THE BATTLE OF FRANCE
a fleet of a hundred units equal to the finest of the
British Navy—a fleet, that is, more powerful than
all the fleets of the world put together.5
But it is not only in this that its wonder lies.
It is as scientifically precise as it is huge. The
English never wearied of poring over the annotated
photographs, the firing-maps, the drawings and the
diagrams which mean that on a single telephone call
of three or four figures, a storm of shells will rain
on such and such a segment of wood Biy, or such
and such a section of territory 243. They were
fascinated by the perfection of detail, by the gigantic
tower that one man could operate, by the unforeseen
machine-gun which, suddenly uncovered, com-
manded an approach, by the speed of the gas-
warning.
'Even to have thought of it all/ they said, 'must
have meant years of work/
"True/ the captain in command of the work
replied. 'Hundreds of officers have given years of
their lives and energies to make this fortified
position what it is. All my crew, apart from a few
technical officers, belong to this region. Officers of
the Reserve have come quite voluntarily, week after
week, to work out and draw up these diagrams that
you find so amazing. My crew knows its work as
well as sailors know their battleship or cruiser.
Each work has a soul of its own. Personally, I find
mine fresher, purer than my neighbour's. As for my
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