THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1914. THE POLICY OF ATTRITION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LI, Issue 15748, 24 October 1914, Page 6

THE New Zealand Herald AND DAILY SOUTHERN CROSS. SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24, 1914. THE POLICY OF ATTRITION.

The ''killed, wounded and missing,'' which includes prisoners, of the Great War, cannot be less than two millions. This vast number, in less than three months of modern warfare, is eloquent of the crime perpetrated by the military tyranny at Berlin which brought such monstrous woe upon the civilised world. Nothing can atone for a crime of such a character but the rooting out of the system which planned it and perpetrated it and the institution of an international understanding which will render its repetition impossible. Such atonement is already being prepared for, the soundness of Earl Kitchener's policy of "attrition" being demonstrated as the weeks pass by. In estimating casualties there is a lack of reliable data, but reasonable approximations are possible from partial official lists and constant reports. The British lists are the only ones available and these are incomplete. They show that about 16,000 casualties occurred during the magnificent retreat from Mons and some 13,500 during the fierce fighting on the Aisne. British naval losses, including the detachment interned in Holland, approximate 4500, a bitter price to pay for learning how to cope with mines, submarines and treachery. From these figures it will be seen that the total British casualties to date cannot be less than 40,000, for fighting has been continuous and in various recent cases losses were reported as heavy. The Belgian military casualties are vague, but cannot possibly be less than 25,000. The Servians have had some hard but not deadly fighting and may well have escaped so far with the loss of a few thousand men, while a much smaller number I of Montenegrin casualties may be estimated. The greatest loss on the Allied side must have been borne by the French and of this wo can only judge by comparison, for there is absolutely no official information yet available. We know that the French have had between one and two million men constantly engaged since the stand on the Marne, while before then they assisted in hampering the German advance, held ground at Verdun and Nancy, and were very active in Alsace-Lorraine. It is probably less than the truth if we assume a-quarter of a million French casualties and the Russian losses may be estimated at half that number. The Russians, it must be remembered, have been generally engaged against the Austrians, who offered them a very feeble resistance and fell back to advantageous positions upon the approach of the reinforced Germans. From these approximations we have the following estimate of Allied casualties: — British 40,000 Belgians 25,000 French 250,000 Russians 125,000 Servians 6,000 Total Allied casualties ... 445,000 Great as this number is it is undoubtedly greatly exceeded by the losses of either Germany or Austria, particularly of Germany. While, the Germans simply hold their ground their losses may not be proportionately greater than those of the Allies, but the moment they advance their antiquated mass formation, and their official disregard for life, expose them to deadly punishment. This was aggravated during the dash upon Paris by the necessity to win ground at any sacrifice unless their carefully-con-cocted plan of campaign was to miscarry, as it did miscarry. In the ! march upon Paris alone 200,000 Germans were reported to have fallen, j and sinco then, as in the first attack ' upon Belgium and in the attempt to take Nancy, the slaughter has i been terrific. Not only from the ! constant and consistent reports but, from the changed character of the ' German Army and the presence in .the German battle-lines of youths

and young men, it is unquestionable that the German losses have been phenomenal and that "attrition" is at work. Over a month ago these German losses were estimated in Berlin itself at 700,000. The capture of Antwerp is stated to have cost Germany 45,000 men. Allowing that their losses on the eastern frontier are no greater than those of the Russians, the aggregate of German casualties in Belgium, France, East Prussia and Poland must now be considerably over a million. The Austrian losses have been very severe and include an extraordinary number captured; they must exceed half a million. Thus wo have:—

Allied casualties (4; 000 German-Austrian casualties '..'. 1,600,000 And the most terrible feature of the struggle is that when the full tale is told this amazing number will probably be found an under-estimate.

Vague figures, however, are somewhat misleading. Tens of thousands of wounded men, probably hundreds of thousands, with care and attention may bo so speedily restored to health and strength as to bo able to resume their places in the ranks, or, if captured, to be treated as prisoners until the close of the war. Many "missing" men are not even prisoners but are merely astray for the time being and fighting with some strange unit on a hundred-mile battlefront. Actual prisoners, though lost to their armies, are not lost to their countries and will return to their homes when the war is over. Nor do these estimates take disease into consideration, and we know that disease is rife among the Germans in France and among the Austrians in Galicia. All that can be said is that for the time being the ranks of the combatants have been depleted since hostilities began by two million men and that hundreds of thousands of these must be in shallow graves. The majority are Germans. What the figures will be when peace is attained who shall estimate'? Earl Kitchener's policy of "attrition" must ultimately lead to the wearing down of the Kaiser's military strength and must leave a humbled and possibly repentant Germany to consider the wisdom of not despising "contemptible" armies and not tearing up "scraps of paper." Germany had over 4,000,000 men in her active army and immediate reserves and might drive 2,000,000 more to the field if the national spirit supported the desperation of the Kaiser. The course of the war and the stupendous losses she is encountering are not calculated, however, to foster her military spirit. The German soldiers made ghastly sacrifices when they thought they marched to victory. It remains to be seen whether they will be so subordinate to their drill-sergeants when they know they march to defeat and that they are being steadily worn down by the armies of the Alliance.