December 12, 1914, 
LAND AND WATER 
CORRESPONDENCE. 
WASTAGE. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Deau Sir, — In his calculations of the Austrian and Ger- 
tnan losses, Mr. Hilaire Belloo includes all those who have 
■fallen sick and been wounded since the beginning of the war. 
Surely some correction is necessary here? A calculation which 
takes no account of men who have recovered from wounds, 
sore feet, and over-strain, etc., estimates the total wastage, 
but it is the total present effectives that is of interest at the 
moment. To arrive at this figure I suggest that it would 
Jiot be excessive to deduct twenty per cent, from the total 
wounded to represent those men who have recovered sufficiently 
*t the end of three months to return to the trenches, or by the 
end of this month between 200,000 and a quarter of a million 
men.— Yours, etc., H. Onslow. 
11, St. James's Square, S.W., Saturda.y. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Dear Sis, — I have been following the excellent scries of 
articles in Land and Water by Mr. Hilaire Belloc with intense 
interest, especially the recent articles analysing the probable 
losses of tho enemy. 
In calculating the number of wounded and missing, Mr. 
Belloo bases his calculations to a large extent upon the faofc 
that the proportion of killed to wounded and missing is one 
killed to ten missing, etc., and in comparing the lists pub- 
lished by the enemy of killed and wounded, etc., he finds that 
the number of killed does not begin to tally with the propor- 
tion upon which his deductions are baaed. 
It haa occurred to me that owing to the extremely defeo- 
tive ambulance arrangements of the enemy, of which 
•we have almost daily evidence in the Press, a large 
number of wounded soldiers succumb to their injuries either 
on the battlefield, in transit, or in hospital, from lack of 
attention. From this cause it may be quite possible that tho 
proportion of killed to wounded may be much larger than is 
the case with our British troops, who have the advantage of 
magnifioent ambulance and hospital arrangements. — I enclose 
my card and sign myself . X. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sib, — Like many hundred others of your readers, I have 
followed Mr. Belloc's articles upon the war with the most 
absorbing interest. The paper in which he endeavours to 
reach some conclusion as to the possible wastage in tho Ger- 
man Army is a particularly interesting example of close 
reasoning, and the proportions on which it is based — of one 
killed to eight wounded — seemed studiously to endeavour to 
place the number of wounded at a minimum. 
But Sir John French's despatch mentions one regiment, 
tho Dorsets. who on one day suffered 400 casualties, 130 of 
them being killed, a proportion not of one to eight, but of just 
over one to three. 
The Eton College Chronicle publishes a list of the Old 
Etonians killed and wounded in action, the figures being 133 
killed, 17 died of wounds, 170 wounded, 30 wounded and 
prisoners. Counting the 17 " died of wounds " as killed, this 
gives us 150 to 200 wounded, a proportion of 1 to 1.3. 
Would these figures not seem to explain the excessively 
high ratios of killed to wounded as given in tho German or 
Prussian lists ; and, if so, would not these facts prove that 
the warfare of to-day, into which the work of the artillery and 
hand-to-hand fighting have so far taken a very large part, has 
become more deadly than warfare even under the conditions 
of ten or fifteen years ago, as deadly, almost, as it was before 
the introduction of firearms T 
H. D. FoED. 
A HOME ARMY. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — The possible loss of Silesia with all Jier industries 
by Germany will be more than counterbalanced if the present 
occupation of Belgium can be made permanent. For Belgium 
las a groat industrial position with coal on the spot, besides 
a sea front on the Straits of Dover. It is also close to the 
other Gorman manufacturing district of Westphalia, where 
the production of war material is now centralised. So long 
as troops are " blockaded " in England by the fear of inva- 
sion, instead of being able to go abroad and maintain tlie 
offensive, it may be difficult to dislodge the enemy now in 
occupation of tliis possible base of operations against us. 
This state of things may continue along witli all the hearvy 
expensed of the war, until we can get a Home Army by com- 
pulsion or otherwise that can undertake the defence of our 
islands, and Ihus allow all the Regular Army to take its 
proper place abroad, which would also restore complete 
liberty of action to the Fleet. — Yours faitlifully, 
John H. Bueton. 
November 30, 1914. ■ 
ZEPPELINS. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — With the greatest deference may I venture to call in 
question the conclusions of "Optimist" regarding the metal 
used in tho construction of Zeppelins. 
His statement that it is improbable that there is a metal 
much lighter than aluminium is not founded on fact. Alu- 
minium has a specific gravity of 2.59. 
Aluminium alone is unsuitable for construction work, 
and with the exception of Aeromin 131, which has a spociiic 
gravity of 2.58, there is no aluminium alloy with a high ten- 
Bile strength below about 2.7 specific gravity. 
On the otJisr hand there is a group of magnesium base 
alloys with a good tensile strength with a specific gravity about 
1.85. 1 6 J- 
My firm are well aware of this group of metals, and are 
able to produce them by our own special process and would bo 
quite prepared to do so if reasonable encouragement was given. 
I am, yours faithfully, 
Regd. E. Raven, 
, „„ . Engineer to the Aero-:Metal Svnd., Ltd. 
100, Victoria Street, London, S.W. 
December Ist, 1914. 
HELIGOLAND. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sib, — I have been much interested in the point raised by 
Mr. Jane as to the enemy's moral victory at the Heli"olai;d 
Bight encounter. Does not the whole thing depend upon a 
definition of morall 
Suppose we imagine that all men with an understanding 
of naval tactics are agreed that the Germans ought to have 
won but for our exceptionally good fortune upon that occa- 
sion. Then, I suppose, we would say all German naval 
officers would feel very confident, and they may feel they 
have a moral victory. 
But what are the feelings of the men? In the army, I 
take it, moral means that the man behind the rifle is steady. 
It is quite possible for an army to have very confident officers 
but at the same time to have very nervous men. Suoh an 
army would be said to be lacking in moral. 
Surely it would take a great deal of explanation to con- 
vince the men of the German Fleet that their tactics and 
efficiency are so superior to ours that they would feel cooler 
and steadier in action than before. The result of that fight 
must bo a hard fact to explain away, even if it were a miracle. 
It bad gunnery can be attributed to men rather than 
their officers, does not the poor shooting at the Halcyon bear 
this ouH 
If it is a moral victory for the officers and a loss of 
moral among the men, we may expect the enemy's ships lo 
be manoeuvred boldly and to shoot nervously. — Yours faith- 
fully, George F. Davidson. 
November 30, 1914. 
ROYAL SAVOY NEEDLEWORK GUILD. 
To the Editor of Land and Water. 
Sir, — I would suggest that this Guild deserves special 
inotice, since it combines a practical eEFort to help the women- 
kind of the men at the front with an attempt to influence them 
in the highest direction, in order that they may conduct them- 
selves in the spirit of the excellent letter written to Lady 
Smith-Dorrien by her husband. The plan of the Guild is to 
supply work for such women under the supervision of a band 
of ladies connected with the Chapel of the Savoy, care Being 
taken to avoid any kind of charity which might endanger self- 
respect. 
Workrooms have been opened in some of the poorer parts 
of London, and payment is made at the Union rate of 3d. 
an hour. Ordei-s are earnestly desired for pleun needlework 
or knitting of any kind for women and children, and especi- 
ally for soldiers and sailors, and if there is sufficient demand, 
the number of workrooms will be greatly increased. Special 
terms are made for large gifts intended for a particular -regi- 
ment or ship. 
My excuse for strongly rocommending this Guild, whose 
office is at the Savoy Choir School, Strand, W.C., is tholt it 
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