The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1918-05-02

( recognized tuc IdcL tudJ all men are
created equal. They have never rec
| ognized the principle of the consent
| government are found the strange and
| foul and ugly things that lie hidden
) beneath the shining surface of life.
The government of England was
! simply a burst off the bloody continent
? OF Europe, and here freedom had it's
cradle. The basis of the earliest Eng
/, lish society vas the free land holder.
! Here was initiated the rule of law as
distinct from despotism. Nearly a
/ thousand years ago, England institut-
ed trial by jury. Seven hundred
2 years ago she gave to the world the
Great Charter to which from age to
} age free men have looked as the ba-
, sis Of liberty. 1t was the beginning
of written legislation, Of parliaments
and statutes against the edict OF kings,
kaisers and potentates. 1t was the
basis of the English judicial system
upon which all free governments rest.
insuring justice and the security of
person and property England gave us
the common law, the foundation Of
our own Jurisprudence.
The Importance of American troops
in large numbers on the battloline is
tremendous, for in the last analysis
the fate Of nations at war is decided
by the impact Of infantry against in
fantry. Airplanes, artillery, tanks.
trenches, cavalry, all are merely the
means To an end, and that end is the
shock OF man against man. From a
military point of view it is unimport-
ant whether armies fight with can
mons or clubs, machine guns OF bows
and arrows. Given equality of human.
material, equipment and generalship,
it is weight of numbers that tell in
the long run and. battles are decided
now as always by the man in the
ranks.
Long range cannon, flame project
ors, airplanes, poison gases, in fact
all the branches of military science
are merely means to an end, and that
! end the breaking down of infantry by
a superior force at particular points
The battle of the Marine affords an
illustration. The Germans were at
the gates Of Paris. Their line ran
from Paris eastward 100 miles to the
AIsatian frontier. In their front was
the thin line of the French army. The
strength OF the armies was as five to
three in favor of the Germans. The
decisive moment for which Germany
had long prepared had arrived. All
forms of offense and defense net ac-
tualiy used in hand-to-hand fighting
had been employed. All that lad gone
before was merely preparatory The
armies at last faced each other for
the final test of foot soldier against
foot soldier. Man for man the soldiers
were equal, and with equality of
equipment and generalship the Ger
mans should take Paris shortly, for
they had five men for every three that
opposed them. They had superiority
of numbers, and without mistakes
victory was assured.
But a serious mistake occurred. A
mistake that viii be recorded in his
tory as one of the greatest of military
b~lunders. Won Kluck commanded the
German army on the right in front of
Paris. In his efforts to crush the
French left. which he was doing. the
whole German line for sixty miles
was pulled west. AS the battle be-
came more furious German troops
moved west to support Won Kluck in
his effort to deal the French, who de-
Tended the city, a final blow. This
pull west weakened the German cen
ter. Gen. Foch, who commanded the
French center. discovered the weak
place in the German line and drove
his army into the gap. The German
line bent back in the center like the
string of a boy when the arrow is
drawn. This subjected the line on
either side to flank attacks. In order
to keep the line straight and save the
army from destruction, the whole
German army, right and left of the
gap, was moved back as Foch pushed
the center back-and Paris was saved.
Here was the impact of man against
man at a particular point. The Ger
mans had weakened their line at this
particular point. Foch discovered it,
, strengthened his own forces and
struck. An army inferior in number
t won a great battle by striking with
a superior force at a particular point.
All things else being equal. it is
man power that counts in the end. II
l is of no value to assemble millions
| of inefficient soldiers. History proves