y not one soul reported sick. They would
not go near the doctors for fear they might be made to miss a battle.

Last night the French took a small trench, and though the Turks had a
dash at it in the morning, they were easily beaten off. Twice out of
three times we gain something when we fight and the third time we lose
no ground.

Given, therefore, the factors of the problem, men, munitions and the
distance to be covered (two to three miles), the result pans out like a
proposition by Euclid. No question of breaking through is involved as in
any other theatre, but merely a question of pushing back a very clearly
limited number of yards. The men have in their hearts a reservoir of
patience which will never run dry so long as they are sure of the Will
to Win at their backs. They need have no qualms about G.H.Q. here, but
politicians are more--shall we say, mercurial? And the experts from
France are throwing cold water on our cause by day and night. Therefore,
as the Fleet is not going to have a dash, it is just as well we are
about to try the one great effort and get it done quickly. We will gain
a lot of ground; so much is certain, and it's as sure as anything can
be in war that somewhere we shall make good a key to the position.

_26th July, 1915._ Stifling. Am sticking out about the lack of proper
advices of shipments. Ammunition _makes_ itself scarce enough without
being _made_ scarce. Rare and curious articles are worth careful
booking; that's the text of my cable.

_27th July, 1915. Imbros._ Hard at it. Altham came in to see me and
spent an hour and a half. A man of business! Mahon arrived at mid-day.
Very cheery but he feels that he is the only Lieutenant-General
executively employed with troops who has so small a command as a
Division. He says that either he should be given a Corps, or that
his Lieutenant-General's rank should be reverted to that of
Major-General. I quite agreed. I feel as strongly as he does that, as a
Lieutenant-General, he is clean out of his setting in a Major-General's
appointment and has blocked the way to a go-ahead young Corps Commander,
because that Corps Commander must, by K.'s decision, be his senior.
Still, there didn't seem to be anything to be done, so after my telling
him how things stood here, and hearing with great pleasure the fine
account he gave me of his Irish Division, we adjourned to lunch. Colonel
King, his G.S.O. (1), also lunched and seemed to be a very nice fellow.
A