798 



Popular Science Monthly 



ing, it is he who sends the warning to the 

 men behind to put their gas helmets on. 



If the aeronaut can be called the eyes 

 of the army, the wireless man is its ears. 

 Naturally their work is made to dovetail. 

 When one sees, the other hears and also 

 reports. 



One of the main duties of an aviator, as 

 you probably know, is to reconnoiter for 

 the army, and to report on the accuracy 

 of the artillery fire and on the location of 

 the enemy batteries. 



But he does not have to descend to re- 

 port his discoveries. For he, too, is 

 equipped with a wireless set — a Wilson set 

 is the one usually carried — with which he 

 transmits his information to the man below. 



This man is stowed away always in a 

 dug-out, at a little distance from the bat- 

 tery. It is in accordance with the infor- 

 mation he receives and transmits that the 

 artillery fire is directed. 



Every branch of the army, as you see, 

 has its own particular station, and its own 

 particular duties to discharge. 



Back at Army Headquarters where 



the large station 



Marconi 



is situated, the work of the wireless 

 mainly consists in intercepting 

 communications from the enemy 

 and taking aircraft reports. But 

 though each of these stations 

 works separately, they are all 

 in close touch at all times 

 For instance, every bat- 

 talion carries two trench 

 sets, each having two 



operators. They are in the front line with 

 the infantry. Back with the reserve, about 

 one hundred yards behind, are two more 

 sets and two more operators. Back still 

 further is a larger set at Brigade Head- 

 quarters. At Divisional Headquarters is 

 a 3^ K. W. set, and at Army Headquarters 

 is a i3^ K. W. 



An attack is made. The battalion oper- 

 ators go over slightly in the rear of the 

 infantry. They communicate with the 

 station in reserve, who in turn pass it on 

 to Brigade Headquarters, who pass it along 

 to Divisional Headquarters, who report it 

 to Army Headquarters. 



A few have asked why this method of 

 communication is adopted, and have sug- 

 gested that it would be more effective if 

 one large set were established close behind 

 the line, to replace all these individual 

 trench sets. Communication, they say, 

 would then be direct with General Head- 

 quarters, and much time might be saved. 

 That was tried. I remember the occasion 

 distinctly. 



The station was erected, the apparatus 

 installed. This consisted of a motor 

 lorry set, i^/^ K. W., 120-foot steel 

 mast, an umbrella aerial, with a 

 complement of three operators. It 

 stood for just two hours. 

 Then over came one of those 

 huge 5.9 shells, and the lorry 

 set, the steel mast, the um- 

 brella aerial and the three 

 operators were all shot 

 sky-high. I presume 



7^ 







:L'?^'^-:r-' 



Back at Army Headquarters, where the large Marconi station is situated, the work of the wireless 

 consists mainly in intercepting communications from the enemy and taking aircraft reports 



