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[Page 50]
when shells are bursting on all sides of them & the Men 'o 'War are firing over their heads into the valleys. They nearly all seem to be just where we landed them so am wondering how the position is. Further south at the entrance of the Dardanelles we can see a lot of Battleships firing away & we counted 47 Transport Steamers there. There goes the Queen with another big gun, the shell makes a terrible row as it whizzes through space.
6 p.m. Just got some news regarding our doings ashore. A Staff Captain came off & had a bath & some tea with us. He told us that 1500 Australians were wounded during the first days fighting, mostly by shrapnel, & that there were not many killed. Two of the Officers (Captains Kirby & Chapman) that we landed, have been wounded, they however, previously put in some great work & their battery (26th Indian) were the means of saving the situation. He told us of some Turks who crept up on all fours in the darkness on the Sihks position (6, 10lb guns) & when they were within 15 yards the Sihks under Major Bruce, opened fire & annihilated them. They are having a lot of trouble with Turkish snipers who are entrenched in covered positions with a goodly supply of ammunition & stores. They then pick off our Officers. One sniper they captured had 2000 bullets & a fortnights rations & he used to pick off our scouts as they appeared. Our boys, however, are now well entrenched & are in a good position. Everyone speaks well of the Australians & say their bravery is remarkable. When this Staff Captain arrived he had two