The valuable French official review of the war, of which
the last section was summarized by Reuter on Thursday week, is a model of frankness. It confesses to certain errors in tactics and failures in leadership, and when it comes to the very substantial successes of the French arms we are the more ready to accept the statements as absolutely exact. Nor are the past and present numbers of the French Army with- held. We cannot help feeling strongly with the Times that this is the right way to treat an intelligent, sober, and patriotic) people. Englishmen have always fought better and recruited better when the nation felt that it knew exactly what the task in front of it was. France has now 2,500,000 at the front and 1,250,000 in reserve. There are also available the 1915 recruits and nearly half a million men who have been hitherto exempt. As for the German numbers, the French estimate is that on New Year's Day there were 4,000,000 men under arms. Germany's net loss up to then had been 1,300,000. The resources which she had still to draw upon were 2,000,003, and of these 800,000 are now trained. It is estimated that the Germans lose on the average 260,000 men a month. It is believed that on July let the German Army will number not more than 3,740,000 men, with 700,000 still under training who will not be available till the autumn. These are encouraging figures, yet there is every reason to believe that they are within the mark.
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