THE NEW ARM IN WARFARE
We shall, no doubt, have occasion to return later to the heroic
achievements of our airmen in destroying enemy raiders. Meanwhile, our
attention is claimed by a subject of great interest and importance,
namely, the part played by aircraft on the various battle fronts of the
great war. It was clear some while before the outbreak of hostilities
that the aeroplane was destined to play a prominent part. Mr. Sydney
F. Walker, R.N., M.I.E.E., remarks, in a useful little volume on
aviation, published before the war, that the first important work to
which the aeroplane has been put is that of scouting. ‘When armies
are manœuvring in the field, it is the great object of each general
to find out what his opponent is doing, exactly where his forces are,
where each particular arm is weak, and where, above all things, he is
open to attack. On the other hand, each general makes the greatest
efforts to prevent his opponents from finding out all about himself.
The art of hiding men, and even of artillery and of horses, has been
brought to such success that the non-military observer might be in the
midst of an army of 30,000 or 40,000 men and be perfectly ignorant of
their presence. Every inequality in the ground, every natural object,
such as a tree, a mound, a house, &c., is made use of for the purpose
of concealing the presence of men, horses, and accessories. It will
be evident that with an aeroplane flying at anywhere up to eighty
miles an hour, and that has been exceeded at the time of writing, and
viewing the surface of the ground from above—provided the pilots, or
passengers accompanying them, are trained to observe the ground and the
bodies of men on the ground from above—practically any disposition of
the enemy could be discovered.’
We are now able to judge by results and appreciate the work done. A
point of primary importance in active warfare, as we have seen, is the
use of the aeroplane for reconnaissance work. Other duties, and there
are many, are set forth with admirable clearness by Mr. W. E. Dommett
in his little work, _Aeroplanes and Airships_. The book was written
at the early part of the war, and on that account is particularly
instructive at this point; for it enables us to trace the progress
made and the victories won by our airmen. ‘Reconnaissance work for the
purpose of co-operation with artillery,’ Mr. Dommett writes, ‘forms the
most important function next to scouting. An aerial observer is sent
out to determine the position of hostile batteries whose existence
may or may not be known by its fire, to determine the strength of the
batteries, and how the units composing them are grouped. In addition it
is the duty of the observer to look out for troops, stores, or other
matters which could and should be subjected to the fire of one’s own
batteries. He should supply as far as possible details as to range and
elevation necessary for clearing intervening high ground. In addition
the observer can report as to the effect of his own side’s artillery,
and the manner in which it is failing or succeeding in its object.
‘The value of this form of observation is beyond calculation, in view
of the fact that the artillery have not to waste time and ammunition
in getting the target. Moreover, the time during which the opposing
batteries or forces can do damage is correspondingly reduced.
Naturally, much depends upon the accuracy of an observer’s report as to
its value, and in this respect it appears that the allied forces are
superior to their opponents, and it would seem that this superiority
is due not so much to the superiority in the observer’s machine, but
to the better self-reliance, intelligence, and powers of initiative
possessed by the men themselves. Observation work, it may be said, is
generally accompanied by some offensive action on the part of the pilot
or accompanying observer.’
Observation in naval warfare is of course also of great importance. In
the work of detecting submarines, for instance, aeroplanes have proved
of great value, for it is possible to detect submerged objects with
greater ease from considerable heights than from the water surface.
Writing to the _Matin_, a correspondent stated in the early part of
the war that an aviator flying several hundreds of feet above the sea
off Cape Helles, saw a black spot in the water beneath him. Circling
round, to enable him to observe it more closely, he at last made
out the form of a German submarine, under water, moving towards a
British transport, which was heavily laden with troops and munitions.
Immediately the aviator flashed a wireless signal to the transport,
and then, swooping down to a few feet of the surface of the water he
dropped two bombs. These did no damage to the submarine, but taking
warning she sank to greater depths. When the enemy thought enough time
had passed he raised his periscope above the surface, but the aeroplane
was still circling close at hand and once more a couple of bombs fell
close alongside the boat. Then the submarine finally disappeared. Many
incidents of a similar nature have been recorded.
It is, moreover, sometimes necessary to find out the position of our
own submarines in such a case as when a submarine has disappeared and
not returned to its base. Before the war, when one of our A Class boats
sank off the Cornish coast, whilst out from Devonport for exercise,
an aeroplane was successfully employed for finding its whereabouts.
The boats in company with the lost boat laid buoys to indicate the
position, but these had become shifted by heavy seas, and had become
useless for the purpose.
Observation work is frequently accompanied by direct offensive action;
but the work is sometimes done purely with the view to the offence.
For example, as early as September 23, 1914, naval airmen, namely,
Squadron-Commander E. F. Briggs, Flight-Commander J. T. Babington, and
Flight-Commander S. V. Lippe, carried out a raid over a mountainous
route of 120 miles upon the Zeppelin sheds at Dusseldorf. And at a
later date a similar raid was made on the sheds near Lake Constance.
In the early part of the war the Paris correspondent of the _Times_
wrote as follows: ‘A feature of the operations along the front is the
active use by the French of their air service, and the many indications
given of the progress which has been accomplished in this branch of
the service since the outbreak of the war. Realizing that for fighting
purposes the chief mission of the aeroplane is to act like a gun of
immense range, and that bombardment requires swarms of aeroplanes and
not an isolated machine, the French have equipped and organized a
number of air squadrons with the object of disturbing and destroying
the enemy’s communications, either during or on the eve of military
developments, so as to impede the arrival of men and shells from the
reserve points during the progress of operations.
‘For this purpose the squadrons are composed of three different types
of machines, the names of which indicate the special duties of each
type. These squadrons, in spite of the boisterous weather which has
prevailed throughout the month, have raided no less than ten important
German railway centres in the area of operations, throwing over 400
bombs in their flight, while the chaser planes engaged any protecting
enemy aircraft that tried to interfere with the operations.
‘A glance at a map will show how effectively the air services are able
to act as an extension of artillery in upsetting the enemy’s transport.
Thus Challerange, an important junction on the Vouziers—St. Menehould
and Vouziers—Apremont Railways, whence are served the requirements
of the army operating in the west of the Argonne; Arnaville and
Bayonville, to the south-west of Metz; Vigneuvelles les Hattonchattel,
the railway centre for the south-eastern armies operating against
Verdun; Autruy, to the north of the Argonne; and Conflans-en-Jarisy,
on the Verdun-Metz railway, have been regularly bombarded by aerial
squadrons, which in some cases have numbered thirty-five air machines.’
In this connexion it is interesting to recall an extract from
an official communiqué that was issued early in the war: July
20—‘Thirty-one aviators yesterday bombarded the railway station of
Conflans, an important junction. Three shells of 155 mm. and four of
90 mm. were observed to have been neatly dropped on the station. The
engine shed was struck by a shell of 155 mm. Three aviatiks were put to
flight by our pursuing aeroplanes, which accompanied the squadron. One
aviatik was compelled to land rapidly.’
In the place of an enemy camp or railway junction the attack is made
by the Naval Air Service on the submarine base or the dockyard. On
many occasions naval airmen have bombarded German submarines in Ghent
harbour. In the raid on Cuxhaven, seven seaplanes were conveyed to the
vicinity of Heligoland and thence flew over Cuxhaven and dropped bombs
on the docks.
A report issued at a comparatively early date of the war stated: ‘Quite
one of the features of the campaign, on our side, has been the success
attained by the Royal Flying Corps. In regard to the collection
of information it is impossible either to award too much praise to
our aviators for the way they have carried out their duties, or to
over-estimate the value of the intelligence collected, more especially
during the recent advance. In due course certain examples of what has
been effected may be specified, and the far-reaching nature of the
results more fully explained, but that time has not yet arrived. That
the services of our Flying Corps, which has really been on trial, are
fully appreciated by our Allies is shown by the following message from
the Commander-in-Chief of the French armies, received on the night of
September 9 by Field-Marshal Sir John French:—
‘“_Please express most particularly to Marshal French my thanks for
services rendered on every day by the English Flying Corps. The
precision, exactitude, and regularity of the news brought in by its
members are evidence of their perfect organization, and also of the
perfect training of pilots and observers._”’