Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/35/1 - March 1915 - Part 2

See Diary III. page 53. How Reynolds got his tibben.
[*The A.S C
Horses.
Chaplain
The General
The Censor
Indians
Shells.
Reinfor 
The A.M.C.
The Navy*]

Transport
Hasnt bn studied by others: Prob. German division set it up.
French Transport (Messageries (I think the Sydney) came into
Marseilles, the other day with Horses. You cd smell her as she came on board, the
stalls were 18 inches deep in manure etc – they couldnt have been cleaned since she started.
The horses xxx ^on the next wharf were all over sores. In the morning 3 of them were left dead.
Altogether Australian horsemanship has not bn so bad on the transport.
Horses.
[*Chaplain.
The General
The Censor
Indians
Shells.
Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*]

The last sermon (on Sund. Ap. 11 1915) rather missed. There were the troops
waiting for a message - & it was rather a cold one. Birdwood
gave them a little more what then wanted. Old Jimmy wasn't bad
for him - but all the time one was thinking what he might
have said. He told them one good thing - to help one another,
if a man were sent, out on duty, to see that his
see that a man's kit was there when he came back - & his rations
Chaplain.
[*The General
The Censor
Indians
Shells.
Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*]

B.'s Birdwood's letter. Sund. Ap.11.  When first battalion was on way to Lemnos, 3.30 afternoon [shorthand]. It was [shorthand]

I have watched the troops [shorthand]
3 Cs. Covering fire.
Communications added: Cunning.
Control.  That gives you confidence.
Even generals cannot get messages around a fleet when
you have not to boats to take them. (The use a despatch barge wd have bn)
Bridges: first man to shoot the snowy rifle in a canoe.
I am indebted to him personally for being here.
The Brig. Gen. amateur: Old Ryrie tremendously pleased w /
mt/guns' shooting. "Oh by god thats good! Keep on like that" stamping at his periscope.
"Oh that's awful – nobody had bn ws being instructed
Diagram - see original document
Oh by God!
that's good.
Oh good boys!
Got im that
time! etc.
[*The General
The Censor
Indians
Shells.
Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*]

The weekly Dispatch March 28. 1915: Athens. Preparations for the
"final assault of the Dardanelles are described by a friend just arrived
fr. Mudros as colossal."
The Call of March 25. 1915 Had a photo of a British Post
on the E. side of the Canal. (From Italian sources) A French paper
published one months ago. An officer friend of mine had his
photos confiscated until after the war until because they were included
some of the Canal; The English Illustrated Papers had
pictures of the Canal, & names of ships attached - We, after
the fighting was over, were not alld to refer to the names
of ships.
A French paper months ago published all abt. the fact of there
French force sailing for the Dardanelles. An Australian
paper (which our men were reading out on deck) sd
it was believed this force wd be joined by a British
force from Egypt.
The Turks who get their news from Greece or Bulgaria
of course know much more than these newspapers
do. We know that for certain.
At a time when our beach ws under fire & it ws
most impt for enemy to know where each department (ordnance etc)
was a London daily paper publish a photo (I'm not sure it
wasn't an official photo) of it. Scores of men were writing to /
papers subject to no censorship. Photos were absolutely
prohibited from being sent from Gallipoli - of course
scores were sent to Gk & Syrian photographers in
Alex to be developed - & the Daily Mail or Mirror ws
advertising for photos from officers at the front.
[*The Censor
Indians
Shells.
Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*] 

Diagram - see original document
Sweeper caste. In little tent by themselves 

Others throw them food. Dr has to throw
them pay - cdnt hand it. Wd tend in hospital
but otherwise Drs couldnt touch them.
Our men are brothers now - barriers rather broken down
since they h. bn in battle together.
Diagram - see original document

Sweeper after battle of May 19 [shorthand] shown to Australian doctors.
knew of shell shock but could not fine anyone doctor sd. If [shorthand] If nurses doesnt get
better I shall stop have to stop pay - if not better in day or two stop
food & Leave here to get on as best can.
Next day [shorthand] sweeper came. I dont know but I think there is something magic in this instance  Sahib. If you could
[shorthand] and I put it on his injury I think he may get better.

Doctor did so. I was [shorthand] a little better next day, a little better day after with [shorthand].
Sikhs saw Lt Clowes sitting on shore without any clothes on in O Gorman;
Lt  [shorthand] OG saw them looking askance. [shorthand] carried up Sahib. No: Shook head
but tried to expand, he had no towel -finally went and put on a shirt on
Man shot 9 engrs see diary.
Sikh servant who wouldnt leave firing lost see diary.
Called our men "Brudder" - [shorthand] with the Australians in a way never before seen.
Used to bring Chupatties.
[*Indians
Shells.
Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*]

Can see Howitzer shell -
Diagram - See original document
like big bumble bee - also any
shell at night - vent hole of fuze
Fuze of Jap. mortars.
Extraordinary vicks e.g. June 15. Browns Batty. 1: 8in Shell at extreme
Diagram - See original document
range hit parapet - didnt explode- & just dropped into empty gun pit at extreme
end of pimple. Second hit man lying on ledge inside trench - took off leg &
arm - hit floor of trench - ricked out - & disappeared over back parapet without
hitting it
It ws 8in for I saw the groove
Diagram - See original document
Another shell burst xxx some time back in bomb proof dug out
of this battery. There were four people in it & it did not hurt any
of them tho' it ws only abt 7ft square.
Shell bursting in ground close to you gives an ugly sort of thud &
shake e.g. June 11 or 12 - the one tt woke me up hit Austins dug out next door.
Monitors' guns & 1 Turk gun seem to have a song sheet.
The usual song is [shorthand] I dont know reason  for the difference.
Cd see howitzer 8in shell on June 15 falling & tell wh side of you
it ws going ∴Howitzer. Little N of Kojadere.
 Shells.
[*Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*] 

Drilling in valleys. Cant practice attack
"You put your finger in the wood catch hold of piece of wood & put your finger round / corner."
" I've 9 shots in / tin box & 1 in / funnel".

[*Reinfor
The A.M.C.
The Navy*] 

Stretcher bearers & Doctors - See Diary.
The great majority of our wounded - excluding those in / enemy's
lines - were brought down & clear o / beach by 12 - or rather 11.55.
(Boats went off at 2).
The navy took / responsibility from / high water mark.
Told  They worked indefatigably. All wounded had to be cleared
bec. of the congestion - you cdn't accumulate even light cases on
/ beach. These ought to have gone to Mudros (if we the authorities had had any
forethought). As it ws they went to Malta, Alex & England.
If we had gone 5 miles inland the light cases cd have
bn kept on / beach. As it ws they had to be cleared as quickly as
possible; & any case not ^likely to be well within 24 hrs still has to be. (July 27)
A gale of wind & a big genl. action at / same time here wd bring a
catastrophe - 2000 or 3000 wd. men & accommodation for 200 or 300.
The beach is within 1000 yds of the furthest point of our firing line.
We cleared 250 men from Anzac yesty - the rate is now
nearly 100 sick from our division per day. These men are really ill -
often they are passing blood, & are weak. A weeks holiday wd set them right.
If they cd go to Mudros & then be back in 7 days the division
wdnt suffer. But when they get to Mudros they're as often as
not sent to Alex & often given / choice of being sent to England.
There are 100's of Australians in England with not a thing
wrong with them.
Col. Howse has protested e.g. that not a man
affectd w nerves, neurasthenia, nervous breakdown -
shd be alld to go to England. Gen. Maxwell still
allows them the choice. The kindly amateur
soldier-doctors in Egypt are just as bad. One of them
asked Giblin if he hadn't better stay in Lemnos - much
more comfortable. G. sd "Oh I must get back to my job
at Anzac." "I've heard the beach there is very
liable to shell, sd / other," I'd stay here if I were you -
You're xxx much safer here."
[*The A.M.C.
The Navy*] 

Life in the navy, sd / midshipman, consists 'ages' boredom punctuated
by intervals of abject terror.
Look on whole thing as a bad joke. e.g. Hoare with four windows ashore -
(near Dardanelles). We've joined them up now - there's only
one. And so there ws.
Their old time warships.  [shorthand]. Something round outside of the [shorthand] following one another round. You could see that chap
sitting down smoking chaps w a dog ^& parrot. They were [shorthand] their warship invisible for [shorthand] at 2.3m.
But clearly you could see that they were merely [shorthand]. They saw they had to take them at [shorthand] or fire a [shorthand]
Georgeshead.
The trawlers - some w spotted funnels & striped sides.
One had a shell over her. [shorthand] The other [shorthand]. The men were shouting out to to sea. Horses were to come
through the slipway without a [shorthand]. Skipper was running up the ladder. It steadied him. 
then it came through the bulkhead.  George ws avin is tea
in a corner there. He was still lifting a cup to 'is mouth when
it took off his head. That stopped it.
Immense No. of small craft - a whole bay full of them.
When anything happens
They go into it so headily.. But when anything does
happen - they all came at her looking as [shorthand] as children round a 
[shorthand] the whole swarm of them close up [shorthand]
getting her tottering steps to [shorthand] - she just managed to [shorthand], 
and they patched here up so that she got under her. It was a very close 
[shorthand]
Fair haired children in the boats; one anxious looking little boy
of about 14 stood in the middle of our big khaki clad youngsters.
The [shorthand] that they tried here - about 2 or 3 men 
The [shorthand] cut up.
[shorthand]
[shorthand]
[shorthand]
[shorthand]
[shorthand]
[*The Navy*]

A captain of one of those monitors ws shelling Zeebrugge -
all day about 3000 shells in the day ^for 2 days and it was spread 360 times - they counted the marks.
He ws exactly the sort of man that you would have said was the right man for the job - he had no nerves
They shelled the German guns moving along a road
parallel to the shore & they shelled it as it took the road straight [shorthand]. 
Diagram - see original document
Then they
moved up against Ostend
& broke up the [shorthand]
similar way they heard the German officers were stopping. They
had a French officer by the mast observing. ^He ws supposed to telephone his observations but At the start of the firing he was
so excited that the  xxxxxx  He laying  down the crows nest
& took off his cap at each good shot.
A Naval
Joke.
One joke of the Navy was:  When the ships start firing the Turks get into others trenches at the
back of the hill. So we had them held in fairly close and then [shorthand] up all their launches and similar [shorthand] and made a tremendous show. Down came Old man [shorthand] 
running to his trench. When they had got him[shorthand] in the trench they opened on him with shrapnel.
I suppose they killed about 20. ^Then they took up their boats again. They were awfully pleased.  That was their idea of a good
bit of sport.
Magnificent [shorthand] days before our [shorthand] was  steaming off N. Western shore of
Dardanelles when she was firing it up a 14 inch gun at Maidros.
From the hills.
Navy at Smyrna.
N.o. & Dago Chief Officer.} See diary. And see diary III p. 60
"H.M.S. Incapable"
They some extremely young. e.g.. the lieut, directing [shorthand] on the Derfflinger.