Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/209/1 - July - October 1918 - Part 9

ws wd there∧(Col Robinson was there). The bank cdnt

be held so they worked along

to / left & up Koros Alley.

They then formed a defensive

flank as far up as abt 16 B.9.7.

Later they pushed out advanced

posts right to the road. Lt.

Tozer placed this post at / head

of Koros Alley on / road.

Their job ws to find who ws

in Darmstadt trench & let 5^th

Divn know.

After dark patrols were

sent out & found that both 1 the

Darmstadt trench & / Rd to St Denis

from there were strongly held. They worked

round / copse & Quarry there & were heavily fired on.

It ws not till the 4^th Sept. 

that a patrol of 5^th Divn xxxxxxxxxxx

L^t. Thorburn, of 60 Bn, came after dark into Koros trench

& got touch w them from E of / Rd.

Fritz ws then in Darmstadt trench.

He & Sergt Jenkins got into a

shell hole - Taylor ws hit just

as he reached it & bled to death.

L^t. Suffolk ws wd before getting so

far.

The rt ½ of B Coy followed C. Coy

across to / factory & into

the open triangle. There ws

a bank just S of Koros alley

parallel to it ; S of this the

triangle ws very level. There ws

a m. g. sharpshooting Coy

protecting the German post here

& the m.g. fire ws unparalleled.

The 26 Bn ws in touch w 5 Div

as far as St Denis. But as /
m.g. fire continued across the

triangle it ws realised tt 5 Divn

had bn held up & remainder

of 26 Bn ws held up there too.
88

They crossed the St Denis Rd - 

m.g. they were 600 yds

behind rt of 26 Bn - but

5^th Divn who had to come

S . of St Denis to Darmstadt

trench were not able to get forwd.

On crossing the rd

Maj. Glyde ws wd. The

26 Bn had disappeared in / smoke

& barrage. After crossing /

rd they came under very heavy

m.g. fire from the brickworks

& Sugar factory & / tree lined rd.

Casualties were very heavy.

The triangle ws simply impossible.

You had either to get back or stop

in a Shell hole. They got in touch

with C.O. of 26 Bn on the rd

near 16 Central where there is

a bank. Lt Ditchbourne ws
 

There were a few posts w

Lt H Ibbott across / open

from the Factory N. towds the

bank. They were sniped w

m.gs. all day in / open - the

German arty ws more onto / road

& the S.E corner of Mt S^t Q village.

5^th Divn had their nearest

post in the big clay pit by /

brickworks rly at abt 11. A 6. 7.

They were there till dusk.

After dark a post ws put in /

farm on / Aziecourt Rd at

17. C. 4.9. & the post at /

head of Koros Alley on / rd ws

reestabld & another at /

head of Kurilo trench on / rd.

Thence / lieut ran back round 1]]

there were no posts till

trench & forward a/n to Ruppoekt

trench where there ws a post on /

Rd.
89

btys had bn pulled out by their teams.

These Troops had full packs &

had done a heavy march & at

2 pm they were lining the road 

N & S thro' 11 C .

Abt 2 pm. the Germs were 

seen dribbling back by single

men at 40 yds interval from

Cardinal wood up towds

Darmstadt trench & / main rd.

The German 77s on the hill

in 18 B & D used to fire on any

movement on the hill in 17 A & B

28 Bn ws rld on Sept. 4 by

English troops.

The 2 Coys on the rt went

upon / rt o / village,

betw Mt St Q & St Denis.

They startd in fine style - the

men were never better nor / barrage 
The St Denis Rd Corner ws

still German tt night.

Bn stayed there tt night 2/3,

Day of 3rd, day of 4th & were

reld by 5 Divn on night of 4^th/5^th.
90

27
Bn before 27 cd cross

to Brunn trench. Sergt Connolly

with a revolver routed out

these Germans & ws wd there.

Eventually 28 Bn coys settled

in Brunn Alley with 27 Bn.

Later some of 28 Bn were

sent to clean part of the trench

at 11 Central where there were

German at the Fork of / trench

2/Lt Follage took up a pln of abt

8 men & ws shot dead there

during the bomb fight by wh it

ws cleared - the trench ws shallow.

A whole Bn of ? Royal

Sussex (from Palestine) wearing a

diamond much like our 2nd Divn

(yellow & dark blue) came across much

/ same track as the 27 Bn (only

later and from the NW) - The 77
 

28 Bn Aug 8.

all officers making

reconnaissance had to be v.

careful - not go except in early

mg, careful abt maps etc.

Early in night 7/8 advance pties to

lay tapes were sent up & guides.

Bn went up / main road

& found it completely empty despite

instrns - then crossed / rly line,

HQrs in Halfman trench & men

got onto tapes without a casualty.

The Canadians were abt the V/B

rly stn forming abt Monument

Wood - men were in crowds

but the German got none of them.

The men stood quite still while

flares were up - 
Diagram - see original document
no casualties in Germ barrage.
known where this Bde wd be - it
91

him in. W. sd "no." He saw
Capt Harper / Doctor later &
told him of it. The Doctor went
over to see him. The man asked
him quite calmly: Is there any hope
for me? The Doctor sd: Oh
Ill do what I can. The man
(25 Bn) sd again: I suppose there's
no hope of my recovery. The
Doctor sd: No - I'll just give
you some morphia. The man
ws quite apologetic - sorry to 
trouble the doctor - He ws
quite normal:. He cd see tt the S/Bs were
missing him.
In Haut Allaines
a pln of 28 Bn w under L^t McKee
with Sergt Connolly went to
this village to help to clean
xx up a m.g. wh ws holding
B  /  A  /
                →
D  /  C  /
So few men tt really made
a wave & a half. There were
12 paces betw men of leading
wave - xxx skirmishers. 3 tanks.
Each attacking leading Coy took only
2 L.Gs - dumped 6; carried
only 10 mags per gun inst of 20.
They were so short of men tt there
wd have been all carriers % no
bayonet men. The Coys were
3 plns so they went 2 plns
in front rank & 1 pln in second.
Diagram – see original document
They were in positn
an hour before Zero -
Col. sent his name thro'
- this ws the "code word". The
92
 

the German caught them with
8 - 77s from C. 30 Central as
they crossed from Tortille to
Brunn. The T.M.s with
mules were brought coming
up forward of Brunn trench
abt 11 A 1.1 were hit up by
these guns. Just in / corner
of Brunn & Tortille Logus trench ws a
wireless (capt^d by 25 Bn) driven
by a 2 seated xx byke.
Most of the S.Bs were
working over / open under white
flag - and were not being hit -
but a shell got under 4 who
went thro a trench & killed ^2 or 3 bearers & /
^rest wd. - A man ws lying out there also
w one leg off at / knee &
/ other at / hip. The S/Bs asked
Capt. Walters if it were worth carrying

barrage ws good - like a
thunderclap - / mist wh
came up ½ hr before ws
/ chief point in the battle.
Direction ws maintained
by following / tanks & following
compasses. The tanks went
straight. Col. Currie had told /
men tt they wd have a
chance (they always grumbled
at not going too far )xxx eno".)
of taking / enemys arty.
if they found themselves on
/ rly they were 600 yds too
far rt - if on / ^Roman rd it
ws 600 yds too far left -
& quite a number did find
themselves in both places.
The 6 Bde withdrew
½ hr before Zero. We soon came
93
 

They jumped off in arty formtn
of plns from Kholm trench - moved very
well into a heavy barrage.
particularly heavy (all 77s &4.2)
& a lot of gas - men had to move
in their gas helmets. The H Qrs w
Maj. Mitchell had only just cleared
the H Q dugouts & a 5.9 got fair into it.
They moved up / trench thro
Moineville Alley past Capt Colpin's
aid post (of 25 Bn) when, near /
Quarry Lt Edmondson ws k. &
Lt Farquharson badly wd (for 5th time in war).
They were supposed to be 600 yds
behind 27th Bn (also same w 2 coys
on rt behind 26). Heavy m.g.
fire ws coming from the N side o /
hill. They got in Pluma Trench.
x Getting across from Koverla Trench to
Tortille Trench (when m.g. fir moderated)
 

on German outposts. They
took these. It became a
matter of small bunches of
men going straight ahead. A
heavy bombardxx m g fire started
soon after Zero - probly /
tanks. A continuous
trench thro 33 A & C & 2 B
was the German main line of
resistance. A lot of prisoners
were got here. A number few
were taken in the potholes
& scraps of trenches further E.
Others were taken in the
Amiens line in 4 B (a French
line). Bn dug in abt 300 -
400 yds in rear o / objve
on acct of shortshelling.
Two tanks started with the attack -
the third got stuck on Halfmoon
94
 

to [[Kholm?]] Trench & camped there
night of 1/2 Sept.
Just after troops settled there
Maj. Mitchell went back on
summons to Bde HQrs, Bozecourt.
He returned abt 1.20 a.m. & had a
confce of Coy Commdrs till 2.30 am.
Breakfast ws ordered by him on his
way back (from the cookers at / Clery
bank) at 4 a.m. Bn moved
at 5.25
Plans were for 28 Bn to have
2 Coys (A & B) supptg 26 Bn on rt
& 2 (C & D) under Maj Mitchell
supptg 27 on left.
Hand drawn diagram – see original

truck but / first batch of Germ
prisoners gave it a push & it caught
up. Bn H Q went to the S/P in
Amiens line - 2 Germs came out
of it as Col. Currie went into
it - slightly wd men.
The mist ws now lifting
abt 7.30 am. This ground ws
partly wheatfield. ^Gen Elliott ws
met o9n / way.He sd "My
men are all over / place - but
I hope when / sun rises on them
they'll be alright."
The brigade ws withdrawn
yo / Amiens line after [[6th?]] Divn
had gone thro. The cookers came
up there as promised [[?]]. One ran
into a land mine wh the
German had scattered out
abt 40 yds W of the Amiens
95
 

The two Bns went down &
lined the bank - they were
withdrawn at dawn in /
mist.
15 Bde relieved there.
28 Bn came back to
trenches S of Herbecourt
on night of Aug 30.
From Stayed there on till after
Int H.Q. Maj. Mitchell of
13th A L H. had command of /
Bn. (attached for experience).
At Montbrehain Maj. Brown
has C/.
Aug. 13 - 28 Bn crossed at
Feuillerw into the big bank
at W. end of Clery. Stayed
there 31/1 Sept.
On Sept 1 (Sunday) they moved
 

 

line. (28 Bn knew them from
Monument Wood.) The Cooker
did not put the mine up. A
man standing on / striker (wh is
held by a small pin) wd put
it up. The mines were all collected
by the 28 Bn & put in a dugout.
Some o / guns (77s) were
still firing when the Bn came up -
but were firing on S.O.S. line
in / mist.
One of the 5.9's in the Quarry
N of Marceleave had a direct hit
on it.
In / main xxxx line of resistance
(at abt 32 D 8.2) the Germs put
up a good fight. The line ws held
up. L^t Gaby got thro a hole in /
wire. Then a. man ws seen
walking along / parapet firing
96
 

※ L^t Kell k. Signalling offr. Went out to
fix the line himself ½ an hr after
zero
L^t Patterson
k as liaison off to 27 Bn
by a shell wh nearly got
Col. Chalmers.
Lts Farquharson
Flannigan - twice. from main line
of resistance
Stokes [[?]] main line of resistance
Hopkins also v. early in advance.
Only 24 o r were hit ([[?]])
Coy Commanders.
A. Lt Hopkins
B. Capt Mactaggart DCM (k by
whizz bang on 9 Aug - he ws
at / head of his pln wh got got 14 of 15 men hit by
/ same shell)
C. Capt Dunkley
D  L^t Gaby
Mactaggart ws on his way to a
school when he went Colonel &
asked to be allowed to go into
the offensive.

his revolver. 40 to 50 Germs
& 4 m.gs. surrendered. The
man turned out to be Lt Gaby
a Tasmanian who ws working
in W,A. He commanded D Coy in
this attack. The Germs chucked
their resistance ^in the line when / tanks
came up.
Lt Farquharson (wd 3 times
before - who had bn in 10 L.H. charge at
/ nek, when laying / tape
ws wd in / neck - & continued
on & led his pln to / objve. He
ws sent away later. ^※
Aug 9. On Aug 9 Bn moved up
at 11 a.m. 28 Bn ws to follow
1000 yds behind 26 Bn (as Bn in
reserve). Abt the Crucifix
the Bn ws coming in arty formation
The G O C told them to keep an eye on
97
[*2/Lt Shorrock got a DSO for a similar
action to Gaby's in the same system.*]