Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/217/1 - August 1918 - Part 1

AWM38

Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/217/1
Title: Notebook, August 1918
Includes references to the 21st, 23rd and 24th
Battalions, Mont St Quentin, Beaurevoir and
Montbrehain.
AWM38-3DRL606/217/1
 

[*217  1

23Bn
Mt St Q. (right)
24 Bn
Beaurevoir
Mt St Q.

Montbrehain
21 Bn   "   "
             "   "
             "   "
21 & 24

( from almost
all / surviving  

No 3 *]
[* Typed -
405A - 429 *]
Original DIARY No. 217
AWM38 3DR 616 ITEM 217[1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914-1918
THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so —but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946. C. E. W. BEAN. 
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
 

23 Bn  Mt St Q.
The Copse ws I 20 B 3 . 9
31 Aug., ^∧ "D"  the  ^∧ front  rt coy of 23 Bn
occupied Florina trench without
difficulty.
Diagram - see original document
In / early morning
they had to sidestep out of
Florina into Gottlieb & Save trenches
if possible - it ws pretty well
known tt Save ws held by Germs.
Patrols were sent in /
small hours to Save trench & Gottlieb
to find if Germs. were there.   They
found tt both these trenches were
held by Germans.   In order to
get in they had to fight / whole
1
 

way.   It ws there tt McTear ^∧ Mactier got
his V.C.    5^th Bde were further
up in Agram or Galatz Alleys -
23 Bn later passed thro a number
of them.
The formation in Save & Gottlieb
ws to be / same as in Florina &
Prague trenches.   If Save cdnt be
occupied, one coy ws to go into
Kholm trench.
During / night / German
apparently had brought m.gs up into
positions close to these trenches.   The
gun in / Copse ws only abt 100
yds away firing directly down
/ road they had to cross - you
cd see / flash of it.   It ws just
grey dawn - he cd see the
23 Bn crossing / road.   Zero
ws just on the left.   3rd Divn went
2
 

over earlier at 5 - & / German
barrage dropped then on the

rt as well.   The coys sidestepped
betw 5 & 6 when it ws getting a bit
light.   D Coy lost 2 k & 3 wd
getting across / road - it ws not
more than abt 12 ft wide - one
man at a time wd cross it.   B Coy
had to fight up Gottlieb in order
to clear it & so you cd not
carryout / crossing quickly.
It ws exactly 6 a.m. when
/ last man crossed & entered /
J. O. T.   Our barrage dropped
at tt moment.   It ws on Mt St Q.
B & D went over / top in
line at once.   Just in front of
Save trench ws a lot of dense barbed
wire.   This combined w / intense
fire wh ws coming from Mt St Q.
3
 

right round to the rly from
almost every directn - These
cause the left Coy & half the rt
Coy to work further to / left & /
rest o / rt Coy to work further
to / rt.   The officers took it
for granted tt / whole ground
ahead ws held by / Germs & tt
there were isolated bodies of
5 Bde in / trenches ahead of
them - Galatz, Agram & so on.
The casualties were very
heavy on / right.   Lt. Holland lost

abt 50 per cent o / Coy in abt
¼ hr.   Entirely from m.g. fire -
prac. no shelling.   The rt advanced
until it got so hot tt those
who were left got down.
A Coy came up, getting
the same fire, & reinforced D  (rt half of D)
4
 

By this time they were abt
ahead of Agram Alley - past
a no of 5 Bde in trenches & were
past the Copse on / rt.
This ws abt 6.15.   Then they
saw 56^?  Bn. on their right.
They came along on the S. of the rly,
& a few on the N. of it.   In a
few minutes A Coy had lost all
its officers as it came up to
reinforce (it ws really / second line
in attack & now they formed /
one line).
Capt.  Moss       wd.
Lt         Griffin     wd
Lt         Claydon   k.
Lt         Love         wd.
Lt Holland had started with Lt Field
(wd day before) & Lt O'Connell - now
with / left party, - &  the other _∧ Lt Gabriel, also on / left
(both / latter were wd on Mt St Q).
5
 

So Holland ws / only offr now
left on / rt.   Just after A Coy
joined, some Germans - abt 20 -
advd a short distance w m.gs.
from abt / Aviation ground
(I 21 A 5. 8) - It ws very flat.
They were nearer than the huts
& they were stopped by our L.Gs
& rifle fire.   When these Germans
were forced down the line advanced 
again a short distance & then ws
stopped w m.gs.
There ws v. little cover - &
practically no shell holes - / Germs
had dug a few potholes in / right.
Holland saw it ws impossible
to pass over / open ^∧ (no one wd survive) so he passed
word along from man to man
to try & reach / huts at /
aerodrome by working round
6
 

to / rt.   14 Bde were fighting
in / woods at this time -
Lt Holland w a couple of
runners & abt 6 men reached
/ huts.  & found a number of
14 Bde men & officers scattered
amongst them.   They were there
moving from hut to hut for
shelter & ^∧ trying to find out what / positn 
was.
From there Lt Holland cd see
a pty of our men on / S. side
of Mt St Q.   M.g. fire ws still
coming from the NW & SE corner
of the Mt.   So / Germs still had
it.   H. sent a message back
to Bn from there.
The men on St Q. cd be
seen moving from the left apparenty
along a trench to / right at / is
7
 

edge o / village & then back
again - Holland w his 6
men tried to get across to Mt St Q
(The men swung a gun round
from 21 B 1. 5  & fired it
straight up / rd to / rt o /
village - they must have fired
40 or 50 shells).
They tried to get across abt
by / rd by Uber Alles trench.
2 of the 6 men were wd & it
cdnt be done.
Just abt when / gun
started to fire the Germs turned
arty on to / huts o /
aerodrome & what seemed
to be TMs from the Sugar Factory.
He ws trying to blow out the
77 for one thing.   The men stuck
to it & went on firing w / shells
8