Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 174

[Page 174]

brigade of the 10th Division is till down at Anzac and has just had a lot of fighting for Hill 60th. The struggle for this position has been going on for three days. It was taken by us on the 21st of August but apparently we lost it again. I hear our casualties have again been very heavy. On Chocolate Hill I met General Payton who commands the 2nd Mounted Division Yeomanry. He was very agreable and gave me some interesting details of the part played by the Yeomanry in the affair of the 21st. All are agreed it was one of the w rst managed affairs which have been seen on the Peninsula which is saying a great deal It appears that all the other Generals hate de Lisle and refuse to have any dealings with him. The infantry generals resent having a cavalryman placed over their heads. No one knew their orders and some of the Yeomanry Brigades had no idea on what point they were to March. Why on earth they were brought right across the open under a heavy shrapnel fire remains a msytery instead of being massed behind Chocolate Hill under cover of night.

But this is only on a par with everything else. The artillery fire was very poor and I should say the Turks have suffered but little. All our troops are very dispirited and ask ''Are we going to be stuck here for the winter?. I am afraid poor devils that they will be whether they like it or not. The Turks spend their whole time digging new trenches. They have now made a great barbed wire entanglement across the front of Hill 70th which it has never had before. This will make it even harder to tackle the next time we make the attempt. The front is very depressing to visit at the present time. We got back to camp late but were fortunate in having a very safe time all day as the enemy hardly shelled at all