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[Page 22]
7/10/15
Dugouts damp and unhealthy – cannot lie down on a warm day without waterproof sheet and at least one blanket underneath to stop damp coming up from floor.
Quiet during day. Went down mines and tunnels with Bazely, wonderful maze with charges all laid ready to blow up. Drives all timbered by our expert miners, pitch dark, forward firing line just ready for breaking through. Right under them in many cases. They are on same game but we go deep to avoid meeting. Different levels reached per rope down shafts Crouched right at end of each drive on their own are listeners with lighted candles and fixed bayonets. One hour shifts – a tedious job sitting feet under ground just listening for the Turks. Occasionally they blow us up – we retaliate. Last occasion the depth below was too great and their explosion only caused the floor of tunnel to lift like a wave and then subside again. A wonderful labyrinth – quite a relief to get into daylight once more.
Quiet until after tea. Remarkable to state there has been no artillery bombardment today. A few usual sharp sniping until 2030 when first Divn made demonstration sent up parachute rockets, opened heavy rifle and machine gun fire and torpedo boats started firing broadsides on to enemy's trenches. The enemy evidently had a demonstration readied up too for they opened very heavily a second or two before our folk started. Noise prodigious. So hot that our men had to stand to arms here but not a shot was fired although on our right "A" Co. they whipped it in pretty thick. All of sudden they seemed to get the jumps (perhaps some of war ships shells landed right up here) and then the event of the evening occurred. I think the incident must have occurred from some Turk who lost his block as they would not give show away otherwise