Wichita eagle., 1888-03-07
CRUEL WASTE OF WAR.
LOSSES WHICH OCCUR THROUGH IG-
NORANCE AND NEGLIGENCE.
Wars Three Sorts Of Circumstances-The
March, the Camp and the Battle-Na.
poleon's Deflnition-yaIue of the March
ing Power of Armies.

March, the Camp and the Batt1e-Na-
poleon's Definition-yalue of the March
ing Power of Armies.
It is well known fact that for the first
three years of the war Of the rebellion there
were moro lives lost and property destroyed
from mere ignorance, and negligence as re-
suit of ignorance, than from any other cause;
officers of volunteers who had no knowledge
of military duties had, at the beginning,
large RESPONSIBILITIES thrust upon them. The
object Of all military training should be to
prepare men for war. Drill, as means Of
teaching discipline, as we'll as preliminary
field movements, can be taught anywhere
at home, In the school, the workshop or count
ing house. But the underlying elements on
which the art Of war is founded, upon which
:he stability of all government rests, can be
earned only by practical experience And
ibis is the experience the national guard
wants In time Of war the guard will be-
'ome the regular army, and the volunteers
the reserve. The small regular army will be
only sufficient to furnish high grade COM
menders and instructors for the vast army of
the people. Now, war is the time for the ap-
plication of teachings and principles, rather
than the learning of them.
WARS THREE CIRCUMSTANCES.
All circumstances Of war must be COM
prised under three heads: o. the march, (2)
the camp, g. the battle. The first and second
heads can be learned in time Of peace, but
only the second is practiced The most neces-
sary and important Of all is neglected by the
national guard, except in one or two in
stances, as tho march Of the Twenty second
Now York to Feekskill. When all the circum-
stances Of this march are known it cannot be
too highly recommended 1t is an example
to be followed by all the national guard,
which will benefit it to greater extent than
years of drill and camp.
Napoleon defined the ''art of war" to be the
''art of separating to subsist and concentrat-
ing to fight" and never before or since has
the great science been so clearly and tersely
enunciated But this art Of separating and
concentrating successfully depends upon the
marching power Of armies. Students of the
military profession ponder over questions of
modern arms aud ornaments, tactics, drill
and organization, and are apt to think less
over the greater subject Of grand strategy
which, in one sense, is nothing moro nor less
than the ''art of marching or moving armies ="
Undoubtedly the railroad and telegraph have
done much to change the phases Of modern
war, and the magazine or repeating rifle and
powerful cannon have altered the tactics and
order of battle, but they have none of them
superseded the fundamental principles which
underlie the grand strategy Of war Gen.
Sherman says: The only change the breech-
loading arms will probably make in the art
snd practice OF war VIII be to increase the
amount of ammunition to be expended, and
necessarily to be carried along: to still further
thin out the lines of attack, and to reduce
battles to short, quick. decisive conflicts It
does not in the least affect the grand strategy
or the necessity for perfect organization, drill
and discipline"
MARCHING POWER OF ARMIES.
Well organized military railway systems
may affect the first result of q campaign and
render imprac.icabie certain movements i'm
possible w-..4ut them. But 20 that extent
only and no further will they go. and all the
grand operations Of war will depend, as they
ever have done, on the marching power of
armies, Take. for example, the latest wars
wherein troops Of civilized nations have been
engaged. In 1880 Gen Roberts marched
200 men and eighteen guns from kabul 70
Kandahsr, a distance Of so miles. The
march was made in twenty-three days, over
the rough roads and mountain passes Of AZ
ghanistan He arrived in time to relieve
Kaadahar and defeat Ayoub Khan, and thus
preserve to England strong natural guard
against Russian intrigue and force Of arms
Had he been day or two later kandahar
would have fallen. Gen Roberts would have
been defeated and the first phase Of the com
ing struggle between toe English bull and
the Russian bear would have been precipi-
tated In the Franco-Prussian war. II Mac
Mahon had marched as rapidly as did the
crown prince Of Prussia ne would have
reached Metz in time TO relieve IL and tt..
disaster of Sedan would have been avoided
We all know how Grouchy lost Waterloo
hy not apaeariQ. at the time Napoleop bad