The Project Gutenberg EBook of Gallipoli Diary, Volume I, by Ian Hamilton

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Title: Gallipoli Diary, Volume I

Author: Ian Hamilton

Release Date: September 19, 2006 [EBook #19317]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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GALLIPOLI DIARY

BY GENERAL SIR IAN HAMILTON, G.C.B.

AUTHOR OF "A STAFF-OFFICER'S SCRAP-BOOK," ETC.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS

IN TWO VOLUMES

VOL. I

NEW YORK GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 1920
PRINTED BY UNWIN BROTHERS, LTD.--WOKING--ENGLAND

PREFACE

On the heels of the South African War came the sleuth-hounds pursuing
the criminals, I mean the customary Royal Commissions. Ten thousand
words of mine stand embedded in their Blue Books, cold and dead as so
many mammoths in glaciers. But my long spun-out intercourse with the
Royal Commissioners did have living issue--my Manchurian and Gallipoli
notes. Only constant observation of civilian Judges and soldier
witnesses could have shown me how fallible is the unaided military
memory or have led me by three steps to a War Diary:--

(1) There is nothing certain about war except that one side won't win.

(2) The winner is asked no questions--the loser has to answer for
everything.

(3) Soldiers think of nothing so little as failure and yet, to the
extent of fixing intentions, orders, facts, dates firmly in their own
minds, they ought to be prepared.

Conclusion:--In war, keep your own counsel, preferably in a note-book.

The first test of the new resolve was the Manchurian Campaign, 1904-5;
and it was a hard test. Once that Manchurian Campaign was over I never
put pen to paper--in the diary sense[1]--until I was under orders for
Constantinople. Then I bought a note-book as well as a Colt's automatic
(in fact, these were the only two items of special outfit I did buy),
and here are the contents--not of the auto but of the book. Also, from
the moment I took up the command, I kept cables, letters and copies
(actions quite foreign to my natural dispositio