Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1897-09-23

army went like clockwork In 1870. hut
we must he allowed to doubt whether
the cloclSwork Is quite MS new now as
IL 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 II some
Frenchman had arisen capable of or
ganizlng and using really mobile
force of 10000 men 10 another ques-
ton. 1t is possible that such spear
head stuck into the clockwurlI might
have done n great deal OF damage.
THAT, however, is speculation. What.
we do know IL that the Prussian army
was splendid fighting organism at
the end Of the seven years war, and
that mt Jena, some forty years after.
it proved utterly unable to meet Ma
poleon's quick. fierce assault.
In spite, then. of the magnificent or
gnnlzatlon of the present European
armies, and of their vast size. we be-
licve 1t to be quite possible that some
new Alexander may arise who VIII
organize II new method Of fighting
which, for a time at any rate, may
bring all their far-stretChed greatness
to ruin. OF course such "a genius in
the art OF war may never get to the
front, b& that his opportunity exists
in the present bloatcd ornaments We
have no sort of doubt
Yet It will be said. how about the
big battalions? All military authori-
ties agree that in the end, and consid-
| ering that the European nations are
| practically equal In courage and NOR
ale, the way to win battle is TO con-
| front five men of the enemy with
eight, or II possible ten, men of your
| own,
That proves that big armies will
| always beat the small? By no
| means. 1t is because we entirely and
absolutely acquiesce In the big-bnt-
| TALON theory--"Providcnce is On the
| side of the big-battalions" was Ma
| poleon's dictum-that we hold that
| small and properly organized mon,it
armies will beat the huge, unwieldy
armies that the modern European
| strategists contemplate putting in thc
| field. Remember your big battalion
must confront the little battalion,
| not on paper. but on the ground. Hence,
| If n body of 10000 men can be swiftly
| and suddenly confronted with body
of 10000 the big battalion rule is ON
| the side of the 10000. The fact that
the 10000 belong to an organization
which has a couple Of hundred thou-
sand men behind II does not matter
Unless the 100000 mon are available
at the moment they do not count
An extremely mobile army, ready 10
spring first in one direction and then
| in another, is quite capable Of beating
| an army of three or four times it's size
and beating 1t always by having a
substantial majority Of Comhatunts In
every actual engagement. OF course
the big army may be so splenhidly or
eanized that 1t viii be quite ~ mobile
II not more mobile than the small army
| In that case the small army will he
| swallowed whole. All we contend Is
that the hugeness OF the European
armies tend to make them iInmobile
and that therefore 1T is always possible
that some clever invention IN the dlrcc.
tion of intense mobility may give VIC
tory to a small and apparently not par.
ticularly wellfound army In other re-
spects.