Charles E.W. Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/52/1 July 1916 pt1 (2024)

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[*Address of 1st Divl. H.Q.
No. 12 Rue Pont Noyelles
Off Rue Doullens
Sq. 28c. Map.
Albert
(written in
shorthand in
case it was read by any
one who ought
not to know).
C.E.W.B.
[[7/7/21?]]*]
[*No. 12 Rue Pont Noyelles
off Rue Doullens
28c
Square 28c.
July*]

July 1912

Moved this morning to
(ie. Contay) Shireville. On the way we po

It is a dirtier place than Vignacourt
&, with our fine taste in billets, one
ws rather inclined to turn up ones
nose at No 50 Boar Lane. It turned

out not so bad - I have a little room
next to Butler & under Coleman -
The lady of the house struck me as
rather a refined educated woman
- w her little girl. "Nous sommes
des Protestants" she sd. The house
belongs to the Protestants & she
was the wife of the Protestant minister.
Heard tt our 1st Divn ws
moving into the line tonight "on
a special duty." It is being
commanded direct by the Reserve

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Army who are being very nice
to our Corps about it & helping
them in every way, White says.
[White lays it down as a principle
tt in every respect, where possible
we shall abide strictly by t
arrangements & establishments
of British army - a most wise
decision - & Austin tells me tt White
is very strong on this. Our supply
from advance, or supply & so one is
exactly t same as tt o a British
unit].
I hurried got Austin to take
me on to H.Q. of Walker at
"Teralba Colliery" Albert ?Chateau - & there arranged
w Ramsay to go back to t old 1st
Div. mess for a time.

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marching light w a patch of some
pink stuff at t back of their necks.
Some (the 9^th Bn) had it
on their little haversacks wh
were carried like packs.
They looked very fit - & they hard faces - like
Scottish troops rather than English.
Birdwood passed them,
I believe, in his car - & as he
passed they cheered him. He has

the Australian flag in front of his
car.

They tell me tt the 3^rd Bde

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flickering roar of a fire when you
hold a paper in front of it to make
it burn. Counter attack, I suppose, &
our barrage starting on t advancing
Germans.
There was a big noise of
guns this morng, too; when we arrived
here we cd hear it. We lost Delville
Wood last night; & I suppose we were
re-attacking. (The bombardment has died
down a good bit in t time it has taken
to write this.)
Butler looked in on his way
upstairs (he is in this Billet). He says
tt t Germans have brought 12 Divns down
here since t battle began - & we can't be
quite sure any are from Verdun.
If only we cd push somewhere else
now. If the plan, wh I believe they
held _^ by originally had only been adhered to!

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5
I did hope we were going to reach open country
so it is - even if we get - esp. after
July 14 - one ws pretty confident then
tt we shd reach it. But now
even if we do I'm afraid they'll
have men eno' to stop our doing
very much just here - eno' to
meet us in t open. And they have
bn hard at work on t switch & [[3rd?]]
lines. Butler says he has just seen
aeropl. photos wh show these lines
as anything but t little thread of a
few days ago - broad parapets
& deep trenches - or prob. dugouts
being made for all they are worth.
I am sure the solution, if possible,
will be a push thro' elsewhere such as I
believe they formerly planned. Most of
the reserves new units are from Champagne.
The Germans have 3 or 4 big
concentrations - mostly, if not all, on
the E front (Gillemont, Ginchy etc). I thought

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we were to attack there two days ago.
But this cold wet foggy weather may
have stopped our plans. The day
before yesty ws really as foggy &
cold as a late October day -
thin low driving black fog. I never
saw any summer like it. The Germans
can dig in this weather as much as
they like. Our aeroplanes cant
observe for our guns.
At t same time t Germans think
o t weather as being agst them bec.
it is spoiling their crops; & their
food question does seem really to

be causing discontent.

w intense bombt.
To capture & hold point line & support trenches
from ?14 N24 B 8.8. to N 10. C.8.7.
30^th Bn. 29^th
Attack at 6 pm.
Men cd hear t Germs. bringing up troops. Stood it
for 10 hrs. This bombt ws continuous
shrap. all along front line.
H.E. Minenwerfers, 5.9. in the
supports.
16B 157

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Germans flooded front trench as soon
as they were in it & they were
up to waists in water.
30th Bn. had linking up
& nearly got thro. Col. Toll of 31st
ws slightly wounded. Wires arrived
Prisoners had bn sent back. Men were
establd in the trench. We were not allowed to put in
any more men.
29th lost men this morning.

Bde lost probably 1700, 32 & 31: xx 700 each.

30: " 400
29 : 150
(mostly from 2 corps)
Killed a lot of Germans. abt 40
capt by 8^th Bde.
[[Registion?]] by Div arty & [[Tms?]]
11 - 11.30 am.
11.30 - 1 . [[Reqistn?]] by heavies 9.2 & upwards.
1 - 3 wire calling: by 18 pdrs
3 -6 wire cutting by T.M. & 18 pdrs
bombt by 18 pdrs 4.5 & 6" hows.
4-6. Heavy arty slow bombt.
6. Arty lifts.
[*4 Lifts to
barrage
during
bombt
(abt 5 mins each)*]

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8 men wandered, as they sd, ½ mile
beyond German trenches.
Suffered heavily from Delangre
Farm. Some _^ Germans got behind 32^nd & 30^th.
60^th Bde covered our left flank.
We blew a mine just
outside their parapet at 6 pm.
in N 10 D.
61st Div on right.
Bombt started befo in return
to ours. (We used more ammⁿ than at Veuve Chapelle.)
No mans ld 200 yds.
Germans sd to have expected to be attack the
night before last.
15^th Bde.
60 59
Leys
58 9 p.m.
(?1800 this morning)
Wol

14^th Bde. attacked in centre
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left rt
53 & 54 made attack
Supported by 55^th working bn.
56th takes the line
Cass w 54^th [[w?]] in dug out in Germans trench
54^th took 2 guns, one of wh ws
an English gun. and xx how.