Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1898-05-13
GERMAN MIMIC WAR.
AN ELABORATE SYSTEM OF DUMMIES
REPRESENTS THE FOE.

vast tracts OF Land Are Appropriated Tor
the Operations, and Shot and Shell Are
Used just as I'm Actual Battle-Remarl-
able Military Shooting.
Though the German soldiers do not
get the steady practice in real fight
ing that the British troops have, the
Kaiser is not allowing his men to
rust Periodically bodies of German
troops are dispatched into some part
of German territory that presents as
many difficulties as possible with or
ders to attack or defend certain posi-
tons under all the conditions of real
war.
If the cavalry has orders to charge,
the charge must be made with the
desperation and recklessness of men
who are riding through deadly fire.
Artillery is hurled headlong into coun-
try that often is difficult for infantry
Men and horses go down and accidents
are common events of the routine
Only occasionally are they made pub
lie, as, for instance, the great one of
last year, when two bodies of heavy
cavalry rode into each other at full
speed, killing and wounding many
men.
Great areas are "reserved"-practi-
cally seized-for the purposes of these
evolutions. a circle of sentries is
posted around the reserved territory,
and the people who live in it are or
dered to leave their houses and to re-
in Tf .
practice is ended. In artillery prac-
tice, particularly, this clearing of the
territory to be used is done with par
ticular care, for the artillery fire is
genuine, service shot and shell being
used.
A remarkable feature of German ar
tillery mock battles is the use of NOV
able wooden figures to represent the
enemy. They are exact copies of in
fantry, artillery and cavalry, and are
worked by an elaborate system of
wires.
An official German eye witness de-
scribes an artillery attack as follows:
"The terrain has been cleared of all
except the military. In long columns
the guns crowd a ravine the last COW
err before they go into action. Six
great horses draw each gun. A mes
senger comes gallOping from the front
with the order to move. Mount.
Trot. command the officers. The
long lines thunder up the ravine. Off
GERS fresh from reconnaissance clatter
down the lines and report to battery
chiefs that there is no cover where the
artillery must go into position and
that swift movement of the guns is
necessary to bring them into action
with the least possible loss of men,
as the enemys fire controls the place.
by this time the upper end of the
ravine is reached Battery, gallop-
march, and with furious speed the
heavy cannon go into the Open-into
unknown, snow covered country full
of trenches and deep cuts. Perhaps
this is the most exciting manoeuvre of
the day. Last year an ensign with his
battery rode over the snOw-hidden
edge of hill and disappeared
with horses and men, woundng
many seriously. Snow-covered water
courses and drainage canals cut the
country up. A horse falls. Riders and
gun thunder on top of it. AXles
break and men fall beneath iron hoofs
Now there is pale lightning in the
misty distance Then, even during
the reckless charge, the artillerymen
must mark the direction from which
the shots come, for the flame is the
only sign of the whereabouts of the
enemy.
Quickly the batteries form in line
the battery chiefs, far ahead, stand
high in their stirrups and raise their
arms to signal Halt In an instant
the cannoneers are out of the saddle
and almost at once the first shot
booms from the right wing. A great
crowd of smoke and snowdust shows
where it has struck, but the dim flash
of the enemy's gun through the vapor
shows that it has fallen short. The
next shot comes from our left wing
and this time we have dropped it into
the woods that cover the foe.
"Now we have him caught between
the tines of our fork shots, and closer
and closer we crowd him with the
ever-concentrating fire of our whole
batteries. At last we throw shell in
to the woods in just the right place
As the white smoke rises it makes a
shining background, against which the
dummies, representing the enemy's
artillery, are plainly visible for mo-
ment. Merrily the shrapnels fly now
and smash into them.
Then, moved from the sides with
long wires, infantry and sharpshoot-
ers appear here and there The bat
teries must direct their fire in all di-
rections in quick changes until they
have made the whole line of woods
untenable.