Todd war diary, 3 August 1914-29 February 1916 / Arthur Todd - Page 14
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[Page 14]
posted at Herbertshohe.
At 9.30 AM the party which had been landed from the destroyers were being attacked & returned to the beach. The Warrego landed supplies & the Berrima an hour later landed some of her troops. Meanwhile the Kabakaul party had been severely handled and six were killed including Captain BCA Pockley.
The Admiral landed with 50 men out of a total force of 1100 and the Germans saw afterwards it is reported that had they known we had such a force there would have been no resistance.
The Huns had evidently been expecting an attack for they had devised an elaborate series of concealed trenches arranged in tiers & stretching backward and upward to the crown of the some densely wooded hills. They probably expected anticipated a naval expedition operating from the harbour and a possible landing party a combined expedition of the strength sent by the Australian Government was not in their schedule and how it been made full use of and displayed to those watching on the hills it is probable that we should have gained a bloodless victory.
With the fall of the chief [indecipherable] in the possession and the certainty that the expedition