Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/209/1 - July - October 1918 - Part 7

a day. Moved up to 10 Central
on night of 10^th.

On mg. of Aug 11 26 Bn
attacked from line occupied by
27 & part of 25 & reached
the field between X 10 & 11.
In This attack ws a
straightening out process.
There ws a good deal of
distant m.g. fire but no
close fighting. 28 on left took
some prisoners. (Barrage but no tanks)
Lt Singhe ws wd on the J.O.T.
by mg. fire but went thro w
Bn & dug in.

Reld there by 6 Bde &
went back for 10 days to Bussy.
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26 Bn.  Beaurevoir.

Oct 3.
Bn marched up from Eclusier.
thro' Peronne to Doingt. Day & ½ there;
Next night at Templeux xx La
Fosse. Day or so there. Then to
E of Templeux Guerard. Got there
in aftn. moved same night to the
Le Catelet Nauroy line D in G 11 13.
Got there 1/2. Stayed there 2nd. Moved
night of 2/3 to the ditch
N of Folemprise Fm to
Mint Copse. Col. Robinson ws hit
w whole ws hit at passing the S. side of Folemprise
Fm. & Capt Cooper too c/.
Diagram - see original document
The Zero ws 6.5
a.m. They went of
in arty formatn.
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The Germans put a heavy barrage
on the N ^down-slope off tt hill
26 Bn got up with 25
Bn bfore the Beaurevoir line
& were fighting w them there,
especially on / left, & in Mushroom
Quarry.  A m/gun ws shooting from
/ quarry ^& had annoyed them coming down / slope. Two or three men got
round on / S. side o / quarry -
L. Guns held the German m.gs.
attention & these men bombed
it & also got into / back o /
road N o / quarry.

On / left there were abt
3 heavy belts of wire at Lormisset.
The tank wh ws w them
turned upside down just in / road
before / farm - The left had to
climb over / wire & go straight at
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Lormisset Fm. There were 3
pillboxes each w a m.g. at the
Fork Rd N of the Fm. The troops
were absolutely with the barrage
there & this ws / only thing
tt saved them.

Sergt Miller 26 Bn there
rushed a m.g. on his own.
They surrendered. One of them then
shot him thro / neck, when
he ws turned / other way -
Miller blew this man's brains
out.

26 Bn went straight on
from there. All up / trenches
were Pillboxes each w 10 or
12 Germs in - pretty badly
shaken. They captured / whole
lot of these; the trenches were dug
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around each Pillbox - the trench
tracing connecting them from 4 ft to
18 ins. deep. very deep round the
Pill boxes.

At Bellevue Fm a couple
of Whizz bang guns were taken &
8 German prisoners in / House &
shellholes, some of them w 2 mgs.
in the hedge open waiting to be taken.
(There ws one m.g. later in the
top storey of the Fm at the SE Corner).
The right got 300 - 400 yds
past Bellevue Fm wh ws a big
place w covered in trenches. The
Whizz bangs were not firing in
/ Fm. One whizzbang alongside the
Mill ws firing point blank & ?two
up by / village. Also an odd gun
(possibly 2) past on / N.W. edge o / village.
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On left where Capt Stapleton ws there
ws a post established abt 40
yds west of Guizaucourt
Farm - w m.g. Two men
went into the Fm to look for
souvenirs - one came back
to say tt there were no
Germans in it.

28 Bn ws on left here
also. The 50^th Divn ws on
/ left over Prospect Hill.
They reached the trench wh
runs along N side of / Hill.
They were under a Sergt Maj there
- mixed up. These were good
troops & went over dressing by / right
etc as if it were a cinema show.

The 26 Bn had a few posts in
the trench wh runs N W out of
Beurevoir -it was a deeper ^continuous trench
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than the Hindbg trench but not
a good trench. No one ws ahead
of this. There were Germans in
this trench & in the Sunken Rd
ahead of it - probly troops
who had run back - there
were droves of Germans who
had bn retreating before the
attack on / left.

On the rt at Bellevue
Fm. there were no flanking
troops. It ws difficult to hold
this right w a few scattered
posts. The posts were first
withdrawn to the Fm. Then
a post ws left in / Fm & the
troops rt withdrawn. It ended
at abt the rd junction in 15 A
3.6. through B 8. D across the
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Sunken Rd at B 8 B 4.4.
& then Nwest to / Beaurevoir
trench & then N along trench to
B 2 D 2.7. The line S. of
Bellevue ws held by a few
small posts. It ws strengthened
at night fall by a Coy of 25 Bn.

After 6 Bde attacked 26 Bn
got touch w them on the rt.

(During / aftn the Germans
got a m/gun into the SE Corner o /
farm - they got the guns onto
them & put 6 shells into tt
building. The arty ws also
put onto a mwfr in Gouzaucourt Guisauct
Farm. The infy had a line
direct thro Bde to / arty & the
arty ws sniping for them.

Rather than a definite c/attack
there was a gradual creeping back
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(1) through Beaurevoir - & so S.E of
the Farm into / Farm.
(2) in the Sunken Rd thro 3 C -
gun limbers & transpt (wh we
took for the British cavalry).
came right down to this.

Abt 2 am. to 4.30 a.m.
they were reld by British troops.
& came out to Nauroy.

Col. Robinson (as above)
Capt Lloyd wd just after start (150
yds) by a shell o / German barrage).
Lt Whittaker (Sig Offr) wd in front of
Till Copse by a shell (probly ours).
All Hqrs had now gone exc.
2 Sigs & Capt Cooper.
Lt Gillie ws wd before the 1st objve -
Lt Blake  "    "  before ^just after l'ormisset ws reached.
This was 8.20.
Lt Carter ws k. just after l'ormisset
Lt Amiet ws wd (I.O.)   "  "    "     "  by one 
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of our own shells & also 20 men. ^(Amiet went thro / fight)
Lt Brenford ws wd killed walking near
Bellevue Farm out in front
o / line abt 4p.m.
Lt Greenwood wd. round Bellevue Fm during attack.
c/Lt Christie wd. before reaching L'ormisset Fm.
O.r. 17  90 wd 19 13 missing.
xx

This ws 2 k. 8 wd. & 110 men
i.e. 50 per cent of attacking troops
Capt Hockings, when Cooper took
over Bn, took on A Coy & ws /
only offr left in A & half of D.
He ws on the right.

Capt. Stapleton had Lts Brown &
Hay left w him.

Lt Francis came up when Lloyd ws
wd & acted as adjt to Capt Cooper.

These 6 were I only unwd offrs left.
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