g he had received orders from
his own Minister of War to arrange for sending away one Division of the
C.E.O. and Braithwaite has cabled the startling news to our S. of S. for
War.

Well, well. If the Greeks and ourselves are going to push through the
mountains to help the Serbs to hold Belgrade and the line of the Danube,
why then, no doubt, we are embarking upon something that would be fine
were it feasible--something more hopeful than sitting at Salonika and in
its salubrious suburbs, the "political" advantages of which were
preached to us by Napier.

But let no man hereafter talk of Dardanelles adventures. _Mon Dieu!_

Once again see the dupes of maps preparing to dash out their brains, or
rather the brains of others, against the rocks. If only Joffre and K.
had looked at Belgrade over the guns of an Austrian Battery in Semlin,
as I did in 1909! The line of the Danube is untenable except by a very
large force against the very large forces that can, and will, be brought
against it and there is no Fleet there to feed a large force. Also, the
communications of such a defending force will not only be mechanically
rotten but will also be strategically at the tender mercy of the most
cunning Prince in Europe. We may think we have squared Ferdinand. But it
is easier to square the circle than square a fox.

On the Danube, the Central Powers can put _and keep_ six men to our one,
_unless_ we control the river from its mouth to Belgrade. This we can
only do by forcing the Dardanelles.

After outlining an answer for Braithwaite to draft, I started off at
10.45 for Anzac and Suvla. With me were Taylor, Gascoigne, Lieutenant
Moore and Freddie. From Anzac I walked along the old communication
trench for a couple of miles, and then went round General Taylor's
Brigade along the front by Green Hill and the Chocolate Hills. The heat
was very exhausting.

Yesterday's calm has proved to be the prelude to an attempted storm. At
5 a.m. there was a big bombardment of the front line trenches, and the
Turks made a gesture of defiance. The gesture did not go beyond fixing
bayonets and shouting "Allah!" and the only result has been to render
Suvla more convinced than ever that the Turks are absolutely fed up.

After invigorating myself with a good draught of regimental spirit, set
forth to walk back to Anzac. Half way I halted at the Indian Brigade
Headquarters, and, on the invitation of the hospitable Colonel Palin,
had a square meal.