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

62       23
Drawing - see original document
(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 shrapnell 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 that
afterwds gave trouble. You can 

62       24
almost always hear this
shrapnell coming.
Later when I ws with the 
3rd Bn machine guns at the mouth of 
the trench these 4 guns started bursting
shrapnel & common shell over the 
Knob on which the N.Z. people were.
(The shells made splendid practice
right onto the road & the word came
"Pass the word to retire.  Whose orders
asked the machine gun officer.
He asked whose orders -
TheSo did some of the N.Z. people.
The order then came: advance &
entrench on the outer bank
of the hill.
T The one thing the men wanted
was the landing of our guns.

62     25
Wounded sd Turks werent
strong in nos. but knew the
place & were splendidly 
concealed.
They may not have had
more than 8 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 bangs of the mountain
battery behind them was almost
pathetic. We thought at the 
time it was a NZ. Howitzers
battery.
The night was slightly wet. I 
made a good dugout for next day.
After the news of the 

62      26
They approved a Far
After the decision today in there was
the clink of sovels everywher.
He could not give a very good account of himself
& so Gill & Patterson and interpreter Wallestep
examined him
All night long Turks two of the
warships kept their searchlights
on the low country on our
flanks.
At 4 am. the guns had not 
yet been landed.
Communication now with
all battalions This ws
written in the dark

62
27
Mond. /
Ap 26  No news of old Jock.
We at last - about 4.30 got some
of our NZ howitzers ashore.
We had 1 field gun ashore last night.
Diagram - see original document
(The 18 pdr knocked Kaba Tepe out
yesty. Also our 6 pdrs had to move
Gen. Birdwood told me he 
went all round the line last night
He told me this night the joint
sniping was useless.  It meant a
waste of 1000 upon 1000 of rounds.
The thing to do ws as Brand 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 1½ miles too
far north. The troops very gallantly took an
enormous expanse of country against 500 then entrenched [[?]]
Lots of the 3rd brigade can have had nothing to eat
8. We had to prepare to receive cross fire.  But it didn't come then. The
8.20 Beach ws cleared
MacLaurin I think ordered to take a
section of the hill.
[[*Two light?*]] Arcadian  9. Eliz, Bacch. & Implacable, P of W, London, Queen 

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8.30. Aeroplane - not sea plane flew over
Aero. simply circling - no seaplane .
They say the aeroplane is ours
Ships
7^th Inf.  Midnight. 3 killed
4 wounded.
11
13 then 29 killed & wounded in Boat.
Gun giving trouble this morning has just been blown in the
air.  Observed by flank destroyer
Triumph or Queen.
6^th 2 killed  7 wounded.
One officer xxxx wounded (5 killed and 3 wounded in
taking maxim and mountain guns
Turks charged shouting Allah
when they got to w 70 yards we
charged and got into them. They arrived
10 am.  We saw Turks defence down high hill
on right & Outposts report they
saw them on high hill on
left.
Can see ships down coast firing on
Achi Baba- wh we shd take today

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Turks move a little against 7^th
in a tremendous fire.
Shrap taking off

3rd Brigade 4 pm.
One battalion retired & Turks
were for a short time in possn
of both ends of ridge.
9 & 10th counter attacked
Some going forward  Some going in some rush
back officer
Part of 11th put over the ridge
wearing guns making towards a
Capt Bean landing a machine in the firing line
when hit, but & also in cap
when running & made fun of us.
Switch
Just then cease fire on the order from field
headquarters.  29^th division are within 2 miles
of you   men became [[shorthand]] cut off 

62
30
I didn't think I'd get any [[shorthand]] until we got
that [[shorthand]] shrapnel light on that ridge but [[shorthand]] afternoon
Presently even
Yesty rumour started 29^th 5 miles 
away.
Today 2 miles Passed on the way back
men cheering. Later took in
the next brigade.   At 5 o'c the
men in uniform of [[shorthand]] officers seen
French & Indians exp.
We were asked when are the Indians expected
They were never expected
6.25  {Message received as reinforcements wanted badly on our right
flank owing to shrapnel fire
At a time when reinforcements badly needed
there were 100's of stragglers on the beach
Wet
Navy w their Seaplane when
xxxx tasked have seen guns had
no

30 'A'
62

My visit to
Bennet 
& M.N.
 

62
31
going over for W mountains &
no sea planes
shelling like that by night would be very serious
Its obvious you can see the shellg at nightfall.
We always have a shelling at 
night fall & yet they
have nt the sense to have
their plane up then.

Ap26 - 27.  Quiet night except 
on left. There 4^th were
heavily attacked & Col.
Onslow Thompson killed & MacNaughton
wounded.
In morning Turks attacked 3rd Inf Bn
coming in thick.  Men pumped it
into them getting up over crest
& handing rifles back for making refilling.
When Turks were getting back near 
they fixed bayonets & men on
rear slope of hill prepared to
charge But Turks did not
come on.
Turks had all the German
methods although some prisoners
sd they had no German Capt 

62
32
At any rate they wd get up to the
rear slope of a hill & then their
officers wd be heard getting at them.
There wd be an argument - like 
the arguments we used to have w /
Arabs in Cairo abt loading a waggon.
They seldom came right on.
Several times Germans Turks were
mistaken for Indians. Once
when N Zealanders were in Trenches
they were told there were Indians on
their left.  A party of abt 50 came
up _^ to 65 yards & 2 officers went out to meet them. They turned
out to be Turks and the officers
are said to have been captured.
Abt 3 o'c on Tuesday Ap 27,
the Turks got a cross fire onto the
beach and sunk / trawler. The
shrapnel ws at one time fierce; but
work went on as usual. It was
only stopped for 30 minutes one
day. The shells almost always went to far.
A few men were hit. But dugouts
were mostly complete & most men were in 
fair shelter. There were just 
loads of stuff on the beach.