Battish

Resembling a bat. (R.) "To be out late in a battish humour." - Gentleman Instructed. Battle, ( bat'tl ,) n. [Fr. bataille , from battre , to beat; Lat. battuere, to strike or bruise.] A striking with repeated blows. Specifically, a fight; an engagement; contest; conflict; combat. ( Mil .) A hostile encounter between two large bodies of troops, or two armies. In early times, a battle was a fierce, tumultuous contest between bodies of men, without order or discipline, the i ue of which depended upon the physical strength or courage of the combatants. Gradually, however, the superiority of discipline, united effort, and the use of improved implements of war, as opposed to mere physical strength, began to be seen, and led to the changes that have since taken place in the training of armies and the conduct of engagements. The i ue of a battle now depends upon a variety of circumstances, which renders it always a matter of difficulty to determine beforehand what may be the result. These circumstances are constantly changing; and sometimes events, that no human wisdom could have foreseen, may occur in the course of a battle, to defeat the wisest plans and the most skilful arrangements. It is in foreseeing and providing for the various circumstances of each particular case, that the great skill of a general consists; and though he may meet with occasional reverses, succe , in the long run, is generally on the side of him who forms his plans with the greatest sagacity, and executes them with corresponding vigor and ability. It is the skill of a general, rather than the courage of the soldier, that now determines the event of a battle. Daring courage, undaunted firmne , the most active and ingenious invention, cool calculation, and thorough self po e ion, amid scenes of tremendous agitation, and under the consciousne that the fate of a whole nation may depend on him alone in the trying moment, - these are the qualities which a good general cannot dispense with for a moment. If it is the character of genius to conceive great ideas instantaneously, military genius is, in this respect, the greatest. Great generals have therefore been, in all ages, the objects of admiration; and as a great artist may be no example, in a moral point of view, although we admire the genius displayed in his productions, so we cannot but bestow the same kind of admiration on the high intellectual gifts of a great general. Few situations, therefore, enable a man to nequire higher glory, than that of a great commander in a good cause. If troops meet accidentally, and are thus obliged to fight, it is called a rencontre. Further, battles are distinguished into offensive and defensive. Of course, a battle which is offensive on one side, is defensive on the other. - The plan of the battle itself, the position of the troops, ., is called the order of battle (ordre de bataille). There are three maxims as important for a general as they are simple:-1. Know your enemy, his strength and intentions. 2. Make all the operations and manœuvres of the parts coincide, as much as po ible, with the great plan of the battle. 3. Pursue victory to the utmost.