Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/54/1 July August 1916 pt4

31 

Diagram- see original document

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 17^th Bn).

C. Coy made the raid.

Got message from Harper to say

he was in trench w 40 men but

had not connected up w anyone.

No. of other partys rushed back

past Maj Col. Rawson who ws

[*Ralston 19Bn*] 

w Adjt & 3 runners in shell hole

in nomansland.  No o / men sd they

had bn unable to get in.

Germans were using m.gs.

& 5.9s. It was just dawn breaking.

[*20thBn→*] 

Capt. M'Cole went back to collect

men who had fallen back &

w asked 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

26^th/27^th July

[H Broadbent (bombing officer) ws in the show

w 17^th in Munster Alley.

60 men in trenches

20th Bombers & m.gunners were in 17^th 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). B 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 Bpme Rd.

Casualties 50 to 60.

We cd hear m.g on our left going

heavily. They probly had listening posts

in craters. At XIX^th H.Q. we didn't

know the thing had failed till nearly dawn.

The Infantry hold tt / affair has

bn rushed (only 2 hrs notice of attack) & insuff.

arty preparatn. 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 on

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 operatns

from there for the 1½ hrs tt / men

were in / trench & finally gave

/ order to withdraw (43 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, h.e.,

tear etc It was prac. imposs. to get / disorganised

men into positn. They were seen from 

35

Albert

July 31  7.30am.

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) Of an evening when the big house

is full of bright lights - clerks working

typewriters, Gen. Hobbs & Miles & Clowes

busy over the nights work & old Brown

o / TMB, you see one or another of these

women perh. 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 

Diagram – see original document

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 3

S.O.S. signals last night & down came

our barrage & cut off a patrol

of wh we got one man prisoner.

Jangye 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 o'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

Guillan Maurepas & the British

Givenchy Gillemont. The French reached

the outskirts of Maurepas o /

British / station & edge of Gillemont.

The Germans say they counted

9   37

2000 dead in front of their trenches

in the "trench raid" at Laventie. Then

British censorship is very s Hutton

Wilson told me tt of course this ws

very exaggerated & it must be; but

there it is too near / truth to be pleasant -

much nearer than our rubbish

about "trench raids".  Is

We retook Delville Wood a few days

ago & / Germans have c.attacked

but not bn able to seize it.

9    38

July 31

Diagram – see original document

9   39

July 31. Went thro Pozieres today

all round our front line from

21 Bn H.Q. to 19^th 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 28^th. I saw one fair

bunch of dead Germans.

You strike / dead on the Chalk pit

road before getting to the 21 Bn H.Q. From there I was

told to go straight along / road

& I shd find a commn trench. There

ws not a soul in sight - only

the powdered grey earth o /

craters w 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 a deserted 

9    40

ash heap. I turned back -

& followed / goat track path to /

right. There were only blackened

dead and occasionally

Diagram – see original document

bits of men - torn bits

of limbs unrecognisable - 

along it. I wandered on

for 5 mins without seeing

a sign of any one till I

came to a gradually improving

trench - quite deserted - peopled

only by dead men half buried

- some ^sitting upright 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 - &

/ country ws  I ws going down

a slope & / 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

& then some of our T.M. men. I 

9   41

went on again over battered trench

& 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 the other

day. One cd look out & see / cup

-a very shallow cup - wh the 7^th

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 Gelly, who

had bn all round just before me,

had told them they must dig along

this tonight. Beath's Rd a mass covered w

of tumbled sprinkled earth but not much

cut up ran in up there - & I

^x i.e. The Bn 

9   42

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 agn - still

21 Bn, ^x fairly fresh & not badly

strafed (only in 24 hrs) & /

trench curved round, quite good - 

until it struck the old German

gun dug outs & trench 

Diagram – see original document

wh are show on / map. These

were occupied where it crosses

them but not beyond. Shortly

after it petered out in / back

hedge o / houses N. of / 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

9    43

reached / trench. Their S.Bs were

sniped there so it ws necessary

to be careful.

I didn't want to go back

thro / deserted trench 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, w no

sign of any trench anywhere or of

any living thing. I kept as much

as possible in / bottom of the

craters & presently found / wall of

a house in front of me 

Diagram – see original document

I clambered over /

broken bricks (the

windmill where they say / Germans

have observatn ws always

unpleasantly 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 /