Volume I Part 16 (1/2)
_13th May, 1915 HMT ”Arcadian”_ Hot and bright Dead cal which a Turkish Torpedo boat sneaked down the Straits and torpedoed the _Goliath_ David and his sling on the grand scale No details yet to hand The enemy deserve decorations--confound them!
Got hold of a Fleet-sweeper and went off to Cape helles Again visited Headquarters 29th Division, and afterwards walked through the trenches of the 87th Brigade Saw that fine soldier, Brigadier-General Marshall, in cos, Dublin Fusiliers, etc They have recovered their exhaustion; have cleaned up, and look full of themselves, twice the size in fact As I stepped on to the little pier at Cape helles an enemy's six-incher burst about 50 yards back, a lu into the sea with an ugly hiss Not a big fragh!
The Staff havebox if we dossed down on the toe of the Peninsula First,--unless we get between the Divisional Generals and the enemy, there is literally no room! Secondly,--I should be further, in point of time, from Birdwood and his men than if I was still on board shi+p Thirdly,--the several Headquarters of Divisions, whether French or British, would all equally hate to have Braithwaite and ht Have sent out another party, therefore, to explore Tenedos and see if we can find a place there which will serve us till we can make more elbow room on Gallipoli
The Gurkhas have stalked the Bluff Redoubt and have carried it with a rush!+ They are absolutely the boys for this class of country and for this class of enemy
Cabled Lord K about the weakness of the 29th Division At the veryso much from a fresh push made in conjunction with a naval attack, the Division, the backbone of my force, are short by over 11,000unit they are on their last legs and when they will be set upon their feet again Lord K
knows Were we in France we'd get the ypt still I could seea , ”I hope the 29th Division is soon to be land that the custo taken with it by the Division although it was to operate at so great a distance fro of ain For the eneht has been shi+fted at last Under cover of a hooroosh by the Manchesters, the Gurkhas have rushed a bluff 600 yards ahead of our line and are sticking to their winnings
_14th May, 1915 HMT ”Arcadian”_ Hot day, s to bivouac on shore What a contrast we must present to the Headquarters in France! There the stately _Chateau_; sheets, table-cloths and motor cars Here the red tab patricians have to haul their own kits over the sand
In the afternoon d'Amade came back with General Gouraud, his successor, the new Chief of the French A resolute, solid looking _gaillard_ is Gouraud He brings a great reputation with him from the Western Front
Quite late the Ader Keyes and the forwards will be cut to the heart The Admiralty have turned down the proposal to force the Straits si; the warshi+ps are to go on supporting
Froreat commanders have rubbed in the maxim, ”If you attack, attack with all your force” Our people know better; we are to go on attacking with half our force First we attack with the naval half and are held up--next we attack with the ared hisand thinks it would be best not to fix GHQ at Tenedos; first, because therequickly to Anzac; secondly, because Tenedos is so close to Asia that we -out party of Besika Bay ruffians, unless we had a guard But we can't run to the pouard here
_15th May, 1915 HMT ”Arcadian”_ Till 3 pear Sailed then for helles when I saw Hunter-Weston who gave ained bluff upon our left Shells busy bursting on ”W” Beach
Some French aeroplanes have arrived--God be praised! Shocked to hear Birdie has been hit, but anotherserious, came close on the heels of the first Anchored at I h to a finish
A crucial question, veryeasier than to ask for 150,000 et what I wanted, but the boldest leaders, Bobs, White, Gordon, K, have always ”asked for more” with a most queasy conscience
On the face of it I need many more men if the Fleet is not to attack, and yet I ae, much less an opinion, as to what passes between the Fleet and the Admiralty!
_16th May, 1915 HMT ”Arcadian”_ De Robeck ca The sub him already, and there seees has been badly wounded The news upset wood), and started off for Anzac Went ashore and saw Birdie Doing so, I received a different sort of salute fro on duty is entitled by regulation Quite a shower of shell fell all about us, the Turks having spotted there was some sort of ”bloke” on the _Rattlesnake_ We went round a bit of the line, and found all well, the reat heart and, a as if they liked it
Birdie himself is still a little shaken by his wound of yesterday He had a close shave indeed A bullet ca and scalped hi with blood, but when he had been picked up and washed he wanted to finish his round of the trenches
Eain under brisk shell fire and proceeded to the hospital shi+p _Gascon_ where I saw General Bridges He looked languid and pale But his spirit was high as ever and he sed towe had just gone through The doctors, alas, give a bad, if not desperate, account of hi off his leg high up, but as it is he would not stand the shock On the other hand, his feet are so cold fro severed that they anticipate ht better have a try at cutting off the leg, but they are not for it Bridges will be a real loss He was a single-nificent rank and file, Australia cannot afford to lose Bridges But perhaps I a ti to wounded men--Australians, New Zealanders and native Indians Both the former like to meet sohten up when they are greeted in Hindustani On returning to Iood news about the Lancashi+re Territorials who have gained 180 yards of ground without incurring any loss to speak of They are real good chaps They suffer only froular soldiers' fault; there are too few of them here
_17th May, 1915 HMT ”Arcadian” 10 p the Adh draft for an answer to Lord K's cable We show the Navy all our i things and don't open out so freely On the face of it, we are invited to say ant Well, to steer a middle course between my duty to ht seem That middle course is (if I can only hit it) my duty toturns out as ere told it would turn out The landing has been made but the Balkans fold their arms, the Italians show no interest, the Russians do not et across the Black Sea (the Grand Duke Nicholas has no h but they can only annoy, they cannot cut the sea communications, and so the Turks have not fled to Bulair Instead, eneet at us and our shi+ps are being warned they may have to make themselves scarce: last--in point of ti way, the central idea of the original plan, an attack by the Fleet on the Forts appears to have been entirely shelved At first the Fleet was to force its way through; ere to look on; next, the Fleet and the Aro for the Straits side by side; to-day, the whole problem may fairly be restated on a clean sheet of paper, so different is it froinally put to me by K
when it was understood I would put him in an impossible position if I pressed for reinforcements We should be on velvet if we asked for so ot theet them we could say victory was ihters for the Eree withunder the circuht_; not a man more than we, in our consciences, believe ill really need,--not aand head scratching, one home by cable to-day The stateards the Fleet, a pidgin which flies out of range:--
”(MF 234)
”Your No 4644 cipher, of the 14th instant The following is my appreciation of the situation:
”On the one hand, there are at present on the Peninsula as many troops as the available space and water supply can acco opposition on my front will require h more troops are wanted there is, at present, no roo your question is accentuated by the fact that my answer must depend on whether Turkey will continue to be left undisturbed in other parts and therefore free to ood the undoubtedly heavy losses incurred here by sending troops from Adrianople, Keshan, Constantinople and Asia;have direct evidence that the latter has been the case
”If the present condition of affairs in this respect were changed by the entry into the struggle of Bulgaria or Greece or by the landing of the Russians, th by the necessary drafts, plus the Army Corps asked for in my No MF 216 of the 10th May, would probably suffice to finish ed and the Turks are still able to devote so much exclusive attention to us, I shall want an additional army corps, that is, two army corps additional in all
”I could not land these reinforcements on the Peninsula until I can advance another 1,000 yards and so free the beaches fro to which they are subjected froain more space; but I could land them on the adjacent islands of Tenedos, Imbros and Lemnos and take them over later to the Peninsula for battle This plan would surmount the difficulties of water and space on the Peninsula and would, perhaps, enable me to effect a surprise with the fresh divisions