Page:The Russian Review Volume 1.djvu/75

Rh a way for it by demolishing the enemy's defenses. The infantry completes the blow.

Another of Napoleon's principles, applied extensively by the Germans, is concentration of large masses of troops at the particular spots where they can be used most effectively. The Germans recognize the commonplace truth that they cannot be strong everywhere, and their military genius lies precisely in the proper choice of points at which to concentrate their forces.

But even Napoleon never dreamt of such lavish use of artillery as that developed by the Germans during this war. The artillery equipment of the German army is truly wonderful, and their supply seems to be inexhaustible. Before the war, Germany supplied most of the world with implements and munitions of war. Now, all her war industries, with their productive powers and efficiency increased many times, work exclusively for the needs of the German army. The natural result is that there seems to be no limit to the German supply of guns and munitions, no matter how extravagant is their use.

Often it seems almost a miracle that the Germans are enabled to concentrate very large bodies of troops at certain points. Such movements, especially on the Eastern front, must, it seems, result in a weakening at other points. Yet the German line appears to be almost equally powerful everywhere.

The secret of this lies in the German use of machine guns. Germany has at present over 100,000 machine guns in her trenches, and she can, naturally, make very effective use of them. In the Russian army a machine gun is almost as imortantimportant [sic] as a cannon, while the Germans regard it as scarcely more valuable than a good repeating rifle.

The following case will serve as an excellent illustration. Suppose the Germans have four companies guarding a line of trenches. Against them are also four Russian companies, in trenches. The Russians usually have one machine gun for each two companies; the Germans have as many as they need. Now, suppose that three of the German companies are needed in some other part of the battle front. They are led away, but, in their stead, the number of machine guns is increased, so that there is one gun for every fifteen soldiers. As a result, considering the number of bullets that the defenders of the German trenches can discharge, they have the defensive strength of twelve companies, as against the Russian four.