Basrah [Basrah, Al (Basra)] Ap. 16 Dearest Father. My mails have missed this week. Your letters all turn up in the end, I think, but often I get two batches together and none in an intermediate week. We are still in the middle of our battle which has been interrupted by rain and wind and floods. It's more an aquatic achievement than a military out here, you realize, and rain immobilizes everyone. You can't move for mud. How Kut [Kut, Al (Kut al Imara)] holds out still I can barely guess, but it does hold and we may yet get through in time. But one feels dreadfully anxious. We hear fairly trustworthy rumours of disaffection in the Ottoman army - if once success began it might go fast.
Aubrey turned up last week. He was only here a night for the Admiral hurried up river next day, to join in the fight I suppose. Aubrey spent the evening with me - oh I was glad to see him. He will certainly be here for a day or two on the way down and by that time I may know what I'm going to do. Anyhow I will wire to you whatever I decide and not leave it to the Admiralty to inform you, for I don't believe they did. I don't particularly care whether I go or stay - it's all much the same to me where I am. But on the whole the work is more interesting here and I have more opportunities of seeing Arabs and doing things. The heat hasn't begun yet - it's unusually delayed, which is so much to the good anyhow. I'm going to see whether I can't busy myself while we are waiting for news with some correcting of maps. Their surveys are done by native Indian surveyors and the names come out à la grace de Dieu. I've suggested that I should go up in the Shatt al 'Arab with a local man and check the maps and they seem to think it would be a good plan. Even Basrah has a burst of glory in April. The palm gardens are deep in luxuriant grass and corn, the pomegranates are flowering, the mulberries almost ripe and in the garden of the house where I am staying the roses are more wonderful than I can describe. It's the only garden in Basrah, so I'm lucky. I am also exceedingly comfortable and as it's next door to G.H.Q. I can go in and out whenever I choose. It used to be so boring at the Coxes to go out in the early morning for the whole day - it was too far to go back to lunch in the midday sun. I rode this morning through the palm gardens and out to the edges of the desert which was like a great sea, a shallow flood having swept over it from the rising river. I was out at 6 and got in before it began to be warm, but indeed except that the sun is hot in the middle of the day there is nothing to complain of. I have rather despairing letters from Domnul who sees no end to his troubles.

The papers we get now are full of the first fighting at Verdun; it's scarcely credible that the battle there should still be raging and we can't realize here whether the German attempt has failed. If it has it will mean a good deal, won't it? And then a success here which might switch off Turkey would be very opportune. My love to you all. Your affectionate daughter Gertrude