The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-01-23
KRIEGS5PLEL.
How TO Fight q Pitched Battle Within
the Reach OF Any One.

There is a sSaDge story about Pbilldor, the
| famous chess-player. AS an army officer,
having as yet no particular distinguishing
talent, it was his good or bad fortune to be
unhorsed on certain battle field, and to have
been ridden over by squadron of cavalry,
and by o battery or 80. Some fearful contu-
sion of the brain was the result, but, If the
tale is true, when recovering from his hurt,
suddenly arose within him those wonderful
powers of combination which found in chess
| their only development, and he became
| the great Caesar of the checkered board.
Whether Philidor, with the opportunl-
| ty of directing his efforts to the strategy
of the battle field, would have turned out TO
be second Maurice de SAKE, or Marbor-
ousn, is quite doubtful. That both Frede-
rick and Napoleon we're really fond Of chess
rests on very uncertain authority; but that
they never rose beyond the common level of
mere jourDeymen players Is very sure. To be
beaten at chess implies nothing beyond that
little disagreeable certainly that the conquer.
or possesses special brains OF peculiar quail
ty, and save some very slight mental distress
on the part of the conquered, The consequent
ces are null and void. Differing, however,
very much from chess is the game of Kriegs.
spiel, which might, 80 think German military
authorities, By its thorough study and mastery,
help some day to make the successful player
second Alexander-in fact, have no other
countries to conquer. Said 10 owe Its
whose poor brains we're undoubtedly added
by attempting 10 follow out the cam
paigns of the great Napoleon, and who, get
ting sadly bewlldered In maze of advances,
retreats and situations generally, first thought
Of giving some practical form TO Lhe play oil
h.-,1 IS foho ontc md an,,ro
an officer of rank in the Prusslan service, has,
by an ingenious method, given this game uu-
doubtedly something OF scientific character.
The play-board Is O carefully drawn military
map Now, an ordinary ordnance map Che
Prnssan one being eight Inches to the mile,
the English one rather smaller. and proved
lately 10 be very much loo small for practical
use,) covering space of thirty miles, would be
very bulky, and as strategic operations en-
brace now. very often, areas of from 100 to 200
miles, it would take q good-szed drawing
room floor to spread 1t on. For paWns and
rocks, kings, queens and castles, we have
armies, subdivided Into batteries, squadrons,
battallons, companies and sections, and even
files of men can be handled. 1t takes great
many more than two people to play the game.
There Is q commander for both sides, and they
have under them their subordinate officers.
An umpire-in-chef and an umpire for each
side are also necessities. Generally the um-
plre-in-chief gives to both sides some objective
point to attain, and whoever accompishes that
is declared, If in accordance with the rules OF
the game. to be the victor. Each party has q
map given to him, and makes his moves In
private, when, at certain time, both maps are
disclosed. Anything like the tnlpre,u which 30
often dlstHrbs the battlefield Is not counted IN
this mimic war. Here, we suppose, lies the
great iault OF the game, as far as instruc-
ton goes. To advance, to retreat, to check
Il trf m a
defle, presents In book study no great
difficulty, but there ore thousands OF mi.
nor details which ever must aud will
intervene, rendering game OF this char
acter but mere baby play, If Intended for &C.
.ua service. The morale of an army ls every
thing. 1t may 30 much Increase with 2 good
breakfast that five thousand troops may defeat
ten thousand, while the same number of vic
torlous troops, with The knowledge that but
one more round OF ammunition is In the cart
ridge box, may be broken BY an inferior force.
In this game the questions OF supply seem
to be ignored, and all those immense adVan-
tages gained from spies aud other secret
sources of information. What real Importance
this game of kriegsspet may have. we do not
know. It might be- OF service for the dry de-
tails of bringing troops inlo action, or for
maenuverlng for position, but as for actual
service In the battlefield, where that unknown
quantity x always exists we should think 1t
would be completely useless
Some years ago he had ushered Into the
world o series of books lawful delusion,)
which were to teach yon all kinds Of difficult
;arls ut one perusal. Notably we remember
two-How to Swim Without Master, and
how to fence under the same circums stances.
We think very few people were Induced TO
calmly strip, after leaving the book on the
brink of the stream, and to plunge heroically
In the waters; and, perhars, nobody ever tried
bout at fencing with buttoned tolls, even
after most careful annexation of the volume.
We fancy that, even To military men, Kriess.
pieob must have something OF this delusory
Character AS far as rigid tactics go, with the
idea of saving ones country, gunpowder aud
much damage of clothes. incidental to field
days, this game OF war may be OF some practl-
cal nse. but for actual strife we think the ordi-
nary game of chess would be quite as profit
able, besides being decidedly more amusing.
TUE RY5S-WTLLLdMS ASSAULT.