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[Page 28]
The Brigadier and the whole of his Brigade staff were wiped out and nearly one of his Regiments. Then again the next morning ¾ of the Wilts. Regiment lost their way and were practically cut up to a man. In the meantime our New Zealanders on the right and the Ghurkas on the left had gained a foot on the hillside but owing to these mishaps and ill-fortunes of war could not hold out without reinforcements and on the 10th the Turks delivered the most magnificent counter-attack ever seen over the crest of the hill. They literally came over the top in thousands at daybreak sweeping over our front trenches. Our machine guns and shrapnel cut huge chunks out of them mowing them down in hundreds but still they came on in the most gallant way. They left, it is estimated, at least 10,000 dead on the ground. Both hillsides are literally covered with dead. Our casualties of course have been enormous, over 13,000 in the period 6th August to 19th August. These of course include those of our 1st Australian Division, 13th Division, Indian Brigade and our own Division. I should estimate the New Zealand casualties at about 7,000 during that time.
We can ill afford to lose such men as Bauchop, Malone, Overton, Grant, Stratham, Kelsall, Thomas and many others in personnel known to me. The Australian Light Horse Brigades have lost nearly all their officers, at any rate all their senior officers, but still the men go on. There is no doubt that the majority of the old hands are very weary and require a rest which they are getting for a month on Lemnos. The New Zealand Infantry Brigade, the New Zealand Mounted Rifles Brigade and the 4th Australian Infantry Brigade leave tomorrow, relieved by the 7th Australian Brigade when they arrive. Although we were not successful in actually taking this Sari Bair position, the capture of which would go a fair way towards finishing this war in the Peninsula we nevertheless gave the Turks such a valuable hiding that we have knocked the sting out of their attack for sometime to come. We have also gained a considerable amount of territory on a much broader front. We are therefore not so much congested as we were formerly and we have joined hands with the 54th Division on our left (Major General Inglefield) and the 9th Corps on our extreme left (General Byng). Under cover of our attack on 6th August, the 9th Corps made a secret landing at Suvla Bay and if they had only pushed on as they ought to have done, this war might have been over by now. As it was they hung back apparently from want of having an objective pointed