Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/55/1 August 1916 pt4

7        36
when in the fight when they 
were bombing up / trench; about 
10 yards further was a 
second barricade. 
I had got over the first
when and ws looking for / 
way to go & had decided 
to try / other trench as this 
seemed to disappear or go 
down / valley - when a 
second bullet whistled 
past. That made me
think.
I went along to  /
Southern branch and th also 
seemed to peter out altogether. 
There ws no sign of men movement
along it at all - not a
a footprint. I cdnt be sure 
th it was a trench.
Just then a third bullet
 - & I knew it must be a 
sniper.
I waited for a bit 
& then crept back, keeping 
as low as I cd, along the
branch I had gone along

7         37
first- I waited for a bit
to give / sniper a chance to
forget me & then had to dive
over into a few more craters.
The beggar put a fourth shot
just over my head after
I had got into shelter at /
end of the dive.
I waited again for a
bit - but it was not too
nice because there was
a good deal of shell fire too
& these craters - the trench
here was nothing more -
made no good cover from
shrapnel. One gun was
throwing small high explosive shells
no great distance down /
hillside on / left. I really 
began to think again th
I ws in a bit of a quandary
- but managed by keeping
very low to crawl about
20 yards along / trench
& then after waiting a minute

7                                                     38
or two, decided to run for it.
It is not nice to think of
getting hit in those sort of
places when you are quite
alone because unless you
can crawl to safety / chances
are no-one will find you
at all - especially if a
shell half buries you. Fitzgerald 
when I met him on / way up told me he & his friend had
just found a poor chap who
was buried by the arm
up to the shoulder & who had
been in th position for 4 days!
They had gone down on their 
knees & scraped with their
fingers at the earth but it
was like cement. They had 
gone to get a fatigue party
& this was going to dig him
out-
I was not shot at
as I ran & soon 
got into a trench wh by
the dead in it I knew

7                                                        39
must be my old friend "Kay"
trench. There was a deep passable 
German dugout filled up in to the 
mouth but not quite filled
up; I sat there for a moment 
& got my breath - &
the adventure ws over.
I pres met two English
soldiers coming down /
trench & presently reached a
part wh had been quite 
decently dug. There was
an occasional heavy shell
crashing in - but in decent trench
 you don't worry about
them - besides there were 
men passing this way I 
knew by / trodden footmarks.
Presently I found some 4 Bn
men & then the H.Q. 4 Bn. 
I went down. Mackay & Majr
Stacey were there & they
gave me / details of 
yesty nights c-attack. Heavy

7                                       41
shell were thumping in up
above not far away.
I was directed on from 
there to the 3rd Bn HQ, down
a lonely long trench (quite a good 
one) amidst a wilderness of
craters **past a lonely dressing station in a dugout**- twice under the torn
& twisted tramway - then up
a well revetted German
communication trench to some 
more dugouts. The great
Church bell was across the 
trench here & one ducked
in under it
to a well
lighted
gun position.
Howell Price ws out, managing 
the affairs for the sending up
of flares for / contact aeroplanes.
But in the As I went up 
/ trench I had heard the
aeroplane hooting up above

7                                                                 42
constantly hoo-hoo-hooting on
some horn or bellows. They were
to throw flares from their
front line to show where
they really were. Price ws 
out seeing to this himself.
The adjt. gave me the position
on / map. It ws well in 
front o / position given by
Gen. Smythe.
Presently Price came in 
& he gave me a third position.
He had bn round himself,
he sd, & placed it as far
as he possibly cd by bearings. His
right ws at 99 & his left
on / cutting in / road.
Well tt seemed to me 
to be / position of the well 
marked trench in / air
photos. I told him th
divn had bn told he ws
back at a very diff. position.

7                                                                  43
Two artillery officers were
there. They sd there was a shoot
on at a certain German trench,
timed to begin at 6 p.m. (& it
ws then 5.30) The heavy howitzers
were to bombard this place &
news had arrived that H. Prices men
were to be withdrawn from
a certain advanced point 38 near to it.
"Why - th's 150  200  yards behind
my front line" he sd.
It ws too late to do it
anyway - but it ws urgent
 to get / news back of 
where his line was - It is 
frightfully hard to say
exactly where you are in 
a wilderness of craters.
One of the liaison officers
sd he wd hurry to / Cement 
House & tell his battery &
I sd I wd tell division.
I came back & sent a
message thro an advanced

7                                                              44
field artillery line & then 
hurried back down Centreway 
& the Bapaume Rd - it was
drenching w rain - to
Division. They had got my 
wire abt ½ hr. before - not in 
time to take do any steps & I dont 
think Blamey thought any
needed taking. But During
dinner Gen Hobbs looked in
& said: "The heavies have
cleared / situation properly"
"What have they done?"
asked Gen. Walker.
"Col. of the 3rd Bn reports
th they have bn firing
into his men"-
He gave the point - it
was in / cutting & at / 
other end.
So th ws / sequel.
The curious part is
th we dont know yet th

7                                                               45
Gen Smythe ws not right &
/ heavies may have bn falling
short of where they shd have 
bn falling. They were meant to be bombarding
 / well made trench in / 
air photo.
I rather wish I had
gone on to see / front line
tho' I might have dropped
into this shelling. But I
heard that / Germans
were advancing from
Martinpuich & I didn't
want to be caught in their
barrage. An aeroplane had 
seen them. They made
their attack abt 6 p.m.
A very  stiff bomb I first
wh set the front line
on our right smoking
like a fence in a bush fire.
Then a few isolated rifle

46

The church 
47 

7                                                          
shots. Ill bet they never
got in agst the Cameronians.
Gen Smythe is going to
settle the matter of where the line is
tomorrow morning, himself.
I hear the Germans
sniped two men / other day
where they were shooting
at me.
A German aeroplane
ws brought down this mg,
in flames. It is curious
th when hit they often
vol plane of their own 
action - but it fell / last 
300 feet.
We came back past the 
Church in Pozieres. There is
no longer a semblance of a
window - just one remaining
pinnacle of tumbled bricks.