Greenbrier independent. [volume] (Lewisburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1859-1980, 1897-12-30
MODERN ARMIES.
1As;s LsrEencs. Has u Tendency 20 mshs
Them Iu.mobile.

a ne!E IsrgNnCSs Has - Tendency 10 "Hks
Them Iu.m"bil..
We arc 10y no means sure that ar
mics at the end of the nineteenth
century are not to some extent In
the condition of tho armies of the
last few years of the eighteenth cen
fury. No doubt the modern generals
are. or, shall we say seem, less
sleepy headed than the old bowig-
gCd Ausiriuns and prussiaus, though
they, 1t must bc remembered, were
III their day rcckoncd men of science.
But at the same time we suspect that
good deal of our modern military
organization has become stiff and
Impractical W" shall he told, no
doubt, that the PruSSiun army went
like ClOckwurk in 1870, but we must
he allowed to doubt whether the
CloCkwork is quit" as good now as
it was then, in spite of appearances.
Besides, Prussia had just tho very
force opposed to her in 1870 against
which good ClUCkwOrk would be
sure to prcvail-a piece of bogus
military mechanism. Whether Prus-
sia would have had rs easy victory
if some FrrnChman had arisen Capa-
hlC of organizing and using n really
mobile force of 60, GOO men is anOth-
er question 1t is possible that such
II spCarhCad stuck into tho clock
work might have done great deal
of damage That, however, is spec.
ulation. What wo do know is that
the Prussian army was n splendid
fighting organism ut the end of the
Seven Years war, and that at Jena,
some 80 years after, il proved utter
ly unable to meet Napoleon quick,
tiCrCC assault.
In spite. then, of the magnificent
organization of tho present Euro.
pcan armies and of their vast sizc,
we believe il to bo quite possible
that some new Alexander may arise
who Will organize Il now method of
rate. may bring all their far stretch
Cd greatness To ruin. OF course such
Il genius in tho art of war may ncv.
or get To the front, but that his Op-
portunity exists III the present bloat-
ed ornaments we have no sort of
doubt. Yet. it will he said, how about
the big hattaliOns2 All military au-
thOritiCS agree that in the end, and
considering that the European ma
ti0ns are practically equal in Cour-
age and morale, the way to win a
battle is To confront five men of the
enemy with eight, or, if possible,
ten, men of your own. That proves
that the big armies will always boat
the small BY no means 1t is be
cause we entirely and absolutely nc.
quiCsco i'll the big battalions theory
go" Providence is ON the side of the
big hattalionS, was Napoleon die
tum- that We hold that small and
properly organized mobile armies
Will beat the huge, unwieldy armies
that the modern European strate-
SiSts contemplate putting into the
field Remember, your big battal- |
ions must confront the little battal- |
ion not on paper, hut on the ground
hence, If Il body of 20, 600 men can
be swiftly and suddenly confronted
with II houy of 10000. the big bat.
taliOns rule il on the side of the
40, 600. The fact that the 20, 900 be.
long To an organization which has
y couple of hundred thousand men
behind II does not matter Unless
the 200, 900 men are available at the |
moment they do not count
An extremely mobile army, ready |
to spring first in one direction and |
then III another, is quito capable of !
beating an army three or four times |
its size and beating it always by |
having Il substantial majority Of |
III every actual engage
ment. OF course the big army may
be- so splcndidly organized that it
Will he quite "a mobile. if not more
than the small army. In
hat case the small army Will be
swallowed whole. All we contend
: that the hUSeness of the European
armies tends TO mako them immo-
nllo and that, therefore, it is ALWAYS
possible that some clever invention
II the direction of intense mobility
may give victory to n small and ap-
not particularly we'll found
army in other respects.
The Heroes OF Month.
Hon. Theodore Roosevelt writes |
or the October Century an article
The Roll of Honor of the
New York Police" Mr.. Roosevelt
:avs:
Perhaps the best way to convey
IN idea of why we awarded medals
5 10 give a list of the men thus re-
for two months. In October,
1898, we on the LIST of the month
awarded a medal TO n patrolman for
peculiar gallantry in stopping run
away horse under circumstances
which made the act one of great
danger to himself and which doubt
less resulted in saving the lives of
those in the vehicle. The patrolman
thus rewarded was also later made
a roundsman and put in charge of
the bicycle squad, our attention
having been first called to him by
this act. On tn" same day we gave
mention, but without O
or medal. to three other