New-York tribune., 1895-10-13
SHAM BATTLES.
HOW THEY ARE CONDUCTED HERE AND
ABROAD.
UNCLE SANS ARMY NEVER INDULGEs IN ih''
AND THE MILITIA. AS A RCLL' h"'
c,.r.,yo.pRIEp AFFAIRs-THEIR M
poRTANCE IN EUROPE.
UNCLE SANS

PORTANCE IN EUROPE
:. .o,,orn hanpens that enough soldiers compos-
ing Uncle San g small army ever ee' 'ee f.,
have a sham battle any other Kihu' o",'
n while the Indians in the Back Hills VI '"N
sons Hole get troublesome. and then res''"e''.
or two are called together to suppress
,ba troub,e Occasionally also labor troupieS III
different sections OF the country make Hop'N''o"
70 a certain extent necessary. But III oi"'"''S
,,mes II would be difficult to find more thah one
regiment at any particular point r." ''
reason the manoeuvres frequently seen an"
,oora ahou. in the armies Of Europe. particularly
Of Germany and England. form no part OF the HE
~ 1-nc,o Sans bluecoats The militia In TINS couh-
try does all the sham fghting that is ever uohe
and they do II in way entirey dHeieNt NV"
ina, which is seen the other side OF 'he AZ
lantc. ,.
In Germany the practice manoeuvres FORM arg
share of the lie of the officers and men, anu
,hn,, or,ar into them with good deal OF anina-
.ior There too these movements are considered
of go n uch Importance that awards are ih'ue
for excellent generaship in taking advan'aSe' Us
nositions and preventing the opposing forces WHO
are the enemy for the time being from oo'"7
likewise ,
The military camps OF the various Ha'ona'
Guard organizations in the different Sia'eS are
sora or thenn considered modes in their way, ana
the guardsmen who go there get valuable training
and frequently indulge In sham battles hu' az d
rnle they are rather cut-and-dried anaHs' an"
while they are interesting to spectators 'he wa!
in which they managed leaves Mite room Io'
the djsplay OF real generalshp. The plan OF the
ho,ra is usuallv completely aid out beforehand,
and the troops on each side so so far ana no
further no matter what happens.
As matter OF fact the military organizations
do not have time enough to spare from ther routine
camp duties to take part In any extensive ma
noeuvres. They 60 to camp for period OF not
S,ate each organIzaion only gets one tour OF camp
dutv once every second year This time Is ofteA
too short to develop good position IN the man
ner in which they conduct the manoeuvres IN Ger
MANY England and many OF the other old "orIu
countries.
For example manoeuvre In the German
Army often lasts a week and more soldiers take
r.rt than there would be IN such armies az the
United States possesses In the beginning the two
forces may be a hundred miles apart The great
cot secrecy is maintained to the movements
of the opposing forces. although 1t is known that
the two armies TO come together somewhere
within limited space. Each general tries by forced
marcbes and every device known to modern war
fare 20 so place his troops that when they do
catch sight OF their opponents. or get withn hsh'-
ing distance they will be in position so
advantageous that If the battle were 4 real one
either victory would perch on his banner OF ne
would be In A position at least 10 reap decided
advantage series of manoeuvres often lasts
for weeks at a time and they are OF frequent
occurrence 49,. ..,h
As much secrecy is maintained, so far as the SUB,
ordinate officers are concerned, as there NOulu
be If the battle was to be OF the genuine artic'e
they. not knowing the exact position or thelr
putatve foes are compelled to maintain the same
vigilance that they would II their lives depended
upon H. because ii is considered as much or a
disgrace TO be caught mapping While these mahoeu-
vres are in progress ii would be military crime
10 be thus caught In actual warfare
AS an example of this. the cable recently an
nounced that Enperor Villain greatly cha
erined over the result Of manoeuvres near ste tin
II was 10 be an engagement between the Guard du
Corps and the Second and Third Army Corps. II
was expected that the Second Corps would be
completely overpowered by superior numbers. be
cause IL was thought the support OF the Third
CORPS would be unable to come up in time. But
by a forced march early In the morning The ad-
ditional troops came up and II was decided tha'
the victory belonged to the side that ii had been
expected would be defeated. Such movements
are of frequent occurrence. and rewards are made
for these specimens OF brilliant geneTalship
In England also these manoeuvres are carried on
in much the way, but probably not on so
extensive b scale they are in Germany, where
the army is kept constantly prepared FOR war
al a moments notice.
II is deplored by Army officers here that
nothing of the kind IS attempted: but as already
said Il would be next TO impossible TO get enough
regulars together 70 perform manoeuVre that
would be worthy OF the name and the cltzen sol
diers cannot. as rule spare the time which would
be necessary TO carry out any plans or TINS nature
which would be worth attempting.