CHAPTER XX.

SOME MILITARY TERMS.

Before we proceed, we must clearly understand some terms which are used in war. In reading newspapers we frequently meet with the term army corps. A modern army is made up of a certain number of _army corps_, each of which is a complete army in itself. At the beginning of a campaign we may reckon an army corps to consist roughly of 40,000 men of all arms, under the command of a general.

An army corps is divided as a rule into two _divisions_, and each division is also a complete little army in itself.

Study this little table, and you will see the composition of a British division.

Total Officers No. of No. of Guns, No. of Vehicles, and Men. Horses. including including Machine those of Guns. the Artillery.

1 Headquarters 82 54 -- 7

3 Infantry Brigades 12,165 741 24 309

1 Headquarters Divisional Artillery 22 20 -- 2

3 Field Artillery Brigades 2,385 2,244 54 240

1 Field Artillery (Howitzer) Brigade 755 697 18 67

1 Heavy Battery and Ammunition Column 198 144 4 19

1 Divisional Ammunition Column 568 709 -- 110

1 Headquarters Divisional Engineers 13 8 -- 3

2 Field Companies of Engineers 434 152 -- 102

1 Signal Company 162 80 -- 53

1 Cavalry Squadron 159 167 -- 9

1 Divisional Train 428 378 -- 176

3 Field Ambulances 702 198 -- 72

18,073 5,592 100 1,169

Such a division on the march would cover from head to tail about 15¾ miles.

The supreme head of all the army corps which form an army is a commander-in-chief, or generalissimo, who is assisted by what is called the supreme general staff. The commander-in-chief and his staff are the brain and driving force of the army as a whole. It will interest you to learn how the commander-in-chief and his staff are linked up with every part of the army.

The commander-in-chief and his staff occupy what is called the general headquarters of the army, which is stationed in some town behind the area in which fighting is actually going on. Battles are now waged over so many miles that a commander-in-chief cannot possibly see for himself what is happening all along his line. He has to rely upon others, who bring him or send him information by telegraph, telephone, motor car, motor cycle, or aircraft. All day, and all night too, a constant stream of information as to the movements of the enemy, the position of his own troops, the progress of the fighting, and so forth, arrives at the headquarters of a commander-in-chief, and officers are set apart to receive this information and arrange it so that he may have a clear and full knowledge of all that is going on. Large maps are spread out on tables, and officers are constantly engaged in marking the movements of each side by means of flags or coloured chalks, so that at a glance the situation at any given moment may be seen. It is by the study of these marked maps that the commander and his staff decide what movements the army shall make to resist or attack the enemy.

Each army corps, division, and brigade has a similar headquarters, where the same kind of work is done and information is gathered up to be sent to the general headquarters, or the G.H.Q., as soldiers call it.

As the army moves backwards or forwards, general headquarters is moved from one place to another; but it is always far enough in the rear not to be disturbed by the guns of the enemy, and in such a position that it can easily be in touch with every part of the fighting line. It often happens that the commander wishes to be in closer touch with the operations that are going on, or perhaps he desires to meet his generals in order to consult with them, and to receive their reports in person. For this purpose he has report-centres, or what are called _postes de commandement_, nearer the front than general headquarters. Between the general headquarters and the headquarters of army corps officers constantly travel to and fro in motor cars. They carry messages to the various generals, and, if necessary, explain the commander's wishes to them more fully than could be done in writing.

Behind each army corps, and some way in front of general headquarters, but also sufficiently far from the turmoil of the fighting, are the army corps headquarters, which are exactly like general headquarters, though on a smaller scale. Here are stationed the corps commanders and their staffs. They, too, have _postes de commandement_ nearer the front, and officers who go to and fro with messages and orders.

The headquarters of each _division_ is pushed as far forward as possible without coming within range of the enemy's artillery. In the neighbourhood of divisional headquarters we first see signs that fighting is going on. The soldiers themselves we cannot see, because they are hidden away in villages, in woods, or in folds of the ground. But we shall probably see houses wrecked by the enemy's shells, and strings of wagons moving along the roads with food and ammunition for the fighting men.

Still nearer the fighting line are the _brigade_ headquarters, which are usually within range of the enemy's guns. Four or five hundred yards farther on is the irregular line of trenches, occupied by the men engaged in firing on the enemy, or by the supports which are rushed up when the attack becomes too hot for the defenders. When the hostile forces have been facing each other in trenches for some time, the ground which they occupy is seamed with dug-outs, burrows, and holes of all sorts. The line of trenches is fringed with barbed wire, and is broken here and there by what are called "saps"--that is, by narrow trenches which are dug forward from the main trench towards the enemy's trenches.

Between the trenches of the hostile forces is a No Man's Land, strewn with the dead of both sides. When darkness falls, a patrol or a solitary "sniper" creeps out of his trench without a sound, and crawls along this dread space until he reaches some point from which he can, while concealed, examine the enemy's position, or fire with advantage on his foes. All that he can see in the light of the moon is a fringe of wire and long rows of low mounds marking the trenches occupied by the enemy.

Frequently in front of the firing line a secret position is found, which enables an officer or man to observe the enemy's movements. From these observation posts to the headquarters of the battalion, thence to those of the brigade, and onward to the divisional headquarters and the general headquarters, runs a long trail of telegraph wire, through which information is constantly being sent or orders are being transmitted. Away in front of the trenches this wire lies half hidden in the mud by the roadside; farther back it is looped from tree to tree or along the hedges. Still farther back it is carried on slender black-and-white poles, and finally it reaches the general headquarters on permanent posts.

These telegraph wires, you will observe, are just like the nerves which branch out from your brain to the uttermost parts of your body. Along them comes all the information which your brain can receive from outside. Your brain decides what action you will take, and messages flash along the nerves to the muscles which set the various parts of your body in motion. If you think of the commander and his staff as the brain of the army, and of the telegraph, telephone, motor car, motor cycle, and aircraft as the nerves of the army, you will have a good idea of how hundreds of thousands of men are moved and controlled by one master mind.

* * * * *

Another important term which you continually meet with is the word _communications_. Every army moves forward from what is called its base--that is, the place where its ammunition, food, and general supplies are stored. These stores must be continually brought up to the army as it needs them; otherwise it would starve. There must, then, be a speedy and safe road or system of roads and railways between the army and its base. As the army advances this _line of communications_ becomes longer and longer. It must be kept safe from the attacks of the enemy: for if a part of it between the _base_ and the _army_ were to be captured, the army would be cut off from its food and stores; and if it could not find a new line of communication, it would very soon be forced to surrender. Large numbers of soldiers are required to guard these lines of communications. You may think of them as the air-tube which supplies a diver with air. If by any means the air-tube should be cut or stopped up, the diver must immediately come to the surface, or perish.

Along the lines of communication there is a constant coming and going. Food, ammunition, general supplies, and new bodies of men are continually passing from the base to the front, and the wounded and the empty trains are continually being moved from the front to the base. When an army so spreads out that it has a wide front, it must have several parallel lines of communication, so as to keep itself supplied with the necessities of war.

So vastly important are these lines of communication that the opposing generals strive to cut them, and by so doing deprive their enemy of his supplies of food and ammunition.

Another important way in which a general seeks to overcome his enemy is by breaking through the line opposed to him in one or more places. If he succeeds in doing this, he has no longer a strong, united force opposed to him, but two or more fragments which he can overcome separately with his own united and unbroken force.

There are two ways of breaking an enemy's line. The first way is by holding the enemy all along his line, and suddenly bringing against one part of it a large, powerful force. If this force breaks through, it divides the opposing army, and can beat it in detail. Such an attack is known as a _frontal attack_. Napoleon tried it at Waterloo, but could not break through the "thin red line" of Wellington's heroes.

The other way of breaking the enemy's line is to _outflank_ it, and then _envelop_ or surround his forces. I have already used the word _flank_ several times in these pages. It simply means the side or wing. If a man attacks you when you are sideways, you cannot well resist him. In order to do so you must turn your face towards him. So it is with an army. If it is attacked on its side or wing, it cannot properly resist until it forms a line facing the attacker. While it is doing this it runs the risk of being thrown into confusion, and perhaps destroyed.

Look at the diagram on p. 216. Let A-F be a British force, and _a-f_ a German force equal in strength. While these forces are fighting front to front, suppose a new British force, G H I, should appear, and attack the flank _a_. It is clear that the soldiers at _a_ can only defend themselves if they swing round to meet the attack of G H I. If they remain where they are, they will very soon have the foe behind them as well as in front of them, and they will then be between two fires, in which case they can hardly escape destruction.

Suppose they swing round the two bodies _a_, _b_, as in Figure 1 (p. 217) to meet G H I, what happens? The German line is weakened. Instead of having six bodies to meet six bodies, they have now only four to oppose the six of the attacking force. Immediately E F will try to take _f_ in flank, and soon the line will assume the position shown in Figure 2 (p. 217). You can easily see that the line of the enemy's communications is now in danger, and that if the movement continues the whole force will be surrounded. You will remember that the Germans managed to surround a large French army at Sedan and force it to surrender.[183] When a general finds himself being outflanked by a superior force, he is bound to retreat and straighten out his line again, if he is to save himself from disaster.

In reading war news you will often meet with the word _strategy_, which means the art of generalship, of moving and arranging great bodies of troops in order to put the enemy at a disadvantage, and so overcome him. I have given you some examples of strategy above.

Do you play draughts? When you do so, you and your opponent resemble the generals of two opposing armies. You think out every move of the game, and your object in making the move is to capture all your opponent's men, or to hem them in so that they cannot move without being taken. This is _strategy_, but the strategy of war is a far more puzzling business. In the game of draughts all the men are of the same value at the beginning, and you can only move them along certain fixed paths laid down by the rules. All the moves are open and above board, and if you and your opponent are equally skilful at the game, neither of you ought to be taken by surprise. The better strategist will win, or, if you are equally good, the game will end in a draw.

In the great game of war the opposing generals have to deal with men of flesh and blood, and not with wooden pieces. These men are bodies of infantry, cavalry, and artillery, which do different kinds of work on the battlefield, and move at different speeds. Before the general can make his first move--which may be the successful move or the fatal move--he must study the map of the country in which he is to operate, and must choose the line or lines of his advance, always taking care to have good and well-protected communications in his rear. Though he may fix on his plan of campaign beforehand, he must always be ready with another, to suit altered circumstances. Then he must calculate carefully the time which each "arm" will take to come into its required position, and in order to do this he must know the kinds of roads over which the men are to march, and the state they are in. And at the same time he must get all the information possible about the strength and movements of his enemy. He must form an idea of what the opposing general is aiming at, and must make arrangements to thwart him. He must make his moves as silently and secretly as possible, and whenever he can he must put his enemy on a false scent, so that he may fall upon him unawares. You can easily understand from this very imperfect account of a general's duty that he must be a man of great powers of mind and of much experience in war.

The commander-in-chief along with his staff settles the strategy, but the commanders of divisions, and battalions, and squadrons, and batteries must carry his plans into effect. The art of doing this is known as _tactics_. The way in which the battle line is formed at a particular place, the manner in which cavalry or artillery are used for a particular purpose, and generally the methods by which marches are conducted, camps are laid out, fortifications are made, and the actual fighting is done, come under the head of _tactics_. It has been well said that the art of strategy consists in getting two men to a place where only one man is ready to oppose them. The arrangements by which the two men would best attack the one man when they meet him, or by which the one man could resist the two, belong to the art of tactics.

[Footnote 183: See p. 109.]