Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/164/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 6

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wandering in rear of our line.

The English did not go out until

Zero & he may have got thro /

Gap.  He wdnt or cdnt say anything &

looked very dirty, looked like an old

tradesman of 40.
A 1st Bde post had bn

attacked by / Germs.  There ws some 

m.g. fire from / right -
When 6 Bn went forwd.

there were a no. of stiff fights

in the wood.  A Coy got on well

& helped D Coy w some

strong points - a ww of 

cement dugouts on the right

of the Copse - rather Sunken.

On the outer edge of the Copse

is a cement dugout wh held

them a while. There ws a 

m.g. firing from it.  Lt Birks &

66

Got a M. M.

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cpl. ^W Johnston rushed at it.

Bombs were thrown at

them.  Johnston^x ws ahead &

ws badly wd.  Birks rushed

on ^to the side of it & the place surrendered -

They put up their hands seeing /

rest of the line coming on-

The 6 Bn objve came from

NE edge of Inverness Copse

to in front of Glencorse Wood.

Abt 75 yds from Inverness

Copse & just short of objve

ws another strong point.

The Germans here resisted. There

was a little scuffle ^during wh

Lt Green ws wd. by a shell

(probly one of ours) & we got the

place.

There ws also a series of

68

Diagram - see original document

 

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dugouts. E of Glencorse

Wood; (x) first rifles were fired

from here but it ws soon

surrounded.

[Abt 160 prisoners were taken

altogether altho a receipt ws

only obtained for an odd one.

In one case out of 9 prisoners sent 

down 5 were k, 3 wd, Escort

wd & one got t the Cage.]

There were not many

casualties going forward,

but Carrying pties got a lot.

They had to go to 5th & often to

7 & 8 Bns.

The first waves had to

push on , & leave mopping

up to B & C Coys (2 plns of each).

The moppers up were fired

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on from two little dugouts at

Z.  They were carrying MSK

(Caerymatory) bombs.  They

tried to throw mills bombs

into / dugout entrance but

cdnt.  They eventually got an

MSK bomb in.  The firing

ceased & abt 6 Germs.

rushed out w their hands

up wearg gas helmets.

During consolidatn

Capt Adams did excellent

work.  The German barrage

fell in rear rather - the 

main barrage ws in rear

o / ridge.  During / later

part of 20 Sept & 21 Sept

they sniped heavily w

77s & 5.9s - they cd see from

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the ridge before Becelaere

towds Polygon.  A good

many casualties occurred

in this way - the other

barrages were spasmodic.

That night a number of

phosphorous shells were

burst near the rt of the

6 Bn objve.  probly to observe

movement there or ahead of 

it.

On Sept 21/22 6 Bn

ws reld by 1st Bde 4 Bn.

After consolidn on Sept 20

Lt Birks ws k.  He ws at his

post directing work - the Germs

cd see them v. clearly.

Lt MacMillan  k.  Sept 21 by

one of the irregular German shells

72
 

Binns M.C. of Pozieres & Anzac ws

in a decline in England due partly to

his dysentry at Anzac - He ws in

France till abt March February - ws

finally shipped to England, thence

getting worse & thinner to Australia

& finally died just as / ship ws

reaching Australian water. He

is sd to have bn buried at Fremantle.

 

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Lt Kelly during / advance, by a shell.

Lt Forbes - ^a Scotsman k. just before reaching

Glencorse Wood.  K by a shell,

probly by the Concussion.

 

Offrs wd.

Lt Samuels, bullet in both legs

in D Coy early in advance in Glenc. Wd.

Capt Adams as mentioned

Lt ^R.F.H. Green. as mentd (has lost a leg).

Lt W.E.M. Thompson wd by a 

shell after Consolidn.

Lt Martin wd during Carrying

for engineers

Lt Simpson. wd early in adv. 

in Glenc. Wood.

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5 Bn.

After seeing

Reninghelst model

which ws of great use & set /

men thinking intelligently came

to Dickebusch - It ws many o /

men's first experience - & all

were impressed w / Second army's

organisation - guns transpt

shells etc.  Bn left ^5 offrs & abt 140 o.r. at

Caestre & sent in 25 offrs

& 677 o.r. to Zillebeke. 14 Sept.

spent day there lying low, sleeping, reading. 

Great anxiety & impatience at rain.

Sept 20. at 2.30 Bn moved.

Tape line in Nomansland

from Jap Ave on rt towds. Glencorse Wood

on left - 600 yds abt 150 yds into Wood -

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Objve: abt 1000 yds away

past Lone House & B.W. Corner.

Lt. Cuzens put out / tape.
 

Order of March.
Diagram - see original document
 

Three tanks were passed

on / slippery road up, all

going in / same directn.

They had mistaken our

Centre line tape for

their own.  D Coy folld

another tape wh led to Stirling Castle.

H.Q. & Sigs had lost touch.  Cuzens

guided D Coy back alright from

Stirling Castle.  Shelling ws not heavy,

but normal & intermittent.

20 Sept. By 3.30 am all were in positn.

March had bn 1 ¼ m.p.h. G. Verey

lights were fired on rt but no

shots followed.

Coys were formed in 2 lines,

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Diagram - see original document
 

2 Coys in Support also.

4 Rear plus carried

 

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in shell holes, sections together

where possible.  Then a long misty

wait.  Desultory shelling from

4am to 5.40.  Some anxiety - 

Hotchkiss guns had bn

lost. Mgs turned up all right.

At 5.40 down came barrage - like

some huge churning up machine.

Entrance to Glenc. Wood ws

swampy.  Boys lit cigarettes & 

sections formed up as if mustering

for parade.

All fighting ws around

P/Bs.  Germans genly came out

waving white handkerchiefs, bandages,

etc.  Very upset by our barrage.

The rear bns had pressed forwd

& got mixed with the forward

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Diagram - see original document

 

Luxton says

It was known that B.W. Corner wd possibly

give trouble & Col. Luxton had warned Moore th they

might have to go for it. While / barrage ws stationary

the Germs fired thro it at our men consolidating -

so 5 Bn went for it. They had to leave it owing to

our barrage coming onto it when thickening for fresh advance

but kept Gs.
out w
rifle
grenades.

X Ws thought to have lifted 

(really it only thinned & became 

lighter) probably when the heavies moved

on.

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ones - partly to escape barrage.

On rt there ws oppositn.

This ws dealt w by the Support Coy

under Capt Burke , enabling

leading Coy under Major Caughey

to move forward.

At Lone House were some

blockhouses where Germs fought.

Sergt C.J. Farrington here, by

himself took a m.g & 9 prisoners

& ws badly wounded (DCM)

D Coy ^Capt Moore on left flank met

little oppositn before its objve.

Verbeek Fm had bn expected to

give trouble but had bn settled

& men ^there had bn so shaken tt their fire ws

wild.

On left near B.W. Corner

however mg fire ws heavier.

Our barrage seemed to lift from

it & German m.g. fire at once