Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1897-07-15
WARFARE.
Long Campaigns Will Give Way ts
SINGLE but Decisive Encounters.

E1nEtG q
Summing up the whole question as
between any two European peace
Trained armies Of the present day, the
extreme percentage OF loss TO be antci-
pafed locally. !. e. on particular Or
lgades and divisions. VIII not exceed one
n three fof which one Is killed TO our
woundedl, whereas for whole armies or
a quarter u 4 million and over one IN
ten Is the very outside punishment VS.
may reasonably expect.
Compared 10 the slaughter q the sew
on years war and the best contested
fields OF the Napoleonic period, this Is
| very l:ttle. indeed. Al Zorndorf the
Russians left 2l.g0 out Of I20so on
the ground. and this = undoubtedly the
blood!est battle recorded since the IN
PRODUCTION of portable firearms Eylau,
Friedland, Wagram anil Brodino all
exceed the figures Of any pitched battle
since the brcechloader appeared in tie
field.
Moreover. the horror Of the whole
thing Is not 10 be measured by figures
Of percentages only. but by the density
IN which the killed and wounded lie.
aud the fate Of the latter afterward.
In a modern battle 10000 men would
fall on an area Of about twenty square
miles: at Zorndorf the q. 900 Russians
and 1900 Prussians lay on a single
square mile, and Of the wounded not
one IN three survived: whereas. In 1870,
nine out OF ten recovered. and the Prus-
alan medical staff anticipated even
better results next time.
But death on the battlefield IS by
far the least Of the two evils the soldier
has to face. There IS death on the line
of march, and In hospitals along the
road. Whereas formerly. particularly
under Napoleon, ten would die h. the
way for one who fell III action, IN the
last Francoticrman war DULY n nan
died Of disease for two Killed in action.
Indeed. the health Of men in. the full
prin" Of life was actually slightly bet
tcr in the field than in quarters.
II may, however. be argued that.
even granted that battles and marches
may he less destructive. there viii be
more Of them. because every ablcihod
ittl man being trained hy war. the re-
sl~tancc VII H." more prolonged than
formerly. but thi~ prolonged endurance
IS only coneeivahl" under the suppose
tiefl that Tia" leaders Oh both sides are
lioptles~ly Incompetent. and both fear
10 stake all on a single colli~lon-a sup
position that nothing tends to Justify.
ON the contrary. every leader brought
III, IN the modern school IS taught Il
understand til" vulnerahility Of all
modern military organizations. and i
downright 'knockout' blow effects
more tia weeks of purpoSelcss spar
ring. and where both start determined
10 bring matters 70 Il climax tire deciS-
on cannot be long delayed. Judging
from what we know of the relative Of
t~icipncy Of continental armies. we be
Ievr that the first round of the great
encounter Will also be the last. for The
momentum of the blow Which decides
will simply paralyze every nerve in the
opponents body. and adding In al
4 short campaign Of this dcScriptinn
We conclude that at the VERY WorS, tn,
actual cost in human life 10 the power
engaged Will not arno1lnt 10 more Than
:, per cont. Of their several popula
| tons. Pan Mall Gazette.