THE SCIENCE SIDE OF BALKAN WAR.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1590, 6 November 1912, Page 8

THE SCIENCE SIDE OF BALKAN WAR.

AT LULE BURGAS. —— * THE DEATH EUN WITH THE KNIFE. 1 [By Gyro'."! Tho death run at tho Bulgarian infantry with tho knifo over tho last 400 yards of ground at tlio groat battle of Burgas ought to shatter for evof tho sickly battle literature whioh is doing so lunch to sap the spirit of the British nation. "Modern weapoßs"—dear, moss-grown words in English magazines and newspapers—has enjoyed 33 great a reign as that equally blessed Word ".Mesopotamia" had •With devout old women in a period not longipast. Is the bine mesmeric spell of "modern weapons," which lias in the past twelve years served to excuse ull uiir unsteadiness in battle, to end? . If it does not end, our Empiro may. Tho phrase clouted and glossed things in South' Africa, which ' tho patriotic mind refuses, even ■■ yet, to look into very closely. It was sought tn be shown that the .303 rifle is capablo of automatically creating a zone of -death into, which the 'bravest of troops may not -enter. It was a. lino -theory,, tho more ..especially as -it tended to create dji easy soothing feeling in the otherwise uneasy soul of iho poltrcou. As usual, serious students of war liSd to look to the German military writers for light 011 this important matter, and ; it may here ■ bs> mentioned that all tho Balkan armies ate trained 011 the German model. Of Course Fire Musi Prepare the Way. The German accented writers had wen the terrible .Franco-Prussian svar. They ■ l»nelv well enough, for.- they liiid all been tinder lieavy fire in that war, that .the French ChaSsapot outranged the Prussian needle-gun by something like' 81)0 yards, and they were conscious -only too conscious—tlia't Hie Prussian Guard, adyanc:ing on the village of St. Privat in.'the battle of Cvravelotfe, had 6000 men knockid 'over in ten.'minutes at a range of 1500 'yards. Viewed in relation to the time aiia the.range., it was a 'battle toss Absolutely .unparalleled ift the history ofwar. Such -a weapon as the' Chassepot must 'have seemed/ during that lurid afternoon, qiiito "modern"' enough to these Miters, but it did not shako their- faith In tho intense German military belief than niivnhimself, if his 6oul is properly attuned to the reality of things, is ever the (superior to the implement whieli ho carries iu his hand. The. German theory then was, and still is, that- 110 weapon will 6top resolute troops, superior in numbers, .and whose' path forward into the dectth ze-no has.been efficiently' "prepared" *by a reasonable amount of artillery attd rifle are.. It is a' theory which has been well ridiculed by English writers who have laughed at the "close order" and~"massed attacks" which characterise the annual German manoeu.vres. ' . •• - j Unfortunately, for the English humorists, the matter-is to longer hung up 111 j the debnteable region of theory. ;The great battle ot'. Luie Burgas shows that it is a fact. . Oil -Steadiness in Battle. And here'follows ah exceedingly pMn'fnl' matter. .Some years ago a writer who had. formerly been a member of .the Gei'ijiau. Goiieral Staff: wade, an exhaustive- examination'of tile c'ouragc a;hd steadiness of the . rank ond file ■of the ti'.oops of the various nations ill battle. And he placed the leading World's soldiers as follow*:— Easily first: Japan. . Second"bracket: Russia, Turkey, Bul- ; gar-ia. liulu'anui, aiiil Chile. Third Germany. Fourth: France. _ . . . , Eifth:.■Austria; hud Sel'via, ] t will' be noted, by the discerning patriot, that there is a very ugly omission from this list; hut .jyho.is to say, ot tli®, .lapanese .war, tliat it is' not correct? . It is, of course, outrageous to suggest a thing like thisV and no one-ought todO if; bivless.-he has sftnie remedial measure to pro--nose. "Well,'l think that the mere drawing attention to it is, in itself remedial, and further, when we abolish the bogy. of "modern weapons" and so.mo of qui- ; other rafher sickly national ways of view- ■ ing the.- great issues of life,-and warfare (which is a supreme ' phase of life), we ; will regain the road to supremacy in w'Dr. It is important that: ive should, for there ; is no itiiddlo, path, In the raeei of the national strivings.a Great J'ower must be. a Great Power, or, 110 power at all. Solemn Part of the Subject, . There is another German contention which Luie Burgas crowns with honour., War, according to Clattsen'i'tz, is a poafliet of nationiil policy only to be solved in bipod. It is not to be solved in the long* ruii-hy continually running away as tlie Boers sought to Solve it, or by "making it bit of a splash" aS Spain did against America, or ■by the power of money, as some influential classes in Eng.-. land vainly imagine. It is blood, and blood only, that decides tho ' issue. The. .abject ot" frar is, according to Hoenig and other Germans, "to kill a certain number of,men and frighten more, and, as to the quality of the troops -engaged,, ill'is the casiialb". list chiefly that pro-' claims their fibre." Nazii;i—The Sole Objective. Tho illustration of this' theory in the Balkah w-ur is this resolute manner in. which tho Bulgarian generals closed' on Najjini Pa.sha : . And this leads mo io tli» last point, ill this letter—the splendid work of the Bulgarian. General'.Staff ap.d of the general officers actually command--ing in the field. Objectives are ,of course easy 'to the "man 111 the street." He can pick them by the score a't any time, and he is especially clever at umuing theni after they have- been actually revealed, by the occurrences of war. . But, in reality, they -are.Hot easy, -.'lf, it war broke out between TaihajiO arid Wellington., what Would be the objective.?. Tailjape? Wellington? Neither, If four. 'German, army corps were landed in Eng' land, what. would bo. the first objective? London? jDeeidedlj- • not'. The British Army? Not Unless it -got in their Toad." Analysis of what are and what are not true objectives -in War would, nl&ke a , very long story, but in this iva-r the Bulgarian military commmiders selected -it' correctly, The main, objective .was Nazini Pasha. O.u h'-m, and hini chiefly, the ; "killing" was to be done.' ' .'. And having selected the iuajor strategy thereafter wa-s as good as any-. thihg over done in war. . Possibly ■ few have noticed that, -fortho last ton days, .. Xazim had the great strategic- advantage of interior lines snatched away from him. Up till then i.t -was always jiossib!o for. htm to suddenly-, call in Zeki Pasha t'o assist in -the big battle. But, a-S\.it happened, the Servians (acting with perfect eo-ope.ralion With respect to the main operation fft Luid Burgas) delivered whal is termed .1 "piniiijifif down attack" on Ze'ki Pasha as Kumanovo. That attack kept poor Zeki fast-footed, and to niake assurance' doubly sure., a combined force of Servians aii.d Bulgarians -uut the con r meeting railway at Drama. Then the main Bulgarian avm.y closed down 011 -Xasa.m Paslm, with w-hat result we now know, - Ourselves—The Valour of Ignorance. One would think that, such strategy, and such' ferocious bearing in batile wmim impress even -New ■ Zealaiulcrs, but apparently it is not so. • 111 a AVelliiigton pie-slia]) 011 Snlnrday niglifc last there were -iplit jm.t-r-i'ols and oiie. Territorial, and the Territorial, sajd: "Iflok liev-e, (hey can fall; .'is ili.ey like, but let 'e-in send the svhote .Fapnne'se Army to New Zealand and they'll got all the fight, they're looking, for."' OufovtriHaf.ety i'oi-otir jvation this, phase of the valour of ignorance is fairlv general.