The Press. SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 1890.

Press, Volume XLVII, Issue 7517, 5 April 1890, Page 4

The Press. SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 1890.

It seems to be taken for granted by those whose duty it is to consider thes© things at Home that there will be again this spring, as there baa been now for so many springs past, a renewal of the annual scare which has been so discomforting to Europe. There will be the same movements of vast masses of Russian troops along the German and Austrian frontiers, especially the latter, met as heretofore by the advance of Austrian battalions concentrated in still greater force. It is quite possible r—and this seems at present to be the general opinion—that these movements will, as they have been hitherto, be nothing but movements. Their •'-, constant ..reourrehoe, however, and the conviction that whatever their immediate end they assuredly betoken a persistent purpose, and that that puipose, sooner or later, is war, has fed the military advisers to put into definite farm their views of the actual relative strength, offensive and defensive, of the Powers: likely to be engaged. Sir Charles Dilkb led off with' this about two years ago in the pages of the Fortnightly.> It has since been taken up by other writers, and we have now before us an elaborate resume by a military correspondent of The Times of the result of the efforts which since the last great war have been unremittingly making by Russia, Austria and Germany. ; The position of Germany, both for attack and defence, the writer holds to be exceedingly strong. In this estimate he does not attach importance to her system of fortifications, powerful as these;certainly are, and largely as it has been developed* by the special expenditure of the last three years. Far more value is attached to her admirably devised Bcheme of strategical railways. The worth of these as affording means of rapid mobilisation is probably doubled by the compaotne&s of the German terriand more than all, it is in the character of the army itself that the great strength of Germany is felt to lie. Thoroughly thought out, even to the minutest detail, as are all. the arrangements for the drilling of the individual soldier, the mobilisation of the army as a. whole, and its provisioning and the replacement of casualties during actual war, the German army is still anything but a machine. It is asa sentient organisation, every, part of which is instinct with the military spirit, that it claims precedence oyer the other armies of Europe. ?? Oar enemies," sail Yon Moltes on a recent anniversary, " are equal to us in numbers, in courage, and ml armament; but they tare not equal to us in command." In the, event of a war Germany can | place than a million and a quarter of men of this character on her French frontier. She will have as large a force, or very nearly so, along the Russian line, and she will have again a reserve not less powerful to go wherever it is wanted. It is under Stood in military circles that the force destined to line the Russian marches is already determined on, and we are told further that each soldier of this force, if war breaks out, will know beforehand exactly what he has to d<>. It is looked upon as the probable policy of Germany to keep herself out of the strife if possible up to the last moment, but we need not point out how large a part of the Russian army must be actually paralysed by the presence of this great force, ready at any moment to execute an attack all along its flank.

What, however, has Russia herself been'doing? It was said at the end of the Crimean war that the Russian soldiery were defeated because they had had all their brains drilled out of them, and twenty years later it was a " touch-and-go " whether, but for the treachery at the Sbipka Pass, she would not have to retreat before the stubborn resolution of the Turk. If we may form *n opinion from the details before us, we should be inclined to say that Russia has cured every defect in* her military organisation except th|s, she has been persistently extending strategical lines of railway from the centre to every asi&uable

point along | Volhyma, and Galicii*. gL , *V P : ™*®*J. of her J this frontier. She £, £L Poland, and l« . twopT S** ■* : armed with the rifle. ¥L J ,-*■ of Warmvia beyond L greatly improved. Countu rl h numbew, it i 8 eonside^f/ M Cwur can rely on a£f M 1,355,000 men with MQ&toto % oi f second line. But it mSi? are ' 9«' that of this second line I militia, and are looked uponvT ftJ * -- potent critics as of doubt!ff %_?. c °*' I - Last comes Austria. We <Z r I as the results of the effort, 7r* I sides, any superiority wWoh f may have over Austria |TN opinion of this critic, «mil tb ? f nal. in mere numbers sh* «( D> of half a million more, andthl if 1 ; paper estimate. Inthecav a W tJ ' more particularly, ia whioh R H so long boasted of her "supposed supremacy" will T. 4 auredbe-seriouelycontesS' *2? too, possesses elements of ST* 1 strength that are not oa the Sf 1 northern rival Her raL^ maobmery" stiU in useinC Austria has proßted to the full bnv lesson taught her at Sadovra. & she has done so is perhaps alter aU £f best explanation of the I has characterised the polio, of bJJ