The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1914-12-25
SIDEL|GATS
ON THE WAR
Disgusting Officers Pro-
blem For All Armies.
American Inventions Play Great
Part In Strife Of
Nations.

Flow are we to keep our officers
from being picked off?"
'Tnis has been-and is-ono OF the
rraytst problems which confronts
she armies of all belligrents in Eu-
ropes mighty conflict. Losses among
shG men who lead are far greater
m proportion than among the men
who follow. The terrific mortality
among the French and English offic-
crs has ben particularly noticeable.
And the Germans, as well, have been
paying fearful tribute to the sharp
shooters unerring rifle.
One Instance: The British expedi-
5ionaTy forces took their places on
the 1iring line on August 90. In
seven weeks Gen. John French had
been bereft of the services of just
1,146 of his officers sixth of all
mis- leaders. Only a military man
can appreciate what a frightful loss
it is to an army to have a full sixth
of its officers wiped out in so short
a period.
Today it is quite as grave prob
lem Tor Lord Kitchener to provide
edncsted men to fill these frightful
gaps as il is to recruit men for the
ranks. England is fully alive to the
responsibility involved in this awful
foU OF carnage and death. AS an
earnest of how things are, the officers
stiiI left in action have been ordered
to make themselves, in battle, as in
conspicuous as possible.
Look precisely like your men!"
is The substance of the order.
Great has been the change among
the Britishers accordingly. They are
not the target for the German sharp
shooters that they were a few brief
weeks ago. They have found out
that in each German section are two
men provided with fieldglasses, whose
sole duty it is to pick out officers by
their accoutrements and tip off the
sharpshooters as to whom to aim at.
II is the officers business to fool the
eDemy's men with the glasses.
Twenty different things, ordinarily.
distinguish British officer from his
men. Aside from the smarter cut OF
his uniform, he is betrayed by his
sword, by his open jacket with the
Low collar and the necktie; by his
absence of pack and his Sam
Browne" belt. His field glasses are
also a shining mark
Put now every effort is made to
hide all these.
At the beginning of the war French
officers were even better targets than
the British for the German sharp
shooters. The greater length of their
red trousers. due to the absence of
the long leggings; white gloves and
half dozen different accoutrements,
together with the inevitable gold lace,
Gallo joy, so markedly betrayed
the officers to the watchful enemy
that they were picked off in droves.
Every unit among the Germans had
it's men with the field glasses spying
out the luckless leaders for their
doom.
In one engagement a French regi-
ment lost rs per cent of it's officers.
Most OF them were young men. fresh
from the military school at St. Cyr,
and they had taken a vow to GO into
their first battle all spick and span.
even TO the white gloves. The poor
youths fell in their first engagement.
victims of their well-intentioned
pride.
,ioA Joiire thereupon gave orders
""ohibiting white gloves in battle,
commanding the officers to be as in
conspicuous as possible.
Submarines Eiay he Transported by
Rail.
il has been said that Germany pur-
poses ere long to transport a num-
her Of her submarines overland to |
Antwerp in order to escape detection |
and possible destruction in q trip |
by sea from Wilhelmshayen down
along The coast OF Holland. In other
WORDS. the underwater boat is to be
both au overland and a submarine in
sirumont of war and the peril OF a
wider field of attack, thus made GER
tain through the medium of German
ana Belgian railways.
Thanks to Yankee initiative, the
practicability Of such performance
is well established. In 1904, in the
midst of the Russo-Japanese war. ST.
mon Lake sold TO the Russian govern
Inent submarine which he had built
mere for the purpose of obtaining rec
ignition from our Navy Department.
The domestic authorities had fritter-
ed away time and displayed more an .
iagOnism than encouragement to this