Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/117A/1 - October 1918 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War:  Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number:  3DRL606/117A/1
Title:  Diary, October 1918
Covers events of 9-20 October; mentions W M
Hughes, Sir Keith Murdoch, negotiations with
Germany and Bean's visit to London.
AWM38-3DRL606/117A/1

PART OF 117  AWM 38  No number-Oct.9, 1918 - Oct.20 1918.
No. 117a    3DRL 606 ITEM 117A [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918
THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial.  But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.
These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be
true.  The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind.  Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered.  Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed.  Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded.  But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events.  The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true.  All
second-hand evidence herein should be used with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946.    C. E. W. BEAN.
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN

Oct 16.  The old lady at
the Magne Tour
at Nimes & The German
Pressmen and [Shorthand]
French in train - [Shorthand]
4^th to 8^th Oct [[mol.?]] to
be done.
24^th to 30^th also.

(T) C
9 Oct.  Wednesday.,  I left
with Gilmour & crossed
to England.  I met Col. Welch,
O.C. Ship   I had a letter
from old Jock to say that he
had been offered leave in
Australia (6/12 as he puts
it) & that he had decided to
Niuxxx, Carter, Exxxxrt, Aixxxer Most
accept it.  I also heard
that Billy Hughes was
coming over with the
last party of visitors -
bringing them himself -
in a few days time.
So I decided to finish
dictating my diary to
Crawford & cross at
once to England & see Jock
& return _^ with the day after
Hughes, if necessary.
At Boulogne on the
boat I had a wire from
Aust Corps that Billy
was crossing the next day

Corps is also constantly
fighting at Bohain _^ near where it
replaced us.  They called themselves
storm divisions - 
& it is how they are used,
right enough.  The I notice _^ signs tt they
seem to consider tt they have
The Emperor
/ same difficulty in getting /
British communique to mention
them tt we had.  (Indeed Gen.
Lewis told me so.).  Anyway, /
American communique now
deals w them tho' they are
on / British front.
Oct 20. Sunday.  The British
have apparently bn stirred into
a special communique
mentioning / Americans.
Zeebrugge, Heyst, Thielt Bruges
taken.  Charles of Austria has promised
his peoples local autonomy - Hungary
to be joined only by / crown to Austria.
Wilson has told him tt the Czecho-Slovaks
[*now our allies will have to be / judges of what
is sufficient there.  Karolyi & Tisza are / centre
of wild scenes in / Reichslog Hungarian
Parlt.*]

& wanted to see me.
Told.  However, as one never
knows what happens when
a man is warned for
Australia I decided to
cross at once & see Jock
I was also anxious to
get a holiday which I
had arranged from Oct 15
in the S. of France.
I cannot think (writing
this on Oct 15) who it was
that met me in Boulogne
& crossed with me - some one
of our officers.  And that
growing lack of memory is
one of the reasons that has
driven me to think that a
complete holiday wd be a

Cannes - not what one
came for - but I slept
a good part o / day &
read / rest.
The British have 
passed Tourcoing & Roubaix.
And the Belgians are in
Bruges. The French have
crossed the Aisne at Vouziers.
Now thro the [[Hundung stillway?]], N. of Laon!
The Americans (there are 
now 2 armies of them) are
fighting very hard in /
Argonne - I fancy that
battle _^ at Grandprē must really be /
heaviest now because if
the Germans are broken there
it seems to imperil their
whole retreat. The 2nd American

good thing.  Our troops
have come out of the line.
After the last stupid wicked
fight at Montbrehain
where Mahoney of the 24^th &
other proud men fell for no
reason except to  increase
the reputation of a division
& of a general [one wd
not bxxxd grudge them if the fight
had had the results
which could have been
won from it had the
front been wider] after
that stupid wicked affair wasteful
little success, when the
18^th Bn went up in support
100 men strong in all, our

paper announces tt
Lille ws entered this
morning by French &
English troops _^ (Birdwoods old army).  [Later an aviator
found tt / Germans had
left Lille in / early morning.
The English invited a
regiment of the 1st French
Corps D'Armēe to enter /
town first.  This ws done
abt 10 a.m.  The town ws
flagged, seamstresses had bn
sewing all night.  This ws
/ first occasion on wh One
has heard of any marked
demonstration.].
Oct 19. Sat:  Raining in

old Australians
were with divisions.
On the 8^th when I went
up to see the American
divisions in order to
obtain, if possible, their
account of the fighting for the
Bellicourt Tunnel, I
found the 30^th American
Division at the Quarrys
at Templeux Guerard
- enjoyed, that, day,
in a break through from
the positions which
we had reached at
Montbrehain.  Our field
artillery was supporting

& are clearing / the way N.
of Lille.
Oct. 17.  Thurs.  To Marseille.
Tonight in the theatre
it ws announced by
the leading lady:
"Messieurs et Madames
j'ai l'honneur de vous
announcer que les
Anglais ont pris
Ostende."  The band
struck up / Marseillais,
& people stood up & sang
it.
Oct 18 Frid.  To Cannes -
a tremendously long train
- very full.  The evening

them, (only the 1st Divl
arty & I think the 3rd
(Army) Bde A.F.A. having
come out for a rest.
They had had wonderfully
good reports earlier in
the morning (& I think
they are apt to jump at
these rather incautiously
at present) & these had
been whittled down a
lot later.  They had as
a matter of fact got
their green line (the
red line was still far
ahead) & the tanks
were just going out to

to be enforced not by
force of right but by force
of arms) that strong
military weapon on which
this traditional policy
depended."  I quote it
from memory.  But it is
/ straightest admission
of Germany's present
positn tt I have ever
seen.
The British 2nd
Army, the Belgian
Army of 12 Divns, & the
French army of 5 Divns
up in Flanders, all
under / King of /
Belgians, have advanced

Premont, which in the
first flush had been
reported taken.  The British
cavalry were at Vaux le
Pretre, ready to break
through - it was a
real clean break through
(so some of our Australians
who were attached, told
us) but they were
held up by the British
division (I think the
6^th) on their right - 
which itself was held
up by the French N of
St Quentin, who had

with the Bulgars on conditn
they give up their arms,
but not so the Germans.
They are barbarians.  You must
just strike!" she sd fiercely
looking at me.
The spirit of the French
- one never ceases
wondering at it.
The "Frankfurter Zeitung"
has an article for the
Germans to read & take to
heart by one of coming from one of themselves.
It says tt "Germans must
recognise tt at this
critical point in this
history, there is wanting
to their traditional policy
(that the national aims are

not got ahead so far
as expected.
The xxxx old general
- Lewis - was very
shy of giving me any copies
of official papers of theirs
but he was ready to
give me anything
unofficial.  He asked
me in to lunch.
After lunch an Australian
youngster, Maj. Wall of the
6^th Field Ambce, passed
me - he had been up
helping at their advanced
dressing stn as their own
senior medical officer
there had been killed the

Oct 16^th.  Wed.  Saw round
the Amphitheatre, Temple
of Venus, Ma Tour Magne.
The old lady at / Tour
Magne ws just going away as
I got up to it - late in /
aftn.  She _^ ws put out - sd it ws too late -
it ws foggy - no view - made
me promise not to stay long
up there.  Poor old thing she
ws very short of breath & feeble.
I stayed a very short time &
gave her a franc - & she
ws completely mollified.  She
went for me straight abt /
Germans:  Mustn't make peace
with them!  Barbarians!  Its all
right to make an armistice

night before.  Wall took
a Ford car this morning
right up to Montbrehain.
He arranged their medical
evacuations for them -
they had no idea of classifying
cases, he sd - not
even of introducing / simplest
form of classification
by putting stretchers as
serious cases in one
place & light cases in
another & so on.  They
were very willing to learn
but were like children
in their simplicity.
Their officers at the