Handwritten transcript of diaries of Apcar Leslie De Vine, 1 January 1915 - 6 October 1918, Part 7 of 26
59
16/7/15 Rest camp, nothing to do, quiet day. swimming
17/7/15 Rest camp, swimmg parades. Ordered to the firing line
tonight as reserves, as an attack is expected, nothg doing
A german plane dropped a bomb on our rest camp early
this morning, doing no damage, another did not explode
otherwise quiet day
18/7/15 Sunday Landed 12 weeks. About 18 "Jack
Johnsons" fell into our camp this afternoon, blowing
up large craters, but otherwise doing vry little damage
although some artillery men on our left were hit. This
rest camp is in a vry bad position, as it is situated
in part of Brighton Beach and the hills & gullies in
front of it are full of guns, which are shelled at intervals
with the result that all shells that miss the guns fall into
the camp, in fact the camp gets evry shell as the guns are
not hit, so we are still under fire, even when we are
supposed to be resting, Mounted camp guard at night.
19/7/15 Rest camp, Detailed for fatigue dragging huge
water tanks from the beach up the hills where an
attempt is to be made to store water owing to its great
scarcety. A Coy is made permanent fatigue Coy, all officers
are sick except Mr. Lloyd, an attack was expected tonight
so we were sent up to the line as reserves, but we were
not wanted. No 3 & 4 platoon told off for RSM to
carry up 60 boxes of iron rations to the line, fatigue lasted
until midnight.
20/7/15 Detailed as sapper at 4am for digging tunnels
etc, 8 hours on & 16 off. A Coy now find all sappers. We
were ordered up into the reserves at night, hevy attack
expected
60
21/7/15 Sapped from 4 am till 1 pm returned to rest
camp. Reserves again tonight attack expected, nothg happened
22/7/15 Returned to rest camp this morning, fatigues all
day on water carrying. Reserves at night, heavy rifle fire
during early morning but no attack developed, we are all
ready at a moments notice as we all lie down in our
equipment ready to "stand too" as we are informed that
the Turks have been very heavily reinforced
23/7/15 Back to rest camp all day, very quiet, no
fatigues, reserves again at night
24/7/15 No 3 platoon remained with the reserves all
day to furnish fatigues, we have been digging in the
machine gun sap all day, & cary amunition untill
midnight, staying with the reserves all night. A little
rice issued for dinner
25/7/15 Sunday Landed 13 weeks Returned to rest camp
during morning, no fatigues, we have had two bathing parades
today, lazy day, issue of rum this evening & 10 figs also a
little milk in the tea this evening for the first time
quite a luxury, reserves again at night
26/7/15 Returned to rest camp in the morning, fatigues all
day, managed to buy 6 eggs for 3/- also a tin of milk for 2/-
to make myself a rice pudding. We return to the reserves evry
night, as the danger of an attack is not yet past & all
precautions are taken for a night attack
27/7/15 Returned to rest camp for the day, fatigues during
afternoon, we are shelled in evening no damage done, reserves at
night. tobacco issued, another rice pudding for tea
61
28/7/15 Remained in reserve all day at Bn Hdqrs, dug
a QMs store in the reserve trench. Again innoculated
for second time for Cholera, very strog injection over stomach
29/7/15 Returned to the front line this morning at 10 0/c
Am detailed for night work, very quiet day on the whole
only a few bombs falling near us, we have been away from
the firing line for about two weeks today. Large parcell
from mother arrived today containing plenty of chocolate,
- tobacco & pipe which are worth their weight in gold here
30/7/15 Firing line all day untill 4pm when we went
into the supports. Mounted guard all night to give the
alarm in case of gas being used by the Turks. This is our
first gass guard, all precautions taken against gas attack
as we suspect it will soon be used Quiet night
31/7/15 Supports all day untill 4pm when we went back
to the firing line, at the "dead end" overlooking the Gully
that seperates us from the 2nd Brigade. This morning a
Taube machine flew over our lines, & dropped bombs
otherwise a quiet day, on post untill 4am. off all next day
1/8/15 Sunday Landed 14 weeks. No duties all day, am
on night watc, on a night post, we are shelled this evening
y the 75mm guns, which knock our trenches about
a bit
2/8/15 In supports all day, fatigues, quiet day
3/8/15 Returned to the firing line at 4pm, posted at
the "dead end" . Trench shelled by the 75mm guns
during the evening. Major Stacy badly hit by splinter of large
bomb thrown at Coy Hd Qrs. there are several other casualties
62
4/8/15 Firing line all day. Quiet day. Tobacco and
matches issued . 6th reinforcements arrive today
5/8/15 Firing line untill 8am when we are relieved
by the 8th Bn for a short rest and to prepare for an
advance which is to be made very shortly, we do not
know when, the heavy gun fire has been continuous all
day, things are beginning to warm up, we have a complete
rest all day absolutely no fatigues. The Turkish trenches
are being heavily bombarded with heavy shells & howitzers
all day
6/8/15 Had a good nights rest no "stand too" this morning
best nights rest we have had for a very long time. We
are all paraded before the CO. Colonel Menatter at
10 am who vry briefly told us, that we were to have a
fight that afternoon, we are to get our packs ready
and stored bare web equipment only is to be carried.
without haversack or bayonet scabbard, entrenching tool
to be fixed in the belt ready for use, each man
to carry in addition two sand bags and to wear a large
white patch on his back and wide calico arm bands.
The CO explained that A coy of the 4th Bn was to lead
the charge in the trenches known as "The Lone Pine Trenches"
situated in front of the 2nd Bn position, considerably to
the R of the 4th Bn position. The 4th Bn & A Coy
of the Bn are placed on the left flank of the Brigade
attack with C. Coy, supported by B & D. Coys. The
3rd Bn are on our immediate Right then come the
2nd Bn, with the 1st in reserve. Our job is to
rush at 5.30 the trenches in front, pass over the
first three lines & jump into the third and attack
the Turks there, working backwards, after first
blocking up all communicaton trenches, to prevent
63
any reinforcements from being sent up, and so join up
with the rest of the Brigade who will be working
foreward bombing along the 1st & 2nd lines of trenches,
so we hope to catch them in a trap, as we will be
in front and behind them at the same time. Today
Capt I G MacKay is gazetted a Major & Lieut A E Lloyd
a Captain. All the Bn is excited at the prospects
of a good stunt, meanwhile the bombardment increases
in intensity, we get three good meals today & everybody
given a good tot of rum and all water bottles are filled
with water which we must hang on to in case of
emergency, after everything is complete we take up our
positions at 4.30 pm this operation takes a considerable
time as our movements are slow of in winding our way
up the communication trenches, eventually we arrive
at our " hopping off" positions. Half the Coy leave the trench
by the underground saps now half way across "no mans land"
this of course gives them a good lead on the rest of the Coy.
My platoon No3 with No4 leave the old front line & have
to travell the whole distance across to their front line
At 430 pm we are all in position finally and the bombardment
is vey considerably increased, the whole of the Turkish position
in front of us is covered with bursting shells & smoke guns
of all sizes are pouring in an intense concentration of fire
for the last hour, the trenches seem to be very considerably
knocked about. The barrage lifts exactly at 5.30, and
over we go, as we spring over the parapet with a cheer
the Turks pour in a terrible hail of rifle and machine gun
fire, with plenty of shrapnel into us, knocking our men over
in dozens. I got held up in our barbed wire & was held for
a while fully exposed to the fire but fortundly was not
hit, the ground was covered with our dead & wounded
After tearing myself away from the wire leaving part of
my clothing etc behind, I managed to gain the second
64
line of trenches, by running over the first which were
covered with thick pine logs like railway sleepers, and
had hardly been touched by the heavy bombardment
thus leaving their garrison practically untouched.
Arriving at the second line in attempting to jump over
found the distance too much, with heavy rifle etc
slipped badly on the rear parados & fell in, fortunately
landing on my feet amongst a lot of Turks & some of our
boys who were well mixed up, finally they were disposed
of and we started to join up with the rest of the
Coy. The Turkish trenches were in an awfull condition
the dead, due to our heavy bombardment lay vey
thick, and the smell of the dead bodies rotting
is simply awfull, as they have a system of burying their
dead in the walls etc of the trench, our heavy
bombardment dislodged may of them that had
been buried for some time & were in a vey ripe
condition which made matters worse. The Turks
put up a good fight, those that had any fight
left in them and accounted for a lot of our
men. In the first line of trenches they were all
dead with the exception of those that managed
to get into the saps for protection from the heavy
bombardment, all these were taken prisoner vey
few showing any fight thy were in a dazed
condition. I lost touch with the Bn during the
general mix up so I joined up with the 2nd which
were being very heavily attacked & wanted some
reinforcements. We had to make a baracade of
bodies to keep the Turks off thus managing to
hold on to what we had gained. We are attacked
nearly all night on our left so we are kept pretty well
occupied. At midnight was told off with several
others and an officer to hold a communication trench
65
leading direct into the Turkish lines, we blocked it up
by partly pulling the sides down & filling up with the
earth, dead bodies, any debris that we could find and
a few sand bags, we are in a very had position as we
are situated between the fire of the Turkish trenches
in front and our own directly behind us, when our first
observer was told off to his post, he only mounted a few
minutes before he was shot by one of our men behind
who did not know that we occupied the trench in
front, so we had to remain in this position untill
the morning, the night eventually became fairly quiet
only the cries of the wounded who are lying out in front
in dozens can be heard constantly crying for water
7/8/15 Heavy pressure and counter attacks on our right
so I was sent with a section to reinforce the R flank
which was being held by the 2nd Bn. The Turks advancing
on us very thickly at dawn and put up a good fight
using bombs pretty freely & effectively, we held our own
and repulsed them, they left hundreds of dead before
our trenches, we are here in a vey difficult position
as running paralell to us and only separated by some logs
is a trench full of Turks who bomb us freely causing us
very heavy losses, we are being constantly reinforced to
make up the losses, the men being well spread out
this is the hottest corner I have been in yet, fortunately
not a scratch. Got some very good sniping all day as they
seem to be mooving about rather freely. Late in the
day another determined bombing attack on the trench
repulsed, hit by a large splinter of a bomb on the left
brest fortunatley on my tunic pocket in which I carry
my tobacco box, box flattened, not hurt myself
When not "standing too" we occupy our time by
making the trench more defensible and safe
66
digging fire steps etc sand bagging the parapett &
deepening trench, after removing dead to a sap we
make preparations for an expected counter attack
getting together a good supply of bombs. We can
easily hear the Turks shouting to each other, and
making a noise all the evening as if they were about
to make an attack, but thy did not do so untill
dawn. We stand to arms all night
8/8/15 Sunday Landed 15 weeks We were attacked
heavily on the Right at dawn, but drove them off with
rifle fire & bombs killing many, They attack us very
hotly using very many bombs with good effect thus
causing us many casualties, they then withdrew attacking
again at 9 am with the same result, after chopping
them up with machine gun & rifle fire they again
retired for about two hours, during the interval
we were bombarded with bombs very badly on the
right and infilated by a 75mm gun captured from
the French, this and their heavy bombing caused us
to loose half the trench with very heavy loss includng
several officers & Col Scobie. The shelling of the
75mm gun was very acurate as it was pointed
straight up the trench being placed in a position
on some high ground on our R overlooking the line
each shell fell exactly on a post holding from
6 to 8 men each, these posts were picked off
one by one, and given a direct hit, the shell
intended for the post I was on just missed it
direct, hitting it sideways on the left side, as I
fortundly happened to be the first man on the
right the shell passed right behind me bursting
& hit all the others on the post, killing most of
them & wounding the remainder, I was the only man
67
not touched, this is the hottest sector on our new
front too expensive to hold, orders later received to
abandon this trench only a few survivors get out
At about II am we were attacked again very heavily
they would no doubt have succeeded in gaining a good
footing in our sector, as we have been very badly knocked
about, were it not for the fact that our artillery
picked up their range exactly bursting plenty of shrapnel
amongst them, we stood to arms all day, expecting
another attack, but the rest of the day remained
quiet with good sniping, night very quiet. Turks
must have had enough
9/8/15 Managed to find & return to the 4th Bn about
10 am just in time for an attack on our centre, which
is now being by held the 4th. The Turks used bombs
pretty freely, reported to Capt Lloyd & detailed to
be his battle orderly, job to carry messages and
attend Bn Hd Qrs for the supply of bombs which I
manage to get up to the Coy in time as we were then
running very short, we held our own the attack
being repulsed. Our losses in this attack were not
very heavy as only the bomb throwers occupied
the trench. The stench of the dead bodies now
is simply awfull, as the have been fully exposed to
the sun for several days, man have swollen
terribly and have burst, making our surroundings
very unpleasant, many men wear their gas protectors
which is in the form of a gag held over the mouth &
nostrils, there has been no attempt up to the
present to either remove or bury them, they are
stacked out of the way in any convenient place
sometimes thrown up on to the parados so as not
to block up the trench, there are more dead than
68
living in parts of the line due to our heavy casualties
we have been too buisy to do anything in the matter
as we have spent all our spare time in digging etc
for our own safety. Rum & tea is served out
pretty freely which is practically all the nourishment
we have received for the last three days. I
managed to get a little rice today from the 3rd
Bn this is the first solid food taken since the
6th. About 3 pm was sent to Brigade Hdqrs as
dispatch carrier to the 4th Bn & was temp
attached to Brigade Hd Qrs. The 4th Bn relieved
from the trenches at 5 pm by the 7th Bn, the
first relief since Friday, was given a good feed
and a nights rest the first since Friday the 6th
Hit by a spent bullet on the right cartridge pouch
no damage, very tired no sleep for 3 days everything
very quiet now on the Lone Pine front
10/8/15 A muster of the 4th Bn this morning, our losses
have been very heavy, only 8 men left out of the original
C. Coy that left Sydney Oct 1914. Cpl M' Ghee. Pts W F Johnstone
A McNair. FA Rae. F McCormack . L Murphy. W. M' Gillovray
and myself. 5 men only left in my platoon. I am the only
survivor of my section No 9. 19 men only left in the whole
of A Coy. Only 4 officers in Bn Capt Lloyd. Capt Scott. Capt
Simpson & Col Macnaghton, the padre Capt McKenzie is
also with us. The Bn is quite unfitt for any further
service. The Brigade's losses have been very heavy.
Bn resting today. While the roll is being called a
shell fell among A Coy causing us 6 more casualties,
two wounded; the rest shock & burid in the debris
of a sunken road along which the Bn was mustering
Nearly caught myself & buried my feet only being caught just
as I walked past the spot where the shell fell. Everything
SassoonThis transcription item is now locked to you for editing. To release the lock either Save your changes or Cancel.
This lock will be automatically released after 60 minutes of inactivity.