A particularly vivid account of this smoke-laying, written by Trooper Buchanan, won a competition organised by the 2 NZEF Times. It describes the mortaring:

‘… there was a crushing explosion in the field about 20 yards to the left … and we dived for cover in the water channel on the right hand side of the road. We huddled down knee-deep in mud and water…. One fell on the road itself and the rubble spurted up about 18 inches from my head. I was swearing at each crash and flinching….’

At one time, shelling and machine-gun fire was so intense and accurate that the smoke party was pinned for a considerable time and there was a grave danger that the bridge would become exposed to enemy observation. Trooper Jim Barnard earned an immediate award of the MM by coolly going forward under direct observation and setting more canisters alight. This eased the pressure from, at least, observed fire and allowed the work to go on. Buchanan continues:

‘I grabbed a couple of canisters … and placed them out in the open at an angle favourable to the breeze, tore open the fuse, exposing the grey-black powder, and dropped in a fusee. The stuff burned readily, with a hissing sound, the small flame glowing green and yellow and giving off a dense column of grey smoke that Sapperead quickly. In a few moments the structure was obscured from me, and from the observers on the hill.’' (Source: ) AWMM