Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/12/1 - August 1915 - Part 2

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III LH Bde. Gen Hughes took over on the 6^th.
8 Victorians 9.SA 10.WA.
10-11pm. 6 Aug. Bombardment by Howitzers
7 Aug 4 to 4.30 - big bombardment.
Sent out in 4 lines 150 each on to the Nek
which was about 100 yards wide from N to S.
1^st rush w bomb & bayonet.
2nd line to go to 2nd trench and subsidiary
trenches right & left
Turks never disclosed their m.g.s.
Chief attack on U trenches.
R.W. Fusiliers ½ Bn were to be in Bully Beef
sap, but not to make attack until they saw a flag in
corner of
Hand drawn diagram - see original document
trenches. 

Attack 4.30 when bombardment ceased but it was understood that the ships and

[[shorthand]] were to lift from range onto Chessboard.
At 4.25 Turks opened a murderous fire

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Antill
10 to 15 minutes after 4.30 the flag was put in the
U trenches which was the signal for RWF. in
Monash Gully to go ahead.  Must have been
very few men who put up flag.
Others never got over the trench.
We tried to put our mgs on to the Chess
board over heads of our men.  8^th were
to be in 1^st 2 lines. 10^th 3^rd & 4^th lines
9^th already to man trenches.

By time 3rd (150 men in line)
went there was no hope. 4^th line would have been a line
of engineers & carriers etc. commn trench diggers water parties.

There ws a bn of Cheshires kept
in reserve. Fourth line carried as many
reserve bombs as other 3 together, also
scaling ladders, wire engineers cutters &
gun cotton.

As soon as they saw flag up they

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sent 3rd line.  It never got any distance.
RWF were put in when the flag went up. They
lost 3 officers and 60 men. They started about 5.
Each man carried 2 empty sandbags.

The flag soon went down in / trench
& what few men were left were [[shorthand]] &
these sent down to support men in the Bully Beef
trenches. Few got to bottom of the parapets.
Evening of 7^th two men (M'Garry of 8^th)
returned. He got to firing parapet & told me
no one had got inside. 2nd & 3rd line
of trenches full of bayonets.

Snipers Nest had not bn taken
& men who were on left of attack were
got from there.

Col White insisted on leading. They are digging
a new sap to get his [[shorthand]]
Bde had 9 offrs k. 13 w. 11 m.
Or 50 or k. 170 w. 182 m (402)

Hand drawn diagram - see original document
Lone Pine.

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8 LH only had 180 men left.
We had 4 mgs trained on Chunuk
Bair from low part of Walkers Ridge
wh got well into Turks.  (From Turks Post)

On night morning of Aug 9^th - the day 3 Bn was relieved
Brigadier Smythe was at advance 1^st Bde H.Q.
near junction of Sasse's sap when
just after stand to (4 o.c.) probably about 5 o'c. - 
Turks came along Sasse's Sap but they had bombed
us there very badly and had driven us back about 5 yds.

Our barricade ws abt 4 ft 6 -
Howell Price saw from trench just south a line
of Turks coming up the sap.  He went round & put up men on the
parallel trench to meet them.  They went round to Sasse's
sap & saw them coming up to the sap 3 deep towards him
about 15 yards away.  I looked straight down on them and they were so
astounded that they could not shoot.

I fired about 2 shots and one man [[shorthand]] up his rifle and had
a shot at me.  Ptes Ward, Perkins Jenkins
& 2 others ran across and lined top of sap  Brigadier
and colonel and A.D.C brining up the rear with revolvers.  Nobody was
leading them but some one could be heard urging them on from the rear.
Col Brown ws fatally wounded
2nd day in trench betw two
dead ends to NE of our position (abt
7 am) & had to go back
He was stung with a shrapnel bullet in the head going
across; hit in the fingers tt same night.
Brought out of trench / was so chocked

w dead as to make it easily

enfiladed. That trench ws lost on

night of Sund. May 8 (?) but

does not seem to have been occupied by the Turks.

Somebody saw Beekin wounded
in getting across. White & Garnham
are also missing but probably on top.

13

Austin was shot through the stomach.  Dean of Sydney
who came over this night of B5 Tunnel ws hit in
stomach but saved by his cholera belt buckle.
xxxx
3 RD Bn.
B. Co. 2 platoons in new firing line
2  _________  old ____

C Co.   2 _________  new
2 __________ old
King gave signal at 1 end of B5
McConaghy at other end of B5 repeated it.
D & A followed later in similar formatns.
Linked up w Major Moreshead

of 2 Bn on right.
 Also estab. communication with
4 Bn thro commn trench in rear.
Morning of Aug 7 saw instead of getting 2 small

Commn trenches to link up w 4^th
Enemy noticed move & began to
bomb. We got _^ one trench & so to within
10 yds of 4 Bn. L^ts Howell Price &
F D M'Cleod. Capt Scott of
4^th supported. M'Cleod ws k.
at head of his men in Sasses Sap.

5 am 9^th we had c.attack
2 mgs on this occasion.

Lt D. T. Moore supervised making of
line tho' wounded. (Bayoneted by
one of our own bayonets after shot thro rump)
H. Price found Bn. retiring thro'
false order to retire - stopped
the order in Coy w M'C.
Austin frightfully wounded - rallied

men.
3 Bn captured 2 mgs one damaged &
had one in action agst Turks in

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Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Pte. Hamilton mounted parapet, shot down
bomb throwers.
Gn

On 3rd morning when 60 hours in trenches & stand to
given /  commdr had to pull men up & cdnt

get men to stand wake. They were
asleep at posts.  They were my posts too.

Col Brown ws hit _^ on head by shell leaving trench.
Went across shortly afterwards & ws hit in 2 fingers.
Went over abt 2 am. K. Sat. morning
abt 7.  Came along w a Turk. Hit in x. Sap
thro' rt breast. Price came up. "I'm done - can you get me out of this.
M'C. abt 7 p.m. ws on telephone
near S. Sap. 4 Bn signallers.
3 Bn signallers had  taken a line to 
M'Naughton

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Sergt Adams & L^t Wren. 3 of us were to be
sniping.  2 men got down.  2 men got up.
Shrapnel started to get up and 75 started to get over
Ward ws there.  Shot one Turk
He dropped bomb and killed 2 others.  They cd see
Turks over in communication trench bombing 4^th
There was another on the beach top (5 altogether)
[*head and shoulders
evidently put heads
sandbag

as step.*]
Men were sniping on extreme right 
at Turks in road.  Till dawn they
about 200 - shooting at 800.
Two Turks were looking over the sniping position and got shot dead.

They were quite close.

There was a boy (12 years old) sniping.  Price was after him with
revolver.  To start with they wd stand w head
& shoulders over parapet rifle resting
on it - (This boy ws at it). By time we left
they had finished that.)

Commn trench sniper - we had man w
finger on trigger - they had another all day & night.

Our big Lotbiniere bombs got the Ts
under bec. knock T. parapets abt.
We command T. communications to G. Tepe
(200 men claimed hit by snipers)

4 Bn. MacNaughton went over w /
second line abt ½ hr after first.
The first men found many Ts in
tunnels. We had to step into trenches
foot foremost thro' manholes. Turks
must have bn frightened or cd have
killed all these men. We battled some.

MacN. got telephone thro' w
3 Bn signallers to Col. Brown in
new firing line.

During c. attack a party of
Australians got cut off down
an advanced sap by a M.G.
on J. Jolly which fired straight up
the sap (commn trench). There ws also

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Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Sniper shooting up diagonal
trench. Some of our men
were cut off at B - completely.

A sniper shooting up

a diagonal trench. 

Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Capt Scott & another
managed to get
into a dead
angle at A to throw bombs
over & keep back Turks

Turks have
some sort of a
sap in here -
XY - our Engrs
have twice struck
the head cover
in making
sap across.

Whilst building up a sort of wall
across / trench. They tossed / mens
rifles to / men building / wall & got
supply of bombs back - didnt want
too big supply of bombs because T.s might
rush them. When wall ws built
they rushed / men over it & got over
themselves - m.g. must have bn
looking / other way.

One morning Scott ws in sap
when looked round & thought he
saw something like a head observing
them - 15 ft away. Looked again
but cdnt be sure. Sd to man
beside him "Throw something up
at him & see." Pitched up a bric
bit of earth - thing didnt move,
Sd "heave something big." Picked up
a lump of earth about 6 in square
& heaved it - It got a Turk fair in
the face. He ws up behind parapet,

[*bayonet - Back of T’s line - men who danced*]

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prob. waiting till their backs were turned.
Men who were near Scott say he ws
thro 14 hrs of sheer hell - never got
a scratch.
19 May.
Note for 19 May, L^t Milligan, 4 Bn, ws
standing watching Turks jumping over
parapet. Used to count. "One over, 1 dead,
"2 over, 2 dead; 3 over 3 dead; 4 over
"4 dead; 5 over –  5 wd get away - get
"that man somebody." This was at back
of G.O.T.

One man near ws shooting for all he
ws worth - a T. each time. "I've been
"in kangaroo drives," he panted, "but
"this beats everything." He'd get one T.
each time.

17a
200 - A & B squadrons. Signal ws explosion
of a mine wh cdnt be heard.  Engineer had to
come up to line to tell them it had gone off. Col. Stoddart
arrived saying that he didn't feel justified in leaving post. Bourne gave
the order to go - conveyed by messenger
Hand drawn diagram - see original document

Bomb Proof ws out of rd (taken down in Dark.)
One m.g. in front – one in communication trench from G.O.T.
2 on Deadman's Ridge.  Only got 5 or 6 yds
Most of casualties on parapet.
Right m.g. ws on to G. Officers gun.
No artillery bombardment here. 53 casualties.
Cd see T. bayonets, their trenches were filled
2 or 3 deep. No c.attack.
Only 1st line consisting of 50 men got out.
They were out on the tick at 4.30.
Bomb proof _^ wire at B ws taken, 110 yds of trench to be attacked
2 mgs firing, 3 others there. One man got out & got
back unhurt. Bury on left flank only got [[shorthand]]

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2 LHR. Quinns Aug 7.
1.LH Bde.
6^th. This night from 8.30 pm frequent attempts  
made to draw fire by ruses, bomb throwing. 
Fusilade resulted in each case showing that the trenches were
fully manned.

7^th. 4.30 am 1 group of trenches in front
of Quinns & trenches in front of Popes imd
E. of Deadmans ridge were attacked.
Two Squadions of 2 L.H. under Maj. Bourne
organised into 4 lines.
Diff. to get out of post owing to barbed
wire wh is too far out to be properly 
covered or drawn in & wire
netting bomb shields.

A mine was exploded in front of left centre
& 1^st line under Maj. Logan rushed enemy's trenches.
Immed. m.g. fire was brought to bear from both flanks 
& rifle fire from front. First line ws
mowed down & no one reached the enemy's trenches.
Maj. Logan. L^t Hinton, L^t Burge 15 o.r. k.
L^t Norris, 33 o.r. wd. L^t Col. Stodart stopped