Item 02: Roy Frederick Arnold letter diary, ca. 1915-August 1916 - Page 6

[Page 6]

about a dozen times during the night but they were repulsed every time. They got to within a few yards of the trench at times but they got no further. It was a lively night.
We were shelled all the next day (28th Aug) but things were comparatively quiet. That night our Light Horse took part of the trench which the Connaught Rangers had lost the night before [see Bean Volume II page 753]. Sunday was very quiet but we suffered from lack of sleep and water and we were not sorry when the 19th Batt took over from us.
The next few days were occupied in digging saps up to our new position and after that we went back to Anzac to a place called Monash Gully.
Our battalion was now to weak to take over a position having lost more than three-quarters of its effectiveness. So we were used for fatigues and outposts.
On one outpost known as Kinton's Post you could side on the parapet without being fired upon. The post was a very open one but as the Turks had a similar on both sides agreed that these posts would not be fired on.
For several weeks our Battalion was in Monash Gully to weak sometimes to do the fatigues. The men were sick and overworked but Reinforcements from other battalions and some of our own brought us up to something like fighting strength.
Early in November we went to Steele's Creek Courtenay's Post. While on Steel's we were shelled almost every day but we had very few casualties.
We were now beginning to think of a spell as the First Division had just returned from theirs. We heard that we were going and then we heard that we weren't and then again we heard that we were. And then came the shock. We got news that we were to evacuate. We couldn't believe it at first but the truth of the rumours was forced home to us when we saw the preparations that were being made.