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Friday, 07 August 2015 17:47

The diary of Soldier Hannen - Part 2

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French students have imagined the diary of Steve Hannen, a soldier from Nelson (NZ) buried in Rouen (France). They based their production on different archive documents.  Over the next few weeks, Soldier Hannen's story, will unravel.  This is Part Two, as he is fighting in the horrors of the Battle of Gallipoli. 

 

(read Part 1)

1915 Gallipoli

June 10th  
The battle of Gallipoli has been going on for six weeks and lots of my friends are already dead, but not me. This war enables me to prove that I'm a real man: I can survive and defend my allies. The fighting lands are covered in bodies. The enemy is not far from our camp and we don't have a lot of days off. Now, I have to go into the enemy camp to try to gain some metres so I have to cross the No Man's Land.

June 19th
My fellows and I prepared plans to cross the no man's land, kill enemies and maybe capture some of their weapons. We decided to pass by the right side, in a trench built last week, not to be spotted by the first line. Last night, they threw grenades and smoke grenades on our first and second lines. Therefore, we lost men and the luckiest lost only arms or legs. It looked like a slaughterhouse. That's why tomorrow we will launch an assault.

June 21st
The assault succeeded but sadly, not the entire group came back. Indeed, some guys died and others, like me, are wounded. Yesterday, during the attack, I was stabbed in my left thigh by a soldier with a bayonet. Dr. McLeb, who's in the part of the army form B 213 took care of me and tried to heal my wound. This morning, I have been transferred to the hospital to the army form A 36 to have a medical treatment. I'm actually in an enormous room with around a hundred people, who are waiting to be cared for. The medical attendants are very caring with us and it's been a long time since I've seen a place as clean as it is. It enables me to forget a bit the hell of trenches of Dardanelles.

June 23rd
Today, a nurse told me I was able to go back to the battlefield. My resting time was up. I came back in the trench of the first line and I found out the corpse of my special friend destroyed : he was missing one leg and  both arms. This battle is a real slaughter. The trenches are covered in bodies, limbs, rubbish, and the rats and mice drown in the blood coloured river. To join the other side, we have to move the dead bodies not to fall down because there are too many. As soon as I find a flask on them, I get it because the food provisions become infrequent.

July 11th
Not being wounded in the war is almost impossible. Two days ago, I was shot in my right arm. I couldn't fight again so I was taken in the post of the army form B 213. I met Dr. McLeb who started to help me last time before I went to hospital. I talked with him and he told me that the death rate was increasing each day: In two days, with about fifty wounded just for him, he cured only six soldiers, all the rest are dead. That's why he preferred transferring me to the hospital to be closer with the army part A 36 and for me to be more likely to survive because of the uncleanliness of the field medical post.

August 1st
I returned to fight after three days of recovering. And since, the fights have been more and more violent. The assaults come from each side and the opposition is becoming harder. I'm scared of the defeat but I feel it coming soon. If we could fight some months more, maybe we can win the war. We have to pray to God.
August, 8th : For a few days, the trenches are contaminated by a virus : Gastroenteritis. Loads of soldiers are repatriated in their village. For the moment, I've just been declared ill of this virus so I have to go to hospital (army form A 36) to be put in quarantine not to contaminate other soldiers. I don't know if I could come back to this battle after but I hope we'll win. One thing's for certain: After being cured, I will be sent into another place to fight against the enemy and claim victory.

Read 4436 times Last modified on Saturday, 08 August 2015 08:25

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