Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/26B/1 - April - May 1915 - Part 2

causing us to lose heavily.
Only had entrenching tools,
practically no cover. Gear? all
pitted with pellets. This
increased but we were told to
hold on though I line ws rapidly
thinning. Abt

Abt 4 pm / attack seemed
to be making more towds the left
flank. [Abt 5 o'clock they seemed
to come back under very heavy
fire]. Artillery fire did not
slacken. We reorganised our line
& I sent back to / reverse
slope to say no reinfts were
coming. My observer reported
/ reinfts were moving more
to our right - some cd not
? retire.

From 6 pm arty & rifle

fire became very heavy &
we lost very heavily.

We still remained in
positn & I endeavoured to get
into touch with the Bde Hqrs.
- Had seen Col. Weir before
this on the my right, He but ws unable
to get in touch w him again.

Lts Foster & M'Pherson had
both bn wd. & taken to beach.
I attempted to collect my command
but only found 10 of them.

While we were waiting, reinfts
from the 4^th Bde came up with
entrenching tools to our positn, &
when I saw them secure I went
down to see if I cd collect my
fellows. Major Ross informed
me tt the 3^rd Bde ws to
reform on / Beach. We returned

& reformed on / Beach.

Ap. 26 We lay on / Beach.
Next morning we pushed off
agn abt 3 0'clock not ?
reorganised - up into /
firing line. Again got a message to
go onto / Beach to reorganise.

On way down I collected abt
100 men. I knew I had lost very
heavily because my own Coy
? soon quite ?away?

1.30, got orders to reinforce right
right centre. Up Shrapnel Valley.
We stayed up there all Monday, all
next day, & by then the whole
100 men had gone. Then, Wed. morning,
at 8 o'clock I received orders to
take my command down to / Beach
(i.e. 12^th Bn). We pulled out of the firing

line & I collected 60 men &
got down to / Beach & reorganised.
By night time I had abt 300
men.

Ap. 29^th Roll call,
8 offrs. 472 other ranks
No equipment; lost machine
guns, signalling gear. They were
smashed, handed over to the 7^th.
Machine gunner of 12^th was with
his gun in / trenches. When it ws
knocked out & he was wounded
he got a rifle (until Monday week)
------
Night of Ap. 29^th stayed there (on
Beach). Early next morning moved
off at 8.30 & relieved 4^th Bn in
firing line. Remained there 48 hours
- went back (May 2) to Beach, where
 we were alleged to have a day's

rest doing. Brigade fatigues.

We relieved 4^th Bn; 8^th Bn
relieved us. On May 3 abt 6 p.m.
we came in as supports to / firing
line. On May 4 we took over
these trenches. Have been here
ever since.
------
D Coy: A small party of the
10^th Bn were nearer to the Beach
than we. Went to M'Cays Ridge.
Then waited for 2^nd Bde. As
soon as saw it coming on,
went forward to Boltons Ridge
& there first came under fire
direct from East. Went on to
Gully, & over another ridge &
into another Gully. Shrapnel
in Shrapnel Valley. On N. slope

of Boltons Ridge appeared to be
Turkish trenches. Platoons
reconnoitring in front all /
time. Col. Weir ws on / left
of D Coy. Could see troops
advancing on right.

While M'Cay began to arrive
at M'Cays Ridge we moved to
Bolton Ridge 224 R4 to 224 M8-9.
Fire desultory, probably from
224 S & O. No fire from right.
Opened fire on Wine glass
(3rd Ridge). 2^nd Bde came to
Boltons Ridge. We moved forward
- moving due E. On forward
slope of Bolton's R. we got heavy
machine gun fire. No 10 Platoon
after organising moved forward
into thick scrub.

[Sketch - see original document]

L Munro killed here
went into within
30 yds of Turks
firing at them
with his revolver.

Some 100 men went forward to
Kilia Ridge & remained there till
after 4 pm. tt afternoon, Became
hopelessly mixed in this shrapnel.
Fell back to small ridge as
E slope could not be held
& organised defence there.
Reinforcements came forward
from Ridge behind in small
parties bits.
[Note. Blamey thinks that the
furthest Witham got forward was
the Gully below (and West of)
Pine Ridge. The slope down to it
is very steep & there are several
small ridges to cross - The Pine

Ridge - Mortar Ridge line is
the one we ought to have held had
we had decent maps. As it
was we took the highest land).

Retreated to / line occupied
by the 8^th Bn on my right.
Found 5 men of my own
coy. [Witham was of C. Coy himself,
but was with D in this fight].

Maj. Saker of 5^th Bn was
organising a defensive line
somewhere on 400 Plateau. We
dug in there & watched
Queen Elizabeth banging 700
Ridge between 6pm & 7 o'clock on Sunday pm on Sunday.
Fellows got up & (? cheered / shots).
Holland ws wounded on Boltons
in the morning.

Party of 30 got into Turkish
trenches with bayonets towds Gaba Tepe.

We were watching the Bacchante
for an hour. Munro, going
thro / scrub: "No. 1  Platoon,
All present?" "No 2 Pln, all

present?" Exactly as if he were
on Tiger's Tooth on a field day.
near Mena Camp
------
May 18-19.
Abt 8pm., when / bombt.
started again, men were seen
by 12 Bn coming down slope of
Kilia Ridge in masses with
white flags.

At 7.5 following message ^from 3rd Bde Hqrs: "Turks
are apparently massing behind
their lines. 'They are to cover their
advance with white flags'."

From Col. Smith: 7.40 Would not
advise staying? in sap while defence

on.

Opposite 9^th Bn had no.

rifles but white flags.
-------

Lt Shout.
1st Bn Ap 25 - 1915 etc.
Shout & 1^st Bn went
up over Maclagans R. thro'
Shrapnel Gully & Monash
Gully & up near Quinns.
There is an old Turkish Headqrs
there & Swannell was killed
trying to shoot a Turk (kneeling
up) there.
They went over 4 Turkish
trenches. In / end of on
trench, in a hole were a lot
of Turks & we drove them
out. A Sergeant stabbed
one with his bayonet & as