mid-day some German aeroplanes swept up above the woods
in front, and circled over the British line. British marksmen at
once fired on the bodies and hawklike wings of the intruders.

Some tense interest was roused among the men as British aeroplanes
rose to encounter the German aircraft. It was the first real battle
of the sky they had witnessed. General French's cavalry patrols now
brought information that the woods were thick with German troops,
some of them deploying eastward toward their right at Binche.

At twenty minutes to one the first shots swept from the woods upon
the British line. Presently, Von Kluck's main attack developed
with great rapidity. The German artillery was brought to the front
edge of the woods to hurl a storm of shells on the British trenches.
It was returned with equal vigor. But very soon it became apparent
to British commanders along the line that the German artillery
fire was in far greater volume than what might be expected from
two army corps, whose normal complement would be some 340 guns.
Instead it was estimated 600 German guns were shortly brought into
action.

The battle field was described by the Germans as "an emptiness."
The term is intended to emphasize that the old martial display and
pomp has completely gone. A grand advance upon each other, with
trumpets sounding, banners fluttering, brilliant uniforms, and
splendid cavalry charges, was impossible with long range weapons
hailing storms of bullets and shells of devastating explosive power.
Cover was the all important immediate aim of both attack and defense.
In this respect as we have seen, the German gray-green uniform
assisted by rendering them almost invisible within shelter of such
woods as those before Mons. On the other hand, the brown khaki
shade of the British field uniforms--originally designed for the
same purpose on the sandy wastes of Egypt and Northern India--became
conspicuous upon a green background.

As the battle of Mons developed, the British line of the Conde
Canal was swept with German shrapnel. German shells, also, began
bursting in the suburbs of Mons and in the near-by villages. Sir
Douglas Haig's right thus came under strong fire. German aeroplanes
assisted by dropping smoke bombs over the British positions to give
the angle of range for their artillery. Thereupon fights above
took place between British and German airmen, while the armies
beneath thundered shot and shell upon each other. The Germ