Page:Michael Farbman - Russia & the Struggle for Peace (1918).djvu/82

 70 principles of discipline and the organisation of the Russian army are taken from Germany, are too easily led to the conclusion that the Russian army is similar to the German army.

Both these notions are wrong, and it is doubtful which of the two is farther from the truth. The Russian soldier certainly has very little in common with the French, British or American soldier. And, while the organisation of the Russian army and the foundation of its disciplinary system are certainly modelled on the German system, the Russian army resembles the German army only in external form. The real inward elements of discipline and organisation in the two armies are distinct.

Take, first of all, the status of the army in the two countries. It is radically and absolutely different. In Germany the army has always been considered the most important national institution. The place of the army in Germany is similar to the position of the navy in English social life. The army in Germany, like the navy in England, has always been considered the foundation and guarantee of the State. Many great and living traditions have made "Unser Heer" the pride of the nation, and thus it is the highest pride of every German to be a part of the army.

It is true that a minority of thinking Germans, especially among the Socialists, have had an outspoken dislike of the army, or, at any rate, some suspicion of it and prejudice against it. But on the whole it is beyond doubt that the army in Germany is liked by the entire people, and admired and even worshipped. To be rejected from the army, to be unfit for military service, amounted to a popular disgrace, and a German would tell a lie rather than admit in public that he had been rejected from the army. It would, however, be a misunderstanding to suppose that the life of a German soldier (I mean in peace time) was a particularly pleasant one. Nothing of the sort. On the contrary, the German soldier's life was very hard indeed. It meant very