 After an hour of carefully coordinated artillery, machine gun and trench mortar support, he sent his headquarters platoon into the shattered village to "mop-up" any remaining resistance.At its conclusion, the operation had captured the village, surrounding it with a series of strongly held posts, and had captured 188 Germans for the loss of 35 casualties, only four of whom were killed.Hill states that the capture of Merris was "perhaps [Wilder-Neligan's] greatest achievement".