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 4TH 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.
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