Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/192/1 - 1915, 1918 - Part 5

42a
Diagram - see original 

enormously.
The attack ws
timed for 4.30 am. The barrage
ws v. good & most o the
tanks passed thro the front
line 2 mins before zero. Bn
ws supposed to have 6 tanks.
1 was hung up before Zero
Started w 5; 2 knocked
out - leaving 3.

Germs. were met with
abt ^300-400 yds from jump off
in small posts & trenches.
There seemed to be a change relief
arex on & rather a number of
Germs. were there. The
barrage ws v. good & we
were on them while they
were still unrecovered.
[*There were Germans in the
Sunken Rd leading into the valley.*]

43

oppositn began to come
m.g. - from Robert Wood &
the next wood. The tanks
here were very helpful,
continually cruising out
their officers consulting
ours & dealing w any
special point of resistance.

We reached the arty
halt line well on time.

There ws ¼ hr halt there.
Here A & C Coy's passed
thro.

They were held up for
a time at the first big gully.
The Germs were on the opp.
side with their m.gs. These
got onto them as they came
down the slope. There were
44

[During the fighting for the Woods there
several were instances of very
fine work here - one
man L/Cpl Budge - working
well out to the left on his
own & getting behind the German
m.gs with his L. gun.]

while Newth ws
waiting to go thro there
ws a good deal of m.g.
fire from the hill crest in
24 A. When the barrage
lifted Newth moved on -
His coy crossed the valley
- the rt flank of his
Coy had a bad time which
from the same m.gs. (all
along the forward slope
o the opposite ridge) wh
held up the rt coy. The left
45

45a
wd. L^t Wilkinson (A Coy) day before attack as Bn ws moving up
Lt Court. During the morning abt 11 a.m. (Sig offr).
L Back at 6.30 am. on ^reaching the crest of the hill across
the first big valley (A Coy).
Lt Piper gassed on Aug 25. (when Germ ws
throwing away his gas shell). (C Coy)
 

of the Coy however by doubling
across got under a very
steep bank wh made
dead ground. They went
straight on up the hill & into
the old trenches  17.D 8.5 to 8.9
Lt Guan ws killed
rushing up the hill towds
the guns on the right of this
advance. (Guan ^(A Coy) had bn
w the Bn from the ranks -
did fine work at Boursies).
The coy on the rt ws
still occupying the line o the
1^st objve. The Germs were 
not in the trenches in wh
Newths Coy ws but were
firing on them from the trenches
in 18 A Central and & the long
C.T. thro 18 C.
46

Newth had left a tank
at the foot o the hill. He
sent a runner back for
it (he ws now on top o the
hill) & it came up the hill
by a detour to the left.
Just as tt tank reached
the top on the left of Newth
C Coy got across the flat
& up the hill (/ Germans
on the forwd slope being now
outflanked.).

Previously Newth had
sent L/Cpl King across
to his rt (got DCM) to
see what ws holding C Coy.
King struck on his way
the Strong Pt at 17 D5.2½
47

He shot two o the men who
were firing the guns & then
rushed the post & got 20
prisoners - & it ws this
tt let C Coy get up the/
hill. He came on them from
the rear - they were firing
at C. Coy in front of them.

Newth now directed
the tank onto the S.P in
18 A Centl & the whole
line advanced. The Tank
silenced the m.gs. The left
Pln going up w /t tank
under Sergt Taylor got these
Germs before they cd get
away. This made the
48

advance fairly easy till
the down slope ws reached
into the little gully beyond.

As the line ws going
down into this little gully
like an open quarry,
2 aeroplanes signalled a
c/attack & abt 40 Germs
were seen coming out of
Lapin Wood. They drew N's
attention w their m.gs. &
dropped white parachutes.
This ws the signal for the
day). In the little trench
in the valley centre Newth
put 4 Lgs. to keep the
Germs back, & then raced
them for the Sunken Rd
 49

running SE thro MI2B.
They got into this rd
before the Germs. The
Germans got into some
3 T-head trenches wh
ran out of East side
o the rd. 100 yds away.
Diagram-see original
Newth sent
Lt Perkins out
with a small
patrol at once, & took
out of these trenches 2
m.gs. & 25 prisoners.
Three ∧ Germs. were killed.
As the 3rd Bn ws
still held up at the valley
corner Newth threw back
a defensive flank, & got
Capt Isaacs who was now
 50

w B Coy in the trenches
in 17D to throw a
defensive flank along
the sunken road thro the
Star Roads in 18A (58 to 8.8.)
Newth then sent Perkins
out w a patrol of 8 men
into Chuignes village
& they got abt 50 men
out of it.
The Bn got 9 offrs &
450 o.r. prisoners &
9 field guns. Bn went in
400 bayonets. 2 of the guns
were on the hill top near
the big C.T. - apptly for
Anti-tank purposes;
6 more were in the little
gully on the rd leading
 51

to Herleville. The
arty offrs were captd
by the guns wh were still
hot when the infy got
there. Some o the crews
got away, some were k.
one of the arty officer, died in Capt
McAlpines HQrs (his own
dugout)
Newth dug in in the
T head trenches east of the road
& during this time ws
fired on a lot from
Lapin wood.
Next day the German
ws noticed to be shelling his
own positn in front edge
of Lapin wood from wh this
sniping had come. N
 52