I WAS particularly interested to read the Phillpott File, September 5/12 with John Phillpott's excellent account of the British Expeditionary Force and the practice of the "mad minute" system of rapid rifle fire in Belgium during 1914.
The "mad minute", a practice, apparently often used during the First World War was, however, ordered only once during the North West Europe Campaign of the Second World War.
It was October, 1944. I was a member of the First Worcesters and we were occupying forward trenches in an extremely unsound position.
We sat on the one side of the road with the Germans on the other, with about 30 yards between us. Movement by day was very dangerous, any sound from our area drawing a shower of mortar bombs and bursts of small arms fire.
We discouraged the habit and gave him back twice as much. The nervous strain was tremendous after several days and a "mad minute" was ordered.
At 19.15hrs on October 21, 1944, we poured one minute's rapid fire on the enemy position. Minutes later, the enemy retaliation brought screaming down on us many artillery shells, with one landing in the trench I had just left, killing a member of our section who had just taken my place.
ERIC TIPPING,
Osier Close,
Worcester.
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