Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/167/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 7

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4
The officer referred him to Bn H.Q.
B reported to Bn H.Q to the
Colonel (Col. Herring). He sent out
at once for the Coy Commds to come
to his H Qrs. B explained the
exact position & H. told him
he need not wait.
He then withdrew, setting all
his men out without casualties.
                                          
 

76
Day - 2nd Army [shorthand]
Wisques.
Treacher - Dec 1 or 2.

X 
just across the more or less
unshelled green belt in
front of Westhoek.

77
4
20 Bn.
Came up from ramparts on
Sept 19th at 4pm - went up
in Sections of 9 men w NCO in
each to Westhoek, rearslope. Waited
there in shellholes till 9pm. Rain
began abt 7 & lasted till midnight.
Bn went up to firing line abt
150yds over ridge. From there taken
at 10pm to 12pm (midnight) by guides & shown the
tapes. The engrs had put out the
tapes. These were easily found,
it ws cold, drizzly, & wet in the
shellholes. It ws abt 500 yds to
Germans on our rt, & abt 350 on 
left. (J2c 6.69 in what had bn a
camouflaged shellhole - a listening
or night m.g. post - shown on aeroplane
maps). J8A24 wd be nearest
post on rt.
3 mins exactly before we started
(Germans put over a barrage -- this

 

4
78
had bn put down for several
days abt same time. The
line moved - Capt Barlow & all C.Os
blew whistles at once & line moved
forward towds point 150 yds out
where it wd pick up our
barrage, & just reached our
barrage exactly as it fell. There
ws a more or less green belt
of 200 yds wide, it ws getting
pretty well daylight.
The barrage came down just
as front of the Noune Bosichen
Frezenberg Road, just in front of
wh ws the German post on the left
above mentioned. All the men in
rt post had bn killed or wounded
or put out of action.
On the left the next opposition
was a line of 4 pillboxes -
old artillery emplacements below
them - just on the S.W. edges of

 

79
4
Hannebeek Wood  - J2c88.
The barrage held us up at this
pt for 3 or 4 mins the heavies
pounding them. The line ws
within 50 yds o the barrage - or
close to it. The line ws on top
of these pillboxes, over & round
& into them, the moment the
barrage lifted. They had 1 gun
mounted & 4 preparing to mount.
The mounted gun ws preparing
to fire apt the scots on the right - 
but the crew ws killed around
it by the barrage. It ws behind the
left hand pillbox. On the rt
a German came out w his hands
up when our men sang out to
them. A German behind fired between
his legs & wounded a Sergt.  
A lewis gunner sd "get out of
way Sergt. I'll see to the -s"
& fired three or four bursts of
his mg. into the place, k. or

 

80
Sergt Poole ws first at this place
w 1/2 doz men. xxxxxxxxxxx
Poole & Cpt Wilson rushed either
the above gun or one in the wood
from either side. The gun hit Wilson
& Poole got the gun. Poole got a bar
to his D.C.M. 

81
4
w. most inside. There were
abt 40 Germs in these pillboxes,
many dead & wd. [They had
started to come out when our
men got there & some shooting
followed].
xxx Capt Barlow here detailed the
wd Sergt & 3 wd men to collect
the prisoners & take them to the rear;
also to collect ^ our wd & m.gs. The
German prisoners carried the
m.gs. There were many Red X
Germans there on the same place.
Time cdnt be wasted there.
Lt Edwards Evatt M.C. ^(abt Malt trench) had been killed
crossing the road - hit by bullet
thro the head. Barlow collected
the first waves & started to go
thro the wood. The start of the
wood (as they knew before from
the excellent aeroplane photos)
ws full of waterfilled shellholes, 

 

82
X Barlow won
MC in this fight

83
4
& they knew th they wd have
to work round each side
of it. This had bn arranged
beforehand.
This ws done. Barlow & party going round the right met
a m.g. & four men who
were firing over towds the
right. They were behind a couple
of big fallen trees - 3 down in
the shell hole & one firing,
one of the stand - mounted guns.
The party shot them from the flank,
k 3 w 1.
On the left the party got 
round, & met the rt pty as
arranged in front of the
wood, where they were to
dig in. This p At this time
Barlow heard 2 mgs still firing
in the wood where the left pty had
bn. They cdnt see these. H
sent Lt Cameron (MC in this fight) & a party to
 

84
4
settle them & they found the first, settled
the crew, & took it; the second ws found
Cameron doing good work.
to be up a tree - one man
by himself. He ws shot -
These had all bn firing to their
right & had held the Scots up.
Barlow sent a couple of
Sections down to the left to
clean up anything th the Scots
might have missed. These found
a couple of several Pill Boxes, one
by the batterey position, & some
emplacements for arty. They 
cd be seen collecting prisoners
there.
They then started to dig in
in front of beyond the wood & got some
cover. The Germs then shortened
their barrage. The C.O. & Barlow
had thought this probable & decided
to move forwd if it happened.

 

85
21 Sept.
Early this mg the Germ. planes
were very active, flying low. They found our
position - dropped flares - & arty got onto our line.
21 Sept
Abt 11am, on the Zonnebeke 
Valley N of the rly our arty opened
up very heavily w every sort of shell.
Later they switched off onto Zonnebeke
St Josephs & the S side of rly.
Abt 6pm. German opened up v. heavily
on Anzac Ridge. SOS went up from
right in front of Polygon, but arty
seemed heavier along 2 Div
frontage. Our Stokes opened, whole
line stood to, but nothing happened.

86
4
They moved forward up to the
crest o the ridge abt in the old
line of were W. of Anzac - 
& got very good positns.
The valley behind turned out
to be continually shelled.
That evg, expecting an attack
from the SE (in the Polygon Butte
direction) the flank ws swung
to face this - but nothing happened.
At 2 pm. on Sept 21
our arty ws heard on the left by
the rly; looking over th way the 
Germans were seen coming
along our side o the rly in file
running forwd; & on the far
towds the rly dugouts. 
side o the rly opened out w
lines.
Our arty got onto them w
H.E. shrapnel, gas - & the 
attack withered - nothing cd be
seen of it. 

 

87
4
20 Bn ws relieved betwn 9 & 10pm
by 19 Bn. & came right out.
On rt when first oppositn ws met
abt 50 Germs. Were seen jumping 
out of shellholes. They had bayonets
fixed but were too surprised to 
use them. The line settled them,
not one ws left. (They were
along a ledge - behind it).
Lt Anthon thins th this ws a 
party wh ws to have raided as 
& wh ws taken by surprise.
One of our men had a regular
thrust & parry fight w a German
in this position, for abt 3 mins
our man got him.
Going on in the creek, where it
ws pretty muddy, the men went
through it straight up to the waist
in places, not dodging the shellholes

 

88
4
There were a couple of strongly
built up positns N of the
road just this side of the creek
wh held the line for abt 10 mins.
2 m.gs - were there, one playing rt,
the other left. The line hopped up
till quite close, opened w
Mills bombs. One of these settled
the crew Six or eight Germs rushed
out of the forward m.g. post &
were shot down as they came;
a Mills bomb for the other crew.
The pty crossed the Ck.
- a succession of holes - & met
no more oppositn till they got
to objve when the 2 pillboxes
at J2D 7.5 were firing in
our barrage. They were loopholed.
Au/on ofr & 4 men went up thro
our barrage & put them out of 
action. There were 40 Germs in this
place. The gun ws firing thro a loophole