Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/211/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

Coy to Quins & Courtneys.
Smiths Coy, which he then
found there, he ordered to
go in between Denton &
Leane - abt the Bloody Angles.
It ws clear from there to
Courtneys & Quinns were across
a valley, but not Baby 700.
you cd see the gully ran
up to the corner of Walkers
Ridge but it seemed to end
there (of course it really
ran far ahead).
Shortly afterwds Maj Roberts,
2in/C 11 Bn came up & kept
Leane back on Plugges Plateau.
D/B went off to Walkers
Ridge (going into / top of Rest Reserve? Gully (on / seawds
side) up again). As he got on to where
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Walkers Ridge abuts into
Shrapnel valley he met
Lawlers Coy, & Robertsons
Coy. Lawler had laboured
up the steep precipitous
Reserve 2 Gully prriaat
D/B sent Robertsons Coy
along / valley with orders
to work straight up to go for
/ ridge on ./ top of it.
Lalor he sent along / top
of Walkers Ridge direct towds
ANeK (then unknown); &
2 Plus of his own (D/Bs) Coy
up on to Popes, & 2 onto /
/ high ground about Steeles
(on / rt o / valley) to work
round ^to their left. & junction with the
others at / head o / valley.
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These last two (Rockliffe
& Macfarlane) as a matter
of fact stayed out there
& did not junction to /
left. Dentons Coy went
to Quinns as ordered &
Barnes out to Courtneys -
& two plations there  & some
of Denton's under Crowley Croly
got out ahead there to
what ws afterwds German
Officer's Trench. Everett 2 in/c
of DB's Coy was (in /
reorganisation at Plugge's)
put by D/B in charge of
a sort of composite company
with sergts for pln commdrs
- & D/B sent him over
at / same time as he got
orders to Denton to go out
 

in / same directn as Denton.
(ie, to Quinns). Everett
had Lt Selby (a Duntroon boy)
w him – & they went to /
place indicated - the points
were shown to them by pointing
across / gully - & there
all day Everett, from a
positn where he cd see, sent
back / exceedingly accurate
reports wh arrived all day
thro' Denton to 3rd Bde H.Qrs.
Denton ws not himself so far
forward by any means & he
got the D.S.O.
It was from Walker's (aftwds
Russells) that D/B distributed
his company. They had then
discovered tt Monash valley
existed.
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The parties then went off
as ordered - Lalor up Walkers,
Robertson into / valley &
up Popes; Smith into /
Bloody angle (thro Valley.)
Robertson worked over Popes
& joined with Lalor on the
this side slopes of Baby 700.
D/B wa D/B then signalled
back from Walkers to Leane at: Plugge's
Plateau & asked him to send
another platoon - wh Leane
(who got / signal) did. This
pln, under L^t Cook) went with
DB himself thro' / vally &
up over Popes & then
across / slope where they
joined the parties (by this time
they were mixed parties of
all sorts) under Lalor &
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Robertson. Dno
D/B coming up with
Lalor got into a charge -
there were some Turks on
/ hill - Lalor was reorganising
his lot when D/B got to him.
Dtps They cd see the sea from
there & knew there ws no
one there - & were being
fired on from one o / ridges
on / left. D/B realised tt
there ws no one in this
1200 yds betw them & / 
sea. Looking to / right towds
Maidoss cd be seen quite
a number of Turk entrenchments
(possibly on gun Ridge or Lone
Pine). D/B decided to
tell Lalor to stay where he
was & dig in to protect /
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left flank & Lalor agreed
tt this ws / right thing to do.
He started to dig in at once.
D/B then went back
over Popes & came upon
Maj. Kindon & 2 Coys of
1st Bn. He explained /
situatn to them, & asked
him to look after the left
flank. Kindon sd to his
men "Come on boys, the
West Australian Chaps are
in difficulties up here - lets
give them a hand." Kindon
went up to the top of the valley
with his lot -
D/B went up towds
Popes again to rejoin his
own lot on Baby 700. On the
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top of Popes he met some
o / men coming back. The
men sd tt they had gone
on (D/B thought under Lalors
orders but months afterwds
he heard tt it was on Robertsons
orders - tt Lalor didnt want
to go on & Robertson told him
tt he didnt dare not ws his
senior & he wd have to go
on. The men sd tt when they
got on they were overwhelmed
w numbers. There ws a heavy
fire going on there then - it
ws a case of reorganising a
line & D/B placed got / men
to dig in on Popes Hill - &
this ws / original & final line
on Popes. They were dug in
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just on / edge o / crest.
This must have bn abt
11 p am.
From there D/B went
around / positn as far as it
concerned him – ie. to abt
German offrs trench.
There were men all /
way round - he cd see
Smiths people opp. / end of Popes -
then Everetts, (some of D/Bs) then
Denton, then Barnes, then
Rockliff & Macfarlane. On /
rt of them agn ws 10 Bn -
Shaw ws there – & Todd of 10 Bn.
Everetts people were out from /
edge in a trench of potholes
wh they had dug (& this ws abt
50 abt to 80yds in & they had
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a series of potholes back
to / crest. From their positn
they had a good command
down / slope (where Everett
got all / informatn).
Dentons men were on
/ crest. A pln of Dentons
ws out with Barnes on /
crest under Capt Crowley.
(Crowley ws Dentons 2in/c).
Rockliffe & Macfarlane also
were well out beyond /
crest.
D/B had in his
mind after dark to link
up Everett, Barnes,
Rockliffe & Macfarlane
out where they had a good
commanding view. (Barnes
wd be abt by G. officers Trench)
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