LESSONS FROM THREE ARMIES.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 3058, 1 December 1908, Page 7

LESSONS FROM THREE ARMIES.

The three armies 01 -the United -Kingdom, Germany, and France have all recent y held their manoeuvres. What has been the result? Comparing the performance of the French troops with that of the Germans, it - appears that modern conditions of. "warfare suit the Gallic temperament better than the Teutonic. The indi- - -viduality ot the Fenchman is more pronounced, and- he is quicker in this readiness to seize a fleeting 'opportunity. The scientific use of artillery has also been studied better in the Frencn than in the German irmv. With the latter, indeed, grave fault is found by the critics. Again, the bringing of the artillery into action under close infantry fire is m accordance with- German theory, which is "not necessarily wrong because it differs from ours and entails calling on the gunners for "heavier sacrifices than public opinion .-at home would stand. The close •formation of the infantry, in like rmanner, is perhaps due to idiosyncrasy, and may be counteracted by the willingness of the troops to stand 'losses and the possession of numbers which make them of small consequence. The noise and fuss occasioned by the shouting of orders by officers and sergeants, for instance, seems to indicate that the troops are not trained to think for themselves audio act with intelligence. The complete disregard of the use of ground points in the same direction, i and also indicates that the officers do not make a sufficient open-air •study of their profession. But worst j of all. there is discerned in the leading of the men a lack of initiative and readiness to take responsibility on the part of the regimental officers. That is the sin which, in warfare, hath never forgiveness, and that such a criticism should ba levelled J against it is the surest proof that " the German Army has, in fact, deteriorated from its great days of 18fi6 and 1870, when the initiative shown by junior officers was one of the great elements in its success. In England the manoeuvres of the Territorials on Salisbury Plain in the early part of last month were full ( of promise for the new force, though : . they were marred by the attenuated state of the brigades in the second ; week. The campaign of the Alrier- , shot division won the warmest k encomiums. The noticeable feature ; has been the intelligence displayed by the men. For the shouting of orders . noticed in the German manoeuvres a whistle and a wave of the arm suffices to direct the men of the Aldershot division. The British Army is small in numbers, and its .administration still leaves much to be desired, while the conditions under which it is trained are prohibitive of the development of genius in the higher commands. But of the quality of the material and the excellence of the regimental officers, to whom so much has been entrusted, there can ;*be no doubt. We cannot afford, says an English paper, to congratulate ourselves unduly on the superiority oi our troops as shown in manoeuvres. The advantage of superior training, great though it is, will vanish unless backed by a of determination and selfthe nation. i ' •■*• I lIIIIIIIIIHMUMI-l 1 r~~~ ™*^