CZECHOSLOVAKIA: Boastings

In Prague, Czecho-Slovak capital, the Tribuna, described as the “Czecho-slovak Government organ,”was said to have indulged in a gasconade.* It “bragged”that the armies of the Little Entente together “are twice as large as the French † and must be reckoned with.”The size of the armies, according to the Tribuna: Czecho-Slovakia 150,000 Yugo-Slavia US, 000 Rumania 125,000 Total 640,000

MOBILIZATION STRENGTH:

Czecho-Slovakia 1,000,000

Yugo-Slavia 1,000,000

Rumania 2,500,000

Poland** 2,000,000

Total 6,500,000

The publication of this gasconade was said to constitute an insult to France, but was not likely intended as such. No doubt Foreign Minister Eduard Benes, “apostle of peace,” had his own reasons for sanctioning, if he did, this verbose horseplay.

* A word coined from Gascon, a native of Gascony, whose propensity for bragging was a byword in France. † The total strength of the French Army is about 650,000. The Metropolitan Army (i.e., exclusive of the Colonials) has a peace strength of about 350,000. Possibly the mobilization strength is 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 at the outside. **Poland is not a member of the Little Entente, but has signed military conventions with Czecho-SIovakia and Rumania.