Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/215/1 - August - September 1918 - Part 4

Bank leading N.W. ? N.E. & each
pln had a pot at them as
they came out.
On this road were 11 trees
(marked on / map in 33c)
wh were a splendid guide.
The whole Coy ws lined out
along the road - a thin
belt of wire ws on the 
near side of it. They got
up the bank leading NE
from the lower rd to the
top rd & then dribbled
along / rd. Once they
got to / top o / bank /
German seemed not ready
for them, & did not fire
at first. But as they
lined along / road bank wh
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ws only abt 18 inches deep
the Germans waked up & put
kept up a very heavy m.g.
fire. You cdnt move.
There ws long grass ahead
- & it looked as if this wire
were / obstacle in front of 
/ trenches. But from / road
there cd be seen thro / grass
a very heavy belt of uncut
wire close eno to touch
apparently continuous from
there to / trenches. The first
dispositn report ws then
sent back - tt they were on /
rd but with very thick
impassable wire ahead.
This report having bn sent 
in a patrol ws sent along /
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rd to / left to get touch

w Wallace's Coy. W. had sent

saying tt he was going up there.
The patrol consisted of 3 men.
2 were k & 1 wd working
along / road onto / open.
It then turned out tt
where the bank is shown on /
map there is no bank.
Ws Coy had bn unable to
get actually onto it (but
ws lying up as close as it
cd get to it).
The L. Gunners at this stage
were doing wonderful work.
They burrowed under / German
wire & got their gun set
up under it. Then every time a
German gun opened up they
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tore into his parapet as
fast as ever they cd. This
meant tt they were constantly
going, & it kept / German
fire down a lot. They cd
see the guns. (Cpl. Greenwood
ws in/c of this team - & / men
were in fine spirits).
The previous arrangements
were tt / heavies shd
play onto the Hindbg outpost
line till 5 p.m. ^for 5 hrs after getting to / objve - this ws /
verbal instrns. to him Inst^d
of this they opened at 5 p.m.
The 46 Bn ws very close indeed
& had several casualties &
had to get out very quickly.
They came back & formed
along / sunken rd wh they
32 

were in before. This heavy gun
fire ws v. heavy. The
impression of the O.Cs. ws
as above. The arrangement
ws tt the heavies were to
play all day on / British
front not on ours - we were
warned to xxx watch for / heavies
on / rt flank. The field
guns (a bty of A.F.A.)
ws supporting 46 Bn.
They came up to just S.W of Heart
Copse & saw men moving on /
crest o / next ridge. They
unlimbered & had their 6
guns ready to fire when
someone told them tt / men
they saw moving were Germans.
They pulled out at once &
went 1000 yds back to
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E of Dean trench. They started
to fire from there & it ws
at least an hour before this
mistake cd be rectified. The
46 Bn's C.O. had asked for
fire from' wanted to get
these guns onto the rt
where it ws held up -
but this delayed it.
When 46 had got onto
45 Bns objve in / morng
they saw a team being
hooked into a gun on the
old Roman Rd over the
Hindenbg Outpost Ridge.
This must have bn a gun
from / valley wh had had
a horse hit on / way back
over / hill.
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There were also 2 horses
yoked to a gun behind a
bank in 32 A. One horse
was de had bn shot. The
field gun had overturned &
ws pinning down / other
horse wh ws alive - one
of our men shot him.
The new positn at
the Sunken Rd in rear ws
reported to Bn H.Q.
(The left ws in pot holes as
before the first last advance).
The plns had bn reorganised.
The Tommies were still
back on their second objve.
The gully to Pontruet had to
be watched - they knew tt /
Germs were strong in tt valley.
35 

Dark fell.
Abt 8 pm orders arrived
tt Bn wd attack under
a barrage at 11 p.m.
A Coy wh had bn in reserve
were to attack on /
rt & B Coy on / left.
(Lt Leith. DSO for this nights work)
B Coy had bn put in to
reinforce D Coy in / aftn.
Bn H.Q arranged for hot
rations, ammⁿ etc. but
these owing to casualties
etc did not reach the right
Coy till it ws forming up
at 10.40. Left Coy got
theirs ^abt 9.30 but rt Coy hadnt time.
The men had had a go at
their iron rations, but not
the hot food or tea.
36 

The barrage opened right
on time at 11 pm. 3 mins
on wire, 2 mins on 1st objve
(5 in all) , 5 mins on 2 objve
& then 15 mins on the
further saps.
With the barrage were 24
m.gs. wh opened onto the
2nd objve for 2 mins & then
beyond.
Dead on time came a
very heavy downpour of rain.
It ws exceedingly heavy & opened
with Zero.
One pln of D Coy ws to
mop up on / left & one pln
of C Coy on / rt.
B       A
___  ____
__       __
D         C
37 

They Coys xx organised during
the 3 minutes of fire on / wire.
Three quarters of an hour
before they had moved out
to form up on the road just
in front o / German wire
(wh is nearer to / rd than
on / map). Directly / 
barrage lifted. While it
ws on / first trench they
clambered thro / wire wh
had bn very little damaged
& ws still a good obstacle.
It ws still raining.
Then they hopped into
the trench xx(/ barrage lifted
onto / second trench by then).
The left Coy did exceedingly
well - they kept their organistn
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