Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/52/1 July 1916 pt1

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[*Address of 1st Divl. H.Q. No. 12 Rue Pont Noyelles off Rue Doullens Sq. 28c. Map. Albert (written in shorthand in case it was read by any one who ought not to know). C.E.W.B. [[7/7/4?]]*]
[*No. 12 Rue Pont Noyelles off Rue Doullens 28c Square 28c. July*]
July 19th
Moved this morning to
(ie. Contay) Shireville. On the way we po
It is a dirtier place than Vignacourt
&, with our fine taste in billets, one
ws rather inclined to turn up ones
nose at No 50 Boar Lane.  It turned
out not so bad - I have a little room
next to Butler & under Coleman -
The lady of the house struck me as
rather a refined educated woman
- w her little girl.  "Nous sommes
des Protestants" she sd. The house
belongs to the Protestants & she
was the wife of the Protestant minister.
Heard tt our 1st Divn ws
moving into the line tonight "on
a special duty."  It is being
commanded direct by the Reserve

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Army who are being very nice
to our Corps about it & helping
them in every way, White says.
[White lays it down as a principle
tt in every respect, where possible 
we shall abide strictly by /
arrangements & establishments
of British army - a most wise
decision - & Austin tells me tt White
is very strong on this.  Our supply
from advance, or supply & so one is
exactly / same as tt o a British
unit].
I hurried got Austin to take
me on to H.Q. of Walker at
"Teralba Colliery" Albert ?Chateau - & there arranged
w Ramsay to go back to / old 1st
Div. mess for a time.
Our On our way we found
a column of troops ahead of us.
It was the 3rd Bde - each man 

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marching light w a patch of some
pink stuff at / back of their necks.
Some (the 9^th Bn) had it
on their little haversacks wh
were carried like packs.

They looked very fit - & they hard faces - like Scottish troops rather 
than English.
Birdwood passed them, 
I believe, in his car - & as he
passed they cheered him.  He has
the Australian flag in front of his
car.
They tell me tt the 3^rd Bde
goes in tonight & the 1^st Bde tomorrow
night.  I am going into xxx
the Colliery Albert tomorrow.
I have bn writing this very late
in order to get up to date before
our troops go in.  It is now 1.20
a.m. on the morning of July 20 and
a fierce straf has just started - like the 

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flickering roar of a fire when you
hold a paper in front of it to make
it burn.  Counter attack, I suppose, &
our barrage starting on / advancing
Germans.
There was a big noise of
guns this morng, too; when we arrived
here we cd hear it. We lost Delville
Wood last night; & I suppose we were
re-attacking.  (The bombardment has died
down a good bit in / time it has taken
to write this.)
Butler looked in on his way
upstairs (he is in this Billet). He says
tt / Germans have brought 12 Divns down
here since / battle began - & we cant be
quite sure any are from Verdun.
If only we cd push somewhere else
now.  If the plan, wh I believe they
held by originally had only been adhered to! 

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I did hope we were going to reach open country
so it is even if we get - esp. after
July 14 - one ws pretty confident then
tt we shd reach it. But now
even if we do I'm afraid they'll
have men eno' to stop our doing
very much just here - eno' to
meet us in / open.  And they have
bn hard at work on / switch & 3rd
lines. Butler says he has just seen
aeropl. photos wh show these lines
as anything but / little thread of a
few days ago - broad parapets
& deep trenches - & prob. dugouts
being made for all they are worth.
I am sure the solution, if possible,
will be a push thro' elsewhere such as I
believe they formerly planned.  Most of
the reserves new units are from Champagne.
The Germans have 3 or 4 big
concentrations - mostly, if not all, on
the E front (Gillemont, Ginchy etc).  I thought 

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we were to attack there two days ago.
But this cold wet foggy weather may
have stopped our plans. The day
before yesty ws really as foggy &
cold as a late October day -
thin low driving black fog. I never
saw any summer like it. The Germans
can dig in this weather as much as
they like. Our aeroplanes cant
observe for our guns.
At / same time / Germans think
o / weather as being agst them bec.
it is spoiling their crops; & their
food question does seem really to 
be causing discontent.

(Acct. gn me by Col. Tivey
& Staff of 8^th Bde at their H.Q.
on 20^th)

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(Notes of  July 19 at Fleurbaix.)
8^th Bde on left. 32 31. Left on
Cordonnerie.  30^th linkd up.  I very nearly
got across.  Commn Trench very nearly dug, but
Germans got in thro' the gap & fired on 32nd.
Left of 32nd attack N 10 C 9½ .1.
Rt - 31st- N 10 C½. 6.
Went in 4 waves on abt 500
yard front (abt 250 per Bn).
Delangre Fm is a strong point & very strong.
Bombt of & on all day ending
w intense bombt.
To capture & hold front line & support trenches
from ?14 N24 B 8.8. to N 10.C.8.7.
30^th Bn. 29^th
Attack at 6 pm.
Men cd hear / Germs. bringing up troops.  Stood it
for 10 hrs.  This bombt ws continuous
shraf. all along front line.
H.E. Minenwerfers, 5.9. in the
supports.
16B 157

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Germans flooded front trench as soon
as they were in it & they were
up to waists in water.
30th Bn. had linking up
& nearly got thro. Col. Toll of 31st
ws slightly wounded.  Wires arrived
Prisoners had bn sent back. Men were
establd in the trench.  We were not allowed to put in
any more men.
29th lost men this morning.
Bde lost probably 1700, 32 & 31: xx 700 each.
30: " 400
29 : 150
(mostly from 2 corps)
Killed a lot of Germans. abt 40
capt by 8^th Bde.
Reqistrn by Div Arty & TMs
11 - 11.30 am.
11.30 - 1 . Reqistrn by heavies 9.2 & upwards.
1 - 3 wire cutting by 18 pdrs
3 - 6 wire cutting by T.M. & 18 pdrs
bombt by 18 pdrs 4.5 & 6" hows.
4-6. Heavy arty slow bombt.
6. Arty lifts.
[*4 Lifts to barrage during bombt (abt 5 mins each)*]

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8 men wandered, as they sd, ½ mile
beyond German trenches.
Suffered heavily from Delangre
Farm.  Some Germans got behind 32^nd & 30^th.
60^th Bde covered our left flank.
We blew a mine just
outside their parapet at 6 pm.
in N 10 D.
61st Div on right.
Bombt started befo in return
to ours. (We used more ammn than at Neuve Chapelle.)
No mans ld [[shorthand]] 200 yds.
Germans sd to have expected to be attack the
night before last.
15^th Bde.

(?1800 this morning)
Wol

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[*14th Bde. attacked left rt in centre*]
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53 & 54 made attack
Supported by 55th working bn.
56th takes the line.
Cass w 54th ws in dug out in Germans trench
54th took 2 guns, one of wh ws
an English gun. and xx how.
1 other a German (wh was used).
Cas. abt 1200.
Abt 60 prisoners.
July 20. Which all means tt
this morning, on getting up, &
going down a little late to
breakfast, I heard from Kennedy Smythe
- he dropped / remark casually
"The 5^th Divn had their little
show last night." I was to have
gone down to 1st Divn in / morning
but I decided at once - if I cd
get a car - to run up there for /
day & get back. Birdwood had