Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/208/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 5

/ Hindbg line in 27A.
The 2 mgs. wh had
bn following Bn came across
from Malakoff Wood &
estabd themselves in Top Lane.
B & A had organised / Americans
found at / Tunnel Bank,
& had them in the C.T.
When it ws found tt /
positn ws impossible for
/ plans to be carried out,
HQrs went back to /
same point where 59 Bn had
their HQrs (see my map)
D Coy ws then ordered
to bomb its way along /
Hindbg support trench while B & A
pushed along / Canal Tunnel.
D Coy got up to where / trench crosses
38
 

/ Sunken Rd in 21 D 3.0.
Bat A & B wh tried to advance
in extended order over / top by pushing out LGs & riflemen up / bank side
had to come back owing to
casualties.  This attack ws
organised planned by CG. 44 before
changing / HQrs & the
Coy Commdrs were told what
ws to be done.
Dispositns had before
their bn sent by Bn to 
Bde.
[2 plns B & all A Coy on reaching
/ tunnel where telegraph
crosses it, ^ seeing they were too far to rt, tried to push
up / rd towds their
objve at 22 Centl.
As they came along / rd they
came under heavy m.g. fire
39
 

& L.T.M & had to get
off / rd. into the C.T.
After this, when Capt.
Longmore came along, they tried
to push up the W side o /
Tunnel & got along 200 - 300
yds.  There seemed to be
direct whizzbang fire from
/ knoll.  They bn B Coy ws
leading & they lost a few

men wd.  But the knoll
looked right down on them.
So they occupied the C.T.
As they occupied the C.T.
they saw / men of D Coy
(w whom they had nt yet
had touch) work up to
the sunken Rd at 27B 2.9.
There were a number of germans
in / trench further up - D Coy
40
 

at this moment masked
/ fire of B onto these.
These Germs were in / Sunken
Rd & counterattacked D
Coy; but D using mills
bombs drove them off
easily.  These Germs, worked down /
sunken rd from the N.W.
At / same time C Coy
under Lt Mitchinson cd
be seen fighting in the front
Hindbg trench at 27A central.
The Germs had one or 2
m.gs. there.  These were
worrying D Coy & even
killed an ^A Coy man in / bottom
of the C.T. (firing in direct
E direction enfilading this trench).
Here Sergt Ingvarsen
(got a bar to DCM) jumped out
41

o / trench & shouted for the L.G.
to follow him - firing his rifle at
/ germs as he ran.  He shot
some of / m. gunners & took
abt 20.  They did this bec.
they cd see this m.g. firing
in / directn of B Coy.
Mitchinson only had 8
men w him including / above -
4 men who had bn sent across

from D to see what ws doing (as our
men cd be seen there) joined
this pty and made it 12.
There were some hundreds
of Yankees on the Tunnel
Bank.  They had no offrs -
probab probly got lost in /
artificial mist - & they were

difficult to organise being very
apathetic.  They didnt seem to
42
 

realise their own danger.
Abt 50 were later organised
by 44 Bn.  These were splendid.
That aftn 59 Bn
ws taken out & B coy
felled in w D Coy & took
their place.

There were still Germs.
in the ^Hindbg trench Junctn w Top Lane.
Moran of 43 Bn
joined up thro Top lane &
bombed these Germs out.
Lt Warry of 42
ws to bring his Coy round to
/ support line o / Hindbg
line & bomb up ahead of

D Coy.  this ws / intention
Diagram - see original document
43

D Coy ws at / Rd trench Xing.
Lt Warry came along after
dark & made his Hqrs
in a dug out at this point.
His men were in / same
portion of trench as D Coy 44Bn
Warry's instrns were to work
up the support trenches towds Bony.
Warry had 2 plns w him - & 
one had bn lost - He sent
a patrol out but no definite
attack ws made tt night.
Aug Sept 30 In / mg. a barrage
ws put down. Word from
Bde ws sent at 6 am wh
arrd at 6 am. tt a barrage
ws being put down & tt 44
Bn D Coy ws to work up towds
support line Bony (C Coy
44

 a part of B-Mitchinson - ws
to go up / other trench.
It ws / m.g. in front of
Mitchinson wh prevented
D Coy from Xing the Sunken
Rd. This ws noted at noon
by Mitchinsons Coy platoon B Coy (not Ingvarsen's
gun).
It ws impossible to follow
/ barrage wh ws like an
area shoot - m.g. fire ws
too intense - 
^[[*Lt. Scarr
& another
got out
xxxxx
off /
trench fowd
but were
so heavily
fired on
tt it ws
clear
nothing
cd be done.
Scarr ws ht
later by shell
in trench,*]]
D Coy notified
Hqrs tt it cd not be done.
Abt 3 hrs later owing to
/ work of B Coy in  / front
line Capt Lewis (wd but R.O.D.
& Lt Mackenzie got across
the Sunken Rd (wh breaks /
trench for abt 50 yds) & into
45

45a
※
2 m.gs. were found in
this portion of trench wh had
bn firing direct on D Coy
down / trench. They had killed
Serg Blick & a Corpl. Sniping,
2 men were dead by these
m.g.s lately k.
/ trench again. They came
back  & abt this time
got orders to go forwd
agn & continue w /
job. They dribbled over
followed by B Coy into
tt trench※ - Warry staying
where he was; They
got just past / next
trench junction to 21D Central.
There / trench goes downhill
in direct enfilade from /
knoll. They decided to
wait a while & have another
go in 2 hrs - wh they
eventually did. Lt Mackenzie
w riflemen & bombers, 4 of them,
got abt ½ way down / straight
when they saw a German offr
46

stand up on / knoll.
He held his hand up -
& when he dropped it mgs -
started & also a L.T.M -
& it ws very hot - the 5
had to be back 150 yds to /
corner. 43 Bn followed
in behind D & B Coys as
far as the C.T. junction
[B Coy as well as D Coy
had recd the order to attack
at 6 am. bit it ws impossible
- They saw / barrage first &
jump up to find out what
it was].
For / night / positn
ws at 21 Centl.
At dawn on Sept Oct 1.
43 Bn took over / positn