Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/184/1 - March 1918 - Part 4

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then. about 12.30 Germans began

to creep up to their right & right

rear. Our people were in an old

French trench (McD thought), quite

straight & no traverses, & a m.g.

on their right began to fire straight 

down it. Twenty minutes or half

an hour after the Germans first

began to appear in this positn

it ws decided to evacuate this trench

& retire - they men got out & moved

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down into / gully near the 48 Bn &

across the Albert Rd to where the 48 Bn

were holding. The supports, McD . says,

had to retire before / front line.

He says also tt / Germans, after

crossing for at first near / level

Xing afterwds used the rly arch

wh ws hidden from him & from D coy.

The sergeant who ws observing

this night (4/5) sd tt all night long he cd

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hear / tramp of feet of Germans.

Once / Germans got thro the

rly line they reinforced, as far as cd

be seen by the post where McD was, cd in

6s & 7s walking forward. From the

position where careless way in wh they were

walking it is unlikely tt after

they got across / line they had

very heavy losses; in front of /

rly, or by Enfilade fire from the

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13^th Bde they may have had heavy

losses.

Capt. Young. c/o of left Coy,

Says tt abt 1 p.m., abt / time when

his Coy ws retiring , a gun appeared 

to be firing at them from / direction

of Buire. They noticed / shells

from that directn at close range.

The Germans had before this

brought up guns xxxxxx & two of these

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were firing from behind the village -

they could see them over / roofs o /

houses. [The official diary is clearly very

inaccurate] The German transport

& men were crowded down / sunken rd

from Vivier Mill & lots of them guns -

More than a dozen - were moving

down over / open grounds. of

Dernancourt close to / Ancre (I suppose

/ rly Embankt ws higher than / village).

Young’s Coy retired (I believe) N. or N.W abt 1.30 p.m.

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47 Bn when it came in on March
27 betw Henenct & Millenct advd in

arty formation - / same formation over /

same ground over wh it had done

its last field day in this district

last Spring

       _______________________
 

 

Aust over same ground as x

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
No. 3.

(17735) Wt. 2205-SK550 100000. 1/18. Sir J. C. & S.