Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/223/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 4

when they got there first -
being carried out, 8 L.H.
Of the 3rd wave a number
fell back ^ hit at once. The
fire had stopped for / time
until / 3rd wave went -
then from dead silence out
it broke agn.
Saunderson (now 43 Btn)

ws w the 4th wave. They
jumped out - & /
Turks were 2 deep in /
trench ahead - The thing tt
struck a man most ws if
tt he wsnt knocked in /
first 3yds. There ws at
least one mg.  on / left
& any number in / various
trenches in / Chessboard. The men
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who were going out were
absolutely certain tt they
were going to be killed & tt
they wd not see another day.
Not one man hesitated a
second - they expected to be
k. right away
The xxxx lines started from
/ front line, & not from /
Secret [[gap?sap]]
The 4th line ws under
Maj J.B. Scott (later k. at
Rhododendren Spur). He ws
abt in / centre of / sqn
going over (in B Sqn). He had
a watch in his hand & ws
going to signal to / other troop
leaders & seconds in commd
when to go. The rt o / line
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wh ws just round / bend
ws under Throssel- the
rt troop. The next troop,
C. troop ws under Lt Les Craig
who had his foot shot off.
Diagram - see original document
 The 3rd line went out ahead

and practically all got wiped

out.  There had not bn a

sound - then this roar of musketry

so loud tt you cant give an

order.  They therefore arranged

them tt / order shd be gn

by a wave o / hand - Scott ws

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give it to Rowan & R. to
pass it on. R. told Saunderson
as soon as he waved his
arm - to tt S ^shd take / men over.
They were waiting for Scott
to give / order when /  m.g
fire started again - a hell of
a noise. Scott shouted: Byford.
I believe / right have gone on.
xxxx Saunderson looked at Capt Rowan,
& R waved at him to go.
Saunderson of course waved & hopped out
& went for / T. trenches as hard
as he cd. Maj. Scott must have
countermanded / rest order
for / rest of o / troops to go.
Scott had mentioned to S. tt there
ws a chance of the operatn
being stopped but they didnt tell
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/ men. The most tt Saunderson hoped
for ws tt they might have
got into / 1st trench & hung
on there – (they were for Baby
700). As Rowan waved to S. S saw him
get up and fall back (dead into / trench as S later found).  S knew
he had command o / troop then.

The Rhodo bushes had

bn cut off w m.g. fire

& ws all spikey.

[[Tr ?]] Weston just on S's right
(S. ws troop Sergt) fell right beside
S. as they got out of / trench-
back into / trench xxx Tpr
Begg also next him. S. went
all he cd for / T. trench.
Tpr P.H.HG. Hill running beside him
towds / trench ws shot thro
/ stomach & spun round & fell.
S. saw / Ts in front & looked over
his shoulder. 4 men were running

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abt 10 yds behind - & they all
dropped at / same moment.
S. tripped over a Rhodo
bush & fell over a dead
T right on / T. parapet.
The Ts were then throwing
round cricket ball bombs -
you cd see / brown arms
coming up over / trenches -
/ bombs were going well
over - only one blew back
& hit S. slightly in / leg. There
were 2 dead men to / right
of S. towds / top o / hill,
lying on / T. parapet -
they looked like the two Harper
brothers Wilfed & Gresley Harper
(Gresley a lawyer - Wilfred younger
boy on a farm).

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S. knew how badly / show had
gone + exp. / Turks to c attack.
They ^We had had orders to charge without
a bullet in / breech. The
Ts cd have taken / Peninsula
The Germ S. managed to get
his rifle beside him & clean it,
& thn got the first cartridge from
/ full magazine into it. He
exp. / Ts to to attack & decided
to get a few shots in if they
did.
xxx after abt ½ hr S.
looking back saw Capt Fry
kneeling up outside / Secret
Gap. S. waved to him. Fry
saw him. S didn't know if
/ operatn ws going on or not
/ rest of  / troop might have

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bn coming over. The Ts
were not up at this moment
bec. / navy had begun to
bombard & Lyddite shells
were whizzing low over / parapet
& exploding on / back o /
trench so close tt they seemed
to lift S off / grnd  every time.
S. ws sure tt / first shot wd
finish him. Maj. Todd came
along beside Fry & presently
Todd shouted something wh
seemed to be "Retire the 4th
Line first". S. looked round.
There ws noone beside him exc
/ dead. He crawled down towds
the Secret Gap towds where
they seemed to be. As he got
abt ½ way to / Secret Gap there

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ws. an 8th L.H. man lying
on his back  smoking a cigarette.
He sd. "Have a bloody cigarette -
its too bloody hot."  S. told him
tt they had to get back - &
keep pretty low, as m.gs
were firing from across /
Chessbd & cutting / bushes
pretty low. There ws a
Lieut. of 8 ALH there who
had had some bombs in his
haversack. These had bn set
off & / whole of his hip
blown away. He ws alive
& t tho he they tried to take him
in. He begged them to let him
stay "I can't bloody well stand
it", he sd. They got him into
/ Secret Gap + he died there as

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they got him in. In front of /
Secret Gap were any no of
8th L.H. The Gap itself ws
full of dead - v. few wd.
The ground in front o / trenches
ws simply covered.
S. went along / Secret
Gap into / front line & there
saw Capt Rowan, Weston, Begg.
another Hill.  Lt Turnbull (a
Rhodes Scholar from W.A.) just
dying then.
Les Craig ws brought in
by L/Cpl. Hampshire of his own
troop - the Ts. never fired at
Hampshire when he went out.
Abt 50 yds of line had not a
man in it exc. dead & wd -
no one manning it. Sergt May

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