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

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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 t sort of

men they will come under

at 1st Anzac. It is a

strange thing tt not many

of them know anything of

Gn. White, & some have

not heard abt him

at all. Others know of

him as an officer a good

deal talked of by other

Divisions -

 

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No more news of Gaza;

&, as one knows quite

well from what t communiques did not say,

the Germans have forced

a crossing of the Tagliamento

o t 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 &

 

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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 t

great British fleet now

tt t German Navy is out in

t Baltic?" 

It is indescribable folly

to print these silly heated

retorts but I suppose it

 

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is good copy & w many

journalists that excuses

every crime.

Such talk cant weigh

very much as neutrals -

after what Germany's ag diplomatic

agents did in t case of

Argentine. Germany ws

trying to appear friendly to

t Argentine, making all

sorts of overtures to her.

At t same time her

Minister there ws sending

cables thro' the Swedish

Minister to Germany.

These cables were obtained

by the United States, I suppose

 

 

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by a bribe. One of them They returned

largely to t ships sailing

from t Argentine, whose

friend Germany ws all t

time professing to be.

One cable told t 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 blackguard

 

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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 t spot. As it is;

though t 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 t Germans in giving

these facilities thro her official

representatives.

 

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Thurs Nov. 8.

Godley today sd good

bye to the staffs of various

battalions & bdes of 3rd Divn at

HQrs, Hervarre.

I went to 33 Bn &

37th. Morshead tells me

tt there is all t diffce in

t 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 t whole,

affect the character o t battalion

a good deal.

 

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At 37 Bn HQrs (Col.

Knowles [* ?Knight*] 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 t others look

up to him, & do a bit

of worshipping.

Maj. Robertson, who

is left in commnd, told

 

 

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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 t idea tt t

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 t men -

 

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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 t first time

they have had t chance

since landing in England.

They have dinner together, &