FUTURE WARS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 200, 24 August 1929, Page 10 (Supplement)

FUTURE WARS.

VISIONED BY GERMAN SOLDIER

EXTENSIVE USE OF CAVAUtY PREDICTED. ARMIES SMALL BUT HIGHLY MOBILE. That the, Versailles Treaty will have the same result with respect to the future of Germany's military power as Napoleon's decree on Prussia after the crushing defeat at Jena and Auerstadt in October, ISO 6, is very broadly intimated by General Von Seeckt, preeminent strategist in the World War. in Ms book just published, "Thoughts of a Soldier." By restricting the number of troops in the Reichswehr to 100,000 and providing that a large proportion shall be cavalry, the Allied Powers have laid down the fundamentals for the ideal army for future offensive and defensive "warfare.

Napoleon extracted oaths from al Itbe defeated Germans at Jena that they would never bear arms again. Instead of destroying the military power of his enemy, he innocently laid the foundation for the superb Prussian Army which came into being a generation later. Now, only a decade after the World War, military experts pronounce the German Reichswehr one of the most efficient and capable bodies of troops in the world. General Ton Seeckt was Chief of Staff of the combined forces under Field-Marshal Mackensen, which administered crushing defeat to the Roumanian Army, and. as such drew up the plans of that campaign. It is said the able Mackensen found no fault with the military tactics of Von Seeekt, and carried out the scheme as presented him by his Chief of Staff.

After the formation of the Republic, General Von Seeckt was again called upon by Ms country, this time to build an army along the lines laid down by the Treaty of Versailles. His appointment as Comm&nder-m-Chief of the Reichswehr caused the French much annoyance. This tall monocled soldier represented to them the traditions of the old Prussian Imperial Army, and an exponent of the much feared and hated German General Staff. It is an open secret that his removal as Commander of the Reichswehr was demanded under threats, and when such measures failed, important political concessions were offered in exchange for his retirement. Neither threat" nor entreaty had any effect on Minister of Defence Gessler. However, popular opinion forced his hand after General ;Von Seeckt allowed the oldest son of the former Crown Prince to participate in army manoeuvres about two years ago. French Handicapped. : Kb military man will ignore the ponderings of a soldier with the record of General von Seeckt, one of the two outstanding strategists of the German High Command. What causes the greatest surprise to the average student of military affairs is the belief that cavalry will play a major role in such conflicts as may mar the hoped-for-peace of the near future. General von Seeckt predicts that trench war will play no part, and that engagements will be fought between small detachments of troops who are experts in the use of mechanical devices.

Motor transport has not reached the state of perfection where it can replace horse in carrying men to the point of action. Though airplanes can carry death-dealing bombs to the hinterland, invasion must be prevented by soldiers who can be placed quickly at threatened points. For the future, "mobility is the key word.

The present French Army is faced with the same handicaps which were bo serious an obstacle to the old Imperial forces. There is not sufficient flexibility to permit advantageous manoeuvring. For the future wars a small force will do the actual fighting, and it will be obliged to expend such huge amounts of materials that the remainder of the population will be busy furnishing adequate supplies.

Through the use of aeroplanes, the whole nation will be in the war arena, which fact causes the author to conclude that politicians will be more' careful about allowing their disputes to reach the critical stage than if the soldiers were obliged to bear the brunt of the horrors of war.

The more technical science is developed and tie more these agencies can serve the army the more are the demands on the soldier's training. The highest law of the art of war will always remain the destruction of the enemy and not the destruction of the land, which precept pre-supposes the presence of soldiers.

Future wars, General von Seeckt says, will open with reciprocal attacks by the opposing air forces, since they afford the speediest means of striking the first blow. There is very little likelihood that these engagements will have decisive results, and their main object is to break down the moral of the population and interfere with the industrial mobilisation.

General von Seeckt believes volunteer soldiers make the best professionals, and he favours them for the modern army.

Importance of Mobility.

Three factors form the essential foundation of a modern army, the author says. The first and most important is mobility- Mobility can be attained through a strong and first-rate cavalry, through, the use of motor trains, an infantry with marching endurance, effective arms and never-failing source of replacements and supplies. The modern army must not require time for mobilisation before being ready for action.

The second requirement is a nucleus of officers and non-commissioned officers capable of training the civil population in the use of arms. Valuable aid can be rendered by the nations themselves in laying out courses of general physical development. General von Seeckt mentions the fact that Germany has made great strides toward general physical development to replace the work done by the former conscript army through, systematic efforts. The German people have gone in for sports, with the results that the nation is physically fit in addition to having gained a sporting instinct in contests —a valuable factor in warfare.

The third requirement for efficiency in modern armies is modern weapons. The development is bo rapid along this line that by the time a type is tested and introduced it is ottt of date. The cost of re-equipping a large army is so enormous that Governments make changes only efficiency of the army suffers. The smaller the army, the easier it is to keep it armed with the best weapons —an imwhen compelled to do so, and thus the possibility when the enrolment approaches the million mark.

To provide for army expanßion in time of conflict, the industry of the country must be so well organised that desired weapons can be produced en masse. The hoarding of reserve supplies ie one of the fatal mistakes. One need only recall the large stores of aeroplanes which were often •worthless before they were a year old.

When politics go bankrupt, war follows, General von Seeckt proclaims. There are two kinds of conflict, as he sees it. The first is waged because a people see another nation living under better conditions. The other is "Cabinet war/' The world war was a mixture of both, the causes can be traced to politics; its aftermath to the first type of warfare.—("Star" and A.A.N.S. Copyright.)