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ADVANCE GUARD. A company or squadron requires only a cavalry patrol in front of it as advance guard, and stronger columns would demand greater forces, depending on the circumstances. In the first place, the cavalry division belongs to the ad- vance guard, but in this case its duty is more security and protection than reconnaissance; consequently it remains nearer than in screen- ing, and fights, rather than avoids, the enemy's patrol. In the case of a mixed column of all arms, the ac^vance guard must have infantry, but how much depends on circumstances. An in- fantry division usually requires a regiment, but a battalion is often sufficient. Artillery is also assigned to it, usually only a battery, at most a battalion. Engineers are usually attached, with a bridge train ; often also a balloon section. The advance guard is divided into the main guard and the vanguard; the latter consisting, for a CAVALRY SCREEN OUT IN FRONT. CAVALRY POINT. about 1000 yards. 666666666 inkantrt POINT. a D COMPANIES. ENGINEERS. lOOU TARD9. I ARTILLERY I BATTALION. J battalion. bridge train. ambulance. artillery 3d echelon.

FORMATION OF ADVANCE GUABD. (According to Meckel.) regiment, of a battalion; for a battalion, of a company of infantry, with the engineers and a part of the cavalry present; the artillery is in the main guard. Before the vanguard marches the infantry point, and before the latter the cav- alry point, or the cavalry of the vanguard with its point, consisting of three or four men under a non-commissioned officer. The infantry point marches on the road in closed or dispersed order, and does not stop to reconnoitre small places. For observation of the surrounding country the cavalry point is designed. It looks up observa- tion points, moves rapidly from one to the other, and keeps touch to the rear by means of sepa- rate horsemen. The infantry point keeps touch to the rear by means of single infantrymen or cyclists. If the main column halts for a con- siderable time the advance guard takes up tem- porarily the duties of outposts, but must keep up reconnaissance. Every column of march must also be protected on the fianks by patrols, anil when these small bodies are not sufficient a fiank guard must be organized.

In a retreat a rear guard is formed, and since the latter cannot, as a rule (like the ad- vance or flank guard), count on the immediate support of the main body, it must be stronger than either of the others, and requires more ar- tillery, and also cavalry, the latter playing the part of mounted infantry in this case. All Euro- pean armies, except the German, have a small rear guard besides the advance guard in an ad- vance. France and Russia have very strong advance guards and send them far oiit to the front. See Outposts : Reconnaissance ; Bat- tle; and Tactics, Military.

ADVANCE’MENT. In law, a gift by a parent to a cliild of all or a portion of the share of the parent's personal property to which the child would be entitled upon the death of the advancer intestate. An advancement has the effect of reducing by its amount the dis- tributive portion that would come to the receiver upon the death of the parent. The doctrine of advancement is applicable only to gifts from parent to child, but has been extended to gifts to others by statute in some States. An advance- ment is not required to be made in any particu- lar form. Any such gift is presumptively an advancement, but the contrary may be shown. The subject is now generally regulated by stat- ute, and in many jurisdictions real estate may be given by way of advancement to the heir. (See Ademption.) Consult: Thornton, Law Relating to Gifts and Advancements (Philadel- phia, 1893).

ADVANCEMENT OF SCI'ENCE, Associations for the. Important bodies of scientific men in America, Great Britain, France, and other countries. The purpose of these associations is to emphasize the solidarity and unity of interests among workers in all branches of science, to give a stronger impulse to scientific research, both theoretical and practical, and to gain for scientific achievement a more immediate recognition and a wider usefulness, through the means of financial bequests, the publication of Reports, and the offering of special facilities for the prosecution of original and difficult scientific work. The organization of the societies was one of the numerous manifestations of the scientific spirit of the nineteenth century; and the continued growth of this spirit was shown at a joint meeting of the British and French associations in September. 1899, when plans were formulated for an international association for the advancement of science, art. and education. The first meeting of this international association was held in Paris during the exposition of 1900. The American Association for the Advancement of Science, now one of the most noted scientific societies of America, was founded in 1847 as an outgrowth of the association of American geologists and naturalists. The association is organized in ten sections, each of which holds its own convention at the annual meeting of the association during the summer. The sections embrace the following departments of science: .-1, mathematics and astrcmomy; B, physics; C, chemistry; D, mechanical science