Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/224/1 - August - October 1918 - Part 6

thro / rly yard towds / stn
(NE wds).  Our L.Gs & Vickers
Guns got onto them & swept them
down & scattered them in
all directions.
At / rly stn ws a 77 gun
wh went on firing all day till
it ws removed at dusk.  We
silenced it w snipers at 
times.
Several patrols as soon
as they arrived at / swamp
tried to cross the Causeway
to Flamicourt - but / Germs
held they rly stn v. strongly w
m.gs. & it ws impossible to
cross it.  The first attempt ws
just at / time when our
L.Gs got onto / German pty.
The German m.gs. cd fire right
49
 

from Flamicourt Station up to /
Square.
In / Street next to SW of
the rly Street, a Sergt Bartier w
a mopping up pty looked
into a house & found a German
offficer, & a pty of abt 20 men,
w mugs of coffee poured out
before them.  The offr asked if
he cd finish his coffee &
invited / sergt to join - wh
he did.  The Germs were
then marched off.  Our men
finished their coffee.  It w
The 54th Bn had had no
breakfast owing to / rush
w wh they had pushed off
from / rendezvous.
__________
Patrols were sent along /
NE end o / town & cleared
50
 

the houses on / S. side o /
main Rd there.  But Capt
Downing & Capt Mitchell decided
not to occupy / N. part o /
town as they only had 120
men altogether for over a
mile of front & / whole town.

__________
They started w abt 240 but ½ were
by this time hit.
They then made their
line (1) Post on S.E. end of
causeway from Quinconce
(2) in centre of town
where this X Rd ran into it
(Capt Wilkins took a photo of
this)
(3) At the far S.E. Corner
o / same street.  (These at
night went down to / Flamict.
51
 

Causeway to prevent a Xing.
(4) Another 300 yds S.W.
down / bank o / swamp.
(5)  at / first Bristol Bridge.
(6)  at the Rly Bridge.
These posts were estabd after
Bn had reorganised & remnants
of A & D Coys had bn withdrawn
under Lt Hervey & Lt Macgregor for a sleep.
near / cemetery by Quinconce.
(Abt 50 men were now garrisoning
Peronne - C20, B 30 -)
There ws no attempt at c/attack.

_____________
The Germs filtered into the
NE end o / town during /
night & were seen fixing
up m.gs. there during aftn
abt 5 p.m.
______________
Sept 2.  There ws another
operatn next day carried out
53
 

by 58 Bn assisted by A Coy. 54 Bn.
in which the remainder o / town
ws cleared & occupied.
Our barrage for this attack
blew out part of A Coy before
they got into / fight, & wd
part of a post in / town &
inflicted a n. of casualties on
58 Bn coming thro / town from
directn of Bristol Bridge.
Cpl Hall carried out a badly
wd man thro this barrage &
got him attended to & then
went back to  his post.
__________
Abt 100 prisoners were
taken out of / NE end o /
town tt mg. w m.gs. &
some [[mwfrs?]].  There ws not
heavy fighting this day.
53
 

The further island of town
(genly known as / Ramparts)
ws cleared also by 54 Bn
& a man ws k up there -
Cpl Hall had this patrol;  but
/ Germs got back into it again.
That is / part they got back
into (as mentioned above).
__________
[That must explain how
Mann 56 Bn ws able to get to /
positn which he reached first mg.]
In this second operatn
Lt Adams ws wd. on Sept 2
Lt Small ws wd in clearing
the SE part o / town on Sept 1
Capt Mitchell ws wd at a / X rds
in / centre o / town by a m.g.
bullet from / rly stn on first
morning abt 11 a.m.  Some Germs 
54
 

cd be seen filtering back
into / town & a m.g.
ws to be fixed up to deal
w them.  Downing & Mitchell
had just bn arranging this.
These Germs got back only into
/ Ramparts end o / town - &
not into / main town.  (The
Germs came back abt midday -
not as stated above, later)
In / night a W.O.
of Ordnance [[attd?]] to Bde from DADOs
& [[2ndn?]] bicycled into / town
w gas helmets for 53. Bn
They showed a light on the
Flamicourt [[?eyar?]] river front,
having lost their way - &
got a burst of m.g. fire.
One of our posts halted them on
55
 

/ embankt.  It ws very quiet
indeed tt night - till next
day.
15 Bde reld 54 on
night of 2nd.
Another 77 ws tn in / rd
abt 27D 2.7.  The gunners were
lying dead by it, k. by
m.g. fire from our men.  The
gun had bn recently fired.
Bn ws abt 110 strong
on coming out - lost abt 130.
Bn picked up a dog on /
way in - he attached himself
to / Coy & came w them
to / moat - a big French
dog.  He ws running up & down
amongst / bullets.  He
ws missed later.  He cdnt make
out / bullets.
56
 

The C.O. claimed abt 600 prisoners[[shorthand]]
& 60 odd m.gs.  Receipts
were obtained for 59 m.gs.
The hardest part o /
fight ws getting thro / wire.

__________
54 Bn Bellicourt.  (Capt Benson)
Sept 29.  Bn got as far as G8D 6.7 on
Black Rd when fog lifted.  Rd ws
crowded - transpt on rd,
Bn on side of rd.  Tanks
a bit to N going same way.
First came A.T. fire from Nauroy
& N of it & a little m.g.  Then
after a few rounds of A.T. (which
came fair into them) a battery
of 4.2s got onto / area.
Lt Toomey ws hit & d. of ws,
57
 

Capt Shaw wd, Lt Gilligan wd,
Sergt Maj. Redding k, & abt [[?]] men
hit.  This caused Bn to
scatter & get into / trenches
of front Hindbg line.  The 54 Bn
ws in reserve to 14 Bde wh
ws in reserve to Divn.
This firing ws quite unexpected
 - / reports all were tt /
villages were cleared & /
Yanks going on well - L.Gs
were w transpt & Bn in [[4s?.]]
54 Bn sideslipped then
into / trench[[shorthand]] on S. side of Black
Rd & waited there for 2 days.
Oct 1.  On mg of Oct 1 abt
2 a.m. Coy cmmdrs were
summoned & operatn explained.
2 tanks attached.  54 Bn ws to
58