Evening star., 1898-05-14
How Armies of Different Races Be-
have Under Fire.
ANGLO-SAXONS EXCEL ALL OTHERS
The Effect of Discipline on Large
Bodies of Men.
VETERANS AND NOVICES
From the London Spectator.

assign that place to the Osmani who be-
| sides his natural stolidity and exemption
from nerves has the pride of a race Of
hereditary conQuerors. exalted by an hons
| est belief either that God is on his side or
| that fate is irresistible. IL he is TO die ha
| will die. il not, not: and he charges through
| the hail of shot with imperturbable se-
| renity which makes him the delight Of dis
ciplinarians and the despair of decent men.
Ii is, however. most difficult even TO insti-
| tute comparison as TO national courage,
| so much depends upon circumstances upon
| discipline and, with some races upon lead
ership. Very few troops fight well when
| they are hungry Frenchmen are distinct
ly traver by their own confession, when
| they are led by a Napoleon, and Germans
| differ violently from themselves according
| TO the perfection of their discipline. Slavs
| will face any danger which approaches if
they are ordered to face it, but to induce
| them 10 show fierce charging courage the
courage which sweeps away armies, they
must nave confidence in their general. and
see him at their head. Italians have hard
| ly been tried of late years, though they
died in their tracks at Dogali: and Span
iards, once esteemed the braVest infantry
| in Europe, have in more recent years ap-
| peared to have lost some confidence either
| i'll their officers themselves Even the
evidence is imperfect.
Satisfied as to Themselves.
We English believe i'm our hearts that We
| make the best soldiers in the world; but, as
| matter of fact, there is no evidence for
| the assertion; indeed, there is a little evil
dence the other way. There is plenty Of
proof running through all history that the
| class Of Englishmen who take to the army
| have no superiors in battle, if. indeed. they
have any equals; but the English people
| have never yet been tried. They have new
| er been subjected TO a conscription or any
| thing approaching TO one. and the volun-
tary adoption of a soldiers life naturally
| acts as "a winnOwing process.
| Taking our self-chcsen soldiers. however.
| as samples, it is fair to say that the Eng
| lish soldier seems less moved by compara-
| tive numbers than the man of any other
race; that he is less alarmed by an uE-
| lucky position, probably because he does
| not perceive ii; and that his courage is
| siHgUiarly Independent OF leadership In his
| generals. He likes to see his officers in
| front, but the universal testimony of his
| enemies, as We'll his friends. 10 his ca
| pscity for fighting when badly ied. to
making" in fact, "a soldiers battle Of
| it, seems proof positive on that point. The
| same quality must be in Americans, or they
could not have exhibited such courage
! after the dreadful massacres under Me
| Clellan: and military historians give much
the same praise to Russians. who. however.
as shown before Plevna. dis ike being moWn
| down without gaining a success. 1t is
| probable that English men, Americans. Ger
best troops in the world. very much in
| that order. that after them come the Turks,
who are individually the bravcst of them
| all. and that the remaining Latin races
must be content to come next. though
| Spaniards when defending a city or build
| ing have in all ages been almost incom-
| parable.
Proportion of Brave Men.
The question of the comparative propor-
ton of really brave men in any army viii
probably never be determined. Great OFF,
GERS on the continent keep their knowledge
on that subject vigorously as professional
secret. and assume as a certainty that all
soldiers are brave. They know very well,
however, that they are not, and when con-
fidential will admit. as Marshal Won Moltke
once did in public that with great number
it takes discipline and severe discipline, too,
to induce them to face shells unshrinkingly.
American officers have been known to ac-
knowledge that of their men, who
brave as any in the world, 20 per cent
would run away il they could. and in every
army, even ours, which a man enters only
of free will, there is a certain proportion
who literally cannot overcome their fears.
They are stricken with sort of paralysis.
The proportion is probably not high in any
army, the majority, if in health, being able
to do their duty. and having intense mo-
tives to do it: but neither is the proportion
high of those who literally feel no fear
There are such men, who do not quite un-
derstand what the emotion is. there are
also some who have in extreme danger a
sense of pleasure, which sometimes not
only quickens their blood. but distinctly in
creases their intellectual force.
When Bullets Fly.
This is said to have been true of General
Picton, who, though a hard. rough man.
was an ''angel when bullets We're about"
and undoubtedly true of the first Lord
Cough. who had a trick, highly disagreea-
BILE TO his staff, of seeking points Of fun ex-
posure to the enemys fire. The immense
respect paid TO such men in all armies
shows. however, that they are exceptional,
and, on the whole We believe that the opin-
ion of the first Sir Henry Havelock is very
nearly the truth. The writer once had an
opportunity during a discussion on the
utility of the Victoria Cross of cross-Ques-
tionng that famous general on the subject,
and never forgot his reply. In my expert
ence, he said. lin any British regiment
there are always hundred men VINO would
storm the gates of hell. eight hundred who
If they did il would follow in, one hundred
who want to skulk in the bitches, and
about thirty who actually do skulk there or
elsewhere" The averages should be high
er in a conscript army, but then, also. the
discipline is more severe. Why discipline
should impart courage is something Of a
mystery, but there is no shadow of doubt
that it does. and that a weil-disciplined
regiment is not only more obedient, but ac-
tually more Indifferent to danger probably
because the continuous habit of self-sup-
preston has positively diminished selfish
ness.
Veterans md NOvices.
The popular notion that seasoned troops
are much braver than novices seems, how
ever, to be unfounded. They are more
afraid of giving way, knowing better what
hell upon earth commences If men begin
running; but Waterloo was won, in con-
siderable measure, by young soldiers and
Speicheren was carried by regiments in
which no private had ever seen a shot fired
in anger. They Were drilled youngsters,
not old soldiers, who tramped up that
dreadful hill, marching to death as If they
were executing an accustomed movement
on parade. Indeed, there are cynics who
say that the youngsters do best, and that
the old soldiers know what is before them
a little too well; gibe which is disproved
by the almost invariably splendid conduct
of the non-commissioned officers Educa-
ton. it may be suspected, makes little diff
ference in courage, for, though officers die
in a severe action in a number out of pro-
portion to that of their men, that is be-
cause their business is leading and they are
conspicuous figures; but il is quite certain
that courage can be materially affected by
ideas.