waking up the imagination, which should be its chief function. I am
particularly indebted to Colonel Mark Sykes for advice and information
in this matter. He has pointed out to me the possibility of developing
Little Wars into a vivid and inspiring Kriegspiel, in which the element
of the umpire would be reduced to a minimum; and it would be ungrateful
to him, and a waste of an interesting opportunity, if I did not add this
Appendix, pointing out how a Kriegspiel of real educational value for
junior officers may be developed out of the amusing methods of Little
War. If Great War is to be played at all, the better it is played the
more humanely it will be done. I see no inconsistency in deploring
the practice while perfecting the method. But I am a civilian, and
Kriegspiel is not my proper business. I am deeply preoccupied with a
novel I am writing, and so I think the best thing I can do is just to
set down here all the ideas that have cropped up in my mind, in the
footsteps, so to speak, of Colonel Sykes, and leave it to the military
expert, if he cares to take the matter up, to reduce my scattered
suggestions to a system.

Now, first, it is manifest that in Little Wars there is no equivalent
for rifle-fire, and that the effect of the gun-fire has no resemblance
to the effect of shell. That may be altered very simply. Let the rules
as to gun-fire be as they are now, but let a different projectile be
used--a projectile that will drop down and stay where it falls. I find
that one can buy in ironmongers' shops small brass screws of various
sizes and weights, but all capable of being put in the muzzle of the 4'7
guns without slipping down the barrel. If, with such a screw in the
muzzle, the gun is loaded and fired, the wooden bolt remains in the gun
and the screw flies and drops and stays near where it falls--its range
being determined by the size and weight of screw selected by the gunner.
Let us assume this is a shell, and it is quite easy to make a rule that