th fresh evidences of nocturnal
activity, in patches of freshly turned up soil. All landing places are
now commanded by lines of trenches and are ranged by field guns 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. Nominally they possess very powerful Sunbeam engines;
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 German
thoroughness and forethought have gripped the old go-as-you-please Turk
and are making him march to the _Parade-schritt_.

The Admiral would prefer to force a passage on his own, and is sure he
can do so. Setting Constantinople on one side for the moment, _if_ the
Fleet gets through and the Army _then_ attacks at Bulair, we would have
the Turkish Army on the Peninsula in a regular trap. Therefore, whether
from the local or the larger point of view, he has no wish to call us in
until he has had a real good try. He means straightway to put the whole
proposition to a practical test.

His views dovetail in to a hair's breadth with K.'s views. The Admiral's
"real good 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, manpower and gunpower will
carry it.

The Admiral asked to see my instructions and Braithwaite read them out.
When he stopped, Roger Keyes, the Commodore, inquired, "Is that all?"
And when Braithwaite confessed that it was, everyone looked a little
blank.

Asked what I meant to do, I said I proposed to get ready for a landing,
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 my mind was
open on that point: that I was a believer in seeing things for myself
and that I would not come to any decision on t