The New York herald., 1870-09-01

against France, modern warfare, in one re-
spect at least, has returned to the system
J, which prevailed among the nations OF Western
Asia nearly three thousand years ago-that is,
the arming and marching to the field of the
able-bodied men of the nation en- mosse, and
! the settlement Of the dispute involved in a
| single campaign. Thus in Holy Writ, in the
first book of the Jewish Chronicles, in cam
paign of that nation against the Syrans, when
King David was informed of their movements
che gathered all Israel, and passed over Jor-
dan, and came upon them, and set the battle
in array against them. So when David had
put the battle In array against the Syrians,
they fought with him. But the Syrians fed
before Israel; and David slew OF the Syrians
seven thousand men which fought in chariots
and forty thousand footmen, and killed Shop
bach, the captain Of the host And when the
servants of Hadarezer saw that they were put
to the worse before Israel they made peace
with David, and became his servants"
As David, in that decisive campaign against
the Syrians, gathered all Israel, and passed
over Jordan, 80 King William, in this cam
paign against France, has gathered all Ger
many and passed over the Rhine. Thus, with
all our modern improvements, we find that
modern warfare is returning to the system
| which prevailed some thirty centuries ago in
Western ASIA when Europe, as far as known
to the civilized world Of that day, was known
only as wilderness of savages. But the
~ nf
marching the able-bodied men Of the nation
en- naGsse to battle does not belong to Prussia
for in our late stupendous civil war it was
found that, with the overthrow OF the rebel
Confederate States, the loyal States OF the
Union had eleven hundred thousand armed
men in the field. They were there because
the national administration had at last adopted
the wish of the loyal States to make the war
short, sharp, overwhelming and decisive
Prussia followed this example in her short
and decisive campaign against Austria, and in
this war against France she has only, with a
larger area to draw upon followed the same
plan of operations. With half million Of
men on the soil Of France she has dwarfed the
grandest campaigns OF Napoleon the First and
overthrown all the calculations of Napoleon
the Third. He went into this war, no doubt,
supposing that French army of two or three
hundred thousand men would be ample fof all
the requirements Of victorious march to
Berlin. The uncle had overrua the Cont
nent with an active force in his imme-
date command seldom exceeding hundred
thousand men, and why, with French soldiers
armed with their superior modern weapons,
could not the nephew do the same thing!
Had he not seen, from their achievements in
Algeria, in the Crimea, in Italy and in Mexico,
that the soldiers OF France were as invincible
under the second as under the first empire.
While we see, however, that in these estimates
Napoleon was wide of the mark, we know that
Prussia had expected this thing, that from the
day Of her treaty of peace with Austria she
had been preparing for war with France,
and was ready, at moments warning, with
an overwhelming force, to ''carry the war into
Africa.
So sure, meantime, was Napoleon Of the
perfection of his plans for the march TO Berlin,
that when MacMahon, with his splendid army
column Of fifty thousand men, moved out Of
StrasbOurg, the Emperor awaited at Metz the
expected news of the crossing Of that column
over the Rhine by pontoons at some favorable
point between Strasbourg aud Woerth. But
from the disas trous rout of that column at
Woerth the overwhelming German army
doubled up the whole French line and changed
at once its forward march from Berlin back
ward to Paris. From that day the whole
French army has been pushed back until the
original Left and centre under Bazaine are
shut up in the fortress Of Metz, and the origi-
nal right under MacMahon is pushed north
ward against the Belgian frontier, where the
Emperor is prepared for even the worst ex-
tremity with convenient line of retreat to
neutral territory.
The war, in our judgment, from the unex-
ampled forces of the invading army, must be
q short war. Five hundred thousand hostile
soldiers are like cloud Of iocusts in their
march over even the most fruitful regions.
The country may be garden and magazine
of provisions before them; but it is waste
attended by famine and pestilence beai nd
them Destruction is the business of war, and
the German armies in France leave behind
them the traces of Sherman march to the Sea.
How long can France sustain these ravages
of her fairest departments? hostile army
of FIVE hundred thousand men consumes or
destroys more of the fruits Of the earth than
would suffice for an invasion Of millions of
peaceful migration. The great Frederick is
credited with the proverb that San army is
like snake-it moves upon its belly" The
enormous demands Of this great German in
vadng army have already amply verified this
maxim in the enormous drain upon the coun-