The day as I said before there were any number of aeroplanes over so I knew very well that we were in for a lively time during the night and sure enough we got it. They were over from 11 oclock continuously but they went mostly further back than we were. All along the road we could see continuous lines of the awful sparks of the bombs and at times the noise of the dropping bombs was like gun fire. Our side was giving Fritz something too and we could hear their oeufs (bombs) coming down too. It was a very still and dark starry night. It was about 11 that we set out with the wire and I made as straight as I could for where I had left 8th battalion hdqrs, through the line of German wounded again stumbling over them every few yards and found the place hdqrs had been in before, but there was no one about atall. Fortunately I had heard Col. Mitchel say he had his eye on a certain building as a headquarters, in the station yard so I made for that. We ran out of wire then so had to hitch on a wire and ring up another wire.
A couple of spooks from the battery came out with this following along our wire. In the meantime we three had all gone to sleep on the side of the road. We pushed on when the wire came but found we finished our supply 400 yards before we got the line through, as the place was much further on than I thought, but eventually I found the place and borrowed sufficient wire from them to link up. When the line was through I was sitting down talking to them for a bit an lo & behold they came to light with a spoonful of hot stew and a piece of bread. Breakfast – to supper inclusive. I have never enjoyed a meal so much before or since. We then made it back to the battery. It was so dark that we had to follow our wire for fear of getting lost as it was so dark. I found most of the battery asleep down the deep dugout. It was then 2A.M. all the officers were asleep I got some water & a few captured Hun biscuits off some of the men who were fortunate enough to have some. I then went to sleep with the old old pillow, the gas mask – the most uncomfortable pillow in the world and it was very cold too and no bunks left but I was quite tired enough to go straight to sleep as I was. At 3 oclock along came an operation order and the Major of course trod on me as he got out of his bunk & together we worked out the shoot. It started about 4.30A.M. & we were just finished in time to open without unduly hurrying. It was the longest barrage I have shot I think, as far as range goes although of course nothing to compare with the Ypres ones for times. There we used to do 25 yards in 3 minutes and during all the shoots for this stunt we did 100 yards in 3 minutes. I got out and did the shoot which started about 1200 yards and went on to 8500 yards, a decent range for 18prs of angle of sight zero. Our maximum barrage range is supposed to be 7800. The infantry were to go in right through the old 1914-16 line system, to the better country beyond. I don’t know whether the infantry were limited or were stopped half way or failed but they only went 1000 yards just over the hill in front of us.
We got no shells near us during the shoot. We were finished about 9 and I had some breakfast, which but that time I was wanting. I managed to get about 4 inches of bacon & cooked it & a piece of bread which was good. The Major had gone forward to select another position, also a long way to the south. Word came back about 10 to move. The limbers & wagons came up and Mr Bowring who was with the Major came back to take the battery up. We were only moving about 2 miles, but were not sure that we were not under observation from the Canadian sector on our right. We were within 100 yards of a double line railway running more or less east which marked the corps boundary. As a matter of fact we were under observation when we moved in but the infantry were keeping the Fritzs heads so well down that we didn’t get shelled till next morning. We had to go through the station yard I was speaking of before and Fritz was shelling this with 8in. almost continually but fortunately we got through between bursts. We moved well up in front of battalion hdqrs to a SOS range of about 2000 yards in a position just on the edge of a big German railhead ammunition dump. There was about an acre of holes, about 12 feet x 24 x 12 ft. full of ammunition of all sorts from 11 in Naval H.V. armour piercing base (Naval High Velocity Armour Piercing – HVAP) fuzed staff to 77 stream lined – cigar shaped, double pointed, ones. We just plonked the guns down with another about 600 rounds each and through camouflage over them. The detachments lived in empty Fritz ammo pits. We had a little bit of a dug out with the attraction of 6 wire netting beds in it. We had no dinner atall that day and the men were to weak for us to ask them to to dig the guns in.
That afternoon I tried to get some sleep but was interrupted several times. We got an SOS about 4 for about half an hour and also several shoots. The Major and Zendher (Lieutenant Oscar Charles Zehnder) were up at battalion and Bowring was forward shooting leaving me & Jones to do the shoots which we took in turns although of course there had to be one of us always on the phone. That evening we all had a big slice of bread & bad butter for tea and some water to drink so we were quite well off. You probably think that this running short of food was very bad. I suppose it was but it was not as serious as it might have been and was solely the fault of our big advance. Our battery in two days carted 8400 rounds of ammunition up to the guns.
When our present gear was issued a battery only was supposed to want about 500 rounds of ammunition, with that amount everything would have been OK. When guns became of use, railways were built to or near the guns to get the ammo required there, but when we did a 10 mile advance we had only pre-war establishment to do the carting. All 18pr & SAA (18pr high explosive & Small arms ammunition) was brought 13 miles by horse transport, while ever(y) motor lorry was required for heavier stuff. The railway had been badly broken and was further disturbed during the early stages by bombs at night, besides the rail head cannot be moved in by day. The motor drivers were falling asleep in the cars and driving them into ditches – mind you there were only Australian drivers in Australian cars employed. The DAC mules were worked until they lay down in the harness and our horses carted as follows, 3200 rounds for 7 miles and then dumped it at the first posy after we advanced, then returned and filled up. Then carted the same ammo for 4 more miles. Then had to bring up 600 rounds the next morning & 600 that night. So neither the horses nor the drivers got any rest and we did not have any transport to go back 13 miles for rations which should have been delivered to us. As it was everything not required and couldn’t be carried on saddles had been dumped around the countryside.
I had no blankets till the next night. The wagon lines were moved up to the position we left that morning. Phil Archer was almost at his wits end with the supply of food & ammo and asked for help. The Major sent Jones down to him. He was hardly at the wagon line atall as he had to try and cadge enough for us to eat. The infrantry had plenty and most of the men got enough to keep them alive. Personally I never felt better in my life than I did after over a week of that but it began to look serious. Then that night, what do you think happened. When we were nearly starved a few parcels came up with a late load of ammo and amongst them a huge cake for me. I gave half to the Spooks and we eat the rest. Although I must say I was feeling then too ill to eat much I had had most violent toothache for the last three days & it was a nuisance, also the nettles and thistle sting of the day before made me feel ill, & my lips were sore through the heat and nothing to drink.
I scarcely slept atall that night and was feeling pretty crook with toothache in the morning. We had some breakfast, some bacon bread cheese & jam but there wasn’t very much. Before that we had had a fairly long shoot for about 2 hours. He had got on to us badly that morning with gas, mostly blue cross** which makes you sneeze and your eyes water, so you cant smell the lethal gasses. I had to tell the gunners to put on their masks. We had a few shell(s) right amongst the battery, but no one was hurt. That only made us feel worse, giving everyone sore eyes and a bad cold. I had a shave that morning the first I had had since we started. About four in the afternoon I went to try and find our dentist, I walked around the wagon lines from one to another till 8 and then found he had gone on leave so had to hurry back to the guns before it got dark and bombing started. I found out something though that I don’t suppose you would ever find out in Civil life that if you leave toothache along it will ease off of its one accord after a few days. It was six weeks before I could get back to a C.C.S. (casualty clearing station) to find a dentist.
**Blue cross gas was a German name for chemical agents, primarily diphenylchloroarsine, which were designed to be a “mask-breaker”. When used in shells marked with a blue cross, these agents created a fine dust that caused uncontrollable sneezing and vomiting, forcing soldiers to remove their gas masks so they could then be exposed to more lethal gases, such as phosgene or chlorine.
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