Monday September 11, 1916

Our (the 5th) brigade went out to manouvres to-day out on a big ridge. It was just to give our aeroplanes a chance to practice in signalling. They signalled our battle line by auto horns, so many toots for certain movements or requests. Then we would light flares all along our lines, red flares which sat on the ground and blazed away. Then the aeroplanes would tick out or changed position on their scale maps, etc. A scale map is a topographical map of a certain piece of country. This map is divided into small squares. All of the squares are numbered so it is easy to pick out a position very quickly. The way an aeroplane signals to our batteries where to land on Fritzie is by telling them which square to hit. They correct their aim till the batteries (behind the hill or woods) have got their mark. Of course lots of times the batteries have their own observers away out in front, up a tree or ruins of a house, connected with the battery by phone.