2 JUNE 1894, Page 8

BULLET-PROOF SOLDIERS.

THERE seems to be no longer any question among the experts as to the bullet-proofness of Herr Dowe's cuirass. In other words, a material has been produced which cannot be penetrated even at point-blank by the most powerful rifles now in use. Herr Dowe put on his cuirass and was fired at from a short distance, and was not only not killed, but not even knocked off his feet by the impact of the bullet. He moved a little at the shock, that was all. But this means that a kind of clothing has been produced—although the material is about three inches thick, it may fairly be called clothing, since it is not of a substance resembling stone or iron, but looks like the stuff of a railway cushion—which would enabi.e a man clad in it from head to foot to face the fire of a regiment with impunity. So much is clear. But though the singu- lar fact has been established that it is possible to provide portable armour which will make a man impervious to rifle- fire, it remains to be ascertained whether the discovery has any practical importance,—whether, that is, it will be pos- sible for soldiers to use Herr Dowe's invention in the field. This practically resolves itself into a question of weight. Is the new armour too cumbrous for use At present the soldiers seem inclined to think it is. The cuirass experimented with weighs about 12 lb., but the inventor declares that he sees his way to re- ducing it to 9 lb. But even if he does, it is asserted that the extra weight will be too great to make the cuirass advantageous. Mobile troops, it is said, will do better in war than invulnerable troops, and the victory will be to the men who can move quickest, not to those who will not be killed when fired at point-blank. Possibly that will turn out to be the case in the end ; but we cannot help thinking that if a European army which had adopted bullet-proof cuirasses were brought face to face with an unarmoured army, the moral effect of the bullet-proof troops would be extraordinarily great. How could you expect troops riddled by rifle-fire to resist the attack of a column on which the hottest return-fire made virtually no impression ? Think, too, of the feeling of invincibility which would inspire the cuirassed men when they noticed that volley after volley was poured into their ranks without effect. The sense of superiority would, we should imagine, entirely counteract the weariness occasioned by an extra 9 lb. of kit. Besides, though an extra 9 lb. is a very serious weight for a weak man, or even for an average man, there are plenty of exceptionally strong men who will carry an extra 9 lb., and not feel it more than the weaker men now do their ordinary kit. But this fact naturally suggests the possibility of selecting a certain number of exceptional men and training them specially for the work of bearing the new armour. No one will deny the possibility of producing a special regiment in which each man will carry an extra 9 lb., and yet be capable of doing as much in the way of marching and quick movements as the ordinary private. But who can doubt that this special regiment would be so infinitely superior both in attack and defence to any other regiment that the commanders would soon begin to say, "Even if you can only send half as many bullet-proof soldiers as ordinary soldiers, let us have the bullet-proof men. One of them is worth a dozen of the others." In other words, we do not see why the extra 9 lb. should not directly raise the physical standard of the Army. But it will be said,—This means small armies for the Powers who use the cuirass, and larger ones for those who do not ; and every one knows what is the result of that,—victory to the big battalions.

No doubt victory is to the big battalions, other things being equal ; but we contend that the absence of bullet- proof clothing on one side will place that side in the position of the savages in an African war, and will give the day, as in Africa, to the small invulnerable body. Of course, we do not mean to suggest for a. moment that bullet-proof soldiers could never be beaten by ordinary soldiers.

Doubtless that might often happen, owing to the extra bravery and alertness of the unarmoured troops. What we desire to bring out is the fact that the invulnerability of the armoured troops will be a constant factor in their favour, and one that, other things remaining the same, must give them the victory. Of course other grounds may be discovered for proving Herr Dowe's coat use- less for practical purposes, but we do not believe that the extra 9 lb. of weight, if that is all, will be allowed to stop its use in war. Three or four pounds will be cut off the kit in other ways, and men who cannot carry the irre- ducible remainder will not be able to enter the Army.

If we are right in our reasoning, and if, again, there is not some latent but fatal defect in Herr Dowe's system, the result on warfare will be a very remarkable one. Since the object of war is to kill—" to place hors de combat" is only a less crude way of putting the fact—new ways of killing infantry and cavalry will have to be devised. The chances of hitting men in the face at long distances with rifle-fire will not be good enough. But the only ways of killing effectively that will remain open will be artillery- fire, close combat with bayonet and clubbed rifle,—pre- ferably the latter, as the cuirass will make the bayonet difficult to use with effect—and riding men down by cavalry charges. The first of these, artillery-fire, has hitherto been regarded as of comparatively little importance in the matter of killing. It is often declared, indeed, that the chief effect produced by the guns is the moral effect. Though not many are killed, men do not like to be within range of artillery. Possibly, however, the effect of artil- lery-fire could be increased. In any case, and since every- thing is relative, the fact of the falling-off of efficiency in rifle-fire must increase the importance of artillery-fire. It is obvious, however, that the chief effect of bullet-proof soldiers on the circumstances of a battle would be to increase enormously the amount of hand-to-hand fighting But hand-to-hand fighting means an advantage to the strongest and most athletic force. Now it will be seen from the bare enumeration of the changes which seem likely to follow bullet-proof soldiers, that a great advantage will be given to England. Bullet-proof cuirasses will give an advantage to the nation which can only bring a small number of troops into the field. But that nation is England. It will increase the importance of artillery. But this should be in favour of England, for though we have not the Conscription, and so cannot get men in large quantities, we can manufacture as many guns as we choose. Next, the revival of close combat ought to be in our favour, for Englishmen are certainly better at the rough-and-tumble of close fighting than their neighbours. The infantry are naturally more handy and more athletic, and the cavalry are, if not theoretically better riders, more capable horsemen. An Englishman is more likely to get his horse to do the impossible than a Frenchman or a German. If, then, Herr Dowe's inven- tion enters the region of practical warfare, the change will be in England's favour. It will give us a chance to escape being pressed to the ground by hostile millions. In the Navy no less than in the Army, the cuirass should be of enormous importance. During a. sea-fight a great many things will want doing under a storm of rifle-fire, but will hardly be doable except in one of Herr Dowe's jackets. A few bullet-proof sailors would be a godsend to a Captain when he was fighting his ship against heavy odds. In the field, too, the cuirass will be of great use to artillerymen. Since they do not have to march, but either ride or sit on the gun-carriages, there is no reason why the gunners should not be very elaborately protected by means of Herr Dowe's patent material. But if they are, they will be able to work their guns in the open and at close quarters in a. way which is now often impossible owing to the fire of sharpshooters. In truth, there are a hundred points on which the bullet- proof clothing alters all the conditions of war. It will alter, too, some of the conditions of civil life. Insurrec- tion against invulnerable men will become even more im- possible than it is now. Again, the result on small bodies of men travelling in savage countries will be very marked. When the savage cannot even wound his white foe, even men so brave as the Matabeles will find resistance hopeless.

Possibly, however, all we have written is destined to be quite beside the mark not because of any flaw in Herr Dowe's system, but for a totally different reason. Sup- pose that the gunsmiths retaliate on Herr Dowe by making a gun which will send a bullet through his cuirass ? In that case, the present conditions will remain. We do not say that they will, but undoubtedly they will try. Meantime, all we can say is that, in the great duel between attack and defence, defence, after lying hopelessly beaten for two centuries, has revived, and appears to have given her antagonist a heavy blow. Time will show whether we shall have to wait fifty years, or only six months, for the counter-stroke.