Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/164/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 7

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This shot came from / interior o / P/B
- Moore & anor. offr were seen running up to /
P/B after our men had entered it from / rear.
Someone inside seems to have got the m.g. going
onto them. 3 or 4 ^Germans were k at once till / men were
called off.

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became so heavy tt 7 Bn cd not
get on at all. It had to be
rushed by a pln under Capt
Moore & CSM. H Collins. These
outflanked the Pillbox & captd.
2 m.gs. & 1 offr & 15 men. These
tried to consolidate but German
arty fire became so heavy tt they
had to get back to Blue Line 150
yds further back. Rifle grenadiers
were at once hurried up to cover
the approaches to the Corner
& prevent / enemy getting
back. The positn looked a bit
critical. xxx 2/Lieut Hausen did
good work here - M.C.
Capt F.L. Moore ws wd here
by a G. offr who had surrendered; ^※ 

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Apptly seeing tt Moore ws an offr he
reached for his revolver, shot him, &
put his hands up again. (He had bn
w Bn from start).
Lt J R Stock Advancing towds BW Corner
ws k by shell.
2 Lt E. Kernan wd in abdomen died at C.C.S.
Here Our objve ^(Blue Line) the casualties
in offrs became heavy.
Maj. Caughey ws wd. Also Lts
Burleigh, Anderson, Maunsell
Maloney, Maddox & Grantham.
There ws some disorganisatn
but Lt H.F. Morrison (O.C. left Coy)
saved / situatn. B Coy had only
25 men under one unwounded ofr
(Lt P. O'Farrell). Morrison sent up
Lts F. Bechervaise & C. Cameron
to help B. Coy. The Rt Flank ws
under Capt Burke who reorganised
the 2 Coys there. Burke had instrns 

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to dig a S.P. behind the rt
flank. This ws under direct
observatn & heavily shelled; so
he moved it more to the Centre.
On left trench ws quickly
down 4ft 6. On rt it ws impossible
to go under 2 ft through water.
There ws wire commn.
to Blue line at first but it
ws soon broken, despite heroic
repair work.
First news ws brought back
by Maj Caughey who at 8.10
came back wd & reported
tt he ws in touch w 12 Bn.
5 Bn took abt 200 prisoners of a
very good class - all were
impressed by our artillery.
Cigars & wines were got from P/Bs
& enjoyed in shellholes.
One man got 18 watches & 2 purses,
mostly freely offered. 

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There ws an S.O.S on night of Sept 20.
& other massings on left front were
smashed by arty.
At the C.C.S. hearing an American Dr.
ask for some blood for an Australian
who ws apptly dying, 2 wd men ^Austrln imd. hobbled
up & offered theirs. "We're not too bad -
we can walk" they sd.
k.       M      w.
94       2     183.
Capt. H Burke & Lieut H.T. Morrison
2/Lt C.C. Hanson
Lt R H Barber
got M.C.
Sept 23. 5 Bn to Palace Camp near
Dickebusch. Then Steenvoorde.
Sept 28 by bus to Hallebast Corner.
thence march to Canal area. Much
bombing but no one hit. 

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Sund Sept 30  5 Bn from Canal to
front (again under Lt Col. D.A. Luxton
D.S.O.) Bright moon. Started 7 p.m.
Met by guides at Birr X Rds.
Guides missed way. B Coy came under
shell & m.g. fire but practically no
loss - probly not seen (2 men slightly
wd in all.)
C & D relieved A Coy 46 Bn, in
front line.
B Coy went into Close Support.
A Coy reld B Coy 46 Bn in Support Line.
The 5 Bn held whole 2 Bde
front from W of Molenaarelsthoek
towds Brick Kiln - abt 1500 yds.
Shelling along the Sunken rd just in
rear ws v. heavy.
5 Bn H.Q. ws at Garter Point.
Oct 1st. At 4 a.m. on Oct 4 German
shelling ws heavy on 5 Bn holding especially
rt (A) Coy. Our arty answered heavily.
No enemy were seen. During these 

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days in barrages & counter barrages,
S.O.S. & trial bombts our men were
a good deal shelled. Lt ^W Gash of A Coy.
won the M.C. for his coolness &
cheerfulness during this time. Sergts
Home & Cowan also.
On 2/3 Oct Lillie sent out two
offrs patrols to find if certain
positns ahead were strongly held.
They were found unoccupied.
3rd Oct. Lt C.C. Teasdale ws k
by shell in trench.
Oct 4.  5.30 Germans put a
v. heavy barrage on / assembly
positn.  After it had passed
groups of 6th 7th & 8th offrs
& men were seen lying w
bodies stretched out right
along the tapes.
30 or 40 yds ahead were
Germans lying dead.  Previous
night had bn ominously quiet. 

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Many of 5 Bn went over w
6 7 & 8 - cdnt be held back.
The Germs put over a xxxx
heavy barrage after Consolidatn

& 5th suffered then also.
Capt Lillie DSO }
 — Phillips          }
Lts. Wilcock       }
Corlett                 } severely wd
2/Lts C. Hanson}
Sinclair                }
50 or k. & w.  
Luxton ws hit on head by a splinter
in P/B wh ws Bn H.Q. He carried
on till Oct 5 when Capt F.K. Maltby
took over.
Bn went out to Vancouver
Camp, Vlamertinghe.
Mond Oct 22 - came back thro mud to
dugouts beyond Ypres. 

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thence to Westhoek. Men went in
w sandbags tied round putties
& 2 extra sand bags under shoulder
straps, overcoat, W.P. sheet, waterbottles
filled, 24 hrs Iron Rations. Foot inspectn
everyday, powder & soap &, 3
prs of socks carried by each man
resulted in only 6 men going out
for trench feet in 10 days.
Bn in reserve.
Oct 27 reld 7 Bn in Support
& 8 Bn in front line.
The 8 posts ^of frontline were held - 2 by
A Coy 6 by B. Bn HQ at gasometer.
A coy of gassed men has its
eyes stinging, blind, swollen &
streaming. Voice entirely goes.
5 Bn did not suffer heavily from
Gas; & only had 2 S.bs. killed
bringing a wd man from front line
& 7 wd.
Oct 31 Bn relieved to Belgian Chateau
Till Nov. 10 every day 4 offrs & 150 men went 

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as fatigue pty to help RE. work
on light rlys.
Thence to Desvres.
_________ 

90

k.  Maj. ^F.H Tubb V.C. ws killed (died on way to C.C.S) by a single
shot on Sept 20 - mortally wd thro body
imd after reaching objve - probably by
sniper from gun pits.
k  Lt Sara - midnight Sept 21 by shell
k  Lt Attwood - 9 pm 2nd night just after SOS
k  Lt Foers - abt same time as Tubb.
d of w  Lt J. O'Connor hit by shell while on
carrying pty - abt 11 am Sept 20.

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Sept 20 7 Bn.
Ws for 3rd objve on left.
Went up behind 5 Bn. Found
way very well - lay up just on &
behind front trench - on tapes
laid by I.O. Robb.
A few shells wh came before
Jump Off fell on 8 Bn on rt of
7 Bn. It ws very misty there with
a lot of crowding. The P/Bs in
1st & 2nd objve had bn fairly
dealt with by time 7 Bn reached them.
Arty formatn.
There were v. few casualties
up to 2nd objve. The sections were
intact tho out of place & were
reshuffled. There ws m.g. fire
from B.-Watch corner but it did
not worry the Bn.