El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-06-22
thc Western Front.


Z taseOus conditions unless it concuces
! to the most favorable exploitation OF
I cur strength.
Only tactical results constitute ad-
/ vantages in war The decision by
force Of arms is the only judgment OF
valor, because it alone decides who is
I cOuQueror and who conquered. it alone
modiIes the respective positions OF
the opponents. making one master Of
his acts, constraining the other 10
submit 10 the VIII Of the enemy No
battle, no decision, nothing happens.
To undertake menacing movements
without attacking the enemy; to en-
plOy against him movements and con-
+ Ceutrauous as III certain dispositions,
I certain figures had i'm themselves in-
trinsic virtues; all this is TODD no
more than build a house OF cat board
You cannot make a serious 'adver-
sary recoi by choosing wisely your
direction Of march. You cannot im-
mobilize him excepting by an effect
i've attack, any more than the house
front OF cardboard viii keep the rain
and cold out Of the building.
We are studying war. which IS posi-
tive in its nature, and admits only
positive solutions; no effect without
cause; il you wish the effect, develop
the cause, appE the strength II
you want 20 make the enemy recoil,
beat him; without that you can do
AANAA.aal anu 10 90 AAaA 0A 4aaHE a
single means-battle- There can be
10 victory without a battle.
The immortal truths shine forth
still, once more. (after the Russo
japanese war OF 1900 with dazzling
brilliance;
Win With Offensive OF BIaneuver.
An offensive Of maneuver finally
viii overcome every resistance
The passive defensive cannot es-
No defeat rrfHn however much de-
vOtiOn il is sustained, it is TO disaster
that It leads victory most decidedly Z
cannot be won By herOism in the last
hours Victory dictates conditions be- I
forehand TO the offensive; without ma T
NEWER there can be no victory And 4
'maneuver' means for the chief Of f,
an army, combination, direction. and /
impulsion; it means for the troops, ]
suppleness. aptitude and (
endurance on the march. superiority I
Of fire. knowledge Of how to fight /
and TO make use Of ground Under I
these conditions alone VIII the COM 4
be sound, viii il be possible I
to hold out against the enemy in one I
place with few forces. while we at
tack him somewhere else with crush
Ing superiority.
Victory, be it said. once more, will I
be TO the armies which maneuver,"
which means TO those who are the best
taught But victory demands knowl-
edge now more than ever.
Task Of the GeneraIiEsimO.
The generaissimo alone practices
he art Of strategy. in the complete
sense Of the word. and strategy is the
poetry OF war ali other practice tao
les. the prose Of war. He alone is
he organizer and the conductor OF
he orchestra; the others are only
players under his baton.
Whether the generalissimO is him
self with the advanced guard diTis-
ions OF divisions Of battle. eevry unit
n our militay organization-the army !,
he corps. the division, the brigade,
he regiments a subordinate unit (
The chief Of each Of these differ
mt units, consequently as vel as
commanding IL, must learn 10 obey
lefore debating his own orders. he
must inspire himself with those which
re- has received. But in war 20 obey
s difficult thing. Obedience is
.eeded in the presence OF the enemy,
nd in spite Of the enemy in the
midst Of dangers. Of various and un-
orseen circumstances before the un-
-nown, fun OF menaces, and despite /
he fatigue which results from many {
auses. D
Must Have Liberty OF Action.
and how can an officer pursue the :
ZecutiOn OF an order received, how Z
onunue the development OF a pro- {
rams Of scheme, If he does not Z
aleguard his liberty OF action TO I
aid, In war our viii soon encounters .
he Independent viii Of the enemy" :
The art OF war IS the art Of guarding :
mes liberty Of action" wrote Keno :
hon.
In the measure that numbers in
rease, and with them length Of time :
nd extent OF space these questions =
ecome more difficult The high ( :
ommand, in the strict sense Of the :
ord loses in precision II must as .
ways determine strictly the result g.
be won, but not the ways and means p
{ winning it. How then can subordi- =
ateS maintain the clear vision Of the =
ngle aim with which they have been a
ispired, and at the same time con- J
7rre their own liberty OF action in :
he sense Indicator Only By the de- d
alopment OF Intellectual discipline, =
be first requirement, which impresses -
nd imposes on all sub0rdinates the y
I'm desired by their superiOrs; and y
the second place, Dy intelligent and +
stlVe discipline, or rather initiative, =
lOosing the means by which to ar u
We at the goal indicated O.
Demands Upon Initiative. -
Here We have the high conception II
military intelligence; which, be it 81
ell understood, makes demands upon g.
.aracter, but also upon initiative, =
qulring thought and reflection. and -
jecting immObility Of intelligence, =.
lsence OF thought, the automatic y.
.edlence OF the ranks, sufficient per- VI
.ps for the soldiers who have only
carry out orders, Though even they
I'D work better If they know what cI
ey are dOing), but entirely insuffi- "a
5nt for the subordinate chief, who %
lst with the means at his disposal. IN
terpret and carry out the viii OF eI
s superior To DO that he must in
-derstand this generals plan, then fe
must accomplish IL with the means it
1ich he possesses most appropriate pl
the circumstances. ana o. these he
the sole judge. is
who says chief" then, says a man co
character. that is obvious-but the SD
lrd means more than that. # means T sa
So a man capable Of comprehension. IA
lo works on his own initiative while ( SD
FRYING out his orders To passive sil
edience, in the absolute forms Of at
-mer centuries, we must oppose act si'
obedience which makes continual vi
mands upon initiative. De
W ar Is the employment Of moral ri,
rec, in which material forces are tn
GUIDED and swallowed up. victory wi
moral superiority in the conQueror. wi
lrale depression in the vauQuished; on
.lle Is the struggle Of two wills. tn
Army Morale Must BE sunerfGr Ia
So that our army must be victo- ipli
JUS 10 Is necessary that it should an
We morale superior to that OF col
enemy or that this should be i'm ev
rted 70 10 by its command To or er,
ME battle IS then to excite the
.rale OF our army to the highest
mt % break that Of the adversary. of
e VIII 20 conquer is the first condi- cor