- The first contingent of three officers and 153 men of the RAN Bridging Train are evacuated from Gallipoli
- Brigadier-General John Monash describes the evacuation at Anzac on 16 December:
The day passed quite uneventfully. We managed to get some baggage off today, as the wind has dropped and the sea is calmer. The total strength at Anzac has in the last four days been reduced from 45,500 to 20,000 and we still continue to hold the line against at least 170,000 Turks (10 Divisions) until the second last day, and on the very last day we shall have only 10,000. Everything is working out, so far, most smoothly. It has been tentatively arranged to carry out the two final stages on the 18th and 19th, but a final decision will depend upon the weather prospects. I have now hopes that I shall be able to get away my most valuable belongings. Today for the first time I took my Staff and Commanding Officers into my confidence and explained to them the outlines of the general scheme, and particular role each would have to play. The rest of the day I spent in preparing a complete draft of my final orders.
Cutlack, FM 1934, War Letters of General Monash, Angus & Robertson Ltd, Sydney, NSW, pp.96-97.
