The Army of the Air
Probably the greatest difference between ancient and modern warfare lies in the systematic use that is now made of balloons, air-ships, aeroplanes and kites, also of telegraphy, both fixed and wireless, and of the telephone. I should add to these, automobiles, motor-trucks, motorcycles and simple bicycles.
Military Airdome at Cologne Showing Zeppelin Number II
It may not be generally known that as far back as 1870 Germany attempted to make regular use of military balloons, and that two balloons and equipment were purchased from an English aeronaut. Several ascents were successfully made with a member of the general staff as passengers. Before Paris, however, it proved impossible to obtain the gas for inflation, and the whole balloon detachment was dissolved. Fourteen years later, in 1884, regular experiments regarding the taking of observations and the exchanging of signals were begun. Fifty thousand marks a year were set aside for the purpose, and so satisfactory were the results that in 1887 a regular balloon corps was organized with a major, a captain, three lieutenants and fifty non-commissioned officers and men. The discovery that the gas could be transported in steel cases in a greatly condensed form placed military ballooning on a much securer basis and the corps, greatly increased, has taken part in the yearly maneuvers since 1893. The captive balloon is still used as a sort of training-ship for recruits, but the free balloon has been practically superseded.
Cabin of the Zeppelin Airship Hansa
The first Zeppelin and the first Parseval air-ships were acquired in 1907 and, in spite of frequent accidents, have become as much a part of the armed forces as have batteries or battle-ships. There are now no less than five air-ship battalions under the “general board of inspection of military, air and power transport matters.” The combined appropriations of Prussia, Bavaria and Württemberg for their air fleets in 1913 amounted to 70,000,000 marks. The recent ships, which are not necessarily confined to the Zeppelin type, though built along the same lines, are almost as large as ocean steamships. Last year the “L II” carried twenty-eight passengers on its trial trip. It exploded in mid-air and twenty-seven were killed, among them almost all of Germany’s chief military aeronautic experts. “L III,” which is nearly completed, will have a displacement of 32,000 cubic meters. The largest and newest ship at present, the Schütte-Lanz II, has a displacement of between 23,000 and 24,000 cubic meters, is run by four Maybach motors, each of one hundred seventy horse-power, and beats the previous Zeppelin record for speed (seventy-nine kilometers or forty-nine and three-eighths miles an hour) by six kilometers. No other country has any air-ship that can in any way compare with this. Under construction is the twenty-fifth Zeppelin, which will have a length of some four hundred fifty feet. All modern air-ships are equipped with wireless telegraphy having a range of about four hundred kilometers, and can carry light Gatling guns. They can lift a weight of some 16,000 pounds and their cost is from 700,000 marks upward. The Germans have practised very industriously with their air-ships—only the other day a pilot completed his seven hundredth trip.
Military Airship in Process of Construction
Whether in war the Zeppelins will come up to the expectations that have been formed of them remains of course to be seen. One can conceive of a single ship, under favorable conditions, throwing down enough explosives on an army to put it completely to rout. But the Zeppelin is a very big target and its motors make enough noise to warn a whole city of its approach. Russia and Germany herself now have many vertical guns for shooting air-ships. On the other hand, a Zeppelin can fly very high and can take refuge behind a cloud. Its chief objects of attack will doubtless be arsenals, dockyards, bridges and tunnel-mouths, though no fleet near the shore and no camp can feel quite safe from it in future. It would be so tempting to drop a shell in the midst of an enemy’s general staff and thus bring confusion into the whole guidance of the army!
Gondola of the Schütte-Lanz I Airship
The Zeppelin has dangerous enemies in the ordinary aeroplanes. A Frenchman has just vowed to run the nose of his “plane” into the first air-ship that appears over Paris. It is possible for the airman to shoot, too, at close range, or to fly above the monster and let down ropes with hooks that shall tear its sides. The new ships, however, as I have said, can carry Gatling guns, and it is only a question of how they can best trail them on the enemy. The latest idea is a shaft that shall extend right through the body of the Zeppelin and come out on the upper surface. This arrangement has been tried on the newest Schütte-Lanz.
Airship Parseval [1]
To the value of aeroplanes as instruments of war Germany awakened late. Not until after an exhibition of the American, Orville Wright, on the Templehof field near Berlin in 1910 was the matter taken very seriously. Now there are four flying battalions in the army with nearly fifteen hundred men, and it is believed that the machines are more solid and stable than those of the French. All records were broken by German machines during the past year, and the great Prince Henry races in May, though fatal accidents occurred, demonstrated very well about what may be expected from a troop of airmen in time of war. The conditions were extremely severe and the weather was not favorable, yet twelve out of twenty-nine starters achieved the final goal within the time limit.
Austrian Military Airship Parseval [2]
The favorite machine in the German army is the Albatross-Taube, which looks quite warlike with its metal armor covering motor and all. Both monoplanes and biplanes are used. In case of war all aeroplanes, even the stock in trade of the manufacturer, are commandeered. These aeroplanes are easily transportable by rail so that a number of them can be concentrated close to the scene of action. They will be used for scouting, carrying despatches and dropping bombs, and undoubtedly will have a great effect upon warfare. It is likely that more maneuvering will be done under the cover of night than formerly in order to escape the spying eyes of the birdmen, that false marches and maneuvers will be undertaken, that bivouac fires will be lighted in unoccupied places merely for the purpose of deceiving. It will be easy to conceal cannon by covering them with green boughs.
Marine Airship
The German soldiers are already being trained for these new night operations which the aeroplane and air-ship will necessitate. They are taught to make their way by the moon and stars, to place their ears to the ground and catch and interpret sounds. It is possible for a finely trained ear to tell in the case of a passing horse whether it is running free or whether it is carrying a load, also to estimate the approximate number of a passing troop. Silent marching is practised, too, the greatest care being taken that the objects carried shall not clash or rattle. The enemy carries powerful electric search-lights against aeroplanes; a single apparatus requires several vehicles, each drawn by four horses. There must be a motor, a dynamo, a great mirror, a water wagon and a portable tower thirty feet high. The infantry carries lighter apparatus, too, that can now be loaded on an automobile, the motor of which can be used for running the dynamo. Aeroplanes, too, now carry search-lights.
A Zeppelin over the Kiel Bay
An enormous number of automobiles are used in the army. The German government has a special arrangement with motor-truck owners (the same is done with steamship companies) by which it pays a subsidy for new trucks on the understanding that they shall be at its disposal in time of need. It has been estimated that nine motor-wagons can replace one hundred thirty-nine horses and will need thirty instead of one hundred two men. Such a wagon will carry easily four tons of baggage.
Albatross-Taube Model 1914