Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/182/1 - 1915 - 1917 - Part 1

AWM38

Official History,

1914-1918 War: Records of C.E.W.Bean

Official Historian.

Diaries and Notebooks

Item number: 3DRL606/182/1

Title: Notebook, 1915 - 1917

Includes references to the 4th Battalion, No. 68

Squadron, Australian Flying Corps, 54th and

55th Siege Batteries, 1st Division and Pozieres.

AWM38-3DRL606/182/1

[*May 19

Ap. 25 48

57 sqn

AFC Nov 

30

55th Bn

[[?sCattr]] 

1st Div Pozieres *]

Original

DIARY NO 182

AWM38 3DRL 606 ITEM 182 [1]

DIARIES AND NOTES OF C.E.W. BEAN

The use of these diaries and notes is subject to condition 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 herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sep., 1946.                   C. E. W. BEAN

AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
 

1

[*FC see White

wing Spitelgate Granthan

Lines

for photos of  No 68 leaving
 Harlaxton ( Lt Col. AB Burdett)
Books *]

On April 25 the 4th Bn spent the
day in a gully & was roused up at 4

along the beach, over a bit of rise, down
into Victorian gull.  Milligans 8th platoon was
leading & ws then told to double up the hill at the gully head.
They came out near with their left not far below Browns Dip.
Some of 8 Bn were escorting wd men down / hill ( wh they
neednt have bn doing) & they seemed a bit scared. The
Turks are getting up bloody close – hell of a lot of em
right on top of us, they said! The platoon lay down
panting w its run just this side of / top & then
Milligan gave / word - "Now then men, jump up & get
over / crest & lie down on / forward slope." They did
so  — & there ws not a Turk in sight. They were in the
shallow spoonlike beginning of a gully – to their left
front ws / flat top of Lone Pine – ( This was / positn to wh
they returned after the next days advance to / fore slope of
Johnsons Jolly, where they lay down facing the flat

expecting the British to meet them there! (curious how [* these runners went round)*]
That night (Ap 25) after dark the Turks came
on. There were cries of Allah Allah first –
then they appeared agst the horizon -  There ws an idea
tt they were Indians – they sounded like it & someone sd

'dont shoot – they're Indians.: But 10 rounds rapid were put
in and / Turks disappeared,  Later on there was another jabber
and they appeared again. 10 rounds rapid always stopped them. [* an enormous amt of
ammn was spent tt night.*]

 

3  2

May 19

[* 182 May 19

Ap. 25 48

57 sqn

AFC Nov 

30

55th Bn

[[?sCattr]] 

1st Div Pozieres *]

Milligan tells me tt on
May 19 at Anzac the 
Turks appeared opposite

Wire Gully at abt 3 a.,.

He heard a couple of shots
& then a shout from the men on
the firestep.  When he jumped up
there you could see the Turks
down the gully, the moonlight glistening
on all their long thin bayonets
He ws on / left of wire gully &
one of his jobs ws to  protect the
m g opposite from anyone who
might try to crawl up to it.

The Turks came up the gully & some of
them did try to climb the hill to
the m.g. post & were shot down from
his side as they did so.

From 3 to 5 was solid shooting
as fast as they cd shoot.  Then came
an hour's spell in wh / Turks tried
to dig in near G . O . Trench
Then abt 6 out they came again

3

※ The sounds suspiciously like
the story of Scott ("Happy Hum") –
better confirm it.

Capt Milson. was "Savage Sam".
10 offrs, 18 NCOs & many men
of the Australian Scottish ^Regt of Sydney were
in the 19^th Bn.

 

3   4

from behind J. Jolly [[?thrown]] out round /
corner like handfulls of peas  & then
coming extended up the valley.
The men wd shoot them as they came -
One over ^got him two over got him! Three
over got him – & so on.  Once
an offr came round on a horse
until getting round / corner xx

seeing what was there he dug
in his heels & got away.
At Lone Pine, Macdonald,^※ quarter-
master of the 4th Bn was standing in
hand drawn sketch- see original
 a corner of two saps

up which m.g. fire
was coming both
ways. He ws pressed into / angle
& ws catching bombs from our men
further down & throwing them, while
they built a barricade. They were

thrown to him lighted. He wd  blow on
the fuse & throw it.  He  ws wd in the 
shoulder – when the barricade ws finished
he got over it.

Mackay  also shd have got the V.C.

Milligan says.

3  5
55 Bty
Put into Villers Pluich R 13
B ^1. 4 – 4 guns taken up
there by night between Nov. 17/17
& Nov. 20.
Taking the centre line for
lines of fire  they were so close

to / Germans tt an electric
torch had to be flashed 8 times.
Each time a m.g. answered from
/ German line.  One man ws
hit by a sniper.  Noticeboards
were put up – "Keep your
head down" – the guns were 
brought up in parts with FWD
Lorries – by night ( 54 ws in

rest in Boulogue) –
When they opened at 6.20
a.m. Nov 20 they found tt
 

3  6

T Ms were firing over their
heads, (2  6in Stokes Bties)
The guns were in the open
behind a wall abt  1 ft.
within 4 hrs they were
out of range – 9 . 2 Hows.
Next day Maj. Bates went
up to R z B 88 & chose
a positn for 2 of the guns.
They were taken upon
night of Nov 25/26 – & mounted
in the Hindenburg Support trench –
The mens shelters were in /
trench & / guns under
on a bit of open on left
of Marcoing Rd.
When the Germs attacked
these guns were dismantled^under Lt Shepherd (Dickebusch)
all working parts were
 

This of course is untrue
Bates ws absent without
leave in Amiens, & knew nothing
 of the attack till it was over.

3  7

buried – the guns have
not since bn heard of –
They were supporting 6^th Divn.
On Nov.30, a little after
10 a.m. a party ws going
out to bury cable to an O P
near / forward guns. They

were seized by an infy
staff officer & armed w
rifles & told to hold / ridge
in front o / guns – abt
50 yds in front of the guns. 
This ws / first tt Maj. Bates
knew of the fighting - Next

{* This of course is untrue
Bates ws absent without
leave in Amiens, & knew nothing
 of the attack till it was over.*]

came a message to stand
by to destroy breech blocks.
Then – abt 11.30 came a
message from Group " If the
Hun approaches any closer,
 

[He wasn't there ]

3   8

blow up your guns &
disb evacuate."
Abt At 2.p.m. exactly the
offrs. Maj. Blake, Capt.
Manchester & Lt Dobson
after having seen the guns

blown up by  putting all
/ cartridges beneath them
& setting fire to the lot,
came back thro' Beaucamps
to Metz.  Before this the
Guards had met them outside
Metz & ^the Germs were on 3 sides of
the guns.  One 'plane, an
Albatross sat over the guns
abt 500 feet up & machine
gunned them heavily.
 

3   9

From right, from rear &
from in front fire ws coming,
including whizzbang from
betw. Gouzeauct & Villers
Pluick – the Germs by then
were on the road between 
Gouzeaucourt & Villers Pluick.
The Group H.Qrs. had had
to evacuate Dead Mans

Corner abt 11.30 a.m.
& / Germans reached
tt place.
Abt 10 a.m. infantry of
the Essex Regt were passing –
an infantry subaltern sd: They
are jumping over our front line
in 8s & 10s & theres nothing to
 

3  10

stop them  –The order had
come down to slow down the 
rate of fire of bty to 1 round
per gun per 5 mins (½SOS
rate) & CO. of 50 bty had
been ticked off for spreading
alarmist rumours.
Almost at once after /

infy came the field arty. One
bty took up a positn imd
behind 55, firing S & covering
Gonnelieu.  They had come
from La Vacquerie,
Men cd be seen on the
ridges across / valley but they
cdnt be identified as Germs.

Abt 12 Abt 10.30/11am orders were given
to evacuate the two forward guns.