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

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

said : "You ought to have
that ! " & cut the wires.
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 message
came thro tt / Germans
were attacking the left
of our positn. Abt
 

4  36
a brigade 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
- three 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 do not know yet
what is in store for them up
there.
I afterwds went with
Bazley to the 15^th Bde H.Q. at
the embankment to get outline
 

of the fight of May 11/12 of 15 Bde.

4  39

← - 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  0.14.
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
[diagram - see original document]
strong point on
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 27 B 10-65.
Located U 27 B. 7. 2
Our advance checked.
———
[hand drawn map - see original document]
     
O'Connor of 60 wd reconnoitring
Bay 2.
57 L^t Knuckey badly wd.
L^t Edgar, sl. wd.
59. Mitchell k. Fernan
on embank. wd
Kuring wd.
58^th - L^ts Pelton & Topp led
& 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 [diagram-see original document] & 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)
& fire 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
Hindenbg 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 retire 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.