Note 23 — INTRODUCTION.

It is frequently customary on the outbreak of a war to issue “Instructions for campaign,” in order to prepare troops, trained according to superannuated regulations, for action on a strange theater of war. It is desirable to disseminate the first experiences gained in action to all parts of the army. We failed to do this in 1870, and all organizations were therefore compelled to gain this experience for themselves. Even as late as the 18th of August, 1870, the Füsilier Battalion of the 85th Infantry advanced in double column formed on the center, although the campaign in Bohemia had already demonstrated that this formation was out of date. See Moltke, Feldzug von 1859, p. 65.