Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/31/1 - April - May 1915 - Part 1

AWM38

Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/31/1

Title: Notebook, April - May 1915
Includes references to the landing and the 
Indian Mountain Artillery.
AWM38-3DRL606/31/1

April 25 - May 1915
Left Flank

Original     DIARY NO. 31.

AWM38 3DRL 606 ITEM 31 [1]

DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN

CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms 
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the 
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every 
reader and writer who may use them.

These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what 
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep; 
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not 
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when 
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.

These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what 
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch 
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he 
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had 
seen or otherwise taken part in the events.

The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed 
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that 
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. AIl 
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.

16 Sept., 1946.        C. E. W. BEAN.  

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN

[REGIMENTAL RECORDS VII]  A.A. 23.2.78
ARM          

Ap 25-May
1915
Left Flank.

Typed

E.C.

7 6/6/19

13

1
Lt Mason.                 
Turks first seen abt (1) retreating N.
Capt Lalor (12 Bn) Capt. Tulloch 
(11 Bn) Lt Reid (11 Bn) Lt Battle (11 
Bn) with Right half of D Co.
Order from Maj Denton to follow
him. Got to where mine ws
in Gully (red post w Turk writing).
Just then Capt Tulloch came
down for reinfs. after Col. Clarke
ws k. (prob near K.)

Went up Rest Gully in single file
to where Col. Clarke was - who ws
lying there dead (on a little open
space - he had bn sniped from
L) we turned wheeled left across gully &
then turned right into line & advanced
up the gully to clear out snipers.
As we turned left we saw 40 or 
50 Turks well above us retiring
all time along top of ridge on our

2
What they call the "farm"
is Shepherds Hut.

----

Diagram - see original document
(Everyone mentions
this supposed
Mine)

1st Saw Enemy from (1)

3
left.  We had 12^th & 11^th & officers above.
Lieut. Reid went to rt of platoon on forwd
slope of hill on our rt. Mason ws
in centre on top of hill. Battle ws
on rt of Reid - down hill. Lalor 
ws w Reid. Tulloch ws wounded there
& died. Butler of 12^th. (He had bn on
ahead & we picked them up - his
thumb ws blown off. He went back
able to walk.) There were already
men of 12^th lying there wounded
& we lost abt 12 before we
crossed the ridge. Our left went right
on to / cliff. Butler ws at abt (2).

Lalor started to scratch in at the 
right hand side of the neck while
he ordered Reid & the rest of us to
follow / Turks down / valley from
neck - they were retreating
Northerly.  The Neck ws steep. We
went straight down it - No sign of
anyone having been there of our own
fellows. We went down to the 
farm house - the Turks were then

4
- the tail of them - were just disappearing,
through a contour & round to 
right (round Destroyer Hill or Rhodo).
We went into farm H. & found 2 rooms.
a wattle partition across middle - rifles
(abt 100) stacked in / corner, & spare parts 
of m.gs. A fire ws smouldering in 
an open f raised fireplace, no blanket
or papers, no furniture, a few tins 
(meat tins). We asked what to do w /
rifles ^? withdraw Bolts? Lt Reid sd: No good, we'll have
our own men shortly.

G Went abt 100 yds beyond house
in valley. We cd see up / valley right
up to / main range. We were 
still in extended order abt 3 paces
interval, quite 50 - perh. 70.
At 100 yds we started to scratch
& dig with entrenching tools for abt
¼ hr uninterrupted.

On right where they had
retired ws some big scrub. This
A m.g. opened on us suddenly
from there - & almost imd.
after / Turks opened fire from

5
ridge on right. They cd be seen,
chest & shoulders high, where they
got up to fire. They seemed pretty
thick. On top of hills on our right 
(before our m.gs. opened) we cd hear
very heavy fire as we dug in.
Lt Reid sd. "Good Heavens our fellows
will never last w ammunitn going
at this rate." We thought tt we
on / flat were pretty right as T.s
were engaged up there.

We lay there firing abt 20 minutes
& then retired by sections, each
section covering the others fire (6 sectns)
All Reids (15 platoon) ws there, some of
16^th platoon & some of 12 Bn. (D Coy)
(Capt Lalor's). The officers when starting
skirmishing / gully had told off their
sections. Whenever we halted
officers had told off so many men
in the line "from you to you -
tt will be my section - we'll call
tt No 1" & so on.

6
We retired by  sections onto
the Ridge at back of house -
round inland end of it & up
back slope of it. We lined top
& dug in & Lieut Reid ws hit
while digging in - he ws kneeling
up looking thro' his glasses
- it hit him in left thigh (he ws
directing fire). We stayed on tt
ridge (there ws a trench, I heard, to /
right but I didn't see it & I dont
think / men wd have got into one
on a/c of mines) for abt ½ hr.
We cd see / enemy. They came 
down / slope as we retired.
As we retired they wd come
on - a party at / back lining
/ hill & covering them.

They were within abt 100
yds & abt 300 strong when
we retired. We dragged ourselves
back - then had a run of abt
150 yds, then reached next
ridge where were plenty of

7

(This 2nd retirement ws abt 8 am).
our own men. Lt Reid cd
crawl - he sd: "I can get into /
gully." When we were on /
next ridge he ws in / gully
moving inland. A Saw no more
of him. A man from 12 Bn came
along 11 a.m. abt 2½ hrs after retirement
& sd "Lieut Reid is in / gully. He
thinks he can get along all right."

From tt 1st ridge in / valley
(the one we retired from) we cd see our
own men on / top of Walkers -
moving abt - some carrying ammunitn
& tools, pretty well as far forwd
as we had bn - hard to say .
Lt Jackson sent a message by Pte
Waldy of A Coy : Do you want
reinfs? I sent to ask Lt J. to come
up w his party. I dont think he
came on. On this other ridge
we found 9^th 12^th 10^th Bn men.
We were then on a lower ridge in
front of Walkers. We stayed there all

On Sund night→

8
day Sund.; all night, all day
Mond; N.Z. arrived Monday
morning & we left there on Tues.
morning. Sergt Mason (9) had
75 men, & I ws in charge. We
had Turks within abt 40 yds.
They seemed to get all their reinforcements
down / way we had retired.
↑ They were there at 10 pm., again at 12,
again at 2, & we got it at
daylight hottest at abt 150
yds range. A lot of men were
wounded & some k. on Monday.
Pte Pinktop, (a fruit shopkeeper of
Perth) who ws rather ungainly &
splay footed Sergt Mason wanted to
leave on / beach w / kits. He refused
to be left & came on (we cdn't get any
one to stop w / kits, nor cd / other
platoons of our Coy D). He had
tin down underneath his putties
like a shin guard so tt if he got