Cocks letter diary, 1916-1919 / Verner Cocks - Page 422
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[Page 422]
5.
our chaps into a village in front of the infantry. They had advanced on both sides of the village but had not mopped it up. The process of "mopping up" falls to the lot of the second wave & their duty is to mop up any machine gun nests & destroy signs of life missed by the first wave.
During the retreat there was not much shelling by Fritz. He only used long range & heavy artillery & light trench mortars which he could shift quickly. His shelling was very erratic, he has no definite objects but just throws them anywhere in the hope of getting something. This is not altogether pleasant beause one cannot judge where he's likely targets are & avoid them. In ordinary times when he is on to a spot he keeps there & you an easily walk round it. But now he is quite likely to put one or two anywhere in his frantic efforts to stop the show. He has what we call a "rubber" gun. It is one where the shells of high velocity lob as soon as you hear the swish. This is a shell we have great respect for & often