THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAGAZINE 



It it necessary that this air fleet should 

 come at the earliest date possible to take 

 its place in the struggle. The supremacy 

 of the air for ipi8 will be decided during 

 the first months of the spring. At that 

 stage of the war it will be absolutely nec- 

 essary that the Allies rule the air. As 

 was the case in the cavalry battles of the 

 First Empire, the supremacy wrested 

 from the enemy in the first encounters 

 will hold for many months, and subse- 

 quent small reinforcements ordered into 

 the struggle will not be able to regain that 

 supremacy. The American air fleet must 

 be at the front early this spring and in 

 great numbers. It will be there if Amer- 

 ican industry turns out products quickly 

 and on a large scale. Time saved will 

 save human lives. If two squadrons of 

 American battle planes could have been 

 at Dunkirk in September, 191 7, the 

 French Aviation Service would not have 

 suffered the irreparable loss of Captain 

 Guynemer. 



Since 191 5 French aviators have been 

 making bombardment raids. The raid 

 upon Karlsruhe, in 191 5, made by 20 

 bombing planes, thoroughly terrified the 

 Germans. In that attack more than 200 

 persons were killed or wounded, and for 

 many months this reprisal stopped Ger- 

 man bombing of French towns. 



SHATTERING THE ENEMY'S MORALE BY 

 AIR RAIDS 



In 1917 bombardment of our defense- 

 less towns by German planes began again. 

 London and Dunkirk have suffered most. 



Public opinion in America has been 

 aroused against these bombardments. Re- 

 prisal bombardments have been suggested 

 frequently and have been effected. Dres- 

 den and Frankfort have been visited by 

 French planes. But the people of Amer- 

 ica must realize that it is more difficult 

 for the Allies to carry out bombing expe- 

 ditions than for the enemy. The same 

 distance which will take the German ma- 

 chines over London and Paris will take 

 the Allied machines over Belgian towns 

 or French towns in the invaded territory, 

 still quite far short of important German 

 towns. It is thus clear that the problem 

 of bombardment is a more difficult one 

 for the Allies. And this is one reason 



why we should go at it with all our might. 

 Only a person who has been in a town 

 bombed by enemy planes, especially at 

 night, can understand how panic-stricken 

 the inhabitants become, and tin's increases 

 the effect of the material destruction by 

 shattering the morale of the people. 



A systematic bombardment of open 

 German cities, carried out relentlessly day 

 and night without interruption, in answer 

 to the bombardments the Germans have 

 been carrying on for the last three years, 

 in violation of all laws of warfare, would 

 seriously affect the morale of the enemy. 



The air campaign of 1918 will be de- 

 cisive. A powerful bombing fleet, no less 

 than a great battle fleet, is essential to 

 success, and both should be ready for ac- 

 tion in the spring. 



By repeated raiding trips, day and 

 night, this bombing fleet would contribute 

 immensely tozvard destroying the morale 

 of the German people and would hasten 

 the end with an honorable peace. 



HOW TIME CAN BE SAVED 



It is, therefore, necessary to put forth 

 every effort to develop and speed up these 

 two forces — a fleet of American battle 

 planes and a fleet of American bombing- 

 planes. The thought of getting to France 

 in time must stimulate the industrial 

 population of America in the building 

 of these air fleets, as well as the officers 

 who have the enormous task of organ- 

 izing this mighty fleet, of training the 

 aviators, and arranging for the supplies. 



How is it is possible to save time, and 

 thereby to save human lives? This can 

 be accomplished by spending money and 

 applying to the creation of the American 

 air fleet the wonderful industrial organ- 

 ization of the country, and, finally, by 

 shipping the finished products fearlessly, 

 by facing all risks. 



AMERICAN AIRPLANES IN FRANCE WILE 

 HASTEN END OE WAR 



The sooner American planes appear on 

 the French front, the sooner the war will 

 end, the more lives will be spared. 



In Europe great numbers of airplanes 

 and engines of the type now used at the 

 front are being built and will be used 

 this spring. 



