The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, December 3, 1908. LESSONS FROM THREE ARMIES.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXX, Issue 442, 3 December 1908, Page 2

The Manawatu Herald. Thursday, December 3, 1908. LESSONS FROM THREE ARMIES.

The three armies of the United Kingdom, Germany any France, have all recently held their manoeuvres. What has been the result? Comparing the performance of the. French troops with that of the Germans, it appears that modern conditions of warfare suit the Gallic temperament better than the Teutonic. The individuality of the Frenchman is more pronounced, and he is quicker in his readiness to seize a fleeting opportunity, The scientific use of artillery has also been studied better in the French than in the German Army. With the latter, indeed, grave fault is found by the critics. Again, the bringing of the artillery into action under close infantry fire is in accordance with German theory, which is not necessarily wrong because it differs from ours and entails calling on the gunners for heavier sacrifices than public opinion at home would stand. The close formation of the infantry, in like manner, is per-, haps due to idiosyncrasy, and may be counteracted by the willingness of the troops to stand losses and the possession of numbers will make them of small consequence. The noise and fuss occasioned by the shouting of orders by officers and sergeants, tor instance, seeme to indicate that the troops are not trained to think for themselves and to act with Intelligence. The complete disregard of the use of ground points in the same direction, also indicates that the officers do not make a sufficient open-air study of their profession. But worst of all, there is discerned in the leading of the men a lack of initiative and readiness to take responsibility on the part of the regimental officers. That is the sin which, in warfare, hath never forgivenness, and that such a criticism should be levelled against it is the surest proof that the Germqn Army has, in fact, deteriorated from its great days of 1886 and 1870, when the initiative shown by junior officers was one of the great elements in its success. In England the manoeuvres of the Territorials on Salisbury Plain in the early part of last month were full of promise for the new force, though they were marred by the attenuated state of the brigades in the second week. The campaign of the Aldershot division won the warmest encomiums. The noticeable feature has been the intelligence displayed by the men. For the shouting of orders noticed in the German manoeuvres a whistle and a wave of the arm suffices to direct the men of the Aldershot division. The British Army is small in numbers, and its administration still leaves much to be desired, while the conditions under which.it is trained are prohibitive of the development of genius in the higher commands. But of the quality of the material and the excellence of the regimental officers, to whom so much has been entrusted, there can be no doubt. We cannot afford, says an English paper, to congratulate ourselves unduly on the superiority of our troops as shown in manoeuvres. The advantage of superior training, great though it is, will vanish unless backed by a spirit of determination and self-sacrifice in the nation.