Evening star., 1899-04-13
FUTURE WARS,
Some Specu1ations to the PrObabfl.
tiles of European Conflicts.
From the Pail Mall Gazette

From the Pail Mall Gazette
The horror of the next big war is the
waking nightmare of Europe. The vast
ness OF the forces engaged, the tremendous
power of modern weapons, the financial
ruin that will overtake the beaten side
all these considerations tend to stagger i'm
aginations a good deal more solid than
those of peace-crusading emotionalists
The bishop of Manchester a leyel-headed
man II ever there was one, kept well with
in reasonable argument when he enlarged
at the Manchester town meeting last night
upon the black future that may be prenar
ing for US through the developments of
modern mi1tariSm. 1t may be remarked
by the way, that the terror inspired by the
new inventions in explosives and ordnance
has been the chief cause of the long period
ol peace lnat the continent, as a whole,
mas enjoyed; so that arrest of arma-
ments, if ever brought about, would tend
rather to precipitate warfare than to avert
It, But more profitable line of thought
is to be discovered in the lecture delivered
by Colonel Elmslie at Aldershot last night
on THE Possible Effect on Tactics of Re
cent improvements in Weapons"
He agrees with the German military crit
les in foretelling that the secret of victory
Will lie within the brain of the commander
The big battle, and with it the campaign.
will be decided by sudden and decisive on
erations, depending upon skill in making
M
ploying the art of invisbility The side
that can make good a tactical point and
stick to it will hold an immense advantage
IN the tug OF war. That is to say, every
e1ort Will be put forth to make the most
OF the artillery and rifle attack A fire con-
centrated upon one spot to beat down the
fire OF the enemy will be the grand stroke
Tor which the Moltke of the future will
play. To that end he will study topography
with the assiduity of a scholar porine over a
worm-eaten manuscript. He will train his
troops to be mobile for every emergency,
and his officers will be taught to act on the
spur of the moment. series of rushes
masked by the quick-firing gun, the ma
chine gun and the magazine rifle, will set
tie the fortunes of the day. One position
gained will form the basis for the next
until the beaten army, completely out
maneuvered, will either take to it's heels or
capitulate. Warfare, in short will resolve
itself more than ever into a huge game of
chess, in which the winner will be the
greater master of combination and striking
| power.
The deductions to be drawn from Colonel
| FINISHES lecture paradoxicaI though they
| may seem, are not necessarily in favor of a
vast amount of slaughter. If the European
| armies were to rush upon their doom, as
| the Dervishes did at Omdurman the fold
| howitzers would. no doubt. pile them up in
| heaps of corpses. But as the lecturer re-
| marked, the forces of the continent will
probably be found to possess but little of
the sticking power of the emirs magnifi-
| cent fanatics They will be compOsed of
| conscripts. taken sorely against their will
| from the counter and the tail of the plow.
| The increase of range has necessitated the
need of greater numbers to guard against
| an enveloping fire, and that again has add
| ed to the number of towards. The veteran
| soldier has practically disappeared during
| the long period of peace, and the statistics
| compiled by the German general staff tend
| strongly to the conclusion that the capaci-
| ty to stand up against artillery depends
| entirely upon the percentage Of old mus
/ taches in the ranks
The armies. then that will decide the fate
| OF Europe will be composed of civilians in
| military uniform. whose nerves will be tried
| by the terrors of unknown scientific inyen-
| tions for hours, perhaps, before they get a
| fair chance of replying. 1t should follow
| that, after really decisive move on the
attacking side, the officers of the defense
| will be unable to keep their men together.
| The temptation of snug carriage on the
strategic railway will prove too strong for