Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/200A/1 - August - September 1918 - Part 7

(on night of Aug 13) they
took over from 10 Bn.
In / aftn of Aug 14 ON.
ws ordered to push out
his line in front of Madam
Wood & occupy / old
trenches there wh they did
without oppositn.
(From / Blue Line they
had bn able to see the
low country to / left & /
high ground beyond
Madam Wood.  The field
of fire here ws v. good.
This ws / same view tt
you cd get from beyond
Madam Wood.)
11 Bn ws relieved by
14 Bn on night of Aug 14th.
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On Aug 10 the same attack
wh came against McCainn
came upon the 11 Bn but
McCann being by / wood (on
wh very heavy stuff ws
falling) suffered more
severely & had / main
brunt of this attack to
meet.  The Germs were in
behind McCann in Crepy
Wood - McCann had not /
whole o / wood & they cd
come in along / old trenches
or thro / cover o / wood.
[Col Newman, the C.O. is held to have failed
very badly in this occasion calling 2 Coy
Commdr
out o /
line to
advise him]
Lt Black ws k in the
morning of Aug 10 in
Crepy Wood, mixed up
w 9 Bn in Crepy Wood where
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he had pushed on w them.
This left Lt Whitford as
the only offr left in B
Coy.  He reorganised them
& got in touch with ON.
on his left xxx x
before 9 on Aug 10.
In / afternoon of Aug 10.
ON got touch with Halahan
putting in portion of D
Coy to get touch w him.
(D had Gostelloc & Evans
left.)  Evans got an M.C.
here.  (There were 4 M.Cs.
won in this fight - Gostelloc
Evans Whitford & Riches)
11 Bn went in 500 strong, &
lost 80 k incl. 7 offrs k. & abt 100 wd
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incl. 6 officers.
In / very first advance
the ground was open & most
o / casualties were there.
(At Bullecourt 11 Bn
had 117 k.  At Pozieres
680 casualties but only 34 k?)
11 Bn had its heaviest
concentrated shelling at Fleurbaix
- but this lasted only 2½ hrs.
[*indexed*]
The longest shelling ws at
Bullecourt where they had
4 days - practically every
man had bn buried there
one time or another.  The
heaviest time at Pozieres ws
on / Tuesday but there it
stopped dead for an hour
abt 6 pm & the relief got
thro without a casualty.
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Sept 18.  [A very accurate
acct from Graham
& Colvin]
11 Bn ws at Hamlet in
the reserve line there.  At
1 a.m. on Sept 18 after a hot
meal Bn moved up to
take up its positn on
/ tapes.  It ws fine at
tt time but very dark.
The Bn moved across
country at this ws a
safer route than Roisel
- the country had bn twice
reconnoitred.
Just as Bn arrd on
tape at in front of Hervilly
Wood abt 4.30 am - it
began to rain.
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Diagram - see original
At 5.20 barrage opened.  11 Bn
moved forward as close to /
barrage as it cd get.  Support
Coys also moved as close
to front line Coys as they
cd get (as at Ypres).  When
the German Counter barrage
came down they missed
this, it being over them.
Halahan ws in/ c of mopping up
Coy.
     ——               ——
Capt Tulloch    Graham
MC & bar
——
Holahan
M.C, MM.
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The smoke barrage ws
so thick tt it ws impossible
to see.  The job of / Bn
ws really complete when
Bn ws on / tape line.  Before
/ attack a lot of attention
ws paid to detail & to
the details of the country
- the sound o / barrage
was another guide.  The
men had bn told to keep to
/ high ground.  Those w /
prismatic Compasses.
Abt 600 yds from /
start m.gs were heard
spluttering.  The flanks
moved by / sound around
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these guns.  The first
lot consisted of abt
8 heavy mgs & 2 light
guns in abt 50 yds of
trench.  The crews Some of the men were killed
& being attacked from /
rear at once Surrendered.
You cd get within 3 or 4 yds
of a man without his seeing
you - then you cd see /
helmet & / gun pointing
out over / trench - firing
into / mist.  Every gun
wh ws found ws simply
pointing to / front.  There
ws no organised cross
fire by m.gs.  This ws so
both at Proyart & Villeret.
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If there had bn any defence
at all we cd not have got
this objective with one man
to 12 yards.  Graham's
Coy had a front of 400 yds
(actually 530) with abt
73 men including HQrs &
platoon sergeants, L Gunners
etc .(going 2 men together in
case of L.Gs).
Just before they got
to Fervacque Switch which
came obliquely up / hill
towds Hervilly Wd some
further m.gs. were met.
The smoke seemed to be
worse (until they got thro
Grand Priel Wood this
smoke seemed to get thicker -
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there ws a light drizzle
wh probly kept / smoke
low - one artillery officer
w 11 Bn sd later he had
sent back to decrease /
percentage of smoke - there
shd have bn more smoke,
he sd, but they had not
/ shells up.  Without
smoke, however, / casualties
wd have bn heavy).
At Fervacque
Switch a number of casualties
were caused by one m.g.
in / barrage firing low.
A few guns (one 4.5 how
especially) were firing short.
In some cases they sheltered
till these guns lifted.
68