Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/76/1 - April 1917 - Part 4

35
29 June 1915

36
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proposing to go himself.
We think [[we?]] will try
& put White off it.

Hore gives me the
follg acct of the 29 July
on the Peninsula when
Ts attacked Russells Rop.
When / Turks attacked
the 3 or 4 men of 9 LH who
were in the secret sap,
right in [[?]] of T. attack<
got out of the sap & some
Ts got into it, most of [[?]]
crossing it however. The
9 L.H. retook the sap, filing
into it thro [[?]].
There were only 38 rifles
of C sqn.8^th L.H. holding
the centre o / positn &
38 men probly in / supports
& were firing over their
heads - 76 Rifles in all.
 

37
[*5*]
Except for the 9th L.H.
in the Secret Sap, & the
men of B Sqn 8th L.H. on
the right firing at bits o /
attack up / right hand
xxx corner of xxx Russells Top
there were no others.
There ws a m.g. on
Turks Point - which
got some flanking parties
of Ts. It ws / only m g
employed.
When / attack started
Hore had to go down to
his saps to see how they
were. There was a fairly
new tunnelled sap out to
a boundary post. There
ws a man standing at
/ entrance o / tunnel
 

38
Hore heard / leading man
say something in a whisper
to someone. behind him
- possibly it ws an offr leading.
he may have had
a revolver - this Turk - or
may have bn feeling
along w his rifle in
front of him.
 

39
[*5*]
(I think P, but possibly
where A - an open [[tread?]]
for fire trench goes into
joins it) firing into the 
tunnel. He said:
Dont go there - its
chock full of turks.
Hore asked if all our
own men were out -
They're all out - the
man said - every one.
Hore sd: well someone
must go down it - &
cocked his revolver & 
started down the tunnel.
Presently he heard a 
man move - He had
xx reached the far
end o / tunnel & a
man came along 
abt 15 ft away. hore
shot - & / man also shot
back ^at / flash and disappeared^X &
Hore went back a bit
to make sure tt there
were no Turks in
 

40
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behind him. If they
had xxx got in behind
him there ws nothing
(in / press of the fight,
for our men were firing
as hard as they cd and
attending to nothing else)
to prevent them from getting
into / trench & bayonetting
the shooters.
Then Hore came down
into / tunnel again.
This time he heard someone
scratch scratching along
the tunnel.
There was light coming
in thro' an opening in / top
o / tunnel, & presently
by this faint light Hore
saw something grey moving
just beneath it. he
waited till / man was
within a few yards & then
fired. He heard the man
 

41
[*5*]
draw a deep breath -
"Ooh 0 ooh." & knew he
had hit him. Then Hore
went back again.
Hore reported this
tunnel cleared.
(He was holding it
himself really, clearly.)
He was going down it a
last time - when a man
pushed right on to him
saying in a low voice
something indistinguishable
like "Leave pass!"
Hore fired - & found it
was a man of ours.
Altho a man coming out
of / tunnel had told him
tt eveyone ws done, there
was a pair of miners
in it all / time, who
had lain low in / end o /
tunnel (which ws to have
gone under / T. [[trench?]]
The pasword was

[[Merriwle?]] - & / man
 

42
[*5*]
sd afterwards tt he
used it, but it is
very doubtful.
 

Capt. Maclaurin,
the 2 in c. of 8^th L.H. &
Hores senior offr. who
was not a very daring 
offr himself (and who
ws / only offr who went
no distance from / parapet
on Aug 7 before getting
unharmed into a hole
& staying there) ws very
down on Hore for this
& wdnt believe his
story. But his Colonel
(White) believed it.

The Turks were beaten by
sheer rifle fire. The shout
was "Pick off the fat beggar
with the baggy pants" -
"Get that skinny devil" =
& so on. Officers & others
 

43
[*5*]
taking hot rifles & handing
up cool ones - &
were loading rifles & handing them up. -
Most o / Turks had no
cartridges - but one
Turk ws found lying
dead & nearby 30 cartridges
- & 4 or 5 ot our men
were sniped thro the
head - probly by him.
 

Marmalade
Butter.
B. olives
Cafe au lait
Ideal Milk
or, if not, sucre'.
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Photos.
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