New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-07-29
LESSONS OF THE BOER WAR
OLUTIONIZE TACTICAL PRINCIPLES
OF ATTACK AND DEFENCE.
Paris. July ID.


sand men of the garrison of Paris. when the
marching and alignment Of the infantry the ex-
oeIlence of the horses and of men of the cavalry,
and above all, the wOrkmanlilse precision of the
French field artillery, which foreign critics do
NOT hesitate TO pronounce to be the best in Eu-
rome. has ELECTED highly instructive comment
from technical observers, and has induced one
az the foremost authorities on military subjects
in France General de Negrier. TO express his
oninion on the effects of the recent South Afri-
can war upon the tactics and field evolutions Of
the great armies of Europe.
General de Negrier who is the anonymous au-
thor Of the remarkable article on the lessons Of
the Transvaal war that appeared a few weeks
ago in the Revue des Deux Mondes," has de-
yeloped his views and formulated them so con-
ciseiy as 10 enable the layman to grasp readily
the necessity of the complete transformation of
the methods Of attack and defence which only
five years ago were deemed by the highest au-
thorities in France. Germany and Great Britain
to fulfil the most up to date requirements Of
military science. but which are to-day obsolete
General de Negrier's experience in Asiatic Afri-
can and European campaigns and his studious
application OF the theory Of scientific warfare in
all its branches, commander Of an army and
as member Of the Supreme War Council OF
France, give his opinions great weight among
military men at home and abroad 1 have been
N@-N~NfNN
changes that in General de Negrier's Judgment
must be introduced into the tactical principles of
armies that wish to keep in line with the latest
developments of science
II should be borne in mind that since the bat
lie OF Plevna no two European armies of first
rate powers have encountered each other in
actual combat. All the general stats of Europe
watched with keen scrutiny the campaigns be-
tween the armies of Japan and China, of the
and oeC
Beers During the combined operations OF the
allied contingents of the great civilized powers
IN CHINA, the officers, the men, the discipline,
equipments and efficiency of each quota were
analysed and compared with skill and minute
ness. and confidential reports have been scanned
with great thOroughness by the highest authori-
ties in the great capitals of Europe But since
PleVna all has been theory and observation
far as Europe is concerned. General de Negrier
states that military history teaches that long
periods Of peace have always been marked by
distrust Of new inventions and developments,
and backwardness in grasping and adopting
conclusions Of vital Importance demonstrated by
nations whose armies have had the benefit of
actual experience General de Negrier, General
dc Gallifet, General Brugere, and, indeed, the
leading military authorities in France admit
that, in spite of their administrative shortcom-
ings. the British War Office and the British Ad-
miralty have nevertheless accomplished the
feat unprecedented in history of transporting
a fully equipped army OF two hundred thousand
men across the sea and maintaining it for over
two years on a field of operations six thousand
miles from home. This achievement is now
fully appreciated in Paris, where the difficulties
Of transporting General Duchesne's expedition
TO Madagascar and back again was performed
with unsatisfactory results. and also in Berlin,
where it is now admitted that there were many
bitches and faults disclosed by the transporta-
tion Of Field Marshal Won WaIdersee's expedition
TO China and back.
But it is the tactical lessons OF the South
African war that Generel de Negrer considers
OF vast importance There are, according 10
General de Negrier, eight axioms of tactical evo-
luton that have become altogether obsolete,
and must be erased from the books Of instruc-
ton. The South African war has proved the
faIlacy % Of moving troops in column within
the FIRE zone of the enemy, % Of the attack in
front, CD OF all movements of cavalry in masses
~ Of the present system of reconnaissance even
u hen performed by small groups of cayaIrymen
Co OF artillery shell fire upon sheltered
eealed positions. 90 OF the classical artillery
duel hitherto considered as the necessary condi-
tion precedent to all battles, CI) of infantrymen
firing in any other position than that of
cealment or lying fiat, and (S) Of the concentra-
tion and massng of artillery batteries.
General de Negrier lays great stress upon the
moral tension that soldiers are now subjected
10, owing TO the new conditions of smokeess
powder, and rapid and compa ratiyely noiseess
fire. The soldier who cannot see his enemy is
inclined TO believe the enemy oTnnipresent, and
this nervous uncertainty caused by an invisible
foe is the seyerest test that human being
be subjected TO, and TO this General de Negrier
attributes the moral depression which rendered
the British infantrymen immoyable for nearly
two days al Magersfontein, Colenso and Paar-
oeberg, when over a thousand yards distant
from the Beers.
Another characteristic of the modern battle
is the impossblty Of the commander to control
the movements Of his when once a serious
engagement has been begun Even the control
OF the subaltern officers over their men when
on the firing line is extremely limited, for the
dispersion and intervals must be so great that
q lieutenant scarcely do more than keep in
touch with the half dozen men nearest him. The
combat Is nowadays more in the hands or the
Individual soldier than has been the case at any
time since the invention OF gunpowder did away
with the arInored knights of the Middle Ages.
SmOkeless powder has made the skirmish line
the eliminating issue Of the battle. wherein
each individual unit has its value, and this Cen
eral de Negrier affrms will give the intelligence
and good craftsmanship Of the active little
French infantryman great advantage over his
more cumbersome European competitors.
Another tradition Of the old school-the wild
enthusiasm and mutual intoxicatlon during
charges and front attacks in mass, which used
10 give such elan and impetuosity to the armies
Of Napoleon-has vanished. In the old days the
soldier who stood awaiting the order to attack
looked forward eagerly to the charge which
would relieve him from the nervous tension or
expectation. But nowadays il is one long period
Of nervous tension from beginning TO end. Con-
seQuently. the moral education of the soldier or
the future is of supreme Importance His mill
tary education should now begin in childhood
IL should be impaired, almost in the cradle, by
me mother TO every male Infant. General de
Aegrier develops this theory with force and
logic, and comes TO the conclusion that the law
Of 1886 which has hitherto remained a dead
letter. should be rigidly enforced This law
renders obligatory gymnastic and military in
struction In an the public schools. Article of
the law requires all the schoolboys between
thirteen and sixteen years OF age TO receive mill
tary instruction in the field under government
fVvnS