Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/274A/1 - 1918 - 1941 - Part 7

3.
Strong posts and concrete machine gun emplacements had been
erected at regular intervals. In places the machine guns were
concealed with devilish cunning - covering innocent looking
gaps in the belts of wire - purposely left as death traps for the
advancing infantry. Underneath ran the massive concrete tunnel
for some 3 or 4 miles. This afforded safe cover for whole
brigades of infantry. The tunnel was found to be strongly
prepared for defence. Machine gun emplacements were erected,
and strong posts build along the tow paths.
This was the Hindenburg Tunnel, impregnable in defence, which
the Australians had heard so much of from captured prisoners
during their advance towards the Hindenburg line early in
1917. Few prophesied they would reach its interior some
18 months later.
Prior to the battle the tunnel was brilliantly lit with
electricity. Some lucky heavy shells had penetrated through
the air shafts and destroyed the plant. Everything below was as
black as night.
The ubiquitous "digger" fossicking about in its depths, by
candle-light, had come across a mysterious inner chamber containing
some copper vats, inside which were found portions of mangled
remains of German bodies. Human remains were also laying about
the chamber, the floors and walls of which were bespatted with
blood. The rumour soon circulated that a "boiling down works'
or "corpse factory" had been discovered.
Above ground near the entrance, numbers of German dead,
torn and twisted by shell fire, a ghastly sight, had been placed
in a huge heap, ready it was thought to be taken down below and
"treated".
American reporters soon gathered the information and without
much investigation flashed to the world the discovery of the
"boiling down plant" in the Tunnel.
Medical investigation however showed that an explosion had
occurred in the chamber blowing the occupants of the room to pieces,
portions of the bodies falling into the vats!
The gruesome collection of bodies outside the Tunnel, were
apparently an aggregation of wounded men, who had been badly
smashed during the days of bombardment prior to the attack, and had
been carried to an aid post near the Tunnel and died before
assistance could be rendered. The bodies were then dumped
in the open in one horrible pile. Many of them were still
laying on stretchers, some with clenched teeth, others open
mouthed, with wide staring eyes turned skywards - a haunting
spectacle. Some with fearful body wounds, suffering intense pain
had ripped into their palms with clenched fingers in their
terrible death agonies. Primitive first-aid had been rendered
in many cases, torn legs and arms being roughly bound up with
rifles and wooden staves as supports.
The Regimental Aid Post of the 30th Battalion was established
in an air shaft in the Tunnel. Many Americans beside our own
wounded being treated at, this post. In the blackness, 100 feet
below ground, a bargeful of German wounded were found. Two
German attendants wearing red cross armlets, apparently experienced
men, were looking after the patients. The barge was fitted as
a Hospital Ship, with a supply of dressings and medicine complete.
A small fire was kept burning for cooking purposes. Two huge
red cross flags adorned the exterior, a couple of dimly burning
oil lamps supplied the necessary lighting for the interior.
No Boche doctor could be found. The patients, all badly wounded,
were taken care of by our men.
The night of 30th September was bitterly cold, rain falling
at intervals. It was expected a general move forward would
soon be carried out.
Early in the night the last of the Americans were withdrawn.
On the 8th Brigade front the 29th Battalion, 31st Battalion
and 32nd Battalion were still in the front line. Very little
news had been received of the 32nd Battalion. The line extended
from NAUROY which had been taken by the 8th Brigade to a position
South of ETRICOURT. The 15th Brigade was were operationing on the left
of the 8th Brigade. English troops - the 32nd Division - were
to operate on the right of the 8th Brigade. The 30th Battalion

4.
(Brigade Reserve) had 2 companies assisting in the front line,
one of these however had returned to reserve.
Anticipating a move, the enemy resumed his heavy shelling
at an early hour on the morning of 1st October, gas shells
pre-dominating. On account of the heavy atmosphere the gas
clouds hung low, causing many casualties. There was
practically no cover excepting for Headquarters installed in
the Tunnel. At this stage, the 30th Battalion were called upon;
being split up and despatched where necessary to assist other
units in the line - a similar experience which befell the
Battalion during the attack at MORLANCOURT the previous July.
One company was already in the line. Another received sudden
orders to report to the 31st Battalion. About 2.0 a.m. a third
company received a hurried message to report to the 32nd Battalion
before 3.0 a.m. The message was very brief and laconic, simply
stating that "operations were to be resumed".
Few knew at the time they were going to participate in the final
fight of the 8th Brigade in France. The movements of this company
proved full of interest.
It would take 2 or 3 hours heavy marching through the slush
to reach the 32nd Battalion. The company was immediately assembled.
A Brigade guide was to be furnished. The Brigade guide got lost
in the darkness and did not appear. Owing to the urgency of the
errand, the company began to move off overland by compass bearing.
No forward reconnaissance had been made. At this stage the guide
was picked up. Progress was slow. The night was as black as ink,
with solid showers falling. The men, saddled with heavy loads,
stumbled on in the blackness, crawling through spiked pits, and
wrenching their way through the numerous belts of wire entanglements.
The Lewis gunners had a rough time - six guns were being carried
with heavy panniers. They cursed the Hindenburg line at every step.
At one point their phamtom figures were challenged with sudden
bursts from an enemy machine gun post; this held up the advance.
The guide was not sure of his direction. Another route was taken,
and after working through a barrage of shells, the 31st Battalion
was reached. Here another guide was requisitioned. The men
who had been trudging into the unknown, climbing over innumerable
trenches, pitching about in the slush and mud for 2 or 3 hours,
were nearly spent when they finally arrived at the 32nd Battalion
Headquarters. The distance of the march had been trebled owing
to the prevailing conditions.
On account of the urgency of the march no halts were taken.
At 5.40 a.m. the company arrived. Twenty minutes later they were
moving off in the front line to attack!!! On top of such an
exhausting march, surely this is a record in the fighting annals
of the A.I.F! ! !
The C.O. of the 32nd Battalion briefly explained the "operation".
This was the attack on MILL RIDGE (a German strong post) near
JONCOURT, at 6.0 a.m., under a creeping barrage. The company
were to be in the front line and had therefore less than 20 minutes
to organise and get ready for the stunt. They were to take the place
of a company of the 32nd Battalion who were already on the tapes.
The 30th Company were organised into 3 weak platoons. The 32nd
Battalion Company, being numerically weaker were to be withdrawn
as supporting troops.
A conference of officers was hurriedly held and the situation
explained with the aid of a candle on a 1/20,000 scale map.
The 30th Battalion were in the meantime led on to the tapes, where
they had a well deserved breather for the next few minutes. They
were also informed of the attack, and on being enlightened as to the
close proximity of "Zero" they lost no time in shedding any surplus
material.
The whole situation was startling, or at least novel, to even the
most seasoned of the warriors.
The plan of attack was as follows :
1 Company 32nd Battalion to be in the front line on the right.
1 Company 30th Battalion, front line, left.
2 Companies 32nd Battalion echeloned in rear.
1 Company 32nd Battalion in reserve.
The 31st Battalion would operate on the left of the 30th Battalion,
they were to make a ^converging covering movement and would link up with the

5.
30th Battalion at MILL RIDGE, the left flank of the 30th Battalion
being "in the air" until that point was reached. The 32nd British
Division was to operate on the right of the 8th Brigade, A.I.F.
The distance to the objective was roughly 700 yards, to be taken
under barrage travelling at the rate of 100 yards in 3 minutes.
At 6.0 a.m. the barrage dropped. The roar was intense,
the voice could not be heard. Officers signalled directions to
the troops in the dim light of dawn. The barrage was well
defined, the men, moving well forward, kept close contact. The
enemy "S.O.S." was soon signalled and his guns immediately
retaliated. One of the 30th Battalion officers who had his leg
blown off, knowing the shortage of revolvers in the Company,
gallantly unbuckled his belt and despatched his revolver and
ammunition forward, before he was taken to the rear.
Spluttering machine gun and rifle fire was encountered from the
enemy forward posts; this was overcome, and as the light improved
he made an excellent target as he bolted to the rear to take up
a new position.
An enemy low flying plane curious at the sudden turn of events
appeared over the line of skirmishers and swept them with machine
gun fire. The Lewis gunners immediately engaged the target with
short bursts. The plane was soon driven off with the hostile
reception and did not reappear. During this operation No. 1
rested the gun on the shoulder of No. 2.
Approaching MILL RIDGE the enemy was encountered in large
numbers but he did not wait for the bayonet and was driven off
by Lewis gun and rifle fire.
Nearing the objective the left flank of the 30th Battalion
linked up with the 31st Battalion who appeared moving up towards
MILL RIDGE. The line was thus complete and made a continuous
stretch from the heights of MILL RIDGE along the frontage of the
3Oth and 32nd Battalions and connected up with the 32nd British
Division who were now visible moving up on the right flank,
their objective being a line South of JONCOURT. MILL RIDGE was
soon captured and the line hastily dug in overlooking JONCOURT. -
Heavy enemy machine gun and rifle fire hastening the process.
About 8.0 a.m. enemy movement became very noticeable; the
volume of his fire became more active. As the position held was
very exposed the Company Commanders of the 30th Battalion and the
32nd Battalion, after hasty consultation, decided to push forward
and capture the village before the enemy could be reinforced.
The flanking units were accordingly advised of the proposed move,
and at 8.30 a.m. the two Companies moved forward to take the
village. The left flank of the 30th Battalion met severe
opposition from the enemy who had taken up a position in a sunken
road. The opposition was overcome and the village captured;
The Lewis gunners doing some splendid work, driving back the
enemy infantry, by manoeuvring for position among the various
shell holes.
Gun posts were immediately dug in commanding positions round
the edge of the village. The enemy machine guns continuously
swept the fringe of the village with heavy fire during this
operation. Shortly afterwards JONCOURT was subjected to a heavy
pounding by the enemy artillery for 2 or 3 hours. To obviate
casualties the gun-teams and riflemen on the edge of the village
were thinned out. This proved fortunate; fewer casualties were
reported. One shell however obtained a direct hit on a Lewis
gun blowing it to fragments; the men on duty fortunately escaping
with concussion. The majority of the troops obtained fair shelter
in the dug outs in the town, and were held in readiness for any
counter-attack.
After the bombardment troops from the 32nd British Division
moved up and took over that portion of the village held by the
company of the 32nd Battalion, A.I.F. Their company then came
round and strengthened the exposed flank of the 30th Battalion.
On account of opposition the 31st Battalion were unable to connect
up with the left flank of the 30th Battalion - this however was
accomplished later in the day.
During the afternoon much activity was noticed in the village
of WAINCOURT just East of BEAUREVOIR Trench, the last barrier of
resistance in the Hindenburg Line; WAINCOURT being situated

6.
beyond the line itself. Large bodies of reinforcements were
observed moving up to this point, transport being also noticed.
Messages were despatched to the rear for the artillery to deal
with the situation.
At 5.0 p.m. an impudent battery of enemy field guns drove up
and unlimbered in the open near WAINCOURT and fired point blank
into our lines. Our Lewis guns, also Vickers guns, which had in the
meantime been brought up, immediately engaged the targets, and with
a few bursts effectively silenced the gunners; no further attempt was
made to use the guns.
During the afternoon the enemy again bombarded the village
with his heavy long range guns, 8 inch shells dropping on the
village intermingled with a large number of gas shells. Smaller
calibre guns also joined in the bombardment. The shelling at times
became intense. Many dug out shelters were found, particularly at
street corners. These were very deep and strongly timbered, and
afforded good protection from the high explosive. Unfortunately
the deadly fumes of the gas penetrated these subterranean passages,
ejecting the occupants into the streets wearing their gas masks.
Here they were greeted with high explosive and shrapnel and forced
to take cover again. The village was soon badly smashed, fires bursting
out in several places. The troops were greatly relieved when
the bombardment ceased. They were beginning to feel the strain.
The village at this time was completely saturated with gas.
The old German Headquarters were located at a street corner
in the centre of the town near the Church, and were used by the
30th Battalion as Headquarters. It consisted of a deep dug-out
and passages with two entrances. Gas screens had been erected.
These quarters had to be abandoned for several hours on account
of the deadly nature of the fumes which penetrated its depths.
The gas screens proved ineffective.
Early in the evening word was received that the 5th Brigade
who had just arrived in the line, were being sent forward to relieve
the troops in JONCOURT. A supply of hot boxes also arrived
unexpectedly during the night, and the famished warriors of the
30th Battalion enjoyed their first meal for some 30 hours.
At 1.0 a.m. on the morning of 2nd October the relief was carried
out. The 17th Battalion relieving the 30th Battalion Company who
moved out via ETRICOURT, NAUROY and BELLECOURT and took up a
position in QUINNEMONT Trench, rejoining their Battalion at
MALAKOFF FARM after a short rest. Here the Company received
congratulations on the splendid assistance they were able
to render to the 32nd Battalion.
The news of the forced night march without a stop to the
position of assembly, and the subsequent few minutes breather on
the tapes, prior to "jumping off" had preceded their return.
The men deserved all praise for their splendid discipline, and
wonderful stamina shown in overcoming their share of difficulties,
encountered in the last actual engagement of the 8th Brigade
and 5th Division in France.
At MALAKOFF FARM word was also received of the capture of
ESTREES by the 15th Brigade on 1st October, also the great work
accomplished by the 3rd Division in their final efforts in the
Hindenburg Line, the back of which was now completely broken.
By 2nd October the last barrier was smashed and the Hun was
being chased into the blue on territory where he had no
fixed defences, and could offer little resistance.
The 8th Brigade moved back to ROSIEL entraining a few days
later to a rest area near ABBEVILLE, where the 5th Division
remained until the signing of the ARMISTICE on 11th November,
1918. 

20 REVEILLE September 1, 1935.
The Attack at
Bellicourt
September 29, 1918
(By P. Lucas, M.C., 32nd
Battalion)
The battalion was in a rest area at Doingt, close to
Peronne, when orders were received to move up to take
part in an attack in conjunction with American troops.
So. at 4.30 p.m. on September 27, we moved off, and
arriving at Hargicourt about 10 o'clock, camped in old
dugouts and trenches, in which we remained the following
day.
The attack of the 5th Australian Division, which
would follow that of the 30th American Division, was
timed to take place on September 29. The final objective
was about 2,000 yards in front of our present front
line, which lay on the high ridge facing the town of Bellicourt
and the tunnel through which the St. Quentin
Canal flowed underground for a considerable distance.
The 117th and 120th American Regiments were to
move forward at "zero" hour, pass down the face of the
slope, cross the canal and tunnel and proceed to their
final objective- a line running roughly north and south,
about 200 yards east of Nauroy, 1,000 yards east of Bellicourt,
with the southern end of the high ground near
Fosse Wood, 2,500 yards east of the canal. Through this
line the 29th and 32nd Australian battalions would pass
at 11 am, the 32nd pushing on for 1,000 yards to the
high ground south of Joncourt, the 29th taking Mill
Ridge, Joncourt and the high ground to the east.
So much for the orders. At 7 a.m. on Sept. 29th the
32nd Battalion moved to its jumping-off position—the
front line looking down on Bellicourt. On the way forward
we passed through our own 18-pounder batteries,
firing in the open, with their horse-teams standing by.
An artillery colonel alongside one of the batteries told
me that everything appeared to be going all right with
the Americans, who had duly attacked at "zero,” and
as we moved on he said, "Don't worry about the guns.
There are plenty of guns and ammunition.
When we topped the ridge and looked down into the
valley, nothing could be seen for fog. Around us, however,
were large parties of Americans sitting about on
the ground. One of their officers, in charge of about 50
men, told me that he was waiting for the fog to lift,
in order to see his way forward. Another was numbering
his party off and forming them into fours, when suddenly
the fog lifted for a few minutes and we glimpsed
the canal just below us. The storm of machine-gun
bullets which immediately fell around us at once convinced
the American officer of the unwisdom of carrying
out parade-ground drill and massing men together during
an attack.
The direction from which the machine-gun fire had come made
us realise at once that something had gone wrong, for the position
should have been in American hands. Major B. A. Wark (who, after
this battle, added the V.C. to his D.S.O.), in command of the 32nd
Battalion, at once decided to push forward with all speed and, attaching
all the Americans in the vicinity to his command, began to
move down the slope. As we neared the tunnel the fog lifted, and
the advancing companies immediately came under heavy machine-gun
fire, which caused numerous casualties. Without delay Wark got into
touch with the tanks, using them to mop-up several machine-gun
nests and thus enabling the advance to move forward.
Crossing the tunnel we came upon open ground rising towards Nauroy.
"D" Company here came under severe fire from the village, and
Capt. A. T. Rogers (of Coolgardie), a fine leader, one of the few
remaining original officers of the battalion, was killed. Nevertheless,
with the assistance of four tanks the southern end of the village was
captured, and Wark, taking "D" Company, proceeded to mop-up.
Meanwhile, the other companies had become engaged in the attack
on the ridge south of Nauroy. Here two or three tanks were
knocked out all by direct hits, Fritz showing a vast improvement
in his method of dealing with tanks since the attack of Aug. 8th.
About 1.30 p.m. Lieut. H. T. Crain and I, with about a dozen
men, reached the spur of the ridge south-east of Nauroy. Here we
found a very good trench with a splendid field of fire towards the
north of the village and the sugar factory, where the 29th battalion
was held up. Looking east we discerned what we took to be part of
the battalion moving in the direction of Joncourt, and, at the same
time, observed a number of Germans coming towards us from the
direction of the sugar factory. After a few seconds' talk we decided
that the best thing to do was to remain in our present position,
which was an excellent one to cover Wark's left flank, for he appeared
to have no support in that direction.
In the trench we discovered a German 77 m.m. gun and a quantity
of ammunition. We soon got the gun into action, putting a good
number of rounds into Nauroy before Fritz responded and blew the
gun out. Luckily, no one was hit.
Shortly afterwards R. C. Aland, of the 31st Battalion arrived with
some of his company, as from nowhere. This very welcome
reinforcement was supplemented a few minutes later by the arrival
of Capt. E. W. B. Woods and his medical staff; they had been having
a little war wih Fritz all on their own just along the ridge from
us.
ALL QUIET
At the moment things were very quiet in our position. The Germans
we had seen in the valley seemed to have faded into the
ground, and all was apparently quiet in Nauroy. Behind us, marching
on to Wark's right flank, was a Britsh regiment in column of
route, with its transport and cooker. We almost fainted with shock
when we saw them, expecting that every available German gun would
at any moment range upon such a tempting target. But no, I don't
think a shot was fired at them.
We now noticed that Wark was swinging back his left flank.
I sent him a message telling him where I was, and that I was in
touch with the 31st Battalion, which was moving into the gap between
our flank and Nauroy. At last some sort of order appeared
to be coming out of the disorder of the earlier part of the day. Towards
evening the position was as follows: Our right flank in touch
with the Lancashire Fusiliers; left flank in touch with 31st Battalion;
Nauroy believed to be partially held by the enemy.
Rain was coming down as darkness fell and everyone felt completely
miserable. During the night two Germans walked in and surrendered.
When our rations arrived the Transport Officer (Lieut. P. A. Bull)
stated that he had come through Nauroy without seeing anyone. Next
morning, however, the village proved to be full of Germans, and our
Transport had driven through its streets without the enemy being
aware of its presence.
At 7 a.m. on Sept. 30, we pushed our line forward about 1,000
yards to conform with the British division on our left.
We were still uncertain as to how things were going with the
29th Battalion, but the day was fairly quiet along our portion of
the line. But the rain, which continued all day, made things very
unpleasant. About 8 p.m. we sneaked our line forward another 200
yards, and then settled down for the night.
GERMANS QUIT JONCOURT
At dawn, on October 1, Major Wark, who I think had not
closed his eyes since the attack commenced, sent me with a small
patrol to reconnoitre Joncourt. We got right into the village and
found it deserted. Fritz had evidently gone during the night. I went
up the church tower, from which I observed Germans about 1,000
yards away, but I came down quicker than I went up, for Fritz
fired a small shell into it as I was on the landing where the bell
was rung.
As we left the church we met a British patrol just moving
into the village and I sent word back to Wark that the village
was empty, and before 8 o'clock he had his line established on is eastern
side.
Wark established his H.O. in a very comfortable pillbox. It was
a beautiful morning, and, as I sat talking to him, a runner pointed
to some wires running round the top of the wall, and asked if any
of us could hear a ticking sound. I don't know if the others heard
any ticking, but I thought I could, so I shot out into the sunlight
and safety. Judging by the crowd that followed me, every one evidently
thought they could hear ticking. (I have never heard if that
pillbox was blown up or not, but it certainly remained intact during our
occupation of the area. Looking back on the incident, I feel certain
that the place was not mined, but our nerves were in such a strained
state that we all imagined we could hear the "ticking" as soon as
someone suggested it).
That night we were relieved by, I think, the 20th Battalion. As
we marched back to Hargicourt, little did we think that for us the war
was over. We had fought our last night and suffered our last casualty
and were, in fact, starting on the long trail for home.
The Bellicourt fight always stands out in my mind as one of the
most remarkable battles in which our battalion participated. What
promised, before the attack, to be a brilliant success, seemed, after
noon, on Sept. 29th as if it could result in a huge disaster -(instead
of "mopping up" the Germans, they themselves been "mopped up")
-for two American regiments had "gone," the 32nd battalion was
reaching for its final objective with its left flank in the air and
the 29th battalion was held up round the sugar factory. Things certainly
looked black. Then, by the evening, some sort of a line had
been established, and, although the position was still obscure on the
left flank, a feeling began to grow that the attack was being handled
with confidence. 

53rd BATTALION, BELLICOURT, SEPTEMBER 29th. 1918.
On September 29th the 53rd Battalion bivouacked in the trenches
from which the Americans had jumped off. These were very much
torn by shell - in G 2 or thereabouts. They got there easily
and were little a little shelled during the night - there was a
good deal of gas lying in the shell holes from the previous
bombardment.
About dusk 53rd Bn. received orders from ahead (probably
from 55th Bn.) that they were to go forward to a trench beyond
Bellicourt. Later it was found that this trench was still in
the hands of the Germans. The orders were cancelled about an
hour later - 7 p.m.
It was a very dark rainy night. The troops were a bit
scattered over the hill, mostly in bivvies in shellholes.
About 0.30 a.m. (30 Sept.) the Brigadier came down and told
53rd that they were to attack the Le Catelet line and clear it.
They would be supported by 55th Bn. and were to go over at 6 a.m.
The Brigadier spent xxxx about 2 hours with the Colonel in
the dugout. About 2.30 the Brigadier left. The Coy. Commanders
were called in to the C.O.'s dugout and had a conference lasting
about 3/4-hour. They were to move at 4. The Coy. Commanders
didn't leave till about 3.30 a.m. There was a great difficulty
in getting the troops together in the dark, rain and wind. By
a little after four, 3 of the Coys. were assembled on the track,
but A Coy. did not turn up for half an hour afterwards. It was
just after 5 when they started to move.
They moved down the road and turned off it to the north.
55th Bn. had promised to leave a guide to show where to turn off
to the H.Q. of 15th Bde., who were to give them a further guide
to the J.O. position. The 55th did not leave a guide as they
said they had no one who knew the way. The Colonell Colonel had
accordingly to lead by his own knowledge and they were delayed
about 1/4-hour while they searched for H.Q. of 15th Bde, who
could not be found.
Just as Bn. reached the outskirts of Bellicourt the alleged
barrage opened - a few 18-pdrs. - just about at the Cross-road.
They turned to the left up the road and then struck the
trench crossing it from west to east just north of the town.
The time was then about 6.20 and they were still 500 yards from
the J.O. point.
The C.O. told the Coys. to break out into artillery
formation and advance from that trench in columns of sections
as if it were the J.O.T.
Ridley is not sure where their right was in this trench,
but they were fired on from Cabaret Wood farm though they did not
take it.
The Coys, were as follows:-
Diagram - see original document 

2.
200 or 300 yards from the J.O.T. the German M.G.'s opened on
them and it wasn't long before the supporting Coys. had mingled
with the front line Coys.
B crossed the Le Catelet line and seems to have gone up
astride of it.
C started to follow the canal, but later charged into the
Le Catelet line; and D took the Canal bank.
While C was crossing to the Le Catelet line Captain Wilson
was killed.
B had some heavy hand to hand fighting with bombs in the
Le Catelet line. Captain Johnson, O.C. of B Coy., rallied B
and C again and again when things looked pretty serious and our
men seemed to be convinced they couldn't break the Germans.
Johnson was mortally wounded about 9 a.m.
Lieut. Hill was with D Coy. on the canal bank, and as Lieut.
Thompson, who was in charge of D, was seriously wounded early,
Hill took charge of the fighting on the canal bank and did
exceedingly well there.
The Lewis gunners were firing from the hip when C Coy.
crossed over - some of A Coy.'s Lewis gunners were doing the same
thing. One gunner - BATTESE - a small chap and very young, who
had won the M.M. at Morlancourt for work with his gun, was
standing up in the open (A Coy.) between the tunnel and the
Le Catelet line, and was killed as he swished his gun around.
He was found there later and was buried in a cemetery in rear.
(He was probably killed in 22C).
53rd Bn. captured 2 whizzbangs down the valley by the Le
Catelet line - these had opened on them when they attacked; and
one in Top Lane and one further along the tunnel.
At the end of thi this series of attacks our line ran from
Railway Ridge westwards across the valley to the begginning of the
upward slope to the west. Ahead of it was the German position
on the knob. Hill had to lead a lot of bombing attacks along
the Le Catelet trench before this stage was reached - the 53rd
were by this time all in the Le Catelet line. The C.O. was
preoccupied with the problem of connecting up across the open
with the other units in the line of the tunnel. This was done
by a number of posts. Eventually these posts were pressed
forward by the 53rd Bn. to the line of a road east and west
through the valley (possibly a track).
When they were clearing the line, Lieut. Ralphs of C Coy.
advanced with a small party from the Le Catelet line and
captured a German battn. commander with his adjutant and 40 or
50 Germans. In bringing them in Ralphs was mortally wounded.
(Hill comes from Victoria - in the country somewhere).
(Ralphs was from up country in N.S.W. He was shot through
the neck and died soon after). The Bn. Commander was sent back
to Bn. H.Q. which by then had been moved back to a house at the
north end of Bellicourt. During the attack this house had been
badly shelled, and the aid post adjoining was blown in, only a
wounded German escaping unhurt.
On the night of Sept. 2/3 (?) the Battn. was pulled out.
The German Bn. commander said that the Germans would counter-attack
strongly and drive us out of the position. He also said
that his Bn. had captured about 800 Americans.
The Americans all day were assembling behind the tunnel
south of the C.T. just outside Bellicourt. The Lieut. in charge
offered his services to the Colonel - or rather the 53rd
commandeered about 40 of them as a carrying party. They did
it very willingly, and made about 4 trips with water and
ammunition - two trips each night.
All our dead were cleared from the field. Over 40 (?)
German M.G.'s were captured and about 40 prisoners.

3.
KILLED:
Capt. Wilson, M.C.
Lieut. Aldhouse (almost at the jump-off of attack from
J.O.T. by M.G. Bullet in head)
Lieut. Ralpha, M.M. )
Capt. Johnson, M.C.) died of wounds.
WOUNDED:
Lieut. Stinson, M.C.
Potts (wounded when Wilson was leading C Coy.
to Le Catelet line)
Thompson
About two days after the show Lieut. Ridley was taking a
party up the Le Catelet line to clean it up. They came on two
Germans who had been left wounded. They were crying out in
agoy for water; and about dusk - Ridley had only about three
men and no stretcher - they searched for water and at last
poured some out of the M.G.'s which they found and left some by
their side. The Germans were crying out - "Hospital! Doctor!"
The party put some blankets over them and said they would do
their best to get them in.
On getting back to H.Q. they called for volunteers to bring
these Germans in. H.Q. volunteered to a man. A party of 12
went out and brought them in - they were put on a hospital car
at once and rushed to C.C.S. The digger on the way back was
taling talking all the while - "Oh, well, poor blokes - they
didn't make the war"; and so on.

TELEPHONE Nos
F 2597.

F 2598.
COMMUNICATIONS TO BE ADDRESSED TO
"THE DIRECTOR."
IN REPLY PLEASE QUOTE
NO..
COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA.
HOME AND TERRITORIES DEPARTMENT.
TELEGRAPHIC ADDRESS
"AUSWARMUSE."
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL.
EXHIBITION BUILDINGS, MELBOURNE.
[*Bellicourt*]
1st August, 1927.
Dear Mr. Bazley,
At my request Mr. Heyes recently obtained
a copy of British official photograph Q.9364 showing the
tanks going into action at Bellicourt on the 29th September,
1918. I thought that this would probably be of interest to
Mr. Bean in connection with the illustrating of Volume VI.
As it may be several years before you want
the photograph it occurred to me it might be advisable to
mention this to you now so that you can place this letter
with your papers dealing with Volume VI and thus prevent
it from being overlooked.
The A.W.M. number of the photograph is
H.12,514.
Yours sincerely,
J Treloar
Mr. A. W. Bazley
C/o. Official Historian,
Victoria Barracks,
Sydney.

1918
See Operations of the 2D. American
Corps in the Somme Office Aug 8-Nov 11
1918
by US War Office. 
Also Report of the Chief of Staff US Army
and Annual Report of the ^Us Secretary
of War 1919. 
General Maurice "The Last Four Months."