Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1914-09-24
WAR IN
NUMBERS OF men
# Gun Can Kill 500 Men Ger.
many Sends Forth 600
To Take It.
From the Kansas City Star.

The German creed of war as ex-
planned by the United States army off,
vers is a contest Of men. Men start
war and mon end 1t. is the basic idea.
American army officers have been close
students Of the German tactics, and are
In position to know it from start to
finish.
Artillery, cavalry, signal and engt-
neertng and infantry are all bodies Of
men-the difference is In the means
they employ. While the pride OF craft
mans art may produce the perfect
rifle, that weapon in the hands Of g
coward Is useless. whereas the lion
makes a bar Of rusty iron effective.
A Nation of Soldiers.
The spirit Of the nation Is reflected
IN Its army. Witness a wild impulsive
charge on a battle field, and at home
you will see hysterical women, frenzied
children, wailing old men and decrep-
its. Look at a stolid, steady advanc-
ing army and at home you will see a
devoted, almost reverent calmness, or
quiet but sustained resignation. The
one Is a battle of nerves, the other of
hearts.
History has shown the effectiveness
of both, singly and in combinations.
France has admittedly the advantage
49, - w AASAiL Oh Ns
They are aroused at Germany and are
nerved to a tremendous hatred. Ger
many Is a master of the science OF war,
and is absolutely Indifferent. to the
identity of its foe. A German is q war
rior at heart and trained to the highest
degree in the cruel science Of armed
conflict.
Man Only a Unit.
One soldier Is the unit of measure in
German war. He Is the dollar. the foot,
the gallon. the figure /. He is the stand
ard by which all war things are e
ured. German science pits his stout
heart against new fire, new fortifica-
tons. new explosives. Instruments of
destruction are measured in terms of
the men it will take to offset that ad-
vantage.
That he creed is cruel and ghastly
rule.
AS the German dreams war, a night
attack has no terrors. That he lives
war, he expects so to die. Death is used
solely in the calculations Of German
warface-never in its actual operations.
ity, and the willingness to sacrifice
gore for glory. has made the German
army the wonder Of experts. Other
nations have evolved tactics, yet there
is not a war library in existence that
does not contain more treatises of Ger
many than of all other nations COM
bined.
Trust to Infantry.
The Germans center all tactics on a
nerce Infantry attack. They know the
psychology Of war and use it, but If
every man in line is killed, the flag
has advanced that far, and the last
dying soldier smiles. 1t is a relentless
attack, where men must wear down the
huge power Of artificial destructive ma
chimes. Yet it is the attack called for.
Ii an enemy's u is estimated to have
a 500 death capacity. 900 Germans
charge it, and If 100 survive 1t the vic
tory is there.
This reputation alone gives Germany
the edge of a battle before q gun is
fired. Guns are inert. they require men
and the guns Of the enemy are just as
strong as the nerves of the men who
man them.
In the current dispatches the reports
of ~skir1nishes tell Of the death of small
numbers Of men. These men are un-
doubtedly the advance scouts. A de-
tachment of cavalry sent out to report,
Is victorious in the German eye If but
the information.
Plans Made Far Ahead.
The Germans plan ahead and follow
that plan alone. Nothing swerves them.
The onward march is still made by the
plans. They drop off here and there,
"countaining' troops-men assigned to
keep a fort besieged-but all this was in
the plan. They march with strong front
to their goal, n IL there is one man
alive who can hold the ball there, the
touchdown Is scored and the game won,
in the German eye
1t is said that a messenger awoke the
great Gen. Won Moltke at 8 in the
morning with the news that France had
declared war.
THANK you, you will find the plan of
campaign in the third drawer. Kindly
convey the roll to the chief Of staff and
tell him I will see him after breakfast"
Then he went to sleep again.