Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/37/1 - January - February 1916 - Part 6

49

Good God - how do l English

expect to win a war if they

conduct it in this sort of spirit.

It's enough to make you weep,

Luckily its only a section, I suppose,

that really taken it that way .

In this free country they've as

much right to their fivolity

as everyone has to any other

cherished right.

xxxx We are moving out

 - very fast. I sont know

what the course is again,

but I shd say it ws not

an ordinary one. The weather

is rough wh should be difficult

for submarines.

drawing

down &

Shrapnel

burst

floating past 

in[[?]] [[?]]

after shell had burst

Lone Pine as I saw it

(First [[?]])

man scrambling up

Either from underground

[[?]] and firing line be

from fall

Crater

2 or 3 men

shelling behind it

or killed or w.

cdn't say which

First line [[?]]

or looking for places

to push in. I

cdnt see what |

crowd ws busy

with.

Man taking

quiet stand

up shot

end of bayonets

or raofles in

trenches

men lying

down behind enemy parapet

They were killed there

I dont know if they were

dead yet0r

not

Our wire

with jam tins etc in it

The Picture shd be much wider than

This. Otherwise its right

Drawing.

Either the signalling shown on lower [[page?]]

a coincidence called down 3 or 4 shrap. [[?]]

on tt particular point - wh quite shut out |

trench from us. Elsewhere you cd barely

see hazy forms [[?]] thro the dust &

soft curly smoke drift -yellow in evening

light -sun behind us.

Smoke of old

Shrapnel

floating over me

Shrapnel bursting (not more then

2 shells at a time) & dust kicked

up by pellets inn little columns.

hazy smoke

shrapnel 5 seconds of

This was constantly happening

Signallers

[[racing?]] back with reel

when a little [[neared?], the

North [[?]]

one dropped & I thought [[?]] ws 

hit - but he

had really 

dropped into 

a hole of the

front [[?]]

fire trench.

The other

for an [[?] [[?]] & over [[?]]

but [[?]] [[?]]

back at [[?]]

J. Jolly.

I cd always tell when

a crowd started a cross

by hearing m.g start here

man trying to signal

with morse trench

system

small flag [[?]] up & down

920 minutes later then

1st sketch)

54

5th 8th Bn trenches

shooting into [[?]]

in front of them

Chess board

German officers trench

Our guns [[?]]

howitzers shifts

onto Jolly s soon as

charge [[blanter?]]

Johsons Jolly trenches

brown earth lines across

low [[?]] of [[?]]- No sign

of fire they were pouring out but

constant puffs & spurts of dust

from bullets of our trenches opposite.

Few bayonets showing

here- only sign of

life. Turks I think

were massing for

counter attack

Crater

in front of Lone Pine

Left [[?] of Lone Pine

Drawing

Same [[?]] united tree

(Rosewood or thorn or something)

Col. M Nichol

Fir Trees

[[?]] [[?]] [[?]]

spurts of dust

from bullets

xxxxxxx 

Trench shd be more

crowded- Brigade H.Q.

were in 1 trench beside

1 wounded signallers

[[?]] at [[?]] xxxxx & stood outside of the trench

 

May 8th

In the charge of the Inf Bde at Helles - In the "Tommies"

trench -a red earth trench with parapet of red earth ([[?]]

sandbags & parados of some red earth behind wh

many men rested instead of getting into trenc as

most did. When they got up for | men

seemed to stand just for one fraction of a moment,

half crouching & glaring into the enemy's fire, wh

was very heavy, before they started. There shd be more

of them, but it looked very like this picture all | 

same. Before Each line ws also abt 3 minutes

in | trench, wh was halfway to where we

reached (&has since bn called the Australian Trench") &

then it set up like this & went on. When the ist or 2nd line

ws due to leave Col McNichol asked Col, McCay who was

in | trench. well, do you want us to go on. McCay sd yes

53

So M'N - jumped up on | parados by the

tree & [[?]] immediately spun round & [[?]] down

M'C sd are you hit two men were tearing at

McN's collar only slight  I think he sd wh ws | case

Having his [[?]] whistle & [[?]] | men on his right hand

Drawing

McCay w

his [[?]] cope

Eo 

Shells of our guns bursting

1000 yds ahead

[[?]] Bata

(Dry grass w occasional

bullet spits)

H.Q. of MCays Brigade in [[Krithia?]] charge.

Pace - a very fast walk.

Tommies trench w some way ahead.

one youngster (I forget if he ws one o | signallers

carrying | reel ws holding up

a [[spade?]] to protect his head.)

v Beach

W Beach alt Miles back

a few trees

Some of lines behind us advancing thro shrapnel

as we looked back at them from position in

above picture

54

Drawing

Hill 60 Aug 21

Hill 60

Kaiajik Dere

Scrubby Hill

Hill 60, First scene

Men swarming up scrubby Hill on my side of

Kaiajik Valley, disappearing down into | valley. (I ws

in trenches of 13th Bn )

 

This trench ws 

Taken & held

These men were

afterwards cut off by Turks

I think taken prisoner

because I saw no more

of them but presently

Turks appeared

here

13. [[?]] Turkish by [[?]]

falling in this Karajik Valley.

These shells [[?]]

The later line of

Hampshire (?) back

to here I have exaggerated

the size of Hill 60

in this in order to give room

Shells began

to burst

in these 

trenches

Hill 60

(our m.gs from Monash's

trenches were sprinkling ground over here

on unseen side of hill

Turks [[often?]] afterwds enfilade all these

trenches from the East. ←w shrapnel & were banging

at Monashes trenches too.

55

 

Hill 60 abt 40'c aug 21

Either Connaughts charging

or Turks retreating here - I think both; [[post?]] figure probably a

Turk

N.Z. & some British here

bombing here

Turks here

Ap 26th

[[Maclay?]]

H.Q. ( N. of

wire fully). Maj

Brown watching warships

fire

[[?]] [[Blancy?]]

others watching fight.

Charge of 9th & 10th

along what was then called Razor back"

(i.e N. of Whitw Valley)

about 3 to 4pm Monday Ap 26

 

This was just abt time when order to

"cease fire" came along line.

6

 

On Aug 8 young Ross gun when the

7th Battery was shelling the rear slopes of Lone Pine

has 600 shells fired at it in the morning ? [[?] The Turks

knew this battery was shelling their concentration -

as soon as bayonets appeared on the rear slopes

No. 4 gun would get into them. This was the

reason why they get onto this gun (No.4) wh they

could see. Row after row of sandbags was

knocked down from the epaulement but was

always built up. Fortunately Scrubby Knoll 

could not get at them over the top of the Pine.

The men always built | sandbags up again -

Ross's observer ws killed beside him but |

guns crew stuck to it & fought | gun right thro

[* from the 6 in gun

in [[?]] Dere- all

sizes.*]

 

Olive grove Guns.

A prisoner gave away | positi of[[?]]

observation station of the Olive grove guns - in a

tree behind the groves. If you shell tt tree, he

sd. | guns will stop. The next time | gun

fired they shelled | bush - the gun did stop [[long?]]

May 8

Col. M'Nichol

wounded

1st time

2 men

loosening collar

xxxxxx "I dont

think its anything -"

Jumped up

[[?]] 

Trench

58

SAt Feb. 5. Arrivrd at Port Said

without being submarined &

took train to Cairo to find out where

H.Q. were. Port Said ws full of British

troops - It was not till Ismailia tt

we l ran into | Australians. They

have given them | post of honour on |

Canal - | whole o | part wh ws

seriously attacked last year.

1st Div Hqtrs at Serapeium. 2nd Divn

Hqtrs at [[Ferry?]] 1st Divn miles out

with 1st & 2nd | Te.el

[[?]]; also old Howitzer

Taunton in England yet.

They have 4 9.2 & 4 other

guns are to be given them,

probably 5.9 of new pattern.

The Army Corps H.Q. is at

Ismailia & the General H.Q. is