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Show AMERICANS SAY GERMANVIS SLOW Washington, Aug 3. With a hasti lv drawn map of the probable theatre of var In Europe before them army strategists here today were eagerly scanning the news reports of the stirring events that were momentarily momentari-ly taking place in German, Russia and France. Some surprise is expressed by th-1 experts at the comparative! slow be ginning of the Gtrman campaign. The American war college, patterned largely upon the great German w?r machine known as the general staff, has understood that so perfectly had every detail of an offensive campaign against both France and Russia been wprked out by the German kriegspiel players, that the first blows would fall like lightning strokes out of a clear sky, and that within twenty four hours after the declaration of war, or, Indeed, after order for mobilization, mo-bilization, the first German battalions would be many miles advanced across both eastern and western boundaries Into the enemies country It was believed that the only man ner In which the execution of these carefully laid plans could be defeat ed would be by the Interposition to the advance of living walls of French and Russian legions, yet there has been no report of battles on any larg- scale. Playing Desperate Game. Consequently the belief 16 express ed amoug military man here that invisible in-visible wires axe holding ack the dogs of war. and that the full strength of the military forces on all sides is being withheld while the statesmen and diplomatists in the European capitals are playing the last cards in the desperate game of diplomacy In Thp hnni, nnu not of averting gen eral war, but of securing individually such advantages aa may be obtained through delayed action After looking over all available data of today's operations, the strategists were unanimously of the opinion that the plans of campaign had not so far unfolded as to admit of a guess as to the real purposes of the great military leaders What has been done by the German army In the east in the invasion of Belgium is re garded as purely precautionary and calculated rather lo prevent a posel ble quick dash by the French legions into the fatherland than with the pur pose or beginning a deliberate and progressive campaign toward Paris. Regarded aa FelnU. The slight crashes reported to have taken place on the border of Lorraine are looked upon as insignifi cant and as mere feints to develop the French strength in that quarter Military maps here disclose an astonishingly as-tonishingly large German force In that neighborhood. There appears to be no less than three army divi slons within striking distance of the French frontier on a line leas than a hundred miles In length. If a general campaign had been Initiated there was sufficient German force, in the opinion of the experts here, to have broken through the French lines at any point where there were no great fortresses such as Nancy and Stra6sburg Of course, according to these sam-calculations, sam-calculations, the German advance might be only temporary, as it is known that the French army is gath ered in great strength In the two fortified for-tified towns named, and It would be only a question of time before they would fall upon the German flanks I In the efforts to cut the lines of com 1 munication, isolate and destroy or capture the Invading army before it could bring up its reserves So far as can be discovered here. I the German campaigns in the east' are on a different basis and at this stage, at least are rather defensive I than offensive in character Re ports have come from Berlin that : German troops actually have crossed the Russian frontier south of Danzig. Dan-zig. But this movement Is believed to be calculated simply to harass the Russians and to retard the organize I tlon of the great army of the czar I which linallv must be reckoned with ! |