The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1915-08-19
FIRST YEAR OF THE WAR.
Review of Great European Conflict,
the Most Destructive in History.

The second year of the European
war orened on August |. On August
l.. 1914, Germany declared war
against Russia, and the last chance
vanished of localizing the Austro-
Serbian war, declared three days pre-
viously by Austria-Hungary.
All the great powers of Europe
were drawn into struggle the like
of which history has not heretofore
recorded. Eleven nations are at war
and almost all lands are affected, dl-
rectly or indirectly Millions of men
have been killed, wounded or carried
to captivity in hostile countries. Bill
lions of dollars have been expended
Thousands of square miles of terri
tory have been devastated and hun
dreds of cities and towns laid in
waste. Half the world is in mourn
ing for the dead. And although the
war has been in progress with uneX-
ampled fury for year, the result
NAV be summarized in one brief SEN
tence: No decisive results have
been achieved and the end is not in
sight.
Determination to pursue the war
to a decisive ending has been eX-
pressed by high officials of all the
belligerent nations. preparations are
being made for next winters cam
paign and, in fact, indications from
Europe are that it is most likely to
increase in size rather than decrease.
1t is still an open question whether
Bulgaria. Roumania or Greece Will
be drawn in.
In view of the immenSity of the
struggle, previous standards count
for little in considering the price the
world is paying. The figures involv-
ed are so vast as to convey little
meaning. The nations at war have
poured out their treasures of men
and gold without limit. The usual
standards of life have been subor-
dinated or disregarded. and in some
cases social, industrial and political
activities have been virtually reor-
ganized on a militaristic basis, to
make all contribute to the supreme
necessities Of war.
1t is impossible to obtain accurate
statistics of the number of men en-
gagged, the casualties and the cost.
For obvious reasons the size of the
various armies is kept secret. Most
of the nations do not consider it eX-
pedient to reveal the number Of cas-
uaIties; in fact, Great Britain is the
only one which has given out official
totals. AS to the money expended,
there are available only partial sta
tistics.
More than half the population OF
the world lives in the countries at
war. The population of the warning
countries is estimated roughly at
947.OOO.000 and of the countries at
peace at 797,000,0o0. The popula-
tion of the entente nations is. per-
haps. five times as great as that Of
their opponents. The number OF
men under arms has been estimated
variously, usually in the neighbor-
hood of 20,O00,000. William Mi
chaelis, writing recently in a Berlin
magazine, put the number of soldiers
at 21,770,000: for the allies H.
$4,000; for Germany, Austria-Hun-
gary and Turkey S.95o,o00. ,
No previous war has approached
the present one in wholesale de-
struction of life. This is due not
only to the number Of men involved,
but to the terrible efficiency of mod
ern weapons. Trench warfare on
great scale. with its deadly charges,
mining operations and extensive use
of artillery and hand grenades, has
contributed to this end. Whereas
in the past it has been calculated
that the proportion of killed to total
casualties runs l to s or | to 10,
the proportion in trench warfare, as
indicated by official British statis-
tics. is about to 5.
The battles of the plains OF Flan-
ders. on the Warsaw front, in the
>Ausrro- German advance through Ga
licia and in the Carpathians were at
tended by frightful slaughter. Rus
sian losses in the Carpathians alone
we're estimated unofficially at 500
600. Along the battlefe!ds from Ar
ras. in Northwestern France. to the
Belgian coast whole fields have been
covered with corpses. and at the
time of the German attempt to reach
the English Channel the User Canal
was choked with the dead. Accord
ing to official British statistics, the
British army alone has been losing