The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1878-01-20

IL ~, 1910
OF . metallic cartridge. With tb.s fresh
! type of rife o soldier carries on service
~ rounds. The estimated coat for 1875
| which this extensive process of military
| reorganization involves is Ell ,675 600 ;
AID 20 reaiize properly the rate at which
expenditure on the War Department has
been augmented il should be remembered
that it now exceeds the amount devoted to
she army in l545, when Louis Philippe fell,
By more than five miilions, spd that it
| Teachee within q million of what was
| absorbed in the fret yesr OF the Crimean
| var. The budget of 1879 also represents q
total of 5, los officers and crews in the
French Navy TO be provided for at a COL
leetive cost of E5, ,09l S03. There are 100
| chips in commission, conprehending iron.
| clad and uparmored steamers, paddle
wheel and sailing vessels, relief and ravi-
gatirg school ships. Only those who have
nos studied she immense resources of
France will be surprisod by the large
development Of physical force which has
now been accomplished. Despite the
astounding events of 1870 II, and the vast
increase OF bQrdens to which they led,
France remained the moss compact, rich,
and Homogeneous power on the copticent.
Thus nearly eeven years after the close Of
disastrous war, abe stands erect, and far
more redoubtable than shs has ever been
aimee her great strife with Germany was
brought to m end.
In connection with the above tbe opin-
ion of Sir Garnet Wolsely, whom many
consider by far the ableet officer in the
British service, will be found interesting.
In the January number of one of the lead
ing Erglish Magazines he publishes
most important paper on "France as
military power in 1870 and 1873" The
disastrous war with Germany in 1870 is
briefly reviewed, ard Sir Garnet makes the
following remarks upon it:
The punishment that purensd the crime.
the madness, of declaring war against Ger
many, whoss field army was two.thirds
stronger, and possessing vast and fully Or
ganizsd reserves of well drilled ard veil
men behind ir, is q matter of
history with which need not here concern
myself. Without seeking for the national
peculiar to either combat |
ant to account for the overwhelming dis |
asters that befel France as the result of her |
act of criminal folly, the disproportion be- |
tween their armed strength is anply suff |
cient to account for the result. From the |
frst general scsion-oot of course, includ- |
ing the paioful episode ROW only remem-
bered from having been impionsly on-
nounced to the world as tue "6aptism of
fire." of the boy prince-to the finsl de-
straetion OF the regular army, NapoIeon's
troops were outnumbered, may say, in
every battle. If the French military sys-
sem had been machine in good working
order and capable of being easily aud ef-
fectively put in motion. the disproportion
in numbers between the combatants in the
early engagements on the frontier ought to
have been reversed; and is may be fairly
that ubder such circumstances
their immediate results would have been
favorable to the French, whose regular
troops fonght even against odds in those
early battles with courage and devotion.
Il Was those early defeats that began the
Generalization which eliminated in Sedan.
It is commonly believed in England that
he French fought badly all through the
var. This ia gross libel upon their regu-
ar army, for, although badly handled at
5ravelotte and in the actions round Metz,
Is courage and actual fighting qualities
we're conspicuous. Sedan and Metz we're
ts graves, and the ghosts OF armies subse
l0ently collected by a Ministry of arocats
Lawyersl could not be expected, In the
nature of things, to maintain The ancient
prestige of French military power when
;alled upon to face the best regular army
% Europe. Numerous as where the short
,omings of their leaders, imperfect ae was /
beir military syetem, vain, presnuptuoos
md lgporaDt as the regiDental cfh cers may
rave been, one need not go pack TO all
hese unfortunate facts to account for the
complete collapse of the French military
oower in 1870: their armies were crushed
~ superior Dumbers. Defective as their
egular army WAS, it could most certainly
rave protected France from the disasters
which overwhelmed her if the military
orces of Germany had not been numerically
10 we'll as morally SO vastly superior to
lers. The great numerical superiority of
he German army enabled it TO deal such
rushing blows at the outset Of the cam
'aign that the demoraliE alton they eogen-
Tered among MacMabon's soldiers rendered
hem subsequently an easy prey at Sedan.
The writer goes on to ask what would be
he strength of the French army if il were
,alied upon to take the field in the spring
# 1871 He shows that the total strength
If the active army would be, in round
numbers, 745 GOO Of all ranks. This, of