battle before it succumbed. It was a large biplane of considerable
speed, armed with two machine guns, one fore and one aft. Flying over
the British lines, it was sighted by the English, and a similar type
aeroplane attacked. A shot hit the German machine in the gasoline
tank, putting the motor out of commission, and, notwithstanding their
rapid fall, the aviators maintained their firing until the end. The
machine crashed to the earth, and both pilot and observer were killed,
but the aeroplane itself was not badly damaged. On the same day,
September 13, 1915, a German aeroplane visited the coast of Kent and
dropped bombs, which resulted in damage to a house and injured four
persons before it was chased off by two British naval aeroplanes.

Regarding the British aviation service, Field Marshal Sir John French,
in a dispatch to the secretary of state for war, said with special
reference to the fighting on September 25, 1915, at Artois, "that the
wing of the Royal Flying Corps attached to the Third Army performed
valuable work, and not only in times of actual battle, but throughout
the summer. They continuously cooperated with the artillery,
photographing the positions of the enemy, bombing their
communications, and reconnoitering far over hostile country." In the
period under review by the field marshal, he stated that there had
been more than 240 combats in the air, and in nearly every case the
British pilots had to seek out the Germans behind the German lines,
where their aeroplanes were aided by the fire of the movable
antiaircraft guns, and that they were successful in bringing down four
German machines behind the British trenches, and at least twelve in
the German lines, as well as putting out of action many others more or
less damaged.

While considerable has been made of the Zeppelins, the French airships
were also active during the war. One of the latter craft of this type,
the _Alsace_, having a capacity of 23,000 cubic meters (30,000 cubic
yards), on the night of September 30 and October 1, 1915, bombarded
the junction of Amagne-Lucquy, and the stations of Attigny and
Vouziers on the trunk-line railroad going through Luxemburg and the
Ardennes, which was the main supply line for the whole German line
from Verdun to the neighborhood of Novon. This airship made its
journey and returned safely. However, three days later, in a cruise in
the Reathel district, it was forced to land, and the crew were
captured by th