Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/218/1 - August - October 1918 - Part 7

From there onwds Bn ws
completely in / air - cd
see none of our people at
all & no Yanks.  There
were Germ m.gs. occasionally
& 77s firing point blank.
They didnt clear.    We got / guns.
They wd fire till Bn ws 300
or 400 yds away & then
throw it in.   They hadnt
their teams.   Most o / men
were captd.   There ws more
m.g. fire than 77.   Bn
had to get down & advance

by rushes  a good 2000 1500 yds
towds / end - They got these
m.gs. & left them behind.
All of a sudden as
Bn got to G 30 A 7.4 they found
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infantry coming up out of a
dip & found they were /
Leicesters.   This ws a gt
relief.   They knew where
they were & were O.K.
Magny only gave a little
m.g. fire.   The Adjt & 
Liaison offr (Lt Hardy &
Lt Morpeth  31 Bn) got out
alone there & took abt 30
prisoners & 2 ^∧ field guns.
W. knew by now tt there
ws no one on his left.
He had put / Yankees
on his rt before seeing /
Leicesters (they Americans were under
a major)   The Leicesters were
v. good all / way thro.
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Another Bn of 32 Divn
leapfrogged near Magny
& 32 kept touch w this
other Bn.    Bn ws getting
pretty weak from m.g. fire.
At this stage, on /
Lehaucourt Ridge,  Bn cd have
got on indefinitely itself
if there had bn / men.   The
troops were v. tired.
From / advanced positn
W. sent over ^∧ one of his offrs as liaison offr
to find / positn o / other
Bns.    He found 31 at
abt G 24 A. 3. 9.    He had an
idea before as to where these
troops were knowing where
they ought to have bn.
31 had instrns to keep behind
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At extreme point / Germs cdnt
be seen.   They were through /
Germs.
Bn advanced abt 9000 yds.
32 all / way looking after 
his rt flank in case
anything went wrong w /
Americans.   But as Leicesters
were on rt  31 Bn eventually
took left.
Before W. knew where
31 was he brought back
flank by swinging back
2 Coys along 2000 yds
to Etricourt    Strong patrols

were pushed out once this
line ws formed & a 
few prisoners taken.   
Diagram -see original
The British
were on their
final
objve.
32 ws
practically on
its final objve.
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The 2 coys did not get touch
w 31 - but eventually
on falling back so as to
straighten line from Brit
flank from ^∧ to Etricourt they
joined up w 31 near
Etricourt
Diagram -see original
At 5.30 / Germs c/attacked
from Mill Ridge wh rather
looked down on them - This
looked like an attack by abt
400 men.   It ws / remains
of a regt (so a prisoner taken
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next day sd.   It looked 
as if they were trying
to get in behind our own
left.   They were broken up
by rifle or mg fire before
they got (any of them) to
500 yds.
That ended tt day.
A few prisoners strayed in tt night.
Sept 30.  Bn attacked without
arty & without tanks
& got / line S of Jancourt
to Sunken Rd  300 yds
N. of Etricourt.   They got abt
13 prisoners  2 m.gs. &  2 mwfrs.
At dusk they went on
another 400 yds.   The
Germs didnt show much movement
but m.g. fire ws v. heavy
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Oct 1.    6.am.    Attack  +  one Coy
of 30 Bn.   (2 Coys assaulting;
1 Suppt, & 2 reserve)  &
got / Mill ridge line wh ws
/ objve.   There ws no hand
to hand fighting - just heavy
mg. fire - Germs cleared
out as we advanced we

had few casualties.
Battle patrols were
then pushed thro Jancourt
where they got 7 prisoners, a
4.2 gun & a team wh
ws trying to get it away.
They captd / horses & / men.
Bn then formed a line
outside / village in a
drain wh they manned.
Later tt mg. they handed
over as far as the Swiss Cottage
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Rd to / Lancs Fusiliers &
joined 31 Bn at H 9 A 2.4.
There ws v. heavy m.g.
fire all day (The Lancs Fusiliers
attd tt night aftn abt 4 pm
& made a line along the
Rd from Swiss Cottage to Jancourt.
17 Bn retd at midnight
on Oct 1/2.
Capt Rogers K.    (as above)
Lt Sinclair K.    in Rogers Coy in
same attack.
by piece of shell in / stomach.
Lt Tench ws K. near Bellicourt.
He ws QM. reconnoitring
for rations tt morning. K.  by a shell.
                     (   Lt  Ayliffe
Wd              (   Lt  Walker
on Sep 29  (   Lt  Carne
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Bn  took  20 guns  -
1.    5.9
6.   4.2
13.   77s
________
20   guns.
Over  30  m.gs
Abt  250  prisoners
8  5  3in  m/wfrs.
 3 German field guns were got into
action   Lt. Lucas used to be in /
arty.   He w Lt Crain got this
gun onto a Tank gun / first day
& silenced it.   Then they in turn
(after getting off abt 30 rounds)  were
silenced by a Germ gun  -  wh
put a shell right onto their gun.
They were firing at a gun on /
Slopes of Mill Ridge abt H 7 D.1.7.
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On Oct 1.   We got into action
2  .  4.2 guns (arty liaison
offr - Lt Brady, some of his signallers
& some of 32 Bn)  during day.
They got off abt 50 rds.
These were amongst those
just NE of Etricourt.
The open flanks were /
chief difficulty.   Precautions had
bn taken abt / flanks but they were
completed in rain.
The M.O. placed his aid post
at G. 18. C 7. 8   N. W of Etricourt
where he ws completely isolated
& out of touch w Bn.
On Sept 30 while he ws
fixing up / aid post & tracks
etc.  the Germs opened  4 m.gs
on him from / Sugar Factory.
^∧ On 1st day Doctor ws 2500 yds from /
front Coy & yet ws in / line.
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