Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-06
BATTLES OF THE FUTURE
In Which the Wounded Will Get Little
Attention
They VIII Have to Take Chances TIL
the Fighting IL Over-No Men TO
Spare for Carrier Service.


scene in its fullness which the next great
battle will present to a bewildered and fhud-
dering world. We know the elements that
will costitute its horrors; but we know
them only. as 1t were. accidentally. Men
have yet to be thrilled to the heart by the
weirdness of wholesale death inflicted by
missiles poured from weapons the where
abouts Of which canont be discerned be-
cause Of the absence Of powder-smoke.
Nay, IL DR.. Weiss recently invented ex-
plosive. OF which great things have been
predicted, is to be brought into use in the
German army, there may no longer be any
powder. the "villainous saltpeter'' SUPPRESSED
ed by the more devilish fatty substance of
brownish color" The soldier of the next
war must steel his heart to encounter the
deadly danger incident to the explosions of
shells filled with dynamite. melinite. ballis-
tite, or some other form of high explosive,
in the midst Of dense masses of men. The
recent campaign IN Matabeleland has in
formed us with a grim triumph of the
sweeping slaughter the Maxim gun can in
fiict with its mechanical stream Of bullets.
Quick-firing field guns on the eve OF
supersedfng the type Of cannon in use in the
horse and tield batteries Of today. All these
instruments are on terra frna, IL that be
Of any account. But II there is anything in
the story Of Edfson's invention Of Gyfng
macnlne Tor military purposes winch can De
50 steered as to carry and drop with &C.
curacy 500 pounds of explosive material
at a given point, or to shed on an army q
shower of dynamite, then death incalcIlable
may rain down as from the very heavens
themselves.
Modern Rifles.
Most of the European powers have
equipped their armies with one or other
form of the new small-bore rife. and those
which have not completed their rearmament
are making haste to do SO. The only type
of a new weapon, the results of the Gre
from which have been actually tested on the
battlefield, is the Mannlicher. which was
used to a considerable extent In the Chilean
civil war of 1891. AS is generally known.
the S-millimeter projectile which the Mann
licher throws is much lighter and OF much
fatter trajectory than any OF the old larger
bullets. Owing to its higher velocity and
pointed shape, fits power Of perforation is
extraordinary. In the matter-of-fact lam
guage of Bardeleben, owing to the I'm
mense velocity of the Mannlicher bullet and
its small surface of contact, IL meets with
little resistance in striking. causes little
commotion of the neighboring parts. has o
time to stretch the various tissues IL en-
carrying the confused elements before II
clean out of the wound, without Seriously
damaging the surrounding wall OF track
The now obsolete bullets fired from great
distances and striking a bone frequently
glanced off or rebounded. This Will occur
no longer; the new long-range proJectile. II
il strikes at all, has sufficient force TO pass
through, cutting any vessels, or organs II
may meet in its path. 1t is. therefore, all
the more deadly. Whereas the accepted es-
innate of casualties in modern warfare las
been In the ratio of about four men woIE1-
| ed TO one killed, the percentage in the Chill
| can lighting Is automatically given as four
killed to one wounded. This CHASTITY pro-
portion will probably not maintain itself in
future battles on larger scale, but there
can be no doubt that the fighting OF the
future will be deadlier than that of the past.
| Yet the properties of the new bullet are
not entirely lethal although IL will STAY its
thousands and its tens Of thousands. Its
characteristics of absence of confusion,
which confusion from the old bullet fire.
| quentIy stayed the bleeding Of injured YES
sels must result in more frequent deaths
| from hemorrhage, more especially in the
| inevitable lack, in the future, or prompt
/ surgical Intervention. But the woun is IL
causes, IL they do not produce immediate
death, or speedy dissolution from hemor-
rhage, are expected to be more amenabie
to treatment than those which were &C.
casioned by the old bullet
Battle Statistics.
| II is remarkable that the more modern
battles of Europe in which great numbers
] of men have been engaged-battles In which
were used rified cannon and small arms
| have afforded greatly less percentages of
casualties than those of earlier battles In
which smooth-bore cannon and muskets
were the sole weapons of fire. At Borodino
in 1872. there fought 2J0.oOo French and
Russians, with a result of $1,000 killed and
wounded. At Salamanca in the same year.
when $1,000 English and French were
gagged, the casualties amounted to 80, SIU.
In each case the proportion OF casualties TO
forces engaged was one-third. and the pro-
ton was the same in the battle of Eylau In
1870. In the battles of Magenta and Sol
ferino in the Franco-Italian war of 1889.
when the French armament was in great
part rified, the proportion of killed and
wounded to the total forces engaged was
hut one-eleventh At konigEratz in 1866
the proportion was one-ninth. In the two
days fighting before Metz in August. lS7o-
the battles or Mars-la-Tour on the 18th, and
the battle of Gravelotte On the lSth-there
we're In all on the ground about 450.UOU
Germans and Frenchmen. The casualties
of the two days amounted to G5 500, afford
ing a proportion to the total strength OF
one-seventh. These figures work out that
the old Brown Bess and the smooth-bore
guns inflicted proporuonately more injury
to life and limb than occurred In the bat
ties later in the century with all the ap-
pliances of improved ornaments. But the
largest army placed on battle field on any
one occasion, by any European power with
in the present century--the Prussian army
which fought at koniggratz-did not
amount to more than 260,0 fighting men
TOdGy, the war strength aVailaDle Tor the
field of the German empire is close on p
10000 men; that OF France, 2.71500o: that
of Russia, 100000; that of Austria l,6oO,-
coo. When the first great battle OF the next
great war comes to be fought, a million of
combatants will be in the field. On the per-
centage of 1870. and putting aside altogeth-
err the effects of the recent developments In
man-hurting, the casualties will exceed l40-
600. According to the existing ratios OF
this number $4,000 would be slain, 10000
would be comparatively slightly wounded
and 5000 would be severely wounded. In
the absence of actual experience, the Chill
can statistics could not be relied upon, at
all events, in full. II follows that II the
wounded Of the next great battle are to be
dealt with as the present arrangements pre-
| scribe. apart from the cleaning of the bear
ers during the battle. surgical assistance
will have TO be provided for 105, 600 wound
ed and hospital accommodation for about
90 O00 viz, the $4,000 severely wounded and
one-half Of the comparatively slightly
wounded.
The Problem of the Wounded.
To cope adequately with this vast aggrc-
gate of human suffering-with this gigantic
example of mans inhumanity to mans
obviously impossible; 1t confessedly cannot
and will not be attempted. The primary