unable to reply, were exposed to a relentless and incessant shrapnel
fire, which swept every yard of the ground, although fortunately a great
deal of it was badly aimed or burst too high. The reserves were engaged
in road making and carrying supplies to the crests and in answering the
calls for more ammunition.

A serious problem was getting away the wounded from the shore, where it
was impossible to keep them. All those who were unable to hobble to the
beach had to be carried down from the hills on stretchers, then hastily
dressed, and carried to the boats. The boat and beach parties never
stopped working throughout the entire day and night.

The courage displayed by these wounded Australians will never be
forgotten. Hastily dressed and placed in trawlers, lighters, and ships'
boats, they were towed to the ships. I saw some lighters full of bad
cases. As they passed the battleship, some of those on board recognized
her as the ship they had left that morning, whereupon, in spite of their
sufferings and discomforts, they set up a cheer, which was answered by a
deafening shout of encouragement from our crew.

I have, in fact, never seen the like of these wounded Australians in war
before, for as they were towed among the ships, while accommodation was
being found for them, although many were shot to bits and without hope
of recovery, their cheers resounded through the night, and you could
just see, amid a mass of suffering humanity, arms being waved in
greeting to the crews of the warships. They were happy, because they
knew they had been tried for the first time in the war and had not been
found wanting. They had been told to occupy the heights and hold on, and
this they had done for fifteen mortal hours under an incessant shell
fire, without the moral and material support of a single gun ashore, and