couldn't stay to enjoy his popularity. The escadrille was ordered to
the sector of Verdun.

While in a way we were sorry to leave Luxeuil, we naturally didn't
regret the chance to take part in the aerial activity of the world's
greatest battle. The night before our departure some German aircraft
destroyed four of our tractors and killed six men with bombs, but even
that caused little excitement compared with going to Verdun. We would
get square with the Boches over Verdun, we thought--it is impossible
to chase airplanes at night, so the raiders made a safe getaway.


OFF TO VERDUN

As soon as we pilots had left in our machines, the trucks and tractors
set out in convoy, carrying the men and equipment. The Nieuports
carried us to our new post in a little more than an hour. We stowed
them away in the hangars and went to have a look at our sleeping
quarters. A commodious villa half way between the town of Bar-le-Duc
and the aviation field had been assigned to us, and comforts were as
plentiful as at Luxeuil.

Our really serious work had begun, however, and we knew it. Even as
far behind the actual fighting as Bar-le-Duc one could sense one's
proximity to a vast military operation. The endless convoys of motor
trucks, the fast-flowing stream of troops, and the distressing number
of ambulances brought realization of the near presence of a gigantic
battle.

Within a twenty-mile radius of the Verdun front aviation camps abound.