Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/218/1 - August - October 1918 - Part 8

29 Bn.  Lt. Anderson as 'as the'  I.O.?

29 Bn Sept 29 ws in open

trenches at Hesbecourt.  Moved abt

7.30 aft. hot breakfast were

to be at assembly positn Villeret

at 9pm. Night had bn 

v. cold & wet.  Roads v. greasy

had bn misty rain but sun

came out brightly in morning.

Rd had bn reconnoitred

day before by Adjt. 1.0. &

an offr from every Coy.  Capt. ∧C.A.M. Derham

M.C. was in command.

The main diffy before

getting to Villeret ws / artificial

smoke.  There ws a dense fog

of it - you cdnt see a yard

ahead.  The arty put down smoke

on / flanks - & there ws a

screen produced at / guns

themselves - Bn thought it ws
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fog. In any low lying ground it

ws v. thick.

29 Bn moved in arty

formatn keeping black road

as a guide & met / fog

1000yds before Villeret.

When Bn got to Villeret they

halted & made it a closer

formatn to get thro / fog.

Still in arty formation, bringing

/ whole of the diamond formatn

in as close as possible -

Everyone ws waiting / word "go"

at Villeret & were found there

& got together.  It ws v. anxious

indeed.  There were guns at

Villeret.

Bn moved keeping gently t

the Black Rd as / centre of its

formation, but went round N side.
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of Quarry Wood.  There were

Americans there.  There were

plns coming out w rifles

slung over their shoulders,

walking back along / rd.  They

were asked & cdnt give any

information.  They sd /

fog had disorganised them.

They were without orders &

didnt know what to do.

29 Bn had a liaison offr

attd to / American Regt

& hadnt heard from him - 

they took it these were stragglers

& they went on w their job

wh ws to get to / green line

& start.  They also found

detached groups of Americans

left in shell holes not knowing

what to do; & also taking

cover in / black Rd.
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※ The smoke ws a blessing

at this period.  The Germs had

an O.P. in a tree near / tank

fort at Nauroy Wd wh might have

bn used - anyway if they

had seen / congestion they

wd have smashed into it.

 

29 Bn then realised tt these

were just a few detached men

& knew nothing - & so 29

pushed on.

Bn went along near /

black road to Bellicourt.

The road here ws a mass of 

men, engrs, tanks moving

up ※.  Before entering Bellicourt

they sent ∧several patrols into / village

to find what ws doing - Fog

still came down at intervals

as if drifting abt.  Patrols

reported tt several of our tanks

were in / village wh apptly

ws evacuated by / Germs; but 

tt arty fire & mg. fire ws

terrific from / left flank. By

this time 31 Bn (in support) ws
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 coming in rear & so increasing

/ traffic on / rd.  The 29Bn

sent anor patrol right thro

/ village to / E side.  They came 

back & reported tt they cdnt

see any Germs tho' a few

Americans were in a trench

imd E of Bellicourt.

It ws then decided to

put Bn right thro to / E side.

The order ws gn to Coys to get

thro to / E side & take up

positn in / trenches E in

order just to find cover, in 

4D & 10A.  The Bn Coys

went independently but all

got thro without casualties

thro 77 fire never ceased

& reported their locatn by runner

to Bn H.Q.
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Positn ws 400 yds E of

Bellicourt near / Black Rd

in 10 B.

They decided to do this

without waiting for informatn

from / Americans; & the Bn

liaison offr. w / American

117th Reft reported tt he

cd get nothing definite

bec. of disorganisation.

[2/Lt Pephley (liaison offr) scouted

abt till he found 29 Bn].  He

sd / positn ws v. obscure,

he didn't think any Americans

were in front of Bn.  He

 told Bn this before they sent

the Coys thro' Bellicourt.

They cd see tt fire ws being

concentrated on / village,

w engrs & pioneers making their
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way forwd there ∧to green line but hung up  -& tanks -

all lining up there - they

wd be in a nasty hole - so

they decided to go straight thro

& clear of Bellicourt at once.

HQrs ws at 10 Bn in trenches also.

They intended to go on to get

to / green line at 11 -

they still thought / Americans

were ahead, but m.g. fire

from Cabaret wood Fm 

ws terrific.  Tho'  117 Regt

had failed they still thought

other Americans must be 

ahead.

Tanks were to be met 

E of Bellicourt & O.C.

tanks reported there on time

Tanks were in / village.  From
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there, by plan, they were to

go on to / Green line to /

tanks leading in attack formatn.

When Bn got into this

positn ∧in 10 B in order to find out

what ws / strength of all /

rumours & decide from there

what ws to be done.

A patrol ws sent

out wh reported tt Nauroy

ws still held by / Germs.  While

it ws out several Americans

(one line of abt 20 skirmishers)

who had bn out in front, were

retiring at / double into

our line.  On being questioned

they sd tt there were any

amt of Germs in front &

/ left flank & tt no other of

their men were there.
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These Americans were a 

little W. of Nauroy - 

they must have realised

their positn by seeing Germs

as / fog cleared - & ran

back for safety.  They seemed

to be running from /

Bellicourt Nauroy Rd. across

to / trench in 10 D.

On receipt of infmn from

patrol of 2/Lt Williams (above

mentioned patrol) rooted some

Germans out of a dugout

at / point where the C.T. crosses

the Nauroy - Bellicourt sunken

Rd - it had bn a signal

Stn or dressing stn.

It ws then decided to

occupy / Le Catelet

Nauroy Line.  29 Bn had

no one on its left - they
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got word from 32 stating their

positn & tt they intended

pushing on .  (This message

reached 29 Bn an hour after 

it ws written)  32 Bn ws
pushing over to / rt S.

of Bellicourt - & it sounded

a long way to / rt.  They 29

had scouts out wh cdnt

find / left.  Nor cd they

find anything on / rt, but

this message settled their doubts

in tt directn.  (It ws sent

to 29 Bn).

At this time the 29 Bn

had m.g. fire & 77 fire coming

heavily from N: & cd see

a 77 gun firing on high ground

just in front o / wood NW of

Nauroy 11 D. 5 .9.
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