Volume I Part 2 (1/2)
Thoughts of hts of her refusal as she lay dying--gasping in mortal pain--her refusal to touch an opiate, because the Minister, Norht dihts ascending heavenwards What pluck--what grit--what faith--what an example to a soldier
Exquisite, exquisite air; sea like an undulating carpet of blue velvet outspread for Aphrodite Have been in the Aegean since dawn At noon passed a cruiser taking back Ado the thunder of his guns shook the firm foundations of the world Now a sheer hulk lies poor old Carden _Vanitas vanitatuot into touch with my staff They are all General Staff: no Administrative Staff The Adjutant-General-to-be (I don't know him) and the Chief Medico (I don't knoho he is to be) could not get ready in time to come off with us, and the QMG, too, was undecided when I left There are nine of the General Staff I like the looks of the Braithwaite, not one of the associates he has told off to work hand in glove with me in this enterprise should ever have served with me before
Only two sorts of Commanders-in-Chief could possibly find time to scribble like this on their way to take up an enterprise in many ways unprecedented--a Gerency would have been worked out for hi--literally nothing--in his portfolio except a blank cheque signed with those grand yet simple words--John Bull The Ger nation The British General is the product of an i nation Each army would be better commanded by the other army's General Sounds fantastic but is true[4]
CHAPTER II
THE STRAITS
Cast anchor at Tenedos at 3 p entered the harbour at the very saeneral d'A aboard that lovely sea monster, HMS
_Queen Elizabeth_
Present:--
Ader Keyes, Ad French Fleet, General d'Amade, General Braithwaite, Adreetedreat char introduced to Wemyss, Guepratte and Keyes, we sat down round a table and the Adan His chief worry lies in the clever way the ene theirfortress ordnance, but the howitzers and field guns fire fro of theof a VC
sort of job for the sh, these uns will make it very nasty for store shi+ps or transports which follow The ines Some of the civilian masters and crews of the trawlers have to consider wives and kids as well as VCs The probleh is a probleined type of ular naval commanders and crews to s actually stand there is real cause for anxiety as tofortified and leageh each s forth fresh evidences of nocturnal activity, in patches of freshly turned up soil All landing places are now couns and howitzers, which, thus far, cannot be located as our naval seaplanes are too heavy to rise out of rifle range There has been a muddle about these seaplanes Noines; actually the d----d things can barely rise off the water The naval guns do not seem able to knock the Turkish Infantry out of their deep trenches although they can silence their fire for awhile This was proved at that last landing by Marines The Turkish searchlights are both fixed and mobile They are of the latest pattern and are run by skilled observers He gave us, in fact, to understand that Gero-as-you-please Turk and arehim march to the _Parade-schritt_
The Ade on his own, and is sure he can do so Setting Constantinople on one side for the h and the Army _then_ attacks at Bulair, ould have the Turkish Arular trap Therefore, whether froer point of view, he has no wish to call us in until he has had a real good try He htway to put the whole proposition to a practical test
His views dovetail in to a hair's breadth with K's views The Adood try” leads up towards K's ”after every effort has been exhausted”
That's a bit of luck for our kick-off, anyway What we soldiers have to do now is to hammer away at our band-o-bast[5] whilst the Navy pushes as hard, as fast and as far as its horsepower, unpoill carry it
The Admiral asked to see my instructions and Braithwaite read theer Keyes, the Commodore, inquired, ”Is that all?”
And when Braithwaite confessed that it was, everyone looked a little blank
Asked what I , as, whether the Fleet forces the passage and disembarked us on the Bosphorus; or, whether the Fleet did not force the passage and we had to ”go for” the Peninsula, the _band-o-bast_ could be made to suit either case
The Admiral asked if I meant to land at Bulair? I replied mythings for myself and that I would not come to any decision on the round He then said he would send lasses in the Phaeton to-e forces on the neck of Bulair itself as there were no beaches, but that I should reconnoitre the coast at the head of the Gulf as landing would be easier with every few miles we dreay towards the North I told him it would be useless to land at any distance from my objective, for the simple reason that I had no transport, mechanical or horse, wheeled or pack, to enable me to support myself further than five or six miles from the Fleet and it would take ether; however, I ended, I would to-ean hardly differs so much from the North Sea haze as does the moral atmosphere of Tenedos differ from that of the War Office
This is always the way Until the plunge is taken, the man in the arm chair clamps rose coloured spectacles on to his nose and the man on the spot is anxious; _but_, once the men on the spot jump off they become as jolly as sandboys, whilst thefor a set-back with a blue lens telescope
Here, the Peninsula looks a tougher nut to crack than it did on Lord K's small and featureless map I do not speak for h a field glass I refer to the tone of the sailors, which strikes raver and less irresponsible than the tone of the War Office
The Admiral believes that, at the time of the first boht up to the Bulair lines
(Before leaving the shi+p I learnt that soree) Now that phase has passed Many rappled with the situation, and have got their troops scientifically disposed and heavily entrenched This skilful siting of the Turkish trenches has been admired by all couns on the Peninsula is now reater than it was
After this the discussion becaain to my instructions, I laid stress on the point that I was a waitingas he could keep his wicket up Braithwaite asked a question or two about the trenches and all of us deplored the lack of aeroplanes whereby ere blinded in our attack upon an ene over the water
The more I revolve these matters in my mind, the reat a hurry to bring the Army to the front I devoutly hope indeed (and I think the fiercest of our fellows agree) that the Navy will pull us out the chestnuts fro I made these notes of what had happened and drafted a first cable to Lord K, giving hi stateuns to hinder the clearing of the htly work thereon; our handicap in all these matters because the type of seaplanes sent us ”are too heavy to rise out of effective rifle range”--(one has to put these things ht of dangers was evidently deter upon the soldiers for their help on a large scale”; and I wind up by telling him Lemnos seems a bad base and that I am off to- got these matters off my chest on to the chest of K, was then taken round the shi+p by the Flag Captain, GPW Hope By this time it was nearly 7 so I stayed and dined with the Adot back here