Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/228/1 - Folder - Part 18

552

488.

Fry had to refuse. Then an order came from Bn. to go 
into the gully behind the right (SW) of Villers Bretonneux. 
Then one to go to the culvert. These were from Goddard 
and clearly inconsistent with the support of the left. 
Just then Moreshead came round and said that he wanted 
someone to join his right Coy. to 36th Bn. which with 
part of 35th was then south of the railway - a gap having 
occurred. They led the Bn. through the main street out 
past the Doll's House to the cross road where the cavalry 
was, and then down to the right along Morshead's position. 
33rd Bn was then digging and it was just on dusk.

About 7.30 or 8 p.m. Fry had Bn. fixed up - and then 
Moreshead and Fry went back and told Goddard what they had 
arranged - this would be his first information.

At this time the bridge and ground were the 
dominating feature and the Germans had M.G's there. After 
the position was discussed with Goddard Connell of 35th 
came in and reported position of 35th and 36th on right of 
railway but no 35th were north of railway. This would be 
between 8 & 8.30 p.m. At this time Rosenthal came in and 
they put before him the proposition that unless the knoll 
were cleared the position would be impossible. Rosenthal 
authorised the attack for 11 p.m. It came off at xxxxx  
1 a.m. - it was silent. Then Fry went down and got the 
Coys. fixed for the attack. One of our 4.5. howitzers 
was hitting the crossroad by the 3 Trees and got 17 men.  
Bn. got 12 M.G's 1 officer and 22 O.R. 17th Bn. 
relieved 34th; 18th Bn. relieved Milne.) 

They were under M.G. and shellfire, not very heavy. 
They there extended and moved forward - D Coy. on right 
joining with a Coy. of 35th Bn. , which had its right on 
the railway line on the big bank.  C was on left.   A 
company of 33rd Bn. was there too on C's left, pretty well 
mixed up - it had been found out near the hangars. They 
dug in after advancing about 300 yds. forward of the 
hangars. 

About 11 p.m. orders arrived that they had to counter-attack 
at 1 a.m. without artillery fire or any further 
orders. D had to attack on the right of the railway with 
left on line - and therefore had to cross the line and the 
big cutting bank. D's right was to be in touch with 36th. 
35th. were there on the right of the railway and moved 
away to the right but lost touch when the counterattack 
came off.

C Coy. had to attack on the left of the line with 
the right on the line.

xxx   Diagram - see original document

The objective was a supposed trench about 200 yds. east of 
the railway bridge - and also the bridge where the Germans 
had a lot of M.G.'s - 

xxx   Diagram - see original

 

553.

At 1 a.m. D moved forward by synchronised watch time.    

They advanced till theu reached the supposed trench - where

they took one prisoner. It was a trench about waist deep,

very narrow and a succession of shellholes.

C  Coy.  on left were not up, being late,  and the

Germans probably slipped away up there.   They came up

later and got these Germans.

2 platoons of A Coy, were brought up by Bennett to

support his D Coy. and eventually two other platoons of

A Coy.  got up on right and filled in the gap between 34

and 36, who arrived up there about 3 a.m.

D sent back for C Coy.  who came forward and took the

trench north of the railway line.  They got into the

Germans and the Germans cleared without fighting - they

found Germans concentrating there to get behind D.  and got

about 20 prisoners and 5 M.G.'s and D Coy. got one

prisoner and 6 M.G.'s on the bridge and about the railway 

line.

All 5th April 34th Bn. hung onto the trench under
heavy artillery, T.M., M.G. and sniping fire. You could
not get out of the trench from early morning till dark.
The German was on the slope in front of Marcelcave and we on
the opposite slope. That afternoon the Germans concentrated
behind Hangard Wood - and it looked as if he were trying to 
get into Villers Bretonneux from there. (A map was picked
up with an arrow marked on it from Hangard curving towards
Villers Bretonneux).

That night between 8 and 9 p.m. A & D were relieved by
18th Bn. and C & B by 17th Bn.

Lieut. Bellamy was wounded on the Fouilloy sunken road
during the shelling there.

Lieut. Hodges, C Coy., was wounded with 17 O.R. from our
own howitzer fire while digging in - the artillery didn't know
where the troops were. Major Night of April 5th 34th Bn.
went to Bois de l'Abbe.

---------------

34th BATTALION, AUGUST 8th.

(Capt. Cain and Lieut. Coolahan, I.O.)

34th Bn. was support Bn.

xxx  Diagram - see original document

Bn. jumped off from the front line opposite Accroche
Wood. Accroche Wood was to have been ignored - but the fog 
which started about 3 a.m. was immensely increased by the 
smoke and from the start it was impossible to see compass and
the sound of the guns was the only guide. 34th Bn, couldn't
see the other Bns. As they got into the wood they began to
come upon Germans. There was a heavy artillery barrage on
the wood (the Germans put nothing down before our jump-off).
In the valley in the centre of the wood a number of Germans
were found, demoralised by the artillery and fog. Many had
been killed by the barrage - they put up no resistance at
all - there must have been 500 prisoners taken out of the

 

554.

wood and the 34th Bn. got 19 M.G.'s.
In the Cerisy Gailly gully they came onto a battery of
77's with the crew sitting in the gun pits by the trails.
The guns had been fired but not just then. The tanks were
doing good work - some of the 9th Bde. tanks had wandered to
the left. Part of the Bn. from there made towards the right
and finished up with 18th Bn. almost down on the main road;
in the little copse on the road just ahead of 18th Bn. about
200 Germans were taken.

The bodies of Sergt. Williams (America) and 2 American
privates were found half a mile east of Accroche Wood. They
must have reached it during the Hamel fight!

[*(Index Hamel fight)*]

When 4th Divn. went through the 34th Bn. came back to
support.

They were not worred from the left but a little by guns
on the right.

Lieut. Davidson, wounded at the very start into Accroche
Wood by a German stick bomb - but R.O.D. till objective.

All the casualties were in Accroche Wood and at the start.

They went through Accroche Wood in small parties, finding
way by sound of guns and compass.

-------------

34th BATTALION: BRAY.

(Capt. Cain; Lieut. Norman).

B Coy, was attached to 33rd Bn. The rest were in
support.

Going to the assembly point B Coy. were under direct
M.G. fire; and the German barrage fell on them. Their
forming up line was just forward of the edge of the Gressaire
Wood which was the Germ S.O.S. line. At the assembly 3
men were wounded.

Coy went over in lines of sections

xxx  Diagram - see original document

anf got on all right till they got to their first objective
in the road (sunken) through 8 A. Halted an hour there to
allow the English to swing up and to leapfrog through others
English.

On leaving there they came under heavy gas fire - pink
cloud, said to be Austrian. They had to half on the Bray -
Meaute xxxx Road. The troops ahead had cleared the Germans.

The Tommies who had been on the left of 33rd Bn. gave
way and passed our flank. About 30 were rallied by B Coy. - 
about 22 of them. There were no officers with them.

The Germans came down pretty quickly to Happy Valley
and on the west side of it. They couldn't stay on the
heights in 27 as 33rd Bn. was south of them there and they
were under fire.

B34 was at once pushed north along the road with its
left flank swung westward off the road at about 2 Central,
facing north.

The Germans stopped fairly soon as our fire became
heavy on the height. The Germans may have moved over the
hill during the night after that - certainly their limbers
did, for one was caught there at daylight and the limber
was hit but the man got away.

555.

There was no counterattack, the Germans simply filling
into the hollow in Happy Valley where they couldn't be got
at.

In their first position this Coy. got very heavy shellfire
with 106 xy fuse and M.G. fire from Bray straight up
the road - the Germans could see from Bray.

They got 3 German M.G.'s in position working and used
German rifles and T.M. Our own ammunition was pretty well
exhausted by keeping fire on the Germans on the hillside
coming down. The M.G.'s (2 Vickers guns) only had a belt
each per gun left - so we used German guns as far as possible.

This Coy. was only 40 strong. The remaining Coys. of
34th came in as under:

xxx  Diagram - see original document

The rest of the Tommies as far as this Coy. could see
were on the brown line. Capt. Cains three times sent back 
to the Brown line asking them to swing up the flank but it
was not done - (nearest Tommis were at the road about
L.1.D.5.7.(?) dug in along the road (on Brown line - wherever
that was), - till dusk on Aug. 23 (?).

34th Bn. was there till relieved by 10th Bde. on the
night of their attack on Bray.

2/Lieut. xxxxxxxxxx Blanche and 2/Lieut. Rohan were both
wounded by M.G. fire in the road - probably from Bray.

----------

34th BATTALION - AUGUST 29.

(Capt. Cain; Lieut. Norman).

At 4 p.m. Bn. started in artillery formation from

Summit Copse. The Germans had retired before daylight
(there at midnight but retired in the small hours, putting
down a heavy shoot before he moved. He left nothing -
not even a bomb.

At dawn patrols crept forward carefully and found not 
a shot fire - German position in old French trenches had
been evacuated.

The Coys. were as shown -

xxx   Diagram - see original document

C had to drop posts to protect flank as no one was on
the flank. Bn. moved in artillery formation of platoons
on a front of about 500 yds. with scout screen in front -
about xxx 12 men (scouts would be 200-100 yds. ahead).

They had to come down the hillside - old Somme battlefield
- through Hem and Howitzer Wood, both of which are
only wood stumps bore left - and met thick wire in front
of Terline trench. The M.G.'s were in 29A - behind the
wire somewhere - some underneath it - line of Terline
trench (part of which on left doesn't exist).

Bn. had to change its tactics then - and work up Glandos
Alley. They appeared to have ran into an outpost of 200

 

556

men on this hill. The fire was first drawn when Bn. was
well in view behind the scouts - the Germans must have seen
them clearly coming down the opposite hill. There was a
little whizzbang fire while coming down the hill. A few
L.H. had been seen but they were more down on the main
Clery road.

One platoon of A Coy. first worked up Glandos Alley -
past the wire which didn't cross the trench (wire was old
French stuff in very good condition). The platoon cross
the road and got their M.G. going from there against the
Germans, who were holding the heights more up towards Hill
110. Two more platoons spread down the old broken trench
towards Copse 5 (A Coy. only had three weak platoons)
striking no Germans.

Covered by this platoon, N. Coy. worked northwards up
Terline trench from Glandos. When they got about 50 yds.
along there was a big shellhole, consolidated into a post,
in the trench. There were a number of stick bombs in this.
B Coy. got these. The trench ended there.

As the Coy. came out of the trench it scattered and got
into shellholes and advanced by rushes covered by L.G. fire.

(As the Coy. had gone up the trench it was getting M.G.
fire from Road Wood on the Clery Ridge. It worked from
shellhole to shellhole. The Germans didn't expect the
attack from that direction because the trench had been
occupied. A Coy. had driven out a couple of posts on its
way up the trench. As B Coy. came on the Germans near the
hilltop they bombed them in shellholes and the Germans
surrendered. Coy. got about 50 prisoners. Our 2 Coys.
would not have been more than 80, and they had only 6 mags.
instead of 15 of 320 per L.G. because they had not enough
men to make the L.G. teams and carry them.

They had few or no casualties. B Coy. dug in along
the road north and south through 23D, 29B, making their own
left flank protection. Then the platoon of A which was in
front came back and dug in between B & A.

Capt. Cain sent out Sergt. T. Scott with three men to 
find the British on the left. He went across the front of
the next British bde. northwards and found the British bde.
which was on the north of that. It was dark - darkness
came on as they were digging in. The fighting had been 
just at even-fall before dark.

A Coy. couldn't fine 10th Bde. on right. The 10th
Bde. came up just about dark. (38th Bn. left would be about
Copse 5).

Stayed there that night. Got no hot food - it was
ready but Bn. had to push on too soon.

August 30th. - About 4.20 Bn. pushed on, A & D Coys.
leading and B in support. 37th Bn. on right and one Coy.
of 33rd. Bn. in reserve to 34th. The Coys. went on in
waves - in the dark - pretty considerably extended, in a NE
direction. Everything was very quiet till they got to
about 100 yds. from the wire in front (W) of Road Wood.
The Bn. was from Acarius Alley to about the north of Road
Wood - coys. mixed. There was not a great deal of wire.
The Germans had fired about 3 or 4 Verey lights from that
trench system as Bn. was getting up onto the rise. It
was just getting grey, changing from night - but the
Germans couldn't have seen them without a Verey light. If
the Germans had held their fire a little longer they would 
have got the Bn. in the wire - but they fired too soon.
The fire was intensely heavy - the place was alive with
guns. The Bn. dropped at once and got intot shellholes.
All day till 9 p.m. they were pinned there - the men had
to live on what they had. One of the German red-nosed
planes was flying low all day over our men in the shellholes.
The plane did not fire. The German artillery
and T.M.'s a little, but a lot of them fell into the
German trench, and they were putting up green flares for
 

557.

''lengthen range''.  Our artillery was trying to get the

German trench system and falling close to our men.  At

9 p.m., when it was possible to move,  the three Coys.

withdrew to an old trench system a little in rear and stayed

there. till about 2 or 3 a.m. on Aug. 31.

August 31. - Then they were withdrawn to the gully in

rear of Clery Ridge, for a feed. A 5.9 shell landed clean

into the dump just then - killed 8 men, blew up the rations

and the mail. It was a very ragged meal and the shell

fire was heavy.

While 34th Bn. was down having this feed 33rd. went

over and took this same trench system with a barrage - 34th

had had no artillery fire at all. (This was the same

attack for which Col. Henderson, 39th Bn., insisted on

necessity of barrage).

The troops who had been in the trenches in front of

34th. were Guards, and fresh troops with brand-new kit.

In this fight Capt. Macdonald was killed (at 5.30 a.m.)

in charge of A.

Lieut. Grunsell was killed (D Coy. ) in the same attack.

Capt. Beaver (O.C.  D Coy. )  was severely wounded.

Only Capt. Cain, Lieut. Richardson and Lieut. Grimsley

were left up there. Casualties were heavy.

-------

34th Battalion:    MORLANCOURT.

On May 5th.  B Coy. under Capt. Cain and 2 platoons of

A Coy. went over with 35th Bn. and with barrage took 2 lines

of German trenches. The wave followed very close to the

barrage. As soon as our men saw the German system by the

light of the flares which the Germans put up, they let out

a yell and went straight at them - the barrage having past

the trench. The 34th got in a bit quicker than 35th. and

as they got in the Germans bolted down the trench towards

35. There were 6 light and 1 heavy guns taken there, and

2 M.G.'s in the trench on the right of the road where A Coy .

got im. On the right of the road were potholes only. Ar

A & B were xxx to take the trenches and D hold them - and 

that happened.

Early in the morning on the right the line was lost - 

the Germans bombed D Coy. out. Lieut. Norman with some of

B and some of A Coys.  counterattacked and retook the

trenches. They saw D Coy. coming out and rushed in a  

counterattack within 20 minutes of the trenches being taken,

and retook them - the Germans had worked down the trench

past their bomb stop and bombed them out. Norman

re-established a bomb block. The following morning this

trench was lost again - the only communication with it was

across the road - and it couldn't be seen from north of the

road. The trench was lost some time in the morning - must

have been about dawn. At 2 p.m. Capt. Cains Coy.  sent 2

platoons with a T.M. barrage and a rifle grenade.

xxx   (next over page)

 

558.

xxx  Diagram - see original document

A L.G. was put in one sumph hole in the road (L) -
knee deep in water. Rifle grenadier was put in another
sumph hole (Coy. Commander, 2nd i/c and corporal) - the
T.M.'s were in quarry wood behind; and the 2 platoons
crawled across the road and got into sumph holes.

When the barrage opened they hopped out by sections and
occupied the potholes (a continuous trench was dug there
later). The Germans, under T.M. and grenade fire, got up
from shellholes beyond and ran. Cpl. Morgan, who was
out in the nearer sumph hole with his L.G., got these
Germans as they ran and was keeping down the fire of their
M.G. also - as barrage. No artillery - infantry supplied
its own barrage.

Lieut. Bailey was hit on the morning of May 6th when
they lost the trench - he got back.

Lieut. Delves was wounded in the original advance.

On a 500-yards front Cain had 28 men finally. 18 had
been supplied for the counterattack. About 14 had to be
supplied for a ration party - which left about 14 in the
line. 3 German M.G.'s were mounted in this attack.

----------

34th BATTALION: HANGARD WOOD.

34th Bn. was in reserve to 33rd. When the left Coy.
was cut up - by heavy M.G. fire from position on the rise jn
just south of Marcelcave as they came up the slope - A Coy.
34th Bn. was sent up to reinforce. It was impossible to 
reinforce as the slope was swept with fire. The only
thing was to attack the position.

On fall of dark the Coy. went forward extended - 
fairly close. The rushed the position - drove the Germans
out of the trench, went avout 100 yds. past it and held on
there till support Coy. of 33rd. Bn. came up and dug in
half-way up the slope where B Coy. 33rd. Bn. had attempted
to dig in. When they had consolidated A Coy. 34th Bn.
fell back on them and helped to hold the line (this would
be about 3 hours later). Early in the morning they were
relieved by British troops. Out of the German trench they
got 7 prisoners and 2 M.G.'s.

Lieut. Parkes was killed in rushing the trench - by a
M.G. They had made a straight rush at the trench from the
jump-off. In the early morn, finding that we had gone back
the Germans tried to come back to the trench, but as they
appeared on the skyline were very heavily fired on by our
L.G.'s. The Germans had bolted as the Coy. got to the 
trench.

----------

 

 

559

34th BATTALION - BONY.

(Major Fry - Lieut. Farleigh)

Temporary Lt. Col. (prev. Major) Fry, was in charge
34th Battalion in March, April and May (Col. Martin
returned for a few days about April 4th - then wounded).
Major Fry was wounded at Morlancourt in May - returned in
July in charge 34th Battalion to end when wounded again
at Bony.

September 27th. 34th Battalion moved from Peronne
September 27th marching by night through Mont. St. Quentin,
Bussy, Longaveines to X Copse, S. of St. Emile arriving
3 a.m. September28th. Armoured cars were concentrated
here.

1.30 p.m. Bde Conference - plans issued for attack
on Hindenburg line.
Approach march was to be N.E. Corner of Bois de Ronssoy,
and N. edge of Lempire, and through 27th American Division.
Dispositions were:-

xxx  Diagram - see original document

If red line were successfully taken by 10 and 11 Bdes, 9th
Bde was to exploit eastwards.

Its second assembly position was to be about the Beaurevoir
line W. of Bearevoir. Division had 16 tanks. (9 Bde had
2 per Battalion).

Battalion moved from X Copse at 6 a.n. and crossed the
Lempire Road at 9 a.m. It was about here that they struck
the smoke screen which was put down on the left where the
N. flank was open to screen the attack of the tanks. This
fog came up in banks - would last 5 mins - (our planes were 
dropping smoke bombs also) and lift and come down again.
When the mist rose in the intervals, after getting past the
road the 34th Battalion began to get into machine gun fire -
especially from the Knoll. Dispositions then were:-

xxx  Diagram - see original document

It began to be obvious that things were wrong. About
half a dozen men were lost. Battalions broke into Artillery
formation after crossing Lempire Road and struck heavier
machine gun fire about Lempire post. Battalions would be
seen there from Bony and from Knoll; and there it was
where machine gun fire was coming from. The Brigade moved
on to its first Assembly position from Island traverse, S. to
Duncan Avenue (in  S. end of Fag Trench or N. of Dog Trench)
which was very shallow.

Battalion Headquarters were in Fleet street near Doleful
POST.

 

560.

The mist was less thick after Empire Post. It
was now quite clear that the Americans had failed. The
tanks came with the Battalion, but the last of them was
hit by whizz bang near Fleet Street. Both tank officers
were wounded - Lieut. Meeks and Lieut. Newman of 16th
Tank Battalion (p27 and P25) both game officers. One
of the 40th Battalion tanks was ditched (by a shell) in
Fleet Street. There was a battery of guns in Bony
itself firing point blank. Colonel Fry and Lieut
McLeod went forward up to Dog trench. There were many
dead, wounded, and unwounded Americans in the trench.
They had been further forward during the morning,
they said, but had lost their officers - killed or
wounded - and they had no idea themselves of what was
to be done. They asked for some officers to be lent
to them. The men said if only they had some officers
they would go ahead again, but they didn't know what 
to do. Up to then the American casualties had been
very heavy - ours had been light - we had to turn the
whole of our stretcher bearers on to evacuate the 
Americans. The party of Americans there said that they
were quite sure that there was an American post at the
first X Road down Claymore valley, and that the post
there had a bag of 100 prisoners but didn't know what
to do with them, because there were Germans between
that post and Gillemont Farm.

Americans were crawling back on their stomachs
up the road S of Gillemont Farm, into Dog trench. It
was these whogave the information. (an officer of
4th Divisional Engineers later said he had been to that
post and seen them - he said he had been as far as the

main X road in Dirk Valley -this was probably in the
early morning when the engineers were to work).

After that the Germans Artillery Fire became much 
heavier - from N. of East. A message was sent to
Brigade giving the position. Col Fry was with a Coyl
commander when he was hit by 77 fragments at 12.30.a.m.
A Battery of 45 howitzers (British) had pulled to the
[*2*] W. of Z Copse about 11.30.a.m. and were under direct
maghine gune fire apparently from the Knoll (where in
the early morning the position was very obscure).

The tanks were to concentrate in Z Copse - in 17C N.
of Gillemont Road on Kent lane. Brigade Headquarters
was located there and got there. 34th Battalion had a
guide in each tank. Our tank officers knew of the
mines in the wire S. of this.

Orders were to concentrate all wounded men in
shellholes as aid posts - there was a special bearer
division of 100 men with an R.M.O. to clear the whole
Brigade area. This was because of the long carry
and for fear of the arrangements made by the Yanks.

__________

Major Grant took charge of Battalion with Headquarters
in Fleet St. About ¼ hour after an intense concentration
of artillery - 77 and 5.9 killed and wounded
25 of Headquarters. The sunken Road was very deep.
Headquarters was moved at once to the left in Fleet
Street away from the area where the tanks were stationed - 
3 or 4 others had pulled into a Gully at the rear.

There was a German mine with a barbed wire fence
round it, labelled in German as a mine field. The
mines there were plumpudding mines marked by the
Germans. About 15 minutes later about 2 p.m. orders
came from Brigade to move 34th Battalion forward
keeping immediately in rear of 10th Brigade. This

 

561.

was to be done at once. The Battalion was moved forward
and came into the same trenches with 10th Brigade.
Artillery and machine gun fire at this time was very
severe. The C.O. Major Grant, got safely across but
Adjutant Lt. Farleight and Sig. Officer Lt. McLeod (a/I.O)
were blown into a shell hole and buried. A good many were
wounded and five killed going across.

Lieut Richardson was wounded and his batman killed,
by shell just after they got to the trench.

Three Coys, were then in trenches from the Knoll to
Gullemont Farm. They would be in the Knoll trench and Willow 
Trench and probably Knoll Support. At once time later it
was thought that Germans were getting round N. of the
Knoll, and the Coy. on left was ordered to form a defensive
flank. (B Coy. was still in Fleet Street). As the order
didn't reach them any further advance by the Bosche was
prevented by a strong line of Lewis Gun posts on the left.
The Germans clearly wanted to get back into all the old
posts left during our barrage. They seemed to be working
from Vendhuille all the time.

When Headquarters were moved to the left of Fleet
Street touch was gained with Tommies who were garrisoning
the road on the left, by Eggpost. The defensive flank
was formed by C. Coy. (Lieut Hodges). The night turned
out a miserable one, raining, and heavy shelling all
through the night. In spite of the intense dark the
rations were got up by pack mules. The Q.M., Captain
Florence, and transport Officer, Lt. Granter, accompaied
the rations right to the front line - whole Battalion was
practically in front line.

They stayed in this position till 4 a.m. when the
Assistant Brigade Sig. Officer brought a message to move
Battalion across to Duncan Post and Duncan Avenue, and
carry out an attack in conjunction with the 11th Brigade at
6 a.m. It was impossible to get Battalion across in
time. The 33rd Battalion was ordered to do the work (they
had been in reserve till then). the 34th was brought
out and moved across the valley and occupied the position
marked out - (this was done before light - tanks were
still burning and proved a light house. The 34th got in
touch with 11th Bde. Headquarters then situred near Cat
Post and Battalion Headquarters moved into Cat Post.
The intensity of machine gun and artillery fire eased
considerably about this time.

August 30th - About daylight August 30th, ground
everywhere was strewn with dead Americans, English and 
Australian soldiers - more English there than any.

Battalion then moved S. into Benjamin Trench with 
Battalion Headquarters, near the road circus beside 41st
Battalion Headquarters (making a sort of composite Brigade).

This would be about 8.30? Bde Headquarters was
notified. Reply stated that they were then included in
the composite Brigade.

C.O. made a reconnaissance forward as far as Bony.
In afternoon 11th Brigade with 33rd Battalion cleared
Hindenburg line as far N. as nearly to Bony and B Coy.
34th Battalion moved down Dirk Valley and mopped it up and
the Triangle between the roads in 14th B & D. They killed
some Germans - the rest retired along the road down Dirk
Valley (on the S.E. side of Valley). A strong outpost
line was formed about along the grid between Squares 15
and 14. Battalion had 4 men hit during this operation
from shellfire. The Americans were very busy at this
time removing their dead and collecting wounded. They
were bringing them to Benjamin Post. They got none