Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/232/1 - Folder - Part 3

12.

18/2/19.  Evening.

Went out onto ridge behind our camp to look for

traces of Lontit.  Hughes has had Gun Ridge searched and

found nothing; but has found a few pieces of our kit on

the ridge above (E of) our camp.

I found a piece of kit and one mess tin about 200

yds NE of camp on W slope facing Johnston's Jolly.  I

then crossed the deep Turkish mule sap and worked N to

what I take to be Scrubby Knoll.  A good way before

reaching Scrubby Knoll, on the T slope (which is steep and             

bare) there were positions dug into the sandy hilltop and

Turkish cartridges fired all along the ridge (and in the

scrub on top of it as one went N.  No sign of our men

until I found one puttee - apparently an officer's - at

the break of the hill just N of the deep mule sap (about

200 yds E N of sap).

Sketch J from here.

February 29th. 19th.  Went out with Wilkins, James and Buchanan onto ridge

behind our camp - starting immediately behind camp and

working N.

Just about 200 yds. S. of the big Turk sap I found

an Australian cartridge, not fired, on top of the hill

just on crest.

A little further on we found a number of our

cartridges unfired, opened by Turks, together.  Further -

(?near sap ) - Rogers found a mess tin.

Asked Buchanan to fix this point;  and Wilkins to

photograph from the sap towards Johnston's Jolly and

from Johnston's Jolly looking to sap.

I think the end of the ridge between here and

Johnston's Jolly must have been the "little mount" Lontit

speaks of.  But if so he never saw the straits.

Came in to Chanak to meet Zeki Bey, the officer

February 20th.  AtzChanakz detailed by the Turkish War Office to

meet me.

February 20th.  At Chanak.  Zeki's ship didn't sail.

February 21st.  Zeki Bey arrived - a nice-looking, smart officer from

Constantinople - a staff officer at start of war but

later, when new Bns. were being formed, volunteered for

command of 1st Bn. 57th Division Regt., 19th Division.

Crossed with him to Anzac.  Had a walk to Pine.

(notes of conversation in Field Book).

February 23rd.  Hill 60.  Found the gap in the hedge not where I

expected it but further towards the W hills - in

Nomansland between our eventual line and the Turkish line.

Our attack was surprised coming through there and

swerved to right into the shallow gully and brushwood

which were there or back behind the bank.  Some men held

on and our kit is found about half-way across the paddock

between the gap and the Turkish trench opposite running

from the left of our position in Hill 60 towards the W

Hills.  Our kit was about where I have put the black

dots.  I should say that possibly some brave men went

in direction (1), but many went (2).

(See sketch following page). (13).

Diagram - see original

SKETCH^.H.^2. HILL 60 .GAP IN HEDGE.

TAKEN FROM TOP OF CRATER.ON HILL 60.

Diagram - see original

SKETCH I. FROM TURKISH TR. ATTACKED BY 4^TH BDE E N.Z.M.R.

 

Diagram - see original

SKETCH J.

13.

23/2/19.

xxx  Diagram - see original document

Had a look at 4th Bde_ trenches on right of Hill 60.

There is a burnt patch where the old oak tree was and one

of our men buried right beneath it (6).  At 5, 5, 3 and 4

there are Australians - and at 2 the badge of a N.Z.M.R.

on a cap just outside the trench (with "Haureto" on it).

xxx  Diagram - see original document

I made sketches H², I and J this day.

We then went round Hill 60 by road and off to right

up Asma Dere.  No traces of Australians at all, till we

passed turning of main Asma Dere away to our left behind xxx

big spur shooting out SW from Abdel Rahman B.

From there on for ½ mile there were scattered

traces of our men all the way (i.e.,  behind the ridge

held by Turks looking down on Kaiajikx Aghala).  Here

Zeki Bey had his final position.

In accordance with Cannan's description I looked

for our men or their kit on the left of the Asma Dere

(N of it).  But there was little - a water bottle or two

anda few bits of web kit and some mess tins, a fired

Turkish bullet and one of ours.

But Zeki Bey pointed out a hill immediately left of

the valley opposite (in rear of) his old trenches and

said that the Coy. of M.G.'s which had not fled (all the

rest of the troops had cleared) was on the hill when our

men came towards the Asma Dere.  It was the Coy. of

M.G.'s of the 11th Regt. - they hung on there - and they

had had a great effect in stopping us because they could

fire very calmly, not being themselves under any fire.

It had been credited at the time with having a great

influence on the attack, he said, and was much commented

on.  I think he said there were 8 guns.

If this is so we shall find traces of our repulse

of Aug. 8 on the hill between Kaiajik Aghala and Asma 

Dere.

Returned by Koja Chemen Tepe.  All the O.P.'s of

the Turks on the left were in Abdel Rahman Bair, Zeki

Bey says.

14.

February 24th.  Expedition to Q. Chunuk Bair (which Zeki Bey says

should be pronounced Jonk Bair) and Rhodo Spur.                            

Went out to find traces of Ghurka attack which

reached top on Aug. 9.

Went to crest next to 971 (the next crest S. along

the ridge) and worked back southwards along the top of the

range in extended order.  On the firts first crest we

found nothing.  On the second crest (81 central alittle

north of this on the summit of the hump) we found a few

traces of English kit.  Zeki Bey did not think the

English had got to here, and there was not any obvious

correspondence between the ground and Major Allison's

account to me.  On the next hill (leading up towards its

summit) we found 4 Turkish gun emplacements for direct

fire - right on the edge of the hill.

A little to the north of the crest of Chunuk Bair

we came on many traces of English soldiers, including

bodies.  They must have got onto the left (N) shoulder of

the top of the hill which is open to Q and 971.  On the

top of the hill, a little to the right side of it (S. side

of it) were numerous traces of New Zealanders.  Some were

buried on the crest.  There was a cemetery of them just

below the road on the Turkish side of the hill.  All the

bones in the first three rows had been dug up andwere 

lying on the surface.  There were many other graves

below (rows of them) untouched - those dug up by the

villagers or whoever it was contained our men and Turks,

both.

On the right (S.) side of Chunuk Bair - on the crest -

were first N.Z. - and a little further S. (perhaps 50 yds.

from where the N.Z. line may have ended) I found the

helmet and shoulder strap of a man of the Glosters who was

buried there.  On our side of this there was a small

natural bank in which our men at one time had sheltered.

xxx  Diagram - see original

The Turks were clearly there afterwards and probably

bombed at our people from there (H).  Lower down the hill

were a set of miserable riflepits with British soldiers'

kits in them (DE).

The Turks have since built (or deepened) a road down

the spur . To the north of this they have flattened out

a triangle of ground in front of a M.G. emplacement.  Just

N of this in the scrub immediately behind the south end

of the summit is a little trench about 10 yards long

which was probably Malone's H.Q.  Below it is the broad

trench or sunken road built round the fore side of Chunuk

Bair-

xxx  (SEE SKETCH NEXT PAGE).

15.

24/2/19.

xxx  Diagram - see original document

I got Wilkins to photo the remains of some very old

shallow grass-covered digging (B) as Malone's trench; but

I think a deeper trench (A) below it was probably the one.

(LATER. - Bigg Wether, when he came here with us

later, told me that Malone's trench was not there but at K.

The right of the position occupied by us on the crest

iss immediately in front of Sazli Beit Dere, and it was

wasy to see how the British there fled back into it.

xxx  Diagram - see original document

A great part of the kit which we discovered all the way

back down the spur and in the valleys to the N of the

Spur and in the valleys to the N of the spur is British

soldiers' kit dropped in the retreat and many of the

skulls lying there must have been theirs.  The crevices

and gullies on the N slope of thespur for a long way down

contained numbers of dead and kit.  The skulls and bones

of dead lay in 3s, 6s (and even 10 or 12 in one place)

at a time.  These were largely Turks killed on Aug. 10.

On the space between the Apex and Pinnacle there

were lots of bones and kit lying - probably traces of

Auckland's charge there on Aug. 7.

From Table Top I made sketches K & L.

From memory at night M & N.

Buchanan marked positions of kit found on Chunuk Bair

The Turks had a Divisional H.Q. just behind the

south shoulder of Chunuk Bair, at X.  There is a second

distinct crest on the Turkish side of summit (Y), about

(?) 200 yards from the western crest line (I didn't

measure it).

xxx  Diagram - see original document

Diagram - see original                     

SKETCH K. LOOKING N.N.E. FROM BIG TABLE TOP.

Diagram - see original

SKETCH^.L  SOUTH FROM TABLE TOP.

Diagram - see original

SKETCH M.

 

Diagram - see original

SKETCH N. 

NOTES OF APEX FROM MEMORY

FEB 24TH 1919.

16.

February January. 24th.  German Officer's trench; Courtney's; Quinn's;

(Monday). Dead Man's Ridge.  Party: Wilkins, Buchanan, Self with

Zeki Bey, James and Norrie with mule.

Went up Wire Gully and then half-right onto G.O.T.

Here Zeki Bey found the crater, at once, where Greig was

killed.
He said there were 21 explosions at G.O.T. before he

left there.  The big explosion was about the centre,

where Greig was killed.  He (Zeki) knew we were sapping

towards them and so held the front line lightly.  (Before

then we had sapped out and mined the N of his trench so

badly that the earth was friable there.  They had to use

mud bricks to make the trench wall stand up.  Wilkins

took a photo showing this).  Our bombs made this corner

so dangerous, also, that the M.G. could not be placed near

the corner - it was lower down, in the second line, behind

an island (same photo shows this position).  Later this

gun position (which fired only on Quinn's) became so

dangerous owing to our fire that they put another gun on

the far (S) side of the G.O.T. system to fire over at

Quinn's.  About this time a 3rd gun of 125th Regt. (see

Sketch 2, F.B. II.) was put into the S side of G.O.T. to

fire across Johnston's Jolly (Kermezi Sirt), but this was

not under Zeki Bey's orders but under those of 125th Regt.

whose zone was separated from Zeki's (1st Bn. 57th Regt.)

by Wire Gully - the dividing line was the bottom of the

gully.  The 57th put tired troops or a few troops on the

Wire Gully side (the slope:

xxx  Diagram - see original document

The 125th Regt. Commander's side was coming up to

the G.O.T. one day for a reconnaissance and wanted to look

over from the M.G. position on the N side of the trenches.

We had the gun awfully well marked by then and it seldom 

fired.  The sergt. with the gun told him not to look

over.  He insisted on doing so and was hit through the

middle of the forehead and killed.

So much for the NE corner of the G.O.T.

We were heard mining near the centre (the 1st and 2nd

Turkish lines are very close here - 2 or 3 yds. between xxx

them - but possibly the 2nd was made later).  Anyway -

Zeki Bey kept the trench lightly garrisoned.  There were

15 men, only, in the post; and 5 of these men were not

seen again.  A great crater was formed (this was about

2 weeks before the fight).  All the C.T.'s were filled

with dust and all the men were low in their shelters.

The front of part of the trench was completely blown in

away.  It was filled up with wire later (grille).  (At

a much later date it was built up again with earth from

the rear and thus a new parapet made).  If we had

attacked after the explosion, Zeki Bey says, they would

probably have lost the trench.

Seki Bey set about exploding this crater.  There

was a lot of stones in it and after pulling these away he

came across 2 wires (see his sketch (I) in F.B. II.)

leading back straight towards our lines.  He found that

they entered a number of sandbags piled to the roof of a

tunnel the mouth of which was closed by them.  He and a

soldier with him took away the bags one by one.  As they

did so some noise the other side made them think that a

sentry with a bayonet was there.  They took away bags

until they had made a crevice and could see through.  By

then no one was in the tunnel - a tunnel led away from

them.