Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/192/1 - 1915, 1918 - Part 11

On Aug 25 from 1 am to 5 am

there ws an intense gas &

H.E. bombardmt over / whole area 
- Blue X being easily recognisable.

From 8am to 12 noon it slackened but

/ heat o / sun in / gully seemed

to make / gas rise.

At 11 a.m. conditions were so

bad tt / men had to be withdrawn 

to the western fork o / gully

leaving two forward posts of

one NCO & 4 or 5 men in each to

keep touch w / line coys. Gas
helmets had to be worn all / time.
The strength of the 4 Coys ws now
2 Offrs & 4 o.r. (The two offrs are
Tutton & Robb - both got a bar to M.C. )

Abt 8.30 pm tt night it rained & gas

cleared wonderfully.

In / gas bombt about 110 men

were lost. The men cd not get out

o / trenches as they were under 

observation. Capt Cockburn, the

R.M.O. worked till in the

Chalk Pit till he cdnt see -

and had to be sent away abt 5 a.m.

Abt 8 a.m. Capt. Hamilton from

the Ambulance near La Flaque

Dump (Maj. Guthridges Ambce) came

up & was wd while loading up

/ ambulance by a “daisy
cutter “ - getting 12 wounds.

At abt noon a third medical

Officer _^ Capt. Lilliford came up & he lasted

till the Bn got came out.

D Coy. Lt Warne-Smith wd abt

6 a.m. during / second part o /

advance - he died later of wounds.

Lt Simpson ws k. during the Early 

part o / advance, or on the tape

line by shelling.

Gassed. Lt. Cuzens (only offr left with

A Coy ws gassed).

Lt. Darby of D Coy ws gassed -

both on Aug 25.

The Bn, going in w less

than 400 men took over

800 prisoners incl. 20 officers.

Captd 4 field guns, 69 mgs., &

20 m.wfs. & Granatenwfrs.

Gaston - by where his body

ws found must have led his

men w especial bravery.

Tutton & Cuzens did splendidly 

7 M.Gs, 8 D.E.Ms, Bar to DSO & 25 MMs

came out of this fight.

CQ.MS. 
Kirby, who got his D.C.M. at Lihons

a splendid chap - ws killed

at Herleville. (Acting CSM)

Lt Stafford, now Trt. offr, did grand

work at Lihons.

The work done by S.bs. was wonderful 

at Lihons. The m.gs. of the 7th Bavn m.g.

(Coy or Regt?) fought splendidly in / woods

there & were killed by their guns in 
some cases. That ws where the 

German guns also galloped into action
on m.gs & fired point blank. They fought
so well on their hill tt / men (who found a lot of
Kűmmel there were inclined to put it 
down to this - they were entirely puzzled by it.  

T2\
Diagram - see original document
Do not 
Photostat