Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1897-10-21
WEAKNESS OF MODERN ARMIES.
The Opportunity OF Some Possible
Futurc AIeXander.

The Opportunity OF Some Possible
Future Alexander.
We are by no means sure that armies
at the end of the nineteenth century
are not to some extent in the conGii-
ton of the armies 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
Did bewigged Austrians and Prussians,
though they, it must be remeInbered,e
we're in their day sreckoned men OF
science; but at the same time I'VE e&-
pect that a good deal of our modern
military organization has become stiff
and impractical. We shall be told, no
5oubt. that the Prussian army went
like clockwork in 1870, but we must
be allowed to doubt whether the clock
work is quite as new now as 1T was
then, in spite of appearances. Besides.
Prussia had just the very force opposed
to her in 1870 against which good
clockwork would be sure to prevail
a piece of bogus military mechanism
Whether Prussia would have had as easy.
victory if some Frenchman had
arisen capable of organizing and using
really mobile force of 10000 men is
another question. 1t is possible that
such a spearhead stuck into the clock
work might have done great deal of
damage. That, however, is speculation
What we do know is that the Prussian
army was splendid fighting organism
at the end of the seven years war, anu
that at Jena, some &C years after, it
proved utterly unable to meet Ma
poleon's quick, fierce assault.
In spite, then, of the magnificent or
~
armies, and of their vast size, we be-
lieve it to be quite possible that some
new AleNander may arise who will or
ganize new method of fighting
which, for time at any rate, may
bring all their far-stretched greatness
TO ruin. OF course, such genius in the
art of war may never get to the front.
but that his opportunity exists in the
present bloated ornaments we have no
sort of doubt. Yet it will be said, how
about the big battalions? All military
authorities agree that in the end. and
considering that the European nations
are practically equal in courage and
morale, the way to win battle is to
confront five men of the enemy with
eight, or if possible tens men of your
own.
That proves that big armies will al
ways beat the small? By no means. It
is because we entirely and absolutely
acquiesce in the big-battalion theory
providence is on the side of the big
battalions" was Napoleon's dictum-
that we hold that small and properly
organized mobile armies viii beat the
huge unwieldy armies that the mod
ern European strategiSts contemplate,
putting in the field. Remember. your
big battalion must confront the little
battalion, not on paper, but on the
ground. Hence, if 4 body of &c, 900 men
| can be swiftly and suddenly confronted
with a body Of 10000, the big-battalioD
| rule is on the side of the 10000 The
fact that the 10000 belong to an or
| ganization which has a couple of hun
| dred thousand men behind it does not
matter. Unless the 2O0,OOe men are
available at the moment they do not
| count. q
An extremely mobile army, ready to
| spring first in one direction and then
in another, is quite capable of beating
an army of three or four times its size,
and beating it always, by having a sub
| stantial majority of combatants In
every actual engagement. OF course,
the big army may be so splendidly or
| ganized that it will be quite as mobile,
| if not more mobile, than the small
army. In that case the small army will
| be swallowed whole. All we contend
| is that the hugeness of the European
armies tends to make them immol,ile,
and that therefore. it is always posi-
BILE that some clever invention in the
direction of intense mobility may give
victory TO a small and apparently not
particularly well-found army in other
| reSDectS-Iondon Spectator