Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/170/1 - September - October 1917 - Part 5

60a                  

TO	Casualties  25 Bn. Sept 20 / Oct 4
	Killed	Missing	Wounded	Dd of Wds
20.9 17	2 offr. - 32 men	- -  1 or	3 off-135 ors	1 off - 8 ops
21.10.17	2 "    -    42 "	- -  10	11  "     - 223 "	2"       17
27.10.17}	67		48	4
2.11.17} Gassed			3            122	2
Battle Casualties after relief from line (who had to go off after Bn came out)- 3 off 80 approx (Gassed).

 

 

62  
Diagram - see original

After they got thro village

they [[shorthand]] rt up Sunken Rd.

There were 20 in dugouts

on rt. They were settled w rifle grenade & mg.

It ws coming round here tt

they met Capt Lloyd & 

his pty

8        63

On Nov. 2  25 Bn ws reld by 18 Bn.

Diagram - see original

64
Diagram -see original

8         65

Lagnicourt   26 Bn.

Cpl Nutt, who ws w 

Cherry gave me the follg.

details:
The first oppositn they met

as they went forward ws

a m.g. firing down / valley.

The gun ws behind a hedge –

there ws a 12 ft gap in front

of it. Beside it ws a trench & in

the hedge ws wire.
10 men were killed in 

front of that gap & Lt Hamilton

ws wounded. They rushed it –

the wire cutters were sent in

front & then after 1 minutes

delay / party rushed thro the

wire & settled the machine gun.

(It ws probly then tt the men were hit).

C.E.W.B.

8       66

our barrage ws then on /

road in front; but when it

lifted the party got onto the

road (? at F). As they came down

the road they were fired at

from a house at / end o /

road, facing them (H or I).

This house stood in a sort of 

courtyard; there were Germans

firing through the  windows & 

they seem to have bn firing from

the Barn (I) also - [this barn

had (Nutt thought) some big name 

written up on its wall.]
The Germans firing thro windows

& doors held our _^men there for abt

5 minutes. Then the bombers

rushed the place. There were

2 gates & they rushed both.

At the same time Nutts L.G. ws

going - he hosed it round the big

barn. There ws scrapping also

8       67

in the interior of / house, Nutt

thought; [I fancy some Germans

were lying dead in / courtyard

here when we saw it some 6 hours

later C.E.W.B.].
They then went on up / street.

As they passed another broken

wall (J) they were fired at from 

inside the yard behind it.

There were  two rows of

wire inside, & the fire came 

from a stables a cross the 

yard. (M) Capt Cherry led /

way straight at them & they

put their hands up.
Cherry & party then came

out again & continued up

/ street. As they got round

the bend near the big crater (N)

they were fired at from /

crater & / barns on either

8        68

side of it. Cornak was k.

there just before Cherry & Nutt

arrived.  Cherry was wild

at this sight "You buggers! You

have killed my best mate,"

he sd. "I'll show no mercy

to you now," & when 9 of them

came _^out wanting to surrender he

shot the lot.
For abt 10 minutes the 

fire here held them up.

Then the Germans some of them

had bolted; Cherry & Nutt got

the m.g. on to the top of the 

crater (apparently w a rush)

& fired down into it. And 

there ws Lieut Bieske with

two Germans — lying there

under / fire of Nutts gun.

Nutt says he rather thought

B. had bn taken prisoner

10         69

& tt his (Nutt's) fire hit him

(Bieske) at / same time as it caught

/ Germans - anyway when

N. appeared on / crater edge

he heard some one cry "Anzac"

& it ws Bieske calling.

The Germans from / houses

fled.
Nutt & Cherry then went 

on past / crater up the 

sunken rd to / right – by 

a big brick building – &

there they were fired at by

Germans from / dugouts in / 

right hand side o / road.

One of the toughest scraps ws

there. They put rifle grenades

onto these Germans, & m.g. fire.

Presently Lloyds party worked

round here & ahead of them.

10          70

That completes / capture

of Lagnicourt. 

71  
Diagram - see original

3 coys went like this & 4th in

arty formation as the fight

was a walkover. 

8        72
17 BN  Sep 20

As 2 Bn had to be xxxxx assembled

ahead of them in Nomansland in 

front of Westhock R, it wd have

bn impossible to get a 3rd Bn

in without there being a danger

o / enemy's barrage falling

on it. Consequently 17 Bn,

wh ws for 3rd objve, was

assembled at Bellevarde R.

There ws not much shelling

there. Both 17 & 19 Bns were in 

the trenches there & 17 had to wait

2½ hrs after zero before starting

– their time ws 8.10.
It was a fight  in wh /

men knew the theory as well as the

offrs – the men had seen the Anderson

model – They were able to pick

up their formatn / moment they set out

73

Numbers (1.2.3.4) put out on 

boards in / valley betw,

Bellevarde & Westhock marked

the rt of each Coys sector & 

helped a great deal in picking

the line up.

8      74

The German barrage had to be

gone through. This was on the 

Haunebeck Creek – The losses

were not heavy going through it -

one section Section Commanders picked

their way thro / barrage very

cleverly, watching their chances & 

going thro' where the bursts were

not occurring.

There ws  little shellfire after

this._^When 1 Bn ws  On the top of Anzac Ridge

there broke out a little m.g. &

sniping fire.
The 18 Bn ws on the Blue

line in small parties – & this caused

some uncertainty – some of B C & D

Coys thinking tt they had to go further.

A Coy noticed the smoke shell falling 

wh made the barrage line quite

certain – A Coy ws going on at this

time & stopped imd. on this sign – it