Peninsula with her big guns. There was no
use arguing with the sailors; they treat me as if I were a mascot. So I
was duly shut up out of harm's way and out of their way whilst they made
ready to take on the ship, which is just as much the cause of our Iliad
as was Helen that of Homer's. Up went our captive balloon; in ten
minutes it was ready to spot and at 10.15 we got off the first shot
which missed the _Goeben_ by just a few feet to the right. The enemy
then quickly took cover behind the high cliffs and I was let out of my
prison. Some Turkish transports remained, landing troops. Off flew the
shell, seven miles it flew; over the Turkish Army from one sea into
another. A miss! Again she let fly. This time from the balloon came down
that magic formula "O.K." (plumb centre). We danced for joy though
hardly able really to credit ourselves with so magnificent a shot: but
it was so: in two minutes came another message saying the transport was
sinking by the stern! O.K. for us; U.P. with the Turks. Simple letters
to describe a pretty ghastly affair. Fancy that enormous shell dropping
suddenly out of the blue on to a ship's deck swarming with troops!

A wireless from Wemyss to say that the whole of Hunter-Weston's force
has advanced two miles on a broad front and that the enemy made no
resistance.

At 6 p.m. a heavy squall came down from the North and the Aegean was no
place for flyers whether heavier or lighter than air. All the Turkish
guns we could spot from the ship had been knocked out or silenced, so
Birdwood and his men were able to get along with their digging. We cast
anchor off Cape Helles at about 6.30 p.m.

At 7 Hunter-Weston came on board and dined. He is full of confidence and
good cheer. _He never gave any order to evacuate "Y"; he never was
consulted; he does not know who gave the order._ He does well to be
proud of his men and of the way they played up to-day when he called
upon them to press back the enemy. He has had no losses to speak of and
we are now on a fairly broad three-mile front right across the toe of
the Peninsula; about two miles from the tip at Helles. Had our men not
been so deadly weary, there was no reason we should not have taken Achi
Baba from the Turks, who put up hardly any fight at all. But we have not
got our mules or horses ashore yet in any numbers, and the digging, and
carriage of stores, water and munitions to the firing line had to go on
all night, so the men are still as tire