Elements of Military Art and Science - Or, Course Of Instruction In Strategy, Fortification, Tactics Of Battles, &C.; Embracing The Duties Of Staff, Infantry, Cavalry, Artillery, And Engineers; Adapted To The Use Of Volunteers And Militia; Third Edition; by Henry Wager Halleck
page 94 of 499 (18%)
page 94 of 499 (18%)
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their armies entirely at the expense of the country passed over. Others
have adopted either in part or entirely the principle of regular magazines. Louis XIV. and Frederick II. fought mostly on their own frontiers, and followed the system of regular dépôts and supplies. But the revolutionary armies of France made war without magazines, subsisting, sometimes on the inhabitants, sometimes by requisitions levied on the country passed over, and at others by pillage and marauding. Napoleon found little difficulty in supporting an army of a hundred or a hundred and twenty thousand men in Italy, Suabia, and on the rich borders of the Rhine and the Danube; but in Spain, Poland, and Russia, the subject of subsistence became one of extreme embarrassment. All depots of provisions and other supplies for an army are denominated _magazines_; these are divided into _principal, secondary,_ and _provisional_. The first are usually on the base of operations; the second, on the line of operations; and the last in the immediate vicinity of the troops, and contain supplies for a few days only. The system of _magazines_ is objected to by some, because it fetters the movements of an army, and makes its military operations subordinate to the means of supply. Moreover, as the movements of an army must be so arranged as to cover these magazines, their establishment at given points reveals to the enemy our plan of campaign. On the other hand, the system of _requisitions_, either for immediate supplies or for secondary magazines, gives far greater velocity and impetuosity to an active army; and if it be so regulated as to repress pillage, and be levied with uniformity and moderation, it may be relied |
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