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Image provided by: New York State Military History Museum
GAS ATTACK THE SECRET OF LEADERSHIP An Inspiring* Talk By Lieut. Col Ap- plin of British Army. N early every officer in Camp W adsworth, including the 500 men of the officers5 train ing school, heard the lecture by Lieut. Col. George Applin, of the 14th H u ssars, B ritish army, recently. The auditorium of Converse College was filled when Maj. Gen. O’Ryan introduced the speaker. Officers were filing into the hall even after Gen. O’Ryan had started to m ake the presentation. The F a tal Four Minutes. Col. Applin looked at his w atch as he faced the audience. “It is now four and a half m inutes after ten o'clock/5 he said. “If, when you get over yonder, you are ordered to go over the top and you sta r t four and a half m inutes behind the appointed time, you will be wiped off the face of the earth. It is much easier to go to a lecture than it is to go over the top. If you can’t get to a lecture on time, w h at is going to happen to you when you get orders to go over the top at a certain hour?55 Col. Applin let th a t soak in, and then he said, “The old adage th a t tim e is money no longer applies. Time is life. It is hum an life. And every day th a t we delay here is costing lives over yonder. Every day that the people of America delay backing up the arm y that they have sent across, means the loss of lives in th a t arm y .55 “We have come over here to help you, if we can,55 said the speaker. “We • w ant to help and advise w ith you, so th a t you may avoid the m istakes th a t we made, the mis takes that the French made, so th a t you will not have to pay the price th a t we paid. Never Such a W ar Before. “There never has been such a war as this. In the sum m er of 1914 the Germans had the most perfect w ar m achine the world had ever seen. It was not m erely an arm y ; it was a whole nation. It was organized and disciplined. T h e re was not only intelligent direction, but there was absolute obedience to orders all along the line. I say it was the m ost perfect w ar m achine the world had ever seen, and it was. You notice that I use the past tense. For it is no longer the most perfect. We have just as good discipline, it is even better. W e do the sam e things Germans do, and do them just as well, only we do them quicker. T h a t is the advantage we have, and will keep. And it is the thing you m u st do, if you are to be effective in this war. Discipline Indispensable to Success. “M ilitary training not founded on discip line is like the house th a t we are told of in the Scriptures. No m a tter how intelligent your officers and men, no m a tter how good the training may be, if it is not founded on discipline it will be like the house built on the sand and it will not stand the storm s of war. “The Germans think the U n ited States can not have discipline in their arm y be cause this is a democracy. The K a iser says he does not fear the entry of America into the w a r because the A m erican arm y will never have discipline. And if the K a iser is correct in his view, then I tell you frankly that the sooner you get out of the w ar the better. “The German discipline is th a t of brute force, founded on fear. You know th a t Ger man officers slash their men across the face if they do not stand at attention and salute sm a rtly; you know German officers have driven their men into battle at the point of their revolvers. Methods of that kind can produce discipline of a kind. The Discipline of Democracy. “But there is another and better kind of discipline. It is the discipline of democracy. It is founded on m u tual confidence and re spect betw een officers and men. The B rit ish arm y has it, the French arm y has it. I don’t know just how we got it, but w e’ve got it. Every man in the B ritish arm y clicks at a given command, just as the lock of his gun clicks when he pulls the trigger, and the whole nation is behind the army. The people are supporting us, they are working for us, and m aking sacrifices for us.” H ere Col. Applin paid a high tribute to the work of the women of G reat B ritain since the war started. “W omen,” he said, “are working in many industries, particularly in munition plants, and they are proving their efficiency and devotion in a thousand different w ays.” “Discipline and efficiency m ean the sam e thing,” said the speaker. “Or putting it differently, discipline is the instant and will ing obedience to every order, and in the absence ol an order to w h a t you believe th a t order would have been. The obedience m u st be instantaneous, and it m u st be willing. Tardy obedience is not discipline, and it can never bring efficiency.” Live for Your Country. “Not long ago I talked with a comm and ing officer who pointed w ith pride to his men and said: ‘Every one of them is willing to die for his country/ Of course. Almost any man will die for his country, but we don’t w a n t your men to do that. We w a n t them to live. We do not w a n t them to give their lives, but to give them selves. To give self may be an even harder thing, for it means rigid discipline, absolute obedience to orders. Discipline, instant and willing dis cipline, is a m eans to protection of life, and th a t is a thing we are striving for as we go along. “The man who will win this w a r,” the speaker continued, “will not be the officer who gives the commands, but the officer who executes them . This applies to every officer, of every rank, on down to the platoon com mander. Discipline, prom pt and willing obedience to orders rests with equal force upon all of us.” “And let me tell you,” he w ent on, “you can never lead men unless you have trained them. It is a great privilege you young offi cers have of training men. You m u st m ake them respect you and love you if you would get the full m easure of discipline, and you can do th a t if you try. Begin by respecting and loving your men and observing a rigid discipline for yourself, and it won’t be long until you will find them responding to you. They will give you just as much as you give them, and more. W ould you know the se cret of command. I will give it to you, and I w a n t you to memorize it and carry it with you alw ays: Memorize This. “STRENGTH OF CHARACTER, MULTI PLIED BY DETERMINATION, PLUS TACT, EQUALS POW E R TO COMMAND.” “T h a t is the secret. Get it quick, and get it here, for you can’t get it over there. Dis cipline m u st be learned here, for it will be too late after you get into the thick of the fight. It will be too late then. If you haven’t got discipline by the tim e you get over there you will bring disaster upon your selves and upon those around you, and those who are depending on you.” Esprit de Corps. F’urther on Col. Applin said, “I have heard that you think you have the finest division in the Am erican army. I am not here to pass judgm ent, but I do tell you th a t is a fine spirit to have. But it should go further. You should think th a t yours is the finest platoon, in the finest company, in the finest regim ent, in the finest brigade, in the finest division. It will do you good to say that, and believe it, and try to make it true. Get that spirit yourselves, and it won’t be long until your men have it, and your discipline will come easy. It will be a m a tter of pride then. It will not be irksome, if it ever has been.” Col. Applin’s peroration was thrilling. “Gentlem en,” he said, in a quiet even voice, which penetrated every corner of the great hall, “one hundred and fifty years ago your people w ent to war. Do you know w h a t it was all about? Do your rem em b er your declaration of independence? Do you re m em ber the opening sentence, which de clares th a t ‘the Am erican colonies are, and of right ought to be, free?5 T h a t declara tion, gentlem en, was never denied by the B ritish people. It was denied by a mad Ger man prince who sat upon our throne and attem p ted to control our destinies and yours, ju s t as another mad German prince today denies the declaration of freedom of your spokesman, your great President W ilson. British people are glad today, and always have been, that you won th a t w ar of a hun dred and fifty years ago, for you preserved liberty for nations as well as individuals; you preserved liberty for the weak as well (Continued on page 9)
