BRITAIN'S NEW SOLDIERS

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 100, 21 January 1918, Page 6

BRITAIN'S NEW SOLDIERS

GERMAN MILITARY SCIENCE EXCELLED Before the first United States soldier goes over the top it ivould be a fine thing if every officer of the American Expeditionary Force, line as well as staff, could "nave the opportunity of touring the battlefronts and the wat machine behind tho fronts (writes a correspondent of the American Associated Press). A few days' visit, properly conducted, would afford much illumination, not to say inspiration. To appreciate adequately the magnitude of the Allies' task and the part America is called upon to play in it, a close-up view is necessary.

All tho graphic typewritten pictures fail to visualise the titanic character of this war for civilisation in its latter days. One must follotr the trail of devastation to know it. One must see the hellish work of the Hun to senso all its horrors. Ono must inspect at close range the magnificent machinery of the British Anrsy to realise its tremendous power, and watch Tommy working and fighting aml_ playing to understand his splendid spirit. British Supremacy. It is the immensity of it alltbot most impresses; next, the miraclewhereby Britain, in three ehort years, has been able ■ to go further in knowledge of the art and business of war than Germany, by closest application, did in nearly half a century. Since 1914. as the Bocho kas progressed steadily in the science of man-killing, the Briton has caught vn with him and now has passed Lira. To-day there is scarcely a feature of organisation or equipment, nor device of offense or defence, wherein Germany is not. outclassed.

Tlig visitor—provided he is sufficiently careless and is willing to assume all responsibility—may see a sample copy of one of_the striking exceptions. Exhibit A is a, section of the ex-Hindenburg line—a labyrinth of trenches, studded with forro-concrete dug-outs, along a sloping, chalky, ver-dure-denuded, shell-hole-encrusted hillside somewhere east of Arras, now the temporary home of a buoyant bunch of English soldiers. The sprightly young lieutenant, when he was unexpectedly called upon to act as guide, had not yet learned the short cut through this military maze to Sap X, front line. Ho had been in these parts only four days, as he apologetically" explained after passing post 19 four different timesen route to the point where one could view periscopicallv the corresponding German sap, thirty yards away. No, tho British haven't learned to di"- and build defences such as these. TrTey haven't had to. But they nave learned how to turn them into deathtraps for their occupants, to assume the tenancy themselves, and protect them from recapture. They have done more than this. They compelled Hindenburg to abandon this method of defence in favour of the so-called "defence in depth." without frontline trenches—a wide zone of concreted shell-holes, steel "pill hoses, blockhouses, redoubts, fortresses, and such.

But more still, with a- speeding up of the -munitions, engineering and supply departments, with a resourcefulness born of relentless determination, with an ever-increasing, morale such as no army in history ever before attained, they have demonstrated the futility of these new devices. Some of our American officers have had the privilege of watching the gigantic preparations necessary for an up-to-date flaig push, as well as 'the •tiling itself. It is unfortunate that more of them cannot he spared from the training camps for this educational -experience. To the 6oldier schooled Yi;ly at West Point, or in the Cuban, Philippines, or Mexican campaigns, a study of the inside workings' of 'he great British military machine, 1917 niodeli while it is evolving one of tlieso pushes, is bound to be tremendously instructive. Order from Chaos. To the untutored civilian it is beTvUdering, battling, crawled out over ti:i! t0v.115, roads ur.d tields or Northern France,, trom the Channel bases to ihe bsstlcii lines, it seems at casual view a iuige, intricate muss of disjointed juak, ■.villi a lot of men aimlessly tiukeriiig ■uid pottering about, trying to iix it up bo it will rua. 'Bus closer inspection, along with sympathetic instruction, reveals couvpauuesi; and co-ordination, and uorrililti power masterfully directed. And boon cue learns that all this tinkering ami pottering is for another purpose. It is not w make the machine run, but to maKc it run faster, and siucotliur, and further. , This machine is no more like the fees.'*, wheezy contraption of throe ycais ago tlian tho Tommy of to-day resembles his eonirado of the First Hundred Thousand. Both were doubtless the best that could be produced at short notice. They did tiie work cut out for them as well as could be expected in the circumstances; but the shortcomings of both were manifest. Each has progressed immeasurably. Scientific Fighters, Tommy iii now a scientific, specialised fightia? mau. He has learned— and is learning every day—tricks ot warfare never dreamed of fly Kitcliwier's men. Many of these he invented himself. Others he has acquired from the Germans—but lie never rails to improve on the hitter, as, for example, in th« lino arts of sniping, gassing, liquid-tiring, grounding and camouflage. The British Army to-day is strong for individuality. The enlisted man, as well as the officer, is encouraged to develop himself. Whenever he shows aptitude in any particular line he Is given opportunity to let his talents have full swing. This keeps him interested in his work. British soldiers mostly talk shop. They take only casual notice of things outside the. big business in which they are engaged. Tommy is cheerful because he is confident. 'He knows ho is a better man than the Boche. He hasn't tho slightest doubt about the outcome. 'Wherein ho differs from some of the weakkneed folks at home who, fearing a stalemate, would be beguiled by offers of German-made peace. These, are some of the reasons why the British fighting machine has reftohed its present pinnacle of efficiency.