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WITH THE FOURTH ARMY 179
I saw it very clearly, it appeared like a somewhat uneven
dark line. I could even see a man getting up out of the trench,
probably after having waved his spade backwards and for-
wards the regulation number of times.
Thereupon the telescope was focussed on one of the French
infantry lines. This was not quite plainly discernible, but yet
fairly clear.
Still further to the south, about 3550 metres from the point
where we were standing, we saw the burning village of Souain
and a few clumps of trees, behind which we had reason to
suspect the presence of cleverly masked artillery positions.
In the east-south-east, between Souain and Perthes, we
could clearly see a French battery of four field guns and a
little nearer towards us a few abandoned gun ramparts.
Suddenly the Colonel shouts, " Deckung ! " A French
aeroplane, a Blériot, is approaching. We hurry under the
trees so as not to attract its attention, A few orderly mounts,
tethered in a hollow, are likewise moved to a place offering
better concealment. The airman comes nearer. We hear
faintly but distinctly the drone of his motor. He is sailing
along right over our heads. Is he going to drop bombs or
smother us in a shower of arrows ? It would be a useful day’s
work for him to destroy an observation post from which the
fire is directed and where the telephone wires of the neigh-
bourhood run together. Some civilian spy may have con-
veyed a signal. But the alarm seems needless, the aviator
flies past and there are no explosions. With a feeling of
satisfaction we see the great bird disappear. He is seeking
some other target for his bombs.
Although it was combined with a certain risk, we walked a
couple of hundred metres closer to the infantry positions. The
ground sloped slightly downward in this direction. We follow
the road in open order, keeping to the shadow of the trees, and
where there are shrubs we keep close to them. If we are caught
sight of from some French observation post, the enemy guns
will immediately be trained upon us. However, we safely
reach an infantry reserve unit. In this war, where one lies
for weeks and months at practically the same spot, the former
open fighting has gradually given place to a sort of siege war,
with its attendant methods and customs. I here found that
every infantry unit was divided into a number of shifts. The
" changing of the guard " usually took place at about six every
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