96    JAPAN'S STRATEGICAL PROBLEM
from France and Germany, give promise of such success on land as the navy has won at sea by close adherence to British methods. So far as the campaign has gone there has been nothing to show that the) Japanese is inferior as a fighting man to the Russian j let us, for the moment, limit ourselves to that.
If the first actions on land display a marked superiority on one side or the other, then we may have to recast our ideas. Napoleon, in 1815, counted one Frenchman the equal of one Englishman, but also the equal of two Prussians, Belgians, Dutchmen, or Germans, and on this valuation based his plan. It is not a point upon which the modern German cora-i mentator upon the Waterloo campaign dilates at length, but such as it is, and for what it is. worth, it stands on record. If we find that one Russian equals two Japanese, or vice versa, then naturally the question of what 140,000 Russians correspond to in terms of Japanese units must be faced, and the result be embodied in the remaining velocity of the Japanese missile at Kharbin, or wherever the Russians elect to stand at the date named.
The Japanese should beware of becoming intoxicated by their naval successes, and should view the military situation with the utmost calm. They should remember Napoleon's advice to the most famous army of modern times—" II faut marcher avec prudence. Les Russesi ne sont pas encore entame's, ils savent aussi attaquer "-r-and they should consider that message as a warning to themselves. A great military empire is on its mettle j the lives, the reputations, the fortunes of every Russian, from the highest to the humblest, are at stake. Incredible exertions will be made to retrieve the situation j the Russian is a stout fighter, he has great traditions, and is not disheartened by defeat. The Japanese appear to have the game in their hands if they keep their heads cool and their ambitions within bounds. An advance upon Kharbin is a serious military risk unless the Japanese can bring 250,000 combatants into line 400