and to defend it
on the other, the handling of those two splendid armies was simply
magnificent. It would be a great pity that an end was put to that
duel by the removal of Johnston, and the military world thus deprived
of a complete lesson, except for the fact that, whether or not the
contest finally resulted in the fall of Atlanta, the rebellion in
that part of the South would have been practically as far from an
end as it was the first of May! Johnston would have been there in
front of Sherman, all the same, and at least one more campaign
would have been required before the march to the sea could have
been made.

SHERMAN'S GREAT ABILITY AS A STRATEGIST

Although Sherman did not himself accomplish the first part of
Grant's plan in respect to Johnston's army,--namely, "to break it
up",--the second part, "to get into the interior of the enemy's
country, . . . inflicting all the damage you can against their war
resources,"( 3) was carried out as thoroughly as Grant or anybody
else could have wished. It is also true that Sherman claimed the
credit for the breaking up of Hood's army in Tennessee, while he
was marching to Savannah, as a legitimate and foreseen part of his
general plan, like his successful march and capture of Savannah.
But he appeared not to see that in such a claim he was condemning
himself for not having done with a superior force what Thomas
actually did with a smaller one. That result was, in fact, due
largely to an accident which, in the ordinary course of military
operations, ought not to have happened, and by which Hood was
tempted to make at Franklin one of those furious assaults upon
troops in position and ready to receive him which are almost always
disastrous. It was just the kind of temptation to Hood's army that
was necessary "to break it up," and it did so very effectually.
The old "Army of Tennessee," which had been so formidable, ceased
to be a formidable army on November 30. Its fighting days were
nearly over. After that it never did any fighting at all worthy
of its old record. And there was hardly a single day while Hood
was in command in the Atlanta campaign when a similar result might
not have been reached by a similar method, and that without any
risk of disaster to the Union army, because the force assaulted by
Hood might always have had a more powerful army near to hand to
support it if necessary.

In his special field order of January