Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/89/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 6

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

Page 1 / 10

X set Hait C.C 6oa the there de le 45 anac te H in T D had been A No f 9 then 6 W iport tine en not i wh t month of the yser a fo pulled out to weeks. any 55 with a i 4 But he with were putte Di new b for tine quiet it where 6 the date th wve then it l fiven
affer mister wepe Din bee of this it or Tomie mad Expessence of the that 51 the End which A thn tan described We (worth ha Ever t under Dt At the w. PrACCS re callid pt. Dews other ashan getting news from woudded men ting I have tne done since gattegli onth learnt low untrotat where one man to was B di Hc was. a fin the Standy quiet boy sood looking sthell woundin he 6 LSelar
57 Dead. He sdf song not bad altong it tollow 40 the lee tin better n 2h Fan w behind there ws hollowt t the difficulty no t diffict fothowing im difficulty wc toher tan Bde had been s 471 duchbo faty carryins ble foue for ti C for e five 75 at 10 Elme He Qnt thayg went to thin lefton Menyn fa by wo blocked as after sate Menin Road. lwa 6 t shellhalf it 50
near the batte Hawk ereless a tong fund painted Moth caterpillers tike 44 6 a now exfectivnt he depend to rangs s not on cnfited from the North X ll app Shirgll One overkead with tow te fighten clocit tear hith of there profectity 6r burst ilersl 706100 yardo an tte yde of t 260 T4 stre traffi thin was peason with Ny mt d enfar 4 of the but t5 not camber bad Caut. w0od Raity Coave Stn 6 t fo the duckboards mark crateed tere 0 the Read. thI the of menion It
69 condited in first noticed. 2 in aere comen which oper or I think it ws threeI back. a conp passet us going very slow They were pale white decathed & putone & drawn pont s other as fet slowl not Soming man tho since have seem early days f it at winter the first afallation coming we Naw that wh Tmles thin through the a/ plough but toker there men mind But 4 Th the whiten aldme God Bde The Bale were road th Lown lparties In two t one relieved 1t din 95
61 not 64 wite were ti bad as The a the 1A Drn not ha lo uch 50 darenay anote then for it has a parti wh day for improved by our occupied have atwo troops who been dved northwards th proceeds Light 50 t as hammer be bead assaut of the as it soes along ther has one te ridge incident it moves our divisions away from work have done on the commanications I dackboun
it ct t 15 D Devry ac 62 4 a the it 44 63 bursed cable roads. tracted over do it t to 2pt because British the get so mach work do not done a tie not as often h a9 people do. ms our venupte Zouer We t track bete BI ta. as fol we Angad u that 2 re belda 6 Botes t on then Datiy was at nex wood. h Danre we that 4 troops bt t sent thro (or thio be Dany from the wood for Daw From 2d it take WE to
64 41 aotice Capt. Hohac died as topwar a 68Bn ferman mad 65 Arac head to we teir 66 Divn Do on it Ptie ti binat objective there were two today) in touet w us on 24. Eut ti & thage north the Dwn 9 Senme oi1 to be ld upt to Better er l from Paschen den dacte) wa An woath up tur the duckboards 64 d to the the 46r conerets speten t called Tane Soncs at stands en a bryek very much lite might stand in felty farmyard twet following. we
50 £2 off 2815 of w b ti b holdn some tme 5d who to bad o ch h it to a 27 i wer ti an bad He 60 his had. ohno ta never iev anythe lieth t g A number of men of nd Bde 24 BR comin alway. out 71 Bd f I worst & sometimes trokin whitefaced youngty one tal thn toking eetate like a dead. man looks Decarcely att
2 67 wat 131a a9 20t Bnd I think it was tempi betwt his army over neck with of another man? We noticed fint, at a distance, to his right caly were completey boodred He had some way thigh insic afore fnee wh as still bleedin shorts. te wot 157ds at cd we Dut his prin face its 4 pruned to te parn ta tunten t t7e 8 the second the h fon his sood id hen they fame Oattack over tin ther he

                                            

55
D39
content himself with a
visit to a C.C.S  & pick
him up there again.  But
he decided to come with
us.
2nd Anzac were putting
in the 49th & 66th Divns.
The 66th Divn was brand new
- had been to Arras for a
few months, in a quiet line;
then to Nieuport where it
ws not in / line by the date
of the batt  when we lost the N
of the Yser mouth; then it ws
pulled out for a couple of
weeks training & given to
2nd Anzac.

 

56
D39
We were very mistrustful
of this Divn bec. it had no
experience of the Somme ^or of mud,
& had a staff which the 2nd
Tunnelling Coy described to me as
/ worst they had ever worked
under.  They were co
At the 3rd A.C.C.S. where
we called first (I ws rather
ashamed of getting news from
wounded men, a thing I have
only once done since Gallipoli
where I learnt how untrustworthy
it was) I found one man of
the 6th Bde 23 Bn. He was a fine
sturdy good looking quiet boy
- he had a slight shell wound in

 

57
D39
/ head.  He sd / going ws
not bad although it ws
heavy in / hollow in front.
The ridge ws better than /
hollows behind. What There ws
no great difficulty tho' there
ws difficulty in following /
barrage.  What ws / difficulty
ws tt / 6 Bde had been
on fatigues, carrying duckboard
& burying cable for four f or
five days.
We went to 2nd Anzac ^at 10 Elms &
then left our car by / Menin
gate as / traffic ws blocked,
walked up / Menin Road
to Cambridge Rd, struck
(wh / enemy cannot shell half

 

58
near the wireless tank & a
battery of long guns painted like
Hawk Moth caterpillars.

59
D39
as effectively now because
he depends on long range guns
from the North & not on enfilades
apparently) One shell whizzed
low overhead with the frightening
tear of these high velocity projectiles
but burst harmlessly 70 to 100
yards away to the right of the
stream of traffic. The road
was pea soupy with thin
mud on either side of the
camber, but ws not bad.
 At Cambridge Rd we
struck off to Railway wood (save
the mark!) & up the duckboards
thro the craters there.
It ws on the Menin Road tt I

 

60
D39
first noticed / condition in
which our men were coming
back. A couple ∧- or I think it ws three - passed us going
very slow. They were pale white
& drawn & detached & put one
foot slowly in front o / other and
have ^not seen men do since / Somme
Winter - the early days of it at
that, when we ^first saw them a battalion coming
out after their ^7 miles plough through the
mud. But these men looked
whiter. They were of the 7th
Bde. There were 3rd Bde
men coming down the road
too, one or two small parties,
relieved by the 7 5th Divn. They

 

61
D39
were tired, but not quite
as bad as the 7th. The
xxx  1st Divn has not had
so much to do; & I daresay,
for another thing, it has
a part o / line wh has bn
occupied & improved by our
troops, who have always
been moved northwards
as the fight proceeds, so
as to be the hammer head
of the assault as it goes along
the ridge. This has one
xxx  incident - it moves
our divisions away from /
work they have done on
the communications - duckboard

 

62

Hand drawn map - see original

(situation as we heard it 

at 1st Anzac).

63
D39
tracks, roads, buried cable -
& they have to do it over
again because the British
do not get so much work
done - often not a tithe as
much - as our people do.
We went up the Zonnebeke
track. & met the
fellow We had heard at 1st
& 2nd Anzac that our
6th & 5th Bdes were held up
at Daisy wood on their
right & Dairy wood next
to that; but tt troops were
being sent thro Daisy (ws this
for Dairy) wood from the
NE to take it. From 2nd

 

64

[Apll . 1917.
I notice Capt. A.E. Leane 4th Bn
died as P. of war in Germany]

65
D39
Anzac we heard tt their
66th Divn ws on its Blue
Line (final objective - there
were two today) in touch
w us on rt. But tt
the 49 Divn & those north
of it seemed to be held
up by the Bellevue Spur
(running down from Paschendaele).
On our road way up the
duckboards to the 6th Bde
HQrs in the concrete shelter
called Sans Souci (wh stands in /
mud very much like a brick
might stand in a filthy farmyard)
we met / following:

 

66
D39
An officer of 28 Bn - who
had bn holding / line some
days & who sd tt / mud
ws "nearly as bad as
Flers."
Murdoch asked if
it were quite as bad.
He shook his head: "Oh no
- we've never had anything
quite like that!"
A number of men of
7th Bde, & 3rd Bde coming
out - the 7th Bde some of always
looking / worst & sometimes
- one tall thin whitefaced youngster
especially looking like a dead
man looks, & scarcely able to 

 

67
D39
walk.
(3) A man of 20th Bn, I think
it was, limping between two
with his arm over / neck
of another man. We noticed
first, at a distance, tt his
right leg shin & calf were completely
bloodred. He had some
wound inside / xxx thigh
above / knee wh ws still
bleeding - he wore shorts!
At 15 yds we cd make
out / grin on his face.
As he passed us he grinned
up & volunteered - "We got
the buggers good on the second
ridge" - when they came
over in their C-attack, he

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Robyn GRobyn G
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