VIII

TWO CORPS OR AN ALLY?

_11th May, 1915. H.M.T. "Arcadian."_ Day dull and overcast. Vice-Admiral
came over to see me in the morning. Neither of us has had a reply to his
cable; instead, he has been told two enemy submarines are on their way
to pay us a visit. The approach of these mechanical monsters opens up
vistas thronged with shadowy forebodings. De Robeck begs me to set his
mind at ease by landing with my Staff forthwith. Have sent Officers to
survey the ground between Helles and Sedd-el-Bahr and to see if they can
find room for us. We would all rather be on shore than board ship, but
Helles and "V" Beaches are already overcrowded, and we should be
squeezed in cheek by jowl, within a few hundred yards of the two
Divisional Headquarters Staffs.

_12th May, 1915. H.M.T. "Arcadian."_ Raining hard. Busy all morning. A
cable from Lord K. to say he is sending out the Lowland Division. We are
all as pleased as Punch! especially (so Braithwaite tells me) Roger
Keyes who looks on this as a good omen for the naval attack proposals.
Had he not meant the Fleet to shove in K. must have made some reference
to the second Division, surely. Have cabled back at once to K. giving
him warmest thanks and begging him to look, personally, into the
question of the command of the coming Division. Have begged him to take
Leslie Rundle's opinion on the point and have pressed it by saying,
"Imperturbable calm in the Commander is essential above all things in
these operations." Most of the troop transports have left their
anchorage and gone back to Mudros for fear of submarines.

Went ashore at 3 o'clock. Saw Hunter-Weston and then inspected the 29th
Division just in from the firing line. The ground was heavy and sloppy
after the rain. I walked as far as the trenches of the 86th Brigade and
saw amongst other Corps the Essex, Hants, Lancashire Fusiliers and 5th
Royal Scots. Spent over an hour chatting to groups of Officers and men
who looked like earth to earth, caked as they were with mud, haggard
with lack of sleep, pale as the dead, many of them slightly wounded and
bandaged, hand or head, their clothes blood-stained, their eyes
blood-shot. Who could have believed that only a fortnight ago these same
figures were clean as new pins; smart and well-liking! Two-thirds of
each Battalion were sound asleep in pools of mud and water--like corpses
half buried! This sounds horrible but the hearty welcome extended to us
by all ranks and th