Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/4/1 - April 1915 - Part 3

62  23
These 2 guns
(By the bye earlier a destroyer
had bn hit by a shell. It had
barely exploded alongside when a 
seaman looked over the side to see
if it had hit. I saw a
seaman on a trawler signalling
to the shore when a shrapnel burst

almost opposite his face
He went on signalling quite 
calmly 

At the same time 4 guns
were shelling the road up
the hill (or else the troops
landing) they were firing
from the North
I think they were the same but
upwards. save trouble . you can
 

62  24
almost always hear this
shrapnel coming.
Later when I ws with the 
3rd Bn & ws at the mouth of 
the trench there 4 guns started bursting
shrapnel & common shell over 
/ knob on which two N.Z. people were.
(The shells made splendid practice
right onto them & the word came
" pass the word to others"  Whose orders
asked the marshal [[?]] officers
He asked whose orders-
The So did some of the N.Z. people
the order then arrived: advance &
entrench on the outer bank
of the hill
The one thing the men wanted
was the landing of our guns. 

62  25
wounded so Turks werent
strong in nos. but knew their 
place & were splendidly 
concealed.
They may not have had

more than xx 10 guns in action
against us all day. But these
were almost impossible to find
The pleasure of our men at hearing
the six solid camps of the mountain
falling behind them was almost
pathetic. we thought at the 
time it was a NZ. howitzers
battery.
The night was [[skylit?]] 
made a good argument for next day
After the news of the

62  26
they approved a
After a division today in there [[?]]
Helliecourt ^ think of Soviets everywhere could not give a very good account of [[?]] 
& so Helliecourt The [[????????]] examined [[?]]
All night long xxxxx  two of the 
warships kept their search lights
on the [[??]] country on our
flanks
at 4am the guns had not 

yet been landed.

Communication now with
all battalions This ws
written in there  

62  27
Mon
Ap 26 No news of old Jack.
We at last about 4.30 got some
of our NZ howitzers ashore
we had I field gun ashore R x

illustration - see original document
(The 18pd knocked Kabe teke out
yesty. All one 6 bns had to move
Gen Birdwood told me he 
went all round the line last night
He told me this night the 
sniping was useless.   It [[?]]
wastes of 1000 upon 1000 of rounds
the thing to do wd be  Bwood did
to wait till they came on & then 

into them w / bayonet. He did it
3 or 4 times.
He also told me we landed 1 8 miles too
far north. The very gallant took over

[[shorthand]]
lots of the 3rd [[shorthand]]
 8 we had to [[shorthand]] cross fire [[shorthand]] - then the
xxxx  beach ws cleared

MacLaurin i think ordered to take a
section of the hill
Arcadian 9.Eliz beach   [[?]] with P of W London [[?]]

62  28
8.30 Aeroplane- not sea plane flew over
also simply circling - no seaplane 
the say the aeroplane is ours
ships

7th inf,  midnight  3 -  
4 wounded
11

13629 killed & wounded in boat
gun giving [[shorthand]]
air observed by [[shorthand]]
Triumph or queen
6th 2 killed  7 wounded[[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]] 
taking [[shorthand]]
Turks charged shouting allah
when they got to w 70 yards we
charged and got into them They  [[?]]
10am we saw [[?]] down ^ high hill
on right & outposts [[shorthand]] they
saw them on high hill bn
left.
can see ships &  ws
Achi Baba- wh we shd take  

62  29
Turks  made  a battle against 7th
in a trench under fire
[[/]] taking off
3rd Brigade 4pm
one battalion retired & Turks
were for a short time in possesn
of both ends of ridge
9 & 10 counter attacked
Some [[shorthand]] some going in [[?]] rush
back officers
Part of 11th put over the ridge
wearing  [[?]] making towards a

Capt
[[shorthand]]

62  30
 

I didn't [shorthand]
 Precisely 

yesty rumour started 29th bn 

away

today 2 miles passed [shorthand]

[shorthand] later took in

the net at 5 o'clock the

men in [shorthand]

French and Indians esp

we were 2 [shorthand]

message [ shorthand]

6.25 C away to [shorthand]

at a time when badly needed

there were 100's of [shorthand]

bret

--------

Navy w their seaplane when

[?] have seen [?]

 

30A  62
 

My visit to

Bennet 

& M.N.

Aprt
 

62  31

 

going to outer trenches &

no sea planes

Shelling [shorthand] very rough

It's obvious  [shorthand] shelly at

we  always a shelly at

night time &  yet they

have wt the sunsets

their [shorthand]  up them.

 

April 27 Quiet night except 

on left There 4th were

heavily attacked & Col

{?] Thompson killed & MacNoughty

wounded.

2a morning turks attacked 3rd mg Bn

coming in thick, then pumped it

into them, betting up over crest

throwing rifles back for refilling 

When Turks were getting  back   

they fixed bayonets & from over

near slope of hill prepared to

charge But Turks did not 

come on.

Turks had all the Germans

methods all in the same trench 

so they let us  [?]
 

62  32
[?] note they would get up to the

rear slope of a hill & then their

officers wd be heard getting at them.

This wd be an argument - like 

the arguments we used to have w /

Arabs in Cairo abt leading a [?]

Several times XXXX  Turks were

mistaken for Indians. Once

when N Zealanders were in trenches

they were told they were Indians.

Their left A party of abt 50 came

up ^ to 65 yards - [shorthand]

out to be Turks and the officers

are captured.

Abt 3 o's on Tuesday Ap 27

the Turks got a cross fire onto the

beach and took  / [Gawber?] The

shrapnel is at one time pieces; but

work went on as well, it was

only stopped for 30 minutes. one

day. The shells went far.

A few men were hit. But day 

[shorthand]  most men were in 

fair shelter. There were just 

loads of stuff on the beach.