Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/8/1 - May - June 1915 - Part 12

102
Those who saw it all through say it ws a pitiful
sight - like watching a man die, slowly, fighting
for his life. I think there were only 50 drowned - 
they much have bn drowned in the Engine
room worth – She at have her water tight doors
shut.
t0
Since then we have had no large aarohip
at anzac. The Bacchante left us yesterday
& has not come back today. The Albirm
went of at the same time injared. The <?> 
is sunk & the rest have gone except
destroyers searching for submarines and
you can see those all day moving serthing
off to sea.
Ibelies they saw he torpido that
was fired at them- sawet when it ws abt
100 yd away from the ship. They say Ibr
Vengiance also had one fired at her -
but that it missed.

Wednesday May 26th.
Exceedingly quiet night & day on
the beach- as it has on ever since, man
19. A British Acroplone) flew over [O
hropped two bombs behind Looce Fine
We adnt see what was in the gally there,
but probably it was a reserve of Turks
This high explasns makes a naity sccan
a high noto - when it wrsts soty say.
 

103
there are as ships now watering litew of
our plankss ws no searahlight last
night. All the transports have bn taken from
the anchorage &only a few t awhrs, some
erpty barges moored to buoys, & an
occasional storeship are litt. When Goops
came t are cansferredto destioges
at Lemnod? Stones are transtipped also.
Water is pumped from trangports into to awlers at
Iabros, & brought by the toawolers to our water
pentoons. A few pinnaces a toypeds boat
abt make ap our Ships now.
our can an a wardlip of two down
as the Pout stitl,
The gun on the bilts to the 9hup 971
somewhere - has the range of our beact to
A pacety. Wher any des troyer or atten stirg
coves in to a particular point may one of
the buoys shes singly fun (wh devates its
attention to beact is on to her in a
few seconds. The caple ship came in this
morning & ty got stoaght onto her, & knew
thret or four Shrepncl out hor, when they
The steand out again quickly
Tonght at 9.55 four distroyers
came in fall of troops. Honessage was, I
believe sent from Imbros at 4.0 t say
they were coming but it did not arrise
until 5. In the meantime ty
the destroyers arrived & one of them
 

104
came stranght in & anchosed in exacty the
position in which the cable ship had anchored,
clote to the barges. The gun immediately got
onto her I trew two stripnel over her, one
or two short & then 8 or 10 per onto her. The
deeks were packed with men- they coonty stand of
face it. They were fatting tike sheep & before the
ot out 51m & csoldiers had been kitted
&p wounded. I had these figures from the Roctor
on board. The men were recnforcements
men who had been wounded & were
relurning from alex about 2009 of them.
Aflerwods it was a builliant noonlight might. If the
destrayers hat been told to come 4 hous later,
or even to avoid that dangerous bert is
and not have happened. But like atmost every
arrangerent carried out by Ke catside
staps (it was criminally stuped at
least that is my personal observation of
the work of the by staps running this show.
About $2,000 reinforcements & returned
woundeds came back last night & today.
There will be more convalescents back
very sportl, I believe.
One man who returned provided
a pooblin for the powers! There turnd up
A man sent to regiment unknown.
When Toote asked him what he was be
said he had had infantig to aming, but he
had enlisted in thsshow as an amo
 

105
man. "Daly I ad a little difference with my
Colonel an I sed to be seat back - I didn't
wand & go back - I came out to do my bit an
I dontwant to go back without doin it – so I
came on here (he managed to get through s puehon).
Id like you to puting in the infonty if yer
cd. Sir Doote sd, I suppost you
were sent back after court marticl Yea Sir
Well. I expect wigly put you ander aquant
asend you hove.
Idout think they wil the
told me
a. You cant charge him with desertion,
whenhe comes toth back to tport?
Mo
What are we doing all this while? I
wish I knew. Waiting for the sreek elections on
June 137 We are a containing force - they
tell us so from G.H.Q. and I suppose they are
right because at the time when we canto have
gone forward they decided we were to stay here
& took two brigades away to the place where the
move was really to be made - used them up
pretty well & sent them back. The Tarks are
now builder us in all round, getting
their lives stronger & stronger every day;
doubt if we could move out thro the pont
Even if reinforced, today, threy have apuns
in their firing line at Johnsons Tally & our
howitzers say they can't get at them & our
 

185
15pdss have no common shell. they
are mading goidiron treches in places where
their trenhes were wak our ot is
silling & looking on. Our artillery amaunition is
pretty strictly cat down, we set about one half
hour of acraplan in 3 days. The ravyo
now out of it - we canscarcely expect them
to come out & be tospedoed day by day
althaugh there are warship visible down South
-possibly some of them are sham wardheps. Sixteen
g our guns are of helping in the past down
Sout
We are a containing force s we are
holding up ane force of to whilet another forco
of ours somewhere etse does something. But
what is there any prospect of its doing? We
might with a shoul, have pt our mann
ridge but 2o force under 250,000 will
Slf Achi Babl. Dofas as I can see the
force down there is doing exactly what we
are -nanich, allowing an army of
Egk sas
Turks to make itself, remendauchy
strong in a position already naturally
strong.
May 27th Thursday.
Turks shelles our 4th Bn. trenches
from their 3 emplacements on Tohnstonss
Tally this morning for about 20 minutes
with common shell or high Explosive at
att 300 yards & wate a hast of some
 

10
pretty good trenches). Thats where the next attack
I expect will come from. Their reserves are
behind there, & if they smash up the 6/ Bor
trenches they can make thei attack apst
quinns without fear of the fire from the 4th wth
has been so deadly before. quinns doesnt
wratter somuch. But thet 15t Bate trunckes
are our stregth over kere.
A good deal of sapping is joing on all along
our line. A map of saps as thiy stand today
was made by Martia. I have a copy of it.
Te acroplans - the one wh woks like a taube-
was over again tday. Quiet afternoon - warm
beautiful bakking.
Jack Buti looked in on me today- I was
just going up to inquire after him in case be hard
beer in the charge of the 13th. But that ws the
End Squadson. His was the End. He as looking very
fit - hadbeenin quinns & was now on
Popes. He says they were attacked on the morning
of the 18th.
The Bacchante has been absunt the last.
two days - we saw her last the day the
Albion was ashooe. They say she left Lemnos
+ has not (since been heard of. I do hope
nothing has happened to per - the Trrumph
& the Bacehante were our tristod old
mainstays.
The majestie is said to have been sunkly
a submarive this morning at 60.c. off
Cape Hellas. There are DC be 2 submainie
but it 15 mere ramour that I hear,
 

108.
her
Lind returned today from Alexter
in aoysital wereafter his fall down, te Noveans
hold. Ac says that Cairo & Alexpeople - not
British only but all a nation alities - are being
extraordinarily kind. They are taking convalesents
to free te hospital. Nearly all the big hotels are
now peapitals (including menn still where therr
are 400 comalisant under Geringthorpe
But there have been reations at Heliopolis where
Ransay Smith E Rarret command - they
cant take more the (600 & some of the maise
are simply worn out so that ho ad not recopise
them. The Fergusons are an enample of whit
privates residents are doing. They are everyby
at the Hospital - Mars acutting up bread+
food for 700 patient 12 hours aday; & the
doctor coming down after his work at
the medical school every day to help her.
On the way from Dinnos to Alex. ty
hadan interesting little side show. It a als the
End of april that 6 large transports full
of wounded and ricle, as sorted by I distroyers,
a despatch Coar, the dummy Toger,
the Doris calledin as Smagrna. The duning
tegir made all the smabe she hould from
her fanels. Tay arno off Smyrna not
to clost in - them round to an cmpty.
bayg to the toath of it and ta ofaayd
 

109
a looked as if they were ig to land - but drong
fire as all at night steamrd off t arrived
in Cylygt t papers rend a report & an Briticn force
had landed do Smgpa.
The durning tgir is an 18000 ton
Westera Occan liner (a one pandel- cat off
(bry say) by an axy-acctycene flame in a move
or leas stranght line with apper work of canoas
a jinstation canvas guns. She really is anrexogning
ar3 milssom nearer she is alright in profite
bad neares her stern o bow give her away They
fided a crutser bow & stern outo her in outhur
but it is only in outhure beaud with a ligh
staught plating + of she inclose you can
see the difference n angle
T
they day she cost o sooss to cut down
$26,000 to repair Ep24 40/108
H.& Capt Dixter JCLCCo also be
hold me of the course kept by the mine weekers
tnold country. A friend of his - ating owner
going up the narrow channel
adn_ would find nerchantien a Coupte
of t00 yos way anchored not darng to move.
Whe want dore w fo near thin of this wont
dant to str ant daytight.
2 moved into any new dug out this cop.
after any for 2 days caseys guist. The
tatieer were just getting dinnor in post of
 

they do that
tehe tep oatin
soie
roud by
a
in y
 

110
it when a suchburst up the valley & hit two of
them. It also wounde a meles and seriversly dedunded
an indeam. One of the valmen) Catteride, was only
bruined by the pebet - it cout and his clottes but
didnt 10cn. The other little Rily) had only just
dure ashore after being wounded in the old He.
on the beach. The first wound had been on his
seres This time it weat two his bothom 2 came
opt again only a flesh wound fortunately. He was
orembling all over out langhing. I trank ked
life to get our of it tho cnowf They have been two
rough with him altogetiog, there tarker
Bright moon nearly full. Do deatinger
arceleofrebuneeout behive a
diatoyer to there. One f the Carger ones was
firing away manfully for as truught from her
6in gun (an our Aptplank. I daressy she
can do quiete a lot of good. The capt. of the
Canopas is on board a distroyer cow of
eparse he is comong done in dur bar
G.8.35 curt heavg rifle fire.
10.55 Ripe & madhig in
tn
eney.
May
29th Fnday.
The firing in the Turk trenches last nigrs
was due to the men in our 30d Bn who fixed
bayonets & up & down their trenches
& cheered - whereupon the Turk immedates
let off a hail of bullets 50 high, they sd, that
 

10
Rey cd not bear them- At least thats what glaspend
says. I shd have tought if they ednt hear them
they must have by directed another way probly
at quians post. We can bear ballets here 60070
feet at least above our heads.
He seand time we chured by (blage again
And must have was to housands of romos Bnt
the brd or fousk time they ceemed rather to tumble
G L. Howeaod this is only second hand.
saye
The
o At 10.00 there was sagnd fermy
apill by our own people
this morning I saw kenyon of the mountain
ballery carryin down a piece of shell . Our
people say it as fired from one ofons batteries
fellinto our truches he sol. They say
it fell there at7 + we didn't fire agan until
1o. Dam taking at down to show gen. Cunliffe
Owen
we asked if it was one of our shells.
aged its a shell like ours alright beed.
We asked if it were one four own shells fined
back abus
No, the N. 3s had o mountain betterned
two years ago at they didn't want, so they
sold tem to the Turks he5d. That Low
Were getting (them?
The Tarks will know the dlemoralinn
offect of being fire on by your owngun &