Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/203/1 - August - October 1918 - Part 3

57 & 59 Bns on /

spur S. of Flamicourt.

59 Bn were dribbling

men across ^/ canal & along / rly

line w / idea of getting

into Flamicourt.  They 

struck m.g. fire on / straight

narrow rly bank running

thro / marsh.  They lost

2 offrs & cdnt get on.

The 2 Coys of 58 under

Capt Forsyth & Lt Morrison

found tt 53 & 54 had

only taken the W. of Peronne

& / whole of E ws strongly

held by Germs.  They lay

up in the moat just outside

the entrance by / citadel - 

in touch w ^part of 54 Bn under

Capt Downey ?Downing (27 B O.G.)

20

Things thus came to a 

stand still.  Troops were

all with drawn to /

mgs mornings positn

exc. C. Coy (Capt Lt Tait)

who remained covering

Bristol Bridge as in / morning.

They sent a pty up / rd

to keep touch w 53 Bn - 

33. A. 9.9.  The Coys from / 

moat came back for / night.

Sept 2.  Abt 5 am Sept 2

orders were recd to push

thro / town - Maj. Ferris

to put himself under Col.

Marshall to attack & 

take / rest of Peronne, & then 

swing to / South as before

& get / High Ground in 35

opp. Doingt.

21

22

*Owing to / positn of Gen. Elliotts 

Bde Hqrs, the car from Divn had

missed him - Hadnt been able 

to find him.  He walked all / 

way back to Divn - & / other 

Bdiers had gone - He put

38 58 Bn under Col. Marshall 

without telling 14 Bde Commander

(or before / message reached him) - 

& / first Marshall knew ws 

when 38 Bn turned up!  Ferris 

went back incensed (when he 

ws wd) & reported tt Col. 

Marshall ws in bed & didnt 

know there ws a fight on (as 

a matter of fact M. didn't know 

tt 58 Bn ws in / fight) - & there was

a misunderstanding
 

Lt Moon had to go

(Gen. Elliott arrd back at 3a.m. 

from Divn w these orders).*

Lt Moon had to find Col. 

Marshall & found him 

a long way N. of Peronne.

They hadnt heard had instrns tt 58 Bn 

ws under them, & suggested 

tt he shd look for C.O. 56 Bn 

wh ws running / show - 

Marshall had instructed his Bn Coy 

under Downing to mop up 

the rest of Peronne -

Meanwhile Maj. 

Ferris had sent 2 Coys to 

/ moat.  As they were getting into

/ town / German retaliation

for our barrage came down, 

(half an hour before Zero 

howr, wh ws / hour on

23

wh 15 Bde ws working)

& our shorts & / German 

shelling made this end o / 

town very hot indeed.

The T.Ms  .There ws an 

hours preparatory barrage on 

E of Peronne (^it began actually

at 6 5.35). & it ws v.

ragged, probly owing to the 

shortness o / notice to 

the arty also.

The 2 Coys ( 

The Bn going thro Peronne 

had a number of casualties 

thro this shelling - 

Lt Deane badly wd.

Capt Forsyth slightly wd. stayed there some time at moat

Maj. Ferris slightly wd, carried on.

They reorganised in / 

moat.  Maj. Ferris, as he 

24

had had no reply 

decided to go on w /

attack himself.

Maj. Ferris & Lt Slaughter 

made a personal reconnaissance.

The Bn ws in the moat. 

They two went up the N. outskirts 

o / town under cover of 

mounds of brick earth &

brick bldgs; & up at the first 

E entrance of the main 

town they came under 

m.g. fire.

They went back & 

brought / Coys up on / 

N side o / town & put them 

under cover of various 

mounds & bldgs.  From 

there they decided to attack 

with 2 Coys.  Both had to cross

25

the bridge, one to / rt, & one 

to / left.  The Centre ws a 

road running NE.

They got across / bridge 

all right.  But as soon 

as they got thro they came 

under m.g. fire from directly 

down / street & from bldgs 

on either side of it.

Cover ws available 

on either side by earthworks 

& bldgs.  The left Coy under 

Lt Slaughter worked along / 

earthworks just S. of the moat. 

They were opposed.  They sent 

out fighting patrols w L.G. 

in front of either flank of their advance -

be Owing to / good cover of 

bldgs / patrols got to close quarters

26 

& brought fire onto / Germ. 

m.g. posts.  These were mounted 

on / ramparts & in bldgs, 

firing thro' rivers windows.

sometimes from 2nd stories, 

some from little mounds of 

wh there were many ; 

on / left from / ramparts

where there were trenches all along.

Lt McKinley ws 

wounded by a T.M. - a few 

mins later we got the crew

of 17 (abt ½ way up the 

ramparts).  In some cases 

/ German m.gs. put up a 

good fight & some crews 

were wiped completely 

out by our m.gs. & rifles.

The Coy ws covering the patrols w

27

fire & working forwd as 

patrols they reported their advance.

A number o / patrols 

were wd & were replaced 

from / Coy.  They pushed on 

till they reached / end o / 

ramparts finding posts 

/ whole way.

Owing to / flank not 

being up, & m.g. fire from St 

Denis they cdnt get any 

further forwd -  the left 

had not moved at all at tt 

time (N. of the town).  The 

Germs retired to trenches & pozzies 

abt 300 yds NE of / ramparts

in the St Denis directn.  He 

reinforced these very strongly  

& ws apparently reinforced 

there but didnt attempt 

28 

a c/attack.  The right had 

similarly got on thro' / houses 

S. of / rd.  We got abt 100 

prisoners (Bn C.O. who rode up 

on his horse, 2 other offrs - 

a number of diff. units - 

all machine gunners who seemed 

to have voluntered.)

L.G. & rifle posts were 

estabd on / left on / ramparts, 

& in front east of / ramparts 

across / country guarding 

/ rd. 

A patrol (standing patrol) 

ws put on / rly line abt 

28 B 8.9.  They also took 

advantage o / large 

no of German m.gs. captd 

(7. or 8 mounted) & established posts 

round / ramparts N, E, & S.

29

The Word ws sent to / other 

2 Coys who were brought 

up in close suppt & 

dug in under / ramparts. 

Abt then 14 Bde came along 

to reinforce (Lt Harvey - 54 Bn, 

abt 11 a.m.) They were kept 

in suppt & tt night abt 8 or 

9 p.m. were reld. (2/3)

On aftn of Sept 4 Genl 

Elliott got onto / Ramparts 

to watch / advancing troops. 

As everything ws going well 

/ General who saw a boat 

there got into this w Maj.

Doyle (who ws ^abt exhausted) & 

got into this & punted abt - 

shells were falling in / water 

"I hope they dont mistake us 

for Dreadnought & sink us")

30