Evening star., 1915-03-28

force separated them from our center
The attack took place, nevertheless
with very brilliant success for our ar.
tillery, which destroyed eleven bat.
teries of the 18th German Army Corps
German Army Corps counter attacked
put We're repulsed. On the 11th oul
progress continued with new sue
cesses and on the 18th we were able
pectation of the near and inevitable re-
| treat of the enemy. which, in fact took
, place from the 18th.
The withdrawal Of the mass Of the
the left. From the 18th onward the
Iorces OF the enemy operating between
Nancy and Vosges retreated in a
hurry before our two armies of the
east. which Immediately occupied the
positions that the enemy had evacu-
ated. The offensive of our right ha,
thus prepared and consolidated in the
most useful way the result secured by
| our left and our center
Such was this seven days battle, in
which more than two millions of men
were engaged. Each army gained
ground step by step. opening the road
to its neighbor, supported at once by
It, taking In flank the adversary
which the day before 1t had attacked
In front. the efforts of one articulating
closely with those OF the other, a per-
feet unity Of intention and method
| animatfng the supreme command.
| To give this victory ali its meaning
1t is necessary to add that 1t was
gained by troops who for two weeks
had been retreating. and who when the
order for the offensive was given were
found to be as ardent as on the first
day. 1t also has to be said that these
troops had to meet the whole German
army. and that from the time they
marched forward they never again fell
back. Under their pressure the Ger
man retreat at times had the appear
ance OF rout.
In spite of the fatigue Of our men,
heavy artillery, we took colors, guns,
mftrailleuses. shells, more than a million
cartridges and thousands Of prisoners.
German corps lost almost the whole
OF its artillery. which from information
brought by our airmen was DESTROYED
by our guns.
The French Army as It Is.
Part of the second installment. un-
der the caption THE French ARMY as
1t 1s." deals exhaustively with the con-
dition of the army after six months of
war. the higher command, the supply
OF officers and non-commissioned Of
icers. and Of munitions of war of all
kinds, and the transport and auxiliary
services.
The compiler of the report. begin
ming his review February 1, states
that the condition of the French army
Is excellent and appreciably superior
TO what 1t was at the beginning of the
war from the three points of view
OF numbers, quality and equipment
In the higher command important
changes have been made. 1t has, in
fact. been rejuvenated by the promo
tfon of young commanders of proved
quality to high rank. All the old gen.
erals, who at the beginning of August
were were at the head Of large commands.
as the result Of the physical strain of
war. and others by appointment to ter
ritorial commands. This rejuvenation
or the higher ranks of the army has
been carried out in far-reaching
manner, and it may be said that it has
embraced all the grades Of military
hierarchy, from commanders Of brf-
gades to commanders Of armies. The
result has been to lower the average
age of general officers by ten years.
Today more than three-fourths Of the
omcers commanding armies and army
corps are less than sixty years of age.
Some are considerably younger. A
number Of the army corps commanders
are from forty-six to fifty-four years
OF age. and the brigade commanders
are usually under fifty. There are, in
fact. at the front extremely few gen.
eral officers over sixty, and these are
their physical and Intellectual powers
Many Colonels Now Brigadiers.
This rejuvenation of the high COM
mand was facilitated by a number of
circumstances. notable among which
were the strengthening of the higher
regimental ranks carried out during
the three years preceding the war as
result of which at the outset of the
campaign each infantry regiment had
two Lieutenant colonels and each cav
airy and artillery regiment a colonel
and lieutenant colonel. and also the
system OF promotion for the duration
of the war. Many officers who began
the war as colonels now command bri-
gades. Some are even at the head of
DIVISIONS or army corps. Ability proved
on the field of battle is now imme-
diately recognized and utilized, and in
this way it has been possible to pro-
vide in the most favorable manner for
the vacancies created by the changes
in command which were considered
necessary in the first weeks of the
war.
The higher grades of the French
army are inspired by remarkable
unity in the matter Of military theory
and by solidarity Of spirit which has
OF the numerous moves Of army corps
from one part of the theater of opera
tions to another, which have been car
ried out since the beginning Of the war.
The cavalry. after six months of war,
still possess an excess of officers There
are on an average thirty-six officers to
q regiment instead of the thirty-one
considered to be the necessary mini
mum. The artillery, which has suffered
relatively little. has also an excess of
officers and is further able to count
upon large number of captains and
other officers who before the war were
employed in the arsenals or in tech
nical research. Finally the reserve ar
tillery officers have nearly all proved
to be excellent battery commanders
The losses in the Junior commissioned
ranks have naturally been highest in the
infantry. There Is, however, nothing like
a want OF officers In this army Many
captains and lieutenants who have been
wounded by machine gun fire (such
wounds are usually slight and quickly
heaied) have been able to return speedily
to the front. The reserve officers have
in general done remarkably well, and in
many cases have shown quite exceptional
aptitude for the rank of company COM
manders. The non-commssioned officers
promoted to sublieutenants make excellent
section leaders. and even show themselves
very clever and energetic company COM
manders in the field.
Warlike Qualities Of the Race.
1t must be remembered also that
development OF the generation now serv-
Ing with the co.ors; and. thanks, above
all, to the warlike qualities Of the race
and the democratic spirit Of the army. we
have been able to draw upon the lower
grades. and even upon the rank and file
for ofncers. Many men who began the
war August 2 Az privatAa now wear the