Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/135/1 - 1915 - 1916 - Part 2

15
11
flanking pties. Their
northernmost one ws
suddenly seen by Hortin
& Jones bayonet fighting 
- the real drill book movement.
It ws a big German guardsman - on a
wide sap. Our man cdnt
be seen - only hand & face.
They were parrying - & another
German came up on far
side o / Australian & shot
the Australian. They cd see
the flash - the fight finished,
the big German spurned the
Australian with his boot
& J. shot him - he ws
still there at dark - [shorthand]
stood a second & then crumpled
(a little after dawn)
Quiet till 8 a.m.
The Germs then came
down from N past dugouts
- reinfs arriving from
2nd line probly - They
cd be seen from Quarry.

12
L/C. Carran struck through
lung (could hear this when he spoke) sd
All right boys dont mind me.
15
13
Esposito sd, "Mr Jones,
they're coming." J. told
everyone to keep down &
had Corrigan loading rifles
for him.
Jones cd command
corner at Z & got
first 5 or 6 & ws going
to swing all men into
line when first Stokes
mortar came from
Quarry where Capt. Maxfield
was. ^(& cd see them⁾ First Stokes landed
within 4 ft of leading
man on bank. It ws
250 to 300 yds range.
Stokes rained in on them
& they about turned
& ran. ^out of trench over open M. G on lip
of quarry caught them.
The Germs never

15
14
came at it again.
The Germans made
commn impossible by
m.gs from Mouquet.
4 in trench near 77.....54
to N. & one near 24.
The mg. at 24 ws rattling
over the bank at 54
towards point 77. Sale
spotted it & his pty cd
be heard sniping back at
it. Snipers above 54
commanded commns
from Jones' party.
No informatn at all
got back after 1st half
hour till Sale came in.
Maxfield guessed they
had lost direction towards
Mouquet.
Jones went back abt
50 yds for reserves &

15
(abt 5.15 am.)
15
16
possib found Capt Smith (with 22nd).
He ws looking for his 
men. He ws shot later
po almost anyone
wandering out there
was.
Smiths brother Capt
R.G. Smith of 21 Bn. ws
k. by shell observing
from lip of quarry
just after he had reported
the reinfts of Germans at
8 am. He sd the
enemy are moving
back when a shell
struck him. Maxfield
took his place & the
stokes guns got to work.
Quarry ws shelled all
day - abt 100 stretcher
cases were there & cdnt
be got away. a few were hit & some
German prisoners there &
our reserves. It ws

17
Commn trenches.
Kay trench on fore
slope cut by 7 Bde on
24th night had bn a beautiful
trench but had disappeared by
next day.

15
18
shrap. & H. E.
There had bn shelling o /
quarry all the night
before & there were
many wd. there before
the attack, ∧ During fight 13 s.bs wd
leave Bde H.Q. in
cemetery & abt 50 p.c.
wd be hit.
40 transport drivers of Bde
had to be rung in to carry
ammn. (Stokes etc) & they
helped to carry back
cases. Barrage on
fore slope of hill along
Kay trench.
[on 24th pty of 90 with
bomb ammn flares water started
from Chalk Pit. They
were some of them dropped
at Kay Dumps in
Rail trench - 50 came
on to rear slope of

19
Lewis Gun men shd be remembered w
runners & stretcher bearers
[Shorthand]

15
20
hill. Taken on by J.
from there in 10s -
other 10s to be sent on
at intervals bec.
Germans cd see them
on fore slope.
First 10 got thro.
Part of second 10.
Abt 2½ hrs later
Lieut MacLellan (22Bn)
got thro with 8 or 9 men.
That ws all tt got thro.
Barrage had bn put
on wh made it
almost impossible.
Men knocked over
but not many hit.
All day 26th the Germans
let s.bs. come & go in
nomansland & from Quarry.
One man red w blood
from head to knee came

21
?approved
one white flag ws abused this day by
one of our men.
15
22
past Js. line (they didnt
attract his attention for
fear of being located
themselves) staggering
along with a white rag
waving it. They cd hear
a German whistling to him.
He turned & looked at the
German & waved his
rag but didnt go in -
held on past 54
quite close to it & got
in to pty of 22 bn on
left flank.
Our men were waiting
to shoot tt German if
he appeared but he
didn't.
Lt Butterss, whose
jaw ws shattered while
leading reinfts to J. with

15
23
bombs (only message
came thro by runner from
J. by ∧ runner named Cliff Holt - tt
he had got somewhere
& ws hung up for bombs).
Butters ws shot hit as
went from Quarry by
shell. He was mixe
He ws mixed up w
German prisoner ∧at hospital & ws with
them for 4 days before
it ws recognised tt he
ws an Australian.
(He wd be given a
new jaw).
J. came in just on dusk.
& brought stretchers out.
Got all wd men in
(Copperwaite was buried
out there). 4th Bde took

24
Frost of A Coy  [shorthand].

Pte Freeman of B Coy went
w others to right. Got
behind 3 lines of German trenches
(Offrs were all shot. When wandering
for their objve they sd. No Germans
here - let's take the bloody farm.
They went on into trench N. of
Farm.
Robertson ∧ O.C of A Coy ws in
bottom of German dug out just
N of Rd W of Farm. Germans
counter attacked probly from
tunnels abt 27 & he ws
taken).
Freeman was with a party.
∧in shell hole. 3 or 4 decided to give themselves
up. ∧Ptes Freeman & O'Toole (no 5
platoon) wdnt & wandered back
by shell holes at night.
(5 platoon mostly country birds)
O.T. ws slightly wd by bomb.
They crept up behind German
parados. Cd almost touch Germans.

15
25
up a line as T heard
from abt 150 yds ahead
of Quarry. [I dont think
they retained this].
From Pt 77 we cd see right
up a gully at / back of
Thiepval.
M.g. in Quarry used to
shoot down trench 27 on
every party wh went along
trench. For a long time J cdnt
tell where it ws playing.
Then saw
( continued from  page 24)
[*waited till one of our shells
burst near & then dashed thro
trench & out other side in confusion.
Did this at next trench also. They
scrambled thro the Germans in
/ confusion - and dark - almost.
and got in after 3 days in Warwicks lines.
The strongest part of 54 ws
45 yds N of rd ; this & Mouquet
were to have bn demolished. *]

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26
In Quarry all day long
a m. gunner was delirious
& ws instructing men in
his delirium how to work
a Lewis Machine Gun.