Item 01: Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett diary, 1915-1917 - Page 56
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[Page 56]
to go ashore to be in a position by about 10 o'clock. The Lancashire Territorial Division had already begun to arrive, but this only gave one extra Division with which to make this great attack on Achi Baba. It seemed to me to be a rididulous attempt because even with this new and untried division, it hardly brought the force up to its original strength. However two Brigades one Australian and one New Zealand were brought down from Anzac to participate in the movement. Personally I had no faith whatsoever that any real result would be achieved, and I regarded it as merely a waste of men and ammunition. The only gun which was of any real use against entrenchments are field howitzers, and at this time I do not think we had a single one of this type ashore. Our field guns were also limited in number, and ammunition was extremely scarce, there being hardly enough for a single engagement on a grand scale. It was therefore obvious that the Army would again have to rely on the ships' guns, which as I have already said could only really give a moral support.
Thursday May 6th
I went ashore this morning and went direct to General Hunter- Weston's headquarters, just above Lancashire Landing to call on him as I had not yet met him. He received me in a very friendly manner and said he had formerly known my father well. I asked him about the coming attack, and he took me up to his bomb-proof shelter pointing out the enemy's positions, and at the same time explaining what he intended to do. He showed me the position in which I would obtain a first class view of the attack. He seemed perfectly confident of success and told me that he would take the village of Crythia that afternoon, and possibly Achi