The Palatka news and advertiser. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1908-19??, 1914-08-07
PRESIDENT P0INCAREs
AND FRENCH INFANTRY.
ARMY WAR STRENGTH
100000

self bound to join with them, but
would as matter Of justice or policy
seek to restrain them. For this reason
the position that the triple entente as
a whole may take, or that the indi-
vidual powers to the agreement may
take in a crisis like that Of a quarrel
between member Of the triple ALI
ance and petty power, is usually
matter for slow deliberation.
However. In any event the attitude
Of the two combinations, the triple
alliance and the triple entente, toward
each other, in a crisis makes impOr-
tant the relative strength of each. 1t
is estimated that the war footing of
the triple alliance-that is, Austria.
Germany. Italy-is 100000 men in
round numbers. To offset this mill
tary strength of the nations which,
Austria may call to her assistance I'M
case of aggression by any one of thel
three powers in the triple ententeI
there are approximately 100000 men.
The troops of the Balkan states. Ser
via, Roumania, Montenegro and Bull
garia as well as of Greece, are trained
veterans today. having emerged re-
Gently from arduous campaigns against
Turkey
Relative Fighting Strength.
Assuming that the war must spread
from the local field to other strategic
points, the strength of the three great
powers of the entente is of vital mo-
ment Russia is believed to have at
least 5,JUU,OOO soldiers in its army
when the full war strength of it's es-
adjustment is called out. The esti-
mate for France is 25OO0O0 to 4,O00,-
600, while that of Great Britain is less
than fifth of that of Russia and less
than one-half of the minimum of
France, being about 100000 men. In
a clash between the three great powers
of the triple alliance and the three of
the triple entente the navies must nee
essarily play a great part, if not the
chief part.
Navies In the Entente.
Russia's naval complement today Is
approximately 200 vessels. OF this
number thirteen are battleships, six
armored cruisers, eight cruisers, nine
ty-fve destroyers. forty-two torpedo
boats. thirty-one submarines. Aiming
to waylay an enemy's navy and pre-
vent its reaching a certain point or
uniting with the navy Of a friendly
power, the cruisers and destrOyers and
auxiliary vessels would be able to do
good work
The naval strength of France is near
ly three times that Of her cOpartner.
Russia France already has two Dread
nOughtS afoat. twenty seven other bat
tleShps. twenty-five armored cruisers.
fifteen cruisers. eightyfOur destroyers,
three hundred and twenty-fOur torpe-
do boats and seventy eight subma-
rines Thus France alone would make
very good showing against Germany
alone on the sea. Germany having few
er vessels in number than France, or
against Austria and Italy combined,
the two navieS of which number but
three hundred and four vessels against
the five hundred and fifty-two OF
France Germany is stronger in battle
ships than France, but not so strong
in armored cruisers nor in torpedo
boats.
Great Britain's Sea Power.
A great European conflict is almost
unthinkable unless the tremendous sea
power of Great Britain would play
part. England's naval force is greater
than that Of France. if the number of
vessels in 4 navy is to be taken as an
Indication of its effective strength. Eng
land has thirteen of the class of super
Dreadnoughts, of which class no power
in the triple alliance has even one
afloat today, although Germany has
three in the process of building. AS
for DreadnoughtS, of which Germany
has seventeen, Great Britain has six
teen to supplement her thirteen super
Dreadnoughts and forty-eight other
battleships as against the thirty of
this class in the German navy. In
cruisers and destroyers, torpedo boats
and submarines, vessels for speed and
rapid action, England is again the
superior of Germany.
Great Britain's destroyers number
two hundred and fifteen. Germany's
destroyers one hundred and forty-one;
Great Britain's torpedo boats number
one hundred and eighteen as against
Germany's forty-seven. and Great Brit
aims submarines number seventy-seven
to offset twenty-seven in the navy Of
the kaiser.