The British force was extended on a front of 22 miles from the sea opposite Gaza to Gamli. About 6 miles inland, the Wadi Ghuzzeh is joined by a short tributary wadi, on the right bank, known as the Wadi Nukhabir. The point at which this wadi commenced was about a mile or so nearer to the enemy than the line of our positions opposite Gaza. Its head-waters (to use an expression scarcely appropriate to a dry watercourse) were within the apex of a =V=-shaped escarpment, the point of the =V= protruding towards the enemy. The feature might be compared to a heel-mark in soft ground. On the convex side were slight ridges with gentle forward slopes; on the concave were steep escarpments. The ridges of the =V= were known as Mansura and Sheikh Abbas Ridges respectively; the point was merely known as "The Apex." Our trench system here ran along the forward slopes of these ridges, a hundred yards or so below the crest, whence the country fell towards the enemy in a gentle glacis slope devoid of cover. Our reserves and our day positions were behind the escarpment, where was excellent cover from hostile shelling. The portion of the enemy's works in front of this sector was the Sihan group, a strongly prepared position distant about a mile. The apex itself formed a salient, necessary to hold since its Ridges would otherwise have dominated our positions; but, though a salient, the position was undoubtedly strong. The situation and the conformation of the Apex, therefore, both invited attack and assisted defence. From the sea to the Apex we had a continuous line of trenches. Beyond Sheikh Abbas our defences consisted of a series of redoubts, our right flank being to some extent in the air. Here, however, was a waterless desert, so difficult to cross that this flank could be sufficiently protected by cavalry patrols. Considering that there was a war on, campaigning life on this front was by no means uncomfortable. Those who had seen service in France bemoaned the lack of comforts and amusements behind the line, and the absence of home leave, those who had come from Salonica were congratulating themselves on the exchange; while those of us who had been in Mesopotamia during the bad times of 1916, considered ourselves in the lap of luxury. Rations were good and plentiful and canteen well stocked. The Turkish rations, on the other hand, were scanty and poor, with the result that morale was low, discomfort rife, and desertions frequent. On one occasion, when the enemy were making a raid upon our trenches, a couple of Turks got into an empty bag where one of our men had left his pack. The manner in which they pursued their advantage was by helping themselves to his tin of bully beef and getting away with all speed. A Turkish officer, who was subsequently taken prisoner, said, "If the Turkish rations had been as good as yours, you would never have captured Gaza."