i

MONS, ANZAC AND KUT

By an M.P.
LONDON
EDWARD ARNOLD
1919
[All rights reserved]

ii

THIS BOOK
IS DEDICATED TO
LORD ROBERT CECIL
AND
THE LEAGUE OF NATIONSiii

PREFACE

Journals, in the eyes of their author, usuallyrequire an introduction of some kind, which,often, may be conveniently forgotten. The readeris invited to turn to this one if, after perseveringthrough the pages of the diary, he wishes to learnthe reason of the abrupt changes and chances ofwar that befell the writer. They are explainedby the fact that his eyesight did not allow him topass the necessary medical tests. He was able,through some slight skill, to evade these obstaclesin the first stage of the war; later, when Englandhad settled down to routine, they defeated him,as far as the Western Front was concerned. Hewas fortunately compensated for this disadvantageby a certain knowledge of the East, that sent himin various capacities to different fronts, often atcritical times. It was as an Interpreter that thewriter went to France. After a brief imprisonment,it was as an Intelligence Officer that he went toEgypt, the Dardanelles and Mesopotamia.

The first diary was dictated in hospital frommemory and rough notes made on the Retreatfrom Mons. For the writing of the second diary,idle hours were provided in the Dardanelles betweentimes of furious action. The third diary, whichivdeals with the fall of Kut, was written on the Flyboats of the River Tigris.

In a diary egotism is inevitable. Julius Cæsarcloaked it by using the third person and LordFrench by preferring to blame others, rather thanto praise himself, but these devices are no precedentsfor one who is not a generalissimo. There remainsanonymity. True, it is a very thin covering formodesty, but, like a modern bathing-dress, it mayserve its purpose.

When dots occur in the journal, they have theirusual significance. The author was thinking hisprivate thoughts, or, perhaps, criticizing some highauthority, or concealing what, for the moment,at any rate, is better not revealed.

In the Retreat from Mons, only Christian ornicknames have generally been used. In the caseof the other two Expeditions, names have beenused freely, though where it was considered advisable,they have occasionally been disguised or initialssubstituted for them.

This diary claims to be no more than a recordof great and small events, a chronicle of eventswithin limited horizons—a retreat, a siege and anattack. Writing was often hurried and difficult,and the diary was sometimes neglected for aperiod. If inaccuracies occur, the writer offerssincere apologies.1

CONTENTS