WARS STEADILY GROWING SHORTER.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XIX, Issue VIII, 14 August 1897, Page 250

WARS STEADILY GROWING SHORTER.

With the exception of the Franco-Russian war, the greatest war which Europe has seen since the days of Napoleon was the Crimean war (says the Boston Advertiser), which took place more than forty years

ago and luted about two years. The campaigns of Napoleon, of course, while they were considered short u compared with some previous wan in Europe, were certainly long u compared with the wars of tiie put fewdecades. A distinct movement in the direction of the shorter duration of wars ia to be noticed in the put few centuries The campaign in the Spanish Netherlands luted forty-two years. Then followed the Thirty Years’ War in Europe, ending in the peace of Westphalia. Civil war in England luted from 1642 to 1660, although hostilities were not in progress all that time. The wars of the Spanish Succession, of the Austrian Succession, the Swedish-Russian War, and the Seven Years* War followed, averaging about ten years apiece. The French and the American Revolutions averaged about seven years apieee. The Napoleonic campaigns covered nearly fifteen years. The Crimean War luted from 1854 to 1856. In the War of the Rebellion, in this conntry, the world saw the latest war which extended over tour years of time. Since 1865, with the general introduction of the telegraph, the electric cabs and the modern system of railways, war hu become a matter of a few months at most. In 1866 Prussia defeated Austria in seven weeks. Prussia defeated France in about two months. The wu between Russia and Turkey began in April, 1877, and wu practically finished by the close of that year. The war between China and Japan began about midsummer, 1894, and ended in March, 1895. The present war between Turkey and Greece seems to be practically ended in about four weeks from the outbreak of formal hostilities. It seems to be shown by experience that two important civilised nations in these days of telegraph and railway cannot conduct wars for any length of time unless the contending countries are separated by the ocean or some other natural, barrier.