Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/92/1 - October - November 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/92/1

Title: Diary, October - November 1917
Includes references to the fighting at Decline
Copse Wood.

AWM38-3DRL606/92/1
 

Original
DIARY No. 92
AWM38
3DRL 606 ITEM 92 [1]
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 those 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.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
16 Sept., 1946. C.E.W. BEAN.
 

Wilcocks & Andersen.
42  watch
anderson's/.
Brain - get car
144 Goddaughter's Ring
Films for V.P.K.
It's [shorthand] packed for mother
Treloar re Smart.
The Commth bank.
Sas's lollies.
Campion.
Mr Fs [shorthand]

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DIARY Oct 18.1917 - 92
From October 18 to Oct 25 I have
been visiting units out of the line
& writing up the records &
this diary. Three big. events have
happened outside this battlefield.
To start with, the Germans have made
an attack on each of the two big
shaky partners in the alliance -
the Russians & the Italians, -
in order to give heart to their own
allies, especially the Austrians; &
to drive these two out of the
Alliance before the winter, & encourage
the opposition which exists pretty
powerfully in both but especially in
Russia. The Germans are sd
to have bn hurrying divisions - (as
many as ten, I have heard - I don't
know if it is true) - away from the
West to Russia; & we know of
one division which ws to have bn
sent to Italy but wh ws kept
 

2

^X Possibly this is 4 from West.
Ward Price says they have 300,000 men
there, mostly from Russia

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here to face us because this
front was so heavily threatened.
The Australian push along the
Polygon Broodseinde Ridge has
beyond all doubt helped enormously
to limit reduce these two political offensives.
I doubt if / Germans will
have enough men to place against
the Russians to reach St Petersburg;
& they have only helped / Australians
with 4 ^X. With the Austrians they
claim to have taken 30,000 prisoners
& 300 guns. No one doubts tt there
is no comparing / fighting qualities
o / Italian & / German - the
Northern Italian is fine material;
but the Southern -
At the same time the French
found tt / Germans were shortening
their line near Laon (as one of
the prisoners captured by us here
 

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had foretold - (I believe tt ws
/ first information we had of it) -
& they attacked on October 24
& penetrated 3000 yds. Since then
they have gone another 2000; they
have taken altogether 10,000 prisoners
& 300 guns. The Frech are wonderfully
swift after their barrage.
In / meanwhile / Germans
tried to raid London, 3 ^or 4 days ago,
w Zeppelins. The idea ws,
I suppose, to catch us on / hop
on a dark night when we
supposed London ws safe - &
it succeeded as far as I can
see; except tt / Zeppelins
when they shut down their engines
& floated over London did no
damage. They became lost,
somehow, on / way back; &
no less than 5 out of 11 were
smashed up in France or lost
in / Mediterranean.
 

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At Ypres we have bn preparing
for a fresh push. The Canadians
are to attach Paschendaele; but
this time they take as a whole
days objective the first objective
of / New Zealanders & our 3rd
Divn, after having subjected it
to a fortnights bombt instead of
24 hours. They go later for
Pashendaele in a second leap,
& ^make a third leap after that.
Godley, the reformed
character, ws talking to Monash
/ other day in front of Murdoch
as to / proper depth of an
offensive. "What do you think
you can properly attempt?"
he asked - "1000 yards?"
Monash thought more; Godley
argued tt it ws not safe to go
for more than 1000.
Yet if it ws not he who
 

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proposed to go 3000, I will

eat my hat.

Oct. 26. This morning our

2nd Bde attacked on / flank

o / Canadians. The 2nd had

only to put out some posts.

along / Rly & just S. of it.

The Xmas Book is due

for posting if it is to arrive

anywhere near Xmas; I

believe the Xmas mail goes

out just after November 1 & we

can scarcely catch that. I decided

to go over to London to get the

Acquittance Rolls & Bookplates.

Leaving this morning one cd just

get news of our attack starting

& if possible, how it went; &

returning at once cd send

news o / real result by /

time the ^units came th out & /

details came through. The 

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Boulogne Boat ws stopped -
I suppose / wild weather
had dragged up / mines - &
/ Calais boat started at 8 a.m.
So I wrote my cable overnight,
to be ready, saying what /
weather ws like & tt / attack
had started; & told Barker to
call me at 4.30 to start at
5 (& call Boddy & / car at 4.)
Gallagher of the War Res Museums
section ws to come with me
& go to Boulogne to arrange a
depot for storing museum
stuff in the Pay Office there.
I got to bed after midnight.
The moon was three quarter
full & our aeroplanes were
going out to bomb / German
aerodromes. Just after dinner
a couple of German planes were
 

11
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caught in our searchlights
& very beautiful they looked
with the brilliant little tracer
bullets from 20 machine
guns in / distance after
them (I believe our
planes also tackled them
/ other night when they got into
/ searchlights - our planes
flying with two little white
lights underneath the wings).
About 11 I heard /
first of our machines going
out with its high musical
hum - there at I went outside
/ hut & there it was, three little
points ^of warm light streaking over amongst the
stars, going straight ^as an arrow for
its destination on some
German aerodrome.
No sooner had its hum died
down & / little lights faded
 

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than another hum came
growing from / same direction
as wh / first, & two more
little beads swam over; & ,
as soon as tt had gone,
another & another. For quite
an hour, as I was writing
there, they hummed overhead.
At 5 xx I went to bed
in my clothes. I was waked
by Barker saying: "It's 5.10
sir - they failed to wake me
up when they sd they wd; what
shall I do".
I thought all chance of
catching / boat ws gone. Still,
I sent him to call Boddy,
& arranged w Gallagher [who
lost his arm at Pozieres &
dresses slowly) to come
down ^to Boulogne when / car meets
me on my return;.