Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/76/1 - April 1917 - Part 3

5                                    23

Hancock put them

in where he wanted.

 An R M L 1 Genl

ws up there [[?]] night.

The R M L 1 were

put in amongst our men.

 

Ms of Ap. 28 D's

men were withdrawn

The fight had just bn

a sniping one. The

T. ws walking abt

in front during t

night making a great

noise with horns,

shouting, barking of

dogs - possibly

intended to frighten us.

 

 

5                                           24

The Bn ws reformed

on Shrapnel Green.

Reinfts had arrived

by then They camped

just abt where they

had landed.

The 9 Bn ws sent

from here to relieve

10 Bn on extreme

of the line. Wilder

Neyijan had change of

the post on the beach.

Robertson had bn

wounded early just

off the beach -

Salisbury was in

commd.

 

19 May.

 

5                                  25

The Turks after

attacking all night were

seen in t morning

doubling in single file

across Poppy valley

(there ws a beautiful

crop of red poppies

growing there - well

down the valley toward

the Ts) 3. M. Gs were

got into position & played

on them & broke them

up before they cd

deploy on the

Chathams Post ridge

& the Seaward slope.

 

 

5                                             26

Abt 5 pm. afternoon

before an aeroplane

warning (troops landing)

had come from

G. H. Q.

D. slept in a blanket

in t front line [[?]].

Abt ? 11.30 dogs were

heard barking. wh

meant some sort of

activity.

Abt 3 mins later

a shot went off

from the Ts.

The Ts came out in

waves all night.

A sergt in a listening

post wd call Allah

Allah as the Turks

 

27

Wilder Nelijan -

then a subaltern - ws

Dougall's rt hand man

on this occasion, T

a tower of strength

 

5                                  28

did. The Turks

were shouting Allah

Allah - & the sergt

replying seemed to

draw them up into

a little gully below.

D & C Corps where infs

were got onto them.

The next morning

there were many

Ts dead in t barbed

wire - "The shelling

with HE which they

gave us then caused

more casualties

than t attack.

The 9th Bn buried

abt 200 - 300 Turks

in Poppy Valley.

 

29

Wilder Nelijan

Raid :

Hand drawn sketch

 

5                                   30

Nelijan took 50 men

for an enterprise arrayed

w G.H.Q. for a night

(or dusk) raid.

Abt 7.30 he took t

men out through t

wire on t slope towds

the beach.

On a given signal

(a rocket) the destroyer

(with Eric Plant on bd)

steamed off parallel with

the beach - she had bn

waiting opp. the Beach post.

Wilder got out & put

his men fan fashion &

 

                                     31

the tbd advanced

parallel but forward of

him.

She fired 33 4 in shells

just in front of his men.

As soon as each shell

had exploded they

wd go on like a creeping

carriage.

When she got opp.

Twin Trenches she

plunged her search

light out t ob[[?jive]] -

put in 2 shells, &

Wilder & his men pumped

shell just in immd after the

two shells.

They brought back one

live Turk (in accord. w orders)

 

5                                          32

They bayoneted all t

men they cd get &

came back without

t loss of one man.

Dougall tells me that this

is what one Bde (6th, 24 Bn) left at

Becourt Camp in 1917

(spring) a few days ago.

Rifles                     67

Steel Helm           47

Blankets               152

Leather Jackets   90

W.P. Capes            62

W.P. Sheets           37

Gas Helmets        107

Overcoats               24

 

5                                             33

Tunics                       30

5 large

paliasses full of Equipment.

C.P Felt Hats            18

P & Boots                  19

SAA                     10,000 rds.

Cooking cart

boilers                         2

Hurricane lamps      8

Hessian (Rolls) -        3

Sandbags           13,000

Bayonets                   86

Hatchets                      6

Meatchopper              1

Stable Brooms           4

Mess tins                    16

Preserved meat         2 tons

     "        Vegetables    18 tins

Biscuits                        8 cases

Rifle Grenades           17 cases

Hand      "                   130 cases

Smoke bombs           30

303 empty cases         8 bags

Mail bags                     50

Stokes Gun ammn     36 cases

Cases of caps for

Stokes gun                     2

 

5                                      34

Wire cutters                   2 pr.

Symingtons Soups       6 cases.

8 large sacks of miscellaneous

articles.

 

He reported it to Somerville

& Somerville strafed the 

Battalion over Gellibrands

head without letting G. know.

Bridges the GSO1 of the 2nd Div.

is very hostile to Gellibrand

for some reason. Somerville

is not.

 

Ap. 27th, Osborne tells me

he has a post, very far

forward by the Tank, from

which to watch the

coming fight. It will be a

pretty hot corner. He sd

he wd invite me there

to watch it with him.

Hore thinks that there ought

to be some second person

there with Osborne & was