Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/207/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 8

of port w 1500 fighting men.

The 13^th Bde ws to hold this for

the night of 5/6th & to be

reld on night of 6^th/7^th by

Canadians who wd hold

the line till night of 7^th/8^th

when they wd attack at 

dawn.

 

When I raid took

place, Gen Rawlinson decided

th I Canadians cdnt be

placed in I line until I

last night - as if I Germans

identified first I Australians

& then I Canadians, they wd

smell a rat. The Australians

being identified made this 

necy. It ws accordly told by

Maclagan th he ws sorry he wd

have to ask 13 Bde to

stay there another night.

It sd th 2 nights were

no worse than one - tho

of course he cdnt guarantee

agst a heavy raid of

100 men (the long line ws

still held by platoon units

& not less - if split, they

must be able to support each

other).

 

Herring ws quite sure

on going in first th he wd

be railed - the difference

in helmets & manners

made this certain.

 

This involved leaving

13 Bde out o I first attack

& splitting 1st Divn by attacking

1^st Bde to 4^th Divn.

The actual fact of I raid ^almost certainly

helped our plans rather then

hindered them. The German

examination of our prisoners

(afterwds captured amongst

his papers) proves this.

 

The 51 Bn men told I Germs

th they had bn doing no

special training for an

attack. As a matter of

fact they had bn training w

I tanks - the officers & NCOs

of 51 BN had- and the whole of

50 & 49 officers n.c.os

& men _ & the men of 51 Bn

although not so trained

themselves must have known

this.

50 m Soyecourt.

 

When E. of Soyecourt

Col. Salisbury wanted to get

some information abt Germans

in a wood & find how it

ws held. Hawker, a brother 

of the flying corps V.C. was a 

pln offr & ws sent in/c

of a patrol. He was working

out in I dark when they

ran on a pty of Germans who

were a post evidently

Expecting a relief. They shouted

"Are you the      ^th?" in German.

Hawker spoke German - & he

shouts back th they were -

& then ordered his men to open

fire. Abt then another pty

of Germs - the real relief -

came up behind then &

cut then off & they had to

fight their way back. Next

day the 50 Bn attacked on the

strength of this informatn &

were very successful.

 

51 Bn Noreuil.

The Bn had found the line

just beyond Noreuil Bancourt

cemetery - a little beyond I town

(I think ^dont think this means the little military

cemetery x in the valley near the

prisoners' cage.) They had pushed

the line more or less presently

forward till the right was just ahead

 of Vrancourt Copse, & the

left up near the Vrancourt Longette

Rd on I hill. There ws a crater

in I road there, & every night the

Scots on I left, & I Germans, seemed

to take or retake this crater. The

Scottish Bns Hq. sent in one night

to say th they had I crater & had

taken the Germans dinner boiling

on a Primus stove. Almost before

I message A couple of hours

later it ws German again.

 

When 51 Bn lined up on

its tapes to take the left hand

slopes past Noreuil it lay

across I hill top just beyond

Vrancourt Copse. Messages

came in at once from the rt Coy

commds to say th his men were

all mixed up w I Scots! Presently

a message came from I left

to say I same. The Scots were

to go for Longette! This was incomprehensible

till it ws found th I Scots had

laid their lapses wrong - this

put them out as if I attack

were on Noreuil!

 

Sketch

 

The 51^st & Scots went on together

& struck heavy oppositn from

3 or 4 m.gs at the top of I sunken

Rd betw Noreuil & Longette. (B)

They had several officers & a

number of men k. or wd. in front

of this. At last ^Then a youngster

named Earle got w a few

men into the Sunken Rd at

A (further on I right) &,

working up it, shot I crews

& I guns  - & the Bn got

ahead. They killed a number 

of Germs in this road &

also had a bit of fighting

at the Village end of it where

their right just brushed

past I village.

 

They went on &

occupied a trench E of

Noreuil - beyond I town.

It ws a good trench &

bent back a bit on I left.

They none of them had known

of its existence & there ws

some comment ^in I Bn on their not

having had aeroplane photos

before to show them I ground.

They reported ^being in touch w

Scots on I left & 50^th on their

right. This ws true; but as

a matter of fact they were

only odds & ends of Scots

& 50^th who had come along

on their flanks. Longette ws apptly

not taken. However a m.g. ws

placed on the Sunken Road

from Noreuil to Longette,

where it goes into I dip just

N of the point B on I above

sketch. And the British

(later th day?) settled took

Longette. (51 & 50 Bns had Hqrs far

apart. Nowadays we know enough to put then

in either - they would be in I same dugout.)

Somme winter. Bulls

run dugouts were big ^winding mostly

in timbered galleries - too

small for comfort. They

used to get suffocatingly hot

even in midwinter & a

visible steam used to exude

from them in the ^early mornings.

Men even slept there without 

any clothes on owing to the "fug".

 

45 Bn. ^Somme winter. Stormy Trench

Major Howden, 2 in/c.

of 45 Bn who was a splendid

officer advised Herring when

I Coys arrived th were to 

make a set attack on

Stormy Trench th I men were