The Washington herald., 1917-08-05
What America Must Meet
When Army Joins French

sian front. They can never appear in
the first line, no matter how desperate
Sermany's straits for men may be-
come, but they perform Invaluable
service in releasing the whole fit
manhood of the country for the front.
In addition to. this force Of older
and less fit men,, the Germans. have
in reserve. to fill up the gaps in their
fighting divisions. some $4,000 men.
OF these Gen. de 'Lacroix estimates
that there are $4,000 in depots at the
front, ready to be drafted as needed
into the divisions that are constantly
being withdrawn In battered con-
dition from the active sectors. In
depots in the interior are 355, 900 more,
while 10000 are training in Germany
but not yet ready to fight.
Half Million Each Year.
Besides these. men,. there remain to
De considered the 10000. boys who
reach the age of Is every year. Ap-
proximately $4,000. or two-thirds of
these lads are drafted into the army.
rhe German class of 19is-or the 800, =.
600 soldiers who are 10 this year-haye
already been put into line and are
counted in the general totals of Ger
man soldiers, given above. The class
of 1919, the boys now Is, will yield
10000 more troops, and only a few of
them have yet been identified by the
allied armies. II IS believed that most
of these lads will not be made cannon
fodder before November. In calcula-
tons regarding the German strength
next winter and next year, they must
all be included.
The strength Of the German army,
then. is today roughly this: There are
3,696,0oO combatants, with additional
reserves of 10000 men, plus a re-
enforcement of between $4,000 and
500, 900 boys of is. all of whom will be
available by next winter. And In addl-
ton to the fighting men there are
about 1,I59.000 older or Unfit men on
duties in the rear. who will never be
able to face the guns. Tie fighting
men. including these boys not yet
ready, total almost exactly 5000. 900,
not including the landwehr and land
sturn and other "etappen" or COM
munication troops who. to the number.
of nearly 100000 will never appear In
the trenches.
The third factor In an analysis of
the strength of the German armies
is now reached. What are the Ger
man losses?
To accept the German official lists
for this part of the calculatio will
be to err. II anything, on the side
of caution. There are military men
in London and Paris who believe that
these lists. allowing for unavoidable
errors and delays. are accurate. There
are others who are convinced that for
two years the Germans have doc
tored" the lists and deliberately mini
Tnized their losses. After examining
a good deal of the evidence brought
forward by both sides, I incline to the
belief that the lists are accurate.
Casualties Above Four MILLION.
The Germans have published lists
for the first thirty-three months of
the war. approximately UP to May 1.
which. when totaled by allied statisti-
clans. have revealed total loss of
4, $685. men. or these. 29S, 43s were
killed in action. e9,fSs died OF sickness.
SOC. .S09 are prisoners or missing In ad-
dition to these men admittedly out
of ;he war some 1900 reported "se-
yer sly wounded are supposed to be
totally disabled for further service.
ported wounded and wounded re-
manning with units are classed by
the allies as men who were able to
go back to fight.
Accepting the German lists as accu-
rate. the net wastage during thirty
three months of war to May 1, was
fight again. This estimate is not
no fV, 81, O..
above, upRn the German reports of
men as Severely wounded. and
wounded" but upon tons and tons
charts by British and French Intel
the same as Fsench and British, the
weapons in dse are Me same on both
sides, and years of fighting haye en-
abled the allies not only to figure
out to a remote decimal Just what
proportion of their own men who are
hit will find their way back into the
firing line, but to apply the same fig
ure. with certainty of being about
right. to the Germans.
The average rate of German vast
age from the beginning of the war
to the first day of May this year Is
thus seen 10 have been about 7s.o 900
men north. This figure does not
include men wounded and afterward
able to go back. but only those Ger
mans killed or totally incapacitated.
More Than Million Increase.
In attempting to determine what
the American armies will have nm
against them when. late next wear.
they have attracted to themselves
the bulk or at least the hest of tbe
enemy forces. the same rate of
wastage may be assumed for the
period between now and the end Of
the campaign next year. on say No
vember 1. On november I. 1918. ~
the average remains the same. and
the destruction of German manpower
proceeds at the rate of 200 a
month, the number of Germans per-
put out of action will have
Increased by 1,3s7.0o0 since May Il
this year.
On November I. 1918. however. the
class. of 1890. the German bows now
IL but then between IS and 1e, will have
been Incorporated In the enemy ar
mics. II may be remarked In passing
that the experience of all armies that
to put boys of II into training does
not paw. from a military point of
view: they are not strong enough to
stand it. II Is perfectly safe, then.
to assume that Germany no matter
how desperate will not call out her
class of 1920 before next year. By
November. 1913, these 50o.90o boys
must be added to the figures given
above Of the present strength Of the
German armies. tA
From the total present combatant