Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/164/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 1

AMW38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number:3DRL606/164/1
Title: Notebook, September - October 1917
Includes references to the 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th and
8th Battalions, Ypres, Broodseinde, Bullecourt,
Menin Road, and Passchendaele.
AMW38-3DRL606/164/1
 

3rd Bn Ypres
6th Bn Ypres
5th Bn. 8 Bn. 7 Bn
Original                                               DIARY NO.164
AMW38               3DRL 606                        ITEM 164 [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 these 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 read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946.                                                                                                        C. E. W. BEAN AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN 

7  1
3rd Bn Ypres
6th Bn Ypres.
5th Bn. 8 Bn. 7 Bn

3rd Bn.
20^th Sept 3 Bn at 1  pm am. moved
from Chateau Segard to trenches near
half way H.
7.40am moved to original
front line in place of 2nd Bde 
(extreme rt) betw Clapham Jn & Glenc. wood
II Coy still at ½ way House.
C Coy behind to wood got trench
heavily shelled. 70 casualties in Bn here
                         _____
stayed all day – found carrying pties
etc.
21/22 moved to take over frontline
from 8 & 7 Bns. There ws a very
heavy barrage on way up, delaying

2
Capt. Elliot ws slightly wd by shell
on Sept 22nd
7   3
relief which finished at 50 
mins. past midnight
This was a line of posts ^not continuous. There
ws little shelling here, but it ws
heavy in areas round Bn HQ
J 14 B 2.3 near Glencorse wood in
a v.good Pillbox.
German made no infantry 
attack. Snipers & mgs active
(not sniping like tt in Gallipoli but
active for France) –  a good deal from 
directn of Butte.
2/Lt. P. I. H Owen, only son of the
first colonel of 3rd Bn ws shot here
by a sniping m.g. bullet in one o the 
front line posts. He died within 5
mins –   unconscious. This ws his first
time in action.
2/Lt E. C. H. Ritchie ws k.  also  on Sep 20
in Old front line by shellfire.
Lt G. H. Leslie M.C.  ( c-attack 15 April)
ws wd making a reconnaissance before
going in  –  wd by shell & lost an eye.
The German ws in Cameron House;
some were occasionally seen near / Butte
& sniping came from Cameron House -
 

4
Maj. Harris, evacuated sick. 
7    5      
a collection of Pill Boxes
The 3rd Bn landed over on
night of 22/23 to 9th Yorks, 8th
Yorks & Lancs , & 56 Aust Bn.
J 9 D 5.O _^ (Pillbox Coy HQrs.) became the flank
of 5th Aust Div. 56 Bn took up
to S. edge of wood, where road became
their flank.
3rd Bn went back to 
1/2 way H.  Reached there mg
of Sept 23. Thence to Dickebusch
& Steenvoorde.
                                    k        w
Casualties  offrs.     2         2
                     or         22.     84 
one wd German ws brought back
from one o the pillboxes.
                     ______
3 Bn came back Chateau Segard.
Oct 2. 10pm moved to Anzac Ridge.
Near Hooge a German plane
dropped an incendiary bomb (at 

6
Lieut E Clark ws wd in taking up the
pack train. He ws on his horse when
hit & thrown off. The xxx horse stood 
there by him. He was a Govt. detective 
in Sydney. 

7           7
least a dozen were dropped
(this night on Ypres). One of these
ws dropped near the column by
Hooge Dump, 2 more bombs were
dropped near tail of column & k  & 
w 17 men of 1st L.T.M Bty & carrying
pty of 3rd Bn who were to attd to
them, all attd to 3 Bn for this
operation.
Reld. 10 Bn on Anzac Ridge, Bn
H.Q. at J 8 B 6.4.
This ws just after midnight
on mg. of Oct 3. Fair amt of shelling on
trench on Anzac Ridge during the day.

Oct 4:
At 2a.m. 3 Bn moved from
Anzac R.^x to assembly tape line by
Jabber Track. There were not
many duck boards. It ws v. quiet,
no casualties. It was raining & the
going ws muddy.
3.45 a.m. Bn ws formed up
ready.
The tape line which has bn laid
out by Lt H.D Robb M.C. ws in front 

8
1 Offr & 2 men are necy.  Offr. holds
tape w compass. Sends a man out
with the end of tape in compass
directn by compass as far as he
can be seen. Then halt him by
a tug on the tape. (while moving one tug
to right two to left. The tapes are in
50 yds reels  –   stick are carried by the for
keeping the tape down –  clods of earth
in between. On the left where they became
visible to the Molenarelsthoek P/Boxes they
had to keep low and in shell holes. The German
did not seem to be forward of Jonah trench in J 4 B8 ½ 9 ½
& J 4 B 8½  4 to 6. Tapes finished by abt 12 pm.]

7       9
of the _^black boggy section of the valley
in from of the Molenarelsthoeck where
old German wire crosses it.
The question ws whether to put 
the tapes back behind our front
line in this mud, or risk getting
too close to the Germans (esp. on left)
by laying them in front. It ws
decided to put them in front
Bde I.O. Lt Barnes with Robb,
Lt Chedgey (1Bn) & Lt Tebbutt (I.O. 4 Bn
wd going up) decided on the 
centre point. Barnes ran his
at 5 4 B. 5. 3
tape back from there between the
two Bns. Robb ran his out to left
flank first & rt flank afterwds
The tapes were very plain. Germs
were continually firing down the
gully towards 28 central. Two
Germs . were _^once seen moving by
the light of one of Fritz's flares. 

10
Hand drawn diagram – see original
moppers up
carrying  ( rather more heavily laden) 
7   11
The march up ws bad as tracks were badly
marked & badly made , & it ws v. dark.
No Germs were seen in front.
4 Bn ws on right rear, 1st Bn
on left rear.
Hand drawn diagram – see original
Bn H. Q. were near the tape –
the Bn xxxx objve ws from s. edge
of Remus wood roughly along
the road marked on map
W of Broodseinde main
road to J 5 A 5.0. 
 Hand drawn diagram – see original
At 5.30 down came a German
barrage 30 or 40 yds in rear of 

7        12
the tapes. There were a good many
Minenwerfers in it –  they sounded
like 9.2s  when first they burst –
& the mw fell to some extent on
3 Bn. It ws going v. hard at
6 a.m. when our own opened.
Then came a very noticeable change,
German fire eased.
While German fire ws on our
men closed right up on the tape
line, some beyond it. There is no
clear impression of the flares having
been especially numerous. There
were a number of yellow flares
well away on N side of Zonnebeke.
The Germans were met 
quite close, well in front of the 
line of Pillboxes.  The men took it
tt this was the German ordinary
shellhole line – The barrage ws taken
to be an S.O.S. on sighting us.
In the German line of Pillboxes
the Germ. had a m.g. & the garrison
seemed to be lining the rear side of
pill box. 

13
The going during the advance ws good,
& not obstructed by so many
shell holes as the valley. The
road on top was good. 

7         14
The line advanced on them & worked
to the  flanks –  a lot o the German fire
from the top o the P/B went very
high. When the line got near they
threw their stick bombs & a no. of
our men were wounded as they approached
pretty boldly. We replied with Mills bombs
& the place ws soon reduced.
This front line of P/Bs did not
seem to be affected by our barrage,
but from there forward it was good. The
Germans from there on ran.
The village of Molenarelsthoeck 
ws not noticeable  –  the Bn. went
to its objve & across the Broodseinde 
Road. It is a curious thing tt though
the barrage ws good the 3 Bn ws
certainly in it on the Ridge & part 
of 1st & 4 Bns went thro it & stayed on
their objectives tho Brown of 4 Bn brought
his company back.
The objve ws gained at 7. A
good many stayed & dug in at once.
But Germs were seen running on /
ridge & the men went on many
of them to where they cd see them