Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/184/1 - March 1918 - Part 2

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He told me th they had just relieved the "poor

Scotties" who had made no line at all except a

lot of little funkholes along our side o /

embankment. This ^part o / embankment started at

the cutting in 15 C 6.6 & after the level crossing

(where / embankt ws shallow or level) began

to get steeper & steeper round / curve for

abt 100 yds - being ^at least 15 ft deep in / steepest

part. The 47 Bn had not eno men to relieve

the Tommies properly. ^The were only 80 men went in with McD's Coy. And this embankt

ws not held for abt 100 yds. The offr.

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commanding ^D Coy (Capt Simmons) whose right

the platoon on the left right

of D Coy (wh was 100 yds to / left of the Crossing)

had therefore detailed Sergt SR McD. with 2

men to watch the crossing & they were

stationed at / Xing itself (15 D 9.9)

In / early morning, just abt / time when

it seems to become darker in / half light, there

ws a mist on / ground. Lieut Reid the

Int. Offr o / Bn & Robertson had just passed

on their rounds, & McD. ws standing up

behind / bank telling (he had just let /

two men w him stand down & curl up for

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a rest at / foot o / bank) when he

heard in / mist abt 50 to 100 yards

away from him the noise of bayonet scabbards

flapping on the thighs of marching men.

From his place on the bank

he called the two resting men. Lt Reid

heard him who ws walking w

Robertson (?Sergt Robertson) along the

lee side, behind the embankment, towards

D Coy, said "Is that you Mac." MacD sd

"Yes - come up here quick. I think

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they're coming at us." Lt Reid ran up /

bank. "Yes, by Jove they are!" he sd.

McD. & the two men ran to get ^the nearest

men o / platoon on their left, 100 yds

away on / embankt. [McD as he ^says there were

no smoke shells nor smoke bombs, nor smoke, nor arty fire].

He ran along / top o / rails, &, as he

did so he cd see / Germans coming

along / whole o / front up

thro / mist & half light towards / 

rly. McDougal got / platoon to

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^X They were still 50 yds from

the level Xing, & this gap

existed most o / time during

this ^days fight, apparently.

 

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extend to its right along / rly to face

/ Germans who were now coming

up towds / other side of it. The x platoon

covered about 50 yds of the distance gap. ^X The Germs

started to throw bombs over the

bank at our men who lined

our side o / bank. One of thee

bombs hit two Lewis Gunners

of the platoon ^who were working their gun at I time but their gun ws not

damaged. McD. took it & began to

work it. Abt this moment two

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German machine gun teams tried ^started

to cross the railway. McDougall

was on top of the bank with his

gun carried at the port across his

chest. The leading German was

about 7 yards away -  possibly 5

Mc D. hosed his gun onto them and

the stream of bullets from McDs gun

it blew away part o / head o /

lead nearest man & shot down

the rest. Their guns pitched forward

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& were afterwds taken by us; but

McD. told me th he found them of

little use for this sort of work as you

cannot fire them from / hip - they have

no discs. [He -(& others like him who

relish a fight - & we have plenty in

our force who do) always grabs a

Lewis gun, if he can, in a scrap. He 

told me tt he noticed th most ^old L. Gunners

did - & tho' he is now a scout he wd

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rather be a L. Gunner in a fight - "the

best day's fighting we ever had," he sd

to Sergt Lawrence beside him ^who ws with us in the

little ^farmyard kennel ^at Freschencourt where three of them slept - wasnt
it Lawrie?"] This attempt of m gunners

to get across / line w their light guns

appears to be considered the first

wave. A few more started w them,

I understand, to hop over / embankt,

but the Lewis gun shot them or scared

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them. Seven were killed.

McD. had only seven men

with him running along / embankt

& had probably got well ahead of

them as this lot of Germans attempted to

get over / line close to him. He then

ran along / edge o / line looking down

/ German side of it for more Germans

-& there he saw a number of them-

perhaps 20 - crouching in potholes &

shell holes on their side o / bank

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waiting their time to hop over. He ran

along hosing his gun down onto them &

they up & ran without firing a shot.

As they ran he switched the gun round

onto them, still from the hip, & shot down

a great number crossing the flat.

 

There were some old British

huts about 20 or 30 yds away

into amongst wh / Germans

this day used to seek cover when 

they ran from / embankment.