Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/177/1 - October 1917 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-1918 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/177/1

Title: Notebook, October, 1917.
Includes references to the 20th and 43rd
Battalions, Broodseinde and Passchendaele.

AWM38-3DRL606/177/1

43^rd Bn. Ypres                              1
20 Bn    177 
Original                           DIARY NO. 177
AWM38       3DRL 606                     ITEM 177 [1]
DIARIES AND NOTES 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 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 herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946                                                                                                              C. E. W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS

OPEN                                

D
B
A
C 

43^rd Bn. Ypres                                1
Museum - Store.  20 Bn   177
Germ Steel cartridge cases used at
nomansland  lacquered w copper.

Sent to W.O. by 1.d 

    ________________________________________ 
28 Sept.  Bn in tents at Poperinghe
ws bombed by a German aeroplane –
but all four bombs were duds.
This ws abt 8.30 pm or 9 on
a moonlit night.
Bn on Oct 2 marched to a
point  betw Hell Fire corner &
Politjze & bivouacked in shellholes.
3/4 Oct, 9 pm.  the fighting strength
(abt 500 incl. Bn HQ & runners)
[total strength everywhere abt 750].
Bn went in along K track,
Duckboarded only a short way (very
well marked by Div. Engrs  & Pioneers).
43 Bn ws for the 1^st Objve. They

2                                                                 /

Engrs & 9 Bde had seem to
have put out the forward tapes

While Bn ws  filing onto / tapes in /
Zonnebeke Valley Lieut Herbert ws
k.  by 5.9 wh k. his batman also.   

Hand drawn diagram - see original document

\                                   3
crossed the duckboards of
at head of K track to tapes.  
(some most of wh had bn put out
on night of Oct 2/3, remainder
Oct 3/4). The assembly position
ws in / valley, not agst skyline.
Germ. ws very active w lights of
all colours – red yellow green
besides ordinary white flare.
Only one casualty going
in. Rt of Coy ws on rly line.
Very shortly after bn got in
2 or 3 stray shells fell on them
& killed ^in D Coy Capt F.G. Sims, Lt T. H.
Howden, a Sergt & a private.
2a.m. warning came from 10 Bde
of a possible German attack.
The 5.30 bombt included 5.9s
4.2., Whizzbangs, & on extreme rt
minenwerfers. Most of this fell

\            4
behind the 43 Bn. The Germs
strafed the Rly line heavily on
rt. The bombt estarted gradually
w a marked increase at
5.30. It ws not a barrage
like ours. It seemed like a
heavy straf laid down on our
being observed. It seemed not to
be heavy eno' for a barrage before an
attack.

Lt Crick ws killed hit abt 2 or 3
mins before hopping over. He died
later in / day.
Lt Richardson ws knocked

out by a shell until wh burst
on top o / shell hole & dazed him
until / rear waves were passing
through.
At the jump over D Coy were
opened on within 3 mins of the start,
as soon as / barrage lifted from the
first barrage line. The Pillbox ws
on the near side of the road into
Zonnebeke x Station.  M.g. fire came

\         5
from here. Men were hit but one
of our L.Gs got onto the place
very quickly. The gun ws silenced – it

Hand drawn diagram - see original document.
ws firing

from a bit

of trench

beside the

pillbox– 

In D Coy 2/Lieut. Roberts (who had
taken charge o / Coy) ws hit by
a piece of shell before they
reached this place; 2/Lt Walsh the
remaining offr ws k. by m.g.
fire from this place. [Abt 3 hrs later
Lt Symonds took command].
C Coy & D Coy got mingled
together here & from then on practically
became on coy — indeed they were
practically together from the jump off.
Lt Wald commanded C. Coy
The other oppositn came from

\                                      6
the N.W. slope o / hill abt 21 Central
or west of it. There ws a line of
trench here.  The Germans threw
bombs from there & held the
adv then cleared. They scarcely
held up the line at all.
Consequently while D & C Coys
were rather confused A & B retained
something of their formation were
less mixed; the Bns from the
rear, however, were pressing up
to avoid barrage &  xxxxxxx 
provision the formatn ws
as usual somewhat loose.
On the objective where 43 Bn
halted the 42, 44, & 41 Bns shook
themselves out excellently –  The
barrage halted for 12 mins on
this objective.
There ws no other oppositn.
The Germans were thick & the prisoners
taken by 11 Bde reached a record N^o.

\                                                 7
During / halt o / barrage Germans
cd be seen behind the shellbursts
both running away & running
forward. Some Germans were
seen coming thro' / barrage
wh ws weak during / halt,
to surrender. Others were taken
coming out of dugouts along the rly,
chiefly on N side. For 20 mins
after the barrage had halted the
m. u. parties were getting
prisoners from dugout after
dugout –  leaving a sentry at the
top & going on to / next.
The ground in wh 43 Bn
dug in tt day ws good, about short of
the bottom  of / valley.
A. B. & D Coys had to dig in at
once.  C, in reserve, had to be pulled
out imd, to come behind Hill 40 &
dig in in case they were wanted later.

\                                             8
Lts Wald  & Rose of C Coy kept abt ½ C Coy
to help D Coy consolidate. Lt
Richardson took other ½ of C Coy
behind  Hill 40. Rose & Wald
came back later with rest of C
leaving Symonds with D. Till
then Sergt Cameron had it.

At midday on Oct 5 Germs
shelled the area heavily & got several
direct hits into the 43 Bn trench,
So Bn ws withdrawn behind Hill 40. 

Reld tt night.
Bivouacked at Asylum.
Next day (Oct 6.) to Toronto.

                     k            w.
Offrs           4              2
or.              34          108

BN Pierrots gave concerts nightly.

9 Oct  11.30 43 Bn marched
to Ypres.  Biv. at Frezenberg R.

\                                                  9
10^th   on fatigues repairing rly near 
Zonnebeke.!
10/11  reld bn of 66 Divn in
Support line; 44 Bn in
front, 42 & 41 beh on
left.  More work on rly.

11/12 Reld by 9 Bde. (to _∧ behind Bremen)

12 Oct. near Bremen –  shelled
so moved forwd to Bremen
Redoubt from nearer rly.
By this time Bn ws very
worn by work & weather.
Also gas.

Oct 13. Reld 35 Bn in Support
in front of Dash Xing –  Hamburg
Rd –  went in along rly.
It took 6½ hrs to take from Bde
HQ to Dash Xing. There were
few duckboards. The line taken
up ws curiously free from shelling – 
all other parts seemed to get it.
33 Bn found the same. The road
behind ws very bad indeed.