New Britain herald., 1915-03-25

ESS1kAS- QaSn ana Qetefmlna-
 ready strategy and the
 inspiring his troops with
 domitable spirit of energy.
 all your commanders, Rob-
 Eee, in his patience, his re-
 s@S his poise, his soundness of
 lent and his possession of the
 kkies of high command in all
 fgencie, is foremost, in my opin-
 Still Dominent Elements. 61 "A good deal has been said about the novel conditions which trench i warfare in this war has developed" :" was the next thing said by the cor respondent. "Has it changed the quail l ities required of a soldier?"
 I ''No' he replied, human nature remains the same, and it is the man who gives and takes the blows, what l ever the nature of his weapons. Cour- age, discipline and tenacity are still l the dominant clements of success
 And the guns-it has been repeat 1 edly stated that this has become a ] war of artillery
 'I think there has been an inclina- tion to exaggerate the importance of | artillery Sir John answered. NO 1 doubt of the three arms, artillery has | increased in relative importance. 1t l may take a dozen shells to get one | man, and one bullet will get one man. },The weapons which decide the day 1 are the rifle and the machine gun, 1 and the infantry is still the queen ot l battles" Paws Tribute to Germans. As a soldier speaking of his enemy, Sir John French was far from de- precating the fighting qualities of the Germans To the troops of Emperor 1 William he paid soldiers chlvalrous tribute. 'But they are no greater than other soldiers he said. 'I at tribute their valor and their we'll dis 1 ciplined cohesion to the fact that from i the cradle they are taught discipline ] and to worship their emperor and the ! fatherland and that it is their duty to die for the fatherland when their 1 emperor commands
 "As to the conduct of the Germans, is it as bad as reported?' ?'' was asked of Sir John. Have they consistently broken the rules of civilized war fare?'
 Hesitates Before Speaking For the first time the British com mander hesitated before speaking. Evidently as a soldier he wished to be l entirely just to his enemy.
 " es, he replied, ''in many in stances their conduct has been bad very bad; l know that it has been." rms declaration was made with firm conviction. But it has varied. It has seemed to depend upon the com manders. If a commander approves of outrages they occur. Yet, in the main, German conduct depends upon the character of the German gener- als'' And the French army; you have been fighting as it's ally for eight months; how does it compare with the German" ?" the correspondent asked. This seemed a happy question. TO it Sir John replied: '"The French at the start were laboring under the shadow of their disastrous defeat in 1870, which might we'll have led both the French and the world in general to think that the German military machine was heaven-b born and irresti- aole. The French already have learned the contrary, and the world soon must, if it has not. I need not l speak of their splendid generalship of l 1AASii SouldSe III uTlVlng the Germans pack from the Marne They baue the elan of Napoleon's time thanks to the spur of renewed confidence Man Tor man, they are better than the Germans today and their army has continually improved since the l war began while the German army l has deteriorated
 Attacks Lack Former Vi@or
 We have abundant evidence of tho German deterioration on our own front. Their attacks lack the former Vlgor and spirit Neuve Chana11e was an important victory It proved that With a strong push we could put l the enemy out of a we'll fortified nos lt1on and then hold what we gained
 "One of the gratifying things to us,' the British commander in chief said In conclusion, lis how well o,r 1 terr1torials have done once their ner- 1 lod of preparation was over and they had an opportunity. I believe thev ! occupy much the same relation to our l forces as your national guard does l to yours. They have surpassed ol1r expectations As for the Canadians I cannot pay too high a tribute to l them"