Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/135/1 - 1915 - 1916 - Part 10

15
110                                                          
They walked into 12 without
loss.
15^th joined their Rt flank.
& held 53 - 74 - 95
& 24 - Commn trenches were
finished by day.
Trench 34 -  65 - 96 ws
reconnoitred by patrols
on 2nd night.
Aug 10 midday,
Relief by 13 Bn
begun.
                          k      wn    m.
Cas. Offrs         3       12      -        15
         or.           45     325   45    415
                                                     ——
                                                     430
                                                     ——

15 
111                                           
During rest - usual
aeropl. contact practice.
________________________
26 Aug. Relieved 24 Bn in
R 28 c 9 2, 21, 01 - 27d. 91 -
33b 49.  Relief finished by
3.45 am on 27 Aug.  Few
Casualties
D Co. in reserve in 1st Ave.
W 9 C 19 - 45 & A Coy
in W 3 B 65 - D 35
& R 34 D 22 - C 75
____________________
27 Aug.  By day relieved
23rd Bn.  finished by
2.30 pm.
Took R 34 d 99. .b. 61, 44½
27½ R 2 8 d 10. c 92.
14th Bn took over trench

15
112                                                 
on rd as far E. as 91.
28 Bn. by 10.30 p.m. took
over from 34 B 1. 8. Southward
Night of 27/28 front line deepened
to 5 - 6 ft. Sap on right
carried out from _^28 C. 92 to
C. 95 for 50 yds. to help
next attack.  "Loop Trench
ws deepened
to 6 ft.
Hand drawn diagram - see original
Nomansland patrolled.
(It was this night
tt 14 Bn attacked)
Trench from R34 c 75
to R 28 C o 1 (Box lane
to O.G.2) was deepened
to 4ft & cleaned.
On Aug 28. 2.30- 3pm
enemy shelled & caused

113
Rifles during 16 Bn attack were so
covered w mud tt you cdnt see the barrel.
Men poured their precious water bottles onto them
to clean them - same w / machine guns. Drake
when he came back w his electric torch seemed to have a
sausage of mud in his hand.
The runners were covered w mud
to their eyes - it dripped off them. One
chap - a middle aged miner, came into
Bde H.Q. yellow w mud up to his hair.
He was dead beat & stood their blinking slowly
"I'm a runner from the 16th" He sd.
"I may look pretty  xxxx  shitty, he sd " but
my hearts' in the right place."

The rain ws the feature of the
the attack by 16 & 13 Bn. Men came
in thro barrage without speaking
of it - it ws / rain & mud tt ws
the topic.  One It ws frightful for men
w wounded legs, plodding thro it -
"The poor wounded "blokes - the men sd-
"poor blokes  - its rough on them all
right."  The steps o / dugouts were filled
w mud & the runners simply sat
on their sterns & slid down.

Rain made
the ground awful this night.   

15
114
many Casualties in front
line.
[*Brockman*] Heavy barrages normal.
Last nights work blown
to pieces in Commn trenches.
_________________________________
Often S.b.s. of both sides were
in the open - Doubtful
if Germans were genuine -
Parties were too big &
flags waved too much,
were told to fire on
them but our position
was worse for wd &
we let them alone.

Night of 28/29. work continuous
till relieved by 13 Bn (at
5 a.m. finished).
Aug 30. Furnished party
of 150 men to dig
assembly trenches for 13 Bde

115
X trenches too congested
to get up owing to relief
No dig this night. Walk
up to trenches took 4 hrs owing to
whole night.
                             
Began a trench this night.
Engrs decided (as it wd
be observed if ½ finished
to knock off.  Rain makes
trenches almost impassible
4 hrs to get in
                        
3rd night.
men cdn't have bn
got in if trench not dug
Gen Birdwood [[shorthand]] and
Barnard told offrs tt
it must be dug at all
costs - must consider
it as if attacking.  

15
116                                                   
X
100 yds in rear of firing
line just vacated by bn.
(then held by 13 Bn)
30/31 D Coy were in reserve to
13 Bn.

31. Digging party of 150 for
same purpose.
Trenches too congested
to get up.

Sept. 1. Digging party dug
assembly (trench — till at
3.15 a.m. they had it abt
5 ft deep. Then took up
work on trench of 60yds
unfinished not dug by a British
Unit - (prob. Yeomanry)
& by daylight had it 3ft
deep. Men fell asleep down
half conscious working.
You touched a man & he
fell on his face.  They cd scarcely

117
Aug 8 1915
(Hand drawn diagram - see original)                 

Just white glare on field.

Time was lost after crossing
Asnak Dere (cliff face climb
30 - 40 ft high) with gutters
wh you cd climb in sand.
Heard tt Turks held this ridge
(from Bde) but they didnt then.
This lost some time. Ran
Cannan took slightly down

15
118                                                             
get their feet out o / mud.
3 men had to be put into
one corner to help men
out as line passed thro.

When they got back & lined up for
rum only one man got it
- the others dropped & slept
as they fell.
Barrage fell 30 yds
behind us.
Guards who were working
on right were frequently
hit but ours mostly escaped.
They were men who wd grumble
like anything if given an
Extra 15 mins parade but they
knew 13 Bde had to attack &
were quite content to work till they dropped.
Offr. 1 w. Or. k 13 w 67 m 7.
________________________________
then struck a natural hedge &
kept behind it as screen being
on sky line. This led to right up
the spur. Then reached Oatfield
400 - 500 yds across to get cover

119
Maori cries
on previous night
were a nuisance

15 
120                                                    
of a gorse covered hump.
Just reaching here (Commns
HQ ws then in gorse)
Scouts in front of 4 leading
Coys struck an enemy
outpost. We heard
abt 6 rifle shots. We
bayoneted some - we
were to use no shooting.
No enemy fire for 10 mins.
Then m.g. opened from
front onto wheat stubble
- but we had crossed it.
14th had turned to rt &
were crossing top end of
wheatfield (W EW).
Then opened on front
& from higher country on
rt at long range. J McSharry
saw 8 on left & there were

 
15
121
some on rt - 10 - 12 in
all prob.
They were on the
main Abdul Rakman
Bair. Those opposite were
in positn well down
the spur so as to
graze top of our ridge 
Troops moved on 
from there to the toe 
of a tongue shaped ridge
& were driven off tt by
Turkish attack.
We re attacked with
C & D coy & got a footing
again. A large body of
Ts. from Anafarta - from
round toe of  Abdel R.
on our left rear.
We had expected British
 

122
Joins here on next page  X

Hand drawn diagram - see original

Deployed in 
the gorse bushes.

15
123                                                                                                     
to look after this in
their advance from Suvla.
Ts. got very close
& threatened to cut us
off.  They cut
We came back leaving
wd bec. another C. att.
came across from front
over ridge - over our
wounded.
We retired back
onto the gorse bushes
under cover of
brigade m.gs. under
Rose wh saved us.
They shelled ridge behind
Rose. Ts were masking
their own m.gs. on
Abdel R.
Got back over top of
parapet & weren't observed.

124
X (Cont) on last page
Hand drawn diagram. See original
 

125
15
An English regt on left
had 120 casualties
looking on. They were
greatly concerned for
our chaps & wanted
[*got water for them etc*]
to go out & fight K.R.R.
They had taken over /
old positn of 14 Bn.
Left at  3 a.m.

[*?6^th Bn K.O. Royal Lancashire Regt*]
Turks on left were within
50 yds at some times.
By the time we left there
were plenty of them on the
ridge.
______________________________
Yuidens hand had bn
badly shattered - in hand
at first - afterwds in leg.
very few others got back.