Sir John Monash, Personal Files Book 5, 16 May - 25 May 1915, Part 9
23
L.H.B. No. 18
No. 3 Section Defence,
MONASH VALLEY.
23rd. May 1915.
DISTRIBUTION OF TROOPS NO. 3 SECTION.
From 11 a.m. 23rd. inst. to 11 a.m. 25th inst.
(Or until sooner amended)
(1). - COURTNEY'S POST - Garrison - 14th INF.
Local Reserve - 14th INF.
(2). - QUINN'S POST - Garrison - 350 all ranks 15th. INF.
100 all ranks 2nd. A.L.H.
Local Reserve - 16th. INF.
(3). - POPE'S POST. - Garrison - 3rd. A.L.H.
Local Reserve - 1st. A.L.H.
(4). - PICQUET between QUINN'S and POPE'S POSTS.
1 Off., 1 Sgt., 1 Cpl., and 10 men from the
Garrison of QUINN'S POST to be in position at
7 p.m. and remain on duty until 5 a.m.
(5). - PICQUET between POPE'S POST and No. 4 SECTION.
1 Off., 1 Sgt., 1 Cpl. and 12 men from 16th. INF.
to be in position at 7 p.m. and remain on duty
until 5 a.m.
(6). - INNER DEFENCES. - Observation Posts and Patrols from 10th. A.L.H.
1st. A.L.H. to provide these until relieved today
(7). - GENERAL RESERVE. - 10th. A.L.H. (less Inner Defence Troops). 13 INF.
(8) - SIGNAL UNIT ON DUTY. - BDE SECT., 4th. INF BDE.
C.W, Williams
Major.
B.M. 1st. A.L.H. Brigade.
Copies as under issued at 10:35 a.m.
COURTNEY'S POST.
QUINN'S POST.
POPE'S POST.
SECTION H.Q.
1st. A.L.H.
2nd. A.L.H.
10th. A.L.H.
4th. INF. BDE H.Q.
13th. INF.
16th. INF.
SIG. TP.
Summary of Situation
No 6.
Southern Zone
May 23rd
In the action ∧ on left of Indian Brigade reported yesterday
the enemy lost not less than 500 men. Our loss was
about 200.
May 24th
Last night French in conjunction with Naval
Brigade made an appreciable advance with only
slight loss.made no advance owing to very heavy fir
e from
Turkish trenches.
The right and centre of East Lancashire
Division also pushed forward but 29th Division
made us advanced owing to enemy heavy fire from
Turkish trenches
Issued to. H.Q. Aust. Division
" NZ & A Division
" C.M.D. Bde.
Genl. file
23
From QW
By BJ
23/5/15
56
Received 6.2pm
TO 4th Aust Inf. Bde
* Senders Number. Day of Month.
ADC 56 23rd
Have you any officer who you
could spare and recommend for the
appointment of second in command
to the Howe Bn R.N. DIVN aaa
Please reply by telephone
Replied to Btn 15th
FROM. Gen Godley ADC.
PLACE & TIME Anzac Cove. 6p.
Lt Col Hawkins
2nd Inf. Brigade
My dear Hawkins
I am delighted to hear that you have come
this so far, safe & well, & am only sorry that it is
so hard to find time to come down to see you.
May I trouble you in one matter - I am very
anxious to know the fate of one of my nephews,
one Aubrey Moss, who was either in the 5th or 6th
He was a Company Scout, I think, & was expecting
promotion when I saw him last at Mena.
Kindly get someone to make enquiries & let
me know at your convenience.
Yours very sincerely
John Monash
23/5/15
From 4th. Inf. Bgde H.Q.
Place Monash Valley
23
Co
OC 13th
Btn 15th - 23rd
57
1) Herewith 1 Copy of Articles of
Armistice & 1 Copy of Typewritten
instructions thereon for your
perusal & return by 9 am tomorrow
2) In pursuance of above B' Bn
will furnish the following details
a) Delimitation Party :- to consist
of 13 specially selected intelligent
men. All under a Sergt to
report at Bde HQ at 5 am
tomorrow 24' inst: each member
of this Party to wear white
Arm Band on left arm &
to carry a stick or branch 4 ft
long with white rag or white
paper flag fastened thereto;
this Party to carry
Copy No....
NEW ZEALAND AND AUSTRALIAN DIVISION
N.Z.G. 609
Divisional Headquarters
ANZAC COVE,
23rd, May. 1915
1. A suspension of arms for the purpose of allowing the burial of the
Turkish dead, and removal of wounded, between the opposing trenches has
been arranged, to commence at 7.30 A.M.tomorrow. Copies of a paper,
which includes necessary articles of the agreement in which they should
be given effect to, are sent herewith, -receipt to be acknowledged at
once to Divisional Headquarters. These should be circulated and made
known to all concerned, and all officers commanding parties clearing
the ground are to be supplied with a copy.
2. x With reference to the instructions (above referred to) (Article 2)
a bearer party 200 strong is to be furnished in each section of Defence
as follows :-
No. 3 Section.
1st A.L.H.Brigade—-1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, 1 Medical Officer, 100 Other ranks.
4th Aust. Inf. Bde.—1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, 1 Medical Officer, 100 Other ranks.
No. 4 Section.
N.Z.M.R. Brigade ___ 1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, 1 Medical Officer, 100 Other ranks.
N.Z. Inf.Brigade ____ 1 Captain, 4 Subalterns, 1 Medical Officer, 100 Other ranks.
Chaplains may accompany bearer parties.
3. Delimitation parties will be found as follows :-
Interpreter ... Captain the Hon.A. Herbert.
Medical Offr ... Lieut.Colonel P.C.Fenwick, N.Z. Medical Corps.
A party of 50 specially selected N.C.O.s and men each with a white flag,
to be detailed as under :-
1st A.L.H.Brigade) 1 Officer ) .......... 12 Other ranks.
4th Aust. Inf. Bde.) .......... 13 Other ranks.
N.Z.M.R.Brigade) 1 Officer) ........... 12 Other ranks.
N.Z.Inf.Brigade ) ........... 13 Other ranks.
The officer (only) from each section to report to Lieut. Colonel Skeen,
ANZAC Headquarters, before 6 A.M. for detailed instructions.
4. Every advantage must be taken of this opportunity of making the ground
in front of our trenches sanitary, and in cases where corpses have been
built into parapets, these should 1f possible, be removed also.
5. The arrangement lays down that no work on trenches, saps, communication
trenches, and gun emplacements is to be carried out; though this does not
definitely forbid such military work as putting up wire entanglements.
The spirit of the agreement should be observed, and no military work
should be carried out beyond the daily routine of replenishing stores,
etc., improving bivouacs, shelters, and so on.
During the period when firing is not permissible, the tine will be well
employed in cleaning rifles, guns, and machine guns, also in collecting
and sending down to the Beach all spare ammunition, accoutrements, empty
shell and cartridge cases, water tins, biscuit tins, boxes, etc..
6. In addition to the usual look-out system in force at present, a careful
look-out is to be kept by selected officers, as under.
From No.4 Section.
(A) In the direction of Ridge 971.
(B) Along the foothills N. of WALKERS RIDGE.
(C) In the direction of JOHNSTONE'S JOLLY and QUINN's POST, so as to
give early notice of hostile movements in these directions.
N.Z.G.609 Contd.
6. con. The names of the selected officers to be submitted by the O.C.No.4
Section to Divisional Headquarters, without delay.
Reports from these special look-out stations are to be repeated
every hour by O.sC.Sections to Divisional Headquarters.
W J Braithwaite Lieut.Colonel,
General Staff.
New Zealand and Australian Division.
4th Aust Inf Bde
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACTION DURING SUSPENSION OF ARMS
24th. May, 1915.
The following articles of an Agreement for a suspension of
Arms, are reproduced, with instructions for giving them effect.
Article 1. A suspension of arms for the space of 9 hours
beginning at 7.30 o'clock on May 24th and ending at 4.50 o'cloc
on same day of May 24th, is agreed to for the purpose of burying
the dead and removing the wounded between the opposing trenches.
Article 2. Two Staff Officers )
Two Interpreters )
Two Medical Officers ) of each force.
One hundred men with one )
hundred white flags. )
Will meet at a point on the beach two kilometres North of KABA
TEPE, at 7.45 a.m.
Dress, Officers - Belts and water bottles; Men- Waterbottles.
On account of the broken ground and the nearness of the
trenches to each other, the area to be cleared is to be divided
up as may be decided on by the Senior Staff Officers into areas
of 1,000 metres long (approximately), in each of which parties of
not more than 200 men of either side are to be employed, to avoid
a crowd of men working between the trenches. Those parties to be
without equipment except waterbottles, stretchers, and a proportion
of picks and shovels.
At 8 a.m. the work of clearing will be commenced and will
cease at 4 p.m. or earlier if the work is completed.
If there is a likelihood of another day being required, the
Staff Officers will meet at 5 p.m. and refer to their Commanders
for orders as to continuing next day.
Article 3. The following procedure will be noted adopted:-
The delimitation party will move along the position starting
from the sea, leaving a man of each nationality with a white flag
at suitable intervals as nearly as possible half-way between the
opposing trenches.
As the Staff Officers send orders to advance to the stretcher
bearer parties allotted to each zone, these parties will move out
from their own trenches and clear the zone up to the line of
white flags, taking all enemy dead or wounded up to the control
line for removal by the other side, with the exception of corpses
which cannot be moved, which will be interred where found.
Article 4. Arms and equipment will be disposed of as follows:-
After the dead and wounded have been removed, the Turkish bearer
squads can take away all arms and equipment found in the area on
their side as far as the dividing line: all arms and equipment
found on the British side will be collected and taken to this
line where they will be handed over to the Turkish officers after
removing the bolts of rifles in their presence.
Similarly, all the British rifles which are found on the
Turkish side of the dividing line, will be brought and handed over
without bolts to the Officers who are superintending the evacuation
on the British side of the zone. The bolts thus removed will be
taken away. Arms and equipment of dead or wounded officers will
be returned to their own side without restriction.
Article 5. During the suspension of arms all movements of troops
except the bearer and delimitation parties between the lines of
trenches is forbidden, and hostile passing of troops behind those
trenches will be sufficient reason for breaking off the suspension
of arms.
- 2 -
Article 6. It is understood that no embarkation or disembarkation of
troops will take place during the suspension of arms between KABA TEPE
and SUVLA BAY: on the other side the Turkish forces actually engaged
in the neighbourhood of KABA TEPE will not be reinforced during the
suspension of arms.
Article 7. No works on the trenches, saps, communication trenches,
or gun emplacements is to be carried out during the duration of the
suspension of arms.
Article 8. Should any incident give rise to the suspicion that the
above conditions are not being adhered to, either Senior Staff Officer
may break off the suspension giving a period of half-an-hour in which
to warn both sides of the cessation: provided always that the troops
of both sides may be kept in a state of readiness for defence, without
accusation of breach of the suspension: and in the case of unforeseen
attack, either party is free to take action as the situation demands.
Article 9. The Staff Officers fix on a place to which they will
arrange for reports to be sent and for communications to go from to
their Commanders. The site will be notified to their own troops when
decided on.
Article 10. Except through the Staff Officers, no one can give an
order for the cessation of the suspension of arms, except in the case of
an unexpected attack.
Article 11. X X X X regarding aeroplane reconnaissance.
Article 12. All delimitation parties, and bearer parties, in case of
an unepected outbreak of hostilities are to be free to withdraw to
their own lines, and are as far as possible not to be fired on.
Article 13. X X X X Powers of Staff Officers.
-----------------------------------
INSTRUCTIONS AS TO MANNER OF GIVING ABOVE ARTICLES EFFECT.
------------------------------------
"HOUR" : The hour referred to is "Alla Franca" which is 8 minutes
ahead of Army Corps time.
Article 1. Firing is to cease at 7.30 a.m. all along the line, but
none of the usual daily precautions or lookout arrangements are to be
relaxed, nor is any reduction in the garrison to be made.
All ranks are to be warned not to show themselves and thus disclose
the position of the occupied trenches or saps.
Article 2. A bearer party 200 strong [[1 1/2 lines erased]]
or less in front of sections where corpses are not very numerous, with
a full allowance of stretchers and 8 picks and 8 shovels for interring
much decomposed corpses, is to be held ready at 8 a.m. in each section of
tho defence.
It is not necessary that all should be ambulance personnel, but a
white arm band cloth or paper with or without red cross; is to be worn
on the left arm. Red cross flags, up to 6 per section, are to be taken.
Attention is drawn to the order of dress.
Dead and wounded are to be cleared from the vicinity of our trenches first
gradually working out towards the dividing line.
The delimitation parties will be as follows:-
Staff Officers - Lt-Col. Skeen, G.S.O. 1. Army Corps.
Major Blamey, G.S.O 5. Australian Division.
Interpreters - One from Australian Division.
One from New Zealand and Australian Division.
Medical Officers - One from Australian Division.
One from New Zealand and Australian Division.
50 men, each with a white flag, from Australian Division.
50 men, each with a white flag, from New Zealand and Australian Division.
The flag need only be a small xxx white cloth, or even a sheet of
paper, but should be fixed to a stake or branch over 4 foot long, sharpened
at the end to plant in the ground.
Those parties will meet Lt.-Col. Skeen on the beach by SAPPER POST
at 6.45 a.m. ∧ Haversacks not to be worn They should have water bottles filled and food for the
day in their pockets. The men will receive instructions there as to
their actions in carrying out the procedure laid down in para 5.
All bodies or wounded taken to the dividing line marked by the
white flag bearers will be laid out in rows and not in heaps and treated
with every respect due to the dead.
Article 4. Rifles taken up are to be carried in stretchers - at the
particular request of the Turkish representative so as to avoid suspicions
that they are to be carried away, which might arise if the men
handled them in the usual way.
Mauser bolts are removable by drawing back the bolt, pushing out
the left charger guide and withdrawing the bolt. Bolts should then
be collected on the stretcher and removed to our lines along with any
L.E. rifles handed back by the Turks, as they are collected.
Care should be taken to send these rifles forward at intervals, and
not all at once.
Articles 5 and 6. Special instructions are being issued on this
point.
Article 7. Care should be taken to repair or complete any defensive
works before 7.50 a.m to-morrow.
Article 8. Any suspected breach of the conditions is to be reported
at once to Headquarters of the Section for transmission to Divisions
and Army Corps Headquarters.
Any report of enemy's action which appears to be contrary to the
conditions of the suspension should be verified before report and a
careful record kept of the hour and circumstances.
In case of an obvious intention on the part of the enemy to attack,
each Commander of a post or section of the defence is responsible for
reporting at once and for taking immediate measures to meet it.
Article 10. More also, though if possible the notice of cessation of
the suspension should be formal, post and Section commanders are responsible
for taking immediate measures to meet it.
Article 11. Special care should be taken, if the bearer parties and
white flag parties have to retire, not to fire at them, or even in
their direction unless the military situation demands it.
Army Corps Headquarters,
23rd. May, 1915.
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