Herodotus, on both sides of the river Artiscus, a tributary of the
Hebrus, but also spread farther west over the whole plain of the Hebrus.
Their king Teres retained his independence of the Persians 508 B.C.
Sitalces, his son, enlarged his dominions, and in 429 aided the
Athenians against Perdiccas II. of Macedon with an army of 150,000 men.
Sitalces was killed in battle with the Triballi, 424. Cotys, another
king (382-353), disputed the possession of the Thracian Chersonesus with
Athens; after nine or ten years’ warfare, Philip II. of Macedon reduced
the Odrysæ to tributaries.
=Œniadæ= (now _Triyardon_, or _Trikhardo_). An ancient town of
Acarnania, situated on the Achelous, near its mouth. Œniadæ espoused the
cause of the Spartans in the Peloponnesian war. At the time of Alexander
the Great, the town was taken by the Ætolians, who expelled the
inhabitants; but the Ætolians were expelled in their turn by Philip V.,
king of Macedonia, who surrounded the place with fortifications. The
Romans captured and restored the town to the Acarnanians 211 B.C.
=Œnophyta= (now _Inia_). A town in Bœotia, on the left bank of the
Asopus, and on the road from Tanagra to Oropus, memorable for the
victory gained here by the Athenians over the Bœotians, 456 B.C.
=Oesel.= An island belonging to Russia, stretches across the mouth of
the Gulf of Riga. It at one time belonged to the Teutonic knights, but
was seized by the Danes at an early period, and ceded by them to Sweden
in 1645. In the beginning of the 18th century it was taken possession of
by Russia, to which power it was finally ceded in 1721.
=Ofanto= (anc. _Aufidus_). A river of Naples, which rises in the
province of Principato Ultra, and after a course of 75 miles flows into
the Adriatic, 4 miles from Barletta. Near its mouth was fought the
famous battle of Cannæ, in which the Romans were defeated by Hannibal.
=Off, To Go.= To be discharged, as a gun.
=Off, To March.= To quit the ground on which you are regularly drawn up,
for the purpose of going upon detachment, relieving a guard, or doing
any other military duty.
=Off, To Tell.= To count the men composing a battalion or company, so as
to have them readily and distinctly thrown into such proportions as suit
military movements or evolutions.
=Offa’s Dyke.= An intrenchment from the Wye to the Dee, England, made by
Offa, king of Mercia, to defend his country from the incursions of the
Welsh, 779.
=Offense, Weapons of.= Those which are used in attack, in distinction
from those of _defense_, which are used to repel.
=Offenses.= All acts that are contrary to good order and discipline,
omissions of duty, etc., may be called military offenses. The principal
ones are specified in the Articles of War (which see). No officer or
soldier can be tried twice for the same offense, unless in the case of
an appeal; nor can any officer or soldier be tried for any offense
committed more than two years before the date of the order for trial,
unless in cases where through some manifest impediment the offenders
were not amenable to justice in that period, when they may be brought to
trial any time within two years after the impediment has ceased.
=Offensive.= Used in attack; assailant; opposed to _defensive_; as, an
offensive weapon or engine. Making the first attack; assailant;
invading: opposed to _defensive_; as, an offensive war.
=Offensive and Defensive Fireworks.= See PYROTECHNY.
=Offensive and Defensive League.= A league that requires both or all
parties to make war together against a nation, and each party to defend
the other in case of being attacked.
=Offensive and Defensive Operations.= Are operations the object of which
is not only to prevent the enemy’s advance, but to attack him whenever
there is a favorable opportunity which promises success.
=Offensive Fortification.= See FORTIFICATION.
=Offensive War.= Military acts of aggression constitute what is called
an _offensive war_. Those who assail an opposite or adverse army, or
invade the dominions of another power, are said to wage an _offensive
war_.
=Office.= Any place or department appointed for the officers and clerks
to attend in, for the discharge of their respective employments; as, the
adjutant-general’s office, etc.
=Office of Ordnance.= See BOARD OF ORDNANCE and ORDNANCE OFFICE.
=Officer, Brevet.= See BREVET.
=Officer, Field-.= See FIELD-OFFICER.
=Officer, General.= See GENERAL OFFICER.
=Officer in Waiting.= In the British service, the officer next for duty
is so called. He is also mentioned in orders, and ought to be ready for
the service specified at a minute’s warning. He must not on this account
quit the camp, garrison, or cantonment.
=Officer, Non-commissioned.= See NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICER.
=Officer of the Day.= Is an officer whose immediate duty is to attend to
the interior economy of the corps or garrison to which he belongs, or of
those with which he may be doing duty. The officer of the day has charge
of the guard, prisoners, and police of the garrison, inspects the
soldiers’ barracks, messes, hospital, etc.
=Officer of the Guard.= An officer detailed daily for service with the
guard. It is his duty, under the officer of the day, to see that the
non-commissioned officers and men of his guard are well instructed in
all their duties, he inspects the reliefs, visits the sentinels, is
responsible for the prisoners and the property used by them and the
guard; he is also responsible for good order, alertness, and discipline,
and should never quit his guard duty unless properly relieved.
=Officer, To.= To furnish with officers; to appoint officers over.
=Officers.= Commissioned officers are all those officers of a government
who receive their commissions from the executive, and are of various
grades from the ensign to the marshal, all of which see under their
respective headings. See APPOINTING POWER and COMMISSIONS.
=Officers, Marine.= All those who command in that body of troops
employed in the sea service.
=Officers, Staff-.= Are all those officers who are not attached to
regiments, whose duties extend over the whole, or a large section, such
as a brigade or a division; such as the adjutant-general, the
quartermaster-general, etc., and their subordinates, together with
brigade-majors and aides-de-camp. The regimental staff-officers are
those who are not attached to companies; they are the adjutant and
quartermaster, in the U. S. service, and in European armies the surgeon,
paymaster, adjutant, assistant-surgeon, and quartermaster. See STAFF.
=Officers, Subaltern.= Are all those officers below the grade of
captain.
=Officers, Warrant-.= Are those who have no commissions, but only
warrants from such boards or persons as are authorized by law to grant
them. The only warrant-officers in the British service are
master-gunners and schoolmasters. Technically the non-commissioned
officers of the U. S. army are not warrant-officers, though they are
appointed by warrants.
=Official.= All orders, reports, applications, memorials, etc., which
pass through the regular channels of communication, are called official.
=Official Courtesies.= The interchange of official compliments and
visits between foreign military or naval officers and the authorities of
a military post are international in character. In all cases it is the
duty of the commandant of a military post, without regard to his rank,
to send a suitable officer to offer civilities and assistance to a
vessel of war (foreign or otherwise) recently arrived. After such offer
it is the duty of the commanding officer of the vessel to send a
suitable officer to acknowledge such civilities, and request that a time
be specified for his reception by the commanding officer of the post.
The commanding officer of the post, after the usual offer of civilities,
is always to receive the first visit without regard to rank. The return
visit by the commanding officer of the military post is made the
following day, or as soon thereafter as practicable.
When a military commander officially visits a vessel of war he gives
notice of his visit to the vessel previously thereto, or sends a
suitable officer (or an orderly) to the gangway to announce his
presence, if such notice has not been given. He is then received at the
gangway by the commander of the vessel, and is accompanied there on
leaving by the same officer. The officer who is sent with the customary
offer of civilities is met at the gangway of a vessel of war by the
officer of the deck; through the latter he is presented to the commander
of the vessel, with whom it is his duty to communicate.
When a civil functionary entitled to a salute arrives at a military
post, the commanding officer meets or calls upon him as soon as
practicable. The commanding officer tenders a review, provided the
garrison of the place is not less than four companies of troops. When an
officer entitled to a salute visits a post within his own command, the
troops are paraded and he receives the honor of a review, unless he
directs otherwise. When a salute is to be given an officer junior to
another present at a post, the senior will be notified to that effect by
the commanding officer. Military or naval officers of whatever rank,
arriving at a military post or station, are expected to call upon the
commanding officer. Under no circumstances is the flag of a military
post _dipped_ by way of salute or compliment.
=Officially.= By the proper officer; by virtue of the proper authority;
in pursuance of the special powers vested; as, accounts or reports
officially verified or rendered; letters officially communicated;
persons officially notified.
=Off-reckonings.= A specific account was so called which existed between
the government and colonels of British regiments for the clothing of the
men.
=Ogee=, or =Ogive=. In pieces of ordnance, an ornamental molding on
guns, mortars, and howitzers.
=Ogival.= The form given the head of oblong projectiles. It was found by
Borda that this shape experienced less resistance from the air than any
other.
=Ohio.= One of the Western States of the American Confederacy, lying
between Lakes Michigan, Erie, and the Ohio River. In 1680, La Salle
explored the State, and built a military post on the Ohio, which the
French claimed; but in 1763 they relinquished it. The first settlement
was made subsequent to the Revolution, a company of New Englanders
having settled at Marietta in April, 1788. The early inhabitants were
much annoyed by incursions of the Indians, who had successively defeated
Gens. Harmar and St. Clair (the latter with great slaughter of his
troops, leaving scarcely one-fourth) in 1791 and 1792, but were
themselves in turn utterly routed by Gen. Wayne in August, 1794. Ohio
was admitted as a State in 1802. In the second war with Great Britain,
Ohio suffered greatly from raids by the British and Indians. Fort
Sandusky was attacked by Gen. Proctor, with 500 regulars and as many
Indians, and was successfully defended by Maj. Croghan, a youth of
twenty-one years, with 160 men. But the most important action which
occurred was the naval engagement on Lake Erie, fought at Put-in-Bay,
September 10, 1813, in which Commodore O. H. Perry defeated a superior
British fleet under command of Barclay. Ohio contributed greatly to the
cause of the Union in the late civil war; she sent her full quotas of
troops to the field, and the women attended to the sick and wounded with
untiring zeal. The State was twice invaded by Confederate guerrillas,
but suffered no material damage.
=Oillets=, or =Œillets=. Apertures for firing through in the walls of a
fort.
=Ojibways.= See CHIPPEWAS.
=Okanagans=, or =Cutsanim=. A semi-civilized tribe of Indians who, to
the number of about 300, reside to the east of the Cascade Mountains, in
Washington Territory.
=Olcades.= An ancient people in Hispania Tarraconensis, north of
Carthago Nova, nearer the sources of the Anas, in a part of the country
afterwards inhabited by the Oretani. They are mentioned only in the wars
of the Carthaginians with the inhabitants of Spain.
=Oldensworth= (Denmark). A conference was held here in 1713, between
Peter the Great and Frederick IV. of Denmark.
=Olifant=, or =Oliphant= (_Fr._). A horn which a paladin or knight
sounded in token of defiance, or as a challenge.
=Olinde.= A sort of sword-blade.
=Olivenza.= A fortified town of Spain, in Estremadura, situated on the
Guadiana, 16 miles southwest from Badajos. This town was ceded by
Portugal to Spain in 1801; and for having arranged this cession, Godoy
received his title of “Prince of Peace.” In 1811 it was taken by the
French.
=Olmütz.= The chief fortress of Moravia, in the district of the same
name, in Austria, 40 miles north-northeast from Brünn. Olmütz was taken
by the Swedes during the Thirty Years’ War; but was besieged in vain for
seven weeks by Frederick the Great in 1758. Lafayette was confined here
in 1794. A conference was held here November 29, 1850, under the czar
Nicholas, when the difficulties between Austria and Prussia respecting
the affairs of Hesse-Cassel were arranged.
=Olot.= A town of Spain, in the province of Gerona, 85 miles from
Barcelona. It figured and suffered much in the war of independence,
being a strong point, and passed alternately into the hands of French
and Spaniards, until the latter dismantled the fortifications. In the
civil war of 1856 and 1857 it was much coveted and frequently attacked
by the Carlists, but unsuccessfully.
=Oltenitza.= A fortified village of Turkey in Europe, in Wallachia,
situated on the Danube, 2 miles north from Turtukai. A Turkish force
having crossed the Danube under Omar Pasha, established themselves at
Oltenitza in spite of the vigorous attacks of the Russians, who were
repulsed with loss November 2-3, 1853. On November 4, a desperate
attempt to dislodge the Turks by Gen. Danneberg with 9000 men, was
defeated with great loss.
=Olympic Games.= Were instituted by Hercules A.M. 2856, in honor of
Jupiter Olympus, at Olympia, a city of Elis, in Peloponnesus. They were
celebrated about every four years, about the summer solstice. The design
of them was to accustom the young military men to running, leaping, and
every other military exercise.
=Olynthus.= A town of Chalcidice, stood at the head of the Toronaic
Gulf, between the headlands of Sithonia and Pallene, about 60 stadia
from Potidæa. During the second Persian invasion of Greece, Artabazus,
the general of Xerxes, captured the town, slaughtered its Bottiæan
inhabitants, and gave it to the Chalcidians. It was subdued in war by
Sparta in 382-379 B.C. It resisted Philip of Macedon 350 B.C., by whom
it was destroyed in 347.
=Omagh= (Irish, _Oigh magh_, “seat of the chiefs”). An ancient town,
capital of the county of Tyrone, in Ireland, 34 miles south from
Londonderry. Omagh grew up around an abbey founded in the year 792, but
is first heard of as a fortress of Art O’Nial in the end of the 15th
century, about which time it was forced to surrender to the English,
although its possession long continued to alternate between Irish and
English hands. It formed part of James I.’s “Plantation grants,” and was
strongly garrisoned by Mountjoy. On its being evacuated by the troops of
James II. in 1689, it was partially burned.
=Omaha Indians.= A tribe of aborigines, of Dakota stock, who, to the
number of 1000, inhabit a reservation in Nebraska. They are generally
peaceful and industrious.
=Omer, St.= A fortified town of France, in the department of
Pas-de-Calais, 24 miles southeast from Calais. This place was taken by
Louis XIV. in 1677. It suffered severely during the revolution of 1830.
=Omra=, or =Omhra= (plural of _ameer_, a “lord”) Ind. They were persons
of considerable consequence in the dominions of the Great Mogul. Some of
them had command of 1000 horse, others of 2000, and so on to 20,000;
their pay being regulated according to their commands. The governors and
great officers of state were generally chosen out of this body.
=On.= A preposition frequently used in military exercise. It precedes
the word of command which directs the change or formation of bodies of
men upon points that are fixed; as, form on the centre company.
=On the Alert.= In a state of vigilance or activity.
=Onagre= (_Fr._). A warlike machine, which was used by the ancients to
throw stones of different sizes. It is mentioned by Vegetius.
=Oneidas.= A tribe of Indians forming one of the Five Nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy, who resided in the county and near the lake which
bears their name. They were continually at war with the early French
settlers in Canada, and took sides with the colonists against the
British in the war of the Revolution. For this they suffered severely.
Their castle, church, and villages were destroyed by the Tories in 1780,
and they were compelled to flee to the white settlements for protection.
In 1788 they ceded most of their lands to the State and moved to Canada;
subsequently some of the tribe settled in Wisconsin, where they are
still comfortably located on a reservation; and a remnant still resides
near Rome, Oneida Co., N. Y. They are well advanced in the arts of
civilization, and, contrary to the usual fate of Indian tribes, have
increased in numbers.
=Onein.= An offensive weapon of mediæval times, consisting of a staff
with a hooked iron head.
=Onondagas.= One of the confederate tribes of Indians known as the Five
Nations. They resided in the State of New York, in the county which
bears their name. They were long the enemies of the Canadian French,
with whom, and with the Hurons, they were continually at war. They were
allies of the English in the French war, 1756-63, fought against the
colonists in the Revolutionary war, and suffered severely in the
contest. In 1788 they ceded their lands to the State and moved to
Ontario, Canada, where about 400 of them now reside.
=Onset.= A rushing or setting upon; a violent attack; assault; a
storming; especially the assault of an army or body of troops upon an
enemy or a fort.
=Onsetting.= A rushing upon or assaulting.
=Onslaught.= Attack; onset; aggression; assault. “By storm and onslaught
to proceed.”
=Onward.= Toward the point before or in front; forward; as, to move
onward.
=Oodeypoor=, or =Mewar=. A Rajpoot state in India. It became tributary
to the British government by the treaty of 1818. A corps of Bheels was
raised in 1841 at the joint expense of the British and Oodeypoor
governments, in order to reduce to subjection the Bheel districts of the
country.
=Oojein=, or =Oojain=. A city of India, in the territory of Gwalior, 152
miles southwest from Goonah. It fell into the power of the Mohammedans
in 1310. At this time it was the capital of Malwa; and along with this
country it afterwards came under the power of the Patans, but was
recovered by Akbar in 1561. In the middle of the 18th century it was
conquered by the Mahrattas.
=Opatas=, or =Yakis=. An Indian people who reside in the state of
Sonora, Mexico. They number about 25,000, and are generally peaceable
and industrious.
=Open.= In military movements and dispositions, this term is frequently
used in contradistinction to _close_; as, open column, open distance,
open order, etc. It also constitutes part of a word of command; as, rear
rank take open order. By _open distance in column_ is meant that the
intervals are always equal in depth to the extent in front of the
different component parts of the column.
=Open Flank.= In fortification, is that part of the flank which is
covered by the orillon.
=Opening of Trenches.= Is the first breaking of ground by the besiegers,
in order to carry on their approaches towards the place.
=Operations, Lines of.= See LINES OF OPERATIONS.
=Operations, Military.= Consist in the resolute application of
preconcerted measures in secrecy, dispatch, regular movements,
occasional encampments, and desultory combats or pitched battles.
=Opinion.= In military proceedings that regard the interior government
of an army, this word signifies decision, determination, judgment formed
upon matters that have been laid before a court-martial or court of
inquiry.
=Opinion.= Officers on courts-martial give their opinion by seniority,
beginning with the youngest in rank.
=Oporto.= A city of Portugal, in the province of Entre-Douro-e-Minho,
about 2 miles from the mouth of the Douro, and 175 miles north from
Lisbon. It was attacked by the Moors under Abderrahman in 820. In 1092
certain knights of Gascony, commanded by Don Alfonso Fredrico, captured
it from the Moors. It was famous for the strength of its fortifications
during the Middle Ages, its walls being 3000 paces in circumference, 30
feet in height, and flanked with towers. From the 17th to the present
century, Oporto has been the scene of an unusual number of popular
insurrections. In 1808 it was taken by the French. The French, under
Marshal Soult, were surprised here by Lord Wellington, and defeated in
an action fought May 11, 1809. It was besieged in 1832 and 1833 by Dom
Miguel, and successfully defended by Dom Pedro with 7500 men. In this
siege, the city suffered severely, and more than 16,000 of the
inhabitants were killed. It has since been the scene of civil war. The
insurgents entered Oporto January 7, 1847; a Spanish force entered
Oporto, and the Junto capitulated, June 26, 1847.
=Oppenheim.= A town of the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt, on the left
bank of the Rhine, 10 miles southeast of Mayence. It occupies the site
of the Roman castle of _Bauconia_, and was made a royal palatinate under
the Carlovingians. It afterwards became one of the most important free
towns of the empire. It was taken in 1218 by Adalbert, archbishop of
Mayence, in 1620 by the Spaniards, in 1631 by the Swedes under Gustavus
Adolphus, and in 1634 by the Imperialists, suffering much upon all these
occasions. In 1689 the French under Melac almost entirely destroyed it.
=Opponent.= One who oppones, or opposes; an adversary; an antagonist; a
foe.
=Oppose.= To act as an adversary against another; to resist, etc. It
likewise signifies to place as an obstacle.
=Oppugn.= To fight against, whether in attack, resistance, or simple
opposition; to attack; to oppose; to resist.
=Oppugnant.= Tending to awaken hostility; hostile; opposing.
=Or.= In heraldry the metal gold, represented in heraldic engravings by
an unlimited number of dots.
=Oran.= A seaport town of Algeria, about 220 miles west-southwest of
Algiers; it is defended by strongly armed forts. The town of Oran was
built by the Moors. It was taken by the Spaniards in 1509, by the Turks
in 1708, and again by the Spaniards in 1732. It was taken by the French
in 1831, and has since remained in their hands.
=Orb.= In tactics, is the disposing of a number of soldiers in circular
form of defense. The orb has been thought of consequence enough to
employ the attention of the famous Marshal de Puysegur, in his “Art of
War,” who prefers this position to throw a body of infantry in an open
country to resist cavalry, or even a superior force of infantry; because
it is regular, and equally strong, and gives an enemy no reason to
expect better success by attacking one place than another. Cæsar drew up
his whole army in this form when he fought against Labienus. The whole
army of the Gauls was formed into an orb, under the command of Sabinus
and Cotta, when fighting against the Romans. The orb was generally
formed six deep.