Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/216/1 - August 1918 - Part 4

The right had bn brought back
(after 53 Bn went thro) for
the aftns attack from Elsa
trench. Holland ws wd on /
way up. O'connell took
his place & ws aftwds wd in
/ attack in / aftn.
In / morning going up
the 53 & 54 Bns halted to
pick up their guides in the
Lost Ravine. They came in
for a very heavy barrage there.
The Germans Bns came in for
a very heavy time & Lt
Shearwood ws (Int. Offr. of
one of these Bns, late 21 st Bn) ws
k. standing in / doorway.
These dugouts were all
known to / germans &
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both this place, & the dugouts
in / Quarry S. of Mt St Q.,
& the Quarry NE of Anvil
Wood were heavily shelled
by / Germans.
In objective 6 Bde ws
heavily shelled w gas shells,
Esp. 24 & 21 on top of hill.
The German ws for / first time
in these Bn's Experience
exploding gas shells in /
air - 77s. They exploded like
shrapnel. He ws using other
shells as well. (The Germans
used them in this way in
order to vaporise better).
The men had to wear masks
a gt part o / time. On
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Sept 2. the 7^th Bde went
thro'.
After 6 Bde settled down
there ws flat ground for 800
yds betw. there & / road.
The German ws occupying
St Denis. There ws a trench
system beyond / road from
wh there was very intense
m.g. fire. The Germs held a little
copse beyond his road, & also
the line o / rd & trees itself -
The 23 went down 200 or 300 yds
down Koros alley. Germs held /
lower end o this trench.
When 26 Bn went thro at
dawn on 2/9/18 they got v.
heavy m.g. fire from the trench
system round St Denis, & from
the road (not from St. D itself).
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26 Bn attacked (as shown on
map) - they were very badly cut
up going over / open. They
got in well at / end of Koros
alley, near / rd; & a post
of one of their Bns (28?) in
St Denis sent back to
Jenkins to say they were
Estabd there but needed
support from the troops in
Koros alley on / left, if it cd
be gn them. Of course it
ws too difficult for any
attempt to be made to help
them from there. That triangle
was very deadly.
———
The Whizzbang gun in / aerodrome
by Anvil Wood had bn firing
36 36
 

on Florina trench the day
before. When 23 Bn ws in
Florina this gun ws shooting
there. This fired right up
till / morning.
At the time when 23 Bn
Ws under / wall at / hospital
it cd not have seen / Germans
mustering for c. attack S. of
M St Q where the 53 Bn fired into
them w this whizz bang. Some
hedges on their rt front wd
shut this completely out.
———
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23 Bn. Beaurevoir
& Mt Brehain.
———
23 Bn. Bn ws on rt of
Bde in the Oct 3 advance.
1st Oct. Moved from Tincourt
to Etrecourt Villeret by route march.
Got there abt 3 p.m. Oct 1st.
At 5.30 pm. read orders
to go up to near Etricourt
(H 13 A) & there act as reserve
Bn in suppt of 5 Bde.
whole Bn stayed there
till Oct 3. They did not get /
Gas shelling on night of 2/3 but
tt night when / heavy guns
were being put in / Germ
planes came over very low,
m/gunning & bombing. No
men lost.
38
 

On Oct 3. abt 9 am. one
Coy ws sent up into the Sunken
Rd betw Joncourt & Estrees.
Abt noon the other 2 Coys
were sent up to occupy /
Beaurevoir Line from 3 B to
4 C. This line ws only
6 or 8 inches deep w small
potholes. To left where 22 were
it had bn dug deeper.
Bn H.Q. moved up to
near 18 Bn HQ at H 8 D. 9. 4.
Abt 3.50 p.m. got telephone
from G.O.C. 5^th Bde to say tt
Bn wd take part in an
attack at 4.15 pm. with
objective the high ground from
the Copse in B 23 C (inclusive)
to B 30 A 5. 97.
39
 

The whole o / instrns were gn
by phonee - no written message
This meant a hurried
consultation of O.C.s Coys
in the Sunken Rd at A Coy Hqrs.
Before the Coy Commdrs had
arrived (abt 4.13) Maj.
Beith got a verbal message
tt / show had bn indefinitely
postponed. This ws probly
on acct of other Bns being unable
to get up. the time for 23 Bn
wd certainly have bn too short.
It ws 4.7 before C.O. cd get to
meeting place.
However, arrangements
were made ab / conference
in case / show came off.
A 6.10 pm. a further message
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ws recd to say tt / attack wd
come off at 6.30pm. It ws
then only necy to let O.C.s
know zero hour-
At Zero the move ws made
[diagram-see original document]
(They were 3 Coys on acct of proposed
breakup of 21 Bn).
At 6.40 the barrage began.
(This ws to give them a chance
of getting to / barrage line).
The move ws made in arty
formatn w a screen of scouts -
behind /. barrage they opened into
extended order.
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The 5 Bde ws on a scattered line
of wh nothing very definite ws
known. They had had heavy
fighting earlier. 23 Bn passed
thro small parties of 5 Bde
Practically no enemy ws
met w on this move. The whole
thing went out by time table -
telephone ws carried behind /
leading wave. As soon as they
got to their objve (7.30 to 7.35)
word came thro on / telephone.
it ws v. dark. The positn ws
as far as possible verified on /
phonee & it ws decided tt they were
on their objve. There were no
casualties during / move. One
[diagram-see original document]
pln of A Coy
ws sent to each
- B & D, on objve.
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