LOSS OF LIFE IN WAR.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5032, 10 May 1877, Page 3

LOSS OF LIFE IN WAR.

Some valuable information respecting the effect of modern weapons, as indicated by the war of 1870-71, when for the first time iu Europe a breech-loader was opposed to a breech-loader, are supplied in a brochure by G. Fischer, “ llechnungs-Rath um Justiz Ministerium.”

During the year of 1870-71 the number of German troops injured iu action, it appears from this pamphlet, was : Officers, 4668; and men, 34,209. Of these, 179 officers and 12,677 men were killed on the spot. In addition, 495 officers and 4199 men eventually died of their wounds. The proportion of deaths to wounded among the officers ‘was 29'4 to 70‘6- —i.e., roughly speaking, out of every 100 officers wounded 30 died on the spot or eventually, and 70 recovered. Among the men, out of every 100 wounded 20 died sooner or later from the effect of their injuries, and 80 recovered. The percentage of those who were returned as severely wounded, slightly wounded; andsimply wounded was—for officers, 31*42, 4, and 7*B ; for the men, 28*6, 32*4 and 17*9 respectively of the total number injured. No greater proof can be offered of the devotion with which all ranks exposed themselves to danger than the table which shows the number in each grade killed or wounded. Adding the staff to the regimental officers, and bearing in mind that after the first action vacancies iu the higher ranks frequently remained for some time unfilled, we find that the percentage in all grades of killed and wounded was almost the same. Leaving out of consideration the fahnreichs, vice feldwebels, doctors, &c., and classifying the others as generals, colonels, inferior field officers, captains, subalterns, we find that of killed and wounded there were 15 generals, 63 colonels, 200 inferior field officers, 673 captains, and 2862 subalterns. We observe that of the doctors, the chaplains, &c., 64 were killed and wounded. Deducting those killed outright and those concerning whom information is wanting, the large percentage of the wounded who remained with their corps is remarkable. The percentage is as follows :—Generals, 27*3 ; colonels, 25 ; inferior field officers, 25*7 ; Captains, 19*2 ; subalterns. 20*5 ; fahnreichs, 19 ; vice feldwebels, 19*4 ; surgeons, etc,, 41*2 ; men, 11*2. It will be seen that, with the exception of the lieutenants, the vice feld-webels, and the surgeons, &c., the higher the rank the larger the proportion who accompanied the troops. Some light may be thrown on this singular fact by bearing one or two circumstances in mind. One is that in the present mode of fighting the higher the rank the shorter the time to which an officer is exposed to a close fire, and that consequently the large majority of wounds from spent balls are inflicted on the higher grades ; another is, that an officer of high rank is more apt to cling to his command than one of lower rank. ( A third is, that seniors are more able to make arrangements for being transported and tended than the poorer officers. As to the soldier, be is allowed no option in the matter. ; , ■ It might naturally be expected, that? in the infantry a large proportion of wounds would, owing to the practice of seeking cover by lying down or getting behind a tree, a bank, etc., be received in the arms, shoulders, neck, and head. The returns show that out of every 100 wounded by shot, officers and men, 16*2 were bit in the arm ; 11*8 in the head; in the hand, 10*1: in the shoulders, 6*3 ; iu the fingers, 2*2 ; in the neck, 2T ; total iu these parts, 51*7. In the cavalry the percentage of wounds so placed is 45*4, and in the artillery, 36*6. In each branch of the service, however, the arm shows the highest percentage,. The percentage of wounds in the upper thigh is also very high indeed. It comes second in order, being infantry, 11*9, cavalry 15, artillery 13*2. Many officers and men are stated to have been several times wounded, by which we understand that they received several wounds either on the same or different days. Of the officers wounded only 84*9 per cent, received but one wound. Of the remainder 488 officers were twice, 71 thrice, 19 four times, 5 five times, and 2 six time? wounded. One officer was struck by no less than 34 bullets, and yet recovered. He was a lieutenant of artillery named Ifaas, and if all his wounds were received on one day, was probably struck by mitrailleuse bullets. As far as can he ascertained from the returns, he recovered. Concerning 8 officers no details are given. Of the men 71*2 per cent, were only wounded twice, 582 thrice, 113' four times, 27 five times, 9 six times, 7 seven times, 4 eight times, 1 eleven, 1 sixteen, and 1 seventeen times. The f.ict of many officers and men having been wounded more than once explains, the apparent discrepancy in the returns, which iu one table show 4668 officers and 84,209 men were killed and wounded, whereas in another the numbers are reduced to 3919 officers and 60,973 men. Classifying the wounded by arms, we find that in the infantry the number is 57,943 : in the cavalry, 2236 ; in the artillery, 4266 ; in the general staff, 176 ; in the pioneers, 554; and in the sanitary detachments, 74, of all ranks. By sabres and butt-end, 18 officers and 194 men were wounded and 6 men killed a fact which will canse some astonishment. It is hardly credible, considering the number of charges executed by the Drench cavalry during the earlier battles of the war, so little execution should have been inflicted by the sabre. Probably the result; is. to a great extent duo to the want of sharpness in the swords and the absence of skill on the part of those who wielded them. Still more surprise will ho excited by the statement that three officers and 186 men were killed and forty-one officers and 533 men were wounded by the lance and bayonet. As the

few regiments of lancers seldom came into actual contest with the Germans, the bayonet must have done far more execution than is generally supposed. It is to be regretted that the bayonet wounds are not distinguished from the lance wounds, and it would be extremely . interesting could we learn in what circumstances the bayonet wounds were inflicted, whether in combats in villages, by skirmishes, or by formed bodies of men. It is, however, reasonable to assume that the bayonet is not quite the useless weapon which some theorists maintain that it has become. At all events, the possession of it undoubtedly adds to the moral force of the soldier, and whether it slays or merely frightens away a foe is not of much consequence. We hear a great deal of the crushing fire of massed artillery, and that arm was certainly largely and skilfully employed during the Franco-German war, yet by shells only 48 officers and 947 men were killed, and 276 officers and 4113 men wounded, an effect ridiculously disproportionate to the amount of ammunition expended. Roughly speaking, for every ten of all ranks killed by musket shot, but one was killed by small splinters. In fact, though the bayonet is despised and the cannon cried up by many of the modern school, the influence of both is alike chiefly moral.