Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/196/1 - August 1918 - Part 4

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on / rt after 6 Bn had
crossed St Denis Wood &
were in the Ravine ahead
of it, x A & B Coys 8 Bn
with a tank (which worked
splendidly) got 50 prisoners
out o / wood.  There ws an
anti tank gun in tt wood
but tho all / ammn ws there
it never fired a shot at the
tank.  It ws found quite clean.
The tank ws sprayed w mg.
bullets but wd heave up
each side alternately &
blaze into them - greatly
pleasing our men - keeping an
f outside o / wood wh ws
very dense - & went back
pockmarked w / little
bright bullet marks. 

30
several m.gs. also were
taken there.
The support line ws
on the tongue & N down
the main valley ^on E edge of St Martins wd.  The 6 Bn
ws on / edge crest o /
further slope.  Until night
there were still Germs
between these two firing
onto both / line ahead of
them & / line in rear.
The German even had a
granaten werfer firing
from the E gully back onto
the tongue of highland.
So far the rt Coy of
8 Bn had been mopping up
in support.  Now it ws ordered
sent up in order to link
up the rt of 6 Bn with
left of Argyll & S.H. at 

31
tt time C.O. of 8 Bn (Col
Mitchell) had no idea where
A & LH. were, nor even
exactly where 6 Bn were
tho' their genl objve ws 
known.  Mitchell had an
idea tt they were on their
objve - you cd only tell
by the noise of mgs &
rifles (esp L.Gs) gave a general
direction.  Mitchell (& Temple)
had gone up to see where
his own line was & see tt
it ws in / right positn
(wh ws mainly in old trenches
- you cd not have lived on /
top, digging in - cd only link up)
& found tt the 6 Bn ws
not in touch.  The only 

32
commn wd be round the
gully N. of the fork & the Germ
ws still in pockets there.
Mitchell's orders were to
push in in suppt of 6 Bn
wherever & whenever he
considered it advisable.
So before the order to link
up on / rt arrived, ordr
he had ordered Rt coy to
gain connection with between the
6^th Bn & the Scotties on /
right.  this Coy was sent
round by the gully into the 
far fork & first
Diagram, see original document
met germans in Herliville
wood & in [[less?]] 4 & 5 woods
beyond it.  They had to
clear each of these woods

33
(as they were getting fire from
/ rt).  In one wood (No 5)
they got 45 Germans.
From there two very
definite & deep old French trenches
ran due E up the E side o /
gully.  The coy worked up
these till they saw 6 Bn.
abt 31 B 0.5. & cd see the 
Scots on / same general line
further S.  They afterwds
connected up along the
trenches on the top on the
E side with the Scots.
C.O. & Temple walked along &
had a talk w / Scottish offr
there.  These Scottish were
great people to wander over
our lines, & very willing
fighters. 

34
8^th Bn then had two
coys in front line - one
abt 400 yds over Bn
boundary in N. just
in / trenches in front of
Plateau wood; the other to
abt 200 yds over boundary
on the Southern End o /
Bde.
No C/attack.
There ws gog a small
advance on night of Aug 24
in conjunction w Scots to make
exact line of  / objvt.
Both on 24 & 25 Aug. there
ws gas shelling in early mg.
but on 25 Aug this was the
heaviest barrage CO had
ever seen. It lasted some

35
hours - German ws probly
unloading every shell he
had - & every H.E. shell
had gas in it. No shrapnel
all H.E & Gas.
The Germans at / end
of this shelling were throwing
everything into the ^forward ravine.
The whole of the 8 Bn except 
what ws in / lin ws there
& Bn H.Q. Every signaller
except one operator ws
gassed. Two horses
gassed bringing up rations.
If / German had attacked
on top of this it wd have
been next to impossible
to resist him. The total
losses were 7 offrs 249 or. for
whole tour of wh more than

36
half were gassed.
Night of 25/26 8 Bn
took over line from 6 Bn;
& on tt night and on afternoon of 26^th Aug the eight coy 
& Scots advanced to /
green line - a little
opposite - one post only
worried A coy.
The night follg -
(Aug 26) 8 Bn ws relieved
by xxxx 5th Divn. (30 Bn).
[It had bn undecided whether
56 or 30 shd relieve them].

37
5^th Bn - Lihous.
Detrained Aug 7 at Hangest. & other Stns
Marched
Billetted Bertencourt 7/8
Aug 8 mached to Aubigny
8/9 stayed at Aubigny
in bldgs - a little old information
from passing offrs. Had no
idea they were going to
attack.
9^th at 9am moved
from Aubiqny - to moved
to Bayouvillers - no
other orders. Near Bayouvillers
C.O. stopped Bn for lunch;
rode to Bde H.Q. Co. got
back w hurried orders to

38
(cont from next page) One of these Germs, educd at
Oxford who had bn trying to be captd for 9 months
told Sergt Kelly tt they were marked down for depots
behind / lines & rushed in agst / Canadians
in busses. They got out of their busses this
mg & deployed but were at once recalled
& brought round & put in agst / Australians.
Most of them seem to filter in durg / night thro
own lines. This youngster man when taken sd he knew
/ Austrlns were there; when told it ws / first
Austrln divn he sd "Impossible - They were
up around Eritreia".
39
finish lunch. 7&8 w)
attack 5 supporting 7, 6
supporting 8.
5Bn moved well right
of Vauvillers & trying to get
trench w 7 Bn wh had got
their orders earlier & were
out of touch ahead.
In trying to get up in
touch to them 5 Bn had
some pretty heavy casualties
at the X rds just S. of
Vauvillers - from shell fire -
Uncertain if this ws direct
shellfire.
Pushed on w 2 line front
Coys to a positn abt 200.
300 yds in red of 7 objve.
The rt coy under Maj Hastie
met no direct oppositn but