GERMANY’S MAN POWER.

Evening Star, Issue 16033, 9 February 1916, Page 3

GERMANY’S MAN POWER.

London ‘ Times ' and Sydney ‘ Sun ’ Services. LON'DOX, February 7. Colonel Repington, military correspondent of ‘The Times,’ publishes exhaustive investigations of Germany's man power. Accepting 13,000,000 men* o£ military age available at the commencement of the war, after making careful deductions for essential industries, it would leave a maximum of 9,000,000 available fighters, including 300,000 belonging to tho 1917 class, Who have not been called up. Germany hag now 170 divisions in the field. Adding cavalry and army troops, and an unusually high percentage for artillerv and technical services, gives a total of 3,500,000. ,

Colonel Repington says: “We have found German companies averaging 175 instead of 250, but recently 0.0)11- I panics of 500 have been encountered in the west; therefore it Is safest to regard the establishments as complete. The German Josses, as shown in the casualty lists, , have been : In 1914—Amrust 92,130. Sep- ' tembor 125,423, 0ct0ber'279.757. Nnvbrnber 255.285. December 201,952. In 1915 January 163,E01, February 96,241. March 155,854, April 155.502. May 107,034, June. 182,786. July 159.977, August 146,195, September 170,081, October 184,909, November 190.852, December 66.485. With January, 1916, 36,000 (about), ibis gives s. total of 2.627.085. These lists must be accepted, although they do not contain the names of some-dead. ,Wo found, like onr lists, that they omit sick and invalided, except those who have died of Sickness in. the war /.one. German medical men claim a, return of 84 per cent, of the wounded to tho ranks, hut it is safe to estimate that 25 per cent, never return to the firing line. “Deducting 790.000 from the returns Sncl adding 630,000 as tho floating population of tile hospitals and sanatoriums, the net losses become 2,500,000. There fore there are 2,800.000 still available as Ln C n™ ya iu Germ py- Of these probably £OO,OOO are communications ancl tovris - Tf the Germans lose,' 250,000 per month their power of reinforcing will end in September. Tf we proceed fighting the Turks and Bulgare and what not, and destroying only 36.000 Germans monthly, tho war will bet inlermirlible.”