Handwritten transcript of diaries of Apcar Leslie De Vine, 1 January 1915 - 6 October 1918, Part 4 of 26

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by the R.M.L.I. Plenty of sniping all day, which also 

cost us several men. The dead that are left 

unburied are tossed over the rear of the trench, and 

are now smelling very badly being a menase to our 

general health, in fact the whole of the ground in 

front is covered with the dead who have been lying 

there for a week in the sun

 

3/5/15 Day opened as usuall with heavy shrapnel fire 

nobody was hit as our trenches are more protected than 

formerly. Returned to A Coy this morning have been with 

D Coy for a few days to reinforce them. At dawn the 

Turks made another attack on our trenches, they come on 

in hundreds calling on Allah! We held our fire untill 

they were about 50 yds off, then we let them have it 

we beat them off after about 1½ hours stiff fight. none of 

them reached our trenches although they came on in 

continuous waves, advancing with fixed bayonets but 

did not fire hence we had no casualties in my Co, thy 

must have expected to break through by force of nos 

but utterly failed. Was detailed as observer with 

periscope during afternoon, could see "No mans land" 

simply covered with their dead, their casualties 

must have been vy heavy. At night observation for 

2 hours then a relief for 2 hours sniping, durig the 

night the whole line had to "Stand to" as we are 

expecting an attack. During night we sapped  to some 

wounded men that had been left lying out in an 

exposed position for 3 days, we managed to get them

 

4/5/15 Heavy shrapnel fire this morning, which did not 

last long, rest of the day quiet. Today given a whole days 

rest, the first since the landing, as we are now dug in 

pretty securely. so all digging stops observations only for

 

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our safety. Our first mail has arrived since the 

landing. letters from mother etc. Had a good feed to day 

the first since landing consistg of cheese, onions, & tea 

the first really good meal & feel better for it, the 

newspapers arrive today & are distributed, later we are 

allowed in small parties of 4 to leave the trenches for 

2 hours, to make ourselves some tea in the gully at 

the rear, & to stretch our legs a bit. Plenty of shrapnel 

is bursting in the gully so we remain at the top. 

(Shrapnel Gully is always a warm place for shrapnel 

hence its name) the Gully is much exposed if you are 

making for the beach you must keep moving all the 

time, at present much safer in the front line 

trenches where we are well dug in

 

5/5/15 Shrapnel as usuall at dawn. Had to "stand too" 

once during the night, false alarm nothing doing, vey 

quiet day did not fire a shot. My turn for 2 hours 

leave from the trenches during afternoon went to beach 

for a bath & good wash. Changed socks first time since 

landing. 2 oz tin of tobacco issued today, tried to find 

where I dumped my pack on the first day of landing 

but had absolutey no hope, everything ratted & could 

find nothing, everything being lost, night very cold, tot of 

rum issued tonight for first time

 

6/5/15 A little shrapnel this morning, not much there

guns must have been silenced only two seem to be working 

very quiet day, did not fire a shot. Can see the Turks 

sapping towards us about 300 yards away & fixing 

their guns in position. Did not leave trenches today 

Had to shift our position as the section is taking 

up another position along the trench. On fatigue  

dragging artillery into position during the night which was

 

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terribly cold, our feet being like blocks of ice. could get 

no rest between reliefs. parcell from mother today 

very acceptable

 

7/5/15 Plenty of shrapnel today. Turks must have brought 

up fresh guns,  we placed some heavy guns in position, the 

Turks shelling them, knocking out several men. Left trenches 

this afternoon for 2 hours to make some Bovril & fry a piece 

of bacon, quite a treat, nothing doing today. The Turks 

placed a machine gun in position in front of us and 

are continually sweeping the parapet, The have got the 

range exactly, stones & dirt fly everywhere, we have 

to keep our heads down, nearly hit several times while 

observing, more of our guns are dragged into position 

tonight, we expected a night attack, but it did not 

come off

 

8/5/15 Machine gun fire & shrapnel started early 

this morning, otherwise a quiet day. Could see the Turks 

sapping and diggng all day, however nothing is done to stop 

them. Party of 30 men went out towards the trenches 

in front of us at 10o/c and reported that the trench was 

held strongly by the Turks, this job cost us 2 men, 1 missing 

& 1 wounded, Had a shave tody the first since the landing 

not so cold tonight, we had a hot meal sent up to the 

line, the first served since the landing

 

9/5/15 Sunday. Landed 2 weeks, another quiet day 

for us. Transports shelled, nothing hit. a little shrapnel 

flying about this morning without doing much damage 

A black flag has been flying from the Turkish trenches 

we cannot understand what it means, however nothg 

happens, as the day has been vey quiet. I slept all the 

afternoon being off duty, during the evening from our lines

 

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an interpreter through a megaphone offered kind 

treatment etc to all Turks who surrender themselves, 

as prisoners have told us, that they were told by their 

officers that the Australians kill their prisoners 

result - nothing doing I did not see a single Turk 

surrender himself on our sector. Small tin of tobacco 

& box of matches issued today, matches have long since 

been finished nobody has any, some only have a few 

loose ones in their pockets but no box, result no 

smokes which does not improve us

 

10/5/15 Big fight started at dawn on our Left, the 

Turks advansig against our trenches, near Quinns Post 

were mown down by machine gun & mountain battery 

fire, thy later retire over the hill leaving hundreds 

of dead before our lines, we saw the whole of the action 

from our trenches, as it ocurred on a hill that overlooks 

our position, our sector is very quiet not a shot being 

fired, we are all "standing too" & ready for all emergencies 

as we expect the action to spread along our front, the 

Victorians held their own vey well & kept  them off 

without our assistance, the ground is simply covered 

with their dead, and as we saw them advansing 

in mass formation thy must have suffered vey heavy 

losses, the rest of the day remains quiet, with only 

a little shrapnel passing over our heads doing us 

no harm, their snipers got a few of our men in our 

lines as they over exposed themselves while watchg 

the fight on the Left. In the general excitement 

we all forgot the Turks in front of us & stood with 

head & sholders over the parapet to get a better view 

this is of course their opportunity, several of our boys being 

badly hit, fortunaly I was well protected as I could 

not be seen from the front, everythng OK on our

 

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sector. Another hot meal on issue today. General alarm

and "Stand too" during the night, false alarm nothing doing

 

11/5/15 Quiet again today, both sides watching one another 

waiting for the next move. The Turks in front of us continue 

to dig steadily all day, thy have been doing so for about a 

week now, we do ours at night, but thy work day & night 

All day long we see shovells full of dirt being thrown out 

continually. Mail arrived from England tody. One 

blanket per man issued, the first issue since the 

landing, up to the present we have nothing but what 

we stand up in & an overcoat if you have been 

lucky enough to salvage one although the nights still 

are vey cold. It has been drissling rain all day making 

things vy wet, cold & miserable, rained through the night

 

12/5/15 Very quiet day, all shrapnel stopped. Turks still 

digging fast, we are wondering what it is a sign of, their 

lines are slowly creeping towards ours, "no mans land" is not so 

wide now as it was a week ago, we all notice the difference 

very wet & miserable, rained slowly all day, making the 

trench very muddy & sticky, we are wet through. The 

doctor ordered a good tot of rum to be issued tonight 

Kitchens have been established behind the trenches and 

an attempt made to make some hot food, cooks are 

called for some of the boys volunteer, we seem now to be 

settled down permanently, we manage to get a hot 

meal today, & for the first time since the landing 

each man is served with a 1/4 of a loaf of bread 

which had been cooked on the transports, it was 

only one fairly thick slice, but it was quite a luxury 

& did not last vey long, barely sufficient for one meal 

do not know when we will get any more, so we have to 

depend on hard army biscuits again. Col Onslow

 

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Thompson's body found during patrol last night, & brought 

in, buried this morning in the rear trench. Start 

made today to construct a little overhead cover at 

intervals along the front trench as a protection 

against shrapnel. Sounds of very heavy gun fire at sea 

all night, we hear later that the navy caught a 

marching column trying to reinforce the Turks opposite 

us, they were wiped out as they were caught in the open 

everything OK along the line today

 

13/5/15 Another quiet day today absolutely nothing doing 

no Turks to be seen anywhere, we think that the 

greater part of them have been withdrawn to oppose the 

advansig army in their rear who are endeavouring to 

join up with us. Left trenches to day for two hours 

to stretch our legs & to get a wash, we erected more 

overhead cover this evening making things more secure 

exceptionally quiet all night, very few snipers at work 

the quietest night we have had. During the night a 

message at the end of a stick was thrown into D 

Coys lines by a Turk informing us that they had 

defeated the English Army etc etc and offering us terms 

of surrender, a similar message was thrown into 

the 3^rd Bn lines, this must be in reply to our 

offer to them through the interpreter the other night 

everybody much ammused about it. The Light Horse 

commensed to land during the night

 

14/5/15 Quiet day again, only a little shrapnel this 

morning, this afternoon a shell knocked down part 

of our parapet burying a few of us, nobody hurt we 

were very quietly dug out all I received was dirt down 

my neck. This inactivity is becoming vey monotinous 

I have not fired a shot for two or three days, but got

 

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a little sniping this afternoon, a sniper had a "go" at 

me while observng between 1 & 2 pm, the shot smashed the 

loop hole & passed over my L sholder just missing my head 

In the early evenng a small fight started on our left 

and continued all night, the Turks threw many bombs 

several falling into our trenches causing many casualties 

nothing happened on our front, very quiet

 

15/5/15 Firing & sniping on and off all day on the left 

thy have been very jumpy & nervious all through the 

night on that sector, neither side scoring anything of an 

advantage, but each managed to keep the others heads 

down. Quinns Post in the centre of our line receives 

a deal of attention from the Turks, and things 

are always lively there. On our front things remain 

still very quiet. Water is now becoming rather scarce 

free issue being stopped today, one water bottle is the 

only issue to last 24 hours as the Light Horse polluted 

some of our wells when they landed the other night. Some 

shrapnel started to fly about at 4pm bursting near Hdqrs 

about this time our artillery shell the trenches on our 

left very heavily. A white flag was shown yesterday on the 

left but no notice was taken of it, orders are issued 

today regarding white flag procedure in the future. 

Heavy firing on the left during the night with some 

bombing by the Turks, do not know the extent of 

the damage.

 

16/5/15 Sunday Landed 3 weeks. The day opened 

with an artillry duell against the trenches on our 

left. detailed as trench orderly today, everythg is 

very quiet today, everybody is resting, later in the day 

the bombardment on our left is increased for a while 

then all is quiet again, we only hear a few

 

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rifle shots, then complete quietness

 

17/5/15 Artillery again vey active on the left 

the Turkish position being again heavily bombarded 

Was on observation post during one hour of the 

bombardment evey shell seemed to hit the mark 

very fine shooting, easing off about 7am then afterwards 

quiet for the rest of the day. The guns were vey 

well registered on their objectives for instant use if 

necessary. The Turks flew a yellow flag on our left 

at 4pm, no reply given. Small issue of tobacco & 

matches today. A large mail has arrived from 

Alexandria, the night watch vey quiet, no sniping 

everythg quiet on both sides, must be the lull 

before the storm

 

18/5/15 Our artillery again bombards the trenches on 

our left with great effect, evidenly that sector 

of their line must be under special observation 

as it gets a little attention from our guns every 

morning. Saw a gun & its crew blown bodily into 

the air by a direct hit from our battery. The shelling 

is vey effective, the Turks have many guns in 

position on that sector as the ground is vy high 

and commands all our lines & we are constantly 

under observation in our trenches, our artillery 

observers have discovered several of their gun positions 

and have knocked them out. Our transports 

return to Alexandria & remain there as there 

will be no opportunity for them to land as we 

cannot advance (Battalion transports). Two hours 

leave from the line today, trip to Brighton Beach 

for a bathe vy refreshing. rest of the day spent 

vey quietly, no fatigues today, we have all been

 

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ordered one complete days rest. A white flag was shown 

today on our right in front of the 3^rd Bn some 15 to 20 

Turks surrendered. Letters & telegram from Australia 

arrived today. Word has been received that the 

Turks have been heavily reinforced on the Right 

all our guards on post doubled, and we sleep in our 

equipment, all supports brought up close behind the 

lines, cooks etc & everybody that can possibly be 

spared brought up into close support to await events 

"Stand too" ordered an hour before dawn at 3am 

quiet night untill midnight

 

19/5/15 The whole firing line was woke up just after 12.30 

am with orders to stand too, as an attack was expected 

at any minuite. At 1.15 thy attacked and as we 

were ready & waiting for them they got a pretty warm 

reception, leaving many hundreds of dead on the ground 

after a futile attempt to reach our trenches they withdrew 

for a time, and reattacked again, this time in heavy 

masses all along the line, at 3am thy advanced 

against us like a solid wall, sounding many bugle 

calls and calling on "Allah" as they advanced, the whole 

of our front is now hotly engaged, as we have been 'standing 

too" since midnight & waiting for them thy get plenty 

of hurry up, nevertheless they make  a vey strong attack 

coming on wave after wave, some of them get very 

close to our trench & throw their bombs in, we 

could not use our rifles quick enough, in the 

hight of the action many of our rifles became too hot 

to hold through constant use, & to make matters 

worse my bolt stuck at a critical moment after about 

two hours continuous use. Fortunaly a rifle was lying 

near me belonging to one of our casualties, so with 

a change of rifle I kept going, thy were then very

 

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close on our Coy front. They were supported with vey 

poor rifle fire & while advancig had no opportunity 

to use them otherwise our losses would have been 

much heavier. All their bayonets were fixed 

but thy had no chance our fire was too heavy & 

concentrated. Some however found their way into 

the trenches of the 2^nd & 3^rd Bns but were soon 

disposed of not one of them got out alive. They pressed 

us pretty hard. On A Coys front many fell dead 

on our parapets & into the trench. At this 

critical moment bolt of rifle stuck again, managed 

to free it. During the attack thy attempted to force 

their way up a steep gully on the left of the Coy 

(Wire Gully) that separated us from the rest of 

the Bn, but they were met by a vey heavy machine 

gun fire as they advance up the gully in mass 

formation, the number of dead in this gully is  

enormous thy are simply lying in piles where thy 

have fallen under our concentrated machine gun 

fire, the whole ground seems to be brown with 

the number of bodies lying on it, there are probably 

more dead to the square acre here than at 

any other part of the line, thy have simply been 

caught in a trap, vey few managed to get out 

Realising that the attack was a hopeless failure 

on our sector (their L flank) the remnants tried to 

get back to their trenches which only exposed them  

longer to our rifle fire, thy could be vey 

plainly seen against the sky line trying to get 

into their trenches making a perfect sky line 

target, which we took full advantage of. we 

fired steadily for about two hours on their 

straglers mooving about in front of our lines 

before we brought the attack to a stand still