American Falls press. [volume] (American Falls, Idaho) 1907-1937, 1917-06-12

ammunition and supply columns were
attacked while on The march and the
disOrganized men left their teams and
automobiles on the roads while they
sought shelter in nearby ditches
Fled in Terror.
Airplanes attacked troops in the
support trenches and sent them sour
rying to the cover of their dugouts.
One pilot made so many Of these at
tacks that be finally ran out Of am
Ihunition, but he delivered his last
stroke by letting 20 his signal rockets
at a platoon of soldiers who. evidently
mistaking this for particularly hor-
rible new style of war frightfulness.
fled in all directions German troops
were fired upon in the more distant
back areas as they We're entraining
for the front. Many of the enemy re
treating from the British attack and
hiding in she'll holes We're seen BY the
low flying airmen and pelted with
bullets.
One British pilot patrolled a road
FOR half an hour before he saw any
thing 70 shoot at. Then German
military automobile with three off
GERS sitting in the back seat came
along. The Britisher dived at them
from height of 800 feet, firing as they
came. He flew SO low eventually that
the wheels of his undercarriage barely
missed the automobile which swerved
into ditch while going al forty miles
an hour and crashed into a tree
This same pilot later came across an
active field battery and charged il.
scattering the gun crew and hitting
a number of them. Still farther along
he attacked column Of Germans
marching in fours. The column broke
when he opened fire, scattering to both
sides of the road. At no time during
his stay inside the German lines was
this pilot more than 500 feet from the
ground.
Large numbers of British machines
were on contact patrol work. flying
low over the advancing lines of in
Iantry, constantly watching their
movements, their progress. any tenn
porary reverse, any attempt TO form
counter-attacks, and all the while
sending detailed reports back 10 corps
and army headquarters The infan-
try commanders said il gave their men
great comfort and a great sense Of pro-
lection TO have their planes flying so
confidently just above them and ex-
changing signals with them.
OF the fourteen planes lost during
the day of the battle, a majority were
these contact machines. They had to
fly through a frightful storm Of their
own as Well as the enemys artillery
fire. and they succumbed 10 chance
blows from these exploding missiles.
some Good Fighting.
Late on the day OF the battle, when
the enemy machines had finally ar
rived from more distant airdromes.
there was some good hard lighting in
the air, some of it at close quarters
with collisions barely avoided. Tweu-
" enemy machines were accounted
for in the lighting, some Hopping
about until they broke up n the air.
and others being driven down on their
noses in yellow buttercup fields so far
back Of the fighting line that no shell
had ever marred the symmetry of the
landscape
One British pilot who returned to
his home station for new supplies OF
petrol and ammunition, declared it was
lLe most dangerous days 5 lying he
ever participated in. Because" he
said, there are so many of our ma
chimes you can hardly ind a place
for yourself"
Many Batteries Silenced.
One observer during the height Of
the aerial activity likened the British
sQuadrons to clouds of mosquitoes.
Some Of the most marvellous work was
done by artillery airplanes. One
squadron of these alone. acting with
several batteries of British heavies,
succeeded in silencing seventy-two
German batteries before o'clock on
the morning of the attack, which be-
gan at $40 o'clock in the morning
These planes also directed the firing
on the enemy's guns enrOute TO the
front. some of the big weapons being
drawn by caterpillar tractors. Where