n the market, whilst, under cover of this very
intense fire, another two of their battalions had the nerve to emerge
from the Ravine to the north-east of our forward trenches and to move in
regular lines--shoulder to shoulder--right across the open. Hardly had
they shown themselves when the 10th Battery R.F.A. sprayed them
beautifully with shrapnel. The Gurkha supports were rushed up, and as
there was no room for them in the fire trenches they crept into shell
craters and any sort of hole they could find from which to rake the
Turks as they made their advance. The enemy's officers greatly
distinguished themselves, waving their swords and running well out into
the open to get the men forward. The men also had screwed up their
courage to the sticking point and made a big push for it, but, in the
end, they could not face our fire, and fell back helter-skelter to their
mullah. Along the spot where they had stood wavering awhile before they
broke and ran, there are still two clearly marked lines of corpses.

Wrote a letter to Sclater saying I cannot understand his request for
fuller information about the drafts needed to make my units up to
strength. We have regularly cabled strengths; the figures are correct
and it is the A.G. himself who has ordered us to furnish the optimistic
"ration" strengths instead of the customary "fighting" strengths. The
ration strength are for the Q.M.G., but unless the A.G. wishes to go on
living in a fool's paradise, why should he be afraid of knowing the
numbers we cannot put into the line of battle!

Have also written Cowans protesting once more that we should have
business brains to run the most intricate business proposition at
present on tap in the world--our communications. During the past month
the confusion at Mudros, our advanced base, becomes daily worse
confounded. Things meant for Anzac go to Helles, and _vice versa_: or,
not infrequently, stores, supplies or luxuries arrive and are sent off
on a little tour to Alexandria and Malta before delivery. The system
would be perfect for the mellowing of port or madeira, but when it is
applied to plum and apple jam or, when 18 pr. shell are sent to
howitzers, the system needs overhauling. I know the job is out of the
way difficult. There is work here for Lesseps, Goethals and Morgan
rolled into one:--work that may change the face of the world far, far
more than the Suez or Panama Canals and, to do it, they have put in a
good fighting soldi