by the fire of our machine or antiaircraft guns. In addition,
seven enemy machines seriously damaged fell in our lines.

"In the same period our squadrons effected numerous sorties. They
bombarded notably the railroad station at Bensdorf, factories at
Hayatge-Jesuf at Moyeuvre, blast furnaces at Burbach and in the Saar
Valley, railroad stations at Bethienville, Chatelet-sur-Retourne,
Bethel, Mezieres, Charleville, and Molshelm; the bivouacs in Suippes
Valley, and munitions depots in the region of Laon, etc. Thirteen
thousand kilograms of projectiles were dropped during the expeditions,
which caused serious damage to enemy establishments."

British, French, and German air squadrons continued their activities
throughout June and July, 1917. July 12, 1917, was particularly
successful for the British airmen, who claimed to have brought down
near Ypres thirty-one German planes without loss to their own forces.

On the Russian and Italian fronts and in the Balkans and the Near East
aerial activities were slightly fewer and less extensive than on the
western, due to the difference in conditions, such as the greater
scarcity of machines and the greater distance from the source of
supplies.

A novel use of aeroplanes was made after the entrance of the United
States into the war. On April 4, 1917, it was stated that British and
French aviators dropped large numbers of German translations of
President Wilson's war message over the German lines and Italian
aviators did the same over the Austrian lines.

On a few occasions aircraft violated the neutrality of countries
adjoining belligerent territory. In one case a French aeroplane
dropped bombs on a Swiss town. A prompt and complete apology on the
part of the French Government followed. On March 13, 1917, Dutch
troops shot down a German plane which had flown over Sluis in Holland,
ten miles northeast of Burges. Before they could capture the aviator,
he succeeded in restarting his machine and in making his escape to
the German lines. On June 1, 1917, a Zeppelin appeared first over
Swedish territory near Malmoe and then over Danish territory south of
Copenhagen. Swedish torpedo boats and Danish troops fired on it
successively and it quickly disappeared in a southerly direction.

One remarkable enterprise of Russian airmen was reported officially on
April 3, 1917, from Petrograd and deserves, on account of its highly
adventurous nature, detailed repetition. The statement read: "