Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/233/1 - 1919 - 1920 - Part 6

48
※ This attack ws at most places late.
Some parts attacked at / proper hour.
The 3rd Bn,, 57 Regt wh ws opp the rt
of Popes, had recd 6 young offrs 1 day
before - just arrd in Evg. They knew
there ws to be an attack but nothing
else. 5 of them that day lay dead
on the parapoit on their own
parapet -^jumping up in order to given an
example to / soldiers.
10,000 men were k. or w.
in this attack.
57 Rgt ws then comnd by
Major Ahani Bey who later ws
k. on the day of Bairam by a shell
behind Edina Sort (Mortar R.)
Diagram - see original document
The 5^th Divn attacking agst us from
G.O.T. lost heaviest. The space ws
Diagram - see original document
very small & /  troops
squeezed into
a narrow space.
One reason of the T. [[ste?]] was
that they were not under / fire
146

49
x Certainly a mistake
for NW.
C.EW.B 11/5/47 

something soon - you will see.
A few days later a soldier who
ws a sentry at L NE^x corner of
the G.O.T. came running to him
saying: There has been an earthquake.
There was a shaking of / earth and
little bits of dust rose from / ground
like rain drop splashes - 
Nothing else had happened.
Z/B went to / tunnel. Our
mining had evidently been deeper
& we had exploded it on hearing /
Turks, but it had not succeeded.
A few days later the T. gallery
ws blown in by us.
19^th May. The divisions which
made the attack were
from N to S:-
145

had come to G.0.T. & / legs
of one had tumbled into it.
Abt / time when Zeki Bey
returned from hospital the
Turks had exploded a mine; &
they had heard thro their spies
in Egypt tt we were making
mines everywhere. An order had
therefore bn sent out tt mines
were to be laid made everywhere
- before then it had bn an individual
matter for individual commanders.
A few days b When Z/B returned he
found tt a tunnel had bn dug into
/ hill N. of Merkez Tepe (G.O.T). a
few metres away. He asked how
much had bn done. They sd: A
few metres 2 or 3 only. He sd: What is
the use of that - they will happen
 

& he sd we were 3
metres away? The Ts must
dig & blow at once.
At first they sd we will
blow in /. gallery. But tt
ws impossible. So they
just destroyed the end o /
gallery & kept 3 men in their
crater. We had a man
Diagram - see original document
inside our crater
(This isnt quite
right) - neither cd shoot /
other tho their centre sentry
ws shot. They tried to
rush our post one night
but their men (one at any
rate) ws woundd on / brim
of it- & / attack failed.
[There ws a report tt
some of our men in
may
143

Later on
In G.O.T we made a crater
close to their parapet - where
Greig ws K.
There ws a barricade there.
Diagram - see original document
The T's withdrew
the bags from this 
barricade at 
Zeki Bey's order 
& Zeki Bey put
a man thro. This man reported
to there ws an opening to / left.
He went down it & saw a light
flickering. Someone fired up
/ shaft & a revolver bullet
hit the end o / Gallery where
Zeke Bey ws. He picked it
up & sent it to Enver.
By this time we were coming
at them by another underground
sap. A German expect ws brought
142

The 18^th Regt attacked at
dawn; 1½ Bns simply
disappeared into / blue & left
the trenches empty. They reported
tt they were in our trenches & had 2
of our m.gs. They The few who got back sd tt we
had trap doors & tt they fell
into them amongst our men
(or those who watched):
Things were very anxious as, if
we had attacked we shd have
found no one in the trenches
opposite.  Kersal brought his
H.Q. up close & another
regt or division (reserves) were
rushed into / trenches.
Enver told the regt that, tho it hadnt
succeeded, it had occupied / attention o / English
for two at a critical time. 
When later we attacked at the Nek the
18^th Regt considered tt it ws satisfied - it had
its own back.
141

Th reinfct Bn wh as at Lone
Pine or T.Jolly ws ordered ^at once to
attack at once & reestablish 
the positn; but there ws
no attack on them & / c/attack
wsnt made.
At this moment Zeki Bey
w his Bn at G.O.T heard
tt there as an attack by the 18^th Bn
at dawn, & ws ordered to
attack with B his 3rd? Bn wh
ws. stop at GO.T or Quinns.
But the trenches were covered.
& / cover cdnt be removed. The
moment they pushed up / beam
to remove it a man began to
get out  he wd be killed
one shot - & the attack
didnt happen
140

came up from Divn to
Zeki - What is happening?
He didn't know if a mine had
gone up or what. He sd:
"I can only tell you that I
"see nothing but dust & I hear
"a noise."
Then some young nervous
offr sent in a report. "The
English are advancing by bounds!"
Zeki knew this ws wrong - &
tt our men had been were
ready to fire their rifles
at their loopholes.
He was pressed for
a report & sd: "I can only
send on / report I have
received: 'the English are
advancing by bounds"
139
 

On that day 19^th Division ws
on right as far as Quinns;
Quinns to J Jolly ^exclusive 5^th Divn;
From J. Jolly inclusive 2nd Divn;
Lone Pine 16^th Divn; 77^th
Regt. on left (extreme)
The daylight ws late early
tt day. But / order came tt
/ attack ws to be made all
/ same. 10,000 men were lost
in tt attack.
The flags were probably
the medical flags.
On the 29th June there ws
a wild night. We had fired
flares or something & there
was a fire & the Ts were
nervy. Then up came the
thunderstorm & our men &
theirs both fired. A message
138

Jessanet Tape ^secretly - but this
tunnel wasn't ready, and
they terefore hadnt / benefit
of it.
That night Enver Pasha
ws at Kemals H.Q.^x
(the 18^th Regt. ws attached to
19^th Divn.) Enver didnt
order this attach. On the 
contrary when / report came
tt 2 of our mgs had bn taken,
& they didnt arrive, he wanted
to see them.
The Anzac Front which 
now divived into
On the 19 May Essad
Pusha divided the front betwen
the 3 Divns - & they were
commanded by him directly.
[[* x But
see 
p.
153;
This 
page
(137)
was
written
by me
from
memory
but 
p 153
was
written
at 
night
with
Zeki
Beys
assistce.
wi
my
questions.
C.EW.B.
12/3/47*]]