Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/48/1 - June - July 1916 - Part 6

6
66    

The hospital was a 

few long huts or tents laid

out in / flat of a pleasant

river valley close to /

rly. There were a couple

of hundred men standing

down l newly laid out

gravel drive. We wander

straight in without ceremony,

& each got ^ in / centre of a group of men

& began asking them what

they had seen.

" The shrapnel wasn't
much in nomans land",

one of them told me - " & we 

 got to / enemys trench without

many being hit. There were 

not many men in the 

first trench ...." one man

sd. ( I think he was Middlesex)

" There were plenty in

the front trench where I was",

6

67 
sd another.
"The machine guns
caused most o / trouble,"
sd / first.  "They began to
get bad in the second line
& by the time we got to
the third they were all afttt
going strong.  they began to get
shrapnel on us as we got
to the second trench too, " sd
another.
"They had one m.g. going
during the bombardment," sd 
another - "before the bombardment
had ended."
"The shrapnel was not
very bad" they seemed to
agree - "it ws the machine
guns more than the shrapnel
tho' we had both."
"To the right of us our
fellows used smoke, I think "one
 

6
68   
of / Middlesex said, "But
I dont" We hadn't the wind in
the right directn where we
were. But you cdnt see
the 2nd & 3rd lines of trenches
for smoke. We went about
a thousand yards. "
[By 2nd & 3rd lines
these men meant the support
trenches of the 1st line, & subsidiary
line]
They had left a fair
number of Germans dead,
they said.
that showed what nature
of a track it was.
We motored on hurriedly
to Beauquesne( advanced G.H.O.)
& there saw Charteris who
gave us the statement marked
(X) near the beginning of
this diary.
 

6
69    
went back to dinner & to bed
- pretty well fagged out.
July 2. Col Hutton Wilson told
Ross & myself tt he thought
we shd have to go back
the next day as he hadnt
Press officers enough for us.
He gave us Cadge for the
day.  I sd we'd like to
get into some o / German
trenches before we went back & cd
we do so." One o / Press officers sd:
Certainly not!  I dont think
he meant it. Cadge knew
this part o / country,
near Albert - & he sd
he thought he cd take us to
a hill overlooking Fricourt.
We went to Albert hill
again - & then down thro /
Albert & out to Becourt (where
 

6

70
/ naval guns were pooping
off all over us). We had
to leave / car near there
& climbed a bank w some
sepn allers stoker mortar teams (who gave us
some bread & cheese, good chaps)
& then on along a trench on
/ hillsides S. of the Fricourt
road.  (continued after July 8^th)
July 8^th Butler told me last night tt / corps ws ordered South.
He had only just heard it.  Ross arranged to go

back to 2nd Anzac.  I go on with 1st Anz
N.Z. Are awfully sick at being left out

of 1st Anz.

It was thought yesty. tt / 4th Divn. was going as well.

I saw White today.  He is, I can

see, opposed to my getting a

Commission as he thinks it will

hamper my criticisms afterwds.

71

(It is to be left to Birdwood

to decide)

 

6 

72    

He agrees tt the best thing I

can do afterwards is to tell the

people the truth.  At the same

time he thinks it important tt

I shd take photos.

I too, wd not like my 

freedom hampered.  I rather
like, also, feeling tt I get

nothing out of this war [[n??]]
neither pay nor promotion

nor decorations nor even

fame (for the Aust Govt won’t have

my letters pub.d in England  ) until

they have appeared in

Australia - wh of course

means never).
White says they got the 

first notice to be in readiness

to move on Sat. afternoon,

July 1.  “It is curious - I

cant understand it, Bean,” he

sd.  “I cant understand their

6
73    

being one corps out in

their calculations.  If it had

bn a division ———- but a 

whole corps.”

He thinks, as I do, 

tt it’s a great pity they are
putting us in peacemeal - 

They will never understand

tt we fight twice as well

as a nation  - all together w

Australians _∧ or N.Z. round us.

It is not bec. they think

tt we later divns are

insufficiently trained, he says. 
There seems to have bn an idea of attacking
up here somewhere as well as down S.  This move looks

like an abandonment of it.  White thinks tt we

could very well push thro up

here where / Germs. are

weak   It looks like

this sort of mistake

Bean, he sd.  If you have 

6 

74  

a gap   Hand drawn sketch.
& a certain number of men. attacking

it you need a certain number

also to defend it.  If you got

put

big      
reserves          Hand drawn sketch.

behind 
tt part, you are not making

it any stronger.  Whilst you

might very well use those reserves

in pushing thro at another point.

The line is in

“There’s one thing about 

this situation tt I know

(in 1 midst of a great deal

tt he did not know) & tt

is tt Haig is a most

exceptionally determined

man. He’s not a man to

6
75    

put his hand to / plough

& then to go back.  He will

go pegging away - I know 

him a little & tt’s / sort

of man he is.”

The Corps was warned

on Sat July 1. Three days

later they were told tt it was

not thought.  there wd be any
imd. need for them —- no

need to f ask themselves

(From 2nd Army).  They wd

get 3 days notice anyhow,

They changed over to Bailleul,

Then yesty (Frid) suddenly

notice to move on Monday.

They were told at first 1, 2 & 4

Aust. Divns.  Then 1 & 2 & 4

divns but not 4 Divn Arty.

Birdwood was asked to go

along & see 2nd Army. White

went & brought back news for

76

I am wrong about Hughes.

X

I can hear them as I write

streaming clattering past

up the Rue de Lilley Bailleul on

the cobblestones in the dark.

 

6    77

Birdwood tt 4 Divn cd be

supplied w British arty

down there if  he wished.   He

sd that came he wd prefer

not to divide / corps.

They accordingly sd

1 & 2 Divns to come

at present.  White thinks  4

Divn will come later —- &, if

he can see Kiggell, he may

get him to bring both Corps.

Ross & I went over 

to see 2nd Anzac today.

5th Divn are just moving

to / trenches.

All day long the Arty

of 2nd Divn has been streaming

past. X going to   It is very difficult

to get the Corps away at this

short notice. The 28th, 27th

Bns were moving out of 

Neuve Eglise today all packs
 

.