Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/177/1 - October 1917 - Part 2

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15 Oct  33 Bn reld 43.
15 - 21 Oct.  43 Bn ws at Seine.
21 Oct  Reld by 10 Canadian Bde.
Canadians put in / Bde to relieve
our 2, they being up in strength
KOYLIs xxld f & Y & Ls
took front & Support line with
11 Bde in Reserve.
Canadians reld bn 11 Bde
on _^evg 21 Oct, & British on 22nd Oct.
This ws in order to avoid
bringing troops straight up thro
the mud to / front line in
one day –  Canadians did it
in 3 stages.
Oct 21.  43 Bn got out
without a casualty.

No more offrs. were lost.
Abt 40 men were sent away
gassed & blistered after the period
by Bremen & / rly – Runners &
carrying pties got blistered going
thro water w gas on it. 

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                    k.              m.               w.              Total
Offrs           4                                   4                     8.
o.r.             58                 1             182         239  241

A German listening set ws
found on Hill 40.

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Diagram - see original document

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20 Bn  Oct 9.
You cd tell by / noise & bursts
when / barrage started.  20 in front
17 behind on the tape wh ws
almost at rt Ls to the
rly line practically thro the
Mar xx. the pillbox at 17 C 2.3.
The bn had one group over / rly. (it ws inclusive)
 A m.g. ws heard to open
imd.  It seemed  to come from
/ directn of Rhine Copse.  It ws
on the rt flank more ( of 20th).
Rifle shots & a m.g. were
heard almost at once on the
rly – it ws clear there ws heavy
fighting beginning there.  Just after
passing the X roads the Bn got
into marsh;  and at this point
the barrage also seemed to halt.
There ws no smoke & some of 
/ men ran into it . Everyone ws

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puzzled by this.  Capt Hall
(C Coy) ws hit in this - There
ws sniping from Assyria - (the
big red house & barn) & the hedges
round it & Decoy Wood.  When
the barrage went on the Coys had
suffered somewhat heavily compared
to their strength.
A Coy had their first trouble at
Dash Xing & Dabble Ave;  & their
next at Defy Xing.  The right o /
line cd hear firing going on there.
(Almost due E of Defy Xing ws a
5.9 how. wh ws taken by A Coy].
From the rt A Coy cd not be seen,
& the rest o / line ws very anxious
abt it.  The firing at Defy continued
as / rest o / line went on; &
it cd be heard more & more
in rear.
The Bn reached a line curving
(concave) from Rhine to the Rly abt

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300 yds ahead of Defy Xing.
This ws / Red Line.  The
barrage ws in Decoy Wood -
fairly heavy there - sprinkled
amongst the Assyria hedges;
& direct on / line of Pill/Bs
on the skyline of the Assyria
Ridge - These were frequently hit.
The long halt in / barrage ws here.
Rhine House had h. a Pill/B.
It had bn blown in some time
before.  A certain amt of sniping
came from there during /
advance;  but as / line approached
the Germans gave up.  Rhine is
right in / bottom o / valley &
very boggy - constantly up
to your knees  in / mud. The
place surface ws entirely cut up w shells.
Even when the 20 Bn
reached its line, Dairy Wood

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Just before ∧the digging in the barrage
seemed to lift from Decoy Wood
onto the ridge;  & during this period
a pty of ∧abt 4 men of C Coy under Lt. Edwardes
went on in Decoy Wood & cleared
the dugouts in / wood & sent
back a dozen prisoners.  Edwardes
& one man went on ∧from there with 17 Bn & have
not bn seen since.  E. is sd to have
been seen blown up by a bomb but
this is uncertain.

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ws  not cleared.  The 23 Bn
went round it ∧to N - they were
on / extreme right of 20 Bn.
Rhine ws in 23 Bn sector but
20 Bn wh had bn fired on from
there got there first.  23Bn soon after
While 20 Bn ws digging
in they were being sniped at from
/ rear & several men were
hit in / back.  x
From midday to abt 2, altho
our line - thin as it ws - ws well
out ahead by Rhine, our own
arty fire ws on Dairy Wood &
/ German Arty also – (The shells
were not near our line).
For abt an hour after the
Red line ws reached the firing
on the left rear continued - there
ws no sniping on front line from
there . Then it ceased.  It ws
not known what had happened

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there.
While 21 Bn ws digging posts 17
Bn ws behind them lying up in
shell holes.  [At this period a
Vickers gun ws doing v. good work -
Germans cd be seen retreating from
Decoy Wood, & running along the
crest of Assyria R.  A private, Noble,
ws in charge o / gun & he did
excellent work, knocking them
over.  The gun ws Between B &
C Coy  in front of  facing the Centre of
Decoy Wood.]
When the barrage lifted the 17 Bn,
wh was very weak,  pushed
up to a point this side o / crest
- within  xxxx 150 yds o / crest
probably - & then were pushed
back by fire from Decline Copse -
Some also from the 6 right;  the
Germans in front had run as
soon as our Vickers &  2 or 3 LGs

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had opened on them from the Red
Line.
The x 17 Bn fell back to
a point some distance on our
side of Decline Copse - & on the
right to the Red line.  There
seemed to be fighting for / best
part of an hour in & near
Decline Copse before they fell back.
A Coy 20 Bn had a couple
of L.G. posts on the rly line.
The first German Aeroplane
came over at abt 11 am.
It flew very low & picked
up / line at once.  He fired
into / trench & wd one man
alongside Lt Treacher.
The German Arty fire opened
on Decoy Wood shortly after, but
none of our people were there.
The morning ws spent in

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sniping ∧on Assyria & firing on aeroplanes -
till this had to stop for fear
of Ammn running short.   Any
amt of ammn ws got up in / afternoon by 27 Bn.
Abt 5 p.m. many Germs.
were seen moving from Assyria
- head after head along / road
behind Assyria .  The Coy Commndrs
after seeing abt 150 of these decided
to send up an S. O. S.  The
arty came down on positns
wh had bn given them during /
day by / infy - & the barrage
came down right on top of
this movement.  That ws / last
tt was seen of it.
Late in / aftn - 3.30 till
dark - the Germs. seemed to have
crept back & Sniping became pretty
constant.  After dark a couple
of 2 & 3-men patrols were sent out.
Abt 2 a.m. on Oct 10 the
45 reld 20 Bn in front line;  next

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night 46 Bn reld it in Support Line.
During / day the difficulty
in getting S/Bs ws very great.
On the jump off not one S/B or
stretcher ws w / Coys.  Capt Hall
ws lying in the Swamp for 24hrs.
He cd not be moved without a stretcher
& this ws / case w many.
The 45 Bn, wh came in
strong, helped greatly in getting
nearly all / wounded out after
/ relief.
The shortness of the numbers
ws / great difficulty.   If the
Germans had stood up,
the advance cd scarcely
have reached the Red Line.
Lt Martin ws hit just
across / swamp during / advance.