Handwritten transcript of diaries of Apcar Leslie De Vine, 1 January 1915 - 6 October 1918, Part 5 of 26

39 
On the high ground to the left, there had been a 
much harder fight with our artillery assisting to 
keep them off Quins Post the most important 
position on our R flank which was constantly 
attacked without any success. At dawn the 
battleships gave us some help by shelling their trenches 
and gun positions. Was on observation post from 8-9 
& saw their trenches & guns simply blown sky high 
with their crews running for shelter all over the 
place, the naval gunnery is most deadly, while 
our lads in the front line picked them off 
with their rifles, we had continuous sniping all 
the morning, all firing ceased by midday. when 
everythng regained normal quietness. The Turks 
gained absolutely nothing their losses being extremly 
heavy, but the poor devils never had a chance as 
our fire was well controled & too much concentrated 
on their masses. Our casualties during the night 
were very small in comparison, most of them were 
caused by their shelling, reported they do not exceed 
500. We had many casualties in A Coy. They attack 
again on the left at 3pm where they again loose heavily 
this is only a small local action. The Light Horse made 
a counter attack on the right with some success, rest of 
the day remained quiet. Some 6" shells were fired 
at our trenches, doing considerable damage and 
knocking a good deal of it down causing more 
casualties. One fell through the roof of the 
machine gun cover doing considerable damage 
Believe the shells are from Turkish warships in the 
Dardanelles. An extra rum ration issued tonight. 
And well earnt too! 
  
20/5/15  Expected the Turks to attack again early this

40 
morning so we had to "Stand too" at 3am, however 
nothing happened, evidently thy will not risk it after 
yesterdays set back. A 6" shell fired at our trench 
about 8am just missed a group of us while we were 
having breakfast, burying itself in the "parados" only 
just passing over us, it knocked a good deal of the 
trench in burying us all in the dirt, we all lost our 
breakfast  being buried with us also the remains of our 
24 hours rations, as the only damage was done to the 
rear wall of the trench & our rations we were lucky 
to get off so lightly, especially as the shell did not explode 
The trenches now are very dry & baked hard in the 
sun. being swept out each morning & kept perfecly 
clean, owing to the flies etc, the smell of the dead 
now is getting awfull some have remained unburried 
since the first week of landg, now the position is 
much worse owing to the heavy casualties of the 
last few days. Had a little sniping today managed to 
get a few in their trenches on the left, where they 
have to pass a rather exposed part, the day has 
been vey quiet, we all expect that thy will attack 
later when reinforced. Was detailed for water fatigue 
rather a heavy job, in which we all take turns 
all water being brought up from the bottom of the 
gully in petrol tins, the climb to the front trench 
is very exhausting, everythg here has to be man 
handled no matter what the weight is, as we have 
no horses or mules, while on this fatigue we were 
often sniped at as the Turks have command of this 
gully from the high ground on the "Chess board" 
on our left. we all file down with an interval 
of 50 yds between each man, all got safely through 
we were pleased to be again under the cover of our 
trenches, the front line is the safest place after all 

41 
as everythng missing the line immediately finds its 
resting place somewhere in Shrapnel Gully as our lines 
are dug in just over the top. On observation post 
4-5 pm at 4.30 I reported to Captain Simpson that 
the Turks were flying a white flag from their trenches 
in front. Evidenly a Red Cross sign as the flag consisted 
of a red crescent on a white background. This occured 
slightly to the left of the sector that I am observing 
over, being the first to notice it I reported same. 
After a while other flags are waved further to the 
left, after a time we answer it by showing a white 
towel. later a party of 6 Turks came forward carying 
a white flag, they advanced half way across "no mans 
land" holding their hands up, we all thought they 
were going to surrender, so we freely exposed ourselves 
many sitting or standing on the parapet, when the Turks 
 saw us doing this they did the same. The deputation 
consisted of a doctor, staff officers etc, remained mid 
way between the trenches after a time the Adjutant 
Mr Massey and an interpreter left our trench and met 
them to enquire their business, while this was being 
done many other Turks had been seen leaving their 
trenches and were now mooving about among the dead 
gathering up rifles, bayonets etc handg them over to the 
occupants of their front line. The deputation said 
that they had been sent by their G.O.C. to arrange 
an armistace to allow both sides to collect and 
bury their dead, whose condition now is simply 
awfull and are lying about in heaps in a most putrid 
state, the stench being absolutely beyond description 
many of them have been lying exposed to the sun for 
three weeks, thereby causing great danger to health 
on both sides. The request for an armistace was 
refused, as the hour was too late in the day 

42 
Rumoured also that the officers credentials were 
not quite satisfactory also that their trenches 
are being heavily reinforced, this appears to be a 
means of gaining time to bring up fresh troops 
unobserved & without being shelled as all firing 
has ceased. On these main grounds the proposed 
armistace was refused also they had commenced 
repairing their trenches from the front. During 
the negotiations on our front some trouble & 
a good deal of firing occured on our left as 
the Turks were not keeping their neutrality & 
had commensed to repair their parapets etc 
& to carry up amunition to the line. The airmen 
report that behind their lines 5000 reinforcements 
are being landed at Chanac & in consequence of 
this we all receive orders to "Stand too " & man 
the line in case thy suddenly open fire on us 
or attempt to advance, we are all still sitting 
on the parapets watching them closely & shouting 
to them across "no mans land" After armistace 
had been refused we all scramble down quickly 
under cover & firing broke out again at 5.30 
We are expecting a general attack all along the 
line. The latest patern Trench mortar lent 
by  the Japanese is placed into position this 
evening it is said to be the most deadliest gun 
in the world, we have not seen any trench 
mortars before, and so thy are being manned 
by a squad of the Royal Marine Artilly, one 
 bomb fired into the trench simply blows both 
men & trench to pieces, thy are terribly effective 
and we have two of them. All through the night 
our artilly shell their trenches & the high ground 
on our left at intervals, in case thy are 

 43 
massing for an attack, we have everythng ready for 
 them but nothng happened. Letters from  England arrd 
today. Our full casualties yesterday said to be only 
600, not much in comparison to theirs 
  
21/5/15 After spending an anxious night nothg happened 
thy would not attack, so everythng remains quiet except 
for a few snipers, a new shirt & a pair of socks were 
issued to each man, first change since landing 
German aeroplane dropped a bomb among our ships 
just off the coast but missed. At 6 pm a few very 
large shells are fired at us which explode with a 
tremendous crash, the vibration shaking the whole 
trench for a hundred feet, we are being shelled 
from the Turkish ports on the Dardanelles, on the 
Asiatic side. we expect a few more but nothg doing 
thy must be a few ranging shots to get correct 
elevation on guns, then thy can give us some 
hurry up. The dead are smelling terribly bad 
all day, during the night & early hours of the 
morning thy seem to get worse 
  
22/5/15 Everythg was vey quiet all night, we expected 
an attack, but it did not come off, everybody ready 
& on the alert, the trench manned at 3 am 
about 9am we get a downpour of rain, & another 
at 11am the trench is vey muddy & sticky, vey little 
sniping tody, both sides miserable & wet through 
at 4pm we give them a few of our new bombs 
which are vey effective, thy give an enormous 
explosion, one fell rather short in "no mans land" 
& we feel the effects of it. shelling our trench up 
& blowing a big crater. A fresh meat stew was 
 served for tea this evening, this is the first fresh 

44 
meat that we have had  since the landing 
  
23/5/15 Sunday  Landed 1 month today, exceptionally 
quiet day. A Turkish officer came in today 
along the beach with the necessary credentials 
to make arrangements for the burial of the dead 
which are now in a most shocking state & a 
great menase to health, the stench has been simply 
awfull this last day or two after the rain 
arrangements are eventually made and agreed to 
viz - tomorrow from 7.30am to 4.30pm all 
firing is to cease, parties are to be sent out 
to collect & bring in the dead for burial, 
during this armistice no military work of any 
discription may be undertaken or any guns 
removed or troops reinforced etc, both sides agree 
  
24/5/15 A few sniping shots fired before 7.30 am 
At 7.30 everything is ready & red cross flags are 
hoisted on both sides, we all lay down our rifles 
The arrangements are first that the Turks 
may only approach, not more than half way across 
"no mans land" towards our trenches, we are 
bound in a similar way in regards to theirs  
The half way line is kept by a row of small 
white flags. All of their dead that we find on 
our half we hand over to them, & they hand over 
ours which are taken away on stretches for burial 
after being well sprinkled with Clorate of 
lime. All rifles that are found are to be handed 
back without the bolts. All men engaged in this 
work are to wear a white band on the R arm 
We collect a huge pile of Turkish dead and 
hand them over on the half way line, we collect 

45 
more than 3000. Our boys are very friendly with 
the Turkish soldiers, and exchange buttons, [[?]] 
& other souvenirs with one another, many of their 
officers are mooving about among their working parties 
The German  officers do not appear to treat the 
Turkish soldiers too well, some of them speak a little 
English & tell us that the German officers & NCO^s  
are vey cruel to them. I saw myself a german 
officer kick a Turkish private for somethg he had 
done. Once during the day things began to look 
pretty ugly, a few shots were fired on our side 
but before anythng developed thy were quickly stopped 
otherwise everythg worked smoothly. Was out in "no 
mans land" most of the day & had a smoke & a yarn with 
a group of Turks our work being completed before 4.30 
the rest of the time was taken up by making friends 
with the Turks, who do not seem to be a very bad 
sort of chap after all, thy all hate their German 
officers. I formed the opinion that thy would 
rather surrender as thy cannot understand why 
thy are fighting against England who has always 
been a good friend to them. After today most 
of our opinions on the Turks were changed, thy 
certainy play the game better than the Germans do 
Nothing else doing today owing to the armistice 
as all work has to completely stop, the only work 
allowed to us is the removal & burial of the dead 
of which there are very many. On completion of truce 
we all scrambled back to our lines dead on time 
then the Turks opened fire again & kept it up at 
intervalls all night. While on post during night a 
sniper crept up quite close & unobserved to my 
loophole & took a shot at me, the shot actualy 
breakng the loophole as I was observing through it 

46 
the flash of the rifle nearly blinded me being 
so close, the bullet struck the earth only 1/2 
inch from my head. coverg face with splinters of 
stone etc fortunately not touched although the 
flash & noise knocked me down, the sniper 
could not have been lying dead square with 
the loop hole hence my escape. The closest call yet 
expecting attack tonight 
  
25/5/15 Very cold rainy day, trench very muddy & sticky 
Issue of tobacco today, everythng very quiet, had a bit 
of sniping to pass the time away, everythng & everybody 
very wet & miserable. The battleship Triumph sunk 
off Anzac beach by submarine reported loss of about 50 
members of the crew, we could see her sink from  
the trenches. 
  
26/5/15 Quiet day, very little sniping, we are now 
digging a new communication trench through to 
the supports during the day, this will make things 
easier for us in case of attack & will allow 
the front line to be reinforced much quicker 
A clean shirt & a piece of soap issued today. very 
cold during the night 
  
27/5/15 At dawn our artillery opened fire on the 
trenches in front of us, doing considerable damage 
knocking down a considerable ammount of their 
parapet, every shot was dead on the mark, one shell 
falling short killed a few of our men, the firing 
ceased at 9o/c We remain quiet for the rest of the 
day. Have been told that the Majestic has 
been torpeded in the Dardanelles with heavy loss of life 

47 
28/5/15 Our trenches are shelled this morning causing 
considerable damage, the fire is vey acurate & they hit 
us every time, the shelling being either from the posts 
or the battleships in the Narrows. We are shelled again 
about 6.30 am which cause several casualties, but we 
remain fairly quiet during the day. All observation 
posts are now manned by two observers doing duty 
together. Capt Simpson is transfered to D Coy & we 
get Capt Coultman instead. Intelligence received 
that the Turks are running short of amunition, so 
we dress up dummies for them to shoot at & so 
waste their amunition further, this however had a 
poor effect as "Jacko" would not "bite" too easily 
Mail from England arrived today 
  
29/5/15 We are attacked at dawn after a pretty hot 
shrapnel fire which lasted some time and caused 
several casualties, most of the fighting is on the left 
where the Turks loose very heavily, some prisoners 
were taken, the attack played itself out by 9.30am 
We are relieved from the front line today the first 
time for a month, we camp on the side of Shrapnel 
Gully just behind our front line. After a rest we 
go to Brighton Beach for a bathe which is very 
 refreshing & the only good wash we can really get 
We were noticed by the observation post on Gaba 
Tepe who inform their artilly who in their 
turn sprinkle us with shrapnel nobody hit &  
we take no notice of it. On water fatigues to the 
beach at night carrying for the Bns in the line. Mail 
from England again sorted & issued with rations 
  
30/5/15 Sunday  Landed 5 weeks. Mess orderly today 
fatigues carrying water etc all day. Shrapnel fully 

48 
and the beach are heavily shelled during day, so we 
had to do without our swim, many men have been 
hit & killed while swimmng at Brighton Beach and 
Robertsons Pier, their artilly wait for the men who 
bathe generally in the afternoon & give them some shrapnel 
everybody takes a risk & spread themselves out well 
but of course a few get caught each day. Tody 
thy are extra liberal with their fire so bathg 
is refused by orders, we spend the rest of the day writing 
letters etc. Was detailed to mount an observation 
post at the top of the Gully which we have named 
"Wire Gully" as it is full of barbed wire this Gully 
is just over the sky line & overlooks the Vally of 
Death. where the Turks suffered vy heavy losses 
in their attack on the 19/5/15. This post is a vy 
important one as isolated scouts etc seeking information 
have many times attempted to pass through & so reach 
the top of Shrapnel Gully which is about the centre of 
our line on the R flank, if successfull thy would 
have a clear observation right down Shrapnel Gully 
to the beach & could direct all artilly fire, the 
approach is well hidden by bushes etc on their side, 
this part of the line is only patrolled at night 
as our front line is broken here by the gully 
A Coys sector ends on the Right side of the gully the 
Bn then carries on on the other side. Am relieved 
at 5am next morning 
  
31/5/15 We return to our front line sector today after 
a supposed rest of 48 hours which consisted of heavy 
fatigues carrying, water, amunition, stores etc up the 
Gully all day, so we return much more tired than 
when we left, there being more rest in the front 
line than behind it, as the men in the line have