Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/225/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

After this Confce had broken
up at 12.40
Elliott arrived later after
Stewart & Tivey had gone (at 2.30 am)
& made it clear tt his Bde
cdnt cross Somme where
intended.  Plan ws then changed
at his request so tt xxx
xx xxx 58 shd move into
Peronne at Zero + 30 &
attack ramparts at far end
assisting 54 Bn.
59 & 60 to follow 56 (& 2 Coys 
55) & then move S & attack
/ same ridge as 2 Coy of 55 Bn.
57 Bn ws (if possible &
opportunity offering) to cross
/ Somme by footbridge.
These instructions never
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reached Bdier 14th Bde.
First he knew of it ws when
he got message thro' 15th Bde
from Col. Marshall saying tt
56 Bn had some contrary instrn
& ws apptly supporting him.
(Bn had bn told to Support Marshall
& Marshall knew nothing abt
this; neither did Bdier).
Zero ws fixed this day
at 6 a.m. for both 7th Bde &
14th Bde.  This ws agreed to
at Confce & telephoned by Bdier
to 14th Bde from / Confce.
[?The British apparently
had a Zero at 5 or 5.30 a.m.
and the 2 Divn may have
had to alter theirs later to
5.30 a.m.  But this ws never
reported to 14th Bde nor
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15th Bde who had to move
thro Peronne under v. heavy
rfetaliation reply brought down by
the 5.30 Zero further N.)
56 Bn got into same German
barrage.  All offrs were hit in the 3 leading
Coys; and Sergt O'Connor took them in.
[St Dennis wood doesnt exist
- it is a plantatn of stunted
stuff w a lot of undergrowth].
Under / original plan the E end
of Peronne ("Ramparts") ws to
be ignored for ¾ hr after
attack had bn launched by 56
Bn so as to keep / fire from
it down; & then, at 6.45, 54 Bn
ws to mop it up.
The fire kept on / ramparts
did not keep the m.g. fire down.
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56 Bn Peronne. Sept 1 & 2.
(Capt Mann &
several others)
—    —    —    →   Buscourt
56   54    53          Bridge
55 went across ^at Omiecourt.
On Aug 31 56 Bn ws in H27 S. of
Buscourt.  Their reconnoitring pty
went down & found Buscourt
crossing suitable & Bn crossed
there after 54 Bn.  They lay
up near the Clery xxxxxxx Station
- fairly heavily shelled but not many
casualties.  They had / protection
o / big chalk bank.  They were
there from 5 pm to 8 p.m.
After dark Coy offrs went
up the Clery Peronne Rd to
reconnoitre positns in I 7 A & C.
so as to move there for / night
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pending further orders. Abt On
return of these offrs Bn
moved up.  They lay W of /
Rd till abt 4 a.m 5.15 am.
They then moved forwd to take
up an assembly positn SE of
Halle Wood, supporting 53 & 54.
Diagram - see original
There ws no
time to reconnoitre
until offrs
returned to Coys
At 5.15 am after going forwd they didn't know
o / attack or objves required.
At 5.15 at a Bn Confce at
abt 4.30 a.m. they got this
information.
At 5.15 B Coy moved
along / rd towds its xx jumping
off positn & / other Coys by
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different routes. They came into
heavy m.g. & shell fire in Halle
Wood (& had abt 20 casualties
out of 98 in B Coy).  Lt Oldham ws
killed there by a m.g. bullet while dressing a wd man.
They got to abt 14 D Central
abt 5.45 (zero at 6) & came
under mg & shell fire -
very much tangled, naturally.
There were marshes in /
wood & so they had to come
round / S.E corner of it
under m.g. fire – wh seemed
to be coming from / outskirts
of Mt St Q.
56 cdnt see the jumping
off troops; so at zero + 10
B Coy (Capt Mann) startd to
move in arty formatn in
/ directn of Peronne. They
had men hit by m.g. fire
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from Mt St Q directn (S.W of
Village) after they had gone abt
600 yds.  Saw no signs ^of rest of 56 or
53.
Mann then pushed forward
w B Coy into Anvil Quincorce Wood &
in passing thro, mopped up
abt 9 prisoners.  They found there
some men of 54 Bn.  These sd
tt 54 were away on / rt.
54 they sd had entered Peronne.
They  B Coy 56 pushed ahead
across the Peronne Mt St Q Rd,
having a few casualties from
Shell fire - it ws drizzling rain.
They pushed forward to I 22C 3.7
right to the ramparts.  At this
point they came under m.g
fire from / directn of St Denis
& the E end of Peronne &
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scattered shell fire. B Coy
stayed there & a patrol of
the 54 Bn followed them up
& told them where 54 had
got to - across the barricaded
& partially wrecked bridge
at 27 B 59 21 D 5.0.
They cdnt find 53 at all.
So Mann sent an offr &
a man to / left near /
Cemetery (in I 21) & found tt
53 had bn held up near the
N end of / Cemetery
Positn of B Coy (in
a trench along N side of moat
w a few men on top trying
to make posts on / flanks)
ws v. isolated.  B Coy then
withdrew into line w rest
of Bde (53 & 54) & took
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up positn abt 21 Central.
They had had a few men
hit near / ramparts by mg
fire.  (They saw had seen men at SE corner
of St Q. & at St Denis & cdnt
make out if they were Germs
or not).  xx  Lt Musgrove
offered to go over & see who
were at St D, but ws n't
attd.  It ws he who got
touch w 53.
Mann had word tt A
Coy ^56 Bn ws on left of 53.  The
OC of this coy offered to send
a fighting patrol to Mt St Q
to find out who ws / situation there.
(This may not have bn done).
B Coy stayed there till
2.45 pm when orders arrd
15 

tt 56 were to - advance thro
(in conjunction w 53rd Bn & 15th Bde on rt)
thro' 54 Bn & attack high grd in
I 35 & 0 5 (S of Peronne).
Coys were to rendezvous
at the main bridge Xing x in
I 27.  No time ws gn.
The Coys did rendezvous
there at abt 4.45 p.m.
Abt then 53Bn attacked
towds St Denis & came
under terrific m.g. fire
w heavy losses.  56 had no
concrete orders; 53 cdnt
v. well make another attack
in concert w 56.
Coys therefore remained
at point of Rendezvous & awaited
further orders, till 8 p.m.  They
were then ordered by the Senior
offr present to return to their
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