Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/185/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 3

82        21      
White mill or pumping stn in
E26A also started up, probably
making for / level Xing. They
had bn sheltering behind some old
huts o / British pumping stn.
during / night.  At / same
time they seem to have come out
of Dernancourt & all round
/ front to / left. This ws / real
assault, at 9.15.
Some time before 10, some
men of the 47 Bn, which had
bn along / rly on / left of
the 52nd, reached Frasers Coy.
He sent Sergt Dalton w them
to try & find their  47 Bn people.
Dalton (who did spendid work during
/ day) took them 200 yds along
/ rly E o / bridge but found
no one.  [possibly 200 yds is an
over estimate, but it is Dalton's].
The fire there ws so heavy tt

Dalton took them no further -

82            22
they came back & fought w /
52nd.
About 10 a.m. the 52nd's left,
on / rly, near was enfiladed by a
m.g. from the left near the level
crossing above Dernancourt;
& Capt. Fraser saw men coming
in artillery in artillery formation across
towards / prisoners of war
compound (P) abt  E 15 C.2.8.
Hand drawn diagram - see original document 

82         23         
He gave orders for B Coy to
get back into / prepared line
in rear o / cemetery & running
through the old C.C.S.
About 10.15 Julin, who
had bn sent down to this
point (? possibly on a message ^ recd 9.30 from
Fraser tt / T.M. fire ws awful &
for Gods sake to get / arty onto it?)
Met about half of B Coy
retiring towards the C.C.S.
half way between the rly
Arch & the C.C.S.  Julin
wanted them to go back to
the rly, & got them to halt &
lie down where they were.
But he then found tt he cd
see Germans, advancing & easily
recognisable by their ^∧ full packs,
50 or 60 of them, over his left
shoulder apparently on
the hill in 14D. They were

? right

82        24 
bending low & getting under
some embankment in 14C to escape
from fire coming from 14B
or 14 central. The guns in
the Quarry were not firing
but from 14c 5.4 a German
m.g. got into the party &
hit a fair number. The
m.g. ws able to enfilade /
support trenches when they got into
them, ( & so it must have bn
pretty well up / hill).
Julin went back to
the right support Coy -

(C. Coy) to get a platoon -

(to add to the remains of
B Coy. [Part of B Coy
with Capt Fraser had
fallen back up / road
up / hill but very few
survived. Part had also
retired on its left along /

82     25
rly embankt.]
Capt Kennedy gave him
Lt Rogers & his pln.
By tt time / Germs had
a heavy concentrated fire
round / edge o / C.C.S.
(where / bomb proofs were)
& sneaked up there thro'
/ archway, & / Sunken
Rd, into 14c, & established
themselves in / French
Cemetery-one m.g. seemed
to be there. - Julien then
went back to get a Coy
of 51^st Bn to fill in the
gap on the top of the
valley.
The only movement they
cd see on their left ws
German & all / firing
ws German until they
got back some way when

82        26   

the Vickers - (Julin sd "in

the Quarry” but it seemed

a guess & he was not

at all sure of it when

Witham sd it ws scarcely

possible) started.
 Julin ws inclined to

think it must have bn these

guns in / Quarry wh kept
/ German off / Quarry &

/ road up to it & drove him

E of the Spur. The Germs

were not coming W or NW

because there ws a big

open flat there & / Vickers

guns from NW covered it.
This ws / positn at

abt 1.30 when Julin returned

to Hqrs. It ws abt this time

tt a field Gun ws brought

up by / Germans & fired

82      27     

from somewhere near /

P. of W. compound at Capt.

Kennedy. They  Julin says tt

horses brought it thro / 

archway, & men handled

it up / hill. There also

seems to have been a

German m.g. in the cemetery;

a second German field gun

possibly firing from E of

Dernancourt straight

along / rly;  & one or

two guns firing from

among / trees on the

river flats. They cd have

bn brought up over night.
The mist had bn too thick to

see more than 600 yds before

9 am. but from then on it

lifted quickly. The later part o

/ day was drizzly. 

82     28       

The Support Coy from HQrs had

bn moved from Hqrs to the CCs

(or rather rear of it) at midnight.
One Coy of the 51st was ^ordered to moved

up so as to top / hill &

bring fire to bear from a positn

prolonging Kennedys left to the

12^th Bde. This the O.C. of the

Coy reported he had done - he

sd he ws in touch w / 46^th

Bn & had 50 men in a

good fire positn at / head o /

valley (or something to tt effect)

& so Witham felt tt this

gap ws secure.  As a matter

of fact this Coy ws not on /

forwd edge o / hill but on / rear

slope [& / gap left was

very dangerous indeed

I shd say C.EW.B.]

82      29   
At abt 4  there came from Bde
a statement tt there wd be a
c.attack, & tt the 12^th  Bde were
going to cooperate on / left &
tt /  line wd also be reestablished
by the 13^th Bde- or some words
to tt effect. This was marked
To  "52nd Bn" & to a number of
other units;  but there ws
nothing in it to show who ws
to organise / c.attack. Witham
did not know if he were
meant to do so, - he ws
not put in a position to
ask command  help from the
12^th Bde.  However presently
came news tt the 49^th were

in positn ^∧ on / left and presently also

Col. Denton arrived a 13 Bde

order saying tt / attack ws

to be organised by the C.O. 49^th

82      30   
Bn.

In / meantime, just after before

/ note as to / impending c.attack

arrived, there came news

from Capt Kennedy tt 2 Bns

of Germans had bn seen

reinforcing into the Quarry

(i.e. abt 4p.m.) This ws followed

by details making it clear

tt / German ws making a
second push.
At 4.30 the German

appeared N of the E. end

of the C.C.S. Kennedy

had previously placed

No 9 Pln under Lt Wilson

on / rly, & No 11 Pln (under

Lt Rogers) E of the C.C.S.

The German now made

Wilsons Pln, (after W. wh had bn very