hought it better to hold back. At present all was
peaceful and he expected a Staff Officer at any moment with a sketch
showing the exact disposition of his troops. He could not, he feared,
point me out the Brigade Headquarters on the ground. The general line
held followed the under features of the hills.

Malcolm, G.S.O.1, was then called and came up from the far end of the
little beach. He was in the act of fixing up orders for next morning's
attack. I told both Officers that there had never been a greater crisis
in any battle than the one taking place as we spoke. They were naturally
pleased at having got ashore and to have defeated the Turks on the
shore, but they must not fly away with the idea that with time and
patience everything would pan out very nicely. On the contrary, it was
imperative, absolutely imperative, we should occupy the heights before
the enemy brought back the guns they had carried off and before they
received the reinforcements which were marching at that very moment to
their aid. This was no guess: it _was_ so: our aeroplanes had spotted
Turks marching upon us from the North. We might be too late now; anyway
our margin was of the narrowest.

Hammersley assured me that sheer thirst, and the exhaustion of the
troops owing to thirst, had been the only reason why he had not walked
on to Ismail Oglu Tepe last night. After Yilghin Burnu had been
carried, there was nothing to prevent the occupation of the heights as
the Turks had been beat, but no one could fight against thirst.

I asked him how the water question stood. He said it had been solved by
the landing of more mules; there was no longer any serious supply
trouble. All the troops were now watered, fed and rested. They had been
told they should gain as much ground as they could without committing
themselves to a general action, but they had not, in fact, made much
progress. Thereupon, I pressed again my view that the Division should
get on to the ridge forthwith. Let the Brigade-Majors, I said, pick out
a few of their freshest companies and get on to the crest right now.
Hammersley still clung to the view that he could not get any of his
troops under weigh before daylight next morning. The units were
scattered; no reconnaissance had been made of the ground to their front;
that ground was jungly and blind; it would be impossible to get orders
round the whole Division in time to let the junior ranks study them.
Hammersley's points were made in