Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/94/1 - November - December 1917 - Part 6

58
It strikes one tt Lord Lansdowne may have
had at / back of his mind the fate of
Greece & Rumania if Russia gives in.
I dont see how we can save them - even
our own Eastern forces will be in a tight corner.
5   59
ask to have it in writing. This
was perhaps hardly fair
I fancy they have some ruling about
not ^yet mentioning units wh engaged in
the Somme - & Charteris is afraid
of somebody seeing my article
& attacking his ruling. It is an
absurd ruling anyhow.
Dec 4. At 1st Divn,  ^? elsewhere one finds the chief anxiety
with regard is lest the peace negotiation
may go so far as to release German
& Austrian prisoners. Gen. Walker
said this morning at breakfast: "We
can beat the Germans now on this
front. But if they get 30 Divisions
from Russia it is another matter."
And it looks as if they might
get nearer 100 divns, & 1,500,000
released prisoners. Some think the
prisoners are being released already.
They will have to lose the labour of [shorthand]
2,000,000 Russian prisoners, of course.

5      60
The idea ^conviction here also is & very
strong tt / men will not give a big
vote for conscription unless the
Govt promises them Australian leave,
even if it is only 50 or 100 a month.
The British War Council has implored Australia
not to go on w this request saying tt it
wd demoralise the rest o / army - if
it were granted everyone wd want it.
They seem to get it. My cousin Geoff.
Butler who is in the British field
artillery in Salonica is having 3 weeks
leave in Australia; & all British soldiers
get leave to Britain; & some French
Colonial troops seem to get leave
after 2 years to Noumea or wherever
they come from - our men some of
them know this fact (if is is one) &
it is part o / current talk o /
divisions.
I rather fancy tt / medal (for
wh Birdwood has got permission from

5      61
/ British Govt) from wh Australia
is now authorised to strike & give
to 1914 men who were at Anzac
(on the lines of the British 1914 ribbon)
may do something but will not
make up for want of leave to Australia.
At Cambrai where the Germans
attacked on Nov. 30 as 8 in the morning
they penetrated near the Southern
hinge of the Salient as much as 5000
yards. They captured 3 Brigade staffs
& the headquarter of the 29^th Divn
had to run clear for all is was worth
- probably / Germans captured some
pretty valuable paper xxxx amongst
all these. The line ws reestablished
They claim 4000 prisoners & 60 guns.
The difference between the Lagnicourt
fight ^on Ap 15 & this is probly tt our line at Lagnicourt
was far thinner; but / Germans probly
attacked here in much greater force.

62
Broodeseinde (2)
we thought the attack had bn discovered. It
made one miserably anxious to hear it. But
we had heard the same at Bullecourt 20 min
before / attack when one did not at had learnt
tt our men can attack even after such a barrage.
One ws not so despondent as to / chances of
the attack knowing that, before this, our men
had attacked after in spite of a barrage had laid down on
them - otherwise I shd have given it up
as hopeless. We cdnt find our place so got back
to near Kit & Cat where 28 Bn were, & I was narrowly missed by
[* a shell. We
got into
a shellhole.
Then our
barrage
opened -
tremendous.
Presently
as light
grew, we
went over
to / fore
slope agn
& sat in
a shellhole
there, in the
stamping
a green
slope. *]
It ws long before we cd see / skyline
o / ridge – but One o / first sights, as
/ day came - was a solitary pigeon
winging its way wildly back.
When the barrage increased we
kept a close look out on the skyline.
The barrage though the glasses looked
like a crowd of steaming plates, placed
close to one another all up / hillside -
white steam streaming from them agst
the brown earth.

Diagram - see original scan
We watched
to see if the
men wd be outlined agst them but it
ws some time after tt we noticed the men;
& then - in one or two parts o / crest,
especially near some low flat topped
structures no men at all appeared. We
cd imagine the deadly m.g. fire streaming
from those places. Then a few men appeared
a bit to one side of them keeping low & running
(to next page but one)
5        63
Broodeseinde (1)
I never finished the description
of the Battle of Oct 4 (Broodeseinde)
as Gullett Murdoch &  I saw it from
our shellhole in front of Kit & Cat.
We noticed, as we were wandering
about trying to find this shell hole green patch, in the
half rain, & dark, a fl number
of ^white flares going up from time to time
blurred like a dead fish's dye, in the
mist. They continued for some
time They were the normal
illuminating flare as you see them
any night on any part o / front.
Then a yellow "bunch of
Grapes" followed. Then five, ten,
scores of grape flares bursting into yellow spangles.
This ws at 5.20 At 5.25 there came
down an irregular barrage - we
cd hear it; by 5.30 it ws really heavy.
crump crump crumpcrump crump - like
empty biscuit tins banging down into the valley
ahead & onto the Glencorse heights. Of course
(to last page)

64 

(Broodeseinde 3)
forward or to / flank along / crest
it struck me tt they were under fire.
Later they were moving around the
same pillboxes freely.
We tried very hard to make
out Abrahaim's Heights in front of
Paschendaele, but cdnt be sure tt
we knew wh it was. However, our
men were clearly in possession
of all their objectives. About midday
we left, reluctantly; & at the
cage near the White Chateau, forward
of Ypres, we found some German
prisoners. They sd they were 4^th Guard
Divn; & tt they had bn going to make
an attack tt very morning - at least
the 212^th Regt was & they were in
support. They sd tt our men came on
very quickly; but x / artillery (one
man told me) ws nothing like so
severe as on / Somme.
I think he must have bn lucky
being brought up tt morning only, so to be only had
our barrage upon him pass over him. [[shorthand]]

5     65

Diagram see original scan

tried to climb.

The T.s at Wire Gully. 3 to 5. 6 again offr on
horse. At 6 [[shorthand]] like handfulls of peas - then
scattered. One coy front 300 [[shorthand]] lost 2 xk 17 w
No fear of submarines. Turks will give [[shorthand]]
4 Div to Cambrai. Hughes
Whistling message W at [[shorthand]]
1st Div at [[shorthand]] were wanted to [[shorthand]]
[[shorthand]] left.
————
W.M.C.A. Winter at Flers Dump.
Bullecourt: Vaulx Corner. Limber each
night took up biscuits cigs. & chocolate
to the other side of Lagnicourt- Used to
take limber to Bn HQ - get men
changing over to file past & hand
it out to them as they did so. (free).
At Vaulx in 16 days got thro 100,000 cups
of cocoa & biscuits & cigs (Gift).
Give staff away in forward area
& in any emergency - e.g. when reinfts
come in.
In rest run a no. of recreational centres: reading
& writing rooms & canteen.
The organisation is worked on a divisional
basis with us, one man w each Bde, 1
w Arty, 1 w each Div. & a Corps man.
The bns are worked largely thro padres,
who genly run the individual centres
bible classes etc.
Staff: Divl P.B. men & for forward
work a cert. no. of picked man from each
Bde.
——
Chocolate ws wanted for Sept 20. ₤250
worth was provided (¼lb for each man) for the attack
for each Divn. Free hand up to cut pt- This
being an emergency / gift ws free.

66
Diagram - see original scan
5       67
Ypres & Paschendaele cost ₤8000.
Within a mile of Zonnebeke ws a pillbox near
St Josephs Institute just past Anzac R. to left.
YMCA had this as a H.Q. Bd HQ ws
just ahead, & when Bns were going in
& out sandbags full of cigarettes & matches
used to be taken out & given out to /
men thro the platoon & section commdrs.
This is personally overseen by the YMCA
representatives on the spot.
——
The Xmas gifts will be handed out
in front trenches themselves - ^leather pocket wallets
w notebook - paper, pencil, envelope, almanac.
——
In Reninghelst is a very big Y.M.C.A. centre,
4 big huts We took this over. There 4000
sheets of writing paper were used per day.
Free cinema for 2 houses of 800 men each.
This exchange ws v. generously carried out.
½ dozen similar huts in this area.
The AA & QMG is the authority who
combines the work of xxxxx Comforts & Y.M.C.A.
——
The Divl Entertainments Ctee
consists of Bdiers, / repve from Each Bde
Ctee, & senior repve from YMCA & Comforts.
This is an excellent idea
1 football per Coy in a divn gn by YMCA & a set of [[?guernsies]] w Bn
colours all thro'. The Kukuburras were originally
financed by the Y.M.C.A. - it is now
military but from managed by YMCA
repve. It is stipulated that the shows
must be free ^when in YMCA centres
7 concert parties - In all.

68
^X & 16 this week
I had notice first on Monday.
5      69
Dec 5. Met Gilmour & Murdoch
at Boulogne mail boat. They
xxx have come over to look send
Australia news of the troops at
Referendum time.
Murdoch, yarning at 1st Div HQrs
over / fire in the Drawing Room of
to Samer Chateau (owned by an
English writer by name Hight)
sd tt / govt is now not afraid of
submarines (tho / Germs. got sunk 14 ^ships last
week) ^x over 1600 tones)
He says tt we know, also, /
terms on wh / Turks will make
peace; but we are not sure o /
strength o / Turkish Govt in
carrying out its peace terms if agreed
to.
Our 4th Divn has bn
moved to Cambrai way ^x, suddenly.
It ws to have gone stayed at Gamache
near Abbeville all / winter. Poor old
4th, into it again.

70

Birdie showed me / War off
Councils telegram opposing this -
imploring / govt to go on w it.
Birdies own objectn ws tt it
wd take away too many men;
& transport ws difficult - we
cannot get away our wounded
& incapacitated.
5        71
I wonder how it will affect /
Referendum in / division.
At 1st Divn HQ they are insistent
tt / men ought to be given leave to
Australia, 50 or 100 a month ^x.
Hughes, Murdoch says, has
gone so far as to state tt
the taking passing of a Conscription
Bill wd do away w / greatest
obstacle. That is all he cd
honestly say.
Talking of Generals, esp.
Gough, Blamey told us tt at
Pozieres 5^th Army wanted us
to attack Pozieres (1) from the left
(with our left flank open) & (2)
on / night we went in. We refused
both things. Blamey thinks tt White
is a very strong determined general
& tt Birdwood sometimes leaves
awkward discussions to him -
e.g. the protest abt Bullecourt.
They all say White is his only possible
successor; & all think he is going.

5       72
December 6^th. All day
with the 3rd & later with the
6th Bn - till 11 p.m.
Little Moore of 3rd Bn tells me tt
Howell Price largely made Heane's
reputation by his level headed
tactical skill. He always, also,
if he were not sure of a positn,
visited / spot himself – Heane also.
Price wrote one summary o / situatn
up in / trench by / ^main road at
Pozieres. This was an awful spot -
most terrifically shelled. Moore has
sent the original report to the War
Museums Section.
The 6 Bn gave me an
account of how they took Decline
Copse on / rt o / Canadians -
/ day / aeroplane imagined it saw
one of our men bayonet a German
there - our men were already

5        73
in front a beyond the copse at this
time.
There is some statement about
/ Canadians on our left tt day
fraternising w / Germans - I
have not heard / exact details
The Canadan bn there ws not
a good one. A far better one
relieved it later & did its work
for it.
December 7th.
Came from Samer to Amiens
to find out where our 4th Divn
was & what it ws doing. Had
lunch w / press correspts who
told me they had seen it in
Peronne today.
I went up to 7th Corps
at Catchet Cay.
Phillips told me tt /
news ws bad - we were retiring