Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/90/1 - October 1917 - Part 4

Conflict:
First World War, 1914–18
Subject:
  • Documents and letters
Status:
Awaiting approval
Accession number:
RCDIG1066658
Difficulty:

Page 1 / 10

28 overt clouds low tast it ar slighty the l Bartenr St lighter cocoa me fom waterbottly of it 2 took Murdoch we let ttab arm at r ain mysth an a The poads never se black were t pul we Popernghy otou ti 30l him light and through steer 4 as best we Co dark we prased Fometop toy strung 8 sente fitly thought they were
29 Cavabry (ave had eeensome Indiane Grought $ het l some but l An oan own Fob wt yered ca desided X in i alon not grop duckbo 2 3 but wait Stelthol i 3 till day light. D th packs 30 111 tei so s it also he Tach on in w to dead il Ca cold pt ends th dujout i ter the Ran t our i e their drippin overcoats ys
i1 Co 44 0 tef the can artiler 2 to its aptedin Standin up road outide water ar sl at &Bodry dry -bright Ltchin 01 the fire Artiller be at 5.20 was t Meteor report ws thy an 9 that night before tany 42 have bn Watte topped Ed 58 the now it w Of com for too ut e we late troops ever fesh whe 6s bi 1 EnDion the very the pre X won do hat by fairly fine i 30 momnn that 7
31 very were very we ous but on not to 50 on the at aft pews 4 that a 2.30 e fatfrig Des Divn 30d of were well on their last troops had pad 2 B3ol 490 27 e it wa tae little later A to the weather 6 e kenew 4 4 were ge shell 4 toke tit pont 6 t 5 as wth aspict boke t Somethy was up adt 4 he battalon Shetter wit 20 24 be a to men getting thes.
32 Simons 20 46 Monast's brother he 456 spte 4 the for 4 the Ryy hnuve Corps) tn it w say 4 er saidin they told tth en pin with 5 it flag pt upin Pashendach. to I work had be Speciat Aust alian an fed ele fa se ws it up evere thre it out 1 put. wd be the me cut Husto alya back st auht ye corps It away tho ttVN. Gialaphers and thought to fax also, alto they wil
23 56 t tough be Hacl Paschan The will wo t assautted from front punents but had also bn matly fr Weealanders the oi the sep of it ope of our & inclose right £0 bus it tee Iebeyon i 24 57 herd 0 banta 4 Ia Geti t 26 ficin duxil was 6 had bn tound H 661 Diy did not hote live wh ten Spl tan did The Bnd Drevn (when 1 relieved found to they were
et a few 4 yards out i1 2 lep but th Camtre pent round a copse our £0 old t at a tite hong at 14 En his bee the barrag had to be 43 Army o Ch who te bar 4 it 60 later a special provision 6 tad allow the barap t tom 00 4ds the point advance it a 4 41004 4 i 4 Gs wat (Oing rip 9 1004ds 9h
See 8914 iy 4 in te of cover cto first en 15/s 300 D and pent the Do do io an icl ap ta It. 257 dosuon 9 a t ix Carrag X ap the fam parts 4 rakin th d up Fe fund them in Te Ie at Th th tat ex the diary a the 8 tapsin £10 & Sen Manahs tion the ho Dionad disposed.TE h Db
36 t1s i in t soint o1 dary tth light As the de ✓ 4 tb couty Ket £0r at a C nate. left at tbt 106 346 nex t fur 4 Bluc Lie t1 take 8 It place we the 4 old Read. track i Jonnehe t te t to westh t Re Whot 100 way down stope ned d shelting Tere party
27 cross i of Westhock top kept we D0 Rid left Da after field howitzers in atte & down $9 ses ah patch ths of Sana Foves side fest. 514 Rb Te Is shellng 24 i 07 + about. shet an two Octs attined onl 6u fea can 2 down te tranpled md mate a sort of ye to levelo just above the helthole pool in till sat down cope As on Oct. 4 wrote out the first pe £4

D40 

28
low clouds overhead -
in the east it ws slightly
lighter - Barker gave
me some warm cocoa & I
took a waterbottle of it to
Murdoch.
We left at abt 3am.
in a misty rain wh
never ceased. The roads
were intensely black. Past
Poperinghe we had to put
out our sole remaining 
light and steer to through /
dark as best we could.
We passed, somehow, long
strings of horsemen. I
thought they were possibly 

 

D40 

29
Some o / cavalry, wh
had bn ^(we had seen some Indians) brought up of late;
but they were only some of
our own Ammunition
column. We got into Ypres
in heavier rain & decided
not to xxxx grope along / 
misery of / duckboards &
shellholes, but to wait in
the 3rd Divn. HQrs till daylight.
Their GSO iii, Jackson,
was sitting up; GSO i , also
Jackson, came in w a heavy
cold caught in the airless dead
ends of the dugout under the
Ramparts. We put our
dripping overcoats in their 

 

Oct 11/12 cont.

D40

30
artillery mess, left the car
standing ^ nearly up to its axles in
water in / road outside
& Bodley drying himself at
the ^ bright artillery kitchen fire of /
artillery.
Zero was to be at 5.25
am. The Meteor report ws
'through by 9 that night before
-so the battle cd have bn stopped.
Of course now it ws far too
late. But we knew these
troops were fresh whereas
[*?9th*] on 12th req the 2nd Div ws
very worn; & the preceding
days had bn fairly fine up
to 1.30 that very morning. 

 

D40 

31
We were very very anxious
- but not so much so as
on Tuesday.
At abt 4 news came
in that at 2.30 both brigades
of 3rd Divn were well on
their way- last troops had
passed. Bde HQrs, I think
it was.

A little later came news
th the weather ws very bad
- & we knew it. Then tt  /
Germans were shelling / whole
front line w gas shell, wh
looked as if he knew suspected tt something
was up. Then tt he had bn
shelling with 5.9s & one battalion brigade
had lost abt 10 men getting thro!!

 

D40

32
At 4.20  Simonson,
Monash's A.D.C. (his brother
the former A.D.C. has entered
the Flying Corps) came in to
say tt it ws no longer
raining.

They told us tt the
38 Bn had taken with it a
flag to put up in Paschendaele.
It had bn specially worked -
an Australian flag- &
it ws a sacred duty to see
it put up there. If it were
put up, the news wd be sent
back to Australia straight
away, through corps. It ws
thought tt  / N. Zealanders had
a flag also, altho they wd 

 

D40

33
scarcely be touching
Paschendaele. The village
ws to be assaulted from /
front;  but arrangements
had also bn made for
the N. Zealanders to go round
the left of it & one of our
bns from / right & enclose
it - meeting well beyond
it.....
At 5.25 we heard
 our barrage start. Murdoch
& I went up to / r
The main anxiety
was th it had bn found tt /
66th Divn did not hold / 
line wh they sd they did.
The 3rd Divn when it
relieved found tt they were

 

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34
a few hundred yards out
on / right & left; but in /
centre they bent round a
copse ^just in front of our
old line. At a late hour -
abt 24 hrs before / fight - the
barrage had to be changed.
Army cd not change /
whole barrge - it ws too
late - so a special provision
had to be made to allow
the barrage to come back 200
yds at this point, & xx
advance it at 4mins per 100 yds
inst. of 8 mins in order to for the first
4 jumps (16 mins) instead
of 8 mins per 100 yds. This

 

See 89/45
D40
35
meant tt instead of covering
300 yds in / first 16 mins
the 3rd Divn's centre had to
go 500 yds. This ws a
great anxiety as a
start.

At 5.25 down came /
barrage. Keith and I went
up the ramparts (it ws
all we could do to climb
rather difficult getting up
them in / mud) to see.
The note I made at
the time is in the last
diary: so is the sketches
diagram, wh I made from
Gen. Monash's description,
of how the 3rd Divn wd be
disposed. They shd be

 

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36

read in to this point o /
diary - 
As / light grew Keith
& I decided to go up & see
what we could from Kit &
Cat at any rate. We
left at abt 10 to 7. The
next jump, from the Red
Line to / Blue Line, wd
take place at 8.25.
We hurried up the same
old track - Menin Road,
Zonnebeke track, & over
the top of Westhoek Ridge
to a good shellhole some
way down / slope. The
Germans were shelling ^ w shrapnel a party

 

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37
crossing / top of Westhoek
Ridge, so we kept to /
left after passing / guns
field howitzers in tt valley,
& down to a greenish
patch this side of Sans Souci,
just S of the Rly. The
German ws shelling / rly abt
& / ridge but nothing about
one shell in two minutes,
but only scattered bits
ever came near us.
We trampled down / mud
to make a sort of layer
just above the level o /
pool in / shellhole, &
sat down w / telescope.
As on Oct 4, I
wrote out the first part of

 

                                                                                                

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