Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/187/1 - April - July 1918 - Part 6

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Diagram - see original

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Diagram see original

on the right, abt 200 yds from the
objve, along the Bray Corbie Rd. were
a row of ordinary trees - well knocked
about by artillery.
No moon at all tt night.
There wd be at this time abt a man every 2 yds
- naturally the intervals wd be irregular - some bunched etc 

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looking from the right you could see
two distinct lines at 20 yds abt. 
- 2 coys. Before the final objve
these were one line. You cd
also see the trench running
down hill to left for abt 300 yds.
trench 2-3 ft wide & abt 5 from 2 to 7
ft deep - abt 6 ft by m.g.
Germans in their steel helmets.
We had 2 rifle grenadiers to a pln. 

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All tin hats were covered & they
had their colours in many cases
on the left side of them. Capt M. Hammond
had a diamond on his hat just the same
(painted on). 
Diagram- see original. 

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No 3 Sqn S.F.C. 
4 Bties engaged by impromptu call. 
17 Bties neutralised
Arty patrols 23.
The dawn contact patrols 3. (the N of Somme 23)
C. attack patrols 11. /
Plates exposed 108.
140 Bombs dropped - one blew a kitchen
to bits  11,800 rds fired.
Zone calls 80.
79hrs 55 mins in air.
One machine ws 2ce attacked at 9am
once by 2 scouts & later by 3. One ws seen to fall
crash & another went down out of control.  

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Abt a week ago. Lt Gould Taylor came out o /
sun at a 2 seater & only fired 2 shots at him
- he fell in flames. 

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9th Bn (Meteren)
2/Lt. Tunn (just promoted) ws advancing 
(on the night Meteren was taken)
from D Coy - just left post
when one of our men dropped 
a Mills bomb out of the cup
discharger - he tripped over
a wire. The pin ws out
o / bomb. Tunn made
a dive at / bomb & caught it
& dropped it again - (tripping
over / same wire). He 
picked it up agn & held 
onto it on / ground - it 
blew his right hand off
& injured his head. None o /
others were hurt. 
Son of Russell, War Correspt grandson of Clark Russell
Lt Russell (who ws afterwds
killed sitting in his dugout shelter
having dinner - hit on / head
by a fragment). He went out 
a few evgs before this &
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got into an empty G.
post. He found some
grenades there; also a G. cup
discharger & some Mills bombs.
He took detonators out,
brought in other grenades -
& abt dusk went out w
sergt & 4 men to / same
post. Lay up near by but
as Gs didnt come Sergt & 2
men were sent off to look
for them. The Gs came from /
back - 10 of them. Russell
& 2 men tackled them - k. 4
& rest ran. They got identifcins
from / dead men. Russell ws k eating
his dinner the night after Meteren fragment of shell in head while in his platoon H.Q.
On day 9 Divn took Meteren 9 Bn got
101 prisoners.  20 m.gs. 2 H.T.M. several
Rifles & cup discharger. 
Only 25 men were lost 1st day 5k 70 wd
140 in course of 3 days (20 gassed by our gas)
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our 1st Divn is now (July 27)
holding a one Bde front with
"a funny old Bde" (mostly B class
men) on its left holding a v.
narrow front. They put this old 
Bde in for 6 days & relieve it
w another British Bde.
The idea is to let 1st Aust
Divn relieve itself - & so
keep it in the army.
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105
July 27th to 1st Divn {Russells boy
{old men 
July 28.
w Gullett to V/B.
Tivey tells me. 1 wk
ago his attack ^(w 14 Bde) suddenly cancelled
in order to preserve troops.
At 48 hrs notice brought on agn
- but as 14 Bde had sideslipped, 8 Bde
ws to do whole show. 
14 Bde alld to attack in order
not to disappoint 53 Bn. wh had
originally bn going to take part in
the main attack. As they havent eno' guns
their attack is ¾ hr later. Men are all keen.
We are to take over a
bit of French line. 
Diagram - see original
View from Hamel of Corbie:
What Germans see.
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Diagram - see original
28/7/18. 
View from Hill 104 (SE end of it)
looking twds Hamel & N of Somme