The Washington herald., 1916-09-17

Jacks by the floods which have COW
cred the country since 1914, are three
divisions of Belgians, some 5000 SOL
diers in all, the remnants of the. Bel
gian army.
The reconstructed Serbian army. now
forming one wing of the polyglot allied
, aggregation at Saloniki. consists of
about FIVE divisions or 100, 900 men. and.
like the Belgian. 1t has no reserves.
Twenty-Five divisions is the figure
usually assigned to the Roumanian
army during the first two months of
war. After the first 100000 men. it is
possible that 100000 or even 100000
more may be found to fill the gaps.
Immense German Forces.
The German empire has maintained In
the field, since some time in 1915, 100 divi-
| sions. This figure Is that given by the
British and French intelligence depart
ments-which have maps that I have
seen giving the location of every German
division on both fronts-and 1t may be
taken as approximately accurate. The
popular legend, current in England as
well as the United States. that Germany
| has some 100000 troops in reserve ready
to launch a great offensive somewhere is
entirely devoid of foundation, and has
been the subject of much mirth on the
| allied fronts. At the beginning of May,
one OF the highest officers In the British
army told me at general headquarters:
| Germany is now on her last million
men. There will be no more offensives."
Since that time, on the Somme, at YER
dun and in the east. Germany has lost
more than half that number.
| The officer meant that the supply of
reserves was running out. and that after
the last million was gone the gaps In
the regular establishments could not be
filled. The definite statement is now
made at British headquarters that the
reserves on the enemy's side are ex-
hausted now, several months ahead OF
the anticipated time, unless the Ger
mans are stripping their front to pro-
vide a central reserve at the expense
of the regular units.
Germany Reducing BattaIiOns.
The one hundred and sixty German
| divisions, II each division were at It's
normal strength of 1000 men, would en-
body $4,000 soldiers. But 1t has been
some time since all the divisions were
at full strength, and now definite in
| formation has reached the allied stans
that the Germans are reducing the num-
! Der of battalions in their divisions from
twelve to ten. 1t is yet too early to say
whether this is being done throughout
| the whole army, but 1t is obviously in
tended either to bolster up the exhausted
central reserve which Hindenburg will
need II he is to undertake another o1en-
sive or to hide the fact that the losses
at the front cannot be made good DIV
drafts.
OF the $50 divisions under the Kaiser
| ll3 were on the Western front month
ago, about hve in the Balkans ana on
the Danube, forming the nucleus or the
army. then forming under Mackensen to
| guard against the expected attack from
| Roumania, and the remaining forty-tWo
| facing the Russians on the main eastern
front from before Riga to Kovel.
! One distinguished critic, Col Reping-
| ton, takes issue with the view prevalent
at the front that the Germans are near
the end of their man power. I'VE ought
to be tired of our Illusions" he recently
declared. III some OF our calculators
| had been correct the German armies
would have been reduced to a minus
quantity long ago, instead of which they
| hold on to their old extended fronts, DO
not hesitate to waste life without count
ing, and still maintain their establish
ments UP to strength. This is not the
behavior of an army short OF men, ana
in fact the Germans are not yet short
| OF men, nor are likely to be during the
| rest Of the year. The 1917 class (boys
| now 10 has not yet been extensively
/ drawn upon for drafts. The 1918 class
stands behind. There are the recovered
wounded in large numbers, as well as the
| prisoners, many of whom have been
! forced to work From Poland. Belgium
and France vast numbers Of the popula-
! tions in the occupied territories have
been forcibly abducted TO take the places
| in the fields and factories of Germans
| fit to fght. With these new resources
| in view it is unsafe to count upon less
than two million men still available for
| drafts, and each year the new class call
| a ad tn o.
cruits to the depots. Our Russian and
Italian allies have been splendid and
| have wiped the floor with the Austrian
| armies, but the Germans stand behind,
and we must none OF US entertain any
illusions that the breaking down of the
German power will not still be a long. a
costly and a difficult affair
Austria's Strength Unknown.
No attempt will be made here to dis
cuss the present distribution of Austrian
troops, because the entry Of Roumania
into the war has doubtless compelled a
complete Encouragement concerning which
the writer knows nothing. Austria was
credited by the allied STATS a month ago
with eighty divisions. or 100000 combat
ants. II the divisions were all up to
strength. as they almost certainly were
not. This does not count five divisions
entirely annihilated by the Russian Of
fensive under Brusiloff, which it is
thought have not been reconstructed but
have been dropped from the army lists
| Only six divisions remained last month
in the Trentino district. Of the eighteen
which conducted the great May offensive
against Italy, and sixteen more were re-
ported on the Isonzo and the rest of the
Itatlian front. Austria then employed
10000 men against Italy, and an unde-
! termined number of units in the Balkans
| possibly eight and about fifty divisions
against the Russians on the Volhynian
and Galician fronts.
! Owing to the peculiar system used by
the Austrian staff. which employs bat
talions belonging to the same division
on different fronts at the same time, and
keeps its books straight by methods
known only to itself, less is known by
the allies about the Austrian army than
about the German. The fact that men
up to fifty years have actually been in
corporated in the Hapsburg armies
proves, however that the shortage of
men is being felt more acutely by Aus
tria than by any other great power.
The most recent information avail
able concerning the Turkish situation
Is supplied, from official sources, by
Col Repington. The ffty-two Tur-
/ he