SURPRISES OF THE WAR

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2428, 6 April 1915, Page 6

SURPRISES OF THE WAR

INTERVIEW WITH A GERMAN . GENERAL TON HEERINGEN'S VIEWS The views of oil© of the ablest "of the German commanders,' General von Hceringen, on some surprises of the present war are given in a dispatch from a correspondent .'of , the Associated Press which appeared iii the "New York Evening Post" recently.- "Writing 'from-, the field headquarters of General von Heeringen's army at "a place in France," .where, as the guest of the headquarters' mess, he had listened to the General's "after-dinner talks., on the new.lessons imd-methods of this war," the correspondent says:— ' ■!' : ■ , Sixty-five years of age, with silky' fwhite beard, mild, eyes, a pleasant froice, and a courteous consideration for irisitors and.'.all with whom he comes in contact, it takes the grey field uniform,. .with the black and white ribbon and the iron Gross • upon' his breast, to Toveal the man who, as War Minister, drafted and put through the Reichstaig the billion-mark, levy for the increase in the army-last.year,- and who, cuj commander of that army hastily concentrated in the first ten days ot mobilisation, broke up the French invasion of .Southern Alsace and drove the invaders back upon Beii'ort. ;

General von Heeringen has been in close touch with the modern theory of war, but: he admits that all did not come ,out as the experts had supposed. "Take the laying out of trenches, for example," he said. "The first principle to be observed in laying out trenches, according to our ideas before the war, was to secure as extended a field of fire as possible, so as to force an. at tacking enemy to advaiico a long distance imder the fire of the defenders. Now .We have learned that the first essential fcs to have them concealed and protected 'from artillery tire, even if the field of fire does not extend more than 50 yards before the trenches. That is enough, with modern weapons, to , stop any attack. In a number of places along the front our men and the French occupy separate tslopes of the same ridge, with .the crest of the ridge between them, 60' that neither side can see the other.- In the Old days it would have been thought ithat the side , seizing the crest could drive out the others, but now. neither side dares show a head above the crest.

Hand Grenades for Close Fighting. "HaJid grenades, we find, are the best .weapons for street and house-to-house fighting. A couple of hand grenades thrown into a house occupied by the enemy will clear it more quickly than, anything else, and with far less loss of life than by the use of the bayonet. Our meu all carry them now. In the trenches wo are using with remarkable effect not only hand- grenades, but also lajges mines containing a great quantity of explosive, and thrown by a special type of gun. Biese explode with tremendous effect, killing or- utterly demoralising everyone in the opposite trench."'

The correspondent was shown a number of these'hand grenades. They are abo.ut the size "of a baseball and are ibound to short wooden paddles, making them very handy to _ throw.. Usually they are provided with'-' fuses,.-.'.which the user lights from a match or a : cigar. A supply of.-these is kept in. readiness in every trench.. ' When patrols go out between the lines each man usually, carries two in his belt, and storming parr ties sent to take a'village or town equip themselves Überally with' these, .weapons.

General Von Heeringen' was; asked whether the first month's fighting had settled in any way the question" of the superiority of dense or. extended lines for attack, English and French reports in'the early days of the war having described the /German soldiers as charging,in.almost solid formation and incurring, heavy loss. V The. General -intimated that there wasra great deal:of legend in l 'the story, and that; in order to get the men forward' under 'heavy fire, it was necessary .to": advance in successive' Tushes rather than in dense lines; owing to the effect of the .modern infantry-weapons.

British Soldiers Tough Fighters. "Which of the- Allies las the best troops?" asked one'of Ms hearers.General von Heeringen had- only praise for both British arid French.'The' French- were' stiff; hard fighters, but Ihe .'seemed, like most officers at the front, ...to. .think, that, the, .British soldiers were the toughest opponents. Tho correspondents had found German •officers of all arms united in this opinion of the excellence of the. British' personnel and material. Hie German infantryman has a wholesome appreciation of the way in which the Tommies stick to their trenches, to the vlast. The Gorman artilleryman praises the work of the British guns. The aviators who have had to do with both French and British flyers say that the Britons are more enterprising' than , their French colleagues, and that the British biplane is superior- in many points to all other aircraft.' '

The clothing.. and equipment, of the (English officers and soldiers are- considered almost ideal. Evidence'of this is given by the number of German officers encountered wearing- British greatcoats, even staff officers .of higher grades considering themselves lucky-when they can put their shoulder straps and buttons on the brown overcoat of an English private.". " • ' ' Deeds of bravery in this'war'we're too Common, the standard .ofjcourage among tie supposed over-civilised races ot 'Europe too high, the_ General'believed, to draw any comparisons or to select any. special exploit as the bravest. What ■had caught'his fancy most, however,, ■was the action of the .untried regiments ofyoung troops thrown into the fighting in Flanders and getting their baptism of. fire in what is conceded to be the most vicious fighting of the war, and went in singing "Deutschland liber 'Alias," and bore their part with the enthusiasm of youngsters and the steadiness, under heavy losses, of seasoned .veterans. ■ '

The telephone central, connecting the General with the Emperor's field headquarters, with Berlin, with the headquarters of the other armies, and with his own subordinates down to the simplest non-commissioned officer commanding a squadron in tho foremost trench, is in an adjoining room, but during the correspondent's stay at headquarters the commanding General was almost never interrupted at table by reports of communications. The business of running an army has been so systematised that the commander may tako his meals undisturbed by military routine.