Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/102/1 - March 1918 - Part 7

68
3 tunnelling company.
In May company came to Colvin & Ducksbill
1st. (HLI had been blown over _^ about 2 months before)
beginning 1916
They started work at Mauquissait

about end of July. (Mauquissait
is to N of these two - & we had

also No 6 shaft of Winchester

stream to N again.

From Colvin & on surface

and Nomansland they heard Germs. going

for Mauquissait working

from S northwards towards the salient where

there were 2 mgs which annoyed me.
(The German was blowing the British front line when the British
started mining.  The British infantry at Red lamp with a few 

miners pushed a [shorthand] right across under the German

line with a stick of timber in / clay)

& blew under German xxxx where 15 yards were and probably killed some
our company ran into it later.  [Shorthand] pluck.
 

78    69

[Mauquissait ?r - crater.  60 infantry

were blown here beside Laventie.  No 3
had warned British infantry listening from
the surface.  Germs could be heard mining at A
from D

Hand drawn diagram – see original document

In Aug 1916 the 3^rd Aust Coy
handed over to 257 company after putting 2 x shafts
257 didnt complete and gave up

3 company Then went to Winchester & Red Lamp xx on the northern
boundary of 1st army (S. corner of
Fromelles.  stunt -) They were 

here at Fromelles time

66

Fromelles.  3rd tunnelling company was taken off its
work at Colvin & Ducksbill for special purpose.
They blew 3 big and 4 little saps - that on right left of xx enemy's
wire.  (Z X) and O x 1 & Bucks were going
over here.  They blew their sap a few minutes before
zero.  It went up with a great smoke and dust.
Sanderson had arranged with Captain Church to show
me where the sap was.  When the infantry went over he went
over with them and when they got to within about 20 yards
of the German line there was a m.g. swishing over German
parapet at the end of their sap.  xx 2 officers were leading.
About 20 yards away S. saw another German gun
hastily shoved up on the end of the sap immediately down it.
Church, Auckland fellow, fell on his side.  He rushed on
and just as he saw the 2nd gun and the crew abandon it down the trench
one of our shells miraculously burst right on
it and blew it up.  They rushed over again and
about 70 got into the trench.  The rest of the 61 division got
about ½ way across Nomansland all right but xx then mgs opened
on them and they ran back to their trench.  S was [[?]]
he was now in command of the barrage.  They could not get
back (1500 Brit were killed going back
nearly all on [[shorthand]] wire ) if they had gone on they would
have taken the 5 guns beside them.)  After about 5 minutes
 

78     67
in the xx trench he decided to take his
men cross country to the Australians whom he
could see about E and road way at
F.  They made across towards them
the 5 mgs over the road
appeared to move up to
GH & I
& were
enfilading
the Australians
terribly
S intended
to get
his men
into position on the
flank
about A B C to
suffocate them.  The mg
bullets were frightfully
thick and only 11 men got there
but they reached the Australians and
came back over the sap
which 14 Bde had made S dressing
wounded Australians on the way.  He got MC for this.
Field of [[English?]] was inferior leading he thinks.
Hand drawn diagram – see original