ARMIES COMPARED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 302, 31 May 1915, Page 5

ARMIES COMPARED.

ROOSEVELT'S AIDE RETURNS MOM WAR ZONE. MILITARY EXPERT'S STRIKING ANALYSIS. San Francisco, March 31. A comprehensive review of the European war is furnished by Captain Granville Fortescue, United States Army aide at Uie White House in President Roosevelt's term, and who has just returned to America from the war front in Poland after seven months' hard campaigning with the, armies of England, France, Belgium, Germany and Russia. Ho compares the armies and their ollicers, reviews the important campaigns, and discusses the result of the war with the authority of a trained military observer who has been at the scene of action. After strongly protesting his neutrality, Captain Fortescue said he was fortunate in seeing all the armies in action save the Serbians and the Turks. Captain Fortescue, who was in Belgium at the outbreak of hostilities, and saw the first conflicts beginning at Liege, down the Mouse to Xamur, and culminating in the battle of Dinant, says: ''My experiences in France were rather unfortunate. There I was arrested three times, although my papers were always in first-class order. I spent oil the Belgian and French frontiers, in the theatre of operations, a period of three months at the beginning of the war, substracting three weeks that I was in Germany, and I obtained a comprehensive idea of the value of the armies engaged." Asked as to Lord Kitchener's remark that "Generals win battles, soldiers win a war," Captain Fortescue said the difficulty was that armies were not stationary, and depended on effective military handling, ".fudged from a purely military standpoint," he said,"the German units are of higher tactical value than corresponding units in any of the other armies, with the exception of the British and especially the British of the first expeditionary force. The British force, although only !! per cent of the armies in the field at the first, are troops of the very highest technical value. This has heen admitted to me by Gorman officers themselves. The new British army now taking the field cannot possibly compare with the men of the expeditionary forces now in training, although it may closely approach the same in morale. I have great admiration for the French private soldier. To my mind he is the most intelligent fighting man now engaged. While he does not like war lie works thoroughly and scientifically. It is admitted by the French themselves that they were unprepared, and General JolTre, by summarily retiring -18 officers (to my knowledge) has raised the standard of the army. These officers had been rapidly promoted through accidents, and lacked experience. Better men displaced them. A great change has been wrought in the forces of the Czar since I 'bad seen them at Port Arthur. It is rather, difficult to impress upon anyone not familiar with the situation, the tremendous effect of the order which placed all Russia on a prohibition basis. Tin; common soldiers cannot obtain anything to drink, and the officers are in the same position, for, although the latter may be able to obtain wine, they never made any effort to procure it. The Russian army is well equipped and well organised, but some commanders of divisions lack experience. The Germans excel in superiority and mobility. Against this the Russians place their native stubborness, and there are no more stubborn lighters in the world than the Russians on the defensive.

"Preponderance of numbers counts little. The decisive factor in all fighting is ammunition supplies. As to the men in the field, there is little, to choose between men outside of three classes of courage. There are the ordinary brave; the men who take, the chances of shot and shell because they are. held to it either by a sense of duty or the circumstances under which they are fighting. "After these come the men who f;o forward promptly' on tins word of cor - - luar.d, and never calculate the risks of a I charge. "Beyond these we have the superlatively brave man who alone curies through some extraordinary feat, such as that performed by Michael O'Lenry, V.C., of the Irish Guards. But it cau almost be taken for granted that most men are brave. With this in mind figures are misleading. All the indications point, to a supreme, effort of offensive on the part of the English and the French during the spring months, but there will be severe fighting ill the Russian theatre of operations. "Officers in the armies agree with me that the question of concluding the war depends upon two factors, the starvation of Germany and the crushing of the German army. This is the view of tho Allies. The French and English spring campaign, on the Wesern front will demand an enormous toll in life. It is tli/i contention of the officers of the French and English staff's that during the last six months the German wastage approximates 200,000 men per month. These figures 1 have on the highest authority. 1 know that the Germans have tbcree splendid lines of defences behind the line holding Flanders. These lines were chosen with an eye to the military requisites, and the giant emplacement:) that are reinforced in concrete. Granting the English and French drive their foes out of the first line, they will find themselves in front of another defence. In Poland are similar defences. It seems possible that the loss of life will be, so great, granting an active offensive, anil the advantage from this offensive will be so small, that the non-fighting population will demand a compromise. The question of artillery is of supreme im-

portance, and in the early Btagea of the war tho French field gun was the most effective. It was tho Austrian and not German guns that were of the greatest effect in the. capture of Antwerp. These guns are ;io.f>, or according to American weapons produce tremendous damage, which I have seen. One shell makes a crater seldom less than ten feet, and often more than 40 paces in circumference.

"At the present time the English heavy artillery is the best. The French have recently supplied their troops with a heavy field gun for which - they claim superiority to the German artillery they have met.

" The Russians have surprised the military experts. They have done splendid artillery work. The Russians have a liin howitzer which, I think, outrange? any other piece in use by the Germans or Allies. ] saw a battery of these guns which General von Morgen had at Bolmow.

"Many of the cavalry regiments have lost horses enormously and were reduced to one-fourth. Most have been transferred into dismounted troops. "Since, the beginning of the war there has beeii a great change in the expenditure of ammunition. When it was apparently inexhaustable I have -known guns in certain batteries to fire as many as 400 shells a day.. Now there is a tondency to husband artillery ammunition on all sides, and it is only when a serious advance is to be made that this arm is put to its heaviest resource." As to whether Germany could be starved out. Capt. Fcrtescue said it was impossible from the hasty observation he made in travelling through Germany to determine whether the people could be starved or not. "As far as I could see," he added, "even in my recent visit to Berlin, there was no indication of lack of food. My meals in the different hotels were ample and as inexpensive as they always are in Germany. Of course one ate ( soldier' bread, but that is a very sensible economy. Judging from what I have seen, the Germans will take a lot of starving. "I have, never admitted that it is possible to invade Germany. I think that, granting the Germans are driven back from their present position to the line of tho Rhine, the Allies will lie so exhausted in thiff effort that they will find it a physical impossibility to attempt to cross over into German territory. The problem in Alsace and Loraine is somewhat different, and in all probability t»e French will develop an attack which may win back these provinces in Gie coming campaign.

"If the German fleet should emerge from its present harbour and engage the English fleet, this would be the determining factor in the. ending of the war. Whichever side could claim the victory after this encounter would undoubtedly he in a position of such ascendency that it could readily dictate (o the other terms of peace, but don't think that the German fleet will be so foolish its to venture a contest with the greatly superior English naval forces.

"Whilst the Germans have, shown Spartan qualities under trial there can be little indictment of Frencch courage. The Frencch will face the severest privations without flinching- As for the English, the Germans themselves have paid the Britishers the most sincere compliment when they look upon them as their important enemy. Russia will have gained most from this lerrible contest, for it is pracctically impnsiblo to conceive the advance made in Russia, despite the war, as the result of the prohibition of the sale of vodka, Wives and families of soldiers are better off to-day. than they ever were in the time of peace. This is certainly due to the fact that it is impossible for the moujik to waste his earnings in what used to he the national drink."

Discussing Zeppelin raids, Capt. Fortescue said the effectiveness of such invasions was problematical. Promiscuous bomb-dropping from aeroplanes and Zeppelins bad no effect upon tho real situation. lie had been within fifty yards of a falling aeroplane bomb, and within 100 yards of others on different occasions, but generally the effect on fortifications was almost nil. If such

a bomb happened to fall upon a thickly populated point it might kill or injure from four to eight people. Regarding the Belgians, Capt. Fortescue said:—"The great figure that has been developed in the, present war is their King, ' Albert the Brave.' "