Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/127/1 - Notebook - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War:  Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number:  3DRL606/127/1
Title:  Folder, Notebook
Includes references to the 9th and 12th
Battalions and Pozieres.
AWM38-3DRL606/127/1

Original     DIARY NO. 127.
AWM 38     3DRL 606 ITEM 127 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918
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 stores 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 should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946.   C. E. W. BEAN.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN

127
12^th Bn. 9^th Bn
Pozieres

7
1
12 Bn.
A Margetts & D Vowles were 2 coys for 3rd (8th wave) wave objve.
From Sausage Valley past casualty corner
into Black Watch Alley.
10th were to be in there 1st.
Diagram - see original
Order of going in.
12^th to go in behind 11^th.  10^th behind 9^th.
(Vowles made his objve where the
rly line crossed Road.
12 Bn shd have bn abt 11 central by
10pm. but only passed there by 12 p.m.
10 Bn left Sausage Valley by 10.30 to be in
positn at 12 pm.  They had to be clear
of 12 Bn.
12 Bn. Coys. were in Black Watch Alley
when 1st Bombt started, getting into positn.
Startg Positn ws in B. Watch Alley.
Were not in positn till long after
barrage lifted.
The two coys of 12 Bn were together.
& two coys of some of 10 Bn ahead in B.W. Alley.
Two Coy commanders as soon as

Diagram - see original document
7
4
Coys were in positn (Margetts reported
at Bn H.Q.)  Col. Elliott told him to go
strt. on.  Cdnt get past 10 Bn.  Rifles E/E
getting caught in telephone lines.  in
[Signal corporal patrolled lines from 12 Bn
HQ for 6 hrs and mended 14 breaks].
First thing saw ws Pozieres trench. There
ws some slight shrapnel.  Black stuff by the sound.
11 Bn were in Poz. trench.  V. saw Capt Metcalfe.
9 Bn were there too.  Asked Metcalf where
11 were & stopped men there a bit - to organise.
Shouted for 12 Bn men to go on.  9 Bn.
kept shouting (men) "go to right!"  3 Platoons
bore rather to right.  Others kept w Vowles.-
went over tramway.
Found 1st Bde (3 & 1 Bns)
Saw a few Germs. running away thro'
village.
B & C were in trench E of positn 8856
Digging in S U before daylight
(good trenches by mid day.)
At dawn Arty ws firing into village - 
shrap.
After daylight Germans counter attd.
Someone sd Germans are coming
out of trench (O.G.1 near tramway).
[*H attack from rt.
men in ZX were
to fill gap between
S & U (abt 200-250 yds)*]

7
3
They didnt seem to be in formatn.  Vowles
saw 50 to 100.  One Lewis gun ws
already in curved trench
Another ws brought along - No Vickers cd
be found.  Our men wdnt fire at all
at first.  V. Picked up a rifle himself -
and ws strafed by private.  The Germans were
turned & ran back across tramway -
straggling out of it not running -
towards N E of Village.
Laing reported tt they were massing
amongst ruins.  Some want
Arty w  Message ws sent on to
Bde & arty fire ws put on them.
Some seem to have got into [[shorthand]] trench.
Men were not alld to go out on a/c of
sniping wh ws heavy here.  Bombt
helped to ease tt.  No German shelling yet.
The R.F.C. reported village empty but
they cdnt see men under overhead cover.
All 1st day improved [[shorthand]] trench.
No touch yet w 10^th.  Cdnt see anyone
there.  Lt White ws up there w 11 Bn.
Towards evg. C.O. sent up message
from R.F.C.  Order from Bde to push thro village
"N E corner of village must be occupied."
Waited till dusk to carry this out.  Metcalf [[?]]
was too done.
Hallahan of 11 ws up there w abt 30 men. 

7
4
After dusk sent 2 platoons to clear NE corner
& mark line.  They killed 6 Germans - one
sniping from an old hospital cart - it ws there
all 6 dead men inside & 2 horses k.  all
some time ago.  Others in dugouts.
Margetts & Vowles went across
& sited line.  (There had bn 3 guns looking like
4.5 hows (or scrap iron) in copse by tramway.
There were bits of trench in one or 2 places
& hospital dug out - near road -
deep dug out.
The 1st party threw bombs down
every dug out they saw.  When digging
line saw V. nearly tumbled into
dug out.  Told man to throw down.
Threw Mills No 5.  It ws quiet - & sent
2 men down.  They got ½ way down &
heard talking - & came back.
V. shouted Parlez vous F.? Oui.  German
poked his head round corner.  Beckoned
to come up.  He & some wounded came
up.  V. told them to wait.  Laing cd sp. German.
They told him there ws a Capt. there.
V. sd Capt ws to come up.  He sd he ws
Capt. Lyons - (sd his grandfather
ws Ponsonby Lyons)  He sd: I am commandant
of Pozieres.  V. told Laing to tell him he
was Commdt.  He saw the joke.
They sd 18 were down there.  Sent
down to C. Coy for escort (in old [[shorthand]] trench)

5
Night of July 24 had orders to put a line
between str posts at abt 5 a 3.6. N of Rd
& in O.G.1 N. of tramway & towards
Cemetery in front of NE of village.
Engrs got out there & 12 Bn
put screen round, but were very
heavily shelled & m.g.
Cdnt maintain positn.
9 & 10 were to take up to windmill
tt night.  Men of 12 out abt ½ hr.
This filled dug out w wd.
One _^ man acting as s.b. ws bombed
from O G 1 looking
for wounded.
[[?]] Laing)
On 25 Back
in [[shorthand]] trench.
Shelled all day
Relieved by 19 Bn on July 25/6.

7
6
There was a doctor there.  Laing & V. went down
& found an acetylene lamp, cylinder of gas
(prob. oxygen).  There ws a dying man
down there - use
We used this as dressing stn (it
ws full of bandages etc).
(11 Bn had got some prisoners tt afternoon)
German capt sd he wanted to get out
before Germs fired.  But no shellfire
tt night.
July 24.  Trenches were quickly dug & not
bad - & commn trench to near rd.
No sniping now.
Not much shelling morning of 24^th.
11 Bn went in early on 24^th to
dig their bit of trench across Rd.
Shelling further back tt day.
Commn all time w H.Q. by runners.
Digging all day.
July 25.  Germs opened abt 5 a.m. & shelled till
6 p.m. all sizes of shells in.
Abt. 1.a.m. Lt Laing took 50 men out in
file from NE hedge of village behind
July 24 outside hedge.  Left them lying down

7   7
L. _^ & 2 men went on towds O.G. 1 to reconnoitre
Got within 50 yds.  Found cd hear voices.
Flares going up.  Knew Germans were
in it.  Covering pty ws under Heritage.
Laing went back to rept to Vowles.
Took engr offr. (5^th Field Coy) out to
Str. post site 5 a 3.7 at X roads.
Brought remaining 3 platoons D coy
to dig from strong post 150 yds ES.E.
Got them out - digging for ½ hour, Engrs
working at str. post.
Were seen by flares.  They put
up red flares breaking into 3 - right
into our trench.  Arty, m.g. Rifle fire
folld - all round.  Lost most o / men
there.  Laing gave them order to go in
quietly abt 4 at a time.  Saw them in.
Going in L. came across Robson, hit in
leg.  Found nearly all o / men had
got back & he sd he had sent out word
for L. to come in.  Went out to get
Robson abt 50 yds E S E from road.
4 s.bs. Corpl. Pretty & L. found him &
put him on stretcher.  Pretty & L
went along to see if any others wd.

7
8
They were all dead - got paybooks etc
They had struck an old German trench w
many several dead Germans filled right in &
made a pretty good trench of it, connecting
shell holes.
L. went back.  They sd s.b.s had not
come in.  L. & Capt. wandered out agn.
shouting for the men.  Cdn't find them at
all.  Thought they must have come back
into old [[shorthand]] trench.
Apparently they lost their heads &
inst. of going to rd they must have lost
directn.  Hassan, one of them, who got in
sd they had m.g. & rifle on them.  They
got into shell holes.  Hassan got in by tramway.
A bomb had hit Hassan.
July 23.  After dawn Germans started to come
down abt from Rd where we later
started str. post.  They were in single file
trying to get round Right of [[shorthand]] trench.
in open order.
Probly abt 300 seen there & in village.
They reached abt number 151 on map
(x 5 central) & began to fire on
12 Bn but were met by
9 Bn fire as well.
[*12⇣
9 Bn*]