Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/229/1 - December 1918 - February 1919 - Part 10

98

Balkan Gun Pits : were 4 (or 6) pits, grassed,

apptly pointing towds Gaba Tepe or Olive Grove. 

They are on / inland side of  / crest.

The remains of an old camp (ledge & old trench) 

of one or two tents, grassed over, is there.

Turks have made a new trench along

the whole sea length of / Ridge Top facing

/ sea - and some deep dugouts w a deep pit

on Bottoms Ridge (S. end of it). 
Hand drawn diagram - see original document

On Pine R. on / way back saw what 

looked like remains of a battery - skulls of horses dead horses 

& men. The reverse slope of Pine R. is very

89

on following round we were able to place exactly the 

sket trenches mentioned by Paine. Trench O is just
S of the Monument & this & / trench (on Paine's plan) next S of it
both run into the valley leading out of Owen's Gully.
The third trench XY also runs round towds /
same gully but probly ws imagined by Paine to
lead round  to / right up the Southern lobe of the hill.
Zeki Bey, standing on / edge of / hollow,
showed us where his men c/attd:
He sd tt when he ws hurried into / trenches

he came up by Owens Gully & then up the spoonshaped

97

Diary Feb 26. Silt Spur - Leanes - Chathams -

Echelon trenches. See Field Book: sketched notes at each point

Bones in washaway which I thought

were _^ in front of Leanes  trench are clearly 19 May, being much

N of Leanes trench.

Leanes looks over several steep

washaways . The forked C.T. enclosing the 

Bay held by Ts. is a washaway - or leads 

from one.

Chathams: The position where Ts put up

a sandbag redoubt abt Nov 2 had bn abandoned &

wire put in their half dug C.T. by us.

Hand drawn diagram - see original document

 

90
hollow on / s. side o / Gully. There was a Bn HQrs

in behind a hollow shoulder of the Valley at 1

Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Lying there just outside the Bn HQrs

were 3 dead Australians. There   

were men in the C.Ts (Turks) &

our men were rolling bombs down 

on there from 2 - the only place 
for reinfts ws in this gully &

yet the Ts abt 3 were getting it from 

our bombs. The periscopes of our men were visible at

4. His men asked him "Aren't those our men?" " Of course 

not," he sd. "Cant you see - we haven't those things (periscopes)

He went first to 6 & sd: Why cant you attack over here.

They sd - "But cant you see - there are all those men lying

96
were abt 20 Turkish pinfire revolver bullets cartridges: Beyond

ws a Turkish bomb shelter, the posts still remaining.
From there / broad trench led down into /Turkish lines.
I fancy tt to / N. of this bomb stop of ours was
the broad trench (Barbers trench) into wh we got by means
o / Turkish tunnels.
Just outside the bend of our trench on the rt front (SE)
was a second trench, Turkish, wh came to within 3½ to 4
yds of ours. Wilkins photographed this. The tomb 
of Tefik Bey ws at T. (in marginal sketch)

Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Scobie must have been k. abt X.
The view from the _^ extreme right of L.P. seemed to look

fair into / front of Leanes trench.
A deep tunnel shaft near the rt of L.P. seemed to be 100-120
ft deep.
 

91
on / top there who tried to make an attack over / top 
there!  They were caught by fire the moment they got over.
You cant go there."
He looked & there was a complete line of dead
along / top.
Then he said: Well – you can attack on the
left – it is clear tt is / way – by the sap leading
round to / left (4)."
They sd: But how can we do tt?  The same fire
tt got our men on / top can get them there.
He sd: Well, we will put what men _^ where we can
to try & keep down this fire.
So, (the second day), he put men shooting from
7 & 8 & 9 – (it ws / fire from J. Jolly he thinks tt 

95
(marked P-V in Paine's plan) – & there he ws k. by a bomb,
quite close to where Col. Scobie ws k. His tomb is there
today.
The 3rd day (Z. Bey thinks it ws the 3rd) an attack ws
made from the direction of  XY^x or the trench between
it & O. (i.e. by the Turkish left front (12 on contoured plan)
Our men either retired or had bn shot; & this corner ws
easily regained. (Possibly our people had already retired

owing to / fire from J. Jolly).
[In the trenches leading from our eventual front
towds this point there has bn since very heavy fighting;
our trenches end in an little undergrd sap w a hole covered
with a bomb screen. In front of this is a bit of an old trench
pretty well square; then a fair sized crater; on one edge of this

[*On
Pain's
plan,
Book

158/53.
C.E.W.B.
31/1/47*]

 

92
held us up / first day); & then by arrangement
with the regt on the left (?No)umber) he put in a party
of men to dig a sap connecting 5 with 10 (wh
ws not connected, so tt / Bn cd be put in there).
The authorities arranged this (it ws their suggestn tt he
shld work w / troops on / left:) If you dig from this side
we'll order then to dig from tt side.

He ordered his working party in to begin / sap
(This ws on / second day): The moment they got into it with
their picks they were fired on from / directn of J. Jolly by
a small gun (clearly from Russells Top). It got fair in
amongst them – 2 or 3 men were wd more or less badly, &

the rest came tumbling back & got under the bank
near 1.  Our people had put up two red & yellow flags on 

94
for a lot of blame. When first / trenches were taken he
reported tt his men had regained them – & they had 
certainly got back into the line running round the
N edge of Owens Gully & up into the left front of our line
– a C. T.

Hand drawn diagram - see original document
He reported back to Divn tt he
didnt know why Zeki Beys men
cdnt get on – his men 
were in / front line. Zeki
sd: "What do you mean –
How can your men be there
when we see / English here?"

This offr (_^ Major Tekik Bey) had lost most of 2 Bns & ws
heavily blamed. He became indignant at last w / things
tt were being said; & said: Well I'll take them myself
& we'll do something whatever it costs." On the 2nd
night or 3rd morning he led his men up _^ near by the little sap
 

93

The trenches they had reached (to Z. Bey it looked as if these trenches
were right on / edge of his gully – really that ws grass & they
were 15yds (I estimate) back.  These flags had given our guns

/ positn.
The men were not demoralised but bewildered.
Zeki Bey went amongst them under / bank & decided on
another method. The riflemen were put (as before) to fire
& keep down our mens heads; under this athe party ws to start

from 3 or 11 & rush at all costs into the positn held by us at /
head of the C.T.s there.  As many bombs as possible were to be
thrown in – & then / rush made.
They tried this. A fine young offr led his men over
after a shower of bombs etc. But / moment they appeared
over / top of their shelter they were swept down by m.g. fire
& riflemen (probly Browns m.gs.) They fell back dead & wd.

The positn looked very hopeless.
In / meantime the O.C. 47^th Regt had come in

(continued backwds on opp. page). 

93 A
To be done.  Look for Ghurka advance from Q

Search hills N of Kaiajik Aghala
Measure positn occupied over Chunuk
(Turk used his last reinft)

Attack at Nek certainly put
us on Chunuk, Z. Bey says. It 
kept the reinfts. otherwise these troops were nearest
? these troops were nearest

Measure dist of trenches apart at Q. &

Apex. 

Cable.  Cable instruction [[shorthand]]

G R V 

want more officers
e.g. in some ts
For Hill 60 Graves:

[[shorthand]].

C. Pierrepont Edwards
late Chaplain 54 division

now Vicar of West 
Mersea

3 DRL 606 (229)

Turk. Casualties.

KW & M.    offrs        o.r.

                   2160         287,000
Photos: Graves on Rhodo.
Skulls of men in Gullies by Farm etc.
No
Horses             )   Will they send
Horse Rations)   man w them?
Return of Zeki Bey 

2  Horses  2  Rations for these to go with them
S. O.  83 Bde for authy for return
at R  Canteen
Medical     {Sand
R. E. stores  {Sandbags
Horses          {Ore
Horses Rations   {Tin
Supply Dump Stuff: creosote
No.  3.

No
Horses             )   Will they send
Horse Rations)   man w them?
Return of Zeki Bey