nds. Winter, Woodward
and their administrative Staffs also arrived in the _Southland_ and have
taken up their quarters on this ship. They report everything fixed up at
Alexandria before they sailed. We are all together now and their coming
will be a great relief to the General Staff.

Quite hot to-day. Sea dead smooth. The usual ebb and flow of visitors.
Saw the three Corps Commanders and many Staff Officers. We are rather on
wires now that the time is drawing near; Woodward, though he has only
been here one night, is on barbed wires. His cabin is next the
signallers and he could not get to sleep. He wants some medical
detachments sent up post haste from Alexandria. I have agreed to cable
for them and now he is more calm. A big pow-wow on the "Q.E." (d'Amade,
Birdie, Hunter-Weston, Godley, Bridges, Guepratte, Thursby, Wemyss,
Phillimore, Vyvian, Dent, Loring), whereat the 23rd was fixed for our
attack and the naval landing orders were read and fully threshed out. I
did not attend as the meeting was rather for the purpose of going point
by point into orders already approved in principle than of starting any
fresh hares. Staff Officers who have only had to do with land operations
would be surprised, I am sure, at the amount of original thinking and
improvisation demanded by a landing operation. The Naval and Military
Beach Personnel is in itself a very big and intricate business which
has no place in ordinary soldier tactics. The diagrams of the ships and
transports; the lists of tows; the action of the Destroyers; tugs;
lighters; signal arrangements for combined operations: these are
unfamiliar subjects and need very careful fitting in. Braithwaite came
back and reported all serene; everyone keen and cooperating very
loyally. D'Amade has now received the formal letter I wrote him
yesterday after my interview and sees his way clear about Kum Kale.

Went ashore in the afternoon and saw big landing by Australians, who
took mules and donkeys with them and got them in and out of lighters.
These Australians are shaping into Marines in double quick time and
Cairo high jinks are wild oats sown and buried. Where everyone wants to
do well and to do it in the same way, discipline goes down as slick as
Mother's milk. Action is a discipline in itself.

The three Officers forming the French Mission to my Headquarters made
salaams, viz., Captain Bertier de Sauvigny, Lieutenant Pelliot and
Lieutenant de la Borde. The first is a man of