OUR ARMY FROM A GERMAN POINT OF VIEW.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1564, 21 May 1887, Page 3

OUR ARMY FROM A GERMAN POINT OF VIEW.

It la not to be expeoted that foreign writers should take a favorable view of the state of our military forces at a time when we are daily finding fault with it ourselves. Based, aa our army is, upon a system of recruiting obsolete as a wooden three decker, a muzzle-loading gun, or a stage coaob, we must admit the truth of strictures which point out that so long aB we adhere to it, fso long we exclude Great Britain from the list of great military Powers, Afl much as this may be conoeded to Herr Vogt, who has just published a work on the British Army. But when he inveighs m no measured speech against the tactical proficiency of the few treops we possess, it becomes dear tbat his estimate is as antiquated as our own organisation ; and we discern that, not having personally inspected them, he has trusted to reports of careless •r Incompetent observers Nevertheless, from the praise he bestows on the Individual soldier, he must be proBounced Impartial and desirous of doing Justice to all. He quotes an unnamed German visitor to Aldershot, who reports as follows :— " Walking m summer or autumn past the various huts, one has frequent opportunities of observing the moat various duties. Battalion find brigade drills, as a rule, take plaoe In the morning, at whloh the heart of the German officer Ie filled with profouad grief; seeing that the fine undulating country, the httlookß, patches of wood, little dltohes, etc., are scarcely ever Utilised for ooverlng the position or adTtuoe of bodies of troops m olose order, It li ill Blmple line formation ; and a proper vie of the ground for obtaining cover, or the development of fire-effeot, has no existence. Skirmishing, though carefully taught In squads by the noncommissioned officers, consists of nothing more than line movements In extended order, followed by firing from the knee; manoeuvring, judglng-diatanoe practice are unknown," Now we venture to say that there is not a volunteer m these islands, who, having paid a Blngle vls't to Alderahotj Is not In a position to pronounce the above . statement a gross though donbtless nnintentional distortion of facts. If It be not so, such a state of things can only exist In spite of tbe example and precept of superiors and of a carefully worked out code of regulations. But we feel assured lt doeß not exist,

" The drill of the cavalry and artillery," proceeds this witness, "Is extremely interesting from the beauty of the horns Mid men, also from the splendor of the of the uniforms. But here also comes »n unfortunate clumsiness (Schwtrftttiigkcit) j •nd It it seems to me thai the noises, whloh are principally of the Irish breed, Me too well fed, but not sufficiently broken, to advance acd mat centre with the endurance »nd agility whioh are oommonto moat European armies." In short, apart from the question of the numbers available for a European confllot, whloh, M Oolonel Vogt truly observes, are Infialteslmally small (verschwinttend Mein) ttt oompared with foreign armies, oqr troops are not, he thinks, on a par with those of the other Great Powers In point of instruction, tactical efficiency, and mobility. The offioers are not thoroughly Instructed m the theory and practice of war, nor the rank-and-file In rifle praotico and skirmishing. "The cavalry," he • consider*, " may keep up Its renown for : bravery by some new death-gallop ; but is too little adept at outpost duty to serve M eyes and ears to an army, and, like the artillery, It seems slow and clumsy." On the other hand, full credit Is allowed lor." the audaolous courage of the AngloBaxon." The British soldier Is better clothed, fed, and paid than any other ln the world. His barracks are a pattern of comfort and cleanliness. The discipline Is atriot, though It falls to repress his besetting vice— drunkenness. English officers often attain a high degree of general education, though it appears as a rule their technical knowledge Is limited. Many of them are fluent ln the use of modern languages. The Volunteers are highly spoken of j and pronounoed equal In ordinary emergencies to the task of defending our coasts ; but the Army Reserve, here estimated at some two thousand above ita •otual atrength, Is pronounced Inadequate for the wants of the army m the fiold. "Haa a landing on English soil any chance of inooeaa 1" ia the question finally asked by Herr Vogt ; but prudently left unanswered, except by the remark that lt were ft bad army whloh refused to believe In • plan devised by ita leader. Suoh a plan doubtless exlatß somewhere In Berlin, ■nd would obtain unhesitating oredence from the German army m the happily imI)robable event of its ever being translated ato action.—" Pall M»ll Gazette."