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Show German Army's Value Held Not Yet Proved By EL B. KNICKERBOCKER WITH THE FRENCH ARMY IN THE FIELD. Nov. It (INS) I carefully counted 18 palms on the Croix de Guerre of the officer offi-cer opposite me at the general's mess just back of the front lines today. Then I. asked him what lessons could be drawn at to the quality of the German army from the Polish campaign. "Zero," mapped the officer, who won hit remarkable row of decorations as an Infantry officer of-ficer during the last war, either going over the top at "zero houaf or much more hazardously going out on night raids over no man's' land to capture Germans alive for questioning. Today as then the man who brings In live Germans may get the Croix de Guerre and ten days' leave In Paris. If his German by any chance dies, the emptor gets aethlng. Hence, no German need fear falling into the hands of a French raiding party, because even after only 80 days' home leave has now become the most precious conceivable gift to the French soldier, while the Croix de Guerre remains for every one of them a coveted goal. This officer's opinion of the German army la particularly valuable because,, more than most of hit superior officers, he had close physical contact with the Germans. Every palm in his Croix de Guerre meant that he had Interviewed Inter-viewed a German soldier or officer of-ficer In a most Intimate manner with revolver to the German's head, advising him to come along and make no fuss, but crawl right over quickly through the barbed wire before the French trenches. Hi M sri think the German army peer. On the eantrary, be tad the highest spin lea ef the individual military qualities ef the Germans, especially their eearage, bat Poland, ha declared, was "ne preef whatever ef anything any-thing aboat the German army." From this officer I heard, however, how-ever, the opinion which seems to be the consensus of the French army, namely, that the present German army Is bound to be considerably weaker than that of 1914, If for no other reason than one reason alone: ' It has not a sufficient number of trained of' fleers. |