The Dominion. TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1915. GERMANY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2416, 23 March 1915, Page 4

The Dominion. TUESDAY, MARCH 23, 1915. GERMANY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH

The war strength, of Germany is the subject of a very informative discussion in recent London papers. Ino point is debated by such wellknown writers as Mr. Mallock, Me. Belloc, Me. Massingham, and .the military correspondent of The Times. The controversy reveals a considerable difference of opinion, but the facts and figures quoted are exceedingly interesting in view of the generally accepted idea that now that the European spring has arrived the belligerents intend to throw great numbers of fresh men into the field. Britain has already greatly strengthened her forces at the front, and no doubt France and Germany are also pouring new men into the fightiug ranks. Of course this process cannot. go on for ever. A nation's supply of able-bodied men is not unlimited. By an analysis of the population statistics it should be possible to arrive at a fairly accurate idea of tho number available, but the deductions which have to'be made for various reasons introduce an element of uncertainty which provides _ an ample debating ground for statistical and military experts. After the number of men of fighting age in a nation has been ascertained allowance must be made for the unfit, and for the number required to maintain the food supply and to keep the war industries going at the highest speed. Armies have to bo fed and clothed and equipped; and in order that all this may be properly done the fighting forces have to be deprived of tho fiarvices of a vast number of ablebodied men who might otherwise bo serving with the colours. Tho train- ' ing of the men has also to be taken into account. It takes titno to turn out an efficient army.

How. many new men can Germany place in the field 1 This is the ciuestion which English experts have Deeu endeavouring to answer. The military correspondent of The Times, after a close examination of ftie best available data, arrives at the conclusion that the total number of untrained men, who are now in process of incorporation and training, must be about 4,000,000. Ho does not think it safe to put the figure down at anything less. These 4,000,000 men were entirely untrained Until the first of them were called up after the outbreak of war. These men will be used either as drafts or fresh army corps, and will figure in the_ "final and most violent effort for victory" which Germany is expected to make in the spring. Calculations made by Colonel Repington lead to the conclusion that Germany's war strength is even greater than the estimate made by The Times correspondent. Colonel Repington is of opinion that Germany ought to be able to call upon 4,000,000 adult men between the ages of 20 and 45, whereas The 'limes correspondent included in Mb total 1,000,000 youths under 20. Mr. Massingham thinks that the Colonel's total is much too high, and that it is based on formal figures rather than actual ones. Mr. Belloc takes a similar view, and holds that tho Colonel has left out of account the supply of men_ necessary to feed the armies and maintain the civil life of tho country, He also argues that the deduction made for the unfit i 3 quite inadequate. By putting together what he regards as the most reliable calculations, Mr. Massingham arrives at the following result:— Germany's total of adult males (20 to 45) 12,000,000 Deduct 25 per cent, for unfit... 3,000,000 9,000,000 Deduct for civil employment... 2,000,000 7,000,000 Allow for armies now; in field... 5,000,000 Unemployed residue 2,000,000 According to these figures Germany oari only put 2,000,000 new men into the field, which is much less than The Times estimate, and reduces Colonel Repington's total by one half. Approaohing the problem from a somewhat different point of view, Me. W. H. Mallock reaches conclusions which support those of Mr. Belloc and Me. Massingham. He bases his calculations'on the number of males in Germany between the ages of 17 and 55 at the close of the year 1914, and he groups them in the following way according to their ages:— Lads (17 to 20) 1,700,000 Men from 20 to 45 11,980,000 Men past military prime (45 to 55) 2,900,000 Total 10,580,000 Mh. Mallock states that the view expressed by some people that Germany could put as many as 8,000,000 men in the field between the agos of 17 and 45 does not make allowance for losses or for the unfit through infirmity. The deduction for these two classes should not be less than 1,600,000, making the total of available males between the ages of 17 and 55 about 15,000,000. But the whole of these 15,000,000 could not under the extremcst pressure be placed in the lighting lines. The •lighting power of a nation is divided into two parts—the military army and the industrial army at tiie back of it. The enormous importance of the industrial army has been brought, home to the British people with great force recently bv the urgent appeals of Lord Kitohenw and Mr. Lloyd CiuofiGK to tl» workers oi liuKland

to maintain the output of war material at the highest possible point. Mr. Mallock asserts that the question is: How many men of military ago can be withdrawn from those industries which are most vital to the population at large and to the actual fighters in particular, without starving the one and more or less disarming the other 1 If there are now, despite all losses, 5,000,000 men in the field, and if 3,000,000 new men should be sent to the front, there woiuu only he 7,000,000 males left between the ages of 17 and 55 to carry on the whole of the country's industries. Now the number of men of military age usually employed in such absolutely essential industries as mining, metal working, transport, and food production would be 7,000,000. Therefore, if Germany were to raise an army of 8,000,000 men, these vital industries would have to suffer very seriously, or elso tvery male worker would have to bo withdrawn from the other industries except about 5,000,000, of whom some 3,000,000 would bo men between the ages of 55 and 80, while 2,000,000 would be mere boys between the ages of 17 and 10. It would be impossible for such a state of affairs to continue for any length of time. .If the struggle is to be a protracted one it must resolve itself largely to a question of population, but of course the equipment and fighting spirit of the armies, naval and military strategy, and national fortitude and enthusiasm arc also factors of the utmost importance. The Times military correspondent reminds us that "the population of the Allies is double that of the enemy, their resources much greater, and their spirit at least equal." Even if we accept the most favourable estimates of the enemy's strength, it is far less than that of the Allies. Germany is rapidly reaching the limits of her strength, whereas tne Allies still have large reserves of fighting power at their disposal.