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The Allied side of the balance sheet might also be increased. If Russia joined the Allies a good part of her 130 divisions could be added to the Allied strength. And if the U.S. should ever again send an A.E.F. to Europe the Allies would have another 27 to 62 divisions to count on.
In the air, however, the Axis has the edge. The following is Major Eliot's table showing the strength in military planes of the same two sides: First-Line Reserves Replacements*
Germany 4,000 4,000 1,000
Italy 2,400 600 300
Hungary 100 — —
Spain 300 100 50
— — —
Total Axis 6,800 4,700 1,350
France 2,000 0 200
Britain 2,600 1,300 600
Poland 900 400 50
Rumania 500 — —
Turkey 300 — —
Greece 200 — —
All Others — 200 —
— — —
Total Allies 6,500 1,900 850
With the U. S. S. R. added to the Allies, the Axis superiority would vanish, for the Russians have 4,500 first-line planes and some 6,000 in reserve, plus a replacement capacity of 580 a month. The above fig ures for Allied replacements may be high but purchases from the United States might swell the Allied replacement total.
Quality. Anyone who translates these raw figures into inevitable victory for either side is misled. Quality counts as much as or more than quantity. In World War I, for example, command of the air changed hands several times, and the command changed not only when numbers varied but when one side introduced a superior new plane which could outfight the opposing machines. Something of the same sort was seen recently in Spain where German Messerschmitts 109 could outfly Russian Moscas, Russian Chatos could out-maneuver Italian Fiats. In general, Germany is known to have some of the best fighting ships in Europe. Britain is perhaps runner up in airplane quality; Russia, although she has many ships, is somewhere down near the tail of the procession.
The difference in quality between planes is matched by differences in the quality of troops—their training, their arms, their physique, their leadership. In these respects, for example, 13 divisions of Greeks are certainly no match for 13 divisions of Germans. In peace time the quality of troops is purely a matter of judgment, but judgment is not guess work. Each nation's army has a character of its own as distinct as the character of each individual man and these characters stand out even in peace time:
France. Unlike the German army, the French army does not strut. The French people are proud of their soldiers, but do not worship them. Since the fiasco of General Boulanger's attempt at a military dictatorship in the 1880s and the Dreyfus case in the '90s, the French army has eschewed politics.