Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/95/1 - December 1917 - January 1918 - Part 7

9    66

Jan. 1 we had men lying
out on / German wire
every night. The Germans
ceased to come outside
their wire at all. This The last
night of xxxx the old year
the Germans at 10.50 (10
minutes before their own New
Year) started to bomn
cannonade with trench
mortars, put up flares,
throw bombs, give bursts
with their m.gs. They trench -

[[*contd 2 pages on]]
mortared & bombed Nomansland
& their own wire for 20 minutes
- a mixture of bravado &
nervousness. Then they a
voice shouted over the parapet
 9   56
George says. The alternative was for 

Britain & France to decide that they
would go on & fight for their old ideals
for which they first entered the war
- to make breaches of treaties &
dependence upon brute strength too
costly for any nation ever to 
rush into war for them as Germany 
did; that is to say, really, to fight
on until the Germans are dissatisfied 
with their boastful leaders & the whole
damned system, & not boasting
about them and glorifying in them as
they are at the moment. We 
can bring those leaders to our terms,
instead of  agreeing to theirs, by one 
line of action only - by hanging on
with all our force at all costs this
year & part of 1919 until the 
Americans have piled up in France.
An army so strong, & splendid & 
fresh that it can make their

9    65
rate some sort of a holding
out in Nomansland. Two
men [[xxxxxxxxxxxxx]]

 TO BLEED FRANCE WHITE.

GERMAN WHO WANTS TO INCORPORATE

60 MILLION RUSSIANS.

PARIS, Tuesday.
A telegram from Zurich states that
General von Liebert, speaking at the Conservative

Congress at Halle, expressed 
himself in the following terms:-
For us there is only one principle to be
followed and we must recognise no other.
We hold that might is right. We must
know neither sentiment, humanity, consideration,
nor compassion. We will incorporate
Courland and bring into our own
population 60,000,000 Russians. The Slav
nightmare will ride us no longer. We must 
have Belgium and the North of France.
The curse of God is upon the French
people. Let us consider ourselves fortunate
that he has separated us from that
nation, which is as ungodly as it is infamous.
The Portuguese possessions must
disappear. France must pay until she is
bled white. You may call me a Jingo or
a Chauvinist or anything you like, but
what I say is we must have a strong peace.
- Exchange     
German militarism
is nothing abstract or vague
This is what it is.
& our men & theirs, small
parties of them, were fighting
in Nomansland on & off
half the morning. During /
following nights our men
got out & waited for /
Germans - shot them coming
through their wire after dark,
& worried them so much tt
they became nervous. Before
 9    57
defeat a certainty. The
Germans are sure to attack.
We go onto the defensive (our
own brigades in their quiet part
of the line have been working tremendously
- working with only about 4 or
5 hours rest, I believe, in the 
case of the 3rd Brigade, to make
an impregnable system of wire
& trenches behind / front line.)
We and the French will have
to hang on this year - goodness
knows if Italy will. But
if we can, then the next year
will bring the peace we ask for
& the German militarism will
have failed so hopelessly & disastrously 
that Germans themselves will tear
the system to shreds.
For the Australian force here the
outlook is not Rosy rosy - Australia

 

9          65
rate some sort of a holding,
out in Nomansland. Two
men & a Corporal were moving
between one of our front line 
posts & / support line when
a German patrol came on
them in the dark. The Corporal
got back, but / two men were
captured.
We soon mopped up /
Germans in Nomansland.
The first morning was  misty,
& our men & theirs, small
parties of them, were fighting
in Nomansland on & off
half the morning. During /
following nights our men
got out & waited  for /
Germans - shot them coming
through their wire after dark,
& worried them so much tt 
they became nervous. Before
 9    57
defeat a certainty. The
Germans are sure to attack.
We go onto the defensive (our
own brigades in their quiet part
of the line have been working tremendously
- working with only about 4 or
5 hours rest, I believe, in the 
case of the 3rd Brigade, to make
an impregnable system of wire
& trenches behind / front line.)
THE IRONY OF WAR

AMSTERDAM. Monday.
The Hessian authorities at Darmstadt
have ordered the removal of the roof of the 
Russian chapel at Darmstadt. The roof is
entirely of copper, and is now requisitioned
for army needs.
The chapel is the private property of the 
ex-Tsar. The requisition has taken place
at the special request of the Grand Duke
of Hesse, the ex-Tsar’s brother-in-law. -
Exchange
BOMB IN AMERICAN SCHOOL.

NEW YORK. Monday.

A time bomb, exploding in a teacher’s 
desk in a public school at Rochester, partially
wrecked the building and injured one
pupil, who was the only occupant at the
time. Pro-Germans are suspected. -  Exchange.
will have
- goodness
will. But
next year
we ask for
trism will
ly & disastrously 
ns will tear
the system to shreds.
For the Australian force here the
outlook is not Rosy rosy - Australia
 

9               64
Battalion in Gallipoli. He
gave me an account of his
battalions work wh ws on
/ whole very accurate, & with
just / right amount of appreciation.  

Really, he did it very
well, standing w his back to /
fire & dictating it like a speech.
He says that the men whom
the Germans captured at Armentieres
we’re actually cut off by a German
patrol between our own front

line & support line! It ws / first
night after we had been taken over
- & very dark. The front line has
now fallen to bits & is held in
isolated posts only. Apparently
/ wire is none too good. Anyway,
when we went in this time, relieving 
the 15^th Corps, the Germans were
everywhere at night. they used
to have regular posts or at any
 9      58
may manage to reinforce it
by ^ conscription yet. But if she doesn’t, I do
not think more than 3 divisions
will return to Australia.
Jan 2. Spent some time yesterday
editing “Aussie” with Phillip
Harris. The contributions to it
are not very good, so far, except
one splendid Glossary -
the Billjim Lexicon - from
Gellibrand. Visited the 43rd
Battalion at Locre - they have
a sort of public mess in the Convent
School House there. Major Farrell
has tried to get each man to give
some one article to the Australian 
War Museums. Treloar has got
Birdie to send a letter to every
man in the A.I.F. asking for
this.
Jan. 3.  Worked for a good while on
 

9        63
erect, he tells me. He thinks it 
got 300 yds behind / German
line - but this may be wrong).
Holmes had a tremendous 
respect for his infantry. As
he & Wellington watched the
5^th  Bde going out of Pozieres, 
about two thirds of its numbers
gone & / men worn terribly by
the long spell of 12 days in / line
- he sd: “There, Wellington -
what can you do tt is good
enough for men like that. Remember
that nothing you can do to
help them can equal what they
deserve.” (At least tt is something
near / actual words as Wellington
wrote them in his book).
Jan 4. ^Freezing bitterly Went to see “Jock” Milne.
Colonel of 36^th Bn - a hard
old Scotsman, from the 9^th
 9   59
“Aussie”  with Harris. J.B. Dally
has sent in a fairly right story; G
Roach (of the Anzac Book) another.
Capt. Wellington, 21st Bn, sent
me the M.S.S. of a book to read &
criticise. It is interesting but he will
find there is too much detail ^ in it for the
Censor during the war; & too little for
the public afterwards.
He was at Pozieres staff
Captain to Holmes. On arrival at
that old dugout at Contalmaison
they found Maclagan very worn out
by five sleepless days & nights.
Holmes wasn’t able to get round the
trenches as much as was his practice,
because of the written work tt had to be
done. But he paid some pretty “windy”
visits there to / line nevertheless. His
idea when he got there  ^ to / front line ws tt the men 
were too slack in sniping - nothing like
Gallipoli nor Fleurbaix. They were very fagged
& I think / officers  told him tt they did not
 

9       62
A propos of the 5^th  Bde at
Pozieres, Lt Mackenzies, 18^th 

Bn, now working for Smart in
London, tells me tt the German
dugouts in the trenches near /
Windmill, when captured, were
mostly shallow places with
concrete bursting layers & steel
rails on the roofs. Probably these
we’re old Artillery dugouts.
The trenched were very much 
knocked about.
On / night of Aug 5/6
Mackenzie with a patrol
went out down to Bapaume
Rd for a long distance until
they came close to the bldgs
of Courcelette (? or the Sugar factory)
without seeing any Germans.
The patrol walked down / road
 9     60
want to be over-active  as they
desired to keep their ^exact line a secret from
the enemy. The result ws tt Holmes
found the enemy exposing themselves
in a very bold manner to find
out where we were.  He got a
rifle &  sho had a shot at three
of them. He lay well up on / parapet
to do so. One dropped when he shot,
 & / other two ran. He dropped a second a
second of the three. But - I think
it ws on this occasion , (if not, on
a similar one in those few days) a
bullet spat against / earth quite
close by & made the General tumble
back as quick as he cd into /
trench. Holmes ordered / officers to see tt /
men were much more active in sniping.
On another occasion, when /
Genl ws up there, he noticed / German
S/bs out with great Red X flags. Our 
own people put up white flags on sticks
& went out to hunt for wounded too.
Holmes ws very much surprised & rang
up division to know what they thought shd be
 

This was sent to the “Aussie”. I gives
part of the real reason for the “No” vote.
The Truth
One loaf to three, is not to bad,
Providing it continues.
But if they get conscription, in, 
It will alter, all our menu’s,
The porridge, and dry ash, will fly,
The roast meat, and the spuds, 
And God knows how the stew will be,
If we get, Bill Hughes’s duds.
Pte H.. J. Gay
21st Batt H.Q.
A.I.F.

9   61
done. They answered tt nothing
o/ sort ws to be allowed - the
German Red + flag must be
fired at whenever seen.
The mess & officers in / front
line, however, wd never obey
these instructions, & Holmes did
not pass them on as a hard
and fast order. He left their
carrying out to / discretion
of those on / spot - & so
the merciful practice went
on. The British suspicion of
the Red + is the direct result
o / German disregard of it at /
beginning o / war. If / Germans
display it now, our people at
once suspect tt it is being used to
cover a relief.