OCR Text |
Show I 'WAR' NEAR HEBER CITY Red and Blue Armies of the State Militia and the U. S. 20th Infantry In-fantry Begin Maneuvers Maneu-vers Ogden Boys in the Practice Heber City. July 24 Tonight. after eight hours of battle." watched with interest by a great throng of citizens from Heber and vicinity the ' Rod 1 nnd "Blue " armies are sleeping on their arms in their repectic, but not widely separated camps, and will renew re-new the conflict tomorrow The Reds comprise the First battalion batta-lion of the Utah Infantry, company A of the sijoial corps. Utah infantry, nnd the First Utah battery, all of the national na-tional guard. Theoretically, their base of supplies Is at Price The Rlue army in the Twentieth United States infantry and the machine gun platoon of the regiment, Wednesday the Reds took possession posses-sion seven miles north of Heber They were forced to retire by the advance guard of the Blue army, whose base of supplies Is OKden. The Red force retiring through the valley, threw out a rear guard, which took up its position posi-tion at and alone what is known as the Point, with artillery on the extreme ex-treme left, infantry center and right, extending to the mountains on the east. This morning the Blue forces sen' out an advance puard and attempted to displace (he rear guard of the Red army. In so doing thev advanced in three manners, by what is knon as the thin succession of lines, platoon and squad columns and also in regular skirmish formation. The advance of the advance piuard was executed In a spectacular manner, the umpire Btat-H Btat-H ing that it wa6 also a very effective H moe. The Utah battery', under Cap- H tain Webb; opened fire on the ad- H vanclng Blues at about 2000 yards, H forcing them to give up their regular H skirmish formation and to adAance in H platoon and squad columns. After they H had come within range of the infantry H fire the work of the battery was over and they retired to the rear and the H Infantry opened fire on the Blues at I 1000 yards The first firing was from I company B of Ofcden under Captain I V. E. kneasa, forcing the Blues to H cover. I From that point on the advance was I made entirely by the thin succession I of lines, which presented a ery small I range of firo to the entrenched Reds I The Blues advanced a small portion at I a time, until the entire force of two I battalions, about 600 men, had reach- I ed the 400-yard ransc. where the thick I brush furnished excellent cover. The I machine gun of the Blues did not get I into action at all and had It been ac- I tual warfare would no doubt have I been demoralized by the fire from the I. Infantry, as their horses could not take I cover as the men could When the I entire Blue force had arrived on the I 400-yard line, recall was blown and I the umpire signaled that the engage- I J ment was over, and it would have I been if In actual warfare, because of I the open ground the Blues would have I had to cross under the close fire of 1 the ntrenched troops In order to rout I the Reds. I The umpires rendered no decision in i the engagement, but their criticism I shrfwB plainly whom they consider to I have had the advantage. Even had the umpires decided that the Reds I had the advantage It would be no I MM M SBJ disgrace to the Blues, because of the supreme advantage which the ground nlforded the Reds Had the Blues been able to rout th Reds, they would have had lo execute a flank movement many miles to the east over the mountains, moun-tains, something almost impossible. It was evident that the Reds had the best of the engagement The umpires are Colonel Irons and subordinate officers of-ficers Tonight the forces are situated as I follows The Red forces have retired to a position two and one-half miles southeast of Heber and tomorrow they expect to throw out an advance guard and trv to recover the ground they have lost today This will place the Blue forces on the defensive and the action will be reversed from today's to-day's action The signal corps, under Captain Lo Roy Bourne, were compliment ed for their very effective work today by the umpires. |