The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1914-08-12
And What 1t Means To
European Nations.
FIRST step BEFORE WAR ACT
Bringing Together theVarious
Units Comprising Full
Fighting Force.
THE SIGNIFICANCE IN RUSSIA

Inst what does mobilization
mean? This question. more than
any other. has been on the lips OF
readers of war news during the past
week. The dispatches nave been
full of assertions like the following
'If Russia mobilizes. Germany will
declare war" German mobiliza-
ton to be followed by French in
vasion." But there has been no
explanation why whatever action
this familiar term denotes. should
be so provocative of international
disturbance.
The fact is that mobilization is
the step which must precede the
first overt act OF war and usually
,he mobilization of an army is i'm
mediately followed by either dec
laration of war or some overt act
technical military term. mobiliza-
ton means drawing to the diff
ferent military units-battalion bat
terv or suuadron-the number of
reserves which brings it up to its
full war strength, but its significance
only becomes apparent in consider
ing everything that this involves.
In a country like Germany, with
a military machine of gigantic pro-
portions, fired, oiled, with steam in
the boilers. ready TO respond to the
touch of lever at the Kaiser's
owrd ordering mobilization-and
he alone is authorized to give it
sets into motion 100000 separate
units.
Within the hour all Germany will
he ablaZe with brilliant red placards
printed and stored long ago
calling upon reservists to report to
their units. At the same moment
10000 officers in every part of the
empire are tearing open sealed Or
ders which they have carried about
them. advising them where their
units are to assemble and just what
they are to do. Hundreds of huge
military store houses piled high
with hundreds of thousands of uni
forms, rifles. cartridge belts, camp
kits. harness. medical supplies. pour
forth their stores There is a COM
plete field equipment ready for use
for every reseryist of the German
empire. and when Private 81, of
Company 3, Battalion 2, Regiment
/, Division 2. corps ,. presents his
order at the place assigned, his
complete marching equipment is
ready. In fifteen minutes the clerk,
lawyer, laborer is transformed into
a soldier ready for the journey to
the front.
And while the order of mobiliza-
fion thus carries its message to the
100000 units of the active re-
serve il is affecting an equal num-
Der of individuals who are only an
incidental part of the great military
machine. For the Emperor's ON
nipotent words, "Mobil machen"
rakes the fires in thousands of ba-
kers' ovens, starts railroad trains
moving in every part of the empire
and brings forth millions of i'm
perial gold hidden away for this
emergency I'm a word it turns the
German Empire away from the reg
ular pursuits and eenters all its
teeming energies on one single pur-
pose--preparation for war.
In Russia mobilization moves
much more slowly because of the
less efficient preparation, the more
scattered population and the great
er distances which separate the diff
ferent military units. Russia has
modified part of its army several
times during the past fifteen years.
When Austria grabbed Bosnia and
Herzegovina in 1908, Russia mobil-
lied a part of its army nearest the
Austrian frontier and IL has done
the same thing in the present crisis.
But with the other European
countries mobilization practically
means war. In Germany and
France less than twenty-four hours
need elapse before the order of
mobilization and bloody clash be-
tween opposing thousands. The
plans Of campaign are worked out