Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/91/1 - October 1917 - Part 5

old dugout frame

medical dugout

(drawing across both pages)

 

D41    40

beyond & a further, lower,

slope

Wilkins asked me if this

ws our country.  I must

say the right hand slope of the

far landscape looked to me

as if it ought to be our

country but a moments

consideration made one

pretty sure tt it ws not.

We were evidently looking 

down the beginning of the

Polygonbeek into the

Reutelbeek Valley.  X

D41    41

About / same moment

I noticed a string of

men coming along the

skyline due S.W of us.

there was a band of

chrome yellow sky stretched

like a silk ribbon under

/ evening clouds - &

against this came a platoon

of British soldiers in

single file, silhouetted.

(drawing across both pages)

Slender Tim stumps of Pol. Wood

I sd to Wilkins - Hallo - 

now for the barrage -

Presently a machine gun

began to pop.  We wondered

D41    42

if it were ours or German,

it was due south of us.

The swish & flick of bullets

between the little stumps

of Polygon wood &

round the sandy

undulations of shell

craters soon settled /

question.  The _^few Tommies

who were coming up

our own track made

off into / bush on /

right - diverted their

line, tt is to say.

The string on / skyline

disappeared.  The things

were so close to our

D41    43

feet that I lay as flat

as I could behind a

sandy crater brim -

& advised Wilkins to do

/ same.  We dodged on

a few yards in an

interval & I got into the

_^edge of a shallow crater mostly full of

dirty water - ones knee

ws in / water & I trod

on my overcoat in getting

up again & floundered

rather miserably - but still

the bullets were whipping

in to / crater sides

around us;  a second

& possibly a 3rd range joined

D41    44

in.  They must have bn

from almost due South -

perhaps 1200 or 1500 yds

away - Polderhoek

or just behind it, I shd

say.  But it was a

thing one ws glad to have

experienced for it showed

in the most practical

way / difficulties of

our position North of

the Reutelbeek.

The Germans were

shelling straight ahead with

one big shell & presently others

from / left.  The path we went by

petered out entirely in

water filled shellholes -

D41    45

-not very far to our

left must have been

Black Watch Corner - (where

there is a little round pool,

as a matter of fact).

We struck half right towards

the Northern edge of the Polygon

veld - out of the way of

a salvo of 4.2 shells

which was beginning to

fall regularly & close on

our left front.  Presently

the Nonne Bosschen stumps

appeared over the edge.

Close to us was a

depression with _^a blockhouse of about

4 continuous big dugouts

D41    46

chambers.  A few

men were about it -

the place on top worked

heavily & recently shelled.

We struck further right

till we overlooked Nonne & then Bosschen Valley _^wh gave no

hope of easy walking.  Then we saw a line of men

approaching over to our left

over duckboards.  I was

nearly dead - & it 

was like salvation to

find those duckboards.

I thought just then I

wd rather go thro' a

barrage than get off them

to avoid it.

The German, I 

think because he saw the

D41    47

relief, had turned

a barrage onto the

Northern end of Chateau

Wood - we cd see it

in / hollow below us;

& our duckboards -

Wilkins knew - led straight

down there.  We cd see

from / edge o / hill

/ duckboard winding

down there

(drawing across both pages)

D41    48

An English sublaltern

at / head of a string of men

ws cutting across, past us,

from some track further

South.  He told us it ws

much better tt way

round - so we

followed his track &

at no great distance

up / hill came on a

road _^-first muddy - then for a few

yards was planked;

then more mud;  &

at last definitely planked.

It led over the back rear end

of the crest, still a

little to / right o /

D41    49

summit.  Planks at

last.  It ws / road

made by our engineers &

pioneers thro Chateau

Wood!

I was exceedingly

tired - Wilkins took the 

oil can off me & I put

the spanner & lanyard &

some o / loot in my over-

-coat pockets.

But that barrage,

wh ws pretty heavy -

& wh had bn left well

to / right o / road,

ws creeping left.  As we

looked down / hill which