surprise and delay; and to enable the Main Body to deploy into battle formation without interruption by the enemy's fire. It is also the duty of the commander to ensure _communication_ between the various parts of the Advanced Guard and between that force and the Main Body, by arranging for mounted orderlies and cyclists, signallers and connecting files, in addition to the contact patrols furnished by the Air Service, and to such telegraphic and telephonic communication as can be provided in the field by the Signals. This is of the first importance, as the action of the commanders of the Advanced Guard and of the Main Body will depend on information received, and not only must information be gained by every available means, but it must also be communicated without delay to all concerned while it is fresh and before it becomes stale. It must also be remembered that negative information (_e.g._ that such and such a village has been thoroughly searched and no trace of the enemy found) is at least of equal value to positive information. The repetition or confirmation of information already sent are also of importance, as it is clearly of value to a commander to know positively that the enemy is still absent, or still present, at a certain time in a certain locality. In the American Civil War, during an encounter battle between {108} advanced troops, the commander of the cavalry of the United States Army held up the Confederate advanced troops. A sharp fight took place at _Sulphur Springs_ (October 12, 1863) and the United States cavalry commander became so absorbed in the battle that he failed to send information to headquarters, and General Meade did not learn that he was in contact with the Army of Northern Virginia until late in the afternoon. In the campaign of _Fredericksburg_, General R. E. Lee, with the Army of Northern Virginia, was confronted by General Burnside, with the Army of the Potomac. On November 15, 1862, a patrol of Confederate cavalry discovered Burnside's troops moving eastwards, and another patrol brought news the same day that gunboats and transports had entered Acguia Creek on the Potomac. These two pieces of information, collected at points 40 miles distant from one another, gave Lee an insight into his opponent's design. Information gained by aircraft on September 4 and 5, 1914, and communicated immediately to General Joffre, led to the discovery of the flank march across the Franco-British front by the German I. Army, and to the decisive counter-attack at the _First Battle of the Marne_ (September 6, 1914).