Courier Democrat. (Langdon, N.D.) 1891-1920, 1915-10-21
100000 LIVES;
TOTAL 100000
Famous Hordes of History In
significant - In Compare
son Our Great War
DWindIeS.

1916, to nearly 100000, 900, Of
which probably so per zen has been
borrowed"
Changed Methods of Warfare.
In his discussion Of other phases Of
the war General Greene laid stress on
the important part played by the aero
plane, the automobile, the submarine
and wireless %tclegraphy, which are for
the first time effectively useful.
I'VE only dimly perceive as yet"
General Greene said, 'the relation be-
tween these agencies and the stupen-
dous scale of actual military opera
lions. In the preceding fifty years the
railroad, the steamboat and the electric
telegraph had first come into military
use and had gradually reached their
complete perfection. 1t has often been
said that had these means been at the
disposal Of Napoleon he would have
conquered the world. This is mere
opinion and speculation, but it is q
fact that the means Of transportation
and of communicating intelligence
were substantially the same in the
LILLY VI ANil'oltoH vi SucStI.
But from Napoleon's time until now
the art of war has benefited by all
the wonderful improvements in the
mechanical arts and sciences, all Of
which are the servants Of wal as well
as OF peace. instantaneous commune
cation of intelligence, marvelously rap
id transportation of troops, the ability
to feed and supply unheard Of num-
bers in the field, flying through the air
to detect the enemy's movements,
swimming under water to destroy the
enemy's ships, hurting projectiles Of
unprecedented size to destroy his forts.
caring for hundreds upon thousands Of
wounded which but for the automobile
would have persisted upon the field
these are some of the more important
methods Of warfare which now for the
first time are being used to full effect
and which ditferentiatc the war of to-
day from all previous wars.
Huge Forces In the Field.
The tabled stories of the countless
hordes who crossed the Icllespont with
NerIes and Alexander have been far
surpassed by the actual numbers of the
forces engaged in the present conflict.
The figures are certainly startling. In
Europe rs per cent of the population at
war. in all the world SO per cent of the
population involved in the conflict; 49,
100000 men actually under arms;
100000 killed, nearly 1000. 900 wound
ed. more than 100000 prisoners. We
cannot grasp these figures, but we can
get some idea of what they mean by
comparing them with the results of
previous wars. We were accustomed
to speak Of our civil war as the great
est conflict of modern times. but APP
parently it was only one-tenth the mag
nitude Of the present conflict.
AT no time did the number of men
actually under arms. north and south,
exceed 100000 men. and the total
number Of those killed in battle and
died or wounds on the northern side
was 11O.O70 and on the, southern side
probably not more than $4,000, so that
in -four years of war then the destruc-
ton OF life was less than one-tenth Of
the destruction Of life during a little
more than one year at the present
time. In the Napoleonic wars, from
1I96 to 1915, the largest army ever as
sembled was that which Napoleon led
into Russia in 1912. and this numbered
somewhat in excess of 100000. The
German armies fighting today in Rus
STA on the east and in France on the
west are more than six times as large"
Referring to the war in the western
theater General Greene said that the
reports indicated that 2,50O,0 900 on each
side occupied the trenches from the sea
to the NosgeS. which meant 5000 men
to the mile or five to the yard, more
han the equivalent Of a double rank
formation in close order, with elbows
touching, from end to end.
compared to these remarked Cen
eral Greene. the celebrated lines of
Torres Nedras in Portugal and Of Pc
tersburg in Virginia sink almost into
insignificance. Imagine a continuous
line in double rank across the state of
New York from the Atlantic to Lake
Ontario"
Submarines Status Undecided.
Taking up the naval operations in
the war, General Greene in a refer
ence to the activities of the German
submarines said the result of those
operations was absolutely large, yet
relatively SMALL" explained by the
fact that whereas the German under
sea boats destroyed a British tonnage
of 100000, the merchant marine ton
mage Of Great Britain now exceeds
2O,O00,OO0.
1.-The damage done to vessels of war
by submarines" he added, ''does not
appear to have been sufficient to pro-
duce any serious effects on the results
of the war. 1t is therefore q question
whether the submarine Is a really i'm
portant factor in a military sense. 1t
has given rise to endless diplomatic
disputes, but that it has in n way
affected the issue Of the war is not
evident as yet. To say that it has
rendered the battleship useless is Gel ,