Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/55/1 August 1916 pt2

7    9
just in front of O.G.2.
Remainder in O.G.1.
They keep them practically
up to strength from Jumping
off trench. 
LEwis guns. 8 in O.G.1.
4 in Jumping off trench.
Heavily shelled day & night
exc. betw. 4.30 & 7a.m.
2 Vickers guns in Jumping
off trench - both were smashed
& crews hit within 10 mins
of reaching trench. They have
bn replaced.
Today a post is forwd.
Tonight it goes out to
dig a trench post at R35d0.6.
& to clear out an old German
Comm trench running up to it.
At present they are in
a post some way out from
wh they can see town of
Courcelette prob. 1100 yds away. 

10
 Lt Grey ( intell officer 5 Bn)
ws to flag & mark with
tape but  __ starting line.
7 Bn to take from rly to rd.
& link up. 
1st 2 coys were to take      2 coys 7 Bn.
1st line trench                          ..   .  .   .  .
Barrage shifted to OG2.
Other Coys wd lie in
front of O.G.1 & at 2.20 am.
Barrage wd lift from OG2
& if O.G.1 had bn taken they
were to advance & take
O.G.2. 
Bombing Platoon (under Lt
Fitzgerald) were to block
Munster alley. 
7    11
Regimental Record
of 5 Bn. July 25th Night 24/25. 
  
Orders at 9.30 to move
at 10.30 & be in position
by 12.
No time for reconnaissance
by COs Coys. 

7    12
C. Coy 5 Bn arrived  
in no mans land 5 mins before 
time to move.
Some of men were lying
out of line. Had to take
line from Coys ahead -
ground ws a  mess of shell
craters wh made this difficult.
As B Coy ws getting 
out they were seen by
Enemy who began to
snipe & throw flares.
Mess tins proby showed up.
1.58 Bombs started.
2am. men advanced
1.59 order to advance.
Offrs gave this by word of
mouth.
Bombs turned all Germans
out. 

13 
7    14
Str. Pr on left opened on 
left near them (x) wh 
confused lines.  Several
in gs there. Men lost
directn slightly.
Lines became groups.
Found O.G.1 & groups all
got into it. No Germans
there - v. few dead Germans.
Didnt get into own barrage.
L. Order gn to consolidate & 
dig in & not to advance to
O.G.2. Men were  too disorganised 
& had had to get round 
no mans land & look for trench wh 
made them late. 
O.f.1 ws so unrecognisable 
bt it ws scarcely possible 
to know it ws a trench. 
There had bn an old 
Germa German trench running 
slightly aslant from O.f.1 
towards O.f.2. 5 Bn impron  

7    15
began to dig in. 
At 2.25 some offs on 
left flank gave order to 
advance forward to O.g.2. 
They advanced to O.g.2. 
Right then ws ordered to  
advance also leaving a 
few men in O.g.1. 
Got into O.G.2. & began 
consolidating. No Germans 
there. It was abt 2.45 before 
L. ws able to identify O.g.2. 
Message ws then sent 
back to 5 Bn ws in O.g.2 
Left flank lay on 2 trees 
on rly line. Rt flank on 
M. alley. 
Flares then  began to 
come from left rear & 
from right front (in M. alley) 
Abt 2.45 we saw Pea bombs 
going up from left rear 

7    16 
strong point. Also flares 
from right. cd see German helmets 
there 
Shortly after heard tt 
touch w 9 Bn had bn lost 
on rt - & noticed bombing 
there also. 
Got demand for bombs 
from party in O.g.1 left 
rear. Abt day light 
decided imposs. hold O.g.2 
gave rt turn into an 
old shallow commun. 
trench near M. Alley & 
rt turn again into 
O.g.1. Rest of day morning 
till 9 am. consisted 
of continual fight up 
& down abt 40 yds 
of O.g.1 Germans 
had Pea bombs but 
now mostly stick bombs. 
S Killbeck in a tight 
moment got out on left

7    17 
of trench w Lewis  gun
shooting from shoulder.
Cd see Germans reinforcing
O.g.2 overland but
nothing came of this
as our barrage ws
too heavy.
Fitzgerald (when
first Lillie heard from
left rear that bombs
were wanted) ws sent
into O.g.1 to lead
bomb fight tho
bombers remained
in M. Alley. He
ws K. there.
Lt Carter ws sent back
abt daylight to Colonel asking for
support before they
came out of O.g.2
but Col. cd not give
it. xxx Col sent back to
Lillie to retire or hold 

7    18
on as he thought best.
It ws acting on this tt
he returned.
The 7th bombers.
came on after  8 am. 
3rd  Bde & some of
1st Pioneer Bn were in
fight also.
Capt Leadbeater ws k.
near the strong point waving
his revolver in air &
blowing his whistle. Just
after 1st attack when they
had to turn to SW Pi on left.
__________________________
[*Diary (cont)*]
Aug 16th
5th Bn has three lines of
front trenches. (1) The strong posts
(2) the O.g.2 such as it is.
(3) The O.g.1. trench.
The support trench gets more
strafed than firing line trench.
Lillie ws out today in
front  of the line - along 

7    19 
an old German trench. He stuck 
his head up from a broken dug out - & 
there was a German standing 
200 yds away from him. 
The Germans are proby 
in an old trench 200 yds in front 
of us. The  Camerons on our 
right - splendid chaps - think 
tt they can see them working. 
One German m.g. with some 
men is in an xxx outpost x 
somewhere in front of this part  
& the machine gunner got one 
of the men of our digging 
party when it went out 
to start work today. It had 
to get out of trench to make 
way for some o / men 
of the previous digging party going 
out; & one man ws hit in
doing this. He ws. laid in / 
narrow trench. About an hour

20 
The only two bits of 
wall now standing in 
Pozieres - from N.W. near Rd. 
There ws a bit of a  
church not long ago.

7    21 
later Lillie looked round &  
saw man after man jumping 
out o / trench & dodging into craters. 
"What in hell are you doing." he  
shouted - "didnt I tell you 
you must keep in / trench?" 
"Stretcher bearers want to get 
a wounded man out, Sir," 
they sd. They had got out 
to give the s.b.s room. 
Today while I ws in Col.  
Bennetts dugout in Pozieres 
(the old ambulance Dugout) 
a straf started. I didn't  
know if it ws we or / Germans 
at first - but it was we - I  
thought we must have bn 
called on to barrage a 
c-attack; but it turned out 
tt it was a sham bombardment 
of / German trenches in front of 
the Cameronians.  There were 
Germans in the craters there -