Excerpt from Bohemia There was, moreover, one further reason for Austria's almost unbroken series of defeats. Her troops were ill organized, moderately commanded, and badly armed. For this last defect there can be no excuse. No nation can be sure of possessing a von Moltke in the hour of need but it can at least be certain that its troops are at no dis advantage in the matter of arms. Time after time during this war the Austrian battalions were beaten simply because the Prussian breech-loader was so immensely superior to the muzzle-loading weapon with which they themselves were armed. This was a defect for which the commander in the field was not to blame. Admitted that he was not a great general, he should at least be treated with consideration, for he had to contend with great and unnecessary difficulties. In one way only could he have equalized armament, and that was by operating under cover of darkness. But night operations require much practice and highly skilled control; moreover, they too postulate that spirit of offence which was so conspicuously lacking. With all his faults von Benedek had one great gift, for even at the last his troops were devoted to him and were prepared to follow him anywhere. Unlike the uninstructed populace of Vienna who demanded a scapegoat, the army which had been defeated again and again remained stanchly loyal to its commander, and is loyal to his memory still. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.