Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/83/1 - July - August 1917 - Part 5

6 39
carrying trunks - all
sorts of receptacles of
clothing I suppose - but
many were carrying
nothing at all. I dont
know where they were going
to or whether each
family knew where its
separate detachments
were off to.
The filthy business that
these Germans have
imported into war - it
has was their innovation
in modern war - this &
their gas shells in Armentieres
 

6 40
yesterday, & all the
dirty pitiable torture of
non-combatants which
after civilians & nations had managed
at / end of two thousand
years of Christianity
to rule out! It has never
happened to a German town.
& tho' I am no believer
& force or in retaliation
it just makes one long
to give this people one
good taste of what they
have I inflicted upon
others - let them just
feel it for once. There wd
 

6 41
be a great deal of
opinion in favour of it
- but I dont suppose
it wd ever happen in /
British army. However,
after our men have seen
a few of these things there
is no knowing what wd
happen. Dyson is a perfect
revolutionary (& I think I
am too) in his hatred o /
ordinary noisy ends of
war; but he doesn't today
want / war to end as
much as he did yesterday
- not after seeing this.
 

6 42
Little real damage
was done. One big shell
(I suppose they were ^12 to 15 inch
& came from over 20
miles) dug a huge
hole amongst / little
trees in a ^private garden
behind the Hotel de
Ville - & hurt no one
Except tt one woman
in / house next door
died of fright. The
building wh ws burning
ws a cotton factory. The
owner ws at / door - a
young chap - saying "It
has gone, my life's work -
 

6 43
tell these officers (he sd to
Churchill) tt they cannot
save / factory but they
may save / church house."
His nice looking wife ws
being put into an ambulance
w her little daughter,
Churchill says, & taken
off to shelter somewhere
- the ^ didnt husband scarcely
knew where - and
our men & others were
lined up down /
street passing water buckets
for all they were worth up
/ street & in under /
 

6 44
archway o / house to
/ burning factory beams
& spindles within. A
capable Australian Sergeant
or two ws in charge in /
street & an ^a couple of officers inside
working splendidly. The
Australian ^police sergt at the
G archway ws engaged in
running in for service
/ men who came up to
look on, & relieving others
w them. He was particularly
keen on getting any ^young French
civilian, who stood near,
 

6 45
into / line. It seemed to
appeal to his sense
.several in straw hats were in / line.
of fairness.^Several in straw hats were in / line. He ws caustic
with one who refused.
When xx I went
back (at Madames
request) to / billet after
dinner, I found tt madame
had gone w mademoiselle
to Morbecque & left /
house in my charge.
The Interpreters who mess
here had bn allowed by
her to camp in their
mess room for / night
as / shells fell very
close to their quarters
near the Hotel de Ville.
 

6 46
As I write I have
heard the feet of many o /
inhabitants returning from
their excursion to Morbecque.
The Armentieres people in
this town took very little
notice. They have bn shelled
for 3 years & accept /
chance of death like soldiers
Such a shelling as this wd
hardly have caused aroused any fuss
or ^even notice at all in Armentieres
The guns o / great new
battle are shaking / window.
It pelted w rain this evening
 

47
 Aug 1.

{Madame came back abt 8am
Aug 1. { Spent morning writing
afternoon reading yesterday
telegrams - & taking
particulars of yestys
objectives wh Mr Brain,
Gen. White's clerk showed me
on the ^official map (as a matter of
fact Butler had shown me this
map / evening before, confidentially.
He might have been
sacked for it then - but that
is how he treats me:]
 

6 48
we have very little luck
w / weather in our big
battles here - not as
in Gallipoli.
The plans for yesty were:-
Blue line = ^German front & support, average
abt 200 yds. back
Black line = main reserve line -
ave. abt 1000 yds - passes thro'
Steenstraat, S. end of Pilkem,
Kitcheners Wood, 800 yds S. of St Julien
Frexenberg, Westhoek,
Inverness Copse, then back
to Blue line at Shrewsbury
Forest.
Green Line From Bixschoote thro'
Kortekees Cabaret, 1 mile S.
of Langemarck, 1000 yds n.
of St Julien to D7 B1.9 - thence
SSE, 1000 yds E. of Zonnebeke to
Polygon Wood & round Veldhock
 

6 49
to Black line at Humberton
Lakes, 1200 yds short of
Shelnvelt.
Gough's Red line - Draaibank,
along German Reserve line, 1200 yds
behind Langemarck, 1 mile
in front of Poelcapelle, just behind
gravenstafel to ^200 yds short of
Weerselaarhoek, then S, just
E of Zonnebeke & to SE
corner of green line.
Telegrams to 1st Anzac.
July 29.
Abt 8p.m. on July 29 Germs put
down heavy smoke barrage
N of Blaawepoortbeek & at 10
barrage on [trench symbol] 1000 yds N & S of
Douve wh he tried to raid. Two
raids N of Douve (100, & 40 germs).
both failed.
S of Douve, uncertain.
Further Thunderstorms predicted.
We gassed Frelinghein with projectors
on night of July 29/30.