Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-12-23
.CAMOUFLAGE STYLES
CHANGE WITH SEASONS
New Material for Winter Will m.
place That in Use Since
Last Spring.
SPECIAL CAMPS AT Front

SPECIAL CAMPS AT 'FRONT.'
FRENCH Army Continually Paying
More and More Attention to This
Branch Of Scrvice-NIany Tx.
Scene Painters Engage In Work.
PARIS. December 2l.-Camouflacn
camps are working at top speed now
all over France. preparing new ma.
teriai OF all kinds for the winter 10
replace. that which has been In use
since last spring. Styles In camou.
haSe change each spring and fan, to
follow the course OF the seasons.
For spring and summer. green and
blue are the predominant colors In
can,oGfiagc. because foliage and Eras,
rake those the prevalent culors ON
the average landscape In autumn
various changes are made to suit
climatic conditions. as. for example
in the case OF big gun hidden by
false bushes and vines. During the
summer it looked natural enough in
lis leafy green bower, but with all
vegetation dead in the late fall. II is
necessary TO change the green mask
gradually to a brown gray. just as
though the camounage bushes were
dying. For winter the camoufage runs
to "Eite, for snow scenes. mixed with
pi;.Ch. Drown ana gray Tor mud.
The French army is continually
paying more and more attention TO its
camoufaGe service and there arc num-
b:rs or American camouhage students
in the various camps. learning the art
that they may handle it for the United
States army.
Various sectors OF The front hay.
their own special camouhagc CAMPS
Ike chiefs Of these camps are often
n
are old habtues OF Montparnasx> and
the attn Quarter. They study tho
prevailing color conditions AT the
front and concentrate all their energy
on dcvising camounage TO meet those
particular conditions.
In the Nosges, for instance. the ter
rain everywhere is hilly and even
mountainous. and the slopes are COW
cred with evergreen trees and brush.
Csmouf1asc installed there must be of
very different character TO that used
{. in the Champagne. however. where the
the soil peculiarly yellow and almost
sandy. The terrible ravages OF nearly
two years OF continuous fighting in
the Nerdun sector. along both banks
OF the Mouse has caused that whole
battle field TO take a sombcr dark
look. as though every inch OF the
ground was seeped in blood. Black is
tho color note used al Verdun, as the
ground has BEEN churned up times
innumerable by high explosive shells
and shrapnel. and the earth Is impres-
mated with steel meiinite, trlnitroto.
luene and iyddite. Wherever gas has
been used II leaves its trace in with
cred vegetation. Even weeds do NOT
spring up in places lately visited by
the terrible chemical connections watt
ed across mo mans land"
Further east in the Rheims Scissors
Saint Quentin districts, the loan is OF
the Nmiliar dark brown color which
shades OF TO darker blue az the fer
tile plans OF Flanders are reached.
Each particular forest along tho
front presents its own problem. In
the Arsonne. where the crown prince
has been held stationary for more
than three years. the camounage ar
lists have had to keep changing their
properties continually. Although
there has been no infantry activity
there for months. the French and Ger
man batteries shell each other and
the advanced lines vigorously every
day After all this time. the repeated
bonn bardmcnts have withcred away tho
forest 10 mere collection OF battered.
bIackened tree stumps In some places
In other places. however. the trees are
stiii standing and are in full leaf in
the summer Parts OF the forest are In
shelled frequently TO scare snipers and
observers out OF their branches
F:ndless Screens.
Roads near the front are Away.
can'ouhaEed by endless screens p:aced
along the edges and held in place hv
poles Sometimes the screens are OF
canvas and painted to represent 4 field
or the adjacent terrain Again. the
screens are merely huge rets. with
grass. brush, leaves and other foliage
woven into the mesh. Some exposed
roads have overhead camoufase, too
to hite the passage OF troops and motor
trucks from enemy aeroplanes Screen.
ike election banners in New York are
suspended over the road. SO that an
aviator must he directly over NOV
ing object to- see It. Looking from an
an2!e. the overhead screens overlap
and mask the roadway.
Aeropianes are camoufaEed. TOO.
Double camoufase is used. for enemy
airmen who look down on the machines
ano for antiaircraft Sunners who look
UP at them. The under sides of the
aeropiane's wings and the bottom OF
the fusela se-the body-and the under
sides of the tail are painted Ii:h.
blue or pale green. iecked with white.
rms makes the machine ,Grd to see in
Inc sky from the earth But the upper
surfaces OF the wings and the fuseasc
ana tail are painted brown, dark green
ana dcep blue. Such machines
particularly hard TO locate by an air.
man above. especially if they are fy-
Ing over wooded ground. The aviator
cannot he guided by the sound of tho
motor. as the snt!-aircraft gunner can.
because his own motor deafens him
The great naval guns and howitzers.
measuring up to twenty-six inches in
caIiber. which France mounts on enoT-
nous cars and runs up to within range
OF me enemy lines At night on rail
ROAD tracks for their 'ires of destruc-
tion. are cleverly camounaged The
cos, eaSlc-eycd aeropiane observer
could ny over battery OF these mon
sters at 5000 feet elevation and he
en'irei| unaware OF their presence
Every battery carries n crew of camou
mage artists with ii. and they keen
repainting and rctouching the gun and
us car continually as they Shift their
position and the weather changes
some Facts About War Tn.u,.u..