Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/57/1 - August - September 1916 - Part 2

 

13  10

German theory but / 

Germans have not once

 succeeded here against

 these "tough" troops, as 

they call them.  The General 

is apt to push a division 

at a place like Pozieres 

& then talk of the "unnecessary

loss of life"  being

due to the Divl. Commander

using "a quite unnecessary

number of troops . . . My

dear chap, to take one

of these lightly held positions

 you dont want great 

depth in / attack - you
 

 

13  11

dont need a host of men

all swarming over / place

to be shelled to hell next 

day.  Quite a light line 

will do it. . . . "

But / Germans know /

trench we get into & we

do not; & unless we 

have men so swarming tt

they swarm into every

part, we are apt to

find our thin line in

parts o / trench only, /

enemy knowing / alleys

thro wh to attack us & 

we knowing nothing at all.
 

 

13  12
"You went over pretty

thin, didn't you?" Gen. Glasgow

asked Harwood.

"Thin as tissue paper"

ws /reply.
Harwood sd he wd tackle

it again anyday - but

he didn't know tt he wd do so 

with 600 men. "Get / officers

to follow their own barrage 

- to keep close up to it,"  he 

sd "you may get a few

fellows hit in / back tt way,

but its' better to have a 

few hit tt way than to have

/ enemys f m. gs mowing 

you down if you're slow."
 

 

13  13
We could have been up

to Mouquet Farm on July 

22/3, I daresay, if / staff of / 

Army had bn prepared

for it; & we cd certainly

have had Courcelette on 

Aug 4/.5.  But The 

imagination of the staff

doesnt seem equal to

these occasions. They dont 

realise tt when we break

thro' a front there is

usually nothing in /

trenches behind - any 

more than there is in ours
 

 

13  14
if they only looked at the miles
of empty trenches you go through
to reach our own front line &
considered tt it is probly the same w / Germs. 
They might devise some plan of pushing
this little offensives a great deal 
further than they go. As it is 
we have to give up 

the theory tt this battle 

is an attempt to push

thro'.  It becomes simply

a big diversion - 

a gigantic feint.  Expensive 

but probably worth it
 

 

13   15
if it ties the Germans

here.                                                               

The only irritating

consideration is tt if 

we did not suffer

from such a poverty 

of brains w shd probly

be able to make it

a movement wh wd 

create far more

consternation amongst 

/ Germans - they wd 

be at their wits ends 

if we once really began

to move, & / troops
 

 

13  16                                                                                                                                

opposite us to

crumble.

The troops opp. us

are now, by the way,

part of the 2nd Guard

Reserve Divn - come

back for the 3rd time.
——

After going w Glasgow to

the 13^th F. Amb.  I went to

Contay & Amiens.  At 

Amiens Beach - Thomas told

me tt / plan of Lord Burnham

& other proprietors to replace

him, Gibbs, & Perry-Robinson

by Bartlett, Philips, & some
 

 

13  17
other chap had been

postponed for / time. 

Apparently this is due

to Gen. Haig who put 

his foot down. The 

Press officers at / War

office told me last February

tt Bartlett never stood / 

slightest chance of ever

getting any employment 

again in areas controlled

by / War Office.

The correspondents -

Gibbs, Russell, Perry Robinson, 

& Beach Thomas 

took / opportunity of telling

me definitely tt no
 

 

13  18
action had bn taken

by them what so ever to

have my despatches

interfered with. Gibbs sd

further, tt he had spoken 

to Col. Hutton Wilson, & Wilson

had assured him tt no

correspt.  had made any

representation & tt / 

action taken had bn solely

due to my despatches appearing

headed "Official" & 

"Captain" Bean.

I believe Gibbs absolutely

& the other chaps - I do not
 

 

13  19
think they were so 

mean, altho' Robinson

told me before tt he thought 

one man had had a

something to do with it. 

But I don't know tt

I do believe H. Wilson.  

Either he or Lloyd George

is romancing, bec. Lloyd

George gave this reason

explicitly & enlarged on

it. Where did he get it

from ?

Aug. 31st

Went to Raincheval

to get some things at

ordnance & couldn't