Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/171/1 - October 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number:  3DRL606/171/1

Title: Notebook, October 1917
Includes references to the 33rd and 37th
Battalions, Passchendaele, Broodseinde and
Messines.

AWM38-3DRL606/171/1

33 BN See
other end of book.
37BN (171)
Original
Y NO.171
3DRL      EM 171 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES OF     BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR      4 - 1918
se of these diaries and notes is subject to     id down in the terms
t to the Australian War Memorial.  But, a       ose terms, I wish the
g circumstances and considerations to be     ject of recording what
nd writer who may use them.
writings represent only what at the momen     them I believed to be
he diaries were jotted down almost daily    ject of recording what
n in the writer's mind.  Often he wrote them     tired and half asleep ;
t infrequently, what he believed to be tr     so - but it does not
hat he always discovered this, or remembe     ect the mistakes when
ed.  Indeed, he could not always remember     written them.
records should, therefore, be used with gr     as relating only what
thor, at the time of writing, believed.  Fur     anot, of course vouch
accuracy of statements made to him by o     ere recorded.  But he
to ensure such accuracy by consulting, a     ssible, those who had
otherwise taken part in the events.  The     falsity of second-hand
(on which a large proportion of war st     unded) was impressed
m by the second or third day of the Gallip     n, notwithstanding that
ho passed on such stories usually themselv    them to be true.  All
and evidence herein should be read with th
, 1946.
C. E. W. BEAN.
AUSTRALIAN WAR M
ACCESS STAT
OPEN                                     

33 BN. See
other end of book.
37BN (171
51
1
(171)
(General)
When 33Bn ws to relieve
3rd British Divn at beginning
of October, Morsehead
went up & saw the C.Os.
After trying to find out where
exactly / line was - whether
they held / Church or no -
he said to one C.O.: "Well
will you go up w me &
show me?"  The C.O. sd
he would.  They went
to / Support line.
M. sd, when they had
seen this ^& there ws still some obscurity - well, well
go on to / front line &
see how / line is at /

51
2
Church.
The English Colonel sd:
I have got a relief coming
on - a battalion coming
in to take over from us,
I think I'd better go
back & see about it.
M. sd:  It's I that am
relieving you.
However, the English
C.O went back & M
went on.  He spent 8
hours crawling abt
the front w 2 English
guides - hopelessly lost
in Nomansland most of / time;
found they were at /
Church;  came back 

51
3
& found / English
Colonels - Gordons,
Welsh Fusiliers, & Suffolks
 - & told them off (he is a
youngster of abt 30) as
he has seldom dressed
down anyone before.

Morsehead holds tt
the 9 Bde could have
held its line on Oct 12.
He & the three other C.Os,
[Milne,(36), Two majors -
(35 & 34), and himself
(33)] were in the same
dugout;  & he was under
orders on no account
to move his Bn unless

51
4
ordered to.  He
especially asked - "if
emergencies arise &
it seems to me tt the
33Bn could be usefully
put in, shall I put
them in "- & he ws told
"No - they are on no acct
to be used until 'the order
is gn by Bde." They were
to be / Coy to envelop
Paschendaele.
During As soon as / fight ^began one
of his Coys, wh ws
commanded by a very
game youngster w a
Military Cross, who
had bn put in command

5

^x he is known to have
worried over his new
responsibility a gt deal. 

51
6
by himself when its
real own C.O. was hit
previously^x, suddenly
started off after / barrage.
The boy comndg it seems
to have lost his head.  The
NCOs reminded him tt the
Coy ws not intended to move,
but he ordered them to
go on under / barrage
& the Coy went forward.
They boy himself ws v.
badly wd & two of the other
offrs were hit.  The
NCOs helped the 9Bde,
& took several pillboxes
& later the remains o /
Coy were brought back

51
7
[Maj. White ws not
in this attack - he ws
ordered back to /
transport lines by Morsehead
much agst his will; &
Massey ws at a C.O's
school in England]

As to / attack, M.
says tt Milne was a
game enough C.O.  But
the other two in / dugout
seemed to have nothing
of the right spirit.
The orders finally went
out to / men to retire
in / shape of x loosely
flung advice to
"get for your lives"-

51
8
What sort of an
order for retirement
was that?  (That is
possibly why the offrs
of 38Bn had to go up
& stop a break of the
9Bde just on their
right when / men began
to retire all together).
Some days later -
during the 8 long trying
days the Bde stayed in
/ line - the Bde had
to send out & occupy
posts 500 yds ahead.
They did so without
oppositn - M thinks
(as I do) tt / Germans 

? in all

51
9
never knew they had
retired.
Later they have to go
? another 800 yds, wh
ws equally easily done,
pillboxes being occupied,
right on / crest o / hill
in front.
The 33Bn lost 13 offrs
during this time - 8
killed, mostly by
m.g. fire.  .Hinton ws
a great loss.