Having indicated the difficulties of the Commander-in-Chief, who has no aeroplane service at his disposal, it is now legitimate to show what can be accomplished with the aid of this new "arm."
We will imagine, for the sake of argument, that an action is imminent, and that the Commander-in-Chief is anxious to know, without delay, from what direction he may expect the enemy to mass his troops for a main attack. So he calls into consultation the Commander of the aeroplane depot. This depot—as has been explained in a previous section—will probably be established at a suitable point near the main body of the troops, and will be maintained at the spot chosen, until a move on the part of the army necessitates a change of quarters.
To the Commander of the aeroplane depot the Commander-in-Chief will explain the points, in regard to the general plan of campaign, upon which he requires enlightenment.
The Commander of the aeroplanes will make a note of what the Commander-in-Chief desires; then he will return to the aeroplane camp, and get to work. It is probable, in the ordinary course of affairs, that organised reconnoitring flights will be made, in wartime, either in the early hours of the morning, or during the evening. This will suit the convenience of the airmen by giving them the best weather conditions to work in; and it will also be satisfactory for the Commander-in-Chief to know at the beginning, and again at the end of a day’s fighting, what the dispositions of his enemy are.
In the French manœuvres, and also in other experiments made, it has been shown that information, concerning an enemy’s movements, is generally required in the morning and in the evening; and this applies, particularly, to news gleaned in the early morning, soon after it is light. It is then, before the movements of the day, that an enemy’s dispositions may best be noted.
A good deal of interest has been aroused, lately, in the suggestion that, in war-time, machines would be required to reconnoitre at night. It has been pointed out, in this connection, that large movements of troops are often made under cover of darkness.
That night reconnoitring is practical there is no doubt. How much an observer would be able to report, without the use of a searchlight, experience must prove. There seems little doubt but that an air-scout could descend low enough, at night, to detect the movements of large bodies of men.
When he has returned to the aeroplane camp, after his consultation with the Commander-in-Chief, the officer who is in charge of the aviation depot will seek an interview with the officer who is directly in control of the military pilots and observers. Maps will be consulted, and a general plan of reconnoitring drawn up; and, at this stage of the proceedings, the time will come to decide how many machines are to be sent out upon the scouting expedition.
This decision will be governed, very largely, by the extent of the area to be traversed, and also by the urgency of the mission. Although all news obtained will naturally be needed at Headquarters as quickly as possible, there will be occasions when the need for haste is very great. In such instances, more machines will be sent out than at ordinary times.
If he has a complete and rapid reconnaissance of an enemy’s position to make, covering the entire area of operations, and not any one section of the battle-front, the Commander of aeroplanes will probably order a large number of machines to go upon the trip.