New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-12-04

II you go back to the beginning OF TINS war
we started with very small army in
France a very small regular army, winch we
had to sacrifice almost completely to assist IN
defending Paris and also 20 assist in blocking
the road to Calais. That practically exhaust
cd our old regular army, and very little more
than skeleton Of IL is left. And then after
that we had TO spend the best part oil TWO
years in building up n new army; whlIe max
Jag the new army we had to light with Wns'
We had ready, and do our best to cooperate
with the French, and, Of course, during that
reriod the brunt Of the war fell upon the
French, and it could not be otherwise. And
now. after three years of the war, we have
our army and we are ready to take the brunt
of the fighting, and are ready to go on taking
the brunt of the fighting if necessary.
The French and English soldiers understand
each other thoroughly in this matter, and
there is no jealousy or discord of any kind
and the more this is made clear to your pub
lie that is the best answer to make to the
German propaganda.
Before leaving the Western front / must
say a word or two about our old friend the
AIR. | have just been able to 90 through the
records on the Western front Of our air SER
vice during the month of September
During that month our aeroplanes carried
cat 22G bombing raids dropping 1886 bombs,
making 1876 tons of explosives, and during that
same month OF September, as far as we can
calculate I will not say it is exactly correct
TO a bomb or two, but it is within ten of the
right total, I will swear-the enemy has
dropped 1000 bombs on va.
Now, bombing, of course, is thing which
very much interests the public Of London at
the present time, but it is very small part
Of the air work as whole in battle. BY far
the most important thing is the direction of
the artillery because one big gun will do far
more damage than thirty or forty aeropisnes
if it is properly directed and the number OF
shots at batteries which were engaged
through aerial observation by US. The actual
number OF batteries successfully dealt with,
tLeir fire stopped, was 1913, and during the
same period the enemy only succeeded In
ranging on 743 of ours from the air.
That is what may call the main results OF
the aeroplanes in the battle during Septem-
Der. directing the shooting, bombing being an
auxiliary.
The Toll OF Aeroplanes
In order that the aeropanes may direct
the shooting they have to be protected, and
you have to have fighting machines to keep
the enemy fighting machines off, and that
leads TO lighting in the air.
During the month of September We engaged
and brought down pa German machines. |
am told that in making this estimate our
Headquarters in France never allows an arr
man credit for bringing down German ma
chine unless he can produce corroborative evil
Gence, even although the man comes back and
says he has brought down a machine; unless
another airman or an observer on the ground
has seen him do it he gets no credit for 1T.
These 274 machines have been seen by some
one else to have come down and crashed, and
YOU may say that this is almost certainly an
underestimate.
That is the history of the main fighting on
the front which has been going on; and while
| am on the subject | would like to call at
tention to another small matter
Most of the foreign armies-and enemy
armies, too, so far as this is concerned-have
air heroes whom they advertise very greatly,
and they announce periodically the number Of
machines these men bring down. We do not
DO this, and one of the main reasons for 1t is
because it is against the wishes of our airmen