Hamilton's response was quick. Rear Admiral C.F. Thursby, the naval commander of the operation, had no difficulty in arguing that embarkation in the present situation was tantamount to disaster.
The particularly dark night, the bad weather and the disorder reigning on the beaches made any re-embarkation operation impossible, all the more so if the enemy pushed the retreating troops with bayonets in their loins.
The General-in-Chief's response to Birdwood was therefore particularly brief and without nuance:
"You have accomplished the most difficult part, now you just have to dig, dig, dig, until you are safe”.
Admiral Thurbsy, who felt responsible for this order, insisted on communicating Sir Ian Hamilton's response to Birdwood Corps HQ. He was able to realize the extent of the sacrifices made by the troops and the infernal suffering imposed on them by the elements and the enemy.
He nevertheless found Birdwood and his staff determined to carry out the orders of the general-in-chief as best they could, especially as the reports that were beginning to arrive from the line of fire suggested that the The morale of the fighters had not been damaged by the appalling losses suffered that very morning on the slopes of Ari Burnu.
Although severely crushed by the Turks, the ANZAC had no desire to give in without fighting a ground so dearly acquired, and that they had every intention of keeping the time it would take to make the junction with the two divisions Franco-British landed at Cape Hellès.
If the combatants were still unaware of it, General Birdwood already knew that there was not much to hope for on that side.