Watercolor and charcoal sketch on paper. Sketch shows a large French observation balloon passing over a French village during the St. Mihiel Offensive in World War I. Onlookers and French soldiers stand in the streets among the maze of houses in the small village."Sausage" was the nickname given by British soldiers to observation balloons of this shape.
The roundel of red, white, and blue on the side of the balloon indicates that it is a French aircraft. This type of aircraft identification was used during the war to avoid firing on allies.