Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/78/1 - May 1917 - Part 4

4  35
O.G. 1 with the old
notice Centreway
IN
It was exactly as I 
remember it - &
the board was wreathed
in Signal wires. Masefield 

said : "You ought to have
that ! " & cut the wores.
And I carried the board
down to Pozieres for
a place in our national 
Museum.

May 11. At about
9.30 tonight a heavy
artillery fire. The messsge
came thro tt / Germans
were attacking the left
of our positn. Abt

4  36
a birigade of them
had bn seen massing

& our guns had got
onto them, it ws thought,
before anything came of it.
White tells me tt
the Army has given way
abt out 1st Divn. After a
real hot fight (I dont
know what Birdwood
threatened) they are
all to be allowed their
holiday. They were to have
gone in agin today or
tomorrow ; but just as 
they were going in it
 

4  37
ws countermanded.
The 5th Divn is also
to be relieved abt
May 13. I met some of /
4^th Divn - the old 13^th Bn.
going in to / Baths at
Ameins. They sd to me
-thru officers "Have
you heard of our move
-isn't it a bastard ?".
The firing on our
line has quietened.
Butler tells me tt /
German & / Russian
soldiers have not 

fired a shot for a week.
 

4  38
They are fraternising
up in / North. Germany

offers Russia excellent
terms to make her
desert her friends &
he doesnt feel very
confident of Russia
refusing.
May 12. In glorious weather went
to see 4 Div. on Parade. to say good
bye to Gen. Birdwood. There were
              344 offrs
            7097 or

             _______
Total    7441 - present - &
the troops marched better than
they wd in peace .Even the
brigadiers dont know yet
what is in store for them 
there.
I afterwds went with
Bazley to the 15^th Bde H.Q. at
the embankment to get outline

of the fight

4  39

May 11/12 of 15 Bde.
← - 58______
      (60            57                  May 11/12
       (2 coys)   58
2 coys of 60 ^th sent to 58^th
to be in positn by 3.40 &

relieve 2 coys 58 Bn.
2 Puddings & 4 stokes.

2 Bns of inf reported by
Sugar Refinery (B) abt 9 pm
& further over in D square
some more. They
rang up the arty &
let off everything tt

wd shoot - & nothing
came of it.
Germans turned on
a very heavy bombt.
on embankt & front line

4  40
A good many lost
(Total - 500-includes
todays stunt).
Orders were bombing
attack along front trench
by one Coy ; other to
go over open w Tommies
conforming w them. But
being much ahead
they were not to
start till  O.14.
There ws a v. heavy
bombt. One section
of stokes ws completely
buried.
Stokes drove boches
into dugouts where
they were captured.
No Officer has
arrived back from
 

41
1 section of 2 Stokes
ws buried w ammn,
20 mins to get it out
Men were not hurt.
 Gepp.
Pecgeta

Dennehy.

4  42
there yet. It seems
to have gone acc. to
programme.
Stokes fired 115 rds
& puddings 40

Left of 11 Bde is still bad.

175 prisoners have
passed here incl. wounded
but some wd probably
passed unnoticed.

2 Coys of 59^th had to be
sent up.
The 15 Bde took exactly
the line they were given.

We are in the Hindenburg
line from 88 to 82, with
 82                  strong point on
 88                   boundary

43
4.11. The Tommies
Rt Bde : U.21 D 5. ½ to the
right
Left Bde

S.P. at U 27 B 15.90
Enemy
U 027 B 10-65.
Located U 27 B. 7. 2
Our advance checked.
our Post.
Tommies here
Germans 
in here          
O'Connor of 60 wd reconnoitring
Bay D.
57 ^Lt Knuckey badly wd.
^Lt Edgar, sl. wd.
59. Mitchell K. Fernau
on embank.          wd
Kuring wd.
58^th - ^Lts Pelton & Topp ;ed
& were both k,
[*58^th 
did
attack*]
L^t Hooper ws badly wd.
L^t Barlow k.
Capt barry of 60^th wd.

4  44

Tommies had
Our fighting ws over
in an few hour.
The German prisoners
sd tt they were after
Home & Peace gxx
117 came in with 4
men - our men walked
on the bank - Germans
inside.

Stuart has been Tee-ing
out [[shorthand]] & his men are escaping the
shelling in these.
Layh, Padre, & Doctor
were gassed going in,
Capt Kuring ws blown up
by a shell this mg.
with British Officer, who
ws coming to relieve,

(at the Rly Embankt, in
dugout).

4  45
The trees have come
out so fast these last few
days that it is hard to

see Germans moving where
they cd always be seen 
before - near Hendecourt.
The latest reported
attacks & bombts. have
all bn due to nerves -
We think Germs are attacking
(seeing some of them mass, &
reporting, probly, more)
& the let loose our arty,
& then they think we are
attacking & do / same.
Their prisoners knew of
no attack last night -

they thought we were
attacking their officers
 

46
[Hand drawn sketch, please see original]

A gunner
offr. tells 
me tt /
tank wh
used to be
on the
Hindenburg
line has
been removed
/ Germs must have got it.

4  47

told some of them to
man / parapet ; but as
/ offr only put his head
out of his dugout they
went back to dugouts
agn & were captd.
May 13^th wrote an article on
Hindenby Line.
May 14^th went with Shirley
to Longatte, near to
Bullecourt, to Noreuil,
Lagnicourt, Morchies
& Delsaux Fme & took
photos.
We have bn hearing
tt / Germans are going
to etire tomorrow on
Drocourt Queant  line -

at night - & wh batteries
are going to cover their
retirement. Some prisoners
sd they were going to
attack to cover it.
The whole arty o / army will be
turned on tomorrow night.