Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/54/1 July August 1916 pt10

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112
this mg I believe we cd have done
it - too late now. It is hard
to say wh way is / best.
Uneasy shelling tonight
S5 Bde losses.
                Off      Or
17             13       400
18             20      600
19              14      538
20             17      598
5 m.g.        2        22
Btty            1         12
Sigs            -           7
___________________
                  67    2177
Aug 6 O.G. 2 & Pozieres still ours.  shelling easier.
 

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Went in with to Albert to Anzac
Corps cafe to have a talk to the German
officers - our friends of the other night - as
Herbertson told me he would be there.
Herbertson told them that anything
they did not want to say they neednt - so
that we could talk quite frankly - &
they agreed.
The officer of the 162nd (the fair
haired chap) said that his coy ws
in support resting in / side o /
 

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dawn & got part of trenches of 48^{th
[[?]]
[[?]]
[[?]]
[[?]]}
testing in / side of Courcelette
Rd. [Butler has asked me to send 
him a report of this, so I have 
typewritten the rest & put it with 
my records].
Aug. 7. Mond: Past few days.
Frid - Sat. Aug 4/5 attack on 2nd Line.
Aug 5. Shelled all day & night but
12 Bde (Glasfurd) relieved 5^th &
most of took over part of 7^th Bde
front on night of 5/6.
5/6 C attack expected, but did not come off.
Aug.6.  Shelling subsided, but recommenced
in afternoon. I went to Amiens to 
Au see H. Wilson who had bn looking 
up my ^London despatches for 12 days.
Aug 6/7 Germans counterattacked at
 

115
63 Regt seems to be
relieving 84.
B Coy 4th Pioneers have now bn here 
17 or 18 days - since battle of
Pozieres started. They have lost
their C. officer & every N.C.O. exc.
one - I believe ^& 50 men. The men dig
comm trenches chiefly - "Once you are
set to dig you dig alright," an  NCO 
told me -  "You have to get under ground 
or go down like rabbits in / open". Still 
there are some men who wdnt dig -
& / mere fact tt these Pioneers stick to it
means tt they are good. The Army 
thinks a lot of them.
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116
dawn & got part of trenches of 48^th
Bat 14^th (in support] re-attacked
captured Germans (63 Reg) & relieved
48^th Bn.  Lt Jacka V.C. ws hit in doing this.
2 Bns of 4 Bde relieved
6^{th &} 7^th Bdes (exc. some of
26 Bn.) Strength of 7 Bde ws now 
1200 (probably this will increase)
[*1 am Aug 7.*]
As 24 Bn were coming out
its Head gun went into one o /
miserable dugouts in Tara vally
Hill.  A shell struck this - K. Charlie
Manning, & Capt Plant (their doctor,
little Plants brother) & 2 others - &
gave Watson a heavy shock.
When will his awful war
cease?
[*5th Aug*]
I had a long talk with
White at Contay last night.
I found he had bn wondering, as I
had, what wd have happened if
we cd have pushed through in /
night. What the prisoner officer sd to 
me abt Courcelette had made
me think. He must have thought 
there ws nothing behind him - & 
I am pretty sure the charabancs
of soldiers wh came into Courcelette 
next day were  bringing garrison
for Courcelette. 

 

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117
{*5 Aug.*]
White sd:  "Ive bn thinking o /
same thing too. Curious you
shd mention it.  But what
wd they do when they got there.
They cd make a raid - if we 
had had / troops there to do it - 
& perhaps get into Courcelette.
But we shd have had to get back 
by daylight."
"Couldn't we have stopped
if we had got far enough to 
disorganise their artillery &

offensive power?" I asked.

 "Well - we might if we got
thro on a wider front. But
w this front they wd soon
find out where we were & our 
xxx troops wd have to support  
withdraw. We cdnt get supplies
to them. It wd be an impossible 
salient to hold, any way."
Well then "Well then - cdnt we 
get round this line to left or 
right of us & crumple it up?"
"That's / second alternative", 
he sd. "I don't know - it 
might be possible".  It is
 "It wd be in / nature of 
an experiment," I sd. 

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There were difficulties at night,
in the dark. [They tell me it is a
great advantage to have had /
day light for advancing and
in, as / other day.]
[*23rd & 29 July*]
"I have a constant fight for
time here," White sd. "The army
naturally wants us to push
along as fast as possible - &
they wanted Legge ^(29th) to attack before
he did exactly as they tried to
push on Walker. (23^rd).
"The gods are very just &
they make you pay for your
deficiencies - The other day
when / second divn ws to attack
I was sure it ws wrong - I
ws sure things were not ready;
but everyone ws so eager tt 
I gave my consent - thro'
weakness I suppose - &
you know what followed. This
time they wanted Legge to attack
on Thursday & he had told them
tt he was ready at any time.
{*5 Aug.*]
I went round all / Bdes
tt day - found out tt they
were not ready. I asked
 

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119
rang up the Army & told them
tt we wanted it put off. They sd
tt L. ws ready - I sd "well you
can order them to do it, if you
like, & of couse they will
do it.  But I can tell you this . . .
& this . . . ."
Then they put it off.
I am afraid tt though Legge is
a patriotic man & in some ways
a clever & able one he is not
a man who can grasp a
battle.
I said White or someone has
had our next attack on xxxxxxx
xxxx put off until the night after
this.  It ws to have bn attempted
w one battalion - 24^th - last
night or tonight.
I sd: "Well I have always
bn hoping tt all this preparation
is only to bring us up to /
German line & tt once there
into a position to make another
attack on a wide front; & tt
once there we shall make
another big attack."
"I am afraid there doesn't
 

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seem to be any prec sign of
it - They seem content to let
each little lot plan its own
attacks. They wanted the 2nd
Divn to take the front German
O.G. trenches battalion by battalion,
bombing from the south. They
divided it up into 4 parts
each to be taken by a bn.
I said "Now tell me, wh are 
the four sectors." They showed 
it.  I sd - "well - you'll find
tt you'll use up all your
four first bns in attacking
tt first sector."
By attacking on a narrow
front we allow / enemy to turn his
guns onto our small front
& throw away our superiority
of gun fire – make him a
present of it.
[*7 Aug.*]
What happ Just as we were
talking, an officer came in & reported
tt / British had bombed up
to within another short
stretch of Munster alley.
What's / good of tt? The
German will make another
trench at / back o Munster alley.
 

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121
We shall have to go at it across a
broad Nomansland.
If we nursed this place &
then went at it at / same time
as at the trenches N of us & 
at Courcelette - we shd break 
thro & do something; if they had 
troops behind
us, tt is,
to do it. 
Hand drawn diagram see original 
At present all we are doing
is using up / German reserves &,
at a rather faster rate, our own.
This gives the Russians a chance
they have never had before.
Our troops have bn watching
the Germans getting away their
guns within 1000 yds of
Pozieres. They find - after / delay
tt they can do this, no doubt.
But It takes 1 hour & ½ to get /
news back to our batteries
at present. The British batteries
are forming up near / Chalk
Pit. The Germans have bn
firing 9.2 stuff into Sausage
valley - & a lot of stuff into  

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122
arty (they smashed 2.18pds or
4.5 from & their last night).
in Sausage Gully or at top 
of it).  A salvo of about 20
5.9 shells has fallen near /
corner o / wood since I have
bn writing.
Last night when the 24th
were coming out they camped
near Tara Hill. A shell burst
over on / dugout in wh they the
[*Bn staff*] were - K. Charlie Manning (2 in C.)
the acting adjt, Plant their doctor,
& I believe, one other. Poor old
Manning - it is horrible. He
ws Owen's associate before me
& I knew him well. He was
buried in Lone Pine, ws through
a dreadful lot of bombardt in
Pozieres - & lived thro it.
all to be killed the very
night they came out.
[*RH Pitt-Owen*]
Chaplain? Pte Cobbett has
just come in to say tt a salvo
of 5.9 shell fell all round him
in Sausage Gully a few mins ago.
They threw salvos all up / gully
from this end backwards. That
is what we heard. He is v much
rather shaken.