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 Hague, marching in

single file on either side o / road.

The head of 3rd Divl Column got

up to abt / head of Portmans

Coy abt 27C 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.

 

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

& dug in on a little line

just in front of La Hague

N o / Rd for 300 yds N & S.

During the aftn of 10th

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 Hague Framerville Rd.

The attack ws by 3 Coys

 

B  →            D to mop 

D     A          up half

                     of Rainecourt.

The E & Wrd thro Rainect

ws to divide 20 from 19.

 

 

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 Hague Rd

at 3.30am.

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

and their positn.  The carried 

on w this all / way.  These

rer 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

20Bn dug in.

When daylight grew  xxxxx (/

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

 

Coy on the rd from Royurt

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

/ mornig 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 [tugs?]

from the N of / td near

Portman & from the house

at the edge of the/ gully

close to it (where / rd begins

to dip).  We co'nt get /

gun.  The Germs brought up

3 teams to try & get it but

 

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 hitting

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

 

/ head straightening thing

out early in the morning. 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∧support / A Coy.  They

went forwd getting flanking

fire from Rainect  & not

being in contact with 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 -

& [Shiver?] had bn killed).

 

 

getting across / gully & up /

other side they lost Lt. Moss,

& Lt. Gardener - both killed

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

offr) by a sniper.  These mgs.

were in / old trenches on /

E. Side of 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 on the trenches on the E up

slope of the gully from where they

cd shoot N across / front of