The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1915-07-29
GERMANS PLAN BATTLES
As BUILDERS Do HOUSE
Figure Out Plans and Then Supply
Material to Accomplish Purpose.

In an interview with a correspondent
a Russian general who fought in the
Galician battles has just explained the
German plan Of campaign which has
resulted so successfully this summer.
He said the Germans plan battles as
builders plan houses. A builder gets
| together his blue prints and his esti-
mates, engages a sufficient number of
workmen and certain quantity of
materials or labor for. Of course, &C.
cldents or bankruptcy may prevent the
execution of the plan.
Similarly the Germans plan that
certain thing shall be done; they bring
up the necessary soldiers and the nee
cessary guns, shells aud bullets, with
margin for miscalculation, but no more
and never less.
They may, through accident or mis-
calculation, fail But they never start
fighting on the principle of doing the
best with the men and shells you have.
To revert to the house parallel, the
house NAV collapse during construction,
owing to mistake But the builders
will not decide suddenly that they have
not enough material and dock the house
off one story, nor they will not abandon
the house half built, because of lack of
workmen ~or material They know
what they want to do. The battle
planned and prepared for months in
advance is precise work.
The whole eastern campaign shows
this. When the Germans won at Fan
nenberg they planned the march on the
Lower Vistula, which ended near War
saw, Hardly had they retreated when
they tried new vast and clearcut op-
Grafton from Thorn. When the stag
mated on the Pzura they were prepar-
ing the battle of the Masurian Lakes .
which was great victory, and hardly .
was over when they were sending their
armies south to assist the Dunajec.
The Germans in short" said the
general, the Germans never start fight .
ing on the principle of we have so many
men, so many guns-let US have a shot .
at the foe and do him as much harm as
we can with these men and guns They .
plan the shot first; see that they have
the men and guns to execute the plan,
and do not touch plan which is from
the first plainly beyond their strength. .
Thus they never once tried to crush
our army as whole. That is beyond
them. Even admitting their technical
superiority and good munition supply,
they would wont, in order to crush US
by one operation, at least as many men
as we have. Their way is to plan
relatively small operations, which at
tack only one sectian of our front, in
the hope of destroying this section be-
fore we can strengthen,it.
The battle of the Dunajec shows
that the enemy planned to take these
lines and to reach the San. He prepar-
ed everything for this, and something
over, but did not intend to march
straight to Lemberg. When he reach
ed the San he had to stop-apart from
our attempts to counter attack.
Then he brought up, no doubt,
shells, food and men for his next opera
ton. He treated the next operation as
a self-contalned thing. and until it
succeeded or failed he would attempt
no more. Also he will not attempt a
modified plan. If he feels too weak he
will try something new. which, accord
ing to his judgment, is within his
strength.