The diary begins with Crocker's battalion camped on the River Diyala, defending the perimeter of Windiyeh, to the northwest of Baghdad. There is a sketch map indicating this position on page 1a. The entries record Crocker's daily activities as commanding officer, inspecting company positions, overseeing the preparation of new defensive lines and training his men. There are brief references to contact with local sheikhs and an account of Crocker's trip to Baghdad on leave in early October to recover from a fever. Crocker makes reference to the trying climatic conditions and the continual difficulties in securing supplies, and describes the battalion's work digging trenches and building earthworks against possible Turkish attacks. The diary moves on to describe the action against the Turkish forces in front of the high ground at the Jebel Hemrin, which began in mid October 1917. There is a detailed sketch map to accompany these entries on p. 48. Thereafter, the battalion was encamped on Beacon Nullah, halfway between Seraijiq on the Khalis canal and Qalat al Mufti on the Diyala River, where it practised field exercises in the winter in preparation for the coming campaign in northern Iraq.