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What is remarkable about photography's role in the war is photography was already a well established fixture of the modern 19th century society.  The aura of aviation's beginnings reflected countless attempts to consolidate known technologies into a reliable and workable framework.  It was the aeroplan that became the driving force of aeiral observation in the Great War.  It's ability to command the high ground and provide a concise view of the battle area, both tactically and strategically, would enamor both combatants and the public at large to new methods of warfare.  Aerial observation quickly became an important resource as the forces maneuvered in the drive towards Paris.

This comprehensive resource will interest military history and aviation enthusiasts, as well as persons in the intelligence field and the coordinating illustrations, that include  aircraft, cameras, people, aerial photos, and maps varying in scales, enhance the readers’ experience 

"Finnegan has done a remarkable job of bringing the observation war to stage center. He integrates admirably the operational and the technical aspects of the exponential development of aerial reconnaissance in the French and British armies.  . . . Finnegan also succeeds in making highly technical subjects accessible to the non-specialist-no mean feat given the complexity of the material he presents, and its limited connection to contemporary methods and instruments. The large number of well selected illustrations add an extremely valuable dimension to a well written text".  - Dennis Showalter, former President of the Society for Military History and Professor of History at Colorado College

Reprinted with permission from CHOICE, copyright by the American Library Association

45-0839 D600  MARC Science & Technology \ History of Science & Technology Finnegan, Terrence J.  Shooting the front: allied aerial reconnaissance and photographic interpretation on the western front - World War I.  National Defense Intelligence College, 200 MacDill Blvd Washington, DC 20340-5100, 2006.  508p bibl index afp; ISBN 9781932946062, $63.00. Reviewed in 2007oct CHOICE.

WW I marked the beginning of modern warfare that incorporated key technologies, including aerial photography and interpretation, that have been refined over time and continue to be important today. Finnegan (retired, USAF) has written a fascinating, well-researched book focusing on those technologies and their impact during the Great War. As he states, much has been written on the exciting topic of aerial combat during WW I, but little has been written on less glamorous aerial reconnaissance. To his credit, he succeeds in bringing the subject to life, at least in part, through the incorporation of numerous graphics. These include aerial photographs and the resulting maps; photographs of European and American innovators, i! ncluding famous fine art and commercial photographer Edward Steichen; and images of the cameras, camera operators, and aircraft involved in aerial reconnaissance. A particularly interesting chapter, "Camouflage and Deception," documents how participants were forced into a game of "hide-and-seek," altering the physical landscape to hide strategic intentions. As observational methods improved, the French saw camouflage as an essential art form and incorporated cubist techniques, established by Picasso, to conceal details on the field. Aerial photographers, in response, developed new photographic plates and color filters to discriminate between real and artificial foliage, for example. A significant work. Summing Up: Recommended. All levels. -- C. Baker, Baylor University This information is from Choice Reviews Online, an ALA/ACRL publication, available by subscription at http://www.cro2.org/

Colonel Terrence J. Finnegan is a recently retired USAF Reservist whose last assignment was at Bolling Air Force Base, Washington, and D.C. serving the Joint Military Intelligence College.  His parallel careers in the Air Force and the Department of Defense as a civil servant covered assignments around the globe, to include the National Security Agency, European Command, NATO, Pacific Command, and Central Command during Operation Desert Storm.  As a retired civil servant, his career included the Defense Intelligence Agency, NORAD, Space Command, and recently Northern Command.   Colonel Finnegan’s career primarily centered on intelligence and policy issues supporting NATO and NORAD Alliances.  His work also covered new frontiers in intelligence such as Information Operations.   He is presently a defense contractor supporting the National Guard.

FOREWORD     World War I marked the beginning of the era of modern warfare.  It was a conflict vast in scope, loss of life, and devastation.  It was a conflict that forced human adaptation to changing technology, and demanded the incorporation of revolutionary technology.  As recorded in this remarkable work, Shooting the Front, it was a conflict that saw the development and use of aerial photography, aerial reconnaissance, and the introduction of a vital new dimension of intelligence – that has both continued and evolved and is more vital than ever to the operational commander in the 21st Century.  Terry Finnegan’s examination of U.S., British, and French aerial reconnaissance on the Western Front is the result of superb research and makes an extremely valuable contribution to the documented history of the conflict as we approach the centennial of the Great War.    This book focuses on the development of ideas in aerial reconnaissance and photo interpretation, and how some of those ideas came to be accepted during the war.  Finnegan identifies the key thinkers and developers, the artists and scientists who, working together, developed fledgling aerial reconnaissance specialties.  He shows how they were able to gain acceptance, and how they changed forever the way wars would be fought.  Exceptional personalities figure prominently in this study, among them, Edward Steichen, one of America’s leading photographers in the twentieth century.  In Finnegan’s work we find the seeds of photographic science and imagery interpretation as they are practiced today.  The requirements and challenges have changed little – gather the best information available, analyze it quickly, and get it to units in the field and to headquarters immediately.  We learn that even in World War I, the observer could shoot a photograph, land, have the crew on the ground develop it, make pictures, quickly assess the situation, and deliver the product to its destination, all in less than half an hour.    Analysts on the Western Front had the challenge of dealing with the other sources of intelligence – the French led in the development of all-source collaboration.  They brought together information from radio intercepts, from tapped phone lines, from the sound of artillery, and from visual flashes, and the image of the aerial photograph, which could confirm those sources. Aerial reconnaissance made it possible to put together a battlefield map that could be updated daily, a “plan directeur.”  From the bits and pieces of intelligence, and from this map, commanders were able, albeit imperfectly, to improve their understanding of the enemy’s intent.  This book’s fresh information on the French contribution to and leadership in aerial reconnaissance may be the most surprising aspect of the scholarship.   Shooting the Front will have wide appeal.  The volume serves to showcase the incredibly important research on intelligence and intelligence-related issues that is a core part of the mission of the Joint Military Intelligence College.  The college is to be commended for its publication.                                                                    GEORGE A. JOULWAN                                                             General, U.S. Army (Retired)                                                             Former Supreme Allied Commander Europe                                                                           Arlington, Virginia 3 January 2006