FORECAST OF THE SOLUTION

BY OUR MILITARY CORRESPONDENT.

Even the folk who have most glibly scoffed at the professor of strategy are beginning to be dimly aware that there must be something after all in the art of war, and that when great nations are in the throes of a life-and-death struggle for victory, the side which possesses leaders skilled in the art of war must have a formidable asset and advantage over the side whose champions are inferior in this respect. It is certainly very difficult to define precisely wherein this advantage lies. No precise dogmas or rules can be laid down. What is a brilliant conception on one occasion may be sheer folly on another. The art has no hard-and-fast laws; every great decision must depend on the circumstances, but if any synonym exists for the art of strategy it is the art of economising warlike resources. Economy, at any rate, is a word which every man of affairs can comprehend. Everyone can point out cases of individuals who effect little or nothing with ample resources, while some of their competitors, with the handicap of inferior means, easily beat them by superior management. And so it is in the great business of war. The causes of waste in applying military force occur also in the policy, diplomacy, and general administration of the State, but, given that the military leaders are supplied with forces superior to the enemy, victory depends on the skilful use of those forces in the field – in other words, on the most economical use of them.