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

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18 Bn came out went in on night

of Nov 2/3 & relieved

25 Bn. in the old positn

on Broodseinde Ridge

& old 11 Bn positn.

Diagram - see original document

18 Bn Patrols used to go - (1) down

to near Rd to Table Wood (2)

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(2) out thro China Wood & 

down to Anvil Wood.
 

The positn ws obscure but 

ws supposed. to be as on 

the map (above.)

The only _∧sign of Germs seen were:

On 2nd night — a wire ws met

stretched from corner of Table 

Wood to China Wood — purpose

uncertain. Lt Clayton put

his men in shell holes, cut

this wire, put his feet agst

it & gave a heave. Two flares

went up, bomb went off &

a m.g. fired a few bursts

This ws on night of 3/4 xx

On night of 4/5 they saw

30 Germans moving from Anvil

Wood across back over the

Ridge. At this time the front

line ws fairly continuous exc. in 

the Gully N of Flint Fm where it

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^X They got into
shellholes & waited
 

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ws very wet. The line ws 

duckboarded.

In the gully E of Flinte Fm

in a small patch there were

100 dead Germs. Probly a Coy ws

waiting here of Oct 4 in

close support when our

shells got them. They were

within abt 25 yds square in

a small fold o / ground.

In 24D central ws

a German aeroplane w a

pilot sitting in it quite dead.

The patrol wh went 

along / road, on night of 

Nov 2/3 went out & within

abt 100 yds of Table Wood

saw a man walking

twds them. ^X As he ws coming 

past the W. End of Table Wood

some bombs were thrown

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at him.

Our men rushed at 

him, shouting Hands up in

German. The man dropped

& shouted to them. They found he 

ws a 12 Bn man who

had bn out on a patrol 

and had met / Germs & bn

hit thro' / lung. He lay

out all day & ws coming 

in. He thought our men 

were / Germans.

On night of Sunday 4/5 Nov.

a patrol ws told to go out

& get hold of a German.

They went out & met a 

12 Bn patrol wh had come back

in a SW directn thro Table 

Wood. The two leaders had

a yarn. The decided to go back

& have a look at a post

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wh ws reported on the Anzac 

Corps situatn map as a 

suspected German Post w suspected

[*?24*] m.g. in front of it at D21? c 1-7.

When they got close to it they

found tt / German ws there.

2/Lt Walls made a rush for /

Germs w Sergt Toogood & got 

a bomb wound in / leg.

Toogood & / rest o / patrol

got in — k. 4 Germans in 

the sand bagged shell hole (w

piles of Stick bombs) & then

bayoneted a man who wd 

not come. Had a row w /

12 Bn as to who shd bring

/ prisoner in, & brought in 

a tall German, ^slightly wd thro' / leg - 

The 18 Bn brought him in - hence

much row. He ws not looted.

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Impt as showing German

appreciatn of our

intentions & positn on

this part of / front.
 

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When he got onto the

duckboards he became

very nervous — saying artillery,

artillery! (xxxx he wd walk

anywhere but there) & also

he ws supremely satisfied when

they gave, him xxx an old P.H.

gas helmet. On being questioned
he sd tt / post had seen our party & tt

xxxx his xxx On him ws a xxxx NCO had ordered them to fire

when our men sd (or they thought they sd)

"Kamerad". Our men denied this when

questioned. xxxxxx. The man belonged to

the 11 Divn. This Divn had

bn toughed up in Passchendaele

& bn brought down to

what ws thought likely to be

a quiet sector - wh showed

/ German appreciation.

The prisoner sd tt /

German post had consisted

of 8 men (2 must have escaped)

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& tt they were 1500 yds ahead

of their main line. That a

patrol of one N.C.O & 20 men

came out every night round

/ outposts.

(Towards daylight the 

patrol of 30 ^Germs ws seen, & when

/ post ws visited again by

us the dead Germs had bn

removed).

The prisoner sd the Germs

had intended to raid under

gas shell.

m.g. post of ours wh had

bn troubling us? them. This raid

however did not come off - tho for

3 nights the Germs had put a box barrage

around a gun of ours N of E in BroodsEinde.

The next night a patrol

saw a man come from / left &

another on / right o / road

& meet on / rd, & apptly

speak to someone in shell holes.

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Movement ws seen in

shell holes there - heads were

thought to be seen - & so / 
patrol came to / conclusion

tt it ws being waited for -

& went no further.

This same night another

patrol went past Anvil

Wood right up / further slope

up onto / road S. from 

De Mispelaere Cabt.

on to / dry ground & saw

no Germs. So the German

apptly tt night concentrated

on lying out for our people

on the Morslede Rd.

The men call this

patrolling "Watch collecting" -

"Going out to get some watches

tonight Jack?" etc. Every

German has a watch, & by 

now easily half the men in Bn have.

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One man had 17 watches -

another 13.

[On only one occasion

has Col. Murphy known

a German use a dagger -

in the raid on June 26 at

Bois Grenier a Germ. Offr

ws seen sitting on one of

our men ^Fink who ws wd,

& stabbing him in / back

w a revolver - The offr

ws seen by Capt Bruce, &

put up his hands - Bruce

k. him w a Knobkerry.

Our wd man Fink is now a p of w in Germany.

The men have seen no

other cases.]

[shorthand] 24 Bn HQ

O 34 13 4.2.

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One of this party carrying them

in ^40 Bn struggled in & told the staff where

they were - the boy began to cry when

he saw Connelly getting his tin hat

& going out (he ws a fine youngster,

MM or DCM.)
 

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10^th Bde HQrs  on

night of 12/14 Oct were in

Levi Cotts when the German

shelling on this positn ws

very heavy. The place ws

v. small & barely splinter proof.

Abt 1.30 a.m. the Bde Staff

went out, Connelly (B.M.)

Lambell (Asst Bde major)

Gale (Int. Offr) & Tuckett (Bde

Signal Offr., each w his

batman to bring in 3

wd men who had got to

a certain place & / pties

carrying them were either

wd or exhausted.^x This

left the Bdier alone w his

telephone. They got the men

& brought them int the HQrs

clearing away the sand bag

parapet wh had bn put up