Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/155/1 - 1915 - 1917 - Part 4

35
37
Germans - then put in
strong block.  Rodda & Woolf
& Col. Davis now came.
During relief That night it ws
reported to Kennedy tt left
had bn attacked w flame
thrower but had bn beaten off
w rifle Grenades.

35
38
23Bn. Bullecourt.
The 24 Bn took OG1, & 2, &
Decanville.
23 Bn ws to follow thro,
jump off from pass thro 24 at Decanville;
1st wave to take German line
thro e of Riencourt;
2nd & 3rd the Sunken Rd.
to Hendecourt thro 17D;
4th wave to estab ^right half of series
of str posts betw Chateau
& Contour 90 ,(Le Brulle).
21 on left.
The British were to take

35
39
Hendecourt, & 5^th Bde
Riencourt.
They were 5 6 7 & 8
waves behind 24 Bn.
5 Dawson Capt.
6 Pascoe Capt.
7 Dunn Capt k.
8 Parkes Capt.
(shorthand)
The German pre-Zero
barrage did not disorganise
these waves tho isolated
shells touched them - The
people rt & left seem
to have got these.
The Germ. barrage did
not catch the 23Bn. The
4 waves were to wait
behind 24 but as it

35
40
turned out they moved
from rly Embankt &
went straight on, the
24 Bn moving off just as
23 reached them.
The waves were maintained
till O.G.2 & there remained
in trench waiting for the
barrage to move on.
They went thro O.G.2
for abt 50yds & then
found themselves getting
too close to own
barrage & fell back
near OG 2.  They waited
in shell holes, to rt
on the 29 Rd.
There were abt 50 men
of 24 Bn under Maxfield
out there too.
The I wave formatn
ws still kept - 24Bn

35
41
in front, Maxfield, ^himself somewhat
to left.
The 5th Bde were in C.T.
across nomansland to right -
Sergt Dixon of 23 Bn
finding them there.  D. ws
on the 29 Rd while the
barrage ws stationary
in front of OG2.
The barrage, wh ws
very good, moved on to
time.  Waves moved on
after it, wave formatn being
maintained.
The first rd wh Capt
Pascoe picked up ws the
Rd S of the Decanville
at the 6 X road. The Decanville
he did not notice.  It ws
just abt day. The
Germs cd be seen in the

42
2 of these were
bagged
w L. Gun
at Star

35
43
CT thro U24C, head &
shoulders above / trench, sniping
at the men of rear waves
& stragglers crossing from
OG 1 to OG 2 but not
worrying the advanced
waves at the Star.
No m.g. ws going from tt
trench.
There were Germans on
crossing of road in dugouts
at 22 B9.5 inside V of Loop line; some
came out of this & tried to
walk away to W not
taking least notice of abt
250 men who were
all lining the Decanville
boomerang. The height
o / Decanville bank ws
abt 8 ft. It of taper up to a point

33
44
near the Star.
Touch cd not be
obtained w anyone on
our left owing to a
m.g. enfilading the left
of loop line.
Left flank ws a bit
rt of road.
No movement here
at all ws seen -
only 3 Germs, who close
on daybreak came
close up to inside of
V of loop line, & xxxx one
got away.
The Germs, shortly after
day were reported
manning the trench from
Rienct twds Hendect.

35
45
Abt These Germs. engaged our
Lewis gun along the
rt hand-shaft of
loop line making
movement across the Star
to Loop line almost impossible.
Another m.g. from abt
last T of Rienct les Cagnict
ws just missing the
Star to the N of Sunken Rd.
to 0G2 but getting a few men
near the Sunken Rd
(are chord of Boomerang).
Abt ½ hr after they
reached Loop line Germs
started searching near
Chord Rd with 5.9
get making these men move.
- many were caught by MG.

46
Fethers got glasses onto
these and made sure they were
Germs.

35
47
Abt 20 mins after
reaching Loop Line Pascoe
first saw men lining the
CT thro' 24D.  These
were taking no notice
(as before mentioned).  He
got snipers onto them but
tho ^he ws under full observatn
they made no reply. They
were pretty quiet just then.
Sergt Dixon struck 5 Bde
abt 29 Central.
They seemed to leave our
flank then & go half right.
At wire, D & Anor went
out to find them &
struck them abt the 1st grid line
(betw 29 A & B) The 5 Bde
ws then retiring - abt. 200
of them. There ws X fire from
23 C or thereabts across their

35
48
front - they were retiring
in disorder & there did not
seen eno' fire to account for it.
D then came along the
29 Rd.
Some of 5 Bde came
up the 29 Rd.
Dixon came up w
a party of 6 Bde 23 Bn
to the dugouts on the
29 Rd.  Capt Parkes
asked him if he knew
where 5 Bde were.  D went
out with some others into
shell holes to E of these
dugouts  & saw men in
the C.T.  He thought they
were Germs & ws going
to fire when they spotted
their steel hats.  By their
colours they were 5th Bde.