Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-10-11
FRENCH AND GERMAN SOLDIERS

III: w WASHINGTON. ID. 4.
FRENCH AND GERMAN SOLDIERS.
Their Merits In the Field Compared and
| Estimated.
The military correspondent Of the London
Daily Telegraph has written a series Of articles
concerning the comparative merits Of French
and German soldiers. He made his observa-
tons during q six weeks tour Of western Ger
many and eastern France, and has shed an ex-
ceptional amount of light upon the personnel OF
the two great armies which watch each other
day and night. year in and year out from OPP
posite sides of the Vosges.
The punctiliousness Of the German soldier in
comparison with the French or English soldier
most surprised the correspondent. The Ger
man never fails to salute his superiors and the
latter invariably return the customary recognI-
ton. He may be in fatigue dress, with a loaf
In one hand and a sausage in the other, but at
the sight of officer he stands to attention."
when the hand salute cannot be given without
making it ridiculous. The Frenchnan takes
life far more easily and only under ordinary
and convenient circumstances when he meets
an officer does he salute. If he ia engaged at
the time in wheeling cart or drinking coffee
the chances are he will not pay any attention to
the officer.
The old belief that the German soldiers are
inferior as fighters to the French soldiers, that
they can win only through their superior or
ganization or through superior strength, is
likely to be shaken somewhat by the corre-
spondents analysis Of the merits of Fritz and
Piou-Piou in the field. He says:
SIN every capacity Fritz seems to be a dill
gent, dependable, honst fellow. Taken in the
mass whether Prussian, Bavarian or Saxon, he
Is not what could be truly called ideal milf
4 ~l~.&S,
The habits and methods Of the parade and field
days are deeply rooted in him and he awaits
the commands of those set over him, self-initia-
ton being the rare exception. Summed up,
martinez though Fritz may be, his stolid reli-
ability makes him a most valuable fighting man,
more to be counted upon in action than those
races with greater zeal for combat and quicker
perception who cannot endure the strain Of
that severe discipline which treats
human units as only parts of a machine.
can be fairly said about the German soldier.
do not 60 to the length, because / think the
criticism not merited of the distinguished
Prussian officer who the other day told me that
the fighting spirit of their men was not nearly
so good as that Of the French troops. Give US
Frenchmen trained and drilled as our fellows
have BEEN said the officer referred to, we
could have done infinitely more and better work
with them. differ entirely from him, because
Fritz Is really solid rather than snowy, and what
l have observed during the past week in follow
ing the French maneuvers confirms NE in that
opinion.
81 don't wish to underrate Piou-Piou's mill
tary genius and valor in the least, but his Ger
man compeer has stout qualities that offset the
other. Dash and enthusiasm are first rate, but
neither will fill the place, either in civil or
military history, to be won by study. mastery
or technique and faithful adhesion to improved
methods in the discharge of human affairs. In
France the system of military training re-
mains much on the old basis. Germany, which
has from time to time never heaitated to
model her methods, has within the last ten
years fairly revolutionized her old drill ser
geant ways 1t is almost incredible that
Prussia, since the days of the great cleo
tor before all other countries in exacting
clockwork and ramrod precision in drill hold
ing masses of men mere automatic, should
now have reversed the process, and its officers
be necessarily insisting upon intelligent free
dom of movement rather than exacttude, and
high individual standard in place of dead uni
formity IT Is easier for Germany to decree
than to carry ont the French principle Of train
ing, the traditions of the Prussian service were
not to be elaborated in a day. and so with their
newer scheme and plan of drilling they still re-
tain much of the oldtime stiffness and precis-
ion. By and by they may get rid of the former;
the latter is of more value
1.-The innovations Of drill which have been
made repeatedly since the catastrophe Of Jena,
which, since the Introduction of smokeless
powder and small caliber rifles, have been
directed against close, solid formations have
resulted in a looseness and simplicity of forma-
ton which certainly would have given the
irascible Hohenzollerns of the last century fits
of apoplectic rage. Much time is now devoted
to mastering extending and closing drill, but
most of all is given to acquiring the use of the
rife aiming and firing. There is no twisting
and pulling of the recruit into strained posi-
tions while aiming. He is told to plant his feet
properly, stand erect and take careful sight.
For the rest he is tolerably free TO poise his
rife as 1t suits him, aiming from the left
shoulder if he is left handed and prefers that
side. The Napoleonic maxim that fire is every
thing Is now most conscientiously believed
and practiced by German officers in training
their men.
OF the German officers the correspondent
says: mo praise is too high, no words too
strong, to describe their excellence military
leaders. Doubtless they have FAULTS from some
of which their French rivals are happily free;
on the other hand. they know their duty, attend
with exemplary fidelity to its discharge and are
proud Of their position, regarding the work as
of the utmost Importance to the well-being of
| their native land"
The French soldiers ability to outmarch the
German soldier is probably beyond question.
| This noticed by military critics throughout
the maneuycrs Of last year. The Telegraph
correspondent noticed numerous of
| lameness among the German soldiers in the
mark one man who showed signs of suffering
| even after the hardest days work.
| In his letter published on September 81 the
correspondent gives an interesting, though in
complete. account Of what he observed of the
maneuvers of the sixth French army CORPS
under Gen. lamont: For two weeks the corps,
which was made up from the garrisons and de-
pots along the frontier have been marching,
mareuvering and fighting among the hills and
valleys that border the Moselle and Meurthe.
The French soldier Is well shod, his laced boots
being much after the favorite pattern of those
worn by gentlemen who shoot over the moors
at home. Few or none of the 1000 men in
the command showed signs of lameness-a
thing very common among German troops on
an afternoons march. Their pace was quick
and strong. and fifteen miles, even with
their wel-loaded packs-each soldier carried
about fifty pounds-did not seem to trouble
them, though there were dsyswhen the weather
was hot to sultriness. The French soldier is
I L., l. B.