Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-02-17

has not been n conflict between armle,
equally equipped until the present. In
the battles between Russia and Turkey
the Turks had inferior weapons. Being
fanaticsl lighters, like the dervlshes in
the Sudan, they were slaughtered by
the breeohloaders and dynamite shells
Of the foe.
To go back still farther for examples
OF the execution of weapons in warfare
II Is interesting to look at the records
OF battles in the seventeenth century.
In seven great battles Of that era, when
the masses carried muskets and pixies,
the average Of casualties was 20 per
cent, so that each man stood but about
three chances In four Of escape. The
casualties in the bloodlest battles run
as high as 35 per cent. In this class be-
longs the battle OF Lutzen, which
proved & victory for the Swedes, but
their leader, Gustayus Adolphus, was
I Killed, and one Of his regiments lay
upon the ground In the order in which
the men had stood while fighting. In
the middle Of the eighteenth century
the bayonet attached TO the musket su-
perseded the pike, There were 20 great
battles fought with smoothbore mus
kets and bayonets from Fontenoy In
l745 to Waterloo in 1915. The average Of
casualties for this period OF snoothbore
musket and bayonet fighting was about
20 per cent.
The following 10 battles OF the mug
zle loading. bayonet period represent
the martial nations OF the world:
!. Rilau, 1907. Loss, % per cent.
2 Bunker Hi, iI75 loss, q per cent.
3. stone River (Nuiireeshoro), Io2 Loss. eaii
per cent.
4, Asrengo, 1900. Loss q per cent.
8. Chickamauga, 1853 Loss, p per cent.
g. Artietam, 1892 loss, p Der cent
Z leipEic, 1873, Los, 81 per cent
3 Gettysburg 1893 Loss. 90 Der cent.
p shiloh. lsd2 Loss 20 Per cent.
10 Lundys Lane, lsll Loss, 10 per cent
H. har'la1our, $50 Loss, 10 per cent
r. Waterloo, ISIS Loss, Il per cent.
-, Woerth 1870 Los, II per cent.
u. Solierino, 1859. Loss 70 per cent.
D. sadowa, 1860, Los, i2 per cent,
The loss in killed and wounded at
the battle Of Ellau il placed at 10000 by
conservative estimates. In the figures
OF Gettysburg given in the table. which |
are official, the total Is little short OF
$4,000. The first battle belongs TO the |
smoothbore and the second to the rife |
barrel era, and the figures show that as
weapons improve casualties grow less
in percentages. The average was 90 per
cent In the days Of the musket and pike.
20 per cent with the smoothbore and
oayonet about a similar loss with the
rlhe barrel and bayonet, and in the
Franco-Prusslan war, fought with the
breechloading rifle. the casualties fell
below 16 per cent.
In 1881 Chile invaded Peru under dis.
advantages as great as those under
which the United States army labored
IN cuba or that Of the British in at
lacking the Beers In their Businesses in
South Africa. The invading army was
no greater than that Of the defensive
army vet, having breechloaders and
modern cannon and machine guns.
-hlle won at all points, and in the de-
'lslVe battle OF Mirahores actually won
great victory while attacking with an
Inferior force.
AS a matter Of fact, the up TO date
weapons have not been fully tested In
ne south African war. The Beers have
ne Mauser rifles in great numbers. and
iiso me Mannicher, new and savage
Weapon. The British carry the Lee-En-
lela' believed 10 be, in the long run, the
'est weapon OF the three. but II all de-
'ehds upon the position Of the troops