New Britain Herald Newspaper, August 28, 1914, Page 7

NEW BRITAIN .DAILY HERALD FRIDAY, AUGUST 28, 1014, ~~_— 'TYPES OF SOLDIER Photos by American Press Association. 1—German cuirassiers. 2.—German infantry on review. French commander, on left, holding council of war. 4—Engl Servian ammunition squad. 8.—Austrian cavalry. at mess. 5. 7—Russian infantry. By JOHN J. BREEN. ITH all Europe plunged in war it is interestipg to study the different types of soldiers who became Involved in the mighty struggle and the methods of fighting in which some ex- telled. Austria, which started the trou- ble which resulted in a géneral Euro- pean conflagration, at all times has had an excellent army, but in former wars bas lacked leaders. In at least one branch of warfare the Austrians excel, and that is in moun- tainous fighting. A division of the Aus- trian army of which the country s well proud is the Jaegers. They are moun- tain sharpshooters. They climb the mountains like goats and are among the best shots in all Europe. They carry their mountain guns packed on their backs and in engagements in the mountainous territory which charac- terizes the country they are almost in- vincible. Another branch of the army which is highly regarded and which al- ways has given a good account of it- self is that made up of Hungarians. The IHungarians are dashing soldiers and fearless, and their cavalry charges are dreaded by all Europe. The Hun- garians ‘are born horsemen and are more at ease In the saddle than on the ground. .Austria s a great horse breeding country, and the animals used by the Huhgariah ‘cavalry are an in- valuable part of the equipment. The Servians, on whom the Austrians waged war which 'startéd the great conflict in Europe, are born fighters— in fact, it has been said that they are never happier than when engaged in battle. Just before the present trouble they went through two wars, and they 1ave been fighting practically all the 8.—General Jofire, h soldiers 6.—~Type of Austrian soldier. time. Of late years under the influence of Russia the men at the head of the government have been doing a great deal to bring the army up to modern requirements. Servian infantry and fleld artillery are highly proficient. The Servians are also great mountain fight- ers, as their country is almost as moun- tainous as that of Austria. The army of the German empire is regarded as the world’s most powerful land fighting machine. It is greatest in organization, drill and preparedness for war and in the number of men imme- diately ready for active fleld service is second only to the Russian army. German a Born Soldier. The German is a soldier of the high- est type—boi a soldier, nurtured as one—developéd to the highest degree of efficiency. The German army consists of the first line, landwehr and landsturm, the last a home defense reserve. Two regi- ments of infantry, six battalions, form a brigade, two brigades a division and two divisions an army corps. In war all corps will be constituted of thirty- six battalions. To each infantry di- vision is attached an artillery brigade (twelve batteries) and a regiment of cavalry (four squadrons); to each army corps four batteries of howitzers, a battalion of .rifiles and an engineer battalion. The. war strength of a com- plete division of two brigades is about 14,000 and of ‘an army corps of two di- visions 30,000, . There ‘are altogether twenty-five army corps of two'divisions each. ‘There'is only one permanent cavalry division—that of the guard—but in war eight divisions are formed from the line regiments. . The normal strength of a cavalry division is three brigades of S two regiments each, with three batteries plane companies, with 173 officers and of horse artillery, squadrons of twelve guns. in all twenty-four|4,446 men. The intended employment of the re- The total of the fleld army is 1,250,- [ serve troops in war has not been di- 000, to which must be added the mo- | vulged by the German general staff, but bile landwehr of 600,000. In addition it |the plans show that most of the two 1s estimated that there are at least|brigade divisions will be augmented by 1,500,000 trained’ men to supply waste|a reserve brigade in war and that all of war. The landsturm is not included |army corps in the German army can in ‘this number. 36,304 officers and 754,681 men. The army is armed with Mauser mag- azine rifies and the cavalry with Mau- |t The ‘fleld and horse ar- |lery brigade of twelve batteries. ser carbines. tillery have Krupp guns, firing a fifteen The peace footing is | take the fleld with six brigades, the ar- tillery being increased proportionately by reserve regiments. To each infan- division is attached in war an artil- Unquestionably greater in numbers pound shell. There are seventeen aero- | than any other army of anclent or mofern times, the Russian army, called into action by the war of Austria-Hun- gary on Servia, protege of Russia, is one of the greatest of the world's fight- ing machines. Over 5,000,000 men fol- low the colors in time of war. Individually the Russian soldier is not ranked as high in intelligence and adaptability as the soldier of Germany or France, but his devotion to his fa- therland brings out his fighting quali- ties. 2 “Sincere and unaffected love for his monarch, profound religious piety in- timately united with the idea of the czar and of the fatherland, attachment {COSSACKS_PRIDE OF GREAT RUSSIAN ARMY order of human beings. Accustomed to communistic government, they can obey or command, as the occasion re- quires. They are both prudent and brave—prudent because they are ac- quainted with danger and brave be- cause bravery is part of their creed. “The army may sleep in safety when T the beginning of the great war in Europe two men who stood out prominently in the epoch making developments were Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria and to the fatherland, unlimited confidence in his chiefs, strong esprit de corps and a faculty of enduring gayly and nat- urally the greatest privations—such are the most marked characteristics of the Russian soldier,” says a Russian gen- eral. “To these traits must be added re- markable bravery and a rare contempt of death, combined with naive kind heartedness and a gentle and indulgent disposition. The Russian soldier is dis- tinguished by a good humor that never abandons him even in the most difficult moments, by his brotherly under- standing with his comrades and by his gay and contented way of facing all the decrees of fate. Obedience is so deeply rooted in the mind of the Ru sol- dier that during my thirty years' ex- perience in the army I do not remem- ber to have witnessed one single case of insubordination, either in times of peace or in times of war." Russia Eager For Fray. Russia aspires to be the protector of the Slav people, and, while she has hith- erto falled to play that role with any great degree of glory, she still clings to it. It was to her that Servia looked for IN GREAT EUROPEAN WAR to respond, but was in no condition to do so. She was still prostrated from the Japanese war, and at the first hint that her interference in behalf of Servia would be met by Germany coming te the ald of Austria she could do nothing but maintain a neutral attitude. But Russia now is in a different posi« tion and is eager for an opportunity te rehabllitate her military reputation. France has a great army. The Frenchman is a great soldier. He is brave and dashing, but in previous wars the French have lacked organiza« tion. In the last war with Germany the French soldiers were the victima by many traps. Owing to the fact that the army is made up of many races, it has been hard to handle in the past. England has an army which is at the highest point of eficlency. Of course her land forces are not to be compared to the naval forces, where England leads the world, but the army has able leaders and the rank and file is made up of brave men with plenty of stamina and endurance. AN UNHAPPY EMPEROR AND DISTRUSTED KING &) Cossacks are at the outposts,” is a com- mon Russian saying, for they scent danger afar off and are supposed to be secure against surprises. One promi- nent feature of the Cossack character which strikes one as being strangely at variance in conjunction with their in- King Peter of Servia. The assassina- tion of Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife was the fourth great trag- edy in the life of Emperor Francis Jo- seph, now in his eighty-fourth year. It was the indirect cause of what prom- ises to be the greatest war in the Photos by American Press Association Czar of Russia and His Crack Cossacks. N the great European war the Rus- sian Cossacks were figured to play an important part in the land campalgn. The military educa- tion of the Cossack, a curious blending of the Tartar and the Caucasian races, begins while he is in the cradle, when the first sounds his ear catches are the words of the warlike songs with which he is rocked to sleep, and the Cossack’s children’s games are nearly all of a warlike natyre. The boys arp placed on horseback oon as they can walk, 8o that it is small wonder if the Cos- sack and his horse soon become as one. #e wears no spurs, and his arms are so well contrived that they make no notse, and it {s their boast that “a hundred Cossacks make less noise than a single regular cavalry soldie The Cossack regiments in former days were raised in very irregular fash- ion. All depended on the commander, on whom devolved the sole responsi- bility of raising a regiment. The only regulations were those contained in a few manuscript instructions, nor was there any fixed drill or words of com- mand. . But the Cossack was a war- rior by birth and education, the son and grandson of warriors, and with his first lisp had learned te speak of war. From eight years of age the Cossack boys rode fearlessly over the steppes on half wild bareback horses; the days were passed in training themselves for war; the long evenings passed in listening to the tales of raid and adventure with which the veterans fired the spirit of their sons. On outpost duty they were and are still the eye (or shall we say the point- er dog?) of the Russian army. Unlike the ordinary Russian they are inde- pendent in spirit, self reliant and full of resource. They know little of the cringing servility that brands the ordi- nary Slav as belonging to an infertor dependence and self rellance is their superstitious faith in all manner of signs and omens, and the most trivial act of every day life is usually pref- aced by prayer. In actual warfare the larger part of the scouting service and of the cavalry outpost duty falls to the share of the Cossacks. They carry orders and dis- patches, act as orderlies to officers and perform all kinds of useful services. ‘Whenever a man is needed for any- thing outside ordinary camp duties a Cossack is sure to be summoned. ‘Wherever the advance guard of infan- try penetrates it is sure to find that the Cossacks have already left their mark, for they had, if they do not retain, the activity of true pioneers and all the restlessness of savages. Such are the Cossacks, and as such they of all the troops of the Russian army welcome war, since it will enable them to rub off the rust of years of peace, for the Russian makes no secret of the fact that they are not what they were a century ago, or when all Europe rang with their fame after the great part they played during the retreat from Moscow of the grand army of Na- poleon in 1812. Races of warlike people all the world over who have enjoyed a long period of peace and turned their swords into plowshares must lose some portion of that military instinct which was formerly a part of their nature. In days gone by the Cossacks, forever con- tending with the Tartars, continually engaged In forays and raids, became 80 entirely a warrior race that the part of their lives not spent in war was passed in military exercises. But now, except in such circum- stances as those of the present war, the Cossack does not live to fight. He passes a peaceable existence on the land he cultivates for the support of his family and when called out for military exercise no longer employs his ancient tactics, but is taught in the same man- ner as the regular troops. He has thus to some extent lost those especial qualities which formerly distinguished him. The Cossack in times past was an incomparable irregular soldier, but a process of somewhat injudicious dra- gooning has gone far to make him only an indifferent regular. The next few weeks or months will show whether the traditions and instincts of his'ancestry may not, after all, be stronger than the cramping influence of the barracks. ARTHUR J. BRINTON. world’s history. The beginning of the war saw Em- peror Francis Joseph’s cup of bitterness filled. He has seen the eldest of his three younger brothers, the Archduke Ferdinand, the Emperor Maximilian of Mexico, executed; his only son, the Archduke Rudolph, die under mysteri- ous and scandalous circumstances, ei- ther murdered or a suicide; his wife, the beloved Empress Elizabeth, assas- sinated, and now his second heir and the latter's wife assassinated. The tragedy of Meyerling, through which the Archduke Rudolph met his death, has been kept as much of a mys- tery as possible by imperial silencing. Some historians have accepted it as an established fact that Rudolph commit- ted suicide that night in his hunting lodge, although admitting that the Baroness Marie Vetzera met her death at the hunting lodge at the same time. From statements made at various times by persons close to the facts it appears to have been at least partially established that the archduke died of a great wound in the head made seem- ingly by some heavy instrument. One anonymous writer in the Paris Temps a few years ago gave this explanation of the tragedy: The archduke had gone to the hunt- ing lodge with some men friends, but without the Baroness Vetzera, who was a very beautiful girl of eighteen years. The baroness planned to surprise her royal admirer and drove to the hunting lodge later in the evening, passing sev- eral hours dining and talking with the archduke and his friends. This account of the events of the night omits all sug- gestion of any orgy. The coachman who drove the baroness to the hunting lodge is quoted as having said he saw the archduke and the baroness chatting quietly by & window at midnight. Then, this version of-the story runs, Count Waldstein, another admirer of the young woman, who had been spy- ing upon her, notified Count Baltazzi, the baroness’ guardian. The version continues that these two went to the hunting lodge together, obtained ad- mittance on a pretext and entered a room where the royal lovers were. Then, the anonymous writer continues, the Count Waldstein shot and killed the girl, the archduke shot and killed Waldstein, and the guardian, unarmed, picked. up a champagne bottle or other handy implement and with a powerful Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria (left), King Peter of Servia. blow crushed the skull of the archduke. No one was ever punished for the death of the archduke or of the young woman. King Peter of Servia never found fa- vor in the courts of Europe. For years he defled the great powers following the butchery of King Alexander and Queen Draga, by which bloody act he became king. For a time after the dual assassination the dispatches from Bel- grade were misleading. At first they intimated that the king had eliminated from his household those officers who had taken a leading and personal part in the shocking butchery, The cables neglected to explain the regicides in question, far from ?)-.q, had been, on the contrary, advanced in rank and promoted from positions at court to the highest dignities of the state, WALTON WILLIAMS.