Diaries of C E W Bean, AWM38 3DRL 606/107/1 - April 1918 - Part 3

89   23
of them.
Some Australian Tunnellers
are also sd to have bn in /
force in Armentieres - The force
there eventually surrendered -
we do not know what happened
to our Tunnellers.
[The fate of our 12^th Army
Bde of Arty is not yet known
here, either. Some think they
were in / fight _^in front of the at Lillers; at
I then thin Corps I heard tt they were not in the
fighting.]
Arthur & Duncan Maxwell
have had news of their brother
Ken, Colonel of the 2/5^th Manchesters.
They went to find him with his
Division near Vignacourt. They
heard, when they got there, tt

89   24
He ws not with the Division.
He ws last seen - after his
men had apparently most of
them floated away in / earlier
days of the fight - defending a
bridge-head in Peronne. He
was married a few years ago & has

has a newly wed wife & has 
two youngsters, I believe.
Col M^cConaghy was
mortally wd, poor old chap,
the other day in his Hqrs. (of
the 54 Bn) S. of the Somme; &
Col. Milne of 36^th ws killed
in the line near Villiers
Bretonneux. Villiers Bretonneux
is defended by our 33^rd Bn
& some British units, &
Col. Morshead (33) is in command

89   25
there.
I heard at Correspts Hqrs
tt / Germans are expected to
attack at any moment now
- probly tomorrow (Ap 19.) possibly
next day. French mortars _^and guns have
bn noticed registering / roads
around the Southern battlefields;
& the little dark objects (probly
waggons bringing French mortar
ammunition) wh were
noticed behind / line at Cambrai
just before / gt fight are in
position there behind the lines
now, (&, I think they sd, have
bn camouflaged). Prisoners have
sd tt they are now ready to

89   26
attack. The prisoners, of
taken by our troops in / South,
sd tt the 13^th Divn (?), which to had
bn relieved _^some days after the Dernanct
attack , ws to move into the
line again on the 17^th or
18^th to attack. One pr of our
prisoners sd they were
talking of a great attack
on Ap 20.
The Germans are
expected to attack E South
of / Somme (towds Amiens)
Certainly - agst Villiers
Bretonneux; but not
so heavily between / Somme
& Albert; but heavily
N of Albert. The attack

89   27
might extend right to Arras
and be involve an attempt to get
Vimy Ridge. The Germans
have 13 reserve Divns in
the North (5 completely fresh)
& abt 11 opposite Arras
still fresh - apparently.
We have still the Canadians
untouched & / Guards, down
there - Guards, 2nd British
Divn, & 2nd Canadian Divn
in one Corps, & 1^st 3^rd & 4^th
Canadian Divns in another.
With these & the Australians &
N.Z. further S. the Germans
ought to have a pretty hard
fight.
There are 5 French Divns

89   28
(3 of them Cavalry) behind
Kemmel & Ypres - we were
passing their transport all
day. The French _^population (Wilkins
tells me ) in Steenvoorde were
so delighted to see them arrive.
They ran out w bottles of wine
& fruit & you saw French
infantry going along _^in columns with a
bottle of wine in each pocket
& drinking out of a third.
Two French women were
looking on behind Wilkins. They
tapped his arms. “Francais
soldiers good soldiers like
the Australians,” they said.
“Not much salute, march

89   29
all over / road, officers
talk w the men like Australians
but good officers soldiers."
The Germans, no doubt,
deliberately, in order to
create divisions between
/ Dominions & Mother
Country have been writing
tt / British have as usual
been thrusting / Australian
& other Colonial troops from
into / most dangerous
places, & making them
do / hardest fighting.
“The Australians & Canadians
are much / best troops
that / English have” says
one concept.  At the battle

89    30
of Dernancourt they got
few prisoners from_^ the Australians as because
/ Austlns fought so bravely
“but / slope is covered by
their officers & men”.  Our
men on / rly Embankt cd not
be reached by their arty
they say; but they were
swept by m.gs. mounted
on / horses in Dernanct
(and probly in / church). Under
cover of these / German
infantry attacked w bombs.
[Sergt MacDougall 47 Bn.
sd tt / sound of bombs
cd _^still be heard on / rly
line up to / time (1 pm
acc. to him) when the support

89   31
coy left its trench thro'
Enfilade fire].
The Germans on Ap 16th
seem to have reached /
foot of Kemmel & Wytschaete.
Wytschaete ws retaken by
the 9^th Divn but is apptly
now German again. There is
a battalion of the Seaforth
Highlanders wh went over
there & disappeared -
Mackenzie (/ American Correspt
at Correspts Hqrs where I
stayed last night) tells me
tt he heard tt this bn ws
cut off but still holding out.
Lytton tells me tt /
main Germ They expect an
attack here too, tomorrow. But

89   32
unless it is very severe I
shall go South in order to
get / car back to Cutlack -
If / Germans get thro down
S. (wh tho' I don’t expect they will
do so _^make there such an immediate advance hurry )
we might have to shift our
little Hqrs at Beaucourt any
time.
Kemmel & Villiers Bretonneux
seem to me / two vital points
for / moment. The Germans
have got so near to Kemmel
tt they may _^go on pushing there altho
it is sd not to have bn in
their plan. Indeed Lytton &
some others say tt / advance
N. of. Armentieres was originally
only meant as a raid but