Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/156/1 - March 1917 - Part 6

36                 60
helped him to clear /
streets with the gun on
a sling. Nate had gone
to one big barn place &
hosed round it & got
3 or 4 Germans in it -
he walked to / door
& switched / gun round
it.) Cherry later told
Stapleton tt he ws going
to put up Nutt & Powell,
& later ^as soon as Bn went out, Gen Birdwood
gave them, without further
ado, military medals.
(B. came along tt day
with the medal for Cherry.)
When Lloyd rang the
C.O. up they cd see the 

36                    61
Germans, on the low
ground in front o / 
wire in front of Queant
(some say they saw a
train come up & them
get out o / train?)
halted, w their offrs
apparently showing them
the ground they had
to attack, in small
groups.
Telephone commn
broke down. The C.O.
ws inclined to think it
ws not so bad - a local
c-attack of 100 or 200.
Lloyd then arrd himself
& Cherry sent a message 

36                62
for arty support as there
ws a c-attack.
Travers had to judge
where the Germans were.
C.O. put a battery on xx
(Fannings bty) but it ws
firing over them.
The 5^th Div. reported
a c-attack & their arty
put a barrage right
onto our posts - knowing
nothing about our positn.
They broke a jar of rum
in Stapletons hands.
The Germs put down
a barrage in front
of their attack & fired
yellow flares to show 

36               63
/ positn of their troops.
Cherry, as quick as
lightning got into a
dugout or rather a lean
to, & got some G.
yellow flares, & they
lifted / barrage ^from the Queant corner off our
line of posts & put
it onto / rear end o /
village.
There ws to have
bn a Vickers gun at K
near D (the Distillery) but it
lost itself & got into
positn w another wh
was (rightly) at S. The
L. guns were choked
w mud - at one time 

36             64
7 L.G.s were out of actn together
w / mud. The V. Gun being
high wd have escaped choking.
Stapleton had one man
told off to clean rifles -
tore up a German blanket
& cleaned rifles for all
they knew as they were
getting choked also.
The 4 posts in front
- one under Sergt Hickling,
anor under Lt Humphries,
- held out & Hickling's
& Humphries were
taken by / Huns. One
man sd later he saw
our men leave ^Humphries post
& c-attack w fixed bayonets 

65
Hand drawn diagram - see original document

36     66
& he thought tt all must have
bn k. All in both posts were
posted "missing beld. prisoners
of war" - but the 9^th Bn
after Ap 15 sent in pay books of
Humphries & several other men.
A board court has since concluded
tt all were k. One man sd tt
Hickling ws wd & captd but no
word has come of him. The
other 2 posts ^(on left) of A Coy, more
to / left, one under Sergt Robinson
& one under Lt Notley came
back as Germs were in
behind them or threatening
to get there.
Stapleton ws in post
marked E. The Germs 

67
Stapletons post near H
xxxx of saw men digging
in in the grey of dawn
& took them for the 60th Bn.
They were digging in on the
Doignies Rd. The rt hand
post of A Coy. - (Mr Humphries
post - near whom ws Hickling
prac. in one post 14 in all) fell.
The m.g. there ws going &
some bombs fell. The Germans
then got round H.'s post
& S's. post (where Sergt Robinson
ws) had to run back under
fire. The Gs were also getting
in from the Doignies Rd where
they saw the men digging earlier.
The m.g. ws hidden apptly in
amongst / cow dung heaps.
36            68
got right round it.
There were some manure
heaps in / field 
& tumbled trees. The
Germs came on
splendidly taking
advantage of all
cover - rushing from
one manure heap
to another. they were
well trained storm troops
meant to attack 
Beaumetz. They got
a m.g. actually
round behind Stapleton
& he thought it ws
a case of having to
fix bayonets & go at 

36                 69
them w it & die in
tt way. Cherry ws there
too.
Travers sent up the
Coy of 28 Bn wh ws
at his H.Qrs (not 
Pugh's at X roads)
up to reinforce. Eventually
the other 2 Coys of
28 Bn were sent up
also to him. A team
One of these two
ws also sent up to
the Morchies Rd
(Q).
Lt Jerry of 28 Bn
when he came up with
leading coy of his Bn 

36            70
went out after the
M.G. (wh was behind Stapleton)
with 10 men. He
got the m.g. & returned
with it & one of his
own men. All the
Germs were killed
(7 or 8) & the rest of
his own men. This
m.g. ws gn to 28 Bn.
Maj. Robinson of 26 Bn
ws up there all this time
roving abt & doing excellent
work, walking across / open
as if he were walking
across a street. He ^himself got
6 or 7 prisoners in a
cellar in Lagnicourt.
He got a D S O 

71
^X It ws v. hard for our men
to shoot as their hands were
so muddy & the rif cartridges
being covered w mud as they
slipped them in, often didn't
go off. Also the shooting
ws v. bad.
36      72
some of / Germs got to within
50 yds behind / manure
heaps. ^X Then they retired,
thro' casualties, over /
brow o / hill & began
digging in at abt 300
yds just out of sight &
put a heavy barrage down
on / posts & / village.
At 3.30 in / afternoon one
coy of 55 Bn came through
Lagnicourt & filed down
/ road past Stapleton
to take up their positn.
on their road. 
The Germs put a
heavy barrage on / village
abt 4 pm. One shell landed