smaller than the war establishment, for reasons of economy, upon
the assumption that there will be enough time after war is declared
to get on a war basis before the enemy can strike. But since 1870,
all the military nations have realized that the vital struggle of
a war takes place _before_ a shot is fired; that _the factors that
decide which nation shall be the victor and which the vanquished are
determined before the war begins_; that they are simply "functions"
of preparedness. Germany was ready not only for war but for victory,
because her troops were so much better trained, organized, and equipped
than those of France, and her war plans so much more complete,
that she was able to lay France prostrate, before the enormous
resources of that country in men and material could rally in her
defense.

The relative conditions in which two opposing forces will enter a
war, and their relative performances afterward, will depend upon
the relative excellence of the war plans made for them, and the
thoroughness with which the plans are tested before war breaks. So
it is not difficult to see why all the great armies have patterned
after Germany, and organized special bodies of officers for the
preparation and execution of War plans; and why it is that they
endeavor to secure for that peculiar duty the most thorough and
industrious of their officers. Owing to the nature of war itself,
the principles of warfare apply in their essentials to navies as well
as to armies; and so the navies have patterned after the armies and
made plans whereby they can get ready to fight in fleet organization
on the ocean with the greatest possible effectiveness in the shortest
possible time.

During peace times every navy is maintained on a "peace basis";