The Armies of Europe

The Armies of Europe by Fedor von Köppen

Let him who is desirous of peace prepare himself for war.” Thus runs the a proverb which sums up the experience and history of the most powerful Empire of old. If this maxim held good n the old Roman days, how much more applicable s t to the present time, when war-clouds are darkening the horizon, and threaten to burst n run and devastation on all nations who have not heeded the warning! There are, however, few who have not heeded t, and the governments of all nations have been for some time, and are still, reorganizing their Armes and bringing them to a high state of efficiency in accordance wth the experience taught them by the great wars of the last thirty years. It s, therefore, necessary for all who take an interest n military matters, or n foreign politics, to become acquainted with the strength and organization of the armed forces of the different European Powers, for t s only by a study of these Armes that we get to know the relative value of our own.