Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/213/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 8

Bn crossed bridge & got to
assembly position - as close to
bank of river as they cd get.

They got into position D+A under
the big bank & the other two
just inland. The four Coy
Commanders were / only ones
who knew what the real
idea really ws. They had as
time to convey it to /
plus wh were scattered. The
Commanders of B&D were both
bit early in / fight. They pushed
on - getting away abt 5 am.
They got touch w 17 Bn. & from
there on / whole fight advance seems to             [*82*]
 

have bn at / double. They made
pretty well straight for / objve
- the left Coy of 19 & rt of 17 Bn
seem to have met in the NE head of
[[Uber]] Alles [[?]]. B Coy ws up there,
D next to them A back along
Rothwell [[?]] & [[agram]] alley [[?]]
C in Galatz ally. The Coys were well [[?]]
up but this ws place 0 / Coy Hqrs.
They found Germans
strong in / aviation ground
& a whizzbang Germ ws firing
point blank from there. The
casualties were light in getting
there -  / trouble ws in hanging
on. If Gott mit hus [[?]] ws
occupied it can only have bn
/ head of it.
[HQ. moved across thro
Feuilleres for / Quarry W of
Clery. It ws [[their]] abt 5 am.                    [*83*]
 

The German clearly thought
to / attack ws from / river for
his arty pasted the whole slope
where the 19 Bn had bn. It
ws not till later tt he pasted
the W. Slope -
Prisoners were coming down
in droves after dawn - first lot
after 6am.
6.30 Bn HQ came up thro
village to near 20 Bn. 7AS.O.
A messge had come to 20Bn
ws on objve (later in day they
were driven back) in touch
w 17, [[?]] were in touch w
19.
Abt 9am Capt Ronald 17Bn came
down to 19 [[?]]. He sd / position
ws pretty anxious at / front. The
line ws [[?]] held, Germs were          [*84*]
 

trying to get in betw. 17 & 20 Bns
& ws trying to work round rt
flank of 19 Bn.
Col Bateman went to Col
Forbes close by & tried to get
touch w Bdes - lines were
all down.
18 Bn ws then under orders
to push thro 19Bn & link
up Mt St Q & St Denis &
cut of Peronne. Forbes &
Bateman decided bc it ws
best to hold onto what they
had got. They saw Maj. Robertson
18Bn & arranged w him to send
2 Coys to support 19th on rt,
& 2 Coys to suppt. line between
17 & 20. They let Bde know
as soon as possible. This action              [*85*]
 

ws confirmed.
There ws nothing at / back
betw. 9am & 2pm. But
If Germs had attacked in strength it ws
[[very]] critical. As it was they
hung on. 6Bde & 14Bde
came thro early in after
around the river bend.
Abt 4pm / river bend
ws alive w troops in /
trenches & / big bank -
pouring in from midday to
4pm.
The 19 were being sniped
in / trenches from Mt St Q
all day. Word was recd tt
6 Bde were relieving next
morning. 23Bn went thro
19 Bn ; 24 thro' 17 Bn.
 

During / night the Germs had
worked back & occupied Florina
[[?]] 23 Bn went thro & ws
held up by fire from Anvil
Wood.
19B had bn instrd by C.O.
not to have their trenches rn /
flank till / position ws secure ahead
6 Bde made a second attack
abt 2 pm. under heavy barrage
on Mt St Q wood - this succeeded.
19 Bn ws then brought
back to Florina [[?]]. HQ ws moved
up there & they were in reserve.
Lts Nepper & Plumner were
both k. near / wall at / head
of [[leberalles]] [[?]].
Capt McMeekin wd
Lt. Pearce wd.
19 B lost 120 men here.              [*87*]
 

19 Bn.
8 & 11 Aug.  MCs
Capt McMeekin
Capt Sell (bar) [[?]]
Lt Hughes
Lt Fleming
Lt Satchell
Lt Gordon.
Lt Pearce
Lt Plummer  k at M St Q
St Q. Lieut Hempson.  do/w
31 Aug [[Seaborne]]
[[Hale]]

Armit

[[Hinds]]
Oct 3.  Lt Hayes
Lt Fitzroy
Lt Vickers
On Oct 12 19 Bn ws broken
up at Vignacourt - A Coy to 17.
B Coy to 18Bn D to 20 ; C pln to each               [*88*]
 

[*89*]

5th Bde Aug 8. Before 5 Bde Started
the tank antorities decided to bring up their
supply tanks to the Orchard NE of V/B where an
Autn tank gun ws. Lt Little (Bde Transpt c/fr
5 Bde) when he heard it told Bde - & protested
& at once made arrangents for & ack
transport as the hole ws so obvious & known to
be strafed. Abt 3pm Aug 3 the Germans
put a shell into these tanks - the 3rd hit
one & the began to burn. Opinions differ
as to whether the tanks had bn seen. Once
it burnt the germs began to shell / place
heavily. An Australian Arty Supply teak
ws there w some details camped by, & two
sergts in attempting to dowse the flames w
extinguishers were blown up by / 2x explosions
/ destructive charges in / tanks (to blow them up) &
/ stokes mortar bombs. Lt Griffiths, Tank Coys, got
one tank out tho burning & w / next tack blazing
and two others get away. 17 were burnt. Griffiths tank
(5 Bde supply) ws blown up next day by a mine in returning

 to do a second [[trap]] for the 7th Bde.
This ws I tank Col. Bateman 19 Bn saw [[?]] left.

In this fight at the jump off Bn Hges ws
in font of the J.O line in what at Zero
hour ws nomansland, in front of start line
of barrage. This barrage ws 18pdr - for
the first 2 lifts (& [[mines]]). The Germs were
in a post beyond our bomb stop at P21c8.5
For 2 hrs the Abancourt line ws cleared of
all troops. The G had 6 runners & signallers
there so they were made into a post some at t
stop & some near H.Q. & The orders were buried
in / dugout till zero. The runners & sigs were
withdrawn 1/4 hr before zero.
--------

One of a tank crew ws blown clean thro

/ door out of a tank & dead.  The tanks burnt

till dusk & it looked as if they must give

[[?????]]

(Col. Forbes Capt Portman.
Lt Cameron.)
x 20 Bn Aug 8. Came up from
[[Aubeginy]] line up Pioneer Switch
& led out onto JO Line behind
front line, held by 6Bde who
witdrew 2 hrs before Zero.
No [[diffz]] in finding / way as
5Bde knew country well.
It ws v. dort. The fog came
down abt 1/2 hr before Zero
& ws so thick to you cd lose
even / runner who ws w
you.

 [*90*]

The Germans seemed mostly to
be in the strong point 500 to
1000 yds S of [[Tailloux]] Wood.
There were a few Germans
in potholes in front. We found
tt work had been going on on an unfinished S
fire trench S. from [[Tailloux]]
wood – the [[tape]] ws still
there
The Germans were actualy
first met in some trenches
about 150yds ahead of the
Junction of Aileen [[?]].
In / next Sunken Rd
one arty had bn heavy
- the Germans had cleared
out of the banks in that road into / crop
behind it - & were hopping
up there wounded when the           [*91*]
 

Bn got along. The tanks came
up along / road to the left
- their officers arrived just as
the Bn moved off & [[?]]
they wd send / tanks along
in tt direction – the tanks
on / left came up just
after Bn had its objve - along
this road. When they push S
thro / objve with a bn of
4th Divn wh ws lost its way.
When 20 Bn got into the objve
there were a no. of Germans
in a [[?]] ahead the existence
of wh ws known to the offrs
before haad. It ws a Collection
of strong pts wh had been
very heavily strafed. There
were a nr of potholes
abt & almost every one had
bn hit. As soon as [[?]]