Report of Lieutenant C. G. G. Bayly.

_To face page 303._]

The most important reconnaissance of the day is unfortunately not
recorded in the war diary. The value of the report when it came in was
recognized at once, and Brigadier-General Sir David Henderson took it
personally to General Headquarters. It stated that a long column, whose
strength was estimated to be that of an army corps, was moving westward
on the Brussels-Ninove road. At Ninove the column continued south-west
towards Grammont. This was von Kluck's Second Corps, and the report
seemed to show an attempt at an enveloping movement. The same report
confirmed what had already been seen, the presence of enemy troops
moving along the great Chaussee on Soignies. This column was taking
advantage of the trees on either side of the road to shield its
movements. This was the first day on which a machine failed to return
from over enemy territory. Lieutenants V. Waterfall and C. G. G. Bayly,
of No. 5 Squadron, started on a reconnaissance in an Avro at 10.16 a.m.
and next day were reported missing. It was the bringing down of this
machine, no doubt, which gave the Germans their first assurance of the
presence of the British forces. The observer's report, so far as he had
written it, was picked up near the wreckage of the machine by some
Belgian peasants, and eventually found its way to the War Office in
London.

Sir John French on the evening of the 22nd held a conference at Le
Cateau, whereat the position of the Germans, so far as it was then
known, was explained and discussed. At the close of the conference Sir
John stated that owing to the retreat of the French Fifth Army, the
British offensive would not take place. A request from General Lanrezac
arrived at 11.0 p.m., asking for offensive action against the German
right flank, which was pressing him back from the Sambre. This could not
be undertaken, but Sir John French promised to remain in his position
for twenty-four hours.

In his book, _A Staff Officer's Scrap Book_, Sir Ian Hamilton, who was
attached to the Japanese army during the Russo-Japanese War, has the
following entry: 'The Russians are sending up balloons to our front, and
in front of the Twelfth Division. Judging by manoeuvres and South
African experiences, they should now obtain a lot of misleading
intelligence.' Observation from the air, when the war broke out, had
still to prove its worth. The Royal Flying Corps, though confident of
its own