Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1889-10-24

an ordeal far more severe than any which the
Germans had to endure in FRANCE. Even at
the present day no fighting formation of in-
fantry likely to be met with on the battle-
storms of projectiles as those with which the
Sikhs swept the ground in front of them In
184e and 1S48, or, again, those with which
the Russians defended their lines in the Cri-
mea.
The real truth of the matter was this:
The German and Prussian armies, both in
1866 and 1870, were deficient in war seasoned
regimental officers. They were led into ac-
ton at the commencement Of the war in for
nations from which the yinmon sense Of
the intelligent rank and lerevolted, and the
discipline under fire was not strong enough
to prevent them actually disbanding under
fire and submitting to species of Survival
of the ittest" sifting-the bravest going to
the front in order individually to get at their
enemies, the less brave hanging back to see
what would happen, and the ours Sinking
off to the rear, as they always do. Under
like conditions the same thing had happened
sixty years or more before in the French
army; and, indeed, it was in this way that
the idea of the present style of fighting,
which many believe to be modern inven-
ton, was first introduced. But 1t is inter-
esting to note that the same conditions of the
battlefield did not have the same effect on
our own troops, who had been trained up to
fight in line and under an iron discipline in
which any attempt at cowardiee was ruth
lessly punished. 1t is, therefore, fair to as
sumo that it would not have occurred to our
troops even had they been exposed to the
same ordeal as the Germans in 1870; for the
fighting discipline of our old long service
army was of far higher order, and the spir-
it Of the line formation in which it had been
trained was entirely opposed to this opening
out. We do not, of course, wish to be un-
derstood as advocating the wooden senseless
style Of line tactics which then obtained in
our army as model. Far from it. We
should have had come pretty stern lessons,
too, had we been compelled to take the field.
But the essence of the idea is that, stating
from the tradition of the line as basis, we
should have adapted ourselves far more read
lily to the changed conditions than the Ger
mans did. The proof of the correctness of
our idea is that the Germans themselves are
every year coming round more and more to
think that the present order of dispersed
fighting is doomed, and that before long it's
place will have to be taken by something
embodying the chief element of line fighting
namely, line of groups In close order
and single rank, closing in constantly to the
center as casualties occur.
Everything tends to show that, in spite of
mechanical inventions, the material losses in
battle are becoming less and less; but the
moral stress Is also shown to be increasing,
and that in direct proportion to the length of
time during which men are kept under fire.
Therefore the main point to be considered is
not how to avoid material losses no greater
than those which our forefathers faced brave
ly enough half century ago, but how to
maintain the moral courage of the men at its
highest. Experience has abundantly shown
that for this purpose nothing like close or
der, shoulder to shoulder in line, has ever
yet been invented.