Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/192/1 - 1915, 1918 - Part 3

C a Clark S19.

Judd by a shell - all wd
exc. Steen.
The Protective Barrage
had ceased before Red
line ws reached. A & D
Coys simply carried on
until they reached
commanding positns on /
high ground overlooking
Bellicourt & Buckshot
Ravine wh leads down to
it.  A Coy ws in a
continuatn of Minnow
trench & D Coy in Bank 
trench wh is the trench
in front; a post ws
put in between these
two trenches to cover
/ grd between the two
Hand drawn diagram – see original document
21 

B Coy dug in E of the
Egg in the Sunken Rd
S of the Rly line.
Just after reaching
Bait trench Maj. Streets Coy
sent out a patrol under
Lt Graham to see to left
front to see if there were
anyone in / trenches
in front; but they were fired
on by German m.gs. &
the Corpl. Gosper ws k
just as he left our trench.

They went forwd some
distance but cd not
locate Germans; they knew
by then tt 3rd Bn ws
in Minnow Trench &
left thus linked up. Later on
22 

9 Bn on rt occupying
Bank Trench got in
touch with D Coy in
this trench.
That ws really /
end o / days fight.
The Germs cd be seen
moving about a lot in and
around Bellicourt &
D Coys L.Gs. got into
them where possible.
The Germs did not attempt
to c/attack.
That aftn Maj. Street
was shot in the wrist in
/ same place where Cpl
Gosper ws k. but later.
He ws having a look round.
The Germs seemed to be holding
some parts o / trenches N of
2 Central.
23 

As soon as Within an
hour of the 1st Bn advancing
the 6 in hows (wh had come
up to Hesbecourt / night
before) came up to Villeret!
They got into positn at
once on / road between
Villeret & Hargicourt.
The German barrage
ws quickly shortened.
(In the earlier part
o / attack a number of
Germs were taken out of
Hagson Quarries &
thereabouts after 2 Bn
had passed).
The German very
quickly got on to Bank
Trench with 5.9s.
There was a 5.9 how
24 

one of a battery standing
out right on / skyline
beside a trench (Steen's
Coy HQrs) G 7 B 9.5.
1st Bn cd not see
the British being c/attd that
night.
Lt Clark ws wd early
on mg. of Sept 19 by a
shell m.g. bullet as he
ws going up / rly line
w a ration pty.
German shelled heavily
during this time but ^Bn lost ^only few
men.
1st Bn came out

on night of 20th to the
Sunken Rd N. & S. of /
Rly line to S of Hargicourt
& had a hot meal -
25 

[*2 3*]
26
Sept 21. 
1st Bn Meeting
1st Bn ws abt to be relieved when / men
heard tt there ws to be another attack. Some one seems
to have said: "xxxxxxxx That's pretty rough". Then the
next man said: "I'm damned if I'm going over - they
can go over without me." And this spread like
wildfire. The company in wh it happened was
?D Coy which had been used pretty heavily & which
wd not have bn sent into / attack but kept in
Support - but D Coy did not realise this - nor did /
men know tt it ws only a small attack. When / officers
heard of it they got a good hold of their men - it spread to other
companies also; & so long as they were there their
men seemed all right. But when their backs were turned the
men wd leak away. The C.O. wd not believe it when
he heard of it. Many o / men are very good men & he
cd not believe it. When he found it ws true he told
them that the Bn ws going over all / same (the men
probly thought / attack ws impossible). He moved his
HQrs up to Minnow Trench - the front line - & (2 pages over) 

21st 
Sept.
6th Bn taking over tt
part o / line. The Bn
moved up to Minnow
Trench to what was
the front line of Rt Coy
of 3rd Bn, (which moved
back). Bn H.Qrs moved
up into a dugout in
/ front line in Minnow
Trench - Col. decided
to move up from / Egg
where he had intended
H.Qrs  to be. They moved up betw 2.30
a.m. & 3 a.m.
At 5.40 a.m barrage
(a fine day).
came down, & ws immediately
replied to by / Germs. They
had bn bombarding Minnow
trench while 3 Bn ws in it.
German barrage ws between
Ruby Wood & minnow trench
27 

28
tho' D Company & one pln of another Coy stayed
out, the Bn went over, 70 strong - "abt 2
bomb & blocks" as young Lt Traill, who did
splendidly here & on Sept 18, said. Traill got
thro', but shd have been killed many times.
Col Stacey puts the thing down to
(1) the idea of the men that they are
troops of greater value than all others,
encouraged by over-mention in / newspapers - so
tt they over-valued themselves in comparison with others.
(2) the idea tt they were too many, & tt /
attack cd not go on without them (as it 
did, many offrs were hit. The men were
not against their offrs - they simply drifted
away.
(3) The general democratic spirit of Australians
(These are Staceys explanations,
not mine.)
but the 1st Bn here agn
had few casualties.
Two Coys went over
in front line & one Coy
in Support. Capt Moffatt M.C.
of A Coy abt 10 mins
after Zero had his arm
broken by a shell & d. of w.
the same day - he ws
originally w / 6th L.H.
The Bn went thro Ruby
Wood, & worked up
Doe Lane, where there
were Germans. The Germs
did not give any excuse
for being killed - mostly
they came up from their
dugouts w their hands
up at once.
29 

They were bringing out
watches glasses etc all the
prize articles as if they had
bn thro it all before.
The objective ws gained
including all / high
ground ^on / ridge overlooking
Bellicourt. The 3rd Bn
on left who had gone
forwd had to come
back.
A lot of m.g. fire
came from Quennemont
Fm especially at /
start before / British
took Quennemont Fm.
When / Tommies took
Quennemont Fm this
stopped; but the Tommies
were driven in & / Germs
30 

retook Quennemont
Fm. / (6).
The 1st Bn had put
in abt 70 men into /
attack leaving behind
abt 130. The Bn took
/ objectives assigned to it
without putting in any
men from the Coy of 2nd
another Bn which was
lent to it for reinft.
This Coy ws put in in
close support but ws
not used. They were
reld the same night partly
by 6 Bn & partly by 5th Bn.
The 6 Bn had swung up &
establd one post at G 2. C 0.4.
on S. flank of 1st Bn.
The effect of the attack
31 

ws to give us / high
ground. Vickers guns
commandd the valleys on
either side o / high ground.
Hand drawn diagram – see original document
There ws a lot of movement
round Bellicourt. Many
German rifles were picked
up & we sniped at these
Germans around Bellict
& picked off a number.
The Bn hit 6 L.Gs in & 3
more were sent up from
Bn H.Q. (with Bn HQ.
Gunners). Bn HQrs, Sigs.
etc remained in Minnow
Trench, xx
32