d on account of the
shortage of British ammunition their guns undertook the whole of the
artillery preparation, our artillery confining itself to covering fire
during and after the Infantry advance. The counter-attacks were so
violent and the calls for artillery support were so incessant that
towards the afternoon of the 13th July the British gun ammunition began
to get alarmingly low, until finally only about 5,000 rounds of 18-pr.
ammunition, including all rounds in Battery charge, remained at Helles.
The French were reluctant to supply further artillery support, fearing
further attacks on themselves. This was the most anxious night I spent
on the Peninsula--all but a limited number of rounds were withdrawn from
most Batteries and were placed in horsed ammunition wagons, which
perambulated from one side of the British position to the other
according to where it seemed most likely the next Turkish attack would
take place. These measures were successful and no Battery actually was
left without one round at a critical moment, but the position throughout
that night was a most dangerous one. Every hour a wire was sent to
G.H.Q. giving expression to our crying needs, but there was next to
nothing at Mudros, while desperate fighting still went on without a
minute's respite. At 11 p.m. that night a trawler did, to the joy of
every gunner, reach Helles with 3,000 rounds of 18-pr., but on the
arrival of my Staff Officer to unload it, it was found that the fuses
were of a new pattern never issued before and that the existing fuse
keys would not adjust the fuses. As no new pattern fuse keys had been
sent from home the Batteries had to manufacture their own, which was
successfully accomplished after two days' delay.

During June two Batteries, and during July two more Batteries of 5-inch
howitzers, manned by Territorials, arrived at Helles. During the last
week of July the first two Batteries were sent to Anzac. Some of these
howitzers were very old and worn by corrosion, and were consequently
inaccurate.

The Gun History sheets of some of them showed they had been used at the
Battle of Omdurman, seventeen years before, and had been in use ever
since. After the big British attacks of 6th and 7th August, their
ammunition began to run short. On demand about 500 or 700 rounds were
sent up from Mudros--on arrival each shell was found to be of only 40
lb. weight, whereas former shells were of 50 lb. weight. Their fuses
were also of n