Deductions from the World WarFreytag-Loringhoven, Hugo Friedrich Philipp Johann, Freiherr von
History
Deductions from the World War
Freytag-Loringhoven, Hugo Friedrich Philipp Johann, Freiherr von
Germany. Heer; War; World War, 1914-1918
As England has developed into a Land Power only in the course of this
War, it has been only by degrees that warlike enthusiasm has infected
the masses of her people. England, great as have been her feats of
organisation, has never been able to make up for the advantage with
which France entered the War owing to her possession of universal
military service. Since she took her time, and the nature of
entrenched warfare made it possible, England was able, however, to
furnish her numerous new formations with a training which was lacking
in the armies of Gambetta. Nevertheless, the new English divisions
could not attain either the coherence of the old troops of the
expeditionary army first dispatched to France or the fighting value
of the French troops. The English reached a high degree of technical
efficiency, but their fighting tactics remained defective. Also, for
all that tough courage peculiar to the Englishman, they lacked that
spirit which can be engendered only by the consciousness of a lofty
national purpose such as that for which the French were fighting. In
place of her voluntary army England gradually built up for herself on
French soil a national army; but, voluntary army or national army, it
served only the ends of English politics and the economic war against
Germany. If the purpose of the War played only a minor part in the
case of the voluntary army, it played a very considerable part in the
case of the national army. If this purpose was not presented clearly
and comprehensively to the understanding of every individual, the
maximum amount of effort could not be expected from this army. In
stirring up and working upon the feelings of the masses, England in
fact showed no more scruples than France. Though the Englishman is
less excitable by temperament, he is all the more obstinate in
clinging to a notion which has once taken root in his mind. This
stirring up of hatred has in his case, too, engendered distressing
excesses as regards the treatment of German prisoners. In certain
cases, even if not as a general rule, the English have shown
themselves not behind the French in brutality.
Thus we had to wage war against enemies who were under the influence
of a mass-psychosis. This has engendered phenomena such as Europe
had not witnessed since the time of the wars of religion. Deeds of
horror and senseless rage of destruction, such as are described for
us in _Simplicissimus_ have again made themselves manifest. The
notion that humanity as a whole had advanced spiritually was proved
to be an error. The vast distance between civilisation and _Kultur_
was clearly revealed.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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