Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/83/1 - July - August 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/83/1

Title: Diary, July - August 1917
includes references to the battle of Pilchem
Ridge and to Hazebrouck.

AWM38-3DRL3DRL606/83/1
 

Diary
July 30
AWM38                3DRL 606 ITEM 83 [1]

DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN   [*83*]
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918
THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer’s mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so —but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second, or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept, 1946.          C.E.W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN

6       1
July 30. Monty's birthday -
dear old chap - doing
thundering good work in
his own line beating the German
electrical trades out of
Sydney & Melbourne.
The eve of the great
fight. I am waiting for
Boddy to call w / car in
2 hrs time (at 1 a.m.) to go
up to Mt Kimmel. There
is a short interval in
wh to try & get up to date
w this diary. I threw it
down for 4 weeks in England
in order to complete the
holiday.
Well - I was saying writing
about Gellibrand & Holmes.
I have tried to give Holmes
true value in an article

6        2
written today. The
newspapers made a
great deal of Holman's
narrow escape, & mentioned
incidentally, that Holmes
had been killed at / same
time - & the 4th Divn.,
men & officers, were furious.
———
Things have moved
fast of late. While I
was in England there
arose some sort of crisis
in Germany; the Reichstag
wants a milder peace
than the Emperor &
Hindenburg; & the
Centre Party, being
democratic in xxx so far
as it certainly wants
more power for the

6          3
Reichstag, swung over
towards the Socialists. They
proposed a peace, ^resolution "without
annexations"; & still
when the "freedom of the
seas" was added, (which
might mean anything),
they had a majority
for it. Hindenburg &
Ludendorf certainly
want more than this.
The crisis ended by
the Reichstag carrying
its resolution; the
old Chancellor, von
Bethmann Hollweg
being dismissed - who
was much the same way
of thinking; & a

6     4
new man, Michaelis,
an official found during
the war - I suppose a sort
of Geddes, a very efficient
administrator with a
strong Prussian turn,
being appointed to clean
up & pursue a strong
policy to the end.
He made a speech which
I read carefully & which
might mean anything. It
might mean tt he accepts
/ Reichstag terms or it
might not. But it certainly
means tt he will act
strongly.
The Germans immediately
attacked / French strongly
& / French, in spite of
their great trials, & the

6         5
undoubted unwillingness
of some of their troops,
have so far held the
Crown Prince off in
eight or nine heavy attacks.
The Germans also
attacked / Russians.
And those poor people
who have been kept in
ignorance & ^a state of complete
subjection & irresponsibility
for hundreds of years
are unfit to understand
the consequences of their
actions & are running
away all along / line.
People blame / democracy
for it - but it is not
democracy tt caused this
ignorance. The French &
/ Australians are /

6       6
most democratic
nations on earth - &
they are fighting for reasons
they understand. The
Russians are giving
way because they have
been under a ^corrupt tyranny
wh kept them less than
men, & crushed their in
souls in ignorance deliberately
imposed and maintained
in order that xxxxx the
rulers & their corruption
should be tolerated.
Since then The position
is serious. The British
& Allied terms have
been altered a little
owing to / new set of
circumstances. Lloyd
George's speeches

6    7
have made the positn
very clear - We can
treat w a democratic
Germany but not w /
Kaiser and his Govt.
With this Govt in power there
are many concessions
wh wd be dangerous
(- e.g. / giving back of
New Guinea, I suppose)
wh wd be quite harmless
w a democratic Germany.
The democratic Kaisers Govt wd make
tt place a submarine base,
wd deliberately plot &
plan to strike at us years
ahead & make its
colonies so many revolvers
held at our heads -
whereas w a democracy
in Germany such things

6        8
are unthinkable.
I think Ll. George wd
have bn wise & right to
hold out more of a hand
to / Reichstag altho' it
has no power, & its
resolution abt / freedom
of / sea means tt Germany
is to be free to wage war
on land as she pleases
but we are to be fettered
on / sea. Still / Reichstag
does want peace on
democratic lines - & we
cd do no harm by
approving of it tho' it
has no power to treat
w us. Ll. George has
always sd tt this war can
only end w a revolution in
Germany, & will end as
soon as / revolution comes.