gun will be neither movable nor fireable. Red's left gun, with four men
only, is also in extreme peril, and will be immovable and helpless if
it loses another man.

Very properly Red decided upon retreat. His second gun had to be
abandoned after one move, but two of the men with it escaped over his
back line. Five of the infantry behind the church escaped, and his third
gun and its four cavalry got away on the extreme left-hand corner of
Red's position. Blue remained on the field, completely victorious, with
two captured guns and six prisoners.

There you have a scientific record of the worthy general's little
affair.



V

EXTENSIONS AND AMPLIFICATIONS OF LITTLE WAR


Now that battle of Hook's Farm is, as I have explained, a simplification
of the game, set out entirely to illustrate the method of playing; there
is scarcely a battle that will not prove more elaborate (and eventful)
than this little encounter. If a number of players and a sufficiently
large room can be got, there is no reason why armies of many hundreds of
soldiers should not fight over many square yards of model country. So
long as each player has about a hundred men and three guns there is no
need to lengthen the duration of a game on that account. But it is too
laborious and confusing for a single player to handle more than that