e French on one side, we here, in this great
force, possess only half a dozen good trench mortars--the Japanese.
These six are worth their weight in gold to Anzac. Often those fellows
have said to me that if they had twenty-five of them, with lots of
bombs, they could render the Turkish trenches untenable. Twice, whilst
their six precious mortars have been firing, I have stood for half an
hour with Birdie, watching and drinking in encouragement. About one bomb
a minute was the rate of fire and as it buzzed over our own trenches
like a monstrous humming bird all the naked Anzacs laughed. Then, _such_
an explosion and a sort of long drawn out ei-ei-ei-ei cry of horror from
the Turks. It was fine,--a real corpse-reviving performance and now the
W.O. have let the stock run out, because some ass has forgotten to order
them in advance. Have cabled a very elementary question: "Could not the
Japanese bombs be copied in England?"

Being the Centenary of Waterloo, the thoughts and converse of
Hunter-Weston and myself turned naturally towards the lives of the
heroes of a hundred years ago whose monument had given us our education,
and from that topic, equally naturally, to the boys of the coming
generation. Then wrote out greetings to be sent by wire on my own behalf
and on behalf of all Wellingtonians serving under my command here: this
to the accompaniment of unusually heavy shell fire on the Peninsula.

_Later._--Have just heard that after a heavy bombardment the Turks made
an attack and that fighting is going on now.

_19th June, 1915. Imbros._ The Turks expended last night some 500 H.E.
shells; 250 heavy stuff from Asia and some thousands of shrapnel. They
then attacked; we counter-attacked and there was some confused
in-and-out Infantry fighting. We hear that the South Wales Borderers,
the Worcesters, the 5th Royal Scots and the Naval Division all won
distinction. Wiring home I say, "If Lord Kitchener could tell the Lord
Provost of Edinburgh how well the 5th Bn. Royal Scots have done, the
whole of this force would be pleased." The Turks have left 1,000 dead
behind them. Prisoners say they thought so much high explosive would
knock a hole in our line: the bombardment was all concentrated on the
South Wales Borderers' trench.

Writing most of the day. Lord K. has asked the French Government to send
out extra quantities of H.E. shell to their force here; also, he has
begged them to order Gouraud to lend me his guns. In so fa