Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-10-16
A WAR GAME.
ARMY RESERVATION At Fl. RI
LEY SCENE or GREAT
MILITARY MANEuvERs.
All Arms 81 the Service Represented.

fOhl HtliSEi hdubs, oCl. lps-Def
ginning today and continuing until
October ~ the army reservation here
Is to be the scene OF the greatest mill
tary maneuvers ever conducted In the
United States. The success or the
maneuyers held here last fall inspired
the war department to lay the plans
this year IN a much larger scale. The
movement of the troops will extend
over an area Of 225 square miles, In
stead OF being limited TO nineteen
square miles. as they we're a year
ago, and the number Of troops mas
been doubled.
The game will be largely one Of
strategy. All the arms OF the service
Will take part In Ii. The artillery
will be represented BY nine light bat
teries-the largest and strongest force
Of field artillery thai has been
brought together In this country since
the civil WARMTH Major William II.
Coffin In command, There Will be
q brigade Of cavalry, under General
G. g. g. Carr, and brigades Of infantry
commanded by Brigadier Generals
Fred y. Grant. J. franklin Bell and
Thomas II. Barry. In command Of
all the operations Is Major General
John g. Bates.
One OF The most Important, not To
say picturesque, features Of the war
game will be an attack upon a convoy
Of food supplies. A supply train, COM
posed. as II Is, OF a string Of loaded
wagons miles in length, Is obviously
vulnerable to assault ami correspond.
ingly difficult TO defend. The prob
lem Is to fetch 1t through, In order
that the victuals in question may not
20 70 recruit the larder or the foe.
Whore d railway run through q
scene Of military operations, us in
this neighborhood, the control Of 1t
often determines the success Of any
army. Hence the Importance OF Sc
curing the mastership of traffic over
the Union Pacific road, Whichever
force. the blue or the browns, obtains,
theoretically speaking, the advantage
will be in q position to cry mate to
It's adversary.
Questions Of this sort will be de-.
termined by officers Of high rank, ap-.
pointed by the wal department. They
Will decide which wins. the blue army
or the brown army, when an attack
Is made upon a fortified village. 1t
will be their function TO Determine
whether an ~intrenched position has
!, been technically captured, and
whether this regiment or that 3ri-
gade has been (eonstructiyely) Hiped
out. From their decision there will
be no appeal.
In the course of the operations an
entire division will be marched out
and deployed for battle. An attack
In force will be made upon an out.
!, post, after preliminary skltmish.ng
and reconnaissance. and the blue and
brown armies will finally come into
collision. The forces being pretty
evenly matched, the losses on Doth
sides may BIO expected to BIO large,
though the wounded will not require
hospital treatment, and the dead will
happily. come to life again after the
fray.
One III the most important objects
Of the maneuvers Is To AFFORD to OH,
GERS of the several arms an opportu'
nifty for observing the eyolulions and
, capabilities Of the other arms. Thus
the taialrymen will 10 what the In.
fantry and artillery are doing, and
the artillery will get a more definite
motion Of the sort Of cooperation
which may be expected from the in.
fantry aud cavalry. The value Of
this is obvious. or course. the engi.
necrs will have their own important
, part TO play In the operations. con.
structing pontoon bridges and throw.
Ing up carthworks, while the signal
corps. with telegraphs. telephones and
a balloon, will attend 70 the business
Of conveying intelligence,
The regular troops engaged in tie
%maneuvers. and the most 81 which are
nov ON the field. come from Forts