Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/207/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 4

apptly not noticed. He threw
a bomb & then jumped into /
post w his bayonet - & got
6 prisoners (& M.M.). This
ws as they were getting near
the Crucifix. He took his
prisoners to Bn H.Qrs.
Next day. Aug 11. The
Coy suffered from sniping down
on / river to / rt. They themselves
saw / Germans in artillery formatn
working down across the mouth
o / ravine (on / other side o /
river) & got L.G. & Vick. Gun
onto them at 1100 yds. The Germans
had to deploy at once.  The Germs.
were fired at by 50 Bn in one directn down / ravine & the 49 from
the other.
The Germans opened heavily w arty on this
post with the Vickers & 7 men
w / L.G. team were blown out.
29 

The same the Germs were
seen coming down from
Chalk pozzies from abt 1 till
dusk to / N.E. of Bray &
they got arty onto them. That
evg everyone ws ready for a c/attack
but it never came off. It wd have
bn a heavy c/attack.
This day / runners were
subjected to rifle fire & m.g. fire
from both sides.
There had been an Anti -Tank
rifle ^out in front o / xxxx woods
at / start o / attack.
Lt Fearnside ws wd
rather badly in / shoulder
on Aug 11 by shell fire. He
ws down / ravine in his pln
post at / head of it. He came
back to Coy Hqrs & was going
30 

back to Bn HQrs along
the Cor line Rd when he
& 2 ^other wounded men were grabbed
(one had a broken arm) This
German post ws still
left by / road. C Coy
saw them taken (abt 1 pm)
& sent out but / pty
came under heavy fire.
Cpl Crouch (who had a
Belgian Croix de Guerre Paschendaele) one o /
bravest men in / Bn, who was
known as / best scout in the
Bn - cpl in / leading pln but
not scouting tt night - was
killed by a shell on Aug 11.
A fine youngster - linesman & runner
by name Bogg - ws k. working on
the lines near the Crucifix road - it ws
31 

a very heavy day for linesmen
& runners. X
A German m.g. post
at / bottom o / ravine ws
annoying the 49 on mg. of Aug 12. Tambling
got the arty onto it & the 4th shot lobbed
right into it.

The Bn ws not sure if / tanks
wd be there or not - & it ws
a great source of confidence to /
men to see them turn up.  They
looked on them as a sort of flank
guard.  One tank stayed by
/ cross roads at Gressaire Wood
& fired NE.  Two or 3 others went
out along / road.
"B" Coy had 10.k. 1 missing & 31
wd.
Lt Fearnside wd & prisoner.
Lt Armstrong by one of our own
shells.
Lt Carroll wd during later stage.
32

B. Coy had 1 offr & 9 o.r. wounded.
Fires in ^NE of Bray were
started on ^night of Aug. 11 by our arty.
Others were started in
Neuville apptly by / Germans.
The whole back country
E of Bray seemed to be
burning villages - the
German had set fire to them.
There was no regular
hop over by / Germs agst the 49th.
A few Germans may have
dribbled up on the left.
33

Mouquet.
52 Bn
Diagram - see original document
Sept 3. 5.15  The 2 left plns got
to the Farm.  Sergt Cutts w rt plns
ws still in touch with them to
abt A.  There the line
split & the left went into
the Farm.  (Lt Taylor ws k. as
soon as the attack started;
2/Lt Dickson got into / Farm,
34

ws shot in / leg & took
a German coming out of a
pozzy w a m.g. in /
Farm.  He made this
German carry the m.g. out,
& got back & ws sent to hospital.
These 2 plns on / left more
or less disappeared - some
of them have never been accounted
for at all.  The other 2 plns
got into 2 shell holes in front
of the German post at 77 &
between it & the rest of 52
Bn.  There were Germans
at Z - but at / time they
did not know tt there ws
a post at 77 - No post ws
seen at first but later
Germs were seen at abt where
35

it is marked in the sketch.
The 51 Bn cd be picked up
on / left front digging in.
The shell holes wh Cutts
& the 2 plns were in were
part of an old trench very
badly blown about that
morning.
Abt 9 a.m. (the Germs.
being between there & the 51st)
Cutts went across to the
Fm - go from sh going as
fast as he cd - & saw
a Coy Hqrs of 51 Bn there.
They were in the mouth o /
dugout.  The other end ^of it ws
full of Germs. whom they
had shut in.  They promised
to send a pln to connect
36

36A
Diagram - see original document
The Coy Hqrs was at an old cellar
entrance to a dugout at A.
Men were digging a Commn T. from
B to A (abt 2 ft deep then)

up with Cutts party.
(B Coy - Maj. MacPherson
ws in/c but after Beevor
ws wd McP. took charge o /
front line there.)
Just after Cutts asked
for these the Farm ws very
heavily shelled.  The pln
did not arrive.  It was
shortly after
Diagram - see original document
this tt / Germs. came working
in between 52 & 51 & were
clearly getting heavily fired at
from the 51st - the 52nd was
also firing at them. (Cutts
had sent out to get touch
with the 52nd on the rt but
could not get touch with
them at any time.  Only abt
37

were left in this group
at this time.  To start
with there had been about
20.  (A no of prisoners
had been got in posts on
the rt of the farm - as
far as can be remembered -
& escorted back, & a no.
of men had bn wounded. ).
Most of these casualties
were by m.g. fire from the
rt front.)
The German c/attack got
about as far as E. they
were using egg bombs agst
51 Bn.  They did not get into
the Farm at this time.
They ^The party w Cutts moved back to
abt F. J. round the edge of
38