Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/200A/1 - August - September 1918 - Part 1

AWM38

Official History,

1914-18 War: Records of  C E W Bean,

Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/200A/1
Title: Notebook, August - September 1918

Includes references to the 9th, 11th and 12th

Battalions, Lihons, Proyart and Pozieres.
AWM38-3DRL606/200A/1

(T7)

do not photostat

Original  DIARY NO. 200(a

AWM38   3DRL 606 ITEM 200A [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

200a
(T7) 9 Bn. 9-11 Aug}

23 Aug.}

18 Sept}

11 Bn [[dates?]]

Do not
photostat.

11 Bn Pozieres

Check all these

carefully as to times

& places by / Diaries

No. 3.

12 Bn Lihons.

(200a)
(7735)  Wt. 2205-SK550. 100000.  1/18.  Sir J. C. & S.

(97)

[9 Bn Lihons.

Lihons. G Accurate acct from

Capt Chapman]

Bn came up from outside

Corbie - leaving abt 4.30 pm on 1st

Day to Hamel. Camped under

night. Then at 7.30 am by

Compass bearing to a positn SE

of Harbonniēres (to support 2 Bde.)

Reached at 8.30 pm on

night of Aug 9^th arty reached

a position in / open abt 2hrs

_^ march from / front line. Bn. ws ordered 

to dig in a defensive positn.

They had no sleep - no shelling -

digging till day light. (The men had

their meals all thro the Lihons fighting)

At 6 a.m. Bn moved

agn to / attack on Lihons

wood, marching by compass

bearing / whole way. On reading

J.O. Tapes (thro 5^th Bn) the men

were given a slight smoke

& rest. No fire up to then.

It ws abt 8 a.m.

A German plane came over

/ whole Bn flying abt 100 feet

up, while they were smoking,

dropping flares & firing its

m.g. He hit abt 6 men.

You cd see / faces o / men.

The Bn ws in shell holes

& old trenches.

Aug 10] At 8am Barrage

opened (two guns may have

fired - Chapman ws thro it

without noticing). It ws folld

by a very heavy m.g. barrage

by / Germans & arty barrage,

the m.g. barrage being much /

worst. The left flank ws

completely exposed & /

German ws firing completely

enfilading 9 Bn from / left

& inflicting heavy casualties.

Diagram - see original document
The Bn had

one Coy held

up by m.g.

fire. Counter m.g. fire ws

brought to bear on this flank -

The German m.g. fire ws direct.

C. saw one gun open on Penrose's

Coy wh had bn left support

but ws now on / right - he

cd see / whole crew. The

German m.g. fire ws largely

direct, but indirect also.

The German ws only abt

50 yds away at / start.

The Bn went thro / wood in 

parties. It ws heavily wired

with strong dugouts & barricades.

The men who went thro

this wood - Lt Gower M.C. - ws

thro' / left edge o / wood.

There ws a heavily wired

positn abt 30 or 40 yards

down / edge o / wood from

/ left hand corner of it - it

ws in / under growth on /

edge o / wood not far from /

hospital (in a sort of continuation

o / wood into Auger wood)

The Germans c/attacked

after a very heavy barrage &

drove our parties out o /

wood except tt there were a two

posts on / rt hand side o /

wood. Rt o / Rd ws Myers.

-then to his left Thompson

The 9^th Bn ws so

depleted by casualties that

Bde ws asked for another

coy to reinforce & retake

/ wood. The Bn Commander

10 Bn placed at 9 Bn disposal

his best coy under Capt

McCann (DSO.MC.) - They

worked from S. to N. thro'

/ wood & managed to

take abt 60 prisoners.

In conjunctn w Maj Ross

who ws O.C. Line of 9 Bn

McCann established posts on

the NE side o / wood making

/ whole Bde frontage as one

continuous line.

There were troops of 11Bn

on / left flank.

The posts wh had bn

established were

Diagram - see original document
Lt Myers

McCann, Morgan, Chapman, Knowles,

Thompson, Wrench, 
Myers,
Thomas,

Pickford,
Penman.

The loss of directn ws one

of the great difficulties

of all units. The 2nd Bde

were away to their rt

& the last 3 posts of 9 Bn

were in / area of

2nd Bde.

The Germans c/attacked

agn twice in force but

were each time driven off

leaving a lot of dead. In

each case an extremely

heavy barrage ws put down

first - heavy, especially

8 in - & most o / shells

Blue Cross, gas with HE

till the wood ws reeking

w gas.

In the first second of

the 3 c/attacks the Germans

came to hand to hand

fighting. There is a lot of

small undergrowth & /

place ws a maze of trenches.