The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1912-03-16
War Made Over
By the Aeroplane

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other aeroplanes will be an automatic
or semiautomatic shoulder rifle.
There will be many new and strange
devices developed, both FOL attacking
and destroying %aeroplanes from the
ground and for arming a%eroplanes for
the destruction Of other a%eroplanes.
The demand for weapons especially
adapted for aerial warfare will amaz-
ingly stimulate invention. AS a mat
ter OF fact. the art of aerial ornaments
is now in its mere infancy.
Since the advent of aviation. inven-
tors all over the world have been pre-
pairing to meet the aeroplane with
open arms. both in the actual and in
the metaphoric sense. In short, they
have been arming for it's reception,
I and arming to 90 with 1t to attack.
|, In warfare. men in sufficient num-
pers with sufficient daring have never
been lacking. When volunteers have
been called for hazardous work, there
mas always been a Cushing or a Hob
son. and any number Of them, ready
10 90 to almost certain death.
/ Napoleon Bonaparte, at waeram,
when he sent Mcdonald forward to
break the Austrian center, knew, and
knew, that the chances of
MS being killed were greater than the
chances of his coming out alive, and
nine out Of ten of the men fell-but
they broke the Austrian center.
There will always be plenty of men
with plenty Of daring.
8 as in battles between armies
upon the land. there will be in aerial
warfare the assault where soldiers
rush upon n another in multitudes
and also the single duel between aero
plane and acceptance. There will he
the night in line and mass form. There
will also be many isolated encounters.
II Will be a strange scene. witnessed
from earth-the aerial battle Of the
future-for there will be no smoke to
obscure the vision. Fragments of men
and machines will storm upon the
earth.
The aeroplanes will compel nations
to fight their battles under each
others eyes. where. as in a game Of
chess. each nov may be anticipated
before 1t is made, thereby greatly COM
plicating military tactics. This will
entail a higher degree of SC: nee and
greater caution. and will insure both
combatants against surprise. 1t will
also give wings to the war correspond
emit. n the arena of battle will be
placed under the eye of the whole
world and under the worlds censor
ship.
1t is necessary. however, to correct
q popular m~isconception about the
relative deadliness Of improved war
ensinery over that of former times.
When Nations War.
If one nation were armed with quick
nring guns and the other were to be
armed with bows and arrows, then the
slaughter Of the bow and arrow men
would be very great. But when both
sides are equally we'll armed. then
there are fewer men killed with quick
firing guns than with bows and ar
rows.
|. Similarity, in aerial warfare, as fly
Ing machine will be met and fought
with flying machine. 1t will not be a
case where blood Is thicker than wa
ter, but a case where dollars are tsick.
er than blood. 1t will be a case of
sctence against science. OF skill and
daring against skill and daring. ex-
pense and preparedness against ex-
pense and preparedness.
The fatalities will always decrease
in direct ratio with Improvement in
war enginery, whether 1t be aerial or
land warfare.
The whole trend Of inventions in
warfare is to lessen the deadliness of
battle. Hazardous as will be aerial
Gagged, the fatalities will be far less
than they are upon land.
The Roman short sword wa far
more deadly than the modern machine
gun. because men fought closer to-
gether and in mass form. Now, with
every increase in the range and effec-
lveness Of weapons. armies line up
over wider and wider areas. with the
result that there are far fewer fatali-
ties. while h expense OF conducting
the fight is enormously increased.
This ley warfare of the third d.
mension means totally new tactics, es-
pccially in the afr. Flying machines
are not going to rush head on into
collision with one another. They will
maneuver for advantage of position
before engaging in conflict. just as
Eaval warships now do. The flying
machines that will have the greatest
speed will be able to choose their posi-
tons. and n up just as wrarships do
upon the seas, to cross-fre certain
ships of the enemy and destroy them
in detail.
There will also be great competition
Tor advantages in everything one an
other. and victory will depend upon
those which can fly the fastest and
the highest. and those which the guns
OF the longest range and the best
marksmen. just as ships now fight at
sea. 80 aeroplanes will line up, man.
ave dilu u8ut OlS announcer at iii
range, destroyfr~ n %another's avia.
tors and disabling one another's ma.
chtnery. But the fresh factor of the
third dimension makes all previous
strategy obsolete. and even the conse.
quences are new.
On Sea and In the Air.
On the sea a war vessel must be
pretty thoroughly disabled to cause il
to sink. while in the sky, gravitation
Will be operating to place hors de COM
bat all disabled men and machines
and will. Of course. add to the casual
ties Of battle: but the greater danger
OF casualties will be discounted by
greater caution and by warning at
greater distances. so that the actual
casualties will not be increased.
1t has been proposed to bar the
E