The Washington times., 1914-08-06
THEN AND NOW.

Forty-four years ago today the
armies of Germany were breaking
through the lines of defense of the
French frontier, carrying everything
before them. Al Worth and SPEECH
ern the French under Marshal Mac
Mahon and General Frussard were
driven out of what were supposed
to be strongly fortified positions, and
Napoleon. at Metz, received word
that first brought to him a realiza-
ton of the fearful disaster that he
faced. His very France was crumb-
ling all about him.
Today the armies of Germany are
hammering along that same 2OO-
mile line of the French frontier. But
their forces are spread wider now
than then, because then the Germans
were moving directly on France and
observing ;he neutrality of Bel
gium and Switzerland. Today the
frontier on which they are operating
spreads over near 400 miles, from
Basel in Switzerland to Liege and
Namur at the northeast corner OF
Belgium, and yet farther north to
the Holland border, which also has
been violated.
Because the dispatches bring us
the names of Verdun, of Metz, of
Nancy, of BeIfort, of Rezonville, it
will not do to imagine that the Ger
man program is now the same as
forty-four years ago. 1t is alto
gether changed, and so is the French.
Napoleon opened the war of 1870
with Paris at his back shouting "On
to BerlinI" His corps and minor
commanders were supplied with no
end of maps of Germany, but none
of France!
Today, the French campaign is
strictly defensive. That has been
the basis of all French strategy
since the surrender of Paris. The
200-nile frontier between the two
countries has been magnificently
fortified. True, there are gaps
through which German army might
force itself. But these have been
left with the purpose of entrapping
an enemy to expose his fiankg.
On the other hand, the French
frontier against Belgium is much
less powerfully fortified. The pre-
sumption of Belgium neutrality has
been preserved; so the Germans are
Undertaking not only to force the
Franco-German line direct, but also
to outfank the French by way Of
Belgium.
Here, however, they are encoun-
tcr;ng an aroused and powerful Bel
GUM. Liege, Antwerp, and Brus-
sells are among the best fortified
cities IN Europe. The desperate re-
sistance presented by the Belgians
suggests that the German fanking
plan may have served no better pur-
pose than to lengthen the German
line and cor-espondiEPly weaken it.
There are other differences be-
tween forty-four years ago and to-
day. When Napoleon took command
of the army with which he expected
to move on Berlin, he was astounded
to find only 22o, 900 men, where there
should have been 100000. The re-
servists were slow joining the colors.
The commissariat was miserable. The
new breech-loading mitrailleuse had
been expected to do great execution;
hut large proportion of the soldiers
had rot been trained in its use, and
officers who understood it had been
drawn away to other service. Ma
terial Of all sorts had been stored
in few vast depots. Tc get it to
the armies was a problem that
promptly developed such details as
that wagon-bodies were at one point
while the wheels intended for them
were many miles away at another!
The artillery was without horses,
which had to be taken from the
cavalry; and these cavalry mounts
were without very necessary artil-
lery training.
Small wonder that the road to
Paris soon lay open before the con-
queTing Germans.
Today the Germans face 4 diff
ferent France. The French army is
especially superior in its artillery
arm. It's field guns are concededly
the best in the world. The great
fortress BeIfort. which. the Germans
did not reduce even iE the war of
1870, but which they were ye: be-
sieging wher hostili.ies ended, has
been wonderfully strengthened. It