Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/216/1 - August 1918 - Part 6

After Cappy. 27/28?

Aug 19.  22 Bn.

22 Bn reld 10 Bn at Cappy

when went into line tt night

the Gen. Robertson sd: I want you

to report tomorrow mg. tt / line

is a mile ahead.

The German ws holding as

m.g. posts. The Bn _^ patrols wd creep up

to a trench not knowing if /

Germans were there. Sometimes

/ Germs were there & sometimes

not. As the part patrols got

to a place they wd send back

a report & the front line

& supports wd have to move

up. As soon as this happened

they _^ patrols wd push on again.

An outstanding adva. feature of the
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sort of work ws the sending of

reports to flanking units

so tt they cd get their patrols

ahead.

This night Lt _^ H.M.M. Wall, M.C. ws

killed. Wall ws at / landing in

6 Bn. ws wd studying for the

Church before he enlisted.

He went back to Aust. wounded

& returned w a commission

just after Ypres. He got into

a trench from the head of a C.T.

The Germans were occupying the

trench & they shot him. Several

men were k tt night.

Dompierre ws in front of

them tt morning just beyond

themselves & 24 Bn. It ws in

24 Bn sector & both went thro it
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There were 2 field guns in

Dompierre, 77 guns. They

were close to / trench.

They had seen the Germs trying

to get them away but had

bn stopped by the L.Gs. The

Germs put charges in / muzzles

& spoilt them. Now in

Aust War Museum.

Next m.g. the Gen

rang up & sd Bn ws to go

on again. The Bn HQ ws

moved up by / two guns.

The Bn went on for Herbecourt -

The Bn went on ahead

for Black Wood. The Bn went

in extended order & the one signaller

took a lamp on his back

& ws signalling back all the

time to Bn HQ wh cd see them

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throwing their bombs into

/ trenches. Bn Hq signalled back &

got a whisk of m.g. bullets at once. They were signalling

straight at / Germans. They got to Black Wood. Then

they were _^ Lt Chalmers Coy ws sent on - Herbecourt

we knew ws held - had seen

/ flares there. They mopped up

one or two parties in the

trench they were going up. When Lt

L.G.A. _^ Good, D.C.M & his party of abt 2 dozen had

they got ½ mile ahead /

Germans came at them

out of a parallel C.T. abt

120 yds away on / left.

There ws a very brave

German offr who jumped up

to lead this attack, came

straight for our company, &

shot one man thro' / brain

w his revolver & ws k. (L/Cpl

W. Layburn MM

The Coy beat off this attack

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wh ws by the Kaiserin

Augusta Guards Regt.

There ws a guardsman

found under a sheet of tin
- a deserter. He sd he had had

4 brothers k. & tt / war ws

lost. The _^ main body of guards had left

Dompierre at 12 midnight

/ night before & wd, he thought,

leave Herbecourt at midnight

the next night.

That happened. 22 Bn

tested it by pushing on.

Where the post of Goode's pty

ws there were splendid dugouts

of a balloon sectn where Hqrs

were placed. (This same day

18 Bn ws seen going through in

open on left)

G.O.C. that afternoon sd

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tt they must attack again

at dawn. All 23 ws going thro

21 as 21 ws done. At 2 a.m.

they lined up & went on -

The German front ws silent.

They went on into / German

trench & finding them empty they

pushed patrols out to Flamicourt

by 5 a.m.

7 Bde cam thro at 7.30 am.

The cookers were up in / firing

line at Herbect that morning.

That morning the Bn went into

trenches at Mereaucourt.

Casualties were 4 or 5

a day - / first day abt 20, 6 or

7 k. The outstanding feature of this

ws the fatigue of it. Each evg abt

4 pm when he withdrew his guns /

German used to empty his dumps

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onto map squares.

It ws v. necessary for

officers to know how to read

maps as there were very few

features & a maze of old trenches -

some on / map; some not.

But they cd use visual

signalling & telephones held as

there ws no shelling. But / man

going ahead never knew whether

he ws going to be blown out

round / next corner. At Black

Wood / Germans opened fire too

soon, & showed tt they were

there, & Bn ws able to get round

without running onto them.

(Cpt. Cannon w L/G. knocked

out 5 of / Germs. in the c/attack

from the parallel trench).

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Diagram - see original document
 

Herleville Aug 19.

?14^th Aug

22 Bn took over from 19^th Bn &

2 Bns of 5^th bde  one Coy of 28 - the maze

ws just on their right front.

7 & 5^th had advanced / line.

The morning after the relief

ws very quiet. The C.O. & Gordonman

got a fine collection of papers

(Divl orders) out of Rainecourt -

Rainect ws shelled tremendously

heavily just after.

The German ws giving

3 Divn a very bad time.

Bn H.Q. ws at / head of /

Gully with Col. James Hqrs &

m.g. fire used to come straight

up / gully.

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Diagram - see original document

This ws / positn when orders

were gn to take Herleville.

24 Bn ws to push forwd

half its line, fading off from

Herleville. 22 Bn ws to

take the rt of the Road & 24

Bn left of it - the two to

take the outskirts of Herleville.

There ws a line of trenches running

just in / outskirts o / town.

They were to get this & join

w 23 Bn in / Vermandovillers

line at / Crucifix. This ws  The

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previous nights the Bn had pushed

on 400 to 500 yds every night.

The country ws very flat, few

shellholes, very few trenches.

The ground in wh 23 Bn worked

ws nearer / old French front

line & they had country in

wh there were trenches & shellholes.

But / ground on the left ws

different; & Col. James & 24 Bn

had same sort of ground as 22.

[Egerton - Lt, D.S.O. M.M & Bar

who had just come back from

commanding the Australian pln

in Paris, (July 14), ws k there

sitting on / parapet at night before

this fight].

Front of Bn ws over ½ mile.

The strength ws only 130 men. This
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