Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/42/1 - April 1916 - Part 8

80

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away telephone wire? "Good
heavens, General, I shouldn't
think of it," White sd. The
British Commanders were
all inclined to think o /
material & White, I knew,
ws all for avoiding risk.
 

3 81
he asked.
Once persuaded, Godley
ws very staunch. He
stood by Whites idea o / evacuation
like a good one. Birdwood
did not trouble himself
abt / ^important details. Once /
plan ws settled it ws
some o / quite small
details tt interested him,
curiously enough - cd we get
——————————————↑
This fitted in exactly
w what I ws convinced
ws / case - tt / plan o /
evacuation ws really Whites.

White says tt Jackson &
Glasfurd are both first class men
- Jackson an exceedingly able
soldier. So that old Bull Antill
may be a trifle discounted in
his version of the last night.
 

3      82
Ap 23. Easter Sunday. The first
altogether fine day. Herbertson
rode over to Bailleul to
morning service on his motor
byke.
This afternoon an explanation
of gas ws given by a touring
lecturer from / second army.
They had their biggest late attack
on Dec. 19^th - German gas.
The casualties were mostly
thro men not getting into
their helmets quickly enough -
you need to get in in 10
seconds. The shells are worse
now than the cylinder attacks
as ∧^liquid gas  is made gaseous
by / explosion . Lacrymatory
shells are constantly used
& in any big attack / Germans
now use all sorts of gases.
The lacrymatory shell gas
gets thro' / ordinary
 

[He explained how you
cd find a battery by looking
at aeroplane photos for
tracks - typical battery
tracks (beside a trench or
on a road w
 

3          83
helmet - so we now have
goggles w sponges inside /
helmets as well - PHG.
There is a still newer helmet
- The Tower - being issued
wh is a good deal more
perfect. The danger is tt
men may be overcome in
their sleep before / sentry
can warn them. War is getting
a perfectly beastly business.
250 gas shells were thrown
at a battery near Ypres. The
shell holes smoke away for days.
This evening we had another
expert speaking on / explanation
of aerial photos.
[Diagram]
& so on - The Science
seems at present to be
 

3            84
very vague. Spent most o /
day writing. A glorious fine
day. Griffiths But I am not
afraid tt Australians will
stay behind in this country now
alto' you do see / kids
holding their hands. The
month of March ws / wettest
for 35 years & this looks
like to rival it. Not much
pneumonia amongst our
troops. Very Strict orders are
being issued tt men shall not
show themselves around billets.
America looks like coming
in at last. This would mean a
good deal to neutrals - tt /
great nation, wh claims to
stand judge of / war simply from
/ side of humanity, is so clearly with
us.
The Russians have landed
a force at Marseilles.

3              85
We have retaken part of a
trench wh we lost on the
Ypres-Langemark Rd, & /
French some trenches around
Verdun.
Griffiths tells me tt it ws /
5^th, M'Cays, Division wh
suffered so heavily on / march
to Serapeium from Tel el. Kebir.
The 15^th Bde, Gen Irvings, started
at a late hour; / men had just bn
put into trousers & had new
boots; and / day ws tremendously
hot. When they cdn't get on
any further instead of letting
men fall out in / ordinary
way by / roadside & picking
them up they were told to
go on if they could & / march
became a go-as-you-please.
Half a dozen died - so we hear
& a lot were in hospital

3             86
Ap. 24. Went round the first
Brigade lines with Butler. The
houses along / roads at /
back are very much shelled
& l whole place looks very
unhealthy. They were shelling
a hedge as we came up -
we cd see / shell smoke
behind / trees & hear /
Swift whine o / shells - 77s or
as they call them here "whiz
-bangs." "The 77 is are a whiz-bang
& the 75 is a bang-whiz" as
someone sd yesty.
They had seen some
working party o / 3rd Bn
all in a clump tt morning -
& were shelling / place all
day.
While in / trenches we saw
one of our 'planes simply
soused in shell - every

3           87

minute or so about
a dozen shells seemed
to go whizzing at it &
past it - a pin point
flash & then an ugly
black burst - but it
Simply came straight back
again to face / music for
at least an hour. They
must have fired 150 shells
or 200 at it.
"They may get any
o / others but I'd be
dead sick of they got him"
one of our men said.
"Well - I haven't got
his guts - that chap clean
beats me," sd another.
The men were brimming
over w admiratn for
him & so ws old Butler.
As we went along I
 

3 38
happened to look up into
a trench periscope stuck on
the parados on a stick in a
tin of mud - & there was
/ head of a German - I was
sure of it - moving along a
bit of their trench - 6
feet or so & then it ws
gone again. There ws
some earth being thrown
up at / same point.
This battalion (2nd)
went out & bombed /
Germans last night; &
the germans were also
seen calling them up w
a lamp. They answered.
"You Australians go
back home!" sd / light.
"Why" asked our light
wh answered it.
"Because we are good"
 

3         89
was the rather feeble
answer. So they have spotted
us, for certainty now.
A lot of suspects have
been arrested. But the
most suspicious - a Fleming
who ws asking questions of
a sergt, & ws followed to
a house where window
blind signals were noticed
at night - (the landlady
sd there ws no man there,
but he left afterwds &
ws followed to a house
in Sailly where / landlady
also sd there ws no one
- until he ws found) has
escaped. Instead of arresting
him they simply put a
Guard round / house &

he ws gone in / morning
It is extraordinary
 

 3          90
to see little children -
golden haired - running
about the farm bldgs
when a farm only one or
two fields away is being
shelled - but there it is.
They have their gas helmets.
- & some were carrying them.
The first & second battalions
say they have not very many
old Anzac soldiers here
perhaps 25 per cent who
were there. But the men
are trying all the time.
I saw more work in
progress in our lines today
than I have ever seen -
clearing the mud from under
the duck boards - digging
a new communtn trench
near V.C. Avenue - building
new dugouts - Engrs were