The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1885-11-27
Won MOLTKE'S WORK.
THE GERMAN SOLDIER UNDER DRILL
AND DISCIPLINE.
His Daily Life In % Garrison Town Rules
to which He Il Subjected
Stride a.d Cadence
Bayonet Drill



Martial mu,ic i heard here from early
morning until late in the closing day The
sound Of drums AM lie was my reveille
after my first nights sls3p at the best hotel
In the place: when / sprans from bed
TO find out what wat up. lsawa ba talon
of infantry marching past my window on
Its way 10 the drill ground And how well
the men marched, to be surel Every foot
was lifted quickly and just high enough, all
heads were held up straight the gum wers
evenly shouldered, and the battalion. a. IL
marched down the street, reminded me OF
coat of chain armor, all the links beng
closely knit and very strong, and yet the
whole light and supple
The first thing that struck me was the
close attention being given to individual in
struction, TO gymnastic exercises. and TO
bayonet drill A non commissioned officer
look the "sr5snhorn'," one by one. and
drilled them separately; he kept each re-
cruit Mt work for Ia lol, time, and carefully
criticized and corrected each movement IL
made incorrectly. All Of this was done I'M
der the eye Of commits Toned officer, but
he did not say n word while | was ON the
ground 10 any OF the men
STRIDE AND CADENCE
A great deal OF trouble Is hal In teaching
thG newcomers the step; it Is the same old
fashioned one invented by Frederick the
Great, and the movement looks somewhat
automatic or mechanical Some military
critl:s assert that il Is fatiguing, but / do
not know about that, and certainly German
officers deny 10 mot energetically. The
stride is 3 ~ inches and tho cadence ll2 or
minute; that of an English soldier - 30
incbns stri 10 and lIG Cadence; that In the
United State l. ~ inches stride and ~
cadence in common aud ITO in quick time.
This shows that the German infantry would
gain Is inches every minute on the Britt b
and almost a mile every hour on the Amer
leans. But the troops over here are much
more heavily weights than they are in
America. There are fsw thing that a
soldier ought never t. bs separated from
his musket, his cartridges, hi haver.ack
and eantesn. aul hi' knapsack. but the
knapSack ought to DO re iucsd TO the small.
est pc sible compass
The Germans however, do not lay much
stress on the Importance of carrying shelter
tents In the field aud am not sure but all
armies would DO better OFF without them.
Campaigns are Won as muca by legs as
by arms, and 81. 900 men capable of march.
ing thirty miles in day are equal to 80, 900
men who can only manage twenty re-
marked o ma jor in my presence These
Germans ara stout-boiiel fellows, used all
their lives to eniure fatigue, AMI few
pound of overload in their knapncks will
perhaps not tell on them as 1t would on
American soldiers
THE BAYOSET DRILL.
Besides exercises in marching and the
manual, each German soldier Is required
TO pas a certsin time each day at gym.
nastic Of varied sorts; this soon enables
the most awkward pea.ant TO leap over
wide bitches and high fences with all the
grace and ease OF a trained club athlats
As for the bayonet drill, instead OF beiug
an affair OF show on the part of the Whole
company, it is veritable fencing match.
The men are paired off. each couple fencing
with their bayonetI fixed az though they
really wanted to kill each other. They
wear masks, padded protectors cover twI.
thirds Of their body. aud buttons are on tle
bsonet tips. Aside from the knowledge Ut
how 10 use this weapon 10 tina best advau-
tage in hand.to- hand struggle this syftom
Is In itself an excellent gymnastic exercise
and ons that is highly eaj ,yel by the men.
The Germans ought nsgsr ID quail before
the enemy they ara SO we'll disciplined.
IL Is discipline alone which begets that con-
thai eNeF3 EbthlsE 1901, which
renders them unalnchingly brave and fixes
them seadfast 10 their fiay
EASILY DISCIPLINED.
The townsman as well rs the peasant Is OF
patisnt phlegmatic disposition, and his
sluggish mind Is easily bent to discipline
Accustomed to life of hard hips they both
support tho labors and fatigues OF war
almost without murmur and obsy with
out reflection. Nothing Is more strikin:
than the wonderful rapidity Of tier move
ments, except. Of course, the rigid accuracy
ami ineiasticity Of tie preliminary drill
that have already referred TO.
IL Is believed in tho German service that
perfect regularity, silence. and steadine.s
are Of the utmost moment, especially in
changing positions I'm Ter fro. Companies
aud bat al'ons at drhi or on parade are I'M
bening and ara apparently but an iron
mas of rifles and tesl-capped helmets No
one can Zee the infantry at drill without be-
ing impressed by tbs rapid pace Of their
solid lines No other country
pr tects ita army so excellently from crit.
ci IN by pres or people as Germany, and
yet EiIe man are ruled with an iron hand
Toe -ociai difference as we'll as that of rank
tetwesn tho common soldier and an officer
IL far greater than IL 1. in any other country.