The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1884-09-19
PRACTlClNG WARFARE
Description of One Days Manoeuvrea
y at Cologne.
Sixty Thousand Mem Engaged In
Military Movements - Latest
from China-Contra5 band
Foreign Flashes.

BEDBuRG, Sept 1s-Near Cologne the
German nlaneuvres began under splendid
auspices in the presence of the crown prince,
representing the emperor, and attended by a
large suite of German princes and foreign
officers. The weather was bright clear and
invigorating The Seventh Westphalian
corps acted against the Eighth Rhineland
corps, there being altogether over 60,000
troops In the field The crown prince, Prince
Wilhelm, and Prince Henry were present and
very attentive TO strangers The United
States is not represented. The entire action,
properly speaking was confined to the cav
airy and its accompanying horse artillery
The infantry never fired shot. For the lat
ter arm the whole fighting consisted i'll mere
strategic maneuvering The operations
lasted four hours under burning sun-from
10 till nearly g. Not a rifle shot was heard,
but on the ether hand there were evoutions
OF part of the cavalry which were fruitful
in lessons to students and lovers of this semi
obsolete arm, as it is called by come
During the evolutions of the artillery four
artillerymen were wounded, thus giving oc-
casion to surgeons TO put in some good work,
giving for the moment to the maneuvres the
color and spirit Of real combat. The cavalry
had the advantage of maneuvering under a
condition of actual warfare. At the begin
ming of the day the oposing forces were sep
arated by an interval of several miles, and as
far as the eye, aided by powerful glasses, could
reach, from the center of the interval on
either side, nothing whatever could be seen
of any body Of troops large or small, but
gradually the distant sky line of knobs and
ridges began to be speckled with discernible
forms of Uhlans and Hussars, and as the
cautious videts came scampering on across
the plain they were soon followed by "officer
patrols" as they are called, and those in turn
by single squadrons. Behind these again rose
dense clouds of dust, that fatal obstacle to
secrecy of movement, and now it was plain
to the spectators that two huge bodies of
cavalry were approaching each other Ii
W as clear that the cavalry division of one
corps was pushing on far ahead Of its own
infantry in search of the position Of the
enemy, and was to be encountered by a
similar body on like errand. The cavalry
division of the South or Rhenish corps, which
swept past like a thunderstorm, was ac-
companied by two batteries of horse artillery,
which came III sight Of the hostile cavalry
cautiously coming on in the same formation
1t was beautiful to see the swift, orderly way
| in which it wheeled round the village and de-
ployed into line as if to charge, but to this il
did not come for the other cavalry division
began to fall back in the direction Of its in
fantry, and the southern horse contented
| itself with Smelling the retiring squadrons
and pressing on cautiously to pur-
| sue its inquisitive task. There fol
lowed brisk skirnish between the horse
artillery Of the opposing cavalry divisions
| but this was all the real fighting, for the
rest of the time was consumed in what may
be described as Strategical maneuvering OF
the part of the infantry ola both sides, which
| only brought them within a very long range
| of each other at an hour when it was mex
pedient to submit the physical endurance Of
the troops to further test Consequently
| they retired to their bivouacs with grin
certainty that the next day the manipula
| ton of the breech-loader would at last TAX
the place of the preliminary comhats o
| cavalry