Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1870-08-10
10. JOHNSTON ON THE WAR.
Won Noltke an Overratsd Man---A Con-
parison Of the Opposing Troops
and Generals.
From the New York Herald. ]

From the New York Herald
Next to General Lee, General JO-
seph +. Johnston is about the most
celebrated Of the surviving Generals
OF the Confederacy, and IN this view
it may be interesting to lay before our
readers the opinions of that officer on
the Franco-German war. Toward
the close of last month General John.
ston was at the Sweet Chalybeate
Springs, in Virginia, and is repre-
sented as speaking very freely there
upon the pending struggle. The
sIowuess of the opposing armies he
inclines to think a natural and neces-
sary result of the plan of the campaign
adopted; that plan, in his opinion,
being one resolved on by both the
French and PruSsian forces, and con-
sisting simply in an advance upon the
soil of the opposite party. To success
fully inauCurate such a campaign
would, of course, require, first, a con-
centratiOn of troops, and, second,
an accumulation of war Rldteriet
on a very large scale, and, even
with European facilities, no little
time would be required to make such
HIGNtaEdAAOAAEs
of the two armies, he was inclined
20 suppose that the PruSsian troops
were the better trained, basing this
view on the fact that, as the Prussian
conscription is but for three years,
while the French is for seven, the
PrussiaD ranks were more constantly
changing, and the diffusion ofmilitary
knowledge among the people was
therefore greater than in France.
As TO the generals, however, he gives
the superiority decidedly to the
French. They have been thoroughly
tried in the Crimean and Italian wars,
both of them contests of great magni-
tude, not TO speak OF the constant
practice afforded in Algeria. The
Prussian generals, on the other hand,
had not had an opportunity to show
their merits, the Austrian war of
lS66 being devoid Of actions and
movements sufficient to afford a test
of military ability. Won MOltke, in
particular, he thought, did not merit
the reputation he possesses, his re-
nown being based on defeating an
old and Incompetent general at
SadOWa, when, SO defective was his
plan of battle there, he would have
been utterly defeated. had his antag-
onist been a general Of tact or ability.
To instance; the PruSsian plan of
battle was 10 advance two columns
from two different points upon Bene-
dek. There being no communication
between these columns, it was the
first dictate Of generalship TO advance
the whole Austrian army upon the
nearest column and crush if before the
second could come up. This done 1t
would have been easy TO turn upon
the remaining column and defeat that,
instead Of which General Benedek
calmly awaited the juncture of the
columns, and suffered himself to be
engaged in front by one while the
other took him in the rear. Napoleon
the First would never have done this,
or "Our own Jackson" They
would have advanced rapidly in full
force on the separated columns, en-
gagged and defeated them SeridtiBl.
An " irreconcilable" here ObseTv-
ing that Won MOltke then
was, after all, an Overrated
man, and as little deserved his repu-
tation as did Grant, General John
ston replied that Grant would never
have remained still as Benedek did,
but would have advanced and en-
gagged the hostile columns separately. !
Passing from the mere strategetical |
view of the case, the General re-
marked that he was surprised to |
know of 50 much sympathy in the |
South for Prussia. Napoleon is re- |
garded as a wise and sagacious ruler, |
who had made France one of the |
freeSt countries in Europe, and that |
could a man find better pro-
lection for his life and property than |
there. The sympathies of Europe |
would be with him, as certainly if |
the French armies were defeated the |
result would be the dethronement of |
the Emperor, and such an event would |
eOnvulse Europe for a long time to |
come. As to Prussia, the government |
there was the most de5pOtic in |
Europe. To a playful suggestion /
that General Lee and himself should |
be sent over 70 settle this little mat |
ter, General Johnston laughingly re- |
piled that neither could do much with |
their limited knowledge of German. |
A General should know his men, and |
just here, he thought, was the error |
in the employment of American Off |
GERS with the Egyptian troops. 1t was |
very well for the officers who were |
well paid, but would not be so well |
for the Egyptians. The General IS |
now residing in Savannah, Georgia. |