Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1918-05-22
He Criticised
His Commander
By JAMES BRA1NARD

manded the armies of Russia In the
worlds war for the first two years
and was then deposed by the car, will
doubtless be rated by historians as a
great military leader. Sent to the Cau-
casus, he was equally successful in that
field.
When the grand duke was going
southwark to his new command he
was travelling alone and incognito one
day In railway carriage in which
there was young man in the uniform
Of lieutenant of engineers. The grand
duke, who is very tall, spare man
Of serious mien, leaned back in cor
ner wrapped In his cloak. The lieu
tenant, on the contrary, was. alive to
everything about him and disposed to
be garrulous. He told every one in the
compartment that he had just been
graduated from the Russian military
school for officers and had been or
dered to engineer duty in the army in
the Caucasus. At this the grand duke
looked at the young man and said:
you must have been a good scholar
to be appointed to the corps of en-
gineers."
II stood first In my Glass;"
you will serve on the general staft?'
II suppose so. What do you know
about the army, sir? You cannot be
a soldier or you would be in uniform"
almost any civilian could tell you
that the engineers require a scientific
education. 1t is an engineers part to
think; the other corps Of the army
have only to die"
"How about the generals?" asked the
lieutenant.
1.-THE generals are to act"
"Just SO. If the grand duke had act
ed in the recent push of the Germans
on Warsaw he would not have been
deposed from the command Of the
army"
"You do not consider a successful re-
treat evidence Of generalship, l sup
pose?
1.-THE grand duke was at fault in not
having prepared the ground behind
him. The books have been studying
lay great stress on a general having
ample defense ready In case he Is
forced hack"
I'm other words, he should have
eyes In the back of his head as well
as in front?"
The lieutenant looked at the grand
duke inquiringly.
"For my part" the grand duke con-
t1nued, II don't believe the books hereto
fore written on the conduct of war are
Of any value"
what, them" asked the lieutenant,
lis the use of military schools?"
They are no use In teaching the art
OF war. They are useful In preparing
men to use such methods as their nat
ural fitness for war may suggest"
'Then I am to understand that l,
who have been educated in the science
OF war, am no more fitted to be gen
eral than your
"You assume to be better fitted for
leadership than the grand duke"
GLOW so?''
You have criticised his leadership In
the recent campaign"
SWELL" rejoined the lieutenant
thoughtfully, may not 1, who have so
recently studied the art of war, be
more familiar with it than the grand
duke, who, presume, studied it some
thirty years ago?'
'There is no such thing as the art
OF war. There Is that which we as.
sumo at different periods to be the art
of war, but these assumptions are con-
stantly changing. The great Napoleon
demolished the art as 1t existed at the
beginning Of his career and made a
new one. At present there is one art
OF war on the Russian frontier and an
other In the west. Our enemies have
developed a new art Of war In the
present struggle, based largely on SCI
ent11c discovery. This scientific d,a.
covery, or, rather, development, Of nat
ural resources has changed war on
land as the battle fifty years ago be-
tween two American ironclad vessels
changed 1t on the water =
The heutenant's eyes and mouth bv
this time were wide open with aston
ishment at listening to this man with,
out a brass button on his clothing dis
course upon the art Of war.
Il thought, SIR" he stammered. .that
/ had learned something about war at
the military school / admit I am am.
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