HEAVEN-BORN LEADERS.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 3, Issue 249, 20 November 1914, Page 4 (Supplement)

HEAVEN-BORN LEADERS.

"la war," said Napoleon, "men are J nothing; a man is everything." By this epigram tho great captain intended, no doubt, to express the conviction that mere numbers alone will not en--6CTB success, but without real leadership are of little avail. Without accepting such dictum in its entirety it is safe U> say that, other thing* equal tlu> victory or defeat of armies depends just as much as ever upon the qualities of the men to whom their guidance is entrusted. History abounds in instance'' oi magnificent hosts led to ruin by incompetent chiefs, and, on tho oth.»r hand, of great achievements accomplished by inferior fortvs commanded by men. The middle course, where mediocrities have been opposed to mediocrities, has - , as often as not, led to a. condition of balance, producing a I°"S lis* of campaigns resultless, or nearly so. Thus it is that in the opening of a great war like the present colossal struggle a question of the deepest interest is that of tie commanders by whom the vast lio-i.-, will Ik- held to mutual slaughter. WHO WILL WIN FAME? So long :i period has elapsed since any ot the leading nations of tho Continent have l>een engaged in warfare on Eurojknui soii ihrt little or nothing is known of the g< .'.'.ls who will have the handling oi their huge armies. Forty-three years have elapsed since either French

or German soldiers have hied a shots *aVe in trivial colonial nurture, and but a mere sprinkling ot tlit'ir leaders ol \ rank ha.-<ev« r seen sorvi'.v <'U i.lh ;.tuiml i s. a |e. :ih,l tin.l, ojereh a . .')['l\Uvn t Oi I I'l-j I'reii'h i;*»!j#*vjiJ: Ihe < -mn.,.„.!..., | i, -Chief, ioi'w, I_<«3lrUv :iud daHi^m are the lx-L-v!-.ucwn 1 ;, it.a.en r. 'he-it 1

.-■ rvices in Cochin China. Madascar and Algeria, but a-, in their capucily tor siii - (<- b st'ully handling the vast bod.it, of men lite world is naturally entin ly in the dark, whilst the other-, are a m l '-"'- t itv entirelv n know 11. A m<>i'c n cent , M - ~. n,-, i,,- .-mini, 1... 11 :1m- I ,- ~1 mil It.l m„ ,11,. but ,-• tby. l-adoi-li£'liv„ in !ji«.| fci»'.it t'l'i ctr ie 'Mtji

li£'liv„ in 'ilt-l yU

Japan fit years ago, tho majority, such as Ruropatkin, Linicvitch, and Biiderlir.g have disappeared, for reasons of cge, from active service—one or two, and Renuenka-nipi for example, who came out of that grea& .'trugglv with credit we, however, hear of as destined to high command, tor which that experience should hold them in good stead. As regards our German and Austrian foes we to all intents and purposes know nothing whatever. The .-elf-vaunted " War Lord'' of Prussia may !»> another Frederick the Great or he may bo notiiing of the kind, whilst Count" Moltko. chief of the Kajser'a staft. as was his famous father before him. will need all the hitter's jjenius to copo with what lies Ix-ioro him—and great men, as we all know, are not always the aires of those equally illustrious., BRITISH GENERALS PROVED MEN. Now. as it happens, it is our own liiitisb leaders who have had the widest experience in modern warfare and whose names stand the highest as regards iMf-at deeds accomplished. Than Lord Kitchener, under whose chief guidance o'ii campaign will lx> conducted no soldier was over more absolutely devoted to hi:, profession, with, too, an world-wide, hi him we have a (strategist who, until the contrary Ih> proved, wo shall not deem inferior to eitlior Moltkeor his Imperial master. vScarcolv les.-, confidence is reposed in the Chiof Commander of our Expeditionary Force, Field-Marshal Sir John French, and with the best of reasons, his invariable

icce.s in all 'hat he hat. hitherto undertaken. rank and fame hj« reached at an age comparatively young \>; dii'i in' brilliant achievement, and ..,.. ili». ihni in in in ..i t!u, (y ndulijiu :i iiijhi l - iii c uj Ijinii! ..i;ili f.L'.J dark d i;: ct v ' unboi and ..Vcvutlf.' I* l ' l Kh tin i. r, rp.> commanders, Generals Suv-h-Dorrion, Mr Douglas Haig. and Lieutenant, (ieneral I'ultolicy, have s<>en au\ aniiuni nl hard ;■< r\ iee. and novt r failed to vvinr<> davh, determination and ii.ll ial ive. Tile name i.l I he former is n!ni(i-l a household word In reason of iii. nond'Tiul inarche, rind daring mandod d'irinp the jr+jter \un of the

*en and Sir Bruc© Hamilton., have also <<een war almost wheresoever Britain ha« .South African War. The two latter, »cd the divisional generals, Sir Hector Munro, Generals Lomax, Snow. FerguOf our army now on the Continent enc thing at leant can l»e said; that ot late years waged it; from Tel-el-Ke-bir to Vereen'gen, and tho walls oi PeIcin.

WHEN BRITAIN BANNED MERIT.

merit having often not been discovered it i-> l<>d by men who have won their way to the front not by any adventitious aid of rauk or influence, but by dint of sheer merit. Such unfortunately, has not always been the ca.se in our history, real until a long period of tribulation and disaster has been paused through. Wry notably was this in evidence during the earlier years of Britain's long struggle against the. domination ot the great .Napoleon. At ius commencement in 1,"..

Hi' expeditionary force was dispatched t<» operate in tue sell-same region as will now be the theatre ot operations. Its princely commander, a man ot worth in private life, was without practical experience in warliire. nor w;is he seconded by others of proved ability. Supposed to co-operate with powerful Prussian and Austrian ;:rmies, he allowed himself to lie guided and controlled by their leader, the Prince of (.'oburg, who was anything but a genius in the- art of war. The result was that although the soldiers of Britain proved invincible on many a hard-fought field their valaur was displayed in vain. With a total force ot over 180,000 men, the allied commanders frittered away their soluiet* in sieged and desultory operations during several months, wiien tlio.r roau to Pans, distant only one hundred and htty miles, was barred by no more ihan oo.OUO disrganised and dispinteu frenchmen. The e ud was |hat time being Wins loolislily given for the. enemy t< put further ureat armiee in the lielu, tee allied armies were inglorious] v pusho: through Belgium ami Holland, and oui expedition compelled to re-embark. WELLINGTON NOT WANTED. When, in 1808, the second phase of the great conflict opened with the British expedition to the Peninsula Uie same ineptitude prevailed at home Britain had, at length, discovered a rea, leader ol men. but did not knoAv it. the army landed in Portugal was p'acea under the command w Sir Arthur Wcllesley (the l>uke of Wellington) whose great merit had been displayed so conspicuously in India. No sooner mid he disembarked than Juj proccoatvi to show what British soldiers could rto by l>eating Junot'a French army at Kolica and \imiera. tor reward be was promptly superseded, first bv Sir Henry burr;ud and then by Sir' Hew DalrympJe, by whom tiie fruits of those victories were largely thrown away. Even when, after the death of Sir John Aioore at Corunna, Sir Arthur wan ugaui sent out, ho wa s viewed with no great favour by .Ministers at home, a nd was, more than once, on the point of being recalled. Only by his remarkable triumphs in the face ot difficulties well nigh insurmountable did our great geneial, the ultimate conqueror of Napoleon, hold hia own against the jealous intriguers whose patriotism was bounded by gell-interest. Another great nat-

ional crisis to bring to lighl latent genius_ was lho great mutiny of lt**>7, wnen Britain chiefly owed its salvation to such heroes as Sir Colin Campbell (Lord Clyde) an<l Bavelock Both of these born leaders of men had long remained under the cold shadow 0 f official neglect Huvelock having on |y reached the rank of lieutenant-ocuonei, when, at the age of bixty-two, liii name rang throughout tn 0 civilised world. .When fame and Ajpnours at length so tardily went out »ue hero had passed away.

WHEN THE GUILLOTINE MADE GENERALS.

Napoleon Bonaparte. |>erhaps the greatest. military genius tlie world has ever seen, might well enough have never been heard of outside his own country Inn lor the tremendous caaely.Mit ol tlie French Revoluton. H.v that'great upheaval official pedantry and the influence of rank and social position were rudely !>ru>hed aside. In tlx' terrific struggle the Republic waged against the hoot oi enemies it had contrived to make for itself. the hour found the men. Wits the terrible kind oi natural selection brought to bear by the Terrorists, the guillotine for tbo unsuccessful, tli*> French generals fought, literally, with the halter round their necks. Houcharil defeated tile allies at Dunkirk when the Republic's fortunes wore at the loweat ;ui<l became, for the moment, the popular idol. Meeting soon after, with a reverse, he was promptly sent to the scaffold. (Justine, sent to replace him, underwent the (yinie fortunes and met the >anie late. '1 hen came leaders, who, spurred by those terrible examples, threw to the w iud> the methodical caution and parade ground system then in vogue. By daring, over daring and reckless disregard of loss of life, so long as the object could be gained, euch generals as Jourdain, Hoctie. Piehegru biicceetled in beating back the hosts of their eueuiic.s. By following uj> aud even improving upon this system of what are now known as "shock tactics." Napoleon himself won even greater renown and nearly brought to pass the coni|U«>t of Europe. Then, taught by bitter experience. th<. threatened uations at length ccmbattnl the despot with hi.N own weapons, whilst from among them .-prang generals, Wellington, the Archduke Charles of Austrio. and Kutu-off, the saviour of Russia. What the pros cut great struggle will have to reveal <o tis in the bhape of "heaven-born generals'' it, known by God alone. R. sEYMOI R RAMsDALE. TREE.