The most efficient and elaborate system ever devised by the ingenuity3 of man, used not only for war and destruction but as an intelligence clearing house for the whole of the Empire, is the German War Machine. Conceived by General Stein in the days of the Napoleonic wars, added to and elaborated by successive administrations, solely4 under the control of the ruling house, its efficiency, perfect and smooth working is due to the total absence of political machinations or preferences. Brains, ability, and thorough scientific knowledge are the only passports for entrance in the Grosser General Stab, the General Staff of the German Empire. You will find blooded young officers and gray-haired generals past active efficiency, experts ranking from an ordinary mechanic to the highest engineering expert, all working harmoniously5 together with one end in view, the acme6 of efficiency. Controlled and directed by the War Lord in person through the Chef des Grossen General Stabs, in my time General Field Marshal von Heeringen, this immense machine, the pulsing brain of a fighting force of four and half a millions of men, is composed of from 180 to 200 officials.
At the Peace of Tilsit, after the crushing defeat of the Prussian armies at Prussian Eylau and Friedland, Bonaparte had Prussia and the whole of Central Europe at his mercy. Contrary to the advice of his generals, especially the succinct10 advice of his often unheeded mentor11 Talleyrand, to completely disintegrate12 Prussia, Napoleon through his fondness for pretty women let himself be tricked by Louise of Prussia. The interesting historical story of this incident may be apropos13 here, showing how the world's history can be changed through a kiss. At the Peace Conference in Tilsit, Napoleon, on the verge14 of disintegrating15 Prussia, met the beautiful Queen Louise of Prussia. Through her pleadings and the imprint16 of Napoleon's kiss on her classic arm Bonaparte granted Prussia the right to maintain a standing17 army of 12,000 men. That in itself did not mean much but it gave able and shrewd Prussian patriots18 the opportunity to circumvent19 and hoodwink Bonaparte's policy.
Prussia has always been fortunate in producing able men at the most needed moments. A man arose with a gift for military organization. He had every province, district, town, and village in Prussia carefully scheduled and the able-bodied men thereof put on record. He selected the 12,000 men permitted Prussia under the Napoleonic decree and drilled them. No sooner were those men drilled than they were dismissed and another 12,000 called in. From this point dates modern conscription--the father of which was General Stein--and this also inaugurated the birth of the War Machine. In the three years Prussia had 180,000 well-drilled men and 120,000 reserves, quite a different proposition from the 12,000 men Napoleon thought he had to face on his retreat from Moscow, and which played a decisive factor in the overthrow21 of the dictator of Europe.
Through the wars of 1864 and 1866 to 1870, the Franco-Prussian War, the War Machine of Prussia was merged22 into that of the German Empire and is a record of increasing efforts, entailing23 unbelievable hard work and a compilation24 of the minutest details. The modern system of organization, especially the mobilization schedules, are Helmuth von Moltke's, the "Grosse Schweiger," the Great Silent, the strategist of the 1871 campaign.
It is curious that there is a great similarity between the late Moltke and Heeringen. They have the same aquiline25 features, tall, thin, dried-up body, the same taciturn disposition, even to their hobbies--Moltke being an incessant26 chess player, Heeringen using every one of his spare moments to play with lead soldiers. He is reputed to have an army of 30,000 lead soldiers with which he plays the moment he opens his eyes--much in the same manner as Moltke, who used to request his chess-board the first thing in the morning. In military circles Heeringen is looked upon with the same respect and accredited27 with quite as much strategical knowledge as Moltke was. It is a significant fact, that, whenever there is any tension in Europe, especially between Germany and France, General von Heeringen or his comrade in arms, General von Thulsen Haeseler--also a great strategist and iron disciplinarian, immediately takes command of Metz, the most important base and military post in the Emperor's domain28.
There is no man alive who knows one-half as much about the strategical position of Metz and the surrounding country as General von Heeringen. Often on stormy, bitter cold winter nights, sentries29 on outposts stationed and guarding the approaches of Metz are startled to find a gaunt, limping figure, covered in a gray army greatcoat with no distinguishing marks, stalking along. Accompanied by orderlies carrying camp stools and table, night glasses and electric torches, halting repeatedly, hidden men taking down in writing the short, croaking30 sentences escaping between the thin compressed lips, the "Geist of Metz" prowls round measuring every foot of ground fifty miles east, west, north, and south of his beloved Metz. The steel tipped arrow ever pointing at the heart of France is safe in the hands of such guardians31.
The visible head of this vast organization is called Der Grosse General Stab with headquarters in Berlin. Each army corps32 has a "kleine General Stab" who sends its most able officers to Berlin. These officers in conjunction with the most able scientists, engineers and architects the Empire can produce, compose the Great General Staff. The virtual head is the German Emperor. The actual executive is called "Chef des Grossen General Stabs."
There is a small, dingy33, unpretentious room in the General Staff Gebaude where at moments of stress and tension or international complications, assemble five men. His Majesty34, at the head of the table; to the right the Chef of Grossen General Stab; to the left his Minister of War; then the Minister of Railways, and the Chief of Admiral Stab. You will notice the total absence of the Ministers of Finance and Diplomacy35. When those five men meet the influence of diplomatic and financial affairs has ceased. They are there to act. The scratching of the Emperor's pen in that room means war, the setting in motion of a fighting force of 5,000,000 men.
Here is another instance:
When the feeling and stress over the Moroccan question was at its height General von Heeringen on leaving his quarters for his usual drive in the Thiergarten was eagerly questioned by a score of officers, awaiting his exit.
"Excellency! Geht's los?" ("Do we begin?")
Grimly smiling, returning their salutes36 and without pause, limping to his waiting carriage came his answer:
"Sieben Buchstaben, meine Herren!" ("Seven letters, gentlemen!")
In Germany military parlance37 this means the Emperor's signature, Wilhelm II, to the mobilization orders.
In order to give the reader a fairly correct view of this mighty38 organization, I have to explain each group separately. The whole system rests on the question of mobilization, meaning the ability to arm, transport, clothe, and feed a fighting force of four and one-half million men, in the shortest possible time on any given point in either eastern or western Europe. For let it be clearly understood that the main point of the training of the German armies is the readiness to launch the entire fighting force like a thunderbolt on any given point of the compass. Germany knows through past experience the advisability and necessity of conducting war in an enemy's country. The German army is built for aggression39. There are four main groups:
1. Organization.
2. Transportation.
3. Victualization.
4. Intelligence.
Each of these groups is, of course, subdivided40 into numerous branches which we shall go into under each individual head.
ORGANIZATION
First comes organization. The German army is composed of three distinct parts: the standing army, the reserves, and Landwehr.
The standing arm comprises 790,000 officers and men. This body of men is ready at an instant. It is the reserves who need an elaborate system of mobilization. The reserves are divided into two classes, first and second reserves. So is the Landwehr, having two levies--the first and second Aufgebot. Every able-bodied man on reaching the age of twenty-one can be called upon to serve the colors. One in five only is taken, as there is more material than the country needs--the fifth being selected for one of five branches: infantry41, cavalry42, artillery43, Genie44 corps, or the navy. The time of service in the infantry is two years; in the cavalry three, in the artillery three, in the Genie corps two, and in the navy three. Well-conducted men get from two to four months of their time. This is by no means a charity on the part of the authorities, but a well-thrashed and deep-laid scheme to circumvent the Reichstag as it gives the Emperor another 75,000 men. A certain class of men passing an examination called Einjahriges Zeugniss or possessing a diploma called Abiturienten Examen (the equivalent of a B. A.) serve only one year in each branch. This class provides most of the reserve officers. The active officers, usually the scions45 of an aristocratic house or the sons of the old military or feudal46 families in Germany, are mostly educated in one of the state Kadetten-Anstalten, military academies, of which Gross-Lichterfelde bei Berlin is the most famous. The real backbone47 and stiffening48 of the German army and navy is the noncommissioned officers recruited from the rank and file. In fact, this body of men is the mainstay of the thrones in the German Empire, especially of Prussia. These men, after about twelve years of service in an army where discipline, obedience49, and efficiency are the first and last word, are then drafted into all the minor50 administrative51 officers of the state, such as minor railway, post, excise52, municipal, and police. The reader will see the significance of this when it is pointed53 out that not only the Empire but the War Machine has these well-trained men at its beck and call. The same thing applies to the drafting of officers to hold the highest administrative positions in the state.
There are twenty-five army corps all placed in strategical position. The strongest is in Alsace-Lorraine and along the Rhine; the second in importance garrisoning54 the Prussian-Russian border. The whole country is subdivided into Bezirks commandos (districts posts) whose business is to have on record not only every able-bodied man--reservists--but every motor, horse, and vehicle available; also food and coal supply--in fact, everything likely to be wanted or useful to the army. Every German reservist, or otherwise, knows the reporting place of his district and has to report there when notified within twenty-four hours. The penalties for noncompliance are high even in peace times. In the event of war or martial56 law they are absolutely stringent57. The commandos are so placed that they could forward their drafts of men and material to their provincial58 concentration points at the quickest possible notice. These provincial concentration points, being railway centers, are so located that the masses of men and materials pouring in from all sides can be handled and sent in the wanted and needed direction without any congestion59. How this is done I shall explain when I come to transportation. In each of those district commandos are depots60, Montirungs-Kammern (arsenals61), where a full equipment for each individual on the roll is kept. The marvelous quickness with which a civilian62 is transferred into a fully20 equipped military unit must be seen to be believed, and is only made possible through systematic63 training and constant maneuvers65. These maneuvers are costly66, but have long been recognized in German military circles as essential in training the units and familiarizing the commanders with the handling of enormous masses of men. In the last Kaiser maneuvers over half a million men were concentrated and massed; in fact, shuttlecocked from one end of the Empire to the other without a hitch67.
The control of the army in peace or in war lies with the Emperor. He is the sole arbiter68 and head. No political or social body of men has any control in army matters. No political jealousies69 would be permitted. Obedience and efficiency are demanded. Mutual70 jealousies and political tricks such as we have seen in the Russian campaign in the East and lately in France are impossible in the German system, for the Emperor would break instantly, in fact has done so, any general guilty of even the faintest indication of such an offense71. And there is no appeal to a Congress, a Chamber72 of Deputies, or political organ against the Emperor's decision.
Last but not least, under the heading of the organization comes the financial aspect. Out of the five milliards of francs, the war indemnity73 paid by France to Germany in 1871, 200,000,000 marks in gold coin, mostly French, were put away as the nucleus74 of a ready war chest. In a little medieval-looking watch tower, the Julius Thurm near Spandau, lies this ever-increasing driving force of the mightiest75 war engine the world has ever seen. Ever increasing, for quietly and unobtrusively 6,000,000 marks in newly minted gold coins are taken year by year and added to the store. On the first of October each year since 1871, three ammunition76 wagons77 full of bright and glittering twenty-mark pieces clatter78 over the drawbridge and these pieces are stored away in the steel-plate subterranean79 chambers80 of the Julius Thurm, ready at an instant's notice to furnish the sinews to the man wielding81 this force. This is a tremendous power in itself, for there are now close to 500,000,000 marks ($120,000,000) in minted gold coinage in storage there. This provides the necessary funds for the German army for ten calendar months. The authorities have no necessity to ask the country, warring politicians--in this instance the Reichstag--for money to start a campaign. They have got it ready to hand. Once war is declared and started, if needed they'll get the rest.
This money is under the sole control of military authorities. It has often been declared a myth. I know it to be a fact. Notwithstanding the financial straits Germany has gone through at times or may go through, this money will never be touched. It is there for one purpose only and that purpose is war. Needless to say, it is amply guarded. Triple posts in this garrison55 town, devices to flood instantly the whole under fifteen feet of water from the river Havel, are but items in the system of protection. Twice a year the Emperor in person, or his heir apparent, personally inspects his war chest. Mechanical-balanced devices are employed to check the correct weight. It is a marvelously simple mechanism82 by means of which in less than two hours the whole of this vast hoard83 of gold can be accurately84 checked and the absence of a single gold piece detected.
TRANSPORTATION
One of the most important parts of the organization is the question of transportation. Hannibal's campaigns against C?sar and Napoleon's central European wars owed their success in a great measure, if not wholly, to their quickness of motion. This applies about tenfold in modern warfare85. In actual armament the leading powers in Europe are practically on a par8. The personnel, as regards personal courage, stamina86, elan, or whatever you wish to call it, is fairly equal also. There is little difference in the individual prowess of French, Russian, English, and German soldiers. This is well known to military experts. The difference is mainly a question of discipline, technique, and preparedness, the main factor being, as indicated, the ability to throw the greater number of troops in the shortest possible time against the enemy at any given point, without exhausting man and beast unnecessarily and enervating87 the country to be traversed. It is therefore necessary to have numerous arteries88 of traffic at disposal. This will lead us later to the question of victualization, Germany following closely one of Moltke's axioms: "March separately, but fight conjointly."
Only in a country where all railroads, highways, and waterways, and where post and telegraph are owned and controlled by the state, is it possible to evolve and perfect a system of transportation such as is at the disposal of the German General Staff. Every mile of German railroads, especially the ones built within the last twenty years, has been constructed mainly for strategical reasons. Taking Berlin as the center you will find on looking at a German, more especially a Prussian, railroad map, close similarity to a spider's web. From Berlin you will see trunk lines extending in an almost direct route to her French and Russian frontiers. Not single or double, but treble and quadruple lines of steel converging89 with other strategic lines at certain points such as Magdeburg, Hanover, Nordhausen, Kassel, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Cologne, or Strassburg--to name but a few. Places such as enumerated90 are invariably provincial commandos, having garrisons91, arsenals, and depots on a large scale.
The capacity of the railroad yards for handling large bodies of men and vast amounts of goods swiftly is judiciously92 studied. At any given time, especially at tense political moments, at every large strategical railway center in Germany there are a certain number of trucks and engines kept for military purposes only--sometimes, as in the Rhine division during the acute period of the Morocco question, with steam up.
As previously93 related, 90 per cent. of all the railway officials are ex-soldiers. Five minutes after the signing of the mobilization orders by the Emperor, the whole of the railway system would be under direct military control. Specially9 trained transportation and railway experts on the General Staff would take over the direction of affairs. Besides this, there exists in the German standing army a number of Eisenbahn Regimenter (railway corps)--all trained railroad builders and mechanics. Elaborate time-tables and transportation cards are in readiness to be put into operation on the instant of mobilization, superseding95 the civil time-tables of peace. Theoretically and practically the schedules are tested twice a year during the big maneuvers.
The same applies to the waterways and highroads of the Empire. A keen observer will often wonder at the broadness, solidness, and excellent state of repair of the chaussees and country roads, out of all proportion to the little traffic passing along. They are simply strategical arteries kept up by the state for military purposes. The heads of the transportation and railway corps in Berlin sit before the huge glass-covered tables where the whole of the German railway system to its minutest detail is shown in relief, and they by pressing various single buttons can conduct an endless chain of trains to any given point of the Empire.
To show the accurate workings of this system I shall relate an incident. During the Kaiser maneuvers in West Prussia a few years ago I happened to be at headquarters in Berlin delivering some plans and records of the English Midland Railway system when a General Staff Officer entered the signal hall and made inquiries96 as to the whereabouts of a certain train having a regiment94 on board destined97 to a certain part of the maneuver64 field. One of the operators through the simple manipulation of some ivory keys in the short space of two and a half minutes (as I was keenly interested, I timed it) could show the exact spot of the train between two stations, the train being over 310 miles distant from Berlin.
As every class A1 vessel98 in the merchant marine99 of Germany, especially the passenger boats of the big steamship100 lines, can be pressed into government service, so can all motor vehicles, taxis, and trucks owned either privately101 or by corporations be called upon if considered necessary. Through this vast and far-reaching system of transportation Germany is enabled to throw a million fully equipped men on to either of her frontiers within forty-eight hours. She can double this host in sixty hours more.
VICTUALIZATION
Napoleon's dictum that an army marches on its stomach is as true to-day as it was then, adequate provisions for man and beast being the most important factor in military science. The economic feeding of three-quarters of a million men in peace time is work enough. It becomes a serious problem in the event of war, especially to a country like Germany which is somewhat dependent on outside sources for the feeding of her millions. The authorities, quite aware of a possible blockading and consequent stoppage of imports, have made preparations with their usual thorough German completeness. At any given time there is sufficient foodstuff102 for man and beast stored in state storehouses and the large private concerns to feed the entire German army for twelve months. This might seem inadequate103, but is not so, the authorities being well aware that war in Europe at the present time could and would not last longer than such a period.
Once a year these storehouses are overhauled104 and perishable105 or deteriorating106 provisions replaced. Tens of thousands of tons of foodstuffs107, especially fodder108, are sold far below their usual market prices to the poorer classes, notably109 farmers. Likewise the material used by the army is as far as possible supplied by the farmer direct. The total absence of bloated, pudgy-fingered army contractors110 in Germany is pleasant to the eyes of those who know the conditions in some other countries I could mention.
Besides, the whole of the German fighting machine is so organized that in all probability decisive battles would be fought in the enemy's country, in which case the onus111 of feeding the troops would fall on the enemy, called in military parlance "requisitioning and commandeering." In this, German, and especially Prussian, quartermasters are in no way behind their English confrères of whose activity in the Boer War I know from personal experience.
To give but another instance of the scientific thoroughness in detail, take a single food preparation--the Erbswurst (pea-meal sausage), a preparation of peas, meal, bacon, salt and seasoning112, compressed in a dry state into air- and water-tight tubes in the form of a sausage, each weighing a quarter of a pound. Highly nutritious113, light in weight, practically indestructible, wholesome114, this is easily prepared into a palatable115 meal with the simple addition of hot water. Of this preparation huge quantities are always kept in stock for the army.
INTELLIGENCE
Without doubt the most important division of the General Staff and upon whose information and efforts the whole machine hinges is the Intelligence Department--really covering many different fields--for instance, general science, especially strategy, topography, ballistics, but mainly the procuring116 of information data, plans, maps, etc., kept more or less secret by other powers. In this division the brightest young officers and general officials are found. The training and knowledge required of the men in this service are exacting117 to a degree. It requires in most cases the undivided attention--often a life study--to a single subject.
It has been the unswerving policy of the Prussian military authorities to know as much of the rest of the European countries as they know of their own. In the war of 1870-71, German commanders down to a lieutenant118 leading a small detachment had accurate information, charts and data of every province in France, giving them more accurate knowledge of a foreign country than that country had of itself. It is a notorious fact that, after the defeat of the French armies at Weissenburg and Worth and later at Metz, the French commanders and officers lost valuable time and strategical positions through sheer ignorance of their own country. This is impossible under the Prussian system. To-day there is not a country in Europe but of which there are the most elaborate charts and maps, topographically exact to the minutest detail docketed in the archives of the General Staff. This applies as a rule to the General Staff of most nations, but not to such painstaking119 details.
While undergoing instructions in the Admiral Stab in the Koenigergratzerstrasse 70, previous to my being sent on an English mission, a controversy120 arose between my instructor121 and myself as to the distance between two towns on the Lincolnshire coast. He pushed a button and requested the answering orderly to bring map 64 and the officer in charge. With the usual promptness both map and officer appeared. The officer, who could not have been more than twenty-five years of age, discussed with me in fluent colloquial122 English the whole of this section of Lincolnshire. Not a hummock123, road, road-house, even to farmers' residences and blacksmith's shop of which he did not have exact knowledge. I expressed astonishment124 at this most unusual acquaintance with the locality, and suggested that he must have spent considerable time in residence there. Conceive my astonishment when informed that he had never been out of Germany and the only voyage ever taken by him led him as far as Helgoland. Subsequently through careful inquiries and research--my work bringing me into constant contact with the various divisions--I found that the whole of England, France and Russia was carefully cut into sections, each of those sections being in charge of two officers and a secretary whose duty it was to acquaint and make themselves perfectly125 familiar with everything in that particular locality. Through the far-reaching system of espionage126, the latest and most up-to-date information is always forthcoming, and time and again I myself, often returning from a mission like one of those to the naval128 base in Scotland, have sat by the hour verbally amplifying129 my previous reports.
A part of the intelligence system is the personality squad130, whose duty it is to acquaint themselves with the personality of every army and navy officer of the leading powers. I have seen reports as to the environments, habits, hobbies, and general proclivities131 of men such as Admiral Fisher, commanding the Channel Squadron of the British Navy, down to Colonel Ribault, in charge of a battery in Toulouse. To military or naval officers and men of affairs, the reason and benefit of such a system are obvious. The general reader, however, may not quite see the point. The position of a commander in the field is analogous132 to the executive head of a big selling concern. A semi-personal knowledge of the foibles and characteristics of his customers without doubt gives him an advantage over a rival concern, neglecting the personal equation being really more important than is generally understood. This has long been recognized and fully taken advantage of by the German Army authorities.
A?RIAL
Within the last few years an entirely133 new and according to German ideas most important factor has entered and disturbed the relative military power of European nations. This is the a?rial weapon.
Since the days of Otto Lilienthal and his glider134 it has been the policy of Germany to keep track of all inventions likely to be embodied135 and made use of in the War Machine. It is a far cry from Lilienthal's glider to the last word in a?rial construction such as the mysterious Zeppelin-Parseval sky monster that, carrying a complement136 of twenty-five men and twelve tons of explosives, sailed across the North Sea, circled over London, and returned to Germany. Lilienthal's glider kept aloft four minutes, but this new dreadnaught of Germany's dying navy was aloft ninety-six hours, maintaining a speed of thirty-eight miles an hour, this even in the face of a storm pressure of almost eighty meters. Such feats137 as these are significant. They are at the same time the outcome and the cause for the development of this part of the War Machine.
It is my purpose here to tell you how far Germany has advanced and progressed in this struggle for mastery of the sky. I shall disclose facts about her system that have never appeared in print--that have never been heard in conversation. They are known only to the General Staff at Berlin, not even in the cabinets of Europe.
Germany without doubt has the most up-to-date a?rial fleet in the world. The Budget of the Reichstag of 1908-1909 allows and provides for the building and maintenance of twelve dirigibles of Zeppelin type. As far as the knowledge of the rest of the world is concerned this is all the sky navy that Germany possesses. It is a fact, though, that she has three times the number which she officially acknowledges.
The dirigible balloon centers in Germany are five and they are situated138 at vitally strategic points. There are two on the French border, one on the Russian border, one on the Atlantic Coast, and a central station near Berlin. The exact places are Strassburg, Frankfort-on-the-Main, Posen, Wilhelmshafen, and Berlin. This does not include the marvelous station at Helgoland in the North Sea, this being a strategic point in relation to Great Britain. Nothing is known about this Helgoland station. No one but those on official business are permitted within a thousand yards of it. I shall tell things concerning it.
Besides these purely139 military posts, there are a number of commercial stations necessary as depots of the regular transportation a?erial lines that operate for the convenience of the public. Like Germany's commercial steamers, however, they are controlled and subsidized by the Government. At a few hours' notice they can be converted and made use of for Government purposes. Taking these transportation lines into consideration, it is safe to state that by summer of the present year Germany could send fifty huge airships to war.
It may be a puzzle to Americans why, in the face of disasters and accidents to these Zeppelins, Germany is spending about $4,000,000 on her a?rial fleet. Now we come to a very significant point. I know and certain members of the German General Staff know, as well as trusted men in the a?rial corps, that there are two conditions under which airships are operated in Germany. One is the ordinary more or less well-known system which characterizes the operation of all the passenger lines now in service in the Empire. It is the system under which all the disasters that appear in the newspapers occur. Airships that are used in the general army flights and maneuvers are also run under the same system as the passenger dirigibles--for a reason.
The other system is an absolute secret of the German General Staff. It is not used in the general maneuvers, only in specific cases, and these always secretly. It has been proved to be effective in eliminating 75 per cent. of the accidents which have characterized all of Germany's adventures in dirigibles and heavier-than-air machines. These statistics are known only by the German General Staff office.
Let us go into this further. Critics of the German dirigible who foolishly rate the French a?roplane superior point out that the Zeppelins have three serious defects--bulk and heaviness of structure, inflammability of the gas that floats them, and inability to store enough gas to stay in the air the desirable length of time without coming down. The secret devices of the German War Office have eliminated all these objectionable features. They have overcome the condition of bulk and heaviness of structure by their government chemists devising the formula of a material that is lighter140 than aluminum141, yet which possesses all of that metal's density142 and which has also the flexibility143 of steel. Airships not among the twelve that Germany admits officially are made of this material. Its formula is a government secret and England or France would give thousands of dollars to possess it.
The objection of inflammability of the lifting power has also been overcome. The power of the ordinary hydrogen gas in all its various forms has been multiplied threefold by a new dioxygen gas discovered at the Spandau government chemical laboratory. This gas has also the enormous advantages of being absolutely noninflammable. I have seen experiments made with it. It cannot be used for illuminating144 purposes. Dirigibles that are equipped with it are not liable to the awful explosions that have characterized flights under the ordinary system. The new gas has also the enormous advantage of having a liquid form. To produce the gas it is only necessary to let the ordinary atmosphere come in contact with the liquid. Carried in cylinders145 two feet long and with a diameter of six inches it is obvious that enough of this liquid can be carried aboard the big war dirigibles to permit their refilling in midair. So, you see, all the objections to the commonly known system of operation have been overcome by the War Office.
The last dirigible tried by the War Office in 1912, the mysterious Zeppelin X, made a continuous trip from Stettin over the Baltic to Upsala in Sweden, thence across the Baltic again to Riga in the Gulf146 of Finland, where it doubled and sailed back to Stettin. This was a journey of 976 miles. The airship had a complement of twenty-five men and five tons of dead weight. It traveled under severe weather conditions, the month being March, and snow-storms, hail and rain occurring throughout the voyage. The significance of this flight can be easily understood if you consider the distance from Strassburg or Düsseldorf to Paris or other strategical points to France is approximately 298 miles. A ship like the Zeppelin X could sail over the French border, dynamite147 the fortifications around Paris and return, the journey being roughly 900 miles--76 miles less than the actual trip made by the Zeppelin X. Moreover, the German military trials have shown the possibility of an a?rial fleet leaving their home ports and cruising to foreign lands and returning without the necessity of landing to replenish148 their gas tanks or fuel.
Let me show you how the German a?rial corps is made up. It is called the Luftschiffer Abteilung and is composed of ten battalions149, each consisting of 350 men. They are all trained absolutely for this branch of the service. Only the smartest mechanics and artificers are selected. In the higher branches the most intelligent and bravest officers hold command. Considering the usual pay in continental150 armies, the wages of the men in the General a?rial corps are exceptionally high. In fact they are the highest paid in the German army. They are not ordinary enlisted151 men, meaning that they serve only their two years' time. Most of them have agreed to serve a lengthy152 term. Married men are not encouraged to enroll153 in this branch of the service. It is obvious from the nature of the work that the hazards are often great. The wonderful system of the German War Machine has been installed with rare detail in the a?rial corps. The equipment of the different stations is really marvelous. For everything human ingenuity has been able to devise concerning the dirigible you will find in application. Each station is fully equipped and is an absolutely independent center in itself. Take the base at Helgoland. It is the newest and the one that is always cloaked with secrecy154.
At the extreme eastern corner of the island of Helgoland one sees, amid the sandy dunes155, three vast oblong, iron-gray structures. At a distance they are not unlike overgrown gasometers. I say at a distance, for it is impossible for any visitor to get within a thousand yards of the station. The solitary156 approach is guarded by a triple post of the marine guard. If you walk toward the station, before you come within a hundred yards of the guard, you will find large signs setting forth127 in unmistakable and terse157 language that dire7 and swift penalties follow any further exploration in that direction. Not only English but German visitors to Helgoland have found out through their course that even the slightest infringement158 of the rules of these signs is dangerous. I shall however, take you a little closer.
Walking on until you are within fifty yards of the great balloon sheds, you pause before a tall fence of barbed wire, this connected with an elaborate alarm-bell system that sounds in the two guard houses. For instance, if an enterprising secret agent of France were to try to steal up on the station, if he came by night and cut through the barbed wire, a series of bells would immediately sound the general alarm. Having passed through the six strands159 of barbed wire a tall octagonal tower meets the eye. In this tower are installed two powerful searchlights as well as a complete wireless160 outfit161. All the Zeppelins carry wireless. By means of elaborate reflectors, it is possible with the searchlights to flood the whole place with daylight in the middle of the night. Thus ascensions can be made safely at any hour of the twenty-four. The three oblong sheds stand in a row, the middle being the largest, having spaces for two complete dirigibles, while the other sheds house but one each. They are about 800 feet long, 200 feet broad and 120 feet high. The whole structure itself can be shifted to about an angle of forty degrees, this being worked on a plan similar to the railroad engine turntable. The reason for it is that with the veering162 of the wind the sheds are turned so that the doors will be placed advantageously for the removal of the airship from its place of shelter.
The whole layout and the vast area of space show that it is the Government's intention to still further increase the plant. In fact, on my last visit to Helgoland--and it was more than two years ago--I saw the evidence of another shed about to be built. At the station is the most efficient meteorological department of all the stations. The most up-to-date and sensitive instruments connected with this science are there in duplicates and the highest experts such as only Germany can produce are in charge of the department.
When I was at Helgoland I noticed a vast difference in the strength of the fortifications compared to what they had been. They used to be tremendous, but since the addition of the naval base they have become secondary. Half the soldiers on duty there have been transferred elsewhere; so with the big guns. There is no longer any need for them. As I stated, I saw a fourth big balloon shed in the course of construction. I have not been on the island for two years. Nobody has been near the extreme eastern end except those closely identified with the service. Considering that Germany has not built more than one extra shed, that means five dirigibles, and there is nothing on earth that could stand up against them. Helgoland does not need forts any more. The new forts float in the sky and can rain death.
Helgoland has always been a sore spot of British diplomacy. Originally England owned the island; now it is a menace to England. When Lord Salisbury was Prime Minister of England, he conceived what he believed to be a shrewd diplomatic move. He offered Bismarck the island of Helgoland in exchange for some East African concessions163. Helgoland is now the key and guard of Germany's main artery164 of commerce, being the key to Hamburg. With the dirigible station of Helgoland to guard her, Hamburg is impregnable and on England's northern coast they have a way of looking out across the North Sea with troubled eyes, for who knows when those terrible cartridge-shaped monsters will rise into the air and sweep over the sea? Stranger things have happened, even though the countries have their secret diplomatic understandings.
Let us consider one of these new war monsters, the latest and most powerful, the X 15. The latest Zeppelins, charged with the newly discovered dioxygenous gas, giving these sky battleships triple lifting capacity; the perfecting of the Diesel165 motor, giving enormous consumption (fifty of these Diesel engines, their workings secret to the German Government, are stored under guard at the big navy yards at Wilhelmshafen and Kiel, ready to be installed at the break of war into submarines and dirigibles), have given the German type of aircraft an importance undreamed of and unsuspected by the rest of the world.
The operating sphere of the new balloons has extended from 100 to 1,200-1,400 kilometers. Secret trial trips of a fully equipped Zeppelin like X 15, carrying a crew of twenty-four men, six quick-firing guns, seven tons of explosive, have extended from Stettin, over the Baltic, over Swedenburg in Sweden, recrossing the Baltic and landing at Swinemunde, with enough gas, fuel, and provisions left to keep aloft another thirty-six hours. The distance all told covered on one of these trips was 1,180 kilometers. This fact speaks for itself. The return distance from Helgoland to London, or any midland towns in England, corresponds with the mileage166 covered on recent trips. In the event of hostilities167 between England and Germany, this statement needs no explanation. That is why I mentioned that the latter-day Zeppelins were a powerful factor in bringing about an amiable168 understanding between those two powerful countries. For neither the historic wooden walls of Nelson's day nor the steel plates of her modern navy could help England or any other nation against the inroads of the monsters of the air.
The capacity of seven tons of explosive does not exhaust the resources of this type of weapon. I have it on good authority that the new Zeppelins can carry double that quantity of explosive if necessary. As the size of these vessels169 increases, so does the ratio of their carrying capacity.
Picture the havoc170 a dozen such vultures could create attacking a city like London or Paris. Present-day defense171 against these ships is totally inadequate. In attacking large places, the Zeppelins would rise to a height of from 6,000 to 8,000 feet, at which distance these huge cigar-shaped engines of death, 700 feet long, would appear the size of a football, and no bigger. I know that Zeppelins have successfully sailed aloft at an altitude of 10,000 feet. Picture them at that elevation172, everybody aboard in warm, comfortable quarters, ready to drop explosives to the ground. The half informed man--and there appear to be many such in European cabinets, which recalls the proverb about a little knowledge being a dangerous thing--likes to say that a flock of a?roplanes can put a dirigible out of business. Consider now an a?roplane at an elevation of 6,000 feet and remember that the new Zeppelins have gone thousands of feet higher. An aviator173 at 6,000 feet is so cold that he is practically useless for anything but guiding his machine. How in the world is he or his seat-mate going to do harm to a big craft the size of the Zeppelin that is far above him? An aviator who has ever gone up, say 8,000 feet, will tell you when he comes down what a harrowing experience he has had. What good can an individual be, exposed to the temperature and the elements at such an altitude, in doing harm to the calm, comfortable gentlemen in the heated compartments174 of the Zeppelin?--Quatsch! which is a German army term for piffle!
At 8,000 feet the small target a Zeppelin affords would move at a rate of speed of from thirty-five to sixty miles an hour. The possible chances of being hit by terrestrial gunfire are infinitesimally small. This does not take into account the vast opportunities that a dirigible has for night attacks or the possibility of hiding among the clouds. The X 15, sailing over London, could drop explosives down and create terrible havoc. They don't have to aim. They are not like aviators175 trying to drop a bomb on the deck of a warship176. They simply dump overboard some of the new explosive of the German Government, these new chemicals having the property of setting on fire anything that they hit, and they sail on. They do not have to worry about hitting the mark. Consider the size of their target. They are simply throwing something at the City of London. If they do not hit Buckingham Palace they are apt to hit Knightsbridge. And remember that whatever one of the new German explosives strikes, conflagration177 begins.
A?roplanes, biplanes, monoplanes, and the other innumerable host of small craft so often quoted as a possible counterdefense against the Zeppelin, are overrated, and are in any case theoretical. The German authorities have made vast and exhaustive trials in these matters. The strenuous178 efforts on the part of this Empire to increase its dirigible fleet is to my way of thinking answer enough. The German General Staff at Berlin tries out more thoroughly179 than any nation in the world every new device of warfare. They have tried the a?roplane and the dirigible. I have heard the leading experts and aviators who have been assigned to both types agreeing that the Zeppelins of the X 15 type have nothing to fear from any present-day flying machine--and that is good enough for me.
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1
disposition
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| n.性情，性格；意向，倾向；排列，部署 | |
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2
prevailing
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| adj.盛行的；占优势的；主要的 | |
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3
ingenuity
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| n.别出心裁；善于发明创造 | |
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4
solely
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| adv.仅仅，唯一地 | |
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harmoniously
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| 和谐地，调和地 | |
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6
acme
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| n.顶点，极点 | |
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dire
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| adj.可怕的，悲惨的，阴惨的，极端的 | |
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8
par
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| n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的 | |
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9
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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succinct
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| adj.简明的，简洁的 | |
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11
mentor
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| n.指导者，良师益友；v.指导 | |
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12
disintegrate
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| v.瓦解，解体，（使）碎裂，（使）粉碎 | |
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apropos
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| adv.恰好地；adj.恰当的；关于 | |
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14
verge
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| n.边，边缘；v.接近，濒临 | |
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15
disintegrating
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| v.（使）破裂[分裂，粉碎]，（使）崩溃( disintegrate的现在分词 ) | |
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16
imprint
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| n.印痕，痕迹；深刻的印象；vt.压印，牢记 | |
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17
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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18
patriots
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| 爱国者，爱国主义者( patriot的名词复数 ) | |
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19
circumvent
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| vt.环绕，包围；对…用计取胜，智胜 | |
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20
fully
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| adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地 | |
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21
overthrow
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| v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆 | |
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22
merged
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| （使）混合( merge的过去式和过去分词 )； 相融； 融入； 渐渐消失在某物中 | |
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23
entailing
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| 使…成为必要( entail的现在分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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24
compilation
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| n.编译，编辑 | |
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25
aquiline
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| adj.钩状的，鹰的 | |
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26
incessant
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| adj.不停的，连续的 | |
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accredited
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| adj.可接受的；可信任的；公认的；质量合格的v.相信( accredit的过去式和过去分词 )；委托；委任；把…归结于 | |
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28
domain
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| n.(活动等)领域，范围；领地，势力范围 | |
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29
sentries
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| 哨兵，步兵( sentry的名词复数 ) | |
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30
croaking
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| v.呱呱地叫( croak的现在分词 )；用粗的声音说 | |
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31
guardians
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| 监护人( guardian的名词复数 )； 保护者，维护者 | |
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32
corps
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| n.(通信等兵种的)部队；(同类作的)一组 | |
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33
dingy
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| adj.昏暗的，肮脏的 | |
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34
majesty
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| n.雄伟，壮丽，庄严，威严；最高权威，王权 | |
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35
diplomacy
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| n.外交；外交手腕，交际手腕 | |
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36
salutes
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| n.致敬，欢迎，敬礼( salute的名词复数 )v.欢迎，致敬( salute的第三人称单数 )；赞扬，赞颂 | |
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37
parlance
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| n.说法；语调 | |
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38
mighty
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| adj.强有力的；巨大的 | |
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39
aggression
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| n.进攻，侵略，侵犯，侵害 | |
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40
subdivided
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| 再分，细分( subdivide的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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41
infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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42
cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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43
artillery
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| n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队) | |
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44
genie
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| n.妖怪，神怪 | |
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45
scions
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| n.接穗，幼枝( scion的名词复数 )；（尤指富家）子孙 | |
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46
feudal
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| adj.封建的，封地的，领地的 | |
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47
backbone
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| n.脊骨，脊柱，骨干；刚毅，骨气 | |
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48
stiffening
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| n. (使衣服等)变硬的材料, 硬化 动词stiffen的现在分词形式 | |
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49
obedience
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| n.服从，顺从 | |
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50
minor
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| adj.较小(少)的，较次要的；n.辅修学科；vi.辅修 | |
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51
administrative
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| adj.行政的，管理的 | |
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52
excise
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| n.(国产)货物税；vt.切除，删去 | |
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53
pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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54
garrisoning
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| 卫戍部队守备( garrison的现在分词 )； 派部队驻防 | |
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55
garrison
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| n.卫戍部队；驻地，卫戍区；vt.派(兵)驻防 | |
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56
martial
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| adj.战争的，军事的，尚武的，威武的 | |
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57
stringent
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| adj.严厉的；令人信服的；银根紧的 | |
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58
provincial
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| adj.省的，地方的；n．外省人，乡下人 | |
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59
congestion
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| n.阻塞，消化不良 | |
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60
depots
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| 仓库( depot的名词复数 )； 火车站； 车库； 军需库 | |
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61
arsenals
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| n.兵工厂，军火库( arsenal的名词复数 )；任何事物的集成 | |
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62
civilian
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| adj.平民的，民用的，民众的 | |
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63
systematic
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| adj.有系统的，有计划的，有方法的 | |
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64
maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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65
maneuvers
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| n.策略，谋略，花招( maneuver的名词复数 ) | |
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66
costly
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| adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的 | |
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67
hitch
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| v.免费搭(车旅行)；系住；急提；n.故障；急拉 | |
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68
arbiter
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| n.仲裁人，公断人 | |
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69
jealousies
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| n.妒忌( jealousy的名词复数 )；妒羡 | |
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70
mutual
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| adj.相互的，彼此的；共同的，共有的 | |
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71
offense
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| n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪 | |
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72
chamber
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| n.房间，寝室；会议厅；议院；会所 | |
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73
indemnity
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| n.赔偿，赔款，补偿金 | |
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74
nucleus
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| n.核，核心，原子核 | |
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75
mightiest
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| adj.趾高气扬( mighty的最高级 )；巨大的；强有力的；浩瀚的 | |
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76
ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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77
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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78
clatter
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| v./n.(使)发出连续而清脆的撞击声 | |
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79
subterranean
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| adj.地下的，地表下的 | |
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80
chambers
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| n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅 | |
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81
wielding
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| 手持着使用（武器、工具等）( wield的现在分词 )； 具有； 运用（权力）； 施加（影响） | |
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82
mechanism
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| n.机械装置；机构，结构 | |
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83
hoard
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| n./v.窖藏，贮存，囤积 | |
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84
accurately
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| adv.准确地，精确地 | |
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85
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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86
stamina
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| n.体力；精力；耐力 | |
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87
enervating
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| v.使衰弱，使失去活力( enervate的现在分词 ) | |
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88
arteries
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| n.动脉( artery的名词复数 )；干线，要道 | |
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89
converging
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| adj.收敛[缩]的，会聚的，趋同的v.（线条、运动的物体等）会于一点( converge的现在分词 )；（趋于）相似或相同；人或车辆汇集；聚集 | |
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90
enumerated
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| v.列举，枚举，数( enumerate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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91
garrisons
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| 守备部队，卫戍部队( garrison的名词复数 ) | |
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92
judiciously
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| adv.明断地，明智而审慎地 | |
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93
previously
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| adv.以前，先前（地） | |
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94
regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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95
superseding
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| 取代，接替( supersede的现在分词 ) | |
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96
inquiries
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| n.调查( inquiry的名词复数 )；疑问；探究；打听 | |
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97
destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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98
vessel
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| n.船舶；容器，器皿；管，导管，血管 | |
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99
marine
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| adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵 | |
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100
steamship
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| n.汽船，轮船 | |
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101
privately
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| adv.以私人的身份，悄悄地，私下地 | |
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102
foodstuff
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| n.食料，食品 | |
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103
inadequate
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| adj.(for,to)不充足的，不适当的 | |
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104
overhauled
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| v.彻底检查( overhaul的过去式和过去分词 )；大修；赶上；超越 | |
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105
perishable
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| adj.（尤指食物）易腐的，易坏的 | |
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106
deteriorating
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| 恶化，变坏( deteriorate的现在分词 ) | |
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107
foodstuffs
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| 食物，食品( foodstuff的名词复数 ) | |
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108
fodder
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| n.草料；炮灰 | |
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109
notably
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| adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地 | |
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110
contractors
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| n.（建筑、监造中的）承包人( contractor的名词复数 ) | |
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111
onus
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| n.负担；责任 | |
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112
seasoning
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| n.调味；调味料；增添趣味之物 | |
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113
nutritious
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| adj.有营养的，营养价值高的 | |
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114
wholesome
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| adj.适合；卫生的；有益健康的；显示身心健康的 | |
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115
palatable
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| adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的 | |
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116
procuring
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| v.（努力）取得， （设法）获得( procure的现在分词 )；拉皮条 | |
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117
exacting
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| adj.苛求的，要求严格的 | |
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118
lieutenant
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| n.陆军中尉，海军上尉；代理官员，副职官员 | |
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119
painstaking
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| adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的 | |
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120
controversy
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| n.争论，辩论，争吵 | |
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121
instructor
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| n.指导者，教员，教练 | |
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122
colloquial
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| adj.口语的，会话的 | |
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123
hummock
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| n.小丘 | |
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124
astonishment
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| n.惊奇，惊异 | |
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125
perfectly
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| adv.完美地，无可非议地，彻底地 | |
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126
espionage
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| n.间谍行为，谍报活动 | |
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127
forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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128
naval
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| adj.海军的，军舰的，船的 | |
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129
amplifying
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| 放大，扩大( amplify的现在分词 )； 增强； 详述 | |
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130
squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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proclivities
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| n.倾向，癖性( proclivity的名词复数 ) | |
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132
analogous
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| adj.相似的；类似的 | |
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133
entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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134
glider
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| n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹 | |
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135
embodied
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| v.表现( embody的过去式和过去分词 )；象征；包括；包含 | |
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136
complement
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| n.补足物，船上的定员；补语；vt.补充，补足 | |
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137
feats
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| 功绩，伟业，技艺( feat的名词复数 ) | |
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138
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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139
purely
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| adv.纯粹地，完全地 | |
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140
lighter
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| n.打火机，点火器；驳船；v.用驳船运送；light的比较级 | |
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141
aluminum
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| n.(aluminium)铝 | |
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142
density
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| n.密集，密度，浓度 | |
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143
flexibility
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| n.柔韧性，弹性，（光的）折射性，灵活性 | |
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144
illuminating
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| a.富于启发性的，有助阐明的 | |
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145
cylinders
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| n.圆筒( cylinder的名词复数 )；圆柱；汽缸；（尤指用作容器的）圆筒状物 | |
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146
gulf
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| n.海湾；深渊，鸿沟；分歧，隔阂 | |
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147
dynamite
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| n./vt.(用)炸药(爆破) | |
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148
replenish
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| vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满 | |
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149
battalions
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| n.（陆军的）一营（大约有一千兵士）( battalion的名词复数 )；协同作战的部队；军队；（组织在一起工作的）队伍 | |
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150
continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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151
enlisted
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| adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持） | |
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152
lengthy
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| adj.漫长的，冗长的 | |
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153
enroll
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| v.招收；登记；入学；参军；成为会员（英)enrol | |
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154
secrecy
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| n.秘密，保密，隐蔽 | |
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155
dunes
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| 沙丘( dune的名词复数 ) | |
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156
solitary
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| adj.孤独的，独立的，荒凉的；n.隐士 | |
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157
terse
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| adj.(说话，文笔)精炼的，简明的 | |
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158
infringement
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| n.违反；侵权 | |
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159
strands
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| n.（线、绳、金属线、毛发等的）股( strand的名词复数 )；缕；海洋、湖或河的)岸；（观点、计划、故事等的）部份v.使滞留，使搁浅( strand的第三人称单数 ) | |
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160
wireless
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| adj.无线的；n.无线电 | |
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161
outfit
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| n.（为特殊用途的）全套装备，全套服装 | |
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162
veering
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| n.改变的；犹豫的；顺时针方向转向；特指使船尾转向上风来改变航向v.（尤指交通工具）改变方向或路线( veer的现在分词 )；（指谈话内容、人的行为或观点）突然改变；（指风） （在北半球按顺时针方向、在南半球按逆时针方向）逐渐转向；风向顺时针转 | |
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163
concessions
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| n.（尤指由政府或雇主给予的）特许权( concession的名词复数 )；承认；减价；（在某地的）特许经营权 | |
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164
artery
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| n.干线，要道；动脉 | |
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165
diesel
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| n.柴油发动机，内燃机 | |
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166
mileage
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| n.里程，英里数；好处，利润 | |
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167
hostilities
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| n.战争；敌意(hostility的复数)；敌对状态；战事 | |
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168
amiable
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| adj.和蔼可亲的，友善的，亲切的 | |
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169
vessels
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| n.血管( vessel的名词复数 )；船；容器；（具有特殊品质或接受特殊品质的）人 | |
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170
havoc
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| n.大破坏，浩劫，大混乱，大杂乱 | |
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171
defense
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| n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩 | |
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172
elevation
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| n.高度；海拔；高地；上升；提高 | |
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173
aviator
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| n.飞行家，飞行员 | |
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174
compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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175
aviators
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| 飞机驾驶员，飞行员( aviator的名词复数 ) | |
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176
warship
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| n.军舰，战舰 | |
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177
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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178
strenuous
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| adj.奋发的，使劲的；紧张的；热烈的，狂热的 | |
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179
thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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