Las Vegas optic., 1914-09-24
MACHINE OF men
IS THE. GERMAN
ARMY
kAISER'S FORCES EN- ROUTE ARE
LIKE A GREAT TRAVEL
ING CITY

/
the French regiment paraded through
Gembleux, a ripple of admiration ran
through the almost historic Belgian
populace who had waited so long for
the promised support of France. With
their bright blue and red uniforms
their gaiety, glitter and song, they
made a colorful entry which quite full
filled ones conception of the roman
tic spirit of war, but it was noticeable |
that they did not march in particular
ly good order and the doors of the
wagons on their baggage train flapped
and banged
When the Germans appeared on the
outskirts of Brussels they might have
been mistaken for cloud of low lying
mist, their gray green uniforms melt
ing against a neutral background. The
entry was not theatrical but it throb-
bed with power and efficiency
In place of the romantic French God
of war there was a silent gray colored
machine which was complete to the
last details. Wagon doors, instead OF
flapping, had patented locks and bars.
For three days the gray green sol
diers marched through Brussels, part
of an army of over a million and a
half that pushed their way through
Belgium. In completeness of equip
ment it was like a travelling city 1t
had it's postal service, its telegraph
corps, it's provision trains miles in
length which provided for the soldiers
menu as satisfactory as that which
they could have obtained in a first
class restaurant.
o Six caissons with ammunition, each
| drawn by six horses, followed each
field gun, and there were professions
of them two miles long, There were
in addition many trucks and traction
engines for the heavy seige guns. And
in all this colossal train, not a wheel
squeaked, not an accident delayed the
forward progress.
The efficiency of the Red Cross de-
partment is best indicated by the fact
, that in following the German army
for hundred miles over battlefields,
at times only few hours behind the
S fighting, none of the small group of
correspondents discovered a wounded
German soldier uncared for or any
dead.
The speed of the army is attested
by the fact that the correspondents
with bicycles and carriages found ii
: difficult to keep up with the German
advance. Daily marches of so kilom
eters were the usual thing and al
= times they greatly exceeded that dis
tance. lW
At the end of one of these exhaus
u- tive marches l spent the evening in ;
barrack room. with German soldiers
III For three hours they sang and dancet
ly without sign of fatigue. An office
nj said he had marched night and da
le for three days, but seemed fresh an
is anxious to go on. The physica
le stamina of the men is extraordinary
y At Beaumont a gas lighting syste1
- as effective ais electricity was estal
lished IL hours after the German ell
try into the town and not long afte
their own trains were running on tn
tracks to Charlerol
Minor evidences of their thorough
ness were seen in the equipment {
each soldier who carried with him NJ
! only every necessity of war but foo
enough to sustain him if he wei
separated from the provision train
1t was interesting to note that eve
- his suspenders were protected againi
emergencies and that his tfousel
carried an extra set of buttonsiin in cak
one set gave way. No detail seen
- small enough to have escaped Germa
study and preparation.
= At Zone-Etat, on. the way frol
= Charleroi to AK La Chapelle ma
a lying at full length in the station var
suddenly extricated telephone Il
-. strument from a flower bed and b
gan a conversation with headquarter
nt There is no hint OF the fulfillmel
nd of the prophesies uttered by Frenc
+ly writer's to the effect that the Germa
soldiers were victims of an inflexib
eft system of rules which were not adap
re able to emergencies, that their su
ne cess was predicated upon a given 81
of conditions. These German rule
in the words of German officer, "s
into the brain of the soldier and /
t. - IL 4 n. -