New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-09-14

General Forrest. Of the Conf ,derate Army.
is credited with the saying that the aim OF
strategy is "to' get the mostest men there
the frstest"
General Forrest was thinking in terms OF
soldiers. In operations on the land the
soldier with his musket has been the unit
ever since the days when muskets came on
to the firing line. Before that time the unit
was the soldier, armed with whatever weapon
the mechanic arts supplied him then. Even
in navies the soldier for long time was
the unit for the boats, which were pulled
by rowers, simply supplied the means to
enable him to exercise his art upon the
water, instead Of on the land.
The musket has increased considerably IN
power; but inasmuch as it must be weapon
held in the hands Of one man. the iimita-
tons to the power which it can exercise arc
obvious. During the present war the advent
of the land battleship, or tank, and the ire
mcndous development of high explosive
shells, or bombs, and Of gases Of various
kinds suggest the thought that the time may
not be far away when the soldier with his
musket will be one Of the feeblest units used
in war on land.
Owing to the comparative smoothness OF
the sea and the comparative roughness OF
the land with its mountains and rivers, 1t
has been possible to move much larger units
on the sea than on the land. No machine
seems now to be foreshadowet because Of
which this condition will be reversed.
But if we get few feet above the ground
and think of the machines which can travel
without resting on its roughnesses we can
see possibilities that warfare even over the
land may be so developed that units will be
employed far greater in size, in mobility,
and possibly in power, than any unit now
used, except upon the sea.
In 1911, in an article published in the
Naval Institute under the name Of NAVAL
Power" cndeavored TO analyze naval power
and determine what it essentially consists of.
As a result, | concluded that naval power,
and similarly, Of course, military power, are
merely mechanical power, which can infict
injuries upon the bodies of men and upon
any defences that may be placed around
them. Supposing the conclusion to be cor
rect, naval power was shown to be vastly
greater than military power, the reason
being that the properties of water enabled
larger machines to be moved on the water
than could be moved on the ground.
The Aim of All Strategy
If we think of exercising any kind Of
military power, and analyze our thought,
we seem to see that what strategists are
always trying to do is TO bring force to
bear at some point sufficient to break down
some resistance which is opposed at that
point. As the adversary is trying to do the
same thing, warlike operations between two
contending forces resolve themselves into a
struggle in which each side is trying TO bring
force to bear at certain points at which the
other is opposing resistance. On land the
resistance that can be opposed. if it is
mobile. cannot be very great mechanically
speaking, because Of the weight involved
and the difficulty Of moving that weight over
the ground. In navies no such restriction
exists. In fact, increase in weight. b. bring
ing about increase in the displacement that
carries it, means increased facilities for OPP
Grating, instead OF increased difficulties.
Speaking in general terms. the heavier the
ship the greater the speed that we can give
to it; but the heavier the automobile beyond
a point that seems not far beyond the point
il now has reached the greater the difficulty
of moving it over the ground. Various forms
of land battleships have been suggested; but
no form yet suggested has been tried except
the tank, and the tank is very slow
But while the properties of water permit
the use of a great amount of power in
structure that floats upon the water, and at
the same time permit of greater mobility
than can be attained on land except over
some artificial structure like railroad. yet
the resistance of water TO a vessel going
through it is considerable and restricts
mobility greatly. Speeds high as twenty
knots through the water can be secured only
by great engine power.
There has recently come into use a new
art and q new science called aeronautics,