Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1884-04-11
Annihilation of Armies.

a THAT HAS &Ef ER T. L
BEFALLEN.
Than "2nnihilation' there is no more
favorite word with the critics of maneuv-
ers and sham-fghts. In notice of mimic
battle near Portsmouth in the London
"Times' of the day 1 write these lines, oc-
ours this observation: 1.-The guns of the
fleet would have annihilated Colonel
Thorn pson' 3 advance on the left along the
seashore." In truth it is as hard thing
to "annihilate' body of troop as it is to
kill scandal. In a literal sense there is
scarcely record of such catastrophe; if
used in fgurative sense to signify loss
so great as to put the force suffering it,
hors du combat, there is amazing test1-
mony to the quantity of "annihilation"
good troops have accepted without any
such hapless result. Here are four in
stances taken almost at random. The Con-
federates, out of $4,000 men engaged at
Gettysburg. lost $4,000, but Meade held
his hand from Interfering with their Or
derby retreat. OF that battle the climax
was the assault of Pickett's Division, ''the
flower of Virginia" against Webb's front
on the left of Cemetery Hill. Before the
heroic Armistead called for the ''cold
steel' and carried Gibbons battery With
a rush, the division had met with variety
of experiences during its mile and half
advance over the smooth ground up to the
crest. "WheE it first came into sight it
had been piled with solid shot; then half
way across it had been vigorously shelled.
and the double canisters had been re-
served for it's nearer approach. An
enflading fire tore through the ranks
the musketry blaZed forth against If
with deadly effect" This is the evil
dence of an eyewitness on the opposite
side, who adds, shut it came on magnii-
Gently" Yes, it came on to cold steel and
dubbed muskets. and after desperate
struggle, it went back foiled, to the &C.
compartments which had marked its ad-
vance. But, heavy as were it's losses, it
was not ''annihilated.' Pickett's division
survived to be once and again thorn in
the Federal side before the final day of
fate came to it at Appomattox Court
House. AT MARSHA Tour Alvensieben's
two infantry divisions, numbering certain
ly not over $4,000 men flor they had
already lost heavily at the Spicheren Berry,
sacrificed within few of 7 900 during the
long summer hours while they stood I'M
supported, athwart the course OF the
French army retreating from Metz. But
so far were they from being annihilated
that forty-eight hours later they made
their presence acutely felt on the after
noon of Gravelotte. In the July attack
On Plevna, of the 10000 men with whom
Krundener and SchahovskoY went in,
they took out under 81 900.
One regiment of the latter's command
lost 725 killed and ], 200 wounded-about
rs per cent. of the whole numbcr-yet the
Russian retirement was not disorderly;
and next day the troops were in resolute
cohesion awaiting what might befall them.
In the September attack on Plevna, of
$4,000 Russo-Roumania infantry, engaged,
the losses reached Is, 000 Skobeleff CON-
manded 5000 men, and at the end of his
two days. desperate fighting not 10000 of
them were left standing. But there was
no annihiIation. either literally or CONVEX
tionally, if enc may use the term. The
survivors who had fought on the 18th and
18th of September were ready at the word
to 20 in again on the 18th; and how they
marched across the Balkans later is one
of the marvels OF modern military history.
-Archibald Forbes IN Fortniqhtlv Review.