The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-09-19
THE STRONGEST BATTALIONS

clared the force with the colors is swamped by the calling out of the first reserve. The number of men under arms after this call constitutes the true fight ing strength of a country, and upon this cal Colonel "X." insists, France and Germany are about on an equality. The number of men that each can oppose to the other Is 100000 more or less and It is in the encounter of these 100000 that the fortune of the war is to be decided. The question is not of numbers; 1t s or equipment. training. courage, f1ghtin8 power. In these qualities, though he does not say 1t in so many words. the French officer plainly considers his own army equal if not superior to that of Germany.
 As for the subsequent levies he ats taches small importance to them. For internal defense they may have some value; they are useful as a source upon which to draw In filling up the broken units of the first line," but as a fighting machine no authority far has ven- tured to frame a plan for utilizing them Imperfectly drilled, of inferior mobility, unreliable in battle. the millions of the second and third lines would be more of an embarrassment than weapon to commander-in-chief-a then the dif- ficulty of feeding them, of supplying them with ammunition in the field; nobody has ever attempted to foretel or define their share in the campaign of the future. Colonel K" goes so far as to quote from The Nation in Arms" by Von der Goltz, another German theofist the ques- ton whether new Napoleon or Alexan- der with an army of 100000 professional soldiers would not easily be able to rout these lnchoate droves of men only su- perfcially organized. He thinks it be- yond the need of demonstration that the handling of even 100000 men, including the problem of communications and sup- plies, is too vast for a single human brain to grasp, coneeding all the facilities of modern times The genius of Napoleon himself became inadequate when he had 100000 men to command, with the means and appliances of his day.
 From these premises the French critic reads lesson to the politicians who are tampering with the efficiency of the French soldier In order to win popularity for themselves. The popular argument that the country's strength is in it's re- serves and "arriere reserves" is a mere fallacy, and 1t Is criminal to impair tho strength of the first fighting line in re- liance upon the second and third; but the strength of the first line depends upon the fighting pitch to which 1t is keyed upi its ability to march, to resist fatigue, to handle weapons, to keep it's nerve in the hour of trial to fight desperately de- spite punishment. to lie still in the trenches or to rush the enemys lines. These are the points that make for vlc- tory, and these 1t is not common sense to expect in reserves. who are seldom called to the colors, and then only for short periods
 Of course, the colonel Is Respondent over the recent legislation which shortens enormously the period of service in the regular peace establishment and greatly diminishes the periods of instruction of even the first class of reservists. The French army is equal in training and spirit to that of Germany today, but what will 1t be when the full effects of tho recent innovations are experienced?