Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/142/1 - September 1916 - Part 2

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them out. He started in & he was

shot dead.  But the Germans

in the ^craters hearing the bombs dropped

behind them  & getting a bomb

or two from their stand up &

put their hands up.  A sergeant

in Duncans trench near 24

stood up & beckoned to him to

come over to him - waved & 

waved. xxx he was hit & killed

instantly by a bullet far away

on the left. This made them

very bitter – but Duncan

says the German was not to

blame; the ^German on / left couldn't see what

was happening on / right [ any

way he had a right to shoot].

Our men at once opened on

the men who wanted to surrender

& these ran back –  xxxx

such as could – to their own

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trench at 36.

Early that afternoon the 

German  shelling of the 52nd Bns

trenches increased very greatly.

At first it was all Grey high explosive

shrapnel bursts – very nasty but

few men hit. Then it changed to

heavy high explosives ws xxxxx

put in as well. It seemed to be 

particularly heavy on the 52nds

trench about 24 & rather lighter

further back towards the 49th. 

The losses began to be heavy &

Minenwerfer also were being poured

in. The trench rapidly became

one long lane of dead & wounded

men – a continuous moan of

wounded going up from it. Duxxxn  Duncan

sent along to the Canadians

at O 4 to tell the officer there

to withdraw, as he was going to

 

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After this Duncan got abt 12

men from his right [[?]]

scattered them at intervals  ————  → 

along this bit of trench. It 

ws after this tt he decided

they wd have to retire a bit.

 

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withdraw himself. The officer

said  messenger did not know

Duncan's name &  simply sd

"an officer". The  Canadian,

rightly didnt withdraw on

this. xxxx [The Canadian sergt

who came back from ^ 04 had sd tt for 100

yards every man in / trench

was dead or dying – out of

action.] Duncan went along

himself — & said he found no

one in this ^stretch of trench except dead

and wounded  –  He left orders

before he went for a stop to 

be built about 3.4. When this

was done he & the Canadians

– 3 of them in all – carried in

all the wounded men tt they

cd find who were not too

badly hit to be past saving

 

12    

 

There was a slackening for

two hours in the bombardment

during the afternoon. Then it began

again (fair on the barricade?)

It had eased from 4 pm to 6 pm.  

 

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the dead & the dying they left - &

put them behind the 

barricade.

The barricade by 4 p.m.

was very solid - 6 foot square

& growing in height. Then our

Contact aeroplane came

over & they had no flares – they

searched high & low for them but

they had none. They got one

damp flare but it wd not light.

Then they tried to spread some

cloth so tt / aeroplane wd

notice. Immediately after two

German planes sailed over

& they must have seen the

barricade. For they began 

dropping big stuff round it

in salvos of four - on every

side of it.  Men were killed &

wounded. Duncan only had

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Duncan had reported tt

Minenwerfer were bombarding

him — & this was why our

heavies were put on. 

 

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150 men before he retired & he

had less & less from now on.

They sat in a tiny shelter one

man with a periscopes watching

/ Germans who were getting

in / trench 03  to 36.  Duncan

tried to get ^our artillery fire on them

- first he sent   xxxxx up two

red rockets (having nothing

else) but nothing ws done.

The he sent a direct message

direct across country -

but nothing happened. Then

he got the 49^th to send the

message & it reached their

H.Q. & green rockets were

sent up from there & the

barrage came abt ^5.30.  But it

came onto the 49^ths front.

more than the 52nds - naturally.

The 52nd were still

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losing heavily & Duncan decided

that he wd have to withdraw further

to where the bombardment seemed

to end – about 54. He took

the men back, warned the 49th that

he was leaving their flank in the air.

They sd ( the officer at 66 did) tt if

he noticed ^further they wd prefer him to 

retire up towards 66, & he

arranged to do this.

The German artillery was

awfully heavy,  Having got the men

back D. & 4 others , some Canadians,

some Australians, crept back to

the barricade; & there they sat under

{ it telling each other how wheat

{ was grown in their various

{ countries, & waiting for the

barricade, & their pozzy, to be

blown in.  The shell came at

last ^at 6 pm.) which did it - hit one

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man across the eyes; killed 

another, wounded another -

left only two - Duncan & another.

 XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

XXXXXXX.

He had to leave them later

to get something done - I think

it was the placing of 12 scattered

men along / trench. When he

got back there ws no trace of

them. He & a corporal went

along / trench calling to them &

searching. Either they had  xxx

xxxx xxxx xxxxxxxx  xx xx  been

buried or killed, or they had 

bn xx able to drag themselves

out of it. Probably they were

buried. There ws no sign of them.

[[There?]] men xxxx had bn

put out in a crater behind 

the line by - D. A shell dropped

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into the crater. It killed two;

but one man, with a completely

broken leg, crawled in dragging

himself by his hands & tumbled

into their arms over the barricade.

His leg was twisting & turning

all ways as he came.

At dusk When the shelling eased a good

bit D x took some 3 or 4 men

forward along the sap towards

24 - finding it empty. Our

own barrage ws on it. At last 

they got a narrow straight bit

where they cd lie. Our shells

were battering into the trench

about 10 yds to their right,

behind them; but / narrowness

o / trench saved them.

Night came on & with

it a very heavy shell began
to fall on / trench some way

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behind them. It made a 

huge noise coming.  Duncan

cd hear it - and he wd 

think that he ws having chloroform

- the whizzing seemed just like

the banging in the ears which

goes comes with chloroform  —  then

he wd lose it altogether - &

then the heavy crash wd

wake him w a start - so

tt he ws falling asleep between

/ time he first heard / shell &

/ time when it burst. 

Later on in / night he received

orders to go to 49 Bn H.Q.  He

went along & reported. xxxx

 xx xxx xxxx  He ws told

to withdraw his men further

& let some Canadians in past them.

There were no Germans, he
told / new officers in 24 – 03.

 9        
He afterwards  xxxx heard tt
they had gone  down / trench to

03 all night (or thereabouts).

He ws withdrawn in / early
hours.  Going out, a shell fell

between 4 of them & buried one

to / armpits & Duncan to /

knees. He sd tt he cd do nothing

but sway a little. He ws  planted.

Even when only his foot ws under

it ws impossible to move it.

Only when they cd wriggle

them about a bit cd they get 

the feet of / buried men out.
(It is difficult to realise this; but

think how hard a post with a bed

plate is to move.)

                       ——

I had just got these details
from Duncan ( whose battalion
had arrived at Warloy) & I
was  off in a motor ambulance.