Cicognani diary, 1 November 1914-September 1915 / Henry Claude Cicognani - Page 60

[Page 60]

his comrades when without warning a football came in the roadway in front of the four & tore the roadway right across. Altho the men were enveloped in dust & remained so for several seconds the only damage sustained was the loss of the water & tin which were blown beyond recall.

We lost our first man at 9.30 p.m. through shrapnel & a section of Red Cross workers below us were less fortunate their losses amounting to a squad. The firing line was very thick with wounded & dead & as we continued to advance the wounded simply swarmed in on us. We worked 24 hours without a spell & then had a short rest & worked again till nightfall. During the night huge transports discharged thousands of men on our left & as these kept a running fire on the Turks retiring our section were able to capture over four miles of extra fronting. Hill 961. our objective, was taken by the Australians & N.Zs. but owing to the supports being unsatisfactory were unable to hold on. Our casualties still continue to pour in & I believe number something like 8000 – This does not include the dead who lie in the valleys & on the side of hills. The captured trenches are