A message dispatched via carrier pigeon in 1910 has been found in a field outside a French village, 110 years after it was sent by a German officer to another officer in a neighboring village when the area was a part of the Imperial State of Germany led by the Kaiser, CNN reports.
Found in a capsule that was typically tied to the body or leg of the bird, the message details troop movements as part of a military exercise four years before World War I. The aluminum capsule was found in a field by a couple out for a hike in September.
“Platoon Potthof receives fire as they reach the western border of the parade ground, platoon Potthof takes up fire and retreats after a while,” the message reads, according to the AFP news agency. “In Fechtwald half a platoon was disabled. Platoon Potthof retreats with heavy losses.”
The area the capsule was found in was ceded to Germany by France after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-71. It was returned to France after World War I as part of the Treaty of Versailles.