The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-02
AIR BATTLE O
THE THAMES

THE THAMES
In the little valley at Cuckheld Is the niers'
camp Of the Third Corps Of Invasion. Shortly
after midnight the telephone rings In the under
ground office Of the hangar:
The squadron Is to clear at sunrise In the
direction Of Adlershot, Guildfort and Reigate!
The chief task Is to learn the strength Of the
English reenforcements."
In the half dark of the hangar eighty Tauben
are dressing UP -they are making 'grande toll
lette.' So many hands are busylng themselves
about them as II eighty brides were to be made
ready for the wedding. Each little metal ribbon
and wrinkle. each little stitch in the wings. each
little steel bow is once more patnstakingly IN
spected; there are a thousand. things to think Of.
for the tiniest touch Of the hand Is essential for
the success OF the Journey. 1t is as in every
thing in life: he who aspires big things must
first arrange a million necessary details.
Wedding flight? Revolver. carabin. bombs,
bolts-xs to be a bloody wedding!
"Losiassen. Let EN- co." commands Capt.
Won Brendecke. the squadron leader, and as
Cends as the first. He is the observer at the
wheel sits Lieut.. Proehl.
In small swarms the eighty flying machines
start on their way. First they reel and stagger
for a few steps. awkward and clumsy. then they
dash on, foaming with fury. like antemundane
monsters. And now the miracle repeats itself:
the heavy coloSsuses become light winged birds.
Tauben? Doves? Those are eagles with power
full pinions, German eagles they are. out to sec
to-day that which they have longed for for
months: London.
They do not ny high. for mists are still brew
ing. Thin gauze curtains stiIl veil the stage
upon which is soon to be played the final act Of
the great tragedy.
According To- map. clock and compass they
must now he very near the enemy. Every fibre
IL strained. The niers know, their reports will
play a role on Hindenburg's map table,
liurrah' The inists are clearing! Light
morning hreczes tear the meddlesome wells
asunder. But no sooner have the spyglasses
discovered deta|hincuts Of enemy troops than the
first infantry proje't.es begin to whistle UP. so
punctually and So s~i.tefully as II the sharp
shooters had been lying in wait for these birds
II prey all night. The fiers put on full gas, and
with hundred and twenty kiiometers the ma
chimes screw themselves in wide curves into the
blue sky.
Twenty Thousand meters the alt!meter shows.
suddenly tiny shrapnel clouds stand beside the
machines. The guns that had been on the way
against the German lines have numbered .
eighty flying machines. that sounds good. that
must pay The motors drown every sound: the
flyers do not hear the shrapnel firing. It's
uncanry, therefore. when all Of a sudden there
appear beside tie machines these white, phantom
Ike giant fists. they come out OF nothingness II
seems, and they come TO grasp, to set fire to
crush.
The MACHINES dash on and drown the noise
beneath them; they seem Ike frightened children
who sing in a thunderstorm so that they cannot
hear the thunder. But. no, the brave recon-
nultererS of the air have no fear! Before they
cannot give answer to the whence" and the
where and the how many" Of the enemy troops
they have no idea Of seeking the protecting
hangar, Let the cannon hurl projectile upon
lrojectio, let the machine guns below throw their
hundred peaked lead forks into the air 4, viii
not be $" easy for them to spike one of these
birds. ~
ine a!tineters now record the staggering
height Of $500 meters.
Cooily the ohser. ers are examininr ~. ,ou,
tory below them.
There-lighting 80
'Aha!'-"Oh. very Wen"
Those oblong ouadrates in tho narLt,u ..
down there, those are the guns which ves,erdou
strnck hke lightning and which had remained un.
discovered heretofore. So that's where the. bay.
p'cn hldlhE' promptly the observers familiarize
themselves with everything worth knowing abou,
thetn. Every suspicious pockmark tha, car ba
discovered on the distorted face OF England's
parhlhe landscape" the observers designate on
their maps; they spy and they measure. time
ana time again they bend overheard, let their
hungry soldier eyes sweep the territory. they
write and draw, ana with their prismatic glasses
MT upon new 2'ck-zack lines, new trenches. HAY,
a care, You field grey Ikarusses, the shrapnel
clouds fropc nearer and nearer to you; they
covot your lives, Truly. It's no longer com.
Portable in this dizzy height. The air pressure
OF the exploding missiles jerk the machines. make
them tinHl" as If they were no longer subiec, IN
a strong, unerriug viii. Here ana there English
lead already licks the wings. But in the north
The turrcts of London blink -- with them In
view the proud ANA confident German fighters
would tind even hen inhabitahlc,
The Tying machines Threatened from all Sides
by death, are nor d'frurclcss, Sow they begin To
spun their own poison. The first bomb Is dropped.
Til" very second i has loft the gundola Il nntnrls
it, black whitc-lud RED {. lorS-thus dressed II
cannot SIP from The 'icr's cyc. The nuttcrinp
bow I'm his hair; thus rides Death to earth. Flint
''f'nH i"Hs' "N' n their wake. heavy rs lead:
ruin, that is war,
tn" ranks Of the sluadrons in the hail Of fire
turn AZ once into u swarming ant hill. In the
Jays of the hard misery of war which England