Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/89/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 7

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

Page 1 / 10

1 68 sded He must been chewing this over all way 0 bapt in we theng (A)Near Sand Souc. ta T Bri of ter py tact in his cks capryin of smites - thi boots tate Rot experiente had wh heavy I same tothers fatine as £a more te 24 Franner the 5Bde tI 50 had advance otie tine up to its pnt objective parties but wh fot there were too then. to off Deey Germans keep frnd tehin Germans gett
4 94 them miping sound 4 ti flo were tem cat of100 Som Sigmater self down 64 rotti the Embankement. Rly M. Bridges 15 fen t54 to Patons Brit son the 13de 34 t t He were 56 britl wt The 50 he troos at 2t tn i thy 5d fi left the time font 67 but ben brought back into Sounebekg & tm used for continual fatigngs thro were simple mid thy out Bredges did wo 514 Bite not think I the
pn wete still ont att Kehine ll 4 Betier. Lim Veton did. Pator had taken fen 7th but day before & 10 him bogs to the thugh ti 7th ha bn impressed tt anxious The gas office (6 225 the Dv who he ty eanct dyonte n Cty tth reaty think poke about in 1 fi H d pl. cuftng t 4 4 dearto Maching grin billets e ways weye whichly it down & hert a lin ta Formonn Annt
Ob Dwn 2/4 of the a wounded He was stumbling along without heloned onhead bandaged or putteed bleeding from above A woundedd I walld dlory w him. Eyg. He 5d (in broad hanastin) Ab doan know what our Brigade was doin to put us in after a twelve hours march twelve we houps from beginning to end had no duckboards like these we pluegged thang i where te slidnt Kn taes were & by the tire we the baray ed upt i hour Cit half Losoreon qwae an to sne they cd hard The wery were hold larifle we stand oopa where our starting plid know -but we went on pox was 0 for the n ba after I didnt and it was our know I was Wele a new Fivision ye first stoont. te fermans I drd thy Ded you see et their heads up? I asked Ah, saw eight or nine, he sd. & fan at them w my revolver came trunnily in, but we were 2nd) objectiun eld up on the tird 6 4 along Anstoaly side of it atuct wnts H the et Sit at sngonty 6a any time without mey 4t of were tho he further He bought back a map en from pivin t 4th our o line Dais t0 Dav toocs but not thine pe tine Catty t heath 4 the t lill further out this the 9 ti th here 42 uncertainty There at Dwn w te the 664 G w 25
were The their bun pet Ttue eetion as the on but our ane th lep near it tanl at We s get a ag the Ridg Angac The track there we elled but being 204 Deanity nor accupated one 9 plo abo every tes 400 70 9ds lef 414 German ereher ento prisoners. te wounded on can stretchers down We turned two our whire wounded then stretins Gropon under planket had tn tai whic side track
ob a cup beaverd a at tea or some threin about shcties et off it yds reached westhock A oe hear bombandment a from our own guns broke out far These were wonderfully right up in pout of Ridge by Sonnebeke Arriae 25
behid them. 50 4 hill 5others St. tetin an atmost super. fetten human e toe sung le ap 4 our son brought 4p i one pair h too off truit got of ei hows. y times but on 15 tfere pustdup and in o Buite h art so Ken off 56 ned the Brititt Cape and art tell me of there austal in tone 4 but got them outd there Mu aw there 4 u how som 55
wind strong dry ground toda iderab Stell holes will s had except where it. it Iles it wt en wi mutch tro att gt d talf funst betive did appearn we beret up the fallen cement blacks Ket Cat the serond as wo battlepils under brown t the l li bat with but an eveny light the halfthreation she 47 a but the with Sagas of what had five reatly beena tefri still Octobr day atlwa (Hse ip it to occearby night in at The weather day in this
42 flast um our t neater Fangin the & three of ridge ou before us fund byur the ridges at our I back. a continuous fu play f woman fugery over of a key ran pear alo 64 Bidge 0.1 Edge 4C Oecasionatly we contrace stabbiny Hoithan flash the flame It ws 30 Beyond occasionall horizon cane flicker repating of other the behind batterie Brooksend
thros 49 behind 2 Paschendaely an Spars to Weatwar ast adacle £0 hon wery t perman fn 25th Ibarray tike but still pretty active) the b oure casional lep. Eape ealh we 61 d haked £14 t A watched the red berti stare thriee al fen H fu ite 50 abovte t other 4 Oxions Belt like a pertifeal f app an places in mar t Pteren ling oe right tap ap

68
D39

moraute added. He must
have been chewing this over all
/ way - we got back on them !
(4) Near Sans Souci a
runner of 17th Bn, limping
back in his socks carrying
his boots, full of smiles - this
5th Bde, wh had not experienced
/ same heavy fatigue as / others
had far more life left - The
runner sd tt the 5 Bde had
advanced up to its blue line
(final objective) but / parties
wh got ther were too thin to
keep / Germans off. They
found Germans getting behind
 

 


D39    69
them by and sniping round
their flanks ; & they were
some of them cut off ; one signaller
saved himself by rolling down
the Rly embankment.
(5) Maj. Bridges, Gen,
Bridges ' son, who is Patons
Bde major. He sd tt things
were not too brilliant. The
troops wd have bn all right
if left in the front line he sd;
but by being brought back
into Zonnebeke & then used
for continual fatigues thro
/ mud they were simply
worn out. Bridges did
not think tt the 6th Bde

 

70
D39
were still out at Rhine
House. His Bdier, Gen Paton,
did. Paton had taken Gen.
Smyth out 1 day before &
got him bogged up to the thigh,
& Smyth had bn impressed
& ws v. anxious.
(6) The Gas officer of
the 2nd Divn who had bn
up to search dugouts in
/ Rly (ostensibly) really I
think to poke about in / fight.
He sd tt / rly cutting ws
very deadly. Machine gun
bullets were always whistling
down it - & there ws a
line of dead Tommies & Aust.

 


 

71
7. A wounded 2/ Lt of the 66th Divn.
He ws stumbling along without helmet
or putties, bandaged on / head &
wounded & bleeding from above /
Eye. I walked along w him.
He sd (in broad Lancashire) "Ah
doan' know what our Brigade
was doin' to put us in after
a twelve hours march - twelve
hours from beginning to end. We
had no duckboards like these,
we plugged through the mud. He
by the didnt know where the
tapes were & by the time we
arrived up there the barrage
had gone on half an hour (it
ws really an hour & three quarters)
The men were so done they cd hardly
stand oop an' hold a rifle. We
didn't know where our starting
position was but we went on
after the barrage. I'm sorry for the
Australians " he added - he didn't
know I was one- " and it was our
first stoont, too. We're a new division ye know.”
"Did you see any Germans - did they
get their heads up ? " I asked
"Ah saw eight or nine " he sd " I
ran at them w my revolver - &
they came running in - but we were
held up on the third (he meant 2nd) objectives

 


D39        72
Australians along / side of it.
He himself ducked into /
dugouts at / side pretty
without wasting any time &
he thought our men were no
further.
He brought back a map
from Gen. Smyth, giving our
line pretty ran thro round Daisy
& Danny Woods but not
out to Rhine. [It ws proved
later tt the line ws really
a little further out than
this - practically on the
Red Line.]
There ws uncertainty
as to where the 66th Divn

 

73

D39 
were. They put their own
position as on the Blue Line;
but on our left they were
certainly not near it -
We got as far as the
Anzac Ridge. The track
there ws being shelled but
not heavily nor accurately;
one 5.9 exploding about
every 5 minutes 70 or 100
yds left of it. German
prisoners were being used to
carry down ∧the wounded on stretchers.
We turned where two of our
wounded on their stretchers,
under ∧ brown blankets, had bn laid
by / side o / track while /

 


D39     74
bearers got a cup of
tea or something at a
concrete shelter about 20
yds off it
Hand drawn diagram - see original document
As we reached Westhoek
a heavy bombardment
broke out from our own guns.
These were wonderfully far
up - right in front of
Anzac Ridge, by Zonnebeke

 

D39    75
some of them ; & behind
hill 35 others. [It ws
I believe an almost superhuman
feat getting those
guns up ; & / light rlys
brought up some of our
heavies, too. One pair
of 6in hows, got off / rails
15 times but came through
were pushed up in / end.
One British arty offr (so Kennedy,
the British staff Captain
of arty, here, tells me) said
tt none but Australian
Gunners could have got their
guns up there. We saw
a 4.5 how. bogged & some

 


76
X under a strong wind
the ground dried
quite considerably today
& except in / shellholes
& puddles & where it had
been much trodden it was
not heavy. Last night it was


 

D39   77
half a dozen guns, have,
I believe, are abt half disappearing]
We clambered up the
fallen cement blocks of Kit
& Cat ; around us ws the
brown battlefield under
the light of an ^evening sky rather threatening
but half fine even^ a sky but with
the light of an evening
sky - a sky half threatening
but with the signs of what
had really been a fine
October day x still left in
it (It seems always to
rain at night & clear by
day in this weather) The
 

 

D39   78
flashes of our guns
were fringing the nearer
ridges before us - ^& three of our
bigger guns the ridges at
our back. A continuous
play ^of light as of a woman’s
fingers over / keys of a
piano, ran along /
edge o / Anzac Ridge.
Occasionally we could see
the stabbing brilliant flash
o / flame. It was just
5.30 pm. Beyond /
horizon occasionally came 
the rippling flicker of other
batteries - behind Broodseinde
 

 


79
D39
& Paschendaele & behind
/ spurs to the running
westward from Paschendaele,
those were / German guns,
throwing nothing like / barrage
thrown by ours ^but still pretty active. Occasionally,
especially to / left, we
cd see / naked flash ^even of
a German gun.
As we watched, the
three vertical stars, - red
white & green - of our SOS
signal, floa one above / other
like a vertical Orion’s Belt,
appeared and
hung over many places in
/ line. Presently it
appeared over / right o /




  



 


  


  


  

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