Imagine, if you can, the sight that met their gaze, as they took their place on the extreme right of the three squadrons, which were about to launch on this memorable occasion. They were about twenty miles south of the city of Verdun. The extreme northern aviation base was not more than eight miles southwest of the city, located on a level plain east of the forest of Argonne, and close to the Aire river, a tributary of the Aisne.
The trip was a short one, as the actual flying distance was less than fifteen miles. Long before they reached the scene of the great camp, they could see the thousands of vehicles, and the hundreds of thousands of soldiers, on the highways, in the fields, and around the villages along the two main railways which threaded their way along the wide valleys between the Meuse and the Aire.
During every mile of the trip they were under the constant vigilance of the officers, who moved them into echelon, formed them into squares, or caused them to trail in columns of two or three, the object being to accustom the pilots to obey and execute signals while in flight.
CHAPTER XI
A FIGHT AND A LANDING IN BELGIUM
The day following their arrival at the field base, as it was called, they found a wonderful change in the order and arrangement of the place. Everything was done in the most systematic way. So many machines, from each squadron, were told off each morning for certain duties. Those duties were as follows: First, scouting. This meant ascertaining where the enemy was most active; where the batteries were located; noting the movement of troops, and their general character.
Scouts generally operate in pairs, for if it is impossible to signal back from the ships, one continues the work while the other makes a signaling report from such point or points in the rear as will make the information useful.
The next duty is to protect the scouts from interference. This work is carried on by the large ships, which are usually provided with rapid fire guns. They need not, necessarily, be speedy, for they are to keep in touch with the speedy scout ships, the latter of which sail around over a small area so the observations can be carried on as leisurely as possible.