Evening star., 1918-05-09
BATTERY OBSERVERS
HOLD UNIQUE POSTS
Modern Warfare Gives Chance
for Clever Artillery Work,
Matching German Skill.
AIR SERVICE IMPORTANT
BY.JUNIUs b. WOOD.
CabIeSram to The Evening Star and the
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.

8f.JCNIUS b. WOOD.
CabIesram to The Evening Star and the
Chicago Daily News. Copyright, 1918.
WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY AT
THE FRENCH FRONT, May S.-"Thir-
teen degrees fifteen seconds" said
Capt. -, never removing his eyes
from the range finder fastened securely
to a tripod in the trench.
| Thirteen point flfteen," repeated
sergt. -. in a telephone at tho end
Of the short trench.
| 1.-TWO rounds Of shrapnel," said the
into the telephone.
| Fire when you are ready" concluded
the captain.
All the words were spoken so quickly
that it seemed as If the sergeant had
| received merely one sentence.
"On the way, sir" said the sergeant,
with the receiver at his ear. as II that
| informa ton were necessary, with an
ear-splitting crack from the battery a
quarter OF 4 mile away.
| Round completed. SIR" he added, al
most in the same breath.
Fair Target for Artillery.
| simultaneously with the crash Of the
first shot pun Of white smoke burst
over village three kilometers Zone
and eight-tenths miles) away. behind
the German lines. A couple Of seconds
later the sound Of the shell. which had
exploded. was borne through the clear
air. Tho village lay in the plain sun
light. a fair target for the distant ar
4 tillery.
The captain started another combina-
| tton OF figures, and the sergeant re-
peated them in the telephone.
! . la - oh 1f1~ - A,,6
not exactly at the spot where It was
| wanted it should go. This time the or
| der was varied and instead of shrapnel
the telephone message called for a
white cap" meaning a high explosive
This time no puff Of smoke hovered
over the village in quick sequence ia
the cannon's roar. A darker cloud
seemed to rise from the village. which
was deserted by all except some Ger
man soldiers. Then a wisp Of black
4 think a are has started. sir
Ivouchsafed the sergeant. turning from,
! the telephone.
! Yes. what is left is burning" replied
| the captain.
In Middle Of Open Field.
This is a phase Of what is called
observation post, or, in military par
lance. In an go. P'' The observation
post was not up a tree. on a haystack.
! or on the top floor of ruined building.
| as is generally the case. but in the
| middle of an open field Of winter wheat
which had just sprouted through the
ground. A plow was still standing in
an uncompleted furrow. Daisies and
on the other side. A little swell in the
ground gave an eminence sufficient to
. overlook the opposite valley and the
| German lines on the far side.
1T Is only a couple of hundred yards
away. but you will never findfit unless
you follow the telephone wire" an
other officer said when we were leav-
ing a village where German shells
were bursting every few minutes Just
as our shells were bursting in the
village held by the enemy. The officer
told the truth. for we were almost on
top OF tho observatory. consisting of
q little trench four feet deep and fif-
teen long. before we discovered it. so
perfectly did the khaki uniformed Of
dcers' steel helmets blend with the
surrounding terrain. However, the
enemy is searching for posts Of this
Kind just as our aeroplanes are search
| Ing for theirs. The allied air service
ana IL was moro successful than that
OF the enemy in finding the posts,
once discovered an observation post
does not last long, as 1t is shelled and
| made untenable almost at once.
Under cover" was the order given
every time the whirr Of any motor was
heard overhead.
Register objectives. d
During the daylight hours the Ger
mans are busy registering different
objectives. Possibly only two shots are
necessary before one of them regis
ters the spot. Then a record is made
Of the detection and range, and after
that attention Is turned toward regis
! tering another objective. II in the
darkness of the night a call should
come IN for barrage at any spot
recorded. the gunners are able to To-
cate 1t with mathematical precision
and turn loose hail Of steel at that
| exact point.
AlAlA MA ar llNl AAaas