way. The 111th tried to get through but was al­ most wiped out in so doing. We outfitted most of our Battery from the equipment they left behind. The German aeroplanes were beginning to get increasingly active. During the first few days of the drive, thirty or forty Allied planes would be in the air at one time, while no Germans would be seen. Now the tables were slowly beginning to turn. Richtofen's "flying circus" made its appearance. Eight or ten German planes would come over the lines at once looping the loop and diving straight down at our troops, machine gunning all the while. Each day they grew bolder and bolder until they soon had driven the Allied planes off the lines completely. Our anti-aircraft guns never worried them at all. The observation balloons on both sides were having a bad time of it as each side was continually going over after its opponent's balloons. One German plane came over one afternoon and got no less than three Allied balloons in one swoop.

                On July 27, the enemy was once again dislodged and driven back. During the evening we pushed for­ ward through Courpoil, through Beuvardes, and then swung to the right towards the Croix-Blanche and Croix-Rouge Farms. As yet the extent of our advance was not definitely known. We waited most of the night on the road, trying to get information as to where the front lines were. About midnight a troop of French Cavalry passed us coming back from the attack. They reported that the enemy was falling back across the River Ourcq but that he was fighting every inch of the way. They themselves had been

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INDEX