Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/193/1 - August - November 1918 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/193/1
Title: Notebook, August - November 1918
Includes diary entries for Nov 1918 and
references to the 2nd Battalion, Proyart,
Hargicourt and Georges Clemenceau.
AWM38-3DRL606/193/1 

2 BN. Proyart
& Hargicourt
& Aug 8.
193
21-2
Original   DIARY NO. 193.
AWM38   3DRL 606 ITEM 193 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918
THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946.                C. E. W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN 

1
Aug 8.
2nd Bn. (with 1st Bde acting
as reserve Bde of 4^th Divn)
moved 2 hours after Zero follg
48 Bn. The Bn ws to exploit
48 Bns success. 2nd Bn ws to go
thro them to Proyart.
In P 17 Bn was
waiting (its rôle as support to
48 Bn being cancelled) for further
orders. Abt 4 p.m. orders
were rec^d to form an outpost
line facing the Somme opposite
Chipilly - from E of Morcourt
to E edge of Chipilly, all S. of
river. Bn marched down
valley towds Cerisy & then
across country past Thin Wood
&. took up outpost line at
dusk. There ws no observed
fire.

2
2 Bn Proyart
& Hargicourt
& Aug 8.
The 2nd Bn held this outpost line
till the Americans & British
took the Chipilly Spur on Aug 9.
On aftn of Aug 9 our arty put
down a heavy bombt after wh
Americans & British advanced
from N of Chipilly along the ridge
almost ESE or E. They seemed
to come under m.g. fire as they
reached / top. Some were going
forwd, some back. It became
too dark to see clearly - some
men seemed to go forwd, others
waver & go back. Reports were
conflicting from N of river for 24 hrs
afterwds. till Even on Aug 10. By follg
day the ridge ws consolidated. 1st Bn
patrols went thro / village on 1st
day.
14^th Bn reld 2nd Bn there on
night of 10^th when 1st Bde went to
Harbonnieres.
(Check these dates by diary). 

3
2nd Bn. Lihons
Took over from 10th & 12th
Bns. The German ws by
then on the defensive but
shelling Crepy & Auger
Woods heavily. He did not
c-attack. The 3rd Bde
had reported heavy c/attacks
on / day on wh 2 Bn
relieved them.  But The 2 Bn
therefore expected a lively
time when they went in
tt night. None happened.
But patrols met heavy
oppositn whenever they pushed
out. Lt Binns ws out w a patrol.
He followed two Germans thro a _^ small wood
400-500 yds ahead of outpost line. There
a German post saw him & fired at him
& killed him _^ almost on the parapet o / German
post. Two men were w him. One threw bombs
into the trench while the other got his papers but
his body ws never recovered.
[*A patrol ws sent out later same day (2nd day of tour) & found
post & shot the two sentries but cdnt get in as flanking posts
fire ws too heavy. They got to a  road 10 yds way but m.g.
fire down this road prevented their crossing.
15^th & 46^th Bns relieved.
The German
seemed to be
sparring for
time to
remove
stores.
Bn
had
abt
50
casualties
here.*]

4
2nd Bn Aug 18.
Bn was in reserve.
Dug in on edge of Chuignolles
Valley just looking down into the
gully - from St Martins Wd
Northwds along gully side towds
w Chuignolles.
Here, on night of Aug 24
they were very heavily gassed -
esp the rt coy on the flat
in the gully. Possibly German
concentrated on the woods
(it ws / woods he shelled)
knowing tt we must
have troops there. The
2nd Bde in St Martins
Wood lost most of a bn.
The gas floated down onto
the flats & B Coy 2nd Bn 

5
After 3rd Bn went thro'
Robert Wood it ws noticed that
men were being sniped from
there. Lt Connor, Int. Offr. 2 Bn,
organised a party & went thro /
wood. The Germs were in a dugout
with one or two men on top.
The men on top ran down -
Connor dropped a Mills bomb
down one entrance & they came
out o / others. Connor did this
off his own bat with 3 or 4 batmen,
cooks etc.
They took 18 prisoners & 2 TMs
- so it ws evidently a German TM Bty
sniping with its rifles. (Connor got M.C.)
 
6
had 50 casualties out
of 95 men including
3 offrs.
It ws / next day tt
4^th Bn patrols got into
Lapin Wood - so it looks
as if / German ws looking
for targets to throw away
his gas at.
Orders were recd
tt 2nd Bn wd be taking
over / front line; but
they were reld cancelled
& the 2nd Bn ws
reld by 5^th & 4^th Divns.
Bde went out from
there to Vaux sur Somme.
After Peronne ws taken 

7
it ws brought up again
& came in W front of
Jeancourt relieving 37 Bn.
2nd Bn on relief went
straight thro 37 Bn to the
edge of Jeancourt Village.
Within / next 3 days
they took the trench
system E of Jeancourt &
/ village itself by strong fighting
patrols.
In the trench system these
patrols fights were in the
form of organised platoon
attacks under a barrage
of Stokes mortars & No 36
grenades (Cup Grenade). 

8
In these little fights Lt Parle &
Sgt Dransfield did especially well in
in the fighting w / two posts S of /
village. Parle ws working up a
trench. He went round a traverse
first & found a Germ. offr looking
up at him over a barricade.
The German told him to surrender
but Parle shot first, hit the offr,
slipped back & organised his
pln & attacked / post over
the top & took the garrison
behind the barricade prisoner.
Dxransfield in / attack on xx the other
post advanced over / open firing his
L.G. from / hip. There were 8 Germs
found dead in / post & 7 others were
taken prisoner. Dransfield ws
badly wd. by m.g. fire from Le Verguier
ridge _^ when at / edge of the post.

9
The Germs were apparently
holding / old system on
/ same lines as our
platoon post system -
posts of abt 30 men.
Bn wd tackle one of these
at a time. On the S. of
the village 2 posts were
attacked - 15 prisoners
taken, abt 30 k; & a
certain number were seen
getting away. These were
two separate operations.
The Germans were in old
British trenches. The method
ws to work up a trench
till you found a post;
then go back & get a pln 

10
& knock it out. 2 sections
of 1st A L T M Bty were
attached (4 guns).
The village ws not strongly
held.  One night _^ The first night(after on relief) a patrol
w a L.G. xxxx struck
abt 20 Germans in 4s
marching into the village.
at the far end.
The patrol lay up beside
the road & turned a L.G.
onto them. When they took
/ village they found several
new graves, a very bloodstained
road, & 18 rifles lying there.
The trench NE of Jeancourt
were apptly practically
unoccupied; but were covered
by m.g. fire from the high 

11
ground in front of Le Verguier.
The trench (circular) at 27A 3.7.
was occupied by germs with
m.gs. - one man of ours
patrolling ws k here.
On the left to E of
Hesbecourt / Germans
seemed to be close, but on
/ rt they were further back.
The long German trench line W of
Le Verguier was mostly
only a few inches deep -
& pretty old - certainly
some months old at least.
One of these German lines
E of Jeancourt ws to
be occupied by one of our
Coys. But on the night going 

12
It ws at / same time
when 2nd Bn was working
at Jeancourt that 4th Bn
ws shelled out in front
from the hill. in 8 Central
after the last attempt at
peaceful penetration.

13
. in they walked right
. over it. (Similar
experiences occurred
around Doignies &
Hermies in April 1917).
The 2nd Bn ws
relieved here by 8^th &
50^th Bns. 49^th Bn had
been on right while
2nd Bn was in / line.
2nd Bn moved back
to some old German stables
by Boucly. They were
there 3 days & then moved
in further N. - East of
Hesbecourt. The tapes ran
across 14 A & C Central. The