Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/105/1 - April 1918 - Part 4

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to be quiet (by 4th Divn HQrs) when
we left (about 10.30 am or 11);
but all / morning, from dawn
onwards, long distance shells
had bn falling into our village
& some o / others round - probly
from a gun 10 miles away at
Miraumont on / rly. The French
warned us last night " from a 
reliable source, " tt an attack ws
expected today consisting of two
converging attacks ^on Amiens one from
Albert and / other from Roye.
I was pretty certain therefore tt
this sudden great activity meant
an attack.  The shells themselves
were quite harmless - mostly
shrapnel altern thrown very high
down / main road with a
H.E. shrapnel burst between
each round of ordinary shrapnel
- one abt every 4 minutes . They

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were merely " a new form of
wind instrument" as Cutlack
put it.
Calling in at 3^rd Divn we heard
tt they did not know what /
situation ws at V. Bretonneux; but
while we were there a message arrived
that the 4^th Divn had bn attacked
at the junction of its two brigades;
that the Germans had got through and
been driven out by a c.attack; but
tt they had pierced / line again.

So the French report was right.
South of the Somme We found the 6 ins hows ^(possibly not / same ones) just
S. W. of the main road 4000 yds
behind where we saw them
yesty - I quite expected to find
tt all / reports were wrong & tt
V/Bretonneux was taken after
all.
But as we got to / top
at Gentelles we saw traffic
moving about just as yesty. The

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9Bde had gone from Gentelles - we
found some Tommies in their house
who sd they had gone to Boves
yesty evg. (One is impressed by /
fact tt amongst these civilian
houses it is / Tommies more
than our men whom one finds
poking round for odd things to
take). We walked on to
Cachy. The ^heavy guns from / village
seemed to have gone to ^behind Gentelles;
but there were 18 pdrs still
well ahead o / place to wh
we saw them retiring yesty.
Three Australians whom we
met on / main road told us
tt  xx the battalions had counter
attacked last night & had 
pretty well pushed back /
line to where it originally ws.
Col. Morshead ws in / village,
they sd & the Bde had gone to

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Blangy. Tronville (where
5^th Divn, 2nd Divn, & 5^th Bde also 
are sd to be). We walked back 
3 miles to our car, ravenous 
for lunch.  Then turned & drove 
up to just outside Villers Bretonneux. 
An officer - Q.M. of 34 Bn -  
who was cantering out o / town 
by a side road, saw us 
making on foot up / 
main road, &, recognising 
me cantered after me & gave 
us / tip to go round by a 
side road S. of the town as it  
ws being pretty badly shelled. 
It was a shocking 
sight - every house seemed to 
have been hit - One high velocity 
shell was swishing into / 
rear o / town & exploding 
every 3 or 4 minutes; & a  
5.9 shell & 4 whizzbangs were

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falling playing every few minutes on 
the E side o / town. We walked 
up / empty deserted streets 
following a bicycle track 
(as this certainly meant that 
a runner from Hqrs had 
been tt way.) Just as Freddy 
had given up hope, we met found 
a few Tommies in two houses 
- but they very seldom know 
anything. However, our 
bicycle tracks led straight 
enough - we turned a 
corner & there were a 
dozen Australians outside 
a building & others working 
in easy attitudes on their 
various occupations. 
In a white villa on the  
E. side of / road ws Hqrs 
& there in the door, w two  
days growth of beard on

3.30pm firing
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42 
his chin, ws Morshead. He 
waved to me & I photographed 
him & his H.Qrs there & then. 
It must have bn an awful 
place in / bombardment.  The
c town had been quite intact 
2 days before, M. told me. You wd 
not have known tt it ws near / war. 
They had a first rate villa for their 
HQ & a neat dining room. The 
roof o / dining room ws now all 
over / floor. There ws a large big
crater of red bricks in / 
back yard not 8 yards from 
/ kitchen window.  The kitchen 
door had fallen forward & hit 
M. on / back o / head - the cooks 
wd not stay in / kitchen.  Indeed 
I wonder how any of them had 
/ nerve to stay in tt house. "I 
wd much rather be in / front line  
than in this town" M. said.

43 
Cutlack at / same time in / same H.Q. got 
/ story of Col. Goddard (35 Bn) who commanded 
the 9^th Bde in / line:- 
35^th Bn:- At 5.30 a bombardment started 
on / town & lasted all day. It ws very heavy.  The 
35^th ws in / new line w 33Bn in support.  At 
9 am. they got news tt / German ws 
attacking in waves & tt / left had  
fallen back. 
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44 
His adjt Jones ws there, & a young 
offr lying on a great cushion 
mattress near / fireplace. Morshead 
gave me / account & / fight then &  
there: 
Story of 33^rd Bn - fight of Ap. 4 1918:
AT 5.30 a.m. the Germans 
opened a barrage which lasted all  
day on Villers Bretonneux.  They  
came over thickly in waves 
along the whole front & left &  
right (of 35 Bn). The front stopped him 
but he pressed the right flank.  The 
35^th was at this time in / line, the 
33^rd in support in V-B.  The old 
game started when the 8^th Bn of the Rifle 
Brigade vanished at about 7 a.m. 
I went right forward & at 7a.m. 
two coys of 33^rd went in on the 
right; a third Coy went in 
at 8.15 & the fourth at 9 am. [ I understand 
Morshead to say that the battalions  
now lay      
Diagram - see original document
One of these coys after the fight of 
March 30 ws only 50 strong. Our 
total was 400 including Hqrs.

↓45
(35 Acct.) 
Half an hour later / left coy 
of t 35 Bn. also had to fall back. The
Germans were then right behind 
them - they had bn throwing their 
flanks back but / Germans were 
behind them even so.
By abt 11.30 the line had come 
back to / "dotted line" wh had bn 
sited & dug by 35 Bn thro P 2 6c. 5.3 
down E of grid line to rly at V 1 B 8.6 in 
front of / Bridge & from there thro 
VI central to a point just abt in front 
o / Crucifix - the same people(?Austlns) 
holding between the (?same) two roads. 
The first thing to do was to clear 
up the left (where the 14th Dvn had 
been). The cavalry were going 
to come back over this part. One coy 
of the 33rd Bn went back w / cavalry 
to 25 A & C (i.e. N of Rd wh ws supposed 
to be 14 Divn territory, Our area being 
S of the main Peronne Amiens Rd. 
From then till 4 p.m. they were 
reorganising & fortifying the line 
& making sure of the ground on  
the left. of the During this period
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46 
(33 Acct.) 
The 35^th, having its left driven 
in, came back on to / line o / 
33rd wh had bn mapped by the 35Bn 
& dug (?by the 33rd Bn) / night before. 
The German pressed his attack, 
but abt 9 a.m. it quietened. 
The cavalry came into action on / 
left & / Londoners on / right - 
(the 1st Dragoon Guards were then on 
our left). The cavalry took over 
from / road down to the Somme 
& held / Germans up there. Our 
Lewis guns did good work & 
/ guns of one coy fired abt 60 L.G. 
magazines.

47
(35 Acct) 
there ws no massed attack 
but constant rifle fire. 
Afternoon 
At 4.30 they got news tt the 
right (the Buffs) had given way, 
apparently from Lancer Wood & Bois 
de Hangard.  Then this  
When this happened 
the right had to fall back along 
/ rly w / British.  The 35^th were  
pretty well exhausted 
For two hours the positn 
in front of V.B. was obscure -  
the German was close to the town 
& nobody quite knew if he were in / 
South o / town. The 35^th Battalion 
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48 
(33rds Acct.) 
Attack 
The Germans attacked again 
at 5 p.m. w a particularly 
heavy barrage on / right, tho 
tt on V.B ws less heavy than in  
/ morning. The main barrage 
was South of the Railway. It 
fell behind the men of the 33rd. 
The Buffs on the right retired 
without firing a shot. The 
2 coys of the 35 Bn on / rt retired. 
Then one coy of 33rd Bn fell back 
& part of another; but the  
Coy Commander, Capt Smith, 
stopped the rot & the two left 
coys stood firm.  The whole of  
the 35 Bn had now retired. 
Maj:  Carr, who ws 
/ senior officer in 35^th in / 
line now came back & sd

49
(35^th Bn Acct) 
swung back along the rly. 
A bn o / London Regt then 
went thro' the S E part o / town 
& took up a position between 
the road at HB O 31 D 1.7 
to V 6 B 9.5 (6^th Bn London Regt probly)
Shortly after this the 36^th Bn., 
in reserve to the South of the town, 
were ordered to go thro on the right 
o / London troops to save the entrance 
to V.B. on the South. They did this, & 
took up a positn on / right o / 
Londoners - probably near the 
monument. This was about  
5.30 p.m.  
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50 
(33^rds Acct.) 
tt he was / last man who left 
/ line, & tt Bn Hqrs ws at 
tt time / most advanced part 
of our troops.  Col. Goddard decided 
to withdraw ^the bn & rally the troops 
& get then into a positn to cover 
defend covering / town.  
 In the meantime the 36^th Bn made a 
counterattack on the right & went 
thro' in fine style. Nothing had bn 
heard of 34^th Bn. tho they were 
somewhere in a support positn on 
the N. flank. Probly this ws bec. the  
whole Bn H.Q. staff had become casualties. 
 - I believe they had their HQ. in 
a quarry. 
The positn ws obscure, so  
I went round & found 34 Bn 
at abt 0 28 central & took them  
forward round the N. of the village