Lewis war diary, August 1917-March 1919 / James Ray Lewis - Page 87
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[Page 87]
'Whizz bang", German 77 M,M, gun equivalent to our 18 pounder its shells falling sound like "wheeze-bang", hence its name.
French Mortars and Stokes mortars are devices for throwing bombs by percussion. In the Stokes the bomb carries its own charge and the bomb is pushed into the muzzle of the mortar which resembles a stovepipe somewhat, it slides down striking a striker at the bottom, which explodes the driving charge at 1000 yds range it can have 9 bombs in the air at one time. The bombs are slightly larger than a salmon tin. The rum jars I have elsewhere describled.
Without Camouflage a modern war could not be fought, one reads of commanding positions, but guns are nearly all put in every hollow, hole and gully available, and in daytime are skilfully camouflaged from prying aerial eyes. Strips of bagging are hung along a road to alter its apperance or over a stream to make believe it is a bridge, and so the game goes merrilly on.
"Forward area", A term applied to the area back to the weekly rest from the front line, and more or less under the fire of anything up to 9 inch. And it runs and consists of somewhat the following (diagram)