New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-01-08
THE FRENCH OFFICERS.
ONE OF THE FEATURES THAT MAKE THE FRENCH
ARMY FORMIDABLE

From The New Century Review
one of the eatures which make the French
Army CORPS SO terrible a weapon oi attack "heh
properlv handled is the large number Oh nun
commissioned officers who have won minor ."'','
missions such sous-lieutenant ana captain
and if their education is faulty they more 'haii
atom. for il by superb courage. They nope u
win their promotion by the sword ana hot ny
,ha tnoL II is this very class of whom Won
Moltke said IN 1870 that while they possess no
other instruction than that OF the bad primary
French instruction, and give evidence Oh sipee
ignorance, IL precisely these oilIcers VINO,
for the greater part strove on the battleneins
of France 10 wash out at the cost OF their plood
faults for which they were IN no way respo ''n,
chic As a class the French officers are equai
to any officers on the CONTINENTS NY " wv
point ,, ,,., 90
| have already alluded &c the advanced age OF
the French military chiefs which makes IL I'M
rossilJe for them to cope with hardship ana
fatigue The officers between twenty elght anu
ffty are at their very best, and any young man
who has thoroughly understood ths teachin n. az
ST Cyr might mount horse ana eao an army
corps but the absurd reverence Tor age makes
this an impossibjlity. In our own DAY we nav
seen the magnificent clear-headedness OF youth
i'm three Observation-Disclosures In war, harms,
worth in Journalism and Lasker in chess, all OF
whom seem 10 emphasize the great lesson thal
the coming general must DE bet"et, the I'M .,.
and forties The statement that france ; coni-
nanding generals are between hfty-elght ana
sixty-hve is almost confession OF coming de-
feat , II ho
French officer stationed in Paris to grow rat
The English officer never has TINS RIDICULOUS
leaning toward embonpOint. but II one were 10
watch a batch Of officers enter the CeTcie MIL
taire-I am now speaking Of those III the iorties
and ffties-one might easily mistake them Tor
aldermen IN Uniform This argues lack OF eNef-
else and would augur badly for the drill OF the
,roons were II not that in France, as In Eng
land the bulk Of this work depends upon the
non-commissioned officers. Luckily for France,
her Young army officers are In the PINK OF CON
dition ready for any emergency and equal to
any demands on their physical and mental sys-
toms The new rules laid down at st Cyr IN
1897 must result in an improvement IN the
morale of the French commanders OF the future
The tyranny OF mathematics Is abolished ana
eyerv effort is to be made 70 instil into the
minds of the students that war is not so much a
science as an art which can be best achieved 10y
good sense and inspiration
General Maiard. one OF the professors OF
tactics al the Ecole Suptrleure de Guerre, says
very wisely. Under the pretext that the prog
ross of science and industry Will he used IN the
coming fight between the nations, II II pro-
claInond that the conducting Of war must he
scientific and that IL will demand high mathe-
NAUTICAL knowledge Nothing Is more opposed to
the snirit OF war The Rule of Three alone. up
IN The present has suffced and Will suffice,
for ALI problems depending on calculation, but
~ conduct a war means hat the chiefs must
have high natural qualities, a professional
knowledge which must be constantly advancing
a strong cultured intelligence. but, above all
the spirit of reflection, OF calculaton-iD word
the philosophical spirit