Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/230/1 - February - March 1919 - Part 4

x i.e. "located" CEWB 28.11.46
 

29

Zeki Bey says tt the _^ officers Cemetery in Legge Valley
is put up to _^ some of those who fell at Lone Pine
In aftn went with Balfour to 
Pine Ridge to see the _^ remains of the men whom he had placed x

this mg. w a search party.
We found them in 3 places.

(1) In one gully at / back o / ridge a little
S of where / road crosses it ( 08 Halfway
betw  68H3 & 6)
These were clearly men sheltering.
(2) On a much wider extension just over the 

The tents are 
our camp
C.E.W.B.
9/2/47
 

30

forward crest of the hill - _^ on a length of abt 200 yds from there [[shorthand]].
(3) Two men much further down the gentle
scrub covered slope towds / bottom of
Legge Valley. (These men (1) (2) & (3) in 3 or 4 cases
- / only ones identified, had 6Bn colours
or marks).
Diagram - see original document
Besides these we 
found at abt (4)

some Turkish dead with
one Austln Cap (possibly

one Turk ws wearing it).

(5) about 8 Turks dead around two horses -? gun. There were 

x "It" = The 
cap
C.E.W.B.
9.3.47

31
such crowds of Ts. dead abt there tt it

looked as if they must have bn k. on May 19^th.

Opposite the end of Holly Ridge

was one Austln cap. It ws just outside a
Turkish trench; but it^x had wire in it & wire
meant almost certainly 1^st day; bec. after
/ first few days our men took the wire
out of their caps in order to make them
less obvious.
It is possible that this ws carried
there by Ts; it is _^ more probable tt it belonged to one
of some party like little Plants, wh got very 

32
far ahead in / early hours o / first day.
I crossed to Balkan Gun Pits
to identify their positn. If we have
got them aright, they are / four old gun

positns (or what look like such) wh form the

first important _^ Turkish post S. of our extreme

post on Harris Ridge. 
See sketch made today (AR, rt & left)
In / aftn Balfour searched /
foothills E of Pine R. across Legge Valley, and
found one fired Aust. cartridge on Gun R. abt 1200 yds
from Gaba Tepe. 

33
March 2. Sunday. Not so wet as March 1.
Went out alone to Mortar Ridge. Found what
I take to be gun emplacement (or tunnel), tho' there

are (Rogers says) two larger gun emplacements,

sandbagged, behind them wh are marked on /
Turkish map. Possibly mine were / embrasures
into wh / guns were sometimes run forward.
Marked their positn. (22 AHM).^x A mg. ws
abt 50 yds S. of this also tunnelled, firing

on wire gully. The guns seemed to fire in 

Courtneys when in / tunnels.

The T. front lines here seemed to be 

largely tunnelled.

On / crest o / hill, behind here, there 

Australian Historical Mission, Feb.20 Mar 1919.
Transcription of shorthand notes in diary No. 231, p.104.
For notes see Book 236, p.33.
22. Left gun emplacement Mortar Ridge.Facing Courtney's
Machinegun abt 70 yds S. of it.
?Large  /(?) firing line in gutter down top of Mortar Ridge. 60-200 rounds each.
Men close together. Firing at G.O.T., Courtney's and Johnston's Jolly.
6 dead. Battleship shrapnel.
23. Put in 10 yds west of above on parapet.
This firing line continues on to beyond back of Quinn's.Here smaller ridge
comes in running off base of Mortar R.
Diagram - see original document
24.Kit of Australian farthest down on Mortar R. One clear patch near ?him
25. Aust on Baby 700 (rt of 2nd line)
Diagram - see original document
150 yds NNE of sign *(blue)
Red X near this
26. Shooting from ?here 1st day, on path 200 yds N. of sign.
Cartridges reach from there to W side of cemetery
27. Grave of 1st Bn man front line on Baby 700. Line runs S. from here, near S.
corner of big gun
?Cant. here (uniform)?
28. N. of 2nd Line, Baby 700.
N.Z.maj.near here.
Diagram - see original document
A.H.M.29. Furthest man on seaward slope of Baby 700. Numbers just behind including
N.Z.
A.H.M.30.Furthest man on B'ship Hill.
(Page facing p.95)
Chunuk Bair.
Started early night before Chailak Dere camped there ?and ?started
morning ?of 8
?then
enfilade
Diagram - see original document
Turk attack
Wellington
on right, Auckland on left
Diagram - see original document

Transcription of field notes
re Mortar Ridge & By 700.
33
March 2. Sunday. Not so wet as March 1.
Went out alone to Mortar Ridge. Found what
I take to be gun emplacement (or tunnel), tho' there

are (Rogers says) two larger gun emplacements,

sandbagged, behind them wh are marked on /
Turkish map. Possibly mine were / embrasures
into wh / guns were sometimes run forward.
Marked their positn. (22 AHM).^x A mg. ws
abt 50 yds S. of this also tunnelled, firing

on wire gully. The guns seemed to fire in 

Courtneys when in / tunnels.

The T. front lines here seemed to be 

largely tunnelled.

On / crest o / hill, behind here, there 

34
began a gutter wh ran from there up / hill.
It ws a sandy gutter abt 2ft deep. All along it
/ Turkish _^ infantry had bn firing - their positions were
anything from 1½ to 3 or 4 yds apart; the xxxxx
number of shots fired seem to range from 60
to 200. You cd count them by / clips.
These were firing on our men at Courtneys
& opposite G.O.T. xx; perh. also at Quinns _^ & J Jolly. The
scrub gave them good cover. Six Turks lay dead
together in one place. There were other Ts. dead on this
line. (Put in Peg 23 here) 10 yds W, on parapet.) This firing

35
line reached up to a point beyond the back of Quinns, &
ws evidently / position from wh where our advance
was finally stemmed on the first night.
Diagram - see original document
Here a
ridge comes in
running off the base of Mortar R. As a matter
of fact there were 3 or 4 similar small
ridges running off Mortar R.  Some of these
Diagram - see original document
were of quite
respectable size.

36
It ws not till I got to the head of Mortar R.,
near where the gully behind / Chessboard runs
out, tt I saw a piece of Australian kit (pg 24).
This was on a cleared patch just across / valley
from the head body of Baby 700 near a Trig Station.
Next, abt 150 yds N.E of the trig I found an Austln
dead; & near _^ a red X from a field dressing panier of one of our
early Bns.
A little further N. agn there ws a regular distinct line
of fired cartridges along a little open track in /
scrub - scarcely a track - probly just gravel interstices.