Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/247/1 - 1917 - 1933 - Part 19

9.

further ceremony deposited the body on the ground on the

side of the road & went back for another wounded man.

. . . . . . . . .

Going close to dressing station, which was a large

shellproof dugout. I observed nearly 100 stretchers lying

side by side at the entrance.  On each of these was a badly

wounded man covered only by a blanket.  They were

completely covered over & one could not see their sad faces

happily.  Inside this place doctors & AMC men were

working their very hardest. .....  Periodically ambulance

transport waggons called here & removed the wounded to

an ambulance train...........   On some of the stretchers

were bodies long since cold & frozen stiff.  These would not

enter that dugout.  Even now orderlies were digging holes in
the ground just about the dugout in which to deposit the

dead. . . . .

It was now 9a.m. .....  My one determination ... was to

get away to the firing line as quickly as possible ....  Returning

to our bivouac .... I came upon my comrades and .... we set

out in a little band together.  Not knowing anything about the

place at all, we proceeded along the sunken road ...... My

spirits were not too bright but I knew no fear ..... For 

about half a kilometre we passed along this road ......

Coming to the valley now just below the rise we saw

a very busy scene.  There were great piles of minitions

here absolutely uncovered. .....  Thousands of cases of Mills

grenades were in one heap.  Shells of all calibres laid

indiscriminately about also. .... A large number of 18pdr

batteries were in action here.  They extended at very short
intervals & appeared to be all bunched together.  These

were covered by wire netting camouflaged with strips of green

cloth attached ... In places the guns were right in the open

........ the enemy .... was shelling these batteries &

right in our midst shells were falling .....

The 18 pounders were firing in quick succession

..... We watched the gunners stripped to the waist

putting shell after shell into the magazine.  Others were

busy burying reserve shells. ........

10.

Looking farther ahead we observed that this road passed

through the ruined village of Lagnicourt which was just on top of the

hill & not far distant. ..........

In places there were guns silenced being turned upside

down & some of their shields were badly twisted. ....... Again

we witnessed a shell burst right in one of the gun pits.  It was

very sudden.  The men appeared to be lifted bodily into the

air & dropped again lifeless ........ There was no excitement

about the scene.  Comrades from a neighbouring gun quietly

came to the rescue when the smoke had cleared and attended the

wounded, dressing wounds etc. ..............

We now pushed on up the sunken road.  Lagnicourt was

under violent bombardment, and bricks, trees, etc were being

tossed high into the air....... We were now just about to ascend

the short incline to the top of the ridge.  It was just below the

village.  Here wer were shocked to see numbers of our

battalion band coming back with instruments in pieces

and all badly wounded.  Stopping to question these chaps,

they told us they had gone over in the charge at the head of

the battalion at daybreak this morning & were playing

"Australia will be There", when the enemy took offence at

their audacity and shelled them with disastrous results.

. . . . . . . .

We were just about to enter the village now. ........

All round were great shellbursts and earth was thrown

up like fountains.  Clouds of coal black smoke arose from

each shellhole after an explosion.   The air was filled

with the wierd shriek of shells.  Shrapnel burst

it seemed almost over our heads.  The pellets now made

our steel helmets ring; but were evidently spent for

there were no casualties.  Life seemed to hang by a thread 

in this place, yet hundreds of men were all going to & fro,

carrying out the various duties assigned to them ......

Just at this moment it seemed that a shriek came

right at our feet.  I noticed all the men about me

11.

lie flat down on the ground.  They prostrated themselves 

everywhere.  Like a fool I stood still rooted to the spot

until a blinding flame and explosion just about shook

me off my feet.  I saw nothing but red and then tried

to collect my scattered senses.  A shell had burst

within a couple of yards of where I was standing & blew the

battalion cooker to pieces.  It was like coming out of a 

nightmare.

Taking stock of my surroundings I saw men

gradually getting on their feet again & thought what a

cowardly crowd they were.  This false impression I

rapidly changed however when I began to realise

that it was quite the proper thing to do ...... one

escapes flying fragments of shell which otherwise

would mean certain death. ......

Surveying the scene about us now, I was

horrified to witness such destruction.  The cooks were

busy getting hot tea & stew ready for those of the

battalion who had survived the battle ....... the two

cooks who were attending the cooker were killed

instantly.  It must have been a direct hit.  The two

mangled bodies were lying still, their faces blackened

& clothing town to shreds.  Others standing not far

away at the time received slight wounds in the body.

..... It cast a gloom over us who were new

to such an experience ....... the bodies would be

buried in the same shellhole where the earth was soft.

We proceeded on our way ..... only a few paces

& we heard a shell coming over ...... Without waiting

to think, down we went into the mud.  There was a 

deafening crash and getting up we saw two men

writhing in agony a little way up the road .......

12.

Stretcher bearers going back to the front .... promptly dressed

their wounds & carried them back. ......

An officer coming along now, but hardly recognisable

as such, ordered us to get a move on & get over the hill

as quickly as possible as we were in grave danger of

our lives here.  We needed no second warning .......

All along the side of the road were dugouts, but none of our

own company appeared yet.  As well as shellfire we

could hear bullets whistling overhead, probably

from some enemy machine gun ...........  As we came to

the crest of the ridge ...... the sight that met our eyes ... was

really wonderful.  Oblivious of all risk for a few

moments we stood spellbound & looked across the

battlefield on the other side.  It was a great open plain.

In the distance abt a kilometre away was the famous

village of Bullecourt ......  whether it had been

taken or not I cannot say.  The houses were

distinctly visible & shells were bursting over the

village exactly as enemy shells were falling over

Lagnicourt. There must have been fires in places

in the village, for dense columns of smoke were coming

away. .... In the distance men could be seen

walking over No Mans Land.  Many of these were

stretcher bearers and some were walking wounded.
. . . . . . . . .

A couple of tanks were lazily crawling along

in the vicinity of our front line trenches and were

under heavy shellfire. ......  It seemed that the

German front line was on this side of the village & ours

was a littler nearer this way fringing a wood that

skirted the village. ..... Bellecourt was under

violent bombardment at this xxxxxxx minute.

13.

The noise was terrific.  White puffs of smoke hung

like balls of cotton over the village ....  Mountains

of earth were thrown high into the air ..... These tanks

looked like giant toads ........ the noise of the tank engines

could be distinctly heard above the din of battle.

.....  Several tanks were lying perfectly still ........

.....  we came to another dressing station.

Here I saw many men I knew.  Some of them were

saturated with blood.  I saw one man lifted off a

stretcher & then the stretcher had to be tipped up as it

contained a pool of blood.  It was a horrible sight.

........

While sauntering along here, was surprised to find

some of our own company peeping out of dugouts on 

the side of the road ..... they told us the company was

entrenched here in the support trenches .......  Room

was made for us in one of these dugouts but .... an

officer came along & allotted so many to each with

the result we were put out & had to build one

for ourselves. ...... We did not lose much time in

digging in .....

                 

At 1 oclock this morning the battalion had been

pushed on to the support trenches ..... A company of

our battalion .... at about 3a.m. .... went over

the top ... and joined forces with the company in the 

front line ........

The men in the front line being reinforced,

preparations were made for the attack at dawn.

These men went over the top steathily and crossed No

Mans Land until they were directly in front of the

enemy entanglements.  Here they could make no

further progress until the tanks came up & broke the

wire.  They laid down in the snow expecting the

tanks at any moment.  Perhaps one can imagine the

suspense of waiting here for an hour or more.  Their

14.

nerves were all on edge waiting for a bloody fight

which was being delayed indefinitely & when the

pitch of excitement to which they had been roused

began to wane.  This delay was fatal to men about

to engage in such an attack.  Minutes, seconds dragged

by, & the stillness of the early morning was only broken by

the whine of machine gun bullets & the shriek of shells

passing high above.  They could hear each other breathing

heavily and feared that such may arouse the suspicions

of some prowling patrol ............

In an incredibly short time .... these troops in their

newly won positions had set things in order & put up a

defence in their endeavour to hold the trench ........
 

It was about ten o'clock .... when we had just

xxx dug in & got comfortable.  Our dugouts were not shell

proof but at least gave shelter from the elements.  The

sunken road was becoming untenable from German

shellfire.  It seemed only a matter of time when

we would be buried alive .........

When things became unbearable .... orders were

received to proceed to the new support line which was

now our old front line. .........  My nerves were in

a state of excitement instead of fear.  I was thrilled to

think I was in action after waiting so long. .........

We all went over the top of the sunken road now at a

given signal & advanced in open order towards our old

front line. ..... The whole battlefield was an eruption

of fire & smoke. ..... Derelict tanks were dotted over the

landscape & were receiving great attention from German

artillery.  They meant to effect their total destruction .....

A few were burning fiercely.

We had about 500 yds to cross. There were no saps to 

negotiate & had to go over the open ground. ..... Shells often

fell in our midst & knocked one or two over ..........

Stretcher bearers were passing to & fro quite unconcerned.

I noticed four bearers carrying a wounded man

15.

when a shell appeared to burst underneath the

stretcher.  It was a pitiable sight.  All fell over.  One

of the bearers was wounded & the man on the stretcher

was tossed in the air...........

Eventually the trench was reached ... and we were

down into it like rabbits into a hole. .....  Water

laid in the bottom & the mud was awful. ......  Bullets

clicked the top of the parapet repeatedly & bombs & aerial

torpedoes flew over the top, some falling in the trench.

.....  We had to rush into the next bay & await the 

explosion ....  It was thrilling for about an hour ......

Many were wounded or killed ....

We had orders now to be prepared for a charge

with the bayonet.  It was likely that we would have to

advance to our front line to support the men there as

they were becoming hard pressed. .....  For another

hour we waited; but received no orders to advance.

It was a tense period of time & nerves seemed to have

reached breaking point. Casualties were still heavy

& nothing was worse than to see comrades fall wounded.

We assisted each other in turn here & bandaged him

temporarily until he could be removed.  Some of the

wounds were ghastly.  I was beginning to feel sick

from the sight & smell of fresh blood.  To call it a

shambles is to mildly describe it.

A fatigue party was now made up of men from

out battalion & these had to bring up supplies of bombs

to us.  Saps had been cut by this time & offered some

protection for those coming from the sunken road.  The

fatigue party passed along these saps & delivered the

supplies ...... (which) were passed along the trench

until everyone of us had a goodly supply at hand .....

While still awaiting further orders ..... we received a

great shock, when men of our own battalion & "A" Coy

began to drop in upon us from No Mans Land utterly

exhausted.  They were gasping for breath.  In incoherent

16.

words they explained that they had been driven out of the

front line by the enemy & had to fall back on us.  Many of

them had been slaughtered in the retreat & a number

taken prisoner ..........

It was our opportunity now.  Watching the parapet

closely, we expected the enemy to come into view at any

moment.  We could hardly breathe with excitement.

One of our stretcher bearers saw a few men wounded &

lying in a shellhole just across the parapet.   They were

groaning dreadfully.  He was about to go to their aid

when an officer pulled him back.  He would have died

had he put his head over that parapet just now ......

Our officers behaved splendidly here, & became just

like ourselves.  All ranks seemed equal although

we received orders as usual & carried them out without

question.

Our artillery kept up a good barrage on the enemy

trenches for sometime & then things became quieter.......

The noise of the shells passing overhead was terrific.

It was like one continual whirr.  Our machineguns were

firing incessantly and as eachxx gunner was knocked

out another took his place.  We were throwing bombs

the whole time, being directed by our officers, for some

of the enemy had advanced to within yards of our

trench & were taking cover in shellholes, when the greater

number of them had been wounded.  We threw bombs

until we were tired; but the c/attack had been

effectually stemmed.

They had sweet Hell from us for a while.  I was

fighting in earnest for my life now.  My nerves were

in the highest tension & my blood was in a fever.  All

round was death & desolation.  Before my eyes men were

blown to pieces & some were suffering dreadful agony.

......  The principal thought now occupying my

mind now was my Mother.  I thought of her & God also,

whom I expected to meet at any minute.  For my mother's

sake I must not die and I was determined to fight

18.

on orders.  Standing in inches of mud bespattered

from head to foot in the soft ooze.  There was a leaden

sky but from smoke or rain one cannot say.  A great

deal of smoke was about from the gun's.  A continual

xxxx ear splitting noise from explosions of shells

and the everlasting shriek of shells passing overhead.

Machine gun & rifle fire had slackened.  For

about and hour or two there was a calm in this

respect. . . . . . . . .
*It was getting late in the afternoon & we had to 

make the most of the fast waning light. ....  We
now received orders to strengthen our defences before dark.

*.......  We are wearing sheepskin jerkins and

overcoat, also sheep skin gloves, yet are suffering

painfully from the cold. ........

It was just about dusk.  The sky was just about the

colour that denotes a heavy snow storm & the cold was

intense.  The ground was frozen hard & pools of water an

hour ago come now pools of solid ice.  The enemy had not

been silent during the last few hours for nothing.

We guessed that much.  Suddenly enemy artillery

opened up a sharp fire and .... shells rained on our

trenches.  He had the exact range ........ some enormous

shells fell about our trenches. ......  This (bombardment)

gradually grew in intensity until it became an inferno.

The trench was being blown all shapes and dugouts

broken in.  None of our dugouts here were shell proof.

We crawled into them for the little protection they

did afford & it probably protected us to some extent

from shell splinters ....  Huddled up here so close

to earth as possible, we waited in breathless anxiety

for the fury of the bombardment to abate ..... We

could hear shells burst with a terrific roar with a few

yards of us.  Our own dugout trembled with the concussion

& following that were groans from some unfortunate 

17.

hard to save my life if it comes to a hand to hand struggle.

. . . . . . . . . .

Our artillery still increased in activity and I could

not resist the temptation to have a peep over the top.

Others were doing so ......  I never beheld such a sight.

The enemy had been advancing in waves from the village.
Each successive wave was destroyed & they were only

stragglers coming in now.  One would see them throwing

up their arms & falling over; not in isolation but

groups of them seemed to fall in one bunch.  Our

machine guns were doing this work. .......

We were startled when several Germans appeared

above the parapet shouting "Kamerad, Mercy Kamerad",

throwing their arms away & themselves surrendering.  At first

glance my heart nearly stopped beating.  I thought my last

moment had come as I looked at the awful creatures.  In an

instant one grasped the situation.  These men wanted anything

but fight & would have grovelled at out feet for their lives to

be spared.  We were tempted to kill them, but what could one

do?  Being within a yard of us we could not shoot them

& to bayonet them would be worse.  They jumped into the

trench in response to our directions ......  Have never

seen such dejected looking humans.  They were like whining

dogs....... the eldest looked ... looked about eighteen .....

Another shock when a German stood over the trench.

I was grasping my rifle tightly ready for any emergency,

but released the pressure on my trigger when I looked

at the unarmed man above .... others alongside me

withheld their fire. ....  So this man was also taken

prisoner. . . . .

Further along the trench prisoners were coming in

In many cases they were shot dead the moment they

appeared at the parapet.  Some men have old scores to

settle & will show them no mercy whatever ......

It was getting so cold & no food for the last 24 hours.

Had iron rations & a bottle of water but could not eat ot

drink in this inferno. ..... There were tense moments

& one just held on here, ever on the alert & ready to act