Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/232/1 - Folder - Part 4

17.
24/2/19. Zeki Bey wondered what to do. At first he thought:
I'll blow this in! So he had 6 or 7 sticks of
explosive brought - but it was the sort of explosive that
is used in blowing up railways and this had failed
before; so he decided not to blow the place. He went
with a man and they got thebags away and he told the man
to go through. The man did so. There was a tunnel
leading about 10 ft. ahead of them and then blocked. But
at this point it turned off to the left. Zeki Bey told
the man to go along it. He did so and a Sergt. with him.
Zeki Bey at the corner. There were steps leading down
to a deeper tunnel. At the bottom a light could be seen
flickering and someone was there. Then someone from
below fired a revolver shot which hit against the wall
at the end of the gallery where the turn in the gallery
was. (Zeki Bey got this bullet and sent it to Kemal and
Essad as the first shot fired in underground warfare here).
The man came running back trembling! There was some
shooting on both sides wih rifles.
Zeki Bey accordingly had a parapet made and the hole
tamped up a little above the elbow:
xxx Diagram - see original document
He put a sentry behind this. Another sentry was put in
front of the opening of the tunnel into the crater and
another immediately on his right. A corporal had charge
of the three. Zeki Bey gave the front sentry his
revolver.
Later, voices were heard behind our (Australian)
sentry. Zeki Bey said: The Australians are certainly
doing something - not sitting down waiting. He guessed
they were mining against him, so he got a German expert
sent up and this man said (listening with Zeki Bey in the
crater (to the south of the tunnel mouth): "Digging is
going on 2 or 3 metres from here"
They wondered what to do. Measures ought to be
taken at once - but they had begun mining after we had
and they knew that the moment they started counter
measures we should blow. They didn't start.
A few days later there was an explostion. Zeki Bey,
who was in the trenches, was blown down. He ran along
and found that our people had exploded a mine. The
advanced sentry was not found at all. The sentry at the
mouth of the tunnel had been blown back over the parados
of G.O.T. and killed.  The sentry on the right (N) of
the tunnel mouth was killed. The tunnel was all right
from A to K; but the bend of it had been blown in and a
new crater (B) been made.
Zeki Bey said: The Australians won't rest quiet.
They cleared away the stones from the fallen elbow again,
so as to look through a crevice in the stone. Zeki Bey
himself looked through; and there was a soldier, an
Australian (at V) crouching on one knee against the
forward edge of the crater with his rifle on his knee
brushing the earth off it quietly and looking intently
towards him. Perhaps he had heard something. Zeki Bey
(whose revolver had been lost in the previous blow - with
the buried sentinel ) ran for his revolver "I can
shoot that man" he thought. Then he reflected: "What's
the use. This evening we will wait and get this man"
So about midnight he intended to send over a few
soldiers from the old crater suddenly and capture the man,
 

18.
24/2/19.
The first man, however, who jumped out of the big crater
at P (just S of the old tunnel), immediately they jumped
out (2 or 3 of them) was shot and badly wounded. The
others ducked back crouching in their crater and hit
there.
Later the sentry told Zeki Bey that the hole where
the sentry was had been shot and a wire entanglement put
in the crater.
A few days later these sentries must have been talking
xxxxxxx (couldn't keep quiet) and a bomb was thrown at
them from our wire and a sentry slightly injured.
(German Officer's trench is Merkez Tepe - centre
trench).
Things remained like this. Then one day about xxxxxx
noon some projectile fell on both flanks of G.O.T. -
not front line but about 2nd line. The soldiers got
down and didn't look over. Kemal Pasha noticed this and
complained to Zeki Bey, who held an inquiry and found that
some had been wounded by the shells.
At the end of some minutes Zeki Bey, who had sent a
messenger to find if there were anything important, got
the answer. The O.C. of 2nd Coy, who was at the right (N)
end of the trenches and was not a very plucky man, brought
back word that there was nothing in the trenches. Just
then the chief of Essad Pasha's staff got on the phone
direct to Zeki Bey and said: "Zeki Bey, the enemy is
getting into your trenches. What are you going to do?"
(The H.Q of Essad was just N of Scrubby Knoll (Kemal Yere)
on the reverse slope - near some guns - a mountain battery
which was ordered on Lone Pine day at once to fire on N.Z.
[*nomansland*]
Zeki Bey came straight up himself and as soon as he
got into the second trench he found that bombs were being
thrown by his men over into the crater. He came straight
on to the front line himself to see what was doing - to
he point where the grille of wirenetting was. At the 
same time the Lieut, on the left of the front G.O.T. (the
Lieut, of the Coy, on the left, a brave young chap), who
had saved the situation by getting his men at once to
fire down their own front line from the S. end of it
caught his arm and said: "It is dangerous there - they
have been exchanging shots". At the grille several
soldiers on both sides were lying dead. One of our men
had laid his rifle and bayonet up against the wire. Our
men were apparently getting away. A well-dressed young
officer - a very fine, handsome man - was in the crater
and had retreated into the tunnel mouth. Zeki Bey sang
out - "Don't kill this man - we want to take him!" The
men said - He will not allow himself to be taken"
There was the officer, revolver in hand, against the earth
at the far end of the crater by the tunnel. Then he
dropped. He had been hit with a bomb and both legs
broken. Zeki Bey later found that the officercouldn't
have got back through the tunnel - it wasn't open.
The Turks afterwards were not agreed as to where we
attacked from. Some said: "Out of the trenches"; others
"Out of the mouth of the tunnel", 6 or 7 men were dead
one was found later in the next mine further N. 12 or 15
rifles were found. Greig had a little revolver.-
probably automatic
Immediately after this there was great quietude in
the Australian trenches - no bombs. A number of
officers and men were with Zeki Bey in the Turkish trench
at the grille. There were none of our men prisoners -
all were dead. Probably our men thought their men had
been captured. Our men in our lines were said to have
been noticed with  bayonets fixed at this time or earlier
when the attack was made.
 

19.
24/2/19.
The attack did a lot to buck up the Turks. They had
been getting very anxious for some time; they didn't know
what we meant to do - all our M.G.'s seemed to be beginning
to point towards G.O.T. (probably expecting an attack), and
Zeki Bey expected an attack there. But now they were able
to point to this attack and say that the English had made
an attempt and had failed! And it had a considerable
influence.
At the feast of El Bairam (when we expected an attack)
they were rather anxious, because time was spent in visiting
when they ought to have been working. Zeki Bey went to
call on the C.0. of his (57th) Regt. The C.O. told him
that he had heard from home - his children were asking how
long this war would last and whether father would be with
them for the feast (as he had been the year before), and
all saying how dreary it was. Within two hours the old
chap lay dead - killed by a shell of one of our howitzers.
(Our 6-in. howitzers shot very well indeed - possibly they
weren't there yet.)
When the old Turkish howitzer fired from the N near
971 the Turks in G.O.T. noticed that our men kept low
and didn't fire, and they themselves were able to look over
the parapet and move about.
It was one of these shells falling into our advanced
underground firing line at C.O.T. which told the Turk
that we were digging the line. They saw the shell go in
and later the earth being shovelled out from below - so
they knew it.
A Turkish sentry in front line of G.O.T. had his
head taken clean off by the driving band of our tiny gun
on Russell's Top.
On the S side of the valley N of G.O.T. there was a
tent. Zeki Bey had the idea of digging a trench under
it - but gave up the idea and had the tent moved. It
was full of bullet holes.
The hut and path of stones was on the N side of xxxx
this valley (see sketch 3. F.B. II)
125th Regt, was at Kermezi Sirt (Johnston's Jolly)
during Lone Pine attack.
Zeki Bey noticed near the S top of Wire Gully some
digging which was hidden with sandbags. He was puzzled
with this. (No doubt it was our gun which fired on the
Mortar Ridge guns). They had just the same story about
their 2 guns on Mortar Ridge. (Edina Sirt),They had
similar tunnels for these but the moment the gun fired it
was put out by a direct hit from us. Still they were
good at smashing up our new work for a long time - Zeki
Bey often saw them tear into our bags. In the end only
one gun was there, the other having been hit by us, or
damaged.
At the head of the Bloody Angle was a M.G. in a
similar opening down the valley side which did a lot of
sniping till we got onto it with a gun. It was some 12
or 15 feet below the top of the hill.
xxx Diagram - see original document
 

20.
24/2/19.
QUINN'S.
At one time the Turks thought of giving up Quinn's
because they lost so many men there through bombs. They
had to keep their trenches xxxx crowded - they knew this
their men were ignorant and could not fight singly, and
always tended to fire straight ahead. They debated
giving it up and going back to Mortar xxxxx Ridge. But
they decided against it as, if they held to it, they
might be able with artillery (if it arrived) to beat us
back.
Our Japanese bombs were called Black Cats. One day
one burst over some reserves assembled (it burst in the
air over the men's heads) in a valley behind G.O.T., and
killed or wounded 80 men! Later they found that if you
had good head cover these bombs were not dangerous.
But at Lone Pine the head cover burst our shells
and they did terrible harm.
The Turks called these Japanese bombs "Black Cats"!
A few inches of log cover would render you safe against
them. Johnston's Jolly was the worst place for them
(though generally the most comfortable trenches). If
you looked out you could hear the "Black Cat" before
they fell - you could hear the small report of the gun
and then see the bomb. That was why cover was put on
the trenches. The wood was mainly from Constantinople.
At Quinn's we found the trenches as follows:-
xxx Diagram - see original document
From the old Turkish trenchs filled in in May to
our nearest trench behind the four craters was about
20 yards.
Other old trenches in nomansland were so filled
in that one could not tell which was trench and which
not.
Our bullets and shattered kit everywhere. We
picked up the lead found in one square yard of Turkish
parapet nearer the head of the Bloody Angle for
Australian War Museum.
The Turks had many more lines than we had. They
had about 30 yards (I should say) of hill top - we had
about 8. These figures are memory only. The main
Turkish communication was up the hill from direction of
Wire Gully - up the shoulder; but there were other
approaches from the deep valley behind, which goes right
up behind the Chessboard.
Traces of our men were found as far as the head of
the Bloody Angle and a little to the left of it; then
other traces on the top of Deadman's Ridge behind the
main Turkish trench (possibly first day). The three
trenches on the slope of Deadman's Ridge are one above
the other, very steeply, and the C.T.'s had been
tunnelled because the Turks could not have gone down an
 

21.
24/2/19.
open trench. The tunnels were straight.
At the head of Bloody Angle and a little way down the
gully was a M.G. emplacement with a tunnelled opening
in a white niche (prepared) and a white parapet on a small
platform.
xxx Diagram - see original document
At the top of the Waterfall Valley on the left-hand
(NW) side of it we found traces of the N.Zealanders
buried and small scoops in the NE slope also -
xxx Diagram - see original document
and near the edge towards Monash Gully (where the second
crevice N of Pope's runs up the hillside) a N.Z. cemetery
and a sun helmet like those worn by the British of
Kitchener's army in August. This is almost certainly
where N.Z. tacked on to. the left flank of 13th Bn. on
May 2/3; and possibly where the Kitchener's army
(? R.W. Fusiliers) got to who were sent up on Aug. 7.
Back by Shrapnel Gully and White's Valley.
February 26th.
Tuesday
[*Lone Pine*]
Same party (with Sergt. Rogers also) to Lone Pine.
Read Pain's account of fighting on right and then
went to left (as we could not check right-hand trenches
(S side), and started from the edge of Owen's Gully where
the trenches are certain. Buchanan found that his map
was pretty accurate (the 1/1800 trench map. My map of
Lone Pine trenches from survey was very much out - indeed
almost impossible to follow - quite worthless to work by
except that it had the trench signs on it, R3, R5, and
so on).
On following round we were able to place exactly
the trenches mentioned by Paine. Trench O is just S of
the Monument and this and the trench (on Paine's plan)
next S of it, both run into the valley leading out of
Owen's Gully. The third trench XY also runs round
towards same gully, but probably was imagined by Paine
to lead round to the right up the southern lobe of the
hill.
Zeki Bey, standing on the edge of the hollow,
showed us where his men counterattacked.
He said that when he was hurried into the trenches
he came up by Owen's Gully and then up the spoon-shaped
hollow on the S side of the Gully.
 

22.
26/2/19.
xxx Diagram - see original document
There was a Bn. H.Q. in behind a shoulder of the valley at
1. Lying there, just outside the Bn. H.Q., were three
dead Australians. There were men in the C.T.'s (Turks)
and our men were rolling bombs down on them from 2.
The only place for reinforcements was in this gully and yet
the Turks about 3 were getting it from our bombs. The
periscopes of our men were visible at 4. His men
asmed him - "Aren't those our men?" "Of course not" he
said. "Can't you see - we haven't those things
(periscopes). He went first to 6 and said: "Why can't
you attack over here?" They said - "But can't you see -
there are all those men lying on the top there who tried
to make an attack over the top there! They were caught
by fire the moment they got over.  You can't go there!'
He looked and there was a complete line of dead
along the top.
Then he said: "Well, you can attack on the left -
it is clear that is the way - by the sap leading round
to the left (4)."
They said -  xxxx "But how can we do that? The
same fire that got our men on the top can get them there."
He said: "well, we will put men where we can to
try and keep down this fire."
So (the second day) he put men shooting from 7, 8 &
9 (it was the fire from Johnston's Jolly he thinks that
held us up the first day); and then by arrangement with
theregt, on the left (? number) he put in a party of men
to dig a sap connecting 5 with 10 (which was not
connected, so that the Bn, could be put in there). The
authorities arranged this (it was their suggestion that
he should work with the troops on the left). "If you
dig from this side we'll order them to dig from that
side."
He ordered his working party in to begin the sap
(this was on the second day). The moment they got into
it with their picks they were fired on from the direction
of Johnston's Jolly by a small gun (clearly from
Russell's Top). It got fair in amongst them - 2 or 3
men were wounded more or less badly, and the rest came
tumbling back and got under the bank near L 1. Our
people had put up two red and yellow flags on the
trenches they had reached (to Zeki Bey it looked as if
these trenches were right on the edge of his gully -
really that was grass and they were 15 yards (I estimate)
back. These flags had given our guns the position.
The men were not demoralised but bewildered. Zeki
Bey went amongst them under the bank and decided on
another method. The riflemen were put (as before) to
fire and keep down our men's heads: under this a party
was to start from 3 or 11 and rush at all costs into
the position held by us at the head of the C.T.'s there.
As many bombs as possible were to be thrown in - and
then the rush made.
They tried this. A fine young officer led his men
over after a shower of bombs, etc. But the moment they
appeared over the top of their shelter they were swept
down by M.G. fire and riflemen (probably Brown's M.G.'s)
 

23.
26/2/19.
The fell back dead and wounded. The position looked
very hopeless.
In the meantime the O.C. 47th Regt, had come in for
a lot of blame. When first the trenches were taken he
reported that his men had regained them - and they had
certainly got back into the line running round the N
edge of Owen's Gully and up into the left front of our
line - a C.T.
xxx Diagram - see original document
He reported back to Division that he didn't know why
Zeki Bey's men couldn't get on - his men were in the
front line. Zeki said: What do you mean? How can your
men be there when we see the English here?" This
officer (Major Tefik Bey) had lost most of 2 Battns. and
was heavily blamed. He became indignant at last with the
things that were being said, and said . "Well, I'll take
them myself, and we'll do something whatever it costs"
On the 2nd night or 3rd morning he led his men up near by
the little sap (marked P - V in Paine's plan), and there
he was killed by a bomb, quite close to where Col. Scobie
was killed. His tomb is there to-day.
The 3rd day (Zeki Bey thinks it was the 3rd) an
attack was made from the direction of XY or the trench
between it and 0 (i.e., by the Turkish left front (12 on
contoured plan). Our men had either retired or had been
shot; and this corner had been easily xxxx regained.
(Possibly our people had already retired owing to the fire
from Johnston's Jolly).
(In the trenches leading from our eventual front
towards this point there has been since very heavy fighting;
our trenches end in an underground sap with a hole
covered with a bomb screen.  In front of this is a bit of
an old trench pretty well square; then a fair-sized crater;
on one edge of this were about 20 Turkish pinfire revolver
cartridges. Beyond was a Turkish bomb shelter, the posts
still remaining. From there the broad trench led down
into the Turkish lines.)
I fancy that to the N of this bomb-stop of ours was
the broad trench (Barber's trench) into which we got by
means of the Turkish tunnels.
Just outside the bend of our trench on the right
front (SE) was a second trench (Turkish), which came to
within 3½ to 4 yards of ours. Wilkins photographed this.
The tomb of Tefik Bey was at T.
xxx Diagram - see original document
Scobie must have been killed about X.
The view from the extreme right of Lone Pine seemed
to look fair into the front. of Leane's trench.
A deep shaft near the right of Lone Pine seemed to be
100-120 feet deep
 

23a
Diagram - see original document
SKETCH A.A Cooee Gully from the break
of the Valley - Looking towards Lone Pine.

Diagram - see original document
SKETCH A.B Silt Spur - Our forward line (subterranean)
looking towards Gun Ridge

23b
Diagram - see original document
SKETCH AB2
SKETCH A-C End of Silt Spur (Black Hand)
from Holly Ridge (Looking North)

23c
Diagram - see original document
SKETCH A-D Junction of Snipers Ridge - Knife Edge
from our trenches 200 yds? N. of Leanes Tr.
SKETCH A-E Valley on opposite side of which
Tasmania Post was built.