forced to land near Noumen, south of Dixmude in
Belgium, and the aeroplane and its occupants, uninjured, became German
prisoners. On this day a British biplane was shot down in an encounter
near Tournai, Belgium. Lieutenant Boelke on January 13, 1916, shot
down a British aeroplane, as did also Lieutenant Immelmann--one
northeast of Tourcoing and the other near Bapaume. Both were decorated
with the Order of Pour-le-Merite by the emperor. A third British
aeroplane was shot down in an aerial fight near Roubaix, and a fourth
was brought down by German defense guns near Ligne, northwest of
Lille. Of the eight British officers on these four aeroplanes six were
killed and two wounded.

On January 15, 1916, Lieutenant Boelke again shot down an enemy
aeroplane, which fell within the British lines and was set on fire by
German artillery. On January 18, 1916, there were aerial battles near
Paschendaele and Dadezelle in Flanders, and three of the four
occupants of one machine were killed. A French aeroplane was shot down
by German airmen near Moyenvic, and the pilot and observer were
captured.

In the course of the war the German aeroplane fleet developed at the
close of the year 1915, and at the beginning of 1916, a renewed
activity and initiative of attack. In the period from December 20,
1915, to January 19, 1916, an analysis of the official reports
indicated that the British airmen had had seventy-five individual
combats with the Germans, in the course of which nine British and
eight German machines were lost. The Germans, on the other hand,
reported in this time that they had destroyed fourteen British and
three French aeroplanes, while the French claimed the destruction of
three German machines, one of which was shot down in the Balkans;
while the Turks, defending the Dardanelles, claimed to have shot down
seven ally aeroplanes. Italian airmen overcame two Austrian machines,
and Austria and Montenegro each overcame one enemy aeroplane. An
analysis of these figures indicates that for this month the advantage
was distinctly with the Germans, as they had destroyed twenty-five
machines as against fourteen aeroplanes brought down by the enemy.

The statements concerning the losses of airships and aeroplanes
published by the various armies and newspapers in most cases were
disputed for their accuracy. The Paris "Temps" on February 5, 1916,
criticising a German statement, stated as the correct figures for the
aeroplane losses o