ory of how the
General Staff gradually recovered much of its lost ground will,
however, be touched upon in the next chapter, and on that point no
more need be said at present.

It may, however, be remarked here that the comparative elimination of
the General Staff was virtually confined to its elimination in
respect to what admittedly is its most important function in times of
national emergency--advising the Government of the country on the
subject of the general conduct of the war--and in respect to the
administrative task of actually issuing instructions as to operations
to those in supreme command in the theatres of conflict. The duties of
the General Staff cover many other matters besides these. They include
collection of information, secret service, questions of international
law, military education, training of troops, etc. It fulfilled its
mission in connection with such subjects just as had always been
intended, nor, in so far as they were concerned, was it thrust on one
side in any sense. Lord Kitchener's system of centralization only
directly affected a small proportion of the very numerous
directorates, branches, and sections into which the War Office was
divided up.

CHAPTER IV

LORD KITCHENER'S LATER RECORD

The munitions question and the Dardanelles, to be dealt with
later -- The Alexandretta project of the winter of 1914-15 --
Such an operation presented little difficulty then -- H.M.S.
_Doris'_ doings -- The scheme abandoned -- I am sent to Paris
about the Italian conventions just after the Dardanelles landings
-- Concern at the situation after the troops had got ashore at
Helles and Anzac -- A talk with Lord K. and Sir E. Grey -- Its
consequences -- Lord K. seemed to have lost some of his
confidence in his own judgement with regard to operations
questions -- The question of the withdrawal of the _Queen
Elizabeth_ from the Aegean -- The discussion about it at the
Admiralty -- Lord K.'s inability to take some of his colleagues
at their own valuation -- Does not know some of their names --
Another officer of distinction gets them mixed up in his mind --
Lord K.'s disappointment at the early failures of the New Army
divisions -- His impatience when he wanted anything in a hurry --
My own experiences -- Typists' idiosyncrasies aggravate the
trouble -- Lord K. in an unreasonable mood -- His knowledge of