Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/89/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 5

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
  • Shorthand
Status:
Awaiting approval
Accession number:
RCDIG1066619
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

47 artaih ill bn font h X (the 1R 9 for Exa le The plan t we were attack o whenc X1 suitable they 4 uitite tn wed 9 Oct. 4 b vgr a aute t be d But broke abt the and t follow over samn Onc 4 and Devre w3 pt wh in fat wnte to tiey were not Cd Itreat e o pt a
to d Blanon ou a ne nig Wisdom 50 tant 4 y0 Bd w down to 12 513e th me ttle 30.0 the 800 76 to 700 ttie 6 2000 they Baly Exhansted were athe Sent 1ot or up ty Juch teek The 6 taken out but what we wors at Kept continuausl larey Cable caing dow uctaboards over AnzalRia, 22 same the attack Then 16 9t onO0 Oct Ji ta r tow isto wa to D 1tat dintabb X4 42 t
aft gat onto 2 Dunk 4a ath oer to hon. tonash slat late 4 below Kepeth ade Notest Oct1 at Dw H.B. Rampartos yors t Bdl midayh at samin 4.20J not a 45 Barrage lne of I Div had to wine b ack 200 y ats ay0 of Dwvi wer fouingt bd 4 to alback round ty was thei centre. Thes meant in s anny if fined t Bod has to ole 300 ydlo wH guin (4 kimps of 4) 5.2.53e20 24 fullett as the tar t dlay t but Bonloyme to Deard last part. what he 4 Asin did not at Hai ton empresse me we att e t seamed to e banke on the Bnt Armys succeed to have thought 4 t l metod now wh infallibly not wd be taken int tonsideraton weather the men whare reath te me 18 torgete considenty The only thing reath struct ue abt 4 him as allo sable
1411 11.24 1155 29.75 satisfactor acby complited anive (This new Bole cable head aly smale from tapes 82 gus E. guns blor Mg. Cor on had £4 R Bli Pasthendacte. 38 Ren 384.1607 89 te 1642 33 40 2 54 o 4 4 So Pene 41 43 18 Paschinday. to an tak over Ped 40 poup HC soudegis atteton orrum 46 24 Cas 72 Rain Starte fittul in he abs 7.30 6 250 lihe continuous 30 fane thea Ab 20 t I ccasted gero A 5 there the tll e tytt half duncolo tow low te I cid Whitesh liyhd t County East look dind tro t06 plares at once te t Wellow spangles Abban hous ted Eight spy 6 4
11.3.0 our aen of riles it a behin trues 41644 44 t 48
nof the 49 s One way. of wordy 4 5 to night agact when we acittly aft. it Now 15 art ti fu. whah contlition. ofte wartan ef fia ded not Tame do it cemles altexaction it it Acraptane trane Arty & M send. wher fi we bott bout15 not Altial weapom Our art become so tony has t condition to be al as we apon; it cannot move. One reason fo present hopitees push is they are Cantin or a dicling permanorate a
rom 3 pages back Singi Pain 126 fir band acter don t45 the show Henfac 65 4 a Elea l not one the Society ly to Jene not the eort ot his equire put. charge in $200,000 He t t te 4 fan ti th slight hagsed pe and 5 tacke n liter te 44 66 has a on ofar fer tot rather att att ctar watting mt dyes how his teeth who 75 the type cnive
51 matter atical Lon. very his fich Eng 24 work. The a eatee which towential 6 duck was wh drtn reached Army Hars for a licture) improve tom midnyle at Every body a e dnse 4420 anx10 about it ie next Murdock told bordwood spote to t them as he had ls wished holdup attact; but th to pAinad Corps were t as 50 Slighll. in olved in It marety as the
52 that t Srgh fehene die th better the t O ef indefuintty attack t 53 flo 4 tn the Corps ti which was to fight (2 Anzo 5w army beyond &the them dve w we the attacte I know to lef 20 up ther se Kindwar 7h conference t ad our anded know Idon't ahet it abl ths had been 7t £i do to Angas the before had seen bike or ou tim ey up to sint thighs the t merd in the t Bde Warin it work evacuations 6 ousbly (to it trench
54 tid is not clear by down decertion some 653 the at 680 in 715 Bde 700 oft morning of Oct In the Mardock (with gulmowr who just arrived from London went out to get? & Mwrdock recult. otan sent for ha brother office abt press to but had not tem them I went 4 5 with Murdoch De with to shated off Getmour t this means; but he yarious came ti to t

41
D39
& certainly have bn leaving
/ front line (the [93rd 1R,
for example).
The plan ws tt we were
to attack whenever /
weather ws suitable. The
weather of Oct 4 was suitable,
by a very great chance.
But tt very day it broke -
abt evening.  And the
following 5 days were
damnable.  Our 2nd Divn
wh ws in simply faded away
- men were tired until
they cd not stand / trial any
longer & simply faded away. 

 

41a
10/ Raining [shorthand]
Plane says this mg we
are on red line - repeatedly
[*dived at by EA *]

42
D39
wisdom sd early tt / 7th
Bde ws done; & by Oct
9th the 6 Bde ws down to
600 available men, & the
7th to 700 or 800.  The 5th
Bde had abt 2000.  They
were either exhausted &
sent away - or had got
away & were lying up,
or had trench feet.  The 6th
Bde ws ∧taken out but what ws worse ws kept continuously
cable laying, laying down
duckboards over Anzac Ridge etc.
Then came the attack
of Oct 9th.  On Oct 8th
Gen Harrington recd /
war corrspts. He I was late 

 

43  
11    Rain factors aft. 9am
12th

[shorthand]
Germns [shorthand] Dunk.
Haig [shorthand]
What [shorthand] Haigs

offer to him.
Monash
5 Divns —
Staff interchange
Haig  xx men - winter.
 a stunt to Kippelle xx
Notes ^below made on Oct 12 at 3 Div HQ. Ramparts
Chateris and Percy Robinson. Ypres:
6 Bde ? [shorthand]
Abt midnight - raining [shorthand]
4.20. Not [shorthand]
Barrage line of 3 Div. had
to come back 200 yds as
66 Divn were found to be a
long way back round the wood
in their centre. This meant
(as army [shorthand] fixed) tt 3rd
Div has to do 500 yds in 16
mins (4 jumps of 4).   5.25 zero.

44
D39
as the car took Gullett
tt day to Boulogne - but
I heard / last part of
what he sd.     xxxxxxx
xxxxxx  Harrington ^did not impressx
me very greatly.  He
xxxxxx  seemed to be
banking on the 2nd Army's
success, & to have thought
tt they had a method now
wh wd be infallible - not
taking into consideratn /
weather - or the men ( wh are
really largely one & / same
consideratn).  The only
thing tt really struck me abt
him as possibly allowing
(over 3 pages)

 

45
Assaults completed satisfactorily 3 am.
(This new arrived at Bde cable head abt  6 am
1 mile from tapes
gas [shorthand].
on m.g. Coy had 5 guns blown
Left                               Rt           Bde
12.11 _________________________________green xxx
11.29    Paschendaele. ________________green dotted
-11.55     38 +/Coy39                        36
9.21     ________________        ___________ blue
-10.25             40                               35
6.37 _________________         ____________red
-8.25              37                                34
5.25 __________________________________old Line
                       42                &             44      33 Reserve (in rectangle)

 

                                        41 (in square)  43 (in square)
10.41 Paschendael.
Everyman takes over         My [shorthand]
Peasoup                                         w Haig.
axe
Solidified alcohol
No rum on[shorthand] 

46
D39
Oct. 12
Rain started in fitful showers
abt 1.30 am -  by 2.30 light
& continuous ; by 3.30
fairly heavy.  Abt 4.20
it ceased.   At Zero (5.25)
there was a dull grey light,
low ^half dun coloured fleeting scud, & low
whitish light in East -  country
looking dull green & brown.
color Lots of green flares
at once - then red & yellow
spangles.
Abt an hour later a
light spit began.

 

47
D39

11.30  Our men behind trees
to rt of village

(Drawing - please see original)

small post to left.*]

48

Sketch of scene of fight of Oct. 12
Made from Hill 35 during fight. - see original

 

49
D39
[The reign of the mg
One way of avoiding m.g. is
night attack, when we had little
arty.  Now it is Arty.  It is
m.g. which conditions open
warfare   Eg Arras.
Tanks did not  do it unless
by attracting it.
Aeroplanes have tried it.
Arty & m.g sent us into trenches where
we must bomb - bomb is
not an ultimate weapon.
Our arty has become so strong
as to be almost the conditioning
weapon; only it cannot move.]
____
One reason for present hopeless
push is They are banking on a decline
in / German morale.

 

50
D39
(from 3 pages back)
room for a  xxxxxxx a finer brain and
character than he showed on
/ surface ws tt he ws
clearly not one o these society
cavalry generals; not a
sort of hunting squire put
in charge of 300,000 men.
He has the face, the slight
lines, the slight raggedness
of moustache, and other
unconventionalities, of the
scholar.  He has a small
receding forehead, rather
watery eyes, not at all clear,
& lips which show his teeth-
the type of a university

 

51
D39
mathematical don, very
much engrossed in his
work.
The all weather which
was torrential at dusk,
(I was dripping when I
reached Army HQrs for
Harrington's lecture) improved
at midnight.  Everybody
at 1st Anzac HQrs ws
intensely anxious about
it - Murdoch told me next
day tt Birdwood spoke to
him as if he had  xxx wished
to hold up / attack; but tt
as xxx ^1st Anzac Corps were so slightly
involved in it, merely as the

 

52
I believe ^some of the Bdiers thought
that it ws better for / men
to go in a get it over than
to postpone the attack indefinitely.

53
D39
flank of another Corps
which wanted to fight (2nd
Anzac), & the 5th Army beyond
them, we cdnt very well hold
up the attack.  I know tt
Gen. Birdwood rang up Harrington
just as our conference ended
- I don't know whether it ws
abt this.

Gen. Smyth had been xx  up
the day before to Anzac Ridge
or Zonnebeke & had seen /
men in / line sinking up to
the thighs in the  xx  mud; the
6th Bde, by weariness of
it work, by evacuations for
trench feet & possibly (tho'

                                           

54
D39
this is not clear) by
some desertion, ws down
to abt 600 men, & the
7th Bde to 700.

On the morning of Oct 9th
Murdoch (with Gilmour who
had just arrived from London)
& I went out to get /
result.  xxxxxxx   Murdochs
brother had bn sent for as
press officer to go abt w
them but had not arrived; &
so I went w them - very
willingly with Murdoch. We
tried to shake off Gilmour by
various means, but he
came. I wanted him to

 





 

 

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