nine o'clock
The General Staff , they knew , must be gratified with the success of the day , for all objectives had been taken and the enemy sorely pressed . It was true , however , that communication had been far from perfect . Liaison had broken down , and the ground gained , therefore , was the result of the grim determination of the soldier of the line to end the thing speedily rather than to a perfect coordination of all arms . `` But , Major , '' McGee was defending the work of the squadron by pointing out the unusual and unforeseen obstacles , `` we could n't see our wing tips until after nine o'clock , and when we could see , those doughboys would n't display their panels . They acted like they thought we would drop bombs on them . It 's hard , Major , to get men to show white panels when they are under fire . They are afraid that the enemy will see them , too , and blow them off the face of the earth .