Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/148/1 - 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/148/1
Title: Notebook, 1917
Include references to the 50th, 55th and 56th
Battalions and 15th Infantry Brigade, Noreuil,
Doignies, Beaumetz and Louverval.
AWM38-3DRL606/148/1

1 
50 Bn

54 Bn

55 Bn

A Gunn  5 Bn

Charlie Neild - 8 Bn

[*Noreuil
Doignies

Louverval*]

Original    DIARY NO. 148
AWM 38
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 these 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 stories 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 Sep., 1946.                   C.E.W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
3DRL 606 ITEM 148 [1}

They found Gunn & Mackay.

28      1        2
50 Bn 
54 Bn 
55 Bn
[*Noreuil
Doignies
Louverval*]
Came 1^st     (   A. Gunn.  6 Bn.
from             (  Charlie Neild - 8 Bn
Beaumetz  (
A. Scott - 5 Bn.
W. Lewis - 7 Bn.
Arthur May - 23 Bn.
W. Sturrock - 23 Bn.
A Mackay - 16 Bn.
----
T.H. Savage. 23 Bn.
D. Forsyth 23^rd Bn.
----
11.30 p.m.
They were sleeping level
with the lower road, below the
tower.

They had run short of
water abt 10 p.m. Working
till 10.30 getting water for a
start for the morning.

They turned in abt 11 p.m.
in the room with half arched
ceiling. There had been no
fire in there.

Explosion was under the
tower, leaving a crater.

[*50^th Bn
Out of 13 offrs
5 k.
2 w.
2 pris.
1 missing
Out of 
750-800 men - Cas. abt 
400.*]
Germans were
of 119 RIR.

Of these, 60
were capt'd by our Right Coy
wh had to wait at 2 →
10 or 12 of our moppers up were captd
by Germans who numerous in Cemetery
& village, but retaken by bombers. V. strong
Hogarth (of 
Mouquet) k. how
Bidrt 
(bombs offr)
k there
with 6 empty
chambers in
Revolver.
Joss k. between
V & Z by gun 
[*at Y (wh has
bn captd) He
had 5 empty 
chambers.*]

Bombers on left
abt gone (B) 23 lying
visible close around

Bombers
were after
the barricades on roads
at X & Y. TMS had dealt with Z
& only 2 wd Germs were left there.
The inf. also caught it
from P to Q.

Abt 700 yds to go.

Village organised for
defence from South East.
(Lagnicourt)

28      2
50 Bn Ap. 2

Diagram - see original scan

Front line went straight
thro village after 2 strong
rows of wire in front of right.
Coy

28        3
Capt Todd got into
his objve at T ? Todd - Abt 250
Germans were driven
out of the village behind
him.

Capt. Armitage after he ws hit in
head by sniper sd to
Sergt Wilson beside him
"Whatever you do watch
that sniper right!" he didnt
say another word.
He ws anxious abt the
right at this time as
Todd ws gone.
Todd got in at SJ.
The retiring Germans
from D came on
him from rear. He
was attacked from

28       4
E where Germans had
held up rt Bn. (52
by a machine gun -
they were to bomb to
it) & he ws also
attacked from F.

He ws in trouble abt
7.30. No messages
were received from him
Left Coy had rushed
Germans thro village
& beyond. It wd take
abt ½ hr for it to get
into positn. It
reached a partly
dug Germ. trench L-G
Todd ws lying wait

28      5
abt ½ hr before he got
into S J.

Maj. Loutit ws sent up
abt 8-9 a.m. to clear
up situatn. as no
news came. He
took moppers up
from village ^(2 additl platoons sent up to mop) & platoon
of reserve Coy ^wh had bn sent
up to help right - &
went to counter attack
gap at SE himself.
He found Germans
lying down on bank
S J firing at our
men. He lined bank
S K - each man picked
up a man & on word
fired. Germs slid down

6
Maj. Loutit's attack ws
made agst a German
bomb attack wh had
made a got some way
up our trench & things
were beginning to be
critical on the right.
The Germans had taken
some of our men behind
our own line.

28      7
bank. ^We rushed a L.G. to K. But they
c.attd from Gully to right.
Germans had guns in gully
firing on line down 
gully wh 52 Bn
cdnt get at as they
were too low.

Men in S-J had
to get back to crater.

Loutit got ^abt 2 platoons
of B Coy (reserve) under
Capt Seager & brought
them thro rly cutting
to a line from crater to
R. They charged E
& got within 15 yds
under very heavy
fire before they broke
under m.g. fire from
the gully. They attacked

28     8
this twice. This wd
be before 12.30.

In meantime we linked
up on left with 51 between
L & G. but enfilade
fire from E still very
heavy.

An advanced
report centre at Z
ws estab. Loutit
came back to it &
spoke to C.O. & was
sent back to bn to
report. Seager
estab. L.G. & Vickers
on edge of crater (LG Vickers
salved - all crew gone
exc. one man & Seager he put
on 2 riflemen.)
Seager ws there
all tt night. Left

28     9
ws still enfiladed
but fairly good.
Platoon ws sent up
tt night to dig in
under banks in
Gully during night.

Diagram - see original scan
Seager had to link
up with 52.

Seager put pickets
as marked ⦻ & got
touch.

2 mortars were
sent up early in
morning to see if K J
E cd not be squashed.
Seager decided to attack
by daylight. Abt 2.30
he went over w
patrol himself to abt