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could come over at that time; to which the General acceded with alacrity. Next day I went down to get the General, going through the outer rooms where many commanding staff officers were waiting to receive instructions, and reported to him that all the air commanders of our own and the allied forces were assembled and awaiting him. he started right up with his aide and myself toward my headquarters, which was about three hundred yards away from his. We had preceeded about halfway, during which time he had commented on the fact that we had been remarkably successful in preventing enemy reconnaissance, and that he had thereby been able to insure great secrecy as to the concentration of the army. Hardly had this been said when I noticed high up in the sky and coming towards us the explosions of our anti-aircraft artillery. It meant only one thing, and that was that a German ship had slipped through our barrage and would photograph the place where we were standing. The anti-aircraft fire was splendid, but the German ship, a Rumpler, was so high (about 6,000 meters-20,000 feet) and so well handled that it easily avoided the shots which, as a matter of fact, could not reach it. I knew that our high pursuit patrols were in place because I had inspected them myself that morning, and that the Rumpler had come along with the sun until he had gotten to the desired point, and then had made a break across the salient in which we are. I thought to myself that he would run squarely into one of our formations to the east, but I said nothing about it. The General made no particular comment, spoke to the assembled air officers about their former work and what was to be done in the coming battle, and then went back to his headquarters.
I walked down with him,  thinking of the Rumpler and what his reconnaissance would show if he were able to get back with it, and what more we could do to guard against a reoccurrence. As I returned to my headquarters, I had decided that, with the force we had, it was impossible to do more and that it would be very difficult for the Rumpler to get away