e fact
remains that at present we cannot count on anything like a big effort
from the men who have been here all these months."

De Robeck came over at 4 p.m., by formal appointment, to talk business,
and deadly serious business at that! He has heard, by cable I suppose,
that the people at home will see him through if he sees his way to
strike a blow with the Fleet. He takes this as a pretty strong hint to
push through, or, to make some sort of a battleship attack to support
us. De Robeck knows that when the Fleet goes in our fighting strength
goes up. But he can gauge, as I cannot, the dangers the Fleet will
thereby incur. Every personal motive urges me to urge him on. But I have
no right to shove my oar in--no right at all--until I can say that we
are done unless the Fleet do make an attack. Can I say so? No; if we
get the drafts and munitions we can still open the Straits on our own
and without calling on the sister Service for further sacrifice. So I
fell back on first principles and said he must attack if he thought it
right from the naval point of view but that we soldiers did not call for
succour or ask him to do anything desperate: "You know how we stand," I
said; "do what is right from the naval point of view and as to what _is_
right from that point of view, I am no judge."

The Admiral went away: I have been no help to him but I can't help it.

Hardly had he gone when Braithwaite (who had heard what was in the wind
by a side wind) came and besought me to try and induce the Admiral to
slip his battleships at the Straits. All the younger men of war are
dying to have a dash, he said. That's as it may be but my mind is clear.
If a sailor on land is a fish out of water, a soldier at sea is like a
game cock in a duckpond. When de Robeck said on March 22nd he wanted the
help of the whole Army that was quite in order. He would not have been
in order--at least, I don't think so--had he said in what manner he
wanted the Army to act after it had got ashore. We are being helped now
by the Navy; daily, hourly: we could not exist without the Fleet; but it
is not for me to say I think the battleships should or should not take
chances of mines and torpedoes.

Brodrick is quite seedy. We are all afraid he won't be able to stick it
out much longer although he is making the most heroic efforts. In the
morning I attended the funeral of young Collet, killed yesterday so
tragically. A long, slow march through heavy sand all alo