Diary of Frederick Warren Muir, 1915 - Part 7

& it was from this that the first assault was
launched taking the enemy by surprise but they
kept up a terrible hail of shrapnel & rifle fire across
this patch. There was a few seconds dash across
this patch of ground strewn with dead & wounded
& then into the Turkish trenches a machine gun was
kept playing on this patch all night & shrapnel at
intervals. It was almost dark when we arrived & things
in the trenches in a devil of a mess. The wounded were
crowded into every available space & dead were
everywhere. Throughout the night the Turks kept us
constantly engaged with shrapnel, bombs, & rifle
fire. There were many casualties especially from
bombs. The engineers cut a communication trench
out from B8 in a couple of hours & had another
trench before the night was out but the congestion
of wounded was terrible & most of the supplies
had to be brought overland. The groans & cries of
the wounded were terrible. Next morning at
daybreak the artillery & fleet opened a terrific fire
on Walkers Ridge almost lifting the top of the hill off.
The crest of the hill seemed one blaze of flame & the
gullies were filled with smoke & dust. Under cover
of this fire the NZ & A Division advanced to attack
at daybreak, also we came in for a heavy shrapnel
fire & a heavy counter attack. Throughout the
night we had laboured to get the trenches something
like order for the inevitable counter attack &
built some kind of a parapet along she back of the
trench, our move was really only a ruse to cover
the real advance on the left & during the night
an army corps was landed at Suvla Bay & proceeded
attack the Turkish left which through the day
relieved the pressure on us. As daylight came
we were able to inspect the wilderness of trenches
we had captured. These extended for a frontage
of about 300 yards & a depth of about 500. The
trenches were considerably damaged by the
artillery fire & presented a desolate spectacle.

although not knocked about to the extent we
would have expected. The parapets & overhead
cover were knocked in & the trenches filled with
dead, earth scattered rifles & equipment &
the walls splattered with blood & stained with
lyddite fumes. The trenches were carpeted with
dead & the parapets were strewn with them. The
trench were wonderfully strong each one being a
miniature fortress & had they been well defended
we could never have taken them. The miniature
gun emplacements in particular were of great strength
& could only be damaged by heavy artillery, The
trenches were not as deep as ours but were all
covered with bomb proof shelters constructed of large
logs of undressed pine brought up from the rear
These had a big parapet on each side & were
almost impregnable besides being snug &
comfortable. The German officers trenches in
particular being quite luxurious. Trap door
ladders led to the top of the bomb proofs so that
the parapets could be mounted & well concealed
sniper positions were built from bricks of dried
clay. We captured 3 rows of trenches & many
reserve & sheter trenches. The rear trenches are by no
means as good as the firing trenches. Behind these
again are many more trenches which are now
manned by the Turks but have as yet no parapets.
We had most trouble with the communication trenches
which we were compelled to barricade with sand
bags & at these points being only a few feet from
the enemy a continuous bombing was carried
on & still continued without stopping thousands
of bombs being thrown by each side, many of our
men suffered horrible wounds but the Turkish
trench was filed with dead as the result of our
bombing. During the morning we were bombed out
of a portion of the trench which was retaken
during the night. Throughout the morning the 

Turks crawled up to within a few yards of our
trenches and endeavoured to snipe at us but we endeav
managed to get rid of them. A machine gun of
Johnstones Jolly also played along our parapets
& a couple of 75 continually sprayed us with
shrapnel. Throughout the day our artillery &
warships fired constantly on the left & the rattle
of musketry fire kept up all day. Our new
position ridge along the Lone Pine Ridge was very
important being pushed right into the heart of the
enemys position cutting off their communications.
All day long we could see constant
traffic along the roads to Johnstones Jolly to
the left flank & Achi Baba, baggage trains,
pack animals; group of men gallopers & messengers
The day was fairly quiet, except for the bombing
which went on continuously
Sunday,  the enemy counter-attacked again today
but their efforts lack organization. There was another
very heavy bombardment on the left where the
british are pushing forward. The stench in
the trenches is becoming unbearable. Today.
was rather uneventful on our front & we spent
our time consolidating the position. we were
relieved this afternoon & were very glad at the
opportunity of having a sleep again. Coming
out we found communication trenches had
been established & some our guns moved
up closer. Brigade HQ has been moved up also
DHQ. There is now quite a fleet off boats
off here again, warships, hospital ships &
transports. Suvla Bay is full of ships. The
Artillery still continues to bombard heavily
Monday  We were suddenly called out
again this morning as the 9^th were getting
a hot time, arriving at Lone Pine we were

placed in, on the communication trenches behind
a sand bag barricade. The Turks were a few
feet away behind a sand bag barricade traverse
& tried to bomb us out while we replied in
kind. The corner was a very warm one. Later
in the day Capt Short & Cap Sasse worked the
Turks with bombs & captured about 50 yds
of trenches killing & wounding 7 Turks we
then had a busy time barricading the
new position. The Turks kept us very busy
throwing bombs & opened up on us with
75 doing considerable damage. During
the night we were kept busy cleaning up
& consolidating the position. We saw an
aeroplane chase in the air. A taube
came over & a French aeroplane gave
chase finally they disappeared over the
Asiatic shore. 

Tuesday 17th  The anniversary of the formation
of 1^st Battalion to-day, we had an extra
of rum & cigarettes. Things have been
rather more quiet lately although the 75
& bombs have played havoc with us. Our
losses have been very severe but we have
held the position. There have been intermittent
bombardments on the left & at Achi Baba
the fighting on the left continues slowly & the
Tommies seem to be advancing although
we have no definite news. We are
consolidating the new trenches but a few
more will probably have to be taken to
straighten up our lines, while watching a
a barricade across one of the communication
trenches the other day a Turkish officer appeared
around the corner surveyed the position &
disappeared. about ½ an hour later he came
back with a squad of men who cooly
commenced to build a barricade 

about 10 yds from us. They came right out into
the open not withstanding the fact that they
knew were waiting behind the barricade
I dropped two & wounded a couple more
but they eventually built the barricade. They
are undoubtedly very brave & one cannot
despise such enemies. Their wounded too
are cheerful & quite ready to be on good terms
with us. In front they are working feverishly
to strengthen their positions. Everything points
however to a shortage of military stores. They
are using overcoats blankets & all kinds of old
uniforms as sand bags to build up their
parapets. Genl. Birdwood was through the
trenches to-day In speaking to us he
expressed himself as very pleased with
the work of the 1^st. The Turkish big guns
are noticeably quieter many having been
put out of action on he left
we expected an attack on the end of Lamsden
"The day of Power" but as usual same
did not eventuate.
28th  We have settled down on Lone Pine
now & are quite used to the position are
getting same well consolidated now a couple
of 75s at close range give us a warm time
otherwise except for bombs things are fairly
quiet. & we seem to have the ascendancy. The
Turks are busy digging & in all directions
in front of us is a confused tangle of trenches
with sandbags of all hues. In places the
Turks are only about 10 yards from us &
here the bombing goes on. They have their
trenches covered with sleepers etc, but our
trench mortars & slabs of guncotton blow
these to pieces. In front of our position the
place looks a desolate wreck - old equipment
torn sandbags, pieces of wood & deserted trenches
 

we are able to snipe the enemys communication
now the same as they used to do with us &
have accounted for a lot of men & mules.
One of the trenches in front of us was covered
over with wire mattresses which formed
quite an effective bomb proof cover. There
has been some very heavy fighting on the left &
some exceptionally heavy bombardments.
Last night after a fierce bombardment our
chaps advanced & captured hill 600 There
was heavy firing all night.
Sunday 5th Septr;  Have been having as quiet
& easy time during last week or two. Things
have been fairly quiet here although still
a number of casualties. daily from 75s
& bombs. Have just come out of trenches after
48 hours. were shelled rather heavily last
evening & enemy made a couple of
half hearted attempts to advance on
the left. One man got into the trench & was soon
despatched. There was heavy bomb fighting all
night, numbers of bombs fell in the trenches
doing some damage. Things were very warm
for a while but the Turks did not follow up as we
expected. There are many rumours flying about
as to us getting releived shortly. The canteen
ship was in a few days back & consequently
we have been living in comparative luxury
for a few days.
Wednesday 7th  our relief is at last an accomplished
fact. The 6^th. Brigade are taking over our
places & we have just passed 48 hours in
the trenches with 23^rd Battalion. They are a
very fine set of fellows & in good condition
After coming out of the trenches in the morning
we packed up & in the afternoon adjourned
to shrapnel gully. This last spell in the
trenches was the worst as we all had an

uneasy feeling that we might get knocked
out on the last night. at about 12 o'clock we
started off again & embarked on Hms Partridge
& lay off Anzac till next morning. By
daylight we had a good view of our late theatre
of operations. The hills looked very brown &
bare, things were very quiet but we were
greatly releived when we got up steam &
quickly left the Peninsula behind. We coasted
past Imbros & arrived in Mudros Harbor
at about 12 o'clock anchoring in the western
Bay. The Harbour is still crowded with
transports & warships while the hills all
around are white with tents. To our
great disgust on disembarkation we
had to about 3 miles to our camp, however
we were able to cut off about a mile
by fording the harbour. Our camp
is on the slope of one of the hills at 

west Mudros. There are the usual
Greek villages farmhouses, & windmills
all around. The 1^st & 2^nd Battalions were
the 1st to arrive & we looked a very
dilapidated & ragged mob as we
straggled into camp. We are using
the big E.P tents & are rather crowded
The usual crowd of greeks are around
selling at the same outrageous
prices. Grapes eggs & tomatoes are plentiful
& fairly cheap. On Sunday morning we
had a service by the Dean of Sydney &
in the afternoon explored several of the
villages. There was beer koniak &
whisky in plenty till the soldiers & sailors
drank the place dry through the afternoon
when things shut up abruptly. Secured
some tinned fruit & fish. Arrived home
about 10 o'clock after a 6 mile walk.

dead tired. Started to rain through
night & kept on nearly all next day.
Started dull on Monday 9 till 11. Rifle
drill squad drill etc. Plenty of fatigues
here getting the camp in order etc. The
water supply is at a spring nearly a mile
ago. Beautiful water but a long walk
the other battalions & brigades are rolling
in a few at a time. A great number of
our chaps have been sent to hospital
since we landed here & a few are beginning
to come back. On Wednesday a heavy
thunderstorm arrived & our camp was
soon under water, when things cleared
up a little we had to shift camp up
the side of the hill on drier ground.
The flats were like a huge bog. We in
being well fed here ~ eggs every
morning fresh meat & rice for dinner,
& plenty of bread & jam. We also get issued
with a small bottle of stout beer every
night. Have also been issued with new
uniforms English patterns so that we now
all look like Tommies - also shirts &
gifts from various funds. Cigarettes
tobacco are very plentiful.
Saturday 25th  We are well settled down here
now & things are rather inclined to drag,
Brigade & Divisional Headquarters have
arrived. We have a big recreation tent
erected where concerts are held &
writing materials are kept.
Wednesday.  Have been undergoing medical
& dental examinations the last day or
two. Looking forward anxiously to another
pay as money is scarce. We are getting
a lot of gifts now. shoes, socks, singlets
shirts, pads, pipes, lighters etc.

It is wonderful to notice the wonderful variety
of coinage in circulation here. The Greeks
store away as much gold & silver as possible,
when one gives at half crown or so
one gets change in a medley of small
silver nickel & copper coins a mixture
of pence, piastres & cents. There are English
& Australian coins, French, Russian, Italian
Egyptian, Turkish, Maltese, Cyprus, French
Colonial coins from Tunis & algeria, Indian
& Greek - a fair collection. It is interesting
to wander through the villages & see how
everything practically is produced
locally. One may see the flour ground in
the mill & next baked in the little
old fashioned ovens. Or one may sit
down in a little shop while a
Greek roasts coffee beans crushes
them & makes you a cup of coffee
therefrom, The Grape furnishes many things
raisins, brandy, wine & vinegar - there
is not much to choose between these two
& a non intoxicating drink, another
drink is made from pomegranates &
a third from lemons. A very heavy
fog came up tonight so that we could
only see a few yards ahead
Saturday 2st  The last few days have been very
mild & pleasant. We have now to keep
the sides of the tents down by day & night
so that we have plenty of fresh air
Had a swim this afternoon rather
cool but very pleasant, were
paid another £2 this afternoon
Sunday 3rd Church service this
morning by a chaplain whom
not know. He did not preach
I do not know. He did not preach
a very good sermon & most of his remarks

were inaudible. The "Olympic" is now in
the harbour - the sister ship to the
"Titanic". We saw a dirigible floating
around the harbor this afternoon - a big
weird looking cigar shaped object - she
moved fairly rapidly & appeared to rise
& sink easily. Went for a walk around
the villages this evening but there is very
little to be got in them
Monday 4th  Across to the Dental Hospital this
morning but arrived too late to be
attended to. The Surgeon General of the
M.E.S.  inspected the Battalion this
morning.
Tuesday 5th  To the Dental Hospital this
morning again but still not fixed
up. They have a great rush of work
there. A rather good camp fire concert
was held on the hill-side last night 

by 1^st Field Amb, The N.Z Band were
present & there was quite a good
programme. A number of sisters from
one of the hospitals were present.
Wed. 6th  Had a tooth filled at the Dental
Hospital this morning. Spent the afternoon
writing in the Y.M.C.A. tent. This
is quite well fitted up now, books,
paper, pens & phonograph. The Greek
kids who hang around the place are
greatly interested in the latter, it is
probably the first time they have seen
anything like it,
Thursday 7th  Concert in the Y.M.C.A tent
to night. Quite a decent affair. Artists
chiefly from the 3 A.G.H. The Dean
presided & a number of nurses were
present, was surprised to see
Charlie Darcy Irvine among the singers