NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

Press, Volume LIV, Issue 16209, 11 May 1918, Page 7

NEW BOOKS AND PUBLICATIONS.

"DEDUCTIONS FROM THE WORLD WAR." We have already published some extracts from "Deductions from the World War," by Lieut-General Baron von Freytag-Loringhovea, DeputyChief of the German General Staff, and now that an Australasian edition of this remarkable work has been published it calls for further notice. Our readers will remember that it was written for German consumption, and its export was prohibited, largely, no doubt, on account of the chapters, "The Army and the Future" and "Still Ready for War," explaining with the utmost candour the way in which Germany proposes, when this war is finished, to prepare for the next. Tho book is a curious mixture of truth and falsehood. The atrocities in Belgium are put down to "tho thoughtless adoption of franc-tireur methods of warfare in Belgium, with tho support and approval of the authorities." The writer adds: —

"The principle that war is directed only against the armed strength of the enemy-State and not against its population could not, under these circumstances, be upheld by our troops. They, found themselves compelled to resort to severe measures of retaliation. Thus the war acquired a character of brutality which is otherwise very alien to the nature 6f our well-conducted German soldiers."

Coupled with an admission of the heroic courage of the French soldier, General von Freytag-Loringhoven states that in the treatment of German prisoners his concluCt has been "worthy of an Apache." The arrant falsehood of this charge will be better understood when we state that tho author even accuses the English of "distressing excesses as regards the treatment of Gorman prisoners." "In certain eases," he adds, "even if not as a general rule, the English have shown thejnselves not behind tho French in brutality."

The Deputy-Chief of the German Military Staff pays an admiring to Lord Kitchener in tho following passage : — "Lord Kitchener's creation of a strong English army during tho world war was unquestionably an immense achievement. He-buiit up 12 divisions out of the six regular divi- ' sions existing before the war, and twenty-eight divisions out of tho fourteen very imperfectly organised territorial divisions. This doubling of tho hitherto existing English army was then supplemented by the thirty [ so-called Kitchener divisions. Ail these new formations, before they were put into the line, went through a long period of training, first at home and afterwards behind tho front in France. The long entrenched warfare afforded the" possibility for this. They were only by degrees sent into the fighting lines. Not until the beginning of 1916 were tho English in a position to take over longer sections of the front, which had hitherto been held by the French. They were subsequently reinforced in France, and at the beginning of 1917 their lines were extended still further towards the south, j Thus, though tho great English army ! of the world war is a now creation, it is anything but a loose and hasty i improvisation, Tho experience which could be derived from military history in - Tespect to improvised armies was, on the contrary, thoroughly taken into consideration by Kitchener in accomplishing his task. The advocates of a shorter term of scrviec than existed among us before tho war cannot in any case instance the Kitchener divisions as a justification of their views, any more than they can do so in the case of our own new formations during the war, or those of earlier times. Moreover, it hns to be considered that the Kitchener divisions were trained exclusively for the simple tasks of trench-warfare. The English Army is by no means fit for a war of movement." Captured English officers havo admitted this fact. Th?ir higher officers lack the necessary knowledge, which can only be acquired by long training and by regarding it as a life-task. Napoleon said, not without reason: It is possible to capture a strong position by means of a young army, but not to conduct a campaign to a victorious conclusion..' '»

As to the value of the new British armies In a war of movement, recent events on the Western front have probably given the critic ground for modifying his views. Perhaps the most instructive part of the book for the English reader is tht chapters which show the determination of the military party in Germany not only to preserve German militarism, but to make it moro tyrannical 'than ever after the war. Stress is laid on the fact that it is essentially monarchical, and that the strict class distinctions which prevailed before the war are an essential part of the system. It is admitted that promotions fhave had to be made from the ranks owing to the war wastage, but the writer is very emphatic in the opinion that the officers in future must be taken from the ruling class only. The following extracts are afso suggestive: — "The spirit of German militarism, which has enabled us to stand the test of the world war, we must preserve in future, because, with it, our world position stands or falls.'' "Germany must for all time to coma, maintain her claim to world power."? "Sow, as always, it is the sword which decides in war —it is victory on the battlefield that gives the decision." "In the future t as in the past, the German people will have to seek firm cohesion in its glorious army, and m its belaurelled young fleet." Those who still to the miserable

delusion of a satisfactory peace by negotiation with tho Hons should carefully study this, book, -mitten by the most distinguished soldier ■writer in Prussia. (London: Constable and Co., Ltd. Christchurch.: L. M. Isitt-, Ltd.) PHRASEBOOK3 AND dictionaries.

A very useful book is "A Desk-Book of Twenty-five Thousand Words Frequently Mispronounced." In addition to being instructive, it is quito an amusing book to dip into. It includes not only English words, but foreign terms, English proper names—a great stumbling block for the uninitiated, etc., etc. The compiler is Frank EL. Vizotelly, Litt.D., LL.D., managing editor of Funk and Wagnall's new Standard Dictionary. Wo havo tested it for English place names, and family names, and find it very accurate. The average colonial is surprised to find that Belvoir Castle,, the Duke of Rutland's place, is pronounced "Beaver," and that the family of- Leveson-Gowcr call themselves "Lewson-Gore." We aro glad to sec the Editor sits down hard on the vulgar error of calling margarine, "marjerine." The mispronunciation, ho says, "arosp from the unthinking adoption of an illiterate error. Margarine, before the war, was chiefly bought by the poor. Can nothing bo done," ho asks in conclusion, "to save the English, language from • a stupid blunder, and the unhappy foreign student from another puzzle while trying to master the inconsistencies of English pronunciation?" The introduction consists of an interesting dissertation on pronunciation in general, and. opens with tho complaints of a visitor from the Antipodes—"a teacher of English in tho public schools of New Zealand'' as to his difficulties while exploring England in an effort^to determine the quality of tlie English voice. He said: "I left England, wondering what on earth tho English voico was and whereabouts in England people spoke English. I saw in the North, at bank holiday time, tens of thousands of English men and womon who speak nothing Silt dialects; I heard cockney in almost every street in London: I heard in the West End well-brod affectation tones produced, as it were, around a substantial marble wobbling in the region of tho tonsils: I heard languid drawls, simpers, high-pitched saver-bell lisps; I heard terminal 'aws' and clipped 'g's' and fceblo 'h's'; but rarely did I hear what I should call just a fine, clear, interesting voice, speaking good plain English." (New York and London: Funk and Wagnalls Co. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, Ltd.)

"We are glad to see a third edition of "Soldiers' Spoken French," by Helene Cross, has been issued. It has been considerably added to and improved, the vocabulary of military terms especially being,made much fuller. No fewer than 30,000 copies of this excellent little manual have been 6old, a fact -which in itself shows how much it is appreciated by those for whom it is intended. (Christchurch: "Whitcombo and Tombs, Ltd. 2s 6d.) "

|The Soldiers' Service Dictionary," edited by Frank H. Vize telly, Litt.lX, LL.D., is also intended for use at the front, having bean compiled for the benefit of the men in the United States Service. Mrs Cross's book is more suited for those wlio wish to acquire merely an elementary working knowledge of French; 3>r. Vizetelly's book, j is in the form of. a dictionary, and not of a phrase-book, is on a more comprehensive "scale. It is stated to contain 10,000 military, naval, aeronautical, aviation, and conversational words and phrases used by the Belgian, British, and French armies, and is very ingeniously-arranged so as'to be available for ready reference. (New York and London: Funk and "Wagnalls Co. Sydney: Angus and Robertson, Ltd.)