Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-07-31
OFFICIAL dope" ON RECENT
WARS HAS USUALLY BEEN
FAR FROM CORRECT.
EXPERTS DISAGREE As
TO MERITS OF FORCES
French Army, According to Some
American Militarymen, Is Finest in
Europe-Others Find Much to Com
mend in German Fighting Force, but
Must Have Great Leader Like Moltke
Especial correspondence

Washington. July 31.-These are
great days for the military and naval
sharps; for the paper strategists VINO
sit them down with pad of paper and
q pencil and all the latest fluctuations OF
statistics from the war offices OF the
world and proceed to calculate what
will happen if the much mooted gem
erai war in Europe breaks out.
II has been a long day since Europe
was SO close tC a general conf1agratlon
as il is now Consequently, the en-.
joyment of the strategists is vastly
heightened. Ii is a comparatively sim
pie thing to calculate, for Instance, on
what will happen in a wal between
Servia and Austria or between any
two powers But when it comes TO
predicting what will eventuate from
conflict in which seven or more Euro
pean powers, including the six greatest
powers of that continent, are engaged
that is quite another matter
Forecasts Usually Wrong.
And what makes it the InJ'e inter-
esting is the fact that as rule wars
do not come out in the fighting as they
come out on paper. Fresh in mind tor
instance is the recent flashing de-
feat of Turkey at the HANDS of the 1T
tie Balkan states. Much of the dope
on the Russo Japanese war went TAR
wrong The Beers put up against the
British a resistance that few expected.
Our own war between the states Is an
Illustration of this, wherein the early
forecasts were all to the effect the
north would not fight
However, this only adds to the zest
with which the war experts pursue the
game looking lleenly for the factors
that are likely TO decide such a great
conflict as the one whose shadow now
hangs dark over Europe.
If there should be a war in wlSch
England France and Russia. along
with Servia and perhaps two or three
other small powers. should be ranged
against the triple alliance, Germany,
Austria and Italy the uncertainties
of the outcome are portentous beyond
any conflict Europe or the world has
seen since the days Of Napoleon. The
paper data. as a matter of fact, sheds
little real illumination.
Germany Backbone Of Alliance.
The bacn bone of the triple alliance.
of course would be the vast and mag
Efficiently trained German army. This
has become tradition. Ga paper,
Germany could put into the field in a
long war more than 100000 men,
practically al, trained to the business
of soldering. Then there are Austria
and Italy with their vast military
turces.
ON the face of it, it looks as if in
the land operations the triple alliance
would have the better of il on the
other aand, the Russian potential army
strength is in men about the same as
the German. France alone is credited
WITH z potential strength of 100000.
II viii not do, however. to assume
that ii this conflict comes there will
be a repetition of that swift series
of amazing military successes which
Germany won over France in 1871.
British Navy EsceIls.
In the first place. there is the English
navy. Like the German army, it's per-
lection is traditional. If paper strength
is anywhere near real, then the English
navy would be able to crumple up the
German navy and the navies of Austria
and Italy as if they We're toy craft
In number of ships, number of men
guns, speed, in all that goes to spell
success in modern naval war, the triple
entente, due to English naval prepar-
edness is far ahead.
1t is conceivable. too. and not unlike
~. that the success of the English navy
would be such as literally to starve out
the nations of the triple alliance and
compel them to quit fighting for the
sake of food.
French Have Fine Army.
Nor is-it unlikely that the German
army will find itself matched, if not
more than matched, by the Russian
and French forces. In recent years
American army officers who have seen
the French army intimately. have come
to the conclusion it will compare with
the finest fighting machines Of the
world. In fact. some American observ-
ers believe it is the best army in Eur
ope. Certain it is that in artillery and
equipment. it is close to perfection
The real question is. has it a head
which Will lead it to victory? OF the
merits of the French soldiery, there is
little doubt.
German army would come far from'be-
ing the terrific fighting engine it was
forty-four years ago They say the
German nation has lived too fast and
has suffered social decadence: that this
would be reflected in the diminished
fighting qualities of the army. This
sort Of talk is given little credence
| among American army men who have
watched German maneuvers. The,
think the German army Will fight
Whether there is another Moltke Il
| map out it's strategy is question
which none but events could disclose
Russian Army Mysterious Factor.
| Then, there is that always more OF
| less mysterious factor, the Russian
army. IT has always been grea
| lighting machine. In spite of the fac
that it was defeated by the Japanese
! there can be no doubt the Russian
| army at the close of that war was il
better shape than when it began. Hal
| the year lasted, the experts say. Ant
might have been different story. Ant
Russian army officers have profited b.
| the Japanese defeat. Since that hu
initiation, the army has been reorgan
| lied, re-arne ed, new ordnance has bee
distributed, and it is declared the Rus
sian forces today, many Of the officer
and men veterans. are hard to equa
L - In olyfv rtln