Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/32/1 - 1915 - Part 7

66

Well. Inf. Page 8 10                         
(Well Infy Cont^d) Fired at from 3
sides & shrap. from behind rt flank.
- sniped from B.ship. Came out
only able to talk in whisper, knees
broken, some burst out crying,
like pictures of last roll, eyes sunk,
all atremble - no water all day.
On Sund night after dark -
abt 11 or 12 the Turks got round
behind our left & there ws
a shout of Allah Allah & a

rush ^from front as well. Our men turned
round & fired at them - didn't
lose heads.
Welln was reld. at abt 1 am
on Monday by Otago Infy &
Well. M. R.
Well. were shelled all day
Enfiladed from left & from
right got it in rear & front.
Attacks came from left & front
probly not from right (originally).

59

Wellington Inf. Page 3. 
there - The Head of. Monash Gully ws
some way ahead of us - rt front.
We cd see our old men behind
us on rt. We & Gen. Walker were
trying v. hard to find out where
we were. We sent to Gen. W.
3 messengers - 2 of whom were
surveyors. Of these both were
shot on way back thro arm &
collar bone but cd still talk -
came back but still cdn't fix point
(other messgr killed). Hart went
thro line & laid out scheme for
relieving 2 bn. by 3 coys across
crest and 1 in reserve. [sketch see original document]
The firing line ws much closer than
the gen. thought. In aftn Otago
came in from right in case necy.
to support left wh had given way
(2Bn.) They were on Plugges Plateau.
Second Bn were relieved on Tues.
night. Turks shouted & blew bugles
on Tues night but we didn't get
into them nor they into us. The

Aug 7.
Casualties during this fighting
(13 prisoners) 284 missing.
                           113 k.
                         340 wd.

                         ------

Casualties Aug 7-10:   737

                                        -----

The Bn _∧ws 851 strong but
46 did not go into actn.
805 went in. →

60

Wellington Inf. Page 4. 
charge w bayonet (we got right into
them) was 11 a.m. Tuesday. No trench
in tt charge, but one they werent
occupying (made to fire on beach 7ft
deep level & symmetrical, clearly prepared
in peace). Dug in Tues. night - (Hart
ws shot there.)

————
Wellington Inf. Aug. 7-10.
→
Night of 5 Aug in Happy Vy.
Bn in reserve coming up.
Whole of C lying low resting &
hiding so as not to have
position shifted. They might
have seen Bde there from
Suvla.
Well. folld Otago at abt 9p.m.
Otago Bauchopes - We were to push thro
them. Passed Otago abt midnight
(cheering on Bauchopes from Otago wh
they tackled partly from Aghyl Dere).
We swung up Chailak abt as soon
as knew Bauch. taken & came
up Dere. [This is uncertain
abt Otago.]
From Table Top up Dere Wellton

Enfiladed from Chunuk
Bair. Gurkhas came up from
rt - evidently over T _^over Table Top. They
Had lost their way.  ——→

Gurkhas went w Auck & it
ws a splendid [shorthand] ∧sightx. x M.g. fire was
awful. Gurkas when they saw
what ws in front of them stopped
dead. There were Turks in trenches front 
of Auckland.   ——→

61

Well. Inf. Page 5. 
were leading. First daylight found
them at the apex - we thought it ws
Chunuk Bair. We realised it wsnt
Chunuk Bair when dawn came. One
officer was going up to have a look at the Dardenelles

Dug in round apex. Chunuk B. ws.
held & there ws m.g. fire from
it & sniping. ↓No oppositn at all
on way up - only cheering, & heavy
firing. Brigadier ws just in
rear of Bn & decided to go no
further for / day. Spent day
digging in. From apex there is a little
flat (now betw us & xxxx Turk front
trench). Auck. crossed this at 11
& dug in - Gurkhas w them & swung
to left.  ↓
Wel No bombt on Sund. 8^th
but abt 3.30 (just when sky begins
to show agst hill) Wellingtn
went over top (neck abt 100 yds
wide - dist. abt 600 yds to Chunuk)
got right onto top without a shot.
Caught m.g. crew in trench asleep.
2 sentries in bomb proof who

62

Well. Inf. Page 6. 
threw 2 bombs & ^were then killed & trench
otherwise almost empty. This ws on
brow in front of trench, connected w
sap. Then Rushed _^main trench. You cd run thro' it.
K. some Ts. Others cleared. We occupied
trench - cd see Dardanelles. We
At dawn Ts started enfilading w m.g.
& shrapnel. Col. Malone (before real
c.-attack. Trench ws too shallow to
stand properly. They deepened it a
little but hadn't much time).
By daylight positn ws absolutely
isolated - had to strip dead & wd
for water etc. One Engr
Ammn party of 12 - 6 got wd.
all from B. ship hill.
We went forwd in col. of. 4's
Auck. knowing what they had
had day before waited in their trenches
waiting to see burst.
20 prisoners were taken - Small front
we got onto
Turkish trench ws used by Col. Malone
as H.Q. on left. These prisoners prob.

63

Well Inf. Page 7 
taken there. West Coast Coy occupied
trench on reverse slope. Taranaki
Coy werent in T. trench at all,
lying on top o / hill. 11 prisoners
(wd) were Well. West Coast. They
went on to trench on reverse
side & occupied it till remainder
Bn dug in on W. slope of Chunuk,
very gentle slope. West Coast
Coy left 1 platoon for sev. hrs
under orders to hang on while
others dug in. Turks attacked
at daylight at 600 yds. Gradually
got up - 8 massed attacks during
day & 10 by night probly. They
gradually worked up to bomb.
distance.
N.Z. were opened out - Tommies
bunched up & gt target for bombs.
xxxxxxx Wellington had to leave
their front trench owing to it being
so chocked w wounded & dead. Turks
(xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx)

64

Well. Inf. Page 8 
& our men were bunched up
in heaps of dead lying over
our men.
Ts. late in morng made
determined attack on our
right flank & got within 100 yds.
Thick scrub there & in front. Sergt
Dempsey ordered men to concentrate
on it & they managed to stop
advance. Word kept on going
"All right! hang on! Gurkhas are coming
Eventually Auck. M. R. ame thro'.
Malone ws cutting across w
rifle & bayonet whenever there ws
an attack. Tommies were not
much good.
[o / W. coast Coy. - who cd
actually see Dardanelles all
exc. 4 were hit. They were to retire
when cdnt hold on - they say they

65

Well Inf Page 9. 
had shot 10 to every one. The
4 and officer (5) spread themselves
out at intervals along 30
yards & decided to dash
back. The officer & one other
got back - the seco man ws
hit on / edge o / trench but
will recover Lt Mackinnon
ws in tt trench and survives.]
They had abt 600 yds gentle
slope. It ws 3 or 4 hrs before
Ts began to bomb. If you fired to
right, they came on in front - real
diffy to direct fire. Took up
220 rounds each but took ammn
off dead. Auckld Infy got 2
boxes of ammn thro' to Welltn.
Man trying to get wire thro -
crawled 6 yds - then biff biff biff
& he got it.
Were shelled from behind rt flank
(contd 4 pages back)