Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/167/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 5

No. 15 MESSAGE MAP
Scale 1.10,000
[*See My Diary 
for 19 Bn 
Oct. 9^th*]

DUGOUTS or STRUCTURES verified by Photographs Supposed to be concreted Dugouts not Concrete Machine Guns      Headquarters

Printed by No. 2 Advanced Section, A.P & S.S Old Gun Positions Trenches in good repair Do damaged or apparently not used Trenches Correct to 4.10.17

MESSAGE FORM
1.	I am at	..........................................................	(Note: - Either give Map Reference or (mark your position by an 'X' on the  (Map on back
2.	I have reached limits of my objective
3.	My Platoon Company	is at.................................................	and is consolidating
4.	My Platoon  company	is at.................................................	and has consolidated
5.	Am held up by (a) M.G                               (b) Wire	at.................................................	(Place where you are)
6.	Enemy holding strong point	..........................................................
7.	I am in touch with	..................................on Right                                   Left	at .........................................................
8.	I am not in touch with	..................................on Right                                   Left
9.	Am shelled from	..........................................................
10	Am in need of	..........................................................
11.	Counter Attack forming at	..........................................................
12.	Hostile (a) Battery              )               (b) Machine Gun   )                (c) Trench Mortar )	active at ......................................
13.	Reinforcements wanted at	..........................................................
14.	I estimate my personal strength at	............................................ rifles.
15.	Add any other useful information here:-
	Time ............................................on Date .............................................1917.		Name................................................ Position ........................................... Company ........................................ Battalion ..........................................

53

x A Coy cdnt reach positn
they were sent to but got 
within abt 200 - 250 yds 
of it & being on there -
 4    54

At 10.10am 2/Lt Bignell, B Coy 
ws told to take charge of A Coy 
& carry out instns issued. 
Coy moved at 10.45am 
moved along rly in file. x

10am C & D Coys were instrd to 
reinf right flank of 17 Bn. 
wh had not reached objve 
on Blue line. They moved at 
10.55 - sections in file along 
the Rly, Capt Taylor in C.

11.50am B Coy was placed under orders 
of 5 F Coy to dig C.T. 
This absorbed whole Bn.

12.20pm C & D Coys (Taylor) got in 
touch with 17 Bn & party under 
Capt Taylor began to clear Daisy 
Wood. 1 m.g. was captured & wood 
cleared.

Party was reinfd & moved 
on thro Daisy, advance being 
covered by excellent rifle & L.G

fire from rest of C & D. Daisy wd

4  55

ws cleared, 15 prisoners taken -
abt 10 Germans ^were wd & rest put
 to flight.

A series of posts ws then 
sent out on far side of wood &
position consold. Touch ws 
maintained with xxxx flank
troops.

9/10 During night A & D bns 
were reld in posts estabd. 
That done - A Coy by 45 Bn 
D Coy by 49 Bn.

C Coy were not reld tt
 night

C Coy posts which were 
well out not  reld tt
night & had to get food as
they cd from  Germs etc

A & D on being reld moved
back to old support line - B Coy
wh had bn digging ws there.

4     56

10/11 A B & D reld by 46 Bn. 
C reld by 49 Bn & moved
back independently to infantry
barracks Ypres.

Lt Blake went in personally
^at dusk x reported to posts C.O.
of 49 Bn that his posts were

out in front of 49 Bn posts
& had not bn relieved.  
C.O. imd. relieved them.

A B & D Coys at 9.30 p.m. 
moved back to Westhoek Ridge
reorganised & went with Bn H.Q.
thro dark wet slippery night,
very lone, to Infy Barracks
at Ypres, reaching there at
2.30 am. 4 October.

The barrage behind
Broodseinde Ridge ^at Zonnebeke ws heavier
than Mouquet Farm during

4     57

this time. Bde H.Q. had to
put on their gas helmets for
½ hr. After 19 Bn H.Q. left
at Anzac 5pm the pill box [[near?]] gasometer
a shell landed in / doorway
& hit a number K & wd some sigs & batmen
who were in it & blew out one
o / partitions in / pillbox.

Offrs k. Lt Smith (as mentioned)

Lt Bennett, k. by shellfire -

Lt R A Smith, wd in back by
rifle shot with Taylor & died of w.

2/Lt Bartle, hit by shell fragment
in back. 
Died at Rouen.

Wd. Lt Forster O.C. A Coy.

Lt A L Lillie up with D Coy.

Lt Ross ^Storkey wd going up from Bn

4     58

H.Q. to find out position

Lt Macdonald, doing a separate
job w / engrs - wd.

Lt Hayes - shellshock & bruise
(as mentioned - x temply
blinded).

Casualties for day abt 100 or.

After this on 12 Oct Bn moved
to Steenvoorde.

During tour from Nov 5 to 7
when Bde ws imd right of
X Roads at Broodseinde,
18 19 Bn undertook heavy
patrolling. A big patrol 1 offr, 20 or.
w L.G. used to go out as
much as 800 yds, right thro
China Wood & across / valley -

59

In the reld support line on top of plateau
they were very heavily shelled - cd be
seen from Paschendaele
Vislble from Paschendaele Morshedy
 - which cd see troops moving.  Here Lt
Bennett ws k. by shell sitting beside
Taylor ^D Coy & Lillie wd by same shell
sitting other side D Coy.  Taylor was only
offr of D Coy left. C Coy had Lt Blake &
Lt Hunter & Lt R Smith 

4     60

but never wet anything.

Oct 9 abt 11 a.m. C & D Coys
moved in file from B (on map)
across the open into trench
 C - D wh was fairly full
of dead & wd Germans.  The men
here sd they were / front line, but this didn't seem likely.
The coys occupied whole trench
from C to D. Here they were heavily
shelled out / bing being on top edge of plateau. 

Taylor sent out an NCO 
Cpl. Lynch ^(Scout) & 2 men - told them
to go into Daisy Wood & then
to Rhine where 17 Bn ought
to be & report back positn.
Lynch went out as directed; they
wanted him go thro wood, &
reach Rhine.

Capt Taylor, seeing tt our
people must be there, took out
one pln of C Coy & went in

61

x Here Lynch came back & told
T. where the front line ws. 

4  62

file down road, behind hedge
& then obliquely (half right) to
Daisy Wood.  Snip They were
sniped at as went behind
hedge, & men were sent
over by 3s at a good interval.
One L. Gunner ws hit - This
fire came from Daisy Wood,
Inf. & single shots.  In ^huddle of Daisy
Wood ^(abt G) ws a Germ. m.g. in a
wooden log hut, w empty
cases round it.

From here x Taylor sent back
messenger for rest of C & part
of D Coy. The Coy was lined
on N edge of Daisy Wood,
and then moved thro wood &
searched it - no germs.  
found in wood itself - They
occupied a heap of stones - remains
of a House - at A. Some
firing ws coming from ahead &

4     63

it wsnt easy to place until
a line of German hats ws seen
well down the hill at S - beautifully
enfiladed - one hat obscuring
/ other, and [[firing?]] abt at Nieuwemblen.
A L.G. ws got onto them from
A & under cover of this a
party of 10 men under Taylor under So 
Taylor, Roy Smith & 8 men
moved out in extended
line & went straight for them.
They fired a few shots & then got out
of sight.  Three or four began to run &
 / rest seem to have got into their
dugouts.  There were 15 live
Germs found there in a well
dug trench with several shelters
& 4 or 5 who had bn shot as
pty came up - a couple more
were shot as they ran.

A couple of shots were put
into these shelters & then a