The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-03-11
JAP AND RUSSIAN
As FIGHTING men
Characteristics Of the Soldiers
and Their Commanders.
npEruos1rY VERSUS sToLm1TY.

MY VSAS0
Army-Cossacks Regarded ~ Fin
est Cavalry In the wOrld-Japanese
Officers Live Like spartans.
In the light Of history both the Rus
sian and japanese soldiers are seen to
be first class fighting men, says a writ
er In the New York Mail. There Is lit
tie to choose between them except that
the Russian is far less intelligent and
depends much more upon leadership
tnan the japanese. Their courage and
discipline may be ranked about equal.
The Japanese is a fiery, impetuous
fighter, always eager to lead a forlorn
hope or storm a battery; the Russian Is
heavy, logged and determined to the
point Of death.
The British found in the Crimea that
when once the Russian infantry occu-
pied a position and got ready to light
1t was practically impossible to drive
them from that position. 1t was nee
essary to kill them all before it could
be taken. But, on the other hand. a
surprise frequently made them lose
their wits and retreat in confusion,
and after the loss of their officers they
were of little use as an effective fight
ing force. They simply became a mob,
knowing not where to turn or what to
do. This estimate Of the Russians was
given to the writer by a retired Brit
ish officer who fought them in most of
the battles Of the Crimean war and
was wounded in the attack on the Re
dan.
The discipline Of the Japanese army
is not so strict as that of the Russian,
but in the judgment of foreign experts
it is quite as effective because the
men are SO keen on doing their duty.
They obey readily because they like to
be good soldiers, not because they fear
their officers. There is a strong spirit
Of brotherhood among officers and men
in the Japanese army, which Is large
" due to their experience in the Chi
no,Japanese war and the Picking re-
lief expedition. They have tested
each other and been satisfied. The
Russian soldiers discipline is stolid-
perfect from the military point OF
view, but devoid Of all enthusiasm. He
obeys the officer because he has
dreamed of doing anything but obey,
even before he became a soldier.
The japanese officers are mainly
drawn frsm the Chosu clan, to which
the emperor, Marquis Ito and nearly
all Japan's leading generals belong.
The officers of the navy, on the con-
trary, belong, with but few exceptions,
to the Satsuma clan. All the officers
in the Japanese services come from
Samurai stock, and their ancestors for
over 1900 years were a fine fighting
men as the world has ever seen.
The weakest branch Of the Japanese
army is undoubtedly the cavalry. The
Japs are not good horsemen, and the
breed Of horses in Japan is distinctly
inferior. Heroic efforts have been
made by the Tokyo war office in re-
cent years to improve this branch Of
the service, but without much success
Among other things, a special college
for the education of cavalry officers
only was established.
'The Japanese cavalryman," an Eng
lish officer once remarked to the writ
er, .'can master with ease every de-
tail of his work except how to ride
decently. He eve learns that"
The Cossacks, on the contrary, have
the reputation among military experts
of being the finest irregular cavalry
in the world, and those whom n sees
in Russia and central Asia are always
splendidly mounted. OF course it does
not follow that they would be equally
we'll mounted in M%anchuria and 10
rea. Native horses will probably be
depended on to a large extent, for the
transporting capacity of the Siberian
railway will be sufficiently taxed in
carrying men without bringing theil
horses.
The artillery of the Japanese is 6
strong arm Of the force in number o.
i guns, excellence of material and train
ing of the gunners. The Japanese, a:
, a rule, are not good marksmen, because
the eyesight of the entire nation II
more or less, defective. But men will
l first class vision have been picked on
for the artillery, and the military at
taches Of the foreign legations at To
' kyo have praised their shooting owe
and over again in official reports t
: their government. The only defect o
the artillery-and it is a serious one
Is the inferiority Of the horses. TIL
!. Russian artillery is better horsed ant
i bears a reputation of high efficiency
In the Russo-Turkish var it may b
remembered, the Russian guns WEI
splendidly handled, as a rule.
! The Japanese infantry was declares
by General Grant, Lord Wolseley, Ger
= eral Chaffee and many other compe
! tent observers to be as good as any !
: the world. 'The only thing I woul
: object to in it If I were an officer" d.
clared a former military attache Of til