Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/167/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 1

AWM38

Official History

1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,

Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/167/1
Title: Notebook, September - October 1917

Includes references to the 18th, 19th and 20th

Battalions, Menin Road, Broodseinde and

Passchendaele.
AWM38-3DRL606/167/1

 

Original DIARY NO. 167.

AWM38
3DRL 606 ITEM 167 [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 those 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 Sept., 1946. C. E. W. BEAN.

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN

1
1: 77 gun
1: T.M.

and German wireless

set (loaned to Corps wireless)

were captd by 18 Bn in this fight.

Hill 60 18 Bn left Mudros after Aug 20; landed & spent night in Rest

Gully. Marched at dusk to Aghyl Dere to Camp. At 11pm Wisdom hearing tt they were

not to be used kept the last Coy by Taylors Hollow. Abt 12 news came. Abt 2am.

Windsor went up & asked the C.O. if he ws going to start - routed him out. The

leading 2 Coys moved off & found themselves down on the beach. Wisdom started

[*after them and cooeed - presently xx

cooees were heard far down / valley coming

nearer - & they turned up -*]

The instrns given to 18 Bn before

Hill 60 on Aug 22 1915 were gn by
Maj. ^?Powles Richardson, B-Major, NZMR Bde

who sd: "Gentlemen, you go thro' a gap in

a hedge on tt hill over there, & you will

attack a commn trench by a big dead tree - when

you get to the top o / hill you will find the

4th Bde coming up on / other side. It is

quite simple - there are trenches but only commn trenches".

He served out the maps to each offr & off

they went; on going thro the hedge, (too late,

being led wrongly & coming out in reverse

order) they were fired on by m.g.

The next attack on 27 ws to have

bn on 25 but ws postponed - Connaughts

were on left in trench; 18^th on rt & behind

parapet - Connaughts were given all sorts of contradictory orders

& when told to go over, in one part at any rate, only one old ribboned soldier went over - (an

[*Burnett. 

Sergt Fidge*]

N.C.O.) & 2 men. When he found he ws nt followed he turned back, walked to

/ trench & amongst / bullets

gave

them 

a tremendous

dressing 

down.

He then

got in 

safely.

bombed up C.T. from rt of NZ towards

old tree when Turks c-attd down

it - & took put in barricade.
 

4

2

19 Bn. 70 Bn

18 Bn.

20 Sept.

19/20 Sept. Left Chateau Belge at 6.30p.m.

On shell abt ^50 yds from Birr X Roads killed

3 men and wd. 19 as 18 Bn ws 

going in (on Cambridge Rd).

Camped in shellholes on

Bellevarde Ridge where bn waited

from till abt 1.40pm a.m. Then moved

to Westhoek.

18 Bn ws for the second

objve.

Diagram - see original document

After the Hannabeek the real

scrap took place at Garter wh

ws beyond in 3rd Objve but

from wh the barrage lifted when

4

3

forming / protective line for /

2nd objve.

Enemy barrage came down 

on us at 5.37 - 3 mins. before

the start almost on our tape.

It was very misty - it is

not thought tt Germans saw

us. We suspected prisoners

informatn at first - but

the barrage ws very weak

for this. The rear waves 

HQ signallers, carrying parties

to B Coy (left Coy) were caught

& had a few casualties.

20 Bn were for Red

Line wh ws just across

Hannabeek wh ws so 

passable - so tt some did

not know they had passed

it. The wire ws scarcely

noticeable.

4

This gun missed by 20 Bn ws

firing into their rear & ws noticed

by Lt Duncan & rushed by him -

crew ws 2 serving gun, 2 sniping

w rifles - They were k. Duncan

lost 3 of xx men who were w him, k.
 

4

5

Just this side of valley

were 4 blockhouses - or rather

concrete shelters for ^old guns

crews, ^ w no loopholes but w spaces for / guns

in between. There were 

Germans w m.gs. in these.

One m.g. ws working from

behind the 2nd blockhouse

from / right ^(J.2d15.30)^x; & anor. from

an old brokendown house

across / Hannabeek right  

abt J. 2.d 70 50. Appleby ws shot

on the Corps boundary

in the Hannabeek by this gun.

It ws in charging this

last tt Capt Appleby, A Coy

(2nd from left) ws killed &

also Sergts Nipperess (who

crawled under / German

wire w Sergt Allsop at

Malt trench - Allsop xx had both

legs blown off a few days

later at Zonnebeke Gasometer)

& died next day.

6

Diagram - see original document

A few Germans

near Iron X

Redoubt fired

a few shots & 

ran - our L.Gs

rushing forwd to

good shell holes 

& chased them w

fire —

After Redline Halfway betw

Hannebeek & Iron X

Redoubt we got abt xx 15

prisoners out of

a Pillbox - badly

shaken.
4

7

30 men were taken from

tt house across / Hannebeek.

Capt E B Lloyd Davies ws

hit w shrapnel on left elbow

& side (18 pellets) just across the

Hannebeek & wd - he ws

C Coy - rt Coy.

The 20 Bn stopped on

its line just beyond the 

Hannabeek. 18 Bn moved

on & lay up behind barrage

(wh ws excellent - best ever

put up) wh ws 200 yds beyond

Red Line. Away to the right

the 7 Bde ws having some

trouble from a Pillbox during

this interval, & a party

went forward to it - one

man ws seen to get up on

top of the Pillbox & bayonet the

Germans on the far side of it.

8

^XBetween Iron X Redoubt

& Anzac Albert Redoubt
 

4

9

Parties were straightened out -

moppers up placed in position, not

necessarily the coys straightened out.

In the advance on the right there

ws no great resistance - a few

shots & run away at most.

On the extreme rt of 18 Bn,

between 5 Bde & 7 Bde^x  ws a 

rather deep valley & for 

a time commn. here ws

uncertain. Capt Lt Sheath

D Coy lost all its offrs, & C Coy

3 of them. Lt Sheath left in commd

of C sent a man across

to 27 Bn but he ws knocked &

so ws another messenger.

Finally the 17 Bn & 28 Bn came

along & filled this gap in.

At Anzac the Germs were

9a

Diagram - see original document
 

4

10

just dragging their guns out

as we rushed them - It ws 

a big double decked dugout

with loopholes. The Germans

were just getting the guns

up onto the stands platform at either

end of the Pillbox to fire

from both sides. They were

rushed & killed. The loopholes

(some of wh had bn destroyed filled up by

our shells & some by L.G. fire)

were wedge shaped slots,

well splayed out - & over /

interior ws written whatever

sector they looked out on 

- one was "Bellevarde" & so on.

They were probly for observatn.

A ladder led from the two big

lower rooms (each abt 15 by 16)

to the upper room wh ws an

observation tower -

11

Lt Hull (Signal offr.) carried a small

Comforts Fund flag wh he placed

at some time on this dugout by

way of carrying out some half

jocular suggestion of the C.O. Hull

ws killed on Oct 9^th. by an

incendiary shell wh hit a Pill

Box xx outside wh he ws wounded. The

place ws set on fire & 11 were

killed there.
 

4

12

After Only abt 20 yds ?200 beyond

Anzac ws Garter Point;

betw the two were several

brokendown bldgs - only

a few loose ends of rafters

left. Garter Point was a 

German Dressing Stn. It 

had a Red X pennant flying 

from a pole — xx

Garter Pt ws (in the map) in

the barrage; the objective ws

Anzac. To start off with they

mopped up Anzac & took 

got into position in front

of Anzac. While there men

were sniping from Garter Pt

& several Austlns were killed.

Lt Moors (an original 18 Bn

man) asked ^Capt O. Donnell A Coy if they shd

rush it - which he ws told

4

13

to do, & to dig in on / far

side of it as close to /

green line as he cd get.

They had no difficulty in 

doing this. xx Two doctors,

& a no of Germ. wd were

got from here - it ws a 

very well fitted place - It

ws some o / supporting infy

wh ws firing from there.

Moors brought O'Donnell a

youngster of 16 who cd talk

English - he sd tt / Regtl

Commdr had bn anxious to get tin 

medals, & had asked for

his Regt to be put in to

repel / English attack.

He ws most surprised tt we

had white bread.

The Bn had bn told by

Col. Murphy to rush into the little