Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/15/1 - August 1915 - Part 2

11
I ran into 3 ^ mule saddles (one all split &
broken).They are all tt remain of
3 mules. One mule carrying bombs
started to kick & ------!  Two men
were also killed.
Can't help thinking the 4th Bde hasnt
quite got the standard of the 1st & 3rd.
The coy I saw ought not to have
run away when a high Explosive
shell or two burst in the gully.
They were / enemys shells as far
as I cd tell & if they had gone
on to / trenches they wd have
got just as clear of them as by
coming back. And yet they were
clearly running away - & I
fancy their support ws needed by
/ men who took / trenches.
 

*Monash
CEw.B.
22.10.47.
 

12
I think it is faulty communication -
a fault of training probably. They dont
know where the other parts of their Bn
or Bde are – (they are apt to wander also)
& they dont get messages from them
-The Bdier^x certainly knows less of
the situation than any Bdier I
have seen- twice if not 3 times I
have found tt I know more abt it
than he does (of course after it
happened - but he clearly had no idea
at / time) . The Divn never seems
to know what has happened to them.
They dont seem to send back such
frequent lucid reports as 1st Aust.
Divn. ws trained to, thro  from Genl. to
private. The men are excellent & /
officers are really good - but its
want of success cant be accidental
every time. I think the separate -
 

Aug 22

13
 

very much separate - units are
left to themselves more than in any
other Bde - & therefore come back.
Heard a  tale?  story which men of
3 Br swear to be true. Men are told have
to count one - two - three before
throwing. The unfortunate man
had a stutter. . . . . . . . !
 

Turks  were reported (by
intercepted wireless) to be bringing
down two brigades abt 2 ½ m.
NE of Anafarta (Kuchuk) at 6pm

& a battalion from Aga Liman.
Aug 22
Gen Skeen tells me today:
The fire at 10.15 ws prob. a rifle
counter attack - no result.
 

14
 
It ws prob made, rather feebly, agst
9th A.C. They didn't, as far as he
knows, c-attack agst us.

---------
We still hold trench at foot of Knoll 60
& Gen. Russell made his attack
but no report yet. Some of the
5th Bde troops were used (Godley
told me he didn't want to do this
-at abt 9.30 pm) They did well.

---------
British advanced (Gen Skeen believes)
after dark. The got to foot of W. Hills.
Indians got into line on our
left along the plain to Susak Kuyu.

                          ---
So our line runs: Knoll 60.
Sasak Kuyu;  foot of W. Hills
In front of our men in the knoll.
60 trench is some ugly looking scrub.
The men o / 15^th  who were following
the 13^th & 14^th were to clear up snipers
 

15

out of such scrub as this

I stayed in bed today as I have lost
my voice & nothing is doing.
J. Butler came in & I got the story of
his first day in Junius.
At 8.15 heavy rifle fire & some bombs
broke out from our line - Quinns or
Courtneys - Probably a demonstratn
Possibly C .attack.

Aug. 23. Attack of 4^th Bde
13^th & 14^th Bd Aug 21
und majs
Herring
& Dare.

Diagram, see original
centre of Dere flat Grassy plain
with no cover & gutter ( some men got
a breather in it)
 

16

Every man carried 2 sandbags.
They filled them in gully &  filled
pushed them up abt 150 to 100 yds
from enemy. Men had & have a field
of fire- It was low dense scrub.
Canterbury M.R. ws next as on
left.
we hung from  4 pm till 10.
Hants were 1st Support. They
withered away as they crossed.
Maj Herring w picks & shovels
got thro abt 10pm.  Gen. Russell
Sent us bombs.
only officers left were Dare
McDermott; Fords & Fletcher of 13^th (1st line)
2 of 13^th, & Crabbe (K) Henry came
along after dark.
Crabbe ws k. on flat by Dere.
The N.side of spur are full of
gullies & dug onto. They got m.g. onto
 

17

one of these gullies where most of
our men seemed & be coming &
they dropped into these terraces
A big shell (H.E.) landed right onto
the Hampshires as they (3rd line) came
over & m.g. also got them. They
disappeared - some rolled down
forward slope onto terraces. Terraces
were full of dry stuff & began to
blaze. Every other man had bomb
& Each 2 sandbags; these used
to burst. board wd send bit of
burning sandbag into next bivouac
& tt wd begin to burn.

Diagram, see original
Turks
could
shoot opp side
of Dere & co
enfilade flat &
our men had to watch wounded being
shot at by T's.
About 10 Capt Loughran MO 14^th
went round w s.bs from 10 to 4
Thro Dare -  amongst bullets & got

18

all wounded out. M.O. Camberburys 
(who after moved off to left) ws also
there. Loughran got some from bivouacs
but some had been sleeping. They called
out in morning for s.b.s.  One man
insisted on sitting up- delirious, taking
helmet of his bald head - shouted to
him to keep down & did so for 10 minutes
but sat up agn & ws shot. Every
one who rolled down hill out of
way of fire
Next day howitzer shelling ws
splendid- right into trench every time.
4^th Line (Herring) cdn't get across so
Dare at 4.30 sent message back
for arty fire on Knoll 60.
Dare had abt 100 men w him out
of 300 (150 in each of 2 lines).
14^th: 14K. 53w. 32m. (out of 250). 13th ^probly abt
98. casualties  (Crabbe K. Cootie & Dadson both wounded)
Capt Gillison padre got in a lot
of wounded behind fire. Next day
on hill.
He ran down after breakfast to some
wounded man in gully op  fore
 

19

Gillison heard man (Hants) groan while
waiting for burial  party so took forward Corps.
Pittendrigh & Pte AE Wild 13Bn (Amc)
Hants man ws being troubled by Ants.
Capt. G. is found first & found man ^ found what w making
called to others to help. 3 went forwd
on stomachs reached man dragged him
abt a yard when Capt. G. jumped up
& ran 12yds into gully. Corpl ws also 
hit. (abt. 10.30 sund morng).
Corpl. P ws also a Presb. Parson from Sydney.
 

                  K.

6-19.       3 offrs         42 (O.R.)

------------------------------------------
                 W.

                 5 -                      124 -

------------------------------------------

Sick:          3-                     150    sick

Aug 22

K..    15 OR

W.    4 offrs       58 O.R.

M.     ---                    30.

----------------------------------

           4 .                   103.

20
 slope where snipers were. He ws bending
over him when struck - bullet cut all
ribs down back. He died in ambce on
beach- s.b. who went w him (also chaplain)
ws badly hit  (man of XIII^th)
 

1st line ws 150   13Bn. Fraser Ford got thro
                                          2 others didnt
2                  -150   14Bn. Dare & M^cDermott
                                          got thro  Crabbe K
                                             Harry failed
3.    Hants - only one got thro.

4.   Maj.. Herring - no one got thro
made several attempts but
Every time men were driven back.
Sniper in tree in cornfield got into water
party Aug22 in sap. They had to lie down
till m.g. got onto tree & cut it backwards
& forwards till sniper ws done.
300 of 16^th ^ under Margolin put in at 1.30 am Aug
23. to relieve 13.14.
 
 

Cl. Cannons a/c
15Bn
on Aug 

8.
 

21

Aug 8 [?]
3am. asmam  Down Asma Dere in single file into
deep gully. opp side too steep.
There was some cultivation
got onto spur in 93 L. 7.
Sent platoon down other side
crossed edge of cultivation, got into
thick gorse bush & at 93.L.5.8
(At. 4.15) met enemies scouts. drove them in.
2 minutes later came into an
inferno. M.G.s were in 
groups of 4 & we thought we
heard 4 groups. Sent on
1/2 coy to clear knoll L8-9
Bushes were alive w
Ts. we saw them running
one coy ws to get over hill &
dig in on N. Side
Ts ran across  ploughed
field but came back &
shoved us back onto [?]