Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/205/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 6

wh the Co. had been informed existed

between 20 & 17.

These troops of 18Bn got to

Gottlieb trench & later when 20

Bn came back they found them

there & this made further retrmt

unnecessary. Capt Keppel 18Bn ws

there]

The position ws such tt

Maj. McDonald ordered a

withdrawal to Gottlieb trench

(ODER trench ws just a recently

battered line & cdnt be occupied).

They went by small pties thro /

village.  There were Germs in

/ village & some o / parties had

to fight to get back. The pty wh

ws out by / road on / left cd

not be communicated w in

time. They kept dark, seeing

what had happened & came back

when 6 Bde went thro on Sept 1.

a pty of 3 wd men who had to be

left in the AMC dugout in / 

road bank were well looked after

by / Germans - one taken prisoner

& / other 2 left and retaken by us.

They gave our men coffee - &

bandaged them, gave one man

splints; & told them tt our people

wd be there again next morning

& then left them.

A few men were hit by m.g.

men getting back to Gottleib.

A report ws sent back to

C.O. tt only 50 men were left,

& giving dispositions. He sent up

all the runners & Bn H.Q. staff

under Lt. Bain, Lewis gun offr.

They had collected a lot of m.gs.

& Sergt Clarke (L.S. Sergt from

Bn H.Q. instructed / men then

& there how to fire them. They

had at least a dozen German

m.gs. & every post now

had a m.g. & any amt of ammun.

McD had sent Lt. Gillholme

back along Gottlieb trench to see

if there were any troops on /

rt.  He sd tt Capt Keppel 18 Bn

had a Coy there. This fixed /

rt. Two posts were put on /

left flank right down on /

N. Bank of / canal (8 or 9 ft

deep there); they were looking

NNW up a valley & had a

fine field of fire. This made

/ position secure. No troops

cd be seen on / left.

The German never came 

out o l village - he occupied

/ village & / road.

The 20 Bn ws in Gottleib trench by

4.30pm. After dark - it ws 

very dark, 6 Bde came up

& occupied / trench w them;

& the 20 was able to send back

men to Bn H.Q. to get rations
 - hot rissoles & tea.

Lt Noble was k. on / bank o /

canal sniped

as they were advancing.

Lt Webb ws wd just after C.Coy got

well started.

Lt Richardson ws wd by the 4.2 gun

abt ½ hr after Bn reached

abjve when / gun had changed

its position.

Capt Barlow ws wd by m.g. while

they were retiring thro / village.

He thought he wd be captured

So he buried his revolver &

buried his papers.

Pte Williams stayed by him

& helped him back thro / 

Germans & under m.g. fire.

Lt. Elliott ws wd by a small piece

of shell as we were withdrawing.

Two S.O.S. signals were put up

before Bn withdrew but there 

ws no reply.  Pte Arnold went

back, after / withdrawal, w a 

verbal message to the C.O. tt

artillery ws wanted. They put 

a protective barrage round when

they found what position was.

The next day Sept 1. 20Bn

went to Halle & were heavily

shelled there.

Shortly before McD came to

German Bde H.Q.  they saw a

Coy of 19Bn following in extended

order over / same ground as / left

of 20bn.  Maj. McD. saw their officer

Lt. Fleming & put him on his right

track.  Lt. Anthon also met Lt.

Hughes at Gottleib trench while the 20 Bn

ws waiting for its barrage to lift - &

told him where his objve was - on

The Official War Historian of the Commonwealth
Government (Dr. C.E.W.Bean), after his study of the
collection of private war records preserved in the Australian
War Memorial Library, wrote:-
"The private diaries in this collection furnish some of its most
valuable historical records, but, like all private memoirs which were
not compiled with any historical purpose, they should not be
regarded as first-hand evidence except where it is certain that they
are so. The diarist is almost always sincere in his desire to record
accurately, but he is subject to no obligation or inducement to
indicate whether he is recording his own observations or incidents
told him by friends or heard at third or fourth hand at the mess-table.
Thus, in some of the diaries in this collection, scenes described with
vivid detail, and without any warning that they are told at second
or third hand, have been found to be completely inaccurate in
important details. A certain number also have been written up
or revised long after the events, though doubtless usually from notes
made at the time. In most cases the student must rely on his
experience and on internal evidence to guide him in judging what is
and what is not likely to be historically accurate."
the right.  They did not seem certain

of their objve - thought it ws 400

yds to right of Mt St Q.

From Lt. Anthon

& Lt. Cameron.

Beaurevoir. 20 Bn

Took over a line from 15 Bde

in / road imd. past Folemprise

Farm; tt same night aded line

to / next rd from Mint Copse

to / Cemetery.  The German shelled

Folemprise & Mint Copse very

heavily with H E & gas.  No scrap

in getting to / Sunken rd.

Patrols were sent to Torrens

Canal / first night & found

no water in it; & another

patrol to Pail Copse.  This

patrol saw a Germ. Patrol out

getting ∧back into / Beaurevoir line

but didnt engage it.
At abt dusk of October 2 Coy commdrs

had to report to Bn HQ for

general instrns for / attack

to take place at dawn Oct 3.

The 25 Bn relv B & C Coys 

from Folemprise Coy Rd to

Mint Copse abt 9pm.

The Coys were to withdraw

to the ∧diagonal Sunken Rd between

Folemprise Fm & Estrees for

hot food, ammn & bombs. But

as / Germs were shelling

tt area from 9.30pm till 5 am

w gas very heavily (w mustard 

gas & tear gas) it ws found

advisable to keep B & C Coys

in the original Sunken Rd.

They were fed there abt 3.30 -
hot stew & tea.

A Coy wh ws in the diagonal

Rd had to sit in its

gas helmets a good pt o /

time.

At 5.30 am. they were

in position from the corner of

Folemprise Rd to the outskirts

of Extrees just past / cemetery

They jumped off from tt road, not from in front of it.

Cameron     Bain

      B                  A

          Holmes           

                C

Bn ws down to 3 Coys on acct o /

proposal to absorb 19 Bn (wh

had bn postponed / day before).

A Coy had to open out

quickly to their right. xxx

They got off all right.  25 Bn

ws on left.

It ws v hard to keep

directn.  Barrage good - xxxxx

for an unregistered barrage.

A few m.gs. were met in 

pot holes short of the Beaurevoir

line (these had bn missed by 19).

In / deep ∧curved Sunken Rd in 26A & B

the Germs had a lot of men

& m.gs. 19 & 20 had closed

up. There ws a good bit of

oppositn there. The Germans

were using a lot of the big 

Mauser pistols with a drum

containing 35 rounds - fired

in single shots but as good as

a rifle. These Germs were in 

niches on / top o / bank.

Fire ws kept on these by L.Gs

& th bns got on on / flanks

of them.  They had to wait 

on / wire wh ws very thick.

While waiting there they saw

a tank coming down from 

Folemprise Fm.  There ws a 

m.g. on there. / other side o /

wire giving a lot of trouble.

Cpl (now Sergt DCM & Bar) Frost

worked his way alone across

/ wire, kill  shot the two 

men o / crew & capt / gun.

The tank (Mionney)

came across / wire & made

a track wh enabled / infantry

to get across. Where they got

across they found fire coming

across into their backs from

[*Mionney was later blown up*]