Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/234/1 - 1919 - Part 3

rumours of evacuation were

ordered (1) to undertake all

sorts of work for winter -

(2) to prepare (under

orders from Germany) for a very

strong attack. Some preparatns

were made in / back area

& orders were gn to study /

best points & make plans.

As to (1) the trenches were drained

by a gutter inside or out -

(In / rain men were drowned).

Dugouts were made deeper &

stronger. Fires weren’t genly

allowed as camouflage ws of

dry brushwood, (food - meat &

beans, mainly beans on T. Side)

The decision ^where to attack wasn’t

known; even the ammo wh

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came, came labelled so

tt only those who had to

deal w it cd read the

cipher & know what it ws.

The attack wd not have bn

made imd. - not before

a month anyway. An 

Austrian Bty had arrived

& been emplaced in cement

in prepared emplacements.

O.P.s were at Chunuk &

Abdel R.B. - it had 4 or 5

O.P.s & its fire ws well repulsed.

The first projectiles were fired

after the snow, at targets W. of

W. Hills & by Lala Baba; &

one day W. of Chunuk Bair - 
either this or another Bty.

The final sign o / evacuatn

ws the mine. It had bn thought

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before this tt vessels left by

night - & others appeared in

this place next day as if they

were / same.

On / night o / evacuation

35 vessels were seen at Imbros

w smoke up etc.

The second night there ws 

a demonstration at Helles. This

gave / idea ^tt at Anzac & Suvla tt

something ws happening. The idea

ws possibly awakened in this way.

Anyway / second night it ws

tt / boats were noticed at

Imbros. The order ws gn to keep a 

very good watch. (see other book for this

night). Before 4 am Zeki Bey had an

offr in our trenches; he himself went later

 Z/Bey asked his friends an / staff

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"what gave you / first idea?"

It ws / Nek mine tt first made

them certain, they sd.

The order ws gn at once to look

after / sick (as they saw / hospital);

but they soon found tt there were 

no sick.

Z/Bey had decided to

make a demonstration w fire

& perh. retain ^/ last troops or complicate affairs.

It wd be impossible to

precipitate yourself on an

unknown positn full of wire

unknown trenches & possibly mines.

They found ^later tt wire had bn put out -

& it wd have bn most dangerous

to throw themselves on our 

rearguard). They might even have

met & fought each other.

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They didn’t at once know tt / whole o /

trench had bn left.

Sacks etc for / trench were sent to

Helles, stores abandoned were 

ordered to be collected but
/ soldiers at Anzac got into
these v. early. In Australia 
valley a sort of  keep had bn

left. 

No one regretted tt they

hadnt known o / evacuatn.

Later everyone knew of Helles &

they tried to stop it; but failed.

The Ts at Anzac gave this answer:

Well - there will be an evacuatn at

Helles. Now - go & do what you want

wd to do there.

Troops were ordered at once

to fortify the places we had left.

Possibly this ws to occupy /

soldiers & not let them walk all over

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/ abandoned place. But they

did this at Abi Burnu.

The fire wh took place at

Anzac a few days before /

evacuatn ws taken as being

caused by a shell.

The Ts. thought tt the mine

 at / Nek ws to be a signal;

60 or 70 men were blown up in

this mine.

The Ts were everywhere / first 
day; at first only / Coys ordered to -

advance; later the men some of

them went in without orders.

The troops were lightened &

6 & 7^th  Divns took the Anafarte Ari B.

front [[shorthand]] made one Rgt only respble

for discipline. The authorities wanted exact

reports of what ws left by us to know if we

were hurried or had done it easily.

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Kayik Aghala

Aghyla

Diagram - see original document

The idea ws tt the quantity of

food left showed tt we hadn't got away

easily - S. of Hill 60 there were

10,000 boxes of ammo. biscuits, jams,

meat, tea, sugar.

Besides these were some mules

wh had bn left by some doctor w his

baggage. This gave / idea tt we had

gone quickly.

An order ws found o / evacuation

- it alld for food etc. being left.

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Diagram - see original document

At Suvla Z/Bey found later the

remains of a great fire - but possibly

other ^stores had bn arra removed by them. 
Boxes of rubber - all sorts
of stores were found.
The heavy gun was near

Suyata S. of Chunuk Bair

This ws / gun probably wh caused

so much damage at Steeles Post

21 cm. gun probly.

In / earliest days the [[mtar?]] bty

ws kept by xxxx Kumals Pasbas side

 - N. of it I  ws near / road &

fired from there the first day.

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Diary

PTO for

Zeki Beys Notes

77