Show Says Conditions Differ From Time of Napoleon 1 Dr Paul Paull Michaelis one of ot the mill mili military tary tart experts of ot the Berliner Tago 1 ho lio hohas has lias accompanied led the the- Oem Get Ger- m maii malt il army In Its drive ns against th the tho Russians makes a crit the tho campaign of ot Napoleon In 1812 and that of ot Field Marshal General von Hindenburg at the present present pres pres- ent time lIe He draws his conclusions conclusion why Napoleon failed and why the present German campaign in Russia will succeed He lie writes as follows follow from l Opposite the the city hall of with Its Us tall slender tower built ti tithe In Inthe inthe the sixteenth century there stands ii in inthe Inthe the market place an Ut iron monument It Il is ls a tall hexagonal pyramid crowned with a golden Byzantine erected In memory o othe 01 ot globe and was the victories which freed treed Russia from fron the French Invasion This monstrosity ty was placed th there rc about sixty years year ago At that time no one believed that Russia and France would unite b to towar towar war on Germany and Austria The Tho remembrance of ot Napoleons Napoleon's occupation occupation tion lion still Mill li Ih lingered and traces of ot hi his footsteps were still to be bo found Russia Hussla Rue Rus ala sia already in that time had her eyes eye on Constantinople and the Darda Dardanelles D Dardanelles rda rda- nelles and regarded England age and France rance tas as her hereditary enemies and thus hus ten ton days before the Crimean Cri Crimean Crl- Crl mean mean war this spite monument was war erected against Russia's enemies o othe of the west particularly France However However How How- ever since then these enemies have suddenly become her friends but this thin cast iron tron monument in the market markel marketplace marketplace place knows nothing of ot this It still dreams of the Little Corporal and the fire desolation and death that lay In it his wake wake the the Little Corporal who wanted to become master of ot the world but who met his defeat In the icy wastes of Russia Let us follow his footsteps here and see what they teach us now if it the Russian Russian- general staff means to revive the tactics of 1812 in the present war it shows that the they not only have not forgotten anything anything anything any any- thing but that they have on theother theother the theother other hand not learned anything The circumstances today are entirely different dif different dif dif- ferent from what they were a century ago The majority of ot the Russian troops have be been n rendered incapable t of ot any prolonged resistance More I than men at ate are e how now prisoners I in Germany and Hungary Austria and an equal number have no doubt been killed or wounded Russia Crippled This in itself is is- isan an important fact to be considered and amI it is also reasonable reasonable reasonable rea rea- to suppose that Russia will for a long time be unable to take the offensive if at all How long the Russian nation willbe content to bear the frightful losses remains to be seen But the fact remains that the German campaign today is vastly different different dif dif dif- ferent in tactics tactic and strategy from that followed by Napoleon In the Little Corporals Corporal's drive against Russia Russia Russia Rus Rus- sia the traditions of ot Alexander the Great and Hannibal were followed inso in inso inso so so far tar that they invaded an enemy's country without troubling themselves about their lines of ot communication with their own country The They felt confident that they could obtain all their necessary on the enemy's enemy's enemy's ene ene- mys my's own own son soil There is Just where Napoleon made his great mistake It was cold coldI I and hunger him and not r the Russian army Without his lines of open to Germany even Field Marshal von Hindenburg would be helpless A campaign that thatis is carrl carried d far from the base of ot supply supply supply sup sup- ply would today be regarded as In in- in sanity In addition another very Important Import Import- ant point Is the protection of ot the armies' armies flanks and andin in both these maters maters maters mat mat- ers there need be no occasion for worry From the North sea as far south as there is absolutely absolutely absolutely no likelihood of ot threatening the flanks of ot the Germans The Russians Russians Russians Rus Rus- may occasionally delay their progress or even for tor a time drive them back but it is impossible now that the German army in Russia can be defeated There is no longer enough room for the Russians to maneuver successfully Field Marshal von Hindenburg Is slow and careful but he is absolutely sure of ot himself Furthermore the tactics of ot the Germans are diametrically dIametrically diametrically cally opposed to those of ot the Russians Russians Rus Rus- in that the Germans instead of burning down and destroying things conserve and build up They seek to make malte the best possible use of ot the country through which they march marchI and also of ot its inhabitants I The invasion of ot Russia long the dream of ot Napoleon was wall even a hundred hun dred dyed years ago ogo a colossal undertaking and when the time really came camo for it 11 iii hi the spring of ot 1812 Napoleon despite despite despite de de- de- de spite tho the assistance of ot Germans Poles Spaniards Portuguese so and Italians realized l that he had a tremendous tre trem tremendous tre tre- m task before him Ills His grand army of men was a a. formidable formidable able ablo one for tor that time lime not only as as' regards the number of men but also as regards guns guris and equipment Napoleons Napoleon's Army It was immeasurably superior su in every respect to any army the tho Russians Rue Rus s could mobilize al against it ft His Ills proclamation to the Poles was vas chiefly chief chief- ly intend intended d. d as s a m means means hs of ot holding their friendship after afler Ills his army army had left them in the rear General Macdonald Mac Mac- donald marched ahead with the left lert wing occupied Libau and pressed forward to 1 At c Jie aio was compelled to make a necessary halt before proceeding on to Sk S SI Petersburg On the right wing vino I King Jerome on June 16 reached where he made his headquarters Napoleon meanwhile pressed forward forward forward for- for ward farther and farther in the the the-cen cen ter tel His Isis road led to and nd the It was the tho same road that the German troops followed in July ly and August of this year Ho He piel and made It his head head- quarters The house in which he slept is still standing After Atter a brief stop He forged ahead like Uke the Germans now to Vilna The embraced his most Important front It was therefore natural that during his retreat from Moscow Napoleon again rested at Vilna VUna But it was only for a short time This French Caesar who shortly before held the world in the hollow of his hand had to flee from Vilna under cover of the night in a a. avain avain vain aln effort to try to save the tattered of his once superior army That was in December 1912 His brief occupation of ot Moscow the burning of ot the city and the die dis retreat constitute est eat tragedy in history I thousand of ot hl his men manat manag vive viva the cold and the hun hung attacks of or the Cossacks th the in those thoe Icy wastes waste I |