The times., 1899-10-01
lFram The London eIobel

tfr0m Inc London dlOheD
When men get so near together that
they cannot run away with any chance of
escaping they must either kin OF be killed.
HENCE the same instinct Of self -preserva-
tion which nowadays makes a man a cow
ard made him in the old historic times
hero. Whole armies and tribes persisted in
the Homeric cCmbats OF antiquity. When
your fee stood but a few yards from you
10 turn your back meant to give him the
opening 10 deal a deathblow for which he
was watching, and TO run away Vas there
fore more dangerous than to face him.
In the days Of Engenie and Marlborough,
although villainous saltpetre had asserted
Its supremacy, ii took long time to load
and fire a musket, and the bayonet and
brcadsword were the suTest means of de-
siruction. Cold steel was the stanchest
ally even up to the early years OF the pres
ent century, and TO give them the bayo-
net the most favoTise tactical device of
our Peninsular generals. Brown Bess was
ineffective at leo yards. and TO
hit a haystack at half that
range was as much as the sol
dier had any right to expect Thus armies.
when they drew together for a fight. had
20 come to the closest quarters to gain any
important or far-reaehing result. Not so
near together, perhaps, as were the an
1agonists OF century before, but far more
within reach Of one another than were the
French and Germans in 1870. The van
quishod could not escape so easily as in
that last campaign. and in accordance with
experience, although il took longer to ef-
fect the slaughter. the piles Of dead were
higher, therefore, in the earlier than in the
latter days. At Zorndorf one-half to one
third OF the total forces engaged were eth
er killed or wounded; at Marengo one
quarter were left on the field; at Borodino
the blood Of one-third dyed the Russian
snow The invention of ri1ed guns and
muskefs reduced the losses at Soifferino TO
one-eleventh, at Koniggratz 10 one-fif-
teenth. while even the ehassepot and mi
Irailleuse did not bring the total al Grave
lotte 10 more than one eleventh of all the
forces engaged.
Arms Not Comparatively So Terrible
Yet. in spite Of the testimony of statis-
tics such as these, our newspapers lately
have been filed with the most sensational
paragraphs as 10 the horrors modern
war VIII bring with it, and the headlines
concerning the potentialities Of our Lew
est weapons have bsen positively naussat-
ing Ii seems TO be imagined that because
25 900 derrishes We're killed and wounded
IN forenoon the other day therefore we
may expect a similar holocaust every time
2 baitaille rangee is accepted The cir
cumstances under which these gallant lives
were lost seem often lost sight OF, and the
smallness of our own losses appears TO
convey no meaning to the sensation-nong-
ers. 1t might have been supposed that
the lessons OF the war in Thessaly would
have had some steadying effect on the per-
feTvid imaginatiOns Of cur journalists
There we saw modern weapons and ap-
pliances also brought into the field. maga-
zine rifles. breech-loading cannon made by
the indefatigable Herr Krupp, shrapnel
shells. and the whole paraphernalia Of de-
struction which are 10 turn the battieheIds
of the future into abattoirs. Yet, as hap
pened on another celebrated occasion. no
one (cG-np parstively speaking) seemed one
penny the Eorse." The unspeakable Turk
has seldom INDUCED in bloodshed so abste-
miousIy as at Dokomos. The valiant
Greeks made no hecatombs such as caused
the soil to reek in the old classic days.
The anomaly is easily explained. Both
parties knew the deadiiness OF the others
ornament. and. like many OF the oppo-
nents in the old dueling times, the nerves
OF both were more or less influenced by
what they knew few hits were enough
10 make men keep their distance The
guns never dared to move into decisive
range and when one side had done enough
10 satisfy its sense Of self-respect il made
q strategic movement to the rear. Long
range fire both from rifles and guns had an
exceptionally good opportunity for cxhib-
iing its destructive effect. and these wea-
pons were as efficient as those in the hands
OF any army al the time.
The Personal Element.
But il is not by armament that wars are
decided; the personal element is still the
predominant one, and the flesh and blood
OF the soldier is not to be steeled or hard.
ened by any mechanical process such as
may be applied To plates or gunbarrels. The
men at Domokos did not shoot well be-
cause they were themselves being shot at
and because the officers had not the same
control over those in the ranks that our
officers on the Nile possessed over the men
Ehey had trained. No doubt at Omdurman
both British and Egyptians were being
shot at, too, and many a bullet found its
way into a brave mans body. but the men
RctualIy shooting were comparatively lit
tie hit, and If the bullets which sailed over
the heads Of those in the firing line found
victims sn the rear, those in front did not
know CT II until the battle was over and
the victory won When your enemy does
not ger nearer than half a mile away
IL is easy TO keep your head, TO feel conf
dent 10 aim deliberately. especially if you
knew that you are supported by powerful
artillery while he has none. and IL you
are certain that the weapon in your hand is
infinitely superior tc that which your enc
my carries Conclusions hastily drawn
from the results arrived al under such con-
ditions are 10 be accepted with caution, and
we shall do well 10 considerably curtail the
estimates made as 10 the future by the sen
satiOn Incngers.
Mere mlschieyous than anything else
however, IS the prominence which has been
given 70 the performances OF the high ex-
plosiTe shells which were for the first time
tried in war last autumn on the Nile. We
have cause for cOngIatulation as to the re-
suits of what may most proftably be re-
garded Is an interesting experiment Un-
Ill they had been thoroughly tested the
doubt was not SO much whether heavy
shells full Of high explosives would or
would not DO considerable destruction, but
as 10 whether they could safely be fired
at all Such shell may easily prove
more dangerous 10 friends than foes. and
should one explode prematureiy IN the
weapon firing Il the disastrous effect would
not end even with the complete destruction
OF the grn OF howitZer and the men in the
nelghbOrhoOd- Not man d man after
such catastrophe would be got to handle
such ammunition with confidence. The
nerves Of all II the battery using il would
be in a state OF tension, and their own
weapons would be held in greater terror By
the detachments than those Of the enemy.
i Is something. therefore. that no accident
occurred. and IL IS also satisfactory 10 find
that the. destructive effect Of the great
shells among buildings is as considerable
es expected
Nerve Turns the Scale.