Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1915-06-18

Iof dii prdCtlcdi purposes as IniTSu
ground would.
Air scouts and well-organized field
and headquarters stats would to-day
prevent a commander of the most
mediocre talents from committing the
blunder of the sunken road. Indeed,
If armies had been as well equipped
with intelligence machinery in those
days as modern armies are there might
not have been a Battle of Waterloo. It
was Napoleon's plan to separate the
armies of Wellington and Blucher,
which were cautioned in Belgium. and
fight and defeat them in detail. The
first clash of the campaign occurred
on June 16. when Napoleon in person
attacked Blucher at Ligny and de-
feated but failed to demoralize him.
On the same day Ney made fruitless
attack upon the British at Quatre Bras
But Wellington, when he heard of the
check to Blucher. decided to fall back
so that their communications would
not be in danger. After receiving a
promise of aid from the doughty leader
of the Prussians he paused at Waterloo
and offered battle. In the meantime
! Napoleon had detached Marshal
Grouchy with $4,000 men to pursue
Blucher and his defeated Prussians
and prevent them from joining We'll
lington. Grouchy failed. Napoleon
afterward gave this as the cause of his
defeat. Grouchy's defense was that
the force placed at his disposal was
inadequate for the purpose intended,
and expert opinion has always inclined
to support him in this At all events,
he failed. These days that fact would
be known to the chief
almost as soon as it was realized by
the lieutenant. Positive information
that the Prussians were coming re-
ceived early, coupled with the i'm
practicable nature of the battlefield,
might have induced Napoleon to draw
off, but we cannot be sure on that
point. For although he may have been
ill-informed about the movements of
Grouchy and Blucher, he knew that
huge armies were coming forward
under forced marches from all parts of
Europe and that in the face of such
conditions he must fight and win with
out any loss of time if he was to win
at all. Delay would be as fatal to his
ambitions as positive defeat. He prac-
tically had to fight when he did or
surrender at discretion without firing
shot 1t safely may be assumed that
he understood this as clearly at the
time as we do now.
Having decided to fight, Napoleon,
If we may believe accounts written in
all seriousness by well-qualified mill
tary writer's, depended for information
regarding the lay of the land upon an
ignorant native he had never seen be-
fore and about whom he knew nothing.
To this circumstance is attributed the
lack of knowledge which caused the
failure of the cavalry charge. 1t seems
incredible. but it is in keeping with the
character of the man. Doubtless. he
made plans for the conduct of cam
paigns, but he almost invariably kept
them in the back of his head and
changed them from time to time as the
impulse of the moment suggested. He
had habit of keeping his artillery in
his hand like a pistol, one critic OBJ
serves to be used just as his fancy
dictated. He was the great military
opportunist. Every successful COM
mander must be an opportunist, but
war is not made nor battles fought in
that careless fashion these days.
Without doubt, therefore, both
generals to-day would be better in
formed about the resources of the foe
and the topography of the country for
miles around. Nothing would be left
to chance and everything would de-
pend upon the morale of the men who
did the actual fighting. There were
some troops in the army of Yelling
ton, Belgians and other mercenaries,
the fidelity of which was under sus-
picion, and at one time there was a
disgraceful break in his line. But
there was no lack of courage of the
most desperate sort on both sides. In
deed, not the least of the glories of
Waterloo is the fine record for valor
made by all who took part. There is
small reason to doubt, therefore, that
the heroes of Waterloo would hold
their ground in the face of gas cylin-
ders and high explosive shells quite as
valiantly as do the men of the armies
now in the field. And the same logic
indicates that the result would be
much the same II the great battle
could be fought over again tomorrow
y,,odarp conditions