Germany

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXVIV, Issue 54, 9 February 1916, Page 8

Germany

THE HATS ON’S MAN POWER NEARLY 3,000,000 LEFT. London, February 7. Colomd Depingtoii publishes an exhaustive investigation of Germany’s man power. Accepting as a fact that there were thirteen million men of military age available at the commencoment of the war, and making careful deductions for essential industries, there would remain a maximum of nine million men available as fighters, including 300,000 belonging to the 1917 class, which lias been called np. Germany has now 170 (illusions in the field, and adding cavalry, army corps, and an unusually high percentage of artillery for technical service.'., gives a total of 3,7)00,000. “We usually found German compan-

ies averaging 177 instead of 270, but recently companies of 300 were encountered in the West,” be adds. “Therefore it is safest to regard Llie establishments as complete.” Gorman losses shown in the casualty lists wore as followsln 1911 ; August 9213. September 127,123, October 279,777, November 235,287, December 201.972. For 1917: January 163,801, February 90,211, March 137.831, April 137,302. May 107,031, June 182,786, July 179,977, August 116,193, September 170,081, October 181,909, November 190.852, December 66,185. January, 1916, about 36,000. Total, 2,627,085.

Colonel Repington adds: “The lists must be accepted, although they do not contain the names of some of the dead we found, hike our lists they omit sick and invalided soldiers, except those who died of sickness in the war zone. Gorman medicals claim that SI per cent, of the wounded return to the ranks, and it is safe to estimate that 25 per cent, never return to the fighting line. “Deducting 790,000 as “returns” and adding 630.000 a s the floating population in hospitals and sanitoriums, the net losses become 2,500,000. Therefore 2,800,000 are still available in reserve in Germany. Of these probably 800,000 are guarding communications and doing garrison duty.

“If the Germans lose 250,000 per month their ..power of reinforcing ends in September; but if we proceed fighting Turks, Bulgars, and what not, destroying only 36.000 Germans monthly, the war will be interminable,” concludes Colonel RoJi'iigton.