Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/209/1 - July - October 1918 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DR1606/209/1
Title: Notebook, July - October 1918
includes references to the 25th, 26th and 28th
Battalions, Mont St Quentin, Lagnicourt and
Beaurevoir.
AWM-3DRL6O6/209/1

Original     DIARY NO 209
AWM38     3DRL 6O6 ITEM 209 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914-1918
THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer’s mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so — but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consuiting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept, 1946.     C. E. W. BEAN.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN

from Col Davies & others
25 Bn

2

Aug 8.

7 Bde held from rd to rly
Diagram - see original document

25 Bn ws
carrying for 
all three. Picks, 

shovels , ammn, bombs, water

whatever Bns. wanted.

No diffcy in.

finding way.
2 plns to each Bn, 2 to TMs 

& 2 to M.G.s  2 for liaison betw

5 & 7 Bdes; 1 as P. of W. escort.

Some reported to units before

leaving V/B; others marched up

independently & formed behind

units.

The objve ws E of Marcelcave

& Lamotte.
1

About 35 mins before Zero
/ Germs put down a pretty
heavy barrage on the J.O.T.
Our J.O.T was ahead of the
old line support line - & it
ws this line he shelled, fortunately.
Bn HQrs ws there. There ws
a fair amt of m.g. fire also.
It looked as if he had heard them.
Also our m.gs. were firing
to drown noise of tanks &
this may have stirred him.
Abt 20 mins before Zero
this eased & ceased 10 mins before.
At zero our fine barrage opened.
It ws v. misty - they expected
tt it wd give them gt difficulty
but / men simply went towds
/ German & by good fortune got straight
there.
2

Each Bns carrying pty
eventually joined / front line &
gave a certain amt of assistance
in getting their objectives.
N. of Marcelcave in /
houses one officer, 2/Lt Dix,
came on a yard w an iron gate,

& a German offr standing just
inside. He went up to take
this offr prisoner. The German
shut / gate & motioned him
away, speaking in German.

Dix pointed his revolver at

him & he opened / gate & ws

taken.

The attack went on without

great incident till / objve ws

reached. The mist ws so heavy

that you cdnt see ^any direct fire

by guns - probly Germs kept

their guns on barrage.
3

28 & 27 Bns got some guns.
5 Divn then leapfrogged -

mist cleared abt 7 a.m.
It ws a wonderful

sight tt mg. after the Zero from

Hqrs to see a bde of cavalry

in mass (if not more) which

crossed / rly from / came

along just N o / rly, crossed

/ trenches & massed

near Card Copse. Also the

whole 5 Divn ws advancing in

arty formatn & ^abt a hundreds

o / tanks, mostly whippets,

coming up to support /

second leap. Armoured cars

& unlimited mechanical

& horse transpt were

streaming along the ^rd E of V/B rd,

& batteries limbering up &

galloping up into action.
4

To crown everything German
prisoners coming back by
/ score into / middle of all
this  - astonished.
30 or 40 mins after Zero
there were touring cars going
up the main rd - it all
looked a certain, confident
success. Within an hour or two
balloons too were going forward.
25 Bn rendezvoused
in 34 B & D - all were reorganised
& ready in / trenches by 7.45
a.m. Carrying jobs finished
(they just did / one trip).
They stayed there / night,
due N of Marcelcave.
Aug 9. Next day they were told
tt / line ws E of Harbonnieres

& they were to be prepared

to attack at short notice - this
5

was at 11. a.m.
Abt 11 Bn ws ordered to
go forward & C.O.s to meet
G.O.C. in W 8 central
N of Guillancourt.
A little after noon they
met & recd verbal orders
for an attack tt aftn
on Vauvillers &  Framerville
& further E. The line then
held ws / old French System
E of Harbonnieres.
Zero ws to be 4.30 p.m.
Bn came on under 2 in c senior O.C.

Capt Cross, (Maj Page ws w / nucleus)

& met C.-O. at W 8 Central

& they lunched there, & moved

forward to W 10 B, W. of

Harbonnieres. Reached there
6

abt 3p.m. - little shelling.
Bde HQ ws about 11 A 1.0.
in Sunken Rd. C.O. went
forwd (Col. Davis) & had a
final Confce w G.O.C. He
then went back to Bn &
ordered them on & went
forwd to front line & made
a reconnaissance of J.O.T.
E of Harbonnieres they got
on a downward slope (12 A & B)
& came under shell fire -
they also had 6 tanks
coming up, moving w /
Bn from behind Harbonnieres
& they "drew crabs". They
reached / old trenches at

4.15 - the J.O. line;

Just as they were abt 200 
7

yds short of them a squadron
of Germ. planes, abt 20 strong,
flew very low (50 to 100ft)
overhead all firing as hard
as they cd w m.gs. This
lasted abt 5 mins - 
the Bn had to go on forming
up & cd do nothing. A sqn
of our own planes came
over & engaged them - wh
made it a bit heavier till
they scattered - bullets
everywhere but loss none
or slight (a very remarkable
affair). The German sqn had
a double triangle mark 

Diagram - see original document
as well as their +  & ws
clearly a circus. They got to /
trenches abt / time when these planes
scattered. At 4.30 they jumped
off in touch w 27 Bn.
8