"This results not so much from barrack-yard drill and field manoeuvres, as from the practical experience of warfare gained in many campaigns. England is occupied almost uninterruptedly, in warlike enterprises in some part of the world or other. Further, the officers--belonging mostly to the upper circles--have distinguished themselves in the field by a rash bravery which was marked perhaps, not so much by military as sportsmanlike behaviour. "All in all the strategic value of the English army in regard to leadership, training, discipline and the spirit of the troops, cannot compare with the conscript armies of other lands--especially the German army. Yet the contempt which has been expressed for it in the Press as an army of hirelings, is just as little merited to-day as it was in the past when it added many a glorious page to England's history. "These remarks are intended as a refutation to the reproaches made against the English army. It is true, those unjust criticisms did not originate with experts, or they would imply a dangerous under-estimation of the enemy. But in consequence of the widespread acceptance among the masses they unjustly feed the fires of hate."[230] [Footnote 230: Dr. G. Landauer: "England." Vienna; 1915, pp. 74-5.] "For the last ten days we have been resting to the west of Lille not far from Armentières; an English army is opposed to us. My battery is one of the links in the long chain of growlers[231] which daily pour fire and iron on to the enemy. We gave up counting the days and fights, for every day has its battle. Besides the English there are Indian troops, and a few French batteries in front of us. [Footnote 231: The Germans call their big guns "Brummer," _i.e._, growler.--Author.] "Every day confirms our experience that we are faced by an enemy with incomparable powers of resistance and endurance. An enemy who can hardly be shaken by the sharpest rifle-fire or the most awful rain of shell and shrapnel. We gain ground slowly, exceedingly slowly, and every step of soil has to be paid for dearly. "In the trenches taken by storm the English dead lie in rows, just like men who had not winced or yielded before the bayonets of the stormers. From the military point of view it must be admitted that such an enemy deserves the greatest respect. The English have adapted the experiences gained in their colonial wars to European conditions in a particularly clever manner. "Every attempt to cross the canal was thwarted by artillery fire and in many places the enemy was more advantageously situated than our men. His trenches were at least dry while ours were flooded with water. I went into the front trenches by Dixmude and found them lined half a yard deep with faggots and wood, yet at every step our feet sank into the water and slush.