to recover all their poles and wire. In the retreat from Mons their
signal corps had such heavy losses in attempting to do this that they
were seriously hampered by lack of personnel.

PHYSIQUE

The German soldiers and officers have a physique unapproached by any
troops which I saw, except the Swiss. Their average height and weight
is very much above all the others, except the Russians. The Russians
are as large as the Germans but do not approach them in activity and
quality. The French, although small and light, are wiry and have very
good stamina, especially in the matter of marching. The Austrians are
of medium size, most of them being stockily built. The Hungarians are
of medium height, well-knit, possessed of good stamina, and are in
every way physically fitted to be fine soldiers. Their infantry have
very high physical qualities, probably being as effective in modern
warfare as the heavy Germans.

MENTAL CHARACTERISTICS

I found intelligent people in Germany very broad-minded about military
matters. They were pretty well agreed that General Joffre is the only
general produced so far by the war who would rank in history as a
great captain, and while they maintained that the German officers as a
class were superior to all others, they conceded that the best troops
which have so far taken part in the war were the British regulars who
represented England in the early weeks of the war and retreated from
Charleroi through Mons, St. Quentin, and Compiegne to the southeast of
Paris.

On many different occasions I saw Russian prisoners in Germany and
Austria-Hungary. They impressed me as being of a low order of
intelligence. They fight well on the defense. When they are put in a
position and told to stay there, they are very difficult to drive back
and show the highest order of courage. When they move or advance they
become less reliable.

The Hungarians have a very keen fighting instinct and are excellent
infantrymen.

The Germans have a dogged courage and expose themselves with bravery
and enthusiasm in any undertaking. When they are once started, they
are difficult to stop. On an advance, I should say that a 50 per cent.
loss is necessary to make them hesitate, and on the defense I saw at
least one case where they were put out of action to the last man
without giving ground.

The French are brave in a more spectacular way. They are better
winners than the Germans and worse losers. Their temperament leads