Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/210/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 2

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ws some screening by trees but

in / Sunken Rd there ws none.

Word went back to Bn

& to Bde of / positn & tt /

N of / river ws not occupied by /

British.  The C.O. ^∧ Maj. Sampson asked (Col.

McSharry had bn k. the morning

before / fight in / marshes

near Corbie - out of his sheliv ^∧ tent

attending to a wd man at /

moment (by tt shell wh hit

got this man & he ran out -

/ next shell hit a tree close 

by abt 5ft above / ground &

k. MacSharry - he died an hr

later at / dressing stn - The

shell also k. the ^∧ wd man whom

he ws leading away &

badly wd / adjt - This ws in

/ straf laid down by / Germs

attacking the Tommies near

10
Morlancourt).  Maj. Sampson

sent Lient. Semon across to

N. of river to get connection

w / Tommies.  He took a scout

& crossed the road bridge & /

other bridge - our ^∧ 4th F. Coy Engrs were

already at work patching

them.  There ws / kit of an

Engr. on the bridge & some blood.

They sd tt there had bn a 

no of Germs putting up a white

flag on / big cliff N. of / Somme.

They went across to bring them

in prisoner - & this man

ws hit by a missile coming

from further back.  By then

/ Tommies had started to

come down & as Semon

got across the Tommies

11

were collecting these prisoners.

The Tommies by this time shd

have been E of Chipilly.  They

shd have captd Chipilly before

we got to Cerisy.

The officers sd tt they

had just arrived there.  They were

engaged collecting Germs. &

there were more Tommies

there than prisoners.

As Semon got back he

saw / Tommies slowly going

forward.  There ws no firing.  But

presently he saw them going slowly

back.  Our men sd tt as

/ Tommies got forwd they saw the

Germs w / two guns wh were

not then firing (the other ^∧ in / village had

bn silenced by now).  The men

saw / Germs clear in one direction

12

while / Tommies cleared in 

/ other direction.  The guns

were not fired again.

Semon told / British offrs

tt our men were being k..

By / time he got back the Bn

on / rt ws getting forward.

This caused / Germs at /

steep river bank w / m. guns

to give up heart.  They were

all in their dugouts.  The m.gs.

were all on top o / bank -

w live belts in them & lots of

empties beside them.  The guns

were mostly heavies - abt

20 odd guns in all - X 6 m/wfrs

The also had bn fired & / shells

were beside them.   Abt 50 Germs

were taken in / dugouts including

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a very badly wd Bn C.O.

There were also some tank

men who had bn captd from

/ destroyed tanks - they

were released.

A bty of our Hows -

110^th How Bty. took up a positn

abt 9 A 5.5 firing over in

/ directn of Mericourt.  The two

German guns N of / river saw

it.  They opened fire on our

guns at once.  The first shot

k one of our Arty offrs &

several men, & these turned

to engage / German guns -

but before they got a chance 

/ Germans smothered the

place w shells firing in shell

after shell.  Shortly after a team

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of horses came down / road

galloping - hooked up /

gun - the Germs firing at

them all / time & pulled the

gun out; 10 minutes later

a team came down again &

pulled / other gun away -

This ws at / stage when Semon

ws going across / river to 

/ other side.

After / Germans had

cleared from those 2 guns

there ws no trouble from there.

But abt 3pm the Germs

were seen to be getting down

by driblets into Chipilly.

Word ws sent to / rear & /

heavy howitzers concentrated

on / village.  It ws / best sight

15

the Bn had seen in France -

Chipilly ws like a volcano of

red dust.  The Germans

got out running across the hill

to / back being hurried up

by our m.gs.

That evg after dusk, 15

Bn ws reld by 1st Bde. &

moved round in support ^∧ reserve all

to 16 Bn along / terraces E of

Dudgeon Wood.  They stayed

there abt 3 days & then came

back N of / Somme to

Sailly Laurette.  While Bn ws

at the Terraces near Dudgeon

Wood the Germ planes were

very active m. gunning /

rds & one man ws wd.  The

first 15 Bn had from / air.

The 15 Bn got 2 guns in

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front W of Cerisy Village behind

/ cemetery.  Most o / cellars

were reinfd w concrete &

garrisoned - & there ws a 

big dressing stn in / village.

The guns wh fired on 15

Bn were the 3 guns mentioned.

When these were put out they

got no fire from the N. side o /

river.

While 15 Bn ws in 

Dudgeon Valley they were

shown by a Tommy officer how

to fire a 4.2 how.  They

turned them round & then

all day long they were firing

4.2 shells on / Germs.  They

started on Bray & [[Cengthened?]]

& shortened & were perfectly

happy w themselves. The German

17

tt day put some 5.9 ^∧ shell into /

valley.

On Aug 9 abt 3? A

very fine barrage ws put

over & / Germans ^∧ Americans advanced

in a NE directn from Malard

Wood.  Very heavy m.g. fire

came from / directn of

Chipilly but / yankees missed

this & worked up towds Gressaire

Wood to cut off / peninsula.

All along the top of the / Peninsula

/ German flares were still going

up even after / Yankees had

got to Gressaire Wood.

Next morning ^∧ Aug 10 a Battalion

of 13^th Bde? cd be seen dug in

along the E side of the/ cliffs &

heights o / Chipilly Peninsula.

18

Lt Shaw ws k.

Lt Hocken wd. ^∧ late in / aftn by

a shell when things were pretty

quiet (may have bn a piece of

one of ours from Chipilly).

____________________________

 

Before Aug. 8. the Germs made a 

daylight raid on 15 Bn in /

trenches taken over from / French.

This ws beaten off.  The Account of the

Bn I.O. is with that of Bde I.O.

with the War Diary o / Bde.

In / day a Frenchman never

went over / top.  They were very

invisible.  As soon as our people

got in of course they cdnt be

kept down.  They were out getting

iron roofs from Cacly & so on.

The Germ cdnt help noting /

difference.