WASHINGTON
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
AUGUST, 1918
PART I.
BALLOON OBSERVATION.
INTRODUCTORY NOTE.
In this pamphlet will be laid down the general principles and also the limitations which govern observation from balloons. Balloon observation includes more than actual artillery observation. (See “Employment of Balloons.”)
The details of cooperation between balloons and artillery are issued from time to time by the General Staff in the form of pamphlets. Whatever the system ordered at the time, there are certain principles which do not change.
In artillery observation it can not be emphasized too strongly that success depends both on—
1. The efficiency of the balloon observers, including an intimate knowledge of the ground within view.
2. An intimate knowledge by artillery commanders of the possibilities and limitations of balloon observation.
The limitations of balloon observation are—
1. Distance from the target.