The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1898-07-22
Opinion of a French Military At
tache Upon Our Management
of the Campaign.
AMERICAN SOLDIERS BEYOND COMPARE.
The Fighting About santiago Something
Entirely Different from the Warfare of
Modern Times owing to the Natural
Difficulties of the situation and ou'
Manner of Meeting Them.

from the American headquarters near
Santiago where lac has been observing
for his government the progress OF
military operations. lie paid II glow
ing tribute 10 the fighting ability OF
our soldiers.
"A superb Body, Individually and as mn
Army.
IL have the most complete admira-
tion for your men, said Maj. DE Grand
prey to IA press reporter to-day. They
are a superb body, individually and a.
an army. and ! suppose not through
out the world is there such a splendid
lot of lighting men. 1t is the lighting
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.
Seif-ReIiance of Each Man.
Another marked characteristic is tn"
self-reliance 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 impefuous 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 n morale among the
troops, making them feel that success
is assured, and at the same time ear
rying disorder and depression 10 the
ranks of the enemy"
Something Entirely Unique In Modern
Warfare.
Mai. de Grandprcy 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 il impossible to
observe the usual military formations
AS n result there is little or no effort
to fight in solid formation. Every
man is fighting for himself. pushing
forward through the shrubbery. vines
and tall grass. 1t is impossible To
see the enemy. There is no line
of battle ahead against which
the assault is directed. Only
through the reports of picl>ets and
from the crack of rifles here and there
ahead is it known that a fighting force
is there. This makes the shooting IL.
regular, as it is seldom possible To see
one 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
Rang. Guns.
I'm this respect, Maj. de Grandprey
points out, it is a return to the fight
ing Of 800 years ago, when the short
range of the arms then in use com.
PEELED lighting at close quarters. As
is always the case at close-range fight
ing, the casualties are far greater.
With the usual open field fight
:s.g of European armies. the range
is long, and, rs result,
the casualties are not so great
in given period. /. 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 general assault has occurr ed.
But it is impossible. Maj. de Grand
prey points out. tor the American OF
Spanish troops to take this measure OF
each other. a. they see nothing OF the
general battle and meet only when
brought into close quarters.
Only Praise where Others Have Criticised,
Mai 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.
able criticism in this country. but
Maj. de Grandprey says that, consid'
erlDg the brief time allowed for equip
ping the expedition, remarkable re.
suits were secured. European mill.
tary expeditions, such as those OF Eng
land or France to Africa or other
points, lie 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 10 and
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 cxccp-
tionally good showing Judged by the
hest mi litarv standards
What Most Concerned the Foreign Oh
servers.
lie says the foreign military obscrv
ers were more concerned with this
matter of cmbarking and discmbarl''
ing troops. supplies and animals than
with the actual military maneIvers
as the moving OF large forces consti
tutes one Of the most important Of
military science.
Mai. de Grandprcy will remain here
for about abolt a week and will ther
return to Santiago IL the place has MOI
surrendered by that time. In case o
surrender he will proceed to Port'
Rico or such other points rs may DO