Evening star., 1939-08-16
Blacks, Under Cover
Of Night and Fog;
Turn Blue Flank
ImperiI 18th Division
And Open Way to
March on Capital
BY JOSEPH S. EDGERTON.
Star Staff Correspondent.

Star Stah correspondent.
MANASSAS, Va, Aug. 16-One
of the most amazing f1anking move
ments since Stonewall Jackson
turned the Federal right at
Charlottesville during the Civil
War, conducted during the night
under cover of heavy fog by Black
Regular Army troops, today i'm
periled the entire National Guard
28th Division and opened the way
to Washington for the invading
Blacks.
The night f1anking movement
nullified the brilliant gains made
yesterday by Maryland and Penn
sylvania troops of the 29th and 28th
Guard Divisions through successful
operation of a double development
rare in the annals of warfare.
During the night, however, the
Black 5th Engineers from Fort
Belvoir performed one of the finest
engineering feats of the whole cam
paign, laying heavy assault bridge
across Occoquan Run miles south
east of the Blue Corps headquarters
and digging approaches through
steep banks on both shores.
Across this bridge, beginning at 2
am, the entire Black provisional
division, complete with tanks, ar
mored cars and motorized infantry
and artillery, was moved after an
average 10-mile night advance, leav-
ing only a cavalry covering force
along the main line of the Blue corps
to hold it in position until the flank
attack could get we'll under way.
Advance Covered by Fog.
Under cover of a fog which re-
duced visibility at times to 20 yards,
the Black assault columns moved
two miles beyond the Occoquan to
the northwest, reaching Buckhall
Church and enveloping the Blue
right flank, held by the 111th Infan-
try of the Pennsylvania 56th Bri-
gade. The first warning the Blues
had of the presence of Blacks was
when a Regular Army armored scout
car appeared within the outpost line,
less than 200 yards from the field
headquarters of Brig. Gen. Charles
B. Smathers, commanding the 56th
Brigade. A patrol from Company
I, Sd Battalion of the 111th, COM
posed of Guardsmer from Chester
Pa, sent out to investigate the
presence of the unwelcome visitor,
found themselves five minutes later
prisoners of war before the G-2
map board in the Black divisional
command post of Maj. Gen. Maxwell
Murray, Black commander, under
going third degree at the hands
of division intelligence officers.
A few minutes later another Blue
patrol. commanded by a lieuten-
ant of the 11lth, suddenly found
itself face to face at point blank
range through the fog with an en-
tire Black battalion in battle line.
The blue flank began folding up
like an accordion toward Manas-
sas. dismayed to find that instead
of having the Blacks boxed up after
the wonderful Blue squeeze play"
of yesterday. that the Blacks had
squirmed out of the trap and ap-
parently were in command of the
situation.
The main black battle line had
advanced to within a mile of the
southeastern outskirts of Manassas
and was expected to collide mo-
mentarily with light Blue outpost
line held by Pennsylvania troops
only a mile from corps headquar-
tiers. 1t was reported that District
OF Columbia and Virginia troops of
the Blue 29th Division had been Or
dered to the north and east, part
OF the columns passing through the
streets of Manassas, in a race to
stave off the Black advance by at
tacking his northern flank.
1t is understood the Blues lodged
an immediate protest with the UNI
pires. claiming a violation of an
"armistice" declared late yesterday.
The umpires Immediately sent out
white flags to hold up further action
until an adjustment had been made.
Guards Tough" Army.
The National Guard troops, despite
the setback, are proving themselves
anything but easy opponents for the
crack troops of the Regular Army,
vastly superior to the Guard divi-
sions in tanks and fast st-moving,
powerful mechanical and motorized
equipment, though heavily out num-
bered in man power.
The double development to which
the Guardsmen reSorted yesterday
with extraordinary success has had
only two outstanding classical ex-
amples in all military history-the
battle of Tannenberg early in the
World War and the tragic battle of
Cannae during the Punic wars, in
which Hannibal utterly destroyed
his Roman foes.
BY coincidence, one of the greatest
students of the great Tannenberg
battle was present when the Guards
men made their attack He is 1t.
Gen. Friedrich Won Boetticher
military attache of the German En-
bassy, present as an observer. Gen.
Won Boetticher was member of the
staff of the late Field Marshal Paul
mand of the German Eastern Army
in the battle, but was not present
during the actual battle.
The double development is at
tended with great danger, since
1t stretches out the lines of the at
tackers and leaves the defenders
concentrated in the center. able to
concentrate quickly and effectively
on any weak spot in the encircling
line, and so not only to break the
line but possibly to split the at
tackers into two units which may be
separated and attacked separately.
Circumstances. however, favored
the unusual and difficult movement
yesterday and the Blue" corps staff
showed little hesitation in putting
1t into effect. 1t proved almost as
successful. at least for the day, as
would tying up the fists of a boxer,
since 1t confined the hard-hitting
swift cavalry and mechanical forces
of the Blacks" which got loose