on a line some way in
front of Mansura. The support companies were removed from the wadies
round Hill 230, as it was plain that the Turks had these most accurately
registered, and moved up under shelter of the Mansura cliffs, where they
were free from direct observation though bothered by 5.9s neatly dropped
just over the edge. Parties took tools out to the advanced companies,
Sergt. Paterson of "A" Company being killed by shrapnel while performing
this duty. The digging companies had no kind of shelter until they
managed to throw up cover for themselves in the very hard soil and were
badly harrassed all day by machine-gun fire and shrapnel, though the
casualties were extraordinarily light. In the afternoon, the fire having
slackened somewhat, they began wiring in front of the position, and "A"
Company relieved "B" at the digging, at 8 p.m. "C" relieved "D," and it
rejoined "B" under cover of the ridge.

By the evening of the 17th the preliminary stages of the attack had been
carried out with complete success. The Turks had been everywhere taken
by surprise. On our right the 54th Division had seized the Sheikh Abbas
cliffs, a continuation to the westward of the Mansura Ridge. On our left
was a considerable gap (filled in at night by two companies of the
Argylls) and then came the advanced line of the 155th Brigade who had
made good their jumping off place on the el Sireh ridge. Beyond them in
the sand dunes the 53rd Division had advanced in the same way, and were
ready to attack the Samson Ridge area. But the element of surprise was
only to be found in these early stages and by the time the big attack
was launched the Turk knew what our intentions were.

There was little sleep for anyone on the night of the 17th-18th. A
counter-attack--though not expected--was quite possible, and digging and
wiring went on all night, so that by dawn on the 18th, the fire bays
were completed, though the trenches round the traverses were in some
places still shallow. Water was boiled in the shelter of the cliffs and
tea was issued to the men, who were very glad to get it. The whole of
the 18th passed quietly as far as we were concerned; the machine-gun and
artillery fire having few terrors now that we were dug in. The Staff had
determined that this time we should not fail from lack of water, and the
whole day was taken up with establishing dumps of this precious
commodity, together with ammunition, rations and tools at various
suitable p