The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1914-10-03
STATEMENT SHOWS GREAT Ac.
rIvIrY OF RIVAL
AviAToRS.
AER0PLANE PLAYS BIG
PART IN MODERN WAR
Contest Like "a ,siege-Army With
Ample Artillery Has Immense Pow
er Of Resistance - Germans Had
Time to Entrench - Position on
Aisne Not Hastily Selected.


London, Oct. 3.-The official press
bureau has given out a statement |
which says:
THE following descriptive account, !
which has been communicated by an
eyewitness at present with the gen. |
eral headquarters, continues and sup.
plements the narrative published yes
terday of the movements of the Brit
ish force and of the French armies in
immediate touch with it:
"Wednesday, Sept. 23, was a per-
feet autumn day. 1t passed without
| incident as regards major operations.
Although the enemy concentrated
| their heavy artillery upon the plateau
near Passy, nothing more than incon-
venience was caused.
THE welcome absence of wind gave
our airmen a chance of which they
took full advantage by gathering much
information.
British Airman Is Wounded.
| Unfortunately, one of our aviators
who had been particularly active in
annoying the enemy by dropping
bombs was wounded in a duel in the
air. Being alone on a single seated
monoplane, he was not able to use
Ibis rifle, and while circling above a
German two seated machine in an
endeavor to get within pistol shot he
was hit by the observer Of Il .ne German
machine, Who, was armed with rife.
HE managed to fly back over our
: lines and by great good luck he de-
scended close to a motor ambulance,
which at once conveyed him to hos
pital
Against this may be set off the
fact that another of our flyers explod-
ed bomb among some artillery
horses, killing several and stampeding
the others.
"On Thursday, Sept o., the fine
weather continued, as did the lull in
the action, the heavy German shells
falling mostly near Pargnan, twelve
miles south-southeast of Laon.
"On both Wednesday and Thursday
the weather was so fine that many
fights were made by the aviators,
} French, British and German. These
produced a corresponding activity
among the anti-aircraft guns.
From the places mentioned as be-
ing the chief targets for the enemy's
heavy howitzers it will be seen that
the Germans are now inclined to con-
centrate their fire Systematically upon
definite areas in which their aviators
think they have located our guns or
upon villages where it is imagined our
troops may be billeted.
Battle Like Siege.
"The growing resemblance of this
battle to siege warfare already has
been pointed out. The fact that the
later actions of the Russo-Japanese
war assumed a similar character was
| thought by many to have been due tC
, exceptional causes, such as the mar
t rowness of the theatre of operations
t between the Chinese frontier on the
e west and the mountainous country o
northern Corea on the east; the lacl
e of roads, which limited the extent o
il ground over which it was possible
O for the rival armies to maneuver. an;
the fact that both forces were tied t
# one line or railroad.
IS "Such factors are not exerting an,
10 influence on the present battle. Never
10 theless, a similar situation has bee
p produced, owing, first, to the immens
IN power of resistance possessed by a
ID army which is amply equipped wit
heavy artillery and has sufficient tim
to fortify itself, and, second, to tn
. vast size of the forces engaged, whic
= at the present time stretch more tina
. halfway across France.
. German Plan Well Laid.
. "There is no doubt that the positic
. CONTINUED on Page Four.)