Evening star., 1939-08-08
Troops Gather
For Attack
On Washington
Regulars Marching
Concentration
Points for Invasion
BY ROBERT A. ERWIN,
Stan Correspondent of The Star.

MANASSAS. Va, Aug. 8.-Regu-
lar Army troops went on the march
early today headed for concentra-
ton points at Fort Meade, Md, and
Fort .Belvoir, Va, from which they
will launch their attack next Mon
day morning upon 1900 National
Guardsmen, now maneuvering over
the Bull Run battlefields.
For the next six days the Regular
Army forces will mould themselves
into a fast-moving, hard-hitting
provisional division that will be
turned into an invading BLACK"
army that will strike from the South
toward Manassas in a simulated
attack on the Nations Capital
The 18th Infantry moved out
from Fort Howard, Md, and Ar
lington Cantonment and the 9Th
Infantry from Fort Hoye, Md, to
join the 34th Infantry and the
66th Infantry Qight tanks at
Meade. These regiments are mo-
torized. Two horse-drawn units,
the 10th Field Artillery and the Sd
Cavalry. left Fort Myer at and 7
am, respectively, today for Fort
Belvoir.
The provisional division, includ-
ing the Washington Provisional
Brigade, will number $500 men.
Commanded by Brig. Gen. Max
we'll Murray, it will be moved to
point near Quantico, Va, and then
launched against the 28th and 29th
National Guard Divisions, totaling
1900 men. The Regular Army
force will simulate the enemy that
supposedly has landed above Nor
folk.
Fourth Battle of Bull Run.
The entire maneuver, Sd Corps
Area phase of the 1st Army sum-
mer test warfare, has become known
as the Fourth Battle of Bull Run"
In addition to the two famous Civil
War engagements at Manassas,
there were maneuvers here in 1904.
National Guardsmen already have
turned Bull Run into a battle
ground. Battalion and regimental
test battles are in progress all week.
National Guard airplanes have been
reconnoitering over the area, often
dipping to low attitudes for closer
observation.
The District National Guard is
encamped around Groveton as part
of the 10Th Division forces COM
manded by Maj. Gen. Milton A.
Reckord.
Gen. Cox Arrives.
Brig. Gen. Albert L. Cox, COM
mander of the District Guard, ar
rived today to inspect his troops.
The general was accompanied by
Col. Charles A. Dravo. adjutant
general of the District Guard, and
Maj. Edwin S. Bethlehem, jr., in
telligence and State staff officer.
They were luncheon guests of Maj.
Gen. Reckord.
The first stop of the District Of
flcers was on Division HILL" head
quarters of the division and a high
point from which they could see
most of the District units encamped
with other National Guard regi-
ments from Virginia, Maryland and
Pennsylvania.
For the first time the maneuvers
reached such point as to conflict
with highway traffic in the battle
field area. During the morning
marching columns of Guardsmen
lined Lee Highway and intersecting
highways from Stone Bridge and
Stone House to Gainesville, many of
them pulling their machine gun
units by hand. Part of them tray
eled by truck.
Col. John w. Oehmann's 121st
Engineers brought the 29th Division
Tank Company, commanded by
Capt. Bill Bailey, to dead stop in
an encounter north of Groveton
yesterday. Using almost every de-
vice known in anti-tank warfare,
the engineers laced log barriers to-
gether and dug trenches that halted
the tanks.
THE harder we hit the logs"
said Capt. Bailey, "the more we
drove them into the ground and
the harder they were to hit"
One of the tanks went down into
an 8-foot trench, and Gen. Reckord
ruled it should back out rather than
try to clear the forward wall with
danger to its four-man crew.
Battle" Staged in Forest Area.
The tank company is part of the
29th Division Special Troops, COM
manded by Maj. William T. Roy of
Washington. THE engineers ac-
complished their object" Maj. Roy
said, "by slowing up the tanks. In
real warfare 1t would have been
possible for forces opposing the
(See TROOPS, Page A-3)