Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-10-25
WAR SCIENCE CONTRASTED
In RECENT EXHIBITIONS
Show at Aberdeen POrtrays Advances
Over Yorktown Siege as Re-enacted
at Sesquicentennial Celebration.

A GREAT crowd silently watched
~ the slow rising squadron Of
"A bombing planes coming out of
4 \ the South. almost invisible
against the grayish sky. For
all their ease of motion, they might
have been large passenger planes on a
regular run. But these crafts were
terrible agents OF destruction.
At height of 10000 feet, the in
visible pilots increased the rate CT speed
while observers with eyes pressed to
the bomb sights were calculating the
diminishing distance to the targets
below. All at once two black speckS
were seen to detach themselves from
the huge bombers, falling rapidly be-
hind a distant line of trees Silence,
awe, then a billowing cloud OF black
smoke rising rapidly abcve the tree
tops. Eight seconds later, a rumble of
thunder as the 2000-pound bomb ex-
plosions wrenched the ground under
foot.
The crowd was safe, far behind the
lines, watching the recent Ordnance
day demonstrations at the Armys prov
ing grounds In Aberdeen. Md. They
marveled at the 16-inch guns, at the
rapid fire anti-craft defense, and at
the 70-miles-per tank.
A Military Contrast.
They were witnessing an aspect of
the war of today. Tomorrow, there
may be other methods, and $50 years
hence, We may be warning with robots.
Could any greater contrast be fur
nished than the military activities at
Yorktown, when the famous battle of
the Revolution was fully re-enacted in
celebration of its sesquicentennial an
niversary? With the ArmyS activities
AhnFdcnn IN hot
as We measure such things today, the
spectacle of besteging Yorktown with
the military equipment CT the time
must have been enlightening indeed.
Discussing the Surrender cere-
MONIES" some of the participating SOL
diers from Fort Eustis were contrast
ing past mad present, the other night.
down near Yorktown's beach. mo
wonder the war lasted seven years.
one of them exclaimed. I'VE take 1913
steps to the minute in regular march
time to their rs; and for the double
quick we're going along at a slow trot
OF 1870 steps to the minute to their
1907"
It Is perceptible that the entire
world was operating less theoretically
If artillery was smaller; explosives
were less violent; shells sped less rap
idly; ships relied upon the wind: the
fastest means of transportation or COM
munication was a galloping horse.
SIowness Of Transportation.
If company movements were slow,
let US see the progress of a large force
without facilities OF rapid transporta-
ton. 1t will be remembered that the
first movement of the allied forces
around New York was a feint demon
strs ton toward Staten Island. It was
on the 10Th of August that Washing
ton crossed the Hudson and by con-
tinuous marching had reached Tren-
ton by the 1st of September.
On the 5th he had reached the head
of the Chesapeake. having covered a
distance of less than $50 miles in II
days. From the beginning of the trans
fer of the allied forces by boat to the
York peninsula and to the final en-
campment around the doomed English
position nearly a month elapsed: 1t
was on the night of October 6 that
the first parallel or advancing in
trenchments were opened up, but 1t
was not until the 9th that the first
battery of siege guns was in a position
to commence firing,
1t Is doubtful that any fault can be
found with Earl CORVALLIS in his de-
Tense of the village. The loss Of his
access to sea communication through
tie superior pressure of the ships OF
De Grasse, the advantage held by the
allies on land with artillery and
finally the storm which cut of escape
to Gloucester Point, half mile away
across the York River, brought cul-
mination to the most interesting siege
operations in early American history.
The Yorktown Defense.
Roughly speaking, the area Of the
Yorktown defense was some 1900 yards
long, in width about 500 yards. Ap-
proaches to the two principal roads
were controlled by outlying redoubts and
the main line defenses consisted OF
series of small redoubts connected
with stockade breastworks.
The entry of the Hampton road from
the south was covered by a projection
which, following the Vauban nomen-
clature, was designated as the Horn
crate engineers followed the same idea
to some extent and today. at the site Of
the HOMEWORK, can be found Confed-
crate ramparts, Is feet in height, sur
rounded with wide ditch and the
by the mari pathway placed by the
present Yorktown authorities.
The British had II batteries in posi-
ton. The frigate Charon, anchored
nearby, had been stripped of its guns to
provide heavier caliber, but there was
only one gun larger than an 18-pounder.
Prior to his surrender CORVALLIS was
faced by 100 heavy guns, howitzers and