GERMANY’S PEACE ARMY.

Taihape Daily Times, 21 May 1919, Page 5

GERMANY’S PEACE ARMY.

THE TREATY LIMITATIONS. i

BRITISH REPRESENTATIONS.

The- original proposal of the Supreme Army Council of the Allied ang Associated Powers as regards the limi* tation of the German Army was that! the number of effectives in all German States should be fixed at 200,000 excluding officers, to be raised by annual recruitment, says Mr R. Riley, journalist with the New Zealand Peace Delegation, writing from ■ Paris on March 20. The grouping of that army was to be limited to 15 infantry divisions. and five cavalry divisions, with, not more than five army corps staffs, and\ one army staff The period of service was for men to be 12 months, after which they were to be under no further military obligation. The number of officers was to be limited to 9000. When these and other proposals came before the Council of the Powers, it was announced that the British delegates could not accept such terms without substantial modifications.) rbfe manner in .which the original proposals respecting the future strength of the German Army and the system of enlistment were reduced and altered represents a triumph for the British statesmen in the Council of the Peace Conference. At the meeting of the Council at which the Allies -’ military experts were present, if. was explained that the proposed German Array of 200,000 men. could be raised by annual recruitment, which could be cither voluntary or by" drawing of lots, or by any other system. The men so raised could serve for only one year, and no longer. This method was challenged on the ground that under such a system of recruitment with , service restricted to one ye ay, two ■million nfen would have been trained in ton years, t was admitted that an annual renewal of personnel would produce soldiers of a sort, but as against that, there would be no corresponding staffs. It was the old principle over again, that it would be better to have an army of sheep commanded by a lion than an array of lions commanded by an ass. The principle was not acceptable ’to shrewd statesmen on the Council, whose main argument was that Germany possessed great numbers of highly-trained officers and non-commissioned officers, who, for the, next twenty years would, be ready to come forward, thirsting for revenge It was possible that within a score of years Germany could have an army of four million trained men led, not by donkeys, but by officers with considerable war experience. A more dependable (System of (German disarmament was required It was made clear that the British point of view was that Germany should not be permitted to maintain a larger army than Great Britain possessed. This view prevailed in the end, and the original proposals were revised, and provision made for the limitation of the German military forces to IjOO.OOO- men, including officers and establishment of depots, the number of officers not to exceed 4000, grouped in not more than seven divisions of infantry and three divisions of cavalry, with only two army corps headquarters staffs. Provision was also made for the abolition of conscription from all German States, and the abolition of the great German General Staff and all similar organistions, and the cntjro suppression of all secret and camouflage methods of raising and training soldiers.