The cavalrymen had purposely
dismounted and secreted themselves in the wood in anticipation of
such a pursuit as was made.
While the Germans do not appear to be so enterprising in this
form of ingenuity they have not been idle. A French airman
flying over the Teuton lines observed the outermost trenches to
be alive with men whose helmets were distinctly visible. The
airman reported his observations and the trench was subjected to
terrific shell fire. Subsequently the French made a spirited
charge, but to their dismay found that the outermost German
trench was occupied by dummies fashioned from all sorts of
materials and crowned with helmets! This ruse had enabled the
German lines to be withdrawn to another position in safety and
comparatively at leisure.
Before war was declared the German military experts were
emphasising the importance of trees for masking troops and guns
against aerial observation. One of the foremost authorities upon
military aviation only a few months ago urged the German Military
Staff to encourage the planting of orchards, not for the purpose
of benefiting agriculture or in the interests of the farmers, but
merely for military exigencies.
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