GERMAN WAR STRENGTH.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXXIX, Issue 3871, 6 March 1915, Page 7

GERMAN WAR STRENGTH.

INTERESTING FIG U R E-S. In an interesting article published by vou on December 30 your contributor'makes certain calculations which appear to me to he unsubstantiated, (writes a correspondent of “The Daily Mail”). Urging the people of this country not to underrate the fighting strength of Germany, he puts the armv which the Germans now have in the ‘field at 5,000,000, and estimates that “early in the year 1915 there will be a new army of the ideal fighting ao-e —i.e., the late Twenties”—amounting to 1,000,000 men while there will be^,ooo,ooo more “who have had some military training and are not yet 45 years of ago.” Thus there will be early in 1915 a total fighting force of 8,000,000 men who are in the prime of military life. -> Without tying your contributor down too strictly to the letter of these statements let me put before your readers the official analysis of the male population of Germany in respect of age. _ . These figures, which were issued m Berlin about- five years ago. may be summarised thus:— „ „

Out of the total population of 62.000,000, 30,000.000 are males. Of these. 12.900,000 are hoys, and youths under 20 years of age (those under 15 numbering slightly more than 10,000,000), while men of over 55 years of age number 3,100,000. Thus boys and youths under 20 and men over 55 account between them for 16.000,000, while the total number or men between 20 years of age and 5o is 14,000,000. ' These 14,000,000 men are subdivided thus:—

Twenty to 25, 2.500.000. Twenty-five to 45, 9.000.000. Forty-five to 55, 2,200,000. Thus' the total number of maids in the prime of military life is 11,800,000. It is, however, obvious that no country even in the greatest straits., can put all its men capable of military service into the field. I'ood, clothing, arms, and transport are necessary. Therefore an army in the field must have an industrial population at its back. Now the number of male workers in Germany of all ages, is 20,000,000, of whom men between the ages of 20 and 45 form nearly .60 per cent. The principal occupations which an army requires for its maintenance are mining, metal-working, transport, the making of boots and clothes and agriculture. The number of men between 20 and 45 normally engaged in these occupations is as follows: Mines, 580,060, out of a total of 960,000. Metals, 720,000, out of a total of 1,200,000. ' Transport, 600,000, out of a total of 1,000,000. Clothing, 450.01J0, out of a total of 800 000, Agriculture. 3,200,000 out of a total of 5,200,000. ' Preparation of foodstuffs (butchers, bakers, etc.), about 420.000. Thus, these occupations, of which the last three are essential not only in the maintenance and equipment of the army but to the life of the population generally, normally employs about 6,000,000 of tlie 11,800.000 men between 20 and 45 years of age, leaving as available for army purposes only 5,800,000 men between the ages in question. To put the matter g nerally, a German army of 8,000,000 would men the withdrawal from industry of 'more than 60 tier cent, of the men between 20 and 55 years of age who in normal tunes.are engaged in it.