Other British machines working with the artillery were busy all day, and good visibility enabled good results to be obtained.
Four tons of bombs were dropped on the large railway sidings at Courtrai, the railway junction midway between Douai and Valenciennes, two German aerodromes north of Douai, and billets.
Fighting in the air was severe, and many combats took place between the German scouts and British reconnoissance, bombing, and fighting machines.
One German aeroplane was forced to land behind the British lines by one of our scouts. Twelve other German machines were brought down, and one was driven down out of control. Another machine was brought down by antiaircraft gunfire. Eight British machines failed to return.
During the night of February 26-27, 1918, over half a ton of bombs were dropped on barracks and railway stations at Trèves, four bursts being observed in furnaces in the gas works and eight in the railway station. On the same night nearly one and a half tons of bombs were dropped on a German aerodrome near Metz, good bursts being observed in the hangars and hutments. One German machine was encountered close to the aerodrome and brought down. All the British machines returned safely, though fire from antiaircraft guns and machine guns was considerable.
British aeroplanes took advantage of the few fine intervals on February 28, 1918, to carry out work in conjunction with the artillery and also to drop bombs on two of the German ammunition dumps south of Lille, as well as on railway sidings at Courtrai and Deynze (southwest of Ghent). One British machine was lost. After dark British machines again took the air in the intervals between hailstorms. Four tons of bombs were dropped on a large German aerodrome midway between Tournai and Mons, and on billets in the neighborhood of Douai.
Great aerial activity prevailed on March 8, 1918. Work in conjunction with the artillery, reconnoissances, photography, and bombing was carried out incessantly by the British aeroplanes. Over 400 bombs were dropped on German ammunition dumps and sidings at Menin, Busigny, and Guise, east of St. Quentin, in spite of the most determined attacks made by the German scouts against the British bombing machines. In air fighting, twelve German aeroplanes were brought down and ten others were driven down out of control. Another machine was shot down by antiaircraft gunfire. Three British aeroplanes were lost. After dark, the greater part of the front was enveloped in mist, but in one sector British night flying machines dropped twenty-four heavy bombs and forty-eight lighter bombs on the ammunition dump and railway sidings at Fresnoy, northeast of St. Quentin.
At midday on March 9, 1918, the railway sidings and factories at Mainz, at the junction of the rivers Rhine and Main, in Germany, about 130 miles northeast of Nancy, were bombed by British aeroplanes with good results. Well over a ton of bombs were dropped, and bursts were seen on and around the barracks, on the railway sidings, and on a factory. A large fire was started. All the British machines returned. Six hundred bombs were dropped by other British machines on German ammunition dumps, billets, and aerodromes, and on an important railway center northeast of St. Quentin. In particular, a most successful attack was carried out at a low height by a large number of British machines against three hostile aerodromes. Bombs were dropped from an average height of 400 feet, and at each of the aerodromes direct hits were obtained on hangars and on machines in the open. While returning from this attack the British pilots flew at a height of 100 feet, firing on favorable targets on the ground with their machine guns and causing casualties and much confusion among the Germans. In one case a horse transport on the road was engaged, with the result that some of the wagons were upset into the ditch. In another horses in an orchard were stampeded. A company of German infantry was scattered in all directions and a group of officers on horseback dispersed. The fighting in the air was heavy. Ten German machines were brought down and ten others driven down out of control. A German observation balloon was also destroyed. Two of the British machines failed to return.
On March 10, 1918, Germany was again bombed by British aeroplanes in broad daylight. On this occasion the Daimler Motor Works at Stuttgart were attacked, and over one and a quarter tons of bombs were dropped. Stuttgart is about 136 miles east of Nancy. Several bursts were observed on the railway station, where a stationary train was hit and set on fire. Three bursts were seen on the munition factory southeast of the town, and other bursts on the Daimler works and on buildings round them. German machines made a weak attempt to attack the formation over the objective, but withdrew on being attacked. All the British machines returned except one, which evidently had engine trouble and went down under control just before recrossing the lines on the homeward journey.
During the same day the thick haze rendered work in conjunction with the artillery almost impossible. Several reconnoissances, however, were carried out, and over 400 bombs were dropped. Among other targets, Menin, Roulers, Ledeghem, Cambrai, and Solesmes railway stations were bombed by British machines. Three German observation balloons were destroyed, and five German machines were brought down in air fighting, in addition to seven others driven down out of control. One low-flying German machine was shot down by British infantry. Four British aeroplanes were lost.