The German troops needed various aids to perform their duties during darkness; most soldiers had to be conditioned to being outdoors at night because their senses had been dulled by city life. It was particularly difficult for them to find their way in the generally monotonous Russian countryside, which contained very few good reference points.

Among the expedients used by reconnaissance units were the firing of tracer ammunition and of star shells, dropping of flares from planes, and the intermittent employment of searchlights in pairs behind the front. There was little motorized or armored night reconnaissance because vehicles are heard a long way off and attract attention. However, in situations where night reconnaissance elements had to cover long distances, motorized reconnaissance forces were sent out. As they approached the enemy, they dismounted and continued on foot.

Artillery night reconnaissance was mainly a function of the sound and flash ranging sections of the corps artillery observation battalions. Firing data were computed with the aid of the meteorological section whenever immediate fire was to be delivered. During completely dark nights German observation battalions tried to use captive balloons for detailed reconnaissance over wide areas, but this procedure was applied successfully only on a few occasions.

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