East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1917-09-14
LESSON NO. 30.
WARFARE IN EUROPE.

been described without special refer
ence to the changes brought about by
the present war. There are import
ant changes. and methods of training
and of fighting used in previous wars
must of course, be modified accord
ingly
The extent of these changes. how
ever, is often exaggerated At bot
tom the qualities that make a good
soldier or an efficient army remain
the same today that they were before
the war. The changes that affect the
individual soldier have to do chiefly
with weapons.
But behind every weapon there is
a man. If the weapon is to be used
effectively. the man must be we'll
trained. disciplined. cool and brave
He must have spirit, tenacity and
self-reliance The big problem now
Just as in all other wars, is to de-
velop these qualities-and the other
soldierly qualities-to their highest
extent. The chief difference probab-
ly comes in the fact that self-relianca
Is big factor than in most previous
wars And in American armies this
quality has always been highly val
ued and well developed.
This brief lesson can not of course
enter into a discussion of technical
questions which belong in the field
of military science. 1t will simply
point out a few of the striking fea-
lures of direct interest to every man
who reaches the front.
Character of Present War.
This war differs from previous
wars chiefly in the enormous in
crease in the use of artillery. This is
due partly to the immense manufac-
turing resources of the countries at
war. which enables them to produce
great numbers of guns and great
quantities of ammunition. 1t is due
also to the new methods of directing
gun fire from airplanes. 1t is evil
dent that a gun can not be accurately
aimed at an object the exact location
of which is not known. The air
plane, however, is able to bring back
or signal back this information. so
that the artillery may now be used
with greater effect. The exact size
of the guns and the force of the ex-
plosive shells fired from them have
also been largely increased.
Partly as a result of these i'm
provements in artillery. it has been
necessary to develop better methods
OF protection. The protection OF
troops consists of digging stronger
field entrenchments than have been
necessary in previous wars Here we
have the main reason for the so-call-
ed trench warfare" which during
the last three years has largely taken
the place of former methods of NOV
Ing armies about freely until they
came into conflict with each other
Digging trenches and throwing up
breastworks for protection against
the enemy's fire is of course not
new thing in warfare 1t is being done
In Europe, however. on a much big
ger scale than ever before. A COM
plicated network of trenches now
protects the men on both sides. The
spade has become one of the soldiers
best weapons of defense.
In seeking protection against
heavy artillery fire a very interesting
development has taken place. This is
the use of various devices for con.
cealing field guns and troops from
the view of enemy airplanes. Some
times trees are brought up and
planted near the object to be hid
den. Sometimes the gun or other
object has an awning spread over it
which is painted to look from above
like grass or earth For the same
reason tents may be painted in
green's and yellows.
The chief improvement in methods
of defending entrenched troops Is the
increased use of machine guns. Ma
chine guns must be put out Of opera
ton by artillery fire or by rifle fire
directed against the gunners before
infantry can advance directly against
them. There has been also a great in
crease during the present war in the
use of barbed wire in front of the
trenches as a means of defense. Sim
liar devices have been used in en-
trenched positions for many years
but never on SO large a scale.
Through their use It is now known to
be possible to defend the front line
positions with smaller bodies of men
than were considered necessary dur
ing the earlier years Of the war, thus
considerably reducing the strain on
the Individual soldier
Development of AIFpIaneS.
The new chief instrument of war
fare developed during the present
war is the airplane. As previously ex
planned it is used for scouting, di-
rectlng gunfire, and dropping combs
The scouting machine is usually
equipped with a large camera which
takes a series of pictures. When
these pictures are developed and
compared day by day they give in
valuable information as to the exact
location of troops. guns and supplies.
The scouting and bombing machines
are usually protected by swift fight
ing machines. Airplanes have also
been used at times to descend close
to the ground and fire from ma
chine gun upon bodies of troops
Another very interesting and prom
Using device is the TANK heavily
armored machine 20 constructed that
It can advance under its own power
over almost any obstacles. and thus
lead an attack on enemy trenches
1t is armed with machine guns. Ar
mored motor cars have also been
used effectively under some conditions
In the front line trenches men are
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