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Show Modern Military Birdmen Must Be Versatile Youths trains and troop columns venturing ' along the roads and trains near the -battlefield; it is they who watch foi ; the possible launching of a counterattack, counter-attack, always to be feared, and which they must announce at the right moment mo-ment to the infantry and to the commander com-mander in charge. "Thanks to the promptness of their . reports, sent by radio, the commander ' is enabled to make his authority felt : during the progress of the operatic" When in the rnidst of the hazards ot battle the energies of the combatants, become scattered, causing confusion and disorder, the scout planes, by the accuracy of their reports, permit the ; harmonizing and co-ordinating of ef- fort necessary to the final victory. "Evidently it is the observer who must have charge of the mission of reconnaissance, of photography, of artillery ar-tillery adjustment or of infantry com-" munieations; but he is greatly assisted assist-ed by the pilot, whose skill and decision de-cision contribute In no small measure to the successful accomplishment of the aerial task." fTHE vast responsibilities which devolve de-volve upon the youthful airman before be-fore a successful infantry attack can be made on the western front are thus set forth by an experienced French aviator: - "The time has passed when one could, make an improvised attack upon the enemy, relying simply upon superior su-perior numbers and the morale of the attacking troops to gain the victory. "To search out in all their details the defensive works of the enemy (barbed-wire entanglements, trenches, block-houses), the position of all his batteries; to locate the trails, railways, rail-ways, munition and supply depots, and headquarters of . the commanders such is the. work to.be performed by the scout plane before every offensive offen-sive operation. "To direct the firing of all the artillery, ar-tillery, whose task is to destroy the barbed-wire entanglemeius and the trenches: to bombard the batteries and destroy the larger part of them; to set on fire the munition depots within its range; to prevent or render ren-der perilous any passing along the roads and railways : to delay traffic in the supporting railway stations; to control the destruction of objectivej and the efficacy of long-range firing such are the principal tasks of the scout planes during the preparatory period of an attack. "Moreover, they a'sjime the enormous enor-mous responsibility of the faithful ex--ecution of this p-ogram. which is carried car-ried out entirely through the intermediation interme-diation of their eyes. "Finally, on the day of attack, it is they who, fly hi a: at a low altitude over the assaulting waves of the Infantry, In-fantry, signal its progress to the superior su-perior command; it is they who discover dis-cover the active batteries and reduce them to silence by cau-Mng them to come under destructive lire; it is they who cause the dispersion of wagon |