=96.= =Occupation of a Conquered Place.=--Immediately upon the fall of the place it must be occupied by a force (chosen when possible from the reserve which has not participated in the final assault) sufficient to control not only the inhabitants, but also the disorderly soldiers of the attacking force. All pillaging, wanton destruction, and abuse of the conquered must be restrained with a strong hand, immediate and exemplary punishment being inflicted upon offenders. The orderly portion of the defenders must be protected, and such steps taken for supplying their needs as humanity requires; while the disorderly ones must be repressed with such severity as may be necessary. So soon as order is established a careful inventory of captured property is made, and it is stored subject to the orders of the government. When the possibility exists of the place being attacked or besieged by the enemy, all its resources which are available for defence are collected, repaired, and stored for use. VAUBAN’S MAXIMS. =97.= Marshal Vauban, the great French military engineer (born 1633, died 1707), whose experience and success in sieges made him the great authority on the subject, formulated certain maxims for governing the conduct of a siege, the observance of which led to almost certain success, and the departure from them almost invariably resulted disastrously. The most of these are as applicable to sieges of to-day as they were to those of his own time. The following[6] bear upon the second and third periods of the attack: 1st. To delay the opening of the trenches until the besieging forces are all well posted and made secure by fortifications from an attack either from the garrison or from a succoring force; and until everything requisite for carrying on the work vigorously has been collected and is ready at hand when wanted. 2d. To make a single attack rather than a double one, unless the two attacks can be well connected and the besieging force exceeds considerably in strength the garrison. This, as a matter of course, excludes false attacks, and double separate attacks, unless the superiority of the besieging force is very great. By a single attack is understood one by which it is proposed to gain possession of the main work by a single breach at some point; by a double attack it is proposed to effect two breaches of the main work. The advantage of the latter lies in forcing the garrison to divide their strength for the defence of the two breaches, whilst the assailing forces, being under one leadership, can at any moment concentrate if necessary upon the point most favorable to their assault. 3d. To embrace within the parallels and approaches all the defences which bear upon the site to be occupied by the besieger’s works, in order to have secure positions for establishing the batteries that may be required to silence the fire of these defences.