Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-11-23
Many Pairs Of Hidden Eyes
Perpetually Watching for
Any Scrap of Information
of Benefit.

Behind the British Lines in France,
Nov. 23.-(Ry. the Associated Press)
There are times when it seems as
if the whole of the front slept, as If
the country for miles or either side
of the SCARED trench zon had been
abandoned by men. Complete silence
reigns. and no sign of movement can
be detected in any direction. But 1t
is just at these times hat watchful-
ness is at its keenest. and more is
learned of the enemy and his plans
than in periods of noisier activity.
Observation of the enemy's line and
of the ourtry behind it is the first
necessity of war. Upon the evidence
produced day after day by piecing to-
gether the reports of a thousand OBJ
servers, the whole tactical scheme is
hung
Many Eyes Watching.
For every mile of front. nan pairs
OF hidden eyes are perpetually watch
ing, each cleaning an occasional scrap
of information here or there, seem
ingly unimportant in itself, but &C
tually a fibre in the web of knowledge
that grows continually at some far off
headquarters.
The aim of all this watching and
study is to discover the eneny's inten-
tons. For example. if he means to
dCIdCk, neP Will OIluS ny IN - a
large number of troops in h zone
where the attack is to be launched.
If he abandons the idea, the strength
will be reduced. A maSsing of bat
teries heralds a bombardment. Con-
siderable movement behind the enemy
lines suggests the relief of a division.
1t is by continual consideration of
such things as these that a com
mander deduces the plans of his OPP
Plan of Observation.
The ordinary everyday observation
is embraced under three main heads,
ground observation, kite balloons and
airplanes. Ground observation is
work which engages thousands of
trained soldiers every day of the year.,
and it is the work of the men in these
ground observation posts to keep a
microscopic lookout over the enemy's
front-line trench system and its, i'm
mediate vicinity. The work of the
balloons and airplanes is generally de-
voted to the enemy's artillery and
back areas. Conditions of ground
observation vary from those of a
roomy dug-out in the side of a hill
on a quiet summer day. to those of a
tall chimney, swinging through several
feet in a storm of sleet with a hostile
battery continuously trying to level
the chimney with a well-aimed shot.
The observer has his maps his glasses,
his notebook and a telephone.
Looking out Of his slit, he sees i'm
mediately before him his own trench
system. then a strip Of land of
greater or less width, torn by shell
holes, withered by gas, covered with
broad masses of rusty wire. Beyond
this runs the irregular line of the
hostile front parapet, and behind this
again the complicated network, that
is the mass of enemy support,sreserve,
and COMMUNICATION trenches. in the
background stretches the enemy's
rearwardi territory, dotted with ruined
farms, bare patches of wood and lines
of tree stumps that mark a road.
There is no sign Of movement save for
a smoking chimney or the white steam
Of q moving train, Parkway in the
distance.
Happenings All the Time.
But in reality things are happening
all the time, if one can only see them.
Suddenly a particular point in a weed