Diary of Trooper Ion Llewellyn Idriess-1915-Part 4

a schrapnel shell finally bowled over
three of them. They then picked up their wounded

dugouts and retired casually into their

dugouts. 31st Aug. Was on outpost duty

last night. The Turks were very quiet. A

destroyer would occasionally flash a search

light on to the Turks trenches, fire a few

shells, and then quieten down. I could feel

my damned leg aching last night. I have

just had the first wash for four days.

It was delicious. So a sniper was

a pinging at us getting the water and

running back to cover was a bit hurried.

I did not know Gus Gaunt was such a

sprinter before. To see him running

naked from the beach with a bucket

of water in his hand and a Turk

 

[*31*]

the hospital ships anchored

with of smaller craft in

towards the shore. And as I

write this one of our guns own

guns has broken the peace,

a bomb has burst in the trenches,

and now comes the isolated

crackle of rifle fire. 28th. We

have been under a hell of a

bombardment ever since

half past three this morning. Our

own guns and an Indian

mountain battery are replying.

The shells are criss crossing

just above our heads. The

shrieking devils are kicking

up a hell of a row. An hour

ago when it was dark the shells

were bursting in our little

gully and illuminating our

g dugouts with vivid bursts

of lightning. What men the

Australians are. Under this

fire plenty of them are crawling

out and lighting their little

fires. "Breakfast against a

big chance of death." They 

are calling out for stretcher

 

 

bullet whistling merrily just overhead was

very amusing. I was looking on. Evening.

I was on fatigue duty this afternoon. There has

been desultory firing all day. The guns at

present sound the exact counterpart of

rumbling thunder. Johnny the Turk got two

bullets fair into my loophole this morning. He

must be a crack shot. That damn tanbe is

buzzing overhead again. 1st June. last

night the rifle and machine gun fire

was very heavy on the left flank.

Against the Turks trenches facing us a

destroyer several times flashed her shaft

of light, illuming the trenches very plainly,

so plainly, that we could take aim easily

from our own dark trenches, and see

the spurts of dust our bullets made in the

 

[*32*]

bearers now. I don't know

how many are hurt. The Indian

stretcher bearers are going too.

What marvellous escapes. A

shell has burst right in front of

me, just ten feet below two

Infantry chaps who are cooking

their breakfast. They were

covered with smoke and dirt,

but refuse to leave their

cooking. As I write this

another shell has burst beneath

them, and still they will not

move. Another has come, and

this time they have grabbed

their pots and ran. We all

laughed loudly. By Caesar! It is

about time they ran. A fourth

shell has come, and where their

fireplace was is now a cloud of

smoke, ashes, earth and

fragments of shell. by Jove!

we are getting hot. Shells are

bursting among us everywhere

A rumour has come that the

Turks got into the trenches

last night. They never got out

alive if they did, I'll bet...

 

 

sand bags. Then the destroyer fired twice, 

the trench lit with sudden stars of flame,

sandbags, dust and cloudy smoke went

drifting slowly through the bright light. I thought

it must have been very annoying to Johnny

Turk, who was compelled to keep himself well

down out of sight, secondly to have us fire

at him while he dared not show himself

to return, then and finally to have the

guns blow him his parapets to dust,

until the light vanished away. Then he up

and ping, ping, ping, but our heads were

safe and dry by then. As Johnnys bullet

sings overhead, it has got a most ear

splitting, crackling speech... We are

going on another "stunt" very shortly,

most likely to night? A "stunt" means

 

[*33*]

We have had breakfast under their

cursed shrapnel fire. They are 

searching for the Indian

battery now, but their cursed

shells are exploding above us.

These artillery duels are the

very devil for us. Half a stones

throw from us are the Infantry.

Owing to the way the shells

are coming those poor devils

are getting it far worse than

us. One shell has exploded

fair in a dug-out and blown

four men clean into the air.

Another two are hit. If it

were not for our dug-outs

we could not live. They

are perfect shelters, except

when a shell explodes fair

in or above them, at just the

angle where the bullets can

strike into the dugout. It is

getting fearfully hot not,

shells are exploding every

few seconds. As time goes on

the cry is "Stretcher Bearers"

"Doctor" as more of our poor

fellows get hit. Good luck to

 

 

a night Attack on the turkish trenches. A

line of men with bombs all around their

belts creep over the parapet and creep down

the hill, followed by more men with

fixed bayonets. They creep slowly towards

the Turkish trenches, and if they do not

meet any Turkish patrol waiting for them,

or get no murderous fire from the

Turkish trenches, they creep right to the

parapets and suddenly throw as fast as

they can their bombs over the trenches. The

other men then rush in and kill all the

Turks they can with rifle and bayonet.

They then rush back the best way they

can to our own trenches. We have done this

before successfully, though always losing

some men. The question is whether the

 

[*34*]

all the medical men. We have the

shelter of our dug outs, but they

run out under this hail of shrapnel

directly the cry goes up. The

pity of it is we cannot fire

a shot in return. Jee-hos-O-Phat

theres a beauty, and

another. High explosive

shells, a love token from the

Goeben. One poor wretch

opposite has just had hard

luck. His mate was wounded in

the leg. He knelt up, undoing

his mates puttees. A fragment of

shell came clean in the dug

out and took the top of his

head clean off.... This

horrible fire is ceasing. We

have had over five hours of

it, solid. It cannot be surely

possible, but a few hundred

yards away from all this

bombardment comes the

command "Slope Arms",

Order Arms" etc, on Drilling

men on a battle field. Surely 

those in command have not

gone mad?... There was

 

 

Turks will be waiting for us with a machine

gun or two, or have the trenches filled with

men. It is certain they will not be caught

easily this time. And a man cannot help

wondering whether he will see tomorrows

dawn. He would not be a human being

otherwise.... The sound of heavy gun

firing comes rolling over the sea from

Cape Helles. It is the same thing here a

bit of shrapnel for breakfast, then Johnny

the Turk behind his loophole, we behind

ours, shot for shot. Johnny got one of the

new men last night 112.H. Sometimes

Johnny is very daring and cunning. Two

of us are watching now fire little

pieces of old dried bush. Behind this

bush is a small hole which Johnny has

 

terrible fighting in the trenches at

Quinns Post last night. 70 stretcher

bearers are bringing our dead

and wounded from the trenches.

...Just now we heard the devil

of a hullabuloo. Jumping up

we saw a hare running at

record pace across a small

sand hill. All the men

cheered the hare, and yelled

and laughed.... Things are

quiet now.... A man was just

shot stone dead in front of me.

We were going for water.

Sudden death is a horrible thing.

...Last night the Turks exploded

a mine under the trench at

Quinns Post. A lot of our

poor fellows were killed. The

Turks then threw hundreds of

bombs into the shattered

trench, and our men had  to

retire into the support

trench, while the Turks

took possession of our trench.

Our men gathered themselves

together and counter attacked,

driving the Turks from the

 

 

dug and carried away in the night time. These

old dry bushes are in odd places down the

hill at the foot of his trench, and in these

holes lies Johnny, with his rifle poked in the 

bush. Thus the smoke is hidden. We fire at

the loophole trenches. Johnny fires straight at

us. It takes a powerful telescope and a great

deal of patience to tell exactly when Johnny

is in his little hole, but when we are sure

that he is, we are going to send him to

heaven in just a few seconds. There is no

escape for him. 2nd June Had a rest in

the supports last night, and it was great

Am on fatigue duty today. I I volunteered

to our old major to try and get behind the

Turkish lines and find out the positions

of their hidden guns. But he assured me it

 

trench with great loss to the Turks.

Their loss is now estimated at

1500. Out of part of the trench

occupied by the 15th alone they

have just pulled 59 bayoneted

Turks. Between us and the

Turkish line of trenches the Turkish

dead lay are lying in heaps ....

These little destroyers amuse

me. One in particular sneaks

close in to the shore, and blazes

away at the Turkish batteries,

just like an angry terrier at a

big dog hiding behind a fence.

The noise of her gun is far bigger

than she is herself. 50 of our

men were killed at Quinns

Post last night, including Capt

Quinn. But the heaps of Turkish

dead between the two trenches

bear testimony to our revenge.

.... Firing is very quiet today.

We have had breakfast while

watching two big planes

being shelled by the Turks. As

usual, they could not hit them.

Sunday afternoon. Our guns

have just started a lively

 

 

was certain death, and impossible to accomplish

unless perhaps a man knew Turkish 

well. So after a while I went and had a 

sleep instead. The stunt was not on last

light. There are some very great things

done on this Peninsula. In one charge of 

the 1st L.H they lost a lot of men, and their

wounded lay in front of the trenches for

days and they could not get them. Two 

wounded men were lying close to the

Turkish parapets and five of their mates

went out to get them but were shot.

One man managed to crawl back after

two nights and a day, and told how the 

Turks had thrown biscuits and water

bottles out to them. The other man lay

out there four days, and wrote with

 

bombardment. The Turkish reply

is weak. The rifles are cracking

from the trenches now. I wonder 

if an attack is going on. Rumour

has it that the English and French

have captured the big hill that

bombards us so much. But it

is only a rumour ..... The rifle

fire is running the circle

of the trenches and bullets are

beginning to whistle about

us..... The bombardment is

furious now. The screeching

devils are bursting above

us every few seconds. The

whole valley is shaking

with the roaring guns the

whole air is torn with the

horrid whistling, screaming shrapnel.

..... And yet with all this

death tearing about there are

actually a few men out of 

their dug outs tending their

cooking fires. No wonder the

Turks call us the mad bushmen

..... A mine has exploded in

the trenches. Things are very

lively. The machine guns are

 

a piece of charcoal on a board that he

was hit with the cap of a shell, unable

to move, to come out and get him. But

they could not get him. Next morning he

had disappeared. The Turks must have

taken him into their trench.... We

have got some bread today. What a

relief after these infernal cast iron

biscuits. .. Desultory firing is going on.

a bit of Turk shrapnel flying about,

which killed one of the 6th machine gun

gunners. A few of the cruisers are speaking

to the Turks. There is very heavy fighting

continually going on in over on the

left flank. We hear that some of the

new Tommies are very hard to

 

sputtering .... The cookery enthusiasts

have ducked. Two shells burst

right over them ... By Jove, I

have just had a narrow escape.

A shrapnel bullet has grazed my

right knee .... The bullets from

one of the Turkish machine guns

are flying over our dug outs.

They sound just like whistling

canaries..... The fire is

easing down. We are glad ...

The guns are firing desultorily.

I suppose they will keep going

all night. 31st Last night my

troop and D troop were called

out but only for trench digging.

My knee was too stiff for me

to go. If my troop go into the

trenches without me it will

be horrible. I want to be in

the first fight the 5th are in,

I don't care so very much

afterwards. ...Six of our

fellows got shot yesterday

It is damned hard our 

getting picked off like this

and not being able to fire

a shot in return.... Last

 

understand how to use bombs. Some

bombs are timed to explode in five

seconds. Instead of counting One, Two,

and then throwing the bombs, some

of the Tommies will count five

seconds straight out and the bomb

explodes in their hand... Some of the

men get nerves and shoot themselves

to get away out of it. One silly fool

shot himself through the foot but the

lunatic took off his boot to do it. Result,

two years imprisonment. Afternoon. Poor

Bates is shot. Poor old Bates. He came

over with me only a few days ago in the

Huntsend. He had been wounded on the

28th June. He was watercarrying. The 

bullet passed through the water tins

 

night they buried a few of our

fellows and a lot of the Turks.

killed yesterday afternoon ....

There has been a big

explosion out at sea. The

destroyers are racing about

with their sides awash with

foam. I hope no more of our

boats have been torpedoed.

... We are detailed for the

trenches this afternoon, and

I am sick .... A few odd

shells have been coming

and going all through the

day. Corporal Noisy was badly

wounded yesterday. Poor Noisy.

... The doctor is making me

stay behind for a day or two.

As the regiment is only

going sapping after all, I 

do not mind. 1st June I

have just watched a poor

devil of an infantryman

being carried down on a

stretcher. Half his face

was shot away, and he was

trying to sing Tipperary. And

 

 

and pierced his stomach. I very much

hope he will not die. It is very strange.

but all the men of our regiment who

have been wounded and returned have

been shot within a few days of their 

return. Bates is a real merry, decent

little Australian. Evening. Poor Bates

has died. A bugler of ours, Roberts, was

shot through the stomach. He died at sundown,

singing a couple of verses of Annie Laurie.

I was joking with poor old Bates this 

morning, too... A bullet has just hit

the embankment above my head, and a 

fragment lodged at my feet. 3rd September

Was in the firing line again last night.

Am firing line and working, in trenches

today. All quiet. There is much sickness.

 

yet here I am lying in my

dug out, in no pain, fretting

like a great kid because I

could not march off with

the regiment. My blooming

knee is now poisoned. The

7th L.H occupied our dugouts

during the early hours of the

morning. I hobbled to the 7th

doctor this morning, and

when I returned someone

had pinched my poor

supply of jam. After a while

I complained to the man in

the next dug out that they

might have left a sick mans

jam alone. He has shared

his dinner with me. He has

two onions, I have a tin of

beef. He is going to to fry

them tonight and we are

going halves. How I am

looking forward to to-night.

He is going to keep my water

bottle filled. If he gets shot I

think I will nearly cry. I

cannot boil tea, and steel 

biscuits with water and