Diary of Harold William Riggall 1916 - Part 7
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assure you we are very anxious to get into it
to show the world what Australia can do.
It seemed very quiet to what I expected
but as Birdwood put it "Anzac" is a good
school to learn in". After we had looked
round for a couple of hours we walked back
to the car & slipping away from the Generals
we ordered the driver to take us to Amiens
where we had dinner, & beer & liquers.
It is a beautiful town with a lovely
cathedral & I took a walk along its chief
streets after dinner. It seems strange
to be there after 1½ hours run in the car
from the heavy fighting in the trenches, & be
in such a quiet town with its women &
shops & tram cars. We left Amiens at
5 o'clock & I got back to my billet for
tea at six o'clock. What a difference between
war in France & in the Peninsular.
It was a most interesting day & we all
enjoyed ourselves very much. One of the
most cheerful sights was seeing the German
graves with their crosses & names on them,
showing that they are suffering as well as us.
I enjoyed seeing the German "junk pits" in
their front line & support trenches, they are
tunnels dug down thirty & forty feet deep &
well shored up with timber on the top and
sides, with passages running off the main
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gallery & fitted with bunks - two tiers of
them - with spring mattresses. But I was too
late to get any loot bar any amount of
German ammunition & bombs which are
too dangerous & cumbersome to carry about
with one. Gen. Hobbs got some explosive
bullets & dum dum cartridges which he showed
us proving beyond doubt that the Huns use
them alright. They are quite different to
the usual cartridge being made of brass.
By what I saw the Germans have abundance
of all kinds of war materials & are not in
want of ammunition or food. One cannot
help but admire their thoroughness. I was
talking to a French Colonel this morning & he
like all the Frenchmen we meet thinks the
war will end next month, but with all
deference to him I'm hanged if I can see
the ending in sight.
Tuesday July 18th
Another wet day & I have just got orders to
strike bivouac & move on to HARPONVILLE via
TOUTENCOURT & bivouac there. It is barely four
miles away, so you can see how slowly we are
working our way to the front. We leave at 1.47
P.M.
Well we have reached our new bivouac & it is
easy to imagine that we are getting nearer to
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the firing line for not only is the sound of the
guns getting nicely louder but we have left behind
us the comfortable billets. Luckily it is fine this
evening altho' the ground is very wet. I am
writing this on my knee so excuse my writing.
Lloyd has his gramophone going so we feel at
home & happy. Received twenty one papers from
you on arrival here but no letters. We get daily
English papers in France dear so you can imagine
that the Australian papers are rather out of date.
Don't feel offended darling but I want to save you
the trouble of posting papers to me.
Wednesday July 19th
Early this morning received orders at 6
o'clock to report mounted with one officer to Bde
Hd Qrs. I did so & we rode to SAILIS where
D.HdQrs is & at 12 o'clock received orders to
go into action that day. Sent word back to
the Battery & road on to the left of Fricourt
& Mametz to a position behind Poyieres which
we have to attack. My guns arrived at 2.30
AM on Thursday July 20th
Got no sleep last night. Took over at 8 AM
from relieving Battery. Registered today.
Friday July 21st
Started firing at 10 o'clock last night & were
in action all night & will be going strong all
day. Things are very hot expect my O.P. to be
blown out any moment, & sincerely hope the
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battery will not get touched. Our guns are in
the open & we are billeted in the old German trenches.
I have put the men down the old deep junk pits
that the Germans built. The Germans have
left beautiful work behind them, some of their
pits are all lit with electric light & they are much
better off than we are for strong & safe junk pits
for the men & guns The German helmets &
ammunition & local plunder is all over the place.
They certainly look after the men well.
I find it very trying & hope I will not break
down, the strain & responsibility is awful. It is
very difficult to observe as our line is constantly
changing. One [[?]] going forward & the next
coming back. They are giving the Australians
every chance to distinguish themselves at Pozieres
has been three times attacked by the English but'
each time they have been beaten back. Hope our
lads will do the trick but their casualties are
certain to be heavy. I am writing this lines after
midnight & the battery is still firing. We have had
a very hard day & I have sent my subalterns to
bed to give them a rest as they are nearly knocked
out. We were to have made an attack tonight
but it has been postponed & I am afraid we
are giving the Hun too much time to dig in, but
we have given him a hell of a time today as
his town has been a cloud of smoke & dust
all day. I am still well tho' very tired.
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Saturday July 22nd
Have been firing slowly all day today
in further preparation for the attack which is to
take place at half past twelve tonight. God
help our boys they will do well I am sure but
they are given a very hard nut to crack. They
have sworn to take no prisoners & seem very
bitter against the German. I am certain my
battery will do well & I have very carefully
registered my different barrages. Hope the
guns won't play the silly ass & jam by getting
overheated. Will know more when I write up
this diary tomorrow.
Sunday July 23rd
Started firing at 12-30 this morning on
the barrages for the assault & kept going hard
for one & a half hours, & the noise & concussion
was terrible. I then slowed down & fired
slowly on my last barrage & continued
until three o'clock this afternooon when I
received orders to cease fire. Our infantry
did spendidly last night & captured all
their objectives & took a great number of
prisoners some field guns & machine guns
Our casulatires were not very heavy. We
are prevented from advancing today. I
hear because the English army on our right
have failed to push forward as far as
was expected. By Jove darling it would
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be impossible to try & explain to you what
a modern battle is like. Under our rain of
shells it seems wonderful that any living
thing could live.The woods by the town are
now merely dead lifeless trees & all the houses
are flat on the ground. I was up in the
advanced line this morning & got a small
white metal charm of a dead Prussian Guard
as a souvenir. Morgan has brought back his
helmet with its Prussian Guard badges. Well
dearest the 1st Div. are a great fighting force &
today they are doing wonderful work consolidating
the new position. I lay down this morning
at 10'clock & got a couple of hours rest.
Got a letter from you last night dated June 7th
and posted in London by Mr Michaelis, & read
it during the bombardment. Expect we will
get some more heavy fighting yet soon if the
Germans counter attack. The Australian is
a great fighter. I am very proud of our men.
Monday July 24th
Did not get much rest last night as I was
up off & on receiving messages & issuing orders, we
fired at 3-30 AM for half an hour as our boys were
advancing & have now driven all the Germans out of the
village except a small party of about twenty of the
Prussian Guard who have fortified themselves in a
stronghold & atho' surrounded refuse to surrender
& are picking off all our boys they can, trying to
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sell their lives as dearly as possible, I went to bed
at 4.30 AM and did not get up until 3 o'clock
this afternoon. I have just registered my gins on
a ned barrage for tonight. We have taken all our
objectives and are not allowed to go forward because
Scotch Division on our right and the English
Division on our left have not been able to keep up
with is. We are sending men to help them
tonight & my battery s lending a hand too.
What price Australia aren't we lovely fighters?
I will tell you a couple of tales that are being told
about our boys. (1) I was talking to an English
medical orderly this afternoon & he said (in
broad Scotch which I will not try & repeat)
"My God you Australians do blaspheme, the
other night when you made the attack & your
men went out over the parapet their language was
terrible but they were all laughing & joking. Not
that we British mind going out to attack but we
don't joke about it like you Australians".
(2) Wald _ Mr Ford's batman- was an eye witness
to this. It happened in a canteen in Albert & a
wounded German was brought in suffering from
thirst and an Australian Corporal who had his
arm in a sling & was badly wounded offered
him a drink & gave him cigarettes, when an English
Sergeant stepped forward & snatched the cigarettes
from the German saying "Don't give anything to the
German ----". The Australian then roared at
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saying "Have you ever been in the firing line
you dirty Tommy", The Englishman replied "No
I am working at the Base. "Well take that you
dirty hound" And wounded as he was he hit
the Tommy Sergeant on the chin & laid him out,
A Doctor ran up & separated them pulling the
Australian off the Tommy.
Tuesday July 25th
Last night I was firing at 11.45 p.m. at
a rapid rate for a short time helping the Scotch
Division on our right. I was firing again at
2 AM this morning on the same target. Firing
began at 3.30 AM. to 4.30AM on a new
barrage helping our own boys who advanced
further & now hold all the village of Poiziers up
to the Cemetary having cleared all the Germans
out & taken numerous prisoners. I went to be
at5 o'clock & slept till 8 o'clock when I had
to get up & lay out a new line upon which we
are firing every half hours. The German prisoners
we are capturing are all well clothed and fed &
healthy fine grown men. They have enormous
quantities of ammunition & war material of all
kinds in abundance which we have captured.
But I must say I respect the German organization
more & more the more I see of it. It is certainly
wonderful & far surpasses our own. While there
is no truth in the rumour that they are short
of food or copper or minerals judging from
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the large quantities of all that we find in the
enemies' lines. Some of their field works & dug
out & junk holes are wonderful works & shows
to what a high standard of efficiency their line of
communications must be in to get the material
up & the labour required to do the work. it would
be absolutely impossible for us to obtain the
material even much less to get the skilled labour
required to accomplish such works.
We have only been here five days yet & we are
all suffering a tired feeling with want of rest &
sleep, & & will certainly enjoy our spell when it comes.
Sent Mr Lyne back to the wagon lines this
morning for three days as a rest will do him
good, he is not too well at present. Got LLoyd
up here a couple of days ago.
The Germans have just made a strong counter attack
but have failed to push us (the 1st Div Anzacs) out. To
prove how hard the fighting was the 5th Battn have lost
all their officers killed or wounded but did not lose
a foot of ground. Why cannot the English Tommy
do the same, at the present moment we are the only
troops that the Germans can't push out. Just
read the official report & see that the 5th Division
has been sold a pup at Armentieres by the British
on the right & left of them not being able to advance
& so our boys got very badly cut up. The Times
papers says the Anzacs & Territorials took Poizieres
Well that is incorrect not a Tommy has got
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his foot in the town yet, it is held & held hard
by Australians & we are sending men both to the
right & left to help the British & show them how
to push forward & hang on to a captured position
& not retire. Later. I have been up the trenches &
oh dearest the sights I saw are too awful for you to
ever imagine. How the poor fellows can stand it is
incredable. Dead everywhere. All our infantry are
heroes sweetheart. The 11th Battn who save the 5th
Battn during the German counterattack have also
lost all their officers killed or wounded. The
1st Battn has only two officers still fit for duty
Major Biddle 4th Battery was hit on the head & has
gone for a trip to Blighty (England) lucky beggar.
Wednesday July 26th
Had a good night's rest last night & did
not wake until 12 o'clock this morning. The
Battery was firing every half hour on a barrage
line but after I had laid out their line Morgan
remained on duty all night & let me turn in.
A quiet night. Some big stuff has just been coming
over the battery so I have ordered the gunners under
shelter & taken the sights off the guns.
Thursday July 27th
I was firing all night up to 10 o'clock this
morning. Our infantry have advanced a bit
further & with their help the British Divisions
on our right & left have also pushed forward.
But we are further advanced than either of
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