Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/54/1 July August 1916 pt3
31
(hand drawn sketch map including words below)
Brind Rd
Beath Rd
x going out here.
Midsx
xix
Trench being dug here
Dinkum Alley
19 Bn HQ x
My Route July 31. 1916
9 32
in. Others cdnt get past wire,
Some of others joined Harper.
B Coy ws waiting to take 2nd trench
in similar pty. (They were turned
of to reinforce 17th Bn).
C. Coy made the raid.
Got message from Harper to say
he was in trench w 40 men but
had not conected up w anyone.
No. of other ^partys rushed back
Ralston 19th past Maj.Col Rawson who ws
w Adjt & 3 runners in shell hole
in nomansland No of men sd they
had bn unable to get in.
Germans were using m.gs.
& 5.9s It ws just dawn breaking.
20th ⇢Bn Capt M Cole went back to collect
men who had fallen back &
collect straighten them again.
We went to a better
ole - 3 runners were
hit. Cdnt get bombs
up so Col. went back to
Bde to ask for barrage to
protect Harper. "I then
got another message to say
tt Harper had bn bombed
out o trench by Germans
who came out apparently
33
26th/27th July
H Broadbent (bombing officer) ws in tt shew
w 17th in Munster Alley
60 men
20th Bombers & m. gunners were in 17th Bns
show in Munster Alley. (Have only 10 bombers left
Bn & Coy)
This attack ws made by 2 coys. B & A.
(They were tired out already). 13 coy has
only 28 men left & 7 w shell shock.
our right of O.G. 1 - flares & m.g. first
from there. Then worked round to Bpume Rd.
Casualties 50 to 60.
We cd hear m.g. on our left going
heavily. They probly had listening posts
in craters. At XIXth H.Q. we didnt
know the thing had failed till nearly dawn.
The Infantry told tt / affair has
bn rushed (only 2 hrs notice) & insuff.
arty perparation. Men were tired out
before attack began carrying -
9
34
from 2nd trench and bombed us from
craters. we had 78 casualties incl.
Lts Harper & Evans. Harper ws hit in
head & leg by a bomb before he got
into trench & Lt Evans ws hit by m.g. bullet
before he got into trench.
Harper lay on parapet
tho he cdnt stand directed operations
from there for the 1½ hrs tt / men
were in / trench & finally gave
/ order to withdraw (48 still
unaccounted for). A number of
men did not get in till follg night
(remained in shell holes). S.Bs in searching
for men came across one of 9 & one
of 11 Bn who had bn out 3 days.
8 Germans were seen killed in
the trench 5 by bombs & 3 w bayonet
wound among them being a German
captain.
__________________
28/29th July
2nd stunt. we had to attack betw. tramline & Bpme Rd.
Men started to get into positn abt 11.45. First
line had started to get into positn when enemy
opened. They had bn observed under flares. There
were 4 m.gs on Bpme Rd & 6 in front. At same
time opened heavy arty fire. They sent up red &
green fire before our barrage - gas shells, [[?]]
tear etc It ws prac. imposs to get / disorganised
men into positn. They were seen from
35
Albert
July 31 7.30 am.
The villagers come in here & sleep in /
cellars every night. I can see
a little girl in white stockings & an old little
bow legged father with a bundle going off
down / path as I write. (Hobbs H.Q. 2nd
Red Flag T C) of an evening when the big house
is full of bright lights - clerks working
typewriters, Gen Hobbs & Miles & Clowes
busy over the nights work or old Brown
of / TMB, you see one or another of these
women park. w a youngster descending
by / cupboard door underneath / stairs
- a laugh & a joke w / men as they
go down - but otherwise they are as
completely forgotten as the rats & /
cockroaches.
9
36
July 30. It was a pure rumour tt /
guards were attacking Thiepval..
They are not. The fire last night
ws our own arty
doing this game. I believe they
are at it again tonight 3 times
instead o / attack wh ws to have bn tonight
our infantry sent up
S.O.S. signals last night & down came
our barrage & cut off a patrol
of wh we got one man prisoner.
[[?]] today told me tt there were very
very few spies he thought at present in the Somme area
except spies in
Khaki. The Mayor of Bapaume however was a person likely to be
arrested if ever we got so far.
Wilson tells me my articles
have been a little too full lately -
too many exact particulars -
e.g. we attacked at 6 0'clock. I
sd "Surely / German knew" - but
perh. he is right. He might
draw something of use from exact
details.
The French last night attacked
Guillxx Maurepas & / British
gxxxxx Gillemont. The French reached
/ outskirts of Maurepas & /
British / station & edge of Gillemont.
The Germans say they counted
37
9
2000 dead in front of their trenches
in the "trench raid" at Laventie.. Than
British censorship is very s Hutton
Wilson told me tt of course this ws
very exaggerated & it must be; but
these it is too near / truth to be pleasant -
much nearer than our rubbish
about "trench raids" xx
We retook Delville road a few days
ago & Germans have c. attacked
but not bn able to seize it.
38
9
July 31
Map
87
Sh Pt
This made last night
2 to 5 [[?]]
Potholes not be
beyond
Tram way
Near [[?]]
OGI
Copee Ave
Pozieres trench
Munster Alley
sunken Rd
Black w Alley
39
9
July 31. Went thro Pozieres today
all round our front line from
21 Bn H.Q. to 19th Bn - where
Sherborne was on his own at Bn H.Q.
resting his tired m. gunners. He has
60 men of his coy left there. The
route was like a road thro a
desert. Nearly half / way I ws
going thro deserted trenches full
along wh / dead lay sometimes
in batches of 10 or 12 together -
esp of the 28th. I saw one fair
bunch of dead Germans.
You strike / dead on the Chalk Pit
road before setting to the 21 Bn H.Q. From there I was
told to go straight along road
& In shd find a commn trench . Here
ws not a soul in dight - only
the powdered grey earth o /
craters a trodden path thro it
I went first up / roa track to /
right - but it seemed to me
I ws getting too much into /
centre o / village. By me
ws a filled in trench - no shelter
whatsoever in it - & two biggish
shells fell straight ahead. No
signs of any trench of ours -
all as still & dead as & deserted
40
9
ash heap. I turned back -
& followed goat track path to
right- there were only blackened
dead - and occasionally
bits of men- torn bits
of limbs unrecognisable
along it- I wandered on
for 5 mins without seeing
a sign of anyone till I
came to a gradually improving
trench - quite deserted - peopled
only by dead men half buried
some ^ sitting up right w bandaged heads -
apparently little hurt except for
the bandaged wound - others lying
half covered in / little holes they
had scratched in / trench side.
There were deserted tools -x
/country ws I ws going down
a slope o / country ws quite
open ahead of me - a gentle up-
slope on wh there must have
bn German trenches At last I knew
/ track must be used bec. it ws
trodden - but it might have bn at
night. At last I came on some
Pioneers hurrying back - 5 of them.
They sd Middlesex were ahead
& them some of our T.M. men. I
41
9
went on again over battered trenches
& into deep hollows of good trench
switchback like - hurrying to avoid
m.g. wh cd have caught me any
time - but it seemed ages before
/ trench ws peopled. At last I came
to end o / dead men - & into
a decent trench held by / living - British
-& thro them to Australians - 21 Bn
at our extreme left.
Pozieres looked a surprising
distance behind - we were ½ a mile
beyond it, on a further slope. I
took a picture of it from near here
- / point the 23 Bn got to / other
day. One cd look out & see / cup
- a very shallow cup - wh the 7th
Bde charged over / other day.
The men were crowded on /
floor of these narrow trenches & one had to
step over them - but on / whole /
trenches were good. A German trench ran
out to the E. & I heard tt Gelley, who
had bn all around just before we,
had wld them they must dig along
this tonight. Beaths Rd - a mass covered wof tumbles sprinkled earth but not much
cut up ran in up there - & I
42
9
had to leave / trench & walk
along it for 20 or 30 yds. Then
I got into further trench from wh I
looked back and saw / Cemetery
I had passed thro without knowing
it. A few battered stones marked
it. Wherever you left the trench there
were a few dead men..
I got into good trench [[?]] - still
21 Bn, fairly fresh & not badly
strafed (only in 24 hrs) & /
trench curved round, quite good -
until it struck the old German
gun dug outs & trench
wh are shown on / map. These
were occupied where it crosses
/[[?]] but not beyond, Shortly
after it petered out in / back
hedge o / houses N. o / main
road.
The 5 Bde came next, but
their trenches were 100 yds away
They sd tt / only way ws to
crawl behind / hedge until one
43
9
reached / trench- Their S Bs were
sniper there so it ws necessary
to be careful.
I didnt want to go back
thro / deserted trenches to / 21st Bn
H.Q. so I went on . It was an
eerie feeling clambering over
craters - the whole ground ws nothing
but craters, behind / hedge, ws no
sign of any trench anywhere or of
any living thing. I kept as much
as possible in / bottom o /
craters & presently found / wall of
a house in front of me windmill
I clambered over
broken bricks (the
windmill where they say / Germans
have observatn ws always
unpleasant obvious ahead.
However, as I got thro / house I
saw a tramway ahead of me
& beyond tt a line of new earth.
I clambered hurriedly over /
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