French train south to the large American base at St. Maixent Aerodrome on 1 January 1918. After two weeks at St. Maixent, where the squadron largely performed guard duty and drills, orders were received to move to Chaumont-Hill 402 Aerodrome, arriving on 16 January. where its mechanics took charge of maintenance on French Nieuports and SPAD aircraft. On 2 February, the 12th finally began its combat training, being moved to Amanty Airdrome in Lorraine where it joined the 1st, 91st and 88th Aero Squadrons. At Amanty, the squadron was equipped with Avion de Reconnaissance 1 (AR 1) trainers. classes were held in radio and machine-gun work and ground training was conducted by French officers. In addition the squadron helped in airfield construction projects. The AR-1s were inferior, obsolete machines, called "Antique Rattletraps" by the pilots, which the French had retired to training duties. However, they were suitable for training and after several weeks of making do with the training provided, on 3 May orders were received to head to the front, being assigned to the I Corps Observation Group at Ourches Aerodrome, where the 12th was designated as a Corps Observation squadron. Combat in France At Ourches, the 12th joined the 1st Aero Squadron and began active operations over the front. It was equipped with SPAD S.XIA.2s aircraft. In combat, the mission of the 12th Aero Squadron was general surveillance of the enemy rear areas by means of both visual and photographic reconnaissance. These missions were carried out for the purpose of intelligence-gathering and informing First Army headquarters informed of enemy movements and preparations for attacks or retreats of its infantry forces. The 12th identified enemy activity along roads and railroads, ground stations, various storage dumps and airfields; the numbers of fires and activities of enemy aircraft, and the amount of anti-aircraft artillery was also monitored and reported. Due to the nature of the missions and the depths of enemy area which was penetrated, the missions were carried out at high altitudes, usually between 4,500 and 5,500 meters. With few exceptions, the 12th’s pilots had never flown combat, but most of the observers had spent a number of weeks flying with French squadrons on active missions. One of these, Lieutenant Stephen W. Thompson, was at the 1st Squadron Gunnery School at Cazaux Airdrome, near Bordeaux when he was loaned on 5 February to the 123d French Breguet Squadron due to