Martha’s Vineyard is going to see soldiers, and many of them, during the next two or three weeks.

 

Large scale maneuvers are to be undertaken here, and the Army is announcing the plan in order to obtain the cooperation of the public. It is important that no one should feel disturbed by the field exercises or by the appearance of troops simulating conditions of an actual campaign.

 

Capt. H. G. Feldman, now at Camp Edwards, has made public today the general outline of the maneuvers, the first of the kind ever held on the Vineyard. Some facts cannot be divulged, such as the number of men to be involved, their precise objec­tives in the exercises, and the exact  time the war games will begin.

 

It is announced, however, that troops in boats will approach in Vine­yard Sound from the eastward, and will conduct landing operations along the north shore in the region lying generally between Chappaquansett and Cape Higgon. Probably the maneuv­ers will be two-sided, with a defend­ing force as well as the landing force. The latter will work inland from the beaches in the general direction of the state reservation.

 

Captain Feldman said that an at­tempt is being made to obtain permis­sions from the owners of the land across which the soldiers will maneu­ver. He said that every effort will be made to avoid damage to any property, and thickly settled areas will be avoided. Should it prove im­possible to obtain the permission of any landowners, the maneuvers must go ahead without permission. There is no doubt that the necessity for giv­ing war training a right of way will be understood on the Vineyard.

 

In case damage should be done dur­ing the exercises, to fences, walls or any other property, in spite of the effort to avoid such a thing, Captain Feldman asks tho owners of the prop­erty concerned to be good sports. They should not be excited or angry, and if they will write to Camp Ed­wards giving information as to what has happened, the matter will be discussed with them. In short, it is hoped that there will be no harm to any property, but if the unpredictable and unavoidable happens, the Army will be glad to hear from the owners con­cerned.

 

The maneuvers are likely, to take place during the next two or three weeks, but soldiers may be seen on the Island from now on, engaged in preliminaries of one sort or another.

 

The duration of the exercises is also uncertain or unannounced, but there may be overnight bivouacs by the troops.

 

No live ammunition will be fired on the Island. When firing is heard, as it will be, the public is assured that the noise will be made by blanks only. From the fact that landing maneuvers are to take place, the pub­lic is likely to assume that the pur­pose of the training is landing on some shore a long distance from Martha’s Vineyard, but no “explana­tion can be made officially.

 

The purpose of this announcement is principally to inform everyone on the Vineyard as fully as possible, so that everyone will know what is go­ing on.

 

 

 

 

The soldiers are coming to Martha’s Vineyard - our own soldiers on maneuvers which are part of their training for that decisive part of the great war which lies ahead. When they land along the north shore and make their way up through the woods and rocky hills, and the news of their arrival spreads, the chances are that most inhabitants of Martha’s Vineyard will think of another landing to be made in the future, on some enemy coast beyond remote waters.

 

Of course there can be no official announcement as to what these maneuvers are for, specifically, but one cannot help guessing - and this reveals no military secret - that practice landings here are related to landings in earnest when the proper time has come, and when the place has been chosen. The soldiers here will be on maneuvers, but these maneuvers will be a prelude of real war.

 

That is the reason why the field exercises of the troops must have right of way. The public understands this, beyond a doubt, and so there will be no lack of cooperation. This should mean absence of excitement, no interference, and ready acquiescence in whatever is required of the Island public to achieve the conditions the Army is after.

 

There have been military encampments and marches on the Vineyard before, but so far as we know this will be the first instance in which Martha’s Vineyard has been selected for war games of large scale and with landings along the beaches.