Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/109/1 - May 1918 - Part 4

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between / Ancre & /
Somme for 1000 yards,
captured 158 Germs. & k.
abt 150.
The night before, MacNichol
had advanced his line in
/ marshes by Buire; the advance
is claimed as a gain of 600
yds on 1000 yds of front - but
it doesn't mean fighting. They
cleared out one post & good
deal of unoccupied land became
ours.
The other troops also
have been pinching ground
a great deal from / Germs.
The Germ. patrols always
retreat before ours, their
posts wont stand; so we

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decided to go for their
front line of posts along /
summit W. of Morlancourt.
We found tt there ws a
second stronger line behind
/ front posts, on / reverse
o / hill - & so decided
to take his also.
This ws done.  We
lost 18 o.r. k. & 5 offrs & abt 50
men wd.  We put a barrage
of 4.5 hours - one shell
(with 106 fuse) to every 100
yds, they sd, ws quite
enough to stop / German
passing it, - behind his
rear line, & then crept up
in / dark & went straight
at it.  This morning we

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found ourselves looking
down into Morlancourt.
Germans were running abt
there, & our m.gs. got
onto them.  A battery of
German tonight whizzbangs
ws 1000 yds further on /
Bray Corbie Rd & Rosey
wanted White to let the 25
Light Horse w him go for it.
But I suppose White wont
consent. (Rosenthal has only
3 Bns now & all were in
full employment).
Of the prisoners 75 per cent
were boys - a draft put into
the 199 Divn after its cutting
up at Thennes.
They had been very badly
bombed by our planes there.

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It is raining heavily again
tonight.
The 3rd Divn may advance
slightly tonight - The 8th Bde
may be asked to advance
about Sailly Laurette tomorrow. I
hope to goodness they dont ask
it to take the town - & incur
useless losses.

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illustration - see original document

View from house at 36C 3.7.
Very misty morning . Blue  sky after lunch.
May 7^th. Tuesday.  As today was a quiet day & the last
before the promised German attack from Albert to Amiens, I
went up to 13^th Bde in / rly cutting – from there to 49 Bn in
/ quarry this side of Villers Bretonneux - & thence with
Col. Denton to a place where one cd see the whole field before
V/B - a house -a Coy Hqrs of 49 Bn into the roof of wh we climbed &
looked out thro' / upper story & / tiles.  It ws a beautiful day &
not a German shell ws flying. 

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illustration - see original document

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illustration - see original document

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illustration - see original document

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illustration - see original document
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illustration - see original document

In All these sketches green country generally, w some
patches of ploughed land

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I found German scooped out shelters on the
Amiens road at 28C 5.4; & across the rly at 28c8.9 &
28 central - with boxes for m.g. ammunition. I
brought some of their packs back. Wilkins says they were m.g.
also in 29A 7.4 & a line of rifle pits thro / wood there.
We had some of the Coy. offrs of 21 Bn to dinner.
They have bn warned tt / German may shell Querrien
w gas tomorrow morning. Our aeroplane people say
tt / Germans are putting up many hospitals behind / line.
The German was uncannily quiet
all today. We are shootin hard tonight. The
French began about 6. 30pm by Hangard.
We are to straf the monument at 12pm.

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May 8th. Wednesday.
The German did not attack this
morning. The attitude of the authorities was tt
they scarcely expected him to ; but tt it ws
worth while xx attaching some value to the
reports of prisoners tt the 8th ws the date, &
therefore turning on / arty as if / attack
were coming. Gen. Maclagan / night before
(6/7) ordered the 12th Bde into the reserve trenches
in case of attack - where they spent / night in
the misery of the rain. Their attitude is tt

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this ws quite unnecessary & they blame division
for nervousness; but division says tt / order came
from further back.
Another beautiful day today - misty blue
sky half covered w big misty clouds. Misty
blue distance prevents / observation being
good. Our aeroplane peo
The other night at dinner at 3rd Divn
Brissenden tackled me with never having
written up / life of /  soldier – It is true; it
has never been written up because I dont
know tt life. I have been shy of these men-