Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/23/1 - December 1915 - Part 2

If many casualties all them will remain
 

On last 2 days only Med units will be
No 1 Australian casualty collecting station  78 (7 officers)

No 13 casualty collecting station 74.
could treat  1200 patients
Tents and dressing situations left in many places
Maj Campbell AAMC. O.C. No 1 Aust casualty collecting station will be serv medical officer Few AAMC & NZ MC & Ind.
Remainders will remain with the balance and embark if possible. No 1 casualty clearing station and 13 casualty clearing station be ready to embark but only in ridge stretchers there are rather great numbers .
SMO will have necessary applied over planning [[?]] to the enemy to bring wounded to the stations medical officer serving branch has been detailed with each unit
 

2nd Night.  A Party.  5.20   B Parties.  12 to 12.20.
abt 10 000 ux

Hand drawn diagram, see original document

Leaving At Piers
1st night                                                              Leave or
                                                                                    RV.
             7pm     1200 1^st Aust; Watsons              5.20
5.20                   2000 2 Div. Base, N Beach.      dusk
             8.          800 NZ&A. N Beach
7.15       8-11      2 Aust. Watsons (12 cutters)      7.15.
----------------------------------------------------
             12.        1200 1 Aust. Watsons

                         2000 NZ&A (inc 250 No 4) N Beach

----------------------------------------------------
            1.30      800 NZ&A   N Beach.
3.15     4.30     1200 2 Aust Watsons.                   3.15

2nd night  
Rv.      7pm.     1200 1st Div. Watsons.                           )

5.20                ( 1000 2nd Div )                                        )

by dusk         ( 1000 NZ&A     )  Williams N Beach     ) A
            8 pm    800 (500 No 4 )                                       )
                                   (300 NZ&A ) Williams N Beach )
10.15pm   12 pm (600 1st Div   )  Watsons          )
                              (600 2nd Div)                             )

                              (600 No.4)                                   )  B

                           (1100 NZ&A) Williams N Beach )

                              300 Base)                                    )
12-12.20     2a.m.   800 2 Div.   Watsons
2.30.           3a.m.   120 - Brighton Beach )
                               240 - Asmak Dere      ) C
3.15             4.30   2000 (480 1st, 600 NZA, 600 2nd, ? No.4) N Beach 
Williams
 

Australian &
Dec. 17^th. The medical
arrangements for the ^Mediterranean our evacuation
[* [[?]]*] expedition have bn
inconceivably bad.
Up till 6.30 today
Col. Howse, DDMS of this
Army Corps, had recd no
orders of any sort from his
chief of the Dardanelles
Army or of the M.E.F. In
absence of instructions he had
long before made his
arrangements - had bn
sending away medical
units for over a week
& had got away £20.000
worth of stores & left only
 

2 Casualty clearing stns with
accommodation for 1200
at the most & a good supply of
food & comforts -  The other medical
units except ^those with a few in the battalion
(i.e. all ambulances) have bn
got away as non-essential
troops w ^most of the Engineers etc.
The final arrangements
having bn already made &
finished & orders issued, there
arrives today (the original day
of completion) an order from
Surg. Gen Bedford, D.M.S.,
telling Howse tt he is
to make suitable arrangements
on the follg lines.
Sites to be chosen for
casualty clearing stations out
 

of the line of fire between our
troops & the enemy (as if we
cd tell where this ws - or
cd let the enemy see us making
these arrangements if we did).
(2) wounded to be embarked
from a special pier ^apart different
from all the other piers & no one
else to be embarked from it.
(Such a pier doesnt Exist
& all the piers are wanted. Howse
wont let the hospital lighter
come alongside after 4pm
on either day at all - 
& after then no wounded
are to be taken to hosp. ships
but if they are taken must
be taken on ^the special boats
w the other troops straight to the
 

transports.)
Special medical officers or
special pinnaces to superintend
the evacuation of wounded
afloat & see tt they go to the
right hosp ships-
[Whereas we are endeavouring
by every means we can
think of to give the Turks the idea
tt everything is normal
disembarcatn of stores &
troops from transports &
tt no evacuatn is going on
at all].
DMS says he is going to try & get
hospital ships & carriers
off the place Anzac - but
is afraid they cant reach there
 

x In this I think I
was wrong. It was
hastened by a day
C.E.W.B.
16.6.24
 

before the 22nd or 28th!!
[The evacuation ws originally
to have bn finished tonight
[*x*] Dec. 17/18 but has bn postponed
till tomorrow & next night
Dec. 18/19 & 19/20. However,
in case the D.M.S. may
get his hosp. ships here
before then, a wire has bn
sent say tt wounded are
not to be evacuated on hosp.
ships at all, & praying
him not to send them. ^However Its a
mercy he didn't know of the
evacuation date or otherwise
we shd have had a dozen
hosp ships turning up &
 

anchoring in a fleet off
Anzac. ^and putting the whole secret away. What on earth do
they think we are doing?

____
A German Taube ws over
Suvla today & came across
towards Anzac - passed
over at a fair height &
went inland. I think
she might have come
back again if she hadnt
bn shelled. Our anti aircraft
gun fired 8 of its remaing
16 shells at her.
Beachy has bn getting
a little better in his aim
for the North Beach & got one into
 

ordnance, one into the
sap, & some not far from
the pier. A new Krupp 4in
gun is shelling North Beach
from over Walkers Top.
Abt 200 men go off
tonight. Ross, Maj Anderson,
Col. Johnson & myself go off
to the Grafton (Blister Cruiser)
at 10 am. tomorrow.
Johnston & Anderson will
be advising the gunnery officer
on the Grafton.
I took some final
photos today & made some
final calls on 2 LH Bde,
& Cass (4 Bn). Cass had a
 

"Smoking fatigue" on. A party
of men were detailed to smoke
& lounge abt Artillery Road
corner where Gaba Tepe can
see it - & to carry water
like stage soldiers round the
roman road & then thro' a
sap & back again. It is the
most extraordinary fatigue
we have had at Anzac.
Brad. K. Tepe saw them
alright for Beachy began
shelling & put in 3 shells
right onto the ^road place where
they were - there were the
marks on the road. The
smoking fatigue retired
 

but presently came out again
& manfully smoked like heroes.
- & Beachy started again.
The A little further on I
found the Light Horse WWW
playing cricket on Shell Green
(maj. Onslow batting) while
the shells were flying far overhead.
I got a picture of the Padre Dexter
sowing wattles in the cemeteries,
of the broken up 4.7 naval
gun (sd to be one of those at
Ladysmith - [T. 715- 1906].)
Gen Holmes let me read his orders;
to the 2nd Divn. When I got back
White gave me a copy of his
operation order - not to be
shown to anyone else - I had