Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/43/1 - April - May 1916 - Part 3

4     20

behind them - cut across his
face.  We saw the torn sand bags
in each case.  Herbertson tells
us the Boches have armour piercing
bullets - he showed me one;  a
little steel thing, much smaller
than a nickel covered bullet -
[Hand drawn sketch - please see original] about this size.  Of
course it is weighted differently
& doesnt tip [Hand drawn sketch - please see original] on
striking - it goes straight through
like the old South African bullet.
It goes through 1 ordinary steel
plate loophole, I believe, &
through a fair breastwork
of sandbags.  I have never
seen a case where it really
got through a breastwork.
Went out to see
Capt Skelsey about the Anzac

Quinns.

4            21

Book today.  He was up at
Quinns quite at / beginning -
on / first Tuesday when Rankin
ws in command.  He ws called
in to "put up wire" (on
Tues? or Wed.)  He found the
trenches only a line of disconnected
rifle pits some way behind /
crest with the men standing to
arms in them all night with
bayonets fixed, staring anxiously
at / crest abt 10 or 14 yds
away.  He crawled forward &
there were / Turks digging
opposite - on / other side o /
crest.  He sd: "I can't put
wire out there for you - I
couldnt put men up fast
enough;  but we'll throw some

22

Slow work "Sapping"

[Hand drawn sketch - please see original]

not "trenching"
[Hand drawn sketch - please see original]
 

4      23

out & tt will give you a
little warning."
This ws done.  He then 
cut several saps out towards
/ crest, & opened up T-heads
when he got past / crest,
& connected the T heads.  The
T heads then became the
new fire trench;  & the
old rifle pits, connected up
& in places roofed over so
as to be bomb proof,
became the second line.  This
was there before / end of
May.
Abt / end o / first
wk when he ws constantly
going down to Monash
about this defen. work at
Quinns (like every one who

24

Dead Mans Ridge
 

4    25

knew worked under Monash he has /
highest opinion of him X  -
"He ws x keen to go forward there," he
sd." Abt the 5^th or 6^th Day we
still didnt know whether that
ridge / Turks used to snipe
from was ours or theirs.
Monash asked me & I sd
I thought our men were there.
He asked me to be sure - so
I took a bearing on it, &
then went across to / ridge
our men were holding on
/ other side o / valley, &
found it ws a Turkish
positn after all" (Dead Mans
Ridge - he meant).  "They used
to snipe from there a lot &
Monash became very keen
to take it.
"On the Friday they
intended to attack / Turks
over there - Monash called

26

May 2 1915
 

4    27

me down & told me: ‘Three
bns. are to go out over
popes & one over Courtneys.
They will have to be fed
as they go forward. I
want you to prepare look at them &
see how you can prepare
roads to take / mules
up them.’
"I looked & returned &
told him tt it cd easily be
done at Popes but
Courtneys ws so steep it
wd take a week.
"He sd tt I had better
leave Courtneys alone as
only one bn. ws going
out there, & concentrate
all my attentn on
Popes.
"I did so.  The attack
ws postponed till Sunday

28

X Sergt Wallace, a N.Zealand
Rhodes Scholar who ws
killed talking to Maj. Quinn
at Quinns.
 

4      29

& I ws told tt after /
battalions had gone up I
ws to be ready & in touch
w / sentries on / road.
Word ws to come to them
as soon as / Bns. had
got far enough for me to
continue / road - & the
sentries were to pass /
[*?word*] road on to me.  I sent
up - but as word never
came I went & turned in.
At 2 a.m.. - the marines
had just come up - I
ws up again to see what
ws / reason for / delay,
& one ^X of the _^Engr detachment I
had sent w either the 13^th
or 16^th Bn (there were 10
Engrs with Each) came
back. 'There are only
3 of us left' he sd & we
have orders to come back.’

4        30

At / same moment a man
from / other Engr detachment
came back & sd they had
only 2 left - 5 out of the
20 we had sent w them (we
who remained behind were
only to bother abt / road ).
"I went up / valley
- the bloody Angle.  I never
understood why / troops
had gone up there instead
of at Pope's & Courtney's where
I had always understood
they were to go.  The valley
ws simply a mass of men
- packed with them.  I
supposed they went tt way
because the Otagos didnt get
up in time on their left.  That
ws / secret o / whole failure
but I'm sure Col. Moore ws not
to blame.  He's not / sort of
man to make a miscalculation 
like that."

31

Antills trenches
 

4    32

"Col Monash always used
to be consulting me abt these
works at / head o / valley
abt / time when Maj. Quinn
had taken over;  We got to
refer to it  _^in these conversations as Quinn's Post,
as I ws always in touch w
Capt. Quinn up there - & tt,
I suppose, is how it got
its name."
Skelsey ws hit abt /
End of May, before N.Z.
went in to Quinns.  He
came back later & ws w /
Australian 4^th Bde again
on Aug 6/7^th.  From there he
went to the Apex with
Antill's Bde.  Antill, he
admits, had splendid
trenches;  but he worked his
men to death.  "We had a
party on till 5 a.m." (I think
this was / hour he said told me)" & then

33

most o / girls, French or
Flemish, know a bit of
English now.

4      34

they were put on again at
8 a.m.  I told Antill he cdnt
expect men to work under
conditns like that!"
The men there did far
far more work than they
do here.  To begin with, the
resting division is doing
practically no manual
work at all here;  billeted
in towns, _^& villages drilling & marching
a bit, mashing / girls, &
even resting.  The New
Zealanders whom I saw
today, one Bde of them, at
Morbecque, were resting by
the roadside;  yarning to
girls ^X ;  walking into & out
of town;  even most of
the men in the divisions
in the line are not
working as in Gallipoli.  I
suppose it cdnt be kept

4    35

up from year to year, that
pressure.
I believe N.Z. Divn is now about
XXXXXXX Estaires ;  exc. 1^st Bde, Morbecque.
The Rifle Bde wh passed yesty
is certainly a fine one;  "the
Earl of Liverpools own."
Looked in on dear old
Jn Johnson of 2nd Divn
Arty yesty.  He wont
be quiet for long.
 

May 3rd.  we are getting all
sorts of illumination on
departments of war we scarcely
dreamed of:

For example - all telephone
wires here have to be run on
a metallic circuit;  because
both / Germans (& I believe we)
have instruments by wh we
can tap any conversation
or telegrams along a