Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/56/1 - August 1916 - Part 6

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54
send a shell any where near
us, any way, although several
sentries held up our car; one
sd they had orders to stop ‘all
civilians’ - so suspected spy
about, I suppose. By 6.30,
in daylight, we were back
at  Contay  I started again
at 7.30 & reached Becourt
about 8.
Aug. 26th (Saturday).
It turns out that the
6th Bde attacked trench of
Mouquet this morning
at dawn & did not do
badly. They got nearly
all tt they went for, except
Xxxx two points, 27 & 54.
[I later believe "54" was not at 54 but
in front of it].

 

8

55
The outlines of this attack
are told noted on the first
page of this note book.
The 22nd ( wh had only 300
men altogether - not having

recd. its reinfo ) ws in reserve
but half of it ws put to 
this fight. Gelly took his
H.Q. up in to the Cemetery
near the First Aid Dugout. As

he ws on / spot / attack 
ws almost bound to be
partially successful. They
are being relieved this night by 4th Bde.
(I had not heard of this 
attack coming off.) Wire from 
Censor to say Brooks coming to
stay night Aug 27 & work on Aug 28.
[*This day ws very showery*.]
August 27th Sunday.
Today towards 
evening has been miserably
wet - so much so tt
I scarcely expected Brooks

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56
would come. But he did,
in the evening -  turned up
in a Singer car. [Not a word
from / War Office about mine,

asked for 4 months ago].
August 28th Monday.
Got up fairly early
& went with Brooks, his chauffeur,
& Bazley to Pozieres. We
had a wet day but were
lucky in getting fine intervals;
& he got almost exactly
the photos I wanted him
to. It was a little hard
to get him to do this, at
times, & / arrangement
is utterly unsatisfactory. Still
we got thro’ somehow &
/ photos, I hope,are there.

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57
I have attached a list.
Brooks is a gamer chap
by far than I am - he
wanted to poke round, &
wait for an hour or 
two to get certain views

wh pleased him in / proper 
light - but Centreway 
isn’t / place I like to wait
in. One thing - I am glad
we got the stretcher bearers
coming in w their white
flag & the German barrage
behind them - so now it
stands on record. I
asked the men how they
found it. “He doesn’t shoot

snipe if you”ve the white
flag”, they said. “We started
it by not sniping on them
 

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58
when they had / white flag,
& now they dont snipe at
ours. Of course we have
to chance the artillery -
that isn’t meant us ‘-
which is very fair. I am 
particularly anxious
that the newspapers should
not use that shellfire as
an example of “how the
Germans fire on our stretcher
bearers.” It is an example of
what our S.bs come through
voluntarily. The white flag
saves them from being sniped
at by M.G. The German wd

also often turn on a barrage
field gun if he saw a party
of this size without / white flag -
but he does not snipe them a

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59
stretcher bearers with field guns

any more than w rifles.
I had my usual row
w Brooks. I sent to ^ Col. Wilson list of

/ photos he had taken. To Col.
Wit He objected to this - if any
were spoiled the Col. wd think
he ws concealing them, because
the Col. is a suspicious little
man. I couldn’t help - some
of the photos wd be dangerous
to publish now & it is only
right the Censor shd know
exactly what they are. Brooks
ws very game in getting shell
pictures. Some big ones fell very
close & he ws up in an instant
to get the burst. I am
attaching the list.
 

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60
The 14th made an attack
last night - I think I know
on wh trench. "They went 
over & got / trench but
there were a terrible lot of
Germans & they couldn’t
hold it.” is the account 
that ws given to me^ by a batman. A Padre
told me: "It ws not successful
as an attack but most
successful as a raid. Two
companies went over - they
had 23 casualties - none

killed - all wounded I believe
- but they were overpowered by

 /numbers & forced to retire
after being in half an hour.”
That is simply meaningless
to me & I am not going to 
write up as a successful raid
what was a failure as an attack.
 

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61
How anyone can claim that
2 companies (say only 250
men) are “overpowered by
numbers” & “forced to retire”
when they have only 23
wounded, I cannot see. It is
giving us the standard of Greek 
soldiers. I must hear more -
The 14th has lost its daredevil
young officers, Jacka, Appleton,,
Dobbie & the like; if they had 
been there I’ll be bound it wd
not have given up the trench
it ws told to take & keep - after
23 men had been wounded.
This Becourt Wood is 
more like the Australian bush
than any place in Europe. It is

the men who bring their country 
with them. They camp under

62
A Bavarian Corps. I believe
has relieved - & they were
throwing quite a lot of ironmongery
about. Thiepval is rapidly becoming 
a centre of fighting activity.

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63
trees - build their little
tents or shelters, chop their
trees (wh they ought not to do)
sit round their camp fires
exactly as they do at home in
/ bush- with their long 
limbs ^ slow movements & wide felt hats & 

their pipes
in their mouths. At night 

w / fire amongst / straight 
tree trunks  ( the very slight raggedness
of / trees makes / place
more Australian) you cd
swear you were in / bush - we
had 5 Padres at dinner 
last night; & as the officer o /

burial party is a little Baptist
minister also, in civil life,
that made 6! We yarned till

nearly midnight.

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64
Tues. August 29th. ^still raining at
daybreak, but finer.

Tonights objective:
16th Bn.   33c. 79. - 33 a.54 -77-29-

27d. 12-42 -73 -94-
13th Bn     28c. 03-36-66-95.
46\45\26\27.
54
Moquette
trench  NW of it & W during day.
Smoke if possible.

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4th Div Engs

May 6 Cairo recd
H.Q.___________ 42
4^th F.C.________68
12^th___________ 59
13^th____________80            [*Anzac Book*]

                             249
Later. 
H.Q._______________3
4^th F.C___________70
14^th Coy RE_______11^x
X On 30/6/16. Lt Grassick of A.I.F H.Q.
Staff Pay Office
Letter 2772 acknowledge noted
receipt of £1.13.0 by Field
Cashier 4^th Aust. Div.
Have any 2/6 been pd

for by these units