Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/212/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

further E & as / light
grew & they cd see Mt St Q

they made straight for it down
/ dip across Brasso Redoubt.
The only barrage they cd see
ws our own barrage playing
on Mt St Q. on / village.
There ws a very heavy German
barrage falling on / river
& onto the W. slopes of it, where
he evidently expected us to cross.
Hand drawn diagram - see original
As there were so many Germs
on / rt flank, Capt Allen
arranged with Lt Small
(who ws k. in this fight) that
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A Coy should go on clearing
out the Germs from Park
Wood & Halle while C
Coy went on & took up
A's original job of making
Gott mit uns & Uber Alles.
In the ravine and the
woods around it a gt number

of Germs were found.  The
Coy cdnt leave any men to
escort / prisoners back -
they simply had to leave /
Germs to stream back themselves.
There were m.gs. & arms in
plenty left behind - but the
Germs wd be picked up by
our wounded men on / way
back - & none made an
attempt to fight.
The Germs. were scared altogether.
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On reaching one post of them
at Limber lost Wood Sergt
Rixon simply jumped straight
in w a Lewis Gun (wh he had
taken from one of its crew who
ws hit), k. 3 Germs & /
remaining 20 he brought
up as prisoners.
Just at A Coy got involved
in Park Wood Lt Smalls Coy
moved ahead towds Gott Mit
Uns, as A Coy ws entangled
& cdnt get clear.
Park Wood was thick,
& Halle was in pretty good
repair w plenty of cover.
After reaching getting past / ravine
the men simply worked in
little groups through Park
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Wood & Halle.  There ws a
lot of m.g. fire but not
many casualties.
Allen himself w a
party worked out onto the
E edge of Park Wood
(there were bivvies in / wood,
a few S.S. waggons etc) he cd see
/ three other Coys just charging
up Mt St Q. - a regular old
fashioned charge, & / Germans
clearing out in front of them.
He reported tt / village ws
taken & things were going right.
At this time the m.g.
fire from / directn of Florina
& Prague trenches ws very heavy;
& on A Coy working clear of
Park Wood it came under it -
a lot o / casualties were
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sustained as / men worked
out on the Peronne Side
of Halle & Park Wood.
Just as they left Park wood / German began a heavy shelling
of it wh
lasted all day.  Capt Allen at this time
had with him a pty of abt
his 2 runners - the two
other offrs (Lt Robertson &
Lt Phelps) were at this time
also in Park Wood w
two little pties & Sergt Rixon
had a pty somewhere by /
Sunken Rd running from Halle
to Radegonde - & so on.
Allen sent his runners
out & collected abt 10 men
& w these worked went
across to a trench abt a few
hundred yds from the N. of the
NE Corner of Park Wood, & then
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thro' this trench up thro'
Gottlieb & Save trench to the point
where Save meets Agram
Alley, & there estabd a
post.  Lt Phelps & a few men
were already there -
probly having dodged across
to it.
A lot of m.g. fire ws
coming from a small wood
(wh is not marked on /
maps) at the N.E. end o /
avenue of trees along the
Peronne Rd.  Germs cd
see ^Our post cd exp see these
Germs & cd enfilade
Florina trench - cd see / Germs
moving into / small wood
& also hopping out from
Johannes trench into Florina trench &

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hopping abt in Florina trench.
This ws reported, x later in /
day, the 5th m.g. when they
found that / post ws not in
Gott Mit Uns, as it had
thought it was at first;
xxxx & a Vickers m.g.
positn ws established on the
W. side o / Somme enfilading
Florina trench & no movement
ws seen there after - the
Germs got out of it quickly.
The post may have bn
at the Junction of Galatz &
Save, or Agram & Save -
it looked directly onto /
Small wood as a distance
xxxx of betw 200 & 300 yds.
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The post stopped there till
Bn ws relieved abt
11 am on Sept 1.
When Allen found he
ws not in Gott Mit Uns
he went round & found
some of 19 Bn (x Captain
Hinds) in Agram Alley from the
St Denis Clery Rd to
In the Edge of Mt St Q where
he ws in touch with
some of 17 Bn.  His trench
ws very shallow & they
had had a number of
casualties w m.g. fire from
/ aerodrome, & T.M.s from
/ village.
Nothing happened during
/ day Exc. tt / Germs put
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down a heavy barrage
just behind Gottlieb trench &
Brasso Redoubt - just
missing them.
During this night afternoon
dusk there ws a minor
attack by 23 Bn.  They
went through the little
Wood N. of / Rd, very
finely, & cleared /
Germans out of it, but
they did not hold it.  The
Germs came back again
into it.  The Germs got
in, apparently thro
Johannes trench - (in / night
they cd have walked over
anywhere) & got into a
position somewhere near the
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Junction of Gottlieb & Florina
trench.  Some of them seemed,
by their flares, actually
to work down Kholm trench.
They came at Allens post
creeping up on all sides -
& threw a few bombs.  But
/ post ^(15 men) had 2 Lewis Guns &
a German Gun - They had
only one bomb, but they
had opened up a pretty
heavy fire when / German
flares sailed over them, x & lay fizzling in / grass in front, &
/ Germs probly thought tt there
were more men than there
were.  The Germs withdrew
to their post near Save Gottlieb & Florina
& were firing their guns
all night.  Allen ^then went down
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