ew pattern, which existing fuse keys would not fit and, to
crown all, no range tables had been sent for this new pattern of shell.
In spite of continual letters and telegrams to the War Office, when I
left Helles in September no new pattern fuse keys or range tables had
ever arrived from England; consequently these shells remained stacked on
the Peninsula while the Batteries only fired occasionally for want of
ammunition!

On another occasion, when we were in the greatest straits for 15-pr.
ammunition, many hundreds of rounds arrived at Helles, which on being
landed were discovered by my Staff only to be suitable for the Ehrhardt
R.H.A. guns in Egypt, no such guns being in the Dardanelles.

As for heavy artillery, practically speaking, there was none! Only one
6-inch Howitzer Battery (4 howitzers) and one 60-pr. Battery (4 guns)
were in action at Helles up to July when four more guns of the latter
calibre were landed. Unfortunately, however, the 60-prs. were of little
use, as the recoil was too great for the carriages and the latter broke
down beyond repair by our limited resources after very few rounds. At
the beginning of August only one 60-pr. gun remained in action.
Consequently, we had no heavy guns capable of replying to the Turkish
heavy guns which enveloped us on three sides, and from whose fire our
infantry and artillery suffered severely.

As to spare parts, spare guns and carriages, such luxuries were
practically non-existent. No provision appears to have been made by the
War Office to replace our guns or their parts, which became
unserviceable through use or through damage by the hostile artillery. As
the British were holding the lower slopes of the Achi Baba position, and
as all our gun positions could be seen into by the Turks with powerful
spectacles from their observation posts on the top of Achi Baba, our
equipment suffered severely. During June and July one 6-inch howitzer
and twenty-five 18-prs. (out of a total of seventy-two) as well as one
or two 60-prs., were put out of action by direct hits from the hostile
artillery. Such guns were withdrawn to the field workshops on "W" Beach,
but as these workshops were exposed to the enemy's artillery fire from
three sides, the guns were often further damaged while under repair.
Damaged guns had sometimes to wait for days in this workshop until other
guns had been damaged in a different place by the hostile artillery.
Then possibly one efficient gun could be