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[Page 5]
time.
We got back to camp safely and turned in; little dreaming of what we'd have to go through before we were twelve hours older. We were roused about midnight and set off towards Suvla Bay. We crossed a flat under machine gun fire and turned up into the hills. We had a spell for a while and then moved on, passing on our way new captured trenches and Gurkhas who were just digging in. We got out of the Gurkha trench and charged. I don't remember much more. Everything seems lost in a mist I know that I saw some of my mates killed but that is about all. [This was probably the Battle for Hill 60 – see Bean Volume II page 747)
The Turks cleared from the Trench in front of us and we got in. After a while we cooled down a bit and found that the Turks were on our left and were bombing us. Other companies advanced and drove them out but the Turks opened up with a machine gun which enfiladed the trench. The order to retire was given but twenty-nine of us stayed on. We got a few reinforcements in the afternoon which helped us to repulse the counter attacks made during the night (This was the 27th August when the battalion was cut up.)
We stayed on all next day being shelled all the time and we were not sorry when some New Zealanders relieved us late on the Monday night.
We had a badly needed rest on Tuesday but on Wednesday morning volunteers for another scrap were called for I gave my name in but the charge didn't come off. When I heard the reason why I was glad it didn't. There were trenches full of Turks that we knew nothing of; but we got them two days after
The artillery bombarded for an hour then we went out into a veritable hell of shrapnel machine gun and rifle fire. Men fell everywhere but I managed to reach the enemy's trench unhurt. As usual Johnny did not wait for the bayonet but cleared. They bombed us from the left as on the previous Sunday but this time we had bombs of our own and although some of us hadn't even seen them before we put them to good use. The Turks countered