New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-10-27
1.-THE THIN RED LINE"
ENGLAND's HISTORY TOLD By HER GREAT
BATTLES
BATTLES OF ENGLISH HISTORY. By Hereford
b. George. VI. A., F. r. G. 2. PIP. TX, 3d. I'M
ported by Dodd, Mead Co.

BATTLES OF ENGLSH HIsT9RY i, II HEREFORD j. Im
ported by Dodd Mead co.
By means OF a connecting narrative Mr. George
has made his story Of battles history Of England
Down to comparatively recent times both the civil
and the foreign disputes of the nation eliminated
as a rule in war; so that 1t is only necessary t.
give an account Of the causes Of each war TO give
a continuous narrative of English life in it's most
important aspect, from the times Of Harold and
William down TO those If Lord Raglan and the
Indian Mutny The story OF great battles In the
past is certainly more interesting than the record
day by day OF the persistent warfare maintained
now in one spot, now in another. along the ques-
tionable boundaries OF the British Empire ut the
present day MI George has not word to say
about the war I'm Egyp, few Yeas ago, nor
about the unfortunate contest with the Beer tihe-
men in South Africa and the lesson OF Indian
conquest, as he reads 1t. is more political
than warke. His narrative Is not technical: he
writes not for military men, but for ordinary
readers. Yet his book has professional cir. due,
doubtless to the fact that IL Is written b. one who
Is deeply interested in the study Of war. The mil
itary bent of his mind Is shown by the fact thai
he cares more for the battles themselves and for
clever tactics than he docs for the political re-
suits of battles.
A special point of interest In his book Is that II
shows the English private soldier to have
changed little in disposition since the earliest
times. The Norman Conquest gave the soldier
leaders more capable than he had before but he
himself was good man on the field Of Hast
ings as he ever was afterward. Not that Harold
was bad general But It was impossible for
him to unite England. and he had to fight at
Hastings with troops weary after fierce strug-
a
marches At Hastings the English showed the
same preference for the long thin line OF battle
for infantry which. Mr.. George points out. they
have retained ever since. and have displayed
whenever their weapons enabled them to take
care Of themselves. At Hastings this line had
to yield TO the Norman horsemen. But later. on
the fields Of Crecy ard Agincourt. when the Brit
sh yeomen perfect In the use Of the long
bow the archers In two ranks dehed every effort
of men-at-arms. horsed or afoOt, to dislOdge them
or even to get at close quarters with them. But
Aglncourt is not a fair example The French beat
themselves that field. lust as Napoleon de-
stroyed his own army at Waterloo.
When the longbow went out o. and the
short-range hand guns and muskets came In.
victory lay for long time with cavalry. II was
the horse under Cromwell that won the battles
OF the Commonwealth. Not until the battle If
Waterloo does the British infantry show such
superiority that 1t afford II treat a charge
OF cavalry with positive conten pt. In this case.
the feeling was not due to full confidence In
weapons but largely to the formation in squares.
so close together that the cavalry could not play
around one without being attacked b. another.
The short-range musket was positive boon. Mr..
George int.mates. at Waterloo. IL the balls
missed the French cavalry they did no harm in
was not to the British soldiers taste As soon
he was armed with the rife. he went back TO his
long. thin line. At Balaclava. says Mr. George.
"Sir Colin Campbell did not deign to form square,
according to the established tradition for ia
fantry receiving a cavalry charge: he simply
awaited the onset in line two deep and when the
horsemen swerved to one side and threatened to
get round his right flank contented himself with
wheeling one company 10 the right 10 form a front
In that direction. 1t was apparently nothing.
but Il marks the greatest advance made in war
fare since the invention ~ gunpowier" But IL
was only an advance backward. The rife stands
To the musket in the same relation that the long
bow stood to the shOrtbow and the crossbow and
the English rihemen now stand as their ancestors.
the English archers, stood namely. In such po-
sition that every man has chance to shoot
But In European wars other nations preferred
the column to the lire. Mr.. George attributed
this to an excess Of imagination on their part.
which overlooked the plain fact that a body of
men, any OF whom be killed or wounded. is
just as strong as It's front and no stronger He
points anew to that spectacle Of Napoleon's re-
serve marching in two columns against the Brit
ish line at Waterloo. only to be shaken to pieces,
first by whitening fire. and then by single
charge in flank. He also remembers that an
English charge in column famous battle
field equally useless. though the assallants
In that got of in good order. This was at the
battle OF Fontenoy. The Duke Of Cumberland
brother o. George II. was IN command. but the
Austrans and Duich refused to take his orders
These allies. grouped together on the left made
no Roadway. and so the Duke. who was a stub
born fighter. gathered his Engshmen and Han
overans into a column Of infantry $4,000 strong
ana crashed through the centre of the French line
But the French refused 10 run their artillery
played In deadly earnest upon the attacking coll
unh, their Irish mercenares dashed on the Brit
ish hank, and Cumberland was lucky to get OH
with the ioa. q. out oi VERY three THIS