Trench and camp. ([Admiral, Md.) 1917-1919, 1918-07-04

be able % compete On equal terms
with our agricalturigtsf Hardly!
And you would certainly never claim
that our farmers were SupeRmen.
The parallel between these sup
posed cases and that Of the German
army and its competitors Ia very
close. The Germans have made for
nifty years their army their chief
concern. Everything 0ermaM-sei-
ence, politics, religion. education, In
vemsi0M-has been devoted to that
end. What wonder. therefore, that
the German War-L0Fd can put mill
lions Of troops into the field in Q
month. where's. the English or the
Americans. who have devoted their
energies 20 quite different objects.
were able &C an emergency- 90 mo-
bfKi4o only small torres,
Al experlsneo shows that IL the
English or the Ameseams competed
Cor NIFTY yearB at a time with the Ger.
mans On any field (exeept IN the
cloud land Of metAphyeies}, the Ger.
mans %OulA not surpass them. The
Lit Of Names which ] have just
givsa proves thin.
Not ImvineiAle
TheRof0ro, do not fear the Ger
maa soldiers 90 inviuciDle. Their
eEcea1omd6 b the result. not Of any
thing miraculous. mot Of any Super.
mAnniSh quality In thom, but Of long
training and Of rigid discipline. They
accomplish results IN the same slow,
patient way IN Which the coral In
Seck9 build up theiR reef.
Two most important lessons mast
be drawn from our brief survey Of (
the Germans. First, their so-called
efficiency has been arrived ct by
careful planning. long practice and
strict discipline; and Il can be
eQua1ed, or surpassed, by any other
people who initiate It with equal
zeal. So you must not sit down and
men by some gift OF Providence
which has been denied 70 you.
Next, do not assume that the Ger
man armies are inyincihle and that
the German soldiers are individually
born TO be better soldiers than those
Of any other nation. So Ear a. they
ere superior now IL due to their life
long military training. This state.
ment IL confirmed by the fact that
In all her modern wars Prussia land
later Germany has never won. .
battle, even-handed, against her en-
emies. These are the figures: I'm
1855, In the war between Prussia
and Austria. the Prussians had
$4,000 troops at the decisive bat
tie Of Eadowa, the Austrians had
only zoo, 900. In the FrancO-Prus-
sian War in 1870, the inequalities
were still greater. At Woerth. the
Germans numbered $4,000. the
French $1,000. At Reichshofen, the
Germans 10000, the French
AZ, Oo0. At st. Privat, the Germans
$4,000, the French 1900. At
Sedan, the Germans 1000, the
French zoe, 900. These figures pay
. high tribute to the German STRAIT
egg which always contrived to bring
q larger force than the enemy's into
battle; they do mot, however. exalt
the German soldier in man-t0-man
contest with foreign foes"
viii to Win
The same numerical disparity in
favOr Of the Germans has been seen
throughout the present war. At the
battles Of CharIeroi and Mons, at
La Fere Champenoise. where the
great Foch drove his army corps
through the German centre and won
the victory of the Marine; in the en-
gagements before Nancy. In the de-
Tense of Verdun, at Ypres, when the
English, who had only one man to i've
of the Germans, blocked the first
great onslaught, down TO the recent
drive on the West Front, where four.
teen British divisions were pitted
against forty-two German divisions,
the German General Stan has always
taken care to have q superior force
on their side before going into fight
This Is obviously . cardinal rule In
warfare; but the results have proved
that the superior German numbers
cannot always or often defeat the al.
Hes and that the individual German
soldier, for all his longer training, IL
not necessarily better fighter than
his antagonists.
Accordingly, close, a. began,
urging my American countfymen, who
have the great privilege of defending
the cause of civilization on the battle
field, neither TO despfse nor under
rate-the Germans, nor to regard them
az Supermen to be feared. Learn all
you can of their methods and improve
upon them. Will to win! Remember
that you are defending the hottest
cause which men ever fought for. Re-
member that you are the instruments
through whom Right and Justice shall
r,rov1ii fhroughr1ff tho world