New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-08
Wastage of Germans,
Material and Moral

The eighth instalment Of the oihclal
review, previous chapters OF when haNo
been published. and the ninth were
given out to-day as a preface 10 the
foregoing conclusions. The cignth
takes mn the German losses OF oticers'
the vastage of guns and prolectlles
and "the moral wastage OF the herman
army"
THE chapter on losses OF officers be-
gins with the statement that the con
dition Of the cadres, or basic organ
cations. in the German army IS bau'
The proportion of officers, and notaoly
Of officers by profession, has Deeh ehol
mously reduced, it says, and re
port made in December showed thae
in n total Of 124 companies, active OF
reserve. there were only forty-nlne OF
fcers Of the active army Inc active
regiments have at the present time, ac
cording TO the review, an average OF
twelve professional officers. the re-
serve regiments nine TO ten, the re
serve regiments Of new formation SIX
70 seven. and il IL to be remembered
that these officers have to be drawn
upon afresh for the creation OF new
Units.
"If Germany creates new army corps
and if the war lasts ten months 1t
continues. "she will reduce almost to
nothing the number Of professional OF
ficers in each regiment, number when
already is very insufficient
The French report points out that, on
the other hand. all the French regi-
ments have been constantly kept at a
minimum figure Of eighteen profess
sonal officers per regiment. Al the
same time it admits that the com
manders of German corps, commanders
Of active bat.aiions and the officers at
tached TO ,he commanders OF army
corps are officers by profession.
Batteries viii BE Cut.
The French report, discussing the
great wastage of guns among the Ger
mans. says that the wearing out OF
material and drafts upon batteries Will
inevitably result either in the reduction
Of batteries from six TO four guns,
reduction of the number Of batteries
in the army corps, or the partial sub
stitution for II guns Of centimetre
cannon Of the old pattern, the presence
of which has been many times per-
ceived at the front.
Furthermore" il goes o., "the Ger
man artillery lacks, and has lacked for
u
been obliged to reduce its consumption
Of shells in a notable degree. We have
found on officers killed or taken pris-
oners the actual orders prescribing
positively a strict economy of NUM-
tons. For the last three months, too,
we notice that the quality OF the pro-
jectiies is mediocre"
Among specific incidents given az
DrOOf of the latter statement, the writer
says that in January the French lith
Army Corps was fired at with shrapucl
loaded with fragments of glass, and on
several points Of the front she'll castings
Of very bad quality were found, ode
rotlng hasty manufacture and the use
Of materials taken at hazard" He
states, also, that the Germans are be
ginning to run short of their 1898
pattern rife.
Moral Wastage.
"The material losses Of the German
army have correspOndcd with "A moral
wastage which II Is interesting and
POSSIBLE TO follow. both from the inter
rogation OF prisoners and the pocket
books and letters seized upon them or
On the killed.
AT the beginning OF the war the en-
tire German army. as was natural, was
animated by an unshakabie faith in the
military superiority of the empire. 1t
lived on the recollections of 1870, and
on those Of the long years of peace
during which all the powers which had
20 do with Germany displayed towards
her a spirit Of Cancellation and patience
which might pass for weakness.
s'Iba first urisoparq ua tooL- IN An