Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/93/1 - November 1917 - Part 2

12 9
ever have of getting
a record of themselves
put into a negative.
It has bn a great
pleasure to let a few
of the 3rd Divn. regimental
offrs know about / sort of
men they will come under
at 1st Anzac. It is a
strange thing tt not many
of them know anything of
Gen. White, & some have
not heard abt him
at all. Others know of
him as an officer a good
deal talked of by other
Divisions -
 

12 10
No more news of Gaza;
&, as one knew quite
well from ^what / communiques ^did not say,
the Germans have forced
a crossing of the Tagliamento
o / Italians are still
retreating.
Kerensky has bn
The American newspapers
have started in their usual
style; one of their journalists
told Kerensky tt in England
it ws considered tt Russia
ws "out of the war" - wh
is no more true of England
than America. This made
Kerensky very annoyed &
 

12 11
the paper prints all his
heated answer - that 
Russia had bn fighting
1 1/2 yrs longer than England
& ws just about played
out; tt she had to fight by
herself whereas France
had England to help her;
tt in Russia what ws
greatly exercising the 
people ws "Where is /
great British fleet now
tt / German Navy is out in
/ Baltic?" 
It is indescribable folly
to print these silly heated
retorts but I suppose it
 

12 12
is good copy & w many
journalists that excuses
every crime.
Such talk cant weigh
very much w neutrals -
after what Germany's ag diplomatic
agents did in / case of
Argentine. Germany ws
trying to appear friendly to
/ Argentine, making all
sorts of overtures to her.
At / same time her
Minister there ws sending
cables thro' the Swedish
Minister to Germany.
These cables were obtained
by the United States, I suppose
 

12 13
by a bribe. One of them They returned
largely to / ships sailing
from / Argentine, whose
friend Germany ws all /
time professing to be.
One cable told / German Govt
tt a small Argentine
ship ws sailing to a French
port. The cable went on
to advise: "Either let her
through - she is not of
great importance - or
else sink her completely
so tt no trace of her
remains -" the most
cynical blackguardly
 

12 14
duplicity of wh any
modern country has
ever bn found guilty.
The Argentine if it had
not bn a Spanish American
Republic wd have made
war on / spot. As it is;
though / people wanted
war, the Govt I suppose 
ws well & truly bought,
& ^has remained neutral.
Sweden will have it always
recorded agst her tt sher
^ministers too were siding almost
openly w / Germans in giving
these facilities thro her official
representatives.
 

12 15
Thurs Nov. 8.
Godley today sd good
bye to the staffs o / various
battalions ^& bdes of 3rd Divn at
HQrs, Hervarre.
I went to 33 Bn &
37^th. Morshead tells me
tt there is all / diffce in
/ world between Rosenthal
for a Bde Commndr &
Jobson. "R is a man",
he sd. The 34 & 35 Bn
staffs are still very weak
& the officers of 35 Bn
not being good, on / whole,
affect the character o / battalion
a good deal.
 

? Knight
 

12 16
At 37 Bn HQrs (Col.
Knowles ws in England)
I met Capt Grieve, who
has just returned after
his wound at Messines,
with the V.C. ribbon on his
chest. He is a bldy stoutly squarely
built squarefaced light fair
haired man w a
slightly quizzical humorous
face. He doesnt seem
to be spoilt tho' you
can see tt / others look
up to him, & do a bit
of worshipping.
Maj. Robertson, who
is left in commnd, told
 

12 17
me during after dinner that
when they heard they were to
be attached to 1st Anzac
it ws almost too good
to be true. "We were
overjoyed," he sd - "delighted".
They have / idea tt /
1st Anzac Staff goes about
amongst the/Units far
more than 2nd Anzac,
whom (except for Godley
himself, occasionally)
they never see.
Old Anzac men
amongst them have told
them how Birdwood goes
about amongst / men -
 

12 18
While I ws w Morshead
a letter came from England
from some offr there to
say tt all offrs on leave
had bn hurriedly
recalled & it ws tipped
tt there ws trouble in
Ireland.
Robertson sd tonight
tt he had heard tt
large bodies of troops had
lately bn going to Ireland.
The offrs of this bn all messed
together, for / first time
they have had / chance
since landing in England.
They have dinner together, &