The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-05-17
The Science OF Modern War.

An illustration of the want of fore
sight that may be displayed in a cam
paign is to be found in the fact that in
September of last year the operations of
the Russians in Bulgaria was brought to
a standstill for want of shovels. No
General, however great military
genius he may be, can create or
obtain thousands OF shovels by word of
command-they must be provided be-
forehand.
How frequently the doom of nations
has been determined by the issue of a
single combat between a few thousand
men,! Austerlitz, Marengo. the plains
of Waterloo, the battle of Sadowa, and
the capitulation of Sedan, amply testify
to this What were the numbers en-
ployed, the time occupied, and the num-
Der of lives lost on any one of these &C.
casions compared with the momentous
consequences produced upon the states
and kingdoms whose fate was involved
in the issue2 A decisive battle is lost,
and the will of the conqueror is imposed
upon whole kingdom. Military men
tell us that to maintain an army of a
gwen strength in the field, at least three
times that number of trained men must
be reckoned upon. One-third of this
force faces the enemy, second is held
ready to supply the casualtiesin the first,
and the third to fill up the vacancies in
the second.
When Germany in 1870 invaded
France, what did we expect was to stop
the progress of the German forces but
the army opposed to it? But when the
first line of the French defense was de-
feated she had no reserve, and her mi
htia and the levy en- masse which took
place proved wholly useless. From the
wars of 1866 and 1870 some most impor-
tant lessons may be obtained as to the
short, sharp, and decisive character of
modern warfare, and we may be excused
for briefly recalling two or three leading
facts as to dates associated with each of
these remarkable campaigns. On the
18th of June, 1866, Prussia declared
war against Austria; five days afterwards
namely, on the 23d-the Prussian
forces were in Bohemia; on the I'd of
July, or fifteen days after the declaration
of war, Benedek was utterly defeated at
SadOwa, and the war was practically
ended On the 4th of July, Austria
ceded Venetia to Italy, and fortnight
afterward was witnessed the new Ger
man Confederation (Which was super
sedeu in 1871 by the establishment of
the German empire). The events of
the Franco-Prussian war of 1870 were
almost as abrupt, sudden and over
whelming. War was declared in Berlin
on the 10Th of July; on the 23d, four
days afterward, the bridge of the Kiell
was blown up by the Germans, and on
the 9th of August, eighteen days after
the declaration of war, MacMahon was
totally defeated at the battle of Worth.
On the 1st of September the battle of
Sedan took place; and on the following
day, or forty-fve days from the opening
of the war, the Emperor Napoleon was
a prisoner!
The facts which we have thus briefly
summarized show the hopelessness of
trusting to "making soldiers" after
war has been declared, and the absolute
necessity, above all things, OF forming
powerful force OF trained men in time
of peace to be in reserve, but living
in their own homes. Nineteenth
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