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Aviation History
1911
1911 - 1098.PDF
I/jjGHT] enemy's dispositions that we can afford not to know. In the first place, it is vital to know what force of the enemy is immediately in front of you, what reinforcements he has within reach and how long it will take him to get them up. A very striking instance of what risks were run on one side, and what chances were missed on the other through ignorance in this respect is afforded by the battle of Rezonville—August 16th, 1870— which diagram III is intended to illustrate. It is, of all the battles of the Franco-Prussian War, to my mind the most interesting as a psychological study of personality and the way in which different leaders are affected when confronted with that common enemy of all commanders, the unkown. Time will not permit to go into the details as closely as I should 1 ke to do, but the salient facts are these: On the evening of August 15th neither side knew what the other was doing, though they had fought a battle east of Metz the day before and had been in touch more or less since. Thus, on the morning of the 16th, the Germans thought the French had left Metz and retired west by the Verdun road and roads north of it. Consequently they sent their right army in a N.W. direction towards the Metz-Verdun road <about Rezonville and Vionville by Gorze and St. Hilaire by Thiiucourt) in order to harass what they thought would be only a rearguard. They directed their left wing due west towards the Meuse in order to head off the French 01 'hat river. The consequence of this was that the German right wing ran into the jaws, not of a rearguard, but of the whole French Army, and from 9 o'clock in the morning till 4 o'clock in the afternoon a single German Army Corps—the III—had to contend, unaided and far from support, against 4 to 5 times its numbers. At 4 p.m. the 20th Division from Thiaucourt, via Chambley, reached Vionville. The 16th Division and 3 regiments of IX came up on the right via Gorze. At 5 p.m. the 19th Division, from St. Hilaire, reached Mars la Tour, after a forced march of 25 miles. You can see th; risk they ran of being annihilated. But the French Commander, Bazaine, when surprised in his camps round Vionville by the German Horse Artillery in the morning, thought the whole German army was upon him—across his line of retreat— and in consequence, hesitated to leave the shelter of the fortress of Metz. Still further deceived by the German General's vigorous and sustained attacks, he remained on the defensive all day, and so missed a priceless opportunity of inflicting a crushing blow on his opponent. It requires no effort of imagination to appreciate the value of aerial reconnaissance on such an occasion—which is a particularly valuable one to study, as it is an instance of what is called the " encounter battle." That is to say, not a set piece, in which one side occupies a clearly defined position, and the other side attacks it in due form, after careful preparation, but where both sides run into each other more or less simultaneously. When both sides are animated with the offensive spirit, as are the great military powers of to-day, this type of battle is a highly probable result. It is one that makes most demands on a leader— necessitating the faculty of rapid decision, and inflexible deter mination. In such a situation, therefore, the value of accurate and timely information is priceless. Secondly we want detailed and accurate reports of the strength and accurate reports of the strength and dispositions of the forces with which we are actually in contact. Are they acting on the ® © The "Wellcome" Photographic Diary, THERE are quite a large number of aviation enthusiasts who also count photography among their hobbies. To such the " Wellcome" photographic exposure record and diary, 1912, should prove almost invaluable. It is really astonishing, until one remem bers that it is published by Messrs. Burroughs, Wellcome and Co., •of tabloid fame, how much really good information has been got into this little book, and withal there is ample space left for diary and exposure notes. It is really of a handy size and does not take up a lot of room in the pocket—a most important point. The book is provided with pencil and clasp, so that it does double duty as a pocket note-book and work of reference, and is equally useful in the •dark-room and the field. The book also includes an excellent exposure calculator, which by the single turn of a disc shows the •correct exposure under all circumstances. Three separate editions are published, especially adapted for the northern hemisphere and tropics, the southern hemisphere and tropics, and the United States, and those purchasing the book for a present should take care to specify which edition is required. The book may be obtained from all photographic dealers,and booksellers, and at the railway book stalls, the price being \s: DECEMBER 23, 1911. defensive or preparing to attack ? Where are their flanks ? Where are their supports and reserves ? His cavalry, infantry, and guns ? Specially do we want detailed and accurate information about the guns, for nowadays artillery can fire with great effect from behind the crest of a hill, where you cannot see them, and of all the dis agreeable things in war one of the most unpleasant is to be shot at by guns that you cannot see, and therefore cannot shoot back at. For this particular work of locating concealed guns aerial recon naissance has possibilities beyond any other means at our disposal. In course of time we shall no doubt get our airmen to help in observing our own fire. For this closer and more detailed reconnaissance more time will be wanted, and I think it will be admitted that a skilled military observer will be essential, which means a passenger in addition to the pilot. Then we shall have to reckon on active interference from the enemy, who certainly will not allow our men to hover over him and give away his dispositions, as long as he has got any aircraft of his own to drive ours away, and as long as you can keep 3,000 or 4,000 feet up, I should be prepared to take the risk of damage from guns or rifles on the ground. But against the hostile aircraft I think some sort of protection is required, and we must also have some means of driving off or destroying the hostile machines to prevent our own dispositions being disclosed. At first sight it would almost seem that we want some sort of armour as well as a weapon, but I heard enough at our last meeting to be sure that we cannot have both. In the Service, we are brought up to believe that with regard to hard knocks in general, and bullets in particular, "it is more blessed to give than to receive." Therefore, we will scrap the armour, and use the weight for some sort of gun and ammunition. Without going any further I think it must be clear to everyone that for this close-quarter work our machine must have great weight- carrying capacity and stability to enable detailed observations to be made and the weapon to be used with effect. It must also be strongly constructed especially as regards the landing chassis—for on the battlefield there will be no home comforts or facilities as in the case of the long-distance recon naissance. On the other hand here we do not want extreme speed ; a limited radius of action will suffice ; even one hour in the air would enable most valuable results to be obtained, silence becomes a secondary consideration. Summary of all tequirements.—At last we have arrived at what the general attributes of one aeroplane must be if it is to do all the work that a commander will ask of it. On the one hand—extreme range and speed, on the other—great weight-carrying capacity, stability and strength. If you can give us a machine that will combine all these attributes in one, we soldiers shall be only too pleased, for in war organisation the less we have to specialise the better. The question for decision.—This, therefore, is the question I will put to the members of the Aeronautical Society :— Can you produce a single type of aeroplane that will fulfil all these requirements, or is it necessary to specialise, on the one hand for range and speed, and on the other for weight-carrying capacity and stability of the kind that would be necessary for the detail reconnaisance work and fighting that I have outlined in the second case ? ® ® Flying and Some of its Mysteries. THIS is the latest addition to the "Playbooks of Science," a series of little volumes issued by Henry Frowde and Hodder and Stoughton, in which the author's aim is always the same : to pro vide boys with intelligent amusement in the course of which they will bring into play qualities that will serve them well in matters of greater importance. We should not be surprised to hear that the most popular one of them is that bearing the above title, which has been written by Mr. V. E. Johnson, M.A. The author knows his subject as well as anyone and he also knows his audience. We feel sure that any boy finding this book in his stocking at Christmas will value it more than most and not rest content until he has again and again read through it and run the whole gamut of the experi ments described. The book is divided into three parts, the first dealing with model balloons and dirigibles, the second with kites, and the third with model aeroplanes, and in each case the reader will find full and clear instructions to enable him to build the various models. The book is well illustrated by a large numbsr of useful sketches, and has for a frontispiece a picture of Professor Langley's steam model. It is published by Messrs. Henry Frowde and Hodder and Stoughton, at the price of is. 6d.
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