But to return. Lying on that hillside in the early morning has always remained, for no particular reason, one of my most vivid memories in the war, probably because there was no shelling on either side, and one had for once the opportunity of watching the enemy moving peacefully about his tasks.
One point that struck me very strongly was the appearance of the Germans, who were certainly very much less smart than our men. The little round caps which the privates wore always reminded me of a cook’s cap, and if the French steel helmet was a thing of beauty and the British certainly not, the German was hideous beyond words. The colour of the German uniform was splendid, and very difficult to pick up.
When in a back area observation post, one was often watching both Germans and British, and there is no question at all that the British were much easier to see than the Germans. This was not because khaki was a bad colour to blend with backgrounds, but because the tops of the British caps were all of so much larger area than the German. The flat-topped caps which so many of the British at one time wore were simply an advertisement of their presence, and even the soft caps, for wearing which officers were arrested when on leave by conscientious A.P.M.’s, were too wide. Any flat surface worn on top of the head is certain to catch every bit of light, and a flash of light means movement, and draws the observer’s telescope as a magnet draws metal.
The ideal army, could I clothe it, would wear a very curious shape of cap, with certainly an uneven outline.
But I do not need to labour this point. You have only to look at the photographs contained in this book to see what a terrible handicap a definite outline is.
The Fatal Cap.
There was one incident of observation which, although it did not happen often, gave one a distinct feeling of importance. Most shelling done by the Germans was on registered cross-roads and suchlike spots, and always when they saw a body of men of any size they would, of course, shell it. But the observer, who usually went into his post rather late—as in the early morning observation, owing to the mist and the position of the sun, was impossible—often received the honour of a special shelling all to himself. This was not the usual chance shelling, as that, as I have said, was always done upon the roads, and very often the observer made his way by footpaths or across the open ground.
I think the Germans often suspected observation posts, and they paid a compliment to observers by shelling all those who moved in their neighbourhood.