The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-08-17
MARCHING.
The Pace in Different Armies and
the Effect of Music.
From the st. James Gazette.


From the st. James Gazette.
A curious report OF the marching capa-
bilities Of the different European armies.
drawn up at the German ministry for war.
has. at the moment. a special interest The
figures are those OF the established reg
ulations" Of the several services, and it
appears that the length Of the Russian
soldiers pace is Il centimeters, of the Ger
man 50, While the French; Australian, Ital-
ian, Belgian, Swedish and Swiss soldiers
All tread pace of Is centimeters The
Italian soldier takes 30 steps In a min
ute, the French from III to ll6, the German
ll5; the Australian lis and the Belgian 10
steps. An Italian regiment marches at the
rate OF 30 meters in the minute, a Ger
man regiment at 80 an English at s.
and a French regiment at So meters per
minutes. The meter is equal to about 39i5
inches, and in English measure. therefore
the rates or progression Of the four last
mentioned regiments would be (abOuO as
follows; The Italians, 50 yards per min
ute; the Germans. SO; the English 95; the
French, 50 yards per minute. 1t may be
mentioned here that by the regulations of
the British service, our slow march con-
ststs of 20 30-inch PAGES TO the minute, this
measure being used only on parade and
for occasions Of solemn pageantry The
quick march, in which all evolutions are
performed, increases to 10 PAGES, while
| the double" rises to 80 PAGES in the min
ute.
1t is now generally agreed that as ath-
letes the moderns are stronger and liable
10 obtain more results from their exer-
tons than the ancients." Whether this
may be justly said in reference to military
prowess is perhaps not quite so clear. The
standard pace Of the Roman soldier was
| the same as our own go inches). the length
| OF feet being really the measurement of
| two steps, or the space from the place
where either foot was lifted up to that on
| which the same foot was again set down.
| The Roman mile of 200 PAGES was equal
| TO rather more than nine-tenths of our
own statute mile, and the egions usually
marched at the rate of twenty of their
| miles (say eighteen Of Ours) in five hours.
But this was often exceeded on emergency,
and to estimate the true quality of this
performance it must be remembered that
/ the Roman foot soldier carried load of
some sixty pounds weight besides his arms
| JOsephus says that on the march he was
/ but very little different from a beast of
| burden" Lord Wolseley tells us that a di-
vision can march two and half miles an
| hour II very well managed but that as
/ a rule, time should be calculated at two
| miles an hour, including ordinary halts.
| The rationale of cadenced marching is
| TOO obvious to require analysis, and all
| modern marches are, as far as possible
made to some kind of music Sounds
/ said great master of military science.
| have a secret power over us, disposine
| our organs to bodily exercises. and al the
| same time deluding, as 1t were, the toll OF
| them. If the band is broken up, Lord
| Wolseley counsels officers to call upon the
drums and bugles. The troops march 1OC
| per cent. better than in silence:' and tbis
resource also failing, the men should be
! got to sing by companies. All this was
| well understood by the ancients. Plutarch
describes the Lacedaemonians, when ad.
| vancing to the attack as "keenine nace
to the time of their flutes; their must
| leading them into danger cheerful and IN.
| concerned Most of their actual marches
however, were performed in silence.
Sedatte and silent move the numerous
bands;
No sound. no whispers, but the chief.
| commands.
Those only heard.
AS Josephus also records, when the
| Roman soldiers marched out of their en-
campment they advanced in silence 1.-THE
Jews were accustomed to sing psalms
| When marching out to war; but this was
probably the expression of religious fer.
vor rather than of military instinct There
| rs, however some approach to agreement
| among the authorities that 1t was "tc
preserve the military pace of the ancient
soldiers that martial sounds were invent
| ed and drums introduced"
| with such widespread experience OF
| It's advantages, it is remarka Bile that ca.
| denced marching should have fallen int
| almost total disuse during the middle
ages. To remove this defect in the Frencf
| military system was one of the chic
! laDOrS OF Marshal Sake. In the middle
| Of the last century the musical instru
ments of the French army were poor a:
most of the so-called marches" of theil
| composers. They might, indeed, have
| turned their flies and drums to better
| account; for the nature of their disci
| pline is sufficiently indicated by the fol
| lowing observation of Marshal SAKE: "A.
| every man is suffered to consult his owr
| ease and inclination, some march SLOW
and others fast; but what is to be ex
pected from troops that cannot be brought
| to keep one certain regular pace?' Or
the contrary, their welleordered MARCHING
was the glory of the Prussian troops
| and the victories of Frederick the Great
| at Rosbach, Leuthen and Zorndorf were
| greatly due to this superiority. At thi.
time the Germans had marches of greaf
merit as musical compositions, and the
French poverty in this particular was
in fact, relieved from a German source
They also adopted many of the German
| instruments, as well as others in use
among the Walloon regiments. At thi.
date Handel had given to our own troops
| the stately measure of the march il
''SCipiO' and many another composition
of a similarly marked character. Blu
the time was not yet for such strains
as the march in die Zauberflote,' or fol
the solemnity of Beethoven's funera
dirges.