Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-08-27
Strategy.

Wlrelessed to headquarters where it is
noted by the officers of the general
stali and discussed by them in relation
10 the entire front. Orders are imme-
ulately issued for counter-move-
ments and it is probable that within
quarter OF an hour after the receipt
Vi the hrst message a final course of
action has been decided upon and or
ders issued to carry it out. This
would have been impossible before the
invention of the wireless and the tele-
phone-but then Napoleon never
imagined 200-mile battle front.
Ahother factor that enters largely
INTO the strategical equation is the
aeroplane scout who hovers over the
enemy's lines day and night, report
ing instantly every movement, which
is perceived beneath. AS each aero
plane or dirigible is equipped with
wireless 1t is possible for these air.
scouts to watch the activities of the
enemy's forces and report instantly to
headquarters.
No Surprises
1t is therefore practically impossible
Tor one army to prepare for a move
lnent upon large scale without be-
traylng Its intention to the. eyes in the
SKY which follow every move. One
oil the great surprises of the present
war, according to military experts, is
that there have been no surprises.
Not a single instance of consequence
OF ambush or fianking turn has taken
place since the commencement of the
war, owing to the superb work of the
aNlators and aeronauts. Thus is the
modern commander relieved of one
great fear which continually harassed
his predecessors.
The modern strategist who attacks
the problems presented by warfare on
the gigantic scale of the present con-
i1lct usually selects for his headquar-
ters some large building we'll to the
rear OF his army. Telephone wires are
strung and a complete exchange erect
ed. 1t becomes possible to ring up
any portion of the battle front at
once. Wireless operators are also in
stalled to receive messages from the
air scouts and the field wireless sta
tions.
Map of the Front
On large table is spread a scale
map, showing the most minute varia-
tons of the terrain along the battle
front and the stations of all troops.
Reintorcements under way are identi-
fled by arrows.
Sentries are posted at all the exits
and approaches and no one is allowed
to come within fifty feet of headquar-
ters without a special permit. A
mounted patrol is stationed nearby,
ready to rush messages in case the
telephone wire is broken and automo-
biles ceaslessly dash up to the house
and then away again, carrying the di-
vision commanders who come for per-
sonal interviews with the commander
in-chief.
An anxious moment is approaching.
The right wing of the army has suf-
fered a setback from which il must
recover before the entire field army
can operate as a unit. The whole
campaign, involving more than a mill
lion men and possibly endangering the
future of the nation, hinges on the fate
of the hard-fighting right Every time
the wireless receiver clicks and buZzes
or the telephone bell rings the officers
who are bent over the huge map look
up and cease talking. But the ex-
pected message does not arrive.
Men and Psychology the Same
A big, square-set man, dressed in
Khaki and with the ribbons of multi
colored decorations upon his chest. is
pacing up and down the room, his
hands behind his back. For two days
he has spoken only in monosyllables
and then only in answer to the defer
entail inquiries of his staff. The fate
of a nation rests in his hands An
hour lost by the right wing in re-
forming and joining his plan of at
tack may cost him the battle and with
1t the campaign.
Once more the wireless receiver
clicks The operator does not wait to
type the message but dashes it off on
a sheet of paper while the command
er-in-chief bends over his shoulder.
The big man scowls for the right
wing is not advancing. Suddenly his
face brightens with a daring idea. He
dictates an order commanding the
right wing to feign retreat for two
hours and then, at the moment that
the reinforcements arrive. to rally and
attack en- masse!
moment later high-power motor
car sweeps out from the porte -cochere
of the building, carrying an adjutant
sitting beside the square-set man in
khaki. The sentries present arms.
with a snap, as the commander-in-
chief passes, his mind occupied in
planning the psychological effect of
the battle action. At the very mo-
ment when the feigned retreat shall
have led the enemy into a trap and
the grand advance of his armies will
commence, he, the commander-in--
chief, shall be there to lend spirit
by his presence, to correct any possi-
BILE error in strategy or execution and
to insure the fullest measure of eff
cient generalship in every corps, in
every division, in every regiment and.
as far as possible, in every man.
The weapons of war may change,
the manner of fighting may change,
strategy may change-but men and
the psychology of men remain the
same.
SUFFRAGING AND NAGGING
am a suffragist. but l don't be-
lieve in nagging.-Commiss
Katharine B. Davis.