Thomas County cat., 1889-10-31
NEW WAR ELEMENTS.
A"e Repeating Rine and Germany
Smokeless Powder.

w." WAN GIe"eNISs
1ne Repeating Rifle and Germahy's
Smokeless Powder.
Baron Beck. the Chief of Staff of the
Austrian army. had an opportunity Of
nosing very interesting novelty at
the sham fight which the German EN-
peror ordered to be held out near
opandau in honor of his illustrious
guest. the Emperor of Austria The
troops engaged. constituting large
portion of the Guard Corps. were
formed into two pretty equal bodies.
whereof one, named the East army,
had advanced from Berlin on purpose
TO reduce the fortress and citadel of
spandau, to which the approach was
defended by West army. Into the
details of this battle, the most inter-
esting of its kind, for several reasons,
which has been fought for long in
Germany. it would be superfuous for
me to go; but there were two main in
cldents that must be mentioned, be-
cause they attracted the special atten-
tlon OF the Emperor Frances Joseph
and his Chief of the Staff.
1t had been the aim of the defenders
to outfiank the invading corps (Which.
by the way. was under the command
OF the Emperor's brother-in-law, Ma
jor-General the Hereditary Prince OF
Saxe-Meiningen). and for this purpose
it began to mass and deploy large
force on its right flank. This force, in
beautifully developed order, according
to the latest rules of fire discipline,
had been for some time engaged in
pouring steady fire into the enemy's
lines. when all of sudden it was
commanded to face about and meet the
charge of a regiment OF Lancers COM
ing on like a thunderbolt in extended
array. Nothing could have been
more admirable than the prompt way
in which the skirmishing compa-
MES faced about to meet the un-
expected danger. and the cool and
rapid manner in which a body of their
supports formed up in line at right
angles to the menaced riflemen, thus
lnclosing the advancing lancers in a
murderous parallelogram of front and
enfilading magazine fire. 1t is only in
such emergencies as these that the
troops are allowed to use their rifles
as repeaters. and certainly nothing
could have been more awfully and
swiftly destructive than the mus
kerry volleys with which these rashly
daring horsemen were received, and
which in real warfare must have emp
tied every single one of their saddles.
But in real war they probably would
not have been half SO bold.
Having thus disposed of this dan
ger. the defenders again resumed their
fanking advance. We could observe
little or no attempt at returning our
rifle fire on the part of the foe. But
this was a delusion. The umpires
soon decided that in spite of the appa-
rent success of our brilliant thanking
movement. we must face to the right
about and fall back. and with all the
more alacrity, too. seeing that We our
selves, the outflankers, had been most
skillfully outfanked by large body
OF the enemy, which, creeping through
a wood. threatened to fall upon our
rear. The fact of the matter was that
we had been lured to our destruction
by thinking that the invader had lost
heart, whereas in this particular part
of the field he had only been firing
with powder which emitted no smoke
and comparatively little sound.
Smokeless powder-that was the
latest innovation in the equipment of
the German army which its young
had to show to his Impe-
rial Austrian ally, and the latter was
charmed with the result.-Berlin Cor.
London Times.