Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 239
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[Page 239]
probably only lead to much the same slaughter as the Turks suffered when making their last effort to which I have referred. The position is held by five Brigades and will not hold another man, being already overcrowded. We cannot develop a wide front along the low ground towards the south as long as the enemy holds the small promontory of Gaba Tepe, which has been transformed into a regular fortress and which has defied all our efforts in spite of the terrific fire to which it has been subjected by the Fleet. The position at Anzac is, therefore, a complete stale-mate.
Position At Seddul Bahr.
Here we occupy the plain at the foot of the Achi Baba position and cannot get on. All our lines are exposed to full view and to the enemy's artillery fire. He has made the Krithia-Achi-Baba-Kereves-Dere position a regular fortress which can only be taken trench by trench. Our assaults have repeatedly failed. The position is thoroughly uncomfortable. Our trenches are, however, very strong and I do not think we could be driven off the peninsula by legitimate attacks. But once again the employment of gas might render our lines untenable, and the wind almost invariably blows off the shore. Again, it is an error to suppose that the possession of Achi Baba would open the road to Kilid Bahr. The enemy, according to all information, has been busy making a net-work of trenches on the two lines of hills behind, and all these positions will have to be slowly snapped against and then stormed. This will involve