ld War were on such a vast scale that it was
difficult for a single observer to give a word picture of them. All he
could see, stationed behind the lines, was a vast cataclysm of smoke
and fire, and his ears were deafened by so vast a sound that it was
comparable to nothing on this earth ever heard before.

An observer in the air was little better off, save for that portion
directly beneath him, and even that he could not see very much of, on
account of the smoke and dust. If he looked to the left or the right, or
backward or forward, he was at the disadvantage of distance.

To him, then, great columns of infantry appeared only as crawling worms,
and batteries of artillery merely patches of woods whence belched fire
and smoke. That he must keep high in the air when over the enemy's lines
went without saying, for he would be fired at if he came too low. So
then, even an airman's vision was limited when it came to describing a
great battle.

Of course he always did what he was assigned to do. He kept in contact,
or in communication, with his own certain batteries, or his infantry
division, directing the shots of the former and the advance of the
latter. So, really, he had little time to observe anything save the
effect of the firing of his own side on a certain limited objective.

As for the soldiers in battle, they are, of course, unable to observe
anything except that which goes on immediately in their neighborhood.
The artilleryman fires his gun under the direction of some observer,
often far away, who telephones to him to lower or elevate his piece, or
deflect it to the tight or left. The infantryman advances as the barrage
lifts, and rushes forward according to orders, firing or using his
bayonet as the case may be, digging in when halted, and waiting for
another rush forward. The machine gunner and his squad aim to put as
many of the advancing, retreating, or standing enemy out of the fighting
as possible, and to save themselves.

The truck men hasten up with loads of ammunition, fortunate if they are
not sent to their death in the drive. The stretcher bearers look for the
wounded and hasten back with them.

So, all in all, no single person can observe more than a very small part
of the great battle. It is really like looking through a microscope
at some organism, while the whole great body lies beyond the field of
vision.

Only the general staff-the officers in their headquarters far behind
the lines, who r