Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/213/1 - 1915 - 1918 - Part 10

under Thomas & Holmes

on / in posts - on / S. Side o /

road.  They were waiting

there (without any trouble -

Portman had bn up there tt

afternoon - crawling along /

drain on / rt o / rd).

As the parties waited they

heard a whirring down /

road - probably abt the

Dump - a tremendous noise,

no other sound in / night.

(They had an armoured car

also there).  Abt The next

A few minutes later the
head of 3rd Divl Column

appeared coming out of

La Flaque, marching in

single file on either side o / road.
106

The head of 3rd Divl Column got

up to abt / head of Portmans

Coy abt 27 C 7.3 when

the first tank passed them.

When / head o / Column &

/ first tank had reached

abt. 27 A 3.4.  the m.g. fire

(wh had bn ematic erratic

till then from Proyart) became

tremendously heavy.  This

can broke out from

straight up / road & from /

Proyart houses - knocking

sparks out o / road.
One o / tanks went of / road

& presently ∧a couple of machine guns began

to speak from near Rainecourt

also.  Portman moved his

Coy into the N. side o / rd

where / drain gave better cover.
107

This ws not mopped up.
Rainect ws cleared up
by a pln of 17 Bn abt
2 p.m.  Before / fight
Pte Div Humphries 20 Bn transport
took up 6 mules with 12000
rds. on one trip & bombs
on a second trip to 26 D 71
& make a dump there (in
Nomansland - at tt time).
Moss. k.
Parduer k
Oliver k.
Thomas  wd.
123 

At tt moment some o / 37 Bn

began to come back down /

road w / news tt /

Colonel & officers & Hqrs etc

had bn knocked out.

Maj. Paine of 38 Bn

took command o / column

& sent back for orders to

Bde Hqrs.  37 Bn at / same 

time began to come back in 

pretty good order down / sides

o / rd carrying wd & dead.

The 3rd tank remained.

The other two tanks came

back to it & the 3 lay together

on / rd.

Portman saw tt it ws all

up w / stunt so he took his

Coy back to / dump, & reported.

Presently the  37 came to 37C 2.4

108

were just S. of Cameron
& had cd just see the
19 opposite x on / rt.
They got the fire of the
Anti Tank Gun point blank.
till it ws stopped.  The only
Commn w Bn ws by
runner.  There ws a
heavy m.g. barrage from
/ opp. side & from Camerons
front.  Lt Gardner ws sniped
when A coy got to its objve.
Abt 2 am on mg. of 12^th
they were reld.  On relief
Bn came back to / Blue
line.
Throughout / day mg.
no reports had bn able to
get back owing to runners
being shot from Rainect as
122

& dug in on a little line

just in front of La Hague

N o / Rd for 300 yds N & S.

During the aftn of 10^th

orders had bn gn for an

attack by 2nd Divn S of

/ Rd on morng of Aug 11.

It ws / intentn o / divn on /

left to come up in

cooperatn & conformn..

The J. O. line ws to be the

La Flaque Framerville Rd.

The attack ws by 3 Coys

B|       _→

D|  A|
D  to mop
up half
of Rainecourt.
The E & W rd thro Rainect

ws to divide 20 from 19.
109

German mgs on / far near
side o / gully.  They fired
till x Olivers Coy got
on top of them.  Oliver
ws k. just as / objve
ws dug - by the row of
trees on the Rainecourt
St Martin Wood Rd.
They then sent a
patrol out to find
19 Bn.  Sergt McNevin
went out.  He found 19 Bn
He ws fired on while
crossing / gully he. ws
fired on from Herleville
Wood.  He reported back.
They du A Coy then dug
in & settled down on /
edge of Foch Gully - They
121
 

C Coy under Capt Portman

ws instrd, not relying on /

people on / left conforming, they

were to put in a defensive

flank on / left ( for / third time).

11 Aug. The objve ws not quite

reached.  They got into positn

on the Framerville La Flaque Rd

at 3.30 am.

They hopped of at 4.20.

There ws a mist.

They met a no. of

advanced German m.gs who

fired under / barrage till

they were 300 yds away.  Then

they shut up - sent up a

flare - & hopped back to

another positn.  The carried 

on w this all / way.  These
110

blown up 2 or 3 times w
shells.  In / end he ws gassed
& badly concussed.
There ws crop betw
Rainecourt & the main
rd - & ^some of / Germs got away
from Rainecourt thro this.
The German shelling on
Rainect w 8 in guns finished
his own m. gunners there.
Touch ws lost w
19 Bn soon after / start.
They got thro Rainecourt
easily, the L. Gunners using
their guns from / hip at
what few Huns they saw.
It ws a walk from there
to the w side o / gully.
There getting to / edge they
came under fire from the
120

rear guard tactics were new

& surprising & were well carried

out. (L.M.Gs)  A few Germs &

a few heavy m.gs. were taken

near / objve.  At / point

where the slope begins to

fall to / Helleville valley

they 20Bn dug in.

When daylight came grew (/

Start ws in / dark) 

Lt Cameron who ws in/c of

this flank found he had

nothing on his left & had

lost one pln - nothing cd

be seen of it.  The Pln

Commander (Lt Richardson)

had seen what / positn

ws & had put in a 

post ½ way between

Pl  not far from Portmans
111

They The Coy had salvaged wire from
/ dump at La/F & run a
wire back to H.Q. & got
Arty onto these Huns.
The men who had to lay
these lines had to crawl /
whole way as / place ws
whole surface ws swept
by m.g. fire from Proyart.
No tanks this day -
2 tanks from 9 Aug (w 18 Bn)
were lying near Richardsons
post.  Guns in the St Martins
Wood or near. there were
firing point blank all day.
A man named Spies, a
S/B in Portman's Coy worked
a stretcher on wheels up &
down / main rd all day,
carrying wd & dead.  He ws
119
 

Coy on the rd from Proyart

to Rainecourt.(300 yds S

of Main Rd).

All day long the

m.g. fire ws very heavy.

There ws a whizzbang gun

just where / main rd

dips in to / gully.  It

ws specially placed there

/ morng before (clearly as

an anti tank gun) after the

3 Div attack).  The Germs fired

this gun till the Coy reached its objve (it ws too close for /

shells to burst - The crew ws shot by our L.gs. The

Germans had it covered w mgs

from the N of / rd near

Portman & from the house

at the edge of / gully

close to it (where / rd begins

to dip).  We cdnt get /

gun.  The Germs brought up

3 teams to try & get it but
112

there abt 15 men were k
by tt gun.  So the post ws
placed there.
The mist came down
again, so Portman sent out
a Scout & found Richardsons
post abt 300 yds S along /
X Road.
As they were sapping
during / day abt m.gs
opened on them from Rainecourt
& also from Proyart.
All day the S.Bs of both sides
were moving about in /
area betw Rainecourt & /
front line w Red X flags
(our men white flags).
During / morning a lot
of movement appeared in
/ crops abt 28 Central.
118
 

all were shot by our L.G. fire.

(The Germs probly got this gun out early next

fire. morning) when 24 Bn relieved.

All day m.g. fire ws 

v. heavy.  The Germs were

moving up & down /

rd from / gully all day.

In / mg. there were s

had still bn Germans on the 

Rainecourt St Martins

Wood Rd - The Coy shot at

them & they cleared out

some being shot - they were

close in behind Cameron's

positn.  13 men were holding

this Coys positn.

Richardson had 7 at

33 B. 7.9.

D Coy (Lieut Sharp) ws

to follow A Coy (∧Lt Oliver ws

killed on / objve sniped thro
113

crops & rushed them.  One
ws a big post - wh had bn
a heavy gun positn.  2 m.gs.
& 35 men were in it.  The
Proyart m/guns were playing
across towds / rd so /
Germans were just kicked
out to run / gauntlet
back to the 3 Divn line near
La Flaque.  Then Portman
& his parties came back to /
road, & pushed up it w
very heavy m.g. fire from
straight ahead.  At the X Rd
Proyart-Rainecourt they
were stopped by a m.g.
straight ahead.  They
stopped & started to Sap.
Trying to get forward from
117
 

/ head straightening things

out early in / mg). D Coy

ws to follow & mop up

N of Rainecourt.  Capt Moore

ws gassed early before he

had time to give these instrns

to / Coy.  So Lt Sharp took

D Coy on xx∧supportg A Coy.  They

went forwd getting flanking

fire from Rainect & not

being in contact w 19 Bn

Sharp moved the pln out that

way to pick up 19.  He left

A Coy to go forwd & moved

out.  He went across the / 

gully & found 19 Bn

& asked them where their

objective was (as he did not

know where his own obj ws -

& Oliver had bn killed).
114

Cameron's Coy, up / gully.
A Coy ws on his right.
All day long the German
shelled particularly heavily
into / valley & Rainecourt
with big stuff.
On / left flank Portman & his
Coy started from E of the dump w
/ attack & went xxx very
fast up / rd to clear the shelling.
They got up to abt / previous
nights positn & 2 m.g.s opened
point blank from / left o / rd.
They got into / drain - till /
mist cleared when they saw
2 posts abt 100 yds N o /
road.  There were crops there
so they slipped across into /
116
 

getting across / gully & up /

other side they lost Lt Moss,

& Lt Gardner - both killed

Moss by m.g. & Gardner (a v. fine

offr) by a sniper.  These mgs

were in / old trenches on /

E. Side o / ridge.  On getting

up / E Side they took 3 m.gs.

As they got on / top o / ridge

they cd see 19 Bn.  They were 

beckoning Sharp to go back but

he went on - by rushes - 

Sharp then found he ws out

of his offence place ( he saw Lt

Jones 19 Bn.). He had to get

back - & his party linked up

behnd in the trenches on the E up

slope of the gully from where they

cd shoot N across / front of
115