Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1896-12-26
NOT ALL KILLED I'M ACTION.
Loss of Life in Batt'e S5ot So APPALLING
Many Believe.

as Many Believe.
Summing up the whole question as
between any two European peace
trained armies Of the present day, the
extreme percentage OF loss TO be an
ticipatcd locally. G., cn particular
brigades and divisions-will rot exceed
ono in three (of which ono is killed 10
four woundeD, whereas, for whole
armies os 100000 and over one in ten
is the very outside punishment We may
reasonably expect.
Compared with the slaughter of the
seven years war, and the best contested
fields of the Napoleonic period, this is
very little indeed. At Zorndorf the
Russians Lett 81, 900 out of 81, eco on the
ground, and, though this is urdoubt-
edly the bloodiest battle recorded
since the introduction of portable fire
arms, Eylau, Friedlnnd, Wagram and
Borodino all exceed tho figures FOR any
fixed battle since the brecCh-loader ap-
penred in the field. Moreover, the hor-
ror of the whole thing is not to be meas
ured by figures of percentages only, but
by the density in which the killed and
NOullCu llC lsplS VI lliS ltlbiOi
afterward. In modern battle 10000
men would fall on an area of about 90
square miles; at Zorndorf the 21,000
Russians and 10000 Prussans lay on n
single square mile, and of the wounded
not one in three survived. and the Prus-
sian medical staff anticipate even bet
ter results next time.
But death on the battlefield is by far
the lesser of the two evils the soldier
has to face. There is the death on the
line of march and in hospitals along the
road. Whereas, formerly, under Ma
poleon, ten would die by the way 9or
one who fell in action; in the last
FRANCO German war only one man died
of disease for two killed in acticn. In
deed, the health OF men in the full
prime of life was actually slightly bet
ter in the field than in quarters.
1t may, however, be argued that,
even granted that battles and marches
may be less destructive, there will be
more of them, because every able-bot-
led man, being trained for war, the re-
sistance will be more prolonged than
formerly, but this prolonged endur-
ance is only conceivable under the sup
position that the leaders on both sides
are hopelessly incompetent, and both
fear to stake all on Il single collision. Il
supposition that nothing tends to iusti-
fly. On the contrary, every leader
brought up in the modern school is
taught to understand the yulnerubility
of all modern military organizations,
and is penetrated with the conviction
that one downright "lrcclsout" blow
effects more than weeks Of purposcles5
sparring, and where both start deter
mined to bring matters to climax the
decision cannot long be delayed. Judg-
ing from what we know of the relative
efficiency of continental armies, we be-
lieve that the first round CT The great
encounter will also be the last, for the
momentum of the blow which decides
will simply >araly2a every nerve of the
opponents body, and. in adding up all
sources of casualties that can occur in
short campaign of this description,
we conclude that, at the very worst,
the actual cost in human life to the
| powers engaged will not amount 10
more than the same percentage as the
influenza epidemic of 1S0l-o2 cost Ger
many, and rather less than the same
epidemic cost us. To suppose that this
degree of blood outlines would chain
the wills of any responsible body of
statesmen who believed that they We're
acting in the interests OF their country
is surely too Ctopian an idea for profit
able discussion.-pa Mall Gazette.