Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1917-05-03

I counts show that Germany, like all
the other BeIIigerent Powers. has been
adding units Of material and person
mel to her navy much more rapidly
than they have been destroyed; SIS
well as perfecting her strategy, under
the influence of the wars stimulus.
Leaving out of consideration, however,
what she may have been doing since
the war began, and neglecting any
unauthenticated accounts of her stat
US before it started, we know positive
ly that in 1913 the maneuvers of the
German feet were executed by force
of p battleships, battle cruisers, 5
small cruisers, 6 fotillas of destroyers
Chat IS 66 seagoing torpedo vessels)
II submarines, an airship, number
of aeroplanes and special service
ships, % mine-sweepers-aII in one
fleet, all under one admiral, and ma.
neuvred as a unit. This was nearly
three years ago and we have never
come anywhere near such a perform
ance. In January. 1915, the United
States Atlantic fleet capable as to both
material and personnel Of going to
sea and maneuVering together, con.
sisted Of Is batt1eships and 23 de
stroyer8, 2 mine-depot ships and /
Undertaking ship, and tugs fitted
as sweepers-with no subma.
rines, no aircraft of any kind. no
scouts (unless the Chester be so con
sidered which was cruising alone off
the coast of Liberia, and the Birming
ham, which was the flagship to the
destroyer fiOtilla). This was the only
fleet that we had ready to fight in
January, 1915; because although more
battleships could have been put into
commission, this could have been done
only by putting out of commission
certain smaller vessels such as cruis.
erers, and gunboats; and the battle
ships would have had to be put into
commission very hurriedly filled ur
with men fresh from other ships, and
no more ready to fight in the fleet
against an enemy (wh0se ships were
fully manned with well-trained officers
and men, accustomed to the details
! Of their respective ships, and acquaint
ed with each other) than the Chesa
! peahe was ready to fight the Shan
non.
! 3. In case our system is not sc
good as that of-say Germany-or OF
any other country having a system
equally excellent, we shall never be
able to contend successfully against
that navy, under equally strategic
conditions, unless we have an excess
over her in numbers of personnel and
material sufficient to counteract ou1
! inferiOrity in efficiency.
Strategic System the Crux.
The efficiency of navy or an army
is exactly what the strategic system
makes it. Eleven thousand Greeks
under Miltiades, highly efficient and
/ thoroughly trained, defeated 100000
Persfans at Marathon A Greek fleet
under Themistocles defeated and al
most destroyed a much larger Persian
fleet at SalaDl1s. With an army of less
than $4,000 men, but highly trained bv
Philip Of Macedon, his father, AIexan
der, in only twelve years conquered
ten Of the most wealthy and ropuloue
countries of the world. Caesar, Alarrc
Att1la, Charlemagne, and all the gre.'
military men 9om the greatest al,
t1quity down to the present momeE1
have trained and organized bodies OF
soldiers and sailors, under systems
suited to the times. and then waged
successful war on peoples less militar
lily efficient. Cortez conquered Mex
1co and Pizarro conquered Peru; the
British, French, and Spanish subdue6
, the Indians of North America. and
during the latter half Of the nineteen
tn century nearly all the land in the
world that was "unoccupied" bv Fin
ropeans or their descendants was tax
en- in possession by European Powers
Great Britain is now mistress of about
one quarter Of the land and the popu
latlon of the globe. Russia. France
/ German, and the United States govern
most Of the remainder.
/ These results were brought about
almost solely by the exercise of mill
tary force:-and of this force, phvsf
cal courage was not a determinine
element, because it was just as evi
dent in the conquered as in the con
querors, The determining elemenl
was strategy that (under the behest Of
policy prepared the military and nav
al forces in material and personnel
before they were used, and directed
operations, while in use.
Of all the single factors that have
actually and directly made the his.
tory Of the world, the most important
factor has been strategy.