Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/216/1 - August 1918 - Part 3

Hand drawn diagram - see original document.
He
threw a
bomb over
/ block,
rushed the block, got over / other
side - killed the crew (abt ½ dozen
lay dead) - captured / gun. The
next thing those behind saw ws a light
M/Gun tossed over /top.
He rushed forward across
a second block abt 30 yds behind
the first - thro a group of abt
20 Germs who put up their hands

as he went thro . Behind /
second block wh had very thick
barbed wire in front of it ws
another gun. He threw bombs
& killed the crew. He hopped
over / top in full view o /

Germans as / wire prevented
him from going on - & ws
shot there by a German gun
from very near by on / flank.  

He was after another gun, wh
ws farther up / same trench
when he ws killed. He ws not more
than 5 minutes from first to last,
The patrol unit pushed
forward under Lt Dixon DCM 
rear & they mopped up / trench
- there were a lot of dugouts
& Germans about & came on
/ Germs he had left behind him.
They must have got 40 or 50 
prisoners.
Some o / Germs moved back
towds DX.  Lt Jenkins got onto
them there w a L.G. & estimates 
abt 10 hit & 30 or 40 getting away.

B Coy moved then straight
across onto the JOT. with 
D following them.

C Coy followed by A moved 
down in rear of the two others.

The movement of / men
across / road ws very hazardous
- each man had to make a 
dash for it.  Several were hit
there.
Xxx Within a minute
after the 2 Coys got into
their J.O.T. they had to

jump off - as soon as Lt Jenkins
had got his men together
he pushed off.
The 14^th Bde were moving
in to Florina Tr just as
23^rd Bn moved off. They
were there on time.
 22

 

^.X^. As they came over / top towds
Elsa trench they came under M/g.
fire from / aerodrome - & sniping
fire from the mount. This got hotter as
they got towds Elsa tr & just
before getting in they had to hurry.
In Elsa trench ws a mixture of
various Bns of 5^th Bde - bits of
7, 19 & 20 Bns. The 23 Bn crossed
Elsa trench - keeping on - & round /
right of the hospital (Lts Short Addison
& Jenkins were there) wh ws behind 
/ small wood on / S.W. side o / rd. They
They were getting fired on from / sugar
Factory & from the mount, & had to

be withdrawn to Elsa tr_x

(Zero ws at 6. am in order to
allow for this. But The
drizzle & dullness o / morning
ws 'a saving' condition - it
ws a good morning for / attack).

23 Bn moved up / slope

at walking pace - without

many casualties. to Elsa tr

(B & C.)  ^.X^.

On the rt were D & A w
14 Bde on their right.

Part o / rt Coy & support
fought their way to / aerodrome
at I 21 A 7.4.
[The Germans had run out
of the trenches DH back into the Copse.]
At the Aerodrome they were
stopped - abt 11 am. It ws accly
decided to harrass Mt St Q.

with artillery fire - intense

from 1 pm to 1.30pm
Telephone commn ws
established into Elsa tr soon after
they got there. (They got there abt 6.30)
The right of 23Bn came to abt ½ way
betw.  Gott mit uns & Leber Alles

t. There ws no sign of the
5^th Bde in Leber Alles or
Gott mit uns. Gott mit uns ws
strongly held but a slight
dip had protected the 2 left

Companies from this on getting
into Elsa tr. As Coys went
towds / hospital these two guns
opened but / cover ws fairly

good - the Bn had worked round
a trench. The main

resistance ws from / centre o / 

village, not from Gott Mit uns.
25
 

26

Hand drawn diagram - see original document.

There were no Germans in
the N. part of Leber Alles tr

(but there were in the S end
- who had got in by / rty as

above stated). The 5^th Bde
were holding Elsa tr round to 
where Leber Alles joined it.

They might have used it /
day before as a C.T. (because

their rations were sent up &

dumped at / S. end of this
tr &  / Germs. got these. - 23 Bn

got some. Rt of 23 Bn ws between
Leber Alles tr junction with Elsa
& the Xrd from Mt St Q to factory
& Aerodrome. Gott Mit Uns
ws a few paces beyond /
Road. The 23 Bn when it crossed
Elsa tr got to the wall wh
ws on the S. side o / Copse -

27
 

There were a couple of cleared
tracks thro / copse & these
were covered w m.gs. from
the huts in / hospital.

Elsa tr ws packed with
dead of 5^th Bde.
The orders came up on 

phone from Bn. tt harrassing
fire wd be on St Q. from 11 am
till 1 pm & intense from 1 pm
to 1.30. The H.A. & RHA 13 pdns
(16^th Bty) did excellent shooting.
23 Bn ws to attack
S. half of village; 2 Coys
21^st Bn to work thro N.
half. At / same time 24 Bn
attacked N o / village (but
part actually worked thro the 
N part of / village) The men

took very few prisoners.
 28
 

This attack ws made
over / open by three parties.
They filed out o / tr & went
out in artillery formation. There
ws no fire on the right party.
Before / rd ws reached
on / left there were Germs in
the brick ruins S.W. of the 
big cliff like mound of the mount.

As our men got onto them
they jumped up & tried to

surrender or else bolted
back  S. of the mou into /

centre o / village. They had
to cross / road & a lot were
shot there.
Across the NE side o /
rd a lot of light M.G
posts were met. 21 ws

going for the high part, 23 went
29

30 
Hand drawn diagram - see original document.

to the rt of this. On / top
of / steep were a number 
of Dugout w heavy guns

mounted. This ws abt where
23 met 21. The Germs didnt 
fight there. They ran back thro
/ village & / wood. ^※ The 
right crossed the 3rd class track
^{to Peronne} ^ wh crosses the top of Mt S. Q. -

& reached Koros trench ( The
Attack as shown on sketch - 
I 16 A 55.30 was the block).
for Rt flank it ws requested
tt one Coy 22Bn shd be

Estabd in Gott mit uns tr.
This ws done. The Germans
had cleared from there in this
attack - these Germs fired on rt o / 

attack wh got 3^^light mgs. out of this

trench & shot a few Germans.
^※. In this attack ab 23 went thro / village / Germans seemed to

swarm back from the edge of Peronne (the left edge)towards St
Denis.

31

 Abt 10.20 a mine ws
blown near the N. of the Aerodrome
& Gott Mit Uns tr - it ws
at / time thought tt it had
blown some men up - it
ws proby on / light rly.
L^{t WJ} Claydon. A Coy killed in / village
sniped - durg / aftn.
2/L^t C.H. Ledward ^{B Coy} (first arrd from

Australia) killed by a shell in 
/ village durg / aftn

( d of wds).
A Capt Moss. during first advance on 
right & towd rear Anvil wd
Lt H. Field. 31^st Aug (as above)
Lt Griffin (with Moss)}  Same time
Lt Love (with Moss).  }   as Moss.
Lt O'Connell - in aftn in / village
Lt A.F.H. Gabriel - in morning with right
towd Anvil wd.
Lt Holland - organising for 2nd attack
Capt Addison. ROD
32