Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/210/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 1

AWM38
Official History,
1914-18 War: Records of C E W Bean,
Official Historian.
Diaries and Notebooks
Item number: 3DRL606/210/1

Title: Notebook, 1915 - 1918
Includes references to the 10th, 15th, 45th and
48th Battalions, Dernancourt, Monument Wood
and Gallipoli.
AWM38-3DRL606/210/1
 

16 Bn
Sept 18.
210
Original
DIARY NO. 210.
AWM38
3DRL 606 ITEM 20 [1]
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 these 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
 

STRICTLY PRIVATE and CONFIDENTIAL
C. E. W. BEAN
Book No. 210
These diaries and records are the personal property of Mr. C. E. W. Bean,
Official Australian War Correspondent. and are kept with the Australian
Government records only for convenience and safety. They are on no account
to be inspected nor to be used for the compilation of any history except by
express permission of Mr. Bean. In the event of his death they are left by will
to Brigadier-General John Gellibrand, A.I.F., whom Mr. Bean has made his
Literary Executor in all matters referring to his War History, and whom he
desires to succeed him in writing it; the New Zealand records amongst them
to go to Capt. Malcolm Ross.
While Mr Bean's records will eventually be given by himself or by his
executors to the Australian Commonwealth, they contain a great many matters
which are on no account to be fully made use of within present lifetimes; in
any of them great caution must be be exercised in judging the value of any
criticisms made or comments passed at the time of the event.
The system on which these notes were written was to put down from
day to day exactly what was present to the writer's mind; but this was very
often wrong, and in such cases it does not by any means follow that a contradiction
appears in the diary. The diaries must, therefore, be judged as a
whole, and daily comment should not be taken as signifying anything more
than what the writer at the moment believed to be true. - C. E. W. BEAN.

15 Bn Aug 8. 
From Lt Semon
(I.O. 15 Bn)
There ws no difficulty in
getting to the tapes. They were
in a big crop of ripe wheat in
wh lamps were placed to show
where / flanks of each coy were
to rest. They had to line up
by abt 3.30 am. There ws no
fog at this time. While lying
there most of them dug a bit
of shelter in case of barrage when
the 3rd Divn xx started. They stayed
there till 6.10 a.m. The tanks
were a bit late - / fog ws a
bit thick just after daylight.
After they Bn moved off it came
on very suddenly & so thick
tt after abt 300 yds you cdnt
1
 

see even a tank at 5 yds.
There had only come over
about ½ dozen. shells when
3rd Divn went over, & they
were did not fall on 15 Bn.
The Cerisy Rd made 15 Bns
right flank from their tapes
at / old front line W of Hamel
onwds. This kept them on
their directn. The limbers &
guns of 3rd Divn were ahead &
those of 15 Bn were w them,
& the 15 Bn s tanks were w
the Bn & kept on / roads - these
were not smashed at all by
/ shellfire bec. o / sensitive
fuses wh were used. Prisoners
kept passing & a few dead Germs.
were passed. Germs seemed to
have no defence - just a few
2
 

pot holes & m.gs. The 3rd
Divn wd who came back
sd:"You wont see him, 15th;
You wont catch him."
Behind the hospital at
Sailly 15 Bn began to form up in
waves. This ws finished E of
/ hospital. The tanks moved
off / road there & formed
behind their respective Coys.
A small calibre field gun
put in a few shells here - you
cdnt see it. The fog had lifted
a lot by then.
By the time they reached 3rd
Divn abt 400 yds W of the
Cerisy Cemetery the fog had
pretty well lifted. There the
tanks went thro 15 Bn.
15 Bn waited there just behind 3rd
3
 

Divn or on their line (wh ws
scattered) while tanks moved
thro: This ws just at Zero
hour.
By this time from Cerisy
village ws coming hot m.g. fire.
& also from / hill to S. They
tell where this fire ws
coming from at first but it
turned out to be from / top o /
bank o / Sunken Rd above the Somme
bend just SE of Cerisy. This is
a high point & there ws a German
m.g. Bn in reserve here & they
had their guns up on / top o /
bank. The Bns on / rt also
got a good share of this fire.
All / tanks were w / Bn.
One m.g. ws firing from / village
from a mud plaster house at the
4
 

near end of it. A tank went
for it firing its gun at it & then
knocked butted / house down & ran
over it. Other tanks went into
/ village too. The guns in / village
put up very little fight once
the infantry followed / tanks
closely. 400 prisoners were
got out of cellars in / village
& abt 400 of them had red X
armlets - more than cd be
needed for the Red X station
in / village.
Just before they got to / village
a hare started up & ran towards
/ village - as it dashed towards
/ village something turned it
& it doubled right & ran
along / front o / line. Everyone
5
 

had a shot at it & for /
time being no one thought o /
Germans - everyone ws centred
on / hare. Some one shot it
thro / neck & it dropped.
The 3 Coys wh had to go thro
/ village, i.e. to the bridges
so as to stop anyone getting
across them - they were
footbridges w one road bridge
on / left - but were broken by
our shellfire.
The fourth Coy D Coy under
Lieut Goss had to take the
position o / ^river bank SE o /
village where / m.gs. were.
The tanks had by this time
all 6 bn directed up / hillslope
S of Cerisy towds these m.gs.
They got onto / crest. One or 2
6 

first had tried to go round /
road thro / village, but
when they got round / corner it
looked as if they wd be jammed
in betw / bank & / river so they
came back & went up over the hill
S. of Cerisy.
On / N. Bk o / Somme where /
London Regt had not got up there
were a couple of field guns. These
were pulled out by their crews -
& one in / village of Chipilly
(wh cd be clearly seen) - &
opened direct over open sights
at / tanks. There were also a
number of mwfrs on the bank
w / m.gs. wh cd be fired like
a gun at / tanks & these blazed
off at 50 yds range. Between the
7 

two they knocked out every
tank exc. one or two wh
saw it ws impossible & turned.
D Coy had to withdraw
under this fire to the Sunken
rd down / crest into Cerisy.
They had lost Lt Shaw k. &
a number of men in front o / 
road; the road ws still enfiladed
by / two guns on / ridge in
Malard Wood (you cd see all
3 guns). The gun at Chipilly
ws within L.G. range & ws
silenced by ^our L.G. fire from Cerisy.
The 2 guns in Malard
Wood (on top o / ridge) now fired
at any one on / N side o /
village whom they cd see.
They wd snipe at any single
man. On / canal bank there
8