The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-08-23
WEAKNESS OF MODERN ARMIES.
The Opportunity of some Future
Alexander.
From the London Spectator.

From the London Spectator.
We are by no means sure that armies az
The end OF the nineteenth century are not
70 some extent in tho condition of the arm
les of the last few years of the eighteenth
century. No doubt the modern generals
are, or shall We say seem, less sleepy
headed than the old bewigged Austrians
and Prussians though they it must be re-
membeFed, We're in their day reckoned men
of science, but at the same time we expect
that a good deal Of our modern military
organization has become stiff and unprac-
teal We shall be told, no doubt, that
the Prussian army went like clock work
IN 1870, but we must be allowed TO doubt
whether the clock work is quite as good
now as it was then, in spite Of appear
ances. Besides, Prussia had Just the very
force opposed TO her in 1870 against which
good clock work would be sure to prevail
piece of bogus military mechanism.
Whether Prussia would have had as easy
victory If some Frenchman had arisen
capable Of organizing and using a really
mobile force of 900 men is another aues-
tion. 1t is possible that such a spear
head stuck into the clock work might have
done great deal Of damage That. how
ever, is speculation. What we do know.
Is that the Prussian army was a splendid
Ilghtlng organism at the end OF the seven
years war, and that at jena some forty
years after, it proved utterly unable 10
meet Napoleon's quick, fierce assault.
In spite, then, of the magnificent organ
ization of the present European armies.
and of their vast size, we believe IL TO be
quite possible that some new Alexander
may arise who will organize a new meth
Cd of fighting which, for a time at any
rate, may bring all their far-stretched
greatness to ruin. or course such a genius
n 10 arr ~
front, but that his opportunity exists In
me present bloated ornaments we have no
sort of doubt. Yet il will be said how
about the big battalions. An military au-
thorities agree that In the end, and consid-
erlng that the European nations are prac-
tcally equal in courage and morale. the
way TO win a battle is TO confront five
men of the enemy with eight, or IL possi-
Die, ten men of your own. That proves
| that the big armies will always beat the
small BY no means. IL Is because we
entirely and absolutely acqUiesce In the
/ big battalions theory-"providenc is on
the side OF the big battalions" was Napo-
Icons dictum-that we hold that small and
properly organized mobile armies will bear
| the huge, unwieldy armies that the mod
ern European strategists contemplate nut
tlhg into the field. Remember your big
| battalion must confront the little battal-
ION, not on paper, butte on the ground
Hence II body of 10000 men can be swift
~ and suddenly confronted with a body
OF 10000 the big battalions rule is on The
side OF the 10000 The fact that the COCO
belong 20 an organization which has A
couple of hundred thousand men behind
II does not matter. Unless the 10000 men
are available al the moment. they do not
count
An extremely mobile army. ready 20
spring first in one direction and then In
another, IL quite capable Of beating an
army OF three or four times Its size, and
beating Ii always, by having a substantial
majority of comb9tants in every actual
engagement. OF course. the big army may
be so splendidly organized that Il will be
quite as mobile, if not more mobile. than
the small army. In that case the small
army VIII be swallowed hole All we con-
tend is that the hugeness of the European
armies tends TO make them immOblle, and
that therefore II is always possible that
some clever invention in the direction Of
intense mobility may give victory TO a
small and apparently not particular we'll
found army In other respects.