Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/224/1 - August - October 1918 - Part 9

When this barrage, what

there ws of it, started, /

Germs. woke up & started

m.g. fire & arty fire.

C.O. decided, as they

cdnt get further, to string

Bn out E & W thro / trench

line thro G.3B, G4A&B,

& go forwd from there in arty

formatn & deploy at / start

line. This worked satisfactorily

& they were only 15 mins

late. 55Bn were to support

53 Bn.

Our own ∧heavy gun barrage at / last

moment ws cut out owing to /

American higher command

saying tt their people were still

in / line. A few guns of light
119
120 

to go well beyond St D

Diagram - see original document

They sent Scouts out. As
soon as these Scouts got over
a bump of land E of St
Denis they ran into heavy
German m.g. posts. Neither
side ws expecting / other.

Lt Elsmore & his pln
hopped in & go an offr &
10 Germs & 2 mgs - He

found himself directly opposite
a double post in a pozzy.
80

wd take them to / J.O. line.

These guides didn't materialise

so adjt ws sent in to find

out what ws / matter. He

ws informed tt noone knew /

way. Col. had to take Bn

there himself across country

& found tt / reference gn by

Sigs for 15Bde Hqrs ws also

an error - 300 yds out.

Col. had no time to correct
this & so took them straight

across as best he cd to /

start line - a vile night

- dark, slippery, drizzling.

All these things so delayed /

march tt when they reached

G4A2.4 Zero had

arrived & / Barrage fell.
119 

They ran right on top of
these Germs - not more

than 100 yds from ^past / rd -

/ first man wh fired
put a bullet thro /

offrs shoulder & tt did it.

We They had 3 wd.

They had to get back
as soon as possible w
an offr & 10 men 2 guns & 3 wd

men of ours. They kept
a line slightly ahead o / old
line just far eno forwd

to keep / Germ beyond
on / other side o / rd. Aziecourt
Rd.
The aftn ws well on.

The Coy now had abt 26

men. 58th Bn had / corner

81

53 Bn Bellicourt

(Col Cheeseman)

Diagram - see original document

On night of 29, 53 Bn ws

resting abt Hervilly. They were

told to settle for / night.

At 2 am word came for

C.O.s Confce at Col. Freem Cheeseman's

Hqrs. 53 ws suppd to be / 

last to attack on acct o /

heavy casualties at Peronne.

At 3 a.m. Gen. walked in

& sd "You will attack at 6 a.m."

He gave a plan.

The 55 Bn offered to guide

53 to 15 Bde Hqrs. Where guides

118 

o /  Mt St Q & Aziect 

Rds. The main trouble

now ws arty fire from

/ hills - you cdnt move

now at all. 59 behind

/ bank had casualties &

other Coys of 55 also

Orders were then 

recd for 55 & 56 under

Col xxxxxx Woods to take

St Denis Wood. Wyllies Coy

ws now 26 strong & / others

not v. much stronger.

Next orders were recd

tt 59 wd relieve them tt night

& they came from / bank &

did so. 55 wd have moved

up E of St Denis & straightened 

line after dark - but ws reld.

82                                   

C:   Lt Eastment ws wd in aftn

attack
D:   Capt. Lindsay wd in 5 pm att.
Lt Anslow k. during first
consolidatn near / brickwks
Lt Dent wd in 5 pm attack.
Hqrs: Lt Shearwood k by shellfire
going to 23rd Bn HQ abt zero 
hour.
(K. 4 k. 6. wd.)

Bn went in abt 400 strong (?,
Abt 236 casualties o.r.
(none now missing).
117  

Sept 1 started rainy - ended
better ; Sept 2 was pretty
fine.
The German 106 fuse
out in / open ws v.
dangerous - severed arms
& severed limbs.
K. Inglis as above.
Hunt (w Coy attd to 53) attacking
some mg. posts
Jackson Cotterill in aftn Sept 2 in
Factory reconnoitring to
move up in evg to 
fill up after xx gap
to 58
by shell
Collis in attack
W 53 on aftn of
Sept 1st. following behind 53.
W. King lost leg
Horne on Sept 2
Nichols wd on Sept2
83 

getting thro / cemetery near
/ rly line.
Crank's & Weather Coy's
gun ws up betw / brickworks
& / wood amongst / huts.
Currie's gun ws taken
by him in / first rush
on Quinconce Wood. This
gun ws blazing over open
sights. C. rushed it & sprayed
/ crew w his L. Gun. He
got his m.g. (at / head o /
sap running along / rly)
in / same style.
All night S/Bs were 
out collecting wd in Nomansland
& ammn being got forward
Lt Davies ws k digging in in
morning out by / cemetery (C
116  

55 Bn.
Bellicourt.
(Maj Stutsbury, Lt Chad wick
& 2 NCOs)
Bn lay at Hervilly.
Had to follow 30 Am. Divn
& take a positn betw Estrees
& Nauroy. 14 Bde in
support to other two.
Just W. of Villeret they
met / fog pretty thick &
were held up on / rd by
traffic. They were moving
on / black rd. The traffic
ws Arty.

 53     55
——  ——   _→
——  ——
 56     54
To go by black Rd independently
to betw Estrees & Nauroy, moving
either thro or round Bellicourt
(as depended on fire). From
Hervilly Offrs had bn sent up to
84 

of 53 Bn were back in /
positn from wh they started
at 5 p.m. B. sent a runner
giving his positn & strength &
was withdrawn at 1 a.m.
as there ws to be a new
barrage next day.
Another party of(D Coy
under Lt Waite) got into
/ Sugar factory into / big
cement troughs; Lt Ha
Others got into the broken ground
by the rly cuttings w junc fork 
there S. of Factory. Waite
got there into / Factory.
They came back abt 3.30 a.m.
They heard Currie's shouts
after them. (Currie & 2 others
also Captd a m.g. just after
115  

find a rd route round Bellicourt
(that morning). Left Hervilly
abt 8. Constanty held up by
traffic. 11 a.m. held up
West of Villeret. Maj Stutsbury
C.O.Bn went on to W of
Bellicourt. & found arty
coming back & heard tt attack
had bn held up. Then Brought Bn
up from Villeret to G 7D, trenches on
hill W of Bellicourt. They reported
their positn & were ordered
to take up positn in trenches
Skin trench in G8A - 54
being on rt in Rope trench. Others
in rear. There by 3.30 or 4pm.
The barrage ws v heavy just
W. of Bellicout in trenches Bn
wd have gone to. xx 
While in Skin trench a regt
85 

He got in touch there w
Capt Downing & Col Marshall.
He sd tt / 5 pm attack
had broken down but tt /
Bn ws in / rly cuttings in
front of their JO line.
Bevan recrossed / moat
at / same place w his men
- it ws now dusk - & pushed
forwd as far as he cd to
a ditch abt 22C 4.7 but
cdnt get any further. He
sent patrols forwd (had
12 men left) & tried to get
touch w / rest of Bn. He
cdnt get touch but Lt Scott -
Bde m.gunner 14 M.G. Coy
ws scouting around & met
Bevan & told him tt / rest
114  

of Americans (prob Bn, in
½ dozen waves) in arty fo
lines of skirmishers w fixed
bayonets - who sd they
reckoned their people were
in trouble & they had bn sent
up to help. They were going
NE towds the Hill in A 28 c.
At 6.30 pm. 55 recd order
to go thro Bellicourt & take
a positn in Le Catelet line
B^. G5 B & D. They moved
abt 10 to 7 & went be Red
Rd to Bellicourt . Bellct. ws
being heavily shelled so they
decided to move round N of
- it thro / line. They had
got ½ way thro / line abt
G3D 5.6 when they recd a
verbal order tt / move ws
cancelled. At 15 Bde advd Hqrs
86 

follow / moat round as
m.g. fire ws coming from
/ ramparts. The men threw
some rough timber across /
moat (/Germs had bn
making dugouts under / 
ramparts) - crossed /
moat, got on top o /
ramparts & followed them
around (some bits of timber
reached right across / moat
like telegraph poles - abt 25ft)
B. pushed down / ramparts
for abt 200 yds. He struck
inland to 28A 20.95
& pushed across & struck
54 Bns left post facing a
big brick wall (probly
facing Flamicourt & / Stn)
113  

this ws confirmed. Bn moved
back again in rain & mud
& v. dark & gas to Skin
trench - very pleased! They had /
"donks" - 12 of them up rt in
/ line (w supplies, water etc)
as they were still carrying out
/ original plan. These were
got by enormous efforts into
/ Hindenburg line exc. the big
black mule to / AMC
material who refused to jump
down in / night - the man
who ws leading him ws lying
down. (They got back w diffy
to Skin trench & settled down &
then at 11 pm came new an
order to attend a Confce at
advd xx 53 Bn Hq. at 11 pm.
(got there at 1 p.m. 1 a.m. trying to
87 

were to make a dash & get
in closer under / ramparts
& then work E in dead
ground of / moat & / rly
Cuttings.
Both parties went over
/ top at 5 p.m.
C Coy got to the second
rly line (not shown on map).
They cdnt move from there owing
to mg. fire from E end o /
ramparts & St Denis.
Lt Bevan of A Coy ^started with
65 men A, B, & a pln of 55.
He was E of the Cemetery
when / attack ws ordered. They
rushed straight down for
/ ramparts w / men. He
saw it wd be impossible to
112  

find map reference in a
black night (Brig just arrd)
There ws instrd tt 53 Bn w
55 in support ws to attack
from 28 B & D N along / line
o /  tunnel & / Le Catelet System,
55 ws to move in support
of 53 & make good Le Catelet
line from / junction w
15 Bde at 28B 6.5.;  53 ws
to clear whole line; 55 ws
to occupy line &  take then push
out E. w patrols & gain
ground towds / St Martin
Estrees Rd.
This attack to begin at 6 a.m.
Confce ended & Strutsbury got
back to Bn at 3.15 am.
Informed Coy Commndrs
88 

Beside / Rly embankt ws
a big factory bldg. 53 Bn
left patrols out there as long
as they thought safe & withdrew
them after midday. There were
hundreds of Germs streaming
back over / open to / SE
corner of Mt St Q & into
small trenches by / St Denis Rd.
Nothing ws done then
till 5 pm. At 5 pm.
another attack ws made.
Diagram - see original document
There ws a
trench S of /
rly embankt
as shown.
C & D Coys
were 
worked
into this.
They were to attack as shown. A & B
111 

Bn pushed off at 4.30.
Looking up aerial photos
they saw a track thro /
wire & decided to send I.O.
to find it, & avoid Bellicourt.
Lt R.S. Morris M.C. I.O. found
/ track, as he went. leading Bn at /
head o / column thro /
wire to J.O. positn in
A 28 C & D by 5.55 am.
Formed up on tick of 6.
A barrage ws supposed
to be down but only 2 or 3
guns fired.
Formed up in C.T. in 4
A & B. 53 were a little later
in positn. They kicked off from
same C.T.  Bn only had 2 Coys
& pushed off
  A & B
————
  C & D

————
Each double Coy abt 90 strong.
89