A week later, he was given the opportunity to prove the wisdom of his plan to capture Merris. On the night of 29 July, under cover of a precisely planned creeping barrage that worked its way through Merris and beyond it, he sent two companies, totalling about 180 men, on converging lines of attack from the northeast and southwest of the village. 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".