TRAINED TROOPS v. NUMBERS

Waikato Times, Volume 88, Issue 13432, 10 March 1917, Page 1 (Supplement)

TRAINED TROOPS v. NUMBERS

I'».v Livingston Wright. Over and over, trained troops liava soundly and very often decisively thtush?d .superior numbers. The notion that throwing forward vast numbers or vast resources necessarily decide wars is merely one of those pet visionings that really are pot because they appeal so strongly to tin- ignorant and are very ra.--\ to put. forward. Liuhtning-like handling of troops; profound, cautious strategy: generalship that can reverse a huge system of preconceived probabilities and discern the iaction] opening; and above all —the minute and exhaustive preparedness of troops. These are the things- thai de-

cide battles and end wars. Let us see what a few citations can show about this question of what can military skill and preparedness do:

Rannnckburn. Well, they had a general. thc*e Scots under King Robert Bruce. With his 00,000 he decisively whipped 100,000 English who oppos-

( tl him. Howr Rv merely a hundred devices of the real general. For instance, he had that section o> the fir Id where oa.vulry was bound to he tried —set with caltrops. were iron balls in which were fixed four long, stout spikes, f.o placed that no matter how the ball was Hung upon the ground from one to three of those terrible spikes stuck up. The oiki-ops. therefore, settled the hash of the English cavalry. The cavalry ab-

solutely could not be used. And the rank and file of Rruoe's arinv—men trained by a lifetime of

climbing the crags and handling the bow and javelin (in fact tie Jedburgh staff was of Scots origin and Soots nomenclature) men who could live for

months on a bag of oatmeal and their 'faith in Scotland. Led by a genuine general, Bannockburn s-hows what preparedness can do when up against it. Napoleon destroyed the Archduke Charles' army of 100.000 Austrians and never fought an open battle. How? Discerning, with the instinct of genius, that an openine stared him in the face. Napoleon decided that it would tie a shame to waste the time and lives of his veterans in op ii engagements with Charles' array, when something else would probably do just as well. Hence Napoleon began to jockey. He succeeded bv feints in separating the archduke's army. Then In would skirmish with small bands, cut them off and go on disorganising this ''splendid army." In thro? months, without having fought one omiaEomont that could be termed a battle. Napoleon had destroyed this '•magnificent assemblage ' of Archduke

Charles. Rut what did Napoleon have to work with? Recruits 0 Nay. The men who wre allotted to do no Charles had been trained and retrained : vetevanised and pnet-veteranised in battle after battle. fieneral Jack-on with 0000 men,

chiefly militia, inflicted a terrible defeat on the British at New Orleans with their 12.000 men. The British loss was over 2.00-1. and the American los<s was «.->von killed and «ix wounded. Prohably it will stand as tlie most amazing instance in history of tromondousnr-ss of execution nccoinpaliving slight 10-ss on the part of the victors. Jackson'-- armv lias been called I "mostly militia." but that word ''milii tin" meant n far different thing than a i nbble. Tin- bulk of his men were pro"clonal lnd ; ;ni Miters and nlainsmen. Thus, the ban I.' ul New Orleans was, in nbsolule fact, a battle of »orx>rexnerts against regulars from England. Ah I Far, very far, from the truth is this sleepv bosh about W.v resources winning in the end! Military annals

Germany's toughest dictator, the man who proclaims that he can make her hold out in happy starvation and healthy privation until every one gets cred of war and goes home to tea, is Pi ivy Councillor von Batocki. His friends call him The Napoleon, and the comic papers call him 'I he Potato Napoleon.

Batocki is an unpleasant, rough man, .1 pusher, bully, and pedant in private life, and public, who always knows what be- wants and gets it, and also know? what other people want and see that they do not get it, if it is bad for them. When Batocki was appointed food dictator for all Germany, that is, president of the war nourishment bureau, a newspaper man had the assurance to ask him what he meant to do: and Batocki answered gruffly, 'i shall do

every thing.'' The newspaper man found Batocki in the Berlin Adjon Hotel with four giant, potatoes on his desk. Ho was studying the potatoes in the way less- eminent men study metaphysics. He refused to say more than, that be. would do every, thing, and when the newspaper man, amazed at Batocki's modesty, was going away, in came the Austrian Professor Fischer, the greatest potato expert on I'arwi. who has written an essay t >, prove that out of potatoes may br j made everything necessary for war ox-! eept gums, powder and diplomacy. USES OF THE POTATO. I Dr Fischer proved that uniforms may

be made of potato fibres, synthetic meat out of potato pulp and paper out of potato skins. Fischer, as a potato enthusiast, sought out Batocki lor two reasons, because Batocki is the best farmer in East Prussia, and because! Batocki now has the ticklish task of feeding 70 millions of men on potato meat, potato vegetables, and potato milk.

Batocki has been given greater power than any individual ever possessed in humanity's history. For tins he is propared by race. He is a typical, hardheaded, managing Prussian of new nobility, btit ancient militant blood. Batocki began life in the East Prussian Cuirassiers, and fought a duel before he was- in it a week. Then he got tired of drilling and went, back to manage Bledau estate. Batoeki's father had neglected the estate, and it was mortgaged for more than it was worth, but Batocki in six years paid off the mortgages and turned the estate into the best-managed in Prussia. Batoeki's potatoes were famous. When Batocki finished that—long before ho was known ill Germany—be went to America and" studied in California how to nurse, twist and contort, plants, and know.more about American agriculture than any Prussian. Batocki. like all Prussians, was an army reserve man and

when the war broke out he went as a, colonel and got the Iron Cress. But

Kaiser Wilhelm had resolved not to let him be killed. Wilhelm set his eves on Batocki four years hack when Wilhrlm made a scandal by announcing at a

public assembly that a tenant on his East Prussian estate had been "thrown

out" for incompetence. Everyone attacked Wilhelm and said the tenant was highly competent: but Batocki proved, that 'the tenant was not competent, if judged by a really high standard: and this was the standard of the Bledau estate.

TERRIBLE DESPOT. Kaiser Wilholm knew how Batocki had saved has estate from ruin and, that Batocki was ii terrible despot. Last autumn he chose him to be overpresident, that is, supreme governor of East Prussia. East, Prussia was twice

invaded; and all over the part near the. Russian frontier nothing remained except walls of houses. Near Allenstein shell fragments lay thicker than potatoes and tens of square miles were so furrowed with trenches it took the average farmer three months to fill them up. Batocki showed his pugnacious character by challenging a month after the appointment the highest military authorities. He drew up plans to* rebuild Lyck and Lotzen, which lay in ruins, and ho wanted to make ne"w roads to them. The military commandant of the province said no; that would interfere with defence plans. Batocki said yes. He appealed from the commandant to Hindenbttrg, who is himself an Ea9t Prussian, and has authority all the way from Poland to Danzig," and. Hindenburg said no. Batocki appealed against Hindenburg to the Kaiser, Wilhelm backed up Hindenburg: and Batocki refused to rebuild the towns. In the end Hindenburg gave way. Batocki in his new post as president, of tTie war nourishment bureau has far greater powers than Kaiser Wilhelm ever had. Ho can do things which Kaiser Wilhelm cannot do, and things which even the Bundesrat, the chief repository of civilian authority since the

war began, cannot do. His omnipotence conies from the fact; which is now in history, that he can fix the price of sale and' purchase of any single thing or of all things in an empire. This includes everything that is eaten, manufactured and traded in. including specially food materials, raw materials and metals, fodder, cattle, clothes. He has power to issue any regulation whatsoever concerning trading in anything,

import, export, or distribution; "and by a stroke of his pen he can expropriate anything found in the empire. His powers as defined in the Bundesrat nomination decree are so wide that the Frankfurter Zeitung says: "Herr Batocki has literally power to seize an individual and cut him up for food." Ho can further give orders to the 20 odd State Governments of the empire; and, in this respect, beatfi the record, as the German constitution in peace time rigidly limits' the Imperial Government's powers over the acairs of the constituent States. If Batocki liked lie could 1 starve a man to death, for he has power to say that in such al place or to such a man bread must not "ho sold at less than £2 a pound, and if he considers that Kaiser Wifhelm's 30 estates are not being farmed on the right line? from the standpoint) of feeding the people, he can expropriate Kaiser "Wilhelm's estates at anv price he likes. He can close any factory, compel a. manufacturer to open a closed factory, compel him to stop manufacturing one

thing and substitute another thing. And in all these things no one can overrule him. Batocki said he would not take the post except on these conditions. Kaiser Wilhelm two months ago summoned, him to Verdun and told him what was proposed. He was to be dictator, blithe would have to take advice. The advisers were to be a committee of representatives of agriculture, trades and manufacturer, and there would also he assessors from all the existing committees which for the past vear have regulated special branches of food sale and distribution. This would make a food parliament, and Batocki would be i Sneaker. Batocki asked Kaiser Wilhelm if the food parliament or the Sneaker was to be boss, and Kaiser Wilhelm said that the Speaker of course would follow the counsels of the majority. Batocki said he would not take the post on such conditions. He would he CVsar nr nothing, and he asked for permission to tio back to East TVnssia. where he was CVesar. Kaiser Wilhelm climbed down, and Bethmann-Hollwec: was told l to nut before the Bunders-rat a olan making Batocki autocrat and making the parliament merely his advisers whom he could overrule as much as he chose.

Being a Cresar or a Napoleon in food questions is far harder than one in polities or war, because food conporns every stomach and politics and war interest only one brain out of ten. Batoeki's troubles have already begun. Batorki is a tough super -Prussian and is not much interested in the other German Mate'. Prussia and the other St lies hare all their own systems of agriculture, land tenure and crops: before the war they had independent Ministcrs of Agriculture and never medH'ed in one another's food questions. The States even during war are jealous ot their power befause thfv fear that if ihc.v surrender their rights tcmrwa';|v to the Imperial- Government thev will not cot them bade after peace pomes. The- State of Wurttomherc: i* the most jealous of all, partly because. I it is farthest nwav from Berlin, partly I became old King Wilholm of Wurttemherg is a grent stickler for his independence. The South Gorman States were better fed than Prussia under the conditions of food decentralisation which nreceded the Batooki autopracv. Batocki and his Prussian friends hold

sian experts say that Wurtterotoerg has* two-thirds again more potatoes than Prussia; and she ought to give them up. Stuttgart municipality, headed, by Burgormeister Lautonschiager, hove raised a revolt against the now auto- J craey; and are passing resolutions tor the repeal of the food dictatorship. They discovered that in the Bundesrat Wurttem berg's representatives votod for the dictatorship, and they am making trouble for their own Government for consenting to such shame. Batocki's first actions are a hint that if necessary he will send his own officials tn chock and .store the -stock in Wurt- | tern berg hands. [

Batoeki is a hard taskmaster. A present he is preparing figures to show ' that Germans are idle, thriftless, am gluttonous; they do not work hair enough and they eat and sleep too well, This charge surprises people who know ! how the war has hit. Germany, but | Batoeki is judging by his- own standard. The Bavarian, farmers complain that they have not enough seed potatoes and that this year's crops tor that reason will. 1-e had; but Batoeki thinks that the wicked Bavarians, in addition to the two pounds daily they are allowed, eat up the see-;! potatoes; and he has got tables from the working or his own I estate, to show that- people could eat less, and nearly double their crops without failing in health. The Bavarians are displeased at Batocki's superior husbandry and greater resistance to hunger. Batoeki, they say, holds that thin people all round are better than fat: they make the best workers because they do not perspire, and they ■ make the best sofdiers because they are j harder to aim at. Altogether Batocki's notions of Germany at war are very I like Alaeaulay's description of Prussia I in Frederick the Great's age. "It .was all muscle." }