ness that no one would be very much impressed. On the contrary,
he stated his opinions in the most direct, blunt, telling way. The fact
was noted in my report and now his conduct out here has been fully up to
sample.

A horrid mishap. Landing some New Zealand Mounted Rifles at Anzac, the
destroyer anchored within range of the Turkish guns instead of slowly
steaming about out of range until the picket boats came off to bring the
men ashore. The Turks were watching and, as soon as she let go her
anchor, opened fire from their guns by the olive, and before the
destroyer could get under weigh six of these fine New Zealand lads were
killed and forty-five wounded. A hundred fair fighting casualties would
affect me less. To be knocked out before having taken part in a battle,
or even having set foot upon the Promised Land--nothing could be more
cruel.

A special order to the troops:--

GENERAL HEADQUARTERS,
_25th May, 1915._

1. Now that a clear month has passed since the Mediterranean
Expeditionary Force began its night and day fighting with the enemy, the
General Commanding desires me to explain to officers, non-commissioned
officers and men the real significance of the calls made upon them to
risk their lives apparently for nothing better than to gain a few yards
of uncultivated land.

2. A comparatively small body of the finest troops in the world, French
and British, have effected a lodgment close to the heart of a great
continental empire, still formidable even in its decadence. Here they
stand firm, or slowly advance, and in the efforts made by successive
Turkish armies to dislodge them the rotten Government at Constantinople
is gradually wearing itself out. The facts and figures upon which this
conclusion is based have been checked and verified from a variety of
sources. Agents of neutral powers possessing good sources of information
have placed both the numbers and the losses of the enemy much higher
than they are set forth here, but the General Commanding prefers to be
on the safe side and to give his troops a strictly conservative
estimate.

Before operations began the strength of the defenders of the Dardanelles
was:--

Gallipoli Peninsula 34,000 and about 100 guns.
Asiatic side of Straits 41,000

All the troops on the Gallipoli Peninsula and fifty per cent. of the
troops on the Asiati