Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/13/1 - August 1915 - Part 5

9 Aug.
Chunuk B.
Hand drawn diagram - see original document
 

trenches the left gave way & retired
down slope. (Well MR & Otago)
They were rallied again & were
in old line again by 6 a.m.
(This ws morning when Ghurk. got
on top.)
At 10 am tried to send fresh reinf
(attack had died away).
They were occupied w Baldwin
at this time.  One Coy Loyal N Lancs ws
dispatched.  2 platoons succeeded in reaching trenches.
(Commn trench had bn started but not
thro)
At 11 Bde came under orders of
Gen Shaw G.O.C. 13^th division.
Garrison had to be reld as no NZ
Bde left. Shaw decided to relieve it by
2 Bns. All this time Auckld 

had bn holding trench abt 200 yds
in front of Apex. They were hard pressed
but thought they could hang on till dusk unless
v. serious C. attack   Short of
water etc.
N. Lancs were sent forward to relieve
them at 8 p.m. got there without
incident. Wilts didn't get there till 3.30
but all N Z had left summit by
10 p.m. They were withdrawn to the
Apex.
When Wilts arrived at x 3.30 it is understood that they
were ordered to entrench at the bottom of the ridge
NW of 161 as no room on top.
At 4.30 am c. attack was
developed.  Ts came over shoulder to shoulder
7 or 8 lines. 9 machine m.gs. on apex
got onto them - 4000 - 5000 came
up and under 500 got back, only in 2s & 3s.
Naval guns of the artillery got on to them too.
Our guns got on to that c. attack whilst 

This means tt 200 o / Wilts ran down valley of Sazli Dere &
cdnt get out by day. There ws a major w them shot thro'
spine. They used a Turk well & sometimes met Ts there who wdnt
take them prisoner. When Ts came along they simply cowered behind
the scrub & lay doggo & perh. tt ws what happened when / first search
party went to look for them - they thought they were Turks. Maj.
Ricketts (?) died; two other officers also. They had plenty to eat
from dead mens' haversacks; & they were there from Aug 10 to Aug 26.
Then 2 of them came in unwounded down valley. Search parties were
sent out & on Aug 27 - 7 of them were found. I believe 60
or 70 survivors decided to get away on 26^th - what happened
to other 63 dont know. Turks shot a man dead - out of pity
they say [[?]] bright point is that in this
generation these [[?]] wd make good Australians
One Aus. or NZ soldier or Engl. Officer wd have got them out - But we all
see tt England breeds one very fine class at / expense of all / rest.
 

It was lying on the other slope "as thick as
the ground which is being reaped."
They came over to the north in swarms.
Officer of N. Lancs came in to stay
They were overwhelmed and had gone.  We started to dig
in like mad.  Bn at top, & remnants of battalions
below. At Apex we must have lost
200 to 300 casualties shells & m.g.
At 7 am Ts appeared on ridge just above
but were cleared out with the bayonet by Leinsters
& 1 Coy Auckld.
Capt Wallingford shot 2 Ts w his
revolver.
N. Lancs had taken over
Auck trench.  We left one platoon
in to show them the ropes.
At top of Sazli Beit Dere
abt 500 to 800 wounded collected &
hadnt bn entirely evac. in 2 days. 

The Knoll
The Ts started building the Pinnacle Blockhouse
abt 12^th - we attacked it on
18. Canterbury 20 men giving us 5 Turks
tunnelling from [[shorthand]] on beam across communication
trench. Were sniped out of it after trying
to destroy it.  8.30pm Lt Lamotte
withdrew about 9.30pm after losing 3 k. 7 w. 1 m.
6 to 14 NZ Inf Bde lost.
 

Bde went in 3000 strong.
Well only 53 left. out 

There were no trenches on top
o / ridge this first day - opp
the Gurkhas - not as far as cd
be seen.
V.Cs.
It may be taken as a maxim - the
better / troops / fewer / V.C.s For one thing
V.C.s dont have to be earned by leading
them desperately. For another their standard
is much higher. Maj. Alanson told me
today: Troops here after 2 wks in trenches
cant be got out of them. Its same w them
all. I sd I have seen Austrlns & NZ in trenches
17 continuous weeks & never seen least hesita
in leaving trench. He sd Aust & N.Z. are the best
troops here undoubtedly - & his doctor sitting
by him, bore him out.
1st night:
14 Sikhs were supporting Monash
10 & 6 G. were on right.
 

Have 12 offrs. 100 days in trenches has
cost us 20 & now have 4.
6 Ghurk.
crossed farm & swung up to centre
of Chunuk Bair Ridge.
5 & 10 on Right. 6 up centre.
14 in Reserve & helping Austr.
Aug 6-7 final trenches those wh
38^th now hold.
Brit were in behind us & were
heavily shelled in close order.
not much oppositn
Night Aug 7-8 very heavy rifle
fire.
Aug 9. 9
When Ghurkas got on top they saw
abt 200 Ts who had bn waiting down
further slope for bombt to finish -
cowering - & who as soon as saw line
of _^ our heads ran. There ws a flattish
bit of scrub, then a dip; then flattish bit;
then another dip; & on edge of this
were the supports (just as we had left
ours,) abt 200 more. The first lot were
running & we stood on parapets &
fired into their backs. There ws only 

one shallow half dug little T.
trench there. We stood on par. of
this & fired. Then 5 shells, high expl.
fell right amongst us. They fell exactly
where Naval shells had bn firing
& looked like naval shells - If our
men had bn in trench they might
have lain doggo & not bn hurt
but these shells did a lot of damage.
All gs ran except Alanson,
Hand drawn diagram - see original document
Marchant, 2? Gloster officers
several Glos men - 12 in all. They
stayed. T. supports seeing Gs run
came back; & when within 50
yds our officers retreated.
Alanson just escaped. Marchant
ws k. The Ghurka support line
stood firm abt 100 yds below
& stuck to it well. For 2
days we had tt positn. On
Aug 10. the very senior Brit 

officers of bns on both sides of Alanson
informed him "We have bn ordered to
retire & have retired & so he
retired also - why they retired
goodness alone knows. They
left a positn wh it wd cost
us thousands to retake.
Alanson says Ghurkas are
all right as long as officers are
there but must have officers.
6 officers were shot dead (4 within
80 yds) in this recent charge;
& they wont get out of trench
unless there is a white officer
to lead them. Ts. now pick off
the officers & regt simply goes
phut.