Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/60/1 - September - October 1916 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
 
Diaries and Notebooks
 
Item number: 3DRL606/60/1
 
Title: Diary, September - October 1916
Comments on Lord Birdwood, war fatigue, the
visit of Andrew Fisher, Sir Keith Murdoch and E
A Box to the Somme front, Canadian soldiers
and tanks.
 
AWM38-3DRL606/60/1
 

OCT 31
60

Original DIARY NO. 60

AWM 38 DIARIES AND NOTES OF C. E. W. BEAN
CONCERNING THE WAR OF 1914 - 1918

The use of these diaries and notes is subject to conditions laid down in the terms
of gift to the Australian War Memorial. But, apart from those terms, I wish the
following circumstances and considerations to be brought to the notice of every
reader and writer who may use them.

These writings represent only what at the moment of making them, I believed to be 
true. The diaries were jotted down almost daily with the object of recording what
was then in the writer's mind. Often he wrote them when very tired and half asleep; 
also, not infrequently, what he believed to be true was not so - but it does not
follow that he always discovered this, or remembered to correct the mistakes when
discovered. Indeed, he could not always remember that he had written them.
 
These records should, therefore, be used with great caution, as relating only what
their author, at the time of writing, believed. Further, he cannot, of course, vouch
for the accuracy of statements made to him by others and here recorded. But he
did try to ensure such accuracy by consulting as far as possible, those who had
seen or otherwise taken part in the events. The constant falsity of second-hand
evidence (on which a large proportion of war stories are founded) was impressed
upon him by the second or third day of the Gallipoli campaign, notwithstanding that 
those who passed on such stories usually themselves believed them to be true. All
second-hand evidence herein should be read with this in mind.
16 Sept., 1946. C. E. W. BEAN
AUSTRALIAN WAR MEMORIAL
ACCESS STATUS
OPEN
3DRL 606 ITEM 60 [1]
 

Oct 31
60
 

11  2
been fighting Englands battles for
her; & we dont see why we
shd ask ^more of our people to come
over here & fight any more for
them."  He asked me "Have
you heard any grumbling
agst Birdwood lately?"
It is curious tt several
people have asked me the same
question. There is a wild story
flying round that some men in
the 4^th Divn - reinforcements -
hooted him & called him "Butcher".
Of course this is a version of
the story (wh I have given before
as it ws told by one who 
was there) - & is a lie; but
it is an indication of a
certain feeling at the moment.
When The men have
undoubtedly had as much
fighting as they want, for the present.
 

11 3

They are sick of the punishment
they have had from the German
bombardment - & ^indeed very few
English soldiers officers know how heavy
it has been - They Our men have had
two turns each - it was a
trial on their willingness to
have that second turn but
they endured it because they
knew tt at the end they wd
come out - probably for a 
rest; possibly for a very
long complete rest. That is
of course what they longed
for. They best thing for them were very quiet when
they came out of tt fight -
subdued & lifeless - they wanted
only to be left quite quite alone
- to lie & read & write a few
home letters. The very best thing
in / world for them wd have
been a months complete absolute
change - at the French seaside
for example.

But of course that cannot
 

11 4

be arranged in the war.

The Russians, the Rumanians
& the French are fighting up
to their necks & we cannot
go paddling around the edge.
There ws no prospect of this
Corps being allowed a rest
- it is looked on as a crack
corps & the British pay us
the compliment of treating us
as they do other crack corps.
That is to say they use us up
to the hilt the same as they do
the best British divisions. The
French men have said that they
consider the "Anzacs" the best
troops in the British Army; a 
Frenchman told Murdoch 
that the put us first, & the
Canadians next; another French
officer told John Buchan that
they put ^down the Australians & the
Scottish as the best soldiers
 

11 5
("after themselves" of course)
on this front.

Birdwood, straight honest 
little man that he is, will not
tell / men that they are going
to have a prolonged rest unless
if he knows tt they are not.
It is unpopular to tell them
that they have to go into it
again, & he knows their that
they dont like it. But he
never hides the fact from them.
His attitude all through is
to assume tt they want to
get at / Germans again,
& to cheer them on to do it.
"Well, boys, having a good 
rest, eh?"
Yessir.
"That's right - you deserve
it - get all the rest you can,
& then you'll be able to come
back soon & kill some more Germans."
 

11      6
Their faces drop at this but
he never let's them see tt he
notices it & he never varies
his attitude. Occasionally 
he says "I wish I cd tell
you tt you were going to
have a complete rest
now - but we've got /
Germans on / run now
& we cant afford to let
them stop running. We have
to hit them & hit them &
hit them again" - he says
in his quick way.
Well - it's not popular.
The force has been thro' Pozieres
& no honest man in it
pretends tt he ever wants
to fight again. If they had
a monotonous winter in /
trenches or a long rest
 

11 7
behind them, they wd be quite
anxious to come at it again
in the Spring. But they have
not got over Pozieres yet.
This new force of ours is
just realising - each man in /
infantry individually, for /
first time in most cases -
tt there is only one way out
of this war for an infantryman 
- & tt is on his back; either
sick, wounded, or dead. There is
no going back to cheering
crowds - no marching thro'
the London streets & ovations 
in / Australian ports. They
will be put at it to fight
& fight & fight again - ^until if not
in this battle then in / next
each man gets his bullet. There
 

11 8
is no way out - They are
looking down / long road
straight to / end - they can
see it plain eno' now; & 
they know tt there is no
turning.
It is a big shock to a man
when he realises that. There
is no reason why he shd not
realise it in Australia (altho'
under a voluntary system
of recruiting the Censor wd
never let you say it in
the newspapers for fear tt it wd
stop recruiting - I never realised
these things but they are so in
every nation - at any rate every
Western nation wh goes to war.
Our I saw exactly I same thing
with our men in Gallipoli;
about the time of Lone Pine
for / first time they began - each
man thinking it out for himself -