There is no reason, indeed, why constant reconnaissances should not be made during the course of a battle. Suppose, for example, that a heavy attack has been made upon the enemy. It is sought to know whether such onslaught has had its full effect. Is the enemy falling back? This may become a question of great urgency, as it may govern a Commander-in-Chiefs next offensive move. Here is a task in which the air-scout can reveal his worth.
Rising high, and flying over the enemy, he should be able to determine whether a retreat has begun, and should bring back this information to Headquarters with a minimum of delay. A definite instance of the use of the aeroplane in this connection was, it may be remembered, given in the French manœuvres in Picardy, when Lieutenant Sido was able to inform his Headquarters that the enemy was in retreat, after an important action.
If his aeroplane service is efficient, and there is no delay in obtaining news, a Commander-in-Chief should be receiving constant intelligence, concerning the movements of the enemy, during the progress of a battle. It may be extremely important, for example, to know that the enemy is bringing up batteries to a certain point; or that a hill, or other point of vantage, is to be abandoned. From first to last, indeed, the aeroplane should be of the greatest use.
But, as has been shown before, it will not be so much a case of the number of aeroplanes used, as of the organisation behind them. In this lies the crux of the situation. Unless pilots and observers are absolutely competent, and ready for their work, the results obtained cannot be satisfactory.
The influence of the aeroplane scout upon military tactics will, undoubtedly, be marked. The German school, for example, advocates a strong, determined advance—not caring so much what the precise dispositions of an enemy are, but seeking to envelop him, and deliver one quick and crushing blow.
French military tactics, on the other hand, are more strategical—more prone to play a waiting, watching game, and make a master-move after the battle scheme has, to a certain extent, revealed itself.
What has been called "the fog of war"—that is to say, the meagre information regarding an enemy’s movements, which is all that is available if aeroplanes are not used—suits the German method of blunt, dogged, hit-or-miss advance. Lack of information is not advantageous, on the other hand, to the carefully thought-out French strategy.
What the advent of the air-scout does is to help the Commander-in-Chief, who is able to make subtle, deeply-planned moves, in which precise information is essential, and to discount a blind, crushing use of numbers.
III. Other uses of the war aeroplane—Surveying—Dispatch-carrying—Directing gun-fire—Transport of staff officers.
The duties so far mentioned do not, by any means, exhaust the possibilities of the war aeroplane. So far, only military reconnaissance has been touched upon. This work is, of course, of outstanding importance; but an air-corps could, during a campaign, be put to many other tasks, all of them of genuine utility.