Evening star., 1936-08-20
LAST WAR GAME
IS HELD BY GUARD
"BIues" Rout "Red" Foe
After Night March'at
IndiantoWn Gap.
BY WILLIAM s. TARvER,
star CORRESPONDENT Of The Star.

StTlklIlS lIOlu tAiC AS"s "AS>'
neuvering reserves, the Blue 2Stn
Division rotued the enemy today TO
bring to a successful close the second
and last of its overnight war games
Silently and under cover Of night
the Virginia and Maryland Infantry
bridgades filed across Swatara Greek
on 6-foot bridges, quickly thrown over
the stream by Col. John w. Oehmann
and his 12lst Engineers from WASH
tngton.
Only the splash of a man occa-
sionally slipping into the shallow
water broke the stiffness. The intense
darkness completely hid the close
packed column.
Then, suddenly, the drone of an
enemy airplane was heard in the dis
tance and officers hurriedly cleared
the spans. Soaring over the creek. the
plane dropped a bright white flare which
revealed the bridges and the ghost
like figures of the soldiers huddled
on either bank. Flare after flare fol-
lowed, illuminating the scene with
the brightness almost of day. blue
75-millimeter gun roared in a futile
shot at the speeding plane.
Artillery Fire Concentrated.
Meanwhile, enemy artillery fire pre-
sumably was concentrated on the
crossings, siuce the purpose OF the
flares was to guide the aim of the
guns.
Finally, tie plane departed. the
flares died down and the passage OF
the men across the stream was re-
sumed. BY 4:30 am, all the troops
had gained the west bank, with the
9lst Brigade on the right and the
58th on the left, and the attack began.
Supporting the dough boys were the
10th and the 111th Field Artillery
with their 75-millimeter guns and the
l76th with its heavier artillery.
Rain fell intermittently during the
night, soaking the ground and making
sleep impossible for the 5000 National
Guardsmen. Just before daybreak,
however, the sky cleared and the red
sun rising over the Blue Ridge Noun
tains quickly dispelled the ground
mist through which the attacking
troops moved, firing as they advanced.
The sharp staccato crack OF rifles and
machine guns was punctuated with
the occasional heavy boom Of artillery.
In command of the Red Division.
which held a position on high ground
facing eastward toward Swatara
Greek, was Maj. William T. Roy.
whose daring dash with squadron
of arnlored cars through the center OF
the 29th Division was the sensation
of the mimic battle the first two days
Of this week.
: Today, however, the cards were
stacked against him, the proper work.
iig out of the tactical problem calling
for his defeat. With 40 riflemen he
simulated the defense of a division
of about one-half or two-thirds the
strength of the 29th.
Flags Control Advance.
Men wearing white and red flags
controlled the advance of the attack
ing Blues, the white flag meaning they
could advance only by inf1ltration and
the red that they must obtain
greater superiority of fire before going
forward at all.
From the viewpoint Of the observer,
the attack in the left sector. made by
the 58th Brigade. was comparatively
tame, since the refusal of several
farmers to permit use of their fields
made it necessary to simulate all troop
movements beyond the Lickdale-Leba-
non road.
In the right sector, however, actual
war conditions more nearly existed.
Regiments of the 91st maneuvered
across the fiat terrain to attack the
Reds on the high ground to the front,
while from the Red position Maj. Roy
and his riflemen kept up continuous
fire.
Unable to roll up the flank with a
direct attack, Gen. Milton A. Reckord,
commanding the division, threw his
division reserve into the fight. It con-
sisted of one regiment of the 91st, less
one battalion, and the tank company
from Danville, Va.
:. Circling the hostile left flank, the
reserves fell upon the Reds from the
rear, piercing their center and throw
ing them into disorder. Simultane-
ously, both the 91st and the 58th re-
doubled their attack and drove the
Reds from their position and toward
the southwest.
& The purpose of the battle was to
enable the 29th division to close both
Indiantown and Swatara Gaps, thus
hottling up the Red Army. which was
nfyot tiy,r ind f,{x
to the north.
. With its mission accomplished, the
division hiked back to the permanent
camp here, arriving about noon. Most
of the men Immediately climbed wear
uy into their hunks for q few hours
eleep to make up for what they missed
last night.
= Practicing Bridge Construction.
Z The work of the Engineer Regi-
H1ent, considered vital to the success
Of the attack, was performed smoothly
and quietly. For the past week, the
troops had been practicing laying
bridges. and their experience stood
them in good stead.
At 2:30 am. the regiment began
throwing six Kapok and Lampert
foot bridges across the wide creek and
by O'Clock had completed the job
The infantry crossing began at $40.
ID Near the close Of the engagement, a
circling enemy airplane located the
division command post in a heavy
clump Of woods and dropped four
smoke bombs on Maj. Gen. Reckord
and his staff.
Special attention was given to the
division communication system, which
was installed by the Norfolk Signal
Co. Within a surprisingly short time
wires were strung and Gen. Reckord
was in communication with the scat
tered elements of his division.
The principal ceremony of the en-
campment, a review of the division
by Gen. Malin Craig, chief Of staff
of the Army, is scheduled for II am.
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