Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1894-07-14
LOSSES IN BATTLE



ments CT destruction have sometimes
filed both soldiers and civilians with
gloomy horror Of what the next great
war may have In store for us, says
the London Saturday Review. Where
muskets we're formerly used we are In
future to Hnd Maxims and magazine
rifles, and mon are be slain wholesale
scientifically, Just as fields g reaped
rapidly and cleanly n wadays by
machin ~, In place Of by the slower
process of individual exertion. The
tale OF what has just been done by
the Maxim guns In south Africa has
especially drawn our attention TO the
new methods Of killing.
Bravery aud self.sacriflce we're al.
together unavaillng in the face of the
relentless destroyers, and we must
thank the skill Of the mechanic rs
the military virtues Of our men
b.avely as they DO themselves
the result The mind, dwelling on
such exper cnces naturally leaps to
the conclusion that when Vast armies,
both fully equipped by modern
science, meet on the field Of battle
the loss Of life will attain dime .:sionS
absolutely appa ling. The nerves Of
soldiers will be strong indeed II, after
all that has been said and written on
the sub .ect, they can enter the lncxt
campaign without those uneasy fore.
holdings that are the sure preparation
for panic and disaster.
Foi II Is not what does happen, or
even what has happened, SO much rs
what may happen that makes COW
ards OF US all. As "a nervous rider
once said OF q h rse: 1T Is not
what he has done, but what he
might do that I fear" The history
Of war has recorded how men who
had st cd up firmly against tho
charges or fire Of q foe that thoy
could see, even In spite of terrible
losses, have recoiled. panic st icken
like flock of sheep when a-per.
haps wholly imaginary-crv Of "A
mine!" was raised In the path Of theif
assault The heart shudders at the
notion of whole ranks of companies
swept away In few seconds by q
sudden blast Of IRE and this, and
nothing else. IL what the Cassandras
Of the day fOreshadowed In the st.ug.
giles Ut the future
1t Is not 40 much how many men
you kill as how you kill them that
makes the difference; above ull, the
epac, Of time In which the hits a.e
obtaine IL important II is per.
fectly conceivable that q 70. &c which
had lost 90 per cent OF its strength
might continue to hold o position
which under other circumstances II
would have been evacuated when but
10 per cent OF its strength had
been laid low. Human nature Is such
that troops do not retire because
their ranks have grown too weak for
the task 10 hand. What shakes their
nerve Is the fear OF the loss they may
sustain II they remain where they
are or push forward 10 their advance
A sort OF instiuctive calculation 10,
10 fact going on 10 the minds Of men
In action which makes one side OF
the otnef suddenly come to the con.
clusi0n that IL can no longer hold It's
ground. Aud the unconscious calcu.
lat!0n II apt to work out It's conciu.
si0ns most dangerously and most ir.
resistibly when the losses on which
IL IL mainly based occur In q very
short time, 10 a. IN appeal powerfully
to the imagination of th0sa who Wit.
ness them. And the shorter the
period the more overp0werinR he
comes the conviction which takes
possession OF the soldiers mind.
1t II for this reason that SkObelOfl's
chief OF the stan, Prince kouropst'
kin, has told W. that experience had
shown him that q battalion which
han lost 100 men In q light spread
over ten hours may more confidently
be relied on to stand drm than one
which has lost fifty men In I've min.
utcs. The sum of the physical
strength OF the latter bod, remains
greater than that of the former, but
tho sum Of Its moral force Is for the
time being less, The leader who un.
derstands men, and Is quick to OBJ
serve the sigma Ut decentralization.
will, II he seizcs the timely moment
and falls on that battalion, gain q
victory. II, however, he hesitates
aud let's the golden moments slip the
balance In his opponents minds may
be restored, and the moral effect Oi
his Il Q, which Ia the determining
element In lighting, will be wasted.
Men will, In fact, grow callOus and
accustomed to almost any danger "a
long rs their nerves are given inter.
walls Of rest to re, over themselv YES,
50 long as the strain Is not put upon
them too suddenly and does not In.
crease too rapidly Instances to sup
port this statement might. easily be
adduced fr0m military history.
The detachments OF some of the
Russian guns during the siege of Sc.
bastop0l suffered 30 terribly under
our fire that they were renewed a.
often az thrice daily, and yet theii
fire showed No perceptible slackening.
Similar her0ism vas exhibited In oui
trenches too, and losses which In the
aggregate were immense failed II
terribly, because they grew gradually
and were In some measure forgotten.
Now, the characte istic which most
distinguishes the tire OF modern
weapons Ia not % much its range and
precision rs its intensity.
Tho Hardest Word.
1t is Q simple little word, contain.
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