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[Page 34]
fighting. The Turks are magnificent sharpshooters but are mightily afraid of the bayonet. They fear the charge & depend upon hidden machine guns to do the work, & they ha the latter have certainly been the Australians greatest danger. I have seen the Turkish rifle & bayonet the former is lighter than our own .303 & the magazine is fixed, holds only 5 cartridges, there is no cut-off & no safety catch. The bayonet in comparison with our own is much shorter, like a dagger, but the bayonet standard is fashioned after our own.
Wednesday 25th Aug.
A day of startling incidents. Daylight was ushered in by a violent cannonade from Shore howitzers & hill batteries (4.7) of the Turkish position due east. The Turkish reply was at first very slow but as the morning progressed they began to get the range with shrapnel & landed alternately on the beach & hill very frequently. The damage however was insignificant. The screech