BOOKS.

JENA OR SEDAN?*

HFRR BEYERLEIN'S story, of which the purpose was to suggest that the German Army was heading for a Jena rather than for a Sedan in its next war, was published in Germany about fourteen years ago and bad an enormous sale. An English translation was shortly afterwards published, and a cheaper reprint of that translation is now before us. We reviewed the book before the first English translation appeared, but the story is well worth re-reading now that the German Army has an opportunity of disproving or justifying the author's forebodings. The story might be the work of a man of Russian temperament who had accidentally become a German. We see here the same enormous groupings of men on the stage, all minutely distinguished from one another, but all viewed with the same comprehensive gloom—occasionally relieved by a dark and formidable humour—that we find in Dostoievsky's works. Many passages in Jena or Sedan ? might have come out of The House of the Dead. There is nothing here of " cultural " braggadocio, nothing of violence and piety yoked together. Herr Beyerlein is a good German, but be is different from the Germans who exercise authority; he criticizes German military methods with a sombre shake of his head, and seems to say : " Oh, that all this could be changed before it is too late!" Nor do his misgivings concern themselves only with the prospect of an unsuccessful war. He foresees that the monotony and rigidity of life in the Army, and the want Of human sympathy between officers and men—which becomes • Jena or Sedan! From the German of Franz Adam Beyerlein. Cheaper Zdition. London William Heinemann. [23. net.]

more pronounced just when the growth of Social Democracy renders such an inhuman relation particularly inopportune—.

must react upon the interior life of the whole nation, debasing and unsettling it.

In one respect we think that Herr Beyerlein's vaticinations are already disproved, though it may well be that the dis- proof is only temporary. He regards the official hunt after Social Democracy within the Army as a very weakening and corrupting practice, but there is no doubt that in the present war the Social Democrats have forgiven their persecutors and ranged themselves strongly with the Government. They are fighting as loyally and enthusiastically as any other soldiers. We cannot say that we are surprised at this; we always believed that they would do so. The German Chancellor entirely misread or misstated British opinion the other day when he said it was universally taken for granted in England that the German Social Democrats would refuse to fight. In other respects, we believe that Herr Beyerlein's criticisms will turn out to be justified. For the purposes of this second

review of the book we may disregard the story merely as a story, and deal only with the military criticisms which are embedded in the narrative. The author writes as though the German Army were an old tree which could no longer bear good fruit. He describes kindly officers and zealous and intelligent non-commissioned officers, but he is of opinion that such types

are passing away. Arrogance, display, and superficiality are eating the heart of the Army, and embittering the former good feelings between officers and men. Since the time of Frederick the Great the Army system has not changed, yet our day is impatient of such crass conservatism, and what was an indis-

pensable discipline more than a century ago is to-day a sickening and revolting monotony which leaves no room for educated men to indulge their individualities. The result is as unfortunate for the arrogant officer as for the man who is

dragooned. The officer is consumed by a sense of the import- ance of his haughty social position. He is more proud of this position than of his professional abilities. The average officer has, in fact, ceased to be keen professionally. The more glitter- ing the display of the Army becomes, the less healthy is it within. Thus all along the line Herr Beyerlein discovers causes for gloom. The Social Democrats in his narrative talk after the manner of Carlyle—a considerable way after—about the poor fools and devils who are put up to be shot down on battlefields because their infamous masters choose to settle

their disputes in that way. One of the officers resigns his commission because he becomes convinced that the plan of

military education leads nowhere. Another commits suicide.

And the peasant hero of the story, Vogt, is sent to prison because he is convicted of disrespect in his bearing towards

an officer. Vogt, a gunner, had just performed prodigies of physical effort in extricating his gun from a difficult position, and when he went to report what had happened to his officer he stood awkward and trembling, as he was almost in a state of collapse from his exertions. In his description of how the officer's nagging excites Vogt's resentment, the author proves perhaps more than in any other incident the intensity of his conviction that such a relation between officer and man is not capable of withstanding the stress of adversity. As for the immoralities of both officers and men, which are sordidly and rather brutally described, we do not gather that the author looks upon them as bearing on the decadence of the Army. He makes them part of his picture of military

life—that is all. The story would lose nothing of its force and pertinence if they were bodily omitted.

We may now make some quotations from the book in illus- tration of what we have said. The following incident conveys

the author's idea that the aim of the typical young officer of to-day is polish and swagger, not serious professional work "Sure enough Landsberg came up. He began rather slowly. Excuse me, may I ask you a question T'—' Certainly, I shall be most happy,' answered Reimers.= Do tell me,' Landsberg proceeded hesitatingly, would like so much—in fact, the shape of your boots pleases me immensely; they are awfully smart, and I—in fact, you would confer a tremendous favour on me if you would give me the address of your bootmaker.' Reimers con- sidered for a moment, then replied coldly: I bought these boots in passing through Berlin.'—' Just what I expected I They do look awfully smart, really ! And do you remember the address of the shop ? What a pity ! But, if you don't mind, I will send my servant to you to copy it off the lining. May I P' Again Reimers was silent for a moment, then he said: 4 I have no objection, if you think it important.' Landsberg brought his

heels together with a click, bowed, and murmured: You are very kind ; I shall certainly do so."

Next we take a passage which shows the author's doubts about the retention of the old rigorously symmetrical movements, and of dense formations for attack in battle :— " There was a yellow, dried-up looking major who was never, never satisfied. He would keep his battalion at it in the sun till past noon ; and then after a short pause for refreshment the same cruel business would begin all over again. The devil ! How could a couple of hundred men be as symmetrical as a machine ? The artillery-drivers had climbed on to the fence. They were polishing their curbs and chains, and laughed at the spectacle before them. But to Vogt it did not seem amusing. What was the use of making those two hundred men do such childish things there on the parade-ground P Would they ever march into battle like that P He thought of how those dummies had all been riddled by the bullets when a single shrapnel burst in front of them. Why, it would be sheer madness! They would have to crawl, to run, to jump—then to crawl again! That wasn't what they were doing when every morning on the parade-ground one heard a continual tack—tack—tack—tack, as if a thousand tele- graph clerks were hard at work. What was the good of all this senseless show, which only aggravated the men? Their comrades of tho infantry looked very far from cheerful, and darted glances full of suppressed hatred at the yellow-faced major. And when, dead-tired, they had finished the drill, and were putting away their guns in the corner, they would curse the very uniform they wore as if it had been a strait-waistcoat."

The tendency of most civilized nations to-day is to entrust their troops with individual responsibility more or less in accordance with their intelligence. But in Germany, of all places—the land of highly organized education—this move- ment, if it ever began, has not been encouraged. The author's opinion on this defect is expressed in the following words :- " Now, instead of turning this highly-developed intelligence to good account, they bound it hand and foot on the rack of an ever- lasting drill, which could not have been more soullessly mechanical in the time of Frederick the Great. And they expected this purely mechanical drill to hold together men from whom all joyful spontaneity was taken by the stiff, wooden formalism of their duty, and not a few of whom cherished the very opposite of patriotism in their breasts! Drill was to maintain discipline among them ? It held them together as an iron beep holds together a cask, the dry staves of which would fall asunder at the first kick Confront- ing the men stood their officers, who, although many of them actuated by the most honourable intentions, were quite incom- petent to guide the recruits to a convinced and conscious obedience, a voluntary patriotism. The officer, as a consequence of his origin or education, was separated by a veritable abyss from the sensations and thoughts of the common soldier; and, on the other hand, the soldier was unable to understand the spirit in which he was treated by the officer. It thus came about that the officer for the most part had a pretty low opinion of the privates, while the private did not fail to form his own conclusions as to the officers. The constancy with which the German corps of officers clung to the old principles of army organization was worthy of a better cause. Pinning their faith to their glorious traditions, all criticism was set down as malicious gossip, even if it came from their own midst, To an ideal of such doubtful value they devoted their industry and strength. And it was strange how little the analogy of the miserable year 1806 shook military self-confidence, despite the startling points of resemblance. Now, as then, the complaint was of the one-sided reactionary training of the officers, which must separate them from the forward move- ment of the people; now, as then, there was a kind of hidebound narrow-mindedness, too often degenerating into overweening self- conceit, making them a laughing-stock to civilians ; and, finally, now as then, there were the same stiff, wooden regulations, the mechanical drill, which, despite all personal bravery, failed utterly before the convinced enthusiastic onrush of the revolu- tionary army."

The author notes habits of luxury which were unknown even forty years ago. In the Chinese Expedition the German officers drank champagne out of costly goblets. How different from the broken wine-glass out of which, in abominably bad

wine, King William I. pledged the victors of St. Privat I As an instance of the positively morbid passion for uniformity, we must not forget to mention the episode of the General who requires that the punishments in a certain battery should be reduced, not because he complains that they were undeserved or that they had failed in their purpose, but because they made the punishment list of that battery out of keeping with the other lists ! We must record the author's view that the deluge of orders in the China Expedition magnified insignificant events into important ones and created a fever for personal decoration. Finally, he laments the habit of boasting, "associated, as it so often is, with an unctuous piety." He puts some words on the subject into the mouth of a Colonel—" All this outward show in religion is detestable. It was just so in Berlin and Potsdam in the time of Bischoffswerder and Woellner." That, of course, was before Jena. Well, we have all noticed that the Emperor's outward piety has kept pace with the violence of his policy. A &sit omen !