Germany and the Next War by Friedrich von Bernhardi
page 52 of 339 (15%)
page 52 of 339 (15%)
|
Amur district and in Korea would have repelled or at least hindered the
Japanese rival from rising to such a height of power as was attained through this war, glorious alike for military prowess and political foresight. The appropriate and conscious employment of war as a political means has always led to happy results. Even an unsuccessfully waged war may sometimes be more beneficial to a people than the surrender of vital interests without a blow. We find an example of this in the recent heroic struggle of the small Boer States against the British Empire. In this struggle they were inevitably defeated. It was easy to foresee that an armed peasantry could not permanently resist the combined forces of England and her colonies, and that the peasant armies generally could not bear heavy losses. But yet--if all indications are not misleading--the blood shed by the Boer people will yield a free and prosperous future. In spite of much weakness, the resistance was heroic; men like President Stein, Botha, and De Wett, with their gallant followers, performed many great military feats. The whole nation combined and rose unanimously to fight for the freedom of which Byron sings: "For freedom's battle once begun, Bequeathed from bleeding sire to son, Though baffled oft, is ever won." Inestimable moral gains, which can never be lost in any later developments, have been won by this struggle. The Boers have maintained their place as a nation; in a certain sense they have shown themselves superior to the English. It was only after many glorious victories that they yielded to a crushingly superior force. They accumulated a store of |
|