Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/54/1 July August 1916 pt14

9     167
AUG 8/9 1916
makes them more talkative. They
all tell me tt it is an absolute
fiction tt German machine gunners
are chained to their guns. But I
think I understood them to say
tt the Infantry man is allowed
to retire sometimes; while /
machine gunner must not retire.
It takes 5 men to carry one of
their heavy m.gs.
We got one of their m.gs.
But I think it had to be ∧was dropped
by / men on / way back.
——
The result is tt at / time when
I left we had our first objective
on the right

Diagram -  see original document
A party had bombed up O.G.2; &
we were digging in back to our
front line on / left behind the
trench we had left (digging): & Gen.
Brand had just ordered Cannan to
see if he cdn't dig out to / trench
we had left (digging....). So far I
dont know / result. The Germans told

9      168
AUG 8/9 1916

tt this trench was now empty &
Moore sd the same.

[*Aug 9/10*]

The 16^th Bn. (of whom A Coy.
ws in somewhere last night) is to
make good this line at midnight
tonight.
[I hear from Hutton Wilson
tt he is at last letting my stuff
go thro' to London again].
So ends another expensive
petty operation. It has cost a
fair part of a good Bn (15^th
Queensland & Tasmania); &
it has accomplished abt ½ what
was hoped for. When will they
give us some operation in wh 
the whole line plays its part or
on a big front?
One takes these things 
on trust? But I cannot could not help
wondering being very bitterly
depressed as I came back
this morning. With all / will in
/ world one cannot see a
spark of the genius or imagination
wh one wd like to see in /
British plans. Have they a
plan? At present it looks as

9      169

Aug 8/9 1916

leave each division to think out
its petty "stunt" & do act
on its own when it likes.

This business last night ws
even worse thought out than usual.
Our whole success depended on
/ success of the Suffolks on our
left in getting the German
machine gun positn at Point 78.
Someone who ws there before the
Suffolks went over (I think it was
Moore himself) told us tt they
were simply shivering at /
prospect - quite / wrong men
[*9/10 Aug*]

to do it (a company of our own
16th is to go for it tonight).

[*8/9 Aug*]
Communications from the
Suffolks had to go back thro their
bde, to 4^th Divn,  to our 4^th
bde, to our 15^th Bn & so to our
line. When they wanted to tell us
Diagram - see original document
tt they were
attacking agn.
at 5 am. the
message wd
take probly
2 or 2 ½ hours
to reach Col.
Cannan - for                 
there ws a terribly

9      170
AUG 8/9 1916

heavy barrage - esp. between
Cannan & his fighting line. There
Moore & his 25 men left the
trench (wh they had taken) at abt
4.45 - without / faintest
idea tt cost the British were
attacking at 5 am. Indeed
Cannan seems to have regarded
an attack at about 3 a.m. as
final. I have little doubt he
was wrong in withdrawing his
men from a positn won - it is
a step only to be taken w / greatest 
reluctance. He says he had no
troops to support them with but
Brand had specially given him
part of 16 Bn; so I dont
understand this at all. They
His men successfully bombed up
O.G.1 & I fancy tt from O.G.1,
w / trench empty as it was,
they might have supported Moore
without being exposed to / m.gs
in Point 78.
There may be some explanation.
Our men, now tt they see
/ German face to face, are not badly
disposed to him on / whole. "These
seemed quite decent fellows," some

171
The other side of our
partition of boxes are
sleeping some of the 13^th Bn
in a similar, rougher, shelter.
Outside - up above in / wood is
our fire, & / mess shelter etc.
9     172
of them have told me. "I dont think
they're a bad crew opposite us."
It is / tenets o / German
military caste wh we cannot
stand - not / German himself.
AUG 9 - 1916
As I write it is night
 - some distant guns are very
busy - possibly a c. attack on
our people; an aeroplane is
humming overhead for / second.
time in / dark. I don't know
if it is ours or German. A
single German gun is firing
over our heads into a valley
perhaps 1/3 mile away - &
one wonders if / 'plane is
directing it. I think / plane
is probably ours.

We are in an old
British trench in Becourt wood -
wh crosses under / road.
 DIagram - see original document

9     173
AUG 9 - 1916 
one o / minor worries of this existence
is the fleas. For two days I have been
bitten all over. Most o / men suffer
from lice;
"I kept 'em down until I slept
next to him," I heard a man next door
say,  "but I cant stand a bloke thats too
lazy to louse himself." I gives you a
new standard of cleanliness. The decent
fellow at least goes thro his shirt sufficiently
to keep even with the louse. lice.
I have bn extraordinarily lucky here
in only being troubled w them once, &,
as far as I know, getting rid of them in
one day. ^I manage to get into pyjamas at night. There is plenty of water in our 

actual camp, & I get enough for a 
fair bath (i.e. ^abt a hand basin half full). The 

water is laid on up the valley in pipes -

I dont know how far these go ^now. The

Germans had them in Pozieres &

one of the dugouts there is leaking

& dripping thro a break in / German

pipe above it. I believe / wells in

Pozieres are quite plentiful. The 

German telephone system ^there, tho'

splendid, is too broken by shell fire

for us to use it, I am told.

When I told a German officer /

other day tt we knew their system of

174
AUG 9  - 1916
Artillery went up to near
Pozieres this day.
(mostly Lahore Divn)
with 4 Aust Div on their )

Limbers)

9     175

observatn ws good, he opened his
eyes & was so astonished tt I cd see he
was searching for a remark - it is clear
tt they think tt down here in this battle
their observatn is rotten bad. (I
meant at Armentieres). Their
planes fly very very high.
At / same time one of their draughtsmen
who has bn drawing maps for them
from aeroplane photos says tt tho
their photos are ^on a smaller scale than
ours they are clearer - They must
be, or they wd have to come lower.
Their lenses are probly far better than
anything we possess.
AUG 10 1916
Aug 10. Last night the 16^th Bn
was completely successful.
Brand went up during the day
& sat down with Cannan 200
yds from front line & there they
thrashed / whole thing out -
Brockman & Brockman's Coy Comdrs
& a Suffolk officer - They arranged
to go for the objective sideways,
not straight; wh Brand says
makes a gt. diference.
The 15 Bn had been shelled
by our own arty out of 

9      176
AUG 9/10 1916    
trench wh they occupied on right.
They crept back towards our line
& Germans trickled across into
our line - but very few. And
these were taken down easily
shoved out when we crept back
at dark.

Our scouts went out first to
reoccupy this trench 43-53-74-95
in R34. They reported tt enemy had
3 strong patrols out & had trench
fully manned & possibly m.g.
Cannan asked for arty to
shoot at this for 5 mins before
2nd stage (asked at 11.30 p.m. by Cannan)
Brockman at 9.15 reported
tt his Bn had arrived at Pozieres
& he was getting them into Positn.
Trench mortars had arranged to
shell circular trench (86 - 96) for
5 mins before Zero time - lifting

w artillery.

[*AUG 8/9 1916*]
Message fom Anzac (11.45 pm.)
Prisoner capt^d by 4 [[?Oct]] Bde belonged
to 1st Bn 69 Regt - new on
this front. They relieved 9^th Jacque
after our attack. 3rd Coy lost
50 from arty during relief &
Since (sd to be) reduced to 1 offr. 10 men.

177
Barber is out of Engrs.
They wont give him a
job in Engrs Training Depot
in Sydney. He had bn to
Director of Engrs. in Sydney
(where they have men who
cd come away) & they
wd not give him a job.
So he has to go into
civil life.

9       178
AUG 10 8/9 1916   

4^th Coy had 30 casualties. 3rd Coy
had bn reinf^d & had 6 m.g.s 2 in trench
& 2 in one sap & 2 in another sap.

AUG 10 1916
At 2.50 am. O.C. 16 Bn (Brockman)
reported tt: "Circular trench captured.
Strong Pt 78 captd; enemy line
R.33 D 85 - 77 captd; Line from
R 34 A 42 to R 34 A 1. 1. also captd;
gather from indefinite report line
from R 33 D 78 to 33 D 89 also taken.
No report yet re the balance of objective.
22 prisoners now at Bn H.Q addit^l
prisoners reported taken. Approximate
numbers 50. Official reports state
1 m.g. captd; unconfirmed report
states 2 additional m.gs captd.
All wires broken. Shelling not heavy.
Circular trench is presumably R33 D78
 - 89 - 99. -
(Captd at 2 am.)
O.C. 16 Bn reports at 2.50 tt he
is everywhere successful. Joined
up w 15 Bn & rt & Suffolks on left.
Consolidating. Has also occupied
advanced positn w small
party & Lewis gun in addition to
objective. Ask arty not to shell
trench K 34 a.13 to 12 or between point

9     179
AUG 10 1916

R 34 a 1.3 and 33 B 7.2 wh is apprximate
whereabout of point mentioned.
Pioneers Report abt 4 a.m.: Line swung round R 34 B 60
to R 34 B 24
Heavy shelling on right of line
& along commn trench. Enemy
using minenwerfer in right
(? from trench reported full yesty)
 O.C. 16 Bn. 2.50 a.m. (Recd 4.55 am)
wants 10,000 sandbags. 500. tins
water.
4.54 am (Recd 4.57 am From O.C. 15 Bn) O.C. 16 Bn
reports line 43 - 53 - 74 - 24 being
well dug in. Everything satisfy
w 2 commn trenches.
—

Barrage at 12pm..
5 mins 78 - 99 - 13 - 34 -
65 -
diff to  28.... 61....13...34
and rest same as 1st