hen required for use. This daily cleaning up had become
almost a fetish in the army, but it undoubtedly engendered habits of
orderliness--thereby promoting efficiency, and also had a material
effect on the health of the individual by keeping down the flies, which
would swarm around any tins or other receptacles which had contained
food, or any of the food itself.

This day brought the Battalion for the first time under direct artillery
fire. It was the enemy's custom to indulge in a "hate" morning and
afternoon. This would take the form of a bombardment of from 20 to 80
rounds of 77 millimeter shrapnel and high explosive shells. Large
calibre guns were not directed on the Apex whilst the Battalion was
stationed there. With the high explosive projectiles was used a
percussion fuse, and these were intended more for the demolition of
works than man killing. Actually they did little damage and, except on
one occasion when a direct hit was secured in a machine gun emplacement,
no one was injured. Shrapnel was used in a different manner, and was far
more dangerous. The fuse was for time, and the range and fuse were so
harmonised that the shell burst in the air, short of and above the
target, thus allowing the bullets it contained to sweep forward and
downward, spreading out fan-like as they progressed. Many of the small
missiles thus entered the trenches, but by keeping close to the forward
wall of the excavations immunity from damage was generally secured to
the individual. Occasionally the Turk threw in a few rounds from a
mountain gun which he had secreted somewhere on the slope of Sari Bair.
These simply whizzed through the air and buried themselves in the earth
without doing any damage to either man or trench.

The 28th stood its baptism of fire well, and was more curious than
alarmed at the noise, smoke, and earth upheavals caused by the enemy's
action. Some of the men early disclosed the possession of the "souvenir"
habit by collecting specimens of the shrapnel pellets. Unfortunately
that portion of the Battalion in reserve, not being under any cover
except a slight fold in the ground, sustained a few casualties by
wounds.

Early in the morning the Brigadier paid a visit to the lines and was
indefatigable in his zeal for the safety of the position and the welfare
of his command. Throughout the short period of his stay on the Peninsula
his characteristics in this respect were most marked and, for a man of
his advance