The Washington times., 1914-09-21
LOSSES IN WAR ARE
BELIEVED ENORMOUS
Illness, Desertion, and Strag-
Cling Thought to Be Depict
inq Ranks Of Armies.

American army officers. who are
watching with the most intense inter-
est every move among the European
armies and who are devouring every
scrap of information they can get. are
keenly eager to know the facts about
the losses of the contesting forces.
1t is the general belief here that the
actual losses in battle are being much
exaggerated. That is, it is felt the
preliminary estimates OF battle losses,
as given is dispatches, when simmered
down and given through official reports,
will be found TO be excessive.
But there is another side to the ques-
ton. and that is the extent of the losses
of the armies in marching and cam
paigning in addition to the battle losses.
Nobody knows how much the fighting
armies have suffered in this respect.
1t is a fact, pointed out by arm of
ficers. and known to military students,
that the losses of armies on the march.
and especially of armies which are TAX
ing the offensive, are usually greater
than the losses in battle. For some
weeks after the war began. the Ger
mans in western Europe held steadily
TO swift advance, an offensive move
ment in which they fought their way at
nearly every step. The allies retreat
men lEe ldDleS turned ana the
Germans retreated and the allies push
ed forward
Believe Shrinkage Enormous.
1t will not be long until the war has
lasted two months. In that time the
western armies have marched and
fought under exhausting circumstances
The weather has been unfavorable part
OF the time. Heavy rains and chill
winds have made the armies uncom-
Portable, and have added to the lists Of
the sick.
Experts here declare that under these
conditions the shrinkage of the numbers
NJ for service must have been enorm-
Gus. This shrinkage is not told in the
hEures of losses in battle.
General Won der Goltz the great Ger
man authority. now governor of Bel
gium, whs has written widely on the
conduct of war, himself says armies
melt away like snow under such cir
cumstances.a He proves this by figures
from history. In three months after
Napoleon crossed the Nieman, in 1872,
with 1900 men. he confronted Moscow
with only 5000 men. A more modern
instance was in 1873. when the Rus
slams. warning against Turkey crossed
the Danube with 10000 men. but arrived
before Constantinople with only 10000
But particularly apropos are the fig
ures of 1870 Then the Germans crossed
after six weeks Of campaigning arrived
before Paris with only III 900 men
In this case. the German troops were
highly trained and conditions unusually
favorable. Hence. it is fair to assume
that the depletions in the present cam
paigninE must also have mounted up to
a huge percentage.
Only Strong Can Stand Pace.
Not only are there deaths from bullets
Nd lon ir-e nf IxI 80
sick. they become exhausted and unable
TO stand the terrific strain. some strag-
gle away, some desert, some are cap
tured. some permit themselves to be |
taken prisoners, and so on. II is |
killing pace, and only strong men can |
stand up under it. !
Study of such figures as those here |
given make it clear that either the |
smaller than they were at the outset. |
or enormous lists of re-enforcements |
must have been hurried up. What has !
doubtless occurred is that reinforce |
ments have filled the gaps. This proc |
ess means heavy drains on reserves
Consequently, II may be assumed that |
the reports from France and Germany,
as well as Austria, are getting to a !
point where they are hunting for all |
available men are true. Ii is not un-
likely that Germany, having to bear |
the brunt OF a great war on both from
tiers, is doing as reported with respect |
to youths of sixteen and seventeen, and |
getting many of them ready for service
at the front.
Great Britain. in the opinion of many
experts, has a distinct advantage in |
that she has just begun TO draw on her
large resources in men. Moreover, nhe |
is doing II through a system of volUn-
teering. not Conscription. Russia also |
has an advantage because of her enor- |
nous population, which is estimated al |
least double that of Germany.