Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/166/1 - September 1917 - Part 3

46    29
The liaison officer agreed, but
the 24 Bn didnt act, for some
reason.   Finally C.O. put it
to Bde, & at last got / answer
tt 24 Bn had bn ordered to
take / place.   7 Bn had offered
to cooperate & take a corresponding
post on their side o / valley.
The 24 B Stokes Guns were put
on & / post ws reconnoitred
& all the Germs (exc one?)
found to be killed. 7 Bn
also went out on its side
o / valley.
½ an hr later it ws
found tt the 24 Bn had
evacuated / post again.
Germ Flares went up from there
in / night & men again
were shot from there.
The C.O. 7 Bn is very
angry & wants the matter 

46    30
looked into.   Bn came out
this mg. (6/10/17) 

46        31
8 Bn.
4 October.
from Lt Keith Murdoch.
Left ws imd. left of
Retaliation Farm &
abt 300 yds w. of it.
Front abt 800 yds.
Left level w S. edge of
Remus Wood.
Zero ws 6 a.m.
They were on Anzac
Ridge in shellholes & a
rough ^old German line until midnight
in little bivvies.  They had
quite a good days rest
coming up / night before
from near Dickebusch (where
they lost 8 men wd by
5 bombs from one 'plane)

32
On / way up Lieut. Maguire
M.C. ws k. by a shell (he had got the M.C.
for the first attack & it ws reported announced
just after the 2nd attack).

46      33
Moved off from Anzac
in file along / duckboards
past Helles up to tapes
just behind our front line
wh ws held by 5 Bn.
(an outpost line in shellholes).
Got there abt 2am 3 or 4 & had
4 hours to wait.
They lay down in shell
holes:  these were very
big shell holes.  The offrs got
/ men to deepen them.
They had in front at
abt 3 paces interval one
complete screen line on
the tape on our original
line.  The rest were crammed
up just behind them in
sections of abt 12 men at
50 paces interval.
There were 3 lines like 

34
^X after this barrage they
cd hear the squeals of
some chaps who had bn
hit.
(Lt ^Ivan Murdoch 8 Bn.
brother of Keith Murdoch)
46      35
this crammed up close

behind / screen;  the 6^th
& 7^th Bns were in positn
abt 3 am. in / same
formation.  The 8 Bn ws
all together on its tapes.
The 7^th & 6^th Bns were
together also - 7 on
left 6 on rt.
A while after 3^x the
Germ. barrage began to fall.
for abt 15 mins. This
ws a light barrage. Then
things became quiet again
till 5.15. At 5.15 German
barrage opened again,
light for abt a minute,
then heavy.
The German at this time
ws putting up Verey Lights
& so were we to try & bluff
him. Murdoch saw nothing
of any "bunches of grapes".

LGP. Errey
----
46    36
After abt 1 min, this fire
became very intense - It
seemed to be 5.9 mostly with
light stuff also. Murdochs
fellows at this time were down
a good 8 feet in narrow
slits. The shelling ws all round
- the shellhole where he ws ws
continually showered with dirt
- bits of iron smacking on to /
earth above all / time.
In this barrage it wd be
impossible to hear / wd -
It ws costly to / Bn - &
it's not certain how many
men were k. in it; but
of the Offrs. Lieut Goodwin DCM
M.C. & Bar (&?M.M.) - 
Lieut Errie DSO (for 1st attack
where he shot a m.gunner &
captd a C.O. adjt & 40 o.r.
working with 3 other men) - Lt Johansen,

46      37
Capt. Kirsch (an original
Gallipoli man) & Lieut.
Davidson probably.
(Errie ws wd & died
Davidson is missing
still). The Coy Commndrs
being in / rear got this
heavily. Goodwin ws
there by his own request
- he had not long come
back.  He had bn liaison
offr in the first attack -
this time he ws attached to
the C.O. up there.
The barrage lifted
just as ours came down
- simultaneously. Otherwise
we wd have lost a
gt number of men in
it.   The men came out -  

46       38
You cd It ws ^then light enough to see a man moving
abt 30 yds away. Our
barrage ws not as heavy
as on the 20^th.  It ws
difficult to tell / line of
it - it ws hard to say
if it ws our barrage or
odd shells falling short.
The light H.E. from the 18 pdrs
was what they saw - (the
danger to our own men
is mostly from our HE.)
At least 150 yds they had to
go ^to / barrage & were always onto or
in the barrage - it ws
so thin tt it ws hard to
see.
At the end of the
150 yds - fairly level
going w / ridge 800 yds 

39
They first saw moving
objects - a bit confused - 
but in a line - stretching
some way to right &
left, at abt a couple of
yds interval. Our line
did not stop a second.
There is no doubt our
men wd have gone
for him if he had waited.
They were probly lying
down when they saw us
& scrambled up to their
feet as if waiting for an order.
Then they ran. Within 30
yds they were down
mostly k.
46       40
ahead. (^There ws also a barely noticeable
intermediate Ridge on rt
round Remus Wood) - 
Abt 150 yds on the
Germs were seen in one
long line.  They were abt
30 yds away when seen
first.
This line ws partly standing,
some moving abt not
sure what to do - they
saw us at / same moment.
M. ws sure they were Germs.
& so were most.   A great
many blazed at once
from / shoulder; one
Lewis gunner on / left 

46    41
centre got down at once
& opened fire. The line
did not stop a moment.
The Germans ran at once.
They fired a few scattered
shots & ran at once.
As soon as we had
opened fire first some
of our chaps shouted
"They're your own men chaps,
dont fire."
A sort of of a sudden fire
of argument went along
- mind your own bloody
business.  Most o /
men went on shooting.
Most of the front wave
ws probably killed - by
men & offrs revolvers.
The rear waves must