The fighting by this time was very fierce. Shells, bombs, mortars & worse than all liquid fire bombs were falling among us like hail. They used to go off with a terrific bang, nearly stunning one with the concussion & splashing one all over with this burning scorching liquid — it was awful. One poor chap I saw struggling on the ground with his clothes & equipment alight; he was rolling over & over in his agony. I ran over & threw wet mud all over him. That put it out.
Shortly after this I had one of the most thrilling minutes of my life. I was rushing as fast as the wet & slippery ground would allow me down a shallow trench towards the German parapet, where I could see their trench mortars & bombers in action. When I was about 7 yards off them or so a Hun rushed out at me & made a desperate lunge at my body. I must have parried as quick as lightning, & more by luck than anything else I was in time & his bayonet slid down my rifle & stuck in the fleshy part of my leg — went straight through my puttee & thick trousers. My didn’t it sting. I thought it was right through my leg, for a sharp pain went through my body & it was with difficulty that I kept from yelling out, but kept my block. Before he could draw his rifle back for another attempt I shot him dead & he fell at my feet. Quick as I could I let fly 2 more bullets at the bombers & I’m certain that I got another one, for I saw him fall down among his mates & they at once scattered. I don’t know how my third shot got on for he was on the move.
All this happened in a few minutes or I should say seconds. I could hardly define the feelings that ran through me when I butted like this into them. First of all the blood ran to my head & I saw nothing, all seemed blank, then like a flash of lightning my senses returned, & I was cool, calm & collected, or I should not be alive tonight. The next feeling was one of cold anger & I felt fit for anything & regained my normal feelings. At this point I never felt the pain in my leg at all.
I saw at a glance that I had no chance of getting through for the bombs were falling pretty thickly so I retreated a few yards & took stock of things. What a sight met one’s eyes, for practically all the boys were killed or wounded with their faces towards the Huns, poor devils, & the wounded who could walk were making their way painfully towards our own trench. Good God, our first attack had failed & when I realised this I felt quite faint & sick. The Huns were still firing & bombing like mad. The incessant chatter of the machine guns was making a fine row & over all the heavy howitzers were falling fast, scattering death & destruction everywhere. I crawled out towards their barb wire & slipped into a shell hole & tried to bandage my wound. I was covered with mud from head to foot & a fair bit of blood was coming away from me.
In a few minutes time the remnants had rallied & Capt Jackson was leading them out. He walked as calmly & as coolly among the bullets as if he were on parade & called on the men to follow him for the honour of the Battalion. They responded nobly but what could men do in such boggy ground & against such overwhelming numbers. It is a fact that wounded men have been trying to get out from the firing line & have been found with just their head & shoulders out & a ticket round their necks, dead as a door nail, too weak to struggle out & there they have perished miserably. But I am rambling & must get back to where I left off.
The remnants of the Batt charged gamely but we had not the ghost of a chance for the machine guns mowed us down in rows. I could have cried with disappointment & rage when we got the order to get back to our own trenches. It was the first time we ever had to acknowledge defeat & I can tell you it hurt some. The worst of it all was that in spite of the bravery displayed by the boys all our losses were in vain. The truth of the matter was that they underrated the strength of the position & they sent a couple of Coys to do what it would have taken a Bde & the result was that we got cut to pieces. Our casualties were about 75% of the men engaged. It was the hottest engagement as ever I have been in & how I escaped is a mystery for the air was stiff with bullets — they were singing past like a swarm of bees. My only dread in those charges is the fear of getting hit in the stomach, for that is the worst place of all & there is very little hope for one & you die a lingering death. Apart from that once I am over I don’t care so much.
We got all the wounded in & the remainder of the Battalion rallied together in an old trench half full of mud. I had a great weight lifted off my mind when I heard that Len was safe. It is simply marvellous how we live through it. I saw him once right down on the German parapet rallying his men, & bombs & bullets were like hailstones.
From here we made off back to our own trenches nearly 3 miles away & we were a sorry-looking lot as we slowly ploughed our way through the mud, now knee deep again after the heavy downpour. I was about the last man of the C Coy home, for my leg was very painful & I was absolutely done, scarce move one leg after the other so done up was I, & cold & miserable don’t mention it.
I threw myself down in the cold dugout, miserable & wet, & soon I was fast asleep. Woke up about 10 & I had to make out a list of all those of the platoon who were killed, wounded & missing. They amounted to a little more than half my strength.
After this I went over to Flers where our Medical Hqrs were to see the Dr about my leg. He put the needle into me in case of lockjaw & bandaged it up properly.
The same afternoon our guns opened a terrible bombardment & a couple of Brigades of Australians made a most successful attack, advancing nearly 1000 yds & capturing 3 lines of German trenches, so they made up for our bit of bad luck.
6th November. We left our quarters this evening & are going out to reorganise for in our present state we are useless. What a weary walk we had — nothing but mud, mud & still more mud. We arrived at the camping ground thoroughly knocked out, & to make matters worse most of the boys’ boots are ruined. I know the nails stuck into my feet until they bled, but still I plodded on. We will be re-equipped in a few days or so, for our clothes are absolutely ruined & only half the boys have rifles.
7th November. Last night as we moved from our wet camping ground we had to pass through Delville Wood & this place is alive with big guns — there are acres & acres of big gun ammunition stacked here. Just as we were passing one of these big guns, she let fly. We were about 10 yards to the rear of her, & I just noticed the gunner in time as he reached for his lanyard & I sort of held my breath. The next thing I remember was that I was lifted completely off my feet & blinded for a second by the fiery flame which shot upwards from the monster’s mouth. They leap like a young & bucking horse when they are spitting these great shells out.
8th November. Still raining dismally & the joint looks like a sea of mud. Last night we slept in long low huts made of anything they could lay their hands on, such as old tarpaulins, bags, waterproof blankets & etc. It was floored with old duckboards, 2 ft wide, & on these we slept one to a man so you can guess we had a pretty rough bed, but it was a palace compared to what we had been having lately so all were satisfied.
This morning we all marched away on fatigue. The road we went down was swimming with soft slushy mud & thousands of Tommies were sweeping it as well as they could with big yard brooms & shovels. This is the only way they can keep these roads fit for the enormous amount of traffic. There are miles & miles of motors going each way & horse vehicles & waggons by the thousand. Sandwiched in between all the other traffic are constantly moving bodies of troops also travelling both ways. It is almost impossible to crowd another cart or man on to it.
17th November. This morning we packed up again & moved off in motor cars. As we were passing down the road we saw a lot of Germans working on the road & one of them stood to attention & saluted one of our officers gravely. The officer of course returned the compliment.
The day was nice & sunny & we thoroughly enjoyed the ride. We passed down the high road leading to Bapaume. It is one of the national roads of France & is a beauty, nice & wide & well made, & it is as straight as a die for miles & miles. Both sides of the road are lined with trees, now all stripped of their beautiful green leaves for the cold autumn winds have done their work & they look ver
y gaunt & bare, but what a beautiful sight they are in the summer.
We passed right through the outskirts of Amiens & pulled up at a small railway station. From here we marched a mile or two to Friemont. We were supposed to be billeted here for some time but the Colonel was not satisfied with the place so he decided to move on tomorrow.
18th November. My it was cold last night & only for the abundance of straw we would have nearly perished, for during the night it snowed & heavily too. For a lot of the boys it was the first snow they had ever seen & just after daybreak we were out snowballing. The Dr was one of the first out & we had a fine set to before breakfast but by Jove it was cold on our hands.
After breakfast the fun commenced. We started off (C Coy) by attacking D & there was a terrible bloodthirsty fight led by our officers who were up to their neck in it. D Coy rushed out led by Capt Price & there was a fearful fight in the street. The French people seemed astonished & dumbfounded at the antics of the mad Australians. It ended up by C defeating D & chasing them back to their billets, where they surrendered after being pounded by snowballs till they were white all over.
I think the majority of us were pretty well wet through by the time it finished. I know I had enough snow down my neck to boil a billy of tea, but for all that it was the best bit of fun I have had for some considerable time.
This afternoon we saddled up again & off we trudged. The road was very wet for the snow was beginning to melt. We started to climb a pretty steep hill. This opened our lungs & you should have heard the boys coughing & spluttering; it was a regular pipe opener for it is a good test with full pack up. We had not far to walk however & soon reached St Sauveur sur Somme, a fair-sized French village & much better than the one we had left. This village is built on both sides of the Somme & a small bridge connects the 2. The Somme runs very fast here & they have a fine canal built on one side & on the other the railway runs. The town of Amiens is only 9 kilometres from here — you can see her spires quite easily.
Before letting us into our billets the Capt gave the boys a small lecture & told them that if they did not behave themselves, they would be marched straight back to Friemont & nobody liked the idea of that.
24th November. Got my pass for Amiens this morning. We followed the Somme for some distance — she is not a bad stream & pretty regular in its width where I saw it. I bet it is a pretty place in the summer time, for it is lined with trees & good roads run alongside the stream & wind in & out among the trees.
After walking about an hour we reached the Amiens barrier & here we had our passes examined by the military police. A little further on we caught a train & travelled right into the heart of Amiens. We visited all the principal streets & buildings & bought a fair number of things.
The tea rooms took my eye. They are done up beautifully & prices are very reasonable. Everything is of the very best in them, including the china, & things are spotlessly clean. The women dress very fine, in fact as good as I have seen anywhere, only there is never a single piece of colour catches the eye. The whole of France is mourning & the ladies dress entirely in black with a little white here & there. It brought back old memories I can tell you, walking of your own sweet will up the brilliantly lighted streets of an evening, & really one wonders sometimes if the war will ever end. It seems no closer the finish than it did in 1914.
We caught the train at 7 o’clock. We were soon home & fast asleep for we were tired.
27th November. There is a lot of English artillery billeted in the village tonight (they have just come from the Somme). A couple of them came into our billet enquiring where they could buy a little bread. We gave them quite a stock of eatables: bread, sardines, spare jam & a little butter which we had left over from tea. We also gave them some cigarettes & matches, & the poor fellows were grateful for these few things for they were tired & hungry & we all know they have very little money to spare. And another thing: they have been very good to us on more than one occasion & we always try when possible to treat them well, for we all know what it is like to be hungry & cold & there is a certain unwritten law among soldiers that to share out among your more unfortunate mates any tucker you may have. You have no idea how soldiers stick to one another, while perhaps if the same men were together in civil life, they would not agree 5 minutes, but while they are together in khaki they stick solid. This is how it should be for it makes an Army all the more formidable.
1st December. Today we enter upon the last month of the year & still the war seems no nearer finishing. Surely by the time next December comes round it will all be over & we will be back in sunny Australia.
3rd December. We all got our second blanket again & by Heavens it was wanted for you can’t sleep with one blanket, the cold at night time is so intense.
4th December. The other day one of our chaps asked his officer if he could fall out for a while & the officer said yes. About half an hour afterwards they went to look for him & found him dead. Frozen to death they reckon. The Dr reckons he must have been pretty low in health & had not sufficient vitality to fight it off, so he just lay down & died stiff. I’ll bet before the winter is over there will be many a familiar case, for I know myself once you get to a certain state you don’t give a curse what comes or goes & you feel quite comfortable but you have not the energy to stir.
This evening the Dr lectured all N.C.O.s on trench feet & how to prevent it among your men. Trench feet is a very serious thing: your feet swell up to an enormous size & you can’t walk. This is caused by several things, such as boots too tight, poor circulation of the blood caused by overfatigue, no hot meals, wet feet & on top of all this the freezing cold. It also affects your hands in the same way. How to combat this is every officer’s & N.C.O.’s duty & the platoon Sergeant has to see that every man in his charge changes his socks as often as possible, takes off his boots at every opportunity, & rubs his feet briskly. We also have to see that every man uses the whale oil which is supplied to us & rubs it well into their feet. This whale oil is a very fine thing, though it is inclined to make your feet soft for marching. By this you can see the Sergeants have no easy time while in the trenches for this is only one of the things we have to look to.
5th December. This afternoon we went for a short route march & after this we had a kit inspection for we are leaving tomorrow I think.
There is a strong rumour running round here that the Divisional Medical Major resigned because the authorities would not take no notice of his report on the health condition of the Division. He reckoned the 1st Div want a long spell for they are worn out & I think he is right.
6th December. Reveille at 6 o’clock this morning for we were moving & consequently things are very busy, especially for me, for the Sergeant of a platoon is responsible for everything & there is quite a lot to do. The first thing is to get the men out of bed & these cold mornings they naturally don’t like stirring. After they are up I have to see that all blankets are rolled in bundles of 10 & that they are properly labelled then carried round to the place where the transport picks them up. This has to be done by a certain time then the rations have to be drawn & I have to distribute them to the section commanders, who in turn dish it out to their men equally. After breakfast the billets have to be cleaned spick & span & all rubbish carried away to the incinerator. This last thing is a most important duty & the 1st Battalion has made it a point of honour to leave all billets cleaner than they found them so you can guess they are pretty clean when we finish with them. Just before moving off the officers & Dr inspect the billets & if they are not up to standard well the Sergeant gets a row.
We fall the men in & inspect them, see that all packs are packed properly & are uniform & that they are short of nothing. After this we call the roll, number off & we are ready for marching off.
9th December. They had the neck this morning to bring us out to drill & it was drizzling rain & everything sopping wet. We marched out about a mile & then took shelter in an old German truck. We stopped here for half an hour or so
then our officers decided to march us back to camp. The rest of the morning was spent carrying stone & bricks, building up the paths round the huts. Needless to say they were a willing lot of workers; I don’t think.
What do you think of this for stiff luck. Last night when all the men for leave were waiting to catch the train for Blighty in Albert, I’m hanged if the squareheads didn’t drop a big shell right into the mob of them, killing 8 & wounding 24 more & all Australians. Though Albert is fast getting rebuilt & the people are flocking back, she is still within range of the Germans’ big guns & they keep on dropping shells round her in an aimless sort of way on the off chance of catching someone or something.
11th December. What a cunning old dodger is Fritz. He has a new sort of bomb which he drops sometimes & it doesn’t explode for 12 hours or so after. They have some sort of mechanism which delays the explosion & sometimes hours after a raid has taken place & everything is nice & quiet these bombs start to go off. I believe some of them went off in Albert the other day & caused quite a sensation.
Sickness is very plentiful just now among the Australians & no wonder, for the majority are completely run down & want a spell badly, including myself.
14th December. What do you think of this. Brigade issued an order this morning to the effect that there were too many going to the hospital & that sick parade would have to be cut down for it caused a lot of uneasiness as to the health of the troops. That’s about as good as ever I heard — as if men could help it. Anyhow it is not a very likely thing that this order will be taken to heart.
There is a lot of talk about the latest German peace proposals but everyone seems to think that they won’t be accepted by the Allies.
In Great Spirits Page 21