Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1914-10-12
FROM !
WAR LEARNED BY
MILITARY MEN
Preparedness and Heavy Ar
tiIIery Are Great Advantages
Of Germans Over Armies Of
Allied Enemies,

Allied tneInleS'
f.ssoclntrd Press Correspondence
rondon. Sept. 22.-Speaking of the
,attle of Mons. an English soldier who
,ras one of the few survivors of his
company, said to an American in the
field hospital ut Amiens.
1--WE thought the Germans were
c,rty years behind the times. they are
forty years ahead And according TO
an Austrian military expert, there is
! solid basis OF truth In Tommy At
Lins statement The Germans appar-
entity knew what they were about. he
thinks, when they refused 10 general
ize TOO much from the Philippine,
Boer and Russo-Japanese wars.
Campaigning in populous country
with a perfect road system and
hazv atmosphere Is quite different
from work in a crude open country
distinguished by dry, clear air and
sharp horizon. Too little Is yet known
of the aetual fighting in Europe for
accurate deductions, nevertheless GER
tain facts are apparent which will
have their effect upon military prac-
tice In the United states.
The Outstanding Facts.
The outstanding facts so far notice
able are the terrific effect Of siege
artillery in the field, the weakness OF
open order fighting when a vast num-
her Of men are available. the compar-
alive failure of aeronautics as pic
tured in popular Imagination, and the
a. Ton f.f
Urinary training.
Germanys great surprise in this
war has been her artillery. The SUI
periority of her army organization was
already known to the world, and this
and her perfect prepare
fion we're reckoned, and properly, her
greatest assets. 1t was also known
that she had eleven-ineh howitzers,
hut they were supposed to be siege
guns TO be used against concrete forts
and nothing else. AS such they more
than surpassed expectations at Ma
muir But the mobility of these big
guns had not even been suspected by
foreign critics, and their use as field
came as great shock TO the
allies.
Concealed Batteries.
In Tie old days, artillery stood In
exposed positions as the aim was taxi
IN directly at the enemy. Conse-
puently it could be captured by infan-
try and even cavalry. But now artil-
lery fire is directed from concealed
positions at high angle and IL ex-
reedingly difficult for the enemy to
find And this is the most import
ant use to which the aeropane has
been put AS the wounded British de-
scribe the fighting ut Mons, when
their army came close to bcing wiped
out, they had very little trouble in
keeping the German infantry in check
until the aeroplanes signalled the cor
rect range. Then the men were sim
ply blasted out of the trenches. The
irlii lery so far captured appears to
har4 been abandoned in retreat.
American Field Guns.
The standard American field gun
is TIE three-inch, as are the jackass
batteries substituted in mountainous
country But the inferior roads of
America would render the use of the
great German howitzers impractical
bic. When the Germans have been
unable TO get their greanweapons into
action, the French fielW artillery has
proved superior because of allowing
for more rapid movement than the
German of the same calibre. In rapid
action the French have decidedly the
advantage in this respect. At any
rate, the European war has caused
Experts somewhat to revise their opin-
ion as to the value of artillery, which
had been considerably less effective In
lther recent wars. Artillery has now
-egained it's old prestige. 1t settled
he bottle of Mons without any doubt.
Open Against Close Order.
To come to infantry. on which the
decision in all wars rests,
he German fighting unit appears to
be inferior to the English or French
lie fires without aiming and does not
make sufficient use of cover. But
what the German infantrymen lack
Individually is atoned for by the per-
ect discipline under which he and
his fellows act, American tradition
rusts a great deal to the individual, a
'elic, no doubt. Of frontier fighting.
The German theory trusts nothing,
considers il less important that COM
hands should be sacrificed through a
mistake in their disposition than that
hey should take it on themselves to
'verride the orders of a superior.
Much has been said by newspaper
rites on the subject Of close order
ighting America learned open or
Ter, as well as the art of taking the I
rest advantage of cover, from the In I
ians And in the civil war the Skin I
nish line grew of more Importance !
ntil it became the battle order in the .
asst phase of the struggle. In the
parish war the open space intervals I
ecame greater in the Philippine I
lighting than in the earlier Cuban. +
he tendency in South Africa also |
'as to scatter Russia abandoned the I
Id solid formations in Manchuria- +
he result was that English critics
coffed at the closely packed infantry
dvances in the German maneuvers OF
revious years.
Human Life Cheapest Asset.
Omen order. all critics admit, Is an
IMMENSE Advantage when IRE can pe
oncentrated on an equal numpef ~
nemy in close order. But when me
attic line is of enormous extent the
de which utilizes its advantage OF
umbers by thickening its line, as the
ermans do. can deliver mucil
cavicsr fire than the thin line. lnls
dvantage is improved when the side
( superior numbers refuses TO pc
leckeu. German theory considers nu-
IAN life its cheapest war material
eneral Grant followed the same pol
y, figuring that he could afford 70
'se TWO or three men if it cost the
lemy one.
Data is Jet lacking as to the effee-
vencss of the bayOnet Reports
oeak as il the two sides have often
ashed hand to hand This, thinks
lie American expert whose views are
ere quoted, is a misleading. When I
ne side Is unable to check an attack \
bayonet charge by the attacking
IT., hos "a daoided moral effect The /