THE EOYAL ARTILLERY INSTITUTION. 
71 
By an intelligent use of the above instructions controlled by a good 
umpire, an operation can be made to approximate to what would 
actually occur in war. We have not as yet made any mention of how 
the element of chance , which after all affects every operation in the field 
more or less, is brought to bear in the “ Kriegs Spiel.” 
To take an example, we may wish to attack, and we may have to 
debouch under an enemy’s fire to do so. Well, the probable success of 
such an operation will depend on many contingencies—the ground may 
be favourable or the reverse, we may be superior in numbers,* the 
attack may have been prepared by a powerful artillery fire, or it may 
be accompanied by a flank attack unseen by the enemy. In the game, 
the umpire takes all the different points for and against into considera¬ 
tion—the ground, the numbers, the condition of the troops attempting 
it, &c., &c., and with the assistance of prepared tables, which accompany 
the Instructions, he decides what faces of the die if turned up in throw¬ 
ing are to indicate success in the operation, and on the other hand what 
faces are to indicate failure. There are also tables for calculating the 
losses of troops under fire. All losses of course have to be removed 
from the board, and must not be employed again. 
Everything depends upon having a good umpire, who understands 
not only the leading of troops, but who can also appreciate all the little 
contingencies which tend to render the operation possible or the reverse* 
He has also to decide if a body of troops is beaten, or capable of resist¬ 
ance or of attack, and if not at present able, after the lapse of what 
time they can again be employed. 
A good umpire will select ground which may be expected to give 
instructive situations, and he must be always ready to criticise the 
position of the engagement. His decision, it is needless to add, must 
be final. 
The advantages of the “ Kriegs Spiel ” are^ (1) that it teaches the 
habit of reading a map quickly and correctly. It helps to educate the 
“ eye for ground ’’—that most necessary gift for all leaders of troops ; 
(2) it compels the players to be quick in deciding the movements of the 
troops, and to be exact and precise in giving the necessary orders ] 
(3) it enables the players to gain an insight into the harmonious work¬ 
ing of the three arms. It shows them that there can be only general 
principles, not rules, laid down for the disposition of troops, and that 
the disposition for the ever-varying circumstances of each case must be 
decided on its own merits ; (4) it exhibits the relation between time 
and space better than in any other way, except of course in the field. 
By showing the exact time it takes to move troops along a road between 
one point and another, it teaches the player that he must consider how 
best he can arrange his troops on the march, and also so time the com¬ 
mencement of the change , that they may develop into a body fit for attack 
in any direction at the shortest notice. It demonstrates how a defile, 
such as a single bridge over a river, delays the march of troops, which 
* In reckoning numerical circumstances, one battalion is reckoned equal to four squadrons, of 
to half a battery, or to four skirmisher sections. 
