Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/175/1 - October 1917 - Part 2

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Also sketches from balloon
showing tanks etc etc.
The shelling on 42 Bn
digging in ws heavy.  41 &
44 were behind them
waiting for / barrage to
rise & they too lost.
During this time both
flanks were in touch &
there ws some Guerilla
warfare going on w
dugouts ahead.
Going ahead to 3rd
objve 41 Bn on its left
struck a bog.  This ws
just 200 yds in front of
42 Bn line of Consolidatn
There was old wire in this 

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^x on rt of rly not
much resistance
ws met with.  Most
of the casualties were
betw 2 & 3rd objves
on left.

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& as the barrage was
lost here both bns had
to work together.  All
the great collectn of
& dugouts beyond /
Sunken Rd^x were manned
w m.gs.  Lt WA Fraser
pln commdr.
took his runner & got
past one of these.  They
threw bombs first fired
a couple of rifle grenades;
[his pln had bn temporarily
checked by a m.g.  He located
this by seeing some of the enemy
making for it.  He got in rear
of it.]  The rifle grenades stopped
the m.g. & disturbed them.  He
rushed the post & then k.
10 & captured 21 & the m.g.
There were 3 m.gs. in this post. 

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There ws a short halt,
during wh the 41 caught
up / barrage.  It then
leapfrogged through the
44th & followed its
barrage to final objve.
On the left flank where
41 touched th 10^th Bde
(40Bn) the dugouts about Dab
trench had to be mopped
up.  D Coy ws in this -
Fraser again & Lt Price &
Capt Redmond.  The
right met with no great
oppositn, keeping close
up to / barrage & stifling
oppositn.
Pte Gordon thought 

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our barrage had passed -
but when it thickened
up he dropped into a
Pillbox.  4 Germans
were there, so he
"souvenired" them;
& made them dig up
a mate to get a
revolver.  Later he
came out w his prisoners.
Another man -
after reaching consolidatn
had his mate shot
thro' neck by a
sniper.  He crept out
along a hedge into
Nomansland.  The Sniper got
up & bolted.  Peacock 

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ran after him w his
bayonet.  The sniper
put up his hands, came
back, & P. shot him.
He then souvenired
the German & came
back, found his
mate dead &
buried him.
He himself ws
k. on 12^th Oct. by a
shell on the taped track,
& buried.
The Bn found its
objective, dug in to
plan; & this plan
ws later developed within
48 hours to a continuous 

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line from 2nd to end
of the objective.  It
ws handed over to
the 2/6 Manchesters
who found a splendid
line there.
Within 20 mins of our
arriving at the objve
Germans were seen
coming up in 6s & 7s
by short rushes to the
hedge from 17D69
South Eastwards.
Abt 70 of them seemed
to have lined up behind
it.
B Coy ws the Support
Coy.  Lt S The offrs of C. 

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Coy (xxCapt Calow, Lt Clarke
Cl & Lt Cripps) were
all wd.  Lt Skewes
(B) took commd of C Coy
which ws digging in
in Centre.  He led abt
30 men into Nomansland
& charged these 70
Germs w / bayonet
under v. heavy
rifle fire from them thro
/ hedge.
When ^they were abt 30 yds
away, the Germs bolted
& the 30 opened rapid rifle
fire & pract. annihilated
them.  They seemed to 

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vanish entirely.  Skewes
ws shot by a sniper
rifle bullet - He had
led his men through
the Gap in the hedge.
This pty came back.
Another offr. Lt. ^C. Butler
(brother of Dr Graham Butler
of Gallipoli fame) went out
to get Skewes body & ws
wounded.
After this the Germs
three or four times tried
to assemble in Dairy
Wood on / right &
Daisy W the Cemetery
on / left.  They were under
perfect observatn.  The 

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Stokes mortar offr,
Lt Couchman ws there
on left & Howie on rt.
The former especially
ws very keen.  The
infantry wd prevent
the T.Ms from firing
till eno' Germs had
collected.  They cd
see Germ. offrs getting
their men up into some
sort of line by /
cemetery.  As soon
as they were congregated
they let fly with the T.M.
Pte J.J. Gray ws one of
the Lewis Gunners who ws
out in front during this
fighting & defence & remaind 

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there for 2 days doing
good work.  He got a 

D.C.M.
Cpl. Maltby ws NCO in/c
of the screen covering his front
(his pln Commdr. being
wd)  He ws prominent also
in / above scrapping. (MM)

Offrs K.  Capt Redmond
ws killed as in narrative
on night of Oct 4/5
Lt Skewes - As above.
2/Lt Larkin - ws doing duty
as Bde forward observing
offr.  He ws k. at the
point of assembly by
a whizzbang shell.