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

AWM3S
Official History,
1974-18 War: Records of CE W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Hem number: 3DR1606/20917
Title: Notebook, July - October 1918
includes references to the 25th, 26th and 28th
Battalions, Mont St Quentin, Lagnicourt and
Beaurevoir.
AWMISS-3DRLCO6/2091
 

Original  DIARY NO 209
302L 6OL ITED 209
AwM38 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.
AUSTRALAN WAR
C. E. W. BEAN.
16 Sept, 1946.

 

25 Bn from Col Davies & others

Aug 8

7 Bde held from rd to rly
25Ba was
carrying for all three. Picks, 

shovels , ammun, bombs, water

whatever Bns. wanted.

No diffcy in

finding way.
 

25  -  27

      - 28

       - 26
2 pltns 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 unit. before

leaving V/B; others marched up

independently & formed behind

units.

The offive was E of Marcelliare

& [[?Laurette]]
 

About 35 mins before zero
the Germans put down a pretty
heavy barrage on the J.O.T.
Our J.O.T was ahead of the
[[shorthand]] live support line - & it
was this line he shelled, fortunately.
Ba HQs was there. There was
a fair amt of m.g. fire also.
It looked as if he had heard them.
Also our [[?]] 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 fire barrage opened.
It ws v. misty - they expected
it it wd give them gt difficulty
but the men simply went towards
the Germans & by good fortune got straight
there.
 

Each Bns carrying pty
eventually joined the front line &
gave a certain amt of assistance
in getting their objectives.
N. of Marceleaux in the
houses one officier, L/t Dix,
came on a yard w an ^iron gate,

& a german officer standing just
inside. He went up to take
the officer prisoner. The German
shut the gate & motioned him
away, speaking in German.

Dix pointed his revolver at

him & he opened the gate & was

taken.

The attack went on without

great incident till the objve was

reached. The mist was so heavy

that you cant see ^any direct fire

by guns - probly Germans kept

their guns on barrage.
 

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

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

sight that mng after the zero from

Hqrs to see a bde of cavalry

in mass (if not more) which

crossed the rly front came

along just N of the rly, crossed

the trenches & massed

near Card Copse. Also the

whole 5 Divn was advancing in

artilty formation & ^abt a hundred

[[shorthand]] tanks, mostly whippets,

coming up to support the

second leap. Armoured cars

& unlimited mechanical

& horse transpt were

streaming along the ^rd E4 V/B, 2

& bateries lumbering up &

galloping up into action.

 

To crown Everything German
prisoners coming back by
the score into the 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
batlons to were going forward.
25 Bn rondyvoused
in 34 B+ D - all were [[?]]
& ready in the trenches by 7.45
again. Carrying jobs finished
(they just did the one trip).
They stayed there the night,
due Nof Marceleaux.
Aug 9. Next day they were told
that the line was E of Harbonnieres

& they were to be prepared

to attack at short notice - this

 

was at 11. a.m.
Aft 11 Bn was ordered to
go forward & C.O.s  to meet
G.O.C. in W 8 central
N of Guillamcourt.
A little after noon they
met & recd verbal orders
for an attack that afternoon
on Vauvillers &  [[?Frauerville]]
& further E. The line then
held was the old French System
E of Harbonnieres.
Zero was to be 4.30p.m.
Bn came on under 2 in f senior O.C,

Capt Cross. (Maj Page was with the nucleus)

& met C.O. at W 8 Central

& they lunched there, & moved

forward to W 10 B, W. of

Harbonnieres. Reached there
 

aft 3pm. - little shelling
Bde HQ was about 11A 1.0.
in Sunken Rd. C.O. went
forwd (Lt Davis) & had a
final Confce w G.O.C. He
then went back to Ba &
ordered them on & went
forward to front line & made
a reconnaissance of J.O.T
E of Harbonnieres they got
on a downward slope (12A&B)
& came under shellfire -
they also had 6 tanks
coming up, moving with the
Bn from behind Harbonniere
& they "drew [[?crabs]] They
reached the old trenches at

4.15 - the T.O. line;

Just as they were abt 200

 

yds short of him a squadron
of German. 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 X
as well as their +  & was
clearly a circus. They got to the
trenches abt the time when these planes
scattered. At 4.30 they jumped
off in touch w 27 Bn.