Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-Oct 1916-Part 4

up, and in the darkness
made across the 
desert to here, our
camp. Why the hell they
couldn't let us sleep
for a few hours God
only knows. I suppose
the Heads think it very
smart to have men
and horses back in
camp at a certain time.
Curse them for their
rotten ideas. So that
was the end of the trip.
It was splendidly
organised, very well
carried out, no doubt.
It all depends whether
we really went out
16
the Turks to come over
the hill. But they never
came, just fired at us
from the flat. They had
had more than enough,
It began to get late.
Then half a squadron of
Warrick yeomanry came
along, taking all possible
cover, and lay down
by us. What on earth
they were doing there
goodness only knows.
Three of them lay near
me, & I got a great
deal of amusement from
watching them. They first
of all argued the point
as to where the Turks
were, and then appealed
to me. I explained that
the Turks were expected 

16
to come over the
skyline of the next hill
at any moment. They
each scratched a hole
in the sand, and lay
down side by side,
perspiring and very hot.
The young chap next
me was evidently much
excited, he would
plug his chin fair in
the sand every time
the Turks machine
gun fired a salvo at
us. Then, for some
unexplainable reason,
he lifted up his rifle,
the muzzle being only
two inches from his
mates ear, and
fired. The bullet hit
the sand only a few 

to take Mazar, or
whether it was only
a reconnaissance in
force.  . . . . .  12 a.m.
Why the hell don't I
get any letters or
parcels: my mates are
always getting parcels
or letters, but I'm
damned if I ever get
even a newspaper
slung at me. Just as
well I'm content to
keep on my own, 20^th
It's amusing when a man
wants to light his pipe
now. The regiment has
been right out of matches
for days. Some lucky
beggars have a few
carefully guarded matches
17
yards in front, but
the concussion fairly
deafened his mate who
xx sprang fully three
feet xx from the ground.
The furious argument
that followed made
my sides ache from
laughing. The excitable
one was finally ordered
not to fire again on
pain of xxxx instant
death. Then one of them
swore he saw a
sniper in a bush
some hundred eight
hundred yards away.
There may have been
a sniper there, I don't
know, but if there
was I'll bet he was
very soon a much 

17
dead sniper. The
yeomanryman
turned out to be a
very good shot, for
he planked bullets
fair into the centre of
the suspected bush
without one miss. I
was sorry for the
poor beggars in a way.
Three of them were
hit before they had
been with us ten
minutes. And so
the afternoon drew to
a close, xx but the
Turks never came.
Their machine guns
were very troublesome,
they got a number of
xx our fellows
during this second 

left. When they go to
light a pipe the cry goes
up "Match Alight", and all
the pipe smokers run up
with twisted pieces of
paper to get a light from
the precious match. The
cigarette smokers then
light up from the bowl
of the pipes.  . . . . We Australians
are a funny lot. The
boys here are a mad,
scatter brained, joking,
cursing, laughing lot.
Last night the whole camp
were singing comic songs,
or trying to. Anyway up
to 10 O'Clock they made
the oasis hideous with
the choruses of all the
idiotic songs man has
yet made. And only a
few hours from a desperate
stunt which for
18
part of the afternoon.
It was somewhere
about here that Corporal
Logie got hit. At last
the Colonel gave the order
to retire, and I was very
glad. Perishing with thirst,
and very hungry, I knew
it would be long after
dark before the regiment
had the horses watered, fed,
and back in camps, and a
chance to get something to
eat and drink ourselves.
We retired a few at a
time. I passed Morry
and Stan, sprawled
out behind a bush,
firing. I waited behind
another bush a little
further on. Then the
long tired drag down 

18
the hill, and our horses
hidden in a little hollow.
The Turkish guns were
searching for us with
shrapnel, and we knew
that it meant a sharp
gallop for us once we
left cover. We yelled
out to the Tommy Yeomanry,
who had followed us,
to xxxx hurry up, x
sprang into the saddles,
and the command
being given, extended
out at the gallop, and
away across the hills
to safety with the
crash of bursting
shrapnel in our ears.
When we got good
cover we steadied
down, formed up, 

sheer physical weariness
it is impossible even
to imagine. By the way, the
big Heads describe the
stunt as the most successful
reconnaissance we
have yet undertaken. I
suppose it is the truth.
These things are very hard
to understand,. All I can
say is "I dunno". Sept 26^th
We've been talking to some
of our chaps who were in
the firing line at the
stunt. As soon as they
went over the skyline the
first thing they saw was
a Turkish camel patrol
going like the blazes down
a gully towards their
main camp. In a parallel
gully some Light Horsemen
were galloping to cut
them off. The Turks
were all running
19
reached a well, watered
the horses, and at last
reached camp. Here we
were told this piece of
news, which fairly
knocked our breath
away. The Turks had
received some thousands
of reinforcements. We
were to retire that night
to Oghratina. In an
hour and a halfs time
we moved off. We
could light as many
fires for our quarts
as we liked. We
were astounded to
put it mildly. The
Turks were in greater
strength than ourselves,
we knew, but we had
him badly beaten, he 

19
was retreating through
every hour of peace we
gave him, and the idea
of retiring back to
Oghratina pleased us
not at all. But it was
orders, and soon the fires
were blazing merrily
and the quarts on the
camel train had just
come in with rations
and water, and we
were issued out with
Bread, Jam, Milk, and
bully beef. What a
glorious, glorious meal
that was. I was lying
stretched straight out,
eyes half closed, smoking,
belly packed full, quite
satisfied, when the 

from their further out
d redoubts on the small
hills into the big
redoubts around their
headquarters. Some had
their equipment on, others
hastily caught theirs up,
slung it over their shoulder,
jumped out of their trench,
and ran back down
the hills as if the devil
himself was at their
heels. Into the big
main redoubts men were
swarming like ants,
running from their
r dugouts in every
direction. It was a
complete surprise. Why
the devil we didn't
all charge goodness
only knows. I think 

20
order came to mount
and be off. So was
the start of that dreary,
dreary retirement. It
was only a few miles
back, but what a weary
ride it was. Tired horses,
tired men. The long,
crawling column in the
dark, the commands of
strange voices as x
other regiments fell in
ahead or behind us,
the ghostly movements
of the camel corps as
they moved silently
alongside us, the weary
holding oneself on ones
horse. Occasionally a
man would drop out
his horse fall, unable
to go a step further 

20
One Brigade had been
left behind, to fight the
rearguard action if
necessary, if not to keep in
touch with the Turks.
Then the order came, "No
smoking, No talking", and
the rest of the weary
ride was like a ghostly
army marching through
silence. Only it was
not silence. My ears were
ringing. In the bushes
around, in the aid,
thudding into the sand,
were bullets, bullets,
bullets. Rifles were
ringing, a shrapnel
shell would scream by
and burst in the rear,
all through the long
silent ride. All the