Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/200/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

The 10 Bn went thro. The 

Germans shelled the Chateau

till barrage reopened for I

advance xx to the final

objve.

 

Later 12 Bn extended & 

took over 11 Bn frontage as

reserve line for abt 3

days. (11 Bn went to support

line to 10 & 9 Bn). 

 

Then 12 Bn relieved

10 Bn in I line. They were

relieved by 30 American

Divn. A good relief without

casualties. (The Bn before

Sept 18 had bn reorg. in 3 Coys -

X Y & Z.). ^In the final positn X Coy were in

support to I line, Y & Z in 

I line). xx

On Sept 18 soon after I

Barrage opened Capt L. Burt,

O.C. X Coy wh ws mopping 

up behind I other two had

his foot blown off.

Lt Nicholas

Lt Bryan Butler ws k

by m.g. fire abt 200 yds

in front of the j.o. point.

This strong point ws occupied

by I Germs immediately ahead

of the start just NE of

Jeancourt. There ws a gap

in I wire - (the strong point

was a wood on I E of I 

road, not as shown on I

map). And in going thro I

wire in single file a m.g.

trained on I gap k. Butler

& 5 men.

Lt ^J. Simmonds, liaison offr

w I 11 Bn ws badly wd

with Holinan probly by

a shell of our 60 pdrs.

(One bty of 18 pdrs, & 60 pdrs

were falling short). He died

later.

 

Lt Nicholas ws wd abt

half way to I objve, by a bit

of shell.

 

Lt Statt ws wd by a shell

splinter of our own abt 1/2 way

to I objve.

 

Lt Lambert ws wd on I 

way up by a m.g. bullet

but did not leave till I objve.

Capt. S. Haughton O.C. Z Coy,

wd on objve by m.g fire

directing his coy to dig in. 

This fire came from I trench on

I opp. hill or from Harrods Stores.

The men lying out (after 20

or 30 had bn wd - I Arty fire

ws very slight, even when

I 10 Bn started) were brought

in to abt I edge o I wood

till I advance went on.

 

Lt Walduck I.O. ws wd

on the jumping off positn after

the advance had started, going

out to see what I positn 

was.

 

In I final positn before

I Americans relieved us I 

Germans were not holding

this side o I canal in

any strength. A few Germ.

snipers wd come out early

and snipe during I day

The German artillery ws pretty 

lively during this time & there

ws a lot of movement in

Bellicourt & Nauroy.

 

On Sept 18 - as soon

as the infy had gone forward

I batteries began to leap frog

dashing forward & motor lorries

bringing forward guns bigger

than field guns. xx ^Various Bn H Qrs

moving forwd were mixed

with arty going foward.

The artillery movement this

time ws splendid to watch.

_____________________________

As Capt Tulloch ws going forwd

w his Coy in 2 lines ahead of

him on four occasions a mg.

started firing ahead behind

them. They sent back & mopped

them up. The smoke

no doubt helped to upset

completely the German defence

wh depended greatly upon

a large no of m.gs.

 

Caution digouts ws just

beyond the objve ^of 11 Bn. A number

of Germs w mgs. ws collected

here, & the smoke rose ^lifted abt

this time & left this active

point just ahead. A number

of good things were done by

NCOs here. Sergt Grubnace

of 11 Bn with a L.G. worked

from cover to cover from abt

150 yds till he ws within

50 yds on their flank. He

worked along a rd from

I rt flank from one ^a heap

of stones till Fritz got his 

head down; then ran up

abt 30 yds to another

heap; then across I road to

an old dugout - & so on.

 

In Villeret itself in 

a deep dugout they got 2

German doctors & a full

regtl aid post - they were

waiting for their wd but

none arrived till our 

men came & took them.

 

Out of a dugout in I

chateau the 12 Bn got a

Bn Commander, a major.

He knew we had attacked &

he knew 1st & 4 Divns were

there, & sd the Germs had

reinforced their line as our

Divns were regarded as

storm troops. He had bn a

cavalry officer & had

command of a m.g. Bn.

He sd his first informatn

of our being so close ws th

his sergt major came down

& sd "I English are here".

He had not expected I attack

to come so far or so fast. 

They had come abt 2 kilometres

in an hour.

______________________________

It is a toss up whether

Bullecourt was the heaviest

experience of 12 Bn or Pozieres.

Bullecourt was the heaviest

fighting for actual fighting.

Landing. Capt Tulloch 11 Bn.

Landed at A. Fire ws

coming from a sheer postin

high up on the left where

I Ts had a circular trench

apparently round I edge

of the end of the knuckle.

This ws apptly the same

m.g. fire wh knocked out

I boats on I left. They

got in a single file up

what Maj. Tulloch takes

to have bn Walkers Ridge

There ws a bit of goat 

track on it & they kept

on I major back, N

of it but had to dodge

from side to side o I

crest for shelter on I way

up.

[The map (from Anzac Book showing

T's route is with Aust. Historical

Mission files, as it was required

by Mission for tracing

field tracks.]

There were Ts shooting

from the plateau on I 

right also. A sniper

ws bayoneted on the

way up.

 

Before reaching I

razor back they got into

a creek thickly timbered

abt 8 ft deep & pretty

narrow wh ws heavily

enfiladed from I north.

They had a bit of a 

fight agst something

(unremembered) in getting

to the Knob (?where

Walkers HQ were later)

Rushed from there to a

second smaller bump -

on I rt flank. From there