Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/222/1 - August - September 1918 - Part 7

the rump by a premature

from an 18pdr.
They then got on to 
the ridge S of Cerisy where,
waiting for Smiths guns to 
fire, they had 3 slight
casualties from m.gs.
They had no more
until they were sitting
in / Sunken Rd opposite
/ German transport lines
where reserve Coy of 1B
Bn ws. (The diagonal
rd w white bank thro
Sq. 23.)  In / forming
up positn they were
being hit up by the
whizz bang fire ( wh we
saw). Then in the valley
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/ other side m.g. casualties
began. The men were in
cases hit by direct hits
by the German shells. After
sending 3 runners to find
48 Bn Capt Aarons went
across himself up / road.
The officers o / tanks wh
did get ahead were splendid
sports. They simply sd.
where do you want us –
& off they went.
Lt Rogers ws killed in / 
diagonal Sunken Rd before
Bn went over / top by whizz bang
fire.
Lt Moors d. of wds received
on the rt during the advance
to / Bray line.
61

Capt Ahearne on Rt (B Coy)
ws wd within 300yds
of where Bn dug in –
just when sorting everyone out
for  final assault – before
reaching Bray trenches.
Lt Sparrow}

Lt Piercy    }  wd on /.
left by m. g. fire as they 
were getting towds Mericourt.
Lt Devenish ws hit in /
front line just after getting
his 2 tanks there.
Capt Cook ws wd on 
the Chipilly Ridge in liaison
w / Britsh Bde.  He
ws up w / troops.
These are all / casualties
worth noticing amongst / offrs.
that day.
 62

Linus ought to have bn wd –
he ws reported wd. remained
on duty. He ws in/c of the 
tanks.
Linus ws sitting by / driver.
Some man came from/ tank works machinery
& ws giving saying something in his
ear. He didn't hear what /
man sd at / moment. He himself
ws telling / driver to turn to
/ right. The man went away.
There ws a direct hit after
this & then Linus remembered
tt / driver man had bn
saying tt everyone ws k or
wd.  The tank Linus got
out o / back o / tank as
he ws afraid tt / petrol
wd catch.  Just the a shell
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hit / back o / tank & 
blew up / box of bombs wh
ws in / tank. Then two of
our men of 16 Bn came up 
& helped to get out /
driver who ws unconscious.

Linus ws covered w bullet
splinters. (lots of tank men
have ben blinded by splinters
& most of them have chain
mail visors inside / tank.)
———

16 Bn Tanks (From Capt Lynas
who led them)
There were to be 9
but by Morcourt there were 
only 4.
At Dudgeon wd they
cdnt get up / hill on / 
E side & so went thro
Morcourt.
The village ws not
taken then and our own heavies were
still straffing it.  We waited till 10.20 – &
then went along the same Sunken
road as Devenish later took,
to Morgan Wood. At
tt time Bradley ws I.C. of
the Bn. The men had to get into /
tank in 8n Morcourt _^because there ws a 
lot of m.g. fire from
Chilpilly & / swamps, so
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/ tanks had to be
loaded w men.
They got up to
Morgan Wood & Linas
saw Bradley _^(int.offr of the Bn.) He sd
tt / infy were ready
to move off & tt 13
Bn on / slope ahead
were getting a lot of
trouble from Germ mgs
& snipers & all their
tanks had bn knocked
out.
The tanks went
over at 10.25 ( time
shd have bn 10.20)
The tanks going
down tt valley had a
very hot time from
guns in / trees at
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/ bend o / river.
In the Sunken Rd
at / bottom o / valley
they got 100 Germans

who never fired a shot.
As those in / road were
not – massacred, others
came from little holes
around –  & they
were driven back up
/ road to our outposts.
–  you open the front doors
o / tanks & wave them
on.
All the 4 tanks were 
still alright –  they had
bn hit by m.g. but
not yet by shells, though it
ws very hot work.
67

68
They now shepherded these 100 Germs
back down / road –  firing a burst of
Hotchkiss if anyone broke from / rd –
wh soon at once brought them back well in
hand & delivered them to 13 Bn. The
tanks then turned. It ws a choice of
direction –  to go up over / hill towds
Mericourt / objective or to go towds Mericourt.
The way over / hill ws hopeless, so
Lynas took his tanks straight down
/ hill side North wds along  the Grid
line to 17 central & then turned NE
up / Mericourt Rd. The guns on /
N side o / river (abt 11 A 4 . 0) cdnt
see them there & they worked along /
road to 12 C . 2 .7 where they must
come out again in  plain view o /
guns at abt 700 yds range. This wd
have bn fatal. So Lynas here  directed
–  the tanks follg him to turn. Lt Garretts
tanks turned round & ws hit 500 yds on /
road back, near a fallen German aeroplane.

Some of his men were
wd & burnt but all
got away. Lt Liddstra took
his tank up / hill towds /
objective. It ws
hit abt / same time 
as Garrett's. Some
o / men were burnt
in tt tank, at abt
12 C 8 .I. Lt Minchin
drove straight up
to abt 12c. 8.4
& then right up / 
hill to / objve. He
emptied his load
in / Bray trenches
& then his tank ws
knocked at abt 13A. 8. 8.
(A wd man ws sd to be taken from
this tank 2 nights later).

Lynas tried to follow Minchin
but as he got to / old Bray
trenches his tank ws hit ( abt
12D 2.3.  by a shell wh went thro'
/ top o / tank & failed to
explode. It k 2 & wounded
10 with lumps of cast iron
knocked off / tank.
Lynas passed word
for a couple of men to get out w
a m.g. – all / men were very
faint w / heat & / shock. He himself
ws half fainting by this time,
They passed around a sector
of the old trenches, word being gn by L. for
a couple of men to get out at various
69

intervals, to abt 18 B 7.5.
They there got a 2nd knock
which set fire to / petrol tank
& blew it off / tank. The
driver sd tt he wd have to
make a run of it from here
or his tank wd become a 
casualty. They accordly turned &
made a dive to the bank rear side
o / hill & reached / bank at 18 C 5.5.
where / tank finally lay. Lynas then
crawled back thro' / tank to see how
things were. For / first time he then found
tt / men whom he had ordered to 
drop out o / tank at / various
posts had collapsed & fainted thro / heat

L. crawled out of / tank (they were too faint
to push open / doors but he crawled out
at the top o / tank. Some men of C Coy
16 Bn came up & helped the personel
of the tank. They found tt / driver
had meantime fainted. Every man
when helped out o / tank collapsed
(L. himself cdnt stand & had to be
helped). The m.g. fire outside / tank
ws ae heavy but they cdnt move.
They carried / men, or helped them, to
a bit of sunken ground & there they 
had a spell for an  hour or more. 
Later, Devenish's tanks came up &
D led them ( by / route marked) on my
70