I was also especially interested in your splendid Texas
cavalry division. We have nothing like it in the German Army, because
such a body of men could not be developed in a closely settled country.
You may not know that only a short time before being sent to Mexico the
Texas cavalry had received brand-new drill and exercise instructions,
but in spite of this they acquitted themselves splendidly, showing the
remarkable adaptability of your soldiers.
"In sending your coast artillery as infantry regiments to Mexico you
anticipated us in a rather similar use of our marine divisions on the
coast. The most valuable lesson we have learned from you is typhus
vaccination. This we owe to the American Army. I believe it goes back to
the fact that your Gen. Wood was a medical man before becoming Chief of
Staff."
Gen. Zoellner intimated that the whole German Army either had been or
was being vaccinated against typhoid on the American plan. "And there is
also a very American flavor about our volunteer automobile corps--their
dash and speed they have learned that from you Americans," he concluded.
My previously formed suspicion that the Germans were making war on the
American plan, managing their armies like so many subsidiary companies
of a big trust, was fully confirmed by my second visit to the office of
the Great General Staff. Instead of a picturesque bunch of Generals
spending anxious days and sleepless nights over their maps with faithful
attendants trying to coax them to leave off dispatch writing long enough
to eat a sandwich, I found a live lot of army officials, keeping regular
office hours and taking ample time out for meals.
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