Primary tabs
Transcription
[Page 35]
6th Dec. 1916. Just a year to the day since I landed back on the "Karoola" in Sydney. [From his previous service in the Australian Army Medical Corps] Well, it was a beautiful day on the 4th and no less than 17 of the huge observing balloons were up. These stretch away to Combles front on our right, and along the British line to our left – the Somme upper. Fricourt lies just behind us a couple of miles with Albert in our left rear about the same distance. Baupaume, [Bapaume] on which we are concentrating our interests as present, lies about 7 miles straight in Front of us. Our camp is right beside Mametz Woods with the South African's nightmare – Delville Wood – (called Devil Woods by them), to our right front.
The fourth, being a fine sunny day, brought the aircraft out like a flock of migrating birds. There are so many that they are quite uncountable. Hundreds and hundreds of planes are up at once. Every now & then a Taube, thinking it saw an opening to get above one of our observation balloons, would dart out over our lines. A rapid churning of propellers, a congregating of our machines – all spitting fire, & a few reports from the anti-aircraft guns, and Fritz either sacrifices himself to get his objective, or thinks better and beats a hasty retreat. Sometimes he is too quick, and, getting above the stationary helpless balloon, drops an incendiary bomb. But sometimes too, our anti-aircraft guns quickly get their aim; first a puff of smoke many feet below; second shot a short distance underneath the Fritz machine, & then, one which bursts right amongst his vitals, & like a wounded duck, he comes crashing to earth.
Periodically the balloons descend. A few minutes elapse, & they rise again. Then, just a few rounds from the artillery to test the range, which, once found, leads to trouble for Fritz's lines of communication. So, as I said before, the fourth being fine & sunny, the aircraft had the time of their lives – and incidentally, our heavy gun batteries opposite Baupaume, got their range. They were pretty quiet till evening.