Yesterday I went along to the light artillery positions, and from
there had a good view of the battlefield. There really was nothing
to see. There were no large bodies of soldiers, only here and there
a rider or a civilian. The only thing you could see was the smoke
from bursting shells and the burning villages all about. But if there
was nothing to see, there certainly was plenty to hear--the dull
noise of the light artillery, the sharp crash of the field pieces
and the crackling of small arms. On the way we passed an encampment
of reserves. It was a scene exactly like one during the annual
manoeuvers; some were cooking, some strolling about, but most of
them loafed around on their backs, not paying any attention to the
battle at all.
At 5:30 we went up. Now I had a chance to see from the air the same
scene I had just beheld from the ground. There was still heavy firing;
as far as the eye could see villages were burning. At 7:30 we were
down again.