The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1898-07-16
OUR CONDUCT OF THE VAR.
Opinion of a French Military At.
tache Upon Our Management
of the Campaign.
AMERICAN SOLDIERS BEYOND COMPARE.
Entirely Different from the Warfare of
Modern Times Owing to the Natural
Difficulties of the Situation and Our
Manner of Meeting Them.

WASHINGTON. July l3.-Mai. de
Grandprey, military attache of the
French embassy. has just returned
from the American headquarters near
Santiago where he has been observing
for his government the progress of
military operations. He paid a'glow-
ing tribute 10 the fighting ability of
our soldiers.
a superb Body, Individually and as an
Army.
II have the most complete admira-
ton for your men" said Maj. De Grand
prey to a press reporter to-day. They
are a superb body, individually and as
an army, and | suppose not through
out the world is there such Il splendid
lot of fighting men. 1t is the fighting
characteristic of the men which is
most apparent. They are aggressive,
eager for action, never needing the
voice of an officer to push them for
ward.
Self-RelIance OF Each Man.
Another marked characteristic is the
self-reliauce of each man; what we call
the character of Initiative" 1t is al
most unknown in European armies
where every movement and the move
to meet each action Of the enemy
awaits the initiative of an officer. But
with your men they fight to the front,
meeting each emergency as it arises,
overcoming obstacles by their own ini-
~tiative.
An Exceptionally Impetuous Army.
such self-reiiant fighting mel make
an exceptionally impetuous army, for
every unit contributes to the irresisti-
BILE onward movement. The Spanish
troops do not have this same charac-
teristic. They are more passive. more
cautious. Besides the impetuosity of
such fighting material, it has the effect
of inspiring a morale among the
troops, making them feel that success
is assured, and at the same time car
rying disorder and depression to the
ranks of the enemy"
Something Entirely Unique in Modern
Warfare.
Maj. de Grandprey says the fighting
about Santiago is something entirely
different from the warfare of European
and other armies of modern times.
The dense vegetation and tangle of
tropical vines makes it impossible to
observe the usual military formations.
As a result there is little or no effort
to fight in solid formation. Every
man IS fighting for himself, pushing
forward through the shrubbery, vines
apl tall araSS II 5S 1nnnnSGih1n 70
see the enemy. There is no line
of battle ahead against which
the assault is directed. Only
through the reports of pickets and
from the crack of rifles here and there
ahead is it known that a fighting force
is there. This makes the shooting ir-
regular, as it is seldom possible to see
M of the opposing soldiers and get a
distinct aim at him. The main result
of this is to bring the two fighting
forces together gradually until they
are fighting at close range.
Fighting at Close Quarters with Long
Range Guns.
In this respect, Maj. de Grandprey
points out, it is a return to the fight
ing of 200 years ago, when the short
range of the arms then in use COM.
PEELED fighting at close quarters. As
is always the case at close-range fight.
ing, the casualties are far greater.
With the usual open field fight.
ing of European armies, the range
is long, and, a a result,
the casualties are not SO great
in a given period. II has the effect,
also, of allowing time for each side to
gauge the strength of its adversary
and in this way decisive results are
often achieved in long range fighting
before a general assault has occurred.
But it is impossible, Maj. de Grand.
prey points out, tor the American or
Spanish troops to taiIe this measure OF
each other, as they see nothing of the
general battle and Lleet only when
brought into close quarters.
Only Praise Where Others Have Criticised
Maj. de Grandprey also speaks highly
of the efficiency with which the Amer.
lean troops and supplies were started
on their expedition and debarked in
Cuba. This has come in for consider.
oblC SLILlSlohl III Ihio SOuIlIIs Oui
Maj. de Grandprey says that, consid.
erIng the brief time allowed for equip
ping the expedition, remarkable re.
were secured. European mill
tary expeditions, such as those of Eng.
land or France to Africa or other
he said, are planned six months
ahead, which allows ample time for
forming minute details.
The first word of Cervera's entering
Santiago harbor was on May 16 anG
the vast military preparation was well
under way and the expedition started
early in the following month of June.
This and the insignificant loss of men
and animals in landing was an excep-
tionally good showing judged by the
best military standards.
What Most Concerned the Foreign OBJ
servers.
He says the foreign military observ'
ers were more concerned with this
Of embarking and d~isembark-
ing troops, supplies and animals than
the actual military maneuvers,
the moving of large forces consti'
tutes one of the most important OF
military science.
Maj. de Grandprey will remain here
for about abodt a week and will then