for water. S. B. yesterday worked out -a theory to prove that the Turks were to attack us last night. (1) -No gunfire yesterday; the reason being they (the Turks) were moving -troops. They didn’t want us to fire at their troops, therefore didn’t -draw fire by shooting at us. (2) Ulemas have come down. There must be a -special reason for this. (3) 10,000 coming up. Gas being prepared. All -this means an attack on Anzac. To wipe us out would be a great feather -in their cap. I am inclined to doubt another great attack.... Tempers -all a bit ruffled. General Birdwood is sick. The heat is fierce and the -stillness absolute. This afternoon I heard from Dedez, who asked me to -go to Tenedos for a time.... - -_Wednesday, July 21, 1915._ _Kaba Tepé._ There is something uncanny -about this calm. No shots at all. News that the Italian Ambassador at -Constantinople has gone nap. We have had very little news of Italy.... -I wonder if the Turks are likely to attack on the eve of Constitution -Day. - -_Saturday, July 24, 1915._ _Imbros._ On Wednesday I went over to G.H.Q. -and met old friends among the war correspondents. Met some of the New -Zealanders who had come over for a rest, but were coming back for the -expected attack. Meanwhile, they had been kept on fatigue most of the -time, and were unutterably weary. At Imbros I was ordered to go to -Tenedos and Mytilene. - -_Thursday, July 22nd._ Came back to Anzac in the same boat with Ashmead -Bartlett and Nevinson,[18] and got leave to take them round in the -afternoon. - - * * * * * - -Later on, during one of the worst days of the Suvla fighting, I met my -friend Nevinson picking his way amongst the wounded on their stretchers -under fire. “After this,” he said, decisively, “I shall confine myself -strictly to revolutions.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _July 23rd._ Started for Imbros and went in the _Bacchante_ -pinnace, which was leaking badly from a shell hole. There were six of -us on deck, and one man was hit when we were about a hundred yards out. -We put back and left him on shore. - -_Saturday, July 24th._ _Imbros._ Went for a ride on a mule, and had a -bathe. - - * * * * * - -At this point in the campaign, though the morale was excellent, -depression began to grow. There was a great deal of sickness, from -which practically no one escaped, though it was less virulent in its -form than later in the summer. I had been ill for some time, and was -very anxious to avoid being invalided to Egypt, and was grateful for -the chance of going to the islands for a change of climate and light -work, for the few days that were sufficient to give another lease of -health. - -The feeling that invades almost every side-show, sooner or later, -that the home authorities cared nothing and knew nothing about the -Dardanelles, was abroad. The policy and the strategy of the expedition -were bitterly criticized. I remember a friend of mine saying to me: -“All this expedition is like one of Walter Scott’s novels, upside -down.” Walter Scott generally put his hero at the top of a winding -stair, where he comfortably disposed, one by one, of a hundred of his -enemies. “Now,” he said, “what we have done was, first of all to warn -the Turks that we were going to attack by having a naval bombardment. -That made them fortify the Dardanelles, but still they were not -completely ready. We then send a small force to attack, to tell them -that we really are in earnest, and to ask them if they are quite ready. -In fact, we have put the man who ought to be, not the hero, but the -villain of the piece, at the top of the corkscrew stair, and we have -given him so much notice that when the hero attacks the villain has -more men at the top of the circular stair than the hero has at the -bottom. It’s like throwing pebbles at a stone wall,” he said, mixing -his metaphors. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Sunday, July 25, 1915._ _On the Sea._ I left for Tenedos; a -most beautiful day. We have just been to Anzac, very burnt and wounded -amongst the surrounding greenery. Pretty peaceful there, only a few -bullets coming over. - - * * * * * - -Perhaps the record of a sojourn in the Greek Islands on what was really -sick-leave, as the work was of the lightest, should not be included in -a war diary, but the writer looks back with amusement and pleasure to -days that were not uneventful. They were passed with friends who were -playing a difficult and most arduous part, and whose services, in many -cases, have not received the recognition that was their due. - -It was pleasant once again to be lord of the horizon, to have space -through which to roam, and lovely hills and valleys to ride across in -the careless, scented air of the Mediterranean summer, with the sea -shining a peacock-blue through the pines. It is this space and liberty -that men cramped in a siege desire, more than the freedom from the -shelling of the enemy’s guns. There was much, too, that was _opéra -bouffe_ in the Islands, that made a not unpleasant contrast to the -general life at Anzac. - -If there was spy mania on the Peninsula, it was multiplied tenfold, -and quite reasonably, on the Islands, where part of the population -were strongly pro-Ally, another part pro-German, while others were -anti-British by an accidental kind of ricochet. These were the royalist -followers of King Constantine, who hated Venizelos, and consequently -the friends of Venizelos, Great Britain and France. - -The situation on the Islands was one with which it was extremely hard -to cope. We were very anxious to safeguard the lives of our men, and -to prevent information going to the enemy, and, at the same time, not -to pursue German methods. It was unceasing work, with a great strain -of responsibility. There was an inevitable _va et vient_ between the -Peninsula and Imbros. From Imbros boats could slip across to Tenedos, -Mytilene or the mainland. The native caïques would drop in at evening, -report, be ordered to stay till further notice, and would drift away -like ghosts in the night. Men, and women, performed remarkable feats, -in appearing and disappearing. They were like pictures on a film in -their coming and their going. Watchers and watched, they thrust and -parried, discovered and concealed, glowed on the picture and darkened. - -Anatasio, a Serbian by birth, was one of our workers, conspicuous for -his quickness and intelligence. At the outbreak of the war he had -already been five months in an Austrian prison at Cattaro, but the -prospect of battle stimulated his faculties, and he escaped. One day at -luncheon I asked him where it was that he had learned Italian, which -he did not talk very well. “While I was in prison at Smyrna,” said he. -“What for?” said I. “For stabbing a Cretan,” said he, and added that -he would rather be five years in prison in Turkey than one in Austria. -Then there was Avani, one of the most vivid personalities that I have -ever met. He was a poet and a clairvoyant, a mesmerist and a masseur, -a specialist in rheumatism and the science of detection, once a member -of General Chermside’s gendarmerie in Crete, and ex-chief of the Smyrna -fire brigade. The stories of him are too many, and too flamboyant, to -tell. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ Avani mesmerized the wife of the Armenian dragoman. -Unfortunately it went wrong. Her obedience to his volition was delayed -and she only obeyed his commands in the wrong company some hours after. - - * * * * * - -He had given proof of rare courage, and also considerable indiscretion. -On one occasion, armed to the teeth, he burst into a perfectly innocent -house at night, and, revolver in hand, hunted a terrified inhabitant. -His only evidence against this man was, that when he had been caught -and hurled to the ground and sat upon, his heart had beaten very fast, -which would not happen, insisted Avani, if he had not been guilty of -some crime. - -Amongst our opponents were the romantic but sinister Vassilaki family, -two brothers and three lovely sisters. Talk about them in the Islands -was almost as incessant as was talk about shelling on the Peninsula. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, July 26, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Yesterday I was very ill, -and again to-day, but was injected with something or other and feel -better, but weak. Tried to sleep yesterday, but one of our monitors at -Rabbit Island bombarded hugely, shaking the bugs down on me. This place -is clean, but there are bugs and some lice. Last night I dined with the -Governor, Colonel Mullins, and a jolly French doctor, and Thompson, who -has fallen ill. Am carrying on for him at the moment. - -_Tuesday, July 27, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Went to the trenches at Tenedos. -They face the enemy. That is the most military thing about them. -Thompson went out to see the inhabitants. I was going with him, but -felt worse and went to rest. The Turks here are in a very bad way. We -do not allow them to work. It’s inevitable. They mayn’t fish or work at -the aerodrome. - -_Wednesday, July 28, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Interpreted for the Governor -of Tenedos, who, like Jupiter, rules with might, in the afternoon. In -the evening I saw the Mufti, who had a list of starving, widows and -indigent.... Last night the Cretan soldiers started ragging the Turks -and singing, till I stopped them. They were quite good. - -Still ill, but better. Had a beautiful walk in the evening, and a long -talk with the Greek refugees working in the vines by the edge of the -sea. The old patriarch addressed me all the time as “chorbaji”--that -is, Possessor of the Soup, the Headman of the village. - -_Thursday, July 29, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Yesterday I rode over to the -French aerodrome, coming late for luncheon, but had coffee with about -twenty French officers, all very jolly. Promised to let me fly over the -Dardanelles. I went on to the Cretans in a pinewood. Their officer, a -Frenchman, very keen on a show in Asia Minor.... The elder Vassilaki -has been arrested. His brother saw him go by in a trawler. Am going -to Mytilene, then return after three days, and leave here on Tuesday -for Anzac. No news of anything happening. Tenedos is a beautiful -town in its way, surrounded by windmills, with Mount Elias in the -background. Its streets are narrow, picturesque and hung with vines -that make them cool and shady. At the end of the town there is a very -fine old Venetian fortress, but its magnificence is outside; inside it -is furnished with round stone cannon-balls, ammunition for catapults. -In the last war the Greeks took the island, but one day a Turkish -destroyer popped her nose in. All the Greeks fled, and the Mufti and -the Moslems went and pulled the Greek flag down. Then in came a Greek -destroyer, and the Turkish one departed. The Mufti and the Turks were -taken off to Mudros, where he and they were beaten. He narrowly missed -being killed.... - -_Friday, July 30, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Slept very badly again. Had a -letter from the O.C. Poor Onslow killed, lying on his bed by his -dugout. A good fellow and a fine soldier. Aden nearly captured. I -prophesied its capture in Egypt. I shall be recalled before anything -happens. - - * * * * * - -The radiant air of Tenedos gave health as it did in Homeric times, -and I left with the desire that others should have the same chance -as myself of using that beautiful island as a hospital; but all the -pictures there were not bright. Under the windmills above the shining -sea there were the motionless, dark-clad, desolate Moslem women, -sitting without food or shelter. Their case, it is true, was no harder -than that of the thousands of Greek refugees who had been driven from -their homes, but these at any rate were living amongst kindred, while -the unfortunate Moslems were without help or sympathy, except that -which came from their enemies, the British. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Friday, July 30, 1915._ _Mytilene._ I left by the Greek -boat yesterday. On the boat I met a man who might be useful as an -interpreter, Anibal Miscu, Entrepreneur de Travaux Publiques, black as -my hat, but talks English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Turkish, -Greek, Arabic, Bulgar, Russian and something else. The boat was stopped -by our trawler, No. ----, and searched for contraband of war. The -Greeks were furious. I landed at Mytilene, not having slept much and -feeling bad. Avani said they had tried to bribe him to allow some -raisins through, and kicked up the devil of a row. He seemed to think -that the raisins were dynamite. He was left guarding the raisins, all -night, I believe, with his revolver. - -I was given a warm welcome by Compton Mackenzie in Mytilene. He, -fortunately for me, had been sent there by G.H.Q. I found several -old friends--Heathcote-Smith, the Consul, whose work it would be -impertinent for me to praise, and Hadkinson, whom I had last seen -at my own house in England, where he was staying with me when the -Archduke Franz Ferdinand had been murdered. Hadkinson had passed most -of his life on his property in Macedonia. Of the Eastern and Southern -languages he talked Greek, Italian, Turkish, Bulgarian, Serbian and -Albanian. His voice was as delightful as his knowledge of Balkan -ballads was wide, and his friends made him sing the endless songs of -the mountaineers. His personality had carried him through experiences -that would have been disastrous to most men; battles decisive in -European history had raged in front of his doors, while his house had -remained untouched; brigands of most of the Balkan races had crossed -his farm, rarely driving off his stock, and most of the local peasantry -in their misfortunes had come to him for help, for advice, doctoring -or intercession. Until the European war had crashed upon the world, -Hadkinson had been a good example of the fact that minorities, even -when they are a minority of one, do not always suffer. - -The people of Mytilene, at that time, were very pro-English, though -the officials were of the faction of King Constantine. The desire I -frequently heard expressed was that Great Britain should take over -Mytilene, as she did the Ionian Islands, and that when Mytilene had -been put in order it should be restored to Greece. - -_Diary._ _Friday, July 30, 1915._ _Mytilene._ ---- and Hadkinson have -gone out with a motor-boat and a machine-gun. The Vassilakis, or some -of them, have been deported, Vassilaki to Imbros and the beautiful -sisters to Mudros.... It’s a blazing, burning day. - -_Saturday, July 31, 1915._ _Mytilene._ A gaming-house. Moved from -my first hotel to a larger and more disreputable one. Lunched with -Hadkinson and Compton Mackenzie[19].... At Thasos the Greeks have -arrested our agents under the orders of Gunaris. Have worked, and am -feeling better. - -_Later._ The three Miss Vassilakis have not gone to Mudros. They turned -up this morning, and I was left to deal with them. Not as beautiful, -except one, as I had been led to believe. They got Avani out of -the room and wept and wept. I told them their brother would be all -right.... They wanted to know who prevented them leaving. I said it was -the Admiral. That good man is far away. - -_Sunday, August 1, 1915._ _Mytilene._ Avani went off with the three -Miss Vassilakis, in hysterics, last night. They were very angry with -us. It seems probable that we shall have a landing on the mainland here -to divert attention from the Peninsula. Sir Ian Hamilton is coming down -to have a look. A good deal of friction over the blockade. The present -system causes much inconvenience to all concerned. - - * * * * * - -They were enchanting days of golden light or starlit darkness, while -one drank health almost in the concrete from the hot pine-scented -air and the famous wine of Mytilene. The conditions of others was -unfortunately less happy. There were some 80,000 Greek refugees from -the mainland, for whom the Greek Government had done practically -nothing, while the patriotic Greek communities of England and America -had not had the opportunity of relieving their necessities. We all did -what we could to help these people. - -There was another question allied to this to be considered: whether a -Greek Expeditionary Force, largely composed of these refugees, should -be sent into Asia Minor. The danger of such a campaign to the native -Greeks was obvious; mainly for this reason it was not undertaken. But -while no expedition occurred, there was much talk about one. The fact -that Sir Ian Hamilton had come was widely known. It was said that great -preparations were being made, and these rumours probably troubled the -Turks and kept troops of theirs in a non-combatant area. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Sunday, August 1, 1915._ _Mytilene._ Lunched with Mavromati -Bey. He was very heroic, saying he preferred to die rather than to -live under the German yoke, but there were no signs of a funeral at -luncheon, which was delicious. - -Dined with Hadkinson, and was taken ill, but got all right and went -off with him on the motor-boat _Omala_ after dinner. H. said that for -a long time he had felt that I was coming, and had ordered a lamb for -me to be executed the following day; told the cook, too, to get some -special herbs. - -The object of our journey was to find a wonderful woman, lithe as a -leopard and strong as a horse, and put her somewhere near Aivali to -gain information. - -_Monday, August 2, 1915._ “_Omala._” _Off Moskonisi._ At dawn this -morning we came to Moskonisi, luminous in the sea. A decrepit shepherd -led a flock of sheep along the beach. His name is Panayotis and he has -a Homeric past; he killed two Turkish guards who courted a beautiful -sister-in-law before marriage. Then he killed two others for a -pusillanimous brother-in-law after marriage, and he has also sent two -other Turks to their rest, though H. does not know the reason for their -death. - -Hadkinson had collected a large band of Palikaris, but the motor-boat -only held a few, the cream of them. He had English names for most of -them--Little John, Robin Hood, etc. They were tall men, with very -quick, clever eyes and lithe movements, picturesquely dressed. One of -them had a cross glittering in his kalpak, and A. M. (for Asia Minor) -on both sides of the cross. He said to me, pointing to Aivali: “There -is my country; we are an orphan people. For 150 years we have shed our -blood and given our best to Greece. Now in her hour of triumph and in -our day of wretchedness she denies us help. May she ever be less!” -Another Greek had been to Mecca as a soldier and stayed there and in -the Yemen for some years. The Captain was a quiet man, but apparently -very excitable. They were delighted with their army rifles. The -woman, Angeliko Andriotis, did not turn up at Gymno, so we went on to -Moskonisi, the men often playing on a plaintive flute, and sometimes -singing low together. At breakfast, soon after dawn, we had a sort of -orchestra. - -We arrived opposite to Aivali. The Turks have sunk three mauna.... -Hadkinson saw one of their submarines. - -The situation at Aivali is curious. It lies at the head of a bay. Above -it there are hills, not high hills, but high enough, the men said -who were with us, to prevent its being bombarded by the Turks. They -looked at it with longing eyes. Their families were there. They kept -on cursing the “black dogs” and saying they would eat them. There were -35,000 people in Aivali, now only 25,000; 10,000 have left lately. The -sword of Damocles hangs over the rest of them, for they might be sent -off into the interior at any moment. We went on to the channel between -Moskonisi and Pyrgos. There we found the child of the woman, who was -sent with a note to her. Men were moving in the olives and the scrub -some distance off, whom the Greeks said were their own compatriots. - -The boy, who was thirteen, took the letter and put it under his saddle. -He went off calmly to get past the Turks, without any air of adventure -about him. The others realized the stage on which they were acting, -and swaggered finely. I got off on Pyrgos with Hadkinson, and went to -a small, rough chapel, where they were bringing the eikons back in -triumph. - -The beauty of it all was beyond words. I bathed on a silver sand in -transparent water between the two islands. Moskonisi, by the way, -doesn’t mean the Island of Perfume, but takes its name from a great -brigand who practically held the island against the Turks about thirty -years ago. - -After a time the boy returned with a letter from his mother, and a -peasant with binoculars. He and the peasant both said that they had -seen a great oil-pool in Aivali Bay. We thought that this must be from -a submarine, and dashed round there at full speed, but found nothing. -Then we decided to come home. We picked up some of the men we had -dropped en route; and they brought us presents of gran Turco, basilica -and sweet-scented pinks. Then they played their flutes as the sun set, -and Hadkinson sang Greek, Bulgarian and Turkish songs, singing the -“Imam’s Call” beautifully and, to the horror of his Greek followers, -reverently. - -We might have bagged the twenty-five Turks, or whatever number there -were, quite easily, but H. thought this would have produced reprisals. -He was probably right. - -_Tuesday, August 3, 1915._ _Mytilene._ We got back last night after -dinner and heard that Sir Ian Hamilton, George Lloyd and George -Brodrick had been here.... One of the poor Whittall boys very badly -wounded. They were a fine pair. - -_August 4, 1915._ _Mytilene._ Yesterday we heard that the Turks had -sent the town-crier to the equivalent of the capital of Moskonisi to -say that any Greek going beyond a certain line would be put to death. -Miss Vassilaki turned up, and said that she and her sister would come -with me to Tenedos. I said they couldn’t. - -We dined with General Hill and his Staff and slept on the _Canopus_.... -Mackenzie no better.... A good deal of friction in Tenedos. Athanasius -Vassilaki has escaped, and every one is annoyed. Some men have been -arrested for signalling. - -_Thursday, August 5, 1915._ _Tenedos._ Most of the officers sick. I was -asked to stay on at Tenedos, but felt I must get back at once. Christo -says that it’s dull here, and Kaba Tepé is better than this house. -Turkish guns have been firing at our trawlers. A couple of men wounded. -Examined a man just escaped from Constantinople. Constantinople is -quite cheery: theatres, carriages, boats, etc. The Germans say we can’t -hold out on the Peninsula when the bad weather comes. - -Then I examined a Lebanon French soldier who had arrested a child and -an old man for signalling.... - - * * * * * - -Here there are some pages of my diary missing, but the events that -occurred are still vividly in my mind. - -In company with other officers I went first to Imbros, hearing the -thunder of the guns from Helles. In passionate haste we tried every -means to get on to the Peninsula for the great battle. I left Christo -to follow with my kit, if he could, with the future doubtful before -him, and no certainty, except that of being arrested many times. - -In the harbour at Imbros on that night there was a heavy sea, and in -a small, dancing boat we quested through the darkness for any ship -sailing to Anzac. One was found at last that was on the point of -sailing, and off we went. - -The instructions of my friend Ian Smith were to get to Suvla, and luck -favoured him, for at dawn we lay off Suvla, and a trawler took him -ashore. - -Along the heights and down to the sea-shore the battle growled and -raged, and it was difficult to know what was the mist of the morning or -battle smoke. I got off at Anzac, which was calm, realizing that I had -missed the first attack. - -_Diary._ _Saturday, August 7, 1915._ _Kaba Tebé._ I went out to -Headquarters, which are now beyond Colonel Bauchop’s old Headquarters. -He, poor fellow, had just been hit and was said to be dying. Dix[20] -again wounded in the leg and Cator killed when he had just been -promoted. I saw the General; on the way out I met 300 Turkish prisoners -and was ordered to return and embark them. We came to the pier on -the beach, then three shells fell on and beside it; both S. B. and I -thought we were going to have a very bad time, packed like sardines, -with panicky prisoners. Embarking them took time; we were all very -snappy, but we got them off. I was glad to find S. B. and Woods. All -the dugouts here are desolate. I saw General Birdwood, who was very sad -about Onslow.[21] He talked of the water difficulties. He was cheerful, -as usual, and said he thought we should know which way things were -going by 5 o’clock. S. was less cheerful. - -I went back to Headquarters, a weary trudge of two hot, steaming miles, -past masses of wounded. The saps were constantly blocked. Then back to -Anzac for a few hours’ sleep, till I can get my kit. - -_Sunday, August 8, 1915._ _Near Anafarta._ Slept badly last night -at Anzac. The place was very desolate with every one away. I got up -before a clear dawn and went out to the observation post, where I found -General Godley and General Shaw. Our assault began. We saw our men in -the growing light attack the Turks. It was a cruel and beautiful sight, -for it was like a fight in fairyland; they went forward in parties -through the beautiful light, with the clouds crimsoning over them. -Sometimes a tiny, gallant figure would be in front, then a puff would -come and they would be lying still. We got to within about forty yards -of the Turks; later we lost ground. Meanwhile, men were streaming up, -through awful heat. There were Irish troops cursing the Kaiser. At the -observation post we were being badly shelled. The beauty of the place -was extraordinary, and made it better than the baldness of Anzac, but -we were on an unpropitious hillside, and beyond there were mules and -men, clustered thickly. - -Then I was sent back to Kaba Tepé, where I found a lot of wounded -prisoners, who had not been attended to. I woke a doctor who had not -slept for ages. He talked almost deliriously, but came along and -worked like a real good man. I saw General House, V.C., and suggested -attaching one doctor to the prisoners, so that we should not get -contagious diseases. - -Returned to Bauchop’s Post and examined a couple of Germans from the -_Goeben_. Got a good deal of information. Then I was telephoned for to -interrogate a wounded Greek, who had, however, got lost. I went back -outside the hospital, where there were many wounded lying. I stumbled -upon poor A. C. (a schoolfellow), who had been wounded about 3 a.m. the -day before, and had lain in the sun on the sand all the previous day. -He recognized me, and asked me to help him, but was light-headed. There -were fifty-six others with him; M. and I counted. It was awful having -to pass them. A lot of the men called out: “We are being murdered.” The -smells were fearful.... I went down a sap to the north to find the -Greek. Fierce shelling began. The sap was knocked down in front and -behind. - -I came to a field hospital, situated where the troops were going -through. There no one knew where Taylor’s Hollow, the place where the -Greek was supposed to be, was. While I was there shelling was bad. -Several of the wounded hit again. One man was knocked in on the top of -me, bleeding all over. I returned to meet Thoms, who said he knew the -way. We ran the gauntlet.... - -I had a curious, beautiful walk, looking for the wounded Greek, going -to nineteen hospitals. Many wounded everywhere. First I saw one of -our fellows who had met ten Turks and had ten bayonet wounds. He was -extremely cheerful. Then a couple of Turks in the shadow of some pines, -one dying and groaning, really unconscious. I offered the other water -from my bottle, but he refused because of his companion, using Philip -Sidney’s words in Turkish. - -Men were being hit everywhere. After going by fields and groves and -lanes I came back to where the wounded were lying in hundreds, in the -sap going to the sea, near Bauchop’s Fountain. There a man called to me -in French. He was the Greek I was looking for, badly wounded. He talked -a great deal. Said 200,000 reinforcements were expected from Gallipoli. -No gas would be used here.... - -_Monday, August 9, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ Slept uncomfortably on the -ground. Went before the dawn to observation post; returned to examine -prisoners. Had an unsuccessful expedition with Hastings to find some -guns which he said had been lost between the lines. - -Bullets came streaming down our valley, and we put up a small wall, of -sacks, 3 feet high, behind which we slept. I was sitting at breakfast -this morning listening to Colonel Manders[22] talking, when suddenly I -saw Charlie B. put his hand to his own head and say: “By G----, he’s -killed!” Manders fell back dead, with a bullet through his temple. He -was a very good fellow. - -Sir Ian Hamilton came ashore. I saw him for a moment. Then to Kaba -Tepé; going and coming one passes a line of bodies, some dreadful, -being carried for burial. Many still lying out. The last wounded have -been more pitiful than anything I have seen. Cazalet is badly wounded; -I hope he will recover; he is a good boy. Colonel Malone was killed -last night and Jacky Hughes wounded. Lots of shelling. - -Coming back I had to go outside the crowded sap, and got sniped. Thoms -and I had a very lively time of it. - -Came back for Manders’ funeral. I was very fond of him. General Godley -read a few sentences with the help of my electric torch, which failed. -Four others were buried with him. Later I saw a great shell strike the -grave. A cemetery, or rather lots, growing up round us. There are dead -buried or half buried in every gully. - -_Tuesday, August 10, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ Christo arrived with my -kit and some grapes last night. While we were eating these, two men, -one of whom was our cook, were hit, and he being the second cook, it -was decided to change our quarters, as a lot of bullets streamed down -the gully and we had been losing heavily. I was called up in the night -to see about some wounded. The General had said they had better go by -boat, because of the difficulty of the saps, but there were no boats, -and Manders’ death had caused confusion at the hospital. The doctor on -the beach said he could not keep the wounded there any longer, because -of the rifle fire. I woke Charlie B. We got 200 men from the Canterbury -reinforcements. They had been fighting without sleep since Sunday -morning, but evacuated about 300 wounded to below Walker’s Ridge. There -were no complaints. The Turks still had to be left. They called to me -at night and at dawn. I gave them drinks, and later, after sunrise, -shifted them into the shade, which made them cheerful. The General had -not slept for three nights. The day went badly for us. We lost Chunuk -Bair, and without it we cannot win the battle. The Turks have fought -very finely, and all praise their courage. It was wonderful to see them -charging down the hill, through the storm of shrapnel, under the white -ghost wreaths of smoke. Our own men were splendid. The N.Z. Infantry -Brigade must have ceased to exist. Meanwhile the condition of the -wounded is indescribable. They lie in the sand in rows upon rows, their -faces caked with sand and blood; one murmur for water; no shelter from -the sun; many of them in saps, with men passing all the time scattering -more dust on them. There is hardly any possibility of transporting -them. The fire zones are desperate, and the saps are blocked with -ammunition transport and mules, also whinnying for water, carrying -food, etc. Some unwounded men almost mad from thirst, cursing. - -We all did what we could, but amongst so many it was almost -impossible.... The wounded Turks still here. I kept them alive with -water. More prisoners in, report another 15,000 men at Bulair and a new -Division, the 7th, coming against us here. I saw General Cooper,[23] -wounded, in the afternoon, and got him water. His Staff had all been -killed or wounded.... - -If the Turks continue to hold Chunuk Bair and get up their big guns -there, we are, as a force, far worse off than at Anzac. What has -happened is roughly this: we have emerged from a position which was -unsatisfactory but certain, into one that is uncertain but partly -satisfactory. If the Turks have the time to dig themselves in, then -we are worse off than before, because we shall again be held up, with -the winter to face, and time running hard against us, with an extended -front. The Turks will still have land communications, while we shall -only have sea communications, and though we ourselves shall be possibly -better off, because we shall now have a harbour, the Turks some time -will almost certainly be able to break through, though possibly not -able to keep what they take. But the men at Helles will not be freed as -our move proposed to free them. - -I thought one of the wounded Turks had cholera to-day. There is very -little water, and we have to give them water out of our own bottles. -We have a terrible view here: lines of wounded creeping up from the -hospital to the cemetery like a tide, and the cemetery is going like -a live thing to meet the wounded. Between us and the sea is about 150 -yards; this space is now empty of men because of the sniping. There -are a number of dead mules on it, which smell horribly but cannot be -moved. A curious exhibition of sniping took place just below us this -evening, about 50 yards away. Two men were on the open space when a -sniper started to shoot at them. They popped into a dry well that -practically hid them, but he got his bullets all round them--in front -and behind and on the sides. They weren’t hit. The camp watched, -laughing. - -_Thursday, August 12, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ At 4.30 in the morning I -got up and walked with the General. We went up to Rhododendron Ridge to -have a look at the Turks. It is a steep, beautiful walk, and a glorious -view--trees everywhere and cliffs. We are fastening the cliffs up, and -camouflaging the trenches. - -I took Nikolas the miller round the observation post in the morning. A -new Division is supposed to be against us, the 8th. In the afternoon -walked into Anzac to get a drink of water as have had fever and a cruel -thirst. The dugouts smell, and washing’s difficult. Anglesey gave me -excellent water. - -_Friday, August 13, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ Nothing doing. Bullets -singing about, but nobody getting hit. The heat’s ferocious, and -everybody’s feeling ill. Macaulay’s wounded. - -Worked yesterday morning, also started on new dugout. In the afternoon -went with Turkish papers to Anzac. I saw C. He said that this beach for -cruelty had beaten the Crimea.... Savage feeling with the R.A.M.C.... - -Streams of mules took water out in the evening as the sun set. I met -several men with sunstroke coming in. I saw George Hutton, Royal Welsh -Fusiliers, who has become a Colonel. He had a hand-to-hand bayonet -tussle with a Turk, in the last fight. Another man came up, and killed -the Turk with his bayonet. Then, he said, the man, instead of pulling -his bayonet out, dashed to another man and asked him for his bayonet, -saying: “I have left mine in the Turk.” - - * * * * * - -The battle-cries, by the way, were for the Turks the sonorous, -deep-voiced “Allah, Allah,” and “Voor” (“God, God,” “Strike”); while -the New Zealanders used often to shout: “Eggs is cooked.” This -apparently irrelevant, unwarlike slogan had its origin in Egypt. There, -on field days in the desert, when the men halted to rest, Egyptians -would appear magically with primitive kitchens and the cry of “Eggs is -cooked!” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, August 16, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ Christo will spit -on my razor-strop; otherwise he is a good servant.... Bathed with -Charlie B. yesterday afternoon.... I don’t think we want Roumania in. -If she has no ammunition and takes a very bad knock from Germany, it -would give Germany a very strong strategic position. The Turks who have -come in do not really seem very disheartened. - - * * * * * - -At about this time the Expeditionary Force entered upon a new phase. -The agony of the struggle had passed its crisis. Both sides sat -down grimly, to wait for the winter. In many ways our position had -distinctly improved. There was more room, and space banished the -sense of imprisonment that had afflicted us. The country was not as -battle-scarred as Anzac, and walking over the heights at sunset was a -feast of loveliness. - -We moved our Headquarters again, and I went up to a large dugout in -what had been a Turkish fort. The troops quartered in this fort were an -Indian Field Battery and sixty-three New Zealanders, all that was left -of their battalion. These men had been in the first landing. They had, -every one of them, had dysentery or fever, and the great majority were -still sick and over-ripe for hospital. - -As time went on, and illness increased, one often heard men and -officers say: “If we can’t hold the trenches with sound men, we have -got to hold them with sick men.” When all was quiet, the sick-list -grew daily. But when the men knew that there was to be an attack, -they fought their sickness, to fight the Turk, and the stream to the -hospitals shrank. - -I admired nothing in the war more than the spirit of these sixty-three -New Zealanders, who were soon to go to their last fight. When the day’s -work was over, and the sunset swept the sea, we used to lean upon the -parapet and look up to where Chunuk Bair flamed, and talk. The great -distance from their own country created an atmosphere of loneliness. -This loneliness was emphasized by the fact that the New Zealanders -rarely received the same recognition as the Australians in the Press, -and many of their gallant deeds went unrecorded or were attributed to -their greater neighbours. But they had a silent pride that put these -things into proper perspective. The spirit of these men was unconquered -and unconquerable. At night, when the great moon of the Dardanelles -soared and all was quiet except the occasional whine of a bullet -overhead, the voices of the tired men continually argued the merits -of the Expedition, and there was always one end to these discussions: -“Well, it may all be a ---- mistake, but in a war of this size you will -have mistakes of this size, and it doesn’t matter a ---- to us whether -we are for it here or in France, for we came out to do one job, and -it’s nothing to us whether we finish in one place or another.” The -Turks were not the only fatalists in those days. - -We were now well supplied with water, but food of the right kind was a -difficulty. It was very hard to obtain supplies for sick men, and here, -as always, we met with the greatest kindness from the Navy. - -Horlick’s Malted Milk and fruit from the Islands did us more good than -anything else. Relations of mine in Egypt sent me an enormous quantity -of the first, which I was able to distribute to the garrison of the -fort. Later, when I was invalided, I bequeathed the massive remnants to -a friend who had just landed. Greedily he opened my stores, hoping for -the good things of the world--tongues, potted ham and whisky--only to -find a wilderness of Horlick’s Malted Milk. - -Our position had at last been appreciated at home, and we were -no longer irritated, as in the early days, by the frivolity and -fatuousness of London. Upon one occasion, shortly after the first -landing, one of the illustrated papers had a magnificent picture -entitled, if I remember right, “The Charge that Won Constantinople.” -The picture was of a cavalry charge, led quite obviously by General -Godley--and those were the days when we were living on the edge of a -cliff, where only centipedes could, and did, charge, and when we were -provided with some mules and my six donkeys for all our transport. - -There was a remarkable contrast between our war against the Germans -and the Turks. In France the British soldier started fighting -good-naturedly, and it took considerable time to work him up to a pitch -of hatred; at Anzac the troops from the Dominions began their campaign -with feelings of contempt and hatred, which gradually turned to respect -for the Moslems. At the beginning the great majority of our men had -naturally no knowledge of the enemy they were fighting. Once, looking -down from a gun emplacement, I saw a number of Turks walking about, and -asked why they had not been shot at. “Well,” said one man, “it seems -hard on them, poor chaps. They aren’t doing any harm.” Then up came -another: “Those Turks,” he said, “they walk about as if this place -belongs to them.” I suggested that it was their native land. “Well,” he -said, “I never thought of that.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, August 16, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ It’s curious the -way the men speak of the Turks here. They still can’t be made to wear -gas helmets, because they say the Turks are clean fighters and won’t -use gas.... - -It’s good to be high up in this observation post, above the smells, -with a magnificent view of hill and valley. We shoot from here pretty -often at the Turkish guns. Last night the Dardanelles droned on for -hours. This morning the machine-guns on both sides were going like -dentists’ drills. To-day it’s absolutely still, with only the whirr of -aeroplanes overhead. - -Bartlett turned up to-night. He had not much hope.... Poor Bauchop is -dead. News came to-night.... A gallant man. - - * * * * * - -On Wednesday, August 18th, I was sent to G.H.Q. at Imbros, and heard a -full account of the tragic battle down at Helles, and the condition of -the wounded at Mudros. - -When men have gone to the limits of human endurance, when blood has -been spilled like water, and the result is still unachieved, bitter and -indiscriminate recrimination and criticism inevitably follow. But Anzac -had one great advantage. Our leaders had the confidence of their men. -The troops were able to see General Birdwood and General Godley every -day in the front trenches with themselves, walking about under fire as -if they had been on a lawn in England, and the men knew that their own -lives were never uselessly sacrificed. - -The work of many of the doctors on the Peninsula was beyond all praise, -but there was black rage against the chiefs of the R.A.M.C. at Imbros -and in Egypt. The anger would have been still greater if their attitude -of complacent self-sufficiency had been known. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Thursday, August 19, 1915._ _No. 3 Outpost._ Returned to -the Peninsula with Bettinson and Commander Patch and Phillips, the -navigator. When we had come up to the fort I told them not to show -their heads at the observation post, as the fort did not belong to me, -and I did not want to become unpopular. I got Perry, Captain of the -fort, and he sat them down on the parapet, showing them the lines of -our trenches. While we talked, a sniper shot at Patch, just missing -him, and hitting the parapet beside him. They were very pleased, though -the others said I had paid a man to shoot in order to give them fun. -Perry said in a friendly way: “That’s a good sniper; he’s thirteen -hundred yards off, so it was a pretty decent shot.” Then he talked to -them, and they felt what any one must feel talking to these men. They -gave us a lot of things, and are sending all sorts of things to-morrow -for the men here. - -_Friday, August 20, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Last night was the first -cold night. This morning I went out with the General, who was like a -bull-dog and a cyclone. We met Birdwood, who was there to see the last -Australians arrive, 17th and 18th Brigades, in Reserve Gully. They -looked a splendid lot, and it did one’s heart good to see them. Some -more officers from the _Bacchante_ turned up with stores, and special -cocoa for me. I was just going off to find Perry when I met him. He is -off out; there is a fight to-morrow. I gave him the cocoa. He was glad -to have it.... The men are all tired out with heat and dysentery and -digging and fighting. The General and I went up to Sazli Beit Deri. I -didn’t think it over-safe for him. - -_Saturday, August 21, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Work in the morning. Was -to have gone with the General in the afternoon, but prisoners came in -to be examined. They said: “Curse the Germans! We can’t go on. There -are no more men left.” One of them was killed by their own fire after -I left. G. L. came to luncheon. Charlie B., he and I started off -together, I feeling pretty bad. It was very hot. We went at a great -pace over two or three ridges and across valleys, our guns thundering -about us. Finally, I felt so bad I let them go on, and came back.... -The battle developed and the shooting was fierce and general. While -I hunted for General Monash’s Headquarters I met Colonel A. J., who -was rather worried. We had a close shave.... I left him, and had an -odd adventure.... Went home alone through deafening noise, all the -valleys under fire.... Got at last into a shallow nullah that led into -a regular gully, and so home. - - * * * * * - -That day I saw an unforgettable sight. The dismounted Yeomanry -attacked the Turks across the salt lakes of Suvla. Shrapnel burst -over them continuously; above their heads there was a sea of smoke. -Away to the north by Chocolate Hill fires broke out on the plain. The -Yeomanry never faltered. On they came through the haze of smoke in two -formations, columns and extended. Sometimes they broke into a run, but -they always came on. It is difficult to describe the feelings of pride -and sorrow with which we watched this advance, in which so many of our -friends and relations were playing their part. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _August 21st._ Charlie B. and G. L. came back all right.... -The Turks had come over in three waves down Chunuk Bair. The first two -were destroyed by naval fire; the third got home into our trenches. -Charlie B. was full of admiration for one old fellow whom he had seen -holding up his finger and lecturing to the men when they hung back. - -Hutton is wounded again. - -_Sunday, August 22, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Last night, or this -morning at 1 o’clock, I was called up. They said there were 150 Turks -in one place and others elsewhere, anxious to surrender. I took the -miller, Zachariades and Kyriakidis out to Headquarters. Sent back -Kyriakidis and the miller, as there was nothing doing and I wanted to -keep Kyriakidis. Went on with Zachariades and guides sent by Poles -to Colonel Agnew to his H.Q. There we lay on the ground, very cold. -They said the Turks had wished to surrender, but there had been no -interpreter, and they had been fired on. The Turks were then attacking -heavily. Eastwood telephoned that they had fourteen prisoners. I went -back to see if they could give any news about our immediate front. - -Every one worried. The ---- Battalion of Australians had gone wrong. -Nobody knew where they were. I sent my escort to try and find them. The -Hampshires, who ought to have arrived, had not come.... They came along -gradually. - -We attacked at about four in the morning. The Turkish fire tarried -a little, then got furious. We went towards Monash, and met the -Hampshires, very tired and wayworn. Bullets sang very viciously, and -burst into flame on the rocks. There was a thunder of rifle fire and -echoes in the gullies, men dropping now and then. Lower down the gully -I found the Hampshires running like mad upwards to the firing line; -beyond this a mixed crowd of men without an officer.... My guide, wild -as a hawk, took us up a ridge. I fell over a dead man in the darkness -and hurt my ankle. We had to wait. There seemed a sort of froth of -dust on the other side of the ridge, from the rifle fire, and I told -the escort to take us down and round the ridge across the valley. He -admitted afterwards we had no chance of crossing the other way. In the -valley the bullets sang. We came to the half-nullah where I had taken -such unsatisfactory cover in the afternoon. There we waited a bit, and -then ran across the hundred yards to the next gully. Zachariades and -the escort grazed. Found the prisoners; the other Zachariades examined -them.... Spent bullets falling about, but the Greeks never winked. A -surrendered Armenian could only tell us that the Turks were very weak -before us. The rifle fire died away in the end, and we walked back at -dawn, getting here by sunrise. Then examined more prisoners till about -11, and slept till 1. - -The position is still indefinite. It’s on the same old lines, on the -hills we are the eyebrows and the Turks are the forehead. - -_Monday, August 23, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Perry is wounded, but -not badly, I hope, in the arm. There is hardly any one in the fort. -The interpreter question becoming very difficult. They are all going -sick. Had a quiet evening last night, and read on the parapet. It will -be very difficult to keep these old troops here during the winter. -The Australians and New Zealanders who have been here a long time -are weak, and will all get pneumonia. There was a great wind blowing -and the sound of heavy firing. I went to Anzac to-day, and found men -bombing fish. They got about twenty from one bomb, beautiful fish, -half-pounders. - -_Tuesday, August 24th._ _No. 2 Outpost._ General Shaw has gone sick to -England; General Maude has taken his place. He commands the 13th. He -and Harter dined here last night. Longford was killed, Milbanke said to -be killed or wounded, and the Hertfordshires have suffered. - -This morning we talked about the winter seriously and of preparations -to be made. I am for a hillside. The plain is a marsh and the valley a -water-course. We ought to have fuel, caves for drying clothes, cooking, -etc., and mostly this hill is made of dust and sand. A great mail came -in last night, but the machine-guns got on to the men as they passed by -the beach in the moonlight, killed some and wounded five men. So there -are the mails lying now, with the machine-guns playing round them.... - -I advised Lawless yesterday at Anzac to move out from the beach, lest -the sea should rise and take him like a winkle from his shell. - -Saw D. to-day. He has a curious story to tell of the other night, when -I was telephoned for. He said I was called three hours too late. A lot -of Turks had come out of their trenches, some unarmed and some armed -and some with bombs. He had gone out and pointed his revolver at one -of them, who shouldered arms and stood to attention. Some of the Turks -came right up, and the New Zealanders said: “Come in here, Turkey,” and -began pulling them into the front trench. D. had feared that the Turks, -who were about 200, might rush the trench, and had waved them back and -finally fired his revolver and ordered our fellows to fire. It was a -pity there was no one there who could talk. Later I saw Temperley, who -said when we took Rhododendron Ridge there were 250 Turks on the top. -They piled their arms, cheered us and clapped their hands. - -To-night I went to Chaylak Dere with the General and saw General Maude, -and his Staff, who looked pretty ill, also Claude Willoughby, who was -anxious to take the Knoll by the Apex. - -There was a tremendous wind, and dust-storms everywhere. In the gullies -men were burying the dead, not covering them sufficiently. My eyes are -still full of the dust and the glow of the camp-fires on the hillside, -and the moonlight. It is an extraordinary country to look across--range -after range of high hills, precipice and gully, the despair of -Generals, the grave and oblivion of soldiers. - - * * * * * - -Here the diary stops abruptly, and begins again on Saturday, September -23rd. - -_No. 2 Outpost._ After writing the above I had a bad go of fever, and -was put on to hospital ship. Went aboard with General Birdwood, General -Godley and Tahu Rhodes. The Generals had come to inspect the New -Zealand hospital ship, which was excellent. That night there was a very -heavy fire. I felt some friend of mine would be hit on shore, and the -next morning I found Charlie B. on board, not badly wounded, hit in the -side. - -My friend Charlie B. had a temper, and was often angry when others -were calm, but in moments of excitement he was calm to the point of -phlegm. When we were off Mudros there was a great crash, and a jarring -of the ship from end to end. I went into Charlie B.’s cabin and said: -“Come along. They say we’re torpedoed. I’ll help you.” “Where are my -slippers?” he asked. I said: “Curse your slippers.” “I will not be -hurried by these Germans,” answered Charlie B., and he had the right of -it, for we had only had a minor collision with another boat. - -At Mudros the majority of the sick and wounded on our hospital ship -were sent to England, but my friend and I were luckily carried on to -Egypt. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _September 23rd._ There was a remarkable man on board the -_Manitou_, Major K. He had led 240 men into a Turkish trench; three had -returned unwounded, but he got most of his wounded back with eighteen -men. The Adjutant was killed on his back. He himself had already been -wounded twice. Finally, he left the trench alone, and turned round and -faced the Turks at 200 yards. They never fired at him, because, he -said, “they admired me.” This officer found a D.S.O. waiting for him -in Egypt, and has since earned the V.C. in France, for which he had -been previously recommended in South Africa. He and I returned to the -Dardanelles together while he still had a long, unhealed bayonet wound -in his leg. - - * * * * * - -At Alexandria, fortunately for myself, I had relations who were working -there. I went to the hospital of a friend. It was a great marble -palace, surrounded by lawns and fountains, and made, at any rate, -gorgeous within by the loves of the Gods, painted in the colours of the -Egyptian sunset on the ceilings. - -The Englishwomen in Alexandria were working like slaves for the wounded -and the sick. They did all that was humanly possible to make up for -the improvidence and the callousness of the home medical authorities. -Thanks to their untiring and unceasing work, day and night, these -ladies saved great numbers of British lives. - -One day the Sultan came to inspect the hospital where I was a patient. -For reasons of toilette, I should have preferred not to have been seen -on that occasion by His Highness, but the royal eye fixed itself upon -my kimono, and I was taken aside for a few minutes’ conversation. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ (_Subsequently written on the Peninsula._) The Sultan said -that he was very grieved about the Conservative party, because of the -Coalition, I suppose, and also about Gallipoli. There I cordially -agreed. - - * * * * * - -I went up to Cairo for a few days, and found the city and life there -very changed. Shepheard’s was filled with the ghosts of those who had -left on and since April 12th. - -In Egypt the danger of the Canal had passed, but anxiety had not gone -with it. There was much doubt as to what the Senoussi would be likely -to do and what consequences their action would have. They had little -to gain by attacking, but all knew that this would not necessarily -deter them. I was in Cairo when Fathy Pasha was stabbed, and those in -authority feared for the life of the Sultan. - -My friend Charlie B. and Major K. and I left Alexandria in brilliant -moonlight. Our boat could do a bare twelve knots an hour. On the -journey rockets went up at night, S.O.S. signals were sent us, all in -vain: we were not to be seduced from our steady spinster’s course to -Mudros. When we again reached that place we found that our sister-ship, -the _Ramadan_, had been torpedoed. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ (_Written September 23rd._) General Godley was on the _Lord -Nelson_. He had been sick for some time, and had been taking three -days off. Roger Keyes desperately anxious to go up the Dardanelles, -come what may. He is the proper man to do it, but I think it’s only -singeing the King of Spain’s beard. - -At Imbros the General, Charlie B. and I had a stormy row ashore and -a long walk to G.H.Q., where I found Willy Percy, who had been badly -wounded, now recovering. I saw Tyrrell, G. L. and Dedez. The news had -just come through of Bulgaria’s mobilization, but they did not know -against whom. I wonder if the Bulgars will attack both the Serbs and -the Turks. That would be a topsy-turvy, Balkan thing to do, and might -suit their book. We ought to have had them in on our side six months -ago. From G.H.Q. we came back to Anzac. The General has had my dugout -kept for me in the fort, where Christo and I now live in solitude, for -all the rest are gone. I found a lot of new uniforms and a magnificent -cap. When I put this on Christo cried violently: “No, no, no, not until -we ride into Constantinople as conquerors.” - -H.Q. are on the other side of the Turkish fort, in a tiny valley across -which you can throw a stone. They have all the appearance of a more -comfortable Pompeii, and are scarcely more alive; it is the quietest -town I have ever seen; there lies in front a ridge of valley, a dip -of blue sea and a good deal of the Anafarta plain. The first night on -arriving the cold was bitter, also next morning. Pleurisy has already -started. This morning the General went up to the Apex and behind it. -He was not at all pleased with the fire trenches. He nearly drove C., -the officer at that moment instructing the Australians, mad, first by -criticizing everything--I thought pretty justly--and then by standing -about in view of the Turks and not worrying about shells or bombs. I -did my best to get him in. The Australians were all laughing at C. for -his caution and fussiness. Incidentally, one of the big mortar-bombs -fell in the trench as we arrived. Hastings is Intelligence officer. -It’s luck to have got him. - -_Sunday, September 24, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ A lovely morning. There -was a bracing chill of autumn and yet warm air and a smiling, southern -look across Anafarta plain, with great hills on the other side, stately -and formidable. Swallows everywhere. Up till now it’s been very silent. -I thought that the noise of war was past, but bullets and shells have -been whining and moaning over us. At Anzac yesterday morning they had -about twenty men hit by one shell, and I saw a lot of mules being -dragged down to the sea as I went in. We walked through the “Camel’s -Hump” with Colonel Chauvel and Glasgow, on to No. 1 Outpost, now -deserted, with the beautiful trench made by the six millionaires. I -wonder what has happened to them all. - -Cazalet, of whom I had grown very fond, is dead, Hornby’s missing. I -was very sad to hear that Reynell was killed on the night of the 27th, -when we left. A fine man in every way. His men worshipped him.... - -A lot of French transports were leaving Egypt as we left, maybe for -Asia. We shall do nothing more here unless we have an overwhelming -force. We have never done anything except with a rush. Directly we have -touched a spade we have ceased to advance, and have gone on adding -bricks to the wall which we first built and then beat our heads against. - -This morning we had a service in the valley, which is extraordinarily -beautiful. The flies are awful, horrible, lethargic; they stick to one -like gum. The men in the trenches are wearing the head-dresses that -Egypt has sent. I went with the General in the afternoon to Anzac. We -walked back as shelling began. We had one whizz round us, and a man -fell beside me on the beach. I heard a tremendous smack, and thought -he was dead, and began to drag him in to cover, but he was all right, -though a bullet had thumped him. - - * * * * * - -The flies and their habits deserve to live in a diary of their own. -They were horrible in themselves, and made more horrible by our -circumstances and their habits. They lived upon the dead, between the -trenches, and came bloated from their meal to fasten on the living. One -day I killed a fly on my leg that made a splash of blood that half a -crown would not have covered. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, September 27, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Last night F. -dined. He said that the Indians could get back from Mudros if they -gave the hospital orderly ten rupees. The hospital orderly would then -certify them as having dysentery. Most of them did not want to go back, -some did. When they were reluctant about fighting, he thought it was -due to the fact that it was Moslems they were against. - -This morning the General and I went round Colonel Anthill’s trenches. -Billy H. was there, as independent and casual as ever. He came out here -as a sergeant and is now Acting Brigade Major. I am giving him a shirt. - - * * * * * - -Billy H. was not the only member of his family who was independent. -His father, a well-known Australian doctor, on one occasion gave one -of the chiefs of the British R.A.M.C. his sincere opinion about the -treatment of the sick and wounded. After a while the chief of the -R.A.M.C. said: “You don’t seem to understand that it is I who am -responsible for these things.” “Oh yes, I do,” said the Australian -doctor, “but it’s not you I’m getting at; it’s the fool who put you -there.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Thursday, September 28, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Last night -I dined with S. B. and H. Woods. Walked back through a still, moonlit -night, with the sea and the air just breathing. Very bright stars. We -sent up flares. The General was ill this morning, so did not go out. -The Greek interpreters have been called up for mobilization. This -Greek mobilization ought to do some good about the German submarines. -Last night at Anzac they had iron needles dropped from aeroplanes. -I always objected to this. This morning over our heads there was a -Taube firing hard at something with a machine-gun. It produces an -unpleasant impression, I suppose because it is unfamiliar, to hear -the noise straight above one. Two bombs were dropped--at least, I -suppose they were. They fell with a progressive whistle, but not close -to us; another big one, however, an 8-inch one, I believe, from the -Dardanelles, fell with a tired and sensuous thud just over the ridge. - -_Wednesday, September 29, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ The General went out -at nine this morning, P. and I with him. He went to the Apex and round. -In the evening Kettle and I talked in the fort. - -_Friday, October 1, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ Yesterday morning General -Godley, General Birdwood, de Crespigny and I went round the trenches, -Apex, Anthill’s, etc., from 9.30 until 3. A very hot day; I wish that -Generals were a hungrier, thirstier race. We had some light shelling, -into which the Generals walked without winking or reason, though they -made us take intervals. - -G. L. has gone home. Ross turned up last night; glad to see him again. -He said that a statement was to be made almost at once, and that we -weren’t going to be here for the winter. He had a notion that the -Italians were going to take our place.... - -This morning there was a very heavy mist; the hills and the sea were -curtained in it. My clothes were wringing wet. The Greek interpreters -have been called up by the Greek mobilization and have gone to Imbros, -some of them to try to avoid going. They have, says Christo, “kria -kardia” (cold feet.) Xenophon, in a moment of enthusiasm, changed -Turkish for Greek nationality. He now speaks of the days of his Ottoman -nationality with a solemn and mournful affection, as of a golden age. -He envies his cousin, Pericles, who was not so carried away. Kyriakidis -is too old to go, thank goodness. - -Going into Anzac with the General, and glad to be quit of the trenches. -It’s a weary business walking through these narrow mountain trenches, -hearing the perpetual iteration of the same commands. The trenches are -curiously personal. Some are so tidy as to be almost red-tape--the -names of the streets, notices, etc., everywhere--and others slums. -(_Later._) I went into Anzac with the General to see General Birdwood, -but he had gone out to see the bombardment from the sea. The General -went off to the New Zealand hospital ship, _Mahino_. I went to get P. -off, who was ill. The General and I had a very philosophical talk -coming back. There was a radiance over Anzac; the sunken timbership -shone against the sunset, with the crew half of them naked. Shells -screamed over us, and in the Headquarters hollow parts of them came -whimpering down. - -_Saturday, October 2, 1915._ _No. 2 Outpost._ This morning General -Godley, Colonel Artillery Johnson and I went round to see the guns, -all across the Anafarta plain. Yesterday they had been shelling a good -deal and had killed some Gurkhas.... We trudged about in the open, -the Turkish hills in a semicircle round us. We kept about fifty yards -apart.... I thought it very risky for the General; however, nothing -happened. Have been meeting various school acquaintances these days.... - -_Sunday, October 3, 1915._ The General and Charlie B. went to Suvla. -I lunched with S. B. and H. Woods. We played chess. A good deal of -shelling. A fair number hit.... - -_Monday, October 4, 1915._ Changed my dugout this morning with -an infinity of trouble, I didn’t like doing it; it involved men -standing on the roof, and if one of them had been hit I should -have felt responsible. However, we did it all right. I stole some -corrugated iron, and am well off. This morning the Turks had a fierce -demonstration. The bullets kicked up the dust at the mouth of the -gully. Colonel Artillery Johnson just missed being hit, but only -one man struck. They shelled us with big stuff that came over tired -and groaning, bursting with a beastly noise and torrents of smoke. -General C. lunched. He said people sent curiously inappropriate stores -sometimes. In the middle of the summer they had sent us here mufflers -and cardigan jackets, and two thousand swagger canes. These were now -at Mudros. Chauvel has taken over command while the General is sick. He -borrowed all my novels. - -_Tuesday, October 5, 1915._ General C.O. turned up. He said we are -going to attack through Macedonia. Heaven help us! Bulgaria has been -given twenty-four hours’ ultimatum by Russia. - -Went into Anzac, to go by boat to Suvla. Met C., who was at W---- (my -private school). He said there was no boat. I went on and played chess, -coming back through one of the most beautiful evenings we have had, the -sea a lake of gold and the sky a lake of fire; but C. and I agreed we -would not go back to Anzac or to W----, if we could help it. - -_Wednesday, October 6, 1915._ I was going into Suvla with Hastings, but -in the morning a Turkish deserter, Ahmed Ali, came in. He promised to -show us two machine-guns, which he did (one German, immovable, and the -other Turkish, movable), and seven guns which he had collected; this -he failed to do, and also to produce three more comrades by firing a -Turkish rifle as a signal. - -In the afternoon I had a signal from S. B. to say he was leaving, sick, -for Egypt. I walked in to see, and found he had gastritis.... - -_Thursday, October 7, 1915._ _N.Z. and A. H.Q._ This morning we went up -with Ahmed Ali, and lay waiting for the Turkish deserters until after -six. One Turkish rifle shot, a thicker sound than ours, was fired at -Kidd’s Post, but no Turks came. Ahmed Ali was distressed. The dawn was -fine; clouds of fire all over the sky. - -The Turkish deserters and prisoners were put through a number of -inquisitions. There was first of all the local officer, who had -captured the Turk and was creditably anxious to anticipate the -discoveries of the Intelligence. Then there was G.H.Q., intensely -jealous of its privileges, and then Divisional H.Q., waiting rather -sourly for the final examination of the exhausted Turks. - -The Turkish private soldiers, being Moslems, were inspired rather with -the theocratic ideals of comradeship than by the _esprit de corps_ -of nationality, and spoke freely. They were always well treated, and -this probably loosened their tongues, but Ahmed Ali was more voluble -than the majority of his comrades, and I append information which he -supplied as an illustration of our examinations and their results. The -two sides of Turkish character were very difficult to reconcile. On the -one hand, we were faced in the trenches by the stubborn and courageous -Anatolian peasant, who fought to the last gasp; on the other hand, in -our dugouts we had a friendly prisoner, who would overwhelm us with -information. “The fact is you are just a bit above our trenches. If -only you can get your fire rather lower, you will be right into them, -and here exactly is the dugout of our Captain, Riza Kiazim Bey, a poor, -good man. You miss him all the time. If you will take the line of that -pine-tree, you will get him.” - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Saturday, October 9, 1915._ _A. and N.Z. H.Q._ Ahmed Ali -proposed coming to England with me when I went there.... Last night we -had bad weather; a sort of whirlwind came down. It whizzed away the -iron sheeting over my dugout and poured in a cascade of water, soaking -everything. Iron sheeting was flying about like razors; it was not -possible to light candles. Finally, Ryrie came and lent me a torch, and -I slept, wet but comfortable, under my cloak. Our people and the Turks -both got excited, and heavy rifle fire broke out, as loud as the storm. -An angry dawn, very windy and rifles crackling. - - * * * * * - -At this point the diary ends, for the writer was evacuated on the -hospital ship, and did not return to Active Service for several months. -Of all those who had sailed from Egypt with General Godley on April -12th, the General himself remained the only man who saw the campaign -through from the first to the last day, with the rare exception of a -few days of sickness. - - - - -KUT - -1916 - -[Illustration: _SIFTON, PRAED & CO LTD. ST JAMES’ ST. LONDON S.W._] - - - - -KUT, 1916 - - -After some months of convalescence, I was passed fit for Active -Service. Admiral Wemyss, Commander-in-Chief of the East Indian Fleet, -had done me the honour to ask me to serve under him, when I was well -again, as his liaison and Intelligence officer. I accepted very gladly, -for I knew how devoted to him were all those who served Admiral Wemyss. -The unappreciative War Office showed no reluctance in dispensing with -my services, but my orders got lost, and it was only late in February -when I left. When my weak qualifications in the way of languages were -put before the Department concerned, the brief comment was: “This must -be an immoral man to know so many languages.” - -About this time the question was perpetually debated as to whether war -should be made mainly on the one great front or _en petits paquets_; -that is, practically all over the globe. “Hit your enemy where he is -weakest,” said some, while others were violently in favour of striking -where he was strongest. - -When I left England, she was in a curious state of official indecision. -It would then have been, obviously, greatly to our advantage had we -been able to get the Turks out of the war, for the collapse of Bulgaria -would almost certainly have followed. On the other hand, Russia had -been promised Constantinople and the Church of Santa Sophia, and while -these promises held it was idle to think that the Grand Turk would -compromise or resign his position as head of Islam. So the dread in -the minds of Englishmen of friction with Russia was unconsciously -adding square leagues to the British Empire, by forcing us reluctantly -to attack an unwilling foe. In the end, we chose both Scylla and -Charybdis, for the Turks remained in the war, Russia went out. Yet we -survived, victoriously. Allah is greatest. - -The story of this campaign is the most difficult to tell. The writer -was in a humble position, but in a position of trust, and can only -record what he saw and the things with which all men’s ears were too -familiar in Mesopotamia. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _Monday, February 28, 1916._ _S.S. “Mooltan.”_ _Off -Marseilles._ The Germans are by way of not torpedoing our boats -until Wednesday, but to-day is St. Leander’s Day, not a good day, on -the sea, at this time of year. They have torpedoed four boats these -last days near Marseilles. We are off the coast of Corsica, dull and -unattractive.... John Baird is here.... - -_Wednesday, March 1, 1916._ _SS. “Mooltan.”_ Yesterday J. B., Captain -Cummings and I went ashore at Malta. We heard of the torpedoing of -the _Maloja_ off Dover. I saw Admiral Limpus, an old friend; then -dined with Admiral de Robeck. I saw R. K. He still wants to go up the -Dardanelles. This seems to me to be a war of ants and attrition, and -no one ought to think of the glory of the Army or the Navy before -winning the war. I do not think he cares if he is at the bottom of the -sea, as long as the country and the Navy is covered with imperishable -splendour. He talked about the blizzard as if it had been a zephyr. -You can’t beat that sort. A lot of old Admirals rolled up. They had -rejoined long past the age as Commanders of Sweepers, or in any and -every kind of capacity. The spirit of their Elizabethan ancestors was -not more tough or fine than theirs.... Left J. B. and Jack Marriott. - -_Monday, March 6, 1916._ _Ismailia._ We landed without incident from -the _Mooltan_. The last day, at luncheon, there were two tremendously -loud bangs, the lids of hatches falling; they sounded exactly like -cannon shot. Nobody moved at lunch, which I thought was good. Am -staying with O’Sullivan. He has been eighteen years in Central Africa. -To-night I went to the Club and found Kettle, alive, whom I thought -dead--very glad to find it wasn’t true--and lots of Anzacs. Then went -for a walk with the Admiral; I understand why men like serving him. -Afterwards tea with General Birdwood and a yarn about the Peninsula. -All the men from Anzac talk of it with something like reverence. I -dined with General Godley. I have been doing work between the Navy and -the Army; found them very stiff. Yesterday they said: “What can you -want to know?” Also, in my humble opinion, what they are doing is wrong. - -_Friday, March 10, 1916._ _Cairo._ Back again at Zamalek. They have -sown a proper, green, English lawn instead of the clover which we -put in for economy. Saw C. in the evening. Agreed that for the time -being our Arab policy was finished.... If the Russians go ahead and -threaten Constantinople, the French agreement may stand. If, on -the other hand, they cannot get beyond Trebizond, then Arabia will -probably be a Confederation, perhaps nominally under the Turks. The -Powers would probably look favourably at this, as it would be a return -to the bad old principle. It would constitute one more extension of -the life of the Turk, outside Turkey, made miserable to him and his -subjects, during which all his legatees would intrigue to improve -their own position. They would go on fermenting discontent amongst the -subjects of the Turk, and when it did not exist they would create it. -It is the old cynicism that this war has done nothing to get rid of. -On the other hand, if annexation follows there will be two results: -(1) The population in the annexed French and Russian spheres will be -rigorously conscripted. I think we ought to do our best to prevent the -Arabs being the subjects and victims of High Explosive Powers. They -themselves don’t realize what it means, and simply look forward to the -boredom of having to beat their swords into ploughshares and take up -the dullness of civilization. The second result is that we shall have -vast, conterminous frontiers with France and Russia, and that we shall -be compelled to become a huge military power and adopt the Prussianism -that we are fighting. There ought to be a self-denying ordinance about -annexation. We should none of us annex. - -_Wednesday, March 8, 1916._ _Cairo._ I arranged for Storrs to come -down the Red Sea with the Commander-in-Chief. In the evening I saw -the Sultan at the Palace. He prophesied that the Russians would be in -Trebizond in eight days, and that we should be in Solloum in the same -time; he put our arrival at Bagdad at the end of May. The snows were -melting, he said, and the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rising; -the Turks might be cut off, and might have to surrender.... He said we -did not understand the Moslems or what was their fraternity. In his -hall he had two signs, “God and His Prophet,” and the other, “I live -by God’s will!” Any Moslem who entered saw these, and knew him for -his brother. He would rather have been a farmer, dressed as a farmer, -and, he added, rather quaintly, sitting in his automobile, amongst his -fields, than in his Palace with interviews before him all day long. - -He had accepted the Throne when it had been offered to him after -consideration, because the good of Egypt was bound up in our success, -and as Sultan he could help us. He regretted he had not been allowed -to help more. He was loyal, but neither we, nor any man, could buy -his honour. We could throw him over at any moment. So be it; he knew -what his honour and individual dignity demanded. General Maxwell, he -said, understood the Moslems. Even the Duke of Connaught could hardly -have done better in Egypt. He, the Sultan, had deplored Gallipoli, -both before and after. We English were _bons enfants_, but did not -understand the East. He gave many messages to his friends, especially -General Birdwood. - -_Thursday, March 9, 1916._ _Cairo._ Saw Jaafar Pasha, a prisoner. -He was wounded by a sword-thrust in the arm. They had had a good -old-fashioned mêlée. He was just off shopping, taking his captivity -with great philosophy. It was beautiful weather. The Bougainvillea was -purple and scarlet all over the house. It looked as fairylike as a -Japanese dwelling. - -_Friday, March 10, 1916._ _Cairo._ The Admiral came up on Thursday -night. I lunched with General Maxwell. Bron came. He said his leg -troubled him flying, but he loved it. I saw his Colonel, who told me -that he was worried, as if he fell in the desert he was done, as he -could not walk great distances like the others, with his wooden leg. - -I have got a “Who’s Who,” for Arabia, but I want a “Where’s Where.” - -_Saturday, March 11, 1916._ _Ismailia._ The Australians have -been having high old times in Cairo. We have to pay for their -extraordinarily fine fighting qualities, but it’s a pity that they -can’t be more quiet.... They admire General Birdwood, who’s got a -difficult job. We owed a lot to their initiative at Anzac, when all -their officers were killed. Salutes, after all, matter less than -fighting. In peace they resent General Godley’s discipline, and that’s -natural, but it’s inevitable, and they know it, when it comes to -fighting. Charlie Bentinck came down with us, going home; I hope he -gets there all right. - -_Tuesday, March 14, 1916._ _Ismailia._ Maxwell is now definitely -recalled.... It’s a pity to take away the man whose name is everything -in Egypt. On Saturday I dined with the Admiral and Potts of the -Khedive’s yacht. Like Jimmy Watson, he was very fond of his ex-Chief. -Sunday I lunched with the Admiral and General Murray, and saw my old -friend Tyrrell. Yesterday the Admiral left with Philip Neville for -Solloum. I should have liked to have been in that show. - -Here are criticisms and indescretions, which are better left lying at -the bottom of a drawer.... - - * * * * * - -All are very sad about Desmond Fitzgerald’s death. There was no -one quite like him. He would have played a great part. He was -extraordinarily fine, too fine to be a type, though he was a type, but -not of these times. I shall never forget him during the Retreat, always -calm and always cheerful. Bron came, and we had a long talk. - -_Wednesday, March 15, 1916._ _Cairo._ This morning I saw Jaafar Pasha -for a minute. He is becoming less and less a prisoner. Was off to shop, -and said that he heard that Cairo was a nice town. He was unmoved by -the war. I said to M. that the war ought to prevent one’s pulses ever -fluttering again. M. said to me: “Yes, unless it makes them flutter for -ever.” - - * * * * * - -Here there followed naval, strategical, political and commercial -considerations which are irrelevant to this published diary. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ _March 15, 1916._ Went to the citadel to see the old Sheikh. -It was a lovely day of heat, fresh winds, clear air and flowers -everywhere. - -_Wednesday, March 22, 1916._ _Ismailia._ I have neglected my diary. -Yesterday I went and said good-bye to General Birdwood. General Godley, -he and everybody went to see Maxwell off. It was a very remarkable -demonstration; all were there--red hats and tarbouches, blue gowns and -the khaki of the private soldier. We were all downhearted at his going. - -To-day I rode with Temperley through the groves of Ismailia, out by -the lagoon. The desert was in splendid form. The Australians were -bathing everywhere and French sailors were paddling. I lunched with -General Russell.... I dined with General Godley. All the talk was of -Mesopotamia. Some one said at dinner that no securely beleaguered force -had ever cut its way out. I could only think of Xenophon, who, General -Gwynne said, quite truly, was not beleaguered, and also of Plevna, that -didn’t get out. - -_Sunday, March 26, 1916._ _Cairo._ This morning we leave for -Mesopotamia, by the Viceroy’s train. He arrived yesterday, having -been shot at by a torpedo on the way. The soldiers are becoming -discontented. Their pay is four months due, and when they get it they -are paid in threepenny bits for which they only receive twopence in -exchange. Hence their irritation. Tommy Howard’s brigade has nearly all -got commissions. There are now forty-seven officers and only enough -soldiers left for their servants. Saw Uncle Bob G., who reminded me of -Sayid Talib, the Lion of Mesopotamia and the terror of the Turks, with -whom on one occasion I travelled from Constantinople. Sayid Talib once -wanted to get rid of a very good Vali of Basrah. He went round to all -the keepers of hashish dens and infamous houses and got them to draw up -a petition: “We, the undersigned, hear with anguish that our beloved -Vali is to be removed by the Merciful Government. He is a good man, has -been just to all, and most just to us, who now implore the mercy of the -Sublime Porte.” Constantinople was in a virtuous mood. The experts of -Basrah were summoned. They expressed their horror at the support which -the Vali was receiving from all the worst elements in the town. The -Vali was removed. Sayid Talib scored. He was on our side, and remained -in Basrah, but we made him a prisoner and sent him to India, I believe. - -_Monday, March 27, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus._” _Gulf of Suez._ -Yesterday, Sunday, the Prince of Wales, the Viceroy, General Birdwood -and the High Commissioner travelled down to Ismailia. Storrs and I were -also of the company. General Godley was at the station to meet the -Prince, and a lot of others. - -_Tuesday, March 28, 1916._ _H.M.S._ “_Euryalus.”_ I wonder what -situation we shall find in Mesopotamia. Willcocks in Cairo said that -the Arabs were feeding Townshend’s people. “In the old days,” he said, -“Elijah was fed by the ravens--that is, ’orab,’ which means Arabs as -well as ravens.” That was how he explained that miracle. - -It’s getting very hot. I am working at Hindustani. The Staff here are -all first class. It’s luck to find Colonel de Sausmarez, who was on the -_Bacchante_, now promoted. - -_Thursday, March 30, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus.”_ Took a bad fall -down the ladder. Storrs sleeps in a casemate. The only ventilation -is through a gun whose breech has now been closed. Have been writing -précis and political notes. We are bound to make mistakes in dealing -with the Arabs, but they need not matter if they are passive mistakes; -they can be corrected. If they are active, they are much harder to -remedy.... Our people divide the world into two categories. The -Ulstermen, the Serbs and the Portuguese are good, loyal people, because -they are supposed to put our interests first, whereas the Bulgars, -the Arabs, etc., are beastly traitors because sometimes a thought of -self-interest crosses their minds. - -It’s raining hard this morning and it’s cooler. Hope to get into the -trenches at Aden, but doubt there being time. Am learning Hindustani. A -number of the same words mean different things. _Kal_ means yesterday -or to-morrow, i.e. one day distant; but on the other hand _parson_ -means the day after to-morrow or the day before yesterday. This must -occasionally make muddles about appointments. - -_Friday, March 31, 1916._ _Aden._ Got up early this morning and went -over to the Northbrook. The Turks at Lahej are being bombarded. The -Admiral’s going part of the way to see it. Six seaplanes off. A heavy, -hot, grey day. The Turks are fighting well. There is no ill-will here. -They say the Turk is a member of the club, but has not been in it -lately. We are feeding the Turks and they feed us. Caravans come and -go as usual. There are great difficulties in the way of blockade. We -can’t hit our enemies without also hitting our friends, and yet if we -do nothing our prestige suffers. - -A conference this morning. Fifty years ago Colonel Pelly said that the -Turks were like the Thirty-nine Articles; every one accepts them, but -nobody remembers them or what they are. India seems extremely apathetic -about Aden. We left early this morning. Last night I saw Colonel Jacob, -who has been twelve years at Aden and in the hinterland. In the evening -I went with the Brigadier to the Turkish prisoners. They said they had -surrendered because life was impossible in the Yemen. They had been six -to seven years without pay, had had bad food and perpetual fighting. -Then they had been put on a ship to go back to their families, then -taken off again and sent to fight us. Human nature could not stand it, -they said. They liked their Commander, Said Pasha, who was good to the -soldiers, but they complained of their non-commissioned officers.... - -We seem to be perpetually changing our officers here. This C.O. is -the fifth in a short time. Jacob is the only man who talks Arabic, -and there is not a soul who talks Turkish. Wrote to Egypt to get an -interpreter. - -_Sunday, April 2, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus.”_ We are steaming through -a grey-black gloom, like an English autumn afternoon, only the -thermometer is 92 and there are no rooks cawing. There are lowering -skies everywhere. Talked about Arabia yesterday with the Admiral. - -Have been re-reading Whigan’s _Persia_ and other Gulf books. Wish that -I had George Lloyd’s memoranda. The present position is unsatisfactory. -We have policed and lighted and pacified this Gulf for a hundred years, -and we are entitled to a more definite status. We ought to have Bunder -Abbas. Otherwise, if the Russians come down the Gulf to Bunder Abbas, -they hold the neck of the bottle of the Persian Gulf and we shall be -corked in our own bottle; they would be on the flank of India; they -would be fed by a railway, while our large naval station would be -cooking away in Elphinstone’s Inlet (which is only another name for -a slow process of frying), where we should have battle casualties in -peace-time from the heat. Elphinstone’s Inlet to Bushire is a poor -Wei-hai-wei to a first-rate Port Arthur. Then, if the Russians come -down, any defensive measures which we may be forced into taking -will appear aggressive when the Russians are on the spot. They would -not appear aggressive now. We have a prescriptive right to Bunder -Abbas, which we ought to strengthen. It doesn’t involve territorial -annexations. - -_Monday, April 3, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus.”_ Last night I had a long -and rather acrimonious argument with ---- and ---- on the question of -Arab policy. They said: “You must punish the Arabs if they don’t come -in on our side.” I said: “You have no means of punishing them. All you -can do is to antagonize them.” - -There is news of a Zeppelin raid on London. Everybody is anxious. - -_Tuesday, April 4, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus.”_ _Muskat._ Last night -I had my fourth Hindustani lesson, a very easy one. Jack Marriott is -extraordinarily quick at languages. My teacher said that his affianced -wife is fourteen and that he kept her in a cage at Bushire. Talked with -the Admiral and Captain Burmester.... - -To-day is a wild day, Arabia crouching, yellow like a lion, in a -sand-storm, and spray and sand flying in layers on the ship. All the -land is lurid and the sea foaming and the sky black. If only there -had been some sharks at sea and lions on shore, it would have been a -perfect picture. This afternoon it cleared and became beautiful. We -passed a desolate coast with no sign of life, where it looked as if a -man would fry in half an hour in summer. A few dhows on the sea were -all we saw. My last journey here came back vividly and the time at -Bahrein after we were wrecked in the _Africa_. - -Wireless came into Basrah to say the spring offensive was beginning. -We put into Muskat. I found that the Resident, Colonel Ducat, was a -neighbour. There has been a row at Chahbar, and the _Philomel_, which -we expected to find here, has left, telegraphed for this morning. -The news here is that the tribes intend to attack Muskat, but it’s -not believed. We went ashore this evening, and a Beluchi boy took -the Admiral and all of us round. The people who had not been to the -East before were enchanted by the quiet, the scent of musk, and the -evening behind the Sultan’s Palace. Last time I was here was on -Christmas Day, with Leland Buxton. I was very sick, carrying a huge -bag of Maria Teresa dollars. The Portuguese forts and the names of the -ships that come here, painted in huge white letters on the cliffs, are -the remarkable things about the place. There is a sort of a silent -roll-call of the ships. The men like writing their names up in white -letters. Matrah is round the corner, and looks bigger than Muskat. You -have got to get to it by boat. Muskat itself is completely cut off. I -saw a straight-looking Arab from Asir who had been with the Turks and -had information, and asked the Agent to send him on to Aden. - -_Wednesday, April 5, 1916._ _Muskat._ Came ashore early this morning. -Then came the Admiral and his Staff, and we went to the Sultan’s house. -He had about thirty followers. We drank sherbet like scented lip-salve, -and the sailors didn’t like it. The Admiral and the Sultan talked. -Later the Sultan came here with seven A.D.C.’s and a nephew who talked -very good English which he had learned at Harrow. The Sultan has got a -lot of rather nice-looking little horses and a monstrous goat with ears -that are about 3 feet long. The Sultan gets 5 per cent. of the customs -of this place. Jack Marriott went to see a prisoner in the Portuguese -fort. He was Sheikh of a village in which a murder had been committed. -They had failed to catch the murderer, and so the Sheikh had to suffer -imprisonment himself. Not a bad plan, really. It’s the old Anglo-Saxon -idea. That sort of thing discourages men from pushing for power and -makes them very energetic, for their own sakes, when they have power. -Everything seems quiet in the hinterland. The people here are Bunyas, -who cheat the Sultan, slim aristocratic Arabs, and gorilla-like -negroes. They are mostly armed to the teeth. Sheets of rain fell this -afternoon. - -_Thursday, April 6, 1916._ _Persian Gulf._ We left early this morning. -Some very fine king-fish were brought aboard, about 4 feet long. Great -heat. We had an excellent telegram about Gorringe’s offensive in -Mesopotamia; the Turks driven back. The Admiral in great spirits. I -am tremendously glad, because I have always felt that we were coming -to a tragedy. I remember the telegram read out to us at Anzac and the -cheers--“The Turks are beaten! The way lies open to Bagdad!”--and our -enthusiasm and the disappointment after it, and I did not think this -would succeed. Hanna, on the left bank of the Tigris, is reported -taken. That ought to open Sinn on the right bank. - -_Friday, April 7, 1916._ _Persian Gulf._... To-day we were told by -wireless telegram that we had a slave of the Sultan’s on board. Quite -true; so we have.... He said he had been with the Sultan eight years -and that if he were sent back he feared for his throat. He drew his -finger across it very tenderly, and everybody roared with laughter. I -do not see that the Sultan has a leg to stand on. If the man went to -him eight years ago, he went either of his own free will, in which case -he can leave, or he was sold, and we do not recognize anything except -bondage, no traffic in slavery. - -The _Philomel’s_ prisoners have been transferred to us. One of them -looks like an old nobleman. His name is Shah Dulla. He held up Chahbar -for 4,000 rupees, like other old noblemen, and was captured with seven -bearded patriarchs by the _Philomel_ four days ago. They are dignified -people. - -_Friday, April 8, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Euryalus.”_ _Bushire._ A very cold -morning with a clear sky. It’s a nuisance having lost all my coats. -Here I leave Edward. I hope he will be all right. He is to follow by -the first opportunity with the other servants and my kit. McKay, who -is a jolly fellow, will look after him. The news this morning is that -we have again improved our position and have taken the second Turkish -line. The Russians are advancing. There was a fight here a couple of -nights ago. Our Agent, his brother and four sepoys were killed last -night at Lingah. - -_Sunday, April 9, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Imogene.”_ _Shat-el-Arab._ Yesterday -Commodore Wake came aboard.... He said that an officer had put land -mines down, and that some time after this officer had been recalled. -People in Bushire naturally wanted him either to remove or to mark -his land mines, but he said that they were all right, as they were -only exploded by electricity. The following night, however, there were -loud explosions when dogs gambolled over these mines, so people still -walk like Agag, and walking is not a popular form of exercise round -Bushire. To-day we are in a brown waste of waters that I remember well, -a dismal hinterland to a future Egypt. We passed a hospital ship early -this morning, in these yellow shallow waters. It reminded me of the -Dardanelles, but there it was much better, for there the sea and sky -were beautiful and the climate, by comparison, excellent. - -Ages ago, in Egypt, Machel used to talk of ghosts. This ship conjures -them up all right--trips with Sir Nicholas and the children to the -island and many other people, some of them still in Constantinople. -Sir Nicholas would have been surprised if he could have seen the name -of his yacht written on the rocks at Muskat, and, as the Admiral said, -he would not have liked any one else in command of his yacht, here or -in any other waters. Townshend has telegraphed some time ago to say he -could only hold out until April 1st. Here we are at the 9th. - -_Sunday, April 10, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Imogene.”_ _Kurna._ Yesterday we -arrived at Basra. It looked very beautiful and green, but we only had -a short time. Everything seemed in a state of great confusion. Two -Generals came aboard. They said we had taken two out of three lines of -the trenches that we had got to take in the first attack. Then our men -had been checked. We ought to have taken the third line last night. -The Sinn position still remains to be taken. If we had been successful -last night (and we ought to have heard this morning), we have got a -chance of relieving Townshend. If not, I am afraid there is not much -chance.... The doctors are being pretty hotly criticized, also the -Royal Indian Marine, though how they can be expected to know this river -I can’t see. Apparently they asked for iron barges from India and were -given wooden barges that the banks and the current continually break. -They asked here for one type of river-craft from home, and were told -they must have another. Lynch out here says that Lynch in London has -never been consulted, though they deny this at home. The troops have -only two days’ supplies. The soldiers in Basra were cheerful; the -wounded also, for the first time, were cheerful, because they thought -it had been worth it and that we are going to succeed.... - -There is a great storm getting up. The river’s a vast rolling flood -of yellow water, palm-trees beyond and again beyond that, marshes and -glimpses of a skeleton land, with marsh Arabs always in the background, -like ghouls, swarming on every battlefield, killing and robbing the -wounded on both sides. The Turks, they say in Basra, had said: “Let -us both have a truce and go for the Arabs and then we can turn to and -fight again.” Nureddin, the Turkish Commander-in-Chief, is supposed to -have been at Harrow with Townshend. I should think that it was really -a _pension_ at Lausanne. I saw P. Z. Cox yesterday. He and Lady Cox -were very good to me years ago in the Gulf.... The Russians have not -yet met any considerable Turkish force. If we do not relieve Townshend, -and have to fall back, we shall be attacked by all the Arabs, who are -well armed. They say a Royal Commission is being sent to India because -at home they anticipate a failure here and want a scapegoat, which they -have already provided in Nixon. - -I dined with Gertrude Bell, Millborrow, whom I had last seen at -Bahrein, and Wilson, whom I had known before. We transferred here at -Kurna from the _Imogene_ on to a tiny Admiralty gunboat, as usual -leaving all our kit. Dick Bevan says that he has a vision of perpetual -landings and expeditions until we arrive in China, with always the -same troubles, too few mules, too many A.P.M.’s, etc. This is a war -threshold to conjure up dreams and visions. It would be hard to find -one more tragic. It’s a curious fate that sends us a second time, -unprepared, to one of the richest countries in the world that, like -Egypt, has combined fertility and desert, with a stream controlling its -future. - -_Tuesday, April 11, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Snakefly.”_ Monday night we got -off the _Imogene_ on to the _Snakefly_, one of the twelve Admiralty -gunboats built for this expedition. The Admiralty don’t seem able to -stop building them, now they’ve started. They were sent out here in -pieces, then put together. One has been taken by the Turks.[24] The -_Snakefly_ draws 2 feet 9 inches only. Webster is her captain. We -slept on deck all right. We saw practically no traffic at first on the -river, and could not understand why we did not pass boats coming back -empty for supplies. We passed many Indian troops, mainly on the left -bank of the river; also isolated stations with telegraph-masters as -chiefs. These men go out two or four miles into the desert with only -a couple of rifles. These small posts contain the maximum of boredom -and anxiety, because there is nothing to do, and if any force of Arabs -came along they would be done in. An enterprising Indian sentry fired -at us in the night. We passed dour, scowling Arabs in villages and -groups on the bank with flocks and herds, buffaloes and goats, men more -savage than the Philistines, but armed with rifles. An almost endless -column of our cavalry wound its way through marsh and desert, over the -green grass, and here and there fires sent up their smoke where meals -were cooked. It struck me as more curious than the Australians round -the Pyramids. At 6 p.m. we reached Ali Gharbi. I talked to an officer -of the --th Punjabis. They were all very depressed at the failure of -Aylmer’s attack on the 8th March.... Townshend was the man they swore -by. The 4th Devons, where John Kennaway is, are said to be at the -front. There are flies that bite like bulldogs everywhere. Each night -we have had lightning over towards Kut like a sort of malignant and -fantastic Star of Bethlehem to light us on. - -_Wednesday, April 12, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Snakefly.”_ Last night the -weather broke. The Admiral’s got a cabin about 6 feet long by 2-1/2 -across. He put his head out of the window and said: “Would any of you -fellows like to come in?” It was a beastly night. Our clothes are the -thinnest tropical khaki, and they tear like a woman’s veil. There was -no shelter. I got into a conning-tower, like a telescope, but finally -walked about. There seemed to be people’s faces everywhere on deck, -though there was a lot of water. I kept my dictionary dry. Now it’s -fine and bright. At seven this morning, when I had gone below, a Boy -Scout of eighteen, one of the crew, went overboard. He was rescued -almost at once, and swam lightly and gallantly. He was lucky. To-day is -the 12th, my lucky day, but I have only got one extra shirt and one -blanket, and a Turkish dictionary for a pillow.... - -Everything seems greater and greater chaos.... We started this campaign -against one of the great military Powers of the world with two brigades -of Indians, who ought not to have been used at all, if it could have -been avoided, on this ground, which to them is holy. We started with -the wrong type of boat, and also Indian Generals who looked on the -expedition as a frontier campaign.... If we fail to relieve Townshend, -I suppose the best thing to do would be to cut our losses and retire -to Kurna and hold that line, but if we do that the Turks can fortify -the river and make it impregnable. We ran on to the bank last night, -and stayed there. We spent an uncomfortable wet night, but got off all -right this morning. There was an encampment close by. We couldn’t make -out if they were friends or enemies; the Admiral didn’t bother. We all -want a clean pair of socks and fewer mosquitoes. - -_Thursday, April 13, 1916._ _Near Sanayat._ It was at noon yesterday -that we arrived at Ali Gharbi. The Admiral saw General Lake. We are -cruelly handicapped by lacking transport and not being able to get -it. In the afternoon I crossed the river and saw General Gilman at -Felahiya. I was very glad to see him again. He had been on our left -with the 13th Division at Anafarta. One of the best men I have met. We -had a long talk.... Then I came back with Dick Bevan. What’s happened -is this: we got in such a state about Townshend being able to hold out -till the end of January that we rushed up troops and attacked without -the possibility of making preparation for the wounded, ambulances, -etc., and we failed.... Townshend has got 5,000 Arabs with him, and -the _bouches inutiles_ have told enormously, but T. has apparently -promised these people his protection and nothing will make him send -them away, and he’s right. The strain on the men with him has been -very great indeed; some of the older men are very sick. No one thinks -that he’s got a dog’s chance of getting out. The --th were badly cut -up at Anafarta, but they kept their keenness, and at the beginning -of this show their officers could not keep them back, _on the 8th of -March_. The fight on the 9th of April was very bad luck. All the men -were very cold and tired. A hot cup of coffee might have made the -whole difference.... We shall have to face a lot of trouble with the -Arabs and look out for Nasryah, which could be cut off by marsh Arabs -from Basra way and turned into another Kut. Most people think that the -line that we ought to defend is Nasryah--Amara--Ahwaz. The Admiral’s -going to Nasryah. I suggested his taking General Gillman, and he is -off too. Every one is raging against the economy of India, especially -a man called Meyer, the Treasury member for the Council of India. He -is said to have refused to give any help. In this flat land they need -observation balloons; none forthcoming. They asked for transport from -May to Christmas, and then got one launch.... - -I saw the Admiral in the evening. He was cheered after talking to -General Gorringe. We walked by the river. We met some of the Black -Watch--clean, smart men. There was a great bridge of boats, without -rails, swaying and tossing in the hurricane and covered with driven -foam from the raging yellow water. Across this there lurched Madrassis, -Sudanese, terrified cavalry horses, mules that seemed to think that -there was only water on one side, and that they would be on dry land -if they jumped off on the other. We are out of range, but shelling -is going on and one can fix points in the landscape by bursts. The -eternal flatness is depressing. This morning I saw Leachman, the -political officer. He has had a lot of adventures in Arabia--a very -good fellow, whom everybody likes, which is rare.... He was against -our going farther back than Sheikh Saad, both from the point of view -of strategy and also because it would be playing a low game on our own -friendlies. The Arabs on the bank between Sheikh Saad and Ali Gharbi -are, apparently, past praying for. - -This afternoon I went out with the Admiral.... Townshend has been -telegraphing to-day. His men are dying of starvation. The whole -situation is pitiful. Here the troops have been on half rations for -some time. Our boats are many, but insufficient. They are of every -kind, from an Irawaddy steamer to the steamers of the Gordon Relief -Expedition and L.C.C. boats. We met some of the 6th Devons, and I asked -them if the way the Admiral was going was safe. They said: “We be -strangers here zur,” as if they were Exeter men in Taunton.... The rain -is making the relief practically impossible. Last night there was heavy -firing and we advanced 2,000 yards, but the main positions are still -untaken. To-night I met Percy Herbert, very useful, as my tropical -khaki is coming to pieces. - -_Friday, April 14, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Stonefly.”_ ... A furious wind got -up and drove mountains of yellow water before it, against the stream. -The skies were black. Captain Nunn, the Senior Naval Officer, wanted -to go to Sheikh Saad. I wanted to go to H.Q. to see Colonel Beach, -Chief of the Intelligence, who has written to me to come. We got off -with difficulty into the stream. It was like a monstrous snake, heaving -and coiling. We only drew 3 feet and we were very top-heavy with iron, -and I thought we were bound to turn over. I said so to Singleton, the -captain, who said: “I quite agree. It serves them d----d well right -if we do, for sending us out in this weather.” This thought pleased -him, though it did not satisfy me. Nunn said it was the worst weather -he had seen in the year. I got off at Wadi thankfully, and went to -see Beach, but it was not all over yet. He wanted to go and see how -the bridge of boats was standing the strain. The end of the bridge -of boats had been removed to let the steamers through, though there -were none passing. It was twisting like an eel trying to get free, -and going up and down like a moving staircase in agony. There was -foam and gloom and strain and fury and the screaming of the timber, -but the bridge held. The engineers were calmly smoking their pipes -at the end, wondering in a detached way if it would hold. I prefer -fighting any day to this sort of thing. Then I went walking with -Beach. He asked me to be ready in case Townshend wanted me. I dined -with General Lake, General Money, Williams and Dent; capital fellows. -Had an interesting time after dinner. The future is doubtful. If we -have to retire, we shall have a double loss of prestige, Kut gone and -our own retreat. When we want to advance later, we shall find all our -present positions fortified against us. A retreat will also involve -the abandonment of our friendlies. This campaign has taught me why we -have been called _perfide Albion_. It’s very simple. We embark upon a -campaign without any forethought at all. Then, naturally we get into -extreme difficulties. After that, we talk to the natives, telling them -quite truthfully that we have got magnificent principles of truth, -justice, tolerance, etc., that where the British Raj is all creeds are -free. They like these principles so much that they forget to count -our guns. Then, principles or no principles, we have got to retreat -before a vastly superior force, and the people who have come in with us -get strafed. Then they all say “_perfide Albion_,” though it’s really -nobody’s fault--sometimes not even the fault of the Government. - -I slept on the _Malamir_, on deck. It was very wet in the night, but I -kept fairly dry. - -_Saturday, April 15, 1916._ “_Malamir._” I went and saw the Turkish -prisoners in one of the most desolate camps on earth; some Albanians -amongst them. They said there were munition factories in Bagdad, -that 4,000 Turks had gone to Persia--they did not know if it was to -the oil-field at Basra or against the Russians. It’s Basra and the -oil-field that are important to us. - -Lunched aboard the _Malamir_. General Lake was very kind. I went off -on an Irawaddy steamer, a “P” boat. The Captain told appalling stories -of the wounded on board after Ctesiphon. It took them seventeen days -to Amara, which sounds incredible. They had to turn back three times -at Wadi and return to Kut, because they were heavily attacked at Wadi -by Kurds. General Nixon had to turn back too. The transport was so -overcrowded that men were pushed overboard. I met an Indian political -officer on board ... (and again).... He said one thing to me that was -not indiscreet. Once at Abazai he had seen a Pathan wrestling. Before -he wrestled he held up his hands, and cried an invocation: “Dynamis” -(Might). He thought it must have come from the days of Alexander. -He had been in the Dujaila fight on March 8th, and talked about it, -unhappily. He also said that the corruption of the Babus at Basra was -awful. - -On board our ship there were piles of bread without any covering, but a -swarming deposit of flies; good for everybody’s stomach. - -_Sunday, April 16, 1916._ Half a day’s food is being dropped daily -by aeroplanes in Kut.... I met a very jolly Irish officer, a V.C. He -said that when the war broke out he, and many like himself, saw the -Mohammedan difficulty. They had themselves been ready to refuse to -fight against Ulster; why should Indians fight the Turks? We were -fighting for our own lives, but the quarrel did not really concern -Indians. They might have been expected to be spectators. Then the -orders came for them to go to France. They called up the Indian -officers and said to them: “Germany has declared war, and on second -thoughts, a Jehad. She quarrelled with England first and then pretended -she was fighting for Islam.” The Indian officers agreed, and came along -readily. They were then ordered to Mesopotamia. They again called upon -the Indian officers, who said: “We would sooner go anywhere else in -the world, but we will go, and we will not let the regiment down.” They -were told to go to Bagdad, and were willing to go, though their frame -of mind was the same.... Then I went off to interrogate prisoners. It -was tremendously hot. The prisoners were under a guard of Indians, -and I found it hard to make the Indians understand my few words of -Hindustani. The prisoners’ morale seemed good. They said they were not -tired of the war and that they did not think of disobeying orders, for -that, they said, would be awful and would make chaos. They thought that -what pleased God was going to happen, and they were inclined to believe -that that would be victory for the Turks. They said twenty-seven guns -had come up in the last eight days, 17 cm. and 20 cm. If that’s the -case, they can shell us out of here. I told the Admiral, and in the -evening we walked. We met General Gorringe ... I am tremendously sorry -for these men here. Last year the God of battles was on our side. We -ought not to have won, by any law of odds or strategy, at Shaiba, at -Ctesiphon, or Nasryah, but we did. They won against everything, and now -the luck has turned. They have brought Indian troops to fight on holy -soil for things that mean nothing to them. They have been hopelessly -outnumbered by the Turks. They have been starved of everything, from -food to letters, not to speak of high explosives. They have been -through the most ghastly heat and the most cruel cold, and they are -still cheerful. I have never seen a more friendly lot than these men -here. They have always got something cheerful to say when you meet -them. The weather has changed and it’s very fine, with a beautiful -wind and clear skies, but there are no scents, like in Gallipoli, of -thyme and myrtle. It’s a limitless bare plain, green and sometimes -brown mud, covered by an amazing mixture of men and creatures: horses -and mules and buffaloes, Highlanders, Soudanese and Devons, Arabs and -Babus. Camp fires spring up, somehow, at night by magic. We generally -have a bombardment most days, but no shells round us. - -_Monday, April 17, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Waterfly.”_ Harris is Captain. While -we were having breakfast this morning a German aeroplane flew over and -bombed us ineffectually. Bombs fell a couple of hundred yards away in -camp, not doing any damage, but they’ll get us sometime, as we are a -fine target, three boats together. - -_Tuesday, April 18, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Waterfly.”_ Last night the Admiral -went to Amara. He left Jack Marriott, Philip Neville, Dick Bevan and me -here. There was no work down there and a lot here. Last night we did -well, took about 250 prisoners and the Bunds that are essential to us. -If the Turks have these and want to, they can flood the country to the -extent of making manœuvring impossible. There was peace yesterday at -the crimson sunset. Then after that came the tremendous fight. Guns and -flares blazed all along the line. Now comes the news that we have lost -the Bunds and the eight guns we had taken. The position is not clear. -We are said to have retaken most of the positions this morning. - -The prisoners’ morale here is much better than in Gallipoli. I asked -an Arab if he was glad to be a prisoner. He said that he was sorry, -because his own people might think that he hadn’t fought well, but -that he was glad not to have to go on fighting for the Germans. Jack -Marriott wrote for me while I translated. The prisoners could not or -would not tell us anything much about the condition of the river. This -morning I had an experience. I walked out through tremendous heat to -where the last batch of officer prisoners were guarded in a tent. As I -came up, I heard loud wrangling, and saw the prisoners being harangued -by a fierce black-bearded officer. I said: “Who here talks Turkish?” -and a grizzled old Kurd said: “Some of us talk Kurdish and some Arabic, -but we all talk Turkish.” I picked out Black-beard and took him apart -from the others, whom I saw he had been bullying. He was a schoolmaster -and a machine-gunner, and fierce beyond words. He began by saying -sarcastically that he would give me all the information I wanted. “You -have failed at Gallipoli,” he said. “We hold you up at Salonica, and -you are only visitors at Basra. I do not mind how much I tell you, -because I know we are going to win.” I answered rather tartly that it -was our national habit to be defeated at the beginning of every war and -to win at the end, and that we should go on, if it took us ten years. -“Ah, then,” he said, “you will be fighting Russia.” I did not like the -way this conversation was going, and said to him: “Do you know the -thing that your friends the Germans have done? They have offered Persia -to Russia. How do you like that?” “The question is,” he said, “how -do you like it?” He then said that he was sick of the word “German,” -that Turkey was not fighting for the Germans, but to get rid of the -capitulations. He said they had four Austrian motor-guns of 24 cm. -coming in a few days. I congratulated him. In the end he became more -friendly, but I got nothing out of him. One prisoner had a series of -fits: I think it was fright. He got all right when he was given water -and food. The river has given another great sigh and risen a foot and -a half. We have crossed over from the right to the left bank. It’s a -black, thundery day. Much depends on to-day and to-night. - -_Good Friday, April 21, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Waterfly.”_ I have had no time -to write these last days. This morning is a beautiful morning, with a -fresh north wind. When we first came here Townshend was supposed to -be able to hold out until the 12th. Now the 27th April is the last -date. All the reports that we have been getting from the Turks are -bad. Masses more men and guns coming up, heavy calibre guns. Still, -Townshend is getting some food.... The _Julnar_ is to go up in a few -days, when the moon is waning. It is very difficult to get information -from the prisoners, without running the risk of giving things away. -Costello is chief of the Intelligence here, a capital fellow. - -The Royal Indian Marine, freed from the obstruction of India, seem to -have done pretty well. A lot of the boats and barges sent here have -been sunk on the way. The Admiralty goes on building these river Fly -boats like anything. The _Mantis_, with Bernard Buxton captain, draws 5 -feet and was intended for the Danube in the days when we were going to -have taken Constantinople. On Wednesday, the 18th, we fired a good deal -from the _Waterfly_. We are not well situated for firing.... - -The Dorsets and Norfolks, the Oxfords and the Devons, have done the -most splendid fighting. Twenty-two Dorsets saved the whole situation -at Ahwaz. Harris, who is only twenty-five, has been through all this. -He was the first up here, with Leachman. It’s awfully bad luck on -Townshend, being shut up again, the second time counting Chitral. On -Wednesday there was a tremendous fire. It sounded like a nearer Helles. -The Turks are three miles from us. They lollop down mines that go on -the bank, but this morning one was found close by the ship. - -I examined a Turk this morning, who said that three Army Corps were -coming up under Mehemed Ali Pasha. I asked him if they could outflank -us on the Hai, to try and turn this place into a second Kut. “That,” he -said, “has always been my opinion.” - -Yesterday, the 20th, I went to H.Q. in the morning, then talked to Dick -and got maps revised and borrowed a horse for the afternoon from Percy -Herbert, and got another from Costello for B. - - * * * * * - -Here I should explain that I had promised my friend B., the sailor, to -take him up into the front-line trenches. He had never been in a front -trench before, and was determined to see what it was like. - - * * * * * - -_Diary._ General Gillman gave B. and me luncheon. Then B. and I rode -out to the camp of the 18th Division, where I found Brownrigg, now -become a Colonel, with malaria. I congratulated and condoled. I asked -if we could get into the front trench, and Colonel Hillard said it -was unhealthy. B. said that didn’t matter, and I asked exactly how -unhealthy. Hillard said there were no communication trenches and we -should be under machine-gun fire at 80 yards. No rations were being -sent up till nightfall, but still, of course, if we wanted to go, we -could. B. was passionately anxious to go; I was not. We walked down a -shallow communication trench, which we soon had to leave, because of -the water, and then across the open to a beastly place called Crofton’s -Post, an observation post in the flat land, with a few sandbags and mud -walls. They had dug a kind of shelter about 6 feet deep below it. It -stood about 20 feet high. The Turks were eight to nine hundred yards -away. We passed other observation posts, these simply a ladder rising -from the flat land, and men like flies on it. It’s incredible that the -Turks leave these places standing or that they allow people to walk -about in the open in the way in which they do. Coming out, we passed a -lot of quail and partridge and some jolly wild flowers, but also the -smells of the battlefield. - -After we had been at Crofton’s Post a little while, a furious -bombardment of the Turks by us began. I cursed myself for not having -asked what the plans of the afternoon were going to be. B. was -delighted. Shells rushed over our heads from all sides. I heard the -scream of two premature bursts just by us. They raised filthy, great -columns of heaving smoke. It was a wonderful picture; the radiant and -brilliant light of the afternoon, the desert out by the river, the -gleam of the gun flashes and the smouldering smoke columns. - -The Gurkhas fought very well two nights ago, they said here. They used -up all their ammunition and what Turkish rifles they could get and then -they fought with kukris. At one place an unfortunate mistake happened. -We mistook the Indians for Turks, and we bombarded each other. - -We went back almost deafened by our own guns, B. reluctant to leave. -I expected a heavy Turkish return bombardment every minute, which -would have been unpleasant without any cover, but beyond the ticking -of a machine-gun nothing happened. Found General Maude having tea. His -casualties have been heavy--nineteen officers killed and wounded in the -last ten days, simply trench work, no attacks. He said it was putting a -very heavy strain on the new army. - -The more I see of this foul country, the more convinced I am that we -are a seafaring people, lured to disaster by this river. The River -Tigris has been a disaster and a delusion to us. These lines are -untenable without two railways, one across to Nasriyah and the other -up to Bagdad. At the present moment, we can be cut off if the river -falls or if they manage to put in guns anywhere down the river and sink -a couple of our boats, or even one, in the narrows, and so block the -channel. We have got no policy. We came here and we saw the Tigris and -we said: “This is as good as the sea, and up we will go,” and now it -will dry up and we shall get left. - -Lawrence arrived at Wadi on Wednesday. Had some talk with him; I am -very glad to see him. Got a letter from John Kennaway yesterday--he is -down at Sheikh Saad--asking me to go there. I can get no news about -Bobby Palmer. Am afraid there is no doubt; he must be killed; am very -sad for his people. - -_Easter Sunday, April 23, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Greenfly.”_ A curious -morning, with the whole of Pusht i Kuh standing blue and clear. The -last two foreigners who visited that place were given the choice of -embracing Islam or of being pushed over the precipice. They chose the -precipice. - -Yesterday morning we attacked. The 19th Brigade, the Black Watch, -the 20th and the 28th. We took two trenches, but were driven back to -our own. I was sent post-haste to H.Q. for news. There was a great -sand-storm and men and artillery going through it like phantoms. -Overhead it was lurid. One could hardly breathe for the sand. High -columns of it rushed across the desert. The repulse looks as if the -end’s very close. I came back to the Admiral and was sent back again. -This time they said there was a truce, and if the Admiral would give -permission, I was to go to the front at once. I came back and found -the Admiral and went on shore. I got a horse and rode up to the front -as fast as I could, passing many dead and wounded. I went to General -Younghusband and asked if I could be of any use to him. He said the -truce was ending. The Turks had pushed out white flags, which was -decent of them. We had done the same. A Staff officer came in to say -that the Turks were taking our kit, and he wanted to fire on them. I -was anxious we should not do so without giving warning. - -We discussed the possibility of the Turks’ letting Townshend and his -men come out with the honours of war, to be on parole till peace. I -said that I could see no _quid pro quo_, and even if one existed, -we, here, could not use it, because of our ignorance of the Russian -situation.... The General said that the water had narrowed our front to -300 yards across which to attack. The Turkish trenches were half-full -of water and many of our men fell and got their rifles filled with -mud. The Turks attacked again at once. He said there were not many -troops who would do that when a brigade like the 19th had been through -them. There’s very little left of the 19th; beautiful men they were. I -have talked to a lot of them these last days. I rode back on a horse -that was always falling down. In the evening I crossed the river with -the Admiral and rode up to the front with Beach. There was shelling -going on, but nothing came near. The river was gorgeous in the sunset. -Overhead the sand-grouse flew. We talked about the future.... It seems -to me that if we have got to retreat 130 miles it’s less bad for -prestige to do it in one go. The Politicals’ point of view is that you -should not retreat at all, but that, of course, has got to depend on -military considerations. The Soldiers’ point of view is that you should -not do your retreat in one go, because you do not kill so many of the -enemy as if you fall back from one position to another; but then, I -suppose, that cuts both ways. None of these soldiers have had any -decorations since the beginning of the war. One of them said to me it -made them unhappy, because they felt that they hadn’t done their duty. -It’s an infernal shame. I asked the man who had said this if he had any -leave. He said: “Not much! I should have lost my job.” That would have -been quite a pleasure to a lot of men.... - -Lawrence has gone and got fever; Nunn also has it. The atmosphere makes -shooting difficult. Yesterday the Turks shot quite a lot at a mirage, -splashing their bullets about in the Suwekki marsh. We often do the -same. Curiously enough, I believe that we won the battle of Shaiba by -virtue of a mirage. We saw a lot of Turks marching up against our -position, and fired at them; these Turks were phantoms of men miles -away; but it happened to be the only road by which they could bring up -their ammunition, and our firing prevented that. To-night the _Julnar_ -goes up the river on her journey. She has less speed than they thought. - - * * * * * - -For various reasons I have barely mentioned the _Julnar_ until now, -though she had been very much in our thoughts. The _Julnar_ was a river -boat, and for some days past she had been preparing to set out upon her -splendid, tragic mission. In her lay the last hope of General Townshend -and his gallant force. Her freight was food, intended to prolong the -resistance of the garrison until the relieving force was sufficiently -strong to drive back the Turks and enter Kut. The writer of this diary -has many heroic pictures in his mind, but no more heroic picture and -no more glowing memory than the little _Julnar_ steaming slowly up the -flaming Tigris to meet the Turkish Army and her fate. Her Captains were -Lieut. Firman, R.N. and Lieut.-Comdr. Cowley, R.N.V.R., of Lynch’s -Company, who had spent a long life in navigating the River Tigris. - -When Admiral Wemyss called for volunteers, every man volunteered, for -what was practically certain death. Lieut. Firman and Lieut.-Comdr. -Cowley were both killed, and both received posthumous V.C.’s. - - * * * * * - -_Diary. April 23rd._ _H.M.S. “Greenfly.”_ We are alongside the -_Mantis_. I am sleeping in Firman’s cabin. He is down-stream, but -he comes up to-night. Many men badly wounded yesterday, but all as -cheerful as could be; one man with three bullets in his stomach, full -of talk and oaths. Fifteen of the Dorsets have died in the nearest -hospital and have been buried close by. - -This afternoon an Easter Service was held on board. The Padre made a -good sermon three minutes long. It was a wonderful sight--the desert -covered with our graves, mirages in the distance and the river glowing -in the sun. At the end of the service the _Julnar_ arrived. Firman -is an attractive good-looking fellow. King, whom I met last year in -Alexandretta, whither he had marched from Bagdad, is also here. When -Buxton told the men of the hundred to one chance of the _Julnar’s_ -getting through, they volunteered to a man. Gieve waistcoats are being -served out; the cannon’s sounding while they are loading the _Julnar_ -and the Black Watch are playing on the bagpipes close by. Overhead go -the sand-grouse, calling and the river and the desert wind are sighing. -It’s all like a dream.... Even if she does get through, I don’t believe -we can relieve Kut. The Turks will have time to consolidate their -position and we shan’t be sent enough men from home to take them. If -this attempt fails, I suppose we shall fall back to Sheikh Saad. I see -three points: (1) Political. Don’t retreat. (2) Military. You’ve got to -retreat, occupying as many positions as possible, in order to attrition -the enemy. (3) If you do this last, you give the Turks the chance of -saying they have beaten you in a number of battles. Probably retreat -as little as possible is the best. A retreat may be more disastrous to -us than the loss of Kut. While we hold Sheikh Saad, it’s difficult for -them to outflank us on the right bank, and while we have the Vali of -Pusht i Kuh with us, they ought not to be able to get to Ahwaz. One -wonders if they realize the supreme importance of Basra at home and -that if we no longer hold it we do not hold the Indian Ocean. - -_Monday, April 24, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Dragonfly.”_ Firman came last night, -and I sat next to him at dinner. The _Julnar_ could not start; she -starts to-night. - -I went ashore this morning and saw Leachman, then Colonel Beach. The -flies are awful; one black web of them this morning; in one’s hair and -eyes and mouth, in one’s bath and shaving-water, in one’s tea and in -one’s towel. It’s a great nuisance being without Edward and having to -do everything oneself, besides one’s work. It destroys all joy in war. - -_Tuesday, April 25, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Greenfly.”_ A year ago to-day we -landed at Anzac. To-day is the day of the fall of Kut, though the -surrender may not be made for some time. Last night the _Julnar_ left. -I saw old Cowley, an old friend. He is to pilot her. He has been -thirty-three years on this river. He is a proper Englishman. He laughed -and chaffed with Philip Neville and me on the _Julnar_ before starting. -Firman was very glad to have got the job, and felt the responsibility. -Everybody wanted to go. The sailors were moved. No cheers were allowed. -They pushed off, almost stationary, into the river, that was a glory -of light with the graceful mehailahs in an avenue on both sides of -it, with masts and rigging a filigree against the gorgeous sunset. -The faint bagpipes and the desert wind were the only music at their -going.... The Admiral told me to be ready to go out at any moment. -This morning Colonel Beach came aboard and told me to hold myself in -readiness. He proposed going out to see the Turks with Lawrence and -myself. He talked about terms. It’s a very difficult thing to get terms -when one side holds all the cards. If Townshend destroys his guns, as -he must, I don’t see what terms we have got. My own opinion is that -Townshend would make better terms for himself with the Turks than we -can get for him here. It will be difficult to stop the Arabs being shot -and hung. We have got to do our best.... - -The _Julnar_ has grounded above the Sinn position. Nothing is known of -what happened to the crew. - -Wilfred Peek turned up here this afternoon, having seen John Kennaway -down the stream. We have no terms to offer the Turks except money, -general or local peace, or the evacuation of territory. I do not think -the first is any good. We cannot offer the second because of ourselves -and of Russia. The third might be all right, if it was not beyond -Amarah. I hope in these negotiations we do not meet a Prussian Turk in -Khalil. - -After lunch I met Captain Potter. In the last attack this had happened: -A corporal had gone mad and, after rolling in filth, had come down the -trench with a bomb in each hand, shouting out that he was looking for -the ---- Arabs. The parapet was low, about shoulder-high, and there was -a good deal of shrapnel and bullets coming in. The corporal threw the -bomb into the middle of the officers’ mess, killing one and wounding -the Colonel, knocking Potter and the others out. They collared the -corporal, who had got a madman’s strength. Then the attack followed. -Potter went as soon as he recovered. They charged across 600 yards -under machine-gun fire, up to their knees in mud. The Turks were in -their third trench. The first and the second were filled with mud. -Then the Turks ran out a white flag, which suited us very well, as it -allowed our men in the Turkish trenches to get away, which otherwise -they couldn’t have done. He thought the Turks did it because they -wanted to bring up reinforcements. He now commands a battalion of 84, -all that are left of 650 men. He said they had reached the limits -of human endurance. He had three officers, including himself, left. -The Black Watch had been wiped out twice, and other regiments simply -annihilated. I told him that I thought there would be no more attacks. -He said a Turkish prisoner, a friend of his, had said to him: “Let’s -have a truce and both kill the Arabs.” - -Beach says there is no question of going out to-day. I went out -shooting sand-grouse. - -_Wednesday, April 26, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ I am writing in great -haste, till the sun goes down, as the mehailahs stream past on a river -of fire, in the retreat that is beginning. - -The news from home is good and bad. As usual, they are desperately -optimistic, but more men are coming. We must, if we can, save the Arabs -with Townshend. The last telegrams in were pitiful. Townshend quotes -military precedents and other campaigns, and it’s all mixed up with -famine and the stinks of Kut. Wilfred Peek’s his A.D.C. I am to try -and get him a safe conduct to take Townshend’s stuff up to him, also -one for us. If Townshend does not make it clear that it’s a return -ticket, we shall all be kept. I saw General Lake this morning. Captain -Bermester, the Chief of the Staff, Neville, Dick Bevan and Miller all -went off this morning. The Admiral is coming back. I have received -instructions about negotiations. - -_Friday, April 28, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ For the last two days I -have been standing by to go to Kut, constantly dressing up for it and -then undressing for the heat. A wave of great heat has come and the air -is black with flies. Practically no firing, though they tried to shell -us yesterday and an aeroplane dropped bombs near here. We have got very -little to bargain with, as far as the Turks are concerned, practically -only the exchange of prisoners. The operations of this force are not to -be reckoned with as a bargaining asset. We are not to retire to save -Townshend. Yesterday Townshend saw Khalil at ten a.m., whom he liked. -Khalil said that Townshend would have as great a reception in Turkey -as Osman Pasha in Russia, but he demanded unconditional surrender, or -that Townshend should march out of Kut. This last is equivalent to an -unconditional surrender, and Townshend’s men are too weak. We are all -sorry for them. - -Yesterday morning General Lake sent for me, and talked about the Turks. -I said it was quite clear to me that the Turks would procrastinate, -if it was only from force of habit, and the end of that must mean -unconditional surrender. General Lake was calm. He has been made -responsible for things for which other people are answerable. Townshend -has telegraphed to say that he has only food for two more days and -that Khalil has referred to Enver for better terms.... I still think -Townshend would get better terms for himself than we shall get for him. -He has made a desperately gallant fight of it, and his position has -not been taken. Lack of food makes him surrender, not force of arms. -We, the relieving force, have been checked by the Turks, but I suppose -all these men, Lake, Townshend and Nixon, will be made scapegoats. In -the last telegrams Townshend warns us that the Turks may attack. He -says he cannot move out, and that even if he were able to get his weak -men out the Turks would not have enough tents for them or transport to -Bagdad, and that there will be a terrible tragedy and that a lot of -sick and wounded will die.... We are not in a position to insist on -anything. One is more sorry for Townshend and his men than words can -say. - -_Sunday, April 30, 1916._ _H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ _The Events of Saturday_: -Yesterday morning Colonel Beach came to the _Mantis_ at seven and -took me off. We rode across the bridge to General Younghusband’s H.Q. -Nothing that I have ever seen or dreamed of came up to the flies. They -hatched out until they were almost the air. They were in myriads. The -horses were half mad. The flies were mostly tiny. They rolled up in -little balls when one passed one’s hand across one’s sweating face. -They were on your eyelids and lashes and in your lips and nostrils. We -could not speak for them, and could hardly see. - -We went into General Younghusband’s tent. The flies, for some reason, -stayed outside. He put a loose net across the door of the tent. They -were like a visible fever, shimmering in the burning light all round. -Inside his tent you did not breathe them; outside you could not help -taking them in through the nose and the mouth. We left General -Younghusband and went on to the front trenches, where we met Colonel -Aylsmee. There Lawrence joined us. We three then went out of the -trenches with a white flag, and walked a couple of hundred yards or so -ahead, where we waited, with all the battlefield smells round us. It -was all a plain, with the river to the north and the place crawling -with huge black beetles and singing flies, that have been feeding on -the dead. After a time a couple of Turks came out. I said: “We have got -a letter to Khalil.” This they wanted to take from us, but we refused -to give it up, and they sent an orderly back to ask if we might come in -to the Turkish lines. Meanwhile we talked amiably. One of the Turkish -officers, a Cretan, had left school five years ago and had been in five -wars. He reckoned that he had been in 200 attacks, not counting scraps -with brigands and comitadjis. The Turks showed us their medals, and we -were rather chagrined at not being able to match them, but they and we -agreed that we should find the remedy for that in a future opportunity. - -Several hours passed. It was very hot. I was hungry, having had no -breakfast. Again they asked us to give up our letter. I said that -our orders were to deliver it in person and, as soldiers, they knew -what orders were, but that Colonel Beach would give the letter up if -their C.O. would guarantee that we should see Khalil Pasha. This took -a long time. The Turks sent for a tent. A few rifle shots went off -from our lines, but Beach went back and stopped it. The Turks sent -for oranges and water, and we ate and drank. We had to refill these -bottles from the Tigris, and up and down the banks were a lot of dead -bodies from shot-wounds and cholera. After some time they agreed to -Beach’s proposal. We were blindfolded and we went in a string of hot -hands to the trenches of the Turks. When it was plain going the Turk, -who talked French, called: “Franchement, en avant,” and when it was -bad going, over trenches, “Yavash Dikatet.” We marched a long way -through these trenches, banging against men and corners, and sweating -something cruel. Beyond the trenches we went for half an hour, while -my handkerchief became a wet string across my eyes. Then we met Bekir -Sami Bey. He was a very fine man and very jolly, something between an -athlete and old King Cole. He lavished hospitality upon us, coffee -and yoghurt, and begged us to say if there was anything more he could -get us, while we sat and streamed with perspiration. He told us how -he had loved England and still did. He was fierceness and friendship -incarnate. He said it was all Grey’s fault, and glorified the Crimea. -Why couldn’t we have stuck to that policy? Then, as we were going off, -I said that he would not insist on our eyes being bandaged, showing him -my taut, wet rag of a pocket-handkerchief. He shouted with laughter -and said: “No, no; you have chosen soldiering, a very hard profession. -You have got to wear that for miles, and you will have to ride across -ditches.” Then he shook hands and patted us on the shoulder. - -My eyes were bound, and I got on a horse that started bucking because -of the torture of the flies. The Turk was angry and amused. I heard -him laughing and swearing: “This is perfectly monstrous. Ha, ha! He’ll -be off. Ha, ha! This is a reproach to us.” I was then given another -horse that was not much of an improvement, and off we three went -with a Turkish officer, Ali Shefket, and a guard. Lawrence had hurt -his knee and could not ride. He got off and walked, a Turkish officer -being left with him. Colonel Beach and I went on. Then our eyes were -unbound, though as a matter of fact this was against the orders I had -heard given. The Turk Ali Shefket and I talked. He knew no French. He -said to me: “Formerly the Arabs would not take our bank-notes; now they -take them. Once upon a time they would not take medjids; two days ago -they took them. To what do you put that down?” I knew he meant the fall -of Kut, but it was not said maliciously. I said that I put it down to -the beautiful character of the marsh Arabs, “yerli bourda beule” (here -the native are thus). He laughed and agreed. We passed formidable herds -of horses and mules, our road a sand-track. The escort rode ahead of -us. The heat was very great, but we galloped. The Turks we met thought -that we were prisoners. They saluted sometimes at strict attention, -sometimes with a grin, and later our Indians were told in return to -salute the Turkish officers, who looked at them as black as thunder. - -At last we came to Khalil’s camp, a single round tent, a few men on -motor cycles coming and going, horses picketed here and there and the -camp in process of shifting. Later on, Khalil said that the flies bored -him and that he meant to camp beside the river. Colonel Beach told me -to start talking. I said to Khalil, whose face I remembered: “Where -was it that I met your Excellency last?” And he said: “At a dance at -the British Embassy.” Khalil, throughout the interview, was polite. He -was quite a young man for his position, I suppose about thirty-five, -and a fine man to look at--lion-taming eyes, a square chin and a mouth -like a trap. Kiazim Bey, who was also courteous, but silent, was his -C.G.S. We began on minor points. The Turks had taken the English ladies -in Bagdad. Their husbands were sent across to Alexandretta, where I -met them last year; some of them, worse luck, are now prisoners again. -We had Turkish ladies at Amara and also twenty-five Turkish civilian -officials. This exchange was arranged. They were to meet each other at -Beyrout. - -I went on to speak of the _Julnar_. He said that there had been two -killed on the _Julnar_. He was afraid it was the two Captains. He was -sorry. It made Beech and me very sad. I did hope they would have got -through. Firman was a gallant man--he had had forty-eight hours’ leave -in four years--and old Cowley was a splendid old fellow. Well, if you -are going to be killed, trying to relieve Townshend is not a bad way to -end. - -After that, I began talking of the treatment of the Arab population -in Kut. I asked Khalil to put himself in the position of Townshend. I -said that I knew that he could not help feeling for Townshend, whose -lifelong study of soldiering was brought to nought through siege and -famine, by no fault of his own. I said that the Arabs with Townshend -had done what weak people always do: they had trimmed their sails, -and because they had feared him, they had given him their service. If -they suffered, Townshend would feel that he was responsible. Khalil -said: “There is no need to worry about Townshend. He’s all right.” -He added that the Arabs are Turkish subjects, not British, and that -therefore their fate was irrelevant, but that their fate would depend -upon what they did in the future, not upon what they had done in the -past. We asked him for some assurance that there would be no hanging or -persecution. He would not give this assurance, for the reasons already -stated, but said that it was not his intention to do anything to the -Arabs. Then Lawrence turned up. - -We discussed the question of our sick and wounded. He said that he -would send 500 of them down the river, but that he required Turkish -soldiers for them in exchange. I said that he gained by having sound -men instead of wounded. He wanted us to send boats to fetch these men. -He said that he was sending them drugs, doctors and food, and doing -what could be done. Beach asked for the exchange of all our prisoners -in Kut against the Ottomans that we had taken. He at first said that he -would exchange English against Turk and Arab against Indian, because -he had a poor opinion of the fighting qualities of the last two. I -said that some of the Arabs had fought very well, and he would gain by -getting them back. He then pulled out a list of prisoners of ours, and -went through the list of Arab surrenders, swearing. He said: “Perhaps -one of our men in ten is weak or cowardly, but it’s only one in a -hundred of the Arabs who is brave. Look, these brutes have surrendered -to you because they were a lot of cowards. What are you to do with men -like that? You can send them back to me if you like, but I have already -condemned them to death. I should like to have them to hang.” That -ended that. We must see that Arabs are not sent back by mistake. - -He then said that he would like us to send ships up to transport -Townshend and his men to Bagdad; otherwise they would have to march, -which would be hard on them. He promised to let us have these ships -back again. Colonel Beach said to me, not for translation, that this -was impossible. We have already insufficient transport. He told me to -say that he would refer this to General Lake. We then talked about -terms and the exchange of the sick and wounded. On this, Khalil said he -would refer to Enver or Constantinople as to whether sound men at Kut -would be exchanged against the Turkish prisoners in Cairo and India. -He did not think it likely. He was going to give us the wounded in any -case, at once. He would trust us to give their equivalent. - -_Guns_: Townshend had destroyed the guns. Khalil was angry and -showed it. He said he had a great admiration for Townshend, but he -was obviously disappointed at not getting the guns, on which he had -counted. He said: “I could have prevented it by bombarding, but I did -not want to.” Later, one of his officers said to me: “The Pasha’s a -most honourable man; all love him. He was first very pleased and said -that Townshend should go free. After that something happened, I don’t -know what, and now Townshend will be an honoured prisoner at Stamboul.” - -Beach told me to say that we would willingly pay for the maintenance -of the civilians and the Arabs of Kut. Khalil brushed this aside and -returned to his proposal that we should send up boats to transport -Townshend’s sick and wounded to Bagdad. Beach whispered to me that we -had not enough ships for ourselves at the present moment and no reserve -supplies.... - -Then we talked of the general situation and its difficulties. I asked -him if all this business would be possible without an armistice. Khalil -said very strongly indeed that he was entirely against an armistice -and that he wanted his assurance given to General Lake that even if -there was a general offensive the ships carrying the sick and wounded -could still come and go. Beach told me to say that we had no idea of -an armistice. Khalil, at this point, grew very sleepy. He apologized -and said he had had a lot of work to do. He also said that he had seen -Townshend that morning and that he was all right, but he had slight -fever. - -Our final understanding with Khalil was that we were to notify him when -we were sending up boats, so that he might clear the river. He laughed -and said that he had forgotten all about the mines, which we had not. - -We ended with mutual compliments, and we said good-bye to him and -Kiazim Bey. As we were leaving he called to me and said that he hoped -we should be comfortable that night and that we were to ask for all we -wanted. After more compliments, we shook hands and rode away, all the -Turks saluting. I talked to Ali Shefket, who now seemed a fast friend -and said: “How angry the Germans would be if they could see the Turks -and the English.” - -We rode on, and before sunset, came to the Turkish camp. There the -three of us sat down and, as far as we could for the flies, wrote -reports. - -The Turks gave us their tent, though I should have preferred to sleep -out. They gave us their beds and an excellent dinner. We all sat and -smoked after dinner for a few minutes under the stars, with camp -fires burning round us. Muezzin called from different places and the -sound of flutes and singing came through the dusk. Then Colonel Beach -decided that I had better stay and go to Kut, where I was to meet him -and Lawrence, who would come up with the boats to take our prisoners -away. I didn’t believe that Khalil would accept this sort of liaison -business. Beach wanted to go straight back, but would not let Lawrence -or me. We pointed out that, if he got shot in the dark by our people, -it would upset everything. - -I dictated a French letter to Lawrence, asking for permission for me to -stay and go across to Kut. I cannot think how he wrote the letter. The -whole place was one smother of small flies, attracted by the candle. -They put it out three times. B. and I kept them off Lawrence while he -wrote. We got an answer at about two in the morning. Khalil said that -it was not necessary. All this happened on April 29th. - -_To-day. April 30th._ We left at 4.30 this morning, and this time rode -all the way with unbandaged eyes. We ended up on the river bank amongst -dead bodies. We walked across to our front line and Colonel Beach -telephoned to H.Q. While he was doing this a Turkish white flag went up -and we went out again. After several palavers, Ali Shefket came out and -said that the river was clear of mines. Beach and Lawrence went back to -H.Q. - -Our boat could go up if it arrived by 2 o’clock in the afternoon. I, -with the Cretan, the man of a hundred fights, Ali Shefket and others, -went across. A fierce bearded Colonel came out, arrogant and insolent, -talking German. He boasted that he knew Greek, but when I talked to him -in Greek, he could not answer. He then harangued me in bad German, -talking rot. I said, in Turkish: “Neither you nor I can talk good -German, therefore let us talk Turkish.” “Yes,” said the other Turks; -“it’s a much better language.” - -The ship tarried. At 5 o’clock in the evening she was in sight, but she -could not have arrived for another hour. It was decided that we could -do nothing that night and that she would have to be put off until next -day. A monstrous beetle, the size of half a crown, crawled up my back. -The Turks were as horrified as I. - -_Monday, May 1, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ I came back last night. I saw -General Lake this morning to report. I think Khalil is going to play -the game, but he has got something up his sleeve. A letter has come -in from him. The ships, he said, could go. He wanted boats to send -the prisoners to Bagdad. He was answered by General Money that His -Excellency would understand that we ourselves needed all our boats. -Beach went up this morning with two boats, but they stopped him at No -Man’s Land. - -_Tuesday, May 2, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ Last night I went on the -_P----_ to go to Kut, with a rather tiresome Padre. It rained and blew -in the night, and was very uncomfortable on deck. I got up at four, and -we started soon after. They opened the bridge of boats for us. A launch -followed for me, for I was to get off before entering neutral territory. - -At the neutral territory I found white flags and an Indian Major, -who was tired and nervous. All the way up the river there had been a -curious feeling of expectancy and uncanniness; the Indians looked at -us, shading their eyes from the rising sun, and our own troops stared. -There was an uncomfortable, eerie feeling in the air. The Major said -the Turks refused to allow the boats to go on. I telephoned to Colonel -Beach, who was leaving H.Q. He told me to do the best I could.... I -took a white flag and went out into No Man’s Land and found the man -I had talked to before, the Cretan’s brother. I asked what all this -meant. This was neither war nor peace. He said that it was our fellows, -who had been shooting on the right bank, and there was quite enough -shooting while we talked to make one feel uncomfortable. I said that -Khalil had given his word that the boats could go up, even if there was -an offensive. This was telephoned to Khalil. Our fellows began loosing -off with a machine-gun. The beastly Colonel and the Cretan then came -out to say that they had telephoned, and later the Cretan came again, -alone, to say that our boats could not go through until the others had -returned from Kut. He said it might not be necessary to send them up -to Kut. We sat and talked in the great heat. I have given Ali Shefket -Bobby Palmer’s photograph and have asked him to make enquiries. He -sent it back to me by the Cretan, who read me out what Ali Shefket had -written me. It was to say that Bobby Palmer was killed. He spoke very -kindly and very sadly. I am so sorry for his family. - -I went back very tired and found a lot of men making up burying parties -which, reluctantly, I sent back again. A lot of the bodies on the river -bank look as if they died of cholera. By the way, we have had a hundred -and fifty cases in the last three days. Then I shaved on the deck of -the launch, while the Turks looked on in the distance. Then I went and -telephoned from the front line to Beach. He told me to bring all the -four boats back, which I did. The only news is that the Turks have dug -in below us near Sheikh Saad. - -_Wednesday, May 3, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ You foul land of -Mesopotamia! This morning bodies raced by us on the stream and I spent -most of the day walking in the ruin of battle. I was sent for by -General Gorringe and General Brown. They wanted to know why our boats -had not come down from Kut. They said that the Turks had been shooting -on the right and sent out white-flag parties, 200 men strong, to bury -the dead. I said I thought it would be all right about the ships but -I would go and see Khalil. The fact that they did not want us to send -more ships showed that it was all right, but I thought they would -probably like to nag us into doing something indiscreet, and asked the -General if he would give orders that there should be no firing except -under instructions, as long as they had our hostages. He sent me off to -see the Turks. - -I rode fast through suffocating heat, with an Indian orderly. At the -bridge I found our two ships, the _Sikhim_ and the _Shaba_, which had -come through from Kut. They were banking above the bridge, which was -being mended. This altered the whole situation, since the General had -sent me out to complain that they had not been let through, and I -galloped back. After a talk at H.Q., it was decided that I was only to -thank Khalil. - -I jumped the trenches and finally arrived at the main trench, where -my horse stared down at a horrified circle, lunching. The circle said -that no horses were allowed there and that none had ever been there, -and that my horse, or rather Costello’s, would be shot immediately -by the Turks. So I went to General Peebles, who was lunching farther -along in the same trenches, and he had her sent back. I then got a -white flag and walked out.... I met a couple of Turks. They wanted us -to send up two ships to-morrow, and were quite agreeable. I asked them, -as a favour, not to send out again the Colonel who talked German, as I -couldn’t stand him, and they said they wouldn’t. - -It was blazing hot; a Turkish officer and I sat out between the lines. - - * * * * * - -There is one incident not recorded in the diary that is, perhaps, -worth mentioning, as it had a curious result that will find its place -in the sequel to this journal, if it is ever published. On one of the -occasions when I was talking to the Turks between the lines, a general -fire started from the British and the Turkish trenches. The Turks, for -the honour of their country, and I, for the honour of mine, pretended -to ignore this fire, and we continued to discuss our business, but -in the end the fire refused to be ignored, and, with loud curses, we -fell upon the ground and there attempted to continue the discussion. I -suggested to the Turks that the whole proceeding was lacking in dignity -and that it would be better for each to retire to their own trenches -and resume negotiations when circumstances were more favourable. - -Next time I returned I was informed that one of the Turks had been hit -whilst returning. I naturally said how sorry I was, and that I hoped -they would not think it was a case of _mala fides_, as it might have -happened to one of us, and wrote a note explaining my regret. - -_Diary._ It was curious and bitter sitting in that peaceful field -talking amicably with the Turks between the lines, with maize round us. -The river murmured and the larks were singing, while the stiff clay -held the knee-deep prints, like plaster of Paris, of the Black Watch -and the others, who had charged across that foul field, when it had -been a trap and a bog. - -_Thursday, May 4, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ Very tired to-day. I rode -back last night from the Turks, very fast. The flies made it impossible -to go slow, horses couldn’t breathe. At the bridge, I found that the -traffic was going the other way and had to hold up an unfortunate -brigade to get across, hating to do it. - -I met Green Armitage, who had just come from Kut. He had got -Townshend’s terriers, who barked like mad. He said that there were -three Turkish officers on board the _Sikhim_, who were asking for me. -I didn’t know what to do, as I wanted to go to H.Q., but dashed on -board and found they were Ali Shefket and Mehmed Jemal and Salahedin -Bey, inspector to the Agricultural Bank of Smyrna. Our people on board -wanted me to stay. I told them I would come back. I saw the sick and -wounded Indians being carried away, terribly emaciated. I reported at -H.Q., where, apparently, half a dozen entirely contradictory orders -were being prepared for me. I then went back in a launch to the Turks, -who were reported to be taking notes of our position from the bridge. -On the _Sikhim_ I found crowds of our officers with the Turks and a -general jollification going on. I did not understand how or why they -had been allowed to come down. All the Intelligence came along to see -what the Turks could tell them. I was fed-up with the whole business, -and disliked the Turks being on deck. I said to them: “Of course, it’s -a pleasure to have you here, as guests, but we would much rather give -you hospitality in London, for there we can show you everything, and, -unfortunately, that’s not the case here. So in future, if you please, -Turkish officers will not accompany the boats down.” They agreed to -that. - -The same tiresome Padre came bumbling up again. I think he wanted to -go to Kut for the adventure, and I had no sympathy, as he would have -meant another mouth to feed. The Turks made no particular objection -to his going, but they said there was already a clergyman there, so I -told the Padre he could go if he liked, but that if he went he ought -to stay and let the other chaplain come back, as the other had had all -the hardships of the siege. He thought I was brutal, but cleared out -and gave no more trouble. It seems to me, however, that he runs a fair -risk, like the rest of us, of being made a prisoner. - -I wish the Admiral was here. The Turks on board said that they had hung -seven Arabs at Kut, which made me furious. I said that Khalil had said -that he had no intention of doing that. The Turks said that these men -were not natives, but vagabonds.... - -Then they talked about the future. I said it would not be easy for -Turkey to dissociate herself from Germany, even if they wanted to. They -replied: “How long did it take the Bulgars and Serbs to quarrel?” They -said Khalil had sent messages, and I arranged that if there was any -hitch I should be able to get straight through. - -I did not sleep much. This morning I went up with them to Sanayat, -where Husni Bey took their place. Then I came back by launch to the -bridge and found a motor, which I took to H.Q. - -At dinner to-night Reuter’s came in, and the doctor, in a perfectly -calm voice, read out to us that there now seemed some chance of -checking the rebellion in Ireland. Somebody said: “Don’t be a fool. -Things are bad enough here. Kut’s fallen and we shall probably be -prisoners. Don’t invent worse things.” The doctor said: “It’s an -absolute fact,” and read it out again. Then somebody said: “Those -cursed Irish.” Then an Ulsterman leapt to his feet and said: “You would -insult my country, would you?” Then there was a general row. After -that, everything seemed so utterly desperate that there was nothing -to be done but to make the best of things, and we had an extremely -cheerful dinner. We must have missed a lot of news. Let’s hope this -Irish business is the bursting of a boil. I am more afraid of the -treatment than the disease. - -_Friday, May 5, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ Vane Tempest came back from -Kut with unpleasant stories. He said that our officers had been looted -at the point of the bayonet by the Arabs. He had seen four men hanging -and one man hanged. This was a curious incident. This man, as he was -going to execution, threw Vane Tempest his _tesbih_ (his rosary), the -ninety-nine Beautiful Names of God. Vane Tempest had still got it. It -means “I commend my cause to you. Take up my quarrel.” I told Vane -Tempest if he was superstitious he ought never to part with it. - -Now there is a new position created. They can float down all their -guns and stores. There is a fight coming, but I wonder where. Eight -hundred Turks and Arabs below Sheikh Saad, with three guns. The country -is up behind us and we have only half a day’s provisions in reserve. -The guns are booming away behind us. It’s going to be very hard to hold -this position. I wish Edward was here, and hope he is all right, with -my kit. I want it badly, but I got some stuff from Percy Herbert this -morning. We agreed that we had a most excellent chance of being cut -off.... One is sorry for these men here. They are starved in every way, -ammunition excepted. They are not even given cigarettes and have to pay -six times their price to the Arabs. Last night the Arabs were looting -all over the place. A man told me this morning that a sick officer in -the 21st Brigade found five Arabs in his tent and lost everything. -Lucky for him that was all he lost. - -_Saturday, May 6, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.” Sheikh Saad._ Yesterday my -typewriter broke. A jolly mechanic more or less repaired it and refused -money. “It’s all for one purpose,” he said. H.Q. suddenly determined to -come down to Sheikh Saad in the afternoon. General Gorringe and General -Ratcliffe went off, strafing like mad. Then the _Mantis_ sailed. I -found Edward on board the _Blosse Lynch_, with 200 “sea-gulls,” as he -called the sepoys. He was very upset about the Irish news, but glad to -have found me. - -I walked at night with Bernard Buxton into the Arab village to find -H.Q. A curious sight: Devons and Somersets, Gurkhas, Arabs and frogs -all mixed up together. The Somersets were very glad to meet a friend. - -This morning, after going through the evidence with the other officers -about Bobby Palmer, I sent a telegram to Lord Selborne. They did not -doubt the evidence of the Turks that he was killed. - -This morning I walked along the banks of the Tigris, while bodies -floated down it. After a time I found the 4th Devons and John Kennaway, -Acland Troyte and the rest, also a lot of people from home. Promised -them cigarettes and that I would get messages home for them. The latest -out were a bit depressed and complained of the shortage of food. Their -camp isn’t too bad. Three miles away, one can see Lot’s Tomb, with -generally, they say, a Turkish patrol on it. Sheikh Saad is supposed, -J. K. says, to be Sodom. If you took our troops away, another dose of -brimstone would do it and its inhabitants a lot of good. - -Then I saw Captain ---- of the Indian Transport. He was miserable at -the way that his men were treated. He said: (1) The drivers did not -receive pay equal to sepoys, nor did they receive allowances, which -mountain battery drivers and ammunition column drivers did receive. The -work the transport drivers did was equally dangerous and more onerous. -(2) There were no spare men. A transport driver went sick and the next -man had to look after his animals. (3) They got no fresh clothes. -Their clothes were in rags. (4) They had 21-lb. tents for four men. In -a hot or a cold climate this is unhealthy; very bad here. Also they -have only one flap, so later on they’ll be bound to get sunstroke. (5) -They do not get milk, cigarettes or tobacco. (6) They get no presents, -such as the other Indian regiments have received. (7) The treatment of -transport officers is not equal to that of a sepoy officer. _Vide_ -Subadar Rangbaz Khan, about thirty years’ service. Recommended with -many others. No notice taken. Only two recommendations given, those -for actual valour. This man, if he had been with his relations in the -cavalry, would probably have done less good work, but would have been -covered with medals. - -I walked back through rain, with frogs everywhere, a plague. It’s -a pity we can’t get our men to eat them. One can’t even teach the -officers to eat them. John said the Arabs sniped them most nights, but -they were well and not too uncomfortable. Jack Amory was there, but I -didn’t see him. He was out shooting sand-grouse. - -_Sunday, May 7, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ Harris came up last night. -He said all was quiet down the river. Subhi Bey, with a good many -troops, had tried to cut us off at Kumait, but the floods were out. He -said that last year Cowley prophesied that when the hot weather came -the river would fall and that five-eighths of our transport would be -useless. Cowley was generally right. If he was wrong then, he will -probably be right now. Harris had been fishing the other day, when two -of the Devons suddenly appeared, naked, beside him. They had swum the -river, being carried a mile and a half down, and intend to swim it -again. It’s very dangerous. They are wonderful fellows. I am on the -_Waterfly_ now. - -Early this morning a telegram arrived to say the Corps Commander wanted -me at once. I spoke on the telephone to H. C. Cassel said: “Our men -have fired on the Turks and they have collared the _Sikhim_. You must -come and get her out”.... I transferred to the _Waterfly_ and came up -with Harris. I knew this would happen. What, apparently, happened was -that the Turks fired four shots at the _Sikhim_. The Turkish officer -was angry, and rigid orders had been issued to the Turks not to fire -again. Then our men had opened fire.... But they don’t all tell the -same story.... I have now got five contradictory orders from H.Q. - -_Tuesday, May 9, 1916. Felahiah._ The last boatload of wounded is -coming down and the truce will, I suppose, end. The _Sikhim_ has made -her last journey. A telegram arrived from the Admiral ordering me to go -at once to Bushire. I am to get on board the _Lawrence_, sailing the -12th from Basra, and join him at Bushire.... (Here indescribable things -follow.) I went round and said good-bye to everybody. - -There is a lot of cholera. General Rice died last night. There are many -bodies floating down the river. It’s tremendously hot. I have just seen -Williams, the doctor of the _Sikhim_. He says the Turks have been good -throughout. The Arabs have looted at the beginning, but this has been -put an end to. It’s not going well with the Arabs.... We must largely -depend on them for supplies. - -_Wednesday, May 10, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.”_ I was to have left on S.1, -but when it was apparent that it would not start that night, I went -off to the _Mantis_. Buxton telephoned from Sheikh Saad that he would -take me to Amara, if I could get there by 4.30 a.m. I came down with -Colonel James. Many bodies in the river and much cholera at Wadi. Our -men lack every mortal thing. I should like to send a telegram like this -home, but don’t expect I should be allowed to: “From my experience of -this country, I see that, unless certain action is taken immediately, -consequences that are disastrous to the health of the troops must -follow. All realize here that the past economy of the Government of -India is responsible for our failure (_vide_ Sir W. Meyer’s Budget -speech). Unless this is realized in England and supplies taken out -of the hands of the Government of India, altogether, or liberally -supplemented from home and Egypt, the troops will suffer even more -during this summer than last year. Condensed milk and oatmeal are -essential to the troops. India cannot provide these under three months, -by which time we shall have sustained great and unnecessary losses. -Supplies of potatoes and onions will cease at the end of this month. -If cold storage is found to be impossible, a substitute, e.g. dried -figs, must be found. India cannot provide these substitutes in time. -Sufficient ice-machines and soda-water machines are as essential to -prevent heat-stroke in the trenches as to cure heat-stroke in the -hospitals. India, unless ordered to commandeer these from clubs, -private houses, etc., cannot provide them. Many Indian troops are in -21-lb. tents, single flap, one tent to four men. Numbers of these will -get sunstroke. If you mean to hold this country, you can’t do it on -the lines of Sir W. Meyer. A railway is essential. A fall in the river -would render half our present transport useless, above Kurna. Many -of the troops here are young and not strong. If a disaster to their -health, which, in its way, is as grave as the fall of Kut, and due to -the same reason, lack of transport, is to be prevented, supplies must -be taken in hand from England and Egypt.” - -_Thursday, May 11, 1916. H.M.S. “Mantis.” Amara._ Yesterday was one of -the most beautiful days imaginable. We came very fast down the river, -with a delicious wind against us. On both banks there were great herds -of sheep, cattle and nice-looking horses. Every horse here is blanketed -by the Arabs, only our horses not blanketed. The Arabs vary a lot in -looks. One man, towing a bellam, glancing back over his shoulder, was -the picture of a snarling hyena. A great many of them were handsome. - -We came to Amara in the evening and found a lot of cholera. I went -to the bazaar and bought what I could for J. K. and his mess, and -cigarettes for the men, but couldn’t get fishing tackle. Amara looked -beautiful in the evening--fine, picturesque Arab buildings, and palm -groves and forests up and down both sides of the lighted river. At -night we anchored to a palm and slept well, in spite of great gusts of -wind occasionally, which roared through the palm forests, and bursts of -rifle fire on the banks by us, at Arabs, who were stealing or sniping -us. Jackals cried in a chorus. - -To-day the river has been enchanted. Long processions of delicately -built mehailahs, perfectly reflected in the water, drifted down, often -commanded by our own officers. The river turned into a glowing, limpid -lake, almost without a land horizon. We passed the _Marmariss_, which -the Turks fought until she caught fire. The Arab villages were half -afloat. There was a look of peace everywhere, and the flood is too high -to allow an attack on us. There was a glorious, dangerous sunset. The -sky was a bank of clouds that caught fire and glowed east and west over -the glowing water. The palms looked like a forest raised by magic from -the river. It was like the most magnificent Mecca stone on the most -gigantic scale. - -Pursefield, whose last night it is in Mesopotamia, asked me how much -I wanted to get on. I said I couldn’t see the people I wanted to that -night, so it was the same to me if we got in after dawn next morning. -We tied up in mid-stream, to avoid being sniped. No flies at all. -Sherbrooke and I talked after dinner. - -_Friday, May 12, 1916. H.M.S. “Lawrence.”_ The Army Commander and -General Money were both away, and I only spent twenty minutes at Basra. -I saw Bill Beach and Captain Nunn and wrote a line to Gertrude Bell -and George Lloyd. I wish I could have seen them both. The _Sikhim_ -is there, in quarantine, her Red Cross looking like a huge tropical -flower. I got on to the _Lawrence_. Cleanliness and comfort and good -food. I wish the others could have it too. - - _Printed in Great Britain by_ - UNWIN BROTHERS, LIMITED - WOKING AND LONDON - - - Telegrams: “Scholarly, London.” 41 and 43 Maddox Street, - Telephone: 1883 Mayfair. Bond Street, London, W. 1. - _October, 1919._ - - - - -Mr. Edward Arnold’s - -AUTUMN ANNOUNCEMENTS, 1919. - - -JOHN REDMOND’S LAST YEARS. - -By STEPHEN GWYNN. - - _With Portrait._ _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =16s. net.= - - -The “History of John Redmond’s Last Years,” by Stephen Gwynn, is in -the first place an historical document of unusual importance. It is -an account of Irish political events at their most exciting period, -written by an active member of Mr. Redmond’s party who was in the -confidence of his chief. The preliminary story of the struggle with the -House of Lords and the prolonged fight over Home Rule is described by a -keen student of parliamentary action. For the period which began with -the war Mr. Gwynn has had access to all Redmond’s papers. He writes of -Redmond’s effort to lead Ireland into the war from the standpoint of a -soldier as well as a member of parliament. The last chapter gives to -the world, for the first time, a full account of the Irish Convention -which sat for eight months behind closed doors, and in which Redmond’s -career reached its dramatic catastrophe. - -The interlocking of varying chains of circumstance, the parliamentary -struggle, the rise of the rival volunteer forces, the raising of Irish -divisions, the rebellion and its sequel, and, finally, the effect -of bringing Irishmen together into conference--all this is vividly -pictured, with increasing detail as the book proceeds. In the opening, -two short chapters recall the earlier history of the Irish party and -Redmond’s part in it. - -But the main interest centres in the character of Redmond himself. Mr. -Gwynn does not work to display his leader as a hero without faults and -incapable of mistakes. He shows the man as he knew him and worked under -him, traces his career through its triumphs to reverses, and through -gallant recovery to final defeat. A great man is made familiar to the -reader, in his wisdom, his magnanimity, and his love of country. The -tragic waste of great opportunities is portrayed in a story which has -the quality of drama in it. Beside the picture of John Redmond himself -there is sketched the gallant and sympathetic figure of his brother, -who, after thirty-five years of parliamentary service, died with the -foremost wave of his battalion at the battle of Messines. - - - - -A MEDLEY OF MEMORIES. - -By the RT. REV. SIR DAVID HUNTER BLAIR, BART. - - _With Illustrations._ _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =16s. net.= - - -Sir David Hunter Blair, late Abbot of Fort Augustus, in the first part -of these fifty years’ recollections, deals with his childhood and youth -in Scotland, and gives a picture full of varied interest of Scottish -country house life a generation or more ago. Very vivid, too, is the -account of early days at what was then the most famous private school -in England; and the chapter on Eton under Balston and Hornby gives -thumbnail sketches of a great many Etonians, school-contemporaries of -the writer’s, and bearing names afterwards very well known for one -reason or another. Eton was followed by Magdalen; and undergraduate -life in the Oxford of 1872 is depicted with a light hand and many -amusing touches. There was foreign travel after the Oxford days; and -two of the most pleasantly descriptive chapters of the book deal with -Rome in the reign of Pius IX. and Leo XIII., both of which Pontiffs the -author served as Private Chamberlain. There is much also that is fresh -and interesting in the section treating of the lives and personalities -of some of the great English Catholic families of by-gone days. - -Sir David entered the Benedictine Order at the age of twenty-five; and -the latter half of the book is concerned with his life as co-founder, -and member of the community of, the great Highland Abbey of Fort -Augustus, of which he rose later to be the second abbot. The intimate -account given in these pages of the life of a modern monk will be -new to most readers, who will find it very interesting reading. The -writer’s monastic experiences embrace not only his own beautiful home -in the Central Highlands, but Benedictine life and work in England, in -Belgium, Germany and Portugal, and in South America. One of the most -novel and attractive chapters in the book is that dealing with the work -of the Order in the vast territory of Brazil. - -The volume is illustrated with an excellent portrait, and with some -clever black-and-white drawings, the work of Mr. Richard Anson, one -of the author’s religious brethren, and a member of the Benedictine -community at Caldey Abbey, in South Wales. - - - - -WITH THE PERSIAN EXPEDITION. - -By MAJOR M. H. DONOHOE, - -ARMY INTELLIGENCE CORPS. - -SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT OF THE “DAILY CHRONICLE.” - - _With numerous Illustrations and Map._ _Demy 8vo._ =16s. net.= - - -Among the many “side-shows” of the Great War, few are so difficult for -the average reader to understand as the operations in Northern Persia, -an offshoot of the Bagdhad venture, which had for their object the -policing of the warlike tribes in an area almost unknown to Europeans, -and included the various attempts to reach and hold Baku, and so get -command of the Caspian and Caucasia. - -The story of these operations--carried out by little, half-forgotten -bodies of troops, mainly local levies who broke at the critical moment -and left their British officers and N.C.O.’s to carry on alone--is one -of the most amazing of the whole War, and comprises many episodes that -recall the most stirring events of the Empire’s pioneering days. - -By happy chance, Major M. H. Donohoe, the famous War Correspondent, -whose work for the _Daily Chronicle_ in all the wars of the past -twenty years is well known, was in this part of the world as a Major -on the Intelligence Staff, work for which his knowledge of men and -languages off the beaten tract peculiarly fitted him. He has written -the story of these operations as he saw them, chiefly as a member of -the Staff of the Military Mission under General Byron, known officially -as the “Baghdad Party,” and unofficially as the “Hush-Hush Brigade,” -which set forth early in 1918 to join the Column under General -Dunsterville. Though there is little of fighting in the story, the -book gives an admirable picture of the Empire’s work done faithfully -under difficulties, and glimpses of places and peoples that are almost -unknown even to the most venturesome traveller. Indeed, it is largely -as a book about an unknown land that this volume will attract, together -with its little pen-portraits of men and little pen-pictures of -adventures, that Kipling would love. - - - - -A PHYSICIAN IN FRANCE. - -By MAJOR-GENERAL SIR WILMOT HERRINGHAM, K.C.M.G., C.B., - -PHYSICIAN TO ST. BARTHOLOMEW’S HOSPITAL; CONSULTING PHYSICIAN TO THE -FORCES OVERSEAS. - - _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =15s. net.= - - -How the war, as seen at close quarters, struck a man eminent in -another profession than that of arms is the distinguishing feature -of this volume of personal impressions. It is not, however, merely -the outcome of a few weeks’ sojourn or “trip to the trenches,” with -one eye on an expectant public, for the author has four times seen -autumn fade into winter on the flat country-side of Flanders, and, -when the war ended, was still at his post rendering invaluable -services amidst unforgettable scenes. The author’s comments on the -day-to-day happenings are distinguished by a tone that is at once -manly, reflective, and good-humoured. Medical questions are naturally -prominent, but are dealt with largely in a manner that should interest -the layman at the present time. Sir Wilmot was with Lord Roberts -when he died. A very pleasing feature of the book is the constant -revelation of the author’s love of nature and sport, and his happy way -of introducing such topics, together with descriptions of the country -around him, makes a welcome contrast to the stern events which form the -staple material of the book. There are some very amusing stories. - - - - -LONDON MEN IN PALESTINE. - -By ROWLANDS COLDICOTT. - - _With maps._ _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =12s. 6d. net.= - - -This book embraces so much more than the ordinary war story that we -have a peculiar difficulty in describing it in a few chosen words. - -The curtain lifts the day after the battle of Sheria, one of the -minor fights in General Allenby’s first campaign--those movements of -troops which came only to a pause with the capture of Jerusalem. Gaza -has just been taken. You are introduced to one of the companies of a -London battalion serving in the East, of which company the author is -commander. The reading of a few lines, the passing of a few moments, -causes you (such is the power of right words) to be _attached_ to that -company and to move in imagination with it across the dazzling plain. -When you have tramped a few miles you begin to realise, perhaps for -the first time, the heat and torment of a day’s march in Philistia. It -is not long before you feel that you, too, are adventuring with the -toiling soldiers; with them you wonder where the halting place will -be, what sort of bivouac you are likely to hit upon. By this time you -will have met the officers--Temple, Trobus, Jackson--and are coming -to have a nodding acquaintance with the men. Desire to compass the -unknown, and sympathetic interest in the experiences of a company of -your own country-men, Londoners footing it in a foreign land, now -takes you irresistibly into the very heart of the tale, and you become -one with the narrator. With him you wander among the ruins of Gaza, -pass into southern Palestine, and come to the foot-hills of Judea. -With him you slowly become conscious that the long series of marches -is planned to culminate in an assault upon Jerusalem. Now you are -part of a dusty column winding up into Judea by the Jerusalem road, -looking hour by hour upon those natural phenomena that suggested the -parables. “London Men in Palestine” brings all this home to you as if -you were a passer-by. Next, the massing of troops about the Holy City -is described, and you are given a distant view of the city itself. A -chapter follows that describes the coming of the rains. Then you spend -a night in an old rock-engendered fortress-village while troops pass -through to the attack, the storm still at its height. A chapter follows -that tells of a crowded day--too complex and full of incident here to -be described. The book closes with an exciting description of a fight -on the Mount of Olives. - - - - -MONS, ANZAC, AND KUT. - -By an M.P. - - _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =14s. net.= - - -The writer of these remarkable memoirs, whose anonymity will not -veil his identity from his friends, is a man well known, not only in -England, but also abroad, and the pages are full of the writer’s charm, -and gaiety of spirit, and “courage of a day that knows not death.” Day -by day, in the thick of the most stirring events in history, he jotted -down his impressions at first hand, and although parts of the diary -cannot yet be published, enough is given to the world to form a graphic -and very human history. - -Our author was present at the most critical part of the Retreat from -Mons. He took part in the dramatic defence of Landrecies, and the stand -at Compiegne. Wounded, and a prisoner, he describes his experiences in -a German hospital and his subsequent recapture by the British during -the Marne advance. - -The scene then shifts to Gallipoli, where he was present at the -immortal first landing, surely one of the noblest pages of our history. -He took part in the fierce fighting at Suvla Bay, and, owing to his -knowledge of Turkish, he had amazing experiences during the Armistice -arranged for the burial of the dead. - -Later, the author was in Mesopotamia, where he accompanied the -relieving force in their heroic attempt to save Kut. On several -occasions he was sent out between the lines to conduct negociations -between the Turks and ourselves. - -“Mons, Anzac, and Kut”.... A day and a day will pass, before the man -and the moment meet to give us another book like this. We congratulate -ourselves that the author survived to write it. - - - - -THE STRUGGLE IN THE AIR. - -1914-1918. - -By MAJOR CHARLES C. TURNER (late R.A.F.). - - ASSOC. FELLOW R.AER.SOC., CANTOR LECTURES ON AERONAUTICS, 1909. AUTHOR OF - “AIRCRAFT OF TO-DAY,” “THE ROMANCE OF AERONAUTICS,” AND (WITH - GUSTAV HAMEL) OF “FLYING: SOME PRACTICAL EXPERIENCES,” - EDITOR OF “AERONAUTICS,” ETC., ETC., ETC. - - _With Illustrations._ _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =15s. net.= - - -Major Turner served in the flying arm throughout the great conflict, -chiefly as an instructor of officers of the Royal Naval Air Service, -and then of the Royal Air Force in the principles of flight, aerial -navigation, and other subjects. He did much experimental work, made -one visit to the Front, and was mentioned in dispatches. The Armistice -found him in the position of Chief Instructor at No. 2 School of -Aeronautics, Oxford. - -The classification of this book explains its scope and arrangement. The -chapters are as follows: - -Capabilities of Aircraft; Theory in 1914; The flight to France and -Baptism of Fire; Early Surprises; Fighting in the Air, 1914-1915; 1916; -1917; 1918; Zeppelins and the Defence; Night Flying; The Zeppelin -Beaten; Aeroplane Raids on England; Bombing the Germans; Artillery -Observation; Reconnaissance and Photography; Observation Balloons; -Aircraft and Infantry; Sea Aircraft; Heroic Experimenters; Casualties -in the Third Arm; The Robinson Quality. - - - - -CAUGHT BY THE TURKS. - -By FRANCIS YEATS-BROWN. - - _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.= - -This book contains a full measure of adventure and excitement. The -author, who is a Captain in the Indian Cavalry, was serving in the Air -Force in Mesopotamia in 1915, and was captured through an accident -to the aeroplane while engaged in a hazardous and successful attempt -to cut the Turkish telegraph lines north and west of Baghdad, just -before the Battle of Ctesiphon. Then came the horrors of the journey -to Constantinople, during which the “terrible Turk” showed himself in -his worst colours; but it was in Constantinople that the most thrilling -episodes of his captivity had their origin. The story of the Author’s -first attempt to escape (which did not succeed) and of his subsequent -lucky dash for freedom, is one of intense interest, and is told in a -most vivid and dramatic way. - - - - -JOHN HUGH ALLEN - -OF THE GALLANT COMPANY - -A Memoir by his Sister INA MONTGOMERY. - - _With Portrait._ _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.= - -This book is the life-story of a young New Zealander who was killed -in action at the Dardanelles in June, 1915. It is told mainly in his -own letters and diaries--which have been supplemented, so far as was -needful, with the utmost tact and discretion by his sister--and falls -naturally into three principal stages. Allen spent four very strenuous -years, 1907-1911, at Cambridge, where he occupied a prominent position -among his contemporaries as an active member, and eventually President -of the Union. Though undergraduate politics are not usually taken very -seriously by the outside world, yet this side of Allen’s Cambridge -career has an interest far transcending the merely personal one. -Possessed, as he was, of remarkable gifts, which he had cultivated by -assiduous practice as a speaker and writer, and passionately interested -in all that concerns the British Empire, and the present and future -relations between the United Kingdom and the Overseas Dominions, his -record may well stand as representative of the attitude of the _élite_ -of the New Zealand youth towards these vital matters in the period just -preceding the war. - -After Cambridge, he returned for a time to New Zealand, where he -resolved to make his permanent home, but came back to England in -December, 1913, to complete his legal studies and get called to the -bar, and was still in England when the war broke out. Consequently the -second stage is the story of seven months’ experience as a lieutenant -in the 13th Battalion of the Worcesters, and his letters of this period -give an attractive, and intensely graphic account of the making of -the new army. Finally, he was despatched, with a few other selected -officers, to the Dardanelles, arrived on May 25th at Cape Helles, and -was attached to the Essex regiment. The last stage, brief, glorious, -and terrible, lasted only twelve days but, brief as it was, he had -time to draw an enthralling picture of the unexampled horrors of this -particular phase of trench-warfare. The book is steeped, from beginning -to end, in a sober but fervent enthusiasm; and the cult of the Empire, -in its noblest form, has seldom been as finely exemplified as by the -life and death of John Allen. - - - - -NOËL ROSS AND HIS WORK. - -Edited by HIS PARENTS. - - _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.= - -A series of charming sketches by a young New Zealander, who died in -December, 1917, on the threshold of a brilliant literary career. Noël -Ross was one of those daring Anzacs who made the landing on Gallipoli. -Wounded in the early days of the terrible fighting there, he was -discharged from the Army, came to London, rejoined there, and obtained -a commission in the Royal Field Artillery. Afterwards he became a -valued member of the Editorial Staff of _The Times_, on which his -genius was at once recognized and highly appreciated. Much of his work -appeared in _The Times_, and he was also a contributor to Punch. In -collaboration with his father, Captain Malcolm Ross, the New Zealand -War Correspondent, he was the author of “Light and Shade in War,” of -which the _Daily Mail_ said: “It is full of Anzac virility, full of -Anzac buoyancy, and surcharged with that devil-may-care humour that has -so astounded us jaded peoples of an older world.” - -His writings attracted the attention of such capable writers as Rudyard -Kipling, and Sir Ian Hamilton, who said he reminded him in many ways of -that gallant and brilliant young Englishman, Rupert Brooke. - - - - -WITH THE BRITISH INTERNED IN SWITZERLAND. - -By LIEUT.-COLONEL H. P. PICOT, C.B.E., - -LATE MILITARY ATTACHÉ, 1914-16, AND BRITISH OFFICER IN CHARGE OF THE -INTERNED, 1916-18. - - _1 vol._ _Demy 8vo._ _Cloth._ =10s. 6d. net.= - - -In this volume Colonel Picot tells us, in simple and lucid fashion, -how some thousands of our much tried and suffering countrymen were -transferred--to the eternal credit of Switzerland--from the harsh -conditions of captivity to a neutral soil, there to live in comparative -freedom amid friendly surroundings. He describes in some detail the -initiative taken by the Swiss Government on behalf of the Prisoners -of War in general, and the negociations which preceded the acceptance -by the Belligerent States of the principle of Internment, and then -recounts the measures taken by that Government for the hospitalization -of some 30,000 Prisoners of War, and the organization of a Medical -Service for the treatment of the sick and wounded. - -Turning, then, more particularly to the group of British prisoners, -he deals with their discipline, their camp life, the steps taken for -spiritual welfare, and the organization of sports and recreations, -and an interesting chapter records the efforts made to afford them -technical training in view of their return to civil life. - -The book also comprises a resumé of the formation and development of -the Bread Bureau at Berne, which ultimately, in providing bread for -100,000 British prisoners of war in Germany, doubtless saved countless -lives; and a description of the activities of the British Legation Red -Cross Organization, both of which institutions were founded by Lady -Grant Duff, wife of H.M.’s Minister at Berne. - -Colonel Picot throws many interesting sidelights on life in Switzerland -in war-time--diplomatic, social, and artistic--and his modest and -self-effacing narrative dwells generously on the devotion of all those -who, whether by appointment or chance, were associated with him in his -beneficent labours. - -It is hoped that this account of a special phase in the history of our -countrymen will prove of interest to that large public who have shown -in countless ways their sympathy with all that concerns the welfare of -Prisoners of War. - - - - -A CHILDHOOD IN BRITTANY EIGHTY YEARS AGO. - -By ANNE DOUGLAS SEDGWICK, - -AUTHOR OF “TANTE,” “THE ENCOUNTER,” ETC. - - _Demy 8vo._ _Cloth._ =10s. 6d. net.= - - -With exquisite literary art which the reading public has recognised -in “Tante” and others of her novels, the author of this book tells of -a great lady’s childhood in picturesque Brittany in the middle of the -last century. It covers that period of life around which the tenderest -and most vivid memories cluster; a childhood set in a district of -France rich in romance, and rich in old loyalties to manners and -customs of a gracious era that is irrevocably in the past. - -Charming vignettes of character, marvellous descriptions of houses, -costumes and scenery, short stories in silhouette of pathetic or -humorous characters--these are also in the book. - -And through it all the author is seen re-creating a background, which -has profoundly influenced one of the finest literary artists of the -last century. - - - - -GARDENS: THEIR FORM AND DESIGN. - -By the VISCOUNTESS WOLSELEY. - -_With numerous Illustrations by_ MISS M. G. CAMPION. - - _1 vol._ _Medium 8vo._ =21s. net.= - - -The present volume, which is beautifully got up and illustrated, deals -with form and line in the garden, a subject comparatively new in -England. - -Lady Wolseley’s book suggests simple, inexpensive means--the outcome -of practical knowledge and experience--for achieving charming results -in gardens of all sizes. Her College of Gardening at Glynde has -shown Lady Wolseley how best to make clear to those who have never -before thought about garden design, some of the complex subjects -embraced by it, such as Water Gardens, Rock Gardens, Treillage, Paved -Gardens, Surprise Gardens, etc. The book contains many decorative and -imaginative drawings by Miss Mary G. Campion, as well as a large number -of practical diagrams and plans, which further illustrate the author’s -ideas and add to the value of the book. - - - - -MEMORIES OF THE MONTHS. - -SIXTH SERIES. - -By the RT. HON. SIR HERBERT MAXWELL, BT., F.R.S., D.C.L., LL.D. - - _With photogravure frontispiece._ Large Crown 8vo._ =10s. 6d. net.= - - -It is some years since the fifth series of “Memories of the Months” -was issued, but the demand for Sir Herbert Maxwell’s charming volumes -continues unabated. Every year rings new changes on the old order -of Nature, and the observant eye can always find fresh features on -the face of the Seasons. Sir Herbert Maxwell goes out to meet Nature -on the moor and loch, in garden and forest, and writes of what he -sees and feels. It is a volume of excellent gossip, the note-book -of a well-informed and high-spirited student of Nature, where the -sportsman’s ardour is tempered always with the sympathy of the lover of -wild things, and the naturalist’s interest is leavened with the humour -of a cultivated man of the world. This is what gives the work its -abiding charm, and makes these memories fill the place of old friends -on the library bookshelf. - - - - -SINGLE-HANDED CRUISING. - -By FRANCIS B. COOKE, - -AUTHOR OF “THE CORINTHIAN YACHTSMAN’S HANDBOOK,” “CRUISING HINTS,” ETC. - - _Illustrated._ =10s. 6d. net.= - - -The contents of this volume being based upon the author’s many -years’ practical experience of single-handed sailing, are sure to -be acceptable to those who, either from choice or necessity, make a -practice of cruising alone. Of the four thousand or more yachts whose -names appear in Lloyd’s Register, quite a considerable proportion -are small craft used for the most part for week-end cruising, and -single-handed sailing is a proposition that the owner of a week-ender -cannot afford altogether to ignore. To be dependent upon the assistance -of friends, who may leave one in the lurch at the eleventh hour, is a -miserable business that can only be avoided by having a yacht which -one is capable of handling alone. The ideal arrangement is to have a -vessel of sufficient size to accommodate one or two guests and yet -not too large to be sailed single-handed at a pinch. In this book Mr. -Cooke gives some valuable hints on the equipment and handling of such a -craft, which, it may be remarked, can, in the absence of paid hands, be -maintained at comparatively small cost. - - - - -MODERN ROADS. - -By H. PERCY BOULNOIS, M.Inst.C.E., F.R.San.Inst., etc. - - _Demy 8vo._ =16s. net.= - - -The author is well known as one of the leading authorities on -road-making, and he deals at length with Traffic, Water-bound Macadam -Roads, Surface Tarring, Bituminous Roads, Waves and Corrugations, -Slippery Roads, Paved Streets (Stone and Wood, etc.), Concrete Road -Construction, etc. - - - - -A THIN GHOST AND OTHERS. - -By DR. M. R. JAMES, - -PROVOST OF ETON COLLEGE. - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =4s. 6d. net.= - - -The Provost of Eton needs no introduction as a past master of the art -of making our flesh creep, and those who have enjoyed his earlier books -may rest assured that his hand has lost none of its blood-curdling -cunning. Neither is it necessary to remind them that Dr. James’s -inexhaustible stories of archæological erudition furnish him with a -unique power of giving his gruesome tales a picturesque setting, and -heightening by their literary and antiquarian charm the exquisite -pleasure derived from thrills of imaginary terror. This latter quality -has never been more happily displayed than in the stories contained -in the present volume, which we submit with great confidence to the -judgment of all who appreciate--and who does not?--a good old-fashioned -hair-raising ghost story. - - - - -New Editions. - - - - -GHOST STORIES OF AN ANTIQUARY. - -By DR. M. R. JAMES, - -PROVOST OF ETON COLLEGE. - - _New Edition._ _Crown 8vo._ =5s. net.= - - - - -MORE GHOST STORIES. - -By DR. M. R. JAMES. - - _New Edition._ _Crown 8vo._ =5s. net.= - - - - -THE PERFECT GENTLEMAN. - -By CAPTAIN HARRY GRAHAM, - -AUTHOR OF “RUTHLESS RHYMES,” ETC. - - _New Edition._ _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =3s. 6d. net.= - - - - -THE COMPLETE SPORTSMAN. - -By CAPTAIN HARRY GRAHAM. - - _New Edition._ _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =3s. 6d. net.= - - - - -_The Modern Educator’s Library._ - -General Editor: Professor A. A. COCK. - - -The present age is seeing an unprecedented advance in educational -theory and practice; its whole outlook on the ideals and methods of -teaching is being widened. The aim of this new series is to present the -considered views of teachers of wide experience, and eminent ability, -upon the changes in method involved in this development, and upon the -problems which still remain to be solved, in the several branches of -teaching with which they are most intimately connected. It is hoped, -therefore, that these volumes will be instructive not only to teachers, -but to all who are interested in the progress of education. - -Each volume contains an index and a comprehensive bibliography of the -subject with which it deals. - - - - -EDUCATION: ITS DATA AND FIRST PRINCIPLES. - -By T. PERCY NUNN, M.A., D.Sc., - -PROFESSOR OF EDUCATION IN THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON; AUTHOR OF “THE AIMS -AND ACHIEVEMENTS OF SCIENTIFIC METHOD,” “THE TEACHING OF ALGEBRA,” ETC. - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =6s. net.= - - -Dr. Nunn’s volume really forms an introduction to the whole series, -and deals with the fundamental questions which lie at the root of -educational inquiry. The first is that of the aims of education. These, -he says, are always correlative to ideals of life, and, as ideals of -life are eternally at variance, their conflict will be reflected in -educational theories. The individualism of post-reformation Europe -gradually gave way to a reaction culminating in Hegel, which pictured -the state as the superentity of which the single life is but a fugitive -element. The logical result of this Hegelian ideal the world has -just seen, and educators of to-day have to decide whether to foster -this sinister tradition or to help humanity to escape from it to -something better. What we need is a doctrine which, while admitting the -importance of the social element in man, reasserts the importance of -the individual. - -This notion of individuality as the ideal of life is worked out -at length, and on the results of this investigation are based the -conclusions which are reached upon the practical problem of embodying -this ideal in teaching. Among other subjects, the author deals with -Routine and Ritual, Play, Nature and Nurture, Imitation, Instinct; -and there is a very illuminating last chapter on “The School and the -Individual.” - - - - -MORAL AND RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. - -By SOPHIE BRYANT, D.Sc., Litt.D. - -LATE HEAD MISTRESS OF THE NORTH LONDON COLLEGIATE SCHOOL FOR GIRLS -AUTHOR OF “EDUCATIONAL ENDS,” ETC. - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =6s. net.= - - -In this book, Mrs. Bryant, whose writings on educational subjects are -widely known, takes the view that in order to produce the best result -over the widest area, the teaching of morality through the development -of religious faith, and its teaching by direct appeal to self-respect, -reason, sympathy and common sense, are both necessary. In religion, -more than in anything else, different individuals must follow different -paths to the goal. - -Upon this basis the book falls into four parts. The first deals with -the processes of spiritual self-realisation by means of interest in -knowledge and art, and of personal affections and social interest, -which all emerge in the development of conscience. The second part -treats of the moral ideal and how it is set forth by means of heroic -romance and history, and in the teaching of Aristotle, to build up the -future citizen. The third presents the religious ideal, its beginnings -and the background of ideas implied by it, together with suggestions -for study of the Bible and the lives of the Saints. In the fourth part -the problem of the reasoned presentment of religious truths is dealt -with in detail. - -There is no doubt that this book makes a very considerable addition to -what has already been written on the subject of religious education. - - - - -THE TEACHING OF MODERN FOREIGN LANGUAGES IN SCHOOL AND UNIVERSITY. - -By H. G. ATKINS, M.A., - -PROFESSOR OF GERMAN IN KING’S COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON, AND -UNIVERSITY READER IN GERMAN, - -AND - -H. L. HUTTON, M.A., - -SENIOR MODERN LANGUAGE MASTER AT MERCHANT TAYLORS’ SCHOOL. - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =6s. net.= - - -The first part of this book deals with the School, the second with the -University. While each part is mainly written by one of the authors, -they have acted in collaboration and have treated the two subjects as -interdependent. They have referred only briefly to the main features of -the past history, and have chiefly tried to give a broad survey of the -present position of modern language teaching, and the desirable policy -for the future. - -As regards the School, conclusions are first reached as to the relative -amount of time to be devoted to modern languages in the curriculum, and -the various branches of the subject--its organisation and methods, the -place of grammar and the history of the language--are then discussed. -A chapter is devoted to the questions relating to the second foreign -language, and the study is linked up with the University course. - -In the second part Professor Atkins graces the different ends to which -the School course continued at the University may lead, with special -reference to the higher Civil Service Examinations and to the training -of Secondary School Teachers. - -The general plan of the book was worked out before the publication of -the report of the Government Committee appointed by the Prime Minister -to enquire into the position of Modern Languages in the educational -system of Great Britain. With the report, however, the authors’ -conclusions were in the main found to agree, and the text of the book -has been brought up-to-date by references to the report which have -been made in footnotes as well as in places in the text. No further -modifications were thought to be necessary. - -The book will be found to give a comprehensive review of the whole -field of modern language teaching and some valuable help towards the -solution of its problems. - - - - -THE CHILD UNDER EIGHT. - -By E. R. MURRAY, - -VICE-PRINCIPAL OF MARIA GREY TRAINING COLLEGE; AUTHOR OF “FROEBEL AS A -PIONEER IN MODERN PSYCHOLOGY,” ETC., - -AND - -HENRIETTA BROWN SMITH, LL.A., - -LECTURER IN EDUCATION, GOLDSMITH’S COLLEGE, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON; -EDITOR OF “EDUCATION BY LIFE.” - - _Crown 8vo._ _Cloth._ =6s. net.= - - -The authors of this book deal with the young child at the outset of its -education, a stage the importance of which cannot be exaggerated. The -volume is written in two parts, the first dealing with the child in the -Nursery and Kindergarten, and the second with the child in the State -School. Much that is said is naturally applicable to either form of -School, and, where this is so, repetition has been avoided by means of -cross references. - -The authors find that the great weakness of English education in the -past has been want of a definite aim to put before the children, and -the want of a philosophy for the teacher. Without some understanding -of the meaning and purpose of life the teacher is at the mercy of -every fad, and is apt to exalt method above principle. This book is an -attempt to gather together certain recognised principles, and to show -in the light of actual experience how these may be applied to existing -circumstances. They put forward a strong plea for the recognition of -the true value of Play, the “spontaneous activity in all directions,” -and for courage and faith on the part of the teacher to put this -recognition into practice; and they look forward to the time when the -conditions of public Elementary Schools, from the Nursery School up, -will be such--in point of numbers, space, situation and beauty of -surroundings--that parents of any class will gladly let their children -attend them. - -_Further volumes in this series are in preparation and will be -published shortly._ - - - - -FIRST PRINCIPLES OF MUSIC. - -By F. J. READ, MUS. DOC. (OXON.) - -FORMERLY PROFESSOR AT THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC. - - _Crown 8vo._ =1s. 6d.= - - -This book is the result of the author’s long experience as Professor -of Theory at the Royal College of Music, and is the clearest and most -concise treatise of the kind that has yet been written. - - “It is a useful little book, covering a wider field than any - other of the kind that we know.”--_The Times._ - - “It is calculated to quicken interest in various subjects - outside the normal scope of an elementary musical grammar. The - illustrated chapter on orchestral instruments, for instance, is - a welcome and stimulating innovation.”--_Daily Telegraph._ - -LONDON: EDWARD ARNOLD, 41 & 43 MADDOX STREET, W. 1. - - - - -FOOTNOTES: - -[1] Now Admiral Boyle, C.B., C.M.G., M.V.O. - -[2] Colonel Doughty Wylie, V.C. - -[3] Colonel Esson was Q.M.G. of the New Zealand Division. - -[4] Now Lieut.-General Sir John Monash, commanding the Australian -Forces. - -[5] Because he had been through the siege of Plevna and was covered -with Turkish decorations. - -[6] Supply officer of the New Zealand Division. - -[7] Now Lieut.-General Sir A. H. Russell, K.C.M.G., K.C.B. - -[8] Now Chief of Staff in India. - -[9] Commanding Australian Div. - -[10] Now Lieut.-Colonel Bigham, C.M.G., Grenadier Guards. - -[11] Now Brigadier-General, Australian Forces. - -[12] Now Surgeon-General and Director-General, Medical Services of -Australia. - -[13] The usual Albanian greeting. - -[14] Commanding 1st Australian Light Horse Brigade. Now Lieut.-General -Sir H. Chauvel, G.C.M.G., K.C.B. - -[15] Commanding New Zealand Infantry Brigade. Afterwards killed at -battle of Messines in 1917. - -[16] Now Lieut.-General Sir Neville, Director of the Australian Medical -Service. - -[17] Now Sir George Lloyd, Governor of Bombay. - -[18] War correspondents. - -[19] The novelist. - -[20] Naval beachmaster. - -[21] His A.D.C., a Captain in the Indian Lancers, who had been killed. - -[22] A.D.M.S., New Zealand Division. - -[23] Irish Guards. Commanding 29th Irish Brigade. - -[24] Taken back after. - - -[Transcriber’s Note: - -Inconsistent spelling and hyphenation are as in the original. - -Page 151, “_Monday, July 2, 1915.” changed to read “_Monday, August 2, -1915.” to match the month in previous and subsequent diary entries.] - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Mons, Anzac and Kut, by Aubrey Herbert - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK MONS, ANZAC AND KUT *** - -***** This file should be named 54312-0.txt or 54312-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/3/1/54312/ - -Produced by Brian Coe, Wayne Hammond and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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