Item 03: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett telegrams, 1915 - Page 170

[Page 170]

[Telegram form – The Eastern Telegraph Company, Limited. Alexandria Station. Dated 2 Sept. 1915. 194 words]
[Report by Ashmead Bartlet on the second combined British/Anzac operations at Suvla Bay and Lone Pine, 21st August]
Daily Telegraph London R.T.P.
Cable six section one stop August twenty third stop if we have failed in the great strategic scheme of getting astride the peninsular north of Anzac by seizing the hills round Anafarta and forcing the enemy to abandon his positions before Achi Baba and on the Kilid Bahr salient it has certainly not been through want of trying stop the original plan just failed as the most carefully laid plans will go wrong in war because the 9th Corps failed to carry out the task assigned to it namely to push through with a rush when the enemy was completely surprised and had only a few battalions picked troops it is true of Gendarmes to oppose the tenth eleventh and fifty third divisions stop every possible step had been taken by the General Staff to insure the success of this dash and only one factor was lacking which caused the fatal delays on August eighth and ninth namely a veteran division of picked and tried troops such as the famous twenty ninth proved itself to be on that historic morning of April twenty fifth at Seddul Bahr stop

[the following passage deleted by censor]
but we have no more such divisions available stop our highly trained veterans have long since been swallowed up in the insatiable maw of this gigantic struggle and the Commander in Chief of an army must rely on our new formations to undertake the most difficult intricate and delicate operation known in war namely landing in the face of an enemy and seizing positions in mountainous rugged broken unexplored country without hesitation and adequate reconnaissance stop it is absolutely no slight on the new armies to say they proved unequal to the task stop they fought bravely and bore cruel losses but the officer and soldier with nine

Ashmead Bartlett / Maxwell Censor