Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1898-07-14
The Horrors of War.

SIX SROIS d mIuute!
What a frightful slaughter must
accompany the use of these ters
rible weapons, capable of throw
ing such a relentless hail of
death dealing projectiles! How
destructive of life a modern bat
tie must prove!
Such is the opinion one hears
constantly expressed in these
days of Maxim and dynamite
guns; yet. surprising as it may
seem, an investigation into the
facts, coming down to the bed
rock of figures and statistics. res
veals an entirely different state
of affairs from that usually i'm
agined, Not only were there
more men actually killed in the
battles of olden times, but also
the percentage of dead was often
far greater than in modern en-
gagements.
For instance. compare the bat
tie of Marathon, which was
fought in the year 391 B c., and
is q of the earliest of which
there exists any authentic record.
with that Of Ha-Shan in the
Carbohydrates war Of 1894. In
the former conflict out of a total
of some 10000 troops engaged,
nearly 1000 were left on the
field, while in the latter only $50
dead were counted, though the
opposing forces amounted to
more than $4,000 meu; a dispar~
ity that seems incomprehenslble
when we remember that through
out the war the Japanese were
provided with the latest types
of guns and ammunition. Some
OF the battles of ancient times
showed a proportion Of dead or
disabled that cannot be accounted
for unless we accept the view
that the wars Of those days were
waged in the spirit Of a policy OF
determination pure and simple,
in the belief that success was not
assured until every enemy had
been killed, or captured with a
view to subsequent torture aud
execution.
Three memorable battles took
place in France shortly after the
advent of the Christian Era, and
the story of each of them is
fraught with intense interest as
marking the successive downs
falls of three powerful nations
that strove in turn to obtain g
mastery over Central and West
ern Europe. Every one was
bloody butchery.
At Dethmold, A. D. 9, 5000
Roman troops under Varus, with
some %, 900 camp-followers. were
/ skillfully surrounded and cut II
l pieces by a large force of leu
tons under Arminius, not one o.
, the unfortunate descendants o
Romulus, it is believed, escaping
to tell the tale.
:, Four centuries later, at Chal
, ons, Attila, at the head of his vii
famous multitude of rapacioui
Huns, met the allied forces of Ro
l mans, Franks and Cloths, 800, 00t
strong. Attila's strength was es
/. timated at fully 700, 900. Th'
: night before the great conflict
skirmish took place between out
. lying pickets, in which owe Is,
, 600 troops were killed, but thu
following evening the plain wa
: strewn with the corpses of thu
t slain to the number of close on t,
a quarter of a million.
2 The third of the epoch-makin:
contests vas fought at Tours, il
! the year 732, and resulted in tn
driving back of the Moors acros
the Pyrenees, which they ha'
: crossed, under the leadership o
:, Abderrahman, with the intention
:. by one bold stroke of conquerin.
Frankland and crushing the risinI
faith Of Christianity that wa
! stridirg rapidly through Wester
Europe. At the head Of 400, 90
1 Arab troops Abderrahman Brris
: ed at Tours without encounterin