Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/108/1 - April - May 1918 - Part 6

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Before we left last night one Coy o / 50 Bn under Lt Beresford suppt^d by one pln of 52 Bn 
pushed out patrols  from flank of 51 Bn to / village; worked right up to parallel w / village & estabd 13 Bde
left flank up to near / rly line in touch w 15 Bde. He met w no oppositn as far as / rd in U 6 B.
52nd flank ws then swung round to connect w / 50 Bn & thus give a complete line.   
His flares stopped when we got thro' / 2nd line & all / Germs seemed to bolt. This was when it ws hardest 
to see. The Germs put down two heavy barrages in reply to those 
two of ours.

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The British air service - some naval pilot who 
was half a mile away in / air - has claimed to bring
down Baron Richthofen. It seemed to me so
trivial a matter who shot him tt I had not bothered
57

to investigate / various claims. However Hobbs has 
asked me to - He says there is a lot of feeling over it - /
German Communique says tt R ws shot from / ground. I

[* sd tt I
must
see / 
actual
men
who
claimed 

to do it.
So they
were brought
to 5^th Div
Arty Hqrs
They say:*]

11 a.m. Ap 21st.
There ws aeroplane scrap
going on over German front line.
They cd hear the scrap going on but it ws too far
away to notice it much.
The small machine painted [[right?]] on the nose

Diagram - see original document
Our plane seemed betw 30 & 50 feet. German plane seemed 
to be overtaking him.  You could see the German airman's body. 
You cd hear the gun going in short bursts.  
There seemed to be only one man in the Engl. plane but 
our ?attention was all ? taken by ?on the other plane.
Diagram- see original document

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Gnr. Buie R. sa 3801
& Gnr. Evans W.J. 598 were
at 2 LGs. abt 130 yds apart.
English plane first appeared over / top o / hill 
& then the German after him hidden by him.
The German came abt 15 ft above / other 
plane & both guns fired a burst at him abt 100 yards 
away.
Diagram - see original document
The plane wobbled
at once & swerved
to Germans right. He
swerved to right &
then speared towds
the earth. He crashed abt 350 - 500
yds from guns.
He was hit in chin,
neck, chest, left side, & right
leg. The wound in his chin
came out just below the chin.
There was also a bullet wound in
/ chin. Lt. Doyle who ws in / pit

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cd see the bits flying off /
plane.
Sat. Ap 27.  a fine day - yesty ws 
very misty. The Aust. Corps
has now taken over / whole
4^th Army front. The 4^th Divn
goes into / line S. next /
French (Moroccans) _^up to V/B; the 5^th Divn some
days ago extended N of the
Somme; the 3rd Divn takes
up to the C.C.S. Dernand.
The 2nd Divn extends up N of 
Albert. Each Bde of 2nd Divn
has 2 Bns in line. 1 2 in
support & 1 in reserve; &
the 18^th Divn has bn split up
& one Bde is being given to
each of 3 Bns of three of our Divns as

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reserves.
Robinson 5^th Divn I. O. tells me tt one
a German prisoner told him
tt they had plenty of casualties
from our planes & tt our arty
ws heavy on Ap 4. But on /
morning of / attack in V/B he
says there ws no arty fire
from us - "No - we came
under no arty fire, " he sd.
The batteries covering tt part
(prob SE o / town) clearly did 
not do their work. The 
m.g. fire from their rt (i.e.
N of Main Rd) held them up there.
The Pompey Elliott, who is
very aggrieved because the 
converging attack on V/B is 
spoken of in some G.H.Q. paper as

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"the brilliant attack plan of the 3rd Corps" when it ws
suggested by him before / bombt had 
finished - got leave to advance his line
last night to / old British line (wh he has
all along wanted to retake) on /
pretext tt / Germans now knew where he
ws & wd shell him. Might he move
up 100 yds? He ws not quite on /
X Road wh ws his objective.
- / Germans were there & he ws 
Diagram - see original document
50 yds away. Marshall told him there
were 3 German posts there w a m.g.
There turned out to be 10 mgs. in / post 
on / left hand corner o / the rd (near /
SW edge o / wood of Vaire) but the 60
Bn got them, losing 70 men in doing
so. We dug in 50 yds beyond / road &
reached / houses on / Peronne Rd there.
The Germans bolted from their line on
this sector. This morning at 8 & again
at 2.30 they tried to come back but were
caught by our shelling.
This afternoon  I got from Witham
the wording o / German note to him:-
while the Serg & Runner with /
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flag of truce were w him (& were getting
fidgetty abt going back) a German private
arrived w / follg note.
"The officer who commands /

troops there has to come at once

in the direction of the English
Tank with the German soldier
Commander
Von Linsingen
(This was received at 
abt 9.40 am.)
The man who brought it
came, like / offr, from / direction
of Hangard Wood & ws brought 
in by some Tommies.  The Officer
(or Sergt) & runner cd see beneath
their bandages. The sergt had
seen too much. Witham didn't
know he ws 'not surrounded -
indeed he may have been - &
he rang up Bde to know if he

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shd keep these men - Bde sd
yes. The ^last runner when told
tt he was a prisoner almost
clapped his hands.
When Witham ws going 
to his positn chosen for Bn
Hqrs in / Sunken Rd S. of 
E end of Bois l'Aquenne
flares were being fired out o /
wood directly at them & 
falling on / rd. M.g. fire
ws also coming from / wood.
(They had bn told tt it ws cleared.)
Christie Witham & Salisbury
were to meet & have their
Hqrs there.
Craes, who ws sniped
trying to run from one post to
another next day, ws / man

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who ws sent back from 
Anzac by Walker of 25 Bn
for "malingering on / beach"
(when he had dysentery, I believe.)
Witham says he ws lion hearted
- one o / bravest men they had.
Witham took in all his
Coy Commdrs bec. it ws a
difficult attack - he lost 2

of them. Birdwood strafed him

for not leaving some of them out.
Cutlack says tt Maclagan
heard tt the 8^th Divn had a 
more or less fresh Bde of their
own wh they did not put in
at V/Bretonneux to c-attack;
when he asked why they had
put in his Bde they said:  xx
"We thought / Austlns cd do it."

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Diagram - see original document

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Col Christies acct:

Notion ws tt a few Germs - possibly 50 - were in / wood.
51 Bn.:

Tape ws to be on the grid thro 3 central. Phillips Int. Offr. found tt 
they were fired on from / corner o / wood abt 8.30. (p.m.) Instrns only recd. 
at 7.30 p.m. Int. Offr sent off at once. Moved from here at 8.20 - to be in 
positn on tape to attack at 10 pm 2 miles away. Phillips ws fired on from / corner
o / wood & laid the tape from / point o / wood.
As they got on / tape a m.g. ws ws fired from / direct left & fired a
flare. Bn went up in Arty formatn. They remained
in arty formⁿ on / tapes. Christie ws ahead o / Bn & got to / tape.

Diagram - see original document