one fortnight. Despite his
soldier heart and his wise brain we can't risk it. We are unanimous on
that point. Stopford remains. I have cabled expressing my deep
disappointment that Mahon should be the factor which restricts all
choice and saying,

"However, my No. M.F. 334[20] gave you what I considered to be the
qualities necessary in a Commander, so I will do my best with what you
send me.

"With regard to Ewart. I greatly admire his character, but he positively
could not have made his way along the fire trenches I inspected
yesterday. He has never approached troops for fifteen years although I
have often implored him, as a friend, to do so. Would not Stopford be
preferable to Ewart, even though he does not possess the latter's calm?"

I begin to think I shall be recalled for my importunity. But, in for a
penny in for a pound, and I have fired off the following protest to a
really disastrous cable from the War Office saying that the New Army is
to bring _no_ 4.5-inch howitzers with it; no howitzers at all, indeed,
except sixteen of the old, inaccurate 5-inch Territorial howitzers, some
of which "came out" at Omdurman and were afterwards--the whole
category--found so much fault with in South Africa. Unless they are
going to have an August push in France they might at least have lent us
forty-eight 4.5 hows. from France to see the New Army through their
first encounter with the enemy. They could all be run back in a fast
cruiser and would only be loaned to us for three weeks or a month. If
the G.S. at Whitehall can't do those things, they have handed over the
running of a world war to one section of the Army. I attach my
ultimatum: I cannot make it more emphatic; instead of death or victory
we moderns say howitzers or defeat:--

"(No. 5489, cipher, M.G.O.) From War Office to General Officer
Commanding-in-Chief, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force. Your No. M.F.
316. It is impossible to send more ammunition than we are sending you.
528 rounds per 18-pr will be brought out by each Division. Instead of
4.5-inch howitzers we are sending 16 5-inch howitzers with the 13th
Division, as there is more 5-inch ammunition available. By the time that
the last of the three Divisions arrive we hope to have supplied a good
percentage of high explosive shells, but you should try to save as much
as you can in the meantime. Until more ammunition is available for them,
we cannot send you any 4.5-inch howitzers with the other two Division