Then it was that the
disadvantageous side of our good work with the dummy guns was
exemplified; just as I was stepping out of the door, a shell tore a hole
in one corner of the building, knocking it out as clean as if it had
been drilled.
The customary methods employed by the Germans to get information as to
our guns, our troops, our supplies around Ypres, was to send a disguised
soldier to the different farmhouses and threaten them with instant
demolition by their guns if they did not furnish the information sought
for, and thus did Fritz make good his promise to the farmer. By reason
of our dummy guns and the strafing they got, and the fact that our guns
still were firing, he believed that the farmer had given him a bunco
steer, and he lost no time in making good his word.
Remaining in the hedge for a few hours, we dug holes for the guns,
covered them with tarpaulins and grass on top, giving them the usual
scenic shelter. We did this work in the open but only one man at a time
exposed; it was as much as life was worth for more than one to be seen
working.
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