The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-09-30 00:00:00

AFTERTHOUGHTS on the MANCEUVRES.

(twin an ikeasionitt Correspondent of Tile Time.)

By unanimous consent, the Manceuvres have been
pronounce I a success. No nation could have assem-
bled a body finer troops than those just dispersing to
then various qearters. It has been proved that the
men are healthy and well disciplined, that the regi-
mental officers do their with well, carrying out with
energy and faithfulness their daily duties, monotonous
as those duties are. It has been proved, in short, that
there ,an be assembled in England at least one Army
Coma unsurpassed for men, material, and discipline
by any Army Corps in the world. We may go further,
and say that the Manieuvres have shewn that we
possess Generals capable of handling their Divisions
without getting into difficulties, and, perhaps beet know-
ledge of all, it has been shown that in the f 'ommander•
in-Chief, his Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge,
the nation possesses; an officer of the highest rank dis-
posed towards military progress+, and whose daily
criticisms were remarkable for their sound sense and
firm grasp of principles. To quote the words of our
most distinguished foreign visitors, they have been
fairly "astonished" at seeing the improvement made
in the British Army within the last few years. Upon
that improvement we congratulate the Army and the
enuntry, and to the end that the improvement may
not cease nor the hands of energetic reformers
slacken, we propose to point out a few details in
which further improvement is required, lest English-
men should come to think that no ferther exertions
are needed. Were such a miserable result to follow
the Autumn Menseuvres of IS7I then would they have
been not successful, but rather the most egregious and
unhappy failure. As the Army Corps defilssi before
Princes, Generals, and people last Friday the thought
must have occurred to many, "Do the multitude of
Englishmen here present as spectators understand that
this English Army is considerably smaller than one
German corps, and that the Germane have 13 of there,
besides men enough behind to keep them constantly
filled up and preserve their communications, or that
more than 1:1 times the force assembled at Alilershott
were actually led priaonere to Germany during the late
war?" If the notion that the Aldershott Army Come
is but a very small force be thoroughly got Lold of.
the next question will be "Is it entirely efficient?"
In the men, yea. In their arms, yea. In their
truth and courage, yes. In their preparation for
the field, no not yet. The first manifest deficiency
is in the organization of the Supply Departments. The
transport is deficient in amount, and the officers of the
Control Department are not, by their civil education,
at all prepared to perform the dutiee suddenly thrust
upon them--that of supplying an Army in the field.
They will say that if the Generals would only have let
them know long enough before hand where the troops
would be at a certain hour theyeould haVC managed to fecal
them perfectly. That is to say that, being already in
their owe country and with every advantage of London
chwe at hand, and Alderehett as their headquarters, if
the Generals would only have got rid of the last sem-
blance of real war they could have fed and supplied the
troops. It was just to try this among many other things
that the Mama:lmes were instituted. This year the
responsible chiefs hays been very cantioue. Nothing
of the nature of • crucial twit has been permitted- -
only the simplest necessities that must occur under the
most favourable circumstances. If, then, there have
been constant comphinita If whole camps being left
without meat until a bite lionr in the evening, and
other failures of alike betas, Cr. it is certain that some-
thing has been wanting in the Supply Department.
Though one thing mied eovit'nl, unformed for a while
- -experieuee- instant etc UM ought to be taken
to pi-ovine what ean be proviled---namely, transport.
"What," we hear some people cry, "do you want to
keep up in peace all the transport required for war?
Impossible Auxd ridiculous!"