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As a routine aid I received an aerial photograph that covered a large area including target # 4.  On it I drew lines in ink, one through the target in the direction of fire.  Another passed through the target at right angles to the first.  Then I drew other lines parallel to those, spaced at intervals that corresponded to 100 meters on the ground.  My job was to spot each shellburst and send by radio an estimate of the error; so many meters over or short, so many to the right or left.  (I still have that photo).  I went over the photograph with Denis to make sure he knew the position.  We both knew the location of the battery of 75's we were to work with.  Once in the air he and I could converse through our speaking tubes, but he understood no English and I could speak only scraps of French.  Denis was however an old hand at reglage and he knew the plan.  I expected to need only two words of French, "Allez" and "Tournez".  Unfortunately it did not turn out that way.  For some reason I never learned, the battery commander decided to change the game plan at the last moment.  He told me about it, and gave me my new directions, after we had arrived overhead.  He did that in the only way possible, by spreading pieces of white cloth on the ground.

The number, shape and arrangement of those panels of cloth conveyed code messages to the observer.  This language did not of course lend itself to subtle nuances of meaning.  It did suffice to express the simple thoughts an artilleryman was most likely to have about the aiming of his guns.  Every observer had to memorize a dozen or so panel arrangements and their meanings.

When we had taken off I unrolled my aerial and began sending the call letters of the battery, just to let them know we were coming.  They put out a signal that meant "Understood" (equivalent to "Roger" in WW2).  We circled around, and the battery put out another signal, "Wait a few minutes".  Denis could see those cloth panels, but he did not know what they meant.  He had never had occasion to learn that code, depending on his French observers to translate for him.  All I could say to him was "Attendez".  He probably understood the word but thought I was delaying the proceedings for reasons of my own.  Anyhow there was nothing he could do until I gave him the word to start a run toward the target.  So he continued to circle around.