Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/53/1 July 1916, casualties of 24 July 1916 pt4

67   38
boys let 'em have it. About
Billy Smith he dropped his
machine gun an' I chucked
away me bombs - I wanted
to get at 'em w my fists -
God what a time - they
started running & we after
them but I was too done -
I couldn't run fast enough.
Little Mike Reilly he had a
wounded chap and when I
asks what are you goin' to
do w him!" he says 'Take
im round the communication
trench here " - I sd "You
cant do that- the mans wounded"
- but he'd have killed him
right enough. He's a curious
chap - and that German ws
falling on me - He ws goin'

67   39
to give me half of Germany."
"See that prisoner when
the tree fell across our - 
- he run out & lifted it off
him."
"- Counterattack - our
guns finished tt --- "
"I guess some of these
guns here ought to be aimed.
By G- if we'd had the
beggars up there I swear
we'd have gone down &
bombed them out of their own
batteries. Killed a lot of our
best men last night they
did - couldn't stop 'em
in time".
"What - ws Bill wounded - ?
and so on.
First I passed the 3

67   40
1^st Bde quietly laye
getting their food & coffee
& lying chatting like
schoolboys; then further on
the 10^th Bn lying quietly
by / side o / trench railway.
Some 28^th Bn fatigue
party was passing them & they
took it for Tommie British.
"They're Tommies "- I heard
 one man say. It is curious
how Australians distinguish
between themselves and
Tommies - and I do too -
you can't help it. They are
a different class of man
altogether.
As I ws going up
after dinner to see what ws
on - who shd I meet in

67   41
the half dark - with a
Coy of the 20^th (tin discs)
standing on / hillside but
Claud Jones. They were
doing an attack tonight, he
sd - over / parapet -
into the old German 2nd line;
but it depended on whether
/ British did a bit first.
"Its better to be in /
front line," he sd, " you
don't get so shelled - it's /
next day tts always so
bad".
Cadle ws there too
w his 18^th Bn. - it ws
extraordinary luck meeting them.
He told me their show ws off."
I believe / British 1st Divn
is being relieved.

67   42
18 pdr ws at x 10.a 19.
115 rounds firing up rd
& down
July 26 morning. We
(20 Bn) raided at 3am O.G. 1 & (?)
O.G. 2 & got in at 2
outside points - inside ply
held up by wire. The
plies wh got in were shelled
out, bombed & m.g.
(48 Divn reported tt there ws
heavy m.g. fire & bombt over
Pozieres). They had heavy
casualties & had to relieve. 
We joined up w 48 divn at
X3 b 89 & 5.4. The German
post wh had held up /
48^th for 3 days ws at ? X3b 54 x XB54
They took 12 prisoners.
6 Bde going in to
relieve take position of 5 Bde.

67   43
Night of 26/27
6^th Bde relieved 2nd Bde
in S. half of village.