his lines of communication and guarding points of strategic importance. The command of the air opens up possibilities in the direction of raiding of a kind and with a scope not hitherto known in warfare. To what extent it will be found possible for aircraft to detach themselves from their base, and execute extended raids in territory ' held by the enemy, only the future can determine. It would certainly appear that if the inhabitants are friendly, and the enemy's aircraft are no more a force to be reckoned with, tactics of this kind may be quite feasible.
Once again the author would point out that the experience of the present war is no guide; the Aeronautical Arm quâ Arm cannot at present be said to exist. The Flying Corps, excellent though it be, is scarcely more than necessary to constitute an armed reconnaissance service.
§ 89. Total Defeat in the Air an Irreparable Disaster. From the foregoing it would appear to be at least doubtful whether in future warfare an army which has been deprived of its aircraft, or has to admit the air supremacy of an enemy, will find itself in a position to carry on a campaign. It is, in any case, certain that it will only be able to do so at a very grave disadvantage. It is the author's opinion that the time will come when the total and irretrievable loss of the command of the air to an enemy will be regarded as a disaster of an altogether irreparable and decisive kind, and although there may be a great deal of fighting still before the end, nothing less than an overwhelming superiority in the other arms will save an army deprived of its air service from ultimate defeat. We are thus led to the consideration of a branch of the subject of extreme importance—namely, aeroplane tactics.
§ 90. Employment of Aircraft in Large Bodies. Air Tactics. In some of the previous Chapters (Chapter
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