Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/47/1 - June 1916 - Part 8

German
Germs.
5       90
his padres to pray - &
here is / result. If it went
agst him for tt reason,
what wd he do? I wonder if
he wd give up the game.
There is a raid tonight
& as our car has turned up
from G.H.Q. I am going
down to it.
Later. June 29. 6.10 a.m.
Back after the 1st Bns Raid.
They all seemed to think at first
go off tt it ws a failure.
Things were muddled when
they reached / Turk. trenches
and the various parties did
not do / work exactly as
planned. But they killed
at least 9 Turks &
brought back 2 prisoners,
one badly wounded. They 
themselves lost 14 wounded

91
^※ Later. This fellow had bn given 14
days field punishment & had sworn
xx he ws "going to get even with
them."
After the Germans raided N Z
trenches a few nights later a wounded
German ws left prisoner w us. He
told the N Zs that the chap had told
them tt we were going to attack - tt our
trenches were simply full of stoke mortars.
(They probably crowded their trenches in consequence)
-----
Coleman tells us tt at 3 o'c. this morning a
little German-Dane^※, a 6th reinf of
the New Zealanders, went over to / enemy.
He had bn xx a stretcher bearer but
supp had been sent back to his
company a few days before - for
punishment I presume. Abt 3 this
morning he was on sentry duty in / front
trench. He told the sentry tt he felt
sick & ws going along / trench a
bit. A corporal further along sd he
thought he saw a man jump over / trench.
He walked along - ^& was told of this man. The chaps
5      92
& one k. It is possible
they killed 15 Germans.
?Ball in trench. Littler wd - commanded left party. One man
wounded in the enemy's trench by a bullet of some sort
Dugouts with open iron doors. 
trip wire, 3 foot: The obstacles were ditch with some wire in it.
Curly wire: knife rests ; trip wire
Five hours ago I really never
expected to be here. I went
down to
the nights
raid
which was to be
made by the NCO 1^st Battalion.
It was a small party - 4
officers & 58 men under Capt
P.L. Howell Price. They had

[*Started at once. Didn't get in where expected
On - Anzacs.*]
——————————
rifle & kit were found.
I don't suppose he cd tell the Germans
much. There are no raids coming off over there.
He may possibly know the strong point scheme,
& probly tt Godley is here. But little of anything impt.

5         93
arranged to raid the trench after
a rather longer arty bombdt,
but the arty very rightly cut
down the time (so they the infantry
told me themselves) not in order 
to save ammunition but to
prevent giving / show away by
proving to / enemy exactly where
they were going in. This
cutting down of time necessitated
giving up another part o / scheme
wh ws to blow up / wire by
means of long tubes filled 
with ammonal w wh they had
practised. The trench mortars
had practiced on the wire
for a short time on Tuesday
afternoon; & as it ws necessary
tt they shd cut it they played
on it from 5 to 6 yesty (Wed)
afternoon as well.
The artillery party was to start

 ^x Casey ^that evening at La Motte told me he ws going to see /
raid, & so I went with him to the spot.
 5       94
at 11.40 p.m. & lie out at
a rest point. At 12. arty
ws to start; at 12.5 arty 
ws to go onto another phase part of
the 1^st Phase & at 12.12
ammonal pipes, under /
original scheme, were to be
blown up. At 12.17 the arty
ws to lengthen & the party to
start for / trenches. (I believe
these times were all cut down).
^x We ^(Casey & I) were late in starting
from Bde H.Q. at Fleurbaix & it was
only just at the back o / 
line (whe down Watling St & to
the right slightly) when the
artillery opened. I noticed
that almost at once there was a
big yellow ^red flash & a heavy crash
not far to our right front - I
took it to be / trench mortar
& I think it ws. We dodged

5      95
into a dugout - but as it
seemed crowded Casey &
Cuthbert went out & I went
w them. We got up under
the forward parapet - & as
soon as we were settled
some heavy shell seemed to be
exploding to / right rear - not
far away - which I think was 
German. It seemed to me tt
/ Germans started very soon
with their - almost at once;
perhaps 2 mins after we did.
Col. Heane thought the same.
Within a short time they were
replying really heavily, for /
first time in any one of these
raids exc. the first. Salvo
after salvo of 77 or 4.2
came whizzing low over / 
parapet & bursting just
behind the dugouts. Some of them

5      96
burst in the water just behind
/ lines & lumps of mud
more than once showered down
on Casey & myself when as we
crouched on / duckboards below
our parapet. We had our backs
to / parapet, & a little to /
left & behind us we could
hear a heavy high explosive shell
- probably 5.9 - bursting like
a minute gun. I think there
were possibly 2 of these ^guns firing on tt
point - one a little further
over than / other. The heavy
white smoke clouds o / shell
used to come rolling over us
shortly after each burst.
It was about 10 minutes
after / arty started that the
big crump & that battery of
whizz bangs put in about
8 or 10 shells for some reason

5        97
a little shorter than before. They
burst quite close overhead
but still a little behind the
trenches. It seemed as if the
whole curtain ws tightening in
upon us, & I really thought
the chances were we should 
not get out of it. Cuthbert looked
into the next bay - & there ws
/ sentry, quite steady, lying down
on the fire step, wh ws / best place
for him.
Then a machine gun started &
another. "They cant possibly get
in this time," I thought. We
heard our guns lengthen after
5 minutes but from tt time on /
crash & bang o / enemies high
explosive & shrapnel drowned
them almost entirely & it seemed
as if they were slackening.
I couldnt help thinking I wished

5     98
they would; & then I was rather
took myself to task for one ought 
to have been wishing tt they wd
give all / help they cd to /
poor beggars in Nomansland.
They were covering their retirement
by now, I expected.
After those 8 or 10 bangs & 
crashes overhead & all round, the
shells didnt get any closer. I
only heard one piece of metal
whop anywhere near us, & tt
went into a wall somewhere
close by. But there were several
bits o / phosphorous, in wh they
pack their shrapnel, scattered over
/ dark shape o / parados.
We had sat there a good
time & the banging of our own
guns seemed to have c eased
wh to a quarter of its original
intensity when there came

5       99
into the bay two or three figures -
ben we at once squee one of whom had a very much
bandaged head - & a rifle &
bayonet - & they sat down
beside us under / parapet.
As I looked at them - we shifted
along to make room - I
noticed tt their faces were blacked.
It was the raiding party.
"I wouldn't have stopped
"one at all if it hadnt been
"for that prisoner -" one of them
said / man w / bandaged
head.
So they had got in after
all.
Dick offered them cigarettes
& a pull at his brandy flask.
They took them both eagerly -
but more of them took / cigarettes
than / brandy. More came
in until there were 7. "Keep

5       100
your head down . . . . 
(Rest of this in article 8
Morning papers -)
"A trench Raid".

101
Det.     Notes. Has 1st Bn. pd. 
for its 38
 ? 4 Bn     

3 Bn.
 5 Bn
 12 Bn?
? C.Coy 11 Bn.
______________
22 Bty.  2
7 Bty  4
2nd FA
Bde Hq  39.
1st FA
Bde HQ ? 3
20 Bn:  701
23 Bn ?

24 Bn ?
2nd Div 600.
2 Div Engrs 600
__________
Abt 2000

—————
5        102
Framat N 6 a 1½ 1½
[shorthand] ? N 17 D 4^.4
Batteries
By sound. N 27. b. 7. 8.
                    N. 29 c 6. 3.
By flash.    N. 17 D N28 a 5. 3.
                    O. 13. b. 5.5 \5.9
                    5.9 V at 0. 4. c. 8. 7.
Waggons & limbers seen moving at O 11 d 2.3
Work 2 gun [shorthand] at N 22 d 3.7
N 18 a 8. 3 large mound of
earth lately built
/ 21 d 2.9. [shorthand] new m g. [shorthand]