Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1896-02-29
GERMAN SOLDIERS.
VIA. They Garry When They Turn Out
for Eatherlard.

war machine of Germany in motion Is
timely reading now. Ii is written
spropos of a regiment on the march in
the late autumn manocuvrcs 10y corr
ospondcut of the st. James Gazette.
The regiment was one of the units in
an aggregate in the field of 1OI,0
men.
Directly we left the village. where
the night had been spent. the order
20 march NJ ease is given: the soldiers
loosen their thugs and carry their rifles
slung first on one shoulder then on
another. with the Slug i'm front and
the barrel pointing tn the rear. 1t prom.
ises To he Il hot day: not u breath of
wind: the sun has just broken through
and riven away II gray mist. The pace
for the first thrce-uuartcrs of an hour
is slow. not more than three miles an
hour: there is little smoking and hard
iy any talking. The men adapt their
fOrma ton to the nature of the ground:
the road In the center Is heavy AMI
sandy soil: on either side a firm path IL
to be- found admitting of two men
abreast. the sections of four separate:
at times the section stretches In ex.
tended order the whole width Of the
road. ut others three men abreast. the
fourth man on narrow path where
there Is only room for one. \ large
field with firm going Is made use of to
march the whole battalion across 1t
Towards the end of the first hour a man
starts M u song. the whole joining In:
the rifles are now slung around the
neck. the sling coming far down. the
barrel pointing to the rear. Whenever
men marching sling their rifles they In.
variably hold the sling with one hand
in order to keep the rifle steady. Some
regiments in the German army still
march at the slope. The pace Is now
increased until it reaches nearly four
miles an hour. At = \. NJ. q halt Is
made. the men pile arms. take of their
accoutrements. drink some cold coffee
ont OF their water bottles. and eat q
slice of bread and butter. which they
have brought In their cUilteens.
The infantry of the German army
nearly all wear dark blue: the cloth
Is thick and stands wear well. Each
man carries 40 rounds Of ammunition
IN three black leathern pouches. which
are fastened onto the belt. ninety
rounds i'm u large pouch at the back.
and thirty rounds on either side. The
knapsack Is worn high up on the shOul.
Iers and fastened by two black leather
braces, which pass over the shoulders
and are attached IN front with a metal
%. I.l ha n.ls
tains one pair of boots. the white drill
suit--trlll trousers are sometimes worn
on the line of march--thrcc pairs Of
socks or fuzlappcn. n fatigue cap. three
sticks. strings and wooden pegs for
the tent. Il brush. u comb. and soap. q
forage cap. two tins of preserved meat
(Which Is only opened VIXEN in bivouac);
the great coat and waterproof sheet for
the tent are strapped across the top of
the knapsack: a large cantecn Is fasten.
ed up near the top Of the knapsack.
Half the men Of the company carry
spades. worn on the left sido with
brown leather covering to protect the
blades. There are six axes and four
picks to each company. and the men
take IL In turn 10 carry these tools. The
water bottle. In Il brown leather
ease. Is attached by short
leather strap to the belt. and II
worn ON the right side: brown canvass
haversack Is slung across the left shoul.
der. The total weight now carried
by an infantry soldier IL flfty-twO
pounds. The infantry wear yelling.
ton boots. with very broad toes; the
trousers are tucked into the boot; the
upper part Of the boot IL sufficiently
loose 10 give ventilation.
"At y \. NJ. the battalion falls In
again and. In spite of the heat, the
men are soon marching ut the rate OF
nearly four miles IN hour. After an
hour and quarters march we ap
proach the village Of PassOn. A soldier
meets each company and hands the
captain the billeting papers. The stan
have arranged long beforehand how
many men can he billeted on the vii
lage. A on.commissioned officer and
two men from each company are sent
to the village the day before. The
Mayor furnishes them with the name,
Of the inhabitants AMI the number OF
men they can provide for. An officer II
the village supervlses the distribution
Arriving ut the village the order L
march ut attention IL given. There !,
little fatigue In the step which accom-
panies the inspiriting air played by thu
band. With hardly any delay every
man finds his way to his quarters, til,
heavy clothes are taken of, the non
commissioned officer Of a cOrpOrals
schaff-cOnslsting of about slxteel
men-sees to the feet Of the men; socks
are worn by some: others have u sqnar,
piece Of flannel cloth, which they bint
around the feet"