Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1870-09-07
Paris Correspondence n. Y. Tribunal
THE ARMIES OF FRANCE AND
GERMANY.

The reports hitherto published con-
/ eernfng the vast armies sent into the
, field bV the two contending Powers
! have been mostly confined to acOmpar-
! ison of figures as to their numerical
! strength. The following extracts from
series Of letters published in the
Gazette Of Cologne by Julius Won
! Wickede, one Of the best military
, writers in Europe, enter more Iully
2 into the details Of organization, equip
ment and armament OF the two ar
! mics:
We commence with the infantry as
4 the most important branch OF an ar
, my. The equipment Of the frenchi
, introduced for the campaigns In Alge'
ria and Italy, Is very light and espe-
cially calculated for field service In q
/ warm climate or during q summer
J campaign, so that the Germans, with
their tight heavy coats, will be un-
der a disadvantage, unless they leave
their coats at home or on the baggage
teams, and fight either in blouses or
in shirt-sleeves- The OvercOat, used
for protection against the rain and
cold nights, Is the same in the French
as in the German army. The military
cap of the French, while undoubted-
ly lighter and more comfortable than
the German helmet, does not afford
equal protection againstrain and wind
and against the sabre cuts Of the cav
airy. AS regards the armament, there
Is now but little doubt that although
the chassepOt may be superior at long
range when carefully handled, i tears
no comparison with the needle-gun
i'm a general engagement at shorter
distance. In fact it is generally con-
eeded that the Prussians have had
out-and-out the best Of it In shooting
so far. The French are generally bad
marksmen; they hardly know how
to take a good aim, and appear to take
particular pleasure in wasting ammu-
milton. They advance rapidly upon
the enemy, fire into the air to no pur-
pose whatever, and when sufficiently
near may be very easily routed by q
well directed fire from a strictly dis
eiplined enemy, especially when fol-
lowed by q firm charge Of bayonets.
The Chasseurs-a-pied form decidedly
the best part of the French Infantry
and are decidedly preferable in any
serious engagement and in open battle
to the much vaunted LanCeTs and
Turcos. The fur light infantry regi-
ments of the Imperial Guard, and
| thetwenty battalions Chasseurs-a-pied
constitute the flower Of the French
infantry, but even they cannot COM
pete with the German Chasseurs and
Fusiliers in rapidity and accuracy OF
| firing.
The AIitrailleuse, of which we have
heard so much lately, is found to be
Of but little practical use In the Held,
and it IS already rumOred that the
French will renOunce il before the
campaign is over. It's transportation
across the country is difficult, and it
Is not easily brought into pOsitiOn.-l
| Wherever it can be made available, q
lightrified piece Of artillery does much l
better service.
The French infantry are generally /
good skirmishers, especially the veter- |
ans who served in Algeria They /
likewise excel in the rapid building 4
up of camps, striking of tents, and |
their peculiar adaptation 70 camp life. |
But on the field Of battle they took /
possession in all movements in closed /
columns, and, although apparently 1
swift in motion, they are in all their
evolutions decidedly inferior to their
German antagonists. The outpost
service IS imperfeetly and negligently
attended to, and French Infantry can
be but very little relied upon in all
night attacks. I
The French artillery forms, beyond /
all doubt, the best Disciplined branch
Of the army. The officers are almost
without exception men Of theoretical
knowledge and Of fair practical expe-
rience, while the rank and file are
composed of robust, picked men. The
brave and skilled German artfllerists
will find them to be worthy antago-
nists, with whom 1t will be an honor
and delight to vie in skill and dar-
ing on the battle field. France has
undoubtedly brought into action a
heavy force Of artillery, and Il is more
than probable that fully two-thirds Of
the entire contingent Of the regular
army (l57 batteries with 942 field
pieees)is now laundering forth against
the Prussian lines.
The weakest point of the French
army is the cavalry, although the
present Emperor has adeindefatiga-
bic efforts towards its Improvement.
The soldiers do not lack certain wild
courage, and are apt to hurry on to
the onslaught, brandishing their long
swords and uttering terrible cries, but
when near the enemy, half Of them
have lost control of their horses, and
are carried TO and fro at random. The {
Prusslan cavalry manOeuvers ten times
better, and whenever It comes to q
eoneussion with the enemy, il can ut.
terly dlsOrganize the latter and bring
him Into complete confusion by one
or two deXterOus evOlutions. We ,
must not forget that this is the same
cavalry which vanquished and almost
the famous Hungarian
cavalry during the campaign Of 1856,
which latter had been up 20 that time
considered inYineible. II cannot be
denied that the French are excellent
swOrdsmen, but they are so deficient
in hOrsemanship that they hardly
find chance for the proper use Of ,
their weapons. The Chesseurs d'Afri-
que are almost the only good horse
men in the French army. They are
mostly volunteers who have done
many years. service in Northern Afri-
ca, and have consequently acquired q | !
good deal Of experience In the man
agement of their horses, as well as in J
active warfare. They are mounted on
small but strong Oriental stations.
The heavy French cavalry are toll I
erably well mounted; but the cavalry /
Of the line dancers and DragOOns) {
are inferior in every way. Their hor- 7
Ses are In a great proportion Of poor i
4uality, weak and high-fegged ami /
mails, thousands of which will be ut I
terly worthless after a few weeks 3
service in the field. How these shall 1
be replaced as long as Belgium, Hol- I
and, and Spain stick to their prohi-
0ition of the export Of horses, it is
hard TO say. This much is certain,
whenever and wherever these dra- :
rooms and lsneers come into contact e
With German cavalry, they will be 2
iorely cut up by the latter. .... / v
The light cavalry consisting of eight :
of hussars, twelve regiments !,
II chasseurs q cheval, four regiments =
Il ehasseuTs d'Afrique, and three regf- y
nents Of Spahis, Is decidedly better :,
than the cavalry OF the line. =
They have q good many Oriental j
lorses, and the balance are bought up :.
n the Ardennes, Vosges and other =
districts Of France. y
As regards the army officers, there
an be no doubt that the German =
orps Of officers is superior to the y
french in general intelligence, in tnal
earning, and In Theoretical study, =
nd this is easily explained. In ~
rance, although the majority Of of1- ~ ~
ers have received their education in ~ ~
srsk.--, aahoo1a FhnfW aafanfffIo train "