Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/209/1 - July - October 1918 - Part 4

flank from Hera & Athens on
/ left.
Bn ws reld on night
of 4th.
[Later records show tt
a special sharpshooting troops Bn
had bn put in to reinforce
this front.] The m.g. fire here
ws heavier than on July 28/9 at
Pozieres.
30

main post containing 17 mgs.

& T.Ms.  Owing to / convex shape

o / hill they cdnt reach w their

fire / positn where out party

was.

The rest of A Coy (wh had reconnoitred 

& found out / positn) moved up

Lugus trench & gradually worked up

/ trench till they were imdly looking

down Brunn trench where /

Germs were holding out very

strongly & causing serious

oppositn to C. Coy.

(A: Coy Capt Fletcher, Lt McLaughlan,

Lt Graham;  C. Coy. Capt G. Cromey,

Lt Annat, Lt Ross, Lt Izdebski).

D Coy, Capt Lennon, 2/Lt Stuart, Ward,

Norman,) B Coy Capt Cross, Pain ?Payne, Hoge.)

Cadzow).  BnH.Q. Maj. Page, Capt. Carroll,
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ws estabd abt 75 yds from /
rd so as to have a field of
fire.
There ws a gap betw 27 Bn
& 25 Bn.  Lt Eather w a
small pty (abt 3) reconnoitred
the previously obscure trenches
to Athene & HeRa Alley, &
found tt / Germs were not
holding / junctions of Antigone
Alley w these trenches.  Some of
28 Bn were used in forming
posts there - & others on /
flank in k or os (i.e they were
put into the two gaps left after
/ attack).
Where the British Bn wh
used ws in completing defensive
32
 

Lt. Eather.)

They were now in full view o /

Germs who were in this trench & were

looking down on them.

When fire ws directed on them

they began to clear out in small

pties & ceased fire.

At tt moment a pty of abt 120

Germs in Column of 4s began to

come W.  xxxx towds this point

coming in view abt 500 yds away.

Two Vickers Gun teams had just arrived,

& this target ws shown to them as /

ammn o / infy ws almost exhausted.

The Vickers Gun cd only fire single shots

so a burst of L.G. fire ws ordered when

/ Germs were abt 350 yds away.

They broke & fled leaving a number 

of wd men.  (This ws from /

same pt.)  Attention ws again turned
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The objve ws finally reached
abt 7.30 a.m.
B Coy had followed closely
on C. in / advance from
Brunn trench & joined in w tt
Coy in Antigone Alley.  The
casualties inflicted on the Bn
had bn very great.
The posts in / trenches were
put in during / afternoon
(On map: the small + represent
this aftns posts - in trenches.  The
o posts were put later by /
relieving Bn.)

A reconnoitring pty sent
along to the Ruppricht trench crossing
one man creeping ahead saw tt
just across / rd ws a very
strongly held German post abt
1 man to every yard.  Our post
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to Brunn trench & it ws seen tt /

Germs were still running away

in small pties & tt C Coy

were enveloping them on / flat

on the left.  The Germs had

ceased firing entirely.

C Coy ws then seen

advancing & / rest o / Germs

(abt 50) surrendered without

oppositn.

D Coy had no opportunity

yet of working in.  They were

following up in Lugus trench.

C Coy advanced across the / open

in excellent formatn & followed so closely

on / heels o / Germs as they ran tt

he did not make a stand in

Antigone Alley but retreated beyond

/ main road, throwing away many
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hold / line at / junction of
koros alley & Brunn trench.
That important corner ws strongly
held by us.
Meanwhile / strong
German post on / hill had bn
absolutely ignored & word ws sent
to the T.Ms in rear who fired
a couple of shots onto the positn
but a few men going forward
(Cpl. Anderson & 4 men) found tt
who had held on in front
of it all / time
/ Germans had (as ws suspected)
left this post.  The Germs took /
locks out of their m.gs. but
left all equipment & also sorts of
stores.  The Cpl. counted 17 m.gs.
& 2 T.Ms.  The Germans had
escaped across Koros Alley
& over / Triangle.
36
 

mgs packs & other kit.  As / rd ws

/ objve C Coy took up a positn in

Antigone Alley.  A Coy advanced

up Lugus trench & turned rt down

a good system of trenches wh / Germs

had previously bn occupying.  No

Germs were found there but 

they linked w 26 Bn near /

corner of Koros alley.  Several

German m.gs. were still holding

out below there & / rd but they

were soon forced to retire by fire

being brought onto them. Out Post were

then thrust down all / Saps

towds / main Rd & eventually -

during / day, posts were

estabd linking up with C. Coy.

D. Coy following A mingled w

26 Bn who were too weak to
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[*page253*]

25 Bn came back on night of

4/5 to Mereaucourt Wood.

& moved on S to Eclusier.

Stayed there till Sept xxxxx

27th.  At 6.30pm started by

road for Doingtarea E of Peronne

arriving 1 a.m.  28th Sept.

On next night 28/29

Bn marched to Templeux

la Fosse arriving abt 9.30pm

On mg. of Oct 1 Bn

marched to Hargicourt

arriving midday.  There

ws no accommodation of

any sort for / men.  As it

ws prob. they were going

to move agn tt night no

preparatn ws made.  Just

before dark the men began to
38

make bivvies.  Abt 5.30pm

C.Os. were sent for to

Bde in some Quarries

near Hargict. & verbal

orders gn to march to

NE of Nauroy.  25 Bn

being / most advanced

Bn & imd behind front

line - (part o / area

ws in nomansland).

They started at 8.30 p.m.

& they had a long tiring

march thro densely

black, drizzling night,

along filthy roads

by the Black road ∧(not / plank Rd) wh ws

quite undistinguishable
- practicaly it didnt exist.

This brought them thro Bellicourt
39

to NE of Nauroy in G.6.B.

Arrd there abt 1.30 a.m.

or 2 a.m.  Owing to the filthy

conditn of / road &

dense black night it

ws most difficult to find

/ way over this Hindbg

line country.  (The only

thing wh showed / rd ws

congestion of traffic,

horses bogged, limbers overturned.)

On night aftn of Oct 2.

C.Os. were sent for again

to Bde, just W. of

Bellecourt in Pillbox in

Hingbg line, & verbal

instrns gn for an attack

next mg.  These were followed 

by written orders late tt night.
40

On night of Oct 2/3 Bn

reld 20 Bn in the

Sunken Rd ∧(Estrees to Gouy) NE of Folemprise

Fm.  They attacked

at dawn on Oct 3.

In this rd there

ws some gas shelling but

nothing very heavy.  Folemprise

Fm ws shelled all / time,

so a detour ws made round

it by those who passed it

& they passed in perfect 

safety.

25 Bn had / first

objve on nearly / whole

Bde front. It included /

Beaurevoir Line.  The

line here ws found to be

very good w good pillboxes
41

42
※

[The 27 Bn ws to make a flank in this

Diagram - see original document

way.  They were late.  25 Bn had to

mop up a copse in 27 Bn area
Diagram - see original document
- just a few rifle shots came from it

but there ws no real resistance.

Shortly after / attack, as the

25Bn were abt approaching /

Beaurevoir line, the C.O. & Adjt standing

together at the J.O. line saw a number 

of men w their rifles at / post &

bayonets fixed come over the knuckle of

the 27 Bns ground & straight up the

hill towds them.  It was a Tommy Coy,

or else a Bn - under a poor kid of an

officer ∧(a Lieut) wh had lost directn & ws coming

in / wrong direction.  (A-B). They thought this

might be a British unit being relieved but

/ boy sd he ws attacking.  The Adjt swore at

him an he began to cry.  They sd he might use

his eyes & pointed to our line.  He ∧then began to form

his Coy up in mass facing the right direction

& / Germans shelled them - they went off towds

the Torrens. -] 

 

 & fire step behind them &

very thick wire.  The attack

(wh ws a peculiar one ※

planned on / g so because they

did not know if an attack

were being made on /

left - it ws only found ∧just before Zero tt

/ left wd attack.)  went

very well. to the Beaurevoir

line.  The barrage ws good to

this pt.  At / Beaurevoir Line a 

good deal of resistance ws met.

Here 2 of the tanks wh were

late at the J O T. caught them

up.

Back at Eclusier had come

word tt 25 Bn ws to be broken

up.  This ws delayed until

after this attack.  Col. Davis

saw G.O.C. & told him Exxxx tt it
43

44

※  [The 25 Bn never actually disobeyed / order

to break up, as 21 Bn did (?), tho it wd have

done so.  The men were probly determined to

stand by their fellows in 21 Bn.  (Some offrs

of 21 Bn, so Col. Forbes tells me, addressed a

meeting of 19 Bn, but the officers of 19 Bn were

all loyal.)  Anyway, when / report spread, the

25 Bn paraded before its Colonel. (Davis). The

Regimental Sergeant Major took charge of it

& brought the parade to attention - it ws

a most ceremonial occasion.  The

C.O. got them round him & had a talk

to them.  He told them tt the 25th Bn had always

had a great record for doing what it ws

told to; tt it had to be done - it ws necessary:

& tt they cdnt expect hope to get up agst / people

of Britain ∧w success.  The whole A.I.F. ws only a fleabite

compared with / British Army - the war office

had ordered this - & / order had got to be

carried out.

They sd:  Look, Colonel, you have often the 25th from /

told us tt  first has bn built on esprit de

corps - We have bn taught tt at / regt is everything.

& you have often told us tt we must sacrifice

everything for / honour o / regt.  We have

always obeyed you - and we always will obey

you in everything else.  But we xxx cannot obey

you in this just for tt reason - we wd sacrifice

anything for / Bn."  The break up ws postponed,

fortunately.  Davis wanted it done then, if at all &

urged it on wisdom.  It ws done later without any stir

at all.  Davis on Oct 10 told the men (who asked him) that it

was already done (they didnt have to move at all or 

 

shift billets.  They turned up on / next parade - & / thing 

was over.]

ws / unanimous wish o /

Bn to go into the next fight

& have / hardest job to do.

There wd either be no Bn to

break up or they wd have

made a record wh made

it impossible to break them

up - The men fought in this

action as they never∧perhaps better than they ever fought

before & / results were

astonishing.]  ※

They had to advance

1200-1500 yds down a 

bare slope w / slightist

protection - no more then

a few small bushes over

ground visible to / Germs

/ whole way.  The Germs

were holding a very strong

& strongly wired line - 
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