The Road to Chunuk Bair

Mataria and Musketry. Mataria is the only green spot about here. We get shade and the eye rests on fertile fields of Oats Barley and Alfalfa. One sees the two team oxen drawing an old wooden plough along the heavy earth, camels in the fields kneeling to take their huge loads of forage, and here and there the cattle tethered on their feeding ground for the day. The land is heavy and wet with the irrigation waters continually flooded on to it but is immensely productive. We returned to Camp at 4.30 p.m. Dusty and dry.

The Battalion paraded at 7 a.m. and with the Brigade marched out about 6 miles to take part in a Brigade attack. Our Brigade was opposed by the 4^th Australian Infantry Brigade and an interesting days training resulted. Our Regiment was in the advance guard and got into action very early. We were able to hold our own and did not come in for any adverse criticism from the umpires. The day was most oppressively hot and dusty. What wind there was came from the South in fiery breaths, which created the most intense thirst. We were all delighted to return to camp and get wet inside and out.

Devoted to Drill in vicinity of the Camp. In the evening a night march or rather a night advance was practiced by the Brigade. The Brigade moved in line of Regiments in column of platoons at deploying interval. The Brigade thus extended advanced for half an hour and distances and direction were very well kept. The Brigade returned to camp about 8 p.m.

The Battalion marched to Mataria and spent the day in musketry instruction. There was a stiff wind blowing all day and heat and dust had everyone in a bad temper by 11 a.m. A D.C.M was held for trial of S.M. B Woodhead.

A windy hot and disagreeable day. Dust rising every where and the atmosphere in a tightly laced tent choking. Single skinned tents are no good in this country in the summer time. The sun strikes through so fiercely as to compel the wearing of a hat even in the tent on the sunny side. There was a Brigade Church Parade. Padre Major Luxford preached. He preached one of the sermons he dished up to us on the “Maunganui”. We are beginning to recognize a good many of his best efforts as somewhat familiar, a circumstance which does not enhance their impressiveness. Most of us managed to make up some of our lost sleep during the day.

The day was spent quietly. Leave was general after 2 p.m. Being Saturday night Cairo was crowded and very busy.

Company training 8 to 11 a.m. We expect to have Divisional operations again tonight though no definite orders were issued this morning. From  2 p.m. we were standing by waiting for instructions. About 7 p.m. Brigade orders came through for a move at 8.40 p.m. It was a dark night with a good moon rising about midnight. Our Regiment took its place in the Brigade at the hour ordered. The men carried their full kits in pack and most of them wore shorts. We marched about 8 miles via Heliopolis and the Suez Road to the place of assembly for the Division which was reached about midnight after approximately three hours marching. As soon as we arrived we learnt that our Brigade was to take up a portion of a line, occupy and entrench it immediately. Our Regiment was allotted 600 yards of the front. Coy. Commanders rode up with the O.C. Regt and were given their sections of the line. Entrenching tools were quickly issued from the Brigade reserve and Coy. Commanders marched their commands up in rear of their portion of the frontage. The 200 yards allotted to our Company was quickly parcelled out amongst the 4 platoons and the clink of pick and shovel was soon audible along the whole line. We started digging at 1 a.m. in good moonlight. Platoons had 14 pick and 14 shovels each and 50 yards of front. The digging was difficult, the soil being hard and stony. At 4.30 a.m. digging was stopped and everyone stood to arms. At dawn an attack was made by a skeleton force on the whole entrenched line. We had dug about 30 yards of trench per platoon with a couple of communication trenches as well. At 6.30 a.m. the troops filled in the trenches, reassembled by units and marched back to camp. Mounted officers attended the “pow-wow” always held by the G.O.C after the manoeuvres were over. The G.O.C expressed himself as immensely pleased with the work done by the Division. Our Regiment reached camp at 9.30 a.m. The men were quite ready for breakfast and soon tucked themselves away for a snooze. Only two men of our Company failed to see out the nights work. One fell out marching out to the place of assembly while the other was taken suddenly ill while digging in the trenches. This was an immense improvement on the 24 who fell out on the previous days Divisional training. At the conference the G.O.C indicated that we would soon be making a move, that we would require our warmest underclothing, but he did not mention our ultimate destination. Speculation is very rife as to whether we are to take part in the operations in the Dardanelles. The prospect of taking part in an expedition to this locality is viewed very favourably by most of the men.

The work today was of a light nature following the heavy demands made on the men yesterday. Platoon and Company training in the morning and Regimental parade in the afternoon.

A cold sharp night followed by a characteristic Egyptian day. We moved out punctually to time. Each man carried 12 rounds Blank Ammtn. Pack horses 8 rds per man. Our Regiment was last in the Brigade. We marched by road to the ground in rear of Abbassia Barracks about an hour and a half’s march. Here the troops of the division not comprised in the Advance Guard assembled. At 10 a.m. we started to move to a fresh place of assembly about three to four miles distant. The route was across undulating stony ground. We marched continuously for an hour and three quarters, up hill most of the time, and across patches of sand. The men were carrying their full packs and soon began to fall out. Being the last Company of the last Regiment in the Brigade we got all the worst of the going and were practically at the double the whole time. At 12 o’clock there was a halt of an hour or so for dinner. Officers and section commanders had a look at the position to be attacked. At 1.15 p.m. the advance began. Auckland and Canterbury Regiments of our Brigade going in to the attack, Otago and Wellington following in Reserve. We advanced up to within 1400 yards of the position and when we were on the point of deploying to go in the Stand fast sounded. We were working with the Australian troops in our Division but being in reserve saw little of them. The men marched back to Camp while mounted officers proceeded to the position for the G.O.C’s conference. This lasted about an hour. The Stand fast sounded at 4.30 p.m. Units came home independently reaching camp at 7.30 p.m. where a late tea awaited them. On the way home the G.O.C Division stopped and congratulated Capt Cameron who was in charge on the excellent way in which the Company was marching, especially in view of the extremely heavy day which they had put in. It was about an eight miles march back to camp, but despite their great fatigue the men came back in good spirits. It was voted absolutely the most strenuous day the Regiment had had since its arrival in Egypt. 24 of our Company fell out on the line of march, while another Company had 22. Other Regiments suffered quite as much as our own. The men must have covered quite 18 to 20 miles during the day.

A quiet day. Platoon, Company and Regimental training. We move out at 7.45 a.m. tomorrow for a Divisional Field Day.