Great Britain was far worse off than France, for her airship fleet practically did not exist. The army had only two large modern dirigibles and a few very small vessels like the old _Nulli Secundus_, of little practical value. The navy had no airships at all.
Italy had a few good medium sized vessels, and four large dirigibles were in process of building. Russia, too, had several airships purchased from the other countries, of various makes and types, but she lacked experienced aeronauts with which to operate them.
Both France and England had already made extensive plans for the building of dirigibles, but few of the ships ordered were near to completion in 1914. Only the Prussian was ready for hostilities; his airships gave him a great strategic advantage. By means of them he gained information about the movements of Allied troops and munitions; directed his artillery, bombed Allied positions, and went his way, for the most part unchallenged. His naval airships were likewise a terrible menace. One of them, in the early part of the war, received an iron cross for its work in connection with a German submarine, in an attack on three British cruisers.
Every one knows of Germany's record in the bombing of cities and towns by means of Zeppelins. In the first days of the war the Allies had no anti-aircraft guns and very few airplanes with which to protect themselves, and so Germany went unmolested while she waged her war against defenseless civilians, women and children.
The spirit of the Allies, however, could not be daunted. England put her few small dirigibles on duty over the English Channel, where they served as patrols against submarines. For this work airships are very effective, since it is a curious fact that from their height in the atmosphere it is possible to see far below the surface of the water. So during the first tragic weeks, when France and Belgium were pouring out their life-blood to check the onward sweep of the Hun, these tiny aircraft stood guard over the Channel across which the "contemptible little army" of Britain was being hurried on transports to meet the invader. Like the contemptible little army itself they proved a factor to be reckoned with. Such aerial scouts now form a large arm of the British, French and American navies. Soon after the war began they were constructed in large numbers to serve as patrols against submarines. In the language of the air, these little dirigibles are known as _Blimps_.