iL A N J) A ^ I) W A 1 h K . 
iNovcniDCT 20, 11)15. 
succe5?sfvil thnjst. andof opohinga port for a'greaY 
ad\ance, ina\ add to coqiorato discipline the 
complete fearlessness of the fanatic. TIk^ human 
spirit ma\- be keyed up to such a point that each 
man acquires a separate jiurpose distinct from the 
purpose of his unit, and will still go on however 
badly his unit is mauled. One battalion of 
tlie Highland Brigade which made the great 
advance at Loos on September 25th came out 
little over 100 strong with one officer. I?ut the 
remnant liad not lost in luoral. Thev were ready 
to go on to the last man. So, too, witli Marchand's 
Colonials in the Champagne battle of the same 
date. I have no exact figures of their losses, but 
more than one battalion continued to advance 
successfull\- when it was little more than a com- 
pany strong. 
INCREASED TENSION OF WAR. 
At first sight one would be inclined to sav 
that the most modern conditions of war must 
weaken the nerve power for an attack. The 
shattering percussion of the great shells, the cur- 
tains of shrapnel, the malign chatter of the machine- 
guns, the heavy fumes of high explosives, and 
such extra tortures as gas, asphyxiating shells 
and lachrymatory bombs would seem to make 
up an inferno too awful for man to endure. Be- 
sides, there is the maddening slowness of it all. 
In the old days battles were over in a few hours, 
or at the most a day. An attack succeeded or 
failed, but did not stretch into endless stages, 
each involving a new effort, and in the intervals 
the grimmest discomfort. Take that Champagne 
battle in the rain. When one trench was cleared 
aiiother waited, and there was no respite for a 
second from the tornado of the defence's fire. 
We praise the elan of the Napoleonic armies, but ■ 
what degree of courage and vigour is needed to 
drive forward an assault which cannot lead to the 
rout of the enemy but only paves the way for 
another desperate attack, and still another. Here 
is an extract from a letter of a French officer : 
" If you only knew what these days and nights 
are like ! We are condemned to remain crouching 
in the mud, under an avalanche of shells, under 
an almost unceasing rain, with but few supplies 
brought up : in the midst of bodies more or less 
mangled by shot and shell, and in our ears always 
the groans of the dying and the moaning of the 
wounded." 
"easy to -bringiit "near.t Armies are< delicate things, 
and the finer their temper the more readily \)ill 
they be ruined by clumsy handling. To use raw- 
troops in a serious movement before they have 
been broken to war is simply to court disaster 
and to be cruelly unfair to the troops themselves. 
It is well to remember that there is alway-s a 
breaking point. The best forces in the world can 
be tried too high. In the trench warfare of last 
winter there were cases where men were left too 
long unrelieved — one French battalion actually 
stayed in the same trenches for over a hundred 
days. That was perhaps inevitable at the time, 
but it is folly to let it occur if by any po.ssibility 
it can be avoided. So, too, with the use of troops 
in action. It is surely a mistake to send in a 
battalion too often and at too short intervals, 
more especially if that bkttalion is seriously 
depleted. There is grave danger of a battalion 
in such circumstances losing heart. ■ The vigour 
of the offensive will go, arid at the best will -be 
replaced by the fatalism of the defensive. There 
is no better regimental material in the world than 
that which we now possess. It is our business 
to use it, not to abuse it ; for otherwise we may 
stumble upon the breaking point. 
INCREASED NERVE POWER. 
• t* Yet to meet this increase in terror modern 
arniies seem to have attained an increase in nerve 
powfr. The explanation, perhaps, is that the 
carnival of violence carries with it its own cure. 
After a little experience of it the senses and the 
imagmation are deadened. The soldier revises 
his outlook, and the new ten-or becomes part of the 
background and so , gets half forgotten. If the 
tension at any one time lasts too long the deadening 
may, stop, and the.- tortured nerves be exposed 
again. But if the senses are once blunted, and no 
opportunity is givan for that awakening when 
the wheel comes full circle, the human soul will 
adapt Itself to the strangest conditions. That 
seems to be one moral of the campaign. 
THE BREAKING POINT. 
With due preparation and careful handling 
it seems certain f;hat even in modern war we can 
postpone the brraking point vcr}- far. But it is 
AFTER CARE OF BLINDED SOLDIERS. 
1 i To the Editor of L.\nd and W.\ter. 
Sir, — Men who have been blinded in fighting for us, and 
who have been trained at St. Dunstan's,- Regent's Park, 
London, in one of the many forms of industry taught there! 
are now, so to speak, leaving school and starting life for them- 
selves. We who have'becn engaged in their training feel very 
strongly that our responsibilities should not end with ■ the 
completion of this. The Wind home-worker has little chance 
of becommg a useful self-supporting member of ■ the com- 
munity if he IS left to himself.. The purchase of raw material, 
the making of goods, the maintenance of a satisfactory standard 
of excellence and the marketings of articles made "represent 
collectively, a task which is beyond the powers of the blind 
worker to accomplish satisfactorily. 
So it has been arranged with" the Council of the National 
Institute for the Blind that they shall estabhsh a branch the 
primary object of which will be the after-care" of these men 
Its headquarters will be in London, and it. will be under the 
management of Mr. Thomas Martih, who for some years past 
has been Superintendent of the School for the Bhnd at 
Swiss Cottage, London, N.W. ' ': • . 
The benefits of this branch of. the National Institute will 
be as rapidly as possible extended to competent blind home- 
workers throughout the kingdom. 
.f ,J^^l ''^"r?^' '"" '''^^''^'' ^he supply of raw material 
ot the best quahty at cost price, supervision by experts whose 
duty It will be to see that the work is kept up to 'standard, 
and the purchase at retaU prices of all goods which are suffi- 
ciently well turned out. In the case of workers who have 
been trained in such occupations, as Massage and Boot-repair- 
ing every effort will be made to secure them continuity of 
well-paid employment. . . 
These measures wiU to a- great extent make up for the 
handicap under which the blind work. Thev wll enable a 
steady, conscientious man to earn an amount approximating to 
that witliin the capacity^ of the sighted worker 
But very considerable funds- will be needed to carry out 
Inrl Vhl \l ^ businesslike and satisfactory manner. I feel 
sure that there are many among your readers who will feel 
that in spite of the numerous calls to whicli they have so 
generously responded of late, this is another to wliich they will 
1 eadily respond. In doing so they will be showing the measure 
hllphf ;''P'"'^"''^1?" /°''.*^'^ ^^''^'i^d soldiers who have so 
nS hiLSf"!".^^ ^'''^ ^'"'^''' which has been laid upon them 
Zit^ f f f themselves to fight the battle of life as gallantly 
as they fought the battle of their country 
iho RKnVT^'T.'u''"* *? "''^ ""^ the National Institute for 
Xl S? f V ^"^ ''^^'t ""t t° the After-care Branch of 
the Institute.— Yours faithfully, 
C. Arthur Pearson, 
!prS''Zr~?'r'^"\ ^f"^'"^' •'^"^^ ^'^^"°^" C^^<^ Committee). 
