66 
MINUTES OF PROCEEDINGS OF 
“KRIEGS SPIEL,” OR “GAME OP WAR.” 
EX 
CAPTAIN F. C. H. CLARKE, R.A. 
{Extractedfrom “ Colburn’s United Service Magazine” for Feb. 1872). 
The rapid and remarkable successes achieved by the Prussians in 
recent wars, have naturally led people to enquire into the causes which 
have contributed to produce such results. 
Leaving out of consideration causes of a non-military nature, into 
which it would be foreign to our subject to enter, it requires no argu¬ 
ment to show that those brilliant results have been mainly due to the 
care which has been bestowed in perfecting the mechanism of that great 
military machine—the Prussian army. 
Apart from the excellent administration which could throw an army 
of half a million of men on the frontier within the space of a few days, 
fully equipped and ready to take the initiative, which, although a fruit¬ 
ful theme for investigation, is one with which we are not now concerned, 
there remains the tactical success of that army on the battle-field. 
With this latter, Which after all is the first object in war, our present 
subject is closely connected. 
In Prussia, the instruction of officers and men in the art of war is 
conducted on the principle that they should practice in peace what they 
may have to do in war ; that is to say, whether in the field, as at the 
autumn manoeuvres, or in the closet, at the “ Kriegs Spiel,” the aim is 
to represent to the mind of those taking part, a picture approximating 
as far as possible to that of real war. 
The value attached by our military authorities to these practical 
methods of instruction, is shown by the fact that we have adopted into 
our service the system of autumn manoeuvres, and are about to intro* 
duce the “ Kriegs Spiel” as a means of instruction in our garrisons. 
For the benefit of those who have not seen the game played, the 
(( Kriegs Spiel” may be defined as the representation of some definite 
operation of war on a plan drawn to a large scale, upon which, instead 
of the troops, certain movable signs representing them are made use of. 
It was first thought of more than half a century ago by a civilian 
with military tastes, whose hobby it was to follow the movements in a 
campaign or in a battle on a large map—in much the same way that 
