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176 WITH THE GERMAN ARMIES IN THE WEST
ringing simultaneously. Constant attention was therefore
indispensable. Besides being in permanent communication
with its own division, this station was in touch with the
whole of the 4th Army through its Chief Command, and with
Main Headquarters. There was, in fact, nothing to prevent
its occupants from ringing up Germany, except of course that
private conversations are forbidden. Two airmen, Lieutenants
Count Rambaldi and Biirger, had just arrived at the observa-
tion post after a reconnaissance over the French positions. It
was wonderful to hear how clearly and concisely they reported
what they had seen. Rambaldi stood for a long while with
the telephone receiver in one hand and in the other the map
on which he had traced his observations. He was speaking to
some member of the General Staff of his Army, with the same
map before him and doubtless also with a pencil and notebook.
The Lieutenant would, for instance, report something like
this : 550 metres north-west of the village of X I observed
artillery in position, but probably only 2 guns. On the road
leading from the west to the village Y I saw a stationary
column of eight vehicles. I could not make out whether it
was an ammunition or food train. The battery which yester-
day was posted in the hollow south of the village Z has to-day
been removed, but it is impossible to tell at present where it
has gone.
Information thus gained—especially if it is of the kind
indicated in the above example—assists in the first place the
direction of the artillery fire. But that is not all. The air
scouting—as I have made clear above—is primarily at the
disposal of the Chief Command in order to discover in time
the grouping and shifting of the opposing forces. Movements
of troops, in order to avoid observation from above, therefore
now take place during the night. This is why between four
and five in the morning one always encounters troops of every
description on the march, whilst in daylight they are seldom
to be seen—at least not the infantry—barring an occasional
body of Landwehr or Landsturm.
From this observation post it was about two kilometres to
the foremost German infantry positions, which in turn were
from three hundred to five hundred metres from the French
trenches. Sometimes, when the country is very open and
affords no cover whatever, it may not be possible to get closer
to the enemy than one thousand metres. In these advanced
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