Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/188/1 - July 1918 - Part 2

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9
There ws a rush at /
heap from all sides –
Abt 15 Germs were k
& abt 40 to 45 taken
mostly from dugouts under
the Mangel heap (shelters
& one fair dugout).
As we crossed the
road (Olssen's pln) one
Germ. threw a bomb wh
exploded a little way
from his face & wd him. The German
ws shot dead.
Hamel ws burning
very brightly & we cd see
/ Germans in / light of it.
The left Coy Commdr
at 5.5 stuck a flag on the
 

108

10
last house but one o /
village. He climbed out
upon / rafters for a bet
of 20 fr & did it. (A man
of 45 – just over – this Somme
fight is his first & he commd
a Coy in it).
There ws no
sniping from / village.
The Germans got into
the deep dugout there.
Lt Walls coy worked down
the trench N o / village
a party on either side of
it. As / Germs fired at
those on / N they were
bombed by those on / S. 

108

11
There were only shallow
dugouts (except a very
few deep ones) in the
trenches in Hamel Wood
(2nd German line). They
seemed to be placed
in expectatn of an
attack from the N.
The smoke made it
very much darker &
you had to rely entirely
on the show going to time.
Two o /American plns
(one of them in front Coy) got
thro without a casualty
up to / village.
 

108

11

There were probly abt 300
Germans in / dugouts in /
village. One dugout cont^d
a HQrs of a battalion.
 A H.Q searcher had noticed
on air photos a buried
cable. It led him to / wood.
He followed it & it led
him to a dugout in Hamel
(N of village). He had 2
Americans w him who
cd speak German – They
went down / dugout & he
told them to come up. The
Major, 3 ^other offrs & 23 o.r.
surrendered. The 44 Bn
by this time ws well on
/ ridge ahead. 

108

12
One tank turned over in /
village – it apptly tried to
climb a wall.
One of the 43 Bn tanks (with
Bn colours on it) was
hit by a shell probly of
our own barrage (from rear)
& ws laid up on / X Rd.
One S.W. o / village
had its caterpillar broken.
The one from / ridge
& the one at / beginning o /
village were brought out
on / night of 5/6 July.
Only the overturned tank
remains.
The other ws probly towed out.
 

13

109
A German m.g. team of 12
men w an offr – dimly seen
in the dawn – ws firing on the
advancing (pty) wave w wh Shaw was.
The gun ws beside a bit of bank
– Shaw happened to turn round,
saw these figures there & / flash
of a gun. The line ws still advancing
& / gun ws in rear o / bank
firing over / top of it. Shaw went
straight at it. When Shaw got
within 40 or 50 yds the officer
fired at him with his revolver &
missed. Shaw got his gun onto
them & k. all but one, firing
from hip. He then The remaining
German made a rush at Shaw
who hit him over / head w /
butt end o / revolver & then
shot him. Shaw w from Goodwood Park
Farming on Yorke's Peninsula.

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[*In a dugout in / quarry S of / village were 3 guns &
abt 20
men &
an offr.
They
were
shooting.
Pty hailed
a tank
which ws
handy.
They 

made 

for
dugout
& were 

bombed
out.
15 Bn

ws
well 

up
on 

flank.*]
Abt 25 m.gs. most of wh
were heavy were taken in
Hamel.
Pte Shaw No 1 on L.G. in
C. Coy (Canaways) –
Lt Brook's His  pty ws held up by
a m.g. just N of the pear.
It ws firing. Brook ws k
& his pln held up.
Shaw who ws w a pty
just in rear saw it,
picked up his gun, & ran
in firing from the hip. He
stopped / gun firing & an
American Corpl who ws
w them rushed in &
bayoneted 3 o / crew.

108

15
This let the advance continue.
Later, when they got to a
support line (? 200 yds further)
a heavy m.g. ws in action.
Shaw opened fire on it
& silenced it.A German offr
rushed him from / trench
firing his revolver.
Shaws magazine ws
empty & he cdnt get another.
He hit / offr under /
chin with / revolver & then
shot him.
Another pty of Germs then
tried to close in on / party.
Shaw had got a magazine
 

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16
onto his L.G. by
this time. He opened on
/ Germans (in / dusk).
The Germans ran after
a number had bn hit
& it ws found tt they
had cornered abt 5 men —
one American & 4 of ours.
They didn't know if these
were 15 Bn or 43.
As / Germs tried to run
away 15 Bn cut in behind
& stopped them.
Shaw got off 9 mags.
The American who bayoneted
 

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the 3 men came up afterwards
& sd "My God – do you know
I've bayoneted 3 men!"
The Yanks are very keen
imitators. They were bewildered.
The Americans at one time
were going thro / barrage
when Maj. Lott spoke to them –
& pulled them back. Next
time they did not start.
Maj. Lott sd How abt going
on w / fight.
"What, has / barrage
gone on?" they sd.
It had gone half a
minute.
[We cdn just watched
the line beside us –  where they

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went on we went on "
he sd. We knew we were
right so long as we were
in line w them"]
The S/Bs did wonderful
work — long carries
without a grumble.
The Americans just
hesitated a second – & when
Austlns went on on they
went too.
A USA man asked Lott
when a prisoner ws there
May I have a button Sir.
Another asked the same
Lott nodded – within a minute