The only one who seemed to realise this was the aged Emperor himself,
and when he came flying along it was very like the Duke of Cambridge
at his best with a thunderstorm raging.
The army was then commanded by Arch-Dukes, aged men as a rule, and all
intensely nervous as to what the Emperor would think of them when he
came along. One could tell when he was coming by watching the feathers
in their helmets. An Arch-Duke would look very brave in all his war
paint, but if you watched the green feather above him closely you
might notice it trembling with a distinct shiver when the Emperor was
anywhere in the neighbourhood.
Their old-fashioned methods and amateurish leading seem to be paying a
heavy price in the present campaign.
AN INTERESTING TASK.
A new method of illuminating the battlefield at night had been
invented on the Continent.
A chemical substance had been manufactured which enabled the user to
turn on a strong light over a wide space at any moment.
Rumour said that it was as powerful as a searchlight, and yet could be
carried in your pocket. But great secrecy was observed both regarding
its composition and its experimental trials.
In the same army a new kind of observation balloon was said to be on
trial equipped with some very up-to-date apparatus.
Also it was reported that, in addition to these aids to effective
reconnaissance, a new method of swimming rivers by cavalry had been
invented by which every man and horse in a cavalry division could
cross wide rivers without difficulty or delay.
Pages:
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91