Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/85/1 - July - August 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/85/1
Title: Diary, July - August 1917
Includes references to the 7th and 8th Battalions
at Pozieres.
AWM38-3DRL606/85/1

ly 23    85
1916
Original    DIARY NO. 85
AWM 38 DIARIES AND NOTES OF C.E.W.BEAN

CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918
3 DRL 606  ITEM 85 [1]
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 shall be read with this in mind. 

16 Sept., 1946.    C. E. W. BEAN

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN
 

32

85
July 23
1916

D32      1
VIII Bn.
Sund.
July 23.  4.45 moved from Sausage
Vally to Chalk Pit Vally
near old gun positns.
D Coy did all carrying,
water ammn food etc.
Several barrages in 

Valley tt day. Other 3
Coys in “Dinkum Alley”
Under G.O.C 1st Bde.
Abt 7pm. asked by
Smythe to move 3 ^other Coys
up to Pozieres - 1 in
support 2 in village 

by 9.30.
We were ordered to 
Advance (in platoons in
file up Chalk Pit Rd).
to take up positn 300 yds

 This in orders. Prob
shd be X 4 B 1. 0.
& X 4 a 8^1/₂. 1
 

D32    3
N. Of Bapaume Rd. & constr.
Bapaume Rd. C Coy in
reserve on Bapaume Rd.
[This Coy ws afterwds 
withdrawn at daylight
on 24^th. C Coy^(support) while
moving up & beyond
Chalk Pit lost 17 men
by one 5.9 shell & abt 
25 in all.
Met no Germans going
thro village.
Str pts X 4 B ^1/₂ .4
& X 4 a 9^1/₂ . 5 ^1/₂
On left ^ part of A Coy went too
far & got right up near
Cemetery. No oppositn.

D32     4
A Coy. found it had gone
too far & withdrew to strong
Point (Western one)
At day break Germans
saw them & shelled them
heavily. We lost James, (K)
Traile, Campbell.
Germans were in Kay 
trench & in an off shoot
South of 6530.
Trenches in NW of
village also saw them.
They had dug in fairly
well in (horseshoe) shaped trench.
Had m.g.s w them & dug all 
night & had sand bags.
July 24 at 20.20 Coulter
 

Just day break

D 32    5
ws given instrns xx tt
further operatn ws to
take place at 3.30 on July
25. At 5 to 12 this
ws cancelled by Bde (as
Divl orders sd July “26”
by mistake.) Bde rang
up Divn  & tried to get
attack postponed (when told
this was a mistake).
At 1a.m. C.O. sent for
to Bde H.Q. & told
attack ws on & gn 
operatn orders.
2 Coys (C & D) moved
from Dinkum Alley &
took up positn in strong
 

6
July 25. 7.30 am.
Sergt Maj. Goodwin’s
patrol - saw
men abt
R34  central -
Either observers 
or on cable burying 
work.
[shorthand] had got into
K trench at
abt cemetery & 
actually cut off
(abt 5 of them) all
retreating Germans.
Germans getting
out of trench
34C central
were shot down
by 4 Bn m.g.
 

D32   7
posts in Pozieres ^ wh were to be starting pts) O.C. ws
able to give them full instrns
& asked them to instr.
‘A’ & ‘B’ in their posts.
Left Coy to reach cemetery.
(8 Bn ws attacking for 1st Bde.
Obj. to seize & occupy Pozieres to cemetery
Strong post to beat
X 4  B 0 7 & cemetery 
(orchard)
3rd Bn were in support
(& didn’t have to be called
up).
Attack in 2 lines of on 
frontage of 2 Coys
Each Coy 4 waves
Frontage abt 100 yds
each Coy.
 

D32    8
Coys to form on two posts.
4 Bn to bomb up K trench.
m.g. on East side of K
trench cooperated working
ahead of bombers &
keeping enemys heads 
down. Our men were
walking along bank of
trench so no diffy 
in seeing where they were;
M. gunner ws walking 
there too.
4 thin Coys ^of 8 only used
& 4 Bn bombers.
H.Q. moved forwd before
attack to X 4 C 7. 2.
 

D32    9
At 3.30 attack ws launched.
D Coy ws told to go

straight ahead without
worrying abt [shorthand] intermediate 
offshoot trenches from K 
trench.
C Coy was  on their rt.
A ws to take the intermediate 
trench off K (to East)
& B to go more towards
orchards.
D got thro w little
oppositn - along cemetery
Rd. Germans in K. &
offshoots were to busy
w bombing attack on left.