The third part, "The Western War" (September 1916), describes visits to the Western Front near Arras and Soissons in France. Wells expresses confidence that methods of aerial dominance, combined with photography, have permitted the Allies to develop tactics that are sure ultimately to defeat Germany. Wells praises British soldiers but criticises the officer corps for its mental rigidity. He emphasises that new technologies have transformed the art of war in ways that military professionals are all too slow to grasp. In particular, fighting in disciplined formations and cavalry are no longer of any military importance, while "[a]rtillery is now the most essential instrument of the war." Wells describes a tour of a munitions factory given by AndrĂŠ CitroĂŤn. He devotes a chapter to tanks as "a beginning in a new phase of warfare" noting that in 1903 he had described a tank in a short story ("The Land Ironclads").