Page:Breaking the Hindenburg Line.djvu/47

Rh position, being observed and enfiladed from both flanks. It was therefore decided to withdraw to our original line under cover of darkness, not only because the position of the men was unsatisfactory, but in order that a straight barrage could be put down for the main attack.

During the few days of preparation, every care was taken to prevent the enemy from realizing the imminence and magnitude of the attack. Reconnoitring parties were warned to keep themselves scattered and as inconspicuous as possible when in view of the enemy. There was to be no flourishing of maps in full view of enemy airmen or of direct observation from the enemy trenches. All troops in the front line were instructed to keep their heads down and to let as little movement as possible be seen, while movement of transport behind the lines, beyond the normal activity inseparable from the supply and maintenance of a division in comparatively peaceful times, was restricted to the hours of darkness.

The enemy airmen at this time were very active and daring, and frequently his reconnaissance machines would, in spite of machine-gun and rifle fire, swoop down and pass over our front and support trenches at a very low altitude, watching for signs of unusual activity. With their scarlet-painted bodies the machines presented a striking appearance, looking for all the world like huge red birds diving down on the look-out for their prey on the ground beneath. Very little could have escaped the knowledge of the skilled observers in the planes, and the result speaks well for the thoroughness of the precautions taken against observation, and for the skill with which officers and men carried out the orders given to them.

One of the first preparations to be made in all cases of attack where moves of Headquarters are likely to