Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/174/1 - October 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,

1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,

Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item Number: 3DRL606/174/1

Title: Notebook, October 1917

Included references to the 40th Battalion,

Broonseinde, Passchendaele and Sgt L

McGee's VC.

 

AWM38-3DRL606/174/

Original   DIARY No. 174.                                                                   AWM38 3 DRL 606 ITEM 174 [1]   

DIARIES AND NOTEBOOKS OF C.E.W. BEAN      

CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918     

THE use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms

of gift to the Australian War Memorial.  But, apart from those terms, I wish the

following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every

reader and writer who may use them .

These writings represent only what at the moment of making them I believed to be

true.  The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what

was then in the writer's mind.  Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep;

also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so — but, it does not

follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when

discovered.  Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.

These records should, therefore, be used with great caution., as relating only what

their author, at the time of writing, believed.  Further, he cannot, of course, vouch

for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he

did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting, as far as possible, those who had

seen or otherwise taken part in the events.  The constant falsity of second-hand

evidence ( on which a  large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed

upon him, by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that

those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All

second-hand evidence should be read with this in mind.

16 Sep., 1946. C. E. W. BEAN

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL

ACCESS STATUS

OPEN

1
MILLCREST    

Diagram - see original document

H.Q. at Bremer in

bend of road.

Diagram - see original document                                                                                                                  54          2

40 BN  3 October

From Frezenberg Ridge
the track. K. ws not

duckboarded. It ran

from S. onto Zonnebeke Rd

& crossed it. There

duckbds ended.

Point of Assembly ws

across Zonnebeke creek.

There were 4 narrow 

duckbd bridges but there

ws not room for whole

Bn betw 39 Bn & creek.

Abt 4 am. Germans

started some fairly heavy

shelling but _^nearly all went over.

The German barrage

at 5.30 did not cover

this part o / front.
[Jumping off trench ws to have 
been from Dochy Fm S by E 
to D21 A71 but ws moved

54     3

back owing to / uncertainty

o / positn held by /

British – The final

J. O. line ws abt in rear

of Van Isackere Fm.]

The going between 1st & 2nd

objves  –  (both in valley

–  behind Seine) ws

very boggy.  Bn got

split up & the hours

wait in / barrage ws very

useful for reorganising.
B Coy on rt, wh had

suffered casualties from m.gs.

ws reinforced by 2 plns from C.

At the long halt in front of 2nd

Objve –  39 Bn, wh ws to close

to barrage had to fall back &

all other to readjust themselves to 
suit.

4

Ruddock ws O.C. D Coy.

Up to 39 positn only chiefly arty

fire on 40 Bn. But from 

39th objve onwards there

ws heavy m.g. fire. 7 mgs

were taken on D Coys sector.

All these had bn in action,

some left w / belts in them,

/ field glass lying beside /

guns. The crews had bolted

for / pillbox – the m.g. ws

usually on as sort of roof & m. gunner

stood on a verandah platform

reached by a ladder at

/ back.  One of those on

Dab trench ws like this.

There was an old Bldg at
 - we used 3 of Germs mgs there - lots of ammn
Hamburg, w Pillbox & lots of ammn. Most o / fire

on 39th objve & from there on

ws from Hamb. & Dab trench.

D Coy settled Hamb. almost 

all / Germs here were killed.

54    5

On passing 3rd Objve after 

long halt Bn shook out

into extended order.

Dab trench ws pretty well

smashed up by / Pill boxes

along it were intact.

Hamburg & Dab trench were

specially dealt w by parties.

By 9.18 am. digging in on

Final objve began.

C. attacks. 10.30 a.m. Cemetery – 

enemy seen collecting, dispersed

by arty.

7 p.m. Enemy (who had bn

working down agst NZ from

Passchendaele since 2 p.m)

dispersed by arty.

Our barrage this day v. heavy.

RAPs became crowded as

cdnt get wounded away

thro shortage of s.bs. This drng

shellfire & men were wd 2nd time.

6   
The rd in front of Dab trench ws

a cobbled road & easily marked

In Dab trench a _^wd Germ. Staff Capt

ws captured with a very

elaborate dugout at road

corner in 16 B 7.7. – w blown

up m. g. He had a periscope

thro / roof thro which he cd see

who country o / advance.

NZ did not join up on

extreme rt. 40 Bn occupied

part of it & joined them up in

front of Dagger trench.

Dab Trench was a concrete lined

along a good part of its length

& badly smashed.

Before it on near side of

Rd ws anor. trench

newer, wood revetted

& heavily wired.                

^X B went out w Sergt Barrett of 
D coy to dugout beyond left of 

objve  ^x(wh had bn firing at D Coy

as it arrived at objve.) One Germ. offr cleared out 

& they shot him as he ran.

Later – Boden asked to go out to anor

dugout w Cpl Kerrison & Cpl Davis, H.F. but it was empty.
54    7

For 12 hrs there were no

evacuations from the R.A.P.

(at Levi cottage on Rd just N,

of Hill 40).

Relieved on 5/6 Oct.

(103 men & 10 offrs had bn left 

at Morbeque – they joined

up on 8^th Oct.

[Our guns _^protecting the Blue line were at a 

very long range & 

were sometimes up to 200

yds short of our front line].

On aftn of Oct 4 abt 2 p.m.

CSM Boden ^x (D Coy) with

2 men went out ahead of 

our front line & mopped up

a pillbox abt 100 yds away.

He went out to see what ws

8 

There ws sniping for a 

few hours on final objve

but this finished then – 8

Germ. ws quiet even from

Bellevue – we were sniping

him there w Germ. m.gs

& getting him running abt.

Germ plane next

morning went v. low along

whole line dropping lights.

On Oct 4: Near / cemetery there were 

Germs moving abt just over / 

ridge. It ws hard to see what

they were at, whether wanting

to surrender or no - arty 

ws called for on them & a

special shoot done. No more

seen of Germans.

On Oct 5, _^abt 7.30 pm A number of Germs

were seen reinforcing

Bellevue (not till then looking

extra formidable positn) &

barrage ws put down on

them (SOS put up by 40^th D Coy)

a lot of movement ws at

Bellevue on Oct. 4 

54    9

there. Before he got there

a head appeared at the 

loophole. He shot at it. A 

stick w a white rag ws

imd waved through /

hole. In / Pill box were a

German Bn Commdr & 

40 Germans who were all

a badly wd. m.g staff officer

brought in – Bn C.O. ws Captain.]

15 m.g., 2 M.W., a bicycle

dynamo – & a lot o / papers

were captured.

200 - 300 prisoners were

sent back from this sector.

& many killed around / 

dugouts.

Capt

McVilly who ws hit in this

fight was the Tasmanian

sculler – hit thro abdomen

& in thigh.

10

A Coy. after Meagher &

Macmillan were hit

2/Lt Grant became O.C.  A Coy.

He did excellent work

at assembly point. 

When line ws being 

dug in he took out

a party to cover

B Coy when it ws

consolidating on rt.

B Coy.  ws under McVilly

& Gatenby, & when 

they were hit ws

under 2/Lt Boyes.

C. Dumeresq – Whittaker

his 2 in C. ws wd later

& Coy brought out by

Lt Lakin.

D. Capt Ruddock.

Lts Moon & Mills

under him.             

54      11

Capt McVilly  B Coy

ws hit during advance

from 2^nd to 3^rd objve. by

m.g. in side. He carried

on & ws hit thro abdomen

bullet gong right thru. He

walked to / dressing stn

but / bullet seems to have

got thro without touching any

vital point from navel to

back.

Lt Meagher a/O.C. A Coy

ws K. betw 3 & 4 objve

by a sniping bullet thro

heart (prob from Dab trench

or Hamburg)

Lt MacMillan }  betw 3 &4 

Lt Gatenby    }  objves.

                            by bullets.

Lt Cane, bombing offr, sapped

to be in/c dumps went

12
The NZs on imd left

were very heavily hit abt

when passing left of 39 Bn,

Sergt McGee.

[Refers also to 

Oct 12.]                   

^X17 A 34 

54   13

up beyond where he ought

to, leaving his parties, &

ws shot first thro' neck

(graze) & then in thigh –

Sergt, McGee, B. Coy

during / advance ( probly

at Hamburg) finding a 

m.g. firing over a dug out

concrete structure & holding

up / attack walked 

straight up to the pillbox ^x

& shot the m. gunner

thro / head w his

revolver. McGee ws on

every wiring pty B Coy

ever put out at Armentieres

from/ very start; He

ws in every stunt –

He later imd after settled another

m.g. by organising a 

small bombing pty &

getting / gun. These m.gs

were holding up / advance

14

Offrs. 1 k.  6 wd.

Lt Crosby with T.Ms ws wd

on evg of 5^th, just in rear

of front line.

54   15                                                 

He ws recommended

for V.C. & Commission.

On Aug. 12 he ws with

Lt Garrard _^O.C. B Coy near

Augustus wood when

m.g. from there got 

onto them. The whole

of HQrs – all sigs &

most o / runners  –

exc. Garrard – who 

ws left alone.

It was there tt McGee,

acting as C.S.M,

ws shot thro' / head & 

killed.

Capt Dumaresq   O.C. C Coy.

was badly hit  abt after

dark.  xxx 40 Bn took the 4th by shell at Bn objective

 Objve (?) On his being