formation to pass through the hod. This was a difficult moment and
tested the fibre of men and the battalion as a whole to the utmost. The
extra physical exertion and the loss of companionship which one gets in
the close formation served almost as a breaking point to endurance.
Perhaps the best summary of the psychology of this period is found in
the words from the diary of one of the officers:--

"Then it was that my energy gave out. I moved about along the line
shouting at the men to preserve their dressing and correct
intervals. Much had to be done. We inclined first to the left and
then to the right and it was very trying. Men began to drop and I
could not help them now that I had lost touch with them. Then I
began to lose all interest. I had become purely self-centred--if
the whole platoon had collapsed I am afraid I should not have been
concerned. I had almost got to such a state that if the Turks had
suddenly appeared from the wood I should not have cared what the
consequences were. Yet I was determined not to touch water for I
recognised that that was required for the last extremity. My head
dropped and my knees would not straighten. The load on my shoulders
was ten times its weight. The haversack and tunic on my back seemed
to pull me down, but the greatest weight was an extra haversack
which I had attached to my equipment on the left. It contained all
manner of necessaries and comforts, and ties with home. I was
determined not to part with it, although I confess I was almost
impelled to fling it away. In other words I think I had got to the
limit of my endurance, when a halt was called in the hod. I dropped
under a palm tree with a group of men, slipped off my load, and
then lay quite still for a long time. After a while I had my first
drink of water for that day. We stayed there some time, and one or
two of the men had found a well. But it was brackish and the men
should not have touched it, for it made them worse. Several were
knocked out altogether by it."

Word had come through that Katia was unoccupied by the enemy, and
although it required a tremendous effort the battalion got together and
proceeded to the final destination in column of route. Although not much
over half a mile those last yards seemed interminable, but in course of
time we were all settled in the cool shade of the