Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/227/1 - Folder - Part 7

256.
This was carried out by 6 p.m. on Oct. 12th as far as
transfer of personnel was concerned, the new Bn. retaining
name of 26th Bn. A and B Coys. were original 26th Bn.
C and D Coys. were original 25th Bn. Each Coy. retained
its own officers and N?C.O.'s throughout - whole 25th Bn.
wears 26th colours as a base, with half-size 25th Bn. colour
in centre.
----------
17th July attack gave in some ways a promise of the work
which was done later. It was hurried, was done with very
few men, and had very big objectives. There was quite a
heavy fight on the East end of the mound - where the Germans
counterattacked twice; once at daylight next morning, July
18, and then again at dusk, July 18. Col. Davis commanded
this time; Major Page at Hamel; and Major Davis at
Morlancourt. Davis joined as a private in 25th Bn.
-------
POZIERES.
Capt. J. E. Nix was a reported on a Townsville paper.
Lieut. W. P. Healy was on the staff of the Sydney & "SUN".
He became R.S.M. and was killed at Flers.
Lieut. M. Healy, who was killed at Zonnebeke, was with
Paton and got his brother transferred to 25th Bn. on
Gallipoli from 17th Bn.
A big Irish guardsman - Pat. O’Gorman - was in the
attack on July 28/29, lying before the wire. He lay in a
shellhole for a bit. The he got tired of that method.
"Come on, chaps. Lets have a charge" he said. He dashed
up and at the wire - and he was killed.
Q.M.S. Davis, 25th Bn., who was killed by a shell at
Bonnay, when he was lying half-conscious, was thinking all
the while of the meat which he had undelivered, across the
road. He was trying to get up and get to it. "Don’t 
let the boys say that meant’s lying there and I never got it
to them" he kept saying.
Colonel Walker, 25th Bn., at Messines before Pozieres
was going round and found the men crouching in the trenches.
He asked why they were not firing. "There has been our Coy.
Commander killed there this morning with a bullet through
his brain", they said; and the next man who put his head up
got a bullet through it". They had put up periscopes after
that and had them shot at once, and an officer who had put
up a stick had it shot through.
"Oh, what's this about getting shot?" Walker said.
"We'll see if they can shoot - it's always 'getting shot'",
he said. (He was an Irishman - brute of a man, and a bit mad
probably). He put his elbows on the sandbags and looked
over. A bullet whizzed 6 inches from his head, but he
never stirred. 
"He’s a damned bad shot" he said; "that was six inches
away".
Whit!q - went another past.
"Here, give us a rifle," he said, and "I'll teach the
b---- to shoot."
He took a rifle and as he did a bullet hit the sandbag.
 

  257.
He looked over the top again: "I must let him have
another one first to see where he is" he said.
Whit! - went another past him.
"Och! - there you are me man" he said and took up his
rifle and aimed and fired - he was a very good shot - and
the German did not fire again, whatever happened.
Davis and the officer on the spot had been looking at
a 5.9 hole and saying they would bury him there behind the
trench!
----
At Pozieres Walker went up; over the top of course, and
stood on the edge of the trench looking down and asking the
men why they were not shooting. They told him to come down
-he would be shot. (They didn't care a damn if he were,
but they didn't want him drawing crabs on them from Thiepval
which enfiladed the place completely and was constantly onto
that end of the line).
"Always all this about getting shot", he said. Will I
get shot -?" And with that he walked straight out over the
trench and 50 yards out into Nomansland - and picked up a
German rifle and came in with it.
The next man who put his head over the bags got a
bullet through the brain!
----------------
" 26th BATTALION - AUGUST 8th.
26th Bn. came up from Bois de 1'Abbe, a little light
shelling on the way up. Bn. was to be on railway just
behind the bridge, left near the road.
/D. /C.
→
21 B. /A
1.Coy
About 3/4 -hour before the J.O. they put down a barrage -
up went a red light and then a green light, and down came
the barrage. This was heavy. Some of the men were in
shellholes and some in the open. But very few casualties.
When the barrage came down the German artillery stopped.
As they were waiting the men, some of them, said: "Oh, well,
they're having their fun now - wait till our barrage starts
and we'11 give them hell."
From the start the M.G. fire was heavy. This seemed
to be coming from south of the railway and from Card Copse
and the trenches north of it. When Bn. got to the trenches
in 32 D. there were Germans there badly shaken and some of
the M.G.'s were hot. The Germans seemed to be holding the
ground in M.G. posts scattered in depth. It was about at
this point they first saw the tanks. (There were to be 4
tanks with each Bn. and one supply tank, but this was burnt).
The attack was a bit too fast for the tanks.
It was mintx so misty that they kept running on top of
M.G.'s before they opened and swamped them. The first
casualties were before Card Copse.
Coming along the north of the railway line Bn. took
 

258.
three well-camouflaged field guns xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
xxxxxxxx.
The railway was inclusive to the Canadians. When the
opposition began to come from Marcelcave the Canadians
swung in to their right.
On reaching Marceleave the Canadians on the right were
held up, and our people on the left of the village were held
up by fire from the south side of the railway. One of the
tanks there worked along the north side of the village
firing her 6-pdr. and then round across the railway line
to the south beyond the village: Later she came back again
north over the railway
The crew of a 5.9 battery were shot as they tried to
run away from a quarry. From there to the objective there
was no one.
The Canadians cane through Marceleave in fine style-
there had been a great noise of fighting there - and they
came out and joined us looking as if on parade. About 5
minutes after we had got past.
When 26th Bn. got to its objective it came under direct
fire from a whizzbang battery which it could see firing from
the west side of Pieuret Wood. The Vickers guns were
beginning to fire on them.
Those guns were finally stopped by the Canadians and the
tanks getting up to them.
Behind the wood were found two or three guns, with their
teams all in them shot dead. They had pulled back from
across the railway.
350 prisoners,
5 5.9's
2 4.2's
6 77's
15 H.M.G.'s
11 L.M.G.'s
1 minenwerfer, granatenwerfer,
periscopes, rangefinder, telephones, etc. There was a Q.M.
store in Marcelcave and a German paymaster. They had a hot
lunch on the objective - the men had an operation order for
a barrage of biscuits and rissoles.
KILLED: Capt. Cameron, killed by M.G. near Card Copse.
Lieut.Cockrill, killed rushing a M.G. and
died about 2 yds.. from it.
Lieut. Hamilton, d. of w. own barrage at the
start.
WOUNDED: Lieut. Weston, wounded just before Card Copse.
Lieut. Croft, was hit by a M.G. before start.
Lieut. Hillard, on the objective by shell
splinter.
Lieut. McDonald, badly wounded during advance.
Lieut. Leech, before the objective.
Captain Cooper, slightly wounded.
23 O.R. killed; 109 wounded; 3 missing.
There were numbers of M.G. emplacements all along the
railway bank - and these caused a lot of the casualties.
---
As soon as the barrage started they all lit their
cigarettes.
----
Camped on objective for a day. Then got orders about
11 a.m. to move towards Harbonnieres. J.O.T. for this day's
attack was in the sunken road in 12 A and C, east of
Harbonnieres. In the attack they moved to the trenches
east of Vauvefillers. 

259.
They struck no posts of 5th Division East of Vauvillers.
Stayed there a day. Moved up to 10 Central on night of
10th.
On Morning of Aug. 11, 26th Bn. attacked from line
occupied by 27th and part of 25th, and reached the grid
between X 10 and 11.
This attack was a straightening-out process. There
was a good deal of distant M.G. fire but no close fighting.
28th on left took some prisoners (Barrage but no tanks).
Lieut. Single was wounded on J.O.T. by M.G. fire, but
went through with Bn. and dug in.
Relieved there by 7 6th Bde. and went back for 10 days
to Bussy.
----------
26th BATTALION - BEAUREVOIR.
OCTOBER 3rd.
Battn. marched up from Eclusier through Peronne to
Doingt. Day and a half there; next night at Templeux la
Fosse. Day or so there. Then to east of Templeux Guerard.
Got there in afternoon. Moved same night to the Le Catelet -
Nanory line in G11.B. Got there 1/2nd. Stayed there 2nd.
Moved night of 2/3rd. to the ditch north of Folemprise Farm
to Mint Copse. Col. Robinson was hit passing the side of
Folemprise Farm axx and Capt. Cooper took charge.
\\ B.\ 
D \\A.\
The Zero was 6.5. a.m. They went off in artillery
formation. The Germans put a heavy barrage on the northern
down slope of that hill.
26th Bn. got up with 25th Bn. the Beaurevoir line and
were fighting with them there, especially on the left, and in
Mushroom Quarry. A M.G. was shooting from the quarry and had
annoyed them coming down the slope. Two or three men got
round on the south side. L.G.'s held the German M.G.'s
attention and these men bombed it and also got into the back
of the road north of the quarry
On the left there were about three heavy belts of wire
at Lormisset. The tank which was with them turned upside
down just in the road before the farm. The left had to
climb over the wire and go straight at Lormiset Farm. There
were three pillboxes each with a M.G. at the Fork Road north
of the farm. The troops were absolutely with the barrage
there and this was the only thing that saved them.
Sergt. Miller, 26th En, there rushed a M.G. on his own.
They surrendered. One of them then shot him through the
neck when he was turned the other way. Miller blew this
man's brains out.
26th Bn. went straight on from there. All up the trenchs
were pillboxes each with 10 or 12 Germans in - pretty badly
shaken. They captured the whole lot of these; the trenches
 

260.
were dug around each pillbox - the trench tracing connecting
them from 4 ft. to 18 ins. deep - very deep round the pill-
boxes.
At Bellevue Farm a couple of whizzbangs guns were taken
and 8 German prisoners in the house and shellholes, xxxxx
some of them with two M.G.'s in the open waiting to be taken.
(There was one M.G. later in the top storey of the Farm at
the SE corner).
The right got 300-400 7ds. past Bellevue Farm which was
a big place with covered-in trenches. The whizzbangs were
notf firing in the farm. One whizzbang alongisde the mill
was firing point-blank and two up the village. Also an odd
gun (possibly two) on the NW edge of the village. On left,
where C, Lieut. Stapleton, was there was a post established
about 40 yds. west of Guizaucourt Farm - with M.G.'s. Two
men went into the farm to look for souvenirs - one came back
to say that there were no Germans in it.
28th Bn. was on left here also. The 50th Div. was on
the left over Prospect Hill. They reached the trench which
runs along north side of the hill. They were under a Sergt.
Major there - mixed up. These were good troops, and went
over dressing by the right as if it were a cinema show.
The 26th Bn. had a few posts in the trench which runs NW
out of Beaurevoir - it was a deeper continuous trench than
the Hindenburg trench, but not a good trench. No one was
ahead of this. There were Germans in this trench and in
the sunken road ahead of it - probably troops who had run
back - there were droves of Germans who had been retreating
before the attack on the left
On the right at Bellevue Farm there were no flanking
troops. It was difficult to hold this right with a few
scattered posts. The posts were first withdrawn to the
farm. Then a post was left in the farm and the right
withdrawn. It ended at about the road junction in 15A.3.6.
through B 8.D. across the sunken road at B. 8.B.4.4. and then
NW to the Beaurevoir trench, and then N along trench to
B.2.D.2.7. The line south of Bellevue was held by a few
small posts. It was strengthened at nightfall by a Coy. of
25th Bn.
After 6th Bde. attacked 26th Bn. got touch with them on
their right.
(During the afternoon the Germans got a M.G. into the SE
corner of the farm - they got the guns onto them and put 6
shells into that building. The artillery was also put onto
a minenwerfer in Gouzacourt Farm. The infantry had a line
through Bde. to the artillery and the artillery was sniping
for them.
Rather than a definite counterattack there was a gradual
creeping back - (1) Through Beaurevoir and so south-east of
the Farm into the farm; (2) In the sunken road through 3C -
gun limbers and transport (which we took for the British
cavalry) came right down to this.
About 2 a.m. to 4.30 a.m. they were relieved by British
troops and came out to Nauroy.
Casualties:
Col. Robinson (as above),
Capt. Lloyd, wounded just after start (150 7ds.) by a
shell of the German barrage.
Lieut. Whittaker (Sig. Offr.) wounded in front of Hill
Copse by a shell (probably ours).
All H.Q. had now gone except 2 signallers and Capt.
Cooper.
Lieut. Gillie, was wounded before the 1st objective.
Lieut Blake,                "  Just after l'Ormisset was reac
This was 8.20.
Lieut. Carter was 

261.
Lieut. Carter was killed just after L'Ormisset.
Lieut. Amiet VI.O.) was wounded just after 1'Ormisset
by one of our own shells, and also 20 men. (Amiet went
through the fight).
Lieut. Breaford was Killed Walking near Bellevue
farm out in front of the line about 4 p.m.
Lieut. Greenwood wounded round Bellevue farm during
attack.
2/Lieut. Christie wounded before reaching 1'Ormisset
Farm.
O.R. - 17; 90 wounded; 13 missing.
This was 2 killed, 8 wounded; and 110 men - i.e.,
50 per cent of attacking troops.
Capt. Hockings, when Cooper took over Bn., took on
A Coy. and was the only officer left in A and half of D.
He was on the right.
Capt. Stapleton had Lieuts. Brown and Hay left with
him.
Lieut. Francis came up when Lloyd was wounded and
acted as adjutant to Capt. Cooper.
These six were the only unwounded officers left.
-------------
26th BATTALION - LAGNICOURT.
(Stapleton).
Posts were placed around the front of the village as
Shown.
Diagram see original document

Germans were actually within 15 yds. Posts
at X were knocked in. Of the Germans some
were killed within 2 yds. at (2).
The Germans were 1000 yds. or so away when they began
to congregate. The M.G. post on the right (where 5th
Divn. ought to have - by plan - been supporting) had to
be withdrawn from position (1) to position (2), as the
Germans by working up behind the trees on the road could
have made it impossible to hold it - one sniper in the
trees would have settled it.
The German attacked as shown - but whx was stopped on
the left front where marked. He then got round on the
right and attacked through the manure heaps (some crept
up very close there) and worked up to the trees and around
the right flank across the road. Lieut. Jerry of 28th.
Bn. brought up his platoon on the right flank and made
four posts there. But the Germans simply wiped them out
and only Jerry and his batman got away. Then the Germans
got in closer; and the left post and the post fourth
from the left were scuppered; and the German line was all
 

262.
round the remaining posts as shown by the dotted line
The rest of our people (Cherry was with
them) met to decide whether to stay on and be scuppered
or whether to retreat now - and decided to stay
(Stapleton was amongst those there), when the Boche gave
in first - and retired.
Just as the Germans got in behind about M one L.G.
stopped. Camouflaged bivvies in sunken road, with a lot
of German ammunition, saved them whenever a man's rifle
got chocked.
------------
26th BATTALION.
Somme,  August 29th.
Mont St. Quentin.
Started with three Coys. in lead and one in support.
Bn. left Chuignolles at 3.30 a.m. Organised on road
south of sugar factory Dompierre. Left there about 6
to cross a line running NW from Assevillers to N7 Central
by 7.30.
This was done exactly in time - working in artillery
formation from Sugar Mill.
There was a little fighting seen away on left by
Flaucourt. But north of Barleux in the old trench system
they came under M.G. fire near Mendon Wood. They had to
get down here a bit - and from there broke into extended
order and attacked in rushes.
Bn. finished on Somme from Lamire Farm to Grid between
9 and 3 Central
On the trenches on the heights NW of Eterpigny a rearguard
of Germans put up a fight. Their shooting was
erratic.
On reaching the Somme the Bn. found the bridges over
the Somme intact, but they were mined and were blown up
that night. We had a patrol down trying to stop them, but
they could not.
On Aug. 30. About 6 a.m. Capt. Cooper's Coy. tried to
cross by the track through the marshes (duckboarded south
of 9 Central. The engineers brought a pontoon down during
The the night and put it in, and Coy. crossed at dawn. The
track petered out at the water 150-200 7ds. east. The
O.C. put out in an old punt looking for crossings but could
find no way across owing to natural difficulties. Even on
the other side it was no better. Cooper found the marshes
with high reeds and quite impossible for infantry. No
M.G. opposition.
Aug. 30.- That night they were relieved and came into
trenches south of Herbecourt.
------ 

263.
26th BATTALION - MONT. ST. QUENTIN.
On Aug. 31 they were SW of Herbecourt. About 1-15 p.m
they got orders to go via Feuilleres via Clery-sur-Somme
to Lost Ravine. Camped there night of 3lst and during
afternoon of 1st September came up road North of Prk Wood
into Florina and Prague trenches. Fairly continuous
shelling.
They turned in without any thought of an attck. About
1 a.m. Col. Robinson rang up to say he wanted to see O.C.'s
Coys. and they went down to H. Q., in Prague trench, when a
scheme was laid out, with no operation order.
The Coys. sent out one officer each to reconnoitre the
roads south of Mont St. Quentin and approached.
At 4 a.m. they left Prague and Florina, A Coy. leading.
They came up Florina onto road, Up Agram Alley and then cut
east into the road from Mont St. Quentin into Anvil Wood.
(The German, they later found, was holding Gott mit Hndx Uns).
A Coy. got into position all right but couldn't find any
trace of the other Coys. there. They should have been on the
road further right.
Zero was 5.30 a.m. Barrage opened to time.
There was no trace of anyone - A Coy. went, 40 strong,
with the idea of making a flank for the 25th Bn. They went
straight out into a tremendous German barrage of all sorts
into Koros Alley - they disappeared in smoke and shells and
split into two parties - one up Koros and one up Kurilo Alley.
They chased Germans, overran them, ran him down, got ahead of
the barrage, losing about 15 out of 40 going through. The
two parties went on crossfiring at the Germans from one trench
to the other up the alley - the Germans once made to shift
their M.G.'s. Never got them going again. They got as far
as a cross-trench in ( I. llc. and I 17a. and another along
Enhtasthad Rupprecht trench to the road in I.ll.D
As 25th Bn. were Going under the barrage (26th were
through it) they drove Germans down behind the 26th into all
these alleys - in rear of them. Only 25 were left. The
party at the head of Rupprecht trench came back and fought
these Germans in Rupprecnt trench and took many prisoners.
A party of Germans (30) came down Brunn trench. Got to
within a few yards of Cooper’s small H.Q., who thought they
were prisoners.
About 7.30 Capt. Fletcher, 25th Bn., came down Brunn
Alley and sent a Coy. down to help the flank. 28th. Bn.
later sent a platoon up Koros Alley. 25th pushed along
Rupprecht to the road again.
Lieut. Lawson of A Coy. was badly shot in the head while
leading the left attacking party up Kurilo Alley.
The other Coys. hopped off from west of Gott mit Uns
trench.
The plan was as follows:-
B //
A/}
D/} 5.30a.m.
B//}
C/} 6a.m.
with 5th Div.
C Coy. under Major Woods, with half B Coy. in support,
came up Agram Alley, then right across the aviation grounds.
 

264.
They had to lie in the huts waiting for the start. C Coy.
hopped off at 6 a.m. with 5th Div. They, with half B Coy.
which had been lying in support and came under very heavy
barrage during the wait. (This barrage was brought down by
the 5.30 attack on their left).
D Coy. (centre) started off at 5.30 a.m., making due
east; as A Coy. went along they caught a glimpse of men
moving down in that direction D were cut to pieces in
the open. They seem to have met Germans first from the
Sugar factory, but the deadliest fire was in the triangle
between the two roads.
Lieut. Monteith, commanding them, was killed; Lieut.
Major was taken prisoner. (Capt: Paul had been evacuated
wounded the day before - and these were all their officers)
Major seemed to have got away on his own to the far treelined
road and reached some small trench about the road.
There were several strongposts with M.G.'s along that road.
Major Woods was killed in the same triangle. (The half of
B Coy. which should have followed A lost both its officers -
Lieut. Taylor was Killed following D Coy, shot through the
thigh and s bled to death. He and Sergt. Jonkins got
into a shellhole. Taylor was hit just as he reached it
and bled to death. Lieut. Suffolk was wounded before
getting so far.)
The right half of B Coy. followed C Coy. across to the
factory and into the open triangle. There was a bank just
south of Koros Alley parallel to xx it; south of this the
triangle was very level. There was a M.G. sharpshooting
Coy. protecting the German front here, and the M.G. fire
was unparalleled. The 26th Bn. was in touch with 5th
Div. as far as St. Denis. But as the M.G. fire continued
across the triangle it. was realised that 5th Div. had been
held up and remainder of 26th Bn. was held up there too.
There were a few posts with Lieut. Ibbott across the open
from the Factory north towards the Bank. They were sniped
with M.G.'s all day in the open - the German artillery was
more onto the road and the S.E. corner of Mont. St. Quentin.
Village.
5th Div. had this nearest post in the big claypit by
the brickworks railway at about 11.A.6.7.
They were there till dusk. After dark a post was put
in the farm on the Aziecourt Road at 17.C.4.9. and the post
at the head of Koros Alley on the road was re-established
and another at the head of Kurilo trench on the road. Thence
there were no posts till Rupprecht's trench, where there was
a post on the road.
The St. Denis road corner was still German that night.
Bn. stayed there that night 2/3rd, day of 3rd, day of
4th, and were relieved by 5th Div. on night of 3 4/5th.
----------
28th BATTALION - AUGUST 8th.
All officers making reconnaissance had to be very
careful - not go except in early morning, careful about maps,
etc. Early in night of 7/8th. advance parties to lay tapes
were sent up, and guides.
Bn. went up the main road and found it completely
empty despite instructions - then crossed the railway line,
H.Q. in Halfmoon trench, and men got onto tapes without a
casualty.
The Canadians were about the Villers Bretonneux railway
station forming about Monument Wood - men were in crowds
but the Germans got none of them. The men stood quite still
 

265.
while flares were up.
25th\    27th\
28th\   →
26 th\
No casualties in German barrage.
B\
A\  →
D\  C\
So few men that really made a wave and a half. There were
12 paces between men of leading wave - skirmishers. Three
tanks. Each leading Coy. took only 2 L.G.'s - dumped 6;
carried only 10 mags. per man instead of 20. They were so
short of men that there would have been all carriers and no
bayonet men. The Coys. were 3 platoons, so they went 2
platoons in front rank and one platoon in second.
xxx diagram - see original document
They were in position an hour before Zero. Colonel sent
his name through - this was the code word. The barrage was
good - like a thunderclap. The mist which came up half an
hour before was the chief point in this battle. Direction
was maintained by following the tanks and following
compasses. The tanks went straight. Col. Currie had told
the men that they would have a chance (they always grumbled
at not going far  )enought) of taking the enemy's artillery.
If they found themselves on the railway they were 600 yds.
too far right - if on the Roman road it was 600 yds. too far
left - and quite a number did find themselves in both places
The 6th Bde. withdrew half an hour before Zero. We
soon came on German outposts. They took these. It became
a matter of small bunches of men going straight ahead. A
heavy M.G. fire started soon after Zero - probably the tanks
A continuous trench through 33 A and C. and 2 B. was the
German main line of resistance. A lot of prisoners were got
here. A few were taken in the scraps of trenches further
east. Others were taken in the Amiens line in 43 (a French
line) Bn. dug in about 300-400 yds. in rear of the
objective on account of the short shelling.
Two tanks started with the attack - the third got stuck
on Halfmoon trench, but the first batch of German prisoners
gave it a push and it caught up. Bn. H.Q. went to the
S/P in Amiens line - 2 Germans came out of it as Col. Currie
went into it - slightly wounded men.
Thkx The mist was now lifting about 7.30 a.m. This
ground was partly wheatfield. General Elliott was met on
the way. He said - "My men are all over the place - but I
hope when the sun rises on them they'l1 be all right."
The brigade was withdrawn to the Amiens line after 5th
Div. had gone through. The cookers came up there as
promised. One ran onto a land mine which the Germans had
scattered out about 40 yds. west of Amiens line. (28th Pn.
knew them from Monument Wood). The cooker did not put the
mine up. A man standing on the striker (which is held by
a small pin, would put it up. The mines were all collected
by the 28th Bn. and put in a dugout.
some of the guns (77's) were still firing when the Bn.