Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/211/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 5

This fight across / gully
brought them to / E Crest where
/ Red line was - on / rt
just E of Hope wood. The
48 Bn at once moved thro
them. (The batteries attached
to / 12Bde eventually finished
at the E Caroline wood,
and were there very soon after
the 45 Bn had got / place. They
followed / advance very close.
The 48 Bn got forward
With some M.G. Enfilade fire
from the left. The greater part
of the artillery fire the whole
of the first two days (until /
2nd aftn) came from Malard
Wood direction, & Chipilly spur
this was in / left rear o / attack.

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At Jean Wood. the Bde Hq's
was getting direct fire from the
Exact left flank.
[In Beryl wood (where
there ws a Well) Gen Leane when
up there abt 2.30 on August 8.
was pinned in the valley by
8 inch fire, & 5.9 fire for
2 hours – he & Varley had to
keep as close as they could in a
hole in / bank - Whizzbang fire
mostly came from Proyart.
This valley & the valley in wh (at
24C 95.90) 48 Bn Hqs were,
were heavily shelled all day & next
day. 24 D  30.50 ws 45 Bn Here.These
Hqs were simply in huts &
not shell proof. At this spot one
of our Australian planes fell,

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catching fire after a fight at
4pm on Aug 9.
The 48Bn on reaching /
valley (24 Central valley) found
it strongly held. It ws a
series of huts & holes in /
ground - a camping area-
& / Germans put up a fair
fight there. Two mark 5 tanks
appear to have reached this
point. They cleared this
out-& on the right where /
opposition ws not so stiff &
/ Germans cleared they got
on quickly to the Blue line
at 19,&25; on the left they
had a pretty stiff fight in
13c. The 16Bn had had
some heavy fighting before

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& their left flank ws swung
back S of Mericourt, & 13Bn

eventually came 16Bn were
not in the fighting at 13A
-the opposition on / left had
dragged them tt way. 48Bn
took the trenches in 13C
by a stiff fight. D Coy of 48
Bn ws held up here near the
wood but Capt Twining worked
round w a party around.
on the N & cleared this.
The men were attacking
there thro a field of manure
heaps. (some o / fields were
cultivated & there ws a big
camp in Proyart).
This night after dark
fighting patrols went out to

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Proyart ^ 750yds ahead & reported tt /
Germs were holding it lightly
w m.g. Other patrols worked
this into / [Eugrs??] dump at
La Flague. The Germs had
m.g. &  snipers there.
The line for Aug 8 ws
on / old French line
The 13Bn (relieved by 1st Bde)
moved up & took over left
of ground occupied by 48Bn
up to 4 Bde Boundary;
& 45 Bn  took over rt
of 12 Bde from main rd
to Hospt in R19c. on rt
ws at first 32 Bn (then 29?)
stayed there. But on
Aug 9-  night 9/10 they advanced,
again & swinging right ^ more forward

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xxxx  than left from R19 centre
 to Rd Junction at La Flaque
in 26D. A huge Engineer
dump ws capt there by
45 Bn.
There ws only m.g.. opposition
in meeting this advance - no
one killed - a fair no. wd.
(On the night of 8 Aug. Leane
wanted to take Proyart & it cd
have bn done. But the flank
ls so far back tt it ws
not allowed by Divn. On
night of Aug 9 Leane wsnted
to do it again but went
alld to attack it. He accordingly
tried w fighting patrols to
work round it - this not
being an attack. But they found
/ road junctions & houses held w m.gs.

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& cd not get thro this
night. The position ws of
course very different
then. The German all /
came ws ^ well  organised N of
the river & wd have made
this difficult.
We were now within
500yds of Preyart & had
patrols all night out to the
town. They met no German
patrols (In 6 weeks run in
front of Hamel the 12^th Bde
cdnt get a German patrol-
they only met one in tt time.
Finally Leane told 48 Bn tt
they must tt night get a
patrol or raid / Germans next
night. They went right up to
his wire & caught a German

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who came out to urinate
in a shell hole just outside
his trench. This ws July 1 or2
when / identification ws needed.
A number of Germans ran out when
this German shouted. But our
people sent him back w one
man while / rest covered
/ retreat.)
On Aug 8, 48 Bn ws on / Blue
line at 12.10 digging in. They
were not skilled so much
there – / trenches were good &
most o / shelling ws in
/ valleys in rear
On Aug 9- the advance ws  patrols went out at 
aft 7- & the rest o / troops went
up abt 8.

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This finished / advance
of 12^thBde. They were relieved
a couple of nights later (10/12^?)
[The 3rd Divn marched in in
pretty close formation N of
/ main road over / flat
plateau. The Germs saw it
as it ws before dusk. The
Germs tt night bombed from
8pm. to dawn, all night
long. He wd drop a flare &
then bomb. He killed the horses
of Gen Leane & others on Bde H.Q.
& wd the grooms at Jean wood.
Padre Devine saved / life of one
o / grooms, getting him carried
in & tying him up staying up
with him all night putting hot
fermentations on him -he is sill
alive- Devine got a M.C.

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This ws / same night tt
10 Bde did its attack up /
Proyart Rd - the bombing ws
/ worst tt Leane ever saw.
[one feature of Aug 8 ws
/ large no. of prisoners taken
-over 900 - by the 12 Bde; &
abt 30.40 field guns incl.
3/8m. in Jean Wood, ( & the
6 in guns wh we sew in Grace
wood)]
NB. on July 8? 12Bde went out
up the N of Somme valley, & took
crossed the gully from in front of
Saily Sec & advanced to / very
outskirts of Sailly Laurette;
At / same time they cut off
/ corner tt still remained NE
of Hamel to the Somne. This

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