| Show THE ALLIED ARMIES Quality and Performance of Soldiers of Different Nations in China I Living and camping with the men ot these various forces on an expedition such as this very severe march to Peking Pe-king one got < very close insight into the comparative e discipline the equipment equip-ment the endurance and the fighting I I or soldier spirit In them as well as Into the working of their transport commissariat com-missariat army medical corps etc says George Lynch i Independent The standard of comfort of the United States soldier is far and away higher than that of any soldier In the 1 I world The United States commissaries I commis-saries in Peking were a perfect godsend god-send for procuring luxuries which I could not be obtained In any others In discipline mean the obvious discipline I dis-cipline the surface discipline if you I wish the discipline that was apparent to the eye of the spectatorthe American I I Ameri-can soldiers were woefully lacking and would compete with the French for the I last place among the allied forces but when real fighting is to be done they I generally manage to get there fight I well and shoot straight In sharplymarked contrast to every other arm of their service the Japanese cavalry were an absurd caricature This is not altogether surprising when wo bear In mind how unused to horses Is the average Japanese He has not the instinct for caring for horses which Is ingrained in those who are accustomed to them from childhood In every other branch of their service it appeared to me that they equaled If they did not surpass the best of the allied troops In China Their extreme mobility in the field was a revelation all their movements seemed to be done on the double and there was a verve go and activity about them that was I simply delightful to watch The old fighting or soldier spirit of Japan seems still actively burning In the breast of every little Jap They sing as they fight and fight with the frolic welcome of schoolboys who love the game they are playing Their disregard of life is extraordinary Quite In contrast this spring and go and fighting spirit appears conspicuous by Its absence in the German He appears I ap-pears to be the acme of the manufac ncme l tured soldier the soldier who is the result re-sult of laborious and accurate drill On parade their drill showed up superior su-perior to that of any of the other allies But then It was stiff wooden and mechanical me-chanical to a degree and it would be I curious to observe when occasion should arise owing to severe losses I among the omcers how this human mechanism manufactured the parade pa-rade ground would work when thrown I on Its own resources and when obliged to rely on its own individuality Rough uncouth heavy slowmoving but giving one the Idea of great stubbornness I stub-bornness and endurance the Russians appeared to be In many respects the 1 best war soldiers of the ot They almost al-most equal the Japanese In the simplicity sim-plicity of their diet Although slow In movement they are capable of executing execut-ing extremely long marches I The regiments of colonial French troops which accompanied the original expedition may be passed unnoticed for they lacked nearly every soldier like quality of conduct or equipment They were simply beneath contempt They distinguished themselves chiefly by their lootlpg exploits and by their outrages upon the Chinese more particularly par-ticularly upon the women and competed com-peted successfully with the Russians and the Germans for the first place among those who were lo disgrace Western civilization in the Orient |
