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r
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II
Vvli
£*.**>*
-■,*. t
V^2k.a> ;3S
AR DEPARTMENT, - - ADJUTANT GENERAL'S OFFICE
(MILITARY INFORMATION DIVISION.)
No. XXXVIII.
Major General HENRY C. CORBIN,
ADJUTANT GENERAL, U. 3. ARMY.
Lieut. Colonel W. A. SIMPSON, A. A. G.,
IN CHARGE OF DIVISION.
\T0TES OP MILITARY INTEREST
FOR 1902.
COMPILED AND ARRANGED BY
Major E. A. EDWARDS, 23d Infantry ;
Captain J. S. HERRON, 2d Cavalry;
First Lieut. H. B. FERGUSON, Corps op Engineers;
AND
First Lieut. R. S. CLARK, 9th Infantry.
JANUARY, 1903.
WASHINGTON :
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE.
1903.
WAR DEPARTMENT,
Adjutant Gkmkbal's Omci,
ItaCMMtat Mo. 1M-
M. I. D.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
P»ge.
I —Budgets 5
II —Field Artillery 47
III.— Small Arms. 95
IV — Explosives 115
V —Commissions, Promotions, and Retirements of Officers. 189
VI.— Miscellaneous Notes 155
VIL— Maneuvers 293
Index 467
(3)
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
I.-BUDGETS.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
Military budget for 1903 compared with 1902.
[Reported by Capt. Floyd W. Harris, Fourth Cavalry, United Stater Military Attach £ at
Vienna.]
Branch of the service.
ORDINARY EXPENDITURES.
Central administration
Territorial and local headquarters and <
in local positions...
In tendance and auditing department
Religious service
Administration of military justice
Superior headquarters and staffs
Pay and allowances of troops :
Infantry 33,
Rifles 3,
Cavalry 9,
Field artillery
Fortress artillery 1,
Pioneers 2,
Radlway and telegraph regi-
798,644
630,649
685,814
082, 620
766,940
148,676
429,146
391,835
Train 1,
Other expenditures on troops,
such as schools, transporta-
tion, recruiting, etc 8, 347, 082
Crown*.*
1,044,919
3,434,924
2,660,163
481,360
797,063
4,936,614
Increase. Decrease.
Military educational institutions
Military technical board
Subsistence stores
Bedding stores J
Establishments of the clothing administration ._
Technical artillery (ordnance department) ]
Depots of train material
Depots of pioneer material I
Bureaus of military construction
Military geographical institute
Medical department
Pensions
Military prisons _
Miscellaneous expenditures
Subsistence in kind I
Rationing of troops (all articles of rations cooked
by the troops themselves) ;
Clothing and bedding —
Quarters
Remounts ..
Bounties and increased pay for reenlistment of
noncommissioned officers— __—-_-_ .——
Total.
69,180,306
3,844,209
202,436
1,321,539
94,910
382, 424
9,915,160
202, 913
284, 961
9,392,320
426,426
8,747,471
26,002,646
204,340
1,059,429
39,465,363
41,757,493
19,391,737
90,847,853
6,704,474
OOICTM.*
1,004,919
3,420,240
2,560,035
480,345
792,894
4,935,470
68,016,046
3,830,380
202,436
1,321,539
94,910
382,424
9,551,043
197, 899
327,899
9,366,947
426,426
8,742,852
25,002,646
204,340
1,053,429
38,637,406
39,701,666
19,126,423
30,009,373
6,495,466
6,720,000 5,620,000
Crowu9.*
•40,000
14,684
128
1,015
4,169
144
6,000
827,947
2,066,837
266,314
838,480
209,018
200,000
287,402,483 |281,404,433 j 5,998,000
(5)
1,164,260
13,829
364,117
5,014
42, 948
25,373
4,619
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Military budget far 1903 compared with 1902 — Continued.
Branch of the service.
1903. •
1902.
Increase.
Decree hi'.
EXTBA0BD1NABY EXPKKDtTTBBt.
Replenishment of war stores
Buildings, quarters, and drill grounds
Temporary extraordinary demands .
Extraordinary expenditures for carrying out
changes in organization — — —
7,022,000
7,648,768
4,714,496
439,162
7,660,060
7,649,400
4,666,666
264,088
628,060
99,368
168,941
176,064
Total. _
19,824,406
20,019,103
194 697
HEADQUARTERS, TBOOFS, AND ESTABLISHMENTS
07 THE OCCUPIED TEEEITOBT (BOSNIA AND
HERZEGOVINA).
Pay and subsistence of troops, purchase of
horses, armament, train, engineering and
construction, equipment, medical serrice, etc..
7,894,000
7,447,000
447,000
•One crown equals $0,203.
Comparative table of the budgetary strength for 1903 and 1902.
Branch of the serrice.
Officers.
Enlisted
1902.
Ofncers.
Enlisted
Central administration (ministry of war, etc.)
Territorial and local headquarters and officers in local posi-
tions
Intendance and auditing department
Religious service
Administration of military justice
Superior headquarters and staffs
Infantry :
1 company bodyguard
102 regiments of the line
Rifles, 42 battalions
Cavalry :
1 squadron bodyguard
42 regiments (16 dragoon, 16 hussar, 11 uhlan)
Artillery :
66 regiments field artillery, 42 field howitzer batteries,
16 batteries horse artillery, and 3 batteries mountain
artillery ..
6 regiments and 3 battalions of fortress artillery
Pioneers, 16 battalions
Railway and telegraph regiment, 3 battalions
Train, 91 squadrons
Officers and men permanently detached and not available
for duty with troops
One-year volunteer surgeons, and veterinarians
Firing schools, aeronautic establishments, remount depots,
etc
Military educational institutions *
Military technical board
Subsistence stores
Bedding stores
Establishments of the clothing administration _
Technical artillery (ordnance department)
Depots of train material
Depots of pioneer material
Bureaus of military construction—
Military geographical institute
Medical department
Administration of soldiers' homes
Military prisons
Miscellaneous (military attaches)
201 81
992 I 1,064
840
160
871
147
292
849
4 I 129
8,816 161,009
974 16,491
4
1,764
1,825 I
398
480
372
44
141
18
399
15
110
292
172
1,431
132
46,726
30,198
7,762
8,430
1,487
3,471
687
45
349
2,728
120
1,007
88
495
1,414
86
162
369
122
4,169
24
30
Total active list ' 21,670 , 289,133
Inmates of soldiers' homes 749
Pupils of military schools (boys) 6,226
201
980
840
149
206
871
4
8,816
974
4
1,764
480
86
426
372
44
138
18
399
16
110
288
9
14
399
172
1,430
7
95
8
61
1,062
146
2»
849
129
161,009
16,491
132
46,726
25,502
7,762
8,430
1,487
3,390
687
46
349
2,609
120
1,007
88
495
1,396
86
170
345
122
4,141
24
30
21,306
284,168
749
♦6,406
* Includes 260 girls.
BUDGETS.
Composition of the general staff.
General .--.--—.— . _.
Lieutenant generals
Major general*..—.
Colonels
Lieutenant colonels. .
Majors
Captains
Officers attached to the general staff —
Officers detailed from the active army and the retired list (2 majors and 30
captains)
Accountants and registry officials
Enlisted men, including 8 anneediener
1
1
2
2
2
2
33
33
60
50
63
63
164
164
157
157
32
32
2
2
643
643
Budgetary strength of the general staff for 190S, after deducting the num-
ber of officers and men provided for under other sections of the budget,
and actual strength of the general staff, according to the army register
for 1903.
Army
register.
Lieutenant generals
Major generals
Colonels -
Lieutenant colonels
Majors
Captains
Officers attached to the general staff
Officers detailed from the active asmy and the retired liat__
Accountants and clerks
Enlisted men, including 8 anneediener
3
45
56
86
283
209
30
BELGIUM.
Military budget.
Branch of the service.
ORDINARY BXPEXMTt'RES.
Central administration
Pay and allowances
Hospitals and dispensaries
Institutions of higher instruction
Ordnance department
Engineer material
Bread, meat, forage, and other allowances.
Various money allowances and fees
Pensions and relief
t'Dforeaeen expenses -
EXTRAORDINARY EXPENDITURE*.
Various ftervices .
Total
Amounts asked
! for 1903.
fYtlHCt*
692,415.00
24,840,410.64
910,335.00
240,075.00
2,148,444.05
1,585,000.00
18,610,032.35
427,754.68
392,000.00
68,949.00
5,339,000.00
Amounts appro-
priated for 1902.
55,254,415.72
Frftne**
530,600.00
24,569,380.64
910,335.00
214,975.00
1,889,944.05
1,685,000.00
18,602,332.35
427,754.68
407,100.00
67,949.00
7,067,666.25
56,273,036.97
•One franc equals $0,193.
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Effective strength.
Arm of the service.
Officers.
,!
Me*
General staff
Staff of provinces and towns
Intendancy
Medical officers at hospitals..
Infantry (19 regiments)
Cavalry (8 regiments) .
, Artillery (8 regiments, 4 special companies)
.Engineers (1 regiment, 1 battalion, 5 special companies) .
Administrative battalion
Total.
1 39
1 96
1,921
-27. 7*>
370
5,7:.
633
K, *.*-
' 152
i.7»<;
78
'.«**.:*
3,406
44.1"*
Composition of the general staff.
Active section :
Lieutenant generals '. •. '•'
Major generals «. •. ' 1"
liescrve section :
Lieutenant generals 2
Major generals s.: 4
Staff corps :
Colonels •>
Lieutenant colonels 5
Majors 1"
First captains 1*"
Second captuiu* It'
Total.. _ __ _ 7!'
BRAZIL.
Military budget for 190.1.
General administration f4i»,<i7*'
Supreme military court • 35, fWt'
General accounting department 59,58*
Superintendence department 71.SV1
Military instruction 250, 224
Arsenals, supply depots, and forts 281,054
Machine shops.' _ 87, 71*
Hospital service , 83,77."»
Pav 3,682,603
Provisions-ami forage 3,948,763
Inactive classes 500,342
Extras 50, ooo
Military colonies. 24, 477
Construction - 062,9*?
Material..-.,. - 2,053,474
Total _ 11,1(92,359
BUDGETS.
Strength of the army on March U, 1902.
14 reftiments of cavalry and transport corps :
Nominal strength _.
Effective strength . .
6 regiments field artillery:
Nominal strength
Effective strength >.
6 battalions heavy artillery :
Nominal strength ,__,
Effective strength
Artillery, total effective
6 battalions engineers :
Nominal strength
Effective strength 1
40 battalions infantry :
Nominal strength
Effective strength __,_.
Total nominal strength _
Total effective strength.
Officer*.
Noncom-
missioned
officers .
and men.
304
606
5,948
2,866
150
J50
2,412
1,250
126
131
344
1,974
1,247
2,497
36
36
826
751
840
1,368
17,000
h,591
2,015
2, 906
28,160
14,705
FRANCE.
. . MILITARY BUDGET .FOR 1002.
[Reported by Capt. T. Bextley Mott, Artillery Corps, United States Military Attach &
at Paris.]
The law of March 30, 1902, fixed the ordinary expenditures
at 6437,577,850 francs, as against 632,400,171 francs appro-
priated in 1901, and the extraordinary expenditures at
49,122,150 francs,, as against 60,708,150 appropriated in 1901.
The total amount of both expenditures is therefore 7 16, 700,000
francs in 1902 as against 693,108,321 francs appropriated in
1901. The net increase in the amount appropriated in 1902
over the amount appropriated in 1901 is thus 23,591,679
francs.
This apparent increase demands some explanation. The war
department budget for 1902 is the first to contain provision
for the support of the "colonial troops," which provision
amounts to a total of 26,329,000 francs, and more than
balances the increase shown by the 1902 budget over that of
1901. Up to 1902 these troops were provided for in the naval
budget under the title "artillerie de la marine" and "infan-
terie de la marine." A law passed in July, 1900, transferred
these organizations to the control of the war department,
and changed their designation to "colonial infantry" and
u colonial artillery," but no provision was made for them in
the war department estimates until 1902.
10 JNOTKS OW JOUXABT
These estimates are for the support of only those colonial
troops stationed in France; their effective is 1,615 officers,
25,729 men, 1,558 horses, and the amount asked for this sup-
port in 1902 was 26,329,000 francs.
Those "colonial" troops properly speaking, as well as any
other troops that may be stationed in French colonies (except
Algeria and Tunis), are supported out of appropriations
carried in the budget for the colonies.
The budget of the minister of the colonies contains items
for military purposes amounting to about 100,000,000 francs
a year, and it supports an army of 1,750 officers and 54,600
enlisted men. Some of these are colonial troops, strictly
speaking, and some are local and native regiments. There
are only 39 native officers in these organizations, but more
than half the men are natives.
By far the greater part of the colonial troops are stationed
in France. The coast batteries are largely manned by the
"colonial artillery," and the ''colonial infantry" (formerly
called "marine infantry") is generally stationed near the
great seaports, though a brigade has recently been sent up to
Paris.
Also, the naval budget supports 238 officers and 858 men of
the colonial artillery detailed to the naval service (actually
for naval ordnance work).
In estimating the cost of an army to France, then, the
rough sum of 100,000,000 francs should be added to the figures
of the war department budget, since that sum is borne by the
budgets of the colonies and of the navy as above explained.
The regular army of France, raised by conscription, is not
liable in time of peace to service outside of France; the
colonial troops are recruited by voluntary enlistment and
are liable to service in any part of the world.
In the figures which follow, the various expenses of the
colonial troops stationed in France are included in the items
under the heading "Home;" the expenses of the troops
stationed in the colonies, other than Algeria and Tunis, are
not included in the tables, as they are not a part of the war
department budget ; as stated above, they amount annually
to about 100,000,000 francs.
The effective strength given includes the colonial troops.
BTJDGKT8.
Ordinary expenditures.
11
Home.
Algeria.
Tunis.
Total.
Salary of war minister and staff of the army
Personnel of central administration
Expenses for material of central administration.
Printing.
Geographical service
General staff (archives, library, and historical
museum)
Military telegraphy
Department of military railroads (material)
General staff and staff service
Various departments and special staffs (person-
nel of controle service, intendance depart-
ment, and artillery and engineer staffs)
Military schools (personnel)
Military schools (material)
Personnel hors cadre and not classed in troop
units
Pay of infantry
Pay of administrative troops T
Psy of cavalry
Pay of artillery
Pay of engineers
Pay of train _
Departmental gendarmerie
Republican guard
Provisions
Meat (fresh, canned, and salted)
Forage
Medical service
Department of military convoys
Travel allowance and special journeys
Clothing and camping equipage
Military bedding
Special transportation
Military operations in the extreme south of
Algeria
Recruiting
Reserve and territorial army
Military justice and prisons
Workhouses and military penitentiaries
General remount service
Census of horses and mules
Horse equipment
Artillery establishments (personnel, general ex-
penses, transportation)
Artillery establishments (purchase and manu-
facture of material and ammunition)
Government explosive factories
Engineer establishments
Fuel and light
Disabled soldiers
Unemployed and reduced pay,
Relief and bounties
8pecial allowances
Secret expenditures __ _ ■
Pay of general officers and assimilated persona
of the reserve cadre
Tunis gendarmerie j
Franc*.
775,840
3,223,040
310,380
588,652
1,260,528
181,300
407,915
125,500
10,819,494
14,538,701
9,330,231
3,264,420
8, Me, 603
114,891,093
3,441,304
24 35
30,^1,1-17
4,4*8,772
3 83
33 46
4, 7 m. 124
37 82
52 VII 49
67 : 80
7,K«,538
1 '50
11,150,903
50 79
10,646,788
- 50
395,248
172,860
596,746
413,000
15,043,230
88,500
4,372,923
10,208,685
20,636,245
6,247,040
14,663,498
269, *04
309,575
1,007,892
6,602,300
660, 000
530, 000
3,571,516
158,715
11,000
900
692,581
1,175,542
2,684,246
11,540,240
810, 720
4,328,837
617,467
291,644
512,594
4,129,089
4,562,264
5,346,455
1,319,248
1,182,500
967,580
4,517,652
1,004,874
333,200
3,500,000
5,412
5,520
82,115
505,595
1,152,210
6,000
311,721
364,150
2,264,480
10,900
17,162
2,500
100
196,501
401,101
620,246
3,287,369
120,379
750,259
451,583
97,777
177, 984
1,616,661
1,619,286
279,467
303,500
152,300
1,474,961
309,469
151,000
1,270
8,700
64,065
292,010
96,905
090, 620
800
Franc*.
775,840
3,223,040
310,380
588,652
1,436,395
181,300
421,415
126,500
11,708,576
16,115,344
9,330,231
3,264,420
12,269,094
129,051,702
4,373,403
29,778,431
32,010,967
4,936,193
3,738,261
33,580,646
4,743,124
43,088,893
58,995,874
74,833,321
9,498,253
3,255,650
12,279,783
56,046,892
11,961,131
1,215,060
3,500,000
400,660
179,650
687,660
982,660
16,487,450
93,500
4,780,549
10,651,870
20,636,245
5,247,640
17,608,598
281,504
309,575
1,007,892
6, 602, 360
660,000
530,000
3,571,515
330,861
Totals .598,201,617 64,374,461 I 15,001,782
Extraordinary expenditures.
Frauc*.
Siege train ___ 500,000
Powder magazines 40,000
Field equipment _ 300,000
Armament cf garrisons _ 538,000
Armament tf coasts. __ _ 6,252,360
Small arms _ 1,589,800
Ammunition — 800,000
Experiment* (artillery) 400,000
Building and machinery (artillery) 1,200,000
Defense of Cherbourg 700,000
Barracks _ __ 4,300,000
Drill and firing grounds, etc 6,000,u< 0
u
NOTES OF MIUTAKY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Extraordinary expenditures — Continued.
fVtIlr-«.
Construction of strategic roads K">. •■»
Improvements in isolated forts (va'.'"'
Military telegraphy and ballooning 3>V\ ■.•■•
Fortifications, land defense 5,tM*."»'
Fortifications, coast defense i. 8, *■'.•»■
Engineers' stores »■►,«■•'
Reserve engineers So.Om-
Establishment!! (in tendance) _. 4**>. '»«
Establishments (medical) _ jW •,•••>
Reorganisation of the defen«j of Bizerte „ 5, *•«). t«'
Subsistence 70, i««'
642. •■■»
ion. ii»
3o*».'»«
1,U&M.<'"
Geographical service 110. f««
Improvements in armament (law of February 17, I'jOI) 9,00t»,iM'
Clothing __
Medical service .
Improvements in civil hospital* in the departiuents-
Kailroads.
49, 122. 1>
The effective strength which served as a basis for the
budget for 1002 differs as follows from that of 1901 :
.
Active
army.
Gendarmerie.
Officers.
Men.
Officers. '
Men.
1901
28,941
28,712
540,771
n28,991
711 '
712 1
23.1*56
lMtt _ „
24.011
1 1
15
Decrease
229
11,780
To these must be added for 1902 the colonial troop*, as
follows
1,«15
25, 720
i
The following tables show the distribution of staff, mili-
tary schools, arms of the service, etc. :
Staff.
Generals of division
Generals of brigade
Officers of the general staff service
Archivist*
Officers of the c. nitride service
Intendance officer*
Special artillery «taff ......
Special engineer stuff (office in, adjoint.*,
etc.)
e
£
it1
'A
114
216
807
1«3
52
208
056
472
848
280 ;
I
Algeria and Tunis. [
Total.
| 2 i
si i
114|
216
268
1,428 '
47
85 i
1,128 147
16 ._
17 _.
47
47 | 132
71 I 218
120
232
870
180
62
315
1,041 J
996 I
"8
S
SE-
ES
EE
8C
120
232
870
ISO
62
315
1,560
1,346
Reserve cadre.
Generals of division 151
Generals of brigade 234
Cuntruleurs general 13
Military intendants 40
Inflecting phytdcinm mid phnr::im\-t- . 18
BUDGETS.
13
Personnel hors cadres or not classed in troop units.
Braxtoh-oCservice.
Home.
Algeria -and Tunis.
t
a
o
Je-
ss
8°
Je
ee
Total.
•I ='
P£UONXEL HOBS CADRES.
Recruiting service
Penitentiaries and prisons
Kative affairs
176 ;
5
176
6
2
74
178
19
74
Total personnel hore cadres _
181
_| 271
PEMOXML MOT CLASSED IN TROOP
VSIT8.
Medical personnel :
Surgeons
Pharmacists
Administrative officers of the medi-
cal service
324 !
75
324
75
228
Total medical personnel.
Administrative personnel — „..
Veterinarians
Military interpreters
Total personnel not classed in
troop units
627
898 ,
627
250 1,148 !
1,564 250 1,814
153
39
122
314
191 i 223
1 '
61
153
39
477
114
567 | 223
314
941
941
414
1,089
473
1,562
1
39
39
Ul
62
62
790
2,131 |
473
2, 604
Total of the personnel outside of I i
the staffs, schools, and troop |
units 1,745
250 1,995 I 657
2, h75
Military schools.
Nairn* of school.
I .
Noncom-
missioned
officers,
corporals,
and men.
I
Total.
Prytanee militaire (preparatory school for sons of officers without
means)
Polytechnic school
Special military school (St. Cyr)
School of application for artillery and engineers
Superior war school
School of application for cavalry
School of application of medicine and military pharmacy
School of administration
Normal school of gymnastics
Normal school of musketry
Schools of application for infantry fire
Infantry school
Artillery and engineer school
Preparatory schools of infantry
Preparatory school of cavalry...
Preparatory school of artilleiy and engineers
Heriot orphan asylum *
Medical school — _
Total.
46
38
•1,228
40
291
274
27
59
142
79
96
340
167
240
67
60
40
48
54
38
1,285
193
390
333
42
59
142
79
96
340
167
240
67
60
40
48
3,673
* This includes students (cadets) , to tho number of 960.
«*if,TE-~ This table is as it is given in the budget. In cases in which no officers are given, the
ufltctni *re probably included in regimental strength.
14
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
s
9
3
BUDGETS.
15
16
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
GEBHAOTr.
Military budget far 1903 compared with the amounts appropriated for 190J.
[Reported by Capt. William 8. Biddlb, Fourteenth Infantry, United Statu
Attache at Berlin.
LI E.ITA fc r
Branch of service.
Current expenditure* :
War ministry
Military cheat*
Supply department
Military chaplains
Administration of military justice
Imperial military court
Higher troop commanders
Governors of fortified places, garrison com-
manders, and their aids
Aids-de-camp and officers in special positions-
General staffs and national surveys
Engineers and pioneers
Pay of troops
Allowances in kind
Clothing and equipment of troop*
Garrison administration and commutation-.
Garrison construction
Medical service
Administration of train depots and care of
field material
Subsistence of replenishment and reserve
troops
Purchase of remounts
Administration of remount depots
Traveling allowances and allowances for ,
relay and transportation
Military education and training
Military prisons
Artillery and ordnance
Technical artillery establishments
Construction and maintenance of forts
Extra allowances for quarters
Reliefs and extra indemnities to active mili-
tary persons and civilians not provided
for elsewhere
Extra allowances to military widows' fund _
Miscellaneous expenditures
Military administration of Bavaria
IHacrwa^*-.
Markt*
1
Mark** '
3,136,738
3,090,128
447, 815
438,455
3,118,273
3,035,210
1,061,728
1,054,104
1,537,400
1,317,635
544, 928
622,647
3,527,493
3,525,369
662,047
659,491
1,227,326
1,215,626
3,549,943
3, 393, 856
2,497,330
2, 447, 917
132,675,433
131,643,697
143,494,863
144,115,984 1
32,430,566
31,221,521
62,298,311
60,589,119
1,887,085
1,817,484
10,439,691
10, 156, 191
1,748,170
1,741,626
3, 459, 998
3,479,256 i
12,519,247
12,415,925
3, 449, 326
3,396,410
9,425,160
9,280,361
8,162,066
7, 942, 239
845,192
847,983
45,747,917
44,521,975
1,313,546
1,268,790
3,138,988
3,079,181
11,281,151
11, 124, 612
1,349,364
1,341,725 '
3, 198, 000
3,134,000 |
2, 075, 807
1,909,107 |
64,082,791
63,268,647 '
80,409,803
Total
Extraordinary expenditures
Total current and extraordinary expendi-
tures. 656, 198,568
Expenses occasioned by the expedition to East
Asia 15, 332, 826
575,788,765 '568,473,624
85,253,176
653,720,800
33,254,824
Mark** ;
46,610 _
9,360 L
83,063 ...
7,624 L
219,765 |_
22,281 _
2,124 L
2,556 '
11,700
156,087
49,413
1,031,736
1,209,045
1, 709, 192
69,601
283,500
6,544
103,322
52,916
144,799 .
219,827
2, 791
1,225,942 I
44,756
59,807 I
156,539 |
7,639 !
64,000 !
166,700 ,
814,144 '__ __..
7,315,141 |
I 4,8*5,373
!
2,471,768 I
I
17, 921, 90S
♦ One mark equals $0,238.
BUDUEIS.
17
Military budget for the colonies for 1903, compared with the amounts
appropriated for the year 1902.
1902.
E&'t African protectorate _
Kamerun protectorate
Toko protectorate .
Southwest African protectorate .
Kiauchan protectorate
Mark$.
2,437,221
1,002,960
104,100
2,478,493
2,441,766
Total.
8,664,638
Mark:
2,389,031
1,083,076
104,100
2,396,674
2,368,639
Mark*.
48,190
9,893
81~919
73,216
8,341,320
213,218
The following are the more important changes for 1902 :
On October 1, 1902, there were added to the permanent
organization 7 machine-gun detachments and 6 companies of
foot artillery ; the fourth engineer and eighth fortress inspec-
tions have been created; the organization of the fortress
construction corps has gone forward. Wireless telegraphy,
system of Professor Braun (Siemens & Halske), was tried
successfully for limited distances in the fall maneuvers.
The distribution of the rifle M. 98 has been continued to
include several corps, and in the coming year will probably
include the entire army.
New regulations have been issued for the training of the
army, of machine-gun detachments, of balloon troops, for
guard duty and for horse levying. New articles of war have
been promulgated.
Much attention has been devoted to the question of adopt-
ing the system of rapid-firing guns with recoiling barrels.
The following changes are proposed in the military appro-
priation bill for 1903 :
To add 4 companies of foot artillery on October 1, 1903; to
expend 100,000 marks in promoting the military automobile
under the direction of the communication troops; to form
an additional regiment of cavalry from the 5 squadrons
of mounted rifles (J&ger zu Pferde) at Posen, and to form
a detachment under a field officer of the 2 squadrons at
Graudenz.
To establish a military technical high school at Berlin.
18
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
e
s
e
o
3
a
©
*>
1
8
fi
*"
E
*
8
<2»
§
^
fc
"5
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ft
8
.2
|
e
«
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S8SS
tt
3SS8
Ss °
5 6^1
n
12 £~ I
COX C O
S5'S
511
34 ec
5|g
*• 5 io
S «o«
ISS
:SS
?4 X
-ct-
::B
if
12
Hi- 1 1
sin s
II
si
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c i
fl
.ill
III
■fie* o
sit
bs a
I5|
£ i-| S.
ales
a. J.
111
ai|
IP
BUDGETS.
Noncombatants.
19
Noncombatants.
Strength
for 1903
(proposed).
Strength
in 1902.
Increase.
2,206
1,057
682
1,012
94
2,198
1,054
678
1,011
93
8
Paymasters and various
Veterinary surgeons
3
4
. 1
Swldlers ^.^.^ „ .-
1
Total noncombatants
5,061
6,034
17
Recapitulation.
1903 (pro- 1902
posed). lW2'
Officers
Noncommissioned officers and enlisted men
Noncombatants ' l
Grand total
24,358 I 24,269
676,697 I 576,400
6,061 5,034
606,006 606,703
Composition of the general staff.
PRUSSIA.
Chief of the general staff - 1
Aids 2
General quartienneister 1
Otjerqaartiermeisters 3
Chiefs of section in the great general staff, or chiefs of the genera1 staffs at general headquar-
ters and in large fortresses ,. 34
Captains and field officers 182
Railway commissioners:
Field officers with rank and allowances of regimental commanders 3
Field officers with lesser rank 16
Captains, first class 3
Retired (pensionirte) officers, field officers, or captains 6
SAXONY.
Chiefs of the central section, or chiefs of the general staff at general headquarters _..
Chief of section of land surrey with rank and allowances of regimental commander..
Captains and field officers
Bsilway commissioners ; field officers
Chief
Captain and field officers
Railway commissioner ; field officer..
WUKTSMREKO.
1
15
2
Chief of the general staff of the army
Chief of section in the general staff
(■ biefs of the general staffs at general headquarters .
Officers, captains, and field officers
Railway commissioners :
Flsld officers
Captain ___
20 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
GREAT BRITAIN.
Abstract of army estimates, 1908-1903.
Vote
Not.
; Net estimate,
1902-03.
I.— NUMBER*.
Number of men on the home and colonial
establishments of the army, exclusive of
those serving in India
Net estimate, Net expendt-
1901-02. tare, 1900-01.
460.000
II. — EFFECTIVE SERVICES.
Pay, etc., of army (general staff, regiments,
reserve, and departments)
Medical establishment: Pay, etc
Militia: Pay, bounty, etc
Imperial yeomanry in Great Britain: Pay and
allowances
Volunteer corps: Pay and allowances
Transport and remounts
Provisions, forage, and other supplies
Clothing establish men ts and services
Warlike and other stores: Supply and repair _..
Works, buildings and repairs: Cost, including
staff for engineer services
Establishments for military education
Miscellaneous effective services
War office: Salaries and miscellaneous charges .
£18,940,400 ' £23,083,600
1,026,000 | 1,088,600 I
1,381,000 2,772,000
686,000
1,287,000
11,242,000
16,086,000
3,970,000
8,332,000
2,190,000
120,800
110,800
332,000
Total effective services . 65, 682, oft)
III. — NONEFFECTIVE SERVICES.
Noneffective charges for officers, etc
Noneffective charges for men, etc
Superannuation, compensation, and compas-
sionate allowances
Total noneffective services
Balances irrecoverable and claims abandoned..
Total effective and noneffective services...
376,000
1,230,000
17,977,000
20,266,000
4,826,000
13,460,000
3,281,000
119,200
218,200
306,000
^88, 970, 600
1,786,000
1,747,000
196,000
2,271,000
1,486,000
188,600 I
£16,201.3^1
I, 18,%, 341
2,16(»,»*
18TI.9W
l,78J».*-3
23,630.3.*
19, 795, 317
6, 140,7*4
13,918,1*5
3,711,34-2
106, NV
•urr, 242
313,(133
88,026.713
1,740.210
1,382,164
188,039
3,944,600 | 3,310,411
=1=
I
7,418
69,310,000 I 92,916,000
91,343,644
• Excess of receipts over expenditures.
»plem«
f Including supplementary estimate of £6,000,000.
The provision for ordinary and war services is as follows :
1902-03.
1901-02.
For war service :
South Af«pW_^„t ..... ....
£39,660,000
360,000
•£61,070.000
2, 160, 000
40,000,000
29,310,000
63,230,000
29 685 000
69,310,000
92,916,000
•Including supplementary estimate of £6,000,000.
BUDGETS.
21
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U
e
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22
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Local military forces of various kinds are maintained by
almost all the British colonies and protectorates. Usually
their affairs are managed by the colonial secretary, but the
protectorates of Central Africa, East Africa, Uganda, * and
Somaliland are controlled by the foreign office, which is direct-
ing the military operations against the Mullah in Somaliland
carried on by the local forces, reenf orced by Indian troops.
The formal statement was made in the House of Commons,
October 28, 1902, that the whole cost of the operations will be
borne by the Somaliland protectorate funds, supplemented by
an imperial grant in aid. For this year £25,000 has already
been voted, and an additional sum will probably be necessary ;
if so, it would be borne by the civil estimates, like the original
grant.
Composition of the general staff.
Numbers.
Generals..
Lieutenant general*..
Major generals
Brigadier generals .
Colonels on the staff
Deputy adjutants general
Assistant adjutant general.,
Deputy assistant adjutants general..
Assistant quartermasters general..
Deputy assistant quartermasters general
District Inspectors of musketry .
Brigade majors or staff captains
Assistant military secretaries and senior aids-de-camp _
Aids-de-camp
Quartermasters
Alds-de-camp to the King..
Lieutenant of the Tower of London
Major of the Tower of London
Becruiting staff:
Chief recruiting staff officer
Becruiting staff officers, Class I
Recruiting staff officers, Class II..
Conducting staff sergeants, etc
3
7
27
9
32
3
32
67
13
34
5
42
5
1
1
10
31
The above is exclusive of the headquarters staff at the war
office, which consists of the commander in chief, 1 private
secretary, and 5 aids; military secretary, 4 assistants (1 for
Indian affairs, paid by India), and 1 staff captain; director
general of mobilization and military intelligence, assistant
quartermaster general for mobilization, 1 deputy assistant, and
1 staff captain; adjutant general to the forces, 1 deputy, 5
assistants, and 4 deputy assistants ; inspector general auxiliary
BUDGETS.
23
forces ; inspector general of recruiting, 1 assistant, and 1 dep-
uty assistant adjutant general; inspector general of cavalry;
inspector general of artillery ; director of army schools ; quar-
termaster general to the forces, 1 deputy, 6 assistants, 8 dep-
uty assistants, 1 military transport officer, and 8 staff captains ;
inspector general of remounts; chief paymaster; inspector
general of fortifications, 2 deputies, and 5 assistants, 1 artillery
adviser, 3 inspectors, and 7 officers of royal engineers ; director
general of ordnance, 1 deputy, 2 assistants, 4 deputy assistants,
1 staff captain ; chaplain general ; director general army medi-
cal service, 1 deputy, 1 assistant, 2 deputy assistants; a total
of 96 officers.
Number of men on the regular establishment, exclusive of India.
Officers.
Warrant of-
ficers, ser-
geants, and
other en-
listed men.
1902-08. 1901-02.
Cavalry:
Household regiments-.
Line regiments..
Artillery:
Horse artillery batteries..
Field artillery batteries-
Mountain artillery batteries..
Garrison artillery companies..
Engineers:
Field units :
Telegraph divisions __
Fortress units \
Submarine mining units
Bailway companies
Surrey companies
80^
Infantry:
Foot guards battalions.. 10
line battalion*.. 112
Line depots battalions.. 68
Army service corps
Royal army medical corps
Colonial corps
Departmental corps
Total regimental establishments .
STAffT Or AUX1UABY 1TOBCCS.
Honorable artillery company
Imperial yeomanry (home)
MiUtU artillery •:.-. .....
Volunteer artillery
MlHua engineers f
volunteer engineers
Militia infant**
volunteer Infantry
KlUua medical staff corps
volunteer medical staff corps
Total staff of auxiliary forces
Total regimental and auxiliary forces .
664
1,541
490
616
387
272
13,717
38,047
9,430
116,826
6,621
3,046
12,460
2,830
14,271
39,688
10,138
119,342
7,111
3,661
12,837
3,102
201,966
210,060
4
295
813
349
128
99
3,525
1,326
19
20
5
354
874
416
128
99
3,777
1,664
19
24
6,578
7,250
14,270
39,642
10,131
118,943
7,074
3,596
14,435
2,820
210,911
5
172
751
417
118
90
3,776
1,514
17
18
6,878
208,643
217,300 | 217,789
24
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Number of men on the regular establishment, exclusive of India — Cont'd.
Warrant of-
ficer!, ser-
geants, and
other en-
listed men.
All make.
1902-03. 1901-02.
GENERAL AND DEPARTMENTAL STAFF.
General staff (Including headquarter* staff) ...
Army pay department
Army veterinary department
Chaplain's department
Army medical staff (including
headquarters staff; .
436
236
110
104
99
170
606
236
118
104
99
117
86
96
Total staff and departments
986
178
1,163
MISCELLANEOUS ESTABLISHMENTS (EXCLUSIVE OF OFFI-
CERS AND MEN INCLUDED UNDER " REGIMENT*.")
Staff of military prisons
Staff of 'schools for instruction in gunnery
Staff of school of musketry
Gymnastic staff
Royal military academy „
Royal military college
Other colleges and schools
Army school establishments
Ordnance factories
Miscellaneous establishments
16
230
246
31
203
234
10
61
71
16
134
150*
21
28
49
28
36
64
41
64
106
16
211
227
17
17
37
37
74
Total miscellaneous establishments .
Grand total
233
1,004
1,237
9,976
Additional numbers, imperial, colonial, and irregular
forces, during the war in South Africa, and the ex-
pedition to China ,
209,725
219,700
Number to be voted.
1,088
59
160
47
63
17
66
973
219,600
230,200
400,000
* Including Channel Islands and Colonial militia,
f Including submarine mining militia for Malta and Bermuda.
t The 6 officers are in the establishment of royal engineers.
| The 21 officers are in the establishment of royal engineers.
Establishment of British regiments serving in India.
Officers.
Warrant
officers,
sergeants,
and other
enlisted
men.
All ranks.
1902-03. 1901-02.
Cavalry of the line, 9 regiments
Artillery :
11 horse batteries
42 field batteries
3 howitzer batteries*
8 mountain batteries
28 garrison companies
Engineers
Infantry, 62 battalions
Army medical corps
Inspectors ordnance machinery, armorers, etc..
Total _
320
1,608
332
6,37,4
13,710
3
52,180
117
14,227
323
53,688
332
123
6,635
13,407
333
53,688
2,944
71,384 74,328
73,618
* One of these batteries will not be sent to India until 1903-04.
Note. — In addition to the British army stationed in India, there is a native army, consisting,
according to the latest returns at hand, of 2,168 European officers and noncommissioned officers, and
153,081 native officers and men. The expense of maintenance of these troops is borne by the reve-
nues of India. It is not included in the British army estimates, unless these troops are used for
service in the British Empire outside of Iudia.
BUDGETS.
Establishment of the militia, 1902-03,
25
i of serrice.
Permanent staff.
Offi-
cers.
Warrant
officers, ser-
gcanta, and
other en-
listed men
Militia.
Officers.
Ser-
geants
other
enlisted
All ranks.
1902-03.
1901-02.
Enrolled July 1,
1901.
Perma-
nent
staff.
Militia.
Garrison artillery ._
Field artillery
Engineers
Infantry
Medical staff corps
Channel Islands militia..
Malta militia
Bermuda militia
Total force.
243
671
118
113
3,408
19
76
74
7
623
12
108
2,821
20
148
66
9
17,376
297
2,131
102,940
880
3,040
2,180
390
18,622
432
2,362
109,412
919
3,271
2,324
407
18,622
2,299
109,801
817
3,271
2,324
407
718
137
100
3,398
76
64
6
14,678
366
2,132
83,908
228
2,760
2,009
211
137,739
137,641
4,604 106,282
fiO,786~~
• Two adjutants and 2 quartermasters of militia engineers are included in the establishment of
royal engineers; 2 additional officers of royal engineers are on the permanent staff of the submarine
mining militia of Malta and Bermuda.
Imperial yeomanry.
Permanent staff.
Officers.
Ser-
geants.
Yeomanry.
Officers.
Noncom-
missioned
officers
and men.
All
ranks.
Establishment of yeomanry, 1900-01.
Establishment of yeomanry, 1901-02..
Present at training, 1900
Present at training, 1901
Enrolled on January 1, 1902
148
296
123
144
231
702
1,634
462
637
11,038
33,276
8,064
10,382
16,288
11,907
36,164
8,667
11,096
17,407
Volunteers.
Permanent staff.
Enrolled members.
All ranks,
including
permanent
staff.
Adju-
tants.
Acting ser-
geant ma-
jors, and
sergeant
instructors.
Officers.
Noncom-
missioned
officers and
men.
Honorable artillery company
Artillery
1
67
21
228
4
4
349
99
1,326
20
46
» 2,232
839
8,161
124
864
49,366
18,628
261,081
3,330
904
62, 014
Engineers
Id fan try including Bermuda. T ._ _
19,687
270, 786
Volunteer medical stall corpe._..____—
3,478
Total
321
1,798
11,391
333,269
346,769
2,119
344,660
26
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Number of officers and men on the regimental establishments of the armp,
army reserve, ana auxiliary forces.
Normal establish-
ments, all ranks.
1902-08.
1901-02.
Effectives, all ranks.
Numbers
by latest
retains.
Period of
Regular foroes, regimental, home and colonial
Native Indian regiments
Army reserve, first class
Militia, Including permanent staff and old militia
reserre „
Militia reserre, new
Militia of Channel Isles
Militia, Malta and Bermuda
Yeomanry, including permanent staff .
Volunteers, including permanent staff
Total home and colonial establishments
Regular forces, regimental, on Indian establishment.
Total
206,430
4,820
80,000
181,737
60,000
3,271
2,731
36,164
346,769
207,216
3,696
90,000
131,639
60,000
3,271
2,731
35,000
375,000
*322,263
fl0,461
2,396
109,863
2,826
2,191
17,407
277,396
869,722
74,328
898,462
73,618
744,794
63,598
Jan. 1, 190S-
Do.
Do.
July 1, 1»L
Jan. 1,15**.
Do.
Do.
Jan. 1. 19M2.
934,050
971,970
1808,752
* Including imperial yeomanry, 16,730, and enlisted volunteers, 5,400.
t Including 6,067 with China expedition.
X Exclusivo of colonial forces serving in South Africa.
BUDGETS.
27
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i
6,470
10,692
134
16,010
r «<
1,784
348
2,082
1,741
1 JU«
4,668
4,431
2,666
8
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28 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1902.
Indian army expenditures and estimate*.
Accounts
1900-01.
BevtMd esti-
mates 1901-02.!
Effective services:
Begimental pay and allowances—
Supply and transport
Ordnance
. Other heads
Total .
Noneffective services..
7,18,68,266
3,90,48,972
71,02,726
8,26,88,786
Rmpea*
7,07,01,000
8,90,76,000
96,83,000
3,20,62,000
8v84,91,Oi
4,18,30,00
1,24. 62, »■
3,39,02,00.
16,06,48,739
91,03,829
16,04,12,000
93,24,000
17, 66, 75, (f»
92, 06, (XV
Total India.
In pounds sterling..
16,96,62,668
£10,643,606
16,97,36,000
£11,316,767
18, 68, 80, <*»
£ 12,392,00c
Effective serrices :
Pay and furlough allowances of British forces in
India, Indian troop service, stores for India, and
other heads
Noneffective serrices :
Betired pay, pensions, etc., of British forces for serv-
ices in India ; noneffective and retired officers of
the Indian service, etc *
£.
2,064,376
2,384,918
£.
2,462,600
2,361,100
2,871,7<«
2, 401, OOP
Total England.
Total India and England
Total receipts, India and England .
4,439,294
4,813,600
6,272,700
16.082,799
f 817, 274
16,129,367
899,200
17,664,700
829,2*7
Net expenditures and estimates...
14,266,626
16,230,167
16,836,433
*A crore is ten millions, a lakh, one hundred thousand. These terms are used in the notation e*
sums in rupees. The exchange value of the rupee is fixed by the government at 16d. — fifteen to the
pound sterling.
f Receipts are from such sources as discharge purchase money, balances due deserters, sales of
damaged stores, condemned horses, etc.
A considerable saving was made in 1900-01, due to the
absence of the Indian contingents in China and South Africa.
This permitted special expenditures for six batteries of German
guns, 20,000 Lee-Enfield guns, 300 artillery horses, an addi-
tional field howitzer battery, four general hospitals for the
field army, improvements in rest camps, etc., a total of £425,000.
New expenditures for 1901-02 were also sanctioned for the
rearmament of the native army, the reorganization of the
transport service, purchase of Maxims for the field army, and
new 10-pounder guns for mountain batteries, increase of two
howitzer batteries and one garrison artillery company, forma-
tion of schools for mounted infantry, the addition of one
British officer to each native Indian regiment, etc. The total
cost of the measures involving new expenditure exceeds
£944,000, in addition to £118,000 provided in the military
works estimate.
CHANGES IN THE INDIAN ARMY.
General Sir Edwin Collen, military member of the Indian
viceroy's council in March, 1901, presented to the council,
BUDGETS. 29
v^itb. his memorandum on the Indian military estimates for
.901-02, a statement of important measures for the improve-
ment of the army and of the defense of India since 1885.
In that year many such measures were carried out or com-
xienced, for example, the military forces were increased as
follows:
British troops..
Native army
Cavalry.
Artillery. Infantry.
I l
1,332 1,373 I 7,962
4,704 | 3,000 11,968
Total.
10,667
19,672
The improvement of the coast and frontier defense was in-
augurated in the same year. The defensive works at Aden
were in progress until 1897.
COAST AND FRONTIER DEFENSES.
The expenditures for works and armaments for coast defense
at Aden, Karachi, Bombay, Hooghley, Burma, and other points
were 2,69,62,203 rupees, including floating defenses at Bombay,
consisting of seven first-class torpedo boats, two torpedo gun-
boats, and two turret ships armed with 8-inch breech-loading
guns. The floating defenses were, in 1890, placed condition-
ally under the control of the admiralty.
The northwest frontier defenses may be divided into three
main groups, those of the Bolan Pass and Peshin Plateau,
those for the defense of the Khyber Pass and its debouchure,
and those for the strengthening of certain strategical points
in rear, and for the protection of arsenals and supply depots.
The works have been completed and the armament provided,
the whole cost, including that for strategic railways, roads
and bridges, being 15,83,25,647 rupees.
In 1886 a plan to provide reserves for the native army was
adopted. The scheme, modified from time to time, in 1899
furnished from 60 to 280 reservists per regiment.
A force of military police was raised in 1886-87-88 in Bengal
and Bombay for service in Burma, making a total of 18,500
men. Other measures were increases of pay and of pensions
for wounds for native troops. Two additional native moun-
tain batteries were raised in 1886 and one in 1898.
An improved system of recruiting for the native army
through the agency of special staff officers at recruiting
centers, in each of which a depot was established, was intro-
duced into the Bengal army in 1892, in the Bombay command
30 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
in 1896, and in Madras in 1900. The principal changes sough*
have been the gradual elimination of inferior castes, ih
formation of entire regiments on the class system wher-;
practicable, and the reduction of the number of differer
class companies in one regiment.
In the Bombay army in 1891 two regiments were localize!
as frontier (Baluchistan) regiments, and later these regiment?
were reorganized, each regiment having four classes, two
companies in each class. In the Madras army in 1892 tw
regiments, the thirtieth and thirty-first, were broken up an«i
reorganized as the fifth and sixth Burma battalions, and ::
1894 the twenty-ninth Madras infantry was converted int<
the seventh Burma battalion. These local battalions were
largely made up from the Burma military police, at that time
in course of reduction.
BRITISH TROOPS.
Among measures affecting British troops may be men-
tioned the improvement of regimental institutes, the estab-
lishment of a great many hutted camps in the hills for the
occupation of troops during the hot season, the improveme£-
of the water supply, and the adoption of rules for the admin-
istration of cantonments,, and the application of electricity
in punkah -pulling and for the lighting of soldiers' barracks.
The transformation of the barracks into cooler, better lighted,
and more cheerful quarters will greatly ameliorate the con-
dition of the British soldier whose health is affected by tie
discomforts of the extremely trying hot weather in many
parts of the country.
During 1893 the British infantry was supplied with the
Lee-Metford rifle ; by 1899 the British cavalry had the Lee-
Enfield carbines, and the artillery the converted Martini-
Enfield artillery carbines.
In 1889 the horse and field artillery were rearmed with
12-pounders. Cordite ammunition has since been gradually
introduced, followed by the spade brake, Grenfell sights,
tray system of carrying ammunition, and the assimilation of
all carriages and wagons to one pattern.
India has been divided into six circles for purposes of
artillery command. In 1891 the number of men for coast
and frontier defense was increased by the addition of 25 men
to each of the 23 garrison artillery companies.
BUDGETS. 31
Other recent measures for the improvement of the military
situation are the extension of the steel factory at Cossipore, so
as to allow of the manufacture of the steel required for pro-
jectiles, fuzes, gun carriages, etc., the establishment of fac-
tories for the manufacture of gun carriages at Jubbelpore; of
clothing, harness, saddlery, and equipments in southern India ;
of cordite at Wellington, and for the filling of lyddite shells
at Kirkee. The establishment of a small-arms factory has
been decided on with the view of making India independent
of England in the matter of warlike stores. The South
African war made such large demands on the manufacturing
establishments in England that the rearmament of the native
army and the volunteers with the 0.303-inch rifle has been
much delayed.
In 1888 the country was redistricted, the number of gen-'
erals* commands being reduced from 33 to 30. The districts
were divided into first-class, commanded by major generals,
and second-class, commanded by colonels with the temporary
rank of brigadier generals. The staff was also reorganized,
the adjutant general's and the quartermaster general's depart-
ments being consolidated.
In 1891 the Indian staff corps was formed by the amalga-
mation of the Bengal, Madras, and Bombay staff corps, and
in 1895 the presidential army system was finally abolished,
the Bengal army was subdivided into the Bengal and Punjab
commands, and the Madras and Bombay armies were formed
into two commands, the Quetta district going to Bombay
and Burma to the Madras command. The whole army of
India, consisting of the Punjab, Bengal, Madras, and Bombay
commands, each under a lieutenant general, was placed
directly under the commander in chief in India, controlled
by the government of India. The staff of each command
was rearranged and as far as possible assimilated.
During the period under review there was also a reorgani-
zation of the military accounts department, of the ordnance
department, and of the intelligence branch of the quarter-
master general's department, sections being added thereto for
the Hyderabad contingent, and for Burma. Changes were
also effected in the department of military works, employ-
ment in which is to be the normal duty of royal engineer
officers, and to be considered as regimental duty. This fol-
lows the lines of the system in force in the imperial service
32 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
at home and in the colonies, adapted to suit the reorganiza-
tion of the army in India into four commands.
The military authorities are constantly endeavoring to im-
prove the sanitation, health, and comfort of the army. Some
of the measures involve large expenditures, such as improve-
ments in hospitals, water supply, and drainage of canton-
ments, increasing the number and extending the operations
of grass and dairy farms. These latter give a greater supply
of fresh beef, butter, and milk, while, incidentally, cattle
breeding is improved and fodder production increased so that
eventually all the fodder required by the mounted branches
will be supplied from these farms.
In 1886 a plan of mobilization by army corps was adopted
for service beyond the frontier, and by divisions or brigades
of all arms, according to circumstances, for service in India
or beyond sea. This was changed in 1890 to the system of
mobilizing by divisions. The basis of the plan is mobiliza-
tion by stations, i. e., certain stations are designated from
which the troops are withdrawn to form the field army.
Funds have been provided from time to time to facilitate
mobilization arrangements.
TRANSPORTATION.
After prolonged consideration of the subject of transport,
induced by the experience of the Chitral and Tirah expe-
ditions, a scheme was formulated in 1899 for the maintenance
of several organized transport units, including those pur-
chased or hired in time of war, and for an accurate census of
owners of suitable animals and rates for hire of men and
animals.
The complement of transport developed in 1885 was in-
creased in 1891 by 2,000 mules at a cost of 8 lakhs. A further
increase of 1,750 mules was sanctioned in 1896 in connection
with the provision of mobilization equipments for the divisions
of the field army, and again by 2,000 mules in March, 1900.
The measures then adopted were an increase of 26 officers to
the transport service, the organization of permanent cadres
of mule and camel corps, and pony-cart trains; the creation
of a permanent registration staff, and the formation of a
reserve of drivers.
When complete the established strength will be 54 trans-
port officers, 92 warrant and noncommissioned officers, 277
BUDGETS. 33
native officers, 149 veterinary assistants, 943 artificers, 21,226
drivers, 21,934 mules, 5,393 camels, 6,600 bullocks, 594 ponies,
and 7,067 transport carts.
At the date of General Collen's report the actual strength
was much below the establishment, a considerable amount of
transport having been sent to South Africa and to China.
His successor, General Sir Edmond Elles, in the following
year states that 12 cadres of pack mules have been organized,
capable of rapid expansion into full corps of 840 mules each ;
0 cadres of camel corps, whose owners serve on the silladar
system, have been formed which can be expanded quickly
into complete corps of 1,068 camels each, and 2 cadres of pony
carts, which, when mobilized, will give two full cart trains of
1,164 ponies and 580 carts each. This makes a small but
valuable nucleus of efficient transport, and the system will
be extended before long to the rest of the standing transport.
34
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
BUDGETS.
ITALY.
k
Military budget for the focal year ending June SO, 1903, compared with
that of the previous year.
Branch of the service.
ORDINARY EXPENDITURES.
1901-02. I 1902-03.
War ministry
Pensions
Staffs and inspection departments _
Infantry
Cavalry .
Artillery and engineers
Royal carbineers
Corps of invalids and veterans
Medical services
Cfcflsssijjariat, subsistence companies, and accountants in administra-
tive (fofSMtments __ _
Military school*
Disciplinary companissjaDd military penal establishments
Military geographical i
Personnel of department of milftaty Justice
Allowances to officers on waiting orders; unattached, etc j
Allowances for officers' quarters, traveling asnensee of officers and |
civil employees, maneuvers, etc t
Clothing and equipment I
Provisions _ _ „ i
Forage j
Barracks _ I
Care and repair of mobilization stores ,
Remount service !
Ordnance department . I
Engineer stores and works ' j
Rent of real estate and water mains for military use
Expenses of department of military justice I
Expenses for the Savoy and other military orders
Reimbursements for transfers and other special missions
Legal expenses
Periodical bounties to engineer officers depending on the Henry legacy.
National target practice __
Allowances to needy families of men recalled to the colors ___
Total.
EXTRAORDINARY EXPENDITURES.
Allowances to civilian employees, unattached and supernumerary
New military institutes and establishments
Small arms and ammunition
Repair and transport of mobilization stores
Fortifications and works of defense
Rent of government property in use in the service of governmental
departments
Lire*
rt '87,940
S3, 000
30, 700
■.1.i:71,100
13,000
■ 54,200
30,100
76,600
14,800
2,668,800
2,627,100
1,006,500
452,600
397,000
702,500
4,155,000
18,415,300
13,676,600
17,144,000
3,917,400
89,000
4,564,000
6,706,000
5,554,600
1,040,000
27,000
110,500
84,000
59,000
1,260
600,000
100,000
258,028,600
16,000
200,000
Total _ _
Total ordinary and extraordinary expenditures _„_.
3, 860, 000
6,848,532
10,194,01
i2A*a1*fttTl<1Z
Lire*
2,452,440
36,069,000
4,037,000
63, 667, 600
11,889,700
23,383,800
26,388,100
184,700
5,552,400
3,218,400
2,753,600
803,700
444,000
400,100
679,000
4,155,000
18,370,900
14,330,800
17,696,000
4,189,700
89,000
4,374,000
6,496,000
6,544,400
1,040,000
27,000
86,500
86,000
69,000
1,260
600,000
100,000
258,069,000
2, 000, 000
300,000
14,623,000
6,894,763
&,fl35,7&1
SKl,MH,7Kt
• One lira equals $0,193.
36 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Strength of the army according to the budget for 1902-03.
Brmoch of the service.
Officer*.
War ministry _ C5
General staff and inspectorate* ■ 535
Infantry (96 regiments cf the Hue, 12 regiments benaglieri, 7 Alpine regi-
ments, each of 3 battalions of 4 companies) 7,532
Cavalry (24 regiments, each of 6 squadrons) 1,013
Artillery (24 regiments field, each of 8 batteries ; 1 horse, of 6 batteries ; 1 .
mountain, of 12 batteries; 1 brigade, 4 batteries; 3 regiments of fortress, I 9.390
3 regiments and 1 brigade coast) _ _ [ ^
Engineers (5 regiments, 1 brigade railroad troops) )
Carbineers 597
Corps of invalids and veterans . 11
Medical service ._ ' 358
Commissariat. 357
Military schools. _ 315
Disciplinary companies arid military penal establish meut* 68
Military geographical institute 15
Military Justice _ ., 16
Unemployed, on leave, otv .... 145
Total 13,420
127
21
.4"*
4"
33. ?-*
24
47'
1,
I,
1.
1,
43:
111
sat
213,21:
Composition of the general staff and staff corps, active and unemployed.
General staff :
Lieutenant generals
Major generals
Staff corps :
Colonels
Lieutenant colonels .
Number.
1901-02. 1902-03.
Lieutenant colonels and majors .
52
92
23
47
l*
Majors
22
•62|
Captains
74
Total
296 1
278
BUDGETS. 37
JAPAN.
Military budget for the fiscal year 1902-43.
ORDINARY KXFEXDITCKKg.
F«M.*
War department 241, 684
Army:
Pay 10,630,682
Office expense* 712, 161
Maintenance of building* _ 609,363
Contingent fond 6,881
Legal expenses . 2,609
TraTeUng expense* ___ 1,200,466
Miscellaneous 1,166,099
Allowance! __ 628,362
Expenses of officers sent abroad. «. 118,668
Provisions. 7,466,619
Clothing _ 4,303,741
Arms and ammnnition 3,672,618
Horses 3,493,262
Maneuvers 1,083,826
Invalids 393,145
V in isss ries for troops 882,136
Allowances for retired officers 70
Prisoners 47,323
Military mapping 6,646
Imperial escort 1,216
Transportation 672,489
Secret expenses 121,600
37,008,649
Gendarmerie 1,070,604
Colonial troops 163,620
Memorial service] 7,560
Total ordinary expenditure* 38,481,707
KXTBAORDIXARY EXPENDITURE*.
Fortifications. _.__ 2,921,772
Construction of barracks and stores 260,082
Surreys 248,922
Improvement of military establishments _ 2,471,688
Manufacture of ordnance 1,644,52S
Expenses for temporary construction service 47,674
Pacification of insurgents in Formosa 1 60,000
Special corps _ _ _ 247,655
Post-bellum settlement of Chino-Japanese war 10,370
Compilation of history of Chino-Japaneee war 50,831
Special rewards 73,687
Total extraordinary expenditure* 8,017,119
•One yen equals $0.60.
COMPOSITION AND STRENGTH OF THE ARMY ACCORDING TO THE BUDGET OP
1901-02.
The composition is as follows :
Infantry, 52 regiments (156 battalions).
Cavalry, 17 regiments (51 squadrons).
Artillery —
19 regiments field artillery and mountain artillery
(114 batteries, 6-gun).
6 regiments and 2 independent battalions fortress
artillery.
Engineers, 13 battalions sappers, 1 battalion railroad
troops.
Train, 13 battalions.
Gendarmerie, 13 sections.
38
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
The numerical strength is as follows :
Officers and employees, 8,116.
Enlisted men, 135,533.
Horses, 18,880.
Guns, 456.
MEXICO.
Military budget for the fiscal year July 1, 1902, to June SO, 1903, compared
with the previous year.
MTIMATM (IN MKXICAN MONEY).
Branch of the service.
Office of secretary of war
General staff, transport service, etc
Military headquarters of tactical units, military cones, forts, and
prisons
Engineers and technical troops
Artillery and ordnance
Cavalry
Infantry ,
Medical department, veterinarians, etc
Administration of military justice
Department of rolls, accounts, and special services
General expenses
War expenses in Yucatan
Total
1901-02.
$69,336.75
604,926.21
189,747.30
853,939.49
1,252,731.69
2,418,172.85
4,710,617.44
480,261.63
469,075.40
104,080.23
1,580,000.00
500,000.00
13,122,887.79
68,135.:'
526, 175.il
SOI, 510. SO
927,369.74
1,270,797.74
2,427,011.53
4,668,248.61
4*2,602.3!
469, 075.46
107, 280. 43
1,560, 000. *>
600, 000. a »
IS, 128, 107. 32
Strength of the army, November, 1902.
Arm of the service.
Infantry (28 battalions of 4 companies each, 4 skeleton battalions, 2 regional
companies)
Cavalry (14 regiments, 4 skeleton regiments)
Artillery (2 regiments of field artillery, 1 regiment mountain artillery, 1 regi-
ment horse artillery, 1 squadron of small-caliber rapid-fire guns, 1 machine-
gun company, 1 local battery, and 3 local sections)
Engineers (1 general park, 1 bridge-train company, 1 telegraph section, 1 bat-
talion of 4 companies of sappers)
Ordnance department
Transport service (1 squadron of 2 companies)
Medical corps
Veterinary corps . . _. ._
Army and general staff, personal staff of president, supreme military tribunal,
military college, invalid corps, etc.)
Officers.
902
589
Total.
47
76
11
139
17
3,310
Koncom-
sioned offi-
cers and
men.
15, 740
6,817
1,5*4
G6.*.
306
41
298
COMPOSITION OP THE GENERAL STAFF.
The personnel of the general staff consists of a general of
brigade or a " general brigadier ;" the latter is an intermediate
grade between a general of brigade and a colonel and the title
is usually shortened to " brigadier." This officer is the chief
of the corps in the office of the secretary of war. There are
BUDGETS. 39
also 6 colonels, 8 lieutenant colonels, 17 majors, and 24 senior
captains.
The number of junior captains and lieutenants in the corps,
either in peace or war, is not fixed, but will depend upon the
exigencies of the service according to the judgment of the
war department, depending on the consideration that there
should always be enough officers to supply the four divisions
of the Mexican army, over and above the number required in
the departmental service.
BUSSIA.
Military budget for 1903 and 1902.
Branch of the service.
Estimate!
for 1902.
Central administration
Local administration
Technical services and schools
Medical service and hospitals
Clothing and equipment
Rations
Forage
Pay.
Rent and maintenance of buildings
Building expenses
Manufacture and improvement of artillery and supplies
Field and garrison artillery target practice
Transportation , traveling expenses, couriers, and dispatches.
Expenses of conscription
Exercise of reserve troops and militia .
Expenses of the governorship general of Turkestan '
Maintenance of separate corps of gendarmes '
Rewards and relief fond j
Deductions, allowances, and grants toward the formation of pension
fond - _ '
Extraordinary expenses — I
Expenses of the Kwangtung Peninsula I
Rearmament |
Miscellaneous expenses
Reserve fund
Expenses on account of the budget for 1904 I
AaMet.*
- "32,605
1M>84,968
11J16.717
: 71,306
33, 806
16,135
00,496
86,424
85,141
85,062
71,636
3,040,438
11,892,499
1,446,146
2,860,498
1,398,248
6,191,066
4,016,209
6,633,187
867,443
5, 836, 621
24,688,983
2,939,790
4,076,384
8,596,000
Total for ministry of war • 329,923,806
JhiMst.*
2,969,084
9, 788,548
10,190,825
4,380,077
20,446,800
48,688,061
18,896,819
71,901,505
22,135,895
24, 809, 179
12,493,872
2,965,084
11,367,047
1,480,895
2,647,306
1,404,462
4,943,878
4,111,333
6,391,674
612,243
7,088,539
17,887,610
2,755,211
4,707,605
8,595,000
322,638,637
* One ruble equals 90.616.
40 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Normal peace strength of the army in 1902.
Arm of the service.
Infantry :
6,828 companies, including 6 machine-gun and 21 disciplinary companlea..
Cavalry:
467 squadrons and 823 sotnlas ...
Artillery:
479 foot batteries.
60 hone batteriea .
30 howitaer batteriea
20 mountain batteriea
6 sortie batteriea
78 flying parka ....
Engineer*, etc. :
96 field tapper and 13 fortress aapper companlea
28 companlea and 1 detachment field telegraph and 7 detachment fortreat
telegraph troops
16 pontoon companies .
36 railroad companies .
7 field engineer and 2 fortress engineer parks
• 14 submarine-mining companies (of which 2 are river submarine) .
8 balloon detachments
1 instructional balloon park
Corps military topographers
Local troops
Fortress gendarmerie
Hospitals
Clergy
Prisons!
Military school office 1
Minister of war
There are in addition to the normal strength .
Grand total
The above is inclusive of the Kwangtung troops of
24,17«
6,171
6,978
19
6
67 I
115 I
33,912
4,**7
3»
9,627
no
2, ins
•74,423
38,412 j 1, 076,453
318 15, eut
* Of which about 10,000 are artillery and the remainder Infantry.
Besides these troops of the active army there are the fol-
lowing :
Frontier guards 35] 000
Manchuria railway guards 16, ODD
Recruit* drawn for 1902 305,245
Officers passing from the active army to the reserves . . 625
Opolchenie or militia :
Infantry companies.. 1.28P
Cavalry squadrons.. >*>
Artillery batteries.. 40
General staff.
Generals ... . ..... —.—...«._.._ 53
Lieutenant generals 107
Major generals 121
Colonels 223
Lieutenant colonels 177
Captains— ~..—. . . 267
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARMY.
MILITARY DISTRICT, ST. PETERSBURG.
Guard corps ; headquarters, St. Petersburg.
First army corps ; headquarters, St. Petersburg.
Eighteenth army corps ; headquarters, Dorpat.
BUDGETS. 41
MILITARY DISTRICT, FINLAND.
(Headquarters, Helsingfors.)
Two independent infantry brigades, Russian.
Fifty-fifth regiment of dragoons, Russian.
MILITARY DISTRICT, VILNA.
Second army corps ; headquarters, Grodno.
Third army corps; headquarters, Vilna.
Fourth, army corps; headquarters, Minsk.
Sixteenth army corps; headquarters, Vitebsk.
Twentieth army corps; headquarters, Riga.
MILITARY DISTRICT, WARSAW.
Fifth army corps; headquarters, Warsaw.
Sixth army corps; headquarters, Warsaw.
Fourteenth army corps; headquarters, Lublin.
Fifteenth army corps; headquarters, Warsaw.
Nineteenth army corps ; headquarters, Brest- Litovsk.
First cavalry corps; headquarters, Warsaw.
Second cavalry corps ; headquarters, Warsaw.
MILITARY DISTRICT, KIEF.
Ninth army corps; headquarters, Kief.
Tenth army corps; headquarters, Kharkof.
Eleventh army corps ; headquarters, Rovno.
Twelfth army corps; headquarters, Vinnitza.
Twenty-first army corps; headquarters, Kief.
MILITARY DISTRICT, ODESSA.
Seventh army corps; headquarters, Simferopol.
Eighth army corps; headquarters, Odessa.
MILITARY DISTRICT, MOSCOW.
Grenadier corps ; headquarters, Moscow.
Thirteenth army corps ; headquarters, Smolensk.
Seventeenth army corps; headquarters, Moscow.
MILITARY DISTRICT, KAZAN.
Orenburg Cossacks ; headquarters, Orenburg.
Ural Cossacks ; headquarters, Uralsk.
Astrakhan Cossacks ; headquarters, Astrakhan.
42 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
MIUTABT DISTRICT OF THE DON.
Don Cossacks; headquarters, Novockerkask.
MILITARY DISTRICT OF TBR CAUCASUS.
(Headquarters . Tiflis.)
First Caucasian army corps; headquarters, Alexandropol.
Second Caucasian army corps; headquarters, Tiflis.
Kuban Cossacks; headquarters, Ekaterinodar.
Terek Cossacks ; headquarters, Vladikavkaz.
MILITARY DISTRICT, TURKESTAN.
{Headquarter*, Tashkent.)
First Turkestan army corps; headquarters, Tashkent.
Second Turkestan army corps ; headquarters, AskabacL
MILITARY DISTRICT, SIBERIA.
(Headquarters, Omsk.)
Thirteen battalions ; headquarters, Omsk.
MILITARY DISTRICT OF THE AMUR.
(Headquarters, Khabarovka.)
First Siberian army corps; headquarters, Nikolsk-Usurisk.
Second Siberian army corps ; headquarters, Khabarovka.
Transbaikal Cossacks; headquarters, Chita.
Amur Cossacks; headquarters, Blagoveshchensk.
Usuri Cossacks; headquarters, Vladivostok.
MILITARY DISTRICT, KWANGTUNO.
(Headquarters, Port Arthur.)
Sixteen battalions; headquarters, Talienwan and Port Arthur.
BUDGETS.
43
SPAIN.
Central administration :
Personnel
Material
Provincial administration :
Personnel
Material .
Military budget for 1902.*
Pesetas, f
2,992,048
333,600
10,232,575
364,157
66,904,504
100,000
3,262,180
1,804,600
13,351,601
2,523,096
123,915
16,315,710
2,151,532
25,000
2,955,912
1,031,030
2,237,484
5,600,000
4,809,000
310,000
295,210
5,000,000
310,288
21,595,461
4,654,679
Total 169,283,552
lluilget for 1901 148,993,669
Army proper and auxiliary force*
Recruiting _ _
General officers, including those unassigned, and of the reserve
Personnel on duty away from their arms or on special services
Substitute and supernumerary officers, and liquidation commissions of the colonial
armies
Military instruction
Penal establishments 1
Subsistence
Quarters, light, and fuel
Camping „
Hospitals
Transportation
Horse breeding and remount service
Artillery material
engineer stores
Various and unforeseen expenses
Military orders with pensions for rewarding special merit
Bounties for enlistment and reenlistment
Bent of buildings for military uses _ _j
Civil guard ._ _
Obligations from previous fiscal years _
Increase for 1902 20,289,893
* From Gaceta de Madrid, July 7, 1901. f Peseta equals $0,193.
Strength of the Spanish Army*
Army proper :
General officers
General staff corps
Royal corps of halberdiers
Infantry
Cavalry
Artillery
Engineers ..
Civil guard
Carabineros (customhouse guard) _
Fortress staff corps
The train _
Corps of veterans
253
239
40
7,039
1,678
1,292
585
995
653
37
8
146
Enlisted
men.
255
45,725
12,250
13, 142
4,384
18,554
14,171
Total
Auxiliaries:
Military justice
Chaplains
Administrative service..
Sanitary service —
8urgeons..
12,965
Veterinarians .
Military equitation corps
MlliUryoftees. I.
Brigade of workers and topographer* of the general staff.
Hospital brigade
Fortress wardens
Total
Urand total .
105
335
980
612
137
205
76
340
14
88
112
2,954
*rve officers.
15,919
386
881
2,727
111,208
Total.
253
239
295
62,764
13,928
14,434
4,969
19,549
14,824
37
8
146
121,446
105
335
2,440
612
137
205
76
340
400
919
112
5,681
127,127
•Anuario militar de Espana, 1902.
44 NOTES OF MILITARY INTERE8T FOR 1902.
COMPOSITION OF THE SPANISH ARMY.*
Infantry :
64 regiments, having each 2 four-company battalions;
armed with Mauser, model 1893, caliber 7 millime-
ters. Strength of 1 battalion : Peace — 23 officers and
326 enlisted men; war — 27 officers and 1,000 men.
57 regiments of reserve.
20 battalions of rifles. Strength of 1 battalion : Peace —
. 23 officers and 716 enlisted men; war — 27 officers and
1,001 men.
Cavalry :
28 regiments. Strength of 1 squadron : Peace — 5 officers
and 100 enlisted men ; war — 5 officers and 150 enlisted
men.
14 regiments of reserve.
Artillery :
17 regiments of field and mountain artillery, each regi-
ment consisting of 4 batteries. Strength of 1 battery :
4 officers, 71-98 enlisted men; 6 guns.
10 six-company battalions of fortress artillery. Strength
of 1 company: 4 officers and 88 enlisted men.
1 regiment of siege artillery.
4 companies of artillery workers.
8 depots of reserve artillery.
Engineer troops :
4 regiments of sappers.
1 regiment of pontoniers.
1 railway battalion.
1 telegraph battalion.
1 balloon company.
1 brigade of topographers.
1 company of engineer workers.
8 depots of reserve engineer troops.
Administrative troops :
16 companies.
Hospital corps :
19 companies.
Strength and composition of the general staff of the Spanish army on
January 1, 1902. \
Colonel* _ 31
Lieutenant colonels. -- -- «»3
Majors 77
Captains . .. G$
Total 239
* Almatiach tW Gotha, 1902. f Anuario milibir de Kepana, 1A02.
BUDGETS.
45
SWITZERLAND.
Military budget for the fiscal year 1903 compared unth the previous year.
Branch of the service.
I . Admi n i«t ration :
A. Personnel of administration
B. Personnel of instruction
C. Instruction
P. Clothing
K. Armament and equipment
V. Indemnities to officers for equipment
G. Cavalry horses
H. Subsidies to volunteer firing; clubs and military societies.-.
J. War material
K. Military establishments and fortifications
L. Fortifications
M. Topographical serrice
N. Allowances of pay after death
0. Commissions and experts -
P. Printing
Q. Landsturm
ft. Cost of administration of the supply of wheat
S. Allowances for horse depot
T. Insurance of military persons
U. Unforeseen expenses
11. Powder works administration __
III. Horse depot
IV. Construction shops ._
V. Military powder factory
VI. Ammunition factories at Thun and Altorf
VII. Anus factory
Franc*.
1,188,168
1,383,665
12,662,778
3,436,479
1,884,981
458,652
2,627,876
1,059,200
1,484,968
39,300
986,735
479,076
40,000
15,000
120,000
32,000
35,000
71,980
556,000
2,500
616,000
666,980
358,850
702,340
4,620,000
1,581,600
Total 37,096,927 34,865,335
Franc*.
1,032,695
1,346,163
12,583,423
3,684,752
1,711,260
444,210
2,554,812
1,041,350
610,000
123,000
949,604
346,850
40,000
16,000
120,000
32,000
36,000
70,268
671,000
2,500
666,100
620,268
462,000
713,680
3,813,000
1,487,400
Strength of the Swiss army on January 1, 1902.
[Reported by Maj. G. R. Cecil, United States Military Attache at Bern.]
Cavalry :
£lite—
Guides, 12 companies
Dragoons, 24 squadrons .
Maxims, 4 companies
Reserve (landwehr)—
Guides, 12 companies
Dragoons, 24 squadrons .
Total cavalry .
Artillery:
f.Utt—
Field artillery, 66 batteries
Fortress artillery, 14 companies
Position artillery, 10 companies
Mountain artillery, 4 batteries
Train troops
Kesenre—
Park artillery, 16 companies „
Position artillery, 15 companies
Fortress artillery _
Mountain artillery, 4 columns
Train troops
Depot park, 8 companies —.. ......
Total artillery :
Noncom-
missioned
officers and
men.
71
161
12
22
47
313
674
122
93
36
56
106
95
7
13
69
61
1,222
1,439
3,098
491
2,983
8,200
10,605
2,339
1,956
928
1,810
3,430
2,778
113
368
3,865
1,966
30,148
46 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Strength of the Sivise army on January 1, 1902— Continue*! .
Engineer* :
/.lite—
Sappers, 18 companies
Pontoniers, 4 divisions (abtheilungen) .
Pioneers, 8 companies
Balloon troops, 1 company
Reserve-
Sappers, 16 companies
Pontoniers, 2 divisions
Pioneers, 8 companies
Total engineers
Infantry :
£lite, 106 battalions
Reserve I, 37 battalions —
Reserve II, 37 battalions ___
Total infantry..
Sanitary service :
£lite, 40 ambulances .
40 ambulances
3 sanitary trains
5 transportation columns .
8 hospital sections
Total sanitary troops..
Administration corps :
£lite, 8 companies
Reserve, 8 companies.
Total administration troops..
Staffs-.
lAndsturm :
Armed infantry, 420 companies .
Armed artillery, 23 companies-..
Total armed landsturm
Nonarmed landsturm (aid troops).
BECAPITVLATION.
Cavalry, elite and reserve
Artillery, elite and reserve
Engineers, elite and reserve
Infantry, elite and reserve, I and II
Sanitary service, eiite and reserve
Administration corps, elite and reserve.
Staffs
Total strength of the army, elite and reserve _
Landsturm farmed), infantry and artillery.
Landsturm (nonarmed), aid troops
N<
Office rx.
n&iflSjtoaH
officer* an
bb«-o.
1
3,&
51
K«
44
i, a
6
l
i 45
*,*
21
22
307
2,904
1,056
676
4,536
248
107
9
15
467
78
1,703
109
313
1,222
307
4,536
467
78
1,123
8,046
1,812
No changes have been made in the organization or arma-
ment since January 1, 1902.
II.-FIELD ARTILLERY.
[Compiled by First Lieut. H. B. Fkboumm; CIiais or Knqinhu.]
During the yearSweden and Switzerland, after experiments
extending tferough several years, have adopted the barrel-
recoil BTrapp field gun. Denmark has selected the same gun.
Austria-Hungary, Great Britain, and, of the lesser powers,
Belgium, Brazil, Holland, Greece, and Turkey, continue to
experiment.
The guns adopted in 1900 by Russia and Italy are being
constructed at the home factories. Some have been issued
to the troops. Germany retains her gun on rigid carriage.
France is alone in having her field artillery actually armed
with rapid-fire barrel-recoil guns with shields.
The relative merits of the two types of guns — carriage
recoil and barrel recoil— have been discussed at great length,
especially in Germany. The question of shields has been
prominent, the issue being between (1) no shields, (2) 7.5-
centimeter gun with about 3-millimeter shields, and (3) a
lighter, 5-centimeter, gun with heavier shields.
In England the importance of heavy mobile guns even to
the exclusion of field guns, except for horse artillery, has been
raised. Austria-Hungary has adopted a 10.4-centimeter field
howitzer.
EXPERIMENTAL SHIELDS.
Krupp. — The Krupp firm displayed at the Dusseldorf
Exposition three shields for field pieces. These shields, of
chrome steel 3 millimeters in thickness, had been subjected to
the fire of shrapnel from a 7.5-centimeter piece.
A battery of four pieces provided with shields was formed,
an armored caisson rear carriage being placed at the side of
them, manikins representing the personnel of the first three
pieces. The whole was intended to represent a French field
battery in action.
Thirty 7.5-centimeter shrapnel of 6 kilograms in weight,
containing steel balls of 10 grams, with bursting interval
varying from 30 to 130 meters (an average of 65 meters), were
(47)
48
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR IMS.
c
FIELD ARTILLERY.
49
50 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
fired against this objective with an initial velocity of 500
meters, and at a distance of 3,500 meters. The shields of the
carriages received 80 balls; 63 pierced them. Of the 16
manikins (8 erect and 8 seated) placed at the side of the
pieces, 13 — that is, 81 per cent — were hit. Of the 76 balls
which hit the caissons, 13 — that is, 17 per cent, piercing the
shields — lodged in the wood backing. Nine — that is to say,
75 per cent of the cannoneers kneeling behind the caissons —
were hit.
Eleven shrapnel with steel bullets were fired at carriage
No. 4, near which no manikins had been placed. The shield
was struck by 55 balls; 30 — that is, 55 per cent — entirely
pierced it.
A series of shrapnel filled with lead balls was fired against
the battery at a distance of 2,000 meters. None of the lead
balls penetrated the shield; they made only insignificant
imprints, showing only the bruise made by the ball, but no
sensible depression on the surface of the shield.
In another experiment one piece was exposed to infantry
and artillery fire. One hundred and sixteen shots from 7.9-
millimeter infantry guns, at distances of 450 and 350 meters,
were fired against it, and then 18 shrapnel from rapid-fire
field guns at a distance of 2,000 meters. The targets repre-
senting the cannoneers were destroyed three times. The
shield was hit by various projectiles before their explosion;
the wheel of the elevating gear was badly bent, but it was
possible to straighten it out again so that it served its pur-
pose sufficiently well. The quadrant sight was carried away;
the tire of the left wheel was hit, but the felly below was
not smashed; one spoke of the wheel was entirely carried
away. With the piece thus damaged it was possible to
recommence fire — not a slow fire, but an effective rapid fire.
"Ehrhardt. — The Ehrhardt firm exhibited seven hard-
steel plates, two of 3, two of 4, one of 5, one of 6, and one of
7 millimeters in thickness, which had been subjected, first, to
a fire of guns of 7.5 centimeters with shrapnel charged with
hard-steel balls; second, to a rifle fire of 7.9 and of 6.5 milli-
meters charged with cartridges with ordinary bullets, with
steel bullets, and with lead bullets with steel points; third,
to a fire of the Reichenau 5-centimeter gun.
"Even at 1,500 meters the shrapnel with hard balls had
effect against only the shields of 3 millimeters; even against
FIELD ARTILLERY. 51
these but a small number of the balls which hit them pierced
them. Against the shields of 4 millimeters the balls had no
effect at all. The result is contradictory to that obtained
in the experiments made by Krupp. Before drawing con-
clusions it will be well to wait until the exact data concerning
these two series of experiments are made known. As to the
special rifle projectiles, those of the 7.5-millimeter piece with
steel points produced the best effects; they pierced at 300
meters even the shields of 5 millimeters. This is a serious
danger for the cannoneers protected by the shields." — Revue
de VArmee Beige, November, 1902.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
New Organization. — According to the new organization,
the field artillery will consist of 14 regiments of corps artil-
lery, same as now; 45 regiments of divisional artillery, now
42; 4 divisions of mountain batteries, 1 for the Tyrol, as
to-day, and 3 for Bosnia and Herzegovina, now 11 batteries.
The artillery regiments of the corps artillery will each be
formed of 2 divisions of field-gun batteries and of 1 division
of field howitzers, while the regiments of division artillery
will each have only 2 divisions of field-gun batteries.
Each division of field-gun batteries will have 3 batteries of
6 pieces each, in all 36 pieces, until now 32. The increase per
division will be 4 pieces, so that for all the corps artillery it
will be 2 X 14 X 4 = 112, and for the divisional artillery
2 X 45 X 4 = 360 ; the total increase being 472 field guns.
The 14 divisions of howitzer batteries will be formed each
of 3 batteries of 6 howitzers ; that is, in all, of 252 howitzers.
Of the 45 regiments of divisional artillery, 44 will be at-
tached to the divisions corresponding to the infantry troops.
The Forty-fifth regiment will form a school regiment, which
can also be employed in case of mobilization.
The Tyrol mountain artillery, now 4 batteries of 4 pieces
each and 1 reserve cadre, will be 5 batteries of 4 pieces each.
The Bosnian and Herzegovinian mountain artillery, now 11
batteries of 4 pieces each, will henceforth comprise 3 divisions
of mountain batteries, each formed of 4 batteries of 4 pieces
each, necessitating the organization of a new mountain bat-
tery of 4 pieces. The grand total of mountain guns will be 68.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the Tyrol, the
field batteries for narrow passes are also attached to the
52 NOTE3 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
divisions of mountain batteries. — Revue Militaire Suisse,
August, 1902.
Field Gun. — The experiments for the choice of a carriage
continue. For this purpose a half million of crowns has been
inscribed in the budget of 1902-03. On the other hand, the
ammunition and the gun have already been adopted. This
latter, in bronze steel, will be provided, according to the
Vienna journals, with an eccentric obturator with a screw of
the Nemetz system. The experiments will be continued
through the winter to test the new guns under variations of
weather and temperature, for which tests such an abnormally
open winter as the last gave no opportunity. On the result
of these experiments depends whether the question can be
decided in the spring of 1903 or whether it must be postponed.
Mountain Gun. — "The new mountain guns of 7.2 centi-
meters, with which the new batteries of the Tyrol will be
armed on October 1 next, were recently experimented with on
the firing grounds of Oerkeny (southeast of Budapest). The
characteristic of the new piece is a trail spade with a spring,
which catches in the ground and limits the recoil from the
time the shot is fired. The spring then brings the piece back
to its first position. According to the Reichswehr, the range
of the new mountain gun will be 4,750 meters, and its rapidity
of fire can be brought to eight rounds per minute." — Bulletin
de la Presse, etc., June SO, 1902. All the mountain batteries
will be equipped during the winter.
Howitzer. — The new howitzers are to be made at the
Vienna arsenal and of hardened bronze (Uchatius's process).
Each of the fourteen army corps is to be provided with three
of these new howitzer batteries.
An Austrian artillery officer states that the reasons why
bronze instead of steel is used in the manufacture of the guns
of the Austro-Hungarian artillery are : First, and most im-
portant for his Government, bronze is much cheaper than
nickel steel ; second, the Austrians believe that they under-
stand the manufacture of bronze better than other people do;
and finally, the special bronze of which their guns are made
has given satisfactory results.
The caliber is 10.4 centimeters. The weight of the howitzer
is to be 395 kilograms, and that of its carriage 550 kilograms.
Both shell and shrapnel will be used, the former weighing
about 14 and the latter about 12 kilograms. The minimum
charge will weigh 0.125 kilogram, which is to give an initial
FIELD ARTILLERY. 53
velocity of 150 meters; the maximum charge will weigh 0.31
kilogram, which is to give an initial velocity of 300 meters.
The heavier charge is intended for shrapnel only. The car-
riages have no shields.
c ' In the experiments with the new howitzer with the troops,
several alterations in the carriage suggested themselves ; they
are not of an essential nature and do not disturb the carriage
system, but only concern small details. In the equipment of
the new howitzer batteries, no loss of time has resulted from
these alterations, for the carriage model is finished and proven,
and patterns have been made by the private firms who are
concerned in the furnishing of these carriages. In a short
time the announcement of the delivery of the same may fol-
low. It is to be hoped that the construction of the howitzer
tubes, as well as of the carriages and of the other material
belonging thereto, will have progressed so far that in the
spring of 1903 the setting up of the new howitzer may be
begun." — Neue Milittirische Blatter.
Construction of Batteries. — Regulations have been is-
sued in Austria-Hungary for the construction of batteries
in the field. The training for time of peace is prescribed.
Chapter I of the regulations gives the fundamental princi-
ples of battery construction, definitions, and descriptions of
the various elements, including gun platforms. Chapter II
concerns the rapid construction and later reenforcement of
batteries for field and siege guns. Chapter III gives the
principles of the location, grouping, and construction of bat-
teries of attack and their accessories. Chapter IV treats of
temporary batteries in fortified places. The appendix con-
tains tables giving the various dimensions, materials, tools
and equipment, personnel, and transportation necessary for
the above works. Type drawings of the various works are
also given, but these and the regulations are intended as a
guide, the actual works to be governed largely by local
conditions.
FRANCE.
Though newspapers have stated that the secrets of the recoil
8ystem of the French gun had been sold by a French soldier,
tins report has been denied. The Schiveizerische Zeitschrift
of November, 1902, prints the following concerning this brake :
"The recoil energy of the barrel, when a round is fired, is
taken up by a hydraulic brake. The return of the barrel is
54 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
the result of the expansion of the air compressed in recoil,
hence the name hydropneumatic.
"Essentially the arrangement of these parts is as follows:
Beneath the gun barrel are three cylinders (Fig. 3), 1 is the
cylinder of the hydraulic brake, 2 is the pneumatic recupera-
tor, while 3 is the air reservoir. The three cylinders remain
motionless in firing, being firmly fastened to the upper car-
riage while the piston rod and piston of the hydraulic brake
and of the pneumatic recuperator, carried back by the barrel
in firing, are drawn out from the cylinder. In the recupera-
tor, 2, and air reservoir, 3, the air is under a certain pressure
-* JSt
li ,M'
=^-^
-n e
i
Fiff. 3.
which suffices to hold the barrel in place under all conditions.
In firing, the air behind the piston of the recuperator and
hence that of the channel of connection is still further com-
pressed ; after the shot it expands again and thus forces the
piston of the recuperator and with it the barrel to its normal
position. In this position the mark on the right outer side
of the barrel must coincide with the mark on the upper car-
riage. In addition there is another mark on the barrel which
probably indicates the distance which the barrel may remain
behind the normal position."
Commenting on some firing trials with this gun, the Revue
de VArmte Beige states that "in practice, even after the
first shot has driven in the spade, the derangement of the
pointing caused by the following shots is not nil, but requires
correction continually."
The results obtained with a battery of four guns were that
in three minutes they swept, without a gap, a breadth of 200
meters and depth of 450 meters at a range of 2,500 meters.
The field artillery has been increased by two batteries,
which, with two mountain batteries and four foot batteries,
have, by circular of December 6, 1902, been created and form
the third regiment of colonial artillery, formerly a skeleton
organization.
The French have developed and definitely adopted as essen-
tial elements of their system of rapid-firing field artillery,
FIELD ARTILLERY. 55
complete methods for indirect fire and for the supply of
ammunition to the fighting batteries.
Officers are still at work on a field howitzer to be lighter
than the present 12-centimeter field howitzer.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE RESUPPLY OF AMMUNITION IN THE
FIELD.*
{Approved Anguat 1, 1902, to replace those of December 9, 1893.)
Article I.
GENERAL ARRANGEMENT OF THE SUPPLY.
1. The ammunition of an army is distributed as follows: (1) The am-
munition of the line of battle ; (2) ammunition of the parks of the army
corps ; (3) ammunition of the grand artillery park of the army.
2. The details of the ammunition of the line of battle and of the corps
park are given in table, page 62.
3. Army Corps Park. — The normal army corps park is divided into
three parts called "echelons/' each commanded by a major and all under
the orders of a colonel or lieutenant colonel.
The first "echelon" of a normal army corps park comprises: Three
sections of 7.5-centimeter ammunition; one section of 8-centimeter am-
munition; two sections of infantry ammunition. The second "echelon"
comprises three sections of 7.5-centimeter ammunition; three sections of
infantry ammunition. The third "echelon" comprised two park sections
and one section for repair.
The units of the first two "echelons" are interchangeable among them-
selves. All the ammunition of the ammunition sections is carried in the
caissons. The park sections carry only the artillery ammunition ; this is
usually packed in white cases and loaded on the park wagons ;f the sec-
tions for repair have with them spare 7. 5 centimeter guns with chests filled,
forges and wagons containing the supplies, and spare parts necessary for
repairing the artillery and the equipment of the army corps.
4. The Grand Artillery Park of the Army.— To each army is at-
tached a grand artillery park for the purpose of assuring the resupply of
ammunition of the corps parks and to furnish them with the spare pieces
and caissons of 7. 5 centimeters and with special supplies. It i9 commanded
by a colonel or lieutenant colonel, who is at the same time in command
of the artillery along the lines of communication. All the ammunition
which it carries is in white cases. The whole amount of the ammunition
°f the grand park, collected for each one of the army corps, is called a
division of the grand artillery park of the army.
Bach division of the grand park of the army is divided into four ele-
ments (first, second, third, and fourth below), among which are distrib-
uted five equal lots of ammunition. The first two elements are arranged
for the direct resupply of the army corps:
First. The artillery park of the line of communication has one-fifth of
the grand park ammunition, all on transport wagons.
* Only the part referring to artillery ammunition has been translated.
fSome now on caissons of 90, altered, to be replaced.
56 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
Second. Depot for first has one-fifth of ammunition packed ready far
transportation. This depot may also contain material for repair.
Third. Railway station reserves, which has one-fifth of ammunition.
Fourth. The arsenal reserve has two -fifths of ammunition and one sec
tion of the reserve carries spare material and material for repair, 12 guns.
12 caissons, and 10 white boxes of 75 centimeter ammunition.
Article II.
POSITION OP RESUPPLY UNITS IN MARCHING AND DURING COMBAT.
1. The line of battle is connected with the corps park by the group of
"echelons of battery" [battery on war footing minus "fighting battery, :<
line 15, table A, p. 87] at 500 meters or more from the batteries engaged.
2. Army Corps Park.— In marching, the first "echelon" usually
marches at the head of the fighting train (train de combat) of tbe corps.
The other parts of the park march at the place indicated in the order for
the march.
When engaged in action, the artillery commander, after having received
the instructions of the corps commander, designates to the commander of
the park the points or zones which would be most convenient to fix upon
as the most advanced centers of resupply. According to these indications,
or on his own initiative, in case no orders are received, the commander of
the park orders the positions of the echelons on the ground and fixes the
duties of each.
The ammunition sections will not halt on the way except in cases of
absolute necessity ; then they will arrange themselves, in file, on the right
side, avoiding as much as possible the left side. Whenever possible, they
will form a park in the neighboring terrain, leaving openings in all direc
tions. The ammunition sections are marked during the day by a yellow
pennon for the infantry ammunition, blue for the artillery ammunition ;
during the night by lanterns of the same color as the pennons. Where a
section leaves the route, a man with a pennon or lantern is stationed.
The ammunition sections gather up as much as possible the arms, am
munition, and material of the army abandoned on the field of battle.
The park sections are indicated by blue and yellow signals together on
the same wagon.
3. Grand Artillery Park of the Army.— The artillery park of the
line of communication is kept, under the command of the director of lines
of communication, at such a distance from the army corps that its march
is not hindered and that the resupply of the army, if it becomes necessary,
may be rapidly effected.
When the line of communication is organized, the artillery park of the
line of communication is usually sent to the head of the line of communi-
cation (end of railroad).
The depot of the park is placed under the command of the director of
the lines of communication of the directing station. The railroad trains,
consisting each of a train stationed in the depot situated in the zone of
action of the directing commission, supply the army.
The reserves are organized like the preceding echelons, and the arsenal
reserve is organized in proportion to the expenditure according to the
orders of the minister, which should be solicited if necessary.
FIELD ARTILLERY.
57
Article III.
PRINCIPLES OF RESUPPLY AND THE NECESSARY CONNECTIONS.
Each resupply unit is strictly charged to keep in touch with the units
or troops which are in advance, so that no one will have to look back.
The fighting troops especially should be freed from all preoccupation as
regards their own resupply.
On the field of battle promptitude should be valued above regularity.
When not on the field of battle, both are demanded.
The personnel given in the following table for the communication
service should be regarded as a minimum :
The agent*.
Communications to be established.
Cases in which they are
established.
1 officer
1 noncommissioned officer _
1 noncommissioned officer |
and 1 cyclist.
1 cyclist (corporal or can-
noneer).
1 noncommissioned officer
and cyclist.
1 mounted cannoneer
1 noncommissioned officer
and 1 corporal.
1 corpora] .
Between the general commander of artil-
lery and the commander of the park.
Between the commander of the park and
each one of the colonels commanding
the divisional artillery of the corps.
Between the commander of the park and
each one of the echelon commanders
under his orders.
Between the second and third echelons
of the army corps park.
Between the first and the second and
third echelons of the army corps park.
Between the commander of an echelon
and each section under his orders. I
Between each section of ammunition of
artillery and the commander of the
group of echelons of battery.
Between each section of infantry ammu-
nition or each detachment of that sec- i
tion and the chief artificer of each of
the regiments to be resupplied. I
Under all circumstances.
From the time the com-
mander of the park re-
ceives the indication of the
points or zones of resupply.
Under all circumstances.
Under all circumstances.
Under all circumstances.
At the beginning of the
march.
From the time the section
has received nn assign-
ment.
From the time the section
has received an assign-
ment.
The commanding general of the artillery should also take measures so
as to be able to announce without delay to the generals commanding the
divisions that ammunition sections, or parts of ammunition sections, are
ready to be placed at the disposition of the troops under their orders.
Article IV.
ORGANIZATION OF THE SERVICE FOR THE RESUPPLY OF AMMUNITION.
1. The general commanding the artillery of the army corps is responsi-
ble for the resupply of the troops with ammunition, and gives instructions
to the commander of the park.
He informs the general commanding the corps as to the number of sec-
tions of ammunition which have been placed at the disposition of the
troops engaged. This information is supplemented by that which may be
obtained from the troops in the course of action.
2. The commander of the park, guided by the instructions wnich he has
received or requests from the general commanding the artillery, enjoys a
58 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
great initiative to assure their execution as far as the means at his disposal
allow.
In marching, at a distance from the enemy, he usually commands the
park and the convoys of the army corps when they march together. Near
the enemy, he usually marches with the first echelon of the park. He
may before an engagement and at the order of the general commanding
the artillery, march with that general officer.
From the time when he receives from him the orders relative to the
various echelons of the park, or when in case of emergency he has himself
made choice of the positions, he will then give notice to the commanders
of the echelons ; then by means of the reconnoissances made by the officers
under his orders, or by the officers selected by the general staff of the
echelons, he will have the communications with the line of battle made,
studying the terrain to the rear of the troops.
As soon as he has received from the general commanding the artillery,
after, when there was need, having requested it, the information relative
to the placing of the first elements of the grand artillery park of the army,
he informs the commander of the last echelon and, if possible, those of
the first two.
8. The commander of an advanced echelon of the corps park, after
having, according to the order of the commander of the park, conducted
his echelon to the point of separation which has been assigned to him,
makes sure according to the instructions which have been given him, of
the organization of the resupply service of the line of battle, and, in the
absence of orders supplies them himself, but he remains always in com-
munication with the commander of the park and renders an account to
him of the measures he has taken at his own initiative ; he will keep
him informed, in particular, of modifications he makes in the placing
of the ammunition sections and as to the number of sections of which he
makes use.
The terrain surrounding the position which the section occupies should
be explained by him and the relation to the neighboring troops, if possi-
ble, so that measures of safety may be taken in good time.
He should always have at his disposition at least one artillery ammu-
nition section and one unbroken half section of infantry ammunition. For
this purpose he summons, when desired and in succession, the ammunition
sections of the echelon which follows him.
After having caused those ammunition sections which were only broken
to be filled out as much as possible, he sends to the rear the empty ammu-
nition sections, sending them, according to the orders which he has received,
either to the third echelon of the corps park of the army or to the advanced
echelons of the grand artillery park of the army.
He takes under his command the ammunition sections which come to
him from the rear.
4. The commander of an echelon of the second line of the corps park in-
stalls his section at the point which has been assigned to him as his station,
sends to the echelon in front the units which are demanded of him and
receives under his command the ammunition sections which after resup-
ply ing return from the rear.
FIELD ARTILLERY. 59
5. The commander of the last echelon of a corps park installs his echelon
at the point assigned him as his station, refills the empty artillery ammu-
nition sections which are sent to him by means of the park sections, or of
certain of their divisions which he has received the order to make advance ;
he takes measures to resupply the sections of the park from the most ad-
vanced parts of the grand artillery park of the army, according to the
orders which he has received from the commander of the park. If these
parts are sufficiently near they may be called to resupply directly the
ammunition sections of the artillery. In any case they resupply directly
the ammunition sections of the infantry.
The commander of the last echelon takes for the time being under his
command the units which have operations to execute at the point where
his echelon is stationed and then insures their return to point where the
echelon of the second line is stationed.
He sends to the point which has been fixed for him the number of can-
nons which have been demanded from him by the commander of the park.
6. The director of the grand artillery park of the army is informed at the
same time as the corps commanders by the director of the line of commu-
nication, of the points where the various elements of the artillery park of
the line of communication are connected with the equipment of the army
corps. He transmits the orders for execution to the commander of the
artillery park of the line of communication, adding thereto the particular
instructions and making provision for the personnel which the park of the
line of communication should detach for the purpose of reloading the
ammunition.
When the routes of communication are organized ammunition depots
are made for the branch of tbe line of communication, the number being
increased with the length of the route of communication.
Usually retrograde movements of the wagons of the army corps are
avoided and the effort is made to make the ammunition resupply by means
of a continuous movement of the wagons of the park of the line of com-
munication from the rear toward the front.
The detachments of the army corps park which come for the purpose of
resupplying pass for the time being, as far as concerns this service, under
the orders of the director of the grand park.
On the other hand the director of the grand park receives from the di-
rector of the line of communication an indication of the points, days, and
hours when and where the artillery park of the line of communication
should present itself for resupply from the railroad trains.
Under the same conditions as in the case of the artillery park of the
line of communication, the railroad trains may be called upon to resupply
directly the parks of the army corps.
Article V.
[This article concerns resupply of infantry ammunition.]
Article VI.
THE RESUPPLY OF THE 7. 5- CENTIMETER ARTILLERY AMMUNITION.
&* general the artillery ammunition sections are not divided.
When the captain commanding an ammunition section has been advised
*» to the troops he is to resupply, he collects before his departure all the
60 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
information which concerns the position of the troops. He informs him-
self as to the position of the groups of echelons of batteries with which
he is to enter into communication. He reconnoiters the terrain in the
rear of the troop to be resupplied, and establishes there his section in s
position favorable to the movement of the wagons, about 1,000 or 1,500
meters from the groups of echelons of battery. He establishes his com-
munications with the commanders of these groups, sending them under the
conduct of a guard the number of caissons required, and, eventually,
the number of men and horses which he is ordered to furnish ; he follows
the groups of echelons of battery in their movements, and in that esse
takes the measures necessary so that the commttnication agents and the
wagons of the section may be able to find them.
When a commander of an echelon of battery has sent the caissons which
were demanded, he advises the commander of the group of echelons of
battery to which he belongs thereof, and sends back to him a voucher of
the ammunition on which he will take care to indicate the number of the
battery. The commander of the group of echelons of battery seeks to
find the same number on the caissons in the ammunition section with
which he is connected.
The commander of the group of echelons of battery distributes among
them, according to their needs, the caissons which are sent to him from
the ammunition section ; each chief of an echelon of battery, aided by a
quartermaster sergeant, superintends the resupply. The caissons arriving
from the ammunition sections are placed at the side of the empty caissons.
The ammunition is reloaded. The rear train of caissons should be filled
first.
If one of the firing batteries detaches itself from the group, its echelon
follows it ; it is accompanied by the communication corporal of the am-
munition section. The resupply of the isolated battery is accomplished
according to the preceding principles, the chief of the echelon entering in
direct relations with the ammunition section.
If the three batteries of the group separate, the commander of the group
of echelons of battery takes measures to insure direct communication of
each echelon of battery with the ammunition section. He makes use for
this purpose of one from the noncommissioned grades of these echelons.
The effort should not be made, during the combat, to reinstate the
batteries in their normal effective, but only to furnish them, with the aid
of the resources of the echelons of battery, with the men and horses neces-
sary to continue the fire and to take care of all their wagons.
If the resources of the echelons of battery are not sufficient, the men,
the horses, and the spare guns are demanded from the general commander
of the artillery of the corps of the army by the commander of the division
artillery or of the corps.
In this case the horses and the men are furnished by the ammunition
section at the same time that they resupply the groups of echelons of
battery. The guns are immediately sent directly from the repair section
upon the order of the commander of the park as has been indicated in
Article IV.
When an ammunition section is about to be exhausted, the captain who
commands it informs the commander of the echekm, who takes measures
FIELD- ARTILLERY. 61
to have it replaced; when the caissons are empty, he guides them to a
separate position and there takes the orders relative to the resupply.
After being resupplied, he returns to place himself with his section
under the orders of the commander of the second echelon.
Article VII.
RESUPPLY OF AMMUNITION FOR THE 8-CENTIMETER HORSE BATTERIES.
The resupply of ammunition for the 8 centimeter horse batteries .is
made according to the same principles as for the 7.5-centimeter batteries.
There are only the following differences :
The caissons of the firing battery are entirely replaced, as well as the
personnel which is thereto attached, by a same number of caissons de-
manded from the group of echelons of battery.
The resupply of the echelon of battery is effected by a reloading of
ammunition.
The 8-centimeter ammunition section may be divided, each part being
placed under the command of an officer. It may also be detached from
the first echelon of the ammunition sections and sent into the zone of the
field of battle which borders on that where the independent cavalry
operates. In this case the chief of that section remains alone responsible
for the resupply of the batteries attached to this cavalry. He resupplies
his section after the combat by leading the whole or a part back to the
park sections which have been indicated to him as the position of the
depots of the grand artillery park from which he shall receive his
resupply.
Article VIII.
RESUPPLY AFTER THE COMBAT.
After the combat the resupply is continued according to the principles
given above, at the place if possible, otherwise at the bivouac or canton-
ment, even during the night. The ammunition supply is filled according
to the resources at hand, first the batteries and wagons of the company,
then the ammunition sections, and finally the park sections. The cavalry
troops of the corps of the army are resupplied with cartridges for portable
arms by the ammunition sections of the infantry.
Except under exceptional circumstances and by the special order of the
commander of the corps of the army, neither the caissons of the battery
nor the wagons of the company are sent to the rear to be resupplied.
Article IX.
GENERAL RULES CONCERNING THE DEIJVERY OF AMMUNITION.
During action, the commanders of battalions or troops isolated for the
time being, the chiefs of detachments, the chiefs of groups of wagons of
the company, the commanders of batteries or of the echelons of batteries
are qualified to sign demands for ammunition. All demands for ammu-
nition are honored immediately, no matter in what form made.
Should a detachment of wagons, or a party, present themselves without
a written demand for resupply, the commander nevertheless satisfies the
C2
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
verbal demand addressed to him. In this case he demands a receipt for
the amount of ammunition given out, if possible, entered in the, stub
book, model No. 3.
When not on the field of battle all of the demands should be counter
signed by the chief of the corps or detachment, and for the artillery units
by the commander of the group.
The demands should never exceed the known necessities, the chiefs of
the corps having always the right to send supplementary demands, if
necessary.
The day after the combat, the first thing in the morning, each corps of
the infantry troop or the cavalry, each unit of the artillery or of the
equipment train, make a list for the purpose of obtaining the amount of
ammunition necessary to reestablish the original supply of men and
of wagons. These lists, made according to models 1 and 2, are sect
through the regular channels to the general commander of the corps of
the army and transmitted without delay to the general commander of
artillery.
The general commander of the artillery corps of the army makes a
summary of these lists ; that is to say. a report indicating the condition of
the ammunition of the army corps, the material needed, etc. This report
is sent to the general commanding the army corps.
If a corps, of which the ammunition is exhausted, is no longer in com-
munication with the parks and finds itself near a fortified place, the
governor of this place may not. except upon the special authorization of
the minister, resupply it except from the ammunition which he has at bis
disposal beyond the normal defense supply. He must immediately render
an account to the minister of the ammunition which he has given and
demand that it should be replaced, if necessary.
Table indicating the distribution of the supply of ammunition in the
army corps.
Infantry — number of carl
Carried hy —
ridges.
Per
man.
120.0
66.6
(2.6)
186.6
Artillery — number of rounds.
General composition
of the ammunition
Carried by —
Per piece.
supply.
Of 7.6
cm.
field
gun.
Of* cm.
hon»»
artil-
lery.
Of the line of tattle
The men
The batt jry chests _
S12.0
142.0
The field wagons
The baggage wagons
Total
First echelon (ammuni-
tion sections).
Second echelon (ammu-
nition section*)-
Third echelon (park sec-
tions and section for
repair) .
Total
Grand total
!
312.0
ltt.0
Of the army corps park__
66.2
62.6
62.6
64.3
3»- «
"
110.4
189.6
365.6
2U6. 9
601.5
497.6
FIELD ARTILLERY. 63
GERMANY.
No reports have been published concerning official experi-
ments in Germany, other than vague notes that expensive
experiments are being made by the Krupp and the Erhardt
firms, and at least part of these experiments are under super-
vision of the "artillery commission."
"The Revue Militaire des Armies Etrangdrcs sums up as
follows the state of opinion in Germany :
" * There are three parties, each having at its head an emi-
nent officer.
" *1. The artillery general, von Hoffbauer, represents the
party in statu quo. He believes in the present cannon (M.
1896 with rigid carriage) and that it will be at least twenty
years before the new ideas are put into a practical form.
" '2. General Reichenau disapproves of the 7.5-centimeter
caliber and of the most commended properties of the barrel-
recoil carriage; then, rejecting shrapnel also, he disapproves
of the firing method based on the dispersion of a great num-
ber of shrapnel balls and returns to that method which is
based on the effectiveness of single shots carefully aimed.
He sacrifices all to the shield, favoring the use of shell only,
the reduction of the caliber of the piece to 5 centimeters so as
to add the weight gained to the armor plate ; he recognizes
fully the inefficiency of the shields for the material of 7.5
centimeters.
'"3. General Rohne, after having long combatted the
barrel-recoil carriage, is to-day an ardent admirer of the
French material of 7.5 centimeters. According to him,
everything is complete in this material, and if certain parts
are adopted, it would be better to take the entire system
(batteries with four pieces, wooden caissons, firing regula-
tions, etc.). He says that an imperfect protection is better
than no protection at all.
" c In short, in Germany the material actually in use (M.
1896) has many partisans, despite the preference which has
been shown in certain countries for the barrel-recoil system.
As to the reformers, they do not agree among themselves,
and the partisans of the French type regard the shields with
a certain disfavor. Another factor tending to delay decision
is the state of the finances of the Empire.'
"After two years of experiments no definite decision has
Wu reached. But if confidence may be placed in the press,
64 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
a provisional solution of the problem is to be made. The
present gun tube will be retained, as well as the projectile*
which wauld form the most expensive part of a new arma-
ment. The carriage alone will be modified. It is estimated
that the cost of this change will not exceed 12,500,000 francs.
If this is the case, it can not be intended to completely replace
the carriage, as this would cost at least three or four times as
much, even if the number of pieces in a battery were reduced
from six to four. Hence only changes in detail will be made,
thus obtaining a delay in which the experiments may be con-
tinued. As to what will be the nature of these modifications,
opinions are different. Some say that the shields are not
desired; others affirm, on the contrary, that the adoption of
the shield is the chief motive determining the change. This
alone would necessitate the replacing of the entire material,
tube and projectiles included. However this may be, Ger-
many will perhaps increase to a small degree the possible
rapidity of fire, a certain protection will be assured to the
cannoneers, probably at a sacrifice as regards the increased
weight; but the piece will only fire a projectile of 6.85 kilo-
grams with an initial velocity of 465 meters." — Revisia di
Artileria e Genio, December, 1902.
The London Times of February 20, 1903, says that "the
Socialist journal Vorwiirts states that a short time back a
certain number of 3.5-inch guns were sent to the Krupp works
for conversion. The expense of the conversion of the whole
of the German field guns would reach nearly £2,000,000, in-
cluding the cost of shields, but there still exists great differ-
ence of opinion as to whether these latter are necessary or
not."
The light field howitzer seems to have fallen into great dis-
credit. Just what will be the result is not known. Some
rumors suggest it will be turned over to the foot artillery,
others that it will be modified.
GREAT BRITAIN.
In December, 1902, the experiments with field guns were
still being continued. No official announcements have been
made public. A description of the Ehrhardt gun, modified,
which gun was reported in various papers to have been
adopted, is given below.
FIELD ARTILLERY. G5
Fainting Guns. — A novel experiment has been made at
Aldershot, England, whereby guns have been rendered almost
invisible at a little distance. By an ingenious scheme of
painting the guns and limbers rainbow fashion with the
three primary colors — red, blue, and yellow — they have been
found to harmonize with any sort of ground or background
so admirably that at a small distance they are difficult to
locate. Six guns so painted were placed on the Fox Hills,
and the artillery officers at Aldershot were invited to try and
locate them at about 3,000 yards with field glasses, and
although all knew the direction in which they lay, none
were able to pick them all up. Some horse artillery sent
forward to engage the guns advanced to within 1,000 yards
before they located them. At close quarters the gun appears
all daubs and streaks. The idea is said to have been origi-
nated by Captain Sykes, of the Yorkshire militia. — Canadian
Military Gazette.
Paid Specialists. — A. O. 96, May, 1902, prescribed that
among the number of noncommissioned officers and men who
may be paid for special duties there shall be : In each battery
of horse, field, and mountain artillery, 12 gun layers, of
ranks below sergeant. The pay is 3s. per day in addition to
ordinary pay.
Heavy Artillery. — Earl Roberts is reported assaying:
"The most important of the many lessons learned in the
South African war, to my mind, is the necessity for including
heavy long-range guns as part of the equipment of every
field army." Under the heading, "Do we need field artil-
lery ?" an article, by General Murray, K. C. B., R. A., appeared
in the August and September Proceedings R. A. Institution.
Among other things, he said: "The demands .of peace are
always for increased mobility ; the demands of war are always
for heavier shell power. We have not sufficient fast-moving
(horse) artillery for our wants, more especially having regard
to the fact that the importance of mobility is receiving
increased attention, and that it is probable that in the future
we shall have a much more largely increased use of mounted
troops than in the past. We have not a sufficient proportion
of heavy artillery for our field troops; call this artillery
heavy field artillery, position artillery, or what not. I mean
guns possessing the maximum of shell power consistent with
a sufficient modicum of pace and mobility to keep well up
829 6
GG NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
with dismounted troops. Is it necessary to maintain an inter-
mediate class of artillery, which is too fast for the infantry.
and too slow to keep pace with the cavalry?"
THE NEW 15-POUXMSR QUICK-FIRING FIELD ARTILLERY GUN.
(From "This Kngixker," Loxixjx, May 16, 1902.)
We give this week a full description, with detail drawings and illustra-
tions, of the new German quick-firing field artillery gun of 3 inches caliber,
together with its carriage, which has been adopted for service in .the
British army, after a series of exhaustive trials at Oakhampton shooting
ranges, during which its power of range and accuracy, as well as the
complete success of the arrangements devised for the absorption of the
shock of recoil on firing, have been most satisfactorily proved. The diffi-
culties which were encountered at the first onset, as regards the fragile
character of the wheels and sundry fractures of the axletree beds and
telescopic carriage trails, have been ascertained to be the result only of
accidental defects in manufacture or of local weakness in certain features,
and such difficulties have been easily remedied.
A technical description of the gun is as follows : The material is nickel
steel ; total length, 90 inches ; average weight, 737 pounds ; caliber, 3 inches:
. length of bore, 85.79 inches, or 28.6 calibers; diameter of chamber, front
3.094 inches, rear 3.153 inches; length of chamber, 8.11 inches; system of
rifling, polygroove, twist increasing from one turn in 60 calibers at breech
to one turn in 25 calibers at 5.8 inches from muzzle, remainder uniform,
one turn in 25 calibers; length of rifling, 77.67 inches; grooves — num-
ber 23, depth 0.0295 inch, width 0.237 inch; means of rotation, copper
driving band.
The gun is without trunnions, and consists of an A tube, over which is
shrunk a jacket, secured by a steel screwed ring, A (Plate I). Shrunk
on the gun are also two steel guide rings, B and C, the lower portion of
the front ring, B, being formed to receive the buffer cylinder, which is
screwed into it. The portions of the guide rings which bear on the sur-
face of the cradle are of bronze, and, together with a plane formed on the
underside of the jacket at the breech, support and guide the gun during
its travel on the cradle. The chamber is slightly coned to facilitate
extraction of the cartridge case.
The breech is closed by an interrupted screw, divided so that one-tenth
turn locks or unlocks it. The center of the breechblock is recessed
to receive the firing mechanism, and is formed at its rear end with an
interrupted rim, having four projections which engage in corresponding
recesses in the carrier. In the rear face of the block is a groove for
receiving the head of a securing pin, and in the rim a recess for the lock-
ing bolt. Secured by screws to the right of the breechblock is a screwed
toothed segment in which a screwed pinion of the hand lever engages.
The carrier E, which holds the breechblock, is pivoted to the right side
of the breech by the hand-lever pin, and contains the firing mechanism.
The rear portion of the carrier is formed at F to receive a wedge, by
means of which the gun is fired, and is provided at the end with a screw
FIELD ARTILLERY.
67
i
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to
a
•a
§
©
©
68 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
cover, which also holds in position a bronze bosh, the latter forming a
stop for the mainspring of the firing mechanism.
The two hinges of the carrier are provided^ with projections, H, which
strike against the short arm of the extractor, and actuate the latter.
On the left of the carrier there is a projection containing a recess for
the retaining latch of the hand lever and the locking bolt with a spring
and cover screw.
Underneath that portion of the carrier which contains the firing mech-
anism is a safety arrangement by which the striker may be prevented
from moving. The arrangement consists of a pin and spring, the latter
being actuated by turning a milled head, J, underneath. The letters
F (fire) and S (secure) indicate corresponding positions.
The extractor is pivoted near the carrier hinge by the axis pin ; at the
end of the extracting arms are studs which engage with the rim of the
cartridge.
The firing mechanism consists of the firing pin, with a striker point,
which is screwed on it, and secured by a set screw ; a striker guide, over
which the mainspring is fitted, and a buffer or •' rebound" spring at the
rear. The striker is provided with a recess for a safety catch, and behind
it another recess for the firing wedge. The hand lever K is pivoted to the
carrier by the axis pin, the latter being provided with a screw. The
handle is recessed to receive the small pivoted lever which works the
retaining latch, a spring being provided to insure the latch engaging when
the breech is closed. The firing wedge is provided with a lanyard, the
latter being fitted with a loop— for placing around the neck — and a wood
toggle. The action of the mechanism is as follows :
Suppose the gun to have just been fired, on grasping the handle of the
hand lever with the right hand, the lever is pressed in, and the retaining
latch is thereby clear of the recess in the carrier, so that the hand lever is
unlocked. On moving the handle round to the right, the screwed pinion
causes the breechblock to revolve till the locking bolt moves forward,
locking the breechblock to the carrier. In this position the threads on
the breechblock are clear of those in the breech of the gun, so that the
continued motion of the hand lever causes both to swing round together.
When the block is clear of the breech the carrier strikes the short arms of
the extractor, causing the latter to eject the empty cartridge case to the
rear. A projectile and a cartridge are then inserted by hand, and on
moving the hand lever round to the left, the breechblock, which is still
locked to the carrier, enters the breech and forces the projectile and car-
tridge "home." As soon as the carrier comes against the face of the
breech the locking bolt is pressed in, releasing the breechblock from the
carrier, so that the continued motion of the hand lever causes the block
to revolve by means of the pinion, thus closing it securely in the breech.
So soon as the hand lever is quite home, the retaining latch, actuated by
the spring, engages in the recess in the carrier. On inserting the firing
wedge in the recess, and pulling the lanyard until the wedge is clear, the
striker is drawn back and the mainspring compressed, and at the moment
of the wedge leaving the recess the striker is released and the gun fired.
By a rebound action the buffer spring brings the striker clear of the point
of the breechblock. To prevent the gun being fired before the breech is
FIELD ARTILLERY. 69
properly closed the striker is secured by a securing pin, which is only
released when the breech mechanism is properly closed.
Carriage. — The principal parts of the carriage are: (1) Upper carriage
-with (a) hydraulic buffer, (6) running-out springs, (c) slights. (2) Inner
carriage. (3) Elevating and traversing gears. The upper carriage con-
sists of a steel cradle, U section, supported in the center by a pivot, which
fits into a socket in the axle of the lower carriage, and at the rear by the
elevating gear which is attached to the lower carriage. The cylinder of
the hydraulic buffer is contained in the cradle, being screwed at the front
into the rear lower portion of the front guide ring of the gun. The cradle
is closed in front by a steel plate, to which one end of the buffer piston
rod is attached, L; at the rear it is closed by a steel plate containing a
guide box for the cylinder. The cylinder contains in front a gland and
stuffing box to prevent loss of liquid.
The rear end of the cylinder is closed by a screw, M, having a filling
hole and a filling screw. There is also a screwed recess, in the center, for
the reception of a spring spanner. The inside of the cylinder has longi-
tudinal grooves of decreasing width, so that the space for the flow of the
liquid varies during recoil, the object of the grooves being to insure uni-
form pressure during the travel.
The liquid to be used to fill the buffer cylinder is best pure glycerin,
specific gravity 1.26, and the correct quantity is 8£ pints, the buffer being
filled to its capacity. In order to test whether the buffer is filled, the gun is
depressed and the filling screw removed, when the glycerin should be seen.
The piston is fixed at the rear end of the piston rod, and in order to
control the resistance of the passing glycerin the edges of the front por-
tion are only slightly rounded, while the rear portion is well rounded.
In the rear end of the piston is screwed a tube closed at the rear end, and
provided with grooves increasing in width toward the rear end. Over
this tube comes the cover tube of the cylinder on the rebound, the object
being to bring the gun gently into firing position after recoil.
Placed in position around and outside of the cylinder are five sets — of
four each— of steel wire springs, N, which, after having been compressed
in recoil by the action of the front guide ring on the gun, return the gun
into the firing position. The five sets of running-out springs are separated
from each other by four separating disks.
In the front lower part of the front guide ring is screwed the pressure
plate, which, by the forward movement of the gun, moves against an
india-rubber buffer, O, which also* assists in checking the rebound action.
The same lettering applies to all three figures, those from P to Y only
being found in the plan illustrated.
The top sides of the cradle are projected by two lengths of sheet steel,
to prevent the entry of either dust or rain, into the open space above the
springs, shown in the small cross section of the cradle. The two lengths
of sheet steel are secured by screws to the guide rings, as seen, and to the
plane underneath the breech end of the gun. They are united at the
sides, at the breech end of the gun, by a cover plate.
The cradle is sighted on the left side with fore and hind sights, as shown
in the illustrations. The foresight consists of a steel pillar, having a
70 NOTB8 OF MILITARY INTER E8T FOR 1903.
pointed apex with a flat portion on the rear side. The sight is fitted to a
bracket on the cradle by means of a taper pin and nut.
The rear sight consists of a curved sight bar, U section, provided with
a crosshead, having a notched deflection leaf and traversing screw, giv-
ing H degrees deflection right and left, and a sight socket which is fitted
to a bracket on the cradle by means of a taper pin and nut. The sight
bar is graduated on the rear face with a yard and faze scale, and on the
side face with a degree scale. The front face of the bar is provided with
a rack engaging with the pinion in the sight socket. The socket has a
milled head, and a dram graduated with a yard scale, which is fitted to
the pinion spindle, and serves as a means of adjusting the sight bar. A
slot in the outer casing, and an indicator point engraved on the socket,
are provided to facilitate reading the scale.
An adjustable level is fitted to the sight bar immediately below the
crosshead, and is provided with a rack gearing with a pinion and milled
head on the sight bar. The lever may be used as a clinometer.
The lower carriage consists principally of an axle mounted on two
wheels, and a tubular telescopic trail. Two seats, with guard irons, are
provided for the gun numbers to ride on, and also a seat, P, for the layer.
In the center of the axle is a socket, Rt for the reception of the pivot of
the upper carriage. The trail is attached to the axle by two arms in such
a manner as not to prevent turning motion of the axle. Outside the front
portion is a rib, over which two recesses inside the rear portions are
guided in closing the trail, the object being to prevent the circular-turn-
ing motion of the trail. At the front of the trail, under the breast of the
carriage, is a space, Z, inclosed by a door, which serves for carrying cer-
tain small stores required for the service of the gun. At the rear end of
the trail is a traversing lever, S, which works in a slot, and can be folded
down when not in use. There are also handles for lifting, a trail, T, and
a spade attachment, U. At the front of the rear portion of the trail there
is a strengthening ring containing a hole for a securing key, and at the
front portion of the trail are two holes for securing key corresponding to
the ' ' long " and ' ' short " positions.
The traversing gear, for fine adjustment, is on the left side, and admits
of 3 degrees of traverse either way. It is fixed under the rear of the
cradle, and is actuated by a hand wheel, the whole being supported by a
bracket fixed on the head of the elevating screw and by two hollow arms
with the axle.
The elevating gear consists of an inner and outer screw, bevel pinion,
and handwheel, the whole being supported in a case, and works in bear-
ings attached to the trail.
Fitted to the trail on each side is an arm, V, at the end of which is fitted
a steel brake block. To each arm is fitted a steel tube, that on the right
being screwed, which are connected by a cross arm over the trail in front
On the right side in front of the seat is a handwheel, W, and another in
rear, X. On the left side in front of seat are spring disks, F, by means of
which both brake blocks can be put on together when either of the hand-
wheels is turned.
»/r..
«..
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2
0
2
0
1
0
0
a
3
0
0
0
0
0
FIELD ARTILLERY. 7L
Dimensions and other particulars.
Angle of trail when telescoped out Bx4 degroo*.
Angle of trail when short 12)/o degree*.
Elevation, maximum, of carriage .. 16 degrees.
Depression 10 degree*.
Space required to turn in 26 feet, 4 incite*.
Weights.
Cirt.
Gun with breech mechanism ^ 6
Carriage without gun 12
Limber with 32 rounds ammunition ,. 14
Wagon with 68 rounds ammunition 22
Approximate weight behind traces, gun, and limber, nmniunitiou 33
Wagon and Umber, ammunition 36
Preraure of trail on ground 141
Weight at eud of pole 30
Ammtjiotion and Ballistics— Shrapnel Shell— Description of burst-
ing charge in shell: F. G. powder in chamber and about ten cylinders of
compressed F. G. powder in central tube. Lead bullets, 260; weight
about 42 to the pound; diameter about i inch; weight of shell filled and
fuzed, 14 pounds, & ounces; weight of empty brass cartridge case, 1 pound
7 ounces ; charge in cartridge case, 15.2 ounces of ballistic in cords ; maxi-
mum time of burning fuze, about twenty seconds; muzzle velocity, at a
temperature of 60° F., 1,640 foot-seconds; pressure in the chamber of the
gun, about 13 tons per square inch. An elevation of 6° 7' gives an approx-
imate range of 3,600 yards, under the conditions quoted ; while the extreme
elevation of 16° gives an approximate range of 6,700 yards, or nearly 4 miles.
These ballistics, if maintained on service, may be regarded as an admirable
exponent of the value of the gun, and of the forethought of our war depart-
ment authorities, and of their artillery advisers in securing such a power-
ful and effective field gun.
ITALY.
NEW ORGANIZATION.
The new organization of the artillery which has been antici-
pated for a long time took place on the 1st of November.
The dispositions fixed upon are the following :
1. Ten commands of field artillery, intrusted with questions
of interest to the field and mountain artillery (Milan, Alex-
andrie, Verone, Boulogne, Florence, and Naples). Threo
commands of coast and garrison artillery (Turin, Plaisance,
and Rome), having jurisdiction over the coast and garrison
artillery, the arsenals and the manufactories, the foundries
and the manufactories of arms, etc.
2. These regiments of field artillery are composed of three
groups (brigades) of three batteries each (the 9th battery will
be formed at the moment of mobilization).
3. Two independent brigades will be formed, one of moun-
tain artillery for Conegliano, the other of coast artillery for
Sardinia in the Magdelen Islands.
72 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
4. The direction of the manufactory of arms at Turin will
be abolished. This work will pass under the management of
the artillery workshop at Turin.
All this will necessitate the nomination of about 40 new
lieutenants and of 30 new higher officers. — Revue Milifair*
Suisse
THE NEW FIELD GUN.
The various cnanges made in the old material and some
data concerning the new material were given in M. I. D. Notes
XXXII, 1900, and XXXIII, 1001. The following informa-
tion is taken chiefly from articles by Captain Kenyon, R. A.,
in Proceedings R. A. Institution, July, 1902, and by Captain
Curey, French artillery, in Revue oVArtitierie for May and
June, 1902, the principal authorities quoted being the various
Italian drill and equipment books.
Amid animated discussion, which is not yet ended, a gun
with rigid top carriage has finally been adopted. The new
material has been distributed to several batteries and officers
have been assembled at Nettuno to receive practical instruc-
tion with the new pieces. Corriere delta Sera, November 6,
1902, announces that the new material will be furnished to
all the units until the present time equipped with brass
7-centimeter guns ; that is to say, to 42 field batteries and 6
horse batteries of the first line, to 23 batteries of the "milice
mobile," to 12 batteries of the reserve, and to 7 batteries of
Mie "pare."
Gun. — The caliber is 7.5 centimeters. The gun is known as
the "7.5 A" (7.5-centimeter acciaio, i. e., steel); it is of steel
(nickel steel according to one account) ; it is composed of a
tube, of a jacket with trunnions, and of an exterior hoop
which is screwed to the jacket and on which is a small lock-
ing hoop. The powder chamber increases in size toward the
rear. At the left the sight sheath A (fig. 3, Plate I) is fitted.
Above this is a directing circle for use in indirect laying.
The chase is truncated and is reenforced at the muzzle. The
front sight, which is placed in front of the left trunnion, can
be closed down; it is held either in a vertical or in a hori-
zontal position by means of a spring. The grooves, 32 in
number, are helicoidal and turn from right to left.
Breech Mechanism. — The closure is with a double-motion
screw. The screw is truncated, but has a cylindrical rimbase;
PLATE I.
liwjSTCii wmt 51*1 ft
< I
r
'S m - -
72
NOTES OF M:
4. The direction of tJ3^1
be abolished. This wo :«~*»
the artillery workshop -^=^^
All this will necessifc>-^*'"
lieutenants and of 30 »^*-e
Suisse
the ^^
The various cnanges :^r~
data concerning the new :r:lE
XXXII, 1900, and XXIT6^1 J
tion is taken chiefly frot.^ ^ -
in Proceedings R. A. J?r- ~^^
Curey, French artillery,, *
June, 1902, the principal ^** .
Italian drill and equipm^^ -*^
Amid animated discus ^ 4
with rigid top carriage t*- ^^
material has been distrib ~*~x ^
have been assembled at >3^^
tion with the new pieces.
1902, announces that the ^^
all the units until the 2-*^.
7-centimeter guns ; that i^
horse batteries of the first 1 % ^
mobile," to 12 batteries of ^
Mie "pare/"
Gun.— The caliber is 7.5 c^*~
the "7.5 A" (7.5-centimeter **
(nickel steel according to oi^^,
tube, of a jacket with trunx^3
which is screwed to the jack^
ing hoop. The powder cham£>*
rear. At the left the sight sli^"
Above this is a directing cird<
The chase is truncated and is ret
front sight, which is placed in ii
be closed down; it is held eitJn
zontal position by means of a £
number, are helicoidal and turn i
Breech Mechanism.— The do*
screw. The screw is truncated, bt
FIELD ARTILLERY. 73
it has two smooth sectors and two threaded sectors. On one
of the smooth sectors is hollowed out the recess for the
extractor; in the wall of the rimbase are two canals, one
placed in front of this recess, the other diametrically opposite.
The screw is manipulated by means of a lever, which is joined
to a central nave having a notch and two mortises. In the
notch is placed the sear, the trunnions of which turn in the
two mortises. The sear has a nose and a tang upon which is
placed a ring in which is fixed the lanyard. This latter has
at its other extremity a wooden knob and a safety key, S,
which serves to prevent the unscrewing of the breech lock in
marching. The entire system (core, rimbase, and screw) is
traversed by a groove in which the striker moves; this has
at the rear a reenf orce on which the nose of the sear works ;
it is furnished with two springs, one in front and one in back.
The extractor has a claw, a tang, two trunnions, and a sheath
in which slides a gudgeon controlled by a spring. On the
anterior face of the carrier ring is the cylindrical recess of
the stop bolt which serves to fasten the breech screw. On
the posterior face is a helicoidal groove in which the tang of
the sear revolves.
Method of Operation. — Let us suppose that the breech
is closed, the striker down, and the cartridge in the gun.
The lever is shoved to the left and down until the movement
is arrested, when it is drawn horizontally to the right, which
has the effect of opening the cover, making it revolve around
its hinge bolt. In this rotary movement the tang of the sear
runs in the helicoidal groove, the sear turns on its trunnions,
and its nose, grazing the reenforce of the striker, passes
before the reenforce, which it clasps. When the cover is
opened, the extractor, the claw of which holds the rim of the
cartridge, rests at first immovable. Then the trunnions, run-
ning, in their recesses, will strike against the bottom thereof,
producing a shock which starts the cartridge case and pre-
pares it for ejection. At the same moment that the cover is
opened, the arresting clamp, pushed forward by a spring,
occupies the space left by the tang of the extractor, and from
this time on the cover and the screw are fastened to each
other. When the breech is closed, the extractor touches the
bottom of the recess of the screw, pressing back with its tang
the arresting clamp in its recess, thus liberating the screw,
74 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
which can be then unscrewed. When the lanyard is palled
the tang of the sear penetrates to the helicoidal groove, but
it is only when the closure is effected that it can be lowered
so that the nose of the sear, pushing back the extractor, may
escape the striker, which impinges against the primer.
Carriage. — The body of the carriage proper consists of a
trough of nickel steel, open above. The cheeks are parallel
at the front but approach each other toward the rear. Though
the body of the carriage consists of a single piece, the cheeks
are strengthened by three stays, one of which is placed in
front and has in the middle a reenf orce pierced by a central
hole ; the other two form the framework of the trail chest.
A small carriage — a sort of stanchion of steel with cheeks,
trunnion bed, and cap-square — supports the gun by its trun-
nions and turns about a truncated vertical axle which is fixed
in the hole in the middle of the first stay noted above. The
small carriage is prevented from being separated from the
carriage by means of coupling pins. Besides, as we shall see
further on, the small carriage is bound to the aiming system
by a lever. The entire system is not without analogy to the
German gun of 96.
Pointing Mechanism. — The elevating gear is composed of :
A crosshead elevating nut supported by two pads of steel
fixed at the bottom of the trough which forms the body of the
carriage; a brass cogwheel centered on the crosshead ele-
vating nut and fastened thereto by a collar, which permits of
a rotary movement ; a pinion ; a controlling shaft governed
by a crank and turning in a wrought-iron projection forged
on the crosshead elevating nut; a double screw (the female
screw can turn in a crosshead nut, at the same time remain-
ing in connection with the brass cogwheel ; the male screw has
at its upper part an axle and an oscillating support on which
the breech rests; the two screws are threaded inversely);
two rods fastened at one end to the head of the screw and at
the other to the inside of the cheeks of the small carriage.
The trunnions of the piece, the crosshead elevating nut, and
the oscillating support form the three vertices of an articu-
lated triangle, of which two sides have a constant length, and
the third, formed by the double screw, may be varied at will
as well as the angle opposite. The working of this mech-
anism, which is analogous to that of the German carriage of
FIELD ARTILLERY. 75
96, is easy and is as follows : By moving the crank, the pin-
ion is moved, then the cogwheel. In turn the latter works
the double screw.
For aiming in direction, the left trunnion of the crosshead
elevating nut has a nut in which is engaged a screw. This
is governed by a handwheel at the left of the carriage, and
which is furnished with a tooth which limits its displace-
ment. By moving the handwheel the trunnions are forced
longitudinally from their position in their pads; thus the
elevating gear is forced above and the small carriage is made
to turn according to the indications given by a level, which
rests upon the pivot of the same, and which terminates at the
rear in a fork, which embraces the upper and lower rims of
the crosshead elevating nut.
Recoil-checking Device. — In marching, a wheel brake
is used ; it is worked by means of a crank placed in the front
of the carriage. In firing, a rope brake, of the Lemoine sort
is used, and an articulated cross spade which employs the
force of a spiral spring to return the gun into battery. The
recoil of the piece, which will be about 1 meter with the
recoil brake alone, will be reduced to only several centimeters
when the spade and the brake are employed at the same time.
The recoil brake is a combination of the road brake with
two symmetrical rope brakes. On the axle, between the
wheel and the carriage, is placed a friction apparatus as fol-
lows: An inside drum is fixed to the axle by means of a
locking screw, which permits of a certain angular displace-
ment. An outside drum, with a groove and a hook, is
placed exactly opposite the inside drum, rubbing on four
brass friction plates, which are supported by the inside drum
and held back by springs. The rope of the brake is fastened
at one end to the hook of the outside drum and at the other
to the brake bar. To the outside drum is fastened a cylindri-
cal sleeve extending on the nave, and in which glides a pawl
pushed down by a spring. This pawl is governed by a lever
with a spring handle. When the handle is pressed down the
pawl catches in an indentation in the nave, without other-
wise hindering the piece from being moved forward, for the
pawl disengages itself constantly in this movement. On the
contrary, the moment the recoil is produced, the two drums,
on account of the pawl and the friction plates, commence to
76 NOTB8 OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
revolve simultaneously. The recoil continuing, the inside
drum is almost immediately stopped by the stop screw, -while
the outside drum is forced to turn against strong friction,
also drawing more and more the cord which controls the
shoe brake. It may thus be seen that the brake is brought
into action, as it were, progressively.
Limber. — The limber is similar to that of the old mate-
rial. It is, nevertheless, different in three respects : (1 ) In the
adoption of a seat with an elastic support for those serving
the piece; (2) in the form of the axle, which is of wrought
steel with this cross section, I; (3) in the interior arrange-
ment of the chest.
Each chest, divided into three parts, contains sixteen com-
partments (four in the middle, six on the right, six on the
left) disposed in two horizontal rows. The cartridge com-
partments, in aluminum (in the limber of the piece) or in
iron (in the limber of the caissons), contain each two projec-
tiles and two cartridges. The four middle compartments are
equipped with receptacles for the instruments, the tools, etc.
In exterior outline the rear carriage of the caisson differs
but little from the model 9 B, 80-98. It has two chests. The
ammunition compartments dre similar to those of the chests
of the limber.
AIMING DEVICES.
The aiming devices and the bench-marking instruments
consist of: One spirit-level sight; one level with double
graduations; one directing circle; one alidade; one tripod
for the directing circle ; the stakes.
The Spirit-level Sight.— This instrument (fig. 1, Plate
II) is of the Corrodi type, the bar is telescopic, the stem, T,
being the arc of a circle centered on the point of the front
sight, moves in a sheath, (?, which can itself be moved in a
case supported by the breech (fig. 3).
The bar is graduated on its rear face up to 5,600 meters for
shrapnel and on its left side up to 4,600 meters for high-explo-
sive shell. The elevations for the two projectiles are not the
same, e. g., 5,000 meters for shrapnel corresponds approxi-
mately with 4,300 meters for shell. On the left side of the
tangent bar are also the figures 1, 2, and 3, marked in bold
type, representing hundred meters elevation for case shot.
I
ffy*
^
I
FIELD ARTILLERY. 77
Bl and Bt move the rear sight by means of pinions and
ratchets. A small cylinder, C, supports the scale of lateral
sight allowances (from 0 to 40), and in it glides the sight
notch. The level -Wean move from 0 to 100 degrees in the
plane of the rear and front sight, gliding on a cylindrical
surface, the axle of which is parallel to that of the trunnions.
The front sight and the level are manipulated by means of
Bt and BA. The drum on the axle B4 has its surface divided
into twenty equal parts, so as to permit the twentieth of a
degree to be given. When the rear sight is driven home, the
line of sight corresponding to division 20 of the front sight
and division 5 of the level is parallel to the axle of the piece.
The object of this disposition is to avoid negative numbers.
Corrections. — To correct for drift, it is sufficient to recall
that the number of the lateral divisions of the rear sight is,
up to 5,500 meters, equal to the number of kilometers of the
range increased by 20. For a distance of 6,000 meters the
index is placed at the division 30, and for that of 7,000 meters
at the division 40.
To correct the effects of the inclination of the trunnions,
the sight notch should be displaced one division per kilo-
meter for a difference of level of 3 centimeters between the
wheels.
A deflection allowance of one division displaces the point
of fall to an extent equal to as many meters as there are kilo-
meters in the distance.
Level with Double Graduations. — This instrument
permits the angle of sight and the angle of elevation to be
separately given. It is composed (fig. 2) of a stand, B, of a
movable plate, ilf, and of a level, N. • At the left, the stand
has a graduation in hundredths, Ol ; at the right is a hole
which receives the axle x (not represented), around which
the plate M revolves. This is supported on the other side by
the screw Viy the threads of which engage with £,. The box
of the level N is arranged in an analogous fashion as regards
the movable plate M; it revolves around the axle a and is
controlled by the screw I7,, which, engaging with <*„ forces it
to move according to the graduations in hundredths, (?,. The
drums, tx and tt9 supported by the screw V} and Fa, permit the
angles to be given in thousandths. For this purpose they are
divided, the first in ten parts and the second in forty parts,
78 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
each turn of the screw Vs or the screw F, corresponding
respectively to an angular displacement of one or four hun-
dredths. The drum /, has a helicoidal graduation h on
which moves a slide. The movable plate and the level box
each support an index (t, and i,). The level Nis adjustable
by screw r.
Method of employment — When this instrument is used it
is placed on the directing plate, on the diameter 0° — 180° or
90° — 270°. When the piece is horizontal the indexes ix and
i% should be opposite the divisions 20 and 0. This instrument
completes the rear sight and takes its place in certain cases;
by it may be given to the piece the angle of elevation and
the angle of sight; the angle of sight may be measured and
the angle of inclination of the trunnions; the level of the rear
sight may be regulated and verifications may be made that
this latter has not been displaced. (An allowance is made
of one one-thousandth for the distances less than 4,000 meters
and of two one- thousandths for distances above.)
Direction Plate. — Each piece has a directing plate (fig. 4)
consisting of a metal disk fastened by four screws to the
upper part of the breech. The periphery of this disk has
graduations in degrees; the head of center stud is in the form
of a mushroom. The line 0° — 180° is parallel to the axis of
the cannon. An alidade (fig. 5) can be adjusted to the center
stud where it is held by two spring levers. A pressure screw
with a head having four branches allows it to be fixed in the
azimuth indicated by the index.
Direction Circle. — In order to be able to determine the
elements of initial aiming the commander of the battery has
at his disposal a portable directing circle (fig. 6). The con-
struction of this apparatus is analogous to that of the direct-
ing plate, but it has besides tables giving the distances
corresponding to bases of from 25 to 50 meters for the sub-
tending angles of 30', 1°, 1° 30', and 2°. The alidade of the
direction plate is simpler than that of the direction circle. It
is fixed on the circle. The whole apparatus, comprising a
tripod support with telescopic upright, can be swung in a
shoulder strap. A disk painted black and red by quadrants
is fastened above the joints.
Use of the Aiming and Laying Devices. — Usually
direct aiming by means of the rear sight is the method which
FIELD ARTILLERY.
79
is employed (in case of necessity, use being made of an auxil-
iary target), but when it is impossible to follow this course,
or when a change of target is foreseen, recourse should be
had to the apparatus which has just been described and which
permits use to be made of targets situated any place in sight.
The angle between the target and the reference point is
called the angle of direction. (The diameter 0° — 180° is always
turned in a direction following the line joining the apparatus
and the target; the angles are measured in the direction con-
trary to the movement of the hands of a watch.)
To be able to aim in direction it will suffice to determine
this angle for each piece, to fix the alidade on the directing
plate at the corresponding division, and to move the piece
until the plane of collimation cuts the reference point.
In the determination of the angles of direction, different
.cases may present themselves:
1. When a distant signal, S, is distinctly seen, the direction
circle C is stationed in the neighborhood of the battery, and
the angle of direction « is measured and taken by all the
pieces (fig. 12).
tJ5
/8©
Fig. 12.
Fig. 13.
2. The vane of the direction circle C may serve as the aim-
ing point. The direction circle being placed with the zero
toward the target (fig. 13), the angles of direction an are de-
termined for each of the pieces Pn, sighting successively from
the station C, the rammers held vertically above each one
of the directing plates. Each piece is then aimed with its
special angle of direction, as has been indicated above.
80 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
3. In case some of the pieces can not be seen from the sta-
tion C, the stake J is placed where it can be seen from all
the pieces. The direction circle is then taken to J" and oriented
by back sights on C. The case is then the same as 2, and it
is sufficient to measure the angles relative to each one of the
I •
I l
;
v
Fig. 14.
pieces. When this operation is completed, the apparatus is
taken back to C, from which point the modifications which
it is necessary to make with regard to the angles may he
determined.
Note. — In using the angles of direction as they are given
by the second or third process, the pieces are placed parallel
to the line of observation CB (figs. 13 and 14). Since the
pieces are all aimed at the target it is well to make a correc-
tion for convergence. This correction can be easily calculated
by keeping in mind that a variation of 30' on the azimuth
displaces the point of fall to a number of meters equal to the
number of hectometers in the range. To avoid disorientation
it is necessary, in aiming with reference marks, to always
replace the piece in battery in the same place.
AMMUNITION.
Shrapnel, 6.? kilograms, is with rear burster; the body is
steel ; the cgival head is fastened with a screw. The bursting
charge, separated from the bullet chamber by a diaphragm,
communicates with the fuze by a brass tube and a capsule
widened at the upper part. The balls of antimony lead (of 3
FIELD ARTILLERY. 81
to 100) are held in place by cast colophony. They are 320 in
number (180 of 10 grams and 140 of 11 grams). The projec-
tile has two copper bands, one of which is a forcing ring at
the rear and a centering ring at the front ; it receives a double-
acting fuze, model 1900, held by a screw which passes through
the ogive.
Case Shot consists of a zinc cylindrical body with a cover
of the same metal and the bottom in steel. It is furnished
with two zinc bands, one of which permits of a certain com-
pression, and a lug of iron wire fixed to the bottom to facili-
tate transportation. The case shot consists of eight layers of
hexagonal prisms of lead held in place by colophony. Each
layer consists of 37 prisms. Each prism weighs 22 grains.
The Cartridge Case (fig. 11, Plate II) of brass, is slightly
truncated. The charge consists of two rectangular plates of
filite rolled in a single package. The explosive substance is
separated from the metal of the case by means of sack, S> of
cotton, which forms a hood at one of the extremities, and
with a band of hygroscopic cotton, h> which surrounds the
cylindrical part. The case is closed by a plug of tarred
pasteboard, B, in the form of a cup with a flat bottom, which
is introduced by compression and which is held in place by
means of a coat of gum lac.
Fuze.-— The double-acting fuze, model 1000 (fig. 10), made
almost entirely of aluminum, is a disk fuze with two rings,
the one movable, Jf, the other fixed, F, in each of which is
arranged a circular groove filled with the fuze composition.
The movable ring M has an exterior spur, e, a graduation in
hectometers (from 0 to 56), and a cross which corresponds to
the percussion burst of the fuze. It rests directly on the
crown K, which has a fixed spur (not represented) and an
indicating bar. The upper ring F is fixed to the body of the
fuze by two fixed pegs; it has a cut, e, corresponding to the
beginning of the fuze composition, and which is masked by
a diaphragm of tin. The percussion system is near, the time
system is in front. A cover, C, forms a continuation of the
ogival head.
Fuze Regulator. — The movable ring is placed mechanic-
ally at the desired position by means of a key (fig. 7). A
drum, T, in hectometers, turns on the cylindrical part, thus
moving a tooth 4 which engages with the spur e of the
82 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
movable ring of the fuze. A screw, Ey enables the drum to
be turned and to be fastened so that the index x shall corre-
spond to the desired division. On the edge of the regulator is
a corrector, c, each division of which corresponds approxi-
mately (up to kilometers) to a variation of 50 meters from
the principal graduation. The index i of this corrector
is fastened to a movable plate, P, which is manipulated by
means of B and which can be clamped by d. This plate, P, in
the interior fits on the fuze and has an arresting tooth (not
visible on fig. 16) which in the rotation of the regulator on
the fuze hits against the fixed spur K.
Adjustment of the fuze is made in the following manner:
Time-fuze fire : After having placed the proper divisions of
the drum opposite the indexes x and i, the cannoneer places
the projectile with the left hand, and, holding the regulator
with the right hand, he caps the fuze with it, then he makes
the instrument turn from left to right with the handle II.
By this movement the tooth engages with the spur of the
movable ring M until the arresting tooth strikes the spur
fixed to the ring K. The fuze is then adjusted. If in the
course of fire a negative value is indicated by the corrector,
it will be sufficient to turn from right to left, the tooth being
able to move in both ways.
Percussion-shell Fire. — In the chests the fuzes are "
arranged so as to act without preparation as percussion fuzes,
the cross of the movable ring being placed opposite the spur
of the crown K (fig. 10). The communication between the
ignited gas of the percussion and the inflammatory charge of
the fuze is then intercepted by the solid parts of the two
rings F and M .
Case-shot Fire. — The fuze is set at zero; the grooves for
the passage of the flame of the rings i^and M are thus one
above the other and communicating with the chambers of
the striking apparatus and with the inflammatory charge.
The explosion of the projectile takes place at a distance from
the piece varying from 40 to 60 meters.
Note. — It is sought to make shrapnel burst at a height in
meters equal to a third of the number of hectometers of the
distance. When the fire is adjusted in range and in height
the horizontal distance from the target of the point of burst
is about 90 meters up to range of 1 5 hectometers, 70 meters
FIELD ARTILLERY. 83
between 15 and 35 hectometers, 60 meters above 35 hectome-
ters. The axis of the cone of burst should pass through the
target which is thus hit in the proportion of one ball per
square meter of the surface normal to the trajectory. The
point of burst is lowered when it is desired to obtain a superior
efficacy. The corrections in height are always made by
means of the regulator. A modification of one division on
the corrector changes the point of burst, in range, 50 meters,
and in elevation an amount equal to double the number of
kilometers of the distance. A modification of a demihecto-
meter in the rear sight makes the point of burst vary the
same amount.
INFORMATION CONCERNING THE LOADING OP THE WAGONS.
In a general way the aiming devices and firing devices are
carried by the limbers. The mechanical apparatus anji spare
parts are distributed equally to each section. Below are
some details of the assignments of different objects to each
wagon.
Piece. — Outside : Rear-sight level in a case placed over the
left axle seat ; directing mark with vane. In the chest of the
trail : The spare parts of the breech, the aiming instruments
. (alidade, level with double graduations), a regulator for the
fuze^the tools, rags, etc.
Limber. — Outside : Pioneer tools, water buckets, picketing
ropes, collapsible sponge (one per section). The limber of
the first piece has, also, the tripod for the directing appa-
ratus (fig. 6) and the two stakes of the commander of the
battery. Inside: A directing circle (first piece), a Gautier%
telemeter, and an optical square (second piece); a Goertz
field glass (third piece); a regulator and an ordinary field
glass (pieces 2, 4, 6).
Caisson, Rear Carriage. — Outside, per section: Two
collapsible poles, one wheel placed under the frame, two spare
singletrees, one bill hook, two shovels, one saw, two trail
handspikes, one rear-sight level, one staff with vane, two
pulling-back cords of 40 meters. Outside, per caisson : One
lantern with 350 grams of candles, two torches, two hay nets.
Inside of the fore chest: Spare pieces for the breech (about
two sets per section), one rammer per section, vaseline, oil,
84 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
rags, etc. Inside of the rear chest : Firing cord and brake,
grease box, chains and springs of the spade (two per section),
and in the tenth caisson only the key of the fuze and the
primer box.
RUSSIA.
After a long delay, Russia has commenced the changes in
her artillery material. Since 1901 many hundreds of pieces
have been ordered from the Putilof arsenal. This is a can-
non of 7.62 centimeters, firing a projectile of about 6.1 kilo-
grams with an initial velocity of 610 meters. It is provided
with a hydraulic brake and a caoutchouc recuperator. But
the model is not definite; the construction goes on very
slowly, and while the pieces are in the course of construc-
tion a study is being made of the improvements, particularly
as concerns the employment of shields. The figures given
above ahow that the Russian efforts are in the direction of
great initial velocities, and, by way of compensation, of
projectiles of light weight. — Revue Militaire des Armees
Etrangeres.
Von Lobell states that the maneuvering qualities of the
guns sent to Manchuria have been exceedingly satisfactory.
Instructors for the Quick-firing Batteries Des-
tined for Eastern Asia. — On account of the rearmament of
the artillery of the Amur district and the Kwangtung (Port
Arthur) region with the new 3-inch quick-firing guns, model
1900, officers and men were detailed from all batteries sta-
tioned there to the Ust-Isjora polygon, near St. Petersburg,
in order to grow familiar with the material and its use and
to receive it for transportation to the far east. These 9
officers and 72 men will serve as instructors in their garrisons
upon their return to them.
It seems that the distribution of the light guns on hand is
being made according to the need in case of war. — Miltfmr*
Wochenblatt.
Reorganization of the Field Artillery. — The fieM
artillery of Russia has until the present time been organized
in the following manner : In Europe, batteries of eight pieces
were united by twos or threes in groups, and two or threo
groups constituted a brigade. In Asia the batteries were
grouped by brigades.
FIELD ARTILLERY. 85
The introduction of rapid-firing pieces will bring about a
slight reorganization which by an order of April, 1902, will
"be on the following basis; The battery will still contain
eight pieces. Several batteries (three or four) will form a
regiment and two regiments will constitute a brigade. To
each army corps are attached two brigades.
The details of the transformation will be regulated by the
subsequent orders.
Prikase No. 4, of January 4, 1902, ordered the transforma-
tion successively of the heavy batteries, which are not intended
to he armed with rapid-fire guns in the first line, to light
batteries. The local and movable parks will preserve their
present organization and strength. The caissons of the
movable parks are to be given the compartment divisions of
the light batteries; as to the local parks, the ammunition of
the heavy batteries will be withdrawn on account of the
adoption of the rapid-fire guns.
86 NOTES OF MILITARY INTERE8T FOB 1902.
Table "A"— Field artillery.
COUNTRY.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.*
M. 76-06 (field).
M. 76-90 (hone).
Howitzer M.l»u
(fcW).
1
3
t
4
5
0
7
8
0
10
11
13
It
14
15
16
17
18
ID
30
31
33
38
34
35
30
37
38
30
80
81
83
88
84
85
85
87
88
Caliber cm.(ln.)._
Length of gun m. (in.)--
Number of groores
Twist j
Maximum eleration— depression '
Weight of gun kg.(lbs.)_J
Weight of carriage do
Weight of Umber, loaded 1 do |
Wheels, height of m.(in.)--|
Width of track do j
Draft for one hone kg.(lbs.)__|
Weight of caisson, loaded! do ]
Number of men seated on piece* j
Battery on war footing :
Guns
Caissons1
Other wagons4
Ammunition on one limber :
Shrapnel
Shell
Case shot
Ammunition on one caisson :
Shrapnel
Shell
Case shot
Shrapnel, number of bullets in
Shrapnel, total weight kg.(Ibs.)_
High explosiTe shell, weight do —
Common shell, weight do
Case shot, weight do
Powder used
Weight of charge kg. (lbs.) _
8.7(3.42)
2.06(81.1)
24
Right 4°
25°— 10°
437(1074)
621(1369)
824(1817)
1.37(63.9)
1.62(60)
322(710)
2164(4771)
6
8
8(4)«
6(1 res., 1 bgM
Spr.)
20
10
4«
60
40
260 M. 96 A
6.69(14.75)
6.83(16.1)
6.36(14)
7.5(16.63)
2 mm.
Nitroglycerin.
.44(.97)
+.08(.18)
Velocity, muzzle m. (ft.) aec__ 440(1443) T
Velocity at 4,000 meters do j 229(761 )
Maximum range (from fire table):
Time fuze ni.(y«ls.)__ i,^,^,,,,,,
w ' 1^3599(3936)*
Percussion fuze do |l
Danger zone for target 5.6 ft. high at : I
1,000 meters do..
1,600 meters do..
2,000 meters do..
3,000 meters do_.
4,000 meters do_.
60(72. 2)
37(40.6)
24(26.2)
13(14. 2)
8(8.7)
8.7(3.42)
2.06(81.1)
24
Rkfat 4°
25°— 10°
415(915)
640(1111)
732(1614)
1.37(63.9)
1.52(60)
281(619)
2196(4841)
None.
6
6(4)
8(1 res., 1 bg.,
4pr.)
10
10
4«
60
40
4
260M.96A
6.69(14.75)
6.83(15.1)
6.36(14)
7.6(16.63)
M. '93
Nitroglycerin.
.44(.97)
-f.08(.18)
440(1443)'
229(751)
3699(3936)'
66(72.2)
37(40.5)
24(26.2)
13(14.2)
8(8.7)
10.4(4.1.
396(870.8)
500(1212.5)
t .125(.276)
I to.3l(.68)
[ 150(492)
Ito 300(984)
-"I
See notes on page 90.
FIELD ARTILLERY.
87
Table "A"— Field artillery— Continued.
O I
« \
= R.F.M.97(neId).
VRANCK.
GERMANY.
M. 01 (short)
(field).
8-cm.( horse). "
M.96 (horse)."
M. 96 (field).
Howitzer M. 98
(light).
I
1
»!
3
4
9
•
T
»
10
11
13
13
14
15
16
7.5(2.95)
2.74(108)
Increasing.
14°-*°
400(882)*
760(1676)
640(1411)
1.55(61)
300(661)
2000(4409)
3 on Umber.
4
12(6)
s> «
19
31 f «■•
33
11 256
U 7.03(16.5)
25 6.99(16.4)
26
IT
3* Nitrocellulose.
30
.58(1.28)
I
30 > 500(1640)
31 ' 267(876)
33 5500(6015)
33 9000(9843)
12(4.72)
1.7(66.93)
36
8°
44°— 12°
690(1621)
925(2039)"
890(1962)
1.55(61)
1.49(57.5)
394(869)
2360(6203)
4 or 5
6
9(3)
3(1 res.fl fo.,
13.)
16
8(3. 15)
2.28(89.76)
415(902)
500(1102)
634(1397)
1.42(56)
1.42(56)
2040(4498)
None.
6
9(8)
3
30
7.7(3.03)
2.78(109.1)
32
Right tncreas'g.
16°— 12°
390(859. 8)"
454(1000) -
796(1752. 7)«
1.36(53.54)
1.52(60.2)
278(613)
1765(3891)
6
6(3)
4(2 res., 1 pr.,
lfo.)
7.7(3.03)
2.78(109.1)
32
Right increas'g.
16°— 12°
390(859. 8 )"
504(1111.1)
795(1752.7)"
1.36(53.54)
1.52(60.2)
287(633)
1780(3924)
5
6
6(3)
4(2 resM 1 pr.,
lfo.
10.5(4.13)
1.25(49.21)
! »
Right tncreas'ir*
40°— 10°
490(1080)
580(1279)"
860(1896)
1. 23(48. 43)"
1.62(60.2)
325(716.5)
2050(4519)
5
6
6(3)
4
48 or 0i*
0or48"
627
20.35(44.86)
20.35(44.86)
88
120
8.46(14.25)
Nitrocellulose.
.55(1.21)
f.02(.034)blk»
285(928)1*
Nitrocellulose.
.56(1.23)
300
6.85(15.1)
6.85(15.1)
Nitrocellulose.
300
6.85(16.1)
6.85(15.1)
Nitrocellulose.
.57(126) faddit'l charge
of . 01 (. 022) sm.-anu pwdr.
26»
32
500
13(28. 7)»
16(35.3)*
470(1542) 465(1525)
(at 4000yds. 810 257(843. 2)
yds.)
4700(5140)"
6700(6234)"
34
15
SO.
$1
s* .
05(7'.. 1)
. 5000(5468)
-| 8000(8749)*
56(61.2)
31(33.9)
21(23)
11(12)
7(7.7)
465(1525)
257(843.2)
5000(5468)
8000(8749)*
56(61.2)
31(33.9)
21(23)
11(12)
7(7.7)
Nitroglycerin.
300(984.26)
5600(6124)
7000(7655)»
See notes on page 90.
88
NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Table "Am— Field artillery— Continued.
COUNTRY.
GERMANY—
Continued.
GREAT BRITAIN a
Howitzer
I (heavy).
1 16-pr. M. 84-96 12-pr M. «-&-
(field). I (horce>.
1
2
S
:i
•i
io.
IS
14
15
10
18
19
20
21
22,
21
24
20 '
27
28
Caliber ciu.(in.)_.; 14.97(5.9)
Length of gun n>.(in.).J 1.646(64.8)
Number of grooves ..
Twist _ __.i 4° to 12°
Maximum elevation— depression 66°
Weight of gun kg.(lbs.)_-j 1075(2370)
Weight of carriage __ __do___. 1114(2458) |
Weight of limber, loaded do 1 1
Wheels, height of ni. (in).. _
Width of track do__._ 1.52(60.2) I
Draft for one horse kg. (lbs.) 1
Weight of caisson, loaded t __.do ' 2776(6118)
Number of men seated on piece2 ' !
Battery on war footing : | |
Guns
Caissons8
Other wagons4 .
Ammunition on one limber:
Shrapnel
Shell _ __
Case shot
Ammunition on one caisson :
Shrapnel ._
Shell
Case shot
Shrapnel, number of bullets in
Shrapnel, total weight. kg. (lbs.)_
High explosive shell, weight do___
Common shell, weight do
Case shot, weight do___
Powder used
6
6(12)
6(1 ra., 1 fo.,
1 ob., 1 ff.,
Ibg.)
7.62(3)
2.346(92.36)
18
Right0° to 6°
15.50—8.5°
355(784)
675(1485)
915(2016)
1.52(60)
1.57(62)
324(714)
2002(4413)
4
r.
6(6)
5(1 fo., 1st., 2
bg., 1 ni.c.)
48
4
110
7 621 3)
1.6B&(tK.75>
18
Rt. 1.7° to 6. 4=
l«o_go
324(715)
487(1073)
765( 16*6 )
1.52(60)
1.57(62.
263(579)
1585(3494)
6
6
5(2bg.,lll.,l
St., 1 m.c.t
46
4
I
21) i Weight of charge _
39(85. 98)
2
200
6.35(14)
2
156
5.67(12.5)
._kg.(Ibs.)_.
I 6.01(13.25)! 5.85(12.88}
Nitroglycerin, j Cordite (nitro- ' Cordite (nitro-
glycerin). I glycerin).
.85(1.87) I .447(.984)Ng. .355(.777)Ng.
SO
81 !
12
SS
S4
SB
S0
37.
ZS
I
Velocity, muzzle m. (ft.) sec. J 276(905)
Velocity at 4,000 meters do I
I
L
M
Maximum range (from fire table):
Time fuze m. (yds.).. ,
Percussion fuze do I J
Hanger zone for target 6.6 ft. high at :
1,000 meters do.
1,500 meters do_
2,000 meters do_
3,000 meters _.do.
4,000 meters do.
r'37
I
See notes on page 90.
+.007(.0l6)Nc.
+ .014(.32)Nc.
480(1174)
464(1523)
226(741)
211(692)
3750(4100)
3380(3700)
5030(5500)
4765(5200)
67(62.8)
55(60) |
29(31.7)
27(29.6)
19(20.8)
19(20.8)
10(11)
9(9.8) J
6(6.6)
6(6.5)
FIELD ARTILLERY.
89
Table "A"— Field artillery— Continued.
I GREAT BRITAIN
— Continued.
RUSSIA.*
1
tl
3
4
ft
6
7
S
»
10
11
12
13
28
24
25
2ft
27
28
29
SO
SI
S2
ss
S4
S&
Sft
Si
SS
Howitzer M. 96
(field).
M. 93-95 (horse). ' Mortar (field).
12.7(5)
1.245(49)
20
Right 6.4°
45°— 5°
4*9(1077)
734(1619)
1143(2520)
1 52(60)
1.57(62)
294(869)
2353(5188)
2
8.69(3.42)
1.7(66.93)
24
Kt. 0.5° to 7. 15°
l»o_10o
335(740)
572(1261)
815(1797 >-M.79
1.394(54.8)
1.56(61.37)
240(602)
1640(3616)
14
6
IS
9
10
6(lbg.,lffMl
pr., 1 st.f 1
m.c.)
17
**,
21
1» .
20
21
45
22
22.67(50)
22.67(50)
Cordite (nitro-
glycerin).
.324(.715)»
239(782)
177(58«)
3109(3400;
4480(4900)
17(18.6)
10(11)
7(7.66)
3(3.28)
2(2.19)
6
12(6)
11(1 res. car.
15.24(6)
1.276(50.23)
18
Rt.4.5° to 11.82°
47°
460(1014)
820(1808)
820(1808)
1.37(53.9)
1.56(61.37)
355(783)
1870(4123)
6(on limber)
6
18
12(6 res. c, 1
res., I bg.,4 bg.' res. car., 2 bg.
c.,2m.c.,l fo.) 3 pr.-|-fo.)
I
10
7
3
25
27
3
210
8.011(17.7)
10
I
683
31.15(68.56)
26.8(59)
6.41(14.31)!
6. 81(15. 11)'
Pyrocollodion Pyrocollodion
(nitrocellulose), i (nitrocellulose).
.78(1.72) I 4,2,orly.23(.5)
| 700O(7666)»
412(1362)
207(679)
. ; 3400(3718)
/ | 6400(7000)
37(40.6)
20(21.9)
15(16.4)
8(8.75)
+ .017(.037)
232(761)»
3400(3718)31
See notes on page 90.
90 NOTES OF MILITARY INTB&E8T FOR 1908.
NOTES.
1 Caisson* of gun batteries as well as pieces are drawn by 6 bones each in ail countries.
* Load of limber above does not include these men.
* figures in parentheses In this line give the number of caissous which with the number of guns ia
Hue above form a " fighting battery.**
* In this line, res.= reserve; bg.=baggage: pr. = provision ; fo.= forage; ff.=ft>W forage; rt. -
store ; ob. —observation wagons ; m. = medical ; c. =cart ; car. ^carriage.
* Austria-Hungary is experimenting with new artillery material. See page 51.
* The case shot has been replaced by shrapnel M. '96-96A with fuse cut to burst at muzzle.
' Velocity and other data given are for shrapnel M. *96-96A. Initial velocity for shell M. 15 i* 44*
(1470), for steel shell M. *75, 602 (1647).
* For shell M. f75 maximum range is 4600 (4920); for steel shell M. '75 it is 1125 <12S0).
* Approximate.
"The 38 four-gun batteries with the corps artillery have the new 7.6-cni. guns, the 14 six-gun
batteries with the independent cavalry have the old 8-cm. guns.
" With cradle and recoil brake.
|v 5 caissons carry 48 shrapnel each, the other 4 carry 48 shells each.
"Reduced charges are .33 (.73) Nc (nitrocellulose) +.01 (.022) blk. (black) and .22 (.48) Xc~.01
(.022) blk.
u Approximate. Fire tables not yet published.
*■ Horse artillery same model as field, differing only in absence of gunner's seat.
i« With cradle, without equipment.
" Without gun cradle.
»• Without equipment.
>• Height given is for carriage wheels, for those of limber and caisson it Is 1.36 (53.5).
90 26 shrapnel are in the first reserve wagon.
« The English are experimenting with new artillery material. For data on Khrhardt gun see p. 61.
t> Reduced charges are .252 (.555) Ng. (nitroglycerin powder), .179 (.395) Ng., and .107 (.236) Xs.
** Lines 1 to 6 apply also to hone artillery, on which further data has not been published.
** For old field gun and horse artillery gun, which form part of the present armament, see M. I. P.
Notes, 1901.
» Without load.
•■The load of 10th caisson is shell (number not known, the Patria says 96) and case shot (6 in
limber).
** The data given on this gun is from the Schweizeri$cke ZeU»ckrifl% which notes that the weight*
(lines 6, 7, 8, 9, and 11) are probably too low.
"One limber carries 12 shells and 18 cartridges.
s* Twelve of the four-horse ammunition wagons carry each 10 shells and 16 shrapnel, 6 carry each
10 shells and 18 shrapnel. Each section has a two-horse cart for bringing ammunition from wagoos
to mortars; this cart holds 8 rounds.
*• This number is for torpedo shell with full charge. For shrapnel it Is 220 (722) with full chare.
170 (558) with half charge, 138 (453) with quarter charge.
nThls number is for shrapnel with full charge. For half charge it is 2160 (2351), for quarto-
charge 1200 (1859).
BELGIUM.
Though the first commission recommended the Cockerill-
Nordenfelt rigid-carriage field gun, much discussion has
resulted and the question is not yet settled. Recently a com-
mission of general and staff officers of various arms has been
appointed to consider from a tactical point of view the
increase of the number of field batteries and the adoption of
a new field gun. — Revista di Artiglieria e Genio, October,
1902.
FIELD ARTILLERY. 91
BRAZIL.
In Brazil it was decided in 1902 to purchase a Krupp
battery; but the minister has annulled this decision. He
has decided that the experiments were insufficient and has
required that they be resumed in April next with various
types of rapid-fire guns, Krupp, Ehrhardt, Schneider, etc.
DENMARK.
Denmark has given an order for 128 field guns, 7.5-centi-
meter, with barrel recoil, and 192 caissons, together with
the ammunition and harness, to be furnished by April 1,
1904. The competitors were Ehrhardt, Schneider et Cie, and
Vickers. The Krupp system was unanimously chosen by
the commission. (The ammunition is to be manufactured at
home, according to one account.) The experiments in 1901
extended to three systems with barrel recoil — Krupp,
Schneider-Creusot, and Ehrhardt ; and to three with carriage
recoil — Krupp with a spring trail spade, Cockerill-Nordenf elt
with the well-known recoil-check construction with spring
shoe drag, and the unaltered 8.7-centimeter field gun, L. 24
M. 76. In 1902 attention has been given to field guns with
barrel recoil exclusively. — Revue MMtaire Suisse.
SWEDEN.
After the completion of the comparative experiments be-
tween the spring spade and the simplified barrel-recoil guns
manufactured by Krupp, they decided in favor of the barrel
recoil for the artillery proper and gave the order for 72 guns
and 66 ammunition wagons. The entire order to be given to
Krupp will be 120 guns and 120 ammunition wagons with
ammunition. Further constructions will follow in Sweden,
as was agreed upon in the summer of 1901.
This gun is not the so-called type C, but a type D improved
in several particulars with deviations in the cradle construc-
tion.
La Gazette de Cologne states that credit has been asked for
the creation of a group of field howitzers and a battery of
heavy howitzers.
SWITZERLAND.
Various periodicals announce that the Swiss committee
has finally decided in favor of the Krupp gun, model 1902,
92 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
with barrel recoil and shields. The data concerning this gun
differs but little from that of the model 1901 given in M. I.D.
Notes, 1901 : Weight of gun, 376 kilograms; weight of carriage
with shield, 616 kilograms; without shield, 565 kilograms;
velocity at muzzle, 485 in. sec. ; at 3,000 meters, 276 m. sec.:
range at 15° elevation, 5,610 meters. The tests showed that
the gun was entirely immobile during firing. The endurance
and maneuvering qualities over rough roads also proved satis-
factory. The French system of sighting and laying was
considered too complicated. A system proposed by Schneider
& Co. was also rejected.
The rear sight tested with model 1902 is much more simple.
Being fixed to the cradle, it does not move in the recoil.
The aiming cannoneer can make the corrections in aim while
the gun is returning into position. The apparatus is com-
posed of a graduated curved rear sight regulated by a gear-
ing. Inside of this rear sight is a second one, also controlled
by a gearing, and to which is attached the spirit level and the
sight head with lateral allowance and sight notch. On this
rear sight are the graduations of the vertical angle. The
algebraic sum of the vertical angles and the corrections due
to the variability of the time of combustion of the fuzes are
marked automatically. — Revue MMtaire Suisse.
Notwithstanding the satisfactory results of the tests of the
Krupp gun, several papers state that the 5-cehtimeter Reich-
enau gun is to be tested by Switzerland.
The Krupp mountain guns with barrel recoil were tested
during the year. One alteration made consists in fastening
the shaft to the fore carriage instead of, as formerly, to the
rear carriage. The latter during journeys is always trans-
ported, and only when preparations are made for firing is it
connected with the fore carriage. The distribution of the
loads, as well as the manner of loading on the pack saddles,
has been somewhat altered. The gun was received at the
Sittin storehouse on May 19, and on the same day was begun
the instruction of the six recruits who were designated to act
as cannoneers. From the following day on, the new gun took
part in all the marching exercises, firing, and practicing to
which the two batteries of the recruit school were subjected.
On four days of May 'firing instruction was held. In June
the practice in other places began. At four places field firing
was held. In marching the gun was usually placed between
FIELD ARTILLERY. 93
tlie otlier batteries and its workings were just as satisfactory
as that of the other guns. When it was being dragged over
the ground, one single part of the carriage was injured by
striking against a stone and had to be replaced. In firing
the gunners were under less strain owing to the recoil car-
riage, the ability to hit the mark seemed to be superior to
that of the ordnance guns. — Jahrbucher, etc.
TURKEY.
The turkish field artillery consists of 248 batteries, of which
18 are field, 178 horse, 46 mountain, and 6 howitzer batteries.
It is said that 9 more batteries are in course of formation.
In 1900 there was an intention to purchase 96 quick-firing
field guns from Krupp, but the plan was abandoned so that
the question of barrel-recoil guns might first be made clear.
Now the commission for making experiments has decided in
favor of the newest system of the Krupp barrel-recoil field
guns. The closing of a contract for the delivery of 200 guns
is awaited.
III.-SMALL ARMS.
[Extracts from Von LGbrll's Annual for 1902.]
GENERAL.
In the Annual for 1901 we were able to cite a number of
opinions, based on war experience, against a reduction of the
present rifle caliber; now many voices are being raised in
advocacy of the adoption of automatic rifles. Especially in-
teresting is the utterance of an Englishmen on this subject
in Arms and Explosives, which we quote as follows :
"The dawn of the day when automatic rifles shall be the
practical armament of every civilized military power seems
almost at hand. Hitherto the application of automatic action
to shoulder arms has appeared to present exceptional difficul-
ties, due in large measure to the length and weight of barrel
and shape of ammunition, more or less common to all such
weapons, as well as to the necessity for keeping the recoil-
operated mechanism within reasonable limitations of space
and weight for handling and balance. For several years
past, however, numerous inventors have been at work on the
problems involved, and at the present time it would be hard
to name any first-class power, except, perhaps, our own, which
is not engaged in considering and testing one or more pat-
terns of automatic rifle. Thus Germany is experimenting
with a rifle invented by one of the employees of the small-
arm factory at Spandau, while Austria looks, and probably
not in vain, to Herr von Mannlicher for a self-loading arm
that shall stand well abreast of all rivals. It is rumored that
the delay in providing an up-to-date successor of the Lebel
rifle is due to trials now being conducted with an automatic
rifle by the troops in Algeria. At the same time the inven-
tion of the Mexican military attachd is undergoing secret
tests in Paris. Italy has at least two different types of self-
operating shoulder arms under observation."
Automatic pistols, on the other hand, have already been
adopted in several countries.
Under the title of " Notes on foreign rifles in comparison
with the Austro-Hungarian 8-millimeter model '88-'D0 rifle,"
(95)
9G NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Capt. Erwin Preuss, instructor in the landwehr cadet school
at Vienna, has published a pamphlet which gives a succine*
view of the modern military rifles of the large European coun-
tries. The author not only describes the rifles, which differ
from the Austro-Hungarian 8-millimeter model '88— *90 rifle,
but also institutes comparisons with regard to trajectory, ac-
curacy of fire, and weight, and pronounces the following
judgment on the rifles mentioned below as compared with the
aforementioned Austro-Hungarian model :
Germany. — The 7.9-miUimeter model '98 rifle, JLfausfr
system. — "The advantages cited show this rifle to be one of
the most perfect as regards construction."
Russia. — The three-line (7. 62-millimeter) rifle, Afossin-
Nagant sy stern. — " The breech mechanism is too complicated.
Clogging in the repeating mechanism is not very rare. The
rifle is lighter than the Austrian model '88-90, and has,
generally speaking, the advantages of all loading-clip sys-
tems." •
France. — The 8-millimeter repeating rifle, model yS6—UJ,
Lebel system. — "This rifle is an improvised repeater, which
can be regarded only as a single loader with a reserve of am-
munition for rapid single fire."
Italy. — The 6. 5 -millimeter repeating rifle, model '91, Car-
cano-Mannlicher system. — "The closing mechanism, includ-
ing the peculiar safety device, is exceedingly simple. The
rifle is perfect from a tactical standpoint and may be consid-
ered as a first-class weapon."
Great Britain. — The 7.7-millimeter repeating rifle, model
90, Mark II, system Lee- Metf or d- Speed. — "This is an im-
provised repeater and is merely a single loader with an ammu-
nition reserve of ten cartridges for important moments in
battle. The locking of the rifle presents disadvantages and
the magazine is said to catch in loading. The cordite causes
erosion in the barrel after long firing."
The pamphlet, which also gives brief data on the rifles of
other countries, contains a table on the trajectories of the
foregoing rifles, from which it is seen that the French Daude-
teau rifle, now under experiment, has the flattest trajectory
at GOO paces.
Concerning the 7-millimeter Mauser rifle, which was the
weapon carried by the Boers in the war of 1899-1902, the
SMALL ARMS. 97
well-known Boer general, Ben Viljoen, expresses himself as
follows in his remarks on the South African war :
4 'As a result of my experience I am constrained to declare
that the Mauser rifle is the best both for war purposes and
target practice. Taken as a whole, the Mauser rifle is very
carefully constructed. In battle more shots can be fired with
it than with the British Lee-M^tford, for during au engage-
ment one no longer has time to refill the emptied magazine of
the Lee-Metford with ten cartridges, but must be content to
insert the cartridges into the barrel and fire them one after
the other. It is true that the Mauser magazine is arranged only
for five cartridges, but as soon as it is empty it can be quickly
refilled."
According to Ben Viljoen's statement the Mauser revolver
(probably a self-loader), which he used during the whole
campaign, is equaled by no other, not even the Webley.
Firing tests against knapsacks, packed as in war, were
carried out in Austria, in 1902, by this army firing school.
The results of these tests go to show that a knapsack laid in
front of the marksman, although it be packed exactly as in
war, does not protect the marksman from the effects of the
hostile infantry fire, and that even at medium ranges it is
absolutely necessary to lay three knapsacks in front of each
other in order to attain this purpose. However, it was shown
by the experiments, at 500 and 800 paces, that a knapsack laid
before the marksman as a protection has the advantage of
rendering him a less conspicuous target to the enemy. By
this means the number of hits is diminished. Furthermore,
the moral effect of such cover is likely to bo very favorable,
especially in the case of troops required to hold out long in a
position exposed to hostile fire. In this manner the number
of hits made by the troops thus protected may at any rate
be increased. The army school commission, in charge of
these experiments, therefore holds the view that the knap-
sack can, on many occasions, be used to advantage in battle
for sheltering lines, notably in cases when it is possible to
throw up a layer of earth in front of the knapsacks.
In order to prevent the mischievous discharge of ball car-
tridges at peace maneuvers, and also to keep accidents from
occurring during fire with maneuver cartridges, Mr. Kuss-
mann has patented a very simple and practical device which
has the great advantage over many others of enabling the
829 7
98 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
ammunition on hand to be utilized, and of being capable of
use as a cover for the muzzle and as a protection for the front
sight. Further information in relation thereto can be found
in a pamphlet published by H. L. Geek, Essen (Ruhr).
The military world was set into transient commotion during
the past year by the appearance of three pamphlets, written
in nervous haste by Lieutenant General von Reichenau, con-
cerning the "influence of shields on the development of field-
artillery material" and "steel projectiles and protective
shields." Just as, however, most of Reichenau's bold sugges-
tions regarding artillery material were unable to stand tu
test of sober criticism, so will his proposition to furnish tL
infantry either with solid steel or steel-bodied bullets also V
unlikely to meet with favor from authoritative quarters. Fur
if solid steel bullets are unable to penetrate the present shield*
of about 5 millimeters' thickness at long ranges, they kavt
failed, and the possibility of making these bullets heavy and
effective enough to accomplish this purpose is precluded h\i
number of other factors. A solid steel bullet of the same
length as the steel-jacketed bullet of like caliber is about
25 per cent lighter than the latter and refuses to piem
5-millimeter shields of the best hardened steel even at 500
meters' range. The ballistic qualities of the solid steel bulled
must, moreover, be considerably less favorable than tho>eof
the jacketed bullets.
ARMAMENT IX THE VARIOUS COUNTRIES.
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY.
The infantry is armed with the model-'95 repeating ride;
the technical troops, the field and foot artillery, and the en-
listed personnel of the subsistence branches carry the model-
'95 repeating carbine (Repetier-Stutzen) ; the cavalry has the
model-'95 repeating carbine (Repetier-Karabiner) ; caliber,
8 millimeters ; system, Mannlicher.
In the Hungarian house of representatives a law was passed
to arm the landsturm with 8-millimeter repeating rifles.
A rearmament has taken place in the pioneers, the enlisted
men belonging to the fire brigade receiving the "Repetier-
Stutzen," the drivers the "Repetier-Karabiner," and the offi-
cers, cadets, and sergeants revolvers. The pioneers are in
this manner to be rendered independent and capable of
SMALL ARMS. 99
defending themselves. According to Kriegstechnische Zeits-
chrift the present thrusting bayonet is to be replaced by a
new model (cutting bayonet).
The adoption of an automatic pistol for the mounted troops
instead of the model-1874 revolver is to be expected in the
near future.
Three systems are under test among the troops, namely, the
Roth, Mannlicher, and Luger-Borchardt.
A so-called universal sight has been invented by Captain
Kokotovic, consisting of an ingeniously arranged plate from
which the front sight projects only 2 millimeters. Its chief
purpose is to prevent overfiring.
The Danzer's Armee-Zeitung makes the following state-
ment regarding a notice printed in Le Temps to the effect that
the Austro-Hungarian war minstry had appointed a committee
to test various models of 5 and 6 millimeter automatic rifles :
%<Some newspapers have erroneously concluded from this
report that an early rearmament of the infantry is imminent.
We can authoritatively state, however, that the rifle ques-
tion is, in the first place, not under discussion at present,
and, secondly, that any change would be in a different direc-
tion than the above-mentioned report would lead to infer.
A 5-millimeter caliber is still considered infeasible; there
exists, however, a hope of obtaining the ballistic advantages
of such a caliber and the advantages of the lighter weight of
ammunition (enabling a greater number of rounds to be
carried) by a different means, namely, by experimenting with
the Roth-Krnka longitudinal-groove bullets. The above-
mentioned notice furthermore intimates that the automatic
rifle and the caliber question are being considered conjointly,
but there has been no talk thus far of a test with an auto-
matic rifle. The question of automatic pistols must be settled
first."
BELGIUM.
The infantry, technical troops, cavalry, and civil guards
are armed with the 7.6-millimeter, model-'89, Mauser rifle.
The noncommissioned officers and trumpeters of the
mounted arms and the drivers of the field artillery have the
Nagant revolver.
The officers of the whole army and the noncommissioned
officers, "brigadiers," and enlisted men of the gendarmerie
carry the Browning automatic pistol.
100 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
During target practice with the Marga system of target
ammunition several defects became noticeable in the course
of time, the rifle barrels becoming very dirty inside and the
bullets frequently sticking in the barrel and causing it to
bulge. The cause of the trouble was thought first to be due
to the deterioration of the powder paper (poudre papier),
which was supposed to be very hygroscopic and to absorb a
great deal of moisture in spite of the air-tight packing.
However, a firing test with powder paper which had been
dipped in water and then allowed to dry proved the fallacy of
this theory. Captain Marga now states that although the
cartridges will stand a few full-charge shots, they are not
adapted for use as target ammunition. It is said to have
been demonstrated in a firing test that the cases of the shells
undergo a deformation after a few shots with target ammu-
nition, so that the firing pin no longer strikes the cap with
sufficient force, the result being that the charge burns more
slowly. As a consequence Captain .Marga suggested that the
cartridges for target practice be reenf orced inside. With ten
cartridges thus reenforced 1,000 rounds were fired from one
rifle without the accuracy of the weapon being affected.
BULGAHIA.
The infantry and cavalry are armed with the 8-millimeter
model-'88 Mannlicher rifle and carbine, respectively, and with
the 10-millimeter Smith & Wesson revolver.
DENMARK.
The troops are armed with the 8-millimeter niodel-'SO
repeating rifle of the Krag-Jorgensen system. During the
course of 1901 the Copenhagen militia was armed with
8-millimeter model-'89 rifles, having hitherto had the model-
967-9(j breech-loading rifles.
The Armee et Marine describes a machine gun invented by
a Danish lieutenant and adopted in the Danish army and
navy. As this weapon can also be used as a rifle, the follow-
ing data may be of interest :
It has a caliber of G.5 millimeters and a weight of 6 kilo-
grams; the initial velocity is 720 meters. The rapidity of
fire is attained by means of a loading frame holding 30 car-
tridges, which can be fired in two seconds. The rate of fire is
SMALL ARMS. 101
thus 300 rounds per minute, including the time required to
substitute full loading frames for the empty ones.
Accprding to the statements of Danish officers who have
tested the new weapon, its advantages over other arms are as
follows :
1. Its weight, which is reduced to 6 kilograms, and its form
enable it to be used in cases where it is impossible to employ
the heavier machine guns.
2. Inasmuch as the rate of fire depends entirely upon the
frequency with which the trigger is pulled, it can be regulated
at will, whereas in other machine guns it can not. As a
consequence the rapidity of fire can be diminished after the
range has been found, while with other similar weapons there
is a danger of exhausting the ammunition supply.
3. As this machine gun can be used like an ordinary rifle,
it is specially adapted for fire at moving targets, whose move-
ments it can easily follow.
4. As the cartridge belts with which ordinary machine guns
are fed are replaced by loading frames, the gun works easily
and rapidly.
5. It costs less than any other machine gun.
FBANCE.
Nothing has been announced concerning a rearmament of
the French infantry, which has been so much discussed in the
newspapers for the past two years. It must therefore be as-
sumed that the troops are still armed with the 8-millimeter
model-^- 93 rifle and carbine.
It does not even appear likely that a rearmament will soon
occur, since a number of improvements are being made on
the present weapon, concerning which the following has be-
come known :
The piston of the magazine of the model-1886 rifle is to be
replaced by a new one, to be designated as "model-1898 maga-
zine piston." The instructions concerning it are printed in
the Bulletin Officiel.
In April, 1902, the enlisted men of the forty-seventh infantry
regiment in St. Malo were given a new Lebel rifle said to have
a range of 6,000 meters. The sight is considerably different
from the previous ones. The old rifles will be turned over
chiefly to the territorial army.
102 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
At the normal firing school of the fortified camp of Chalons-
sur-Marne experiments were made in the summer of 1902 for
the purpose of improving the firearms of the infantry. The
object was to do away with the exceedingly sensitive repeat-
ing mechanism and to substitute for it a loader which, without
impairing the rapidity of fire, would preclude any possibility
of the weapons being rendered unserviceable. The latest in-
vention, which is said to have attained good results, is a new
projectile called "bullet D." Very satisfactory experiments
were carried out with this bullet under the direction of Lieu-
tenant Colonel Souchier, commander of the normal firing
school. With this bullet it is possible to fire at a range of
800 meters without raising the leaf of the rear sight.
La France Militaire reports that preparations are being made
for the manufacture of 30,000 carbines of a new model for the
colonial army. It is intended to substitute this new weapon
for the model-188G-'93 rifle and the model-1892 carbine in the
colonial infantry and artillery. The rifle has proved too
heavy and cumbersome for the difficult and fatiguing service
which these troops have to perform on their extensive expe-
ditions. The old carbine has not shown itself equal to
requirements. Not to mention its heavy recoil, in certain
cases it does not produce sufficient intensity of fire and
therefore does not inflict as heavy losses on the enemy as are
necessary. It has, therefore, been decided to adopt a mixed
model in which the ballistic qualities of the Lebel rifle and
the present cartridge are retained but a different repeating
mechanism is used. The magazine, situated underneath the
breech mechanism, contains more cartridges than the model-
'92 carbine, and the loading frame of sheet metal, fitted into
the weapon, is replaced by a loading clip.
The experiments with automatic rifles are being continued
uninterruptedly in France. In the spring of 1902 experiments
were made with the Mondragon automatic rifle and carbine
on the firing grounds of Hotchkiss & Co., at St. Denis, con-
cerning which the Armee et Marine reports as follows:
The experiments, which took place in the presence of foreign
military attaches, gave complete satisfaction and proved the
superiority of the weapon over all others tested theretofore.
However much opinions may differ regarding the military
utility of automatic rifles, there is certainly a manifest tend-
ency toward increasing the rapidity of fire of small arms to
SMALL ARMS. 103
correspond with the improvements that have recently been
made in rapid-fire cannon.
The first repeating rifle, although opposed at first by ex-
perts, was finally adapted everywhere, and the time has now
arrived for it to be superseded by the automatic rifle.
Just as the repeating rifle to a certain extent corresponded
to the breech-loading field gun with rigid carriage, so does the
automatic rifle today correspond to the modern rapid-fire gun.
Concerning the weapons themselves, the author then con-
tinues as follows :
"Both of the weapons (rifle and carbine) invented by the
Mexican Colonel Mondragon have a caliber of 7 millimeters
and fire the Mauser cartridge (Spanish model). They have
four rifling grooves and a muzzle velocity of 680 meters.
The maximum gas pressure is 3,000 kilograms per square
centimeter.
"The mechanism consists of two parts entirely independent
of each other. One — the repeating mechanism — permits the
use of the weapon as an ordinary rifle, while the other — the
automatic device — enables the weapon to be used at will as
an automatic rifle.
"The closing mechanism is unusually strong and its form
absolutely original; at least it does not resemble any thus far
known.
"The rifle, when used automatically, works very simply
and in the following manner :
"A loading clip containing six cartridges arranged in two
rows is inserted in the magazine ; the rifle is closed by press-
ing the closing mechanism forward with the hand, and is
then ready for firing. The gases escape from the inside of
the barrel through a vent situated near the muzzle, and enter
a cylinder underneath the barrel, in which operates a piston;
this piston opens the breech, ejects the empty shell, and pre-
pares the rifle for another shot by closing the breech mechan-
ism. The marksman has nothing to do but press the trigger.
"The rate of fire attained in this manner without detrimei:t
to the accuracy is about GO rounds per minute.
"In order to instantly convert the automatic rifle into an
ordinary repeater it is merely necessary to push a lever situ-
ated near the muzzle.
"The repeating mechanism itself enables from 20 to 25
rounds to be fired per minute.
104 NOTES OP MILITARY INTKBB8T FOR 1902.
"The exterior form of this new weapon is almost the same
as that of the present rifles. Its weight is 4.10 kilograms,
but is to be reduced to 3.90 kilograms by shortening the
closing mechanism. The length is the same as that of the
Lebel rifle, and the position of the center of gravity is very
favorable to a good balance."
Aside from the danger of wasting ammunition, which is
incident to the use of all automatic weapons, there are but
two objections to be made to this rifle in the opinion of the
author, namely:
"Firstly, in spite of the simplicity of the mechanism the
clogging which occurs in all repeating systems is to be fearal,
and this produces the worst possible results in war.
"Secondly, and especially when automatic fre is used, the
firing detachment will be subjected to such a hail of empty
shells that the accuracy of the fire can not help suffering
thereby."
The author concludes with the following words : "In all
other respects, however, such as construction, rapidity
and accuracy of fire, and endurance, the weapon is really
wonderful, and reflects great credit on its inventor."
La Patrie adds the following remarks to its discussion of
these firing tests, from which it appears that Colonel Mon-
dragon exhibited his invention himself to the foreign military
attaches :
"The automatic rifle is obviously the weapon of the future.
Germany and Italy already have a model which, according
to a military attach^, is by no means inferior to the Mon-
dragon rifle as a military weapon. These models, however,
are being carefully preserved in arm depots. The authorities
are ready to begin their manufacture and to arm the troops
with them as soon as France has set the example.
"All foreign officers have unanimously acknowledged the
superiority of the automatic rifle, but its adoption is being
indefinitely deferred because it would entail an enormous
burden on the military budgets of the European countries."
The above exceedingly favorable results do not coincide
with those attained in Mexico, so that the conclusion must
be drawn that the Mondragon rifle tested in France must be
an improved pattern.
SMALL ARMS. 105
GERMANY.
The following were armed with the model-'98 rifle at the
close of this year's report :
The marine infantry, the infantry regiments of the East
Asiatic brigade of occupation, the guard corps, and parts of
the first to seventh, ninth, eleventh, twelfth, fourteenth, and
eighteenth army corps, and of the noncommissioned officers'
schools.
The issue of the model-'98 carbine has been begun. A new
weapon (a sort of carbine) will be purchased for the foot
artillery as fast as the available means permit, after the
re-armament of the infantry is completed.
All the remaining organizations of the German army now
carry the model-'88 rifle or carbine.
The model-'98 rifles and carbines are being manufactured
without haste iu the government factories and in the Mauser
works at Oberndorf . The model-'98 rifles and carbines neces-
sary for Bavaria are to be manufactured exclusively in the
royal Bavarian small-arm factory at Amberg.
In the competitive firing with army rifles at 300 meters'
range in the presence of the emperor of Austria at Vienna
in the fall of 1902 the Germans fired with the model-'98 rifle
and original ammunition, winning with a score of 3,755 points
against 3,713.
During the target practice with automatic pistols on the
experiment grounds at Halensee the following maximum
scores were obtained with the several pistols mentioned :
Parabellum pistol in 51 seconds 21 hits = 49.4 points.
Browning pistol in 70 seconds 19 hits = 82.0 points.
Mannlicher pistol, M. 1901, in 52 seconds ...14 hits = 32.5 points.
Manser pistol in 77 seconds 19 hits = 29.6 points.
Borchardt pistol in 120 seconds 20 hits = 20.0 points.
The Parabellum also surpassed the other types in the
average scores by a number of points.
The small-arms and ammunition factory of Adolpli Loescho
at Magdeburg has placed a target rifle on the market which
is said to be in use in several infantry regiments with the
greatest success. Three kinds of cartridges are made fur this
rifle, as follows:
Cartridge No. 1 corresponds to the cartridge of the target
rifle adopted in the German army; it gives excellent results
at ranges up to 30 meters when fired from the Loesche
106 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
target rifle. Cartridge No. 2 fires well up to 100 meters and
No. 3 to 150 meters, these two numbers being also furnished
with smokeless powder. Nos. 2 and 3, which are of special
importance for the German infantry, cost 1.50 and 2.50 marks
per 100, respectively.
In the Kriegstechnische Zettschrift, No. 10 of 1902, Captain
von Neubauer, an instructor at the war school, makes a note-
worthy suggestion relative to an improvement in the rifle
sight under the designation of a "combat sight." We also
find a tendency in other countries toward improving the
sights of small arms in order to avoid too great longitudinal
dispersions in battle (see Austria-Hungary).
GREAT BRITAIN.
The European and the greater part of the Indian native
troops carry the 7.7-millimeter Lee-Metford rifle, model-
'SO-'Ol, and the model-'95 Lee- Enfield rifle; the' remainder of
the Indian native troops are still armed with various old
models, among which are the Martini-Henry and Snider
rifles, while certain select corps and the military police on
the northwest frontier carry Mauser rifles captured in South
Africa.
The unmounted officers of the foot troops carry the Lee-
Enfield carbine, while the other officers are armed with the
. revolver.
The contemplated improvements in the Lee-Enfield rifle
shown to be necessary in the South African war appear to be
essentially as follows: The barrel will be shortened by 127
millimeters and will thus be the shortest barrel possessed by
any rifle yet adopted. In order to compensate for the decreased
stability of the projectile caused by this shortening of the
barrel, the seven rifling grooves are to be given a somewhat
higher pitch, so that the trajectory will remain similar to the
previous one. The Mauser breech-closing mechanism has been
adopted, with some improvements enabling it to be taken apart
without the use of a screw-driver. It will be fed by means of
a loading clip containing five cartridges. The sight has been
improved and provides for an allowance for wind and temper-
ature. A triangular dagger bayonet 35 centimeters long and
slightly heavier than the present one has been adopted. I"
order to lighten the weapon holes are bored longitudinally
through the handguard and transversely through the stock,
SMALL ARMS. 107
the butt plate being of aluminum. The total reduction of
weight amounts to 0.530 kilogram, leaving the weight of the
rifle 4.120 kilograms.
According to The Army and Navy Gazette, only a few of the
new rifles have been issued to certain infantry regiments for
experimental purposes. Concerning the results of the experi-
ments, nothing is yet known. The National Rifle Associa-
tion, which wished to participate in the tests during its shoot
at Bisley, was refused on the ground that the new model was
still in an incipient stage of development and that other
changes besides those already made were to be expected, so
that it is unlikely that the rifle will be issued very soon to
the troops in great numbers.
The experiments with the Ross straight-pull breech closure,
the Harris magazine, and the Hylard rifle do not appear to
have resulted favorably. Canada has, however, decided to
adopt the Ross rifle, and both rifle and ammunition are to be
manufactured in a government factory at Quebec, the num-
ber of rifles to be turned out yearly being from 12,000 to
15,000.
The length of the Ross rifle without bayonet is 1.22 meters,
and with bayonet 1.44 meters; the weight without bayonet is
3.43 kilograms; with bayonet, 3.74 kilograms. This weapon
seems to bear a resemblance to the rifle mentioned in the.
Annual for 1901 as being under consideration along with
others in England for adoption as a substitute for the Lee-
Enfield rifle. It has, like that one, the Ross straight-pull
breech mechanism and a simplified Harris magazine. A
noteworthy feature is the provision of a loading frame for
use in filling the magazine singly by hand, during which act
it formerly frequently occurred that single cartridges would
fall out ; the cartridges are now pressed from above out of
the loading frame into the magazine. The rate of fire of the
rifle is about 20 rounds per minute. The weapon is claimed
to be very handy.
The Australian colonies appear also to contemplate the
adoption of the Ross rifle.
Major Woodgate, of the British army, is reported to have
invented a new system of automatic rifle. The system is
alleged to be very simple and capable of adjustment to rifles
already in service, including the Lee-Enfield. The chamber
of the Woodgate rifle is said to have a capacity for 20 car-
tridges (10 being the normal number), so that the number of
108 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
rounds per minute can be brought up to 200. The English
war office, it is said, has already begun experiments with this
model.
Concerning experiments with automatic pistols, nothing
has yet been made public. According to the British press,
the manufacturers are guided in their attitude in this matter
by the prospects of eventual purchase on the part of the
public. Inasmuch, however, as the models already known
tend rather to comply with military requirements and there-
fore have too great a range and penetration for private use,
the public and the manufacturers refuse to take interest in
them and cling to the revolver, which answers their purpose.
It is not known what attitude the military authorities take
toward this tendency, whether they have begun to experi-
ment with foreign models, or whether there is any prospect
of their adopting the Mars pistol mentioned in the Anuual
for 1901.
Some excitement is being aroused in Great Britain by an
instrument styled "hyposcope" by its inventor, which is said
to enable the foreground to be observed from behind cover
and fire to be delivered without the necessity of raising the
head above the cover. The instrument is L-shaped, and in
firing the horizontal limb is fastened to the rifle back of the
sight so that the long limb hangs down. By means of suit-
ably arranged mirrors it is rendered possible for the marks-
man to aim through an aperture at the lower extremity of the
vertical limb, so that his eye is 23 centimeters lower than if he
had to aim directly over the sight. The hyposcope can, of
course, also be used for observing the foreground without
being attached to the rifle. The instrument is said to have
frequently been used with success in the South- African war,
and the further experiments at Bisley are also claimed to have
proven its practical utility. Special stress is laid on the fact
that the hyposcope is not sensitive; that it can be adjusted to
and removed from the weapon more quickly than the bayo-
net, although it sits perfectly solid ; that it does not interfere
with the marksman in firing, permits as accurate an aim to
be taken as in direct aiming, and finally, that it can be con-
veniently carried in a leather sack fastened to the belt.
Whether this report actually voices the sentiments of the
experiment committee or whether it is merely a statement
for advertising purposes can not be told yet from articles
that have appeared in the press.
SMALL ARMS. 109
GREECE.
The infantry is armed with the 11 -millimeter model-'71
Gras rifle.
No decision has apparently yet been made concerning a
re-armament with a small-caliber rifle .
ITALY.
All the infantry of the line and the mobile militia are
armed with the model-1891 rifle, the cavalry with the model-
1891 carbine, and the special arms with the model-1891 carbine
(Stntzen), all of 6.5-millimeter caliber. The territorial militia
carries the modified Vetterli rifle, caliber 10.4 millimeters.
According to L'ltalia militare e marina of March 6 and 7,
1902, a new pistol is about to be adopted for the officers of
the army in place of the 10.35-millimeter model-'89 revolver
now in use. This pistol was tested by a small-arms committee
at Parma, and embodies all the latest improvements. It has
an automatic mechanism, is of small caliber, and fires smoke-
less powder. The loading is done in the same manner as in
the model-'91 rifle.
A law was passed authorizing the war minister to dispose
of all the model-1870-87 rifles, together with bayonets and
ammunition, as fast as they are replaced by new ones.
According to a government report this would affect 600,000
rifles, moclel-1 870-87, and 48,000,000 cartridges.
JAPAN.
All the infantry is armed with the 6.5-millimeter 30 Meiji
rifle, and the cavalry with the 30 Meiji carbine.
The weight of projectile of the new rifle is 10.3 grams, and
the velocity of the bullet at 25 meters from the muzzle is
706 meters.
LATIN AMERICA.
ARGENTINA.
The infantry and engineers carry the 7.65-millimeter model-
'91 Mauser rifle, the officers, cavalry, and artillery being
armed with revolvers.
BOLIVIA, BRAZIL, CHILE, COLOMBIA, URUGUAY.
These countries have the 7-millimeter model-'93 Mauser
rifle.
110 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
According to the La Plata Post, Uruguay has purchased a
considerable number of Mauser rifles and carbines, with
ammunition, from German arm-factories.
MEXICO.
The infantry is armed with the 7-millimeter model-'W
Mauser rifle, and the cavalry with the 7-millimeter Mauser
carbine. There are, moreover, probably about 10,000 modi-
fied Remington rifles (arranged for Mauser ammunition) an-.
15,000 Remington rifles of larger caliber on hand.
This Annual has frequently announced of late years tLa:
Mexico is likely to proceed to a re-armament with new rinV
of the Mondragon system. Exhaustive experiments have, in
fact, been made with this end in view, and French newspapers
have even announced with assurance that the introduction <>f
the 5-millimeter Mondragon rifle had been decided on. Th>-
final decision, however, was against the Mondragon rifle.
According to recent information it is doubtful whether thr
rifle, which was first manufactured in the French rifle-factory
at St. Etienne, really possesses the qualities attributed to it by
the French press, namely, absolute reliability, accuracy, ami
a rate of fire of GO rounds per minute when used automatically.
According to trustworthy reports a rate of fire of 13 to P
shots per minute was attained during experiments made in
Mexico with the Mondragon rifle used as a repeater in aim* •!
fire; infilling the magazine the marksman has to place th*-
rifle against his thigh, probably in order to overcome a strong'
resistance of the lock mechanism. When used as an auto-
matic arm a rate of 31 shots per minute was attained only
once, which resulted in injuring the breech mechanism. Th»-
latter is said to get out of order very easily, and, moreover,
the muzzle jumps at every shot, so that the accuracy can not
be very great during automatic rapid fire.
In the competiti ve trials participated in by the Mondragon
and Lebel rifles as well as other systems, the Mauser model
was victorious. It is said that this Mauser rifle closely
resembles the German model-'08 rifle in its design. The
Mexican government is said to have placed a preliminary
order for 40,000 rifles and 10,000 carbines of this model in
Germany.
SMALL ARMS. Ill
MONTENEGRO.
This principality has 30,000 Russian three-line repeating
rifles and 80,000 rifles of various other systems, principally
Berdan and Werndl rifles.
The enlisted men of the first seniority class are armed in
peace with one new and one old rifle each.
NETHERLANDS.
The troops are armed with the 6.5-niillimeter model-'£>5
Mannlicher rifle and the 9.4-millimeter model-'73 revolver,
Chamelot-Delvigne system.
According to recent information the 6.5-millimeter rifle fires
a bullet weighing 10.15 grams with an initial velocity of
723 meters.
NORWAY.
The infantry is armed with the 6.5-millimeter model-'94
Krag-Jorgensen rifle, which fires the model-^ cartridge.
PORTUGAL.
The infantry of the active army and of the first reserve is
armed with the 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher rifle; the infantry
of the second reserve is armed with the 8-millimeter inodel-
'86 Kropatschek rifle ; the colonial infantry and artillery and
the cavalry carry the 6.5-millimeter Mannlicher carbine.
RUSSIA.
The active and reserve troops are all armed with the " three-
line rifle (7.62-millimeter) model-'Ol," and the cavalry with
the 7.62-millimeter "model-'96 Cossack carbine." Whether
the old 11-millimeter Berdan rifles have begun to be replaced
in the militia by the three-line rifle is not known.
According to Razviedchik the commander of the machine-
gun companies recommended that the enlisted men discard
the rifles still carried by them, claiming that the rifles hindered
tliem in their duties and in the movement of the machine guns,
and as a result were detrimental to rapidity of fire.
The reply of the war minister was that the question of
armament of the enlisted machine-gun personnel had not yet
lx?en submitted to sufficiently exhaustive trials and that the
matter would not be definitely decided until after the maneu-
vers of 1902.
112 NOTES OF MILITARY INTERE8T FOR 1902.
According to a pamphlet entitled "the 7.62-millimeter
Nagant patent 6-shooter non-gas-leaking revolver," this
weapon has been officially adopted by the Russian govern-
ment. It is manufactured in the Belgian arm-factory by
Ldon Nagant at Luttich.
SERVIA.
The infantry carries the 7-millimeter model-'99 Mauser rifle.
It was decided to purchase 45,000,000 rounds of ammunition
for this rifle.
SPAIN.
The Spanish army is armed with the 7-millimeter Mauser
rifle.
SWEDEN.
The infantry is armed with the 6.5-millimeter model -'96
rifle and the cavalry with the model-'96 carbine, both of the
Mauser system. In order to replenish the supply, 350,000
rifles and 50,000 carbines of the above-mentioned models are
to be purchased for the Swedish army.
SWITZERLAND.
The troops are armed as follows :
The infantry has the 7.5-millimeter model-'89-'9ti Schmidt-
Rubin rifle; the cavalry carries the 7.5-millimeter model-'&3
rifle, with Mannlicher breech closure; the position artillery,
fortress troops, telegraph companies, balloon company, and
cyclist detachment are armed with the 7.5-millimeter model-
'89-1900 short rifle; the cadets have the 7.5-millimeter model-
'97 cadet rifle; the officers carry the 7. 65-millimeter model-1900
pistol; the noncommissioned officers and buglers of the £lite
cavalry and artillery are provided with model-1882 revolvers;
the remainder have the model-1878 revolvers.
The experiments for the purpose of devising a blank car-
tridge which should prevent the introduction of ball cartridges
into loaders designed for blank ammunition and thus hinder
the wanton or malicious manipulation of the ammunition
were carried out with three different patterns of cartridge
with the following results : Cartridges with doubly fastened
wooden bullet are well adapted for machine guns ; cartridges
without a wooden bullet cause trouble in the magazine rifles,
although they work all right in single loaders and have already
SMALL ARMS. 113
been adopted for cadet rifles ; the cartridges with shortened
doubly fastened wooden bullet appear to be the best adapted
for rifles and carbines. It is impossible to insert ball car-
tridges into the loaders designed for this class of ammunition.
The experiments are being continued.
The weapons adopted in the service have been subjected to
considerable adverse criticism during the past year.
In a pamphlet awarded a prize by the Swiss officers' society,
Captain Schibler maintains that the Schmidt-Rubin rifle has
too complicated a mechanism.
A spirited controversy has also arisen in regard to the
qualities of the recently adopted model-1900 automatic pistol
(Parabellum). The arguments advanced are specially worthy
of interest as affording an idea of how the Parabellum pistol
behaves in actual service, Switzerland and Belgium being the
only countries that have thus far adopted an automatic pistol
to any great extent. The general impression gained is that
in changing from a revolver to a pistol the troops did not
perhaps receive adequate instructions as to the management
of the latter, so that a number of accidents occurred which
were rather due to the ignorance of the possessors regarding
the weapon than to any inherent defect in the weapon itself.
From a circular issued by the chief of artillery forbidding
the making of any changes in the pistol by private armorers
it appears probable that the accidents which have occurred
are attributed to such changes.
TURKEY.
The cadres of the European army corps (first, second, and
third) are armed with the 7.65-millimeter Mauser rifle, the
fourth corps (Asia Minor) has the 9.5-millimeter Mauser
magazine rifle, and the troops of the other corps carry the
11.4-millimeter Martini-Henry and Peabody rifle.
It appears that the manufacture of the 7.G5-millimeter
Mauser rifles in Turkish shops has encountered difficulties,
for, according to authentic reports, 200,000 rifles were ordered
in Germany at the end of 1902
IV.-EXPLOSIVES.
[Compiled by First Lieut. H. B. Ferguson; Corps op Engineers.]
During the year there have been no reports of any cnange
or special improvements made in the service smokeless pow-
ders of the various powers. One innovation has been Krupp's
substitution of a powder cloth and thread for the materials
formerly used in the manufacture of cartridge bags. " Nor-
mal" powder, made in Sweden, though not new, has received
exceptional notice from the French experts. Experiments in
France with Lucciani's comb powder and special bullet have
given some noteworthy results. Nothing very definite has
been published as to the success of "cordite M. D.," substi-
tuted for cordite by Great Britain over a year ago; hgwever,
intimations have appeared that the navy is not satified with
the new powder.
As none of the bursting charges for shells, including the
British lyddite and the French melinite, have proven entirely
satisfactory in warfare or in peace experiments, investiga-
tions in this line have been continued. Most promising
results have been obtained with "ammonal" in Austria; with
wet gun cotton, using a special detonator, in England, and
with "schneiderite" in France. The "schneiderite" experi-
ments began in 1900, the results were published in 1002.
POWDER CLOTH FOB CARTRIDGE BAGS (krupp).
[Kepohtkd by Cait. W. S. Biiwu.k, Jr., Koirtkenth Infantry, l*. S. Military Attach (: at
Br r li n.J
In place of silk or other material, this powder cloth forms
the entire cartridge bag and is sewed together and tied with
the sewing thread and cord.
The advantage of this cloth appears at once in that, being
woven of the spun threads of smokeless powder, it is entirely
consumed in the discharge of the piece and can leave no
burning residue.
The cloth but increases the quantity of useful gases, and it
results of course that the total weight of powder and bag is
appreciably reduced.
Krupp says in this connection :
' * Regarding the mechanical durability of the cloth, it equals
entirely that of the silk cloth and can therefore be worked
(115)
116 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
into bags for all calibers that are to be considered and will
stand all the strains of transportation in every respect. As
to its chemical qualities, it meets all requirements exacted of
the smokeless powder and therefore can be packed, shipped,
and stored under the same conditions as the latter. The
absolute reliability of the powder cloth has been proved by
extensive trials as to durability, shooting, keeping in hot
storage, and by chemical analysis. In order to avoid every
possibility of residue being left in the gun barrel, twist or
cord made out of powder threads is used for sewing and tying
the cartridge bags.
"Five grades of this material are manufactured. No. 1 is
light powder cloth which is used for manufacturing cartridge
bags for field guns, field howitzers, and field mortars. No. '2
is medium powder cloth and can also be used for the guns,
etc., mentioned above, and can be worked into cartridge bags
for guns, howitzers, and mortars up to a caliber of about 12
centimeters. No. 3 is strong powder cloth and can be used
for manufacturing cartridge bags from 15-centimeter caliber
up. No. 4 is powder sewing thread and serves for sewing all
cartridge bags. No. 5 is powder cord, braided or twisted, and
serves for tying cartridge bags and for bundling up charges
of long-tube powder."
"NORMAL" POWDER (swedbm).
Referring to Memorial de Poudres et Saltpetres for 190*2,
Arms and Explosives comments as follows:
" 'Normal' rifle and artillery powders receive by far the
longest notice ; and if the report may be taken as fair, then it
is difficult to understand why these powders have not been
adopted by other countries as well as Sweden, Finland, Nor-
way, and Switzerland. From the results quoted, normal
powder, which does not contain nitroglycerin, has little or
no erosive action. In field artillery, 800 rounds may be fired
without injury to the efficiency of the piece, whereas with
nitroglycerin products 100 rounds are said to ruin a similar
gun. In small arms, as many as 30,000 rounds have been
fired from one rifle without injury to its accuracy; but 1,0W
rounds are given as the life of the same rifle firing a nitro-
glycerin compound. Immediately below these statements,
as if to give a reason for them, it is stated that 100 rounds of
ballistite fired under certain conditions raise the temperature
EXPLOSIVES. 117
of the rifle 432° F., and under the same conditions 100 rounds
of normal cause the temperature to rise only 252° F. It is
also set forth that very large quantities of this powder have
been stored in magazines for four years without deterioration
in ballistics or the injury in any way of the metal cartridge
case.
"The above and more to the same effect make it impossible
to understand why one or other of the greater powers has
failed to discover the merits of this product."
"Nitro Explosives" by P. G. Sanford, gives the following
data concerning this powder :
The Swedish powder known as "normal" smokeless pow-
der, and manufactured by the Swedish Powder Manufacturing
Company of Landskrona, Sweden, and used for some years
past in the Swiss army, is made in four forms. For field guns
of 8.4-caliber it is ased in the form of cylindrical grains of a
yellow color, of a diameter 0.8 to 0.9 millimeter and density
3f 0.790; about 840 grains of it go to one gun. For rifles it
is used in the form of gray squares, density 0.750, and 1 gram
equals about 1,014 grains. One hundred rounds of this pow-
der, fired in eighteen minutes, raised the temperature of the
gun barrel 284° F. A nitroglycerin powder, fired under the
same conditions, gave a temperature of 464° F.
This powder is said to keep well — a sample kept three and
one-half years gave as good results as when first made — is
easy to make, very stable, ignites easily, not very sensitive
to shock or friction, is very light, etc. Eight hundred rounds
fired from a heavy gun produced no injury to the interior of
the weapon. Samples kept for eleven months in the moist
atmosphere of a cellar, when fired gave a muzzle velocity of
1,450 feet per second and pressure of 1,312 atmospheres, and
the moisture was found to have risen from 1.2 to 1.6 per
cent. After twenty-three months in the damp it contained
2 per cent moisture, gave a muzzle velocity of 1,478 feet per
second, and pressure of 1,356 atmospheres. In a 7.5-milli-
ineter rifle, 13.8-gram bullet, and charge of 2 grams, it gives
a muzzle velocity of 2,035 feet per second, and a pressure of
2,200 atmospheres. In the 8.4-centimeter field gun, with
charge of 600 grams and projectile of 6.7 kilograms, muzzle
velocity was equal to 1,640 feet per second, and pressure 1,750.
A sample of the powder for use in the 0.303-meter rifle,
analyzed by Mr. P. Gerald Sanford, F. I. C, F„C. S., gave
118 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
the following result: Gun cotton, 96.21 per cent; soluble
cotton, 1.80 per cent; nonnitrated cotton, trace; resin and
other matters, 1.99 per cent.
A NEW GUNPOWDER (france).
[From Thr Engines*, Novrmbrr 21, 1902.]
A correspondent informs us that the French military
authorities are engaged in carrying out experiments on sev-
eral artillery firing grounds with a new kind of gunpowder.
The greatest secrecy is being observed with regard to this
new powder, but an expert who has been present at several
experiments with it has published the following important
details : The new powder is distinguished from that now in
use by the fact that it can increase, as desired, the initial
velocity of the projectiles without thereby increasing the
pressure in the barrel of the rifle or big gun. The properties
claimed for this powder are so astounding that it was said to
be proved during its trials that the velocity of a projectile
could be increased from 25 to 40 per cent without the pres-
sure in the gun barrels being increased. Repeated experi-
ments made With the rifles now in use in the different
European armies gave the following results : The Mannlicher
rifle, which has an initial velocity of 525 meters with Rus-
sian powder, and 585 meters with the German powder,
attained at' the same pressure with the new powder a velocity
of 710 meters per second. The English rifle, Lee-Metford,
which has a velocity of 560 meters with cordite, attains a
velocity of 725 meters with the new powder, and under the
same pressure. Similar results were obtained with other
rifles, notably with the French weapon, Lebel. Although
the results with the Lebel rifle can not be divulged, yet it may
be taken for granted that the general excellence of the new-
invention, even when used with cartridges prepared accord-
ing to the new method, is confirmed. The increase of the
velocity, and, consequently of the rifle's range, thus becomes
immense. But this is not all. By adapting the principles
of this new form of ammunition to the infantry rifles, such
accuracy of aim has been obtained that it is claimed that,
without any exaggeration, every bullet fired can hit a 1-franc
piece at a distance of 68 yards. The main point which dis-
tinguishes this powder from that now in use is the physical
condition of the former, which undergoes a change at the
a
/WWVWWW\ a
EXPLOSIVES. 119
very moment of firing the shot. This powder resembles
rolled leaves cut into small pieces, which produce just as
many results as there are pieces without one atom of the
chemical composition being affected thereby. Thus, by using
this new powder, it is possible by a simple contrivance to
regulate and to alter the pressure at will, while, by the same
means, the ignition can be either retarded or accelerated. In
this way the moment of ignition and the pressure can be reg-
ulated like a watch, and the initial velocity can be increased
with mathematical precision, while the pressure in the gun
barrel is lessened, and thus the recoil of the rifle reduced
almost to nothing.
LUOOIANI'S OOMB POWDER (IN FRANCE).
[Reported bv Capt. T. Bektley Mott, Artillery Corp*, I'. 8. Military Attache at Parik.]
Lucciani's invention bears on two things, the shape of the
bullet and the form of the powder charge, and that the some-
what extraordinary results he obtains are solely due to these*
factors is proved by his using any given rifle with the powder
and bullet designed for it but modified in form only, accord-
ing to his theories. At the test before me the Lebel rifle was
used, firing Lebel bullet and a powder of approximately the
same ballistic qualities as the regulation French small-arms
powder but more malleable and cut into "Lucciani's comb."
Before going into the theory it seems best to examine the
powder and the ball. The samples sent show (A) the powder
in sheets as rolled out and ready to be cut up into charges
[see sketch], (B) a powder of the same chemical composition
and same form in every particular as "A" except the thick-
ness of the sheet; (C) the cartridge as Lucciani prepares it for
the regulation shell; this sample has the same chemical com-
position as the others, the same thickness of sheet as "B,"
but the teeth of the comb are longer and narrower than the
other samples.
To prepare a cartridge using "C" Mr. Lucciani makes a
roll (as it stands), wraps it in a cigarette paper, inserts it in
the empty Lebel shell, base down, rams in a wad and then
the bullet; the cartridge is then ready for firing.
The crudity of this method is due to two causes ; first, Mr.
Lucciani has up to a few months ago worked by himself and
with very little money, as he explained to me; second, the
fact that all rifles as now constructed are chambered. The
120 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
result of the latter is that his cartridge must be the size of
the cartridge-case neck and ideal conditions of loading are
impossible, the density of loading is necessarily irregular,
and these rough methods are only small irregularities in the
midst of great ones.
Mr. Lucciani desires to construct a rifle without chamber
as presenting ideal conditions for developing the full effect
of his theory; the cartridge would then be practically cylin-
. drical aod the charge of comb powder would be carefully and.
evenly rolled by machinery and would fill the cartridge case
exactly, the rubber bands, of course, being omitted, but the
paper wrapping being retained.
Such a rifle has not yet beau constructed, due to lack of
money and also because Mr. Lucciani believes that a convinc-
ing demonstration of the value of his invention can be made
with any rifle and the comparison of the results will be more
striking than with a special rifle.
The modifications made in the shape of the bullet is shown
m ' * D " and ' £ E. " ' * D " is a Lebel bullet whose exterior form
has been altered by cutting the cylindrical channel shown.
"E" is an ideal bullet made for experimental purposes and
showing Mr. Lucciani's idea of what a bullet should be; the
central stem is of steel to give stiffness to the projectile, the
body is of lead for density, the copper ends are to give a bear-
ing surface that will best grip the lands and not foul the bore.
In practice this copper would be replaced by a nonpoisoning
substance such as the nickel alloy of which jackets are usu-
ally made. The copper has been used simply because of ease
of manipulation in making a small number of bullets by
hand.
The theory on which Mr. Lucciani works is this : Reduce
the friction in the bore by giving the bullet the form seen in
"D" and "E;" that is, cause the bullet to grip only at its
base and near the ogive, the rest of the surface running flush
with the lands. Give the powder the comb form in order to
produce progressive burning, slow at first and quick later.
The comb form is used as furnishing a ready mechanical
means of changing the rate of burning according to formula.
This rate is changed for a given powder in three ways : (1)
By changing the thickness of the comb; (2) by changing the
length of the teeth ; (3) by changing the width of the teeth.
"A" and "B" samples have what he calls normal-size teeth,
EXPLOSIVES. 121
but the comb is of different thickness in the two samples;
,CC" has teeth one- third the size of "A" and "B" and longer.
Another point made by Mr. Lucciani is that in his bullets
the center of gravity coincides with the center of volume,
thereby increasing the accuracy of flight. In the bullets of
any system which he modifies, he accomplishes this coinci-
dence by the form and location given to the part he cuts
away.
He has constructed empirical formulas for velocity and
pressure in terms of length, breadth, and thickness of the
comb teeth, length and weight of bearing surface of the bullet.
He did not give me these formulas and I can not say what
terms enter them, but he is able to take exactly the same
"comb" and bullet and by changing the teeth change the
velocity to a predicted amount while the pressure is unaltered ;
again, with the same comb having the same teeth, by altering
the amount cut away on the bullet, he can change pressure
while the velocity is unaltered; by combining the two he
produces variations in pressure and velocity, one or both,
within limits, at will, the weight of powder and of bullet
remaining the same.
These variations are calculated beforehand and predicted
with considerable accuracy.
During the firing I was permitted to examine and verify
everything that was done; the comb powder was prepared
before me by Mr. Lucciani, the teeth being altered for the
various cases with a pair of scissors. I watched him load
the empty cartridge cases and saw inserted the common Lebel
bullet or the Lebel bullet modified by Mr. Lucciani, as the
case demanded. I read the chronograph and pressure gauge,
and I believe the test was a perfectly fair one. The results
can be seen in the table below. The variation in pressure
and velocity for given elements of loading do not seem to be
great in view of the crudeness of the methods employed in
preparing the cartridges, and especially in view of the fact
that the rolled-up charge was inserted in a bottle-shaped
cartridge case, and anything like constant density of loading
^as out of the question.
The facts established are interesting and seem to bear out
Mr. Lucciani's contention that he can, with his methods, get
a much higher velocity without a corresponding increase of
pressure.
122
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Table showing the firing of December 5
Rifle, Lebel.
Powder, Lucciani comb.
Weather, fine.
BulleU, regulation transformed.
9
«6
h
^
g8
5£
c j:
£*
® 3
5 8
•a
I
s
u
3
S
B
o
§
1
8
*S
*%
be
i
45
25
30
6
4 ! 55
2.20
45
25
30
6
4 ! 55
2.20
46
25
30
6
4 55
2.20
45
25
30
6
4 55
2.20
46
25
30
fi
4
55
2.20
45
25
30
6
4
55
2.20
45
25
SO
6 4
55
2.20
55
25
30
6 1 4
55
3.25
55
25
30
0 4 55
3.25
55
25
30
6 4 ' 55
3.25
55
18
37
6
4
55
3.25
Teeth, entire
do
Teeth in fourths .
do
do
II"do I™™"!
Teeth, entire ___.
.do .
Teeth in halves..
Teeth in thirds ..
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
8.17
R.T.
R.T.
R.T.
R.T.
R.T.
2192
2192
2203
2214
2203
2203
2214
2337
2371
2428
324*
572
610
7«
m
Mr. Lucciani had rifles of all the different countries of
Europe and he has experimented with each to determine the
best form of powder and bullet to give the highest ballistic
results. He did not have a Krag rifle.
Mr. Lucciani believes his invention is even more useful in
cannon than in small arms, especially as the reduction of
pressure for a given velocity would make possible field guns
of much less weight and suddenness of recoil. I have it on
pretty good authority that the French Government has taken
up his invention as applied to cannon, and one proof of this
is that he makes no offer to sell his rights as concerns cannon.
The French law prohibits such sale except by its consent and
so long as it is experimenting with a view to adopting any
invention.
Lucciani's process has been patented all over Europe and in
the United States. ^
The chrome-steel plate sent herewith was fired at in my
presence with the Lebel rifle, using first the regulation Lebel
cartridge and then the Lucciani cartridge (comb powder and
modified Lebel bullet.)
SMOKELESS POWDER AND BURSTING CHARGE IN ITALY.
Captain Anton Cascino, Italian artillery, instructor in the
military school at Modena, is the author of a book called
"II tiro, gli explosiri e le armi" which is intended as a text-
book for the above school, but which gives some information
as regards explosives used in Italy.
EXPLOSIVES. 123
SOLBNITE (SMOKELESS POWDER).
Soon after the introduction of ballistite (see M. I. D. Notes,
1901) several imperfections were discovered, the most impor-
tant of which were a too great explosive tendency, a too great
tendency to corrode the weapon, and the lack of stability
owing to the exuding of the nitroglycerin. It was attempted
to prevent the exuding of the nitroglycerin by means of an
additional ingredient, and from this resulted Amid ballistite,
which, however, did not give satisfaction and the fabrication
of which was abandoned.
Later the English cordite powder (in the form of threads,
with hollow grains and cylinders) was tested in comparison
with ballistite. From cordite there was less pressure (about
600 atmospheres less) but greater corrosive effect and it was
abandoned.
On the 14th of September, 1894, Colonel Bazzichelli, of the
artillery, who was director of the powder manufactory at
Fontana Liri, took out a patent upon the invention of solenite.
In order to lessen the temperature of explosion he lessened
the nitroglycerin to 33 per cent, increased the collodium to
about 66 per cent, added 1.1 per cent of vaseline, and gelati-
nized the substance by means of acetone, which was after-
wards liberated. The compression produced by a rolling
process was done in the cold by a machine similar to that by
which macaroni is made. The granules were in the form of
hollow cylinders of 2 millimeters diameter on the outside and
0.7 millimeters diameter on the inside, a height of 2 milli-
meters being given; each gram of solenite contains 120 to 140
granules.
In a long series of comparative experiments solenite showed
itself always the superior, presenting the following advan-
tages:
1. With a like charge there is less pressure, about GOO
atmospheres.
2. Less corrosive action, on account of which the tube can
he used longer.
3. It completely fills the shell model '91, whereby over-
loading is made impossible.
4. It possesses more stability, is more easily preserved, and
can be more safely handled.
5. More safety in the manufacture, because the compression
being made in the cold, no nitrose vapor is generated and it
is not necessary tp use aniline.
124 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Solenite is harder than Jmllistite and has a darker color
owing to the absence of aniline. It has the disadvantage of
soiling the barrel more than ballistite, without, however,
giving out more smoke; the cleaning of the rifle after us^
becomes harder. The flame of solenite is more visible than
that of ballistite. On account of the good results obtained
from solenite it was resolved to adopt it in the month of Feb-
ruary, 1896, for the 6.5-millimeter cartridges, model '91 (the
charge as compared with ballistite being 2.28 grams against
1.95 grams).
The effort is now being made to introduce solenite instead
of ballistite for cannon.
PERTITE (BURSTING CHARGE).
The picric acid introduced in Italy for bursting shell has
received the name of pertite. Pertite is precipitated when
concentrated nitrosulphuric acid acts on phenol (CtHtOH).
C.H60H+3(H0N0,)=C.H,(N01)t0H-f-3H,O;
the water which is set free is absorbed t>y the sulphuric acid.
Characteristics. — Pertite crystallizes in needles of a
bright yellow, and has a very bitter taste. It is soluble in
cold water in the proportion of 1 : 160; it is even more solu-
ble in warm water, but most soluble in ether and benzine;
it attacks metal, forming picrates ; melts at a temperature of
122.5°, which is one of the special proofs of its purity; at an
ordinary temperature it emits some vapors, which increase
with the temperature. A small quantity can, with the great-
est precaution, be brought to 200° without danger, the pertite
being slightly decomposed and becoming black; brought
suddenly to a temperature of 300° degrees it explodes violently.
It is but slightly poisonous ; the vapor or dust excites sneez-
ing, and if breathed for a length of time might be injurious
to the health.
The physical state (crystalline) is favorable for its stability;
it is not effected by great alterations in temperature.
Pertite absorbs but a small amount of water, and even
though immersed in water does not lose its explosive quality,
but simply becomes a doughy mass.
Pertite has an explosive force at least equal to a charge of
equal weight of gun cotton, but when the great density of
the charge which may be obtained with it is taken into con-
sideration, it is easy to comprehend how much greater effect
EXPLOSIVES. 125
a load of equal volume may have. The density of melted
pertite is 1.70, while that of gun cotton in cakes is 1.10 to 1.15.
The equation according to which the decomposition of
picric acid occurs is not yet known. The following is
accepted :
2(C6H,(NOt)8HO)=3CO,+8CO + C+6H+6N;
thus the result is obtained that, according to the thermody-
namic laws, from 1 kilogram of pertite is obtained 750 calo-
ries, whereby a gas volume is evolved, which reduced to 0°
and 1 atmosphere of pressure equals 829.1, with a theoretical
pressure of about 11,000 atmospheres. This data must be
verified, however, by experiments.
Pertite exploding produces white smoke. The explosion is
incomplete if a dense yellow vapor is evolved.
In order to determine the safety of a pertite charge against
blows, the following experiment was made: Four charges
were made fast to a table and were fired into from a distance
of 25 meters with a 6.5-millimeter repeating rifle, model '91.
Four shots went through and shattered the charges without
causing any explosion or igniting the material. Other experi-
ments demonstrated that of all known explosives, black pow-
der included, pertite is the least susceptible.
Pertite ignited in the open air burns quietly, without ex-
ploding, if not more than from 8 to 10 kilograms is set on fire;
in larger quantities the great heat and the effect of the gases
cause explosion. A charge of pertite without fuze maybe
regarded as an almost inactive substance.
In a hollow projectile with the walls made to resist shock,
pertite explodes under the simple influence of a strong im-
pulse ; it has, however, been found more satisfactory to use a
2-gram explosive cap, which is a detonating charge of picric
acid in a steel case.
Use. — Pertite may be used either in a state of agglomera-
tion obtained by fusion and molding, or as a compressed
powder. In these two cases the density varies from 1.70 for
the fuzed pertite to 1.3 or 1.5 for the pressed, on account of
which the first explodes less rapidly than the second ; but, on
the other hand, the effect of the latter seems to be limited
to the place where the explosion occurs. These peculiarities
of picric acid are made use of by the Italians in the following
manner: The pulverized pertite is inserted as a detonator
between the fuzed mass and the 2-gram fuze cap, where the
126 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
use of a weaker detonator is made possible. In high-explosive
shell either fuzed pertite or compressed powder is used, the
former more commonly.
"AMMONAL." (AUSTRIA-HUNGARY).
[Kkpohtep bv C'apt. Floyd W. Hahbii, Foubth Cavalry, U. 8. Miljtaet Attach k at Yir^vi/
"Ammonal " is the name of a new high explosive, claimed
to be powerful in its effect and safe in its use. This explosive
contains no nitrified substance, but is a mechanical mixture
of aluminum, nitrate of ammonia, saltpeter, and charcoal
It is less liable to absorb moisture than are other powders of
its class and it keeps well when properly packed.
The explosive is not only a blasting compound for indus-
trial and mining purposes, but also a military high explosive
of rare excellence. When used either in mines or in ordnance,
both safety and enormous power are obtained. So far as its
industrial use is concerned, the most striking feature of the
explosive is the total absence of noxious gases, for which
reason it is most fit for blasting in pits and quarries.
Picric acid and wet gun cotton, explosives most commonly
used in shells and torpedoes, require a strong detonator (about
2 grams of fulminate) for thorough detonation. It is claimed
that "ammonal" is the only high explosive that can I*
brought to complete detonation by a simple black-powder
priming, producing the same effect as if a fulminate cap were
used. But, when a fulminate detonator is considered prefer-
able to a black-powder priming, as, for example, in torpedo
charges or submarine mines, one gram of fulminate is all that
is required to detonate the charge.
During the course of the year a series of experiments was
made before officers of the Austrian navy and before a for-
eign officer (Captain Tulloch of the royal artillery, England),
in order to demonstrate the high efficiency of "ammonal''
for military purposes. From 100 to 500 fragments were
obtained by bursting a 12-centimeter steel service shell (Yl\
kilograms) with a bursting charge of 1,300 grams of "ammo-
nal." It must, however, be borne in mind that the absolute
number of fragments obtained signifies nothing, if the ratio
of the weight of the charge to the weight of the projectile
as well as the nature of the steel are unknown. Experiments
made with 10.4 centimeter howitzer shells (11.2 kilograms)
on the proving grounds of the Austrian ordnance board
EXPLOSIVES. 127
^within the last two months, in order to ascertain the fragmen-
tation in sand and the effect of the firing against earth cover,
showed that " ammonal" is undoubtedly much stronger than
the Austrian "ecrasite," a picric-acid compound.
Steel shells were also fired from a 4.7-centimeter Skoda
rapid-fire gun against a 30-millimeter steel plate, with a
60-gram charge of "ammonal" and a small black-powder
priming. Perfect explosion was obtained behind the plate.
There was no fuze in the shell, the black powder being
exploded by the shock against the plate, the fire transmitted
to the "ammonal" and retarded.
Advantages (claimed by manufacturers) of the new explo-
sive "ammonal," which will result in its superseding picric
acid and wet gun cotton for military use and dynamite for
industrial purposes, are:
"Ammonal " is the strongest among the existing explosives
that are of practical use. The calorimetric calculation of its
power, according to the formula of the "Annales des Mines
de Belgique, 1896, Tome I," gives the following results:
Maximum of work done by —
1 kilogram of ' ' ammonal " 698, 000 meter kilograms
1 kilogram pure nitroglycerin 570,000 meter kilograms
1 kilogram dynamite No. 1 450,000 meter kilograms.
"Ammonal" is perfectly safe in manufacture, transporta-
tion, storage, and handling. It is not liable to freezing, even
at the lowest temperatures. It absorbs less moisture than do
the other explosives of the nitrate of ammonia class, and can
be stored, if properly packed, without the least deterioration.
I have just witnessed some tests of this explosive and the
following are the results of my observation:
The expansion of the lead mortar by—
20 grams of • ' ammonal " was 300 cubic centimeters.
20 grams of dynamite No. 1 was 100 cubic centimeters.
In the crushing test, the height of the lead cylinder was reduced by —
100 grams of "ammonal" 20 millimeters.
100 grams of dynamite No. 1 13 millimeters.
Charges of "ammonal" in steel service shells of 12 centi-
meters were detonated by means of a black-powder priming
and with a fulminate cap. In the first case the shell was well
fragmented and in the second case perfectly fragmented.
Two perfectly similar bombproofs had been constructed,
and I was asked to select one for a test of an "ammonal"
128 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
shell and one for a test of an "ecrasite" shell,
nal" shell completely destroyed the bombproof in -which ft
was exploded, and anyone who might have sought protection
under this bombproof would have been crushed to death.
The ceiling of the other bombproof remained intact, and
anyone who might have been sheltered under it would have
suffered no injury and probably no discomfort beyond the
concussion caused by the explosion.
It was next demonstrated that this explosive is perfectly
saf e in handling ; that it can not be detonated by shock or
friction; that it burns in the fire without exploding, and that
when exploded it produces no noxious gases. It is claimed
that it is perfectly smokeless. On account of the large
amount of dust accompanying each test witnessed, I was not
able to verify this claim absolutely, but it was evident that
the explosive is at least practically, and possibly -entirely,
smokeless.
A thorough and practical test of "ammonal" and of dyna-
mite was then made in a quarry for the purpose of comparing
the strength of these two explosives in blasting. It was
clearly proven that in this application of explosives "ammo-
nal" is considerably stronger than dynamite. When, in
addition to the greater strength of the former, its quality of
producing no noxious gazes or offensive odors is considered,
its advantages for use in tunnels, mines, or other confined
spaces are obvious.
It is not practicable to test the other qualities claimed for
this explosive, but on account of the reputation of its propri-
etor, I am inclined to believe that they are all founded on
fact. The proprietor is G. Roth, esq., of Vienna, one of the
most important manufacturers of cartridges and explosives
in Europe. He is said to employ 26,000 persons.
It is reported that " ammonal" has been adopted by Austria-
Hungary, in place of "ecrasite," and by Germany, and that
it is undergoing study and trial in England and in France.
Mr. Roth's agent informs me that a long series of experi-
ments with this explosive used as a charge for torpedoes and
submarine mines has been made by the Austro- Hungarian
navy at Pola, and that the most satisfactory results have
been obtained ; and that, after having been kept in water for
nine months, it was found that the explosive had not deterio-
rated.
EXPLOSIVES. 129
WET OTJN COTTON AS THE BUBSTINO CHARGE FOB SHELLS
(GREAT BRITAIN).
[RiroarKD by Capt. K. B. Camatt, Thirteenth Cavalby, U. S. Military Attache at London.]
Naval and military authorities have for years past, and are
still, seriously occupied with the question of high explosives
as the bursting charge for shell. Wet gun cotton is known
to be, in its wet state, a perfectly safe, uninflammable, and
inert explosive in the absence of a detonating force. It may
consequently be stored aboard ship, or conveyed and used
with land forces, without any special precautions and without
the slightest risk from any cause whatsoever. It is absolutely
under control. It will keep in any climate unimpaired for
an indefinite period. Wet gun cotton is not so locally violent
as lyddite; its disruptive effect and ensuing damage are
therefore much greater. Lyddite, too, is not employed in
shell of a smaller caliber than the 4.7-inch gun, owing to the
uncertainty of its detonation in smaller bodies. Wet gun
cotton, on the other hand, may be detonated in small as well
as large quantities with perfect certainty. The only obstacle
to its general use for shell purposes hitherto has been the
circumstance that to insure complete detonation a primer of
dry gun cotton and a fulminate of mercury detonator have
been required, and both of these agents are too sensitive to
premature ignition by friction heat or concussion to permit
their employment under the conditions of shell firing at the
present day, owing to the high pressures and great velocities
attained with modern artillery. The combination, however,
is still the most useful and successful form for torpedo work
and constitutes the latest practice method of charging and
exploding these submarine "shells" by all navies.
The means, therefore, of adapting the wet gun cotton suc-
cessfully for general shell work has long been sought, and,
after many years of experiment and research, the New
Explosives Company, Ltd., of London, have at last been able
to place before the war authorities a new safety exploder, the
composition of which contains neither dry gun cotton nor
fulminate of mercury, but which will detonate wet gun cotton
with certainty under the safest conditions. The composition
itself will not detonate under a temperature of 3G0° C, and
can not be ignited by friction or shock, but at the same time
is brought instantaneously into action with an ordinary deto-
nating pellet such as is commonly employed in all percussion
829 9
130 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
or time fuzes of general service to-day. The force then exerted
will detonate in its turn any charge of wet gun cotton 'with-
out leaving any traces of unburnt explosive or residue. The
composition is very stable and stands an excellent heat test,
and it is not affected by any climatic changes, and in cost of
manufacture it is less than gun cotton.
On Tuesday, the 8th instant, some extensive official trials
were carried out by the New Explosives Company, Ltd., at
the Ridsdale Range of Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whit worth & Co.,
Ltd., in the presence of several war office officials and foreign
attaches.
The main bursting charges were made by the company's
new method of forming and compressing wet gun cotton,
whereby it is now possible to produce charges of compressed
gun cotton in one whole solid block of any dimensions
mechanically true and of theoretical and uniform density
throughout.
With the old method of work certain practical difficulties
have prevented the direct formation of "shaped" blocks such
as are required to form the bursting charges for shell and for
torpedoes, and it has hitherto been the practice to build up
such a charge from a number of disks and to reduce them to
the required shape and size in a lathe. By the new process
such charges can be formed in a single block without any
subsequent turning or other shaping being necessary.
There is no space wasted as is the case with built-up charges
through slightly imperfect contact between the individual
blocks, and thus, either a heavier charge (i. e., about 15 per
cent more gun cotton) can be got into the same space, or less
space will be occupied by a charge of given weight.
The first experiment consisted of firing 10 rounds from a
G-pounder quick-fire gun. The total weight of each shell as
fired was 5 pounds 10£ ounces, the weight of the wet gun-cot-
ton bursting charge being 100 grams and that of the explosive
in the safety exploder 9 grams.
The shell was fitted with the ordinary Hotchkiss fuze, Mark
IV. The target was a J-inch steel plate at a range of about
150 feet. In the rear of this were two heavy steel coils form-
ing a cell 7 feet long backed by a 12-inch plate to confine the
fragments, which were afterwards collected, counted, and
weighed. The propellant employed was ordinary govern-
ment cordite, service charge 7$ ounces. The following table
EXPLOSIVES.
131
gives the fragmentation of the shell and the chamber pres-
sures and muzzle velocities for each round :
Chamber
pressure.
Maule
Telocity.
Recovered of
shell.
Recovered of
brass.
Recovered of
gas check.
Largest
piece re-
covered
Total
weight of
shell re-
covered.
1
«
3—
4__.
f>._
6__
* - —
<»
10__
Ton*.
Not taken.
. Not taken.
11.28
I 12.26
12.39
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Foot-tecondM.
Not taken.
Not taken.
1,800
1,827
1,838
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Not taken.
Piece:
102
143
67
104
154
135
84
222
306
Lb». Ox. Piece*,
4 4
3 15 '
3 9 I
\ ?i
4 3^
8 6
7
14
14
6
10
31
None.
None.
6 | \
None.
None.
None.
None.
The second experiment was the bursting of a 6-inch shell
at rest. This was done in a closed cell of wrought iron 7£
inches thick by 3 feet 6 inches in diameter by 5 feet deep,
weight 6£ tons, from which none of the fragments could
escape. The main object in this instance was to demonstrate
that the wet gun-cotton charge and safety exploder would act
equally satisfactorily without the assistance of the shock of
impact at a short range, and detonate as instantaneously and
energetically (1) as if fired from a gun, and (2) in large as
well as in small quantities. The results here obtained were
also very much appreciated by all present. The force of
the explosion burst the coil open. There were no traces of
unconsumed explosive; the fragments recovered numbered
2,122 pieces, the largest weighing 10 \ ounces arid the total
C5i pounds.
The shell was an ordinary cast-steel one, weighing fully
loaded as fired 119£ pounds.
The wet gun-cotton charge weighed 6 pounds 9 ounces and
the explosive composition in the safety exploder 300 grams.
The fuze employed was of the ordinary service direct-acting
pattern, and was fired electrically.
Before the trials commenced it was convincingly proved
that the gun-cotton charges contained the usual amount of
moisture, viz, about 18 per cent of water, and that there was
no dry gun cotton or fulminate of mercury employed in the
composition of the safety exploder, and in view of the very
excellent results obtained, it seems highly probable that gun-
cotton shell charges will become more generally employed,
**- .ILL.
uTZ
*»;* :J*t
x— y>»* f _ ^ ^r lien exerted
r«i. £ "W^l rr'* «*v»TOn Wltn*
^rr.tt:~r^ -r reside- The
Lilzr LO. -rXJ>rZ~L: heat t€St,
-d in cost of
f»-Hif
x^-^rrsr-r-j. of: rial trials
—^ Ci-zliazt. Ltd., at
- JL — r»^r
.— c r Tj;rr-?r:h A Co..
,— .-Vj. sr<i foreign
*r-,?rs t--t£t* tlj*;- :t :Le company*
i,i ; - rn -i^-^^r- £ VeT gr^n cotton.
- ~ Tr ih- \k---^ of compressed
- s..V.i "jl.k :: *ry dimensions
: "_itr- r-o:uI j^i Tiii:::»rm density
i^ i_--
rr*-rt:.:^l difficulties
Ili>=*f- blocks such
r^f.r shell and for
rr*L-rIceto buildup
i-l » reduce them to
By the new process
r bkek without any
" " ;« is. n: :1~
^:_: ~_ re ^ri-
>-.*..-* ^ill t •;■•.
T„r irs: ex:*r
•;-:-;-u-i-er %:ii/k-
drv; was. -5 ;-;ui
ton ~-;:rs:ir:i: chars
in the safety expi
The shell was : i
IT. The targ-t wa
1.30 feet. In the r*.
iiiiT a cell 7 feet loi -
fragments, which were
weighed. The propel]*
ment cordite, service obi
gives the fragmenu*^ n_ c
sures and muzzle ve.-:'cr.£a
-u— —ana:
Chamber
pressure.
I
1—
2...
3—
4—
5...
6
S.'.Z
9
10
Ton*.
_. Sot taken.
... Sot taken.
11.28
_J 12.26
12.39
' Sot taken
__ ; Sot taken.
^ , Sot taken.
' ^ i Sot taken.
) 29 ot taken.
1.. ...
Th^ second experiment was the bur^
at rest- This was done in a °loSed ^ J
inches *&ick by 3 feet 6 incheS ** ^"
weight ^^ tons' from which BC,IJ1'" ^
escape. ^he main ^J601 m ^ '^^
that the ^et gun-cotton cu«* hi/- *. -
equally satisfactorily ra:c: -^ *-_ _
impact at » short range, an: - -*/- T
energ-et icaJ A>* ^
well as in s- ^
also
the
. r-
of
ed
-
I in*
:es
r- it
,oy-
the
i»»tis
jcpli -
It |H is-
Ltnr Tin?
-ION < HAM
uiitaijiing L13
lltlieSt'hueMer-
on :i - • i i [j]at(j 30 null i-
; i n lt I < * irons fixed 1" aa
132 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
especially in armor and deck piercing projectiles, for which
purposes it appears to possess advantages which can not be
claimed for any other high explosives. With a delay-action
fuze wet gun cotton with this new safety exploder can be
fired through the thickest armor plate that the shell itself
will penetrate without exploding until it has passed through;
this can not be accomplished with lyddite or any other known
high explosives.
« SCHNEIDERITE » (FRANCE ) .
[FROM ItKVl'K MllJTAIKK Sl'IASK.]
"Schneiderite" is the exclusive property of MM. Schneider
et Cie., and is a powder, light yellow in color, quite oily to
the .touch, and forming lumps readily when pressure is
applied.
Considered alone, "schneiderite" is a wholly inert sub-
stance, of perfect stability and containing in itself no explosive
substance whatever. The elements of which it is composed
only combine to form an explosive at the very moment of the
explosion under the influence of a detonating primer.
When the detonator is not used "schneiderite" maybe
submitted to the most violent shocks with impunity. It is
not influenced by fire. Thrust into a fire, it burns with diffi-
culty, and when it is withdrawn the flame dies out. It is also
uninfluenced by the most extreme cold. It is sensitive to but
one single alteration, which, instead of rendering it more dan-
gerous, diminishes its explosive qualities. This is the altera-
tion which may result under bad conditions of preservation
from its hygroscopicity. To avoid the absorption of moisture,
it is necessary to make sure of the imperviousness of the cases
or of the projectiles in which the " schneiderite" is contained.
It is easy to restore all its properties by drying it in a stove or
simply in the sun.
The handling or the transportation of projectiles charged
with " schneiderite" and not furnished with their detonators,
or of "schneiderite" in cases, is not dangerous under any cir-
cumstances or under any conditions of preservation.
In France the commission on explosive substances has ob-
tained as results of experiments in closed vessels made with
EXPLOSIVES.
133
gun cotton, picric acid, dynamite, and "schneiderite," the
following figures :
Pressures with den-
sity of loading of—
0.2.
0.3.
Picric acid _
Kilogram*.
1.744
Kilogram*.
3,604
Dynamite No. 1 .
3,279
Gon cotton
2,030
3,2j>7
•• Schneiderite "
2,051
3.628
A firing experiment made by the same commission, in a
proof mortar, gave the results below :
6 grains of dynamite No. 1
5 grains of gun cotton
6 grains of schneiderite
Range in meters with
a shot of 14 kilo-
grams.
75.00
92.00
95.00
The investigations of MM. Schneider et Cie. for the pur-
pose of determining the best means for the adaptation of
" schneiderite " in the loading of projectiles, have necessitated
a long series of experiments. The cause of the difficulties
encountered is precisely the great stability of "schneiderite,"
and that the purpose of the investigations was to insure the
complete detonation at the point where the projectile strikes
the ground, and not as with the other explosives, to hinder it
at the point of departure.
These investigations have resulted in the invention of a
special detonator, system Schneider-Canet, and in the employ-
ment of an appropriate method of loading, which insure the
complete explosion of the projectile under all the conditions
actually existing as regards shell charged with high explo-
sives. A special arrangement of the detonator makes it pos-
sible, if desired, to postpone the explosion until after the
obstacle has been penetrated.
Certain results of the experiments are given below.
I.— EXPERIMENTS OF EXPLOSIONS AT REST IN AN EXPLOSION CHAMBER.
February 24. — Shell of 12 centimeters containing 1.13
kilograms of "schneiderite" and furnished with the Schneider-
Canet detonator. The shell is lying on a steel plate 30 milli-
meters in thickness, supported on two angle irons fixed to an
134 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEEE8T FOR 1902.
armor plate. The walls of the explosion chamber are pro-
tected by armor plates. The firing is done by means of the
Bickford lanyard. The explosion is of the first degree and
produces considerable effect. The 30-millimeter plate is
broken into small pieces without bend. The angle irons
which support it are wrenched and twisted. Two armor
plates superposed vertically before the projectile are struck
by the fuze plug of the . latter. The first is broken in three
pieces, the second is split with three radiating fissures in the
center, and with a strong imprint of the plug. One of the
splinters of the projectile struck an armor plate of 60 milli-
meters thickness placed parallel to the axis and at a distance
of 1.05 meters with such force that this plate was split. The
projectile is in small pieces.
December 4, 1901. — High -capacity shell for 10.5-centimeter
field howitzer containing 1.84 kilograms of "schneiderite"
and furnished with the Schneider-Canet detonator. The shell
is placed upright on a plate of 30 millimeters thickness; this
plate rests on two supports 300 millimeters apart. The firing
is done with the Bickford lanyard. The explosion produces
all the effects which characterize a complete explosion of the
first degree. The projectile is reduced to minute pieces; 156
of the fragments found weigh together 4.570 kilograms, an
average weight of at least 28 grams for each fragment found.
The plate of 30 millimeters is broken into 16 pieces, with
cracks radiating toward the center of the bottom of the pro-
jectile. The bottom is itself reduced to pieces. The place
where the projectile was placed on the plate is hollowed out,
forming a spherical depression.
II.— EXPERIMENTS AT REST IN A COMPACT CLAYEY SOIL.
August 23, 1900. — High-capacity shells for a 15-centimeter
field mortar containing 3.40 kilograms "schneiderite" and
furnished with a Schneider-Canet detonator. The shell is
placed horizontally at a depth of 1.50 meters in a compact
clayey soil. The explosion produced a funnel-like path 2.80
meters in diameter and 1.25 meters in depth. The bottom of
this funnel is formed of earth thrown up, which makes an
explosion chamber of 1 meter in diameter.
December 4, 1901.— High-capacity shell for 105-millimeter
field howitzer containing 1.74 kilograms " schneiderite" and
furnished with the Schneider Canet detonator. The shell is
EXPLOSIVES. 136
placed vertically at a depth of 1.50 meters. The explosion
produces an excavation in the ground, an excavation in an
amphoral form of which the superficial diameter is*2.6 meters
and the depth 1.80 meters. The maximum diameter is 3.20
meters.
III.— FIRING EXPERIMENTS.
For the purpose of testing by practice the value of the
contrivance decided upon for the latest methods of loading
and as regards the detonator, a practice fire was held on the
firing grounds of MM. Schneider et Cie., at Harfleur (near
Havre), in August, 1900, of 300 rounds of shell of high
capacity, of which —
100 rounds were with a 15-centimeter field mortar.
100 rounds with a 12-centimeter field howitzer.
100 rounds with a 12-ceiitimeter siege gun.
The high-capacity shell of the 15-centimeter field mortar
weighed 32 kilos. It contained 3.400 kilograms of "schnei-
derite" and was thrown with an initial velocity of 200 meters.
That of the 12-centimeter field howitzer weighed 16.400 kilo-
grams, of which 1.600 kilograms was of "schneiderite."
The initial velocity was 315 meters.
Finally, the explosive shell of the 12-centimeter siege gun
was of weight of 18 kilograms and contained 2 kilograms of
"schneiderite." It was thrown at an initial velocity of 575
meters.
On the other hand, 15 shells of high capacity in the 15-
centimeter field mortar and 15 of the 12-centimeter field how-
itzer were fired at a reduced velocity, the first at a velocity
of 120 meters, the second at a velocity of 150 meters.
A great number of other tests with "schneiderite" shell
have been made. The result of one of these precision practice
fires executed with this type of projectile was to demonstrate
their holding to their trajectory. The test was made with
the rapid-fire 105-millimeter field howitzer, of which the high-
capacity shell had a weight of 16 kilograms, with 1.840 kilo-
grams of "schneiderite." The weight of 1G kilograms, which
is considerable for a caliber of 105 millimeters, renders neces-
sary the extreme length of the "schneiderite" shell, which is
4.6 caliber. It is thus particularly interesting to verify the
precision in like projectiles in howitzers when fired with a
reduced velocity.
13G NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
The test was made with an initial velocity of 215 meters
and at a distance of 2,500 meters. The results are as follows :
Maximum range, 2,481 meters; minimum range, 2,431
meters; maximum deviation in range, 50 meters; probable
deviation in range, 14.50 meters; maximum deviation in
direction, 4 meters; probable deviation in direction, O.Su
meter.
To conclude, the results of the experiments noted above
show that the safety in employment and the power of
"schneiderite" make it a war explosive of the first class; and,
besides, that the loading contrivances and the sort of detonator
adopted by MM. Schneider et Cie. entirely assure the proper
action of the "schneiderite" projectiles under all the circum-
stances actually presented in the employment of high explo-
sive shells.
TORPEDO EXPERIMENTS (PRANCE).
UeberaU states that the results of the experiments on the
caisson representing a section of the coast-defense ship
Henri IV have only recently been made public. The
caisson was anchored and a torpedo charge was attached to
its side, about 10 feet below the surface of the water, the
depth at which a torpedo is calculated to strike a vessel. The
discharge was made by means of an electric current worked
from a barge at some distance away. The result exceeded all
expectations, as a hole of 21i square yards in extent was
made in the side of the caisson, which immediately sank.
Internally the damage extended to three longitudinal parti-
tions which were in the position of the coal bunkers in war
ships. The hole in the first partition covered nearly 11
square yards, the second partition was shattered, and the
third, which has no corresponding partition in the Henri IV,
had two oval holes in it, one 5 by 2| feet and the other 2f by
1^ feet. The torpedo charge was the ordinary one of from
176 to 220 pounds.— London Times, July, 1902.
Melinite vs. Gun Cotton. — Experiments with torpedoes
designed for defending harbors have just taken place off
Lorient, France, before a board of naval and engineer officers.
The purpose of the experiments was to make some com-
parative explosions of electric torpedoes anchored in 20
meters of water in the open sea, part of the torpedoes being
charged with melinite and the remainder with gun cotton.
EXPLOSIVES. 137
Strict secrecy is maintained regarding the results. How-
ever, we were enabled to ascertain that the explosions of the
torpedoes charged with gun cotton were the more beautiful
and more terrible. A sheath of water, or, rather, a water-
spout, rose at least 80 meters above the surface of the sea at
each, gun-cotton-charged-torpedo explosion. The sheath of
water rising at the melinite explosions was only about 40
meters high. — La Pabrie, September £, 1902.
V'.— COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RE-
TIREMENTS OF OFFICERS.
[Com filed by First Li but. R. 8. ('lark, Ninth Infantry.]
AUSTBIA-HXJKGABT.
I From Keport or Caw. P. W. Harris, 4th Cavalrt, U. 8. Military Attach 6 at Vienna;
•' Organisation db l'Armm Austro-Hongroise," bt Major Desaikes, or thb French Army ;
** L.*ETAT MlLITAIRR PES FR1NCIPALE8 PUISSANCES £tRANQERE8," BT MAJOR LaUTH, OP THE
Frkkch Army, and Various Notes from thr Military Periodicals.]
COMMISSIONS.
Commissions as second lieutenants are given as follows:
(a) To graduates of the military schools (the Maria Theresa
school for the cavalry and infantry and the technical school
for the artillery and engineers) ; (b) to officer aspirants (grad-
uates of one of the cadet schools) who have served one year
satisfactorily in the ranks; (c) to one-year volunteers who
have successfully passed the examination required at the end
of a year's service in order to become officers of the reserve,
and after entering the reserve having applied for transfer to
the active army, have successfully passed the additional ex-
amination required for a commission in the active army.
It is difficult to state what proportion of the officers of the
army comes from each of these sources, but it is pretty safe to
assume that twice as many officers come from the officer-
aspirant class as do from the military schools, and there are
a great many that come from the reserve.
No commissions are given to enlisted men or civilians.
PROMOTIONS.
Promotion is based upon seniority in the arm of the service
through the grade of lieutenant colonel; by seniority in the
army for the grades of colonel, general of brigade (major
general), and general of division (lieutenant general) ; by
selection for the grade of general "commanding an army
corps," and field marshal.
Generals "commanding army corps" are all selected from
among all the general officers of the army without regard to
seniority. The office of field marshal exists, but since the
(189)
140 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1&U2.
death of the Archduke Albert it has been allowed to remain
vacant, and it will probably not be filled during the lifetime
of the present emperor.
The emperor, however, has the right to promote officers of
any grade out of their turn. He avails himself of this pre-
rogative to the extent of about 20 per cent of the vacancies.
Officers promoted out of their turn must have shown special
ability and have been recommended by the commanders of
their respective corps, and must have been adjudged likely
to become exceptionally efficient colonels and generals. Com-
pany officers to be so promoted must be able to speak another
language besides German. In promotion by selection, officers
who have graduated from one of the military schools are
preferred. Promotions in time of peace are made twice each
year, namely, on the first of May and the first of November.
There is one incident connected with promotion by selec-
tion that may be of interest. For the purpose of illustration,
let it be supposed that in the present month of November
there are thirty vacancies in the grade of major in the infan-
try. Under the existing ruling of the minister of war, who
seems to have unrestricted authority in this matter, twenty-
four of these vacancies would be filled by promotion accord-
ing to seniority, and the remaining six, or 20 per cent of the
total number, by promotion by selection. The lineal rank of
the six majors who have been promoted out of their turn
would generally be determined by their former rank as cap-
tains; but, if the junior of the six can pass the examination
required for admission to the general staff, he immediately
becomes the senior of the six majors in question. Suppose
the fifth in lineal rank successfully passes the examination
required for the promotion of a captain of artillery, he im-
mediately becomes second in lineal rank of these six majors.
RETIREMENTS.
There is no fixed age for compulsory retirement, but an
officer may be retired at any age if he be found physically or
mentally incapacitated for active service. The customary
method of procedure is to intimate to the officer that his
application for retirement is desired. If he declines to sub-
mit his application he is ordered before a retiring board,
which is unrestricted in its recommendations for the retire-
ment of undesirable as well as incapacitated officers.
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 141
Officers incapacitated in the line of duty in time of war
may retire with a pension, and in time of peace after ten
gears' service with a pension.
Officers 60 years old, or who have served forty years, are
allowed to retire on application.
Officers of the active army may retire at any time passing
into the reserve, provided that they have served the time
required by law and that they engage to answer any call to
the colors up to the age of 60.
As long as an officer remains fit for active service he is
allowed to serve with the active army. The average age of
the present chief of the general staff and of the three inspec-
tors general of the army is about 72 years.
RANK.
Generally speaking, there is no other kind of rank in the
active army but substantive. Each regiment, however, has
its honorary colonel, who is usually one of the royal families
of Europe or some distinguished general, but this rank con-
fers no material advantages. Brevet rank may be conferred
on an officer upon his retirement from active service, but this
confers no advantages in pay or allowances. Brevet rank is
never given to an officer while in the active army.
NOTE.
Attention is invited to the meaning of the following titles
employed in the Austro-Hungarian army :
"Feldzeugmeister," means a general appointed from any
arm of the service other than the cavalry.
"General der Kavallerie," means a general appointed
from the cavalry. •
" Feldmarschall- Lieutenant," means lieutenant general.
The first two correspond to the meaning of our word general.
The grade of brigadier general does not exist. Brigades
are commanded by major generals, divisions by lieutenant
generals, and army corps by generals.
FRANCE.
l<tatDHMD mox a Report ok Capt. T. Bextley Mott, United States Military Attache at
Paris.]
COMMISSIONS.
Second lieutenants come from the cadets of the military
colleges St. Cyr (cavalry and infantry) and the Polytechnic
142 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
(artillery and engineers), or from noncommissioned officers
who have served two years and then passed through (oil*
year) St. Maixent, Saumur, Vincennes, or Versailles- TLr
ratio of officers from both these sources is about the same.
PROMOTIONS.
Promotion of all officers is by the arm of the service, and
not regimentally.
Promotion in the various grades is made as follows :
To first lieutenant by seniority. All second lieutenair.?
are promoted after two years' service.
To captain, two-thirds by seniority and one-third by
selection.
To major, half by seniority and half by selection.
To lieutenant oolonel and all higher grades by selection.
In time of peace all officers must have served in the various
grades before promotion to the next higher, as follows :
Second lieutenant, two years.
Lieutenant, two years.
Captain, four years.
Major, three years.
Lieutenant colonel, two years.
Colonel, three years.
General of brigade, three years.
In war the time limit is only half what it is in peace.
The time provision for promotion may be waived in the
case of an " action d'dclat."
Although the second lieutenants come equally froni th*-
ranks and the military colleges, promotion to the grade of
captain and higher is preferably given to the graduates of
the military colleges. Promotion to the grade of lieutenant
colonel and to superior grades is almost wholly given to the
graduates of the military colleges.
PROMOTION LIST.
In January of each year the promotion list for that year is
published. This list, in its final form, is established by the
minister of war, who has authority to place a name upon it
at any time. For each arm of the service there is, however,
a "classifying commission" composed entirely of general offi-
cers, which draws up the list for its arm, decides what names
shall be proposed for promotion by selection, and submits the
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 143
list to the minister of war. He makes such alterations as he
sees fit and gives the list its final form. Of course, for the
liiglier grades, the minister alone prepares the list. The names
of tlie officers composing the "classifying commissions" are
kept secret until the list is published.
In the list for 1902 the officers selected for promotion to tho
various grades were between the following ages:
Infantry —
For promotion to the rank of —
Captain, 27 to 39.
Major, 36 to 50.
Lieutenant colonel, 39 to 54.
Colonel, 45 to 56.
Cavalry —
For promotion to the rank of —
Captain, 29 to 41.
Major, 38 to 50.
Lieutenant colonel, 44 to 55.
Colonel, 46 to 56.
Artillery —
For promotion to the rank of —
Captain, 30 to 38.
Major, 37 to 51.
Lieutenant colonel, 43 to 53.
Colonel, 50 to 57.
Engineers —
For promotion to the rank of —
Captain, 26 to 31.
Major 41 to 50.
Lieutenant colonel, 48 to 55.
Colonel, 44 to 56.
RETIREMENT
Officers are compulsorily retired at the following ages :
Lieutenants, at 52.
Captains, at 53.
Majors, at 56.
Lieutenant colonels, at 58.
Colonels, at 60.
Generals of brigade, at 62.
Generals of division, at 65.
144 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
GEBMANT.
[Compiled from "L'£tat Militaibe dcs principals* Pcissamces £tkai«gekes ** »t M jj i
J. Lautii, or the French army, and "Die Heme cni> Flottkh," nrYos Zepeus]
COMMISSIONS.
Noncommissioned officers can never become officers except
as a reward for distinguished service in the field, and it i=?
the exception when this reward is given.
Officers are recruited from two classes, namely, the * * £ aim-
en juncker" and "cadets."
The "fahnenjuncker" are such young men, between the
ages of 17 and 21, as possess a high-school diploma and have
passed the examination before the ensign commission at
Berlin.
The "cadets" are such young men as have been educated
at military high schools.
The candidates from both the above classes present them-
selves to the colonel of the regiment in which they wish to
serve, and are either accepted or rejected by him. If ac-
cepted, they serve in the ranks as privates for five months,
at the end of which time they receive the title 'of "honorary
ensign." They next receive the title of "titulary ensign,"
and finally that of "ensign." Having received the title of
ensign, they are required to pass through the imperial war
school, a course of thirty-five weeks, at the end of which time
they receive their commissions as second lieutenants.
PROMOTIONS.
Promotion is according to seniority in the arm of the serv-
ice from the grade of second lieutenant to that of first lieuten-
ant ; by regimental seniority from the grade of first lieutenant
to that of captain ; by seniority in the arm of the service from
captain to major, and by seniority in the army for all higher
grades. However, an officer who is not considered capable of
rendering good service in the next higher grade is mercilessly
passed by. Officers about to be passed are warned unofficially
to that effect, and they usually ask to be retired before an ofli-
cer is promoted over them. Their retirement is made more
easy by being presented with a decoration, by an honorary
promotion, by being placed in some sedentary employment,
or by being allowed to wear the uniform of their old regiment.
The emperor has the right to promote to any grade by
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 145
selection, but he rarely avails himself of this prerogative,
except in the case of members of the royal family.
RETIREMENTS.
There is no law of compulsory retirement in the army.
GREAT BRITAIN.
[COMPILKD FROM RoTAL WARRAXT AND VARIOUS OTHER 80URCK8.]
Commissions in the regular army are given on the recom-
mendation of the commander in chief to persons qualified
nnder the regulations approved by the secretary of state for
war.
A commission as second lieutenant in the cavalry or
infantry may be given to a cadet from the royal military col-
lege at Sandhurst ; to a cadet from the royal military college
at Kingston, Canada; to an officer of the militia, yeomanry,
or volunteers; to an officer of the local forces of the colonies,
or to a second lieutenant or lieutenant of the royal Malta
artillery; to a duly qualified candidate from a university;
to a warrant or noncommissioned officer.
A commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery
(except on the list of district officers) or in the royal engineers
(except in the coast battalion) may be given to a cadet from
the royal military academy at Woolwich, or to a cadet
from the royal military college at Kingston, Canada.
A commission as second lieutenant in the royal artillery
(except on the list of district officers) may also be given to
an officer of the militia artillery.
A commission as second lieutenant in the army service
corps may be given to a qualified officer of the regular army,
or the royal marines with not less than one year's commis-
sioned service ; to a cadet from tho royal military college at
Sandhurst; to a cadet from tho royal military college at
Kingston, Canada; to an officer of the militia or a duly quali-
fied candidate from a university by open competition ; to a
warrant or noncommissioned officer.
Before final appointment to the army service corps, all
candidates must pass a probationary period of one year.
A commission as second lieutenant on the unattached list
of the Indian staff corps may be given to a cadet from tho
royal military college at Sandhurst.
146 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1902.
A commission as second lieutenant in the army maybe
given to a bandmaster of specially meritorious service.
A commission as lieutenant in the cavalry or infantry may
be given to a quartermaster or riding master not over 32
years of age.
A commission as lieutenant on the list of district officers of
the royal artillery, or in the coast battalion of the royal engi-
neers, may be given to a quartermaster or riding master, war-
rant or noncommissioned officer of the royal artillery or royal
engineers, not over 40 years of age. This limit may be ex-
tended in case of promotion for distinguished service in the
field.
A commission as quartermaster or riding master may be
given to an officer, warrant or noncommissioned officer not
over 40 years of age.
A commission as inspector of army schools may be given
to an army schoolmaster not over 45 years of age.
A commission as subadar or jemadar may be given to na-
tives in the Hongkong regiment, Hongkong-Singapore, and
Ceylon-Mauritius battalions of the royal artillery, or in the
Hongkong, Singapore, Ceylon, or Mauritius companies of
the royal engineers.
Officers of the regular army may be appointed to the Indian
staff corps under such regulations as may be laid down from
time to time by the secretary of state for India in council.
Vacancies among the European officers of the Hongkong
regiment in the subaltern ranks are filled from the British
line regiments or the Indian staff corps. Candidates must
have passed the higher standard of Hindustani. Their ap-
pointments are for a term of five years. They then revert
to their former regiments, or if recommended they are given
the option of renewing their service for a further term not
exceeding five years.
Officers appointed to the West Indian regiment are per-
manently gazetted to that regiment, the same as the British
line regiments.
SECONDED OFFICERS.
Officers (other than officers of the royal engineers) below
the rank of major are seconded on the strength of their regi-
ment or corps when serving in a staff appointment, in a civil
appointment, or in the Hongkong regiment. All these ap-
pointments are for a term of five years, at the end of which
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 147
an officer reverts to duty with his regiment or corps. Under
very special circumstances this period may be extended by
the secretary of state for war to ten years.
Officers of the royal engineers under like circumstances are
kept on the establishment of their corps, and officers of the
army service corps are seconded only within such limits as
may be prescribed by the secretary of state for war.
If a major holds an appointment in which he would have
been seconded had he been below the rank of major, his regi-
ment is entitled to an additional captain.
On reverting from the seconded list an officer rejoins his
regiment as a supernumerary, retaining his regimental rank
and position. In the case of a major, referred to above, the
additional captain becomes supernumerary, and is absorbed
in the first available vacancy.
SUPERNUMERARY OFFICERS.
An officer is supernumerary on the strength of his regiment
or corps, while awaiting a vacancy or in case of the reduction
of the establishment of his regiment or corps, when his re-
tention is authorized by the secretary of state for war.
PROMOTIONS.
Every promotion is made upon the recommendation of the
commander-in-chief, with the approval of the secretary of
. state for war.
Promotion up to and including the grade of major (in the
cavalry and infantry) is by seniority in the regiment; in the
artillery, engineers, and staff corps by seniority in the corps.
A vacancy in any rank above that of second lieutenant in
a regiment or corps is filled by the absorption of a super-
numerary officer, if there is such, otherwise by the selection
of a *qualified officer.
A supernumerary or seconded officer, or an officer on the
reserve list of the royal engineers, provided he keeps himself
efficient for duty, is eligible for selection for promotion, pre-
cisely as if he had remained on the establishment of his regi-
ment or corps.
An officer below the rank of major is promoted to the grade
next above his own to fill a vacancy on the establishment of
* A qualified officer means one who has qualified mentally and physically
for the grade for which he is a candidate.
146 NOTE8 OF HIUTABT INTERE8T FOB 1902.
a regiment or corps, provided that a captain is not so pro-
moted unless he has had at least nine years' service.
A lieutenant, the senior of his grade in his regiment or corps,
who holds the appointment of adjutant, may be promoted in
the absence of a vacancy, provided that he has had nine years*
service.
A second lieutenant of the royal artillery, royal Malta artil-
lery, royal engineers, or army service corps is eligible for
promotion to the grade of lieutenant, in the absence of a
vacancy, on completing three years' service.
A lieutenant of the royal engineers or army service corps is
eligible for promotion to the rank of captain, in the absence
of a vacancy, on completing eleven years' service.
A captain of the royal engineers is eligible for promotion
to the grade of major, in the absence of a vacancy, on com-
pleting twenty years' service.
The service of an officer counts from the date of his first
permanent commission. Only full-pay service counts.
The service of an officer commissioned from warrant rank
includes not only his full-pay service as an officer, but also
his service as a warrant officer, and half of any time he has
served in any lower rank.
An officer below the rank of lieutenant colonel must have
passed such professional examination as may be laid down
from time to time, before he can be recommended for promo-
tion to a substantive rank.
Promotion to the grade of lieutenant colonel to fill a vacancy
on the establishment of a regiment or corps, or an appoint-
ment carrying the rank of lieutenant colonel, is conferred by
selection. Such are arbitrarily selected by the commander in
chief. In principle they must have served as major in the
appointment called " second in command."
Brevet rank is conferred for distinguished service in the
field, or for distinguished service other than in the field.
Brevet rank is not regimental rank, but is called army rank;
for example, a major in aregiment, even though only command-
ing a company, may be given the brevet rank of lieutenant col-
onel, but this means nothing while he is serving in the regiment
and while the regiment is serving alone ; if, however, the
regiment be temporarily or permanently brigaded with other
regiments, this brevet lieutenant colonel with substantive
rank of major assumes his army rank of lieutenant colonel,
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 149
and if his brevet lieutenant colonelcy antedates the lieutenant
colonelcy of the officer commanding the regiment, the brevet
lieutenant colonel assumes command, and in the same way if
his brevet lieutenant colonelcy antedates the substantive
lieutenant colonelcies of all the officers commanding regiments
in the brigade, the brevet lieutenant colonel assumes com-
mand of the brigade.
An officer is promoted to the rank of field marshal at the
will of the sovereign, without regard to seniority. Retired
officers are eligible for promotion to the grade of field marshal.
If a general officer on the active list is promoted to the grade
of field marshal on the paid establishment, such promotion
creates a vacancy on the establishment of generals. The
number of field marshals on pay as such will not exceed ten,
including two in the Indian army.
Promotions to the grade of major general or lieutenant gen-
eral are made by selection to fill an appointment, or as a
reward for distinguished service in the field. Promotion to
the rank of general is by seniority (except in the appoint-
ment of the commander in chief or commander in chief in
India, who, if below the rank of general, receives that rank
on appointment). Promotion may be conferred, under special
circumstances, on a colonel, major general, or lieutenant
general for distinguished service in the field, or for distin-
guished service other than the field, without regard to vacan-
cies on the establishment. An officer so promoted is held as
a supernumerary, pending a selection to fill an appointment.
Temporary or local rank as major general, lieutenant gen-
eral, or general, for the convenience of the service, may be
conferred on an officer of the next lower rank (whether he
holds such rank permanently or temporarily) without regard
to seniority. The rank of brigadier general is temporary or
local only.
The appointment of a colonel of a regiment or colonel com-
mandant of the royal artillery, of the royal engineers, of the
king's royal rifle corps, or of the rifle brigade, is filled by
selection from the field marshals, from the establishment of
general officers on the active list, or from retired general
officers of the same branch of the army in which the vacancy
occurs. Such selections are made upon the recommendation
of the commander in chief, with the approval of the secretary
of state for war, and are purely honorary.
150 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
An army or brevet colonel, or a lieutenant colonel having
three years' service with that rank, if selected for the com-
mand of a regimental district, or of a regiment of the foot
guards, for appointment as principal ordnance officer, or for
an appointment approved by the secretary of state for war as
carrying the rank of colonel, may be granted such rank.
RETIREMENT.
Voluntary. — Officers may retire at the following ages:
Second lieutenant, lieutenant, or captain — After fifteen
years' service, or twelve years' service in the West
Indian regiment.
Major (having substantive rank as such), with three
years' service in his substantive rank — After fifteen
years' service, or twelve years' service in the West
Indian regiment.
Lieutenant colonel (having substantive rank as such, or,
in the case of an officer of the foot guards, regimental
rank, not below that of lieutenant colonel), with three
years' service in his substantive rank — After fifteen
years' service.
Compulsory. — Officers are compulsorily retired at the
following ages :
If holding the rank of- ^ Ag.. ■ "JJJ^ST
Becond lieutenant, lieutenant, or captain
If of the royal garrison regiment
Major ___ ; .
If of the royal garriwm regiment
Lieutenant colonel
Colonel
Major general
Lieutenant general or general
I
45 i Five yean.
50 !
48 Five yean.
Five yean.
Five yean.
Three yean.
OFFICERS OF THE INDIAN STAFF CORPS.
ADMISSION.*
A candidate for the Indian staff corps, before arriving in
India, is gazetted as second lieutenant on the unattached list
♦Previous to being gazetted to commissions, cadets of the royal mili-
tary college, who have secured appointment to the Indian staff corps, are
called upon to state officially, through their parents or guardians, what
claims (if any) they have on any particular command in India through
the service of near relatives in that command, and to what command
they would prefer to be posted. The services of near relatives in the
Indian service entitle them to consideration.
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 151
of the British army, and after arrival in India is attached to
a British regiment serving there.
At the expiration of one year's duty he is admitted to the
Indian staff corps with the rank of second lieutenant and
appointed to a native regiment.
At the expiration of two years and three months from the
date of his first commission he is promoted to the grade of
lieutenant, provided he has passed the lower standard of
Urdu.
Within three years from the date of his admission to the
Indian staff corps he must have passed the higher standard
examination of Urdu and the professional examination re-
quired under the Indian regulations. Should he fail to pass
these examinations, he is removed from the Indian staff corps
and provided with his passage to Europe.
Officers who are required to supplement the direct supply
from Sandhurst are drawn from the infantry, cavalry, and
artillery of the British line serving in India. They must
have completed one year's regimental duty in India, be under
25 years of age, and have passed Urdu by the lower standard
at the date of application. Officers of less than two years
and three months' service are appointed to the Indian stuff
corps as second lieutenants, and of more than two years mid
three months' service as lieutenants. They must have pasted
the higher standard of Urdu within three years of admission
to the corps.
Officers once appointed to the Indian staff corps can not
revert to the British line except by transfer, and then only
when they are below the grade of major.
PROMOTION.
Officers after nine years' service become captains; after
eighteen years' service, majors ; after twenty-six years' serv-
ice, lieutenant colonels.
No officer can be promoted while on the half-pay list, but
service on half pay not exceeding one year is allowed to
reckon as service toward promotion.
After three years' service in his grade a lieutenant colonel
is eligible for promotion (by selection) to the rank of colonel.
Promotion to the grade of major general, lieutenant general,
or general is made by selection or as a reward for distin-
guished service.
152 NOTB8 OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Officers in civil employment, after ten years' absence from
military duty, are removed from the effective list of the
army and are placed on a supernumerary list, rising thereon,
under the regulations in force, to the grade of lieutenant
colonel, but no higher. This does not apply to general offi-
cers, or officers taken for temporary civil or political duties
in the field or in newly acquired territories.
BREVET PROMOTION.
Officers above the grade of lieutenant are eligible for brevet
promotion as a reward for distinguished service in the field.
A lieutenant colonel becomes eligible for promotion by
brevet to the rank of colonel after four years' service in com-
mand of a regiment or battalion.
TEMPORARY OR LOCAL PROMOTION.
Temporary or local promotion may be made to the grade of
general officer. A major, substantive or brevet, may be
granted the temporary rank of lieutenant colonel, and a cap-
tain the temporary rank of major, if holding the permanent
appointment of commandant of a native regiment.
RETIREMENT.
Officers may retire voluntarily at the following ages:
In any grade at 60 years of age;
Lieutenant general or general at 65 years of age.
Officers are compulsorily retired at the following ages:
Any grade at 62 years of age;
Lieutenant general and general at 67 years of age.
RUSSIA.
{From " Recrutemknt kt Avancement des Officiers," by Major Ducarne of tbe Belgian ami;
" L'F/tat Miutaire des principals* Pi I88AXCKS £trano£res en 1002," by Major Laith of
the French Army ; "Die Organisation der Russischkn Armkb," by Captain von Diygalai
of the German army; and "Die IIeere unp Flotten, Rutland," by Major General V(l*
Zepelin or the German Army.]
Officers are recruited in four ways : (a) From the college of
the corps of pages of the czar; (b) from the military colleges;
(c) from the " junker" schools; (d) directly from the non-
commissioned officers.
Officers of the guard come exclusively from the first two
categories, as well as the greater part of the officers of the
artillery and engineers.
COMMISSIONS, PROMOTIONS, AND RETIREMENTS. 153
Officers of the cavalry and infantry of the line come chiefly
from the "junker" schools.
According to the order in which they graduate, cadets of
tlie college of the corps of pages of the czar are assigned in
tlie four following categories : (1) As second lieutenant in the
g^nard (officers of the guard rank with officers of the next
higher grade in the line); (2) as second lieutenants in the
line with their commissions antedated one year; (3) as second
lieutenants in the line with their commissions bearing the
date of graduation; (4) as noncommissioned officers, but they
may be made second lieutenants after six months' service.
Cadets of the military colleges, on graduation, are assigned
to categories (2), (3), and (4). A few, however, who show
exceptional ability, are gazetted to the guard.
On graduating from the "junker" schools, the graduates
are assigned to categories (2), (3), and (4), with the exception
that in class (4) the graduates must serve one year as non-
commissioned officers before they can be made second
lieutenants.
Noncommissioned officers who have rendered faithful serv-
ice for five years or who have distinguished themselves in the
field are sometimes made officers, but they are usually assigned
to garrison troops in remote stations.
PROMOTIONS.
The lower grades of officers are promoted to the next higher
grade after fixed periods of service, which periods are as fol-
lows:
For promotion to lieutenant, four years' service.
For promotion to second captain, eight years' service.
For promotion to captain,* twelve years' service.
In the cavalry and infantry of the line, in promotions from
the grade of captain to that of lieutenant colonel,! half are
made by seniority and half by selection. To the grade of
colonel all promotions are made by selection.
In the guard, artillery, and engineers all promotions are
made by seniority in the arm.
*A second captain is brevetted captain after twelve years' service, but
he can not be commissioned until a vacancy exists in his regiment (in the
field artillery, horse artillery, and engineers seniority in the arm), when
his commission is antedated to the date on which he had served twelve
years.
fin the Russian army the grade of major does not exist.
154 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The grade of lieutenant colonel does not exist in the guard,
so promotions are made direct from captain to colonel.
Promotion to the grade of general officer is by selection.
To be eligible for promotion to the grade of major general a
colonel must, as a rule, have served eight years in his grade;
a major general for lieutenant general, eight years in his grade:
a lieutenant general for general, twelve years in his grade. In
making general officers preference is shown for officers of the
general staff.
There are, however, numerous exceptions to the general
rules governing promotions. Officers of the general staff
have a great advantage, and promotions out of the usual order
are made for distinguished services.
RETIREMENTS.
Officers are compulsorily retired at the following ages in
the lower grades :
Sabalterns, 53 years.
Captains, 53* years.
Lieutenant colonels, 58 years.
* Under special circumstances captains are allowed to remain until 55.
VI.-MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
The following notes on military matters are collected from
various sources:
OEKEBJLL.
DURATION OF MILITARY SERVICE IN THE PRINCIPAL COUNTRIES.
With the exception of England all countries have recog-
nized the necessity of reducing, more or less, the time passed
with the colors.
It is evident that modern armies should he able to satisfy
the following requirements : In time of war to place in line
as large a numher of men as possible; in time of peace to
give instruction to as many citizens as the financial conditions
of the country will allow, so that in the event of mobiliza-
tion the units of combat may consist exclusively of trained
soldiers. But since the financial resources of the richest
states are limited, it is a matter of necessity to keep each
class with the colors only for the time recognized as indis-
pensable to make a soldier, so that another class may be sum-
moned for training immediately afterwards.
In Germany the question has been solved by placing it in
two lights. Since the German government could not enroll
in the army even half of the conscripts at its disposal without
exceeding the limits of its budget, it prefers to keep the men
a shorter time with the colors, admitting each year a larger
number. With a population of 57,000,000, Germany fur-
nishes an annual contingent of 540,000 men, which is reduced
to 413,000 after the withdrawal of those whe are exempt from
service for one reason or another.
It goes without saying that Germany could not hope to
enroll the whole 413,000 men, a number too large even
though the revisory commission were very severe in elim-
inating all those who showed the least physical or moral
defect ; a very considerable part of these 413,000 men is, there-
fore, attached immediately either to the landsturm or to the
(155)
156 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
recruiting reserves, so that the number of men actually en-
rolled annually in the active army is only 220,000. This
number is sufficient to maintain the ^present effective of
495,000 men. Officers, surgeons, military officials, noncom-
missioned officers, and volunteers are not included in the
latter number.
Besides, the men are not kept with the colors longer than
is absolutely necessary to give them the requisite training.
Hence the duration of active service is : Two years for infantry
troops, one year in the train troops, and three years in the
cavalry and horse artillery. The Prussian war ministry is of
the opinion that if, in 1904, the service of two years, which at
present is only on trial, is definitely adopted, the number of
reenlistments in the infantry would be augmented and credits
demanded in consequence.
In Russia, where military service has been obligatory for
thirty years, men are obliged to serve five years in the
active army, thirteen years in the reserve, and five years in
the opoltchenie, which corresponds to the reserve of our
territorial army. With its population of 132,000,000, Russia
furnishes annually 980,000 conscripts, of whom about 860,000
are fit for service. It is plain to be seen that under such
conditions the government may display great generosity in
granting exemption from service. The number of men who
are exempted from service is, in fact, 400,000, of whom one-
half are completely exempt, and the other half conditionally.
In reality, even the latter number is never enrolled. The
number of men really enrolled each year averages about
290,000. This number reached 308,000 in 1900, and about
318,000 in 1902.
We have said that the duration of active service is five
years, but with the exception of the men of Turkestan and
Siberia, who actually serve that term, the others are usually
liberated at the end of four years.
We may add that young men having followed the course
of certain schools have the benefit of a reduction of service,
which is: One year for those coming from the elementary
schools, two years for those who have gone through the
intermediary schools, finally, three years for those young
men who have finished their studies in the superior schools.
To recapitulate, the larger part of the Russian recruits
have four years of active service, a large number three
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 157
yeurs, a certain number two years, finally, a few one year
only.
In Austria-Hungary exemption from obligatory military
service may be attained in many ways. The annual contin-
gent, which consists of 470,000 conscripts, falls to 417,000 on
account of the exemptions from service. The contingent is
divided into three categories, the first, which contains 103,000
men, is incorporated in the active army for three years, but
it is generally liberated during the course of the third year;
the second, 24,000 men, is enrolled for two years in the land-
wehr of the provinces of Cisleithania and Transleithania and
of the Tyrol, which form the permanent nucleus of an army
of tlie second line. The third category, which is the most
important, as it contains 290,000 men, serves only eight
weeks. It may be seen that actually the duration of active
service does not exceed two and one-half years.
In Italy, of an annual contingent of 315,000 conscripts,
205,000 are declared fit for service. The number of recruits
enrolled in the active army varies from 95,000 to 105,000
men yearly. The duration of active service is legally three
years, but, with the exception of the cavalry, where the men
are retained with the colors for that period, the other
branches of the service are held for only two and one-half
years. The recruits are taken into the service on the 1st of
March, instead of on the 1st of December, and they are lib-
erated during the course of the third year.
It is seen that with the exception of Russia, the principal
governments do not generally keep their men in the active
army longer than two and one-half years.
The cavalry generally serves three years.
In his work on the Russian army, Von Drygalski gives cer-
tain interesting figures upon the exemption from military
service. According to him the percentage of individuals
exempt from military service for one cause or another (phys-
ical unfitness, domestic situation, etc.) are, in the following
countries: Austria-Hungary, 50 per cent; Germany, 37 per
cent; Italy, 27 per cent; France, 21 per cent; Russia, 19 per
cent.
The percentage of men released from military obligations
for family reasons are: France, 0; Germany, 2 per cent;
Austria, 3 per cent ; Italy, 37 per cent ; Russia, 48 per cent.
158 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Those actually enrolled are: In France, 78 per cent; in
Germany, 51 per cent; in Austria-Hungary, 40 per cent; k
Italy, 33 per cent; in Russia, 29 per cent.
Those exempted on account of unfitness for service : France,
21 per cent; Germany, 37 per cent; Austria, 50 per cent;
Italy, 27 per cent; Russia, 19 per cent.
Those forced to service: France, 78 per cent; Germany.
51 per cent; Russia, 29 per cent.
Of every 1,000 individuals who are of age to gain their liveli-
hood, from 21 to 60 years of age, there are in service: I:.
France, 58.4; in Germany, 48; in Russia, 43; in Austria, :M:
in Italy, 30. Of 1,000 men of the same age available in tin-
of * war there are: In Germany, 139; in Austria, 96; ir
France, 171; in Italy, 107; in Russia, 81.
These figures show that military service is most onerous :\
France and least so in Russia. — Revue du Cercle Militair*.
September 6, 1903.
PROGRESS IN AERONAUTICS.
A brief description of the general dimensions and construc-
tion of the Santos-Dumont No. 6, with which the successf :.
trial was made, may be given here. The balloon itself va*
a cylinder of 6 meters in diameter, terminating in two cont^
the total length being 33 meters, and the displacement beii:;
C22 cubic meters. This is equivalent to 800 kilograms of air.
against which there was to be charged the weight of the bal-
loon, 120 kilograms; of the motor, 98 kilograms; of tip
hydrogen itself, 120 kilograms; of the aeronaut, 50 kilo-
grams; and of various accessories; there being left an unop-
posed buoyancy of 150 kilograms. The balloon was made of
the finest white Japanese silk, this being very close mes'.i.
and rendered impermeable by means of five coatings of lin-
seed oil. Within this main gas reservoir there was placed a
secondary balloon of 60 cubic meters capacity, this being
capable of distension or contraction by the admission or dis-
charge of air, thus maintaining the outer main balloon in its
proper shape.
The motive power and propelling machinery were carried
on a trussed girder, which was attached to the balloon by a
system of piano wires. The rudder, which was of triangular
form, was attached to the rear, behind the propeller, and
braced and stayed to the frameworks and the balloon by
wires. One of the novelties of the apparatus consisted of the
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 159
use of two reservoirs of very thin brass, containing about 100
pounds of water, which might be discharged at will, forming
a more controllable ballast than the usual sand bags.
The motor, upon which the principal success of the appara-
tus depends, was constructed by M. Buchet, and contains no
special features differing from the well-known machines of
Daimler, de Dion, Panhard, Mors, and others, for automobile
service.
Although steam engines have been greatly reduced in
weight in the endeavor to secure power and speed in torpedo
boats, they are as yet unavailable for use in flying machines.
M. Serpollet has designed a motor, using his instantaneous
system of steam generation, which, for 30 horsepower, weighs
but 191 kilograms, or 6.4 kilograms per horsepower. It is,
however, necessary to carry 22 pounds of water per horse-
power, which adds too much to the load for aero-nautical
purposes. The principal method by which the weight of a
steam motor may be reduced is by increasing its speed, and
in this respect the steam turbine offers- possibilities.
MM. Renaud and Krebs used a battery and motor of 9 horse-
power, with a weight of 55 pounds per horsepower, and this
was a great alvance over the 68 kilograms per horsepower of
M. Tissandier, or the weight of the eight men (400 kilograms)
employed by M. Dupuy de Lome.
In order the better to show the reduction in weight per
horsepower which has been attained in the more recent inter-
nal combustion motors, M. Armengaud gives a diagram in
which the curves show the results of various makers. With-
out going into details, it may suffice to state that for motors of
50 horsepower the weight has been reduced to 5 kilograms
per horsepower, while for motors as large as 100 horsepower
this may be reduced to 3 kilograms per horsepower.
Referring to the points to be observed in the construction
of future dirigible balloons, it will be interesting to note the
rules laid down as long ago as 1880 by Colonel Renard, as a
result of his practical experience. In order to obtain success-
ful results it is desirable to —
1. Give the balloon an elongated form, similar to that of a
boat.
2. To maintain the form of the balloon by the use of an
internal vessel, permitting the replacement of the gas by
atmospheric air.
1G0 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
3. To maintain the longitudinal stability by connecting tie
car to the balloon by a rigidly braced framework.
4. To use a propeller of suitable dimensions, actuated by ;.
motor of great power, and relatively light weight as possible.
5. To place the rudder in the rear, in a manner similar t«<
that employed in steering boats.
To these rules M. Armengaud adds some of his own, based
upon the most recent experience :
1. Employ an internal-combustion motor having at least
four cylinders, in order to permit the best degree of balancing,
and to use electric ignition, in order to avoid interruptions ia
the action of the cylinders.
2. Bring the propeller shaft as close as possible to the longi-
tudinal axis of the balloon, that is, to the line passing through
the center of pressure.
3. Provide sufficient distance between the center of pressure
and the center of gravity of the system to maintain operative
stability.
4. Provide in the case of small aerostats an auxiliary couple
for stability by the use of a guide rope or a movable weight.
5. Provide an easily regulated motor in order to enable the
sudden variations in resistance to be met promptly.
6. In the case of large machines provide two propellers,
one in front and the other in the rear, each propeller being
actuated by an independent motor. — The Engineer Magazine.
April, 1902
AFGHANISTAN.
ARMY STRENGTH.
The Afghan army was created by the Emir Shir-Ali, wli«>
in 189? formed 48 battalions, 27 squadrons, and 17 batlerie
of artillery and laid the first foundation for the military
organization of the country.
Emir Abdurrahman, who died last year, continued the
work of Shir-Ali, and at his death left an army of 67,0<X)
infantry, 12,000 cavalry, and 300 guns.
Troops on the Russian frontier are stationed as follows:
At Maimantf, 2,000 infantry, 5 platoons of cavalry, and 12
guns ; at Ankhoa, 800 infantry, 2 platoons of cavalry, and 8
guns; at Blak and Musar-i-Sherif, 15,700 infantry, 13 platoons
of cavalry and 56 guns; at Kunduz, 4,300 infantry, 12 pla-
toons of cavalry, and 24 guns; and at Rustak, 1,360 infantry,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 161
7 platoons of cavalry, and 8 guns; a total of 24,160 infantry,
39 platoons of cavalry, and 103 guns.
A great military activity roigns, especially at Kabul, where
from 8,000 to 10,000 men are garrisoned.
The horses have no stables, but at all the stations they are
kept in the open, assembled in long files of 100 head and tied
so as to have only the necessary liberty to seek food.
There are no uniforms for the army, except the guard of
the Emir, consisting of 500 men. The remainder wear tho
national dress, a ' c burnous " as head wear and a kind of sandal
as foot gear.
The infautry is armed with Martini-Henry rifles and the
cavalry with lances. Both branches, though not trained in
the European sense of the word, are noted for good marching
and fighting. The artillery possesses 100 Krupp guns, for
the transportation of which there are 100 elephants. This
branch enjoyed the greatest care of Emir Abdurrahman, and
is the object of the highest solicitude of the present ruler.
There is an arsenal at Kabul in which 300 workmen are
employed under the direction of an Englishman, Frank
Martin, and a German engineer, Schneider. The present
Emir is often present at the artillery firing exercises, as ho
wants to learn how the guns are manipulated. Thirteen
new guns have been recently brought from Peshavur to
Kabul, to be sent to Herat, and 12 more have been ordered
from the Indian government.
It seems that the present Emir, Habid-Ullah, has turned his
attention toward the construction of fortified works, which
the preceding ones have overlooked.
It seems that the erection of these works is being actively
carried on, not only at Herat, but also on the whole Amu-
Daria line, in the vicinity of which fortified camps will bo
constructed at Akhtchi, Chibirkhan, and Mainland. Earth-
works are being erected at Erdewana and Kuschk-Robat,
evidently for the purpose of opposing a first resistance to
Russian troops crossing the frontier. The road Kabul-Herat
is likewise to be defended by forts of a modern type, with"
the construction of which the English engineer, Frank Martin,
will be intrusted. — Revista Militare Italiana, March 16, 1002.
829 — n
162 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
ARGENTINA.
PERMANENT ARMY OF THE REPUBLIC.
The composition of the Argentine army for 1902, according
to the organization approved by the congress and modified by
the president, is as follows:
Officers _ _ — 1,597
Enlisted men :
8 companies of engineers 900
2 battalions of chasseurs _- 800
2 battalions of mounted infantry 680
14 battalions of infantry of the line 5, 520
2 regiments of gendarmerie _ 700
10 regiments of cavalry 3,300
5 regiments of field artillery 1,950
3 regiments of mountain artillery 1,050
2 train companies ._ 200
Total 16,697
Among the 15,100 enlisted men there are to be 2,448 volun-
teers, 9,453 conscripts, 3,199 sergeants and corporals.
The effective strength, according to the report of the min-
ister of war, is 18,839 men, including officers and privates.
The general total is divided as follows:
Conscripts 12,785
Volunteers... _ — 4,629
Reserves 92
General officers _.- 81
Officers T _ 671
Detailed to various corps (officers and privates) 631
Total 18,839
This effective strength is distributed among 44 tactical
units, and these can be recruited up to a strength of 35,000
combatants.
In April 11,000 conscripts will be mustered out, leaving
7,000 men in the cadres, the effective strength in winter.
In July 8,000 men of the class of 1881 are to be called to
the colors, from which a little over 1,000 will be detailed to
the navy, the remainder being distributed among the cadres
of the army.
The rest of the class of 1881 are to be called to the colors in
October, making an effective strength of 22,000 men with
the colors. These will remain in quarters and in maneuver
camps until the autumn of 1903. — Revisfa Militar (Brazil),
Ajiril, 1902.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 163
ATTSTRIA-HUNOABY.
ABTILLEBY PRACTICE IN FIRING AT A CAPTIVE BALLOON.
[Reported by Capt. Floyd W. Harris, Fourth Cavalry, U. 8. Miutar* Attach fc at Vienna.]
Some exercises in estimating distances and elevations of
balloons, and in artillery fire with blank ammunition against
captive balloons, were required in the autumn maneuvers of
1902. As no projectiles were employed, of course no material
results could be accomplished. To ascertain the accuracy
and effect of artillery fire against such objectives, some prac-
tical exercises, with service shells, were carried out some
time ago on the Steinfeld, an artillery proving ground near
Wiener-Neustadt. A captive balloon, 3 meters in diameter,
was sent up, and its distance from the firing point and its
elevation were not given to the artillerymen charged with
the firing. Twenty-two shots were fired without hitting the
balloon. All were too low.
The gunners were then given the horizontal distance of the
balloon from the firing point, which was 4,000 paces, and the
elevation of the balloon, which was 2,500 meters. The firing
was now resumed, but 64 shots were fired before the balloon
was touched. After the sixty-fourth shot, the balloon began
slowly to sink. A straw man had been placed in the balloon
t:> ascertain whether or not such a figure would be set on fire
when the balloon was hit. When the balloon reached the
ground, it was found that the bundle of straw had not been
ignited.
The firing was executed by a detachment of the school of
fire of the fortress artillery.
BOLIVIA.
GENERAL ARMED STRENGTH.
The military rolls of the republic show that there are
80,500 men liable to military service, among them 22,000 men
between 18 and 25 years of age, 26,500 between 25 and 30
years of age, and 32,200 between 30 and 40 years of age. The
first group furnishes the troops of the first line, and are
trained, uniformed, and equipped in cadres in the provinces
of Cochbamba and Oruro. A similar skeleton organization
in the remaining provinces has been proposed and the plan
is soon to be carried out. There is a testing ground at La
164 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1KB.
Paz, as well as four large firing grounds. Great interest in
target practice has lately manifested itself among all classes
of the population. In addition to the international firing
club, there are in Oruro alone six rifle associations which have
their own firing grounds. The army on peace footing amounts
in rounds numbers to 3,000 men — infantry, artillery, and
cavalry. The armament on hand is the following: Seventy-
six guns — machine guns and mortars; 27,000 modern rifles;
26,000 old Mauser rifles; 69,000 Remingtons. The military
school located at La Paz has a staff of German teachers.—
Mtiitdr- Wochenblati, September 20, 1902.
GERMAN OFFICERS AS INSTRUCTORS.
It may be seen from the president's message that Bolivia
has again enrolled German officers for her war academy,
special arms, and the technical section of the general staff.
The German major, Plotho, has served a long time already
as instructor of the Bolivian troops. The Bolivian Govern-
ment appointed in 1900 several Argentine officers, including
Colonel Enrique Rostagno, as instructors for the array. They
were replaced, however, within one year by German officer*,
for whose pay 80,000 marks were voted. The German cap-
tain, Gutmann, who was until then in Chile, was appoint^
in place of Colonel Enrique Rostagno and was afterwards
succeeded by Major Plotho. — UeberaUfiir Armee und Marin'.
No. 5, 1902.
CHINA.
THE TROOPS OP PECHILI.
Yuan Shi-kai, the commander in chief of the Chinese troop*
in Pechili, has presented to the emperor the following recom-
mendations with regard to the organization of the army:
1. Soldiers are recruited for the purpose of defending the country ami
protecting its subjects. A soldier's resi>onsibility is great and important.
None but good men are to be allowed to wear the uniform. In recruiting
for the army, which I am to organize according to the decree of t>
government, I deem it is best to adopt the principles in practice in foreign
armies. Orders have been issued to all the prefects and chiefs of district-
in the province of Pechili to make a census of the settlements and inhab-
itants in their districts. They are directed to require officials of the
settlements to submit lists of certain numbers of men for recruits for the
army. All men proposed by the officials must have good characters ami
possess relatives. In case an official submits the name of a man of bad
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 165
character, or that of a dishonorably discharged soldier, he shall suffer
severe punishment.
2. All men proposed are to remain in the place of their residence and
await the recruiting officers.
8. The local authorities most post proclamations at each recruitment of
a new draft of men. All such proclamations must contain the military
orders, so that the people may understand their contents. The dates on
which officials are required to submit names of recruits must likewise be
posted beforehand. The local authorities must render it impossible for
officials to accept presents under any pretext whatever.
4. When the number of recruits obtained is sufficient for the formation
of a" shao" (i battalion), each recruit will receive 100 " cash " (20 cents)
per day for rations, and will then be quartered at a designated place until
the date of the formation of a battalion, from which time the regular
military service begins, and the soldier then receives 160 "cash" ($0.30,
Mexican) per day. as subsistence money.
5. As soon as a battalion has been attached to a regiment, each non-
commissioned officer receives a monthly pay of 5 taels ($7 Mexican,
$3. 50 gold) and each private a pay of 4.50 taels ($6.30 Mexican, $3. 15 gold)
as an addition to the above-mentioned subsistence money. The general
will give the family or the nearest relatives of the recruit a certificate for
the following purpose: Beginning with the fourth service month of each
soldier, the general makes a monthly deduction of 1.50 taels ($2.80 Mexi-
can) from the pay of a noncommissioned officer and 1 tael ($1.40 Mexican)
from that of a private. This money is placed in the intendancy and is
sent every six months to the local magistrate of the district to which the
soldier belongs, who pays it to the nearest relative of the soldier upon
presentation of the above-mentioned certificate. The amount and date of
the payment are entered on the certificate. In case such a certificate is
lost, the local authorities shall be informed of the fact two days before
payment is made ; a new certificate is made out and the invalidity of the
old one noted. In case the intendantor the magistrate commit a fraud in
the payment of the money, the family must inform the soldier of the fact
and he will bring it to the knowledge of the commander of his battalion.
The guilty will be severely punished.
6. It is expected of every soldier in the army that he give his entire
time and attention to his military duties. This is possible only when he
is free from family cares. For this reason the family and relatives of the
soldier will be protected from evil influences of the locality, and in all
judiciary matters the same privileges will be given them as to scholars
of the first grade, so that they may be able to present any petition to the
court on the day of the hearing of the case. This privilege does not
extend to discharged soldiers, who are to be treated as civilians.
7. A soldier after three months' service is exempt from the tax imposed
upon the population of the province of Pechili by the government. If it
be ascertained that he abuses this exemption by helping others to avoid
taxes, he will be severely punished.
8. The commander of each battalion will report at the end of each
month to the commander in chief the number of soldiers furloughed, dis-
charged, or absent without leave, during that period. The general shall
166 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
from time to time furnish the local authorities the names of dishonorably
discharged soldiers to prevent these being reenlisted.
9. When a soldier deserts and returns to his home, the chief of police
of that place will be notified for the purpose of causing the arrest of him
and his relatives. Should the officials conceal him, or refuse to deliver
him up, they will be severely punished. In case the place of abode of the
deserter is not found out after a month's search, the mandarin of the
locality will institute proceedings against his relatives.
10. If the mandarin of the locality is careless in his search for the
deserter, he will be punished according to law.
11. When a soldier is promoted to the grade of officer, the local man-
darin will be informed of the fact for the purpose of putting him on the
officers' roll.
12. The following qualifications are required of a recruit:
(a) He must not be under 20 and not over 25 years of age.
(b) He must be strong enough to be able to lift a weight of 100 pounds
to the height of his chest.
(c) He must be at least 4 feet 8 inches tall.
(d) He must be capable of covering on foot the distance of 20 li (13,090
yards) in one hour.
(e) He must have a good character and not have undergone imprison-
ment.
(/) He must have no physical defect.
— Internationale Revue, August, 1902.
CUBA.
LAW FOR INCREASING AND REORGANIZING THE RURAL GUARD
OF CUBA.
[Reported by Lieut. M. E. Hanna, U. 8. Military Attach* at Havana, Cuba.]
The law providing for the increase and reorganization of
the rural guard of Cuba is as follows :
General Dispositions.
Article 1.— The rural guard is a corps with a military organization,
the character and nature of which shall be civil, and has for its object
care and preservation of public order, principally in the country districts,
for which it shall be distributed in posts and detachments.
Art. 2. — The corps shall consist of a total number of 8,008 individuals,
organized in the following manner : A headquarters and three regiments;
each regiment shall consist of eight squadrons of cavalry and two com-
panies of infantry, distributed according to the necessities of the service.
Art. 3. — The headquarters shall consist of a brigadier general, chief of
the guard ; a lieutenant colonel, quartermaster ; a major, adjutant general :
a captain, auditor; a captain, aid-de-camp; and three second lieutenants,
attached to headquarters.
Art. 4.— The headquarters' staff of each regiment shall consist of a
colonel ; a lieutenant colonel ; a major, quartermaster ; a captain, adju-
tant ; a captain, surgeon ; a lieutenant, paymaster ; a lieutenant, veterinary;
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 167
a second lieutenant, aid; two sergeants, clerks; a corporal, orderly
trumpeter; a corporal, armorer.
Art. 5. — Each squadron of cavalry shall consist of a captain; two
lieutenants; a second lieutenant, quartermaster; four sergeants; eight
corporals; two buglers; 80 privates.
Art. 7. — The armament, supplies, implements, and forage for the
mounts of the corps, as well as the equipment, clothing, and amount for
purchasing rations for the noncommissioned officers and privates, will be
supplied by the state in the manner prescribed in the regulations.
Art. 8.— The lieutenant colonel, quartermaster general, will receive from
the state the allotments for the provisioning and supplying of the corps,
in accordance with the regulations, and shall render accounts to the auditor
general or the revising auditor that may fill his place, and shall be responsi-
ble for the property of the republic in the hands of the corps.
Art. 9.— The quartermasters and paymasters shall give sufficient bond
to the state. The paymasters shall be elected by the officers of the
respective regiments.
Art. 10. — The chiefs and officers of the rural guard shall be mounted,
and shall furnish, at their own expense, their horses, uniforms, and equip-
ments.
Art. 11.— The mounts shall be the property of the individuals, but the
state shall supply them at enlistment, in the manner established in this
law and in the regulations.
CHAPTER II.— SALARIES AND ALLOWANCES.
Art. 12. — The individuals of the corps shall receive the following sala-
ries, payable in monthly installments: Brigadier general, $4,000 annually ;
colonel, $8,800 annually ; lieutenant colonel, $2,700 annually ; major, $2, 100
annually; captain, $1,500 annually; lieutenant, $1,200 annually; second
lieutenant, $1,080 annually; sergeants employed as clerks, $840 annually ;
cavalry sergeants, $884 annually ; farriers, $240 annually ; trumpeters, $240
annually; privates of cavalry, $240 annually; sergeants of infantry, $360
annually; corporals of infantry, $288 annually; buglers, $216 annually;
privates of infantry, $216 annually.
Art. 18. — For each noncommissioned officer or private of cavalry the
following allowances are provided: For daily subsistence, 25 cents; for
four complete uniforms, $26 per year ; for a rain coat, $10 per year ; for two
pairs of leggins, $4 per year; for three pairs of shoes, $6 per year; for
two hats, $8 per year; for grain and forage for his horse, $60 per year;
for horseshoes, brush, and currycomb, $1.50 per year.
Art. 14. — For each noncommissioned officer or private of infantry the
following allowances are provided: For daily subsistence, 25 cents; for
four complete uniforms, $25 per year ; for a cape, $6 per year ; for two hats,
$8 per year; for two pairs of leggins, $4 per year; for four pairs of shoes,
18 per year.
Art. 15.— For rent and light, $18,000 per year; for office material and
printing, $10,000 per year; for traveling expenses when necessary for the
public service, $5,000 per year ; for sanitation of barracks, $6,000 per year ;
for incidentals, $8,500 per year; for forage for each horse of chiefs or offi-
cers, $60 per year; for forage for each mule, $60 per year; for horseshoes,
168 NOTES OF MILITARY INTBBE8T FOR 1908.
l)i \iAim,mi&amxijCBaim-6ar adink or fcoroe of chiefs or officers, $1.50
per year.
Chapter III.— Rbimburskmsnt fob Moron.
Art. 16. — The state shall be reimbursed the purchase price of the
mounts in the following manner: (a) Two dollars shall be deducted
monthly from the pay of each noncommissioned officer and private, until
the cost of his mount has been covered ; $5 from each officer and $10
from each chief, (6) The state loses the horses that become useless in
the service, but those that become useless through carelessness or other
cause dependent on the will of the owner will be charged to his
account, (c) The state reserves the right to keep the horse on the
completion of the term of enlistment, subject to the conditions fixed in
the regulations.
Chapter IV.— Enlistments.
Art. 17.— The enlistment of noncommissioned officers and privates shall
be binding for four years, and to enlist the following qualifications are
required: (1) To be a Cuban; (2) to know how to read and write the
Spanish language; (3) to have good habits and good antecedents; (4) to
be more than 21 and less than 45 years of age ; (5) to weigh as a minimum
120 pounds, and as a maximum 170 pounds; (6) to be at least 5 feet 4
inches high ; (7) never to have received a criminal sentence, and never to
have been separated with a bad record from any civil or military office.
Art. IS. — There shall be established in each provincial capital a com-
mission for the enlistment of the personnel that corresponds to that
province.
Art. IV).— Vacancies in the positions of officers shall be filled hy
examination.
Art. 20.— The appointments of chiefs and officers shall be made by the
president of the republic, and those of officers in accordance with the
marks received at the examination.
Art. 21.— One hundred points shall be taken as a maximum in the
marking, with 50 per cent for fitness for the service and the other 50 per
cent for general information.
Art. 22.— No individual of the rural guard shall be discharged from the
corps without a trial by a competent court in the manner prescribed in
the regulations.
Art. 23.— Individuals that have belonged to the liberating army shall,
in equal conditions, be preferred for enlistment in the corps.
Transitory Arrangements.
1. The following amounts are appropriated for expenses of installation,
purchase of arms, equipment, implements, horses, and mules: For each
cavalry equipment for a noncommissioned officer or private, $22; for each
bad and bedding for the same, $5; for each horse of a noncommissioned
officer or private, $70; for each horse of an officer or chief, $100: for each
machete with its scabbard, $3.50; for each cartridge belt, $075; for
each cavalry carbine with magazine, modern system, $15; for each infen
try nriewitn magazine, modern system, with its bayonet. $16; for each
thousand cartridges, $30; for furniture. $3,000; for seventy mules, at $70
eacn ; tor seventy pack 8ad(Ueg ftnd equipments for tUe mnles ftt S20 each.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 169
2. The rank of the officers of the present rural guard will be recog-
nized, provided they submit to the examination provided for herein and
are approved.
3. The horses of the present rural guard that fill the conditions required
by the regulations shall be utilized, and from the surplus allotted for the
purchase of animals the executive is authorized to arrange for the pur-
chase of a number of horses, equivalent to 2 per cent of the total number
of mounts of the corps, which shall be used for remounts and shall be
under the care of the respective regiments.
DENMARK.
STRENGTH AND EMPLOYMENT OF THE DANISH ARMY.
The peace strength of the Danish army is 10,000 men. In
the infantry a majority serve only six months on active duty.
One hundred and fifty men of each regiment of infantry are
retained on active duty eight months longer in order to be
trained as noncommissioned officers. A term of service is
thirteen to nineteen months in the cavalry, thirteen to four-
teen months in the field artillery, and five to eighteen months
in the pioneers, according to the various categories. The
employment of the first line of the army in war will be con-
fined to the defense of the fortified camp of Copenhagen. The
remainder of the army will be for the defense of the rest of
the country. There will be no offensive operations outside
the country. The army has established a reputation for skill
in firing, coolness, and stubbornness. — Allgemeine Schwei-
zerische Militarzeitung, March 22, 1902.
EaXTADOB.
ARMY NOTES.
A new military law was accepted by the legislature of this
republic and entered into force on January 15, 1902.
According to the new regulations the minister of war, who
is at the same time minister of the navy, is intrusted with the
publication of the laws, orders, regulations, etc., accepted
and sanctioned by the congress. He is responsible for the dis-
cipline and the uniformity of training of all arms, the promo-
tion of officers of the standing army, the national guard, and
the navy, the mapping and surveying of the separate prov-
inces, and projects plans of fortified places, fortresses, and
forts. He supervises the instruction in the war college and
the naval school.
170 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
The standing army consists of the active troops and the
reserve. The men serve three years in the active army and
five in the reserve. The reserve service is with the militia
of their respective localities.
The chief of the respective corps of the national guard must
present monthly rolls to the minister of war, giving the names
of the national guard men, their grades, age, occupation,
corps, etc.
The units are called "battalions" in the infantry, "regi-
ments" in the cavalry, "brigades" in the artillery.
Each infantry battalion is formed of three companies. The
headquarters consists of 1 colonel or lieutenant colonel as com-
mander, 1 lieutenant colonel, 1 major, 1 captain, 1 lieutenant
(adjutant), 1 ensign (color bearer), 1 surgeon of the second or
third class, 1 drum major, and 1 noncommissioned officer
(bugler). Each company consists of 1 captain, 3 lieutenants,
3 ensigns, 1 sergeant major, 19 noncommissioned officers, 9
corporals, 3 musicians, and 100 men.
Each cavalry regiment has the same organization as an
infantry battalion, except that there is a bugler and a farrier
added to each squadron. To the noncommissioned officers
are added for each squadron 1 staff bugler and 1 farrier.
The artillery brigade consists of three batteries and a staff—
1 colonel or lieutenant colonel as commander, 1 lieutenant
colonel, 1 major, 1 captain (adjutant), 1 lieutenant (adjutant),
1 noncommissioned officer as color bearer, 1 surgeon, 1 band-
master, and 2 sergeants. The battery consists of 1 captain,
3 lieutenants, 3 sublieutenants, 1 sergeant major, 18 noncom-
missioned officers, 9 corporals, 3 buglers, and 100 men.
In case of mobilization the national guard occupies the gar-
risons of the active troops ; the units of the latter are brought
to double their peace footing by calling the reserves to the
colors. The same is applied to the active battalions and the
national brigades of Quito, Guayaquil, and Cuenca.
Horses and mules are either requisitioned or voluntarily
given by landowners. At the end of a war the animals are
given back and the missing ones replaced by others.
Each battalion has one reserve company composed of
recruits, convalescents, etc. The battalions of the active
national guard are brought to their full quota from districts
other than their own.
The territorial depot troops, in case of war, form battalions
of from two to eight companies. The corps of the national
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 171
gnard are commanded during mobilization by retired army-
officers. Each division has a reserve ammunition park and a
reserve train column. The sanitary corps in the field consists
of a chief surgeon, surgeons, priests, employees, litter bearers,
and servants. The chief surgeon is detailed to the headquarters
of the army.
According to some sources the total strength of the active
army is 5,500 men, distributed among three artillery brigades,
ten infantry battalions, etc. The national guard is said to
consist of eighty-eight infantry battalions, eight artillery bri-
gades, and nine cavalry regiments. The total armed strength
is said to be 80,000 men. — Militar-Wochenblatt, September 17,
1902.
FRANCE.
CHANGES IN THE FRENCH ARMY IN THE TEAR lOO*.
[Bepoktkd by Caft. T. Bentley Mott, Artxllxbt Cokps, U. 8. Military Attach 6 at Parts.]
There have been no changes of great importance during the
year as regards the strength, organization, or administration
of the army.
The activity as regards colonial defense continues, the
colonial party in the chamber urging constant attention to
it. It is fully realized that in the event of war the French
colonies would form an object of attack. The colonial party
continue to urge more submarine boats for colonial harbors,
and on these great reliance is placed to meet the attack of a
foreign fleet.
In April three new native companies were formed for the
occupation and defense of the oases of Gourara, le Touat, and
le Tidikett. These are called the companies of the Saharan
Oases. Each comprises, besides infantry, a squad of cavalry
and a squad of camelry, a section of artillery, and a transport
outfit. They are under the control of the general commanding
the nineteenth corps in Algeria. The French contingent for
the companies is recruited from troops stationed in Algeria, the
natives from local sources.
The effectives of these three companies are as follows :
.French, 20 officers, 110 men.
Natives, no officers, 900 men.
Horses, 133; riding camels, 15C; camels, 300; mules, 18.
The policy of stationing zouaves in France has been re-
newed ; they will be relieved every two years.
172 NOTB8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR IMS.
AUTOMOBILES.
The minister of war intimates each year the use which will
be made of automobiles during maneuvers and during "staff
journeys."
In principle the automobiles and their drivers are recruited
in the region of the corps d'armde which is called upon to
use them.
The description of the automobiles acceptable for this service
is set down in the circular ; automobile owners and drivers
desirous of having their services accepted with or without
their machines, make their applications through military
channels which are decided upon by the generals commanding
corps.
The compensation given to proprietors of machines for the
time in which they are used, including journey to and from
headquarters, is as follows :
Motorcycles : Compensation, 86 centimes per horsepower
per day and 0.048 centime per kilometer per horsepower.
Carriages of six places are offered a compensation of Sb
centimes per horsepower per day and 0.026 centime per
kilometer per horsepower.
Heavy transports, 1.72 francs per horsepower per day
and 0.0162 centime per kilometer per horsepower.
The drivers are entitled to their rations and the allow-
ances given to men on detached service."
SWIMMING RIVERS.
In April a circular was issued on this subject, and the fol-
lowing observations are extracted therefrom:
On account of the difficulty which horses have when sad-
dled and swimming any distance, only those which are par-
ticularly good swimmers should be permitted to attempt it
when saddled. The employment of trestles should not be
encouraged. The cavalry have no time to construct them.
Cavalry should not try to construct bridges for horses and
wagons. They should limit themselves to light foot-bridges
exclusively for men, the horses swimming alongside. Horses
should not be let loose in herds. Such a proceeding does not
accustom them to the calm which is indispensable alongside
foot bridges. A herd of horses should not be attached to a
rope and made to swim together, as they do not swim at equal
paces. Men who can not swim should not be allowed to cross
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 173
rivers by means of buoys. All cavalrymen should, as far as
possible, be taught to swim.
The following precautions should be taken in all swimming
exercises for cavalry: A lookout should be established for
watching the waterways and signaling men and horses in
danger. On each bank and in boats near dangerous points
men who are good swimmers should be stationed with life
buoys. A number of men crossing simultaneously by means
of rafts should not exceed the number held in readiness in
case of upset.- A doctor should always be present to render
assistance in case of need.
COLONIAL ARMY.
In June an agreement was come to between the ministers
of 'war, marine, and the colonies as to their respective shares
in the expenses of the colonial and home troops.
All charges connected with troops, colonial or otherwise,
outside of France, Algeria, and Tunis, which are employed
in the colonies or protectorates, or placed at the disposal of
the minister of marine for coast defense or other purposes,
shall be covered in the budgets of the ministers of colonies
and marine, respectively. These expenses commence with
the embarkment for their destination and continue until their
return to a post under the control of the minister of war.
In May two new mounted batteries of colonial artillery
were created for Madagascar. This carries the colonial artil-
lery to the following effective :
Three groups —
First group — Three foot-batteries at Diego Suarez.
Second group — Three mountain-batteries at Emyrne ;
one company of conductors.
Third group — Two mounted batteries at Diego Suarez.
In June a corps of native infantry was created for the
occupation of Cambodge under the designation of "tirailleurs
Cambodgians." This force starts with one company on the
lines of colonial troops. New companies will be created
according to the requirements of the service. Men will be
recruited by voluntary engagement in Cochin-China and
Cambodge. A similar force of troops was created for Indo-
China in June, under the title of "bataillons des tirailleurs
Chinois." The battalion starts with two companies only, to
174 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
be increased according to the needs of the service. The men
are expected to be recruited from among Chinese horn in
Indo-China.
Until Angnst last the squadron of spahis stationed in
Senegal belonged to the first regiment of Algerian spahis.
The designation is now changed to first squadron of Senegal
spahis, whose effective is given below.
The squadron of Soudanese spahis stationed in French
West Africa takes the name of second squadron of Senegal
spahis. It forms a distinct corps from the first squadron.
These troops are quartered, in theory, in French West Africa,
but they may be sent anywhere outside.
First squadron: 8 officers, 10 noncommissioned officers
(French); 10 noncommissioned officers (natives); 11'
privates (natives).
Second squadron: 8 officers (French); 12 noncommis-
sioned officers (French); 12 noncommissioned officers
(natives); 1G9 privates (natives).
In October, for the first time, a brigade of colonial infantry
was sent to Paris, forming part of the first colonial infantry
division.
In October a decree abolished "compagnies disciplinaires"
in the colonies. The " disciplinaires " of these companies
were distributed according to origin among the "compag-
nies de discipline" of home troops and African troops. The
disciplinary companies in Senegal, Martinique, etc., were
abolished under this decree also.
In October a decree placed the strength of the French in
the Kongo as follows : A regiment of native cavalry of two
battalions, a mixed mountain battery with a detachment of
artisans, a squadron of native cavalry, men of the ordnance,
commissariat, and medical services.
Of the three battalions of Senegal tirailleurs, four compa-
nies each, one is on the Ivory coast, one in the territory of
Zindoo, and the third at Diego Suarez.
In November a decree fixed the strength of the "garde
r^publicaine" at four squadrons of cavalry and three bat-
talions of infantry of four companies each.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 175
In December a circular reorganized the colonial infantry
and artillery, as follows :
Infantry :
First division, colonial infantry — headquarters, Paris.
Third brigade — headquarters, Rochefort.
Third regiment — Rochefort.
Seventh regiment — Rochefort.
Fifth brigade — headquarters, Paris.
Twenty-first regiment — Paris.
Twenty-third regiment — Paris.
Second division, colonial infantry — headquarters,
Toulon.
Fourth brigade — headquarters, Toulon.
Fourth regiment — Toulon.
Eighth regiment — Toulon.
Sixth brigade (new formation) — headquarters,
Toulon.
Twenty-second regiment — Toulon.
Twenty-fourth regiment (newly formed),
staff, first and second battalions — Toulon.
Third battalion — Cette.
The staff of the twenty-fourth regiment
and the first and second battalions will be
transferred to Perpignan early in 1903.
Third division — headquarters, Brest.
First brigade — headquarters, Cherbourg.
First regiment — Cherbourg.
Fifth regiment — Cherbourg.
Second brigade — Headquarters, Brest.
Second regiment — Brest.
Sixth regiment — Brest.
The fourth battalions of the third and
seventh regiments are suppressed.
The fourth battalion of the fourth regi-
ment becomes the third battalion of the
twenty-fourth regiment.
Colonial Artillery — headquarters, Paris :
First regiment — Lorient, 9 batteries.
Three mounted batteries — Lorient.
Three mountain-batteries — Lorient.
Two foot-batteries— Lorient.
Two foot-batteries — Rochefort.
176 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Colonial Artillery — headquarters, Paris — Continued.
Second regiment — Cherbourg, 15 batteries.
Three mounted batteries — Cherbourg.
Two mountain-batteries — Cherbourg.
Four foot-batteries — Cherbourg.
Six foot-batteries — Brest.
Third regiment (newly formed) — 8 batteries.
Two mounted batteries (newly formed).
Two mountain-batteries — Toulon.
Pour foot-batteries — Toulon.
The staff will be quartered at Toulon.
Two mounted batteries provisionally at Nimes.
DECREE CONCERNING ORGANIZATION OP TELEGRAPH SERVICE IN TWE Of
PEACE AND WAR (JUNE, 1902).
Article 1. — The battalion of telegraphists created by the
law of July 24, 1900, is recruited partly from the personnel
of the administration of posts and telegraphs compelled te-
rn ili tar y service by the law of recruitment.
Art. 2. — Inasmuch as the effective of this battalion in non-
commissioned officers, corporals and men can not be brought
up to the war strength by the reservists of the battalion or
from other arms and at the latest until January 1, 1910, the
administration of posts and telegraphs will place at the dis-
posal of the minister of war the necessary complement from
the personnel.
This will be composed of men of the youngest clafeS ot
recruits engaged in the service of posts and telegraph?
accomplishing an active military service.
Art. 3. — The minister of war will substitute progressively
military telegraphists for civilians in fortified places. Thtf
transformation will be completed before January 1, 1M'<
except as regards officers and functionaries.
1 Art. 4. — Inasmuch as the minister of war will not be able
to find officers of the active army or reserve in sufficient num-
bers to form the cadre of the telegraphists in the first lnie
and fortified places in war time, the administration of yosl^
and telegraphs will place a sufficient number at his disposal-
They will be taken from volunteers or from men compelW
by their age to the obligations under military law. Those
who will be incorporated in this battalion will be chosen #
much as possible in the reserve of the active army. They
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 177
will be treated as reserve officers. The functionaries. called
upon to serve in the telegraph troops are appointed reserve
officers.
Art. 5. — The administration of posts and telegraphs fur-
nishes the necessary personnel for the formation of the second
line, besides the regulation number of effectives it holds at
the disposition of the minister of war for the formations
mentioned above.
NEW ORGANIZATION FOB THE CAVALRY.
The last of the year brought a decree reorganizing the
larger units of the cavalry. It was at one time a question of
placing all the cavalry in divisions, but this was abandoned
upon the representations of the corps commanders, who all
wished to preserve under their orders the brigade of corps
cavalry belonging to each of them.
Some of the army corps have three divisions of infantry
instead of two, and the principle has been adopted of giving
to the brigade of corps cavalry as many regiments as the
corps has cavalry divisions. Thus, the sixth and seventh
brigades of cavalry attached respectively to the sixth and
seventh corps have each three regiments.
There are eight so-called independent divisions of cavalry
formed, some of cuirassiers and dragoons, others of light
cavalry and dragoons. Two divisions have six regiments,
four of cuirassiers and two of dragoons; three divisions have
five regiments. One of these has three regiments of cuiras-
siers and two of dragoons, the other two have three regiments
of light cavalry and two of dragoons.
Three divisions have four regiments; one of these has two
regiments of cuirassiers and two of dragoons ; the other two
have a brigade of dragoons and a brigade of light cavalry.
In June last a decree was published announcing the fol-
lowing places in the colonies as "points d'appui" for the fleet
and classifying them as fortified "places:"
Saigon and Cape St. James, in Cochin-China.
Diego Suarez, in Madagascar.
Dakar, in Senegal.
Fort de France, in Martinique.
Noumea, in New Caledonia.
Hongey, at Tonkin.
829 12
178 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The general designated in time of peace to command one of
these "points d'appui " is responsible for the organization of
the works he will command in war and is designated "com-
mander of the defense." He has under his command the
whole of the military forces and auxiliaries in his zone.
At each " point d'appui " of the fleet there is also stationed
a naval officer having immediate authority over the personnel
and material belonging to the navy. He is designated "com-
mander of the marine."
In all that concerns the technical part of his work — pro-
visioning the fleet, arsenal work, etc. — lie is exclusively under
the navy department; but in matters relating to the defense
of the place he is held to cooperate, but in the capacity of a
subordinate, with the "commander of the defense."
In the absence of the latter he may succeed him or not.
according to his rank as compared with the other officers.
All his correspondence relating to the colony or the defense
of the "point d'appui " passes through the commander of the
defense.
At all times the commander of the defense owes an attitude
of large consideration to commanders of naval forces or iso-
lated vessels calling at the station ; nevertheless a distinction
is established by the minister of marine between those means
of naval defense which can in no case leave the area of action
of the "point d'appui" and those liable to orders for distant
service under naval commanders ; the former are under the
direct control of the general commanding the place, the latter
are not.
THE FRENCH GENERAL, STAFF.
[Kki'obted by ('apt. T. Bkxtley Mott, Artillery Corps, United 8tates Military Attach fc at
Paris.]
The words "staff," "staff departments," "officer of the
general staff," have recently grown in use in the United
States, and they seem to lack that sharpness of definition
which in other services they possess. It may therefore be
interesting to define these terms as used in the French army
before outlining the duties of the staff, general staff, general
in chief, and war board.
Command of any military unit implies certain prerogatives
and certain duties. As the command increases in importance,
the chief can no longer personally exercise all the preroga-
tives nor fill all the duties. Thus, according to the size of
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 17$
the unit commanded, there are assigned to the chief a num-
ber of other officers to direct, under general instructions from
liim, the special services which insure the discipline, supply,
instruction, and well-being of the troops. These officers do
not belong to the general staff, nor to the staff, nor to a staff
department; they belong to what is known as "les services,"
and they are called "officers of the medical service, officers of
the engineer service, of the intendance (quartermaster and
commissary) service, of the artillery (ordnance) service, of
the veterinary service, of the signal service, of the pay serv-
ice," etc. They are never spoken of individually as staff
officers nor said to belong to the staff ; they belong to the
"services."
This organization of aids to the commanding officer is not
sufficient; there is lacking a most important element, the one
which coordinates all that relates to the work of the troops
and all that relates to the work of the various "services;"
this element is furnished by a number of officers selected and
trained for the purpose, known as the "dtat-niajor" or staff.
In large units the commander is given several officers of the
staff and one is named as chief of staff. The members of
the staff have a function shared by no "chief of service" —
the power to order in the name of the general.
An " officer of the staff " is therefore officially defined as an
"agent of command," which distinguishes him from an offi-
cer of the administration, supply, or auxiliary services, who
has no command of combatant troops and whose sole func-
tions consist in furnishing troops with the means of marching
and fighting. These latter are not of the staff.
However, the totality of all the assistants of the command-
ing officer of any organization, including the commander
himself, is called the staff of that organization. Thus the
staff of a regiment consists of the colonel, the lieutenant
colonel, the regimental adjutant, the surgeons, the veterinary,
the paymaster, the bandmaster, etc., the noncommissioned
staff of the drum major, an engineer corporal, some engineer
soldiers, and the band. In speaking of one of these officers,
the colonel might say "he belongs to my staff;" he would
not say "he is an officer of the staff, or an officer of a staff
department."
Except officers of artillery and engineers detached from
their regiments to assure the "service" of the artillery and
180 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
engineers of a corps, division, etc., who retain their line
titles, the officers of the services are not addressed officially
or otherwise as captain, colonel, etc. ; they have all the privi-
leges and obligations of "officers of the army," which they
are, but they are addressed as "monsieur" or " monsieur le
directeur," "monsieur 1* intendant," "monsieur le payeur,"
etc. Their titles indicate their functions, but they are not
the titles given to officers who command combatant troops.
They have an assimilation or a correspondence of grade for
purposes of pay and which entitles them to precedence imme-
diately following the combatant grade to which assimilated.
This assimilation of grade goes from second lieutenant t"
major general. An "intendant" addressed as "monsieur Y
intendant" has the assimilated grade of brigadier general;
an "intendant gdn6ral"that of major general. Comptrol-
leurs, really inspectors of accounts, have not the title of
officers. They are high functionaries of the war depart-
ment holding permanent appointments, but they remain
civilians.
GREAT GENERAL STAFF, GENERAL STAFF, STAFF.
These terms have been conveniently adopted in English
from the German gross-generalstab, generalstab, stab, but in
France, the nomenclature is not so simple. However, it is
ideas and not terms that interest, though it seems useful to
clear up a few confusing words.
In France the word "<5tat-inajor-g6n6ral" is loosely used
to mean either the great general staff of an army or to
mean the whole body of general officers. Strictly speaking.
"1' dtat-major-gdn£ral" means the staff of an army, auJ
"dtat-major-gendral de V armde" means the 330 major ami
brigadier generals of the line. In time of war only, a "grand
dtat-major" or "grand dtat-major-gdn«5ral " is created, which
is simply the staff of the general in chief of all the armies.
To resume the French organization. There is no such
thing as a permanent staff in the French army. Each year
about 80 officers of various arms are admitted to the high
war school ; upon successful graduation, at the end of two
years, they are given the staff brevet (brevet de l'ltat major).
Then they serve two years in some staff, and then either are
continued on staff duty or returned to their regiments, whence
they may be afterwards taken and retaken to serve on the
staff of a general officer or at the ministry of war.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 181
There is no other kind of staff in the French army, except
th.e special staffs of the artillery and of the engineers, con-
sisting of officers of those arms detached from their regiments
for technical ordnance, artillery, and engineer work.
From the body of officers having the staff brevet there are
detailed the following staffs: Those of brigades, divisions,
corps, and fortresses; those of the president and minister of
war (general officers are also included in these last two) ; the
general staff of the army.
This latter is nothing more than the body of detailed officers
cliarged with certain functions at the war department, chief
of which is the study of plans for national defense and the
preparation of the army for war. Its chief duties may be
thus grouped :
Mobilization of the army in case of war.
Employment of railways, military telegraph, etc.
Organization of the services in rear of the army in war.
Organization and instruction of the army; maneuvers.
Study of foreign armies and theaters of war.
Collection of statistical and historical documents.
Missions abroad.
Preparation and coordination of the work of the high
war board and of the members having special missions. *
A general officer is appointed chief of the general staff,
whose work he directs, as he does the selection and instruction
of the officers of the staff.
It is thus seen that the staff has nothing to do with the
routine work of administration, stich as falls to our adjutants
general who alone have functions resembling those of the
staff of France. At least this is the theory, but in practice
(and much complaint is made of it) officers who should be
occupied chiefly with questions looking to preparations for
war are kept busy with details of administration which
properly belong to the "officiers d'administration" and
" archivistes," who are really chief clerks and have all routine
at their fingers' ends.
At the war department in Paris the administrative work is
taken care of by nine "directions", namely, (1) Auditing; (2)
Law; (3) Infantry; (4) Cavalry; (5) Artillery; (6) Engineers;
(7) Supplies; (8) Powder works; (9) Health.
Routine matters of personnel and material are settled in the
"direction" concerned, with or without reference to the chief
182 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
of the general staff or the minister, according to their nature
and importance.
For example, in the intendance or supply direction there
are 28 officers occupied with the central administration of all
that concerns the pay, clothing, transportation, food, forage,
fuel, and furniture.
In the artillery direction there are 52 officers to administer
the personnel and instruction of the artillery, and to supply
ordnance material and ammunition to all arms.
The infantry direction comprises 22 officers.
The schools of each arm come under the "direction'' of
that arm for various purposes.
Also at the war department there sit the technical boards
of artillery, of infantry, of' cavalry, of engineers, of intend-
ance, of the staff, each composed of nine members, all general
officers. Their functions are all advisory.
The conseil supdrieur de guerre, or war board, is composed
of no more than ten members, usually generals of the highest
rank and reputation. The minister of war is the president
of the board, and the chief of the general staff is of right a
member ; the other members are appointed by decree.
This board is the highest consultative authority in France,
and any action recommended by it is considered to have the
sanction of the best military talent. It is charged with
examining all large questions relating to preparation for war
and the national defense.
The law requires that the minister of war shall consult this
board on matters affecting :
Plans of mobilization and concentration, establishment of
new strategic communications, general organization of the
army, general methods of instruction, adoption of new engines
of war, the creation or suppression of fortified places, coast
defense.
The board meets when necessary, and at least once a month.
It gives its advice to the minister on all subjects laid before
it, but he is not bound to act accordingly.
The minister of war appoints from the members of the
conseil supdrieur de guerre a vice president, and of late
years this position has come to be of great importance and
has provoked considerable discussion. This office is not
recognized by law as having any special prerogative, but by
fact or perhaps from some secret letter of service, the holder
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 183
is the general named in advance to take command of the prin-
cipal army in the field upon the outbreak of war. His work
is to fit himself for this responsibility, and the minister is ex-
pected, to provide him with the means. He prepares (with
tlie aid of the war board and the chief of the general staff)
the annual maneuvers, supervises and attends the minor ones,
and takes active command of the maneuvers of one or more
armies. He is popularly called the generalissimo. The chief
of the general staff acts as his chief of staff at the maneuvers.
With regard to this arrangement there are varying opinions;
some maintain that the chief of the general staff in time of
war as of peace should remain in Paris, where his knowledge
and experience would aid the minister of war and keep the
fighting armies up to a high state of efficiency from the rear.
Some think that such a designation in advance is imprac-
ticable ; others that it is wise, but that the officer selected
should be given more power in time of peace than the mere
inspection of the corps on the northeastern frontier and the
vague attributes of vice-president of the war board ; that he
should inspect and virtually command the whole army, though
he need not administer it.
r£sum£.
The minister of war, acting for the president, actively
commands the whole army.
The high war board, presided over by the minister, is the
source of authoritative military opinion on all great ques-
tions of army policy.
The vice-president of this board is the officer selected
beforehand to corrihiand the principal army, or group of
armies, upon the declaration of war. He does not command
the army in time of peace, except that part of it assembled
for maneuvers.
The chief of the staff of the army directs the work of the
central or general staff at the war department and the staff
duties in general of those officers holding the staff brevet,
whether employed on a staff or with their regiments. When
the army is mobilized he becomes the "major g6n6ral," that
is, chief of staff of the principal army or group of armies in
the field.
The departments which feed, clothe, pay, and doctor the
troops are not part of the staff of the army; they constitute
the services of supply. The chiefs of these services in Paris
184 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
deal directly with the minister or with the chief of the staff
of the army, according to the nature of the case; the subordi-
nate officers of these services are strictly subject to the gen-
eral officer to whose headquarters they are assigned.
Ordnance stores for the whole army are furnished by the
artillery service; medical stores by the medical service; for-
tifications, barracks, and telegraph supplies by the engineer
corps ; the audit department is separate and its members are
not army officers, but functionaries. Practically all other
supplies, including pay, clothing, rations, transportation,
etc., are furnished by the intendance department.
Officers of this department have a correspondence of grade
with line officers from second lieutenant to major general,
but have not the same military titles. Once appointed, an
officer remains and is promoted in this department. The
position offers certain advantages, but it is not sought for
any superiority of pay, rank, or promotion which it offers,
as these are probably inferior to those enjoyed by most line
officers of similar length of service.
THE RECRUITMENT OF THE ARMY.
The ministry of war has just published the recruiting sta-
tistics of the army for 1901. It is of great interest to examine
the results at the time when the project of law on the two-
year service is being so earnestly discussed.
There were only 309,332 young men having reached 20 years
of age to draw lots.
Here are the figures beginning with 1893 :
1893 ._ ! 848,651
1894 880,188
1895 337,109
1896 331,638
1897 838,327
1898 331,179
1899. .- 324,538
1900 - 314,384
1901 - 309,882
The number of young men drawing lots continually dimin-
ishes, as may be seen. It is the consequence of the insuffi-
ciency of births.
Among the recruits 25,526 young men were exempted as
unfit for service. It is about the usual number, which has
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 185
varied between 25,000 and 30,000 for the last 20 years. It is
very similar to that of Germany.
There were 44,337 postponements for reasons of health. It
is likewise the usual number, which varies between 40,000 and
50,000. In Germany the authorities are more liberal and do
not hesitate to postpone as many as 170,000 men whose health
is doubtful or who are not sufficiently developed physically.
This army thus avoids hospital expenditure and especially
compulsory retirements.
Germany may be less severe because the number of births
continually increases in great proportions (40 per 1,000, while
they have fallen to 20 per 1,000 in France). In spite of this
the Germans call the classes one year earlier than the French
and incorporate recruits at the age of 20, which allows them
to grant many postponements.
The number of men exempted was 46,044 according to
article 21 (supports of families), 3,625 according to article 23
(liberal professions), and 593 according to article 50 (French-
men residing abroad). Total, 50,262 men exempted from
service.
If the number of recruits diminishes it is not so with that
of those liberated from service, as may be seen by the follow-
ing figures :
1892 _ 36,890
1898 _. . 43,997
1894 47,237
1895 47,445
1896 51,370
1897 52,818
1898 _ 55,696
1899 50,858
The infantry received a large number of the men with
exemptions; the results are that in 1901 there were 59,227
one-year men and 93,027 two and three year service men.
More than half of the infantrymen serve only one year and
under, the remainder serves only two years. The artillery
received 8,670 men serving only one year and 18,820 men
serving two or three years, constituting almost one-half.
The land army has incorporated a total of 72,482 men serv-
ing one year and 141,616 men serving from two to three years.
More than one -half of the contingent serves only one year.
Moreover, 18,627 young men have been appointed to
auxiliary services and have thus escaped all military service.
186 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The number has varied from 20,000 to 27,000 in the last ten
years.
In 1901, 7,222 noncommissioned officers have reenlisted,
that is, 449 more than in 1900. Only 657 reenlistments of cor-
porals and privates have been made in spite of the privileges
granted by the law of July 9, 1901. There were 506 in 1900.—
Echo de Paris, January and August, 1902.
STATISTICS OF DISEASES IN THE ARMY.
The medical report of the preceding year shows consider-
able increase in cases of sickness. There were no less than
332,322 men treated in hospitals and lazarets, that is, 612 per
1,000, while for all former years the number never passed
580 per 1,000. Each man passed an average of 1 0.2 days in the
hospital or lazaret, while formerly the average number of days
was 9.5. Every sick man was ill during an average of 17.2
days, while during the former years the average number of
days was 17.5. The statistics show that among officers there
were 48 per 1,000 sick, while in the preceding years there
were only 43 per 1,000; among the noncommissioned officers
for 207 per 1,000 of the preceding years there were 214 per
1,000 sick in 1901 ; among soldiers serving over one year ther*
were, in 1901, 494 sick ones per 1,000, while there were only
406 and 491 during the preceding years; among those serv-
ing less than one year there were 650 sick per 1,000, while in
the preceding years there were 615. The small number of
officers treated is accounted for by the fact that-the greatest
part of them did not go to the lazarets, but remained in their
homes. The arms and units vary greatly in the number of
the sick. Foot artillery had 494 sick per 1,000, while the
infantry of the line had 577, the mounted artillery 675, the
cavalry 741 sick men per 1,000, while the African troops
which are not native ones counted 818 to 967 sick men j»er
1,000. Among the native troops the Turcos have 518, the
spahis 538 sick men per 1,000. The number of deaths was
likewise increased. They averaged 5.43 per 1,000, while in
preceding years the .average was 4.98 and 5.23 per 1,000.
Among these there were 158 suicides. The number of deaths
varies likewise greatly as to arm and unit. Thus the first
corps, stationed in the north of France, counted only 2. "35
deaths per 1,000. The Oran division, on the contrary, num-
bered 11.62. The troops stationed in Paris count 6.97 per
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 187
1,000. According to arms, the foot troops have the least
cases of deaths, that is, only 3.29 per 1,000; the foreign regi-
ments count the greatest number, 14.56. While the number
of sick men has increased, the number of deaths has decreased,
thus, in central France, from 1872 to 1899, the cases have
decreased from 8.97 to 4.72, in Algeria and Tunis from 11.98
to 9.78 per 1,000. The greatest number of deaths occur dur-
ing the month of March — 319, and the least in November —
90 per 1,000. The total number is 3,288. The decrease in
the number of deaths comes from the progress of medical
science and the good care taken of the sick by the surgeons
and the administration, the improvement of hospital installa-
tions, while the increase of diseases in the army comes from
the lesser resistance of the recruits — lesser fitness on account
of less rigid physical standard at the time of enlistment. —
Ueberallfiir Armee und Marine, 1902, No. ^7.
THE SAHARAN SPAHIS.
The squadron of Saharan spahis, legally instituted on De-
cember 8, 1894, consists at present of three troops of 45 men
each mounted on camels. At the beginning of 1901 the whole
squadron was stationed at Fort MacMahon, and only some
20 men had been left in the desert to garrison Fort Miribel
and Hassi-Inifel. In September Hassi-Inifel was evacuated
and Fort MacMahon counted only 24 men commanded by one
officer, and the rest of the squadron retired to El Golda as
there were located the two pastures for their animals. At the
present time the whole squadron is at In-Salah and recon-
noitering the Tidikelt.
The cadres of the squadron are French, and consist of men
of all the arms of the service physically fit to bear the extraor-
dinary fatigues of serving in the Sahara. The men are
naturally taken from troops who have already been stationed
in the Sahara. The cadres consist of 2 captains, 3 lieutenants,
9 noncommissioned officers, 6 corporals, 6 lance corporals, and
3 buglers ; a veterinary surgeon belongs likewise to the squad-
ron, while the sanitary service is intrusted to a surgeon
^longing to the nearest Saharan rifle battalion. The native
camel riders are never promoted; however, for extraordi-
nary good service, some are intrusted with the supervision
of one of several squads. These leaders of squads wear as
niarks of distinction corporal's galloons on their sleeves.
188 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The French soldiers serving in the Saharan squadron receive
increased pay, and according to a late decree the noncom-
missioned officers have the right of transfer as quartermasters
to a cavalry regiment of the line after having served six
years in the Sahara and having been two years on the promo-
tion roll. The campaigns count double. The privates are
mostly recruited from the warliko tribe of Chaambas, who
have waged a continuous war against the Tuaregs and conse-
quently are best acquainted with their mode of living and
fighting. The enlistments are generally made for four years,
but the commander of the squadron has the right to discharge
an enlisted man for bad conduct. There are also a few negroes
in the squadron, but they are discharged whenever it is feasi-
ble, as experience has proved that these negroes are escaped
slaves and possess no military qualities, and least of all
personal courage. The Chaamba resembles but little the
Arabian inhabitant of coasts. He is courageous and proud.
The pure-blood Chaamba is tall and extraordinarily strong.
His skin has been made so brown by the sun and the dust
that it equals bronze in color. Though indolent by nature,
he is generous and will divide his property readily and even
give to the needy all he has. Among his excellent qualities
not the least praiseworthy is his abstinence ; with some sweet
coffee and a handful of dates he can live through long days,
and only the richest owners of cattle allow themselves to eat
meat from time to time. Very enduring, indefatigable even
when necessary, he can do on foot what he does mounted on
the camel, yet on foot he knows no other gait than the walk;
it is not possible to induce him to run.
The clothing of the Saharan spahis is white and consists of
the same garments as those of the Arabian nomadic tribes,
that is, a shirt, a wide tunic, and sandals made of camePs-
hair. These sandals are excellent for walking in the Sahara.
He wears on his head a kind of turban of white material kept
together by a camel's-hair cord and which protects the head
very efficiently against heat and wounds. The uniform of
the noncommissioned officers of the Saharan spahis is similar
to that of the Algerian spahis, with the difference that the
burnous is black and the helmet, carrying a large star, is
white.
The natives are paid 100 francs a month ($19.30) and the
leader of squads 180 francs ($34.74). All the men receive a
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 189
premium at enlistment, the amount of which is fixed each
year. They get, likewise, money for clothing and equip-
ment, but they are under obligation to bring along two camels
and to provide their own food and dress. The state gives
them only their arms and small articles of equipment. It
has already been mentioned that the French soldiers of this
organization have some increased pay ; among others, they
receive a higher premium and a considerably larger allowance
for provisions; the officers receive a daily allowance of 50
francs ($9.65) and 63 francs ($12.16) per month indemnity
for provisions. They are paid, moreover, 600 francs ($115)
at the beginning of each campaign' and 200 francs ($38.60)
allowance for equipment upon entering the camel corps.
Each French Meharist must have two camels, the officers
and noncommissioned officers three. The second camel is
•used for the transportation of the baggage and provisions.
The camel was employed for warlike purposes even in an-
tiquity, as has been stated by Xenophon, Titus Livius, and
Tacitus. It was recognized even then that this was the only
animal that could be used as pack and transportation animal
in regions so poor in water. The Mehari is an ordinary
camel and is the same in that race as a thoroughbred is among
horses. It is the best of its kind. It possesses only one hump.
The Mehari differs from the other camels only by its stature,
the fineness of its limbs, its slender neck, and the color of its
coat, which is specially light. While the pack camel goes
very slowly, the Mehari trots quite rapidly for hours. It is
probably for this reason that quite fabulous things are said
about it. Many believe that a good Mehari can cover dis-
tances in one day which a caravan makes in six to eight days.
This is not true, and only a few excellent Meharis can make
100 kilometers without stopping, yet it is a fact that they can
perform such marches for many days. They grow very thin
in such cases, especially during great heat, and need after-
wards much rest and good feed in pastures. This is one
reason why the spahis must always keep two camels each.
The camel can make at a walk 5£ kilometers per hour and
during the night even 6 if the ground is good. If the sand
is very deep the camel can not make over 4 kilometers per
hour. The camel walks easily over stony and rocky ground.
He remains erect while his feet find naturally trails and paths
without stones. Its fleshy foot is very sensitive and bleeds
190 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
easily, so that it is often necessary to protect the feet by
leather shoes. The foot, on account of its size, sinks very
little in sandy ground, and on declines the hooked nails pre-
vent it from sliding. The Mehari covers less ground at gal-
lop than at trot, yet the fleetest and most enduring camel will
never equal a horse in speed. The gait of the camel is not
disagreeable to the rider, yet he receives bad jolts when gal-
loping and even the trot is rather hard, especially when the
saddle is not well padded. The consequences of these extraor-
dinarily painful movements often result in hernia, although
special bandages belong to the military equipment of camel
riders. The best quality of the camel is its endurance. In
this it is far superior to the horse, for it can live several days
in summer without feed and in winter it can stay weeks
without water. When a Mehari must be kept running for
several days in summer, it must be watered every three or
four days, while only a few hard plants and roots are suffi-
cient to feed it, and of these there is an abundance in the
Sahara. Like all ruminants, the camel has four stomach*,
the first of which is divided into two pouchy partitions, one
of which is surrounded by a number of cells filled with water;
this comes from a never-stopping interior segregation of
water and thus forms a filled reservoir.
The breeding and training of camels is given by the Tuaregs
the greatest attention. The same may be said of the Chaambas,
who pass their days caring for the Meharis, which they hooor
so highly that they declare them as "shaher," that is, clean
domestic animals, and maintain that they do not dirty the
house.
Great prudence must be used with young animals while
training them for military purposes. The training must he
gradual and based on certain principles, and punishments
and rewards must be distributed very justly. The "break-
ing in" of the animals is begun very early by piercing their
right nostril with an iron ring which is worn through life.
They are then taught to kneel and rise, and turning to
the right and left is imparted to them by means of the bridle
and a riding whip. The camel is taught to trot by a loud
outcry, and after the animal has learned all this with the
man on foot, it is gradually made to get used to its rider.
Great importance is given to the prompt kneeling, and i
pressure of the feet against the neck of the animals musi
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 191
suffice to make the camel trot. In order to urge the camel
to its fullest speed, the Chaambas use an iron hook with
which they tickle the animal under the belt. The riding
camel gets quickly used to the saddle, as well as to the
employment of arms. It does not fret in close formation, is
very willing, does not shy, and never bites.
The saddle used by the Mehari riders is very peculiar. It
consists of a hollow seat, which has the shape of a champagne
glass and has a button in front of the shape of an artistically
made cross. In the back there is a high pad ending in a
point. The saddlecloth is of red leather, on which several
l)lack crosses are burnt with a hot iron for ornamentation.
The reins consist of a kind of strap and cord which is fastened
to a ring in the nose of the camel; the cord and the strap are
crossed on the neck of the animal, and are then taken in the
rider's hand, who uses them as those of a horse. On the fore
part of the bridlo is a kind of metallic spur, partly for the
holding of the strap, partly as a signaling instrument, for
which purpose it is provided with small bells or rings.
The armament consists of sabers and cavalry carbines. As
to the tactics of the Mehari riders, they are, as has already
been mentioned, in conformity with the fighting mode of the
Tuaregs, which consists in ambuscades and sudden attacks.
Hence it comes that rapidity and mobility are the principal
features, and that excellent reconnoiter in g and security serv-
ice are likewise necessary. The fighting of the camel riders
takes place on foot, for no Mehari rider, however skillful,
could oppose a man with a lance. On the other hand, as
has already been mentioned, the essential enemies in the
Sahara are only rebellious tribes and hordes of robbers
against whom a good firearm is the best weapon. This is
often used by the Mehari riders by forcing their camels to
kneel and then by firing over their backs. — Internationale
Revue, Beiheft No. 28, April, 1902
THE SAHARAX OASIS TROOPS.
In the 1902 budget the chambers laid down a new organi-
zation for the Saharan troops in the oases of Gurara. Tuat, and
Tidikelt. This provides for the formation of three native
companies, called "des Oasis Sahariennes."
The object of this formation is to replace by natives re-
cruited from the Sahara the present Saharan troops, which
192 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
will be disbanded in six months. These will be able to live
on the resources of the country, and will largely obviate the
necessity for the transport of supplies, which at present have
to be kept up by frequent convoys. The three companies, con-
sisting of infantry, cavalry, and mountain guns, will be sub-
stituted for all the European troops now occupying this
region, and will keep only such a proportion of Frenchmen
as are absolutely indispensable for the cadres. The natives
will be enrolled by voluntary enlistment and by reengage-
ments for periods of two years each. They will continue to
live in accordance with their usual habits, r.amely, grouped
with their families around the chief centers, and will be
allowed, at the same time that they give their military
services, to occupy themselves with agricultural pursuits.
The French cadres will receive a special rate of pay and
bounty, exclusive of all issues in kind. The officers will be
intrusted with the duties both of commanding the troops and
with the administration of the country. Thus in ordinary
times all distribution of food, forage, harness, and clothing
may bo dispensed with. Finally, each company will be
given camel transport, by means of which they will be able
to transport supplies when they have to travel over the coun-
try or to move rapidly to some threatened point. The com-
panies will be administered by the general commanding the
nineteenth army corps, under the supervision of the gov-
ernor general of Algeria. They are not liable for service
outside the region of the Saharan oasis, except in very excep-
tional cases, which must be decided upon by the governor
general with the concurrence of the home government. Each
company will be commanded by a captain in the colonial
service, responsible for the administration of the correspond-
ing oasis group ; the lieutenant will be taken from the same
service. The French rank and file will be recruited from the
Algerian corps of all arms. The companies will be placed
under the immediate orders of a field officer, with the rank
of " chef de battalion." With regard to the French soldiers,
every year passed in the Sahara district will be reckoned as
a double campaign ; nothing is changed with regard to the
general conditions for admission to pension. As regards
natives, these conditions will be similar to those at present
in force for the Algerian tirailleurs ; each year's service will
count as one campaign only. In the first formation the rank
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 193
and file, French and natives, will be drawn from the present
"battalion of Saharan tirailleurs and from the Saharan spahis
squadron about to be disbanded.
The tables attached to the decree show that each company
will consist of 1 captain, 4 lieutenants, 1 surgeon, 12 French
and 6 native noncommissioned officers, 12 French and 14
native corporals or lance corporals, 4 French gunners, 9
French workmen and clerks, 8 native buglers and trumpet-
ers, and, finally, 232 infantry, 20 cavalry, and 20 dromedary
corps, all natives. The company possesses also 43 horses, 52
dromedaries, 100 draft camels, 9 mules, and 2 mountain guns.
The three companies, including the staff, make up a total of
20 officers with 37 horses, 100 French soldiers, and 900 na-
tives, 96 troop horses, 156 dromedaries, 300 camels, 18 mules,
and 6 guns. — Journal Royal United Service Institution,
May 15, 1902.
CHAR] COLONY.
The region of Chari, this newest acquisition of France, is
divided into three districts by the commanding officer, Lieu-
tenant Colonel Destenave. They are the Upper Chari, com-
posed of the Krebedje (Fort Possel) and the Gribingui (Fort
Crampel) sections; Central Chari, composed of tlio Thunia
(Fort Archambault) and Bousso (Fort Bretonnet) sections;
and Lower Chari, composed of the Koussouri (Fort Laniy)
and Goulfei (Fort de Cointet) sections. The names of the
forts are those of men who have met death in the field. The
garrison of the colony is composed of a battalion of Singalese
rifles, a company of yacomas, a squadron of spahis, and one
battery. The captains represent France before the native
rulers Gaourang and Senoussi. Great difficulties arise in the
supply of the troops with provisions from the enormous
distances between the posts and the sources of supply. The
Chari falls into Lake Chad, but is navigable only between
December and April, and so far only one steamer and five
chalanoes (native flat-bottomed boats) are there for this pur-
pose From Lake Chad to Bangui, where the Ubangui ceases
tc be navigable, there are 1,500 kilometers to be made by
land — MUitdr-Wochenblatt, February 1, 1902.
CHEVALLIER ELECTRIC TARGET.
Capt Charles Chevallier, of the French army, collaborat-
ing with M. Eugene Cadet, has invented a most ingenious
829 — 13
194 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
target, which is so constructed that the hits are registered by
an annunciator. By means of this device the marksman,
simply by referring to the annunciator, can ascertain at a
glance what his success has been without walking several
hundred yards to the target.
The target itself consists of two sets of metal panels of seg-
mental form, arranged in different vertical planes. One
series of segments overlaps to a certain extent the next series
of segments, in order that an entirely full surface may be
presented to the marksman. Behind each series of segments
lies a fixed disk, serving as a guide and support for rods
secured to the segments. Coiled springs are placed between
the segments and the disk, in order to return the segments
after they have been driven in by a projectile.
Opposite each rod, secured to the segments, an electric-
contact device is placed, which consists of a screw mutilated
for about TV of an inch. In its normal position, an insulated
plate having threads of a corresponding pitch to those of the
screw lies opposite the neck thus formed in the screw, and is
therefore out of contact with the screw. The mutilated
screw turns in a fixed nut or support. The upper part of the
mutilated screw is fitted with a cross piece provided with
counterweights at its ends so as to form a balance member.
The plate constitutes one terminal of the circuit, the wires
being secured to the other terminal. The wires are equal in
number to the segments of the target, and are assembled
together in a cable leading to an annunciator of ordinary
construction, placed near the marksman.
When a projectile strikes one of the segments, one or more
of the springs coiled about the rods are compressed, and
the corresponding rod or rods are driven in through the per-
forations of the disk and strike the counterweights of the
balance member. The impulse thus given to the balance
member causes the mutilated screw to turn and rise. The
lower threaded part of the screw is then engaged in the screw
threads of the plate and the circuit is completed. When the
circuit is completed the annunciator near the marksman
indicates the exact spot of the target which has been struck.
Instead of disks, portions representing the human figure
can be used. — Scientific American, June 28, 1902.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 195
GERMANY.
THE ABMT, A RETROSPECTIVE VIEW OF THE TEAR 10O8.
T&AN:*LAT10X OF AN ARTICLE APPEARINO IN " USBERALL," 1902, NO. 14, BT CaFT. W. 8. BlDDUS,
FOURTEENTH INFANTRY, U. 8. MILITARY ATTACHE AT BERLIN.]
The year 1902 brought no great changes in organization,
such as that of the field artillery in its time. The new
organization of the third principal arm, cavalry, is still im-
pending, after the infantry and artillery have completed
theirs. Only the establishment of seven new machine-gun
detachments on October 1 and of six companies of foot artil-
lery is to be noticed in the nature of an increase.
With the adoption of machine guns a new arm of the service
has been created which, occupying an intermediate status
between infantry and artillery, appears destined to become
highly effective in certain cases. At present it has found its
principal employment with the cavalry, to which it is attached;
it seems, however, that it is certain to play otherwise an im-
portant part. It is yet so new that its use has been brought
under no fixed rules. With its final adoption an increase of
its strength is to be expected.
The increase of the strength of foot artillery has long been
recognized as necessary in view of the ever-increasing impor-
tance of heavy guns for the siege of fortresses and outer forts.
• We regret to say the reichstag, in place of the required
ten companies with the necessary staffs, allowed only six com-
panies without these, so that the remainder is likely to be
Tequired again soon.
By the increases now, on October 1, the German army has
reached a strength of 495,000 men under the statute of March
25, 1899. To these are to be added in round numbers 29,000
officers and officials, 81,000 noncommissioned officers, and
&,000 one-year volunteers.
There exist at present the following tactical units : 625 bat-
talions, 482 squadrons (including 17 squadrons of mounted
orderlies), 583 field batteries, 39 battalions of foot artillery
with 163 companies, 13 machine-gun detachments, 29 bat-
talions of pioneers, 11 battalions of verkehrstruppen (railroad,
balloon, and telegraph troops), and 23 battalions of train.
Regarding the establishment of the higher commands (koin-
mando-behorden) is to be mentioned the creation of a new
fourth engineer inspection and a new eighth fortress inspec-
tion. Further has begun the changing of the former f estungs-
bau-personal into the festungsbau-offizierkorps, with rank of
196 NOTB8 OF MILITARY INTERK8T FOB 1902.
the old zeug and f euerwerks officers corps and with its suit-
able uniform. This change will be gradual, according to the
means at disposal.
The intended creation of a military technical institute for
educating a staff of officers for the institutes has been refused
by the reichstag. By the increased development of all tech-
nical requirements of war the preparation of officers in this
department has become more and more difficult; a makeshift
is in detailing to the artillery and engineer school for a longer
time and consequent longer attendance at the technisch-
hochschule. A greater uniformity in this department hfc
been obtained by the formation of a closed officers corps of
the technical institutes with uniform of their own.
In improvement of arms or technical innovations the Ia*t
year has opened no new paths nor brought further develop-
ment. The fight for the coming new field gun has been con-
fined to the limits of military literature. After the adoption
of the German field gun, 1896, was answered by France with
the introduction of a barrel-recoil gun with armor shields, at
active movement for such guns set in in Germany; for the
present, it is true only in military literature. The larger
German gun factory for a long time resisted the new princi-
ple, as many weak points for field service seemed to be asso-
ciated with it, and as in the spring-spade (federsporn) gun, an
excellent arm was created. Many countries after extensive
tests had already decided in favor of the latter, when by con-
tinual efforts the Krupp factory succeeded in bringing the
barrel-recoil gun into a really serviceable form for war, n-
now the countries which were arming with the spring-sp*^
gun, such as Switzerland and Italy, have none the less adopts
the barrel recoil. Even little Denmark recently ordered her
entire equipment of field guns in Krupp barrel-recoil g»llS-
In Germany the fight therefor has been confined to iniliW
literature, as nothing is published about the tests which, of
course, are extensively made by the artillery -testing comifl^"
sion (artillerie-prufungs-koinmission).
The fight for and against protective shields has been nofl*'
the less severe, and even the recent Krupp trials on the pene-
tration of armor shields by steel balls, instead of leaden baifc
contained within the shrapnel, were not able to remove the
decided advantages of shields, as such change in projectile
would entail other disadvantages. The trials made by another
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES 197
factory, the Ehrhardt works, to carry the fight against armor
shields in a different manner, namely, by adopting a light
field gun firing only shells, met with a stout resistance, as its
adversaries quite correctly objected that the engagement of
the hostile artillery is by no means the main task of artillery,
and, further, that artillery has in shrapnel its most effective
weapon against infantry. It is, therefore, uncertain whether
the movement will be decided in favor of the barrel-recoil gun
with armor shield. In South Africa the experiences were
under peculiar conditions and only partial advantage can be
taken.
Aside of this question of a new principle for field guns,
which sooner or later will become a burning one with us also,
other technical questions receded into the background, as,
for example, the use of mechanical draft for army vehicles.
The favorable experiences of the English in the Transvaal
war with road locomotives has in England already resulted
in a special department in the war ministry.
In Germany, also, the trials with automobiles and road
locomotives have been diligently continued, and especially
noteworthy must be the competition permitted by the ministry
of war for making road locomobiles with alcohol burners
(spiritusheizung) suitable to army needs.
Wireless telegraphy has made further progress in its use
for land war, and it seems here the system of Professor Braun,
as arranged by Siemens and Halske, will have a great future.
A wagon, constructed after this system, took part in the
kaiser maneuvers, and succeeded in sending long orders from
headquarters to the cavalry divisions distant three to four
German miles, and these in turn could forward reports in this
manner.
The distribution of the rifle, M.-'98, with which the expedi-
tionary corps to China was equipped, and which then was
given only to the guard corps, has been extended to a number
of other army corps, so that perhaps this year the entire
German army will be furnished therewith.
For the training of the army a number of new regulations
and orders have been issued, as also for the machine-gun
detachments and balloon troops. New garrison-service regu-
lations have brought important changes of garrison service,
especially of guard duty. New regulations for the adminis-
tration of troop kitchens give proof of the solicitude of the
administration for the bodily welfare of the soldiers.
198 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
Horse-levying regulations control this important business
and they are made much simpler for the horse owners require;
to appear by the newly created positions of commissaries o:
prior horse inspection (pferdevormusterungs-kommissare).
As highly important may be considered the issuance of the
new articles of war, as they have been materially simplified,
conformed to the understanding of soldiers, and better fitt«-':
than the old to show them their high duties.
The new naming of a large number of regiments, whu-t
the emperor decreed on his birthday, is associated happily
with the old traditions of the army, and not only brings the
old Prussian provinces, as formerly, into close connection
with the regiments coming therefrom, but also gives pleasant
expression to the incorporation of these ancient German
countries to their mother country and its army by attaching
the designations of " Lorrainese " and "Upper and Lower
Alsacian" to the troops there stationed. Thus, also, many
places, which by degrees fell to Prussia, for instance, the
countries of Berg and Mansfeld and others, have come to
existence in the army.
On the morale of the army for a short time the court-martial
case in Gumbinnen, last year concluded, seemed to cast a
shadow ; foreign countries, especially France, believing with
a certain malignity that it paralleled the notorious Dreyfus
case. But the proceedings, held in fullest publicity and with
great impartiality, have shown that it was but an individual
act of revenge, the authors of which, to the present, have
eluded the arm of justice, and that in no manner any typical
conditions existed. Also English papers now believed that
they could take revenge for the criticisms which the English
conduct of the war in South Africa received in many ways
in the German press, and they attacked the German disci-
pline ; this brought forth the most spirited defense. Abovo
all, the case at Gumbinnen had furnished the first great test
of the new court-martial procedure, and this test it has
splendidly withstood. The perfect administration, especially
in the last instance, has been acknowledged by high civiliau
jurists and such parties as are otherwise not friendly to the
new statute.
The training of the army during the last year was affected
by the "Boer attack." This occupied the widest space in
military literature. A new method of attack was tried also
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 1D9
on the exercise grounds, then the public press took hold of
the question; its elucidation was not thereby helped.
The mere name of Boer attack led to a misunderstanding,
as most people thought it was a question of how the Boers
attacked the English. Rather it is to be remembered that the
Boers, excepting their numerous surprises, seldom attacked,
and then observed no fixed rule. It would be nearer the fact
if one designated thereby the manner in which the positions
of the Boers were attacked by the English ; but also this is
not yet correct unless one said "the manner in which these
positions should have been attacked." When the first news
of the repelled English attacks came, it was regarded as
a necessary result of the new arms ; it was said to have caused
enormous losses, and that special means must be found to
oppose the new arms successfully with smaller losses. This
was to be obtained by taking advantage of ground cover and
by advancing gradually with thin skirmish lines. The
detailed reports, however, showed that the English losses had
not been so considerable, and failed to reach the German
losses in their great successful assaults in 1870; that partly
improper formations had been used, and that in the main
a disconnected system of attack and lack of energy of leader-
ship were the principal causes of failure. Soon, therefore,
a certain reaction came up against the tendency to lighten
the skirmish lines, and it was recognized that the influence
of the leaders was rendered thereby more and more difficult.
The question became not so much "how do I get my skir-
mishers to the enemy with fewer losses?" but rather "how do
I get my skirmishers to the enemy in any event?"
Thus the last kaiser maneuvers, as a matter of fact, almost
nowhere showed any trace of the much-mentioned Boer
attack; the dispatches of the press reporters that "the Boers'
tactics had here proven excellent" was an empty phrase to
play upon popular credulity.
In the development of the other arms nothing new has
appeared. The great cavalry maneuvers led by the emperor
himself, near Alten Graben, as well as the cavalry attacks
during the kaiser maneuvers, proved that the German cavalry
in closed masses, if put to the task of rushing a shaken enemy,
will be able to ride in a manner worthy of its old fame of
Mars la Tour. In spite of quick-fire guns and magazine rifles,
this may occur again.
200 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The present practice of attaching only three squadrons as
divisional cavalry will, however, in war probably prove
insufficient. With the artillery the change of subordination
which placed it under the superior commanders (kommando-
behorden) in consequence of its new organization has given
rise to different ideas about the manner of its employment
which awaits settlement.
The intellectual side of the army has been encouraged by
military literature also during the last year. The general staff
has led with its numerous war historical and tactical publica-
tions. It would pass the scope of this retrospective review
to even approximately mention the abundance of the most
important publications.
Finally, as regards our troops in the far Asia, it is to be
reported that the East- Asiatic garrison brigade twice in the
last year has been decreased, and at present numbers only
two regiments of infantry of two three-company battalions,
one squadron, one battery, and one company of pioneers.
THE TRANSPORT OF THE EAST- ASIAN EXPEDITIONARY CORPS.
On July 7, 1900, the emperor gave orders for the forma-
tion of an expeditionary corps to consist of volunteers from
the army to be composed of eight battalions of infantry, three
squadrons of cavalry, four battalions of field artillery with
the necessary complement of ammunition columns, trans-
port, etc.
On July 19, the staff were able to report to the commander
of the expeditionary corps that the formation of the various
units was completed, and between July 27 and August 4 the
expeditionary corps was constituted as follows: 500 officers
and officials, 10,894 noncommissioned officers and men, 559
guns and vehicles, 21,294 cubic yards of stores, embarked
on ten steamers.
On August 12, 1900, a reenforcement, consisting of 2G9
officers and officials, 7,430 noncommissioned officers and men,
303 guns and vehicles, 18,241 cubic yards of stores, was
formed, and embarked on eight steamers between August 31
and September 7.
The transport by sea of such a large body of troops was
quite a new experience for Germany. Everything had to be
improvised, as there were no previous preparations nor prece-
dents to work on. It is true that as an experimental measure
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 201
it was intended during the imperial maneuvers in 1900 to
transport a mixed brigade consisting of four battalions, one
squadron and one battery, from Dantzig to Swimmund, and
with this idea in view, regulations for the movement of troops
by sea were about to be framed. However, the sudden turn
of events in China, and fhe unforeseen necessity of quickly
dispatching a strong force to that quarter, put an end to all
experimental measures and necessitated hasty action.
The arrangements for carrying out the transport were in-
trusted to both the military and naval authorities and no
exact data were laid down with regard to their respective
duties, as it was impossible to distinguish between the two
interests.
In order to quickly transport a large force across the sea
the most important factor is the possession of a good mercan-
tile marine, and in this respect Germany was fortunate in
having at its disposal the two largest steamship companies
in the world, namely, the North German Lloyd and the
Hamburg- America Packet Company.
The military and naval authorities, in conjunction with
representatives from the two companies, made the necessary
arrangements for the combined transport, and after personal
inspection agreed to the following conditions.
The following were the requirements demanded in each
transport :
1. The companies had to provide the following accommo-
dation :
(a) All field officers and those above that rank and officials
of corresponding rank, with a completely furnished cabin,
which was to contain a commodious chest of drawers, pro-
vided with locks and writing table.
(b) All other passengers in the first saloon, as far as pos-
sible, with a completely furnished cabin (eventually three and
four people had to. share one cabin).
(c) For second saloon passengers a cabin for every two or
four and a common mess room.
(d) The passengers between decks with bunks in a separate
place between decks, with sufficient portholes and good
ventilation.
2. The cabins contained the following : A strong bunk for
each individual, and, as far as possible, a washstand and camp
chair for each passenger. The bedding consisted of a horsehair
202 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1002.
mattress, a horsehair pillow, two woolen blankets, with linen
or cotton sheets, a counterpane, and a pillowcase.
3. For the disposal of valuables, uniforms, etc., each saloon
passenger was to be provided, as far as possible, with a chest
and lock ; valuables could be handed over to the paymaster
for safe custody, on the understanding that the company
would be responsible for any damage and loss.
4. All the cabins, etc., in the saloons and between decks
were to be provided with hot-water pipes.
5. The men's bunks were to be numbered consecutively.
For every two bunks two to three hooks were to be provided
for hanging clothes.
6. All the bunks not actually required for the accommoda-
tion of the men were to be removed and tables and forms put
in their place. In addition, the companies had to provide a
number of tables and benches for use on deck. All the tables
between decks were to be numbered consecutively, showing
also the ship's numbers of the men for whom they were
intended, for example :
No. I Mess.
Nos. 1-12.
No. II Mess.
Nos. 13-24.
The electric lights between decks were to be provided with
screens to keep the glare from the bunks.
7. To provide against accidents, broad gangways were to be
made leading from below to the deck.
8. Each porthole was to be provided with a scuttle, and at
each hatchway windsails in the following proportions :
(a) In the lower troop deck : One windsail for every 200
cubic meters of space occupied by men; for every 200 to 400
cubic meters, two windsails ; for every 400 cubic meters, three
windsails.
(6) In the upper troop deck: For space up to 300 cubic
meters occupied by men, one windsail; over 300 cubic meters,
two windsails.
9. Arm racks were to be provided in places not occupied by
the troops and were to be numbered consecutively, and on the
wall above each rack the contents of each was to be shown,
as, for example, Nos. 40-57.
10. Special cabins were to be set apart for the storing of
•officers' and men's kits. Each officer and man was to be al-
lowed 3 cubic meters and 1 cubic meter of space, respectively,
which was to be accessible during the voyage.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 203
Special spaces were to be set apart as saddle and harness
rooms, which were also to be accessible during the voyage.
11. Shelves on the walls over the mess tables for the stor-
ing of eating utensils, as well as plates, knives, books, etc.,
were to be provided by the companies.
12. The companies were to provide utensils for the purpose
of cleaning cooking pots, etc., as well as soap, dishcloths, etc.
13. There were to be from one to two cabins set apart on
each steamer for use as offices ; these cabins were to be pro-
vided with locks.
14. There was to be a hospital on each ship capable of
accommodating 2$ per cent, of the troops on board ; a bath-
room and latrine was to be attached to the hospital. The
hospitals were to be supplied with heating apparatus, and
were to be airy and well lighted. There was to be, as far as
possible, sitting accommodation for non-lying-down patients,
and also a table in each hospital.
On the doctor's requisition, all the hospital washing was to
be done gratis by the ship.
15. Every precautionary measure was to be taken by the
companies for the extinction of fire. A sufficient number of
boats, life buoys (including a night life buoy), and material
for the construction of rafts was to be provided. Life belts
were to be supplied for the troops.
16. The companies were to arrange for one steam launch
per transport ; the Rhein was to have two.
17. The upper decks were to be sheltered by awnings, and
were to be kept free of all baggage or stores.
18. Clotheslines were to be provided for the purpose of
drying the men's washing.
19. Latrines were to be provided in proportion to the
strength of the troops, and arrangements made to have them
disinfected and cleaned daily.
20. Each ship was to be provided with one or two post
boxes.
21. Each ship was to have three places specially set apart
to serve as military prisons.
In addition to the terms of the contract, there were laid
down clearly all the details with regard to the interior economy
of the ship, including the prices of stores, the care of the sick,
the length of stay at the port of disembarkation, etc. It will
thus be seen that the troops were to be considered by the
204 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
ship's authorities solely in the light of passengers. The offi-
cer commanding the expeditionary corps was also empowered
to detain any ship, after the troops and stores had been dis-
embarked, for any such period as he might consider neces-
sary with regard to the military situation. Every ship was
to be provisioned for 150 days, and at the end of the voyage
any surplus provisions were to be at the disposal of the com-
missariat department. The embarking of stores and materials
at the port of embarkation had to be arranged for by the com-
panies, while at the port of disembarkation they were only
required to provide their steam launches to assist in the
disembarkation .
On July 13, 1900, the ministry of war issued the necessary
detailed orders for the dispatch of the East- Asian expedition-
ary corps, among which wfc may mention the following :
1. As it was considered expedient that all the transports
should sail from one German port, so as to admit of greater
unity of action in the embarkation arrangements, Bremer-
haven was selected as the port of embarkation. In coming to
this decision, as a matter of course, only Bremerhaven and
Hamburg were taken into consideration, as these were the
headquarters of the two steamship companies which had to
make all the necessary arrangements for the fitting up and
loading of the transports. Of these two ports Bremerhaven
appeared more suitable than Hamburg, with its enormous
trade and its extensive docks, not only on account of its more
compact harbor admitting easier supervision and simplifica-
tion of the necessary arrangements, but also on account of its
more complete railway communications, which facilitated the
transport of troops and stores to any selected wharf or quay,
and there would also be a lesser crowd of sightseers to inter-
fere with the progress of work.
One objection to the selection of Bremerhaven as the one
port of embarkation was that the resources of the Hamburg-
American lino as regards dock hands, labor, etc., could not
be fully utilized ; however the Lloyd Company undertook to
load the Hamburg steamers by means of its own personnel.
2.' With regard to the actual embarkation the following
orders were issued :
(a) The staff troops, etc., carts, ammunition, as well as all
the baggage which the troops would require in their imme-
diate possession, such as officers' kits and men's kits, were to
go by rail to Bremerhaven.
(b) All other stores, etc., were to be sent to the Bremer
Weser railway station and be there shipped onto lighters and
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 205
sent alongside the transports at Bremerhaven. This impor-
tant arrangement was at the express wish of the Lloyd Com-
pany so as to admit of the simultaneous loading of the
transports from the wharves and from the lighters in the
short time at their disposal. By this means the ordinary
traffic was not greatly interfered with ; all possible advantage
was taken of Bremen's resources as regards labor and store
sheds, which are lacking in Bremerhaven ; it was also possible
to make simultaneous use of the cranes on the ships and on
the wharves.
With regard to the loading of the transports, from a mili-
tary point of view, two main principles were laid down:
Firstly, the complete field equipment of every unit, that is,
arms, ammunition, uniform, transport, etc., was to be car-
ried on the same ship as the unit itself, and in addition a
sufficient supply of stores, etc., to last for some time after
disembarkation, so that in the event of only one ship being
unloaded at a time, the unit would be in every way com-
plete. Secondly, all stores, etc., were to be stowed on each
ship in the order that they would be required — all reserve
stores at the bottom of the hold and those that would be first
required at the top; also all the component parts of dif-
ferent stores were to be stowed together, and all stores stowed
together according to the respective units to which they
belonged.
This latter principle proved difficult, almost impossible, to
carry out, owing to the extreme difficulty of separating re-
serve stores, etc., from other stores before embarkation;
therefore the military authorities decided to send all the
heavy baggage not apportioned to any particular unit, such
as reserve provisions, etc., to Bremen.
The authorities came to this decision because it was found
impossible in the short time available to stow everything
systematically and in the order that it would be required,
and without also sacrificing a great amount of space. The
stores, etc., would also, in any case, require to be sorted at
the port of disembarkation, and therefore the advantages
gained by shipping them in lighters to Bremen appeared
dubious.
However, in order to insure the troops having their mpst
important necessaries immediately at hand, both, during the
voyage and on disembarkation, it was decided that the officers'
baggage and men's kits were to accompany the troops to
206 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Bremerhaven, and that all other stores, such as ammunition,
medicine chests, and hospital carts, were to be stowed on
board immediately, and where every access would be had to
them.
3. In order to facilitate the loading and unloading of the
transports, all stores were to denote what ship and what corps
they were destined for, and also the contents of all packed
stores were to be noted on the outside.
4. Depots were formed at Bremen and Bremerhaven, each
under the command of a railway commandant, with a staff of
officers, officials, and men, where all the stores, baggage, etc.,
arriving by train were stacked and arranged.
The Bremen depot included the railway-station staff, a col-
lecting station, a clothing depot and goods depot, and in
addition a depot where all gifts intended for the troops were
collected.
The Bremerhaven depot included the railway-station staff,
an ammunition and a goods depot. These depots had the
same duties in connection with them as they would have on
mobilization.
An embarking staff was formed at Bremerhaven, the senior
officer of which had charge of the embarkation of troops.
The regulations with regard to the distribution of the
troops were embodied in the "plan for the embarkation of
the East- Asian expeditionary corps," which was made use of,
in slightly altered form, for the second dispatch of troops.
The number of first, second, and third class passengers that
each transport had to carry was fixed beforehand. Owing to
the long voyage through the tropics, the hardships of which
our troops were unaccustomed to, and the necessity of dis-
embarking the expeditionary corps in the best possible health,
the troop decks were only to accommodate 75 per cent of
their normal complement, which proved a very wise precau-
tion. The distribution of the troops presented many diffi-
culties, as the different units and their equipment stores had
to be together absolutely, and the steamers were not con-
structed to meet this contingency. It thus happened that
some ships had plenty of accommodation for the men hut
very few cabins and others had plenty-of cabins but very
little space between decks, while some were cargo ships and
had comparatively small accommodation for passengers.
It is not intended to imply that the companies supplied
inferior or unsuitable ships as transports ; on the contrary,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 207
tlie ships were excellent, perhaps better than ever provided
for this purpose before, but owing to the suddenness of the
demand and the large number required, it was impossible to
have a large choice, and those ships had to be taken which
happened to be in port. As a consequence, extensive altera-
tions and fittings had to be made, such as the construction of
cold stores for fresh provisions, gangways, the laying down
of electric light and hot-water pipes, etc. By means of such
alterations it was proved that any good ship can be con-
verted into an efficient transport.
Three fast ships were selected to sail first and left on the
27th of July with the following troops, etc., on board:
Staff of first infantry brigade.
First infantry regiment.
Staff and two squadrons of cavalry (as the horses were
being dispatched direct to China from America and
Australia and would arrive there before the troops, it
was especially desirable that the latter should arrive
as early as possible).
Second section of the field artillery regiment — a battery
of heavy field howitzers (whose early arrival enabled
it to take part in the storming of the Peitang forts).
Detachment of the telegraph corps.
Field hospitals 1-4.
The officer to command on the lines of communications and
all the "technical" troops went by the first ship in order to be
able to assist in the disembarkation arrangements. An
advance party consisting of 21 officers, officials, etc., and 120
men, had left Genoa on the 24th of July in order to make the
primary arrangements.
The commander of the expeditionary corps, whose early
arrival on the scene of operations was very desirable, could
not leave for very important reasons until the 2d of August,
but the Rhein, which steams 13 knots and on which he trav-
eled, did the journey in the shortest possible time by avoiding
all unnecessary delays at the intermediate ports.
The embarking officers and their staffs started on their work
in Bremen on the J2th of July. Their duties consisted in
sorting all the baggage and seeing that it was properly
packed and labeled ; badly packed things had to be repacked
and those incorrectly labeled had to be put right. All the
baggage had then to be shipped ontp the different lighters
208 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
and dispatched in good time to their respective ships in
Bremerhaven. Some idea of the extent of the work that was
done may be judged from the fact that between the 12th and
30th of July 7,270 tons of stores, etc., arrived at the Weser
railway station in 1,419 trucks.
The railway-station staff at Bremerhaven had similarly u>
transport all the carts, ammunition, etc., alongside the quay.
The arrangements for loading were rendered all the more
difficult on account of the fact that all available space Tiad to
be utilized in order to stow away all the stores, etc. As much
heavy baggage as possible was to be stowed away in the
hold, and at the same time sufficient space was to be left for
the transport, tents, stores, etc., which were to accompany
the several units, and the space required for these latter could
only be approximately estimated.
As far as possible all stores, etc., were brought alongside
the steamers in the order that they would be stowed on board,
but this measure was only partly a success, as in many cases
there was not room for them and they had to go on the next
steamer.
The difficulty of loading was very much increased by rainy
weather, and also by the late arrival of a number of the ships.
Originally the 1st of August had been fixed as the first day of
sailing, and the companies had made their arrangements ac-
cordingly, and when all the dates of sailing were altered to five
days earlier it was in many cases too late to alter the original
plans. In some cases ships had only two days in which t<>
unload their original cargo, make the necessary fittings for
the transport of troops, and to load up. The embarkation or*
the troops was carried out under the direction of officers of the
headquarters staff. As soon as each train drew up on the
platform in front of the ship all the companies were formal
up and each man was given a number showing the number of
his bunk and his armrack. The men were then marched on
board and the packs stowed in their bunks and the rifles in
the armracks. In the meantime a party of marines unloaded
the train, and all the remaining officers' and men's kits were
laid out on the quay. Each man then searched for his own
kit bag and took it on board and stowed it away. The em-
barkation of a battalion took on an average from an hour to
an hour and a half.
On the whole, it may be said that the transport arrange-
ments for the expedition were satisfactory. The health of
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 209
the troops during the forty-eight days' voyage through the
tropics in the hottest time of the year was excellent. There
were only seven deaths en route, namely :
Two from sunstroke.
One from peritoneal inflammation.
One from apoplexy.
One from fracture of the skull.
Two from alcoholism.
—Journal United Service Institution of India, April, 1902.
ARMAMENT, EQUIPMENT, AND CLOTHING OF THE GERMAN
EXPEDITIONARY CORPS.
Lieut. Col. Bernhard von Haine published lately in the
Berliner Kreuz-Zeitung his remarks on the German troops in
China. The expeditionary corps was armed with the newest
models of rifles, guns, carbines, and lances. Colonel von
Haine observes that the length of the bayonet of the infantry
rifle was not always proportionate to the solidity and dura-
bility of the fixing device. He states that in case of a hand-
to-hand fight the men seem disposed to use the butt to a great
extent, and that the stock is not strong enough for this. In
many instances the small-caliber bullets, though hitting vital
parts of the body, did not place the wounded immediately
hors de combat. The lance was feared most by the enemy.
Since the small flags attached to the lances may be seen in the
field from afar it would be advisable to take them off before
combat.
The greatest need was felt in cooking apparatus on wheels in
which the food could be cooked while on the march, especially
as the water was not drinkable when not boiled. Part of tho
Russian troops were furnished with such cooking vehicles, in
which the food of a company was being prepared on the march
and which could also supply the troops with fresh boiled
water. The advantages of this system are apparent and it is
worthy of imitation. The men get warm food immediately
upon arriving into bivouac. The food by this method is bet-
ter prepared than that which each individual soldier prepares
for himself and consequently more wholesome. Much time is
thus gained for the rest of the individual soldier, which influ-
ences favorably the efficiency of the whole. The distribution
of provisions and condiments among the individuals is thus
dispensed with.
210 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The expeditionary corps was equipped with helmet, field
cap, cloth uniform, coat, high boots, and laced shoes. Each man
was, moreover, equipped for the sojourn in the hot zone with a
yellowish-green drill uniform and a straw hat. After the fir*t
laundering this yellowish-green became a color which was any-
thing but attractive, and the straw hat did not give any protec-
tion against the rays of the sun nor the rain, not to mention that
this head wear gave the troops not only a far less attractive
but even a nonmilitary aspect, it did not fulfill its purpose in
any way. The bine color of the cloth uniform was also un-
practical. Dust, grease, and dirt soon made this uniform look
very shabby, too. The gray-green color of the mounted troops'
uniform is far more practical. The shoes of the men are lib-
wise not to the purpose. The uppers are far too short to pro-
tect the feet from dust and dirt. When this boot has been
wet through it is very hard to put on. When the blacking
or polish is not at hand, the shoes soon take a most offensive
aspect. The most practical foot gear is a strong shoe of
natural yellow color fastened at the ankle by buckles. The
leg is best protected by puttees of flannel which are easily
cleaned and dried. All leather ought likewise to be of natural
yellow color. Taken all in all, the uniform, which renders
the German army so conspicuous in Europe and distinguishes
it among all other armies and which is so essential a means
in the training of the individual man, was not only the least
attractive, but also the least practical of all. — Die Uniform,
May, 1002.
MACIT1XK-GUN DETACHMENT.
On October 1 a machine-gun detachment was assigned to the
first Bavarian army corps. Before that time the " abtheilung"
had been assembled on the great exercise ground of LechfeM
and taken a preliminary course of training. It takes station
at Augsburg and is composed of men taken from the infantry,
cavalry, and field artillery in the strength of 1 captain, 1 first
lieutenant, 2 second lieutenants, and 1 2 noncommissioned offi-
cers, 65 men and 54 horses with G machine guns, 83 (sic)
ammunition wagons, and 4 administration wagons.
They wear the Jager uniform with Roman figure, on the
epaulets and shoulder straps. The detachment does not at
present receive its own recruits, but will be attached for train-
ing to the third battalion of the third infantry regiment.—
Ueberal, Xo. 4-
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 211
MOBILIZATION FROM A FINANCIAL STANDPOINT.
THE MILITARY PRINCIPLES — ARMED FORCES IX WAR.
The military principles of mobilization rest first upon the
numerical determination of the forces for war, that is, upon
the war strength of land and naval forces. This war strength
is developed by the constitution of the army.
The strength and distribution of the active army and fleet,
which form the frame for war formations, and the reserve of
the land and naval forces are important for these. The latter
eomx>rises in a larger sense military service in the active army
and fleet and of the men on furlough, and in a narrower sense
the recruiting of the land and naval forces by themselves.
Regulations with regard to the armed strength and the
composition of the German army and fleet are determined by
the following laws :
The law of November 9, 1867 (law of military service) ; of
May 2, 1874 (imperial military law) ; February 15, 1875 (law
of control); May 6, 1880 (additions and modifications of the
latter), March 31, 1885 (modifications as in the former) ; Feb-
ruary 11, 1888 (changes in military service); January 27, 1890
(modifications of the imperial military law); July 15, 1890
(effective strength on peace footing) ; May 26, 1893 (distribu-
tion of reserves), August 3, 1893 (effective strength on peace
footing) ; March 25, 1899 (effective strength on peace footing) ;
orders for the fleet of April 10, 1898, and June 14, 1900.
The armed strength consists of the army, the navy, and the
landsturm.
The army is divided into (1) the standing army, (2) the
landwehr ; the navy into (1) the fleet and (2) the naval reserve.
Each German capable of carrying arms is, as a rule, from
the time he completes his twentieth year until March 31 of the
year on which he completes his thirty-ninth year, underobli-
tration to serve in the army or navy. For men obligated to
*'rve in the army who have entered it before they are 20 years
of age, the obligation expires on March 31 of the year in
which he completes six years' service in the second ban of the
landwehr.
The obligatory service in the army (or navy) is subdivided
as follows :
(a) Active Army and (6) Reserve.— Service in the active
army (or fleet), seven years. The active service — service with
212 N0TE8 OF MILITARY INTKRE8T FOB 1908.
the colors — lasts, according to the law of August 3, 1893, in
the standing army, for cavalry and mounted artillery, three
years, for all the remaining privates, two years.
(c) Landwehr (or Naval Reserve). — First ban, five
years ; second ban, 7 years ; in all, twelve years. The privates
of foot troops, horse artillery and train, the volunteers, the
privates of cavalry and mounted artillery who have served
three years in the standing army, serve in the first ban of the
landwehr only three years.
(d) "Ersatz " Reserve. — Twelve years. The " ersatz" re-
serve serves for the recruitment of the army (or navy) in time
of mobilization and for the formation of "ersatz" troop units.
It is composed of persons who have drawn high numbers or
who are physically unfit to be incorporated into the standing
army, but who may be fit for service in the future. After the
expiration of twelve years' service in the "ersatz," those who
have been trained enter the second ban of the landwehr and
the remainder the first ban of the landsturm.
The obligation of taking part in exercises lasts during serv-
ice in the reserve, the landwehr of the first ban, and the
"ersatz" reserve.
(e) Service in the Landsturm. — The landsturm consists
of all men under military obligation, beginning with seven-
teen years completed and ending with the forty-fifth year
completed, and who do not belong either to the army or
navy ; it is divided into two bans. The men belong to the
first ban until March 31 of the year in which they complete
their thirty-ninth year, and to tho second ban from the above-
mentioned period until the end of landsturm service.
The landsturm is under obligation, according to Article II.
section 23, of the law of February 11, 1888, to take part in tV
defense of the country in case of war. In extraordinary
cases it may be called to complete the army and navy.
(/) One-year Volunteers. — According to article 11 ■»?
the law on military service, educated young men, who fur-
nish their own clothing, equipment, and subsistence, ami
who have given proof of knowledge obtained according t*
regulations, may be entered into the reserve after one year's
service. They may, according to capacities and qualifica-
tions, be proposed for posts of reserve and landwehr officers.
The officers of the reserve may, throughout the duration of
their service in the reserve, be called to four to eight weeks'
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 213
exercises three times. The officers of the landwehr are called
only to the line exercises of their troops and to exercises nec-
essary for promotion examinations. In time of war officers
of the landwehr may be appointed to the regular army in
ease of need.
"With regard to the effective peace strength of the German
army, it has developed gradually, so that from October 1,
1899, the effective strength of the enlisted' men (with the
exception of the one-year volunteers) will gradually be in-
creased so as to reach 495,500 men in 1903, and this number
will be kept up until March 31, 1904. According to statistical
reports for 1900, the effective strength for that year is the
following :
Effective strength of the German army.
Officers i 28,850
Noncommissioned officers 80, 556
Enlisted men 491,186
Surgeons and officials ' 4,974
One-year volunteers 10,000
Total 610,516
Horses 102,929
Guns drawn by horses 2,822
Ammunition wagons drawn by horses 71
Effective strength of the German navy.
Officers, surgeons, and paymasters 1,458
Aspirants to naval officers 425
Warrant officers, noncommissioned officers, sailors,
cabin boys, etc 26, 443
Total 28,326
Warships 97
The combined strength of the army and navy for 1900
amounts to 638,842 men, about 1*14 per cent of the whole
population of 56,000,000.
It must be remarked that all mobilization affairs are kept,
in Germany, in the strictest secrecy. The information given
by authors must consequently be accepted with great dis-
crimination.
Information is given in the reports of the war administra-
tion with regard to the effective strength of the neighboring
214 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
states. Thus in the report of 1892-93 on the project of a lav,
the effective strength of France and Russia is calculated by
means of multiplying the annual number of recruits hy the
number of the service years and by deducting therefrom
25 per cent for various losses during the year. The quota vi
recruits for Prance was given at 230,000 men for 1890. Thus
the number of trained men according to twenty-five years,
that is, the number of service years according to law of Ju'.r
15, 1889, amounted for the end of 1914 to 4,053,000 men.
This is an effective strength which does not yet exist. How-
ever, a sharp-sighted administration must take account of such
circumstances because the time of its reaching that point is
relatively not so far away.
Moreover, this calculation has been made without taking
into consideration the increase of the men capable of carrying
arms as based upon the increase of the population.
(This, however, if things remain as they are, could not refer
to France.)
The above-mentioned method of calculation may also be
applied to Germany. According to statistical data for 190».»,
page 175, table 5, of "Die Herkunft und Schulbildung der
im Ersatz jahr 1898 eingestellten Rekruten," their number
amounts to 252,464.
Adding to these 252,464 men the 8,000 one-year volunteers
of the North-German land army, we get a yearly contingent
of 260,500 men.
According to this, within twenty-five years (seven years in
the standing army, twelve years in the landwehr, and six
years in the landsturm), that is, toward the end of 1922, the
number of trained men for Germany will amount to —
25 X 260,500 = 6,512,500
— 25 per cent for losses = 1,628,125
There remain, in round numbers, 4,884,000 men.
To this enormous mass of trained German fighters must k
added new masses of " ersatz" reserves and persons who hav«»
been assigned to the first ban of the landsturm (less fit).
There must be counted, moreover, three years of the land-
sturm (17, 18, and 19 year old men), as the landsturm cou-
sists of all men capable of carrying arms, beginning with !•
years and ending with 45 years of age, and who belong neither
to the army nor the fleet. Taking as a basis the figures ^
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 215
the year 1898, without calculating the increase of the popula-
tion, ^we obtain, according to the above-mentioned report for
10OO:
(a) "Ersatz" Reserves (Fit for Service in the Fu-
ture).— In 1898 there were in the "ersatz" reserve 87,700
men.
After twelve years' service in the "ersatz" reserve, those
who are trained are incorporated in the second ban of the
landwehr and the remainder into the first ban of the land-
sturm. Their total duration of service ends as that of the
other men with their completed forty-fifth year of age, and
lasts, consequently, twenty-five years.
In these twenty-five years are comprised :
25X87,700 = 2,192,500
— 25 per cent for losses = 548, 125
There remain, in round numbers, 1, 644, 000
(6) First Ban of the Landsturm (Less Fit).— According
to the statistics for 1898 the number for this year amounts to
110,000 men.
With obligatory service of twenty-five years, there will be
at the end of that period :
25X110,000 = 2,750,000
— 25 per cent for losses = 687, 500
There remain, in round numbers, 2, 002, 000
(c) Landsturm Men of the First Three Years. — Their
number can be given only approximately and indirectly.
According to the Statistical Annual for the German empire
for 1900, page 3, the male population was fixed on December
1,1890, at:
Between the ages of 18 and 20 870,869
Between the ages of 20 and 21 _ 450,034
Total .' 1,320,903
The total population of Germany amounted to 49,000,000
in 1890, and has increased to 54,000,000 in 1898, that is, 10
per cent. It is, consequently, permissible to increase the
above-mentioned number of 1,320,903 by 10 per cent, and wo
obtain for the year 1898: 1,320,903 + 130,090 = 1,450,993.
Their increase ( an not be calculated from 1898 to 1920 by
years, as for the "ersatz" reserves and those forming the first
ban of the landsturm. They fall under the law of the general
increase of the population. Since the population of Germany
210 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1908.
amounted in 1900 to 66,000,000, the increase lately, if further
development is not impaired some way or other, shows that
the population increases in ten years by 9,000,000, and Ger-
many would have thus in 1922 a population of 76,000,000.
This would show between the years 1898 and 1922 an increase
of from 76,000,000— 54,000,000 = 22,000,000, or 41 percent.
Consequently the men liable to military service in the land-
sturm for the three first years will be subject likewise to an
increase of 41 per cent, and in twenty-five years, that is, in
1922, amount to:
1,452,998 + 595,780 = 2,048,728
To be deducted:
Undiscovered ones, such as have remained
away without excuse, such as have been
excluded, and those mustered out, 16 per
cent in round numbers 827,795
Those who have voluntarily entered the
army before reaching the regulation age
(number of the one-and more year volun-
teers almost doubled since 1898) 66, 000
Total to be deducted 898,795
Total remaining 1,655,000
The three posts of (a), (6), and (c) give: (a) 1,644,000,
{b) 2,062,000, (c) 1,G55,000, a total of 5,361,000 of partly
trained, for tho greater part entirely untrained, but mostly
very fit men who form a powerful source of supply for the
defense of the country.
Adding to these the completely trained contingents, there
will be 4,8S4,000 completely trained, and 5,361,000 for the
greater part untrained men, a total of 10,245,000 men availa-
ble for Germany at the end .of 1922 in case of war. This
amount makes up 13.5 per cent of the total population calcu-
lated for 1922 of 76,000,000, and 27 per cent of the 38,000,000
of male population approximately calculated for that year.
For the population of 1900 of 56,000,000 in round numbers,
among them 27,500,000 of male population, this would make
18 per cent and 37 per cent.
With regard to the officers, their need will be quite extraor-
dinary at the time of mobilization.
According to Von LobelPs Reports, XXIV Year, Part lst^
Berlin, 1899, page 41, the extra number of officers was calcu-
lated for 1874 at 12,000, and this number has greatly
increased since.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. ' 217
Only a comparatively small number may be covered by
oalling to active service officers at the disposal of the govern-
ment (zur disposition) and of those on the retired list. The
remaining posts are filled by officers on furlough (beurlaubten-
stand) — reserve and landwehr officers. These officers are
mostly taken from the one-year volunteers and other men
^vho leave active service with qualifications of reserve officers
and enter the furloughed class (beurlaubtenstand).
In order to get an idea of the number of officers, health
officers, and officials necessary, the following may be taken
into consideration.
The number of officers, surgeons, and officials on peace
footing for 1900 amounted to :
Land army 28,824
Marine 1,883
Total 80,707
The budgetary strength for enlisted men on peace footing
(including the one-year volunteers) was in 1900:
Land army 581,692
Navy 26,443
Total 608,185
Thus, in round numbers, there are 20 men falling to each
officer, surgeon, etc.
According to the publication of the military historical
division of the great general staff, Berlin, 1874, Appendix 197,
page 865, "The German-French war, 1870-71," the combined
strength of the German officers, surgeons, and officials
amounted to :
(a) Snch as had passed the French frontier 88,101
(o) Such as belonged to the army and remained at
home 9,819
Total 42,420
Thus, in round numbers, there were 35 men falling to each
officer, surgeon, etc.
Should this number likewise be adopted for the future
wars, there would be necessary : (a) For the trained enlisted
men, 4,884,000 -4- 35 — in round numbers 139,000 officers, sur-
geons, etc. ; (6) for the whole possible contingent, 10,245,000 ■+■
35 = in round numbers 293,000 officers, surgeons, etc.
218 XOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
According to the latest rolls the number of officers, sur-
geons, etc., in the German reserve and landwehr, in round
numbers, amounts to 37,400 (army and nary).
Adding to these the above-mentioned number of officers
on active duty of 30,707 we get, in round numbers, 68,000
officers, surgeons, and officials.
FUNDAMENTAL FIGURES AND COMPUTATION OF THE COST OF A FUTURE WAR
PER DAT, PER MONTH, AND PER TEAR.
The following elements are to be considered for a future
war:
(a) The effective strength of the armed forces.
(6) The first cost of mobilization.
(c) The means for actual warfare.
(d) The payment of war damages and military operations.
(e) The assistauce of families of men who have entered
the service.
The ordinary cost of war, as computed according to data of
the Franco-Prussian war, amounts to 6,330,000 marks per
day, or 5 marks per man per day.
Further figures of 2,700,000,000 marks = 11,000,000 marks
daily in round numbers and of 8.80 marks per man include all
cost of warfare.
All these figures are taken from the Franco-Prussian war.
For the computation of the prospective cost of a future war
the figures of ordinary war expenditure seem too small and
those of the total expenditure too high.
At the breaking out of war the law of June 13, 1873, and
that of February 28, 1S88, with regard to the aid of families
of the men entering the service, come into force.
To the ordinary war expenditure of Germany during the
Franco-Prussian war should be added the numbers given by
Wagner for reserve and landwehr, the payment of war
damages and military operations, as far as these are not-
included in the military expenditure proper, thus obtaining
14,800,000 thalers in round numbers, or 44,400,000 marks.
To this should be added natural requisitions in France until
the conclusion of peace to the amount of 150,000,000 mark?.
as it can not be calculated if, and how, the German troops will
be able to live on the enemy in a future war. All other
elements can not be determined in advance and are not
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 219
available at the breaking out of war. It should be considered
according to this :
Marks.
Ordinary war expenditure 1,551,000,000
Additional expenditure - 44,400,000
War requisitions in the hostile country 150, 000, 000
Total 1,745,400,000
According to this the total expenditure per day amounts to
7,120,000 marks or 5.70 marks per man per day.
Adding to this for unforeseen expenditure 0.30 mark per
day, a daily expenditure of 375,000 marks, the daily expend-
iture per man will amount to 6 marks.
As the above-mentioned figures, prove the German empire
can assemble with the colors (in 1922) in case of a future war:
Completely trained men 4,884,000
Mostly untraine men 5,361,000
Total 10,245,000
there arises the question if Germany will ever have to mobilize
these important figures.
Will it be possible to train these masses for war, to provide
them with commanders, to systematically divide them among
the units, to transport, to lead them, and to furnish them
with the necessary means of subsistence, etc.?
These are questions which can be only partly answered and
determined.
One thing is certain, and that is, that the Germans have to
be prepared to wage war against two opposite fronts and that
they will have to count upon their own forces only. Should
this happen it would be necessary that all those who can carry
arms should hasten to the colors ; for as it is quite improb-
able that the whole force should be at once required, yet the
empire ought, as soon as possible, to create as large a source
of supply as could be formed, for new formations as well as
for the completion of those drawn in the beginning and which
will have suffered losses.
It must not be forgotten that several weeks at least will be
needed for a most superficial training.
During this relatively short period, as shown by the ex-
periences of the campaign of 1870-71, large operations will
be already in full swing.
At any rate it will not be possible to avoid a simultaneous
call to arms of all available masses. Financial considerations
220 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
would have to be immediately considered. Thus, in a future
war, there would arise for Germany the necessity of disbursing:
6 X 10,245,000 = 01,500,000 marks per day.
80 X 61,500,000= 1,845,000,000 marks per month.
12 X 1,845,000,000 = 22,000,000,000 marks per year.
~i is not possible to foresee how long the need of such ex-
penditure will last.
The general opinion is that continental European wars can
not be of long duration. It is supposed that the modern civi-
lized nations will not be able to bear for a long period the cost
of modern war operations. — Die finanzieUe MobUmachung
der deutschen Wehrkraft. By CoL Joseph van Renauld.
Leipzig 1901.
NEW FORMATIONS IN THE ARMY.
There will be created in Prussia for October 1, 1902:
1. Seven sections of machine guns: One guard, attached to
the rifles' battalion (Schiitzen) ; two in the first corps, attached
to the forty-fourth and one hundred and forty-sixth infantry
regiments ; one in the third corps, attached to the third bat-
talion of chasseurs ; two in the fourteenth corps, attached to
the fourteenth and eighth battalions of chasseurs. The twelve
sections belonging to the Prussian army will be distributed
as follows : Two to the guard, three to the first corps, one to
the third, one to the sixth, two to the fourteenth, two to the
fifteenth, and one to the seventeenth. The personnel of the
five sections which existed formerly has been increased and
brought to the same strength as that of the newly created
sections: 1 captain, 3 lieutenants or second lieutenants, 12
noncommissioned officers, 1 a farrier and 1 an armorer, 1
bugler, and 63 privates, including 1 workman, 1 noncommis-
sioned officer or reenlisted man of the sanitary corps, 54
horses, including 18 saddle horses, 3 of which are for the
lieutenants or second lieutenants. Each section comprises 6
machine guns, 2 caissons, 1 baggage wagon, drawn by 4 horses
each.
2. Six companies of foot artillery grouped by twos under
the orders of a field officer and attached to the foot artillery
regiments Nos. 1, 11, and 8. These groups will be garrisoned
at Feste, Boyen, Marienburg, and Thionville, and the company
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 221
of foot artillery of the eighth regiment, stationed in the latter,
will go to Metz.
In Saxony :
One squadron of mounted chasseurs (meldereiters), attached
to the nineteenth corps; the number of such squadrons for
Germany has been increased to 17.
The law, March 25, 1899, completed its execution by the
creation of this squadron.
In Bavaria:
A section of machine guns, almost of the same composition
as that of the Prussian, attached to the first battalion of infan-
try. It is projected to create two new sections in 1903 for the
purpose of attaching one to each of the three Bavarian army
corps. — Bulletin de la Presse et de la Bibliographic Militaire,
September SO, 1002.
THE MAUSER AUTOMATIC PISTOL.
Professors Cranz and Koch, of the technical high school at
Stuttgart, have recently been making exhaustive experiments,
by the aid of photography, into the behavior of the Mauser
automatic pistol during the action of firing. No fewer than
fourteen separate photographs were taken in the time elaps-
ing between the fall of the hammer and the arrival of the
projectile at a point 78 inches in advance of the muzzle, and
from these photographs the learned professors have obtained
data which may prove of some assistance to designers of auto-
matic arms. It was discovered that at the moment when the
base of the bullet was clear of the muzzle there was an escape
of powder gas at the rear end of the barrel. This could not
arise from the opening of the breechblock, since at that
moment the recoil of barrel and breech backwards was only
0.033 inch, whereas the unlocking of barrel and breechblock
does not take place until they have recoiled about 0.1875
inch. It would, in fact, be due to incomplete obturation,
and would not necessarily be dangerous or practically detri-
mental to the ballistics of the weapon. The muzzle velocity
of the Mauser is 1,400 f. s., and these photographs demon-
strated that the backward motion of the breechblock in
recoil is about 19.7 f. s., the entire distance traveled being
about 2± inches, of which all but the first T\ inch is made
222 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
after the separation of barrel and breech. The return move-
ment is at the rate of 7.5 f. s. until the breechblock encoun-
ters the new cartridge, when it, of course, diminishes in rapid
gradation. It was found that the actual time elapsing from
the beginning of the recoil until the breechblock was at rest
again, ready for the second shot, was only from 0.4G toO.09
of a second, altogether beyond the utmost capabilities of a
marksman to respond with a triggerpull. In addition to
showing the behavior of the pistol, these photographs re-
vealed some phenomemrwhich took place after the bullet left
the muzzle. Among others, there was an escape of powder
tfases past the bullet before it filled the grooves of the rifling,
and the photographs further showed that after leaving the
pistol the ballet was overtaken and surrounded by the powder
gases until it had traveled 15 inches. This phenomenon is
already well known, and was reported on several years ago.
Other data with regard to the ejecta, in the shape of uncon-
sumed powder, were also to be gleaned from the experiments,
which seem to have been of a most painstaking and interest-
ing nature. — Arms and Explosives, October, 1902.
GREAT BRITAIN.
REORGANIZATION OF THE BRITISH ARMY.
[t'oMIMI KU K\ M.\.l. K. A. Kt»WAKI>S, Tw KNT\ -Til I Kl) INKAXTIO.]
Activity and progress in every branch of the British mili-
tary service has been the rule during the year 1902, in carrying
out plans for army reform outlined by Mr. Brodrick in 1901.
ARMY CORPS.
An elaborate special order issued March 4, 1902, designed
to give effect to the army corps scheme, deals with the area
of commands, the distribution of the troops, numbers and
duties of staff and departmental officers, and the relations
between army headquarters and general officers exercising
command. A revision of the order relating to methods of
administration, defining more clearly the duties of all con-
cerned, was approved by the secretary" of state for war in
October, 1902.
The order fulfills the promise of reform made by Mr. Brod-
rick in 1901, in the matter of decentralization, by givinir a
-MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 223
larger measure of authority to the corps commanders on
points connected with military discipline and financial ex-
penditures in their respective commands.
The army corps system is now firmly established and is
regarded as the bed rock of the army scheme. Barracks are
being built and training grounds obtained in every district.
They have also the commanders, the troops, including the
various proportions of the auxiliary forces, stores, transporta-
tion, etc., for each district.
The commanders of the first, second, and third corps have
been designated and a system of staff administration arranged.
The first three corps will each have two colonels on the staff,
a director of supplies„and a director of transport, respectively,
while in the fourth, fifth, and sixth corjis one colonel on the
staff, called the director of supply and transport, will super-
vise the duties of both branches. These officers will be
stationed at the headquarters of the corps, will take instruc-
tions from the chief of staff in each corps, will be the advisers
of the commanding general, and the medium of communica-
tion on matters relating to supply, transport, and barrack
service, within the army corps area.
The active administration of the duties of supply, transport,
and barrack services in the different districts of the army
corps territory will be carried on by the officer commanding
the army service corps, who will be responsible that the
regulations are strictly complied with. In local matters he
will be the adviser of the commanding general, the medium
of communication on matters relating to his department, and
will also command the personnel of the army service corps
within the district. Senior officers of the army service corps
have been selected to perform these duties in the different
corps.
The first army corps, which is intended to be composed of
troops mobilized for immediate service, with headquarters at
Aklershot, consists of three infantry divisions, a brigade of
cavalry and certain corps troops. The divisions are made up
of two brigades of infantry, each of four battalions of eight
companies, and the following divisional troops: a squadron
of cavalry, two brigade divisions of artillery, an ammunition
column, a field company of engineers, a company of the
army service corps, and a field hospital.
224 NOTES OF MILITARY INTKRK8T FOR 1902.
The cavalry brigade will be composed of three cavalry
regiments, a battery of horse artillery, an ammunition column,
a field troop of engineers, a company of army service corps,
a bearer company, and a field hospital.
The corps troops will be a regiment of cavalry, a brigade
division each of horse and field artillery, a field company of
engineers, field park, telegraph, pontoon, balloon and railway
units, a battalion of foot guards, army service corps supply
column, field bakery, etc., and a field hospital.
The second army corps, with headquarters at Salisbury
Plain, has had assigned to it for duty the various general
staff officers, aids, and officers of the supply and transport
departments, and a corps order recently issued shows the
artillery, engineer, and army service corps units duly posted
to brigades, divisions, etc.
In the. southern (Salisbury) command, consisting of the
second army corps and the second cavalry brigade, are
included the fortresses of Portsmouth, Plymouth, Portland,
Milford Haven, and Dover, and the defended ports of Fal-
mouth, the Scilly Isles, Newhaven, Bristol, Cardiff, and
Swansea.
The third army corps, with headquarters at Dublin, con-
sists of the troops stationed in Ireland. The only fort is at
Cork — Berehaven, Lough S willy, Belfast, and Dublin being
defended ports.
The formation of the fourth, fifth, and sixth army corps
under the new organization will be commenced on January 1,
1903.
To the eastern command, the fourth army corps and the
household cavalry brigade are allotted. The Thames and
Medway approaches are classed as fortresses. The defenses
of London have recently been strengthened by the mounting
of several new batteries on elevated positions commanding the
principal roads between London and the south coast, and au
expenditure of £5,000 has been authorized for the construc-
tion of a mobilization center at Woldingham, Surrey, as a
part of the scheme of defense.
The headquarters of the fourth army corps, originally fixed
at Colchester, has been changed to London, as being more
central, and the London Times of December 2S, 1901, states
that it will consist of 1,500 officers, 35,304 noncommissioned
officers and men, 11,S63 horses, and 90 guns. These will be
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 225
made up approximately of the following: Staff and depart-
ments of all ranks, 4,296 men and 2,462 horses; 21 battalions
of infantry, 23,037 of all ranks, 1,218 horses; 6 regiments of
cavalry, 3,918 men and 3,690 horses ; artillery, 3,992 men, with
3,651 horses and 90 guns; engineers, including pontoon train
and telegraph troops, 1,262 men, 582 horses; four troops of
military police, 300 men, 260 horses. The headquarters will
"be at the new barracks to be erected near the houses of parlia-
ment, to be called St. Stephen's barracks.
At first it was intended to station 7,000 of the above-men-
tioned troops at Woolwich, but later, on the advice of Lord
Roberts, it was decided to continue Woolwich as a separate
military command on account of its exceptional facilities and
accommodations.
The northern command consists of the fifth army corps and
the fourth cavalry brigade, with the Mersey, Tyne, Sunder-
land, Tee and Hartlepool, and the Humber as defended ports.
The sixth army corps makes up the Scottish command with
the Forth, Tay, Aberdeen, and the Clyde as defended ports.
TRAINING.
The government has recently acquired a tract of country
in Teviotdale, Roxburyshire, in Scotland, which will make,
with proposed additions, a total of 25,000 acres, to be used as
a military training ground like those at Aldershot, Salisbury
Plain, and the Curragh in Ireland.
The importance of musketry instruction has been most
strongly insisted on by the military authorities. The com-
mander in chief in September, 1902, published a long special
order on the subject giving the course of instruction to be
followed. He dwells therein upon the importance of officers
becoming experts in the use of the rifle, enjoins upon all the
most painstaking and conscientious effort in the instruction
of the troops, and states that general officers commanding
' will be held personally responsible for the exercise of every
endeavor to stimulate the interest of officers in the attain-
ment of a standard of the highest efficiency by the troops.
At the Hy the school of musketry a special course of instruc-
tion, lasting from November 26 to December 23, 1902, was
established for the benefit of officers and noncommissioned
officers of the regular forces lately returned from South
Africa.
829 16
226 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
A ne wdrill book — Infantry Training, 1 902 — hasbeen adopted,
and in a note to the preface it is ordered that no books or pam-
phlets in explanation or amplification of the new regulations
are to be used. Drills and field training were sedulously pur-
sued during the year whenever practicable, the prescribed
object in the field training being mainly to develop initiative
and resource in the junior ranks of officers, and among non-
commissioned officers and men, to call into play the personal
interest of the private soldier in his own fighting efficiency,
so that in emergencies he may be accustomed to use his wits
and act upon his own judgment, and be able, on necessity, to
cope with troops trained to rely on collective discipline and
individual intelligence.
Cyclists are trained in cavalry, artillery, and infantry units
for duty as orderlies in peace times at home and abroad, and
machines are furnished by the government for their use. The
question of training British soldiers for railway duty in India,
engine drivers, firemen, etc., has been considered by a com-
mittee, which recommends the formation of such corps in the
British army in India.
TERM OF SERVICE AND RATE OP PAY.
The reduction of the term of service with the colors is de-
clared by Mr. Brodrick to be the greatest change that has
taken place since the days of Mr. Cardwell. Prior to April
1, 1902, enlistments in the line of the English army were gen-
erally for twelve years, seven with the colors and five in the
reserve. In practice, however, any deserving soldier might,
if circumstances permitted, pass into the reserve after five
years' service, and there were many other provisions modify-
ing the length of service with the colors and with the reserve.
In March of 1902 a royal warrant issued and was promul-
gated in a special order providing that from April 1, 1902,
enlistments for cavalry, artillery, and infantry of the line,
and for other specified branches of the service, should be for
a period of three years with the colors and nine years in the
reserve, with the option for noncommissioned officers and men
of good character of extending their color service to eight
years. The inducement to extend their color service consists
of an increase in pay of Gd. a day after April 1, 1904, for all
noncommissioned officers and soldiers of good character en-
listed for more than three years' color service, or who have
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 227
been permitted to extend their service, who have served for
two years with the colors, and are efficient in the duties of
their arm of service, including in the infantry such standard
of musketry instruction as may be prescribed. These men
are of Class I. Other men who are permitted to extend their
color service but are not up to the required standard of effi-
ciency are of Class II and receive 4d. a day increase. A man
of Class I who fails to maintain his efficiency is relegated to
Class II until he regains the required standard. The failure
to reach the prescribed standard in musketry in any year will
entail a reduction for twelve months. In both classes, after
five years' service, an additional Id. a day is given to those
having good-conduct badges. This is stopped or restored as
men lose or regain their good-conduct rating. After April
1, 1904, the increase for good-conduct rating will be discon-
tinued, but a reduction of Id. a day will be made if it be lost.
An immediate increase of 2d. a day is allowed from April
1, 1902, to all men who have passed the recruiting drill and
are certified to be 19 years of age. This is intended to make
good the average stoppages for maintenance of kit, washing,
haircutting, etc., and to give them 1 shilling a day clear.
MEDICAL CORPS.
The medical department of the British army has been re-
organized and given such increase of rank and pay that, as
stated by Mr. Brodrick, instead of as heretofore having but
one candidate for two vacancies, there are now two or three
candidates for one vacancy.
Instructions published in March, 1902, provide that medical
officers duly qualified shall be eligible for promotion to cap-
tain after three and one-half years' service, and to the rank
of major after twelve years' service. Promotion to the rank
of lieutenant colonel is by selection from officers who have
served at least twenty years, but this time may be reduced in
the case of an officer who passed his examination for promo-
tion to a majority with distinction. Promotion to colonel,
and to surgeon general with the rank of major general, is by
selection from the next lower grade. The surgeon general
holding the appointment of director general at army head-
quarters ranks as lieutenant general and has an annual salary
of £2,000.
About the same time the army nursing service was reor-
ganized as the "Queen Alexandra's imperial military nursing
228 NOTBS OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
service." Appointments therein of duly qualified persons
are made by the secretary of state for war. It comprises for
1902-03 a matron in chief, 2 principal matrons, 27 matrons,
50 sisters, and 150 nurses.
VARIOUS.
In the debates in parliament on army reform, stress was
laid on the necessity for the improvement of the service con-
ditions of the enlisted force, in order to attract a better class
of recruits to the army.
Among measures to this end may be mentioned that the
quarters of married men in barracks will be plainly but com-
fortably furnished at public expense, so as to minimize the
inconvenience incident to changes of station. The Inkerman
barracks at Woking, in Surrey, have been altered and arranged
on the cubicle system, which system will be generally adopted
if found to be satisfactory, and reported on favprably by the
regiment occupying the barracks.
An army order dated September 1, 1902, abolishes all roll
calls, except at reveille, and when specially ordered for
recruits, boys, defaulters, etc. Men will be warned for all
duties by daily orders posted in a suitable place in the quar-
ters of each unit, the men being held responsible that they
make themselves acquainted with all orders affecting them.
Kit inspections for trained men and recruits will be held only
when commanding officers consider them necessary. Inspec-
tions of barracks, stables, etc., will not, except in case of
necessity, be held on Sunday, and parades will as far as pos-
sible be avoided on that day.
Guard duty is the hardest duty a soldier is required to per-
form in time of peace, and is especially trying for young
soldiers of from 18 to 20, of which the British army at home
has a large number. The order above referred to directs that
a system of police shall, wherever possible, replace garrison
and regimental guards, which will be mounted only when
specially ordered by the commanding officer of the station or
camp. It also permits men to smoke in the streets when not
on duty.
A recent memorandum from the commander in chief calls
attention to the necessity of officers using the power given
them in the king's regulations to keep the ranks free from
worthless characters who deter respectable young men from
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 229
joining, bring disrepute on the service, and cause a waste of
public money.
AUXILIARY FORCES.
The volunteer infantry has been rebrigaded, so as to make
the brigades of more uniform strength, and as a rule to be
formed from troops of the same regimental district. About
216 battalions are formed into 46 brigades. The volunteers'
regulations have been revised with a view to securing greater
efficiency as soldiers of enrolled members. Efficiency is
measured by attendance at prescribed camps, inspections,
parades and drills, by which a capitation allowance from the
state is earned. This constitutes a fund from which the
expenses of maintenance are paid.
As a spur to the gaining and maintenance of efficiency, the
whole or any part of the capitation allowance may be with-
held in the discretion of the secretary of state for war when
any organization has been insufficiently trained in any year.
Instruction and training is the same as for the army and
is prescribed by the military authorities, the standard of
musketry instruction not being as high as for the regular
forces. In field training, the new volunteer regulations, to
determine efficiency, lay the greatest stress on the attendance
of organized units at camps and battalion drills, and on that
of individuals at the annual inspections.
A special-service section is composed of men who engage
to serve in case of emergency when called on by the secretary
of war, in such fortress or district as may be specified, for a
period not exceeding one month. Additional grants are made
for such service partly to the corps and partly to the man,
who receives, while on special service, the pay and allowances
of the corresponding rank in the regular army, besides a sub-
stantial gratuity on reporting for duty.
Designations and titles in militia and volunteers have, in
many cases, been assimilated to those of the army ; thus the
militia field artillery is to be known as the royal field artil-
lery (militia), militia artillery and volunteer artillery as royal
garrison artillery (militia), and royal garrison artillery (vol-
unteers), respectively. The militia and volunteer medical
staff corps are now designated as royal army medical corps,
militia, or volunteers.
In the war office the division of military intelligence has
teen greatly strengthened. The chief is now in the inner
230 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
circle of the office and practically discharges many of the
duties performed by the chief of staff in foreign armies.
Instruction and training in the auxiliary services of mili-
tia, volunteers, and yeomanry are carefully arranged for
by the military authorities. About 27,000 volunteers were
encamped at Aldershot during the summer of 1902, that being
only one of a number of training grounds. Each year militia
officers are encouraged to serve with line regiments to get
the benefit of the training and to give additional officers to
the line regiments at these periods.
Mr. Brodrick is authority for the statement that the aver-
age annual cost of a private in the army (presumably at home)
is approximately as follows : Infantry of line, £52 6s. 4d. ;
cavalry of line, £58 16s. 9d. ; militia (infantry), £18 12s. 6d.;
imperial yeomany, £19 13s. 6d. ; volunteers, £6. The cost of
infantry and cavalry, respectively, after April 1, 1904, when
the increased pay takes effect, will be £59 6s. Id. and £65
16s. 6d.
DEMOBILIZATION OF THE ARMY.
A special army order was issued from the British war
office on June 25, 1902, directing the demobilization as soon
as practicable after June 30, 1902, of all soldiers serving at
home who had completed their first period of service with the
colors, except reservists or time-expired men of cavalry and
drivers of the army service corps. Soldiers not entitled to
furlough to be at once transferred to the reserve, those
entitled to furlough, or to a furlough gratuity, to be passed
to the reserve on the expiration of their furloughs, or of the
periods covered by the gratuity.
All soldiers serving at home, on original enlistments or as
mobilized reservists, in their thirteenth year of service (seven-
teenth year in case of men mobilized from Section D), who
have not reengaged, will be discharged as soon as practicable
after June 30, 1902. Reengaged men in twenty-second year
of service who have not given notice to continue in service
will be similarly treated.
Men already on furlough will be notified to report at the
nearest military station for medical examination and prepa-
ration of the necessary papers for their transfer or retransfer
to the reserve.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 231
The same action will be taken in the cases of soldiers not
now in the foregoing categories as soon as they fulfill the
above conditions.
Soldiers serving abroad, who fulfill the conditions above
noted, will be similarly disposed of on their return to England,
subject to the provisions of the regulations for demobilization.
The following table from the Montreal Gazette of October
2, 1902, shows the forces in or sent to South Africa, from
August, 1899, when war began to threaten, till May 31, 1902,
when peace was signed :
Garrison on August 1, 1899 9,940
Sent from United Kingdom : ==
Regulars — 228,171
Militia 46,566
Yeomanry _. 35,520
Scottish horse _ - 883
Volunteers 19,85ft
South African Constabulary _ 7,28T
Total from United Kingdom- 887,183
From India:
Regulars 18,229
Volunteers 803
Total from India 18,584
From the colonies:
Contingents 29,090
South African Constabulary, Canada 1, 238
Total from colonies _ 80,328
Raised in South Africa _ _ _ 62,414
Grand total 448.899
DISTRIBUTION OF THE ARMY IX SOUTH AFRICA.
Lieutenant General the Hon. Sir Neville Lyttelton, com-
manding in South Africa, has sent home particulars of the
distribution of # the forces which have been told off to form
the garrison of the four colonies, as decided upon for present
requirements.
It is proposed that Ladysmith should be abandoned as a
large military station for Natal, and Newcastle substituted.
Under the scheme drawn up by the local authorities the
principal military centers will be Bloemfontein, Pretoria,
Potchef stroom, Standerton, and Newcastle. At each of these
232 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
places a regiment of cavalry, units of royal artillery, and a
brigade of infantry will be stationed until further orders.
Another important post is Middleburg, Transvaal, held by
1 regiment of cavalry, 1 battery of field artillery, and 2 bat-
talions of infantry. The other places in the Transvaal chosen
for military posts, with their garrisons, are :
Krugersdorp (held by 1 regiment of cavalry, 1 battery
of horse artillery, and 1 battalion of infantry).
Lydenburg (l battalion of infantry).
Machadodorp (1 battalion of infantry).
Barberton (1 battalion of infantry).
Pietersburg (1 battalion of infantry).
Johannesburg (I battalion of infantry).
Garrisons of Orange River Colony and Natal :
Kroonstad (1 regiment of cavalry, and 2 battalions of
infantry).
Harrismith (1 regiment of cavalry, 1 battery of field
artillery, and 2 battalions of infantry).
Ladybrand (I battalion of infantry).
Middleburg (1 regiment of cavalry, 3 batteries of field
artillery, and 1 battalion of infantry).
Stellenbosch (1 regiment of cavalry and 1 battery of
field artillerj7).
Naauwpoort (2 battalions of infantry).
Burgersdorp (1 battalion of infantry).
Wynberg (1 battalion of infantry).
Maf eking (1 battalion of infantry).
Maritzburg (1 battalion of infantry).
Modder River (1 battery of field artillery and 1 bat-
talion of infantry).
It is hoped eventually to do away with many of the smaller
stations, but there is no immediate prospect of any consider-
able reduction of the forces now at Sir Neville LyttelWs
disposal. — United Service Gazette, December 27, 1902.
TARGET PRACTICE.
The following is an extract from a special army order by
Lord Roberts, dated war office, September 19, 1902:
MUSKETRY TRAINING.
Considerable as has been the improvement in the shooting of the army
during the last few years, our experience in South Africa has brought
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
lome to lis the fact that oar soldiers can not as yet take the fullest
advantage of the admirable weapon which has been placed in their hands,
>r use it -with that skill and precision which are so essential to success in
wrar.
While I deeply regret that this should be the case, I am not surprised,
tor I know from many years' anxious watching over the progress of rifle
shooting in our army how comparatively few officers take any real interest
in this — by far the most important part of the soldiers' training, particu-
larly to those who belong to the cavalry and infantry branches of the
service. Too frequently the musketry course is still looked upon as a
somewhat irksome business which has to be got through as quickly as
possible, and sufficient consideration is seldom given as to whether the
results achieved are satisfactory or not.
Success or failure in rifle shooting depends entirely upon the officers,
and I now most earnestly desire to impress upon them the imperative
necessity for their becoming experts in the use of the rifle themselves,
ind for assisting me in carrying out a far more complete and finished sys-
tem of instruction than exists at present.
As a first step in this direction it is essential that young soldiers should
ta more carefully prepared to profit by the lessons of the rifle range, and
that they may be able so to profit they must be taught everything which
concerns the rifle, and how to handle it with case and confidence before
they are introduced to the ranges.
As an aid to musketry training, the following points should be carefully
considered and given effect to:
1. Instruction. — The value of the instruction imparted to the men is
entirely dependent on the ability of the officers to teach, and on the zeal
with which they enter on a task which demands careful preparation,
patience, and energy.
I expect, therefore, that all officers will do their best to become compe
tent instructors, and that commanding officers will assure themselves of
the fitness of their officers to teach, by watching them when at work with
their noncommissioned officers and men, and will impress on them that
keenness in musketry, and good results, will be the first claim for advance-
ment.
In the same way subordinate officers will be held responsible that the
noncommissioned officers under their command are capable instructors,
and will not recommend any for promotion whom they do not consider as
such. It is to be borne in mind that, after the first broad principles of
instruction have been communicated, nothing but constant practice in
teaching can make the perfect instructor; all noncommissioned officers
should therefore be frequently practiced as instructors, and the plan of
depending upon a few of the most capable, which is detrimental to the
rest of the noncommissioned officers of the battalion, should be discon-
tinued.
2. Elementary Training of Recruits. — I consider it essential to every
man's efficiency as a* soldier that his elementary education as a recruit
should be conducted with the greatest patience, sympathy, and judgment,
*nd that it should be of the most thorough and finished description. I
regard the present short period of recruit training in musketry as insuffi-
cient, and I direct that a system of training be established which will
234 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
insure that no recruit is pronounced qualified until he has acquired a
thorough knowledge of musketry, and can handle his rifle with skill and
confidence under all conditions and in all positions.
The recruit's training in musketry should commence 14 days after his
arrival at the depot, and should be continued daily until he leaves to join
his corps. During this time the instruction will be limited to care of
arms, aiming, and the firing exercises.
When recruits join their corps daily instruction will be at once resumed.
The following will be the course:
(a) Care of arms.
(b) Instruction in aiming.
(c) The firing exercises, both in drill order and field-service order-
one exercise at least to be performed daily.
(d) Instruction and practice in judging distance. A short exercise
daily.
(e) Instruction in firing from behind cover and in snap shooting.
(/) Instruction in the theory, powers, and mechanism of the rifle and
its ammunition.
(g) A course of lectures and examinations on the whole of the above
subjects.
N. B. — Squads are not to consist of more than ten men, but eight would
be better.
8. Elementary Instruction of Trained Soldiers.— When a proper
system of recruit training is established, the soldier may be expected to
be so expert with his rifle that repetition of elementary lessons will seldom
be necessary. As yet this has not been achieved, and until it has been, all
soldiers now in the ranks must be exercised as frequently as possible in
the same course as that laid down for the recruit.
4. Range Practices. — The sole object of the range practices is to pro-
duce good marksmen, and this can not be arrived at hurriedly, or without
due deliberation. The aim should not be to expend a certain quantity of
ammunition, but to make every shot fired a practical lesson ; this can only
be done by careful marking of each shot, and explaining to the men the
causes of failure. In cases, therefore, where time has to be considered, it
will be better to do a part of the course thoroughly, than to try and get
through the whole in a hurried and perfunctory manner. In such cases
general officers commanding will sanction the omission of shooting at
the longer ranges when they consider that the whole course can not be
advantageously carried out.
Exercise with blank ammunition, miniature cartridges, or merely
"snapping," on the lines of the rapid magazine and snap-shooting prac-
tices of the regulation course, should be frequently practiced in quarters
throughout the year. It is by snap shooting at short ranges that battles
in the future will probably be decided, and the few rounds which can be
fired on the rifle range are not sufficient to enable a soldier to attain that
high standard of shooting which will henceforth be needed.
5. Auxiliary Forces. — These instructions apply to the auxiliary forces
so far as it may be possible to carry them out under the different condi-
tions of service. Officers commanding regimental districts must at once
take up the question as to how they can be applied. They must in the
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 235
irst instance especially concern themselves with the training of the per-
manent staff, and must satisfy themselves that they are kept up to a high
standard of instructional ability under the direction of adjutants of
auxiliary forces, of whose qualifications they must make themselves cog-
nizant It is only by district commanders' personal interest and inspec-
tion of corps while at musketry training that the desired end can be
gained
Officers commanding regimental districts must also give their special
attention to the musketry training of militia recruits, including that of
officers This is at present most unsatisfactory.
6. Course of Musketry Practice for 1908.— The official instructions
for the musketry practice for 1908 will embody, as far as possible, the
principle that skill at short ranges is of the utmost importance, and that
it is useless to allow a man to shoot at the longer ranges, or in advanced
practice until he has become a reliable shot at the shorter distances.
Commanding officers are hereby empowered to keep back such men as
they consider require further instruction, in order that they may expend
their ammunition at the shorter ranges.
7. I am convinced that straight shooting, which is the result of careful
training is at least as important on the modern battlefield as tactical com-
binations, to the practice of which so much time and trouble are now
devoted. It will be well for all to recollect that the best tactics may fail
if, when the climax of the struggle is reached, a superiority of fire can not
be established.
I can not, therefore, too strongly impress on every general officer com-
manding that it is his most important duty to attain and maintain a high
standard of efficiency in musketry throughout all ranks in his command,
and, being convinced that this can only be attained by the exercise of con-
stant personal interest and supervision on the part of the senior officers, I
shall hold every general officer commanding personally responsible that
he, by whatever means he may consider best, will endeavor to attain a
standard which can only be considered satisfactory when it has attained
the highest efficiency. With this view he should satisfy himself by fre-
quent and close observation, that a well-ordered and progressive system
of elementary instruction in musketry is established in all corps in his
command on the lines here indicated, and should specially endeavor to
stimulate the interest of officers in their men's shooting and in recruit
training. He should endeavor to overcome any difficulties which may
arise in complying with the spirit of this order, and in regard to such as
he maybe unable to cope with, he should at once bring them to the notice
of the adjutant general.
The " Provisional Course of Musketry for the year 1902 "
for the British army, a synopsis of which appeared in
" Target Practice and Remount Systems Abroad," published
last year, was supplemented in September, 1902, by instruc-
tions contained in a special army order signed by Lord
Roberts prescribing the steps in the course of instruction for
recruits and trained men both in the regular and auxiliary
236
NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
forces, urging and requiring the most active personal interest
of all officers in this important branch of the soldier's train-
ing, and directing general officers commanding to report on
the system of training adopted, and the progress made up to
date. Also to make suggestions for useful changes, to report
on the action of subordinate officers, and on the general effect
of Lord Roberts's order.
A revised edition (provisional) of the musketry regulations
for the regular and auxiliary forces has been approved and
will be issued in February, 1903.
The following is the latest table giving annual allowances
of small-arms ammunition for instruction purposes and for
funerals :
Round*.
Corp*.
Trained
soldiers.
Trained soldiers,
rank add file only.
Recruits (officer or man).
Ball.
Blank.
Aiming
tube, sab-
caliber.
Ball.
'Cartridges,
Blank.! aiming
J tat*.
Cavalry
Artillery :
Garrison _.
Horse, field, and mountain
200
20
10
100
100
300
f50
90
20
10
40
80
40
•26
25
•26
•26
•26
200
20
20
150
150
200
20 *25
i
20 ,
20 i_
Kngiueera armed with :
Rifle
20 1 *35
Carbine
20 ' *«
20 •as
lufantrv reservist* > .
1
• 10 rounds per recruit may be drawn at depots, or the allowance may be exchanged for Mil
ammunition of equal value.
fin case of failure to reach the prescribed standard, 50 rounds additional may be drawn for pur-
poses of repetition.
Allowances are also made to men of ordnance, army service,
and medical corps.
Every soldier in his first year of service may fire the am-
munition allowed for a recruit, together with that allowed
for the trained soldier. If a recruit of infantry or cavalry
is put back for further training the number of rounds
already expended by him will not be deducted from the
allowance, but will be in addition thereto.
Ball ammunition may be drawn at the following rates for
squadron and company officers of units specified below :
Cavalry, 110 rounds per officer.
Engineers, 90 rounds per officer.
Infantry, 150 rounds per officer.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 237
Tlie following addition may be made to the above-
mentioned proportions of ball ammunition :
For field inspections, on the order of the general officer
commanding a station or district —
Cavalry, regiment of, 1,000 rounds.
Infantry, battalion of, 4,000 rounds.
and tlie following to the proportion of blank ammunition :
For use at district rifle meetings —
Three rounds ball, 0.303-inch, per officer and man
(regulars and militia) on the effective strength of
districts at home on June 1 of each year, and at
stations abroad on January 1 of each year.
For training remounts —
Horse and field artillery, 10 rounds per remount, to
be drawn by batteries when required.
Engineers, 400 rounds, to be drawn by the field
depots.
Army service corps, 1,780 rounds, to be drawn by
station staff as follows: Aldershot, 540 rounds;
Devonport, 480 rounds; Woolwich, 480 rounds;
Curragh, 140 rounds; Dublin, 140 rounds.
Annual allowance of pistol ammunition for officers, warrant and noncom-
missioned officers, and men armed with the pistol in time of war.
Ball.
i Blank,
COt|*- ' Subse- I «™7
Flrstyear. quent , )ettr*
I years.
Artillery (horse, field, and mountain)
Infantry and engineers
Army service corps
Military mounted police
If on hand for the purpose, officers may purchase for their
own use 36 rounds additional per annum, and for noncom-
missioned officers and men may be drawn annually additional
ammunition, not exceeding 72 rounds for infantry and 36
rounds for cavalry, horse and field artillery, for each author-
ized pistol.
General officers commanding may authorize the purchase
of ammunition for competitions, not exceeding 130 rounds
per annum for each competitor.
238 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1902.
Units joining the army rifle association may purchase 0.303
ammunition at half rates, not exceeding 7 rounds per rifle or
carbine.
Aiming tube (subcaliber) cartridges, for private practice,
may be purchased from the army ordnance department.
Annual allowance of machine-gun ammunition for practice and exercise*.
1 Cartridge, m*-&h~
1 gw»-
Ball.
For each unit of cavalry, mounted infantry, and infantry having machine guns
actually in possession, not forming part of the armament of a station:
Cavalry and mounted infantry 1,100 \ , ltl-
Infantry 1.700 f ^
For stations: For each gun actually in possession, forming part of armament __. 966 ->-•
THE FORBES RANGE FTNT>ER.
The folding range finder consists of two parts : the base and
the binocular.
1. The base is a tube of rectangular section 1 by 1± inches,
and is 6 feet 3 inches long. It consists of two half bases 3
feet and 3 feet 3 inches long, respectively, hinged together at
the middle of the whole base ; the hinge is at the top when
opened out. On the left half base at the hinge there is a
vertical slot facing the range taker to receive the tongue of
the binocular. On the two halves of the hinge, facing the
range taker, are the middle openings (| inch square), closed
and opened by the middle shutters, which expose to view the
glass faces of the middle prisms, which are mounted in the
tubular base.
At the two outer ends of the base are two cylindrical shut-
ters called the outer shutters, which are opened or closed by
rotating them about the axis of the base, and expose the glass
faces of the two outer prisms, mounted in the tubular base.
The distance between the centers of the outer prisms is 72
inches. These outer prisms face the target. The middle
prisms face the range taker. A rubber ring is attached to
the longer half base. When the base is folded, this rubber
ring is passed also over the end of the shorter half base to
keep the two together. Each half base has a wooden leg
hinged to it and kept in place when out of use by a rubber
ring.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 239
No adjustments of the base of any kind whatever need ever
be made after leaving the maker's hands.
The "base when folded is carried in a sling case, with a fold-
ing flap at the lower or hinged end and a strap to fasten it.
2. The binocular consists of two telescopes, having two
black ebonite eye caps. The distance between these can be
varied to suit different people by opening or closing the
binocular hinge between the telescopes. Between the eye
cajjs is a horizontal rod attached to the left telescope, sliding
in a horizontal tube attached to the right telescope. On the
rod there is a distance of eyes scale, graduated from 2i to 2|
inches, showing the distance between centers of eye caps.
The binocular hinge is gripped by a support with 6 boltheads,
and this support ends in a flat tongue, pointing downward,
to slip into the slot on the base hinge.
On looking through either telescope at the sky, a balloon
is seen with tail rope hanging down. The bottom of the tail
rope is at the middle of the field of view. There are really
two balloons seen as one, by the two eyes; that one seen with
the left eye has the letter L on its left side, and the one seen
with the right eye has the letter R on its right side. Each
eye cap can be revolved to focus the telescope to suit each eye,
and the left focal scale and right focal scale are marked for
the focus of each eye, from +10 to —10 divisions. Behind
the tongue is a clamp for securing the two telescopes at the
right distance apart, called the binocular-hinge clamp.
Above the left eye cap there is a square pin, worked by a
key, to raise or lower one balloon relatively to the other.
On the right side of the binocular there is a drumhead carry-
ing a dial on the right side, with a flat spiral distance scale
registering the number of 100 yards, from 500 yards upward.
The scale is turned by the milled head, 1 inch diameter. The
scale is read by the pointer, which moves along the spiral
radially, to read successive revolutions. It is attached to the
cover inclosing the drumhead. There is also a pointer clamp
for fixing the pointer in any position. On the left side of the
dial is a divided circle divided into 100 parts, with a fixed
pointer. On the distance scale, beyond the 10,000-yard mark,
there is a mark oo for practically infinitely distant objects
when the angle to be measured is zero. The reading on the
divided circle, when the pointer is at this mark, is called zero,
or the infinity reading.
240
NOTES OF MIUTART INTEREST FOR 1902.
Fig. 1 shows the shape of the prisms and the path of the
two beams of light from the target entering the two outer
prisms, suffering a double reflection at each prism, passing
along the tubular base, passing through the middle prisms,
and entering the binocular, parallel to their original direction.
These two beams of light pass through the object glasses
GG' of the binocular, and form two images of the target at
leffkaif.
base
*
Plate IV.
fiftt-hoifbate.
7r\
t
a+ —
<r'
cp-^
1
Z'-i
Fig. I.— Diagram showing path of light rays from target.
2" and J', on the line of the beam of light passing through the
center of the object glass. These images are examined by
eyepieces E.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 241
In fig. 2, if I7 be the target, A A the base, then IT are the
images of the target. Draw Oi parallel to G'T, then the moon
or any other very distant object, if its left image were at 7',
would have its right image at i, where I'i= OG\ the dis-
tance between the centers of the object glasses. Here the
two eyes look in parallel directions. But for the target T,
which is nearer, the eyes must converge to look in directions
ft?, I'G'. The muscles of the eye tell us of the comparative
effort required to converge the eyes when two objects at dif-
ferent distances are seen at the same time. If two balloons,
photographed on glass, be placed at /' and i, or at the dis-
tance I'i apart, the balloons are seen as one balloon at the
same distance as the moon. But if we are looking at the
target the balloon i must be moved to J, to make the two
balloons look like one balloon at the distance of the target.
We measure this distance Ii by the drumhead, which works
a micrometer screw.
TSow AT=QLxAA'
It
or distance of target= -=r X length of base
It
=-rX2yardB.
It
In my binocular — -= -
Ii number of revolutions of drumhead.
So, for any distance of target D, we have to mark that dis-
tance on the spiral scale when it and the micrometer screw
have turned through a
810
number of revolutions =-— x2 yards
1,620 ,
=-L=- yards.
Por 1,000 yards it is 1.620 revolutions. For 2,000 yards it
is 0.810 revolution, and so on.
In this way the graduations for different distances have
been calculated.
METHOD OF CARRYING THE EQUIPMENT.
1. By a Mounted Man. — A mounted man attaches the
strap of the sling case of the base to two D's on the near side
of the saddle. He has another strap fixed to the D at the back
629 16
242 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
of the saddle. He passes this around the upper part of the
sling case and buckles to keep it steady when trotting or
galloping. He places the binocular in the left of the two
wallets in front of the saddle.
On the order being given to take a range, the binocular is
removed from the wallet. The man dismounts and drops the
reins on the ground. He then takes out the base, puts the
binocular tongue through the- base slot, straightens out
the 6-foot base quietly, not to injure the hinge, opens the
four shutters, sits down facing the target, with the legs of
the base gripped between the knees, and takes the distauce
of the target.
2. By a Foot Soldier. — A foot soldier uses the same sling
for the base as the mounted man. He passes the strap over
the right shoulder and under the left arm, with the flap and
also the hinge of the base downward. The binocular is car-
ried in a leather binocular case with the strap passing over
the left shoulder and under the right arm.
To take a range he goes through the same operations as the
mounted man, except as regards the horse.
TO DETERMINE THE RANGB-TAKER'S OPTICAL CONSTANTS.
Every man in the army has his optical constants deter-
mined and these are given to him on a card, thus :
This means that the left focal scale should, in this man's case,
be at — 1 ; the right focal scale at 0, and the distance of eyes
scale at 66 divisions.
1. To Find D.— The binocular hinge clamp is loosened.
The base is not used. The man grasps each telescope body
with one hand. He points it to the sky and sees a balloon.
He alternately opens out and closes in the telescopes by
working the binocular hinge until he sees an R on the right
side and an L on the left side of the balloon. He moves the
hinge until he sees them most distinctly, when there should
be an increased brightness of the picture. The binocular
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. * 243
hinge clamp is then made tight and the distance D read off
on the distance of eyes scale.
2. To Find L. — The observer again looks at the sky and
sees the balloon. Revolving the left eye cap to right or left,
the letter L becomes more or less distinct. When most sharp,
L is read off on the left focal scale.
3. To Find R. — The same operation is performed, except
that the right eye cap is revolved until R is quite sharp.
Then R is read off on the right focal scale.
TO TAKE A RANGE.
Directing the binocular and base toward the target" and
looking through the binocular, a man is virtually seeing the
target by means of eyes placed at the two ends of the base,
6 feet apart. He can then judge the relative distances of
objects. He also sees a balloon at some distance. He lays
the tail rope of the balloon just above the target, and not, on
any account, on it. He notes that he sees both R and L on
the balloon, else he is using only one eye and can not work.
Then, by twisting the milled head one way or the other, he
moves the balloon away from him or brings it nearer to him.
He should begin with the balloon nearer than the target (by
setting the distance scale at 500 yards) and watch the balloon
going away as he turns the milled head, always keeping the
tail rope above, and never on, the target. He stops turning
when the balloon is over the target, and then he reads the
distance on the scale in hundreds of yards.
TO SET THE ZERO.
When a range taker starts using a binocular which he has
not been the last to use, he must first set the zero.
1. He sets the focal scales and the distance of eyes scale to
the numbers on his card. If he has lost his card and can not
remember the numbers, he must reset them by trial, as ex*
plained already.
2. He then slips the tongue of the binocular into the slot of
the base and looks to see if the object glasses are both at the
same height as the middle prisms.. If he finds it necessary
to twist the binocular about its hinge, the six boltheads may
be loosened to enable him to do this.
244 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
3. Next, taking the binocular off the base, he observes any
distinct object of unknown distance somewhere between 500
and 1,000 yards. He sets the balloon over the target and
reads off on the divided circle. He does this five times and
takes the mean and sets the divided circle to this mean.
4. The pointer clamp is then loosened, and the drumhead
cover is turned until the pointer on the distance scale reads <x.
The pointer clamp is then tightened.
5. The binocular and base are now used on the same object
and five readings taken on the divided circle, and the circle
is set to the mean reading. The distance on the scale is now
read and one-thirtieth subtracted to give the true distance.
The pointer clamp is loosened and the pointer turned to point
to the true distance. The pointer clamp is tightened, and
the scale reading will now be correct for all distances.
SUGGESTED REGULATIONS FOR INFANTRY.
1. Every man in the army should at least once a year have
a course with the range finder lasting one day.
2. The present course of distance judging to be abolished.
3. Every section of every company of infantry, whether
mounted or on foot, to be supplied with a range finder.
4. Ten men in each company to be selected to act as range
takers for the day or to replace range takers who are disabled.
These suggestions are thrown out with all modesty, the
result of discussions in South Africa, merely as a preliminary
basis for discussion.
PRACTICAL TRIALS OF THE RANGE FINDER IN SOUTH AFRICA.
I arrived in South Africa on January 28, 1902. The first
trials were made during ten days at the royal observatory,
Cape Town. The distances had been surveyed by one of the
astronomers. During this period I found that in all condi-
tions of the weather I generally could obtain 2 per cent accu-
racy at 3,000 yards, often much closer. This was not new to
me, as I had thoroughly tested for accuracy at home.
One day, February 5, my observations happened to be wit-
nessed by Maj. Gen. Sir John Ardagh» Lieutenant Colonel
Edmonds, K E., and Sir David Gill, K. C. B., F. R. S., who
drew up and signed a certificate. The binocular had been
dismantled the day before and the zero hastily determined,
and Sir David Gill pointed out that the correction for zero
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
245
could "be made,
follows :
When this was done the results were as
i __
3__
4__
I Distance in ■ Observed by
I yards. [range finder.
1,869
3,036
852
1,432
1,711
1,830
3,039
867
1,422
1,717
Error.
+ 29
- 3
- 5
MO
February C, 1902. Range-finder tests. Range finder observed by Prof. George Forbes, F. R. 8.
K&nfre finder read off by Mr. Levinger, astronomer. Certified by Sir David Gill, K. C. B., F. R. 8.,
H. M. astronomer.
Range find- I Range find-
er, observed.; er, mean.
Survey. Krror.
Yards. |
1,860
1,885
1,825
1,430 !')
1,410 ,
1,405
1,716
1,735
1,705
861
858
850
701
702
711
751 |'i
744
733
1,910»'\
1,950 ,
2,060 I
1,350 r
1,395
1,380 ,
Yard*.
i,ar>7
1,415
1,718
856
705
743
2,000
1,376
Yard*.
1,859
1,432
1,711
862
686
749
1,994
1,388
Ynrdt.
- 2
-17
+ T
+ 4
+ 19
- 6
+ 6
-13
* A violent gust of wind interfered with this observation.
SUMMARY OP RESULTS ARRIVED AT BY MY VISIT TO SOUTH AFRICA IN
1902, TO TEST THE RANGE FINDER FOR USE WITH RIFLES.
1. Distance judging is known to be very difficult, but the
range finder enabled me to find out what few people know,
that the most experienced and trusted of our officers who have
been serving throughout the war will sometimes give a dis-
tance as 2,800 yards when it is under 700 yards, and at other
times will give a distance as 500 yards when it is over 1,200
yards.
2. There is no service range finder ever used with infantry
or cavalry in the field, and if the mekometer be ever used with
artillery our officers seldom rely upon it. The time taken is
excessive ; the exposure of the men is objectionable ; the errors
246 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1900.
introduced by two men dependent on each other are fatal, and
the ground often does not admit of a mekometer being used.
The new range finder is not to replace the mekometer. It
will replace nothing, because there is nothing to replace.
3. Our officers and our men in the field are unanimous in
the opinion that the universally recognized want, which has
often nullified the strategy of our leaders and the endurance
of our men and made us often helpless for offense before the
enemy, was the want of a quick, handy, reliable, one-man
range finder. The want has in every action reduced the
casualties we inflicted to a fraction of what it should have
been.
4. I have tested the range finder for accuracy against the
mekometer and against surveyed distances under most com-
petent generals and others. Every one agreed that its accuracy
was all that could be desired.
5. As to speed, I could always give the range long before
the two men occupied with the mekometer had concluded
their preliminary consultation as to the exact point to be
observed.
6. I have trekked with a column 300 miles in eleven days,
the ranger finder being always slung to my saddle. Each day
I was at different times called on for distances. It never took
one minute to dismount, set up the range finder, and give the
first range, subsequent ranges being given in a few seconds.
7. I was in action two days and gave the ranges quickly and
accurately and undoubtedly improved the shooting.
8. No amount of jolting in long gallops ever put the range
finder out of order. It never needed adjustment of the prisms,
though no more care was taken of it than of a rifle, and once
my horse rolled on it.
9. Every officer who has seen the range finder in use or in
action has told me that, so far as he can judge from what he
has seen, it is the very thing the army needs.
10. These officers have described their experiences in scores
of battles in which disaster would have been converted into
victory, or a partial success into complete surrender of the
enemy if my range finders had been freely used as they saw
me use one in action.
11. Even among the troopers of our column the range finder
was an object of keen interest, and when they saw its per-
formance they agreed that it was just what they had been
longing for.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 247
12. I have instructed scores of officers, noncommissioned
officers, and men in the use of this range finder. I have not
had a single failure. Many became better in its use in five
minutes than I am. A day or two would suffice to make an
accomplished range taker of almost any man in our army. —
Extract from lecture by Professor G*. Forbes, F. R. S., M. A.,
etc., taken from the Journal Royal United Service Institution*
November 15, 1902.
MACHINE GUNS DETAILED TO INFANTRY REGIMENTS IN INDIA.
All infantry regiments of the Indian field army will soon
be supplied with Maxim machine guns. The officers and men
of the Maxim detachments will be selected with the utmost
care and will receive technical instruction so that they will
be able to repair the ordinary defects in the functioning of
the machine guns.
These Maxims will be carried on pack mules.
The personnel of each gun will consist of one noncom-
missioned officer and three privates, with an equal number
of reserve trained men capable of taking their places in case
of need. Each group of machine guns will be commanded
by an officer. To each gun will be allotted for firing exer-
cises 1,000 blank cartridges and 2,200 ball cartridges. In the
field and at maneuvers the Maxim guns will march with
their respective units unless the brigade commander orders
them to assemble in a body. The officer in command will
give the chief of the machine gun group a general idea of the
part which these shall take in action, leaving him full lib-
erty in the execution of the .orders received. — Revue du Cercle
militaire, August 16, 1902.
MILITARY MECHANICAL. TRANSPORT.
A special army order contains the following royal warrant
and instructions for the establishment of mechanical trans-
port companies in the army service corps :
1. The following shall be inserted among the daily rates of
pay laid down for our army service corps in article 787 :
8. d.
Sergeant, mechanical transport companies 3 3
Corporal, mechanical transport companies 2 6
Second corporal, mechanical transport companies 2 2
Private, appointed paid lance corporal, mechanical trans-
port companies 1 6
248 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1902.
2. The following shall be substituted for the rates of corps
pay laid down for our army service corps in article 788 :
& d.
First rate (mechanical transport companies only) 1 8
Second rate ( mechanical transport companies only) 1 4
Third rate _ _ l 2
Fourth rate (mechanical transport companies only) 1 0
Fifth rate _ 0 11
Sixth rate _ 0 8
Seventh rate 0 6
Eighthrate 0 3
SELF-PROPELLED WAR CAR.
The accompanying illustration represents the latest depart-
ure in automobilism, and, as will be seen, consists of the
combination of offensive weapons with an armored motor
wagon, the whole forming a novel appliance, the scope and
utility of which may prove of far-reaching character. The
machine is the invention of Mr. F. R. Simms, and has been
built to the order of Vickers' Sons & Maxim, Limited. Its
principal object is to act on the defensive on the coast roads
of this country, but if successful in this departure there are
many other obvious uses in warfare to which the car can be
applied. For instance, it is suggested that for quelling
street mobs it might be adopted. It weighs complete about
5£ tons, and the 6-millimeter Vickers' steel armor completely
encircles the car frame. The wheels are wood with iron tires.
The armor is of crinoline shape, flattened longitudinally and
having a ram fore and aft. The extreme length is 28 feet,
the beam 8 feet, and the height 10 feet. One of the chief
difficulties which was encountered in the armor plating was
the method of securing it to the frame of the car, as it was
found that the constant vibration due to running over ordi-
nary road surfaces loosened the riveting. This has, however,
been remedied by attaching the armor to the frame by means
of semielliptical springs, onto which it is hung by means of
brackets. The four semielliptical springs are mounted on
steel trestles, suitably braced and stayed to the main frame.
By this it will be seen that the armor is not rigidly fixed to
the frame. It is claimed, moreover, that this system of
mounting increases the impenetrability of the armor by
allowing a certain amount of lateral movement when hit by
projectiles. This movement is limited by distance links.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
249
3
2
o
250 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The armament on the car shown at the crystal palace last
Friday includes two automatic quick-firing Maxim guns and
a pompom, with their turret mountings. The ammunition
is carried in boxed-in stores situated at the extreme ends of
the armor.
The frame of the vehicle is rectangular, and is built up of
heavy steel channels of U section — tied, stayed, and braced
so as to be perfectly rigid. The motive power is supplied by
a 16-horsepower four-cylinder hydrocarbon engine of the
Daimler type, with Simms-Bosch magneto-electric ignition.
The cylinders are 90 millimeters diameter and 130 milli-
meters stroke. The transmission of power is effected by
friction cone direct through a short length of shafting to the
speed- changing gear, the male part being movable, and
operated by means of a foot lever throwing the engine in and
out of gear. The speed gear is on the Cannstall principle,
and has four definite speeds, i. e., 1£, 3, 5, 9 miles per hour.
With the accelerator, however, the speed of the car may be
increased by 25 per cent. By means of the speed gear, which
is controlled by two levers, each commanding two speeds, the
frictiofl clutch is automatically released before the change of
speed is effected. The third lever controls the forward or
backward movement, the gear being so arranged as to give
all four speeds either forward or backward, which is attained
by means of a shifting double-bevel pinion. The transmis-
sion of power to the driving wheels is by means of a counter-
shaft, on which is fitted the differential gear; at either end
of this shaft is fixed a sprocket wheel, and these sprocket
wheels drive, by means of chains, the road wheels.
The steering gear is designed on the well-known Acker-
mann principle, and is controlled by handwheel and worm
gearing, which renders the maneuvering easy and safe for
heavy vehicles of this type. Ample brake power is provided.
There is one foot-brake, throwing the friction cone out of
gear simultaneously with acting on a powerful double-acting
brake clutch, mounted on the first gear-wheel shaft. Tin re
is also a very powerful handwheel brake putting into action,
first, two powerful hand brakes on the hubs of the two driv-
ing wheels, and, if turned still further, engaging two power-
ful circumferential brakes on the driving wheels.
Four persons are said to be sufficient to man the machine,
but there is ample platform area for a further number of
riflemen. — The Engineer, April 11, 19'02.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 251
ALLOWANCE OF MOUNTS, OUTFITS, FURNITURE, AND REGU-
LATIONS TO OFFICERS.
Army orders dated war office, December 22, 1902, provide
allowances to officers as follows : Two horses are supplied to
each line cavalry officer or royal horse artillery officer (except
quartermasters) and one horse to every other mounted officer
in the army, including quartermasters, except those officers
serving with the staff, schools, household cavalry, medical
service, or the departments. Subject to certain conditions,
an allowance of about $500 is paid to an officer promoted
from the ranks to aid him in purchasing his first outfit.
At home stations the quarters of all unmarried regimental
officers, except commanding officers, riding masters, and
quartermasters are furnished. All officers' messes are fur-
nished with furniture, china, glass, and cooking utensils.
The only payment required is to cover ordinary depreciation
and is as follows:
Officers' quarters, 2 cents per day.
Field officers' quarters, 4 cents per day.
Officers' messes (each member) 2 cents per day.
Every officer also receives copies of each of the books of
army regulations.
HORSES SHIPPED TO SOUTH AFRICA.
[CoNFILED reOH THE EVIDENCE SUBMITTED TO THE COURT OF INQUIRY ON THE ADMINISTRATION
or the Army Remount Department, the Reports op Various Officers, and Other
Sources by First Lieut. R. 8. Clark, Ninth Infantry.]
During the South- African war, between October 22, 1899,
and May 30, 1902, the total number of horses shipped from
the various countries, including the British empire, was
331,456, and the total number which arrived in South Africa
was 316,072.
GREAT BRITAIN.
From October 22, 1899, to May 3, 1902, 81,401 horses were
shipped (23,178 with units and 58,223 remounts), and, of the
total, 73,888 arrived in South Africa. The losses en route
were 9. 23 per cent. Ail were shipped under admiralty arrange-
ments at the average cost of freight of £ 18 1 4s. 3d. The aver-
age cost of horses in Great Britain was, for cavalry and
artillery, £45, and for cobs £30.
252 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
UNITED STATES.
From March 17, 1900, to May 19, 1902, 100,986 horses were
shipped (66,911 under admiralty arrangements and 34,075
under arrangements of the inspector general of remounts
with Messrs. Houlder Brothers), and of the total 9?,ST1
arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 2. IT per
cent, admiralty, and 4.88 per cent, Messrs. Houlder Brothers,
the average cost of freight being £17 17s. 2d., admiralty, and
£21 8s. 7d., Messrs. Houlder Brothers. The average cost of
horses was, for cavalry, £25 10s., and for cobs £15.
CANADA.
From May 29, 1900, to April 12, 1902, 13,612 horses were
shipped (9,874 under admiralty arrangements and 3,738 under
arrangements by the inspector general of remounts with
Messrs. Houlder Brothers), and of the total, 12,999 arrived in
South Africa. The losses en route were 4.18 per cent, admi-
ralty, and 5.34 per cent, Messrs. Houlder Brothers, the aver-
age cost of freight being £17 12s. 9d., admiralty, and £22 8s.,
Messrs. Houlder Brothers. The average cost of the horses
was, for cavalry, £28; for artillery, £30; for cobs, £25.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND.
From October 30, 1899, to May 23, 1902, 25,000 horses were
shipped, partly under admiralty arrangements and partly
under arrangements by the inspector general of remounts
with Messrs. Houlder Brothers, and of the total, 23,797 arrived
in South Africa. The losses en route were 4.81 per cent.
The average cost of freight was £17 15s., admiralty, and £15
4s. 5d., Messrs. Houlder Brothers. The average cost of horses
was, for cavalry, £15; for artillery, £20; for cobs, £12.
AUSTRIA -HUNGARY.
From May 1G, 1900, to May 30, 1902, 58,141 horses were
shipped (42,802 under admiralty arrangements, 11,534 under
arrangements by the inspector general of remounts with
Messrs. Houlder Brothers, and 3,805 under imperial yeomanry
arrangements), and of the total, 56,051 arrived in South Africa.
The losses en route were 1.60 per cent, admiralty; 9.91 per
cent, Messrs. Houlder Brothers; 6.89 per cent, imperial yeo-
manry. The average cost of freight was £15 Is. 4d.,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 253
a<lmiralty; £21 Is. 5d., Messrs. Houlder Brothers; imperial
yeomanry not given. The average qost of the horses was,
for cavalry, £30; for artillery, £35; for cobs (Austrian) £20,
(Russian) £26 10s.
ARGENTINA.
From November 14, 1899, to October 2, 1900, 25,872 horses
were shipped under arrangements by the inspector general of
remounts with Messrs. Houlder Brothers, and of these 25,701
arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 0.62 per
cent; the average cost of freight being £14 9s. 8d. The aver-
age cost of horses was, for cobs, £8.
INDIA.
From October 17, 1899, to December 23, 1901, 8,539 horses
were shipped under admiralty arrangements (3,124 remounts
and 5,415 with units), and of these 8,431 arrived in South
Africa. The losses en route were 1.77 per cent remounts, and
0. 999 per cent with units. Neither the cost of the animals nor
the freight is obtainable.
COLONIAL CONTINGENTS.
(Presumably from Canada and Australia. The information
at hand does not state.)
From October 20, 1899, to April 5, 1901, 17,905 horses were
shipped (7,200 under admiralty arrangements and 10,705 under
colonial government arrangements), and of these 17,334 ar-
rived in South Africa. The losses en route were 2.43 per
cent, admiralty, and 3.7 per cent, colonial governments.
Neither the cost of the animals nor the freight is at hand.
According to the evidence given by the quartermaster gen-
eral on March 1, 1902, there were then on the ration list in
South Africa 243,000 horses and mules; that of these 20,000
were on the sick list, and that of these no less than 1,000 a
week were being destroyed as incurable, irrespective of the
numbers which were lost in action or died of disease. This
came from the extremely hard work which had to be done on
insufficient rations, due to the conditions prevailing in a
sparsely settled country and a very active enemy. The fol-
lowing figures show some instances in which there was a
254 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
very great wastage, and may be taken to illustrate extreme
cases : *
1901. |
Strength of unit 48
Subsequently drawn (in five months) 556
Total _ 1,048
At the end of five months:
Handed in 391
Condition of those handed in-
Fit 1 13
Fit in ten days 80
Unfit 84
In hospital, chiefly sore backs and African
mange _ 208
Destroyed _ 106
Total 891
One column 2,900 strong lost 960 horses in one month.
1900.
Column B (original strength) 8,681
Sent back in six days - 369
Died or destroyed _ 679
Missing 202
Sent to sick -horse farm — 884
Present sick or wounded 544
Total unfit in one month 2,178
STAMP OF HORSES PREFERRED.
The consensus of opinion was that horses from 14 hands 2
inches to 15 hands, of a cobby stamp, were the best suited to
the country. Of the larger horses, the English and Amer-
ican horses were preferred, and the Hungarian, Argentine,
Canadian, and Australian horses were generally condemned.
After the Basuto ponies the American cobs were preferred.
The English, Irish, Canadian, and Australian cobs and the
few Arabs used were considered good. Except the survival
of the fittest, the Argentine and Hungarian cobs and Indian
country breeds were condemned.
MULES.
During the South- African war, between October 22, 1899,
and May 30, 1902, the total number of mules shipped from
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 255
the various countries, including the British empire, was
104,071, and the total number which arrived in South Africa
was 101,265.
UNITED KINGDOM.
From October 22, 1899, to May 3, 1902, 248 mules were
shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total, 245
arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 1.29 per
cent. The cost of freight is not given.
UNITED STATES.
From May 17, 1900, to May 19, 1902, 77,158 mules were
shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total,
75,015 arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were
2.79 per cent, and the cost of freight was £14 16s. 7d.
CANADA.
From May 29, 1900, to April 12, 1902, 3,197 mules were
shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total, 3,116
arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 2.52 per
cent. The cost of freight is not given.
INDIA.
From October 17, 1899, to December 23, 1901, 1,107 mules
were shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total,
1,104 arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 0.25
per cent. The cost of freight is not given.
ITALY.
From October 11, 1899, to November 30, 1899, 7,004 mules
were shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total,
6,984 arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 0.28
per cent, and the cost of freight was £18 10s.
SPAIN.
From October 15, 1899, to July 19, 1900, 15,229 mules were
shipped under admiralty arrangements, and of the total,
14,673 arrived in South Africa. The losses en route were 3.65
per cent, and the cost of freight was £15 15s. 5d.
CYPRUS.
One shipload of mules, 128 in number, was shipped March
17, 1900, and arrived in South Africa without any losses en
route. The cost of freight is not given.
256 . NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
As will be seen by the above, almost all the mules came
from the United States. This came f rum the mules not only
being cheaper, but from their being of a much better quality
than elsewhere and from the large quantities that the mar-
kets of the United States were capable of supplying. Gen.
Sir R. Stewart and Lieut. Col. E. Holland, R. A., reporting
on the remount operations in the United States, say: "We
are of the opinion that they (mules) are first-class. In our
experience nothing approaches them except the gun mules in
the mountain batteries in India, and we see no fault to find
with them as a class." The mules purchased for the South-
African war in the United States were as a rule somewhat
smaller than those purchased for use in the United States
army. Their height varied from 13 hands 3f inches to 15
hands 2 inches, and the price from $75 to $100.
CONDITIONS OF SERVICE OF TROOPS STATIONED IN AFRICA,
NOT UNDER DIRECT CONTROL OF THE WAR OFFICE.
[Compiled from Official Regulations bt First Likvt. R. S. Clark, Nixth Ikfaxtit.]
(1) The protectorates under the control of the foreign office
in which troops are stationed are as follows :
The British Central- African Protectorate.
The East- African Protectorate.
Uganda.
The Somaliland Protectorate.
The troops are :
First and second battalion, Central- African regiment.
Third battalion, East- African rifles.
Fourth battalion, Ugandan regiment.
Fifth battalion (Indian), Ugandan regiment.
Sixth (Somaliland) battalion.
These 6 battalions are known as "The King's African
rifles."
Officers applying for service must address their applica-
tions to the war office. When selected they are posted to the
battalion in which there are vacancies at the time, but any
wish they may have expressed for any particular battalion
is respected so far as the exigencies of the service permit.
Officers, while serving, are liable to be transferred from one
battalion to another.
Officers are seconded for three years, with the option of
extension to five years, in the event of its being considered
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 257
desirable to retain their services, the first year being "on
probation." Officers are liable to removal from the King's
African rifles on the completion of one year's service, or
earlier, if considered unfitted for employment with native
African troops.
Appointments are to the post of subaltern (and in occasional
exceptional cases to that of company commander), with con-
solidated pay at the rate of £400 per annum and no allow-
ances.
Officers rank in their battalion, and in the King's African
rifles, according to the date of their appointment to or pro-
motion in the King's African rifles. If two or more officers
are appointed on the same date, their seniority is governed
by their respective army rank.
Promotion to the command of companies, pay £500 per
annum, will be by seniority, provided the officer has earned
thoroughly satisfactory reports.
Promotions to commandant and second in command, pay
£900 and £700 respectively, is by selection.
Leave is granted under special rules.
Passage to and from stations in Africa is granted subject
to the regulations in force in the various protectorates.
(2) "The West African frontier force" is administered by
the colonial office, and comprises the military forces of the
colonies of Gambia, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, and Lagos,
and the protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria.
There are included in it not only the force raised on the Niger
in 1897-98 under the name of the West- African frontier force,
but also the local forces formerly known as the Gold Coast
and Lagos constabularies (Hausa forces), the royal Niger
constabulary, the Sierra Leone frontier police, the Niger-
Coast Protectorate force.
The force consists of the following units:
Name of unit.
Number of Euro-
peans.
Xoncom-
Offlcers. ruiHrtioned
officers.
Northern Nigerian regiment (2 infantry battalions, '2 batteries of artillery, and
1 eugineer company).
Southern Nigerian regiment (1 infantry battalion, and 2 batteries of artillery).
r>ol<l-Coast regiment (2 infantry battalions und 2 batteries of artillery)
W<w battalion
Sierra Leone battalion (including 1 company stationed in the Gambia)
45 2*
01 13
15 I
19 I 2
258
NOTES OF MILJTAKY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The Northern-Nigerian regiment represents the first and
second battalions of the original West- African frontier
force, and is stationed in Northern Nigeria. Its headquar-
ters are at present at Jebba. The greater part of the royal
Niger constabulary was incorporated into this regiment.
The southern Nigerian regiment represents the former Niger-
Coast Protectorate force and the remainder of the royal Niger
constabulary, and is at present stationed in Southern Nigeria,
with headquarters at Old Calabar.
The Gold-Coast regiment represents the former Gold-Coast
constabulary, or, as it was termed locally, the Gold-Coast
Hausas. One battalion is stationed in the Gold-Coast colony
and Ashanti, with headquarters at Coomassie, and the other
in the northern territories of the Gold Coast, with headquar-
ters at Gambaga.
The Lagos battalion represents the former Lagos constabu-
lary or, as it was termed locally, the Hausa force, and is
stationed in the Lagos Colony and Protectorate, with head-
quarters at the town of Lagos.
The Sierra Leone battalion represents the former Sierra
Leone frontier police and, with the exception of one company
stationed on the Gambia, is quartered in the Sierra Leone
Protectorate. The headquarters are at present in Freetown.
N. B. — The West- African regiment, which is quartered in
Sierra Leone, is not part of the West- African frontier force,
but is under the officer commanding the troops in Sierra
Leone, and is administered by the war office.
Establishment of officers.
Rank.
Lieutenant colonels
Majors
Adjutant**
Captains
Lieutenant*
Pay ami quartermasters t -
Orquarterinasters
Northern Southern t Gold- .
I Nigerian Nigerian I Court JJSJL
regiment. ' regiment, regiment. Daw"uon-
8ierr»
Leonf
lwttalK-o
2 I
2 __.
14
40 .
1 ,_.
I
* In the Sierra Leone and Lagos battalions one of the captains or lieutenants Is selected to acta*
adjutant, and while so acting draws the duty pay attached to the performance of the duties of the
JMWt.
t In the Sierra Leone aud Lagos battalions one of the captains or lieutenants is selected to act *8
pay and quartermaster, and while no acting draws the duty pay attached to the performance of the
dutic* of the post.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 259
Tor the Northern-Nigerian regiment there is, in addition to
t:lie officers already mentioned, a headquarters staff, consist-
ing of:
1 colonel commandant.
1 lieutenant colonel, second in command.
1 brigade major.
3 brigade transport officers.
N. B. — The authorized establishment of officers in the dif-
ferent units of the force is liable to alteration from time to
time. It may be found, together with the lists of the officers
actually employed, in the monthly "Army List."
INSPECTOR GENERAL.
There is also an inspector general for the whole force, with
the local rank of brigadier general, and he has a staff officer,
with, the local rank of major, attached to him. The inspector
general, whose headquarters are at the colonial office, visits
West Africa periodically for the purpose of inspecting the
several divisions of the force, and, when in England, acts
as military adviser to the colonial office on all questions con-
nected with the force. In the case of an expedition in which
the expeditionary force is composed of portions of the West-
African frontier force drawn from more than one colony or
protectorate, the inspector general will, as a general rule, be
employed to take command ; but in ordinary circumstances
he does not, when in West Africa, take command of the force
or of any portion of it. Among his chief functions are the
following; to assist in maintaining a satisfactory and uniform
standard of efficiency and training, to ascertain the compara-
tive merits of the various officers, and to advise the governors
and high commissioners and the secretary of state on questions
concerning training, discipline, equipment, etc., and the pro-
motion of officers from one portion of the force to another.
260 NOTES OF MILITARY IKTBBE8T FOR 1902.
PAY OP OFFXCEBS.
The following are the rates of pay per annum for officers:
Inspector general - £1,200
Staff officer 650
Lieutenan t colonel, commanding regiment 800
Lieutenant colonel, commanding battalion 700
Major, second in command of regiment 600
Other majors 500
Captain ". 400
Adjutant 400
Lieutenant of six years' service in the force* 350
Lieutenant of three years' service in the force* 825
Lieutenant of less than three years' service in the
force*.... 800
Pay and quartermaster or quartermaster 850
The rates of pay peculiar to the Northern-Nigerian regi-
ment are as follows :
Commandant £1,000
Second in command _. 800
Brigade major 500
Captain, engineer company m. 450
Captain, artillery 450
Brigade transport officer:
First 450
Second and third 400
Lieutenant, engineer company 400
Lieutenant, artillery, of six years' service in the
force* 860
Lieutenant, artillery, of three years' service in the
force* ..._ 886
Lieutenant, artillery, of less than three years' service
in the force* - 312
On first appointment, half pay will, in accordance with the
colonial regulations, be allowed from the date of embarkation
from England, and full pay from the date of arrival in the
colony or protectorate in which the unit is stationed to which
the officer has been appointed.
♦Previous commissioned service in the regular army counts toward
service in the force for purposes of pay, but previous service in the militia
does not. Thus, an officer of the regular army with three years' service
at the date of appointment as a lieutenant in the West-African frontier
force draws £325 per annum from the date of appointment, and one vnU
six years' service, £350 ; and, similarly, on completing three or six years'
combined service in the regular army and the West- African frontier fort*
an officer becomes entitled to the appropriate increment. A captain of
the regular army, serving as a lieutenant, draws £350 per annum.
MISCEELANEOUS NOTES. 261
In the event of an officer being selected for employment in
the West- African frontier force while serving abroad, he will
be allowed half West- African pay from the date of his depart-
ure from his foreign station to the date of his arrival in the
colony or protectorate in which the unit is stationed to which
he has been appointed; provided that he does not stay in
England longer than is necessary for the purpose of provid-
ing himself with uniform and equipment. Any leave which
may be granted on the ground of private affairs will be with-
out pay.
DUTY PAY.
Duty pay at the following rates is given to the officer
actually performing the duties of the post or command to
which he is attached :
Per annum.
Commander of regiment £156
Battalion commander, Northern Nigeria 144
Battalion commander, Sierra Leone and Lagos battalions 96
Second in command of battalion, Northern Nigeria, and
second in command of Southern-Nigerian and Gold-
Coast regiments 96
Adjutant (according to locality) 96 or 48
Company commander 48
Pay and quartermaster or quartermaster (according to
locality) 60 or 48
Rates of duty pay peculiar to the Northern-Nigerian regi-
ment :
Per annum.
Commandant £192
Second in command... 156
Brigade major 182
Commander, engineer company 100
Battery commander __ 96
Brigade transport officer 60
Lieutenant, engineer company _ 48
N. B. — The officers of the engineer company receive also
corps pay at the rate of £50 per annum.
Duty pay is payable only to the officer actually performing
the duty ; but, if in any case it is necessary in the interests of
the public service that the holder of a post to which duty pay
is attached should be detailed for special service requiring
exceptional qualifications, a special allowance equivalent to
the duty pay which he loses may be granted to him at the
discretion of the governor or high commissioner for the period
during which he is employed on such service.
262 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 190S.
ALLOWANCES.
(1) A field allowance at the rate of 5s. a day is paid to offi-
cers when detached from their stations on duty.
At present all officers in Northern Nigeria and the northern
territories of the Gold Coast are treated as if they were in the
field and draw this allowance, but when permanent quarters
have been built it will be paid to officers only when detached
from their stations on duty. It does not become payable
until an officer takes up his duties with the force, and stops
when the officer is admitted into hospital.
Field allowance is not payable during leave of absence, or
sick leave, or for the period of the voyages to and from the
colony or protectorate.
(2) An outfit allowance of £30, as a contribution toward
the cost of providing uniform, etc., is given to each officer
on first appointment.
(3) An officer serving in Accra, the northern territories of
the Gold Coast, Lagos, the Gambia, and Northern Nigeria,
may be required to provide himself with a horse, and to main-
tain a horse throughout his period of service. In that event,
he will receive a forage allowance of 2s. 6d. a day for each
day for which a horse is kept.
(4) In places other than Accra, the northern territories of
the Gold Coast, Lagos, and Northern Nigeria, the grant of
hammock allowance or other allowance for personal convey-
ance while on duty is subject to local regulations.
(5) The inspector general draws a consolidated allowance
of £3 3s. a day while in West Africa, and his staff officer a
consolidated allowance of £1 Is. a day. They are supplied
with transport and hammock or other conveyance.
(6) No other allowances, whether in the shape of free
rations, ration allowance, or traveling allowance, are given
to officers of the West- African frontier force.
TRAVELING EXPENSES.
Free passages are provided for officers from England to
West Africa and back (subject to the exception specified in
Section XI of these conditions), but every officer is required
on first appointment to sign an agreement with the crown
agents for the colonies binding him to repay the cost of his
first passage out in the event of his relinquishing his appoint-
ment within one year of the date of his arrival in the colony
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 263
or protectorate for any other reason than mental or physical
infirmity.
Traveling expenses in the United Kingdom are not paid by
tlie government;
QUALIFICATIONS OF OFFICERS.
A. candidate for first appointment as a lieutenant in the
West- African frontier force —
(1) Must be an officer of the regular army, militia, imperial
yeomanry, or reserve of officers.
(2) Must, at the date of appointment, be more than iH and
leas than 35 years of age.
(3) Must be unmarried on first taking up his appointment.
(4) Must, at the time of application, have completed two
years of actual regimental duty at home or abroad, or, if a
militia officer, three trainings with his own battalion.
(5) Must, if a militia officer, hold the following certificates :
(a) An officer's certificate in musketry, including machine
guns, from the school of musketry at Hythe, or its equivalent,.
and
(6) A certificate on Army Form E 516 (promotion to the
rank of captain), or a P. S. certificate, Army Form E 527.
Except in special circumstances, officers serving abroad
will not be accepted for service in the West- African frontier
force.
APPOINTMENT OF OFFICERS.
Officers are selected for appointment by the secretary of
state for war subject to the concurrence of the secretary of
state for the colonies. The list of applicants for employment
in the West- African frontier force is kept by the military
secretary at the war office, and applications should be
addressed to that department.
When the appointment of an officer has been sanctioned by
the secretary of state for the colonies, he will receive instruc-
tions from the colonial office as to the date on which he should
proceed to West Africa. Appointments date, as a general
rule, from the day on which the officer embarks in this coun-
try ; but officers appointed while serving abroad date their
appointment from the day on which they leave their foreign
stations to take up their duties in the West- African frontier
force.
264 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOB 1902.
RANK AND PRXCZDKNCB OF OFFICERS.
(1) Officers of the West- African frontier force rank accord-
ing to the date of their army commissions, or of their local
rank (if any) in the army under the king's regulations, para-
graphs 3 (i) and 9 (i).
(2) Second lieutenants in the army and lieutenants or sec-
ond lieutenants in the militia appointed as lieutenants in the
force are given the local rank of lieutenant in the army from
the date of appointment to the force while serving as lieu-
tenants in the force.
(3) Militia captains appointed as captains in the force are
given the local rank of captain in the army from the date of
appointment to the force while serving as captains in the
force.
(4) Militia or army officers appointed to a higher grade in
the force than their own militia or army rank are given the
local rank of the higher grade.
(5) Militia captains appointed to the force as lieutenants
take rank on their militia commissions, viz, as junior to
all the captains of the force but senior to the lieutenants;
such seniority does not, however, carry any claim to advance-
ment in the force. Militia lieutenants promoted to the rank
of captain in the militia while serving as lieutenants in the
force take rank similarly.
PROMOTION AND TEMPORARY APPOINTMENTS.
Promotion is made by selection, and seniority alone con-
fers no right to it.
The officer commanding each unit of the force is empowered,
subject to the approval of the governor or high commissioner,
to select officers for temporary commands and appointments.
Such temporary commands and appointments carry with
them no increase of pay other than the allowance or com-
mand pay which may be attached to the command or appoint-
ment, and will not be regarded as substantive promotion
unless, and until, confirmed by the secretary of state for the
colonies.
When the promotion of an officer is confirmed by the sec-
retary of state, the pppointment will date, and the officer will
be entitled to the pay of the higher rank, from the day on
which the officer whom he succeeds ceased to draw the full or
half pay of that rank, and from no earlier day.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 265
PERIOD OF SERVICE AND TERMINATION OF EMPLOYMENT.
The period for which officers must engage to serve in the
first instance is one tour of service, which consists, subject
to the exigencies of the service, of twelve months' residential
service in West Africa. Officers are required to report to the
under secretary of state for the colonies in writing within
one month of their arrival in England at the end of their tour
of service whether they wish to reengage for further service,
and in the absence of any such report they will be treated in
respect of leave and reabsorption in their British regiments
as if they did not wish to return to West Africa. When an
officer signifies his wish to return, the secretary of state for
war will be asked to approve of his being seconded in his
regiment for a further period of service with the force.
During the first tour of service an officer is regarded as on
probation, and during the period of probation it is open to
the officer commanding the unit of the force in which he is
employed to represent to the governor or high commissioner
that he thinks the officer, either from temperament or other
cause, is unsuited for employment with the force; in which
case the governor or high commissioner, if satisfied with the
reasons, will cause the officer to embark for England, with
instructions to report himself to the secretary of state for the
colonies, who will arrange with the secretary of state for war
as to his return to his regiment.
No officer will be allowed to resign his appointment in the
force before the expiration of the period for which he has
been seconded in his regiment, except on sufficient grounds
to be approved by the governor or high commissioner, the
secretary of state for the colonies, and the secretary of state
for war.
An officer who is ordered to return to England on the ground
that he is unsuited for employment with the force will be
granted a free passage home, but will not be entitled to any
pay after leaving the colony or protectorate. He may, how-
ever, at the discretion of the secretary of state for the colonies,
be granted half West- African pay from the date of leaving the
colony or protectorate until the date of arrival in England or
such other date as may be fixed.
An officer who is permitted to resign his appointment before
the completion of a tour of service entitling him to leave of
266 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
absence will not be entitled to a free passage home or to any
pay after the date of leaving the colony or protectorate.
LEAVE OF ABSENCE.
Leave of absence is granted in accordance with the regula-
tions in force for civil officers in the West- African colonies
and protectorates, copies of which may be obtained from the
colonial office. A brief summary of these regulations is given
here for convenience.
The ordinary tour of residential service is one year, fol-
lowed by leave with full pay during the voyages to and from
England, and for four or two months clear in England, ac-
cording as the officer is returning for further service in West
Africa or not. If an officer is detained beyond the year,
additional leave is given with full pay for ten or five days in
respect of each completed month beyond twelve, according as
he is returning or not. If he is invalided before the end of the
year, the leave with full pay is for the voyages and for ten or
five days in respect of each completed month, according as he
is returning or not. Leave granted on the understanding that
an officer will return is known as " return leave," and any pay
drawn in respect of such leave is liable to be refunded if he
does not return.
Leave may be extended for a limited period with half or
no pay on the ground of ill health, or without pay on other
grounds.
PENSIONS.
Officers of the regular army seconded for service in the
West-African frontier force are not eligible for any pension
from colonial funds in respect of such service. Militia officers
seconded for service in the West- African frontier force are
eligible for pension from colonial funds under the same regu-
lations as civil officers in the West- African colonial service.
Copies of these regulations may be obtained from the colonial
office.
UNIFORM.
Officers are required to provide themselves with the uniform
laid down in " Equipment and Dress Regulations of the West-
African Frontier Force," copies of which may be obtained
from the colonial office.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 267
LANGUAGE REWARDS.
Special rewards will be given to European officers for pass-
ing standard examinations in native languages.
CANADA.
ROSS RIFLE— CONTRACT CLOSED WITH GOVERNMENT FOR A SUPPLY.
Sir Charles Ross has closed a contract with the govern-
ment to supply 12,000 stand of the* Ross rifle. Under the
contract the government adopts the Ross rifle as the arm for
the Canadian army, stipulating that it shall be manufactured
in Canada. The factory is to be in Quebec, and will com-
mence with some two or three hundred hands, though it is
calculated that in a very short time the number employed
will average a thousand. There is also a contract between
the government and Sir Charles Ross in which the govern-
ment binds itself to purchase all its rifles from him, per-
sonally giving him a preliminary contract for 12,000 rifles.
Sir Charles Ross binds himself to supply the government
with arms, and if at any time the minister of militia and
defense shall decide to change the weapon, then he is to give
Sir Charles twelve months' notice to that effect, and at the
expiration of that time he is to be in a position to supply
the needed weapon. Should any difference arise between
the minister and Sir Charles as to the price, then the matter
is to he settled by arbitration, the point to be decided by the
arbitrators on the basis of the price at which the government
could have purchased the arm in open market in Great
Britain.
The work of building and equipping the factory will be
begun at once. The only thing at present uncertain being
the exact location in Quebec of the factory. — Montreal
Gazette, May 1, 1902.
ITALY.
REGULATIONS GOVERNING MILITARY TRANSPORTATION.
The newly published regulations governing military trans-
portation are of the greatest importance. They regulate
according to modern and practical principles the execution
of important strategic transports and the movements in the
rear of mobile armies as far as they are to be made by rail.
What exists has been used and developed. The peace prepa-
ration is now in the hands of a military technical central
268 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
committee for military railway transportation, permanently
attached to the general staff command. The quartermaster
general is at the head of this committee and is detailed as
assistant to the chief of the general staff. The members are
the chief of the section of transportation, the military com-
mittee officials, the presidents of the railway sections with
their railway engineers, the inspectors general of traffic,
construction, and concession of railways, and the directors
general of the large railways. Their work consists in the
study of the most practical employment of means of trans-
portation during war and the proposition of corresponding
plans. Railway service comes with the beginning of mobil-
ization and during the whole of the war into the custody of
military command. As soon as mobilization is begun a gen-
eral direction of transports and a transportation direction for
each army separately are formed. The members of the
general direction are the director general, a general, and
several detailed officers. The two Mediterranean railway
sections and the general direction of the Adriatic network
are increased in personnel of the line commissions. A line
commission is established in Sicily. The general direction
notifies the line commissions with regard to transportation
and movement of trains. To these line commissions and sub-
commissions are subordinate a certain number of station
commands according to principles already established during
peace time, the strength varying according to the importance
of the station. Mobile station commands are established on
the railway lines of the etappe zone, the number, seat, and
composition being determined by the general direction, and
whose purpose is the same as those of station commands at
the time of mobilization and strategic advance march. If
necessary, the general direction has the power of creating
military technical railway sections which are either inde-
pendent or are combined by twos, threes, or fours into railway
companies. They are destined (1) for the exploitation of such
lines where it seems necessary that it should be done by
soldiers, and (2) to reestablish interrupted lines, and, if
necessary, to build branches and narrow-gauge lines. As
has already been done in 1901 and 1902, volunteers may he
trained as firemen, brakemen, etc., in the railway brigade or
with private railway companies. — AUgemeine Schweizerisch
Milittirzeitung, August 16, 1902.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 269
REORGANIZATION OF THE ARTILLERY.
Tlie adoption of the new field artillery material will entail
tlie reorganization of that branch of the service. At present
the Italian artillery consists of : Four inspecting staffs, 1 com-
mittee for experiments, 8 artillery commands, 14 territorial
subdivisions, 24 field artillery regiments (consisting of 186
batteries divided into 48 brigade divisions, 36 transport com-
panies, and 24 depots) ; 1 horse-artillery regiment with 6 bat-
teries, divided into 3 brigade divisions, plus one group of 4
transport companies and a depot; one mountain-artillery regi-
ment with 15 batteries, divided into 5 brigade divisions and a
depot; 22 coast and fortress artillery brigades (11 of each),
having in all* 78 companies and 2 administration bureaus; 5
companies of artificers.
The present law regarding the cadre of officers fixes that of
the artillery at 1,684, who are thus distributed by ranks:
Forty -two colonels, 62 lieutenant colonels, 116 majors, 528
captains, 926 subaltern officers.
The characteristic of the new organization, which is about
to be submitted to parliament, is the reconstitution of coast
and fortress artillery regiments, which were done away with
in 1895, and the conversion of the brigade divisions into field
artillery. At the present time, of the 48 brigade divisions of
which the field artillery regiment consists, 42 are made of 4,
while 6 have only 3 batteries. According to the new organ-
ization each field artillery regiment will consist of 3 brigade
divisions (2 to 3 and 1 to 2 batteries). Later on the brigade
divisions will be made up to 2 batteries each, by joining to
them a howitzer battery, should the experiments now being
carried out demonstrate the utility of these guns, on which
opinion is still divided. It is not known if the ministerial
scheme provides for the reconstitution of the 6 field batteries
which were transformed in 1895.
The new organization of the Italian artillery will be as fol-
lows : One general inspection staff ; 3 inspection staffs ; 9 artil-
lery commands; 13 territorial subdivisions; 24 field artillery
regiments, forming 72 brigade divisions, 36 transport compa-
nies, and 24 depots; 1 horse-artillery regiment with 3 brigrade
divisions (in all 6 batteries); 1 group of 4 transport com-
panies and 1 depot; 1 mountain-artillery regiment with 5
brigade divisions (in all 15 batteries), and 1 depot; 6 coast
and fortress artillery regiments with 24 brigade divisions (in
270 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
all 72 companies) and 6 depots; 1 coast-artillery brigade divi-
sion of 3 companies for Sardinia; 6 companies of artificers.
The new artillery organization demands a cadre consisting
of 1,738 officers, thus made up, viz: Forty-five colonels, 69
lieutenant colonels, 132 majors, 539 captains, and 953 subal-
tern officers. — Journal Royal United Service Institution,
April 15, 1902.
AUTOMOBILE BAKING OVEN FOR THE ARMY.
The periodical VIngegneria e V Industrie, of May 30, 1902,
gives the description of an automobile baking oven which can
follow the troops on the march and which possesses the ad-
vantage of transforming the grain immediately into flour and
bread.
This carriage, invented by Schweitzer, is composed of two
parts : The first contains the motor and a series of mills with
sieves and mechanical kneeding troughs, put in motion by
the same motor which propels the carriage; the second part
consists of a small oven with constant temperature.
The grain poured into the mill hopper is rapidly transformed
into flour, which is afterwards mixed with slightly salted
water and, after fermentation, is worked and introduced into
the oven.
The Schweitzer automobile oven gives 100 kilograms of
bread per hour ; the apparatus is very simple and does not
exact the employment of a special personnel ; the bread ob-
tained is of the best quality and more nutritious than that
baked in ordinary ovens. — Rivista di Artigleria e Oenio,
July-August, 1902.
TROOPS IN ERITREA.
Financial considerations and peace in the colony of Eritrea
allow a decrease in the numerical strength of the troops. The
Italian corps of chasseurs is decreased from 600 to 300 men
distributed among three companies; the native troops are re-
duced to four battalions, of which two are constituted of six
companies each and two of four each. Only one of the two
mountain batteries will remain in the colony ; the coast guards
will be reduced from 400 men to 4 officers and 300 natives;
the squadron of cavalry will count only 60 horses, and only
three independent sections of engineer troops will be left in
the colony. The training, on the other hand, will be far more
strictly looked into and the selection of the natives will not
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 271
~L>e as wide. In case of disorders the mobile militia of the
oolony will be resorted to. It has been decided to construct
«. narrow-gauge railway from Massaua to Asmara, where the
seat of the government will be transferred for the greater part
of the year. This line, some 125 kilometers long, is estimated
to cost 25 millions and to be completed within three years. —
Jalirbilcher fiir die deutsche Armee und Marine, May, 1902.
JAPAN.
THE ARMY AND NAVY OF JAPAN.
The reorganization of the army, according to an imperial
decree, must be conducted so as to be completed by 1903; the
A.rmeeblatt, however, states that this will take place sooner.
Since 1896 the average annual contingent has increased to
50,000 recruits.
At the present time the Japanese forces comprise : Three
armies of 13 divisions, 52 infantry regiments (156 battalions),
13 cavalry regiments (65 squadrons), 13 field artillery and
mountain artillery regiments (117 batteries), 7 battalions and
8 half-battalions of engineers, 26 train companies, and 1 rail-
way battalion. For war outside its frontiers, Japan could
easily mobilize 7 divisions comprising 140,000 men and 370
guns, while leaving a similar force for home defense. — Revue
de V Armee Beige, March-April, 1901.
IMPORTANT MODIFICATIONS IN THE JAPANESE ARMY.
The following important changes are contemplated for the
fiscal year of 1902-03 (from April 1, 1902, to March 31, 1903):
1. Clothing and shoes will no longer be manufactured in
the army, but only repaired; there will consequently be a
reduction in the number of the regimental tailors and shoe-
makers.
2. Diminution of the central supply depot, in consequence
of which there will be a smaller number of the personnel.
3. Each division has heretofore had a prison. There will
remain only the following : One in Tokyo for the guard and first
division; Asaka, fourth division; Kokura, twelfth division;
Taipei, Formosa; and Asahikawa (Hokkeido), seventh di-
vision. The other divisions, the second (Sendai), third
(Nagoya), fifth (Hiroshima), sixth (Kumamoto), eighth
(Hirosaki), ninth (Kanazawa), tenth (Hinseji), and eleventh
272 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
(Marugame) will have only a small place of detention for
prisoners.
4. The division intendancy and the intendancy of Formosa
will be abolished, and instead of them each division and
Formosa will have a small commissary bureau.
5. Reduction of the supply depot for Formosa. Until now
all necessaries for the troops were sent from Japan; bat now
this is not indispensable as order has been established on this
island and the greater part of supplies can be obtained on the
spot.
6. The strength of the companies in Formosa (three infantry
brigades are stationed there) is reduced, that is, the companies
numbering 200 men will now consist of only 150. A reduc-
tion will likewise be made in the mess allowance for the
military personnel stationed in Formosa and Korea.
An economy of 1,043,000 yen will be realized by the changes
contemplated.
On the other hand, greater expenditure will be necessitated
by the following innovations :
1. Increase of the number of cavalry and artillery horses
in peace time, as experience has shown that it is very difficult
to obtain good mounts in time of war in a country as poor in
horseflesh as Japan.
2. New organization of the siege artillery. So far there
was only coast artillery. Henceforth fortress artillery will
be divided into two parts — coast and siege artillery. For
this purpose a course for siege artillery will be established at
the fortress-artillery firing school.
3. Formation of a telegraph battalion at Tokyo.
4. New organization of a central intendancy division and
increase of the scope of the intendancy school, as the division
intendancies are abolished and only small commissary bureaus
will be established in each division. All paymasters (there
are 620 in all) will be dismissed and their functions will fall
upon intendancy officials. For this purpose the intendancy
school will be increased so as to supply the necessary number
of intendants. It is thought that it will be possible to trans-
act the business with 200 intendants instead of 620 pay-
masters.
5. Establishment of penal section at Tokyo for men who
have been punished five or six times without reforming.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 273
6. Increase of pay to majors — until the present day they
received 96 yen ($94.93 Mexican) per month— by 10 yen ($9.95
Mexican), of the quarters allowance for officer's aspirants, and
the pay of the second-class privates — until the present day 90
sen ($0.90 Mexican) a month — by 30 sen ($0.30 Mexican).
There are first and second class privates in the Japanese
army.
7. The supply of trained horses to the mounted troops in
Formosa. — Internationale Revue, April, 1902.
MOROCCO.
ARMED STRENGTH.
There are five Maghzens tribes which do not pay any taxes
and are, consequently, at the disposition of the government.
Every man not with the colors pays about 0.80 franc per
month.
All the other tribes are considered as auxiliary.
The Maghzens tribes supply the personal guard of the sul-
tan, his couriers, the garrisons of certain kasbas, especially
those on the boundary between Fez and Morocco.
All the Maghzens tribes furnish tabors ; the nouai'bs (aux-
iliary troops) do the same. The tabor is the only unit known
in Morocco. If the chief is popular the tabor is large ; if not,
there is not a man in it. There are tabors of 4,000 men each,
and others of as few as 17 each. Every time that mention is
made of a tabor its name must be given. It is that of the
tribe which furnishes it.
When necessity arises the tribes furnish auxiliary contin-
gents, the men on foot increasing the tabors and those on
horseback forming the cavalry, which must have degenerated
since the celebrated bulletin of Isly, for it is anything but
redoubtable.
There exists no systematic rule for recruiting. As soon as
a tribe grows wealthy and numerous, the sultan sends there
a column. One or more tabors of 1,000 men each are raised
on the spot. These men must all be young and robust. The
families follow these conscripts, who are taken away in
chains, and the tribe is sufficiently weakened by this proceed-
ing to calm all the fears of the sultan.
Each tabor is commanded by a caid aga. It is divided into
mia (100), each commanded by a caid mia. Each mia counts
274 NOTB8 OF HHJTAKY INTEREST FOB 1902.
a certain number of mokhadems, which correspond to non-
commissioned officers. All these belong to the tribe which
furnishes the tabor.
These three grades represent the whole hierarchy. They
do not demand any technical knowledge or give any right to
command. They signify only that those who have them are
sufficiently rich to pay their posts, where the economy realized
upon the pay of their subordinates constitutes their only
prerogative.
There exists an allef (paymaster), whom the Europeans
call minister of war. He is intrusted with the pay of the
army, but in reality commands the army. At the present
time this post is occupied by El-Mahadi-El-Menebhi, favorite
of the sultan and a creature of MacLeane.
The menebhi, who is not a Maghzen, but a Berber, has two
khalifas under him for the purpose of administering and
commanding the army; also a number of allefs, who have
the same title as he, and who are placed each over one or
several tabors.
The soldier gets his pay and must feed himself. The
Maghzen furnishes tents and two complete costumes per year.
The armament is distributed by mias ; normally it is in the
hands of the caid mias, who distribute it only at the time of
exercises. This armament is variable. It consists of Martini-
Henry and Gras rifles for the men with the colors, but the
nouai'bs, who form the nucleus of the army, are armed with
stone moukhalas.
The pay varies from 1 grich (0.25 franc) for the private to
2 pesetas per day for the caid aga who feeds his horses. This
is paid very irregularly. Normally, the war minister keeps
one day's pay per week, the caid aga one more, but in realitr
the five remaining days are not generally paid. All the men
have n trade. They are not obliged to be present at exercises;
they may even go home. The idea of desertion is unknown.
It is thus that a reenforcement of 800 men, which started
in 1886 from Mogador to Sous, arrived there reduced to 50,
although pains had been taken to chain them. But if a tabor
is to be raised for the purpose of weakening a tribe, certain
numbers are called and taken.
From time to time the war minister or his khalifa count
the men with the colors. If the caid aga gives a suitable
present, the effective strength is reported complete, otherwise
his post is given to another man.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 27$
jLt the present time the sultan pays 40,000 men for 200,000
said to be under arms.
There exists but one mode of punishment — blows with a
rope on the small of the back. Every man has the right of
appeal to the war minister. "
Infantry. — The infantry neither shoots nor marches. As
a principle there are three exercises a week. An exercise
consists of a march lasting from one hour to one hour and a
half.
The Harraba battalion (instructors) is directed by the
Englishman MacLeane, formerly of the garrison of Gibraltar.
He has obtained a baronetcy and calls himself general of the
sheriffs army. MacLeane has contrived to lay his hand on
all the infantry tabors, with the exception of two, those of
the Ouda'ia and Cherarda, who are instructed by Algerian
noncommissioned officer^.
At the present time MacLeane commands at Rabat the
Harrabas and a machine-gun section with five pieces, and a
tabor of 4,000 men is being organized for him at Caouia.
Six British noncommissioned officers have arrived at Rabat
for this purpose.
There is also a tabor of 500 men, recently created at Tanger,
commanded in English by pupils of MacLeane.
The tabors of Rabat (75 men), Sal6 (25 men), and Sasa-
hlanca (abandoned a few years ago) have been instructed by
the French mission (a captain of infantry, an adjutant of
zouaves, two noncommissioned officers of the Algerian rifles).
The strength of the tabors being in close relation to the
favor enjoyed by their chiefs, it may be easily seen what is
the situation of the French mission as compared to the British.
Artillery. — The artillery consists of four tabors.
The weakest is that of the renegades. It counts 17 men,
including 5 Frenchmen, 1 " joyeux," and 1 spahi (deserters).
The strongest is that of the Boukharis, which counts 800
men.
There are neither horses nor mules. For the maneuvers or
exercises the necessary animals are taken from the sultan's
stables, and sometimes it happens that their service is needed
for the harem, and then the artillery has to remain without.
Moreover, this artillery is exercised only for ceremonies.
The material consists of one old French 4-pounder moun-
tain gun, two Italian Krupp guns, and some Canet guns.
876 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
These latter are not appreciated on account of their being too
complicated.
Engineers. — This scientific arm is represented by 70toft»
mohendicins (engineers), who possess a few very elementary
notions on geometry. Among them there are some renegades
who form the dlite. The tolba mohendicin are subordinate
to French artillery instructors.
Cavalry. — The cavalry is constituted solely of contingents
of tribes grouped around their caids. The caids are, as the
mediaeval governors of provinces, small sovereigns, possessing
all the powers of their grade.
The armament is furnished by the sultan, the horses Ij
the tribes, who are invited to make a present of them to the
cidna. — Armke et Marine, February 28, 1902.
PERSIA.
FORMATION OF NEW BRIGADE.
According to the Viestnik inostrannoy voennoi litercdury,
the Persian journals Iran and Ittila announce the formation
of a brigade, consisting of three regiments of cavalry and a
6-gun battery of horse artillery, which are being instructed in
Cossack tactics by Russian officers. This news is not sur-
prising when the Russian tendency to spread down toward
the south is taken into consideration, and in view of the fact
that a Russian general is head of the Persian cavalry. The
men of the new brigade are recruited, for the most part, in
the province of Aderbdidj&n, which borders on the Caucasus.
The inhabitants of this province are of Turco-Tartar origin,
and are regarded as an especially brave and strong race.
Each soldier brings his horse and complete equipment with
him, with the exception of his carbine, which is presented hy
the state. The uniform consists of a black tunic, buttoning
down the side ; an astrakhan cap, high black boots, etc. The
training is good; the batteries, however, are not as efficient
as they might be, as the horses and wagons are in frequent
use by the shah's court officials. — United Service Magazine
May, 1902.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. ' 277
PEBU.
NEW ORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.
According to the law authorizing the executive to increase
tlie army to 4,000 men, the president decreed that it should
be organized as follows :
.A. detachment of the general staff with 20 privates.
One regiment of mountain artillery with 665 privates dis-
tributed as follows : Two battalions of 7 batteries and one
section of sappers.
Seven battalions of infantry with 310 privates each.
One squadron of cavalry, escort of the president of the
republic, with 135 privates.
Six squadrons of cavalry with 135 men each.
Two garrison companies of Loreto with 50 men each.
One garrison company of 50 men in the mountains of Puno.
One garrison company of 50 men in the mountains of
Cuzco. — Revista Militar (Brazil), September, 1902.
ORGANIZATION OP THE ARMY.
According to the law promulgated in June, 1899, all citi-
zens are liable to military service between the ages of 19
and 50.
The army is divided into five classes :
1. The regular army.
2. Supernumeraries.
3. The first reserve.
4. The second reserve.
5. The national guard.
The regular army is subdivided into three groups :
(a) The volunteers : These are men between 19 and 30 years
of age who enlist without waiting to be enrolled and those
between 23 and 30 years of age who have served the obliga-
tory term and desire to continue the service.
(6) The conscripts: These are young men between 19 and
23 years of age who have drawn lots for service and are on
the municipal rolls.
(c) The enlisted men: These are such as have been en-
rolled in the army for crimes committed.
The three above-mentioned groups are sufficient to keep
the regular army on the footing required by law. When,
circumstances so warrant, the supernumeraries are called to
278 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
arms. These are the conscripts included on the municipal
rolls and who await their turn to enter the service. When
these are not sufficient the reserves are called in.
The first reserve comprises :
(a) Men between 23 and 30 years of age who have served
their term.
(6) Men between 19 and 23 years of age who have married
before entering the service.
(c) Students of technical schools and universities between
19 and 30 years of age.
The second reserve comprises :
(a) Men between 30 and 35 years of age.
(6) Professors of schools, universities, etc.
The national guard comprises :
(a) Men between 35 and 50 years of age.
(b) Physicians and surgeons of hospitals.
(c) Permanent judges.
(d) Only sons of poor parents who are over 60 years of age.
(e) The sons of widows.
(/) The employees of the post and telegraph services.
(g) Chiefs of bureaus, municipal functionaries (alcaldes
municipales), etc. — Mexico MUitar, October 15, 1902,
PORTUGAL.
REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.
The Portuguese army, reorganized by the law of July 13,
1899, which brought about remarkable changes in the re-
cruiting system then in force, has again been the object of
measures of the greatest importance, by the division of the
kingdom into three great commands.
The continental territory of Portugal had been distributed
among four division districts, the headquarters of which
were Lisbon, Vizeu, Oporto, and Evora. Each division was
subdivided into six regimental subdivisions or bureaus of
recruiting and reserve, and the Portuguese army, the consti-
tution of which was based on the principle of regional
recruiting, was composed in the following manner:
ACTIVE ARMY.
1 . Four divisions, each comprising 1 company of engineers
(sappers-miners); 1 regiment of mounted artillery with 8
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.' 279
"batteries; 1 regiment of cavalry of 5 squadrons, 1 in the
depot; 1 regiment of chasseurs on foot with 3 battalions of
-4 companies each, and 2 brigades of infantry of the line with
2 battalions of 4 companies each.
2. Nondi visional troops : Six companies of engineers (1 of
drivers, 2 of pontoniers, 1 of telegraphers, one of railway
workmen, and 1 of depot) ; 2 batteries of horse artillery ; 2
"batteries of mountain artillery; 2 regiments of garrison
artillery of 2 battalions of 8 companies each, and 2 brigades
of cavalry of 2 regiments with 5 squadrons each, 1 a depot
squadron.
3. Troops of the Azores and of Madeira : Three companies
of garrison artillery, and 3 regiments of infantry of the lino
of 2 battalions with 4 companies each.
Deducting the horse artillery and garrison artillery, the
Portuguese active army comprised: One regiment (10 com-
panies) of engineers, 4 regiments (32 batteries) of mounted
artillery, 8 regiments (40 squadrons) of cavalry, 4 regiments
(12 battalions) of foot chasseurs, and 27 regiments (54 bat-
talions) of infantry of the line.*
RESERVES.
When the three classes of the active units had been placed
on a war footing by the call to colors of the five classes of
the first reserve, the seven remaining classes, constituting
the second reserve, were to form :
1. In Portugal proper 5 companies of engineers (sappers-
miners, pontoniers, telegraphers, and railway workmen), 4
groups of mounted artillery, each of 4 batteries; 2 battalions
of garrison artillery ; 8 groups of cavalry, each of 2 squad-
rons, and 24 regiments of infantry of the line of 2 battalions
each.
2. In the adjacent islands, 3 companies of garrison artil-
lery, and 3 regiments of infantry of 2 battalions each.
According to the terms of the decree of December 7, 1901,
the continental territory of Portugal is to be divided into
three large military districts, the northern, the central, and
the southern. The territory of the adjacent islands will con-
tinue as heretofore to form two military districts of the
Azores and of Madeira.
* The arms of service follow the order of precedence in the Portuguese
army.
280 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Each of the large military districts of the continent will
comprise divisional circumscriptions, or territorial military
divisions, each of these subdivided into two brigade circum-
scriptions, and each brigade circumscription into two regi-
mental circumscriptions or recruiting and reserve districts.
The military district of the Azores will comprise two
recruiting and reserve districts; that of Madeira shall form
only one.
Two divisions of the active army shall be recruited and
permanently garrisoned on the territory of each great com-
mand. The composition of each division shall be the fol-
lowing: One company of sappers-miners, 1 regiment of
mounted artillery of 6 batteries, 1 regiment of cavalry of 4
squadrons, 2 brigades of infantry of the line of 2 regiments
of 3 battalions each.
The headquarters of the territorial military divisions shall
be : For the great northern military district, Oporto and Villa
Real; for the central, Vizeu and Coimbra; for the southern,
Lisbon and Evora. The command of the territorial military
divisions, the seat of which will be at Lisbon, Oporto, and
Vizeu, shall be intrusted to a general of division ; that of the
other divisions may be intrusted to a general of division or
a brigadier general. The cavalry and infantry brigades shall
be commanded by brigadier generals of the same arm, or
colonels of recognized aptitude. The recruiting and reserve
districts shall be commanded by infantry field officers.
These dispositions have been completed by a second decree
of December 24, 1901, fixing the future composition of the
Portuguese army as follows :
Engineers. — The active troops of this arm shall forma regi-
ment of 10 companies — 6 of sappers-miners, numbered from
1 to 6 ; 2 of pontoniers, numbered from 1 to 2 ; 1 of field teleg-
raphers, and 1 railway company. A section of drivers shall
be detailed to each company of pontoniers, telegraphers, and
railway troops. The effective strength on a peace footing
shall be 47 officers and 1,022 men, with quite a large number
of horses and mules. On a war footing the number of officers
shall be increased to 05, and of the men to 2,822. There shall
be also 3 independent companies — 1 of fortress sappers, 1 of
torpedoists, and 1 of fortress telegraphers.
Artillery. — There shall be 6 regiments of mounted artil-
lery, numbered 1 to 6, of 6 batteries each; 1 group of 2
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 281
liorse-batteries; 1 group of 2 mountain batteries; 6 groups of
garrison artillery, numbered 1 to 6, of 3 batteries each; 4 inde-
pendent batteries of garrison artillery, numbered 1 to 4. On a
peace footing the battery shall consist of 4 guns and 2 cais-
sons for mounted artillery, and 4 caissons for horse artillery.
On a war footing each battery shall have 6 guns with 9 cais-
sons, 3 battery carts, and 1 forge for mounted artillery; 6
caissons, 3 battery carts, 1 forge, and 1 wagon of supplies and
forage for horse artillery; 1 reserve limber, 2 echelons of
ammunition with 60 boxes and 1 forge for mountain artillery.
The batteries which, on a peace footing, have 3 officers and
78 men, 4 officers and 85 men, and 3 officers and 74 men,
respectively, shall each have on a war footing 5 officers and,
respectively, 159, 187, and 222 men, with the necessary horses
and mules.
In time of peace the sixth battery of each regiment of
mounted artillery shall be armed with howitzers, and the 6
batteries of 1 regiment shall form 2 groups of 3 batteries each,
numbered from 1 to 3.
Cavalry. — There shall be 10 active regiments of cavalry,
numbered 1 to 10, and each regiment shall be composed of 4
squadrons, numbered 1 to 4. The number of sabers per regi-
ment on a peace footing shall be 519, and on a war footing
shall be increased to 759.
Infantry. — The active infantry troops shall form 6 battal-
ions of chasseurs, numbered 1 to 6, of 6 companies each on a
peace footing, and reduced to 4 at the moment of their pass-
ing to a war footing; 24 regiments of infantry of the line,
numbered 1 to 24, with 3 battalions of 3 companies each ; 3
regiments of infantry of the line, numbered 25 to 27, of 2
battalions of 3 companies each.
The battalions of chasseurs shall each have a platoon of
sappers and a platoon of cyclists distributed among the com-
panies for their administration; moreover, each company
shall be provided with a machine-gun section. The effective
strength of the battalion of 27 officers and 498 men on a peace
footing shall have double this number of officers and men on
the war footing.
The infantry of the line is the arm which will receive pro-
portionally the greatest number of reservists. The effective
strength provided in time of peace for a 3-battalion regiment
is 38 officers and 567 men; that of a 2-battalion regiment, 28
282 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
officers and 438 men; in time of war there would be per regi-
ment 62 officers and 3,012 men in the 3-battalion regiments,
and 43 officers and 2,008 men in the 2-battalion regiments.
All new creations will be made gradually, beginning July 1,
1902, according to the resources of the budget.
Another decree of the same date, following upon the one
mentioned above, relates to the reserves. Portuguese citi-
zens, who were to serve only during fifteen years, three years
in the active army, five in the first reserve, and seven in the
second, are now liable to military service for ten years more,
from 35 to 45 years of age, in a third territorial reserve. The
decree says as follows :
The first and second reserves of the army are designed —
(a) To complete the effective strength of army units when
passing from a peace to a war footing.
(b) To supply in the same units the losses which take place
in the field.
(c) To form position troops specially designated to occupy
fortified strategic points.
(d) To form field units which circumstances might demand
as troops of the second line.
The men of the third territorial reserve are intended for
local defense ; they shall be incorporated in centers of resist-
ance which shall be formed in the close vicinity of their
homes.
As yet nothing has been changed in the existing forma-
tions of the second line, but it is evident that they will soon
be the object of new measures. The decree in question allows
this supposition, as it indicates that special instructions will
intervene to regulate the utilization of the reserves.
With regard to the active army an "Ordem do exercito"
of January 8, 1902, indicates how the provisions of the new
decrees are to be carried into effect, the scheme being as
follows :
Engineers. — Of the present companies the fourth sapper-
miners shall be numbered 2, the fifth and sixth shall be the
first and second pontoniers, the seventh shall be the field
telegraphers, and the eighth the railway company. The
company of drivers (second) and the depot company shall be
dissolved. There shall be formed three new companies of
sapper-miners, which shall take numbers 4, 5, and 6, and 1
company of fortress telegraphers.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 283
Artillery. — The four artillery regiments shall each be
reduced from 8 to 6 batteries. The extra batteries and others
newly made shall serve to form regiments Nos. 5 and 6. The
fifth regiment is about to be organized; the sixth will be
organized later. The batteries which shall form part of it,
the Nos. 4 and 5 of the first regiment where they were num-
bered 7 and 8, will continue to temporarily belong to their
original unit; Nos. 1, 2, and 3, at present 5 and 6 of regiment
No. 3, shall form an independent group.
Cavalry. — The two new regiments Nos. 9, and 10, will be
organized partly by active squadrons from other regiments,
where they will be replaced by newly formed or depot squad-
rons, and partly by depot squadrons of the same origin. It
is unnecessary to observe that this increase of the cavalry
refers only to the regiments; that of the squadrons does not
change.
Infantry. — The chasseur companies which will enter into
the new formations, where they will be numbered 5 and 6,
will be furnished by the abolished battalions. Two compa-
nies of regiment No. 4 exceeding the regulation number shall
be dissolved; the ten remaining companies (battalions Nos. 3
and 9 in full) will pass to the infantry of the line. In this
branch battalion No. 3 shall be constituted for 19 regiments
by the fourth companies of the present battalions and by one
company newly created; for five other regiments the reor-
ganization will take place by the passing of the companies or
even whole battalions from regiment to regiment, namely, by
the complete breaking up of regiment No. 15, which will be
reorganized by the chasseur battalions Nos. 3 and 9, and by
the organization of a few new companies.
Regiments Nos. 25 and 26, garrisoned in the Azores, and
No. 27, stationed at Madeira, will remain, as has been said ;
two battalion regiments and their fourth companies will be
dissolved.
Such is the outline of the new organization of the Portu-
guese army. It shows great progress over the past and on
this account merits notice. Its principal effect will be the
increase of infantry battalions from C6 to 88, making easier
the incorporation of men of the first reserve, and at the same
insuring a better defense of the kingdom.
It seems that budgetary resources had to be considered
when three companies only were given to the battalions. The
284, NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
state of the finances did not allow Portugal to increase the
expenses of the army, but it is almost certain that the lack-
ing fourth companies will be provided for, to be created at
the time of mobilization. The organization of the chasseurs
is entirely new. It may be noted, contrary to what will take
place in the infantry of the line, that the number of com-
panies is decreased at the moment of passing to a war footing.
Two reasons have imposed this measure. The recruiting of
the chasseurs being from the whole territory of the kingdom,
it would be difficult, at the moment of mobilization, to assem-
ble in the necessary time a sufficient number of reservists to
complete the effective strength of the six companies. More-
over, the special instruction received by these companies did
not allow giving them as many reservists as to the infantry
of the line proper. It seemed, therefore, preferable to reen-
force the effective strength of four companies by the distri-
bution of men from the other two, so as to take as few as
possible from the first reserve.
When the new decrees have received their full application,
that is, in a very short time, the army of the first line will num-
ber about 95,000 men. Adding to it the special formations
of the second reserve (65,000 men) and the formations of the
territorial reserve (70,000 men approximately), a strength of
230,000 men is reached, showing the maximum of the military
strength of the kingdom. If the whole strength is not of the
same value, the care taken for the instruction, which is
limited to two periods of thirty days each for the men of the
first reserve, and two periods of twenty days for the
second reserves proves at least that Portugal, the military
organization of which is at present at least somewhat similar
to that adopted by the great European powers, is making
serious efforts to render her army as powerful as the resources
of the population allow. — Revue du Cercle MUiiaire, March
22, 1902.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 285
NUMBER OF OFFICERS SERVING IN EAST AFRICA.
According to order No. 12 of December 31, 1901, the num-
ber of officers serving in East Africa on that date was the
f olio wing :
Officers of regular army
Colonel 1
Majors _ 2
Captains 13
Captain, surgeon __ 1
Captain, riding master _ 1
Lieutenants - 25
Ensigns - - -_- 14
Total — 57
Officers in garrison in the province :
Colonel _. 1
Lieutenant colonels 2
Major _ _ 1
Captains - 17
Lieutenants - 26
Ensigns... - 11
Total 58
Royal navy:
Captain _ _ 1
Lieutenant captain 1
First lieutenant __ 1
Second lieutenants -\__ 3
Aspirant of naval administration 1
Machinists - 4
Total 11
Grand total 126
— Re vista do Exercito e da Armada, March, 1902
RUSSIA.
KITCHEN ON WHEELS.
The Revue du Cercle Militaire gives the following descrip-
tion of the rolling kitchen used by the Russian troops in the
Chinese expedition :
A large iron kettle is placed on the axle of a light carriage
attached like a gun to a kind of limber, the body of which
can carry a few provisions and combustible material. The
kettle is closed by a cover with double turning joint and is
286 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
provided with a safety valve. An iron fire box is located
under the kettle and is supplied with a chimney about 1 meter
in height. The men in charge of the rolling kitchen put
water, vegetables, and meat into the kettle before the starting
of the troops. Fire is made some two hours before the final
halt or the cantoning. One such rolling kitchen is detached
per company, squadron-, or battery. There does not exist as
yet any regulation model, but the one described is in general
i^.se. — Bulletin de la Presse et cle la Bibliographie Militoires,
May <il, 1002.
KITCHEN OF A RAILROAD TRAIN.
The Revue du Cercle Militaire contains a description of a
kitchen connected with a railroad train designed for the
transportation of troops by rail, and which has just been
experimented with on the line between St. Petersburg and
Sebastopol. This car kitchen contains two great iron pots
sufficiently large to prepare in them a hot meal for 700 men
in one and a half hours, a large boiling kettle, which can con-
tain 430 liters, for the purpose of making tea, a reservoir of
1,230 liters of water, a tank in which to wash the meat, an ice
chest, some tables, and some scales. — Bulletin de Presse et de h
Bibliographie Militaires, November 30, 1902.
SWEDEN.
REORGANIZATION OF THE ARMY.
The reforms sanctioned by the new law on the military serv-
ice and organization of the Swedish army began to come into
operation during the autumn of last year. Although, as is
known, this law will not come into full effect until 1914, it
may be as well to give now a sketch of the most important
innovations introduced by it. Among the latter figures the
new organization of the staff service. In order to be appointed
lieutenant on the staff every officer must fulfill the following
conditions :
1. He must have taken part for three years in all the exer-
cises of the branch of the service to which he belongs.
2. He must have undergone a course at the academy or at
the artillery or engineers schools.
3. He must have served a term of probationary duty in each
branch of the service other than his own.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 287
4. He must have served as a probationer on the staff for 2£
years, and during that period must have gone through two
summer maneuvers on topographical duty, have clone duty
-with the chief section of the general staff and with that of
state defense, and, finally, have taken part in staff rides.
5. He must be a good rider.
Should the officer have already taken part in some of the
exercises and works mentioned in paragraph 4, the term of
this probationary service on the staff may be reduced.
The organization of the army corps staff has also been
changed, This staff consists now of the chief of the staff, a
staff captain, two orderly officers (one a captain and the other
a lieutenant), the principal medical officer of the army corps,
engineer officers, and commissariat officials. The staff of an
army corps is divided into two sections : the first, under su-
pervision of the chief staff officer, has to elaborate questions
regarding preparations for war and the mobilization of the
army corps; the second, under the orderly officers, is charged
with matters regarding the personnel.
This year the war budget was fixed at 61,839,835 francs.
This sum is thus divided: Ordinary expenditure, 45,089,857
francs; extraordinary expenditure, 16,749,984 francs. The
budget shows this year an increase of 13,350,000 francs over
that of last year; this was necessitated by the new effectives
of the cadres. Among the extraordinary expenditures may
be mentioned:
Francs.
Purchase of new rifles and carbines 1,900,000
Purchase of new field guns _. 2,700,000
Construction of fortified works _•__. 2,600,000
Construction of barracks _ 5,000,000
Subsidies to shooting societies 500,000
Reservefunds _ 800,000
It may be remarked that the total number of rifles and car-
bines to be bought by the state amount to 350,000 of the for-
mer and 50,000 of the latter. The credits voted this year allow
for the purchase of about 150,000 rifles and 20,000 carbines.
The carbines should be available the first in order to arm the
units of the newly organized engineer, transport, and fortress
troops. About 25,000 rifles can be manufactured a year.
As regards the field artillery, a contract was effected by which
the Krupp foundries engage to supply Sweden with all the ma-
terial. The Swedish government, however, reserves to itself
the right to manufacture 120 caissons and 23,000 projectiles
288 NOTB8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
in the national works on condition that the Krupp works
receive an order of 120 guns with gxm carriages and limbers.
Experiments with field artillery gun carriages are still being
carried out at the present time. In spite of that, in June,
1901, the king of Sweden decided to give out a portion of the
order mentioned above, which would tend to show that the
definite adoption of the Krupp gun is no longer a matter for
doubt.
Experiments have been made in Sweden, as among other
powers, as to the best color for uniform, and as a result a
neutral tint, a sort of cinnamon grey, has been finally selected.
The number of horses for the state has been fixed this year at
9,396, namely : Cavalry, C,000; artillery, 2,929 ; engineers, 143;
transport, 324.
In conclusion it may be of interest to give some details of
the peace effective of the Swedish army when the new law
comes into full effect. The personnel of the staff and admin-
istration will consist of 374 officers or clerks. The other
effectives will be as follows :
Infantry. — 1,293 officers, 1,041 sergeants, 3,998 corporals,
326 cadets, 4,117 volunteers, and 16,800 recruits.
Cavalry. — 270 officers, 150 sergeants, 910 corporals, 00
cadets, 2,010 volunteers, and 1,500 recruits.
Artillery. — 451 officers, 390 sergeants, 1,505 corporals,
144 cadets, 1,192 volunteers, and 3,396 recruits.
Engineers. — 128 officers, 108 sergeants, 253 corporals, 15
cadets, 317 volunteers, and 500 recruits.
Transport. — 90 officers, 108 sergeants, 282 corporals, 12
cadets, 156 volunteers, and 156 recruits.
By adding these figures together it will be found that on a
peace footing the Swedish army consists of 2,606 officers or
clerks, 1,797 sergeants, 6,947 corporals, 557 cadets, 7,792 volun-
teers, and 22,352 recruits, or altogether 42,031 officers, non-
commissioned officers, and men. It may be added that 60,000
men are called out for training each year. — Journal Royal
United Service Institution, November 15, 1902.
SWITZERLAND.
WAR IDENTIFICATION TAOS— DECREE OP THE FEDERAL COUNCIL,
JANUARY 81, 1902.
In order to be able to recognize soldiers fallen upon the
battlefield, the federal council has decided to adopt, in
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 289
times of peace, tags for identification, for the picked men of
the regiment (61ite), for the landwehr of the first ban, also
for the recruits; and to insert a credit in the budget for 1003
to be applied for their acquisition. The model submitted
consists of a rectangular tag made of celluloid which can be
attached to a cord and worn around the neck. The inscrip-
tions are written with a special kind of ink. On the face are
inscribed the personal descriptions, such as surname and given
name, place and year of birth, and on the reverse side, the
military branch of service (rank and unit). The changes
which may occur as the result of promotions, transferals, etc.,
may be easily noted. — Feuille Militaire Federate, February
25, 1902.
TURKEY.
THE BAGDAD RAILWAY.
The sultan has authorized the construction of a railway
which will traverse Asia Minor from west to east and will
join the Meditei*ranean Sea to the Persian Gulf.
This railway will be the shortest route from Europe to
India and the extreme Orient.
The railway line will start at Koniah, the present terminus
of the Anatolian railway. Crossing the high plateaus of
Caramania and the broken mountain chain of the Taurus, it
runs into the fertile valleys of northern Cilicia and will join
at Adana the already constructed line coming from the port
of Mersina.
Its direction from Adana will be east. It will reach the
Euphrates at a distance of a few kilometers from Biredjick;
crossing the river, it will pass through the northern part of
Mesopotamia and reach the valley of the Tigris in the vicinity
of Diarbekir ; here it will turn to the southeast, stopping at
Mardin and the populous and wealthy city of Mossoul; it
will then follow the left bank of the Tigris, which it will cross
at Bagdad; thence it will run to Moussedjik, Kerbela, and
Nedjeb, and end at Bassorah, or perhaps at Koveit, on the
Persian Gulf.
Another plan detaches a line from Deli- Abbas, reaching
the Tigris at the city of Amarah, crossing the Persian frontier
and ending at Fao, on the Persian Gulf.
The plan, including branch lines, provides for 2,500 kilo-
meters of road from Koniah to the sea.
H29 10
290 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The railway will be a standard gauge single-track road,
but appropriations have been made in view of having tvo
tracks in the future.
Rapid trains will run between Constantinople and Bagdad,
so that the journey from the capital to the headquarters of an
important army unit will not exceed fifty-five hours.
The concession of this railway in Asia Minor was not looked
upon with favorable eyes by Russia. The Russian minister
of finance advised Russian capital against the enterprise, as
immense sacrifices have been made for the construction of
the Trans-Siberian and the continuation of the line Orenburg-
Tashkent to the Indian frontier.
This is why Russia is keeping aloof, allowing French, Ger-
man, and Belgian capital to take part in the construction of
the railway between Constantinople and Bagdad.— A rmee ei
Marine, May 11, 1902.
PERSIAN GULP DEFENSES.
The correspondent of the Morning Post, telegraphing from
Berlin on the 15th, says: The commission appointed two
years ago to draw up plans for the fortification of the Bagdad
railway terminus in the Persian Gulf has presented a com-
prehensive report to the Turkish government.
The commission was assisted in its labors by two German
officers.
Its recommendations are : The two Turkish forts at Fao to
be reconstructed and provided with modern batteries, and
their garrisons to be increased from 65 men to three com-
panies of infantry, together with the requisite number of
artillerists; the island of Bubian to be fortified by the estab-
lishment of at least two field batteries, each with two heavy
pieces of ordnance, on the eastern shore; a similar battery to
be established at the promontory Ras Sobnja immediately
opposite the southern point of the island of Bubian ; on the
Arabian coast the promontories of Ras Asheiridz (west of
Koweit) and Ras-el-Arifi (east of Koweit) to be fortified; the
last-named points to be occupied by garrisons appointed by
the Sheik of Koweit; the guns to be supplied by Turkey.—
Morning Post, May 15, 1902.
ARTILLERY.
The Turkish artillery, says La France Militaire, consists
of 248 batteries, of which 18 are horse, 178 field, 46 mountain,
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES. 291
and 6 howitzer. The Porte is attempting to rearm her artil-
lery with quick-firing guns, and has approached German firms
with, that object. On account, however, of her financial
embarrassments, she has not, hitherto, been able to push for-
ward the work of transformation. In March, 1902, her bat-
teries were distributed as follows among the army corps : First
army corps — 3 horse, 33 field, and 6 mountain, total 42 bat-
teries ; second army corps — 3 horse, 33 field, and 8 mountain,
total 44 batteries; third army corps — 3 horse, 50 field, 12
mountain, and 6 howitzer, total 71 batteries; fourth army
corps — 3 horse, 30 field, and 10 mountain, total 43 batteries;
fifth army corps— 3 horse, 18 field, and 3 mountain, total 24
batteries ; sixth army corps — 3 horse, 9 field, and 3 mountain,
total 15 batteries.
The nine other batteries are divided between the Tripoli
and Hedjaz divisions, as follows: At Tripoli, 4 field and 2
mountain batteries; at Hedjaz, 1 field and 2 mountain bat-
teries. As soon as the quick-firing guns are delivered, new
batteries will be formed, which will be given to those army
corps which are least well provided with artillery. — United
Service Magazine, June, 1902.
1
i
VII.-MANEUVERS.
THE AU6TBO-HTJNGABIAN MANEUVERS OF 1902.
[Reported by Capt. F. W. Harris, Fourth Cavalbt, United States Military Attache at
Vienna.]
These maneuvers took place from the 12th to the 16th of
September, inclusive, in the district of Sasvar, in Western
Hungary, and were the culmination of continuous exercises,
"beginning with brigade maneuvers in the month of August.
The brigade maneuvers were succeeded in turn by division
and corps maneuvers, the corps being grouped into armies,
on the days above mentioned, for the grand maneuvers.
While this report will be restricted to the grand maneuvers
of the Austro-Hungarian army, in which the three divisions
of the second corps and the two divisions of the fifth corps,
one division of the first corps and two divisions of cavalry of
the regular army, besides two divisions and one brigade of
landwehr infantry, participated, it is important to call atten-
tion to the fact that the entire army, except the fourteenth
corps, was exercised during the months of August and Sep-
tember in brigade, division, and corps maneuvers. The exer-
cises in the excepted corps did not extend beyond those of the
division. The accompanying table, marked A and entitled :
"tJbersicht der Waffemibungen des k. und k. Heeres im
Jahre 1902 " (Table of the Military Exercises of the Imperial
and Royal Army in the Year 1902) shows the dates, localities,
and extent of these practical military exercises. When, after
a study of this table, it is borne in mind that the exercises
therein represented follow immediately upon constant drill
in the schools of the soldier, company, battalion, and regi-
ment during the entire preceding year, some adequate idea
may be obtained of the earnest and zealous effort made in
this country to maintain one of the best trained and most
efficient armies in the world.
294 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The following is a translation of the instructions in detail
for the grand maneuvers of this year :
INSTRUCTIONS IN DETAIL FOR THE GRAND MANEUVERS IN
WESTERN HUNGARY, 1908.
I. — Directions.
By command of His Imperial and Royal Apostolic Majesty, the chief
of the general staff will have charge of the direction of the grand maneu-
vers in Western Hungary, which will take place from the 12th to the 16th
of September, inclusive, this year.
II. — Hypothesis, organization of the troops, and situation at the beginning
of the maneuvers.
(Will be published by the chief of the general staff. )
III. — Composition of headquarters and stafj s ; umpires, assistant umpires,
and reporters.
1. The composition of the headquarters of the maneuver direction,
which will be established in Sasvar from the 9th to the 17th of Septem-
ber, inclusive, may be seen in Appendix 1 ; the list of umpires and assist-
ant umpires, in Appendix 2 ; the list of reporters, in Appendix 3.
The official newspaper reporting will be performed by one representa-
tive of the Austrian press and by one representative of the Hungarian
press. The intermediary of communication for the newspaper reporters
will be Major Aurel von le Beau of the general staff, attached to the
detail division of the maneuver direction, under whose orders both gentle-
men will be directly placed under all circumstances.
For the mounting of certain officers of His Majesty's suite and of the
military attaches attending the maneuvers, hussar regiment No. 16
will detail a cavalry detachment, consisting of 1 officer with 2 horses, 1
mounted noncommissioned officer, 20 mounted hussars, and 20 led horses.
All horses must be well broken and perfectly accustomed to troops. The
march of the cavalry detachment will be so directed by the commander
of the fourth corps that it will reach Sasvar on the 10th of September.
During the maneuvers these horses will be saddled with infantry officers'
saddles, furnished by the life-guard squadron ; but the regulation bridles
will be retained. The men will receive, through the commander of the
life-guard squadron, during the time they are attached to that squadron,
an increase of pay most graciously granted by His Majesty, and the horses
will receive an extra supply of forage.
2. The composition of the headquarters of the higher commands may be
seen in Appendices 4, 5, and 6.
Their completion follows in Appendices Ila and 116, which are personal *
and which will be distributed separately.
To each army, corps, division, and independent brigade, an officer of
the general staff will be assigned as reporter (Appendix 8). Special
instructions will be published concerning their duties.
For the direction of the service of the telephone detachments, which are
formed conformably to Orders, Bureau 5, No. 1078, 1902 (supplement No.
MANEUVERS. 295
17), the officers of the railway and telegraph regiment designated as com-
manders of the corps telegraph detachments in case of mobilization are to
report to the corps commanders. The above-named regiment will be
notified by the corps commanders where and when these officers are to
report.
The field gendarmes will report to the corps commanders on the 8th of
September.
The corps commanders will notify directly the imperial royal ministry
for national defense and the royal Hungarian ministry for national
defense where the field gendarmes are to report.
The corps commanders will provide beforehand for the special equip-
ment as well as for the proper mounting of the field gendarmes, in accord-
ance with the "Organic Regulations and Service Instructions for the
Field Gendarmerie of the Imperial and Royal Army " (Dienstbuch A — I, tt,
Appendix B, sec. 18).
The field gendarmes assigned to the maneuver direction will be equipped
by the fourth corps. The maneuver direction will provide their mounts.
(Appendix 1).
The organization of the field post offices is given in Appendices 4, 5, 6, and
8. The corps commanders notify directly those post and telegraph offices
that furnish the civil personnel where and when it is to report. At the
same time instructions as to the routes to be followed by the civil personnel
are forwarded to the post and telegraph offices concerned. For the duties
of clerks and orderlies, those noncommissioned officers and privates desig-
nated for this service in case of mobilization will be employed so far as
possible ; those of the reserve so designated will be employed for this duty
only when they have completed their military duties. The civil personnel
will carry with it the necessary office requisites. The field postmen will
be provided with the prescribed apparatus and equipment.
The field post offices begin operations on the day of their establishment
and they will be discontinued on the 17th of September. They will for-
ward and receive ordinary and registered letters and will cash postal
money orders. No other mail matter will be handled by the field post
offices, nor will they issue postal money orders. Private letters will not
be forwarded free of postage.
In other matters, reference is made to the "Organic Regulations and
Service Instructions for the Field Post Offices of the Army in Campaign"
(Dienstbuch A — I, uu), especially to section 6 (addressing of letters), sec-
tion 80 (transfer of authority), and section 31 of the service instructions.
The civil commissioners will report on the 11th of September at the
places in which the corps headquarters are located. These places will be
made known directly and in due time to these officials.
The distribution of the staff troops will conform to Orders, Bureau 5,
No. 700, March 28, 1902, and Bureau 3, No. 647, March 22, 1902 (supple-
ment No. II).
For the establishment of the field offices of the higher commanders, the
corps commanders will be supplied with funds, in compliance with Ap-
pendices Ila and lib.
TV. — Uniform.
1. All troops and employees will appear during the maneuvers in cam-
paign uniform ; officers and officer candidates will not carry revolvers or
.296 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
holsters. Cavalry troops will carry with them their for coats (winter
"attilas " and fur " uhlanken").
Reservists, as well as the other troops, will be uniformed and equipped
in a faultless manner. The required articles of uniform and equipment
will be forwarded to the reservists in the theater of the maneuvers at the
expense of the appropriation for military exercises.
The officers and men of the Austrian field gendarmerie will wear their
helmets, and those of the Hungarian gendarmerie will wear their hats.
2. The staff troops, the personnel of the telephone detachments, servants
and grooms in civilians' clothing, sutlers, and civilian teamsters will be
provided with the prescribed brassard.
The official newspaper reporters attached to the maneuver direction
will be distinguished by a white band, with the word "Reporter," on the
left arm.
The umpires, assistant umpires, and reporters, as well as the orderlies
assigned to them, will wear a white band, 10 centimeters wide, on the left
arm. The same will be worn by the personnel of the branch subsistence
depot in Sasvar that is assigned to the maneuver direction (Article XII,
par. 4a).
V, — Equipment.
1. Each infantry and rifle battalion will equip four pioneers.
The pioneer sections of the cavalry regiments will take with them the
pioneer tools only ; the tools for the destruction of railways, as well as
explosives and fuzes, will be left behind.
The equipment for pioneer work is not taken along by the squadrons.
Besides the equipment transported in wagons (Appendix 8), each pioneer
company will also take with it the portable field equipment. Explosives
and fuzes will be left behind.
2. A cavalry telegraph patrol of 8 troopers will be formed and com-
pletely equipped (Orders, Prasidial, No. 6051, December 24, 1898) in each
cavalry regiment. For this purpose, reservists who have not completed
their military duties and "furloughed " horses may be called in, if neces-
sary, for twenty days' service.
Instead of the batteries of the war equipment, the telegraph patrols
will use the elements of exercise batteries in the battery cases. Each
cavalry regiment will be allowed $2 for the purchase of filling material,
candles, etc.
The cavalry telegraph wire, M. 1896, employed by the telegraph patrols
in establishing telegraphic connections will not be left in position, when
the connections are no longer necessary, but will be taken up by those
expressly designated for this duty, and will be taken along in the pre-
scribed form of coils for further use.
An infantry telegraph patrol (six telegraph operators and nine order-
lies) is attached to each infantry division. Special instructions will be
issued for their detail, equipment, and employment.
A telephone detachment, with apparatus for four stations and 60 kilo-
meters of line material, is attached to each corps, conformably to Orders,
Bureau 5, No. 1078, 1902 (supplement No. 17). The men required for this
service are detailed in accordance with 'Service Regulations and Instruc-
tions for the Telephone Detachments of the Imperial and Royal Army"
MANEUVERS. 4 297
(Dienstbuch E — 35 e). Vacancies in the telephone detachments will be
filled by suitably instructed infantry soldiers.
The complete exercise batteries of the telephone detachments will be
utilized. The filling and other necessary material for the batteries will
be paid for from the appropriation for the army.
The material of the telephone detachments will in no case be supplied
to the cavalry telegraph patrols.
With regard to the regulations for the use of State telegraph lines,
attention is invited to Orders, Bureau 5, No. 3222, October 29, 1891;
Bureau 5, No. 1297, June 22, 1898, and Bureau 5, No. 427, March 19, 1900.
After the close of the maneuvers, all material is to be placed in good
condition ; the expenses incurred for this purpose, including those of the
train divisions for filling and other material for the batteries, will be
reported to the ministry of war for payment.
During the maneuvers of recent years, the cable lines of the corps tele-
phone detachments were destroyed in different places and rendered wholly
useless by the opposing cavalry, thus subjecting the funds for military
purposes to considerable loss. In order to avoid similar destruction in the
future, the troops are implicitly directed to spare the cables in question.
3. Field balloon detachments Nos. 1 and 2 of the military aeronautical
establishment will be made ready for service. The effective of each field
balloon detachment will be as follows :
Six officers, 81 men. 6 officers' servants, 6 saddle and 84 draft horses,
train according to Appendix 8, a complete dragon balloon, the reserve
equipment for a field station with 120 filled gas receptacles, and a complete
spherical balloon with anchoring equipment.
These field balloon detachments will report on the 8th of September at
the places named in Appendices Ha and lib.
4. Each infantry and rifle battalion and each artillery regiment will
have four litter-bearers ; each cavalry regiment and each corps artillery
regiment, two assistant surgeons; each organization will supply the
dressing carriers with the old exercise equipment. The dressing carriers
will be provided with the required medicines and dressings from the
current supplies of the troops.
For the improvement of bad drinking water, the troops will be supplied
by the military medical depots with citric acid (one gram per man per
5. With reference to the use of field glasses and Zeiss army telescopes,
see Orders, Bureau 5, No. 8126, November 19, 1901.
The distribution of these instruments among the higher commands may
be learned from Appendices Ha and 116.
VI.— Maps.
The maneuver maps will be furnished the second and fifth corps head-
quarters by the Military Geographical Institute not later than August
15 and will be distributed according to Appendix 7. The landwehr
troops attached to the infantry divisions of the regular army will receive
the necessary maps from the corps commanders concerned ; the troops
and auxiliary services of the regular army attached to the landwehr
infantry divisions will receive their maps from the commanders of these
divisions.
298 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The umpires, assistant umpires, and reporters will receive the necessary
maps from the maneuver direction.
VII. — Ammunition.
1. The following number of blank cartridges, with smokeless powder,
will be issued.
For each repeating rifle, 50; for each repeating cavalry carbine. 20; for
each repeating pioneer short rifle, 30. For eacn gun 100 rounds of blank
ammunition will be issued with smokeless powder, and the corresponding
number of friction primers. The artillery ammunition will be carried in
the limber chests and in the country wagons that are allotted, as is
indicated in Appendix 8.
In addition, each regular and each landwehr infantry division will be
supplied with six battalion ammunition wagons, each wagon carrying
25, 650 8-millimeter blank cartridges. These ammunition wagons form the
division ammunition park.
The supply of this extra ammunition will conform to Orders, Bureau 7.
No. 4516, 1902.
2. The amount of ammunition actually fired by the different organiza-
tions will be reported to the ministry of war by the corps commanders
before the end of October.
3. The unused small -arms ammunition will be added to the annual allow-
ance of exercise ammunition of the troops ; the unused artillery ammuni-
tion will be turned in to the ordnance depot in Wollersdorf .
4. Of the small-arms ammunition, 40 per cent of shells and 60 per cent
of the powder charges will be issued gratuitously; requests for extra
supplies of parts of the ammunition will not be submitted.
VIIL— Hospitals.
Each division and each independent brigade will be furnished with one
hospital, which will consist of the wagons mentioned in Appendix 8, and
of the prescribed equipment. An officer, for whom a public horse will be
furnished, or an officer candidate will be assigned to each hospital, and
four men of the hospital corps will be assigned to each ambulance. The
required medicines and dressings will be drawn from the current supplies
of the garrison hospitals concerned. The quantity of refreshing food (tea,
sugar) will be fixed by the surgeon general and supplied by the garrison
hospitals concerned in the maneuvers.
Each hospital will be furnished with a Berkefeld pump filter, which will
be used, when necessary, for the supply of drinking water for the troops.
IX.— Train.
1. During the maneuvers, the maneuver direction will be furnished by
the fifth corps with seven carriages (four of these to be four-seated) and
six wagons.
The supply officer of the maneuver direction takes over these vehicles.
2. The commanders and troops will be provided with the train specified
in Appendices 8 and 9, on the evening of September 11.
The wagons designated for the transportation of baggage will be attached
to the fighting train.
MANEUVERS. 299
3. The draft horses for the division ammunition parks will be furnished
by the respective division artillery regiments ; those for the tool wagons of
the pioneer troops, by the respective pioneer battalions ; finally, those for
the field balloon detachments, by the military aeronautic establishment.
Horses for the other government wagons mentioned in Appendix 8, includ-
ing those for the landwehr, will be furnished by the train divisions desig-
nated for this purpose in the organization of the army.
Draft horses will be used in the squadron wagons of the cavalry (Ap-
pendix 8).
With regard to the calling in of " furloughed " horses, instructions have
already been published in Orders, Bureau 5, No. 1273, 1902.
4. The "furloughed" horses will be sent for by the organizations to
which they are assigned and will be broken in for two or three days.
The forwarding of the "furloughed" horses from the cavalry reserve
cadre stations to the stations of the train, thence to the theater of maneu-
vers, will be effected, within distances of 100 kilometers, by marching;
beyond this distance, by railway transportation.
5. The calling in of the teamsters for the division ammunition parks
and for the tool wagons of the pioneer troops has already been provided
for in Orders, Bureau 2, No. 1087, 1902 (supplement No. 7).
Any lack of teamsters for the train troops will be made up by the calling
in of lance corporals and privates who are still subject to military duty.
The date for calling in these men will be so fixed that they may be em-
ployed, if necessary, in bringing in and returning the ' ' furloughed " horses.
6. Civilian teams will be hired for the time only that is absolutely nec-
essary and at the cheapest possible daily wages.
7. The presence of sutlers within the number authorized by the "In-
structions for the Subsistence of the Army, Second Part, Section 98," will
be permitted.
After the close of the maneuvers the public wagon transportation will
be carefully inspected and placed in a perfectly serviceable condition be-
fore it is turned in to the depots.
The repair of this transportation will be made on the account of the ap-
propriation for war material. For all wagons, harness, and riding equip-
ment taken to the maneuvers from the depots of extra supplies, there will
be granted an extra money allowance to the amount of the allowance for
one month for material in actual use (Table of Allowances for the Im-
perial and Royal Army, First Part, Sections 111 and 112) ; for the field
postal wagons, a money allowance for two months ; for each bridge equi-
page taking part in the maneuvers, an extra money allowance for material
to the amount of about §40, on the account of Title VII, Item 49, of the
ordinary appropriation for 1902. These allowances must suffice absolutely
for the purposes mentioned. For the additional equipment of wagons,
horses, etc., employed during the maneuvers, no extra money allowance
will be requested.
The "furloughed " horses employed as draft horses will be given a rest
of one or two days by the cavalry reserve cadres before delivering them
to the troops that are to use them.
Musicians' horses and sutlers with their teams may be forwarded by rail,
at the expense of the appropriation for the army, with those troops that
. are returned to their stations by this kind of transportation.
300 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
X.— Field Damages.
1. The estimate of field damages and the compensation therefor most
conform to the instructions on this subject (Dienstbuch E— 28 a), and
the executive regulations supplementary to section 56 of the law for quar-
tering soldiers.
2. For the settlement of all claims that can not be satisfied in an ami-
cable manner by the troops themselves or by military representatives ap-
pointed for this purpose, the commanders of the second and fifth corps
will create, after the end of the maneuvers, as many field-damage com-
missions as may appear to be necessary for the completion of the field-
damage estimates within a period not exceeding two weeks. These will
enter into a mutual understanding and will establish accurately the limits
of their operations.
8. In order to prevent the duplication of claims each reimbursement for
damages will be reported to the corps commander, at the latest, on the
day following the payment, with an accurate statement concerning the
receiver and the days and places of the damages. The corps commander
will furnish the respective field-damage commissions with a compilation
of these data.
XL — Allowances.
1. Up to September 11, inclusive, the general orders for military exer-
cises in the year 1902 (Appendix I to Orders, Bureau 5, No. 700, 1902), will
govern in the matter of allowances.
2. From the 12th to the 16th of September, inclusive, there will be' paid
to all officers, military employees, and officer candidates taking part in the
maneuvers in western Hungary, an "exercise" increase of pay equal to
twice the "march " increase of pay ; to cadets, the same increase of pay as
to officer candidates, and to the men an "exercise" increase of pay equal
to the "march" increase of pay.
In addition, the civilian employees and the men, including the one-year
volunteers paying their own expenses, and the civilian servants of officers
will be entitled to the march rations, namely, three field and two reserve
rations, and to a daily increase of subsistence pay of 4 cents. For those
days on which the reserve rations are issued, an allowance of 200 grams
of meat per ration will be granted, in addition to the increase of subsistence
pay.
The beef component of the field ration will be 800 grams. Tobacco can
not be supplied. The reserve ration will be composed of field conserves
(400 grams of zwieback, 200 grams of compressed meat and vegetable
cake, 2o grams of salt, and one coffee conserve, consisting of 28 grams of
coffee and sugar). The breakfast soup and the black coffee will be sup-
plied throughout the maneuvers in the form of conserves.
The commutation of bread and of the cooked components of the ration
will not be permitted. If, in special cases, commutation must be resorted
to, the following commutation prices will govern :
Grata.
For one ration of bread at 700 grama 2
For one ration of flour soup 5
For one ration of beef at 3fX) grams 8
For one ration of vegetables, with sensoning 1.2
For one ration of coffee .... , . i.g
MANEUVERS. 301
The zwieback and the other articles of the reserve ration will not, under
any circumstances, be commuted.
Three field and two reserve rations will be issued for each horse from
the 12th to the 16th of September, inclusive ; in addition, ono field ration
of oats will be allowed for each day on which the reserve ration is issued.
For the supply of firewood for cooking and for camp fires, money allow-
ances will be granted. During the grand maneuvers in western Hungary,
these allowances have been fixed as follows :
For the headquarters of the maneuver direction $16.00
For the headquarters of an army 8.00
For the headquarters of a corps '. 4.00
For the headquarters of a division 4. 00
For the headquarters of an independent brigade 2. 00
For the headquarters of au Infantry regiment 2.00
For the headquarters of a cavalry regiment 2. 00
For a subdivision (balloon detachment) 4.00
The allowance for the headquarters of a division includes that for the
headquarters of its brigades and for its hospital ; the allowance for the
headquarters of an independent brigade includes that for its hospital.
The staffs not included in the above table participate in the allowances
of their subdivisions; the ammunition parks participate in the allow-
ances of the corresponding artillery regiments.
8. Beginning with the 17th of September and during the return march,
the troops and commands will receive the normal march allowances.
In those cases in which the troops cook their own rations (that is, when
the march rations are not delivered by the Supply Department, or when
the railway dinner is not furnished), the troops are entitled to their sub-
sistence money, together with an extra allowance of about 1 cent per man
per day for the improvement of their rations.
In addition there will be issued gratuitously, on the 17th of September,
to each man of all troops, one meat, one soup, and one coffee conserve, and
to each horse one reserve ration of oats.
4. The civil commissioners and the employees, drivers, and office servants
of the field post office are entitled equally with the military employees to
temporary quarters ; however, any extra charges for these quarters must
be paid by these persons from their own funds, according to the regulation
tariff of the law for quartering troops. If a civil commissioner or a postal
official be accompanied by a servant, the latter will be entitled to the
quarters and allowances of an officer's servant, on the account of the
appropriation for the army.
The noncommissioned officers and privates attached to the field post
offices receive the same allowances as do those on duty with their organ-
izations.
5. The teamsters and horses of the civilian transportation receive no
rations. However, these teamsters will be permitted to purchase bread
and the other articles of the ration at the average cost price of the same.
The same rule holds good with regard to forage for the horses of the
civilian transportation.
302 NOTK8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
XIL— Rations.
1. Rations will be issued to the commands and troops on the evening
of September 11 as follows:
To each man, one field and two reserve rations, together with one
ration of zwieback, and one meat, one soup, and one coffee conserve : t*-»
each horse, three reserve rations of oats.
The daily field ration per man and one field ration of oats per horse.
The latter will be carried in the supply wagons or by the troops.
On each of three days, meat in the quantity of the field ration of 3U0
grams per man, and on each of two days in the quantity of 200 grams per
man, will be issued (on the 12th of September, butchered, and on the
other days on the hoof).
To the infantry, cavalry, and brigade subsistence columns, one field
ration per man and three field rations of oats per horse.
These rations will be used as follows:
Three field rations of food and of oats and two reserve rations of foou
and of oats from the 12th of September to the 16th of September, inclu-
sive; one field ration of oats as an extra allowance on those days on
which the reserve rations of oats are used ; finally, one ration of zwieback
and one meat, one soup, and one coffee conserve, and one reserve ration of
oats on the 17th of September (see Article XI, par. 8).
2. With regard to the supply of subsistence stores, the following regu-
lations will govern:
(a) The corps commanders will provide independently for the feeding
of their troops up to the 11th of September, inclusive.
(b) As the more restricted situation at the beginning of warlike condi-
tions will be made known only shortly before the beginning of the maneu-
vers, the supplies in zwieback, conserves, and oats, and the camp equipage
required for the time from the 12th to the 17th of September, inclusive,
and which will be provided by the corps intendants, will be collected and
held ready in the places named in Appendices Ha and 116, so that they
may be drawn without delay, on the orders of the corps commanders,
after the publication of the situation at the beginning of warlike con-
ditions.
The bread required from the 12th to the 16th of September will be
baked in double-ration loaves, with 700 grams to the ration, of wheat and
rye flour in the ratio of one-third of the former to two-thirds of the latter.
The supply of the necessary wheat flour (class No. 5 of the Budapest
steam mills) will be obtained by purchase.
The zwieback and oats will be drawn from the depots of war supplies
and the meat conserves from the subsistence stores provided for the year
1902. The other conserves will be specially supplied.
All the other articles and the beef cattle will be purchased and their
supply will be effected, so far as practicable, by the troops. Hay and the
straw allowed for rubbing down the horses, wood for cooking, and, if
necessary, for heating, will be secured by the troops as these articles are
needed.
For the return march, the following orders will be observed:
(a ) The corps commanders will issue independently the necessary orders
for the return of those troops that rejoin their stations by marching. In
MANEUVERS. 303
this connection, they will receive further instructions at the beginning
of September.
(6) For those troops returning by railway, commutation of the break-
fast and of the travel ration will be authorized on tho day of the journey.
If bread can not be supplied in kind its commutation will be authorized.
Bread, meat conserves, and oats will be placed in readiness for the feed-
ing of the troops and horses transported by railway. The quantity of
these supplies and the dates and places of their collection will be made
known later.
The field railway transportation direction will forward these supplies
to the loading stations, where they will be received by the troops in
quantities depending upon the length of the journey to be made.
Furthermore, an effort will be made to furnish the railway midday
meal to those troops traveling by railway that remain for a longer time
on the journey. This will be provided for in the marching orders. The
troops will not pay, but will receipt, for the railway midday meal. If
rations be furnished in kind, commutation of the traveling rations will
not be paid. Any hay that may be required during the railway journey
will be purchased by the troops before entraining.
On the return march, unbroken packages of meat conserve will be paid
for at the rate of 4 cents each.
3. In those cases in which their rations can not be delivered in the way
prescribed for the troops, reconnoitering patrols and detachments and the
men of the field telegraph detachments may purchase the authorized
quantity of the articles of the ration, or may request them from the local
authorities on receipt and subsequent payment.
4. The subsistence depots will.be established as follows:
For the maneuver direction, the commander of the fifth corps will
establish in Sasvar, on the 4th of September, a branch subsistence depot
with supplies, cooked and uncooked, for ten days for the men and horses
of the maneuver direction, the umpires, and the assistant umpires.
For the army corps, the corps commanders will establish, at their own
discretion, the absolutely necessary branch subsistence depots.
As'a rule the establishment of subsistence depots beyond the limits of
the territory in which the army corps find themselves at the beginning of
warlike conditions will not be permitted.
On account of the necessity of maintaining tarpaulins in good condition
their use will be avoided as much as possible.
One official and 20 pupils of the school in Vienna for candidates for the
subsistence department and for one-year volunteers will be attached to
the headquarters of the second corps ; one official and 20 pupils of the
corresponding school in Budapest will be attached to the headquarters of
the fifth corps. They will be ready for duty from the 1st of September.
The corps intendants will apply for them directly to the subsistence
depots in Vienna and Budapest, respectively. The pupils will be employed
sufficiently for instruction in the duties of noncommissioned officers.
5. In order that the least possible quantity of bread and other articles
of the ration may remain on hand after the close of the maneuvers, the
probable requirements for the return march will be ascertained as accu-
rately as possible. Should, however, supplies remain over, they will be
charged on the money allowance for subsistence, and to this end will be
304 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
turned in by the corps commanders to the nearest garrisoned post In
this case, the following commutation will be paid : For the ration of meat
and Tegetable conserve, the value of the ration of fresh vegetables; for
the ration of soup conserve, { of a cent ; for the ration of coffee conserve,
| of a cent.
XIII. — Return from the maneuvers.
1. The troops will be returned from the theater of the maneuvers as
follows:
(a) By marching: The mounted Austrian landwehr troops; the foot
troops of the garrisons of Ungarisch Hradisch, Tyrnau, Trentschin; all
the cavalry and artillery troops, the squadron wagons accompanying the
cavalry ; all public wagons.
(5) By rail: The Austrian and Hungarian landwehr foot troops; the
higher commanders ; all other troops, with their sutler wagons ; the public
wagons left without teams after sending away the "furloughed" horses
(par. 4) ; the field post office wagons and teams.
2. The men of the eighth, forty-ninth, seventy-sixth, eighty-third, and
eighty-fourth infantry regiments, of the infantry battalions 2-54 and 4-54,
and of the eleventh, seventeenth, and twenty -first rifle battalions that
will be entitled to their furlough will be sent directly from the theater of
the maneuvers to the stations of their respective reserve cadres.
The furloughed men of the other troops will generally be returned with
their organizations.
In order that the necessary number of cars may be available in dne
time for sending away the furloughed men and the reservists from the
garrisons, commanding officers will report, to the respective railway station
masters, as soon as possible after the return from the theater of the
maneuvers, the probable amount of transportation required.
3. The reservists will be returned directly to the depots, those of the
seventy -first regiment by marching, all the others by rail.
4. The "furloughed" horses used in the cavalry staff detachments, for
the mounting of military persons, and for draft purposes, will be returned
to the stations of the cavalry reserve cadres. If the distance is within 100
kilometers, the return will be made by marching; if the distance exceeds
100 kilometers, the return will be made by railway transportation. If.
however, in returning these "furloughed" horses by marching, the pre-
scribed limit of time for their military use can not be observed, the order
on which they were taken from their civilian keepers must be presented,
in order to obtain transportation for them by railway.
The "furloughed" horses will not be sent away until the wagons to
which those used for draft purposes belong have been delivered at the
stations at which these wagons are to be loaded.
5. The officers, veterinarians, and noncommissioned officers of the train
troops, as well as the aids, supply and medical officers, officers of the
pioneer troops, field gendarmes, etc. . who will be on duty with the higher
commands and foot troops, and who will be mounted on public horses,
together with the men on duty under these officers, and the cavalry staff
troops will, without exception, report on the 17th of September to their
organizations, or to their cavalry staff detachments, respectively, and will
return with the latter to their stations.
MANEUVERS. 305
6. The return of the troops by marching will be ordered by the corps com-
manders, among whom there will be, when necessary for this purpose,
a mutual understanding. The return of the staff cavalry of the maneuver
direction and of the cavalry detachments attached thereto will be ordered
by the commander of the fifth corps.
The field railway transportation direction attached to the maneuver
direction will be charged with the return of troops by railway trans-
portation.
7. All commands, troops, and detachments taking part in the maneuvers
that are to be returned, wholly or in part, by railway, will immediately
prepare the lists required for this transportation (supplement to section
26 of the "Instructions for Military Railway Transportation"). In these
lists, the number of men remaining present in the organizations, of those
entitled to furlough, and of the reservists, will be separately noted ; the
places of destination (for Vienna, the railway station also) of the different
organizations to be transported, as well as those of the sjitler wagons,
will be accurately specified; however, those traveling individually will
not be mentioned. The strength will be stated by battalion. The column
headed "Daily Requirements" must absolutely be filled in, and the
number of rations of bread of 700 grams each must be stated ; if, how-
ever, no bread or forage is required, this fact will be mentioned under the
heading "Remarks."
Until the 1st of August these lists will be sent directly to the ministry
of war.
XIV. — Accounts and vouchers.
1. The accounts of the supply officers attached to the various head-
quarters will be submitted to the respective commanders ; except those of
the supply officer attached to the headquarters of the maneuver direction,
which will be forwarded to the chief intendant of the fifth corps.
The instructions concerning the accounts of the troops (companies and
supply officers) will be published as supplements to the Official Gazette,
conformably to the existing regulations for mobilization.
So far as is possible, the supply depots that are to be established will
be administered independently. The returns will conform to the
"Instructions for the Subsistence of the Imperial and Royal Army,
II Volume, Third Part." The accountability of these depots, which will
include the tuming-in of the utensils and material that may be used in
the issue of rations to the troops, will devolve upon the permanent supply
depot charged with the establishment of the depots utilized during the
maneuvers.
2. In those cases in which retail purchases are made, during the ma-
neuvers, at farms and small hamlets where stamps are not obtainable, the
stamp dues will be charged to the account of the appropriation for the
army in such a way that the vouchers (bills, receipts, retail purchase
journals, etc.) relating to the returns may be stamped by the accounting
officer subsequently and in regulation manner.
3. All the other extra expenditures that arise from the grand maneu-
vers in western Hungary will be accounted for under Article VII, Item
49, of the ordinary appropriation for the army for 1902, and will be
reported to the ministry of war before December 15.
30C NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The increased cost of the active service of the balloon detachments for
hydrogen, auxiliary, and construction material will be charged under
Item 40 of Article VII. Separate vouchers for these expenditures will
therefore be submitted.
4. The rations issued to the landwehr troops and ail the necessary
expenditures for these troops will be reported before the 15th of Decem-
ber, through the proper corps supply department of the expert accounting
bureau of the ministry of war, with a view to taking the necessary steps
for reimbursement. All the articles of the ration, with their original
cost, will be included in these accounts.
Appendix 1.— Headquarters of the maneuver direction.
General Baron Von Beck, chief of the general staff.
Attached: One captain of the general staff.
OPERATIONS DIVISION.
One colonel, one lieutenant colonel, and four captains of the general
staff ; one first lieutenant of infantry, and two noncommissioned officers,
the latter detailed from the office of the general staff.
DETAIL DIVISION.
One colonel, one major, and one captain of the general staff, the major
being charged with the duties of press superintendent ; one noncommis-
sioned officer from the direction bureau of the general staff; one noncom-
missioned officer of infantry, assistant to the subsistence officer.
ORDERLY OFFICERS.
Two officers from the war college ; two officers from the military riding
institute.
BICYCLISTS.
Four officers and four noncommissioned officers from the military
fencing and gymnastic school.
FIELD GENDARMES.
Four mounted and four dismounted field gendarmes of the royal Hun-
garian gendarmerie. They will report at Sasvar on the evening of
September 8.
FIELD PRESS DIVISION.
Four presses and the personnel required therefor will be assigned to the
military geographical institute. The presses and personnel will arrive at
Sasvar on the 8th of September.
POST COMMANDER AND BILLETING OFFICER.
A captain of infantry.
COMMISSARY OFFICER.
A first lieutenant of infantry.
SURGEON.
A staff surgeon, for whom a mounted dressing-carrier will be detailed
from the staff cavalry detachment. The carrier will be provided with
MANEUVKKS. 307
an exercise equipment. The required medical supplies will be taken
from the current stores.
STAFF TROOPS.
Infantry: Half a company, to be designated by the commander of the
second corps, and consisting of two officers and fifty-two men, including
two musicians, four infantry pioneers, one cook for officers, and one cook
for enlisted men. This 'detachment will reach Sasvar on the morning of
September 4, and will be provided with an officers' field oven.
Cavalry : Half a squadron from a regiment of hussars of the fourth
corps, consisting of one officer, five noncommissioned officers, one trum-
peter, two cooks, one veterinarian, one dressing carrier, and sixty-one
troopers. This detachment will reach Sasvar on September 8.
The staff troops will be forwarded by the respective corps commanders,
the infantry by rail, and the cavalry by marching.
In those cases in which the time and place of reporting are not specially
fixed for the above-named persons, the necessary orders will be issued
directly by the chief of the general staff.
The officers of the general staff will take with them their private horses.
The orderly officers will each take two horses ; if they do not possess pri-
vate horses they will be mounted on public horses by the war college or
the military riding institute. The mounted gendarmes will be provided
with public horses by the staff cavalry.
FIELD RAILWAY TRANSPORTATION DIRECTION.
One major of the general staff ; one major and seven captains of the
railway bureau of the general staff, to be detailed by the chief of the
general staff ; the railway -line commandants of the first, second, and fifth
corps ; one military intendant, and one noncommissioned officer of the
railway bureau of the general staff; representatives of the railways
concerned; two soldiers as orderlies, to be detailed by the commander of
the second corps.
The field railway transportation direction will be established in Lunden-
burg on the 14th of September.
omenta assigned to dutt with the maneuver direction.
General von Kropatscheck, inspector general of artillery, with one
colonel.
Lieutenant General Count Paar, inspector general of cavalry, with one
major.
Mounted officers will notify the railway bureau of the general staff,
before the 1st of August, of the number of horses, grooms, and servants
that they intend to take with them.
Appendix 2, — Umpires and assistant umpires.
Lieutenant General Baron Von Albori, with his aid-de-camp; eight
other lieutenant generals, eleven major generals, four colonels of infantry,
seven colonels, one lieutenant colonel, four majors, and twenty-three
captains of the general staff.
1. A number of umpires and assistant umpires will be attached per-
manently to the higher commanders, who will provide quarters and sub-
sistence for such umpires and who will detail the orderlies required for
308 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
their messenger service. Some of these umpires and assistant umpires
will report at Sasvar on the afternoon of September 13.
2. The other umpires and assistant umpires will be quartered and sub-
sisted, throughout the maneuvers, at the station of the maneuver direction
in Sasvar.
8. The umpires will arrive on the 10th of September at the places to be
designated later by the chief of the general staff. The officers referred to
in the preceding paragraph will report at 5 o'clock p. m. on September 10
to the chief of the general staff.
4 The umpires and assistant umpires will take with them their private
horses. The number of horses, grooms, and servants that are to be taken
along will be reported to the railway bureau of the general sUff before
the 1st of August.
5. Further orders for the umpires and assistant umpires will be issued
directly by the chief of the general staff.
The railway bureau of the general staff will transport to the theater of
the maneuvers the horses of those officers proceeding there from Vienna
and from the theater of the maneuvers to their respective stations, also
the horses of all the umpires and assistant umpires.
Appendix 3. — Reporters.
Two colonels, one lieutenant colonel, two majors, and ten captains of
the general staff and ono first lieutenant attached to the general staff.
1. The reporters are assigned directly to the various organizations by
the special orders of the chief of the general staff.
2. On each day of combat there will be detailed by the higher com-
manders concerned, for each reporter attached to the headquarters of an
army or of a corps, three troopers as permanent orderlies ; for each re-
porter attached to the headquarters of a division or of a brigade, there
will be detailed two such orderlies. In addition, the military fencing and
gymnastic school will detail ten noncommissioned officers as bicyclists,
who will be assigned to the reporters by the chief of the general staff.
3. The reporters will take with them their private horses. The number
of horses, grooms, and servants to be taken along will be reported to the
railway bureau of the general staff before August 1.
The railway bureau of the general staff will transport to the theater of
the maneuvers the horses of those officers proceeding there from Vienna,
and from the theater of the maneuvers to their respective stations the
horses of all reporters.
Appendix 4. — Headquarters of an army.
Army commander.
Chief of staff.
OPERATIONS DIVISION.
One officer of the general staff as chief and detailed by order of the chief
of the general staff ; a number of superior officers of the general staff as
assistants and also detailed by order of the chief of the general staff.
One official of the supply department, provided with a public horse.
One superior officer as superintendent of office work.
Two noncommissioned officers as clerks.
MANEUVERS. 309
DETAIL DIVISION.
One field officer of the general staff as chief and detailed by order of the
chief of the general staff ; a number of officers of the general staff as
assistants, also detailed by order of the chief of the general staff.
One superior officer as superintendent of office work.
Two noncommissioned officers as clerks.
Four printers.
ATTACHED TO THE DETAIL DIVISION.
One aid-de-camp and six orderly officers of the army commander, to be
mounted, if necessary, on public horses.
One officer and four enlisted men as bicyclists.
Five field gendarmes mounted on public horses and three dismounted
field gendarmes of the imperial royal or of the royal Hungarian gen-
darmerie.
Field post office: Two officials, one driver, and one servant from the
imperial royal or the royal Hungarian post office department, one non-
commissioned officer as clerk, one private as orderly.
One subaltern of the train as train commandant of army headquarters.
The commander of the staff infantry as post commandant.
One commissary officer, mounted on a public horse.
The commander of the staff cavalry as billeting officer.
One surgeon, mounted on a public horse.
TRAIN.
One veterinarian.
One mounted sergeant as staff wagon master
STAFF TROOPS.
Infantry: One officer, 25 men.
Cavalry: One officer, 80 men.
Appendix 5. —Headquarter 8 of a corps.
Corps commander.
Chief of staff.
Officers of the general staff and superior officers attached thereto, to be
detailed by order of the chief of the general staff.
One captain of engineers.
One officer as superintendent of office work.
Two noncommissioned officers as clerks.
Two printers.
ATTACHED TO THE STAFF.
One aid-de-camp and three orderly officers of the corps commander, the
latter to be mounted, if necessary, on public horses.
One officer and four enlisted men as bicyclists.
One officer of the railway and telegraph regiment, mounted on a public
horse, in charge of the telephone detachment.
Gendarme detachment : One captain and six field gendarmes, mounted
on public horses, and four dismounted gendarmes of the imperial royal or
of the royal Hungarian gendarmerie.
310 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Field poet office : Two officials, one driver, and one servant of the imperial
royal or of the royal Hungarian post office department; one noncommis-
sioned officer as clerk and one private as orderly.
One subaltern of the train as commandant of the train of corps head-
quarters.
The commander of the staff infantry as post commandant.
One commissary officer, mounted on a public horse.
The commander of the staff cavalry as billeting officer.
One chief quartermaster, mounted on a public horse.
Two officials of the quartermaster's department, mounted on public
horses.
Two noncommissioned officers as clerks and one civil commissioner for
the office of the chief quartermaster.
ASSISTANTS.
For artillery affairs: One artillery brigadier, with his adjutant general.
For pioneer affairs: The commandant of the pioneer detachment
attached to the corps, with his adjutant.
For train affairs : The field officer or captain of the train troops as corps
train commandant, with his adjutant.
For medical affairs: One corps chief surgeon, mounted on a public
horse.
TRAIN.
One veterinarian.
One mounted sergeant as staff wagon master
STAFF TBOOPS.
Infantry: One officer and 25 men.
Cavalry: See Article 111, next to last paragraph.
Appendix 6. — Headquarters of a division, including the headquarters of
its two brigade*.
Division commander.
Two brigade commanders.
STAFF.
One chief of staff.
One captain of the general staff and the officers attached to the staff, to
be detailed by order of the chief of the general staff.
Four noncommissioned officers as clerks, including one for each brigade.
Two printers.
ATTACHED TO THE STAFF.
Four orderly officers, including one for each brigade commander, to be
mounted, if necessary, on public horses.
Five enlisted men (noncommissioned officers or privates), including one
for each brigade, as bicyclists.
Gendarme detachment: Three field gendarmes, mounted on pnblic
horses, and three dismounted field gendarmes of the imperial royal or of
the royal Hungarian gendarmerie.
MANEUVERS. 311
Field post offices: Two officials, one driver, and one servant, of the
imperial royal or of the royal Hungarian post office department ; one non-
commissioned officer as clerk and one private as orderly.
One subaltern of the train as commandant of the train of division head-
quarters, eventually of the combined fighting train.
One division commissary, mounted on a public horse.
One mounted sergeant as staff wagon master.
The commander of the staff infantry as post commandant.
One commissary, mounted on public horse, for headquarters.
The commandant of the staff cavalry as billeting officer.
Quartermaster's department: One chief quartermaster, mounted on a
public horse ; one assistant quartermaster, mounted on a public horse ; one
noncommissioned officer as clerk.
One captain of the train as division train commandant.
One division chief surgeon, mounted on a public horse.
STAFF TROOPS.
Infantry : One officer, 15 men.
Cavalry : See Article III, next to last paragraph.
(The composition of the headquarters of a cavalry division is the same
as that of the headquarters of an infantry division, except that the former
has six instead of four orderly officers ; one officer in charge of the cavalry
telegraph service; one officer in charge of the technical service; three
noncommissioned officers as trumpeters, including one for each brigade
commander; four instead of three mounted, and two instead of three dis-
mounted field gendarmes ; and one instead of two civilian officials of the
post office department. )
Appendix 7. — Distribution of maps.
To each army and corps headquarters, four maps of the scale of 1 : 750, (XX) ;
fifty of the scale of 1 : 200, 000, and fifty-five of the scale of 1 : 75, 000.
To each division headquarters, three maps of the scale of 1:750,000,
thirty of the scale of 1 -.200,000, and four of the scale of 1 : 75,000.
To each brigade headquarters, one map of the scale of 1 : 750,000 and four
of the scale of 1 : 200,000.
To each infantry, cavalry, and artillery regimental commandant, to each
telephone detachment, two maps of the scale of 1 : 200,000.
To each cavalry squadron, five maps of the scale of 1 : 200,000.
To each battalion, group of three squadrons (called a division), com-
pany, battery, cavalry pioneer platoon, cavalry telegraph patrol, war
bridge equipage, division ammunition park, division hospital, brigade
hospital, field post office, transportable field-bakery section, each infantry
and cavalry brigade subsistence column, one map of the scale of 1 : 200,000.
The balloon detachments and the infantry telegraph patrols will be fur-
nished with the necessary maps by the army and infantry division com-
manders, respectively.
Appendix 8. — Train.
The commanders, troops, and establishments will be provided with the
following transportation, beginning with the evening of September 11.
Army headquarters: One four-horse office wagon and one two-horse
passenger wagon for the field post office ; three passenger, five baggage,
and five commissary two-horse country wagons ; one automobile.
312 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
Corps headquarters : One f onr-horse postal wagon, one automobile, and
the same number and kind of country wagons as for an army headquarters.
Division headquarters: The same number and kind of postal wagons as
for an army headquarters ; one passenger, three baggage, and three com-
missary two-horse country wagons, and, for a cavalry division, one
automobile.
Independent brigade headquarters: One passenger, one baggage, and
one commissary two-horse country wagons; one four-horse and one two-
horse postal wagons.
Infantry regiment of four (or three) battalions: One passenger, nine
(or seven) baggage, and nine (or seven) commissary two-horse country
wagons.
Independent battalion : One passenger two baggage, and two commis-
sary two-horse country wagons.
Cavalry regiment: Six two-horse squadron baggage wagons; one
baggage and fourteen commissary two-horse country wagons.
Artillery regiment of sixteen (or thirty-two) guns: Nine baggage and
four (or eight) commissary two-horse country wagons.
Horse-battery division (two batteries) : Four baggage and four commis-
sary two-horse country wagons. The batteries of artillery may use old-
model rack wagons instead of country wagons in the ratio of one of the
former to two of the latter.
Pioneer company: Two four-horse wagons for material and one four-
horse wagon for company baggage; one baggage and one commissary
two-horse country wagons.
Pontoon train: Thirty -two four-horse and twelve six-horse bridge-
equipage wagons.
Each division and brigade hospital : Two four-horse ambulances. Of
the two wagons of a field hospital, one will be used for medical supplies
and the other as an ambulance.
Division ammunition park : Six four-horse battalion ammunition wagons,
to be taken from the extra stores of the artillery.
Corps telephone detachment: Four passenger, four material, and four
station two-horse country wagons.
Field balloon detachment: Six gas, one balloon, and one cable four-
horse completely equipped wagons, the horses for which will be furnished
by the military aeronautical establishment ; one baggage and one commis-
sary two-horse country wagons. For the necessary transportation of the
reserve material from the railway station, fourteen country wagons will
be employed.
Movable field-bakery section: Six four-horse field ovens, drawn by
country horses; one passenger two-horse country wagon and three freight
automobiles.
Each brigade subsistence column : One passenger and one baggage two-
horse country wagons.
The country passenger wagons assigned to dismounted troops, subsist-
ence columns, and field-bakery sections are intended for such surgeons,
accountants, and commissary employees as are not mounted.
One of the three passenger wagons assigned to each army and to each
corps headquarters is intended for the civil personnel of the field post office.
MANEUVERS. 313
Appendix 9. — Subsistence train.
This train will be formed on the evening of September 11, as follows:
Army headquarters: Two wagons in echelon No. 1 and three in echelon
No. 2.
Corps headquarters: Two wagons in echelon No. 1 and two in echelon
No. 2.
Division headquarters, including its two brigade-headquarters: One
wagon in echelon No. 1 and two in echelon No. 2.
Independent brigade headquarters: One wagon in echelon No. 1.
Infantry regiment of four (or three) battalions: Six (or four) wagons
in echelon No. 1, one wagon in echelon No. 2.
Independent battalion: Two wagons in echelon No. 1.
Staff of a cavalry regiment, including its two divisions, pioneer platoon
and telegraph patrol: One wagon in echelon No. 1, one wagon in echelon
No. 2.
Cavalry squadron: Two wagons in echelon No, 1, three wagons in
echelon No. 2.
Artillery regiment of sixteen (or thirty-two) guns: Four (or six)
wagons in echelon No. 1, five (or nine) in echelon No. 2.
Horse battery division (two batteries) : Four wagons in echelon No. 1,
six wagons in echelon No. 2.
Pioneer company : One wagon in each echelon.
Half of a light bridge equipage : One wagon in each echelon.
Bridge equipage: One wagon in echelon No. 1, two wagons in echelon
No. 2.
Movable field bakery: One wagon in echelon No. 1.
Infantry and cavalry brigade subsistence columns : The wagons that
belong to their respective commands and organizations.
All the wagons enumerated above are two-horse country wagons.
Echelon No. 1 carries one field ration of food and of oats per man and
horse, respectively ; echelon No. 2 carries two field rations of oats per
horse.
The wagons of echelon No. 1, for independent brigade and battalions
and for the field -bakery sections, will carry, besides one field ration of
food and oats per man and horse, respectively, two field rations of oats per
horse.
The country wagon transportation of the army and the corps head-
quarters will be attached to an infantry subsistence column.
The field rations of food and of oats of the division and brigade hospitals,
division ammunition parks, telephone detachments, and field balloon de-
tachments will be carried, respectively, by the country wagon transporta-
tion of the division and brigade headquarters, artillery regiments, corps
headquarters, and army headquarters.
So far as practicable, officers or cadets of the train troops will be assigned
to the echelons as train commandants.
The teams of the echelons will be discharged immediately after deliver-
ing the supplies they carry to the troops. This condition must be under-
stood when civilian transportation is engaged.
314 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Appendix 10.— Distribution of the instructions in detail for the grand
maneuvers in western Hungary in 1902.
To the first corps, 40 copies.
To the second corps, 110 copies.
To the third corps, 10 copies.
To the fourth corps, 10 copies.
To the fifth corps, 80 copies.
To the sixth, seventh, eighth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth, and fifteenth
corps, 8 copies each.
To the ninth, tenth, and fourteenth corps, and the military command
of Zara, 5 copies each.
To the Austrian and Hungarian ministries of national defense, 40 copies
each.
To each army, corps, and division commander taking part in the
maneuvers, 8 copies ; to each brigade commander, 1 copy ; to each inde-
pendent detachment, 2 copies. The remainder will be delivered to the
corps commanders as a reserve.
While many of the details in the preceding instructions are
of no interest to us, their full translation has been made with
a view to demonstrating the painstaking care with which the
preparations for the grand maneuvers are made by the gen-
eral staff. They may also be of interest in the way of reference
and comparison when considering the orders for maneuvers
in our own country. While it may be objected that it would
not be practicable or wise in time of war for a general staff to
concern itself with details that should be left to the com-
manders of troops and to the chiefs of the auxiliary services,
yet it must be remembered that the maneuvers of this year,
in which about 100,000 combatants and noncombatants par-
ticipated, were carried out without a hitch on account of all
these apparently insignificant details having been previously •
provided for by the general staff. The army is accustomed
to their repetition in the autumn maueuvers, year after year.
The general staff is efficient and sufficiently large for the
mobilization of the army. It should not, therefore, be hastily
concluded that such orders would not be practicable for the
army of this country in case of war.
The following is a translation of the general orders for the
maneuvers of this year :
GENERAL ORDERS OF THE MANEUVER DIRECTION FOR THE
GRAND MANEUVERS IN WESTERN HUNGARY, 1902.
1. Division of time.
September 10 : Troops take their positions for the beginning of hostile
relations.
September 11 : Rest.
MANEUVERS. 315
September 12: Reconnoissance and advance under warlike conditions.
September 13: Maneuvers.
September 14: Rest.
September 15: Maneuvers.
September 16: Maneuvers.
September 17: Discussion.
2. Execution of the maneuvers.
The hostile relations of the armies will begin at noon on September 11,
and continue until the end of the maneuvers. At this hour the informa-
tion detachments and patrols will set out.
Movements and changes of position of troops on days of rest will not
take place.
The service of information and security will be continued unbroken
throughout the maneuvers.
The announcement by the maneuver direction or by the umpires of the
establishment of lines limiting the operations of the armies will be
equivalent to an order for the cessation of the combat conformably to
warlike conditions.
These limiting lines are those along which the outposts may be placed ;
however, commanders will be at liberty to select lines for their outposts
farther to the rear.
With the exception of the reconnoitering detachments and patrols, no
one, without the approval of the maneuver direction, will be permitted to
cross the limiting lines toward the enemy before the morning following
the day on which they are fixed.
Special attention is invited to the sparing of the numerous plantations
of young pines south of the Miava and between the March and the large
forests, and also of those near Bur Szt. Miklos and Bur Szt. Peter and
extending as far as Laksar Ujfalu. On account of the furrows freshly
made for the setting out of the pines and of these young plantations often
having the appearance of badly cultivated sandy fields, it is sometimes
difficult to recognize such plantations.
The close of the maneuvers for this year will be indicated at the termi-
nation of the exercises on the last maneuver day by a trumpet call sounded
by order of the emperor.
Sasvar may be occupied by troops in so far as such occupation will not
interfere with the quartering of the maneuver direction.
Special instructions will be published by the maneuver direction for the
night dispositions of the troops on September 16, as well as for the
marches on September 17 to the entraining stations.
J. Communication.
Unavoidable communication with an enemy will be sent under a flag of
truce. No other kind of communication between the armies will be per-
mitted. This also applies to communication with the maneuver direction,
in case the latter happens to be in the territory of the opposing force.
The officers of the maneuver direction, the umpires and the assistant
umpires, the reporters, and the orderlies of ail these officers may move at
any time and in any direction unhindered.
316 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The state and railway telegraph lines in the theater of the maneuvers
maybe used at all times for reports to the maneuver direction. For other
official purposes, however, the two armies may use those sections only of
the lines that lie in rear of the outposts of their respective forces. With
these exceptions all telegraph lines will be considered destroyed.
4. Reports, notes, etc., to the maneuver direction.
The maneuver direction will exercise superior authority over both armies.
Its headquarters will be established in Sasvar.
The distribution of orders by the maneuver direction will take place
daily at 6 o'clock p. m., beginning with September 12. An officer from
each army headquarters will report at this time for orders ( * * Service Regn-
lations, Part 2," par. 4), provided these headquarters be located at a dis-
tance not greater than 12 kilometers from Sasvar. Besides these officers,
one officer from each corps, independent infantry division, and independent
brigade will report for orders on the 15th of September, whatever the
distance may be.
Copies of the orders in the form prescribed for the field will be made in
duplicate, one copy being intended for his imperial and royal apostolic
majesty, and will be sent in by the army commanders, and, on the 11th
and 12th of September, by the cavalry commanders also, as follows:
For the 11th and 12th of September, by noon, September 10;
For the 13th and 16th of September, by 6 o'clock p. m. on the day pre-
ceding each of these dates ;
For the 15th of September, by 10 o'clock a. m., September 14.
For the purposes of the discussion at the close of the maneuvers, the
commanders of corps and of divisions, as well as the commanders of the
larger independent groups, will send directly to the maneuver direction
daily and at the earliest possible hour,- beginning with September 11, one
copy of their orders in the form prescribed for the field.
Furthermore, the army commanders will report, immediately after the
cessation of the battle on. the 15th of September, the objects they will
endeavor to accomplish on the following day.
Any changes in the orders sent in will be reported immediately, if neces-
sary, by telegraph.
Sketches of the night dispositions from the 10th to the 11th of September
will be sent in by the army, corps, independent division, and independent
brigade commanders by noon on September 10; on other days, immediately
after the issue of the night orders. These sketches must clearly show the
position of the outposts, the localities in which the troops are quartered
and camped, the location of the corps and division headquarters, and, when
possible, the situation of the detachments advanced on the service of
information.
Beginning with the 10th of September, morning reports will be prepared
and will be delivered to the maneuver direction at the earliest practicable
hour. Those for September 10 will reach the maneuver direction by noon
on that day.
Under the heading "Special remarks" will be mentioned whether or
not the rations were delivered promptly, whether any individual organi-
zations were very late with their cooking, and, if so, why, and the condition
of the trains.
MANEUVERS. 317
The morning reports will show the actual strength on the day for which
they are prepared and, therefore, will not be handed in, as a rule, before
the afternoon or night of the preceding day.
Should events requiring immediate attention, or events of urgent inter-
est to the maneuver direction, be mentioned under the heading "Special
remarks, " they should be copied from the morning reports and reported
by telegraph to the maneuver direction.
Reports and sketches of positions and brief notes of the battle will be
made as required by the instructions of the " Service Regulations, Part 2,''
pars. 349 and 889. The brief notes of the battle will be submitted by
6 o'clock p. m.
The battle reports of the army commanders, with detailed sketches of
the night dispositions, sketches of the situation of the corps from hour to
hour on the march and in battle, the reports of the different organizations
of each corps, the reports in detail of the troops and balloon detachments
on the engagements, and all reports, etc., concerning the enemy will be
arranged according to date and forwarded to the chief of the general staff
by the 1st of November, this year.
In case countersigns are issued, they will be reported to the maneuver
direction.
5. Notes of the umpires and of the assistant umpires.
Special instructions will be published with regard to the sending in of
the notes and sketches of the umpires and of the assistant umpires.
6. Reporters.
Reporters will be assigned to the armies, corps, divisions, and indepen-
dent brigades.
The "Instructions" relating to this subject contain the particulars con-
cerning their duties.
The orders contained in the preceding Articles 4 and 5 are not hereby
amended.
7. Discussion.
The army, corps, division, and brigade commanders, with their chiefs of
staff and the chiefs of the operations divisions of their respective head-
quarters, the umpires, the assistant umpires, and the reporters will attend
the discussion.
In order that all action coming into question in the discussion may be
clearly explained, all important notes, orders, reports, etc., will be brought
along, so far as it is practicable to do so, by those attending the discussion.
8. Conventional signs, time.
In all graphic representations, the troops of the Western army will be
indicated in blue, and those of the Eastern army in red.
Watches will be regulated by Central European time.
The troops participating in the maneuvers were divided
into two groups, one being designated the "Western army
group," and the other the "Eastern army group," which, for
318 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
brevity, will be referred to, respectively, as the Western army
and the Eastern army. The first is designated a group,
because, as will be seen from the hypothesis, it was composed
of the corps forming the left wing of the main army to which
it was supposed to belong; the second was so designated
because it was composed of a number of divisions on the
march to join the main army to which they were supposed to
belong.
HYPOTHESIS FOR THE WESTERN ARMY.
(See any general map of Austria-Hungary.)
The main army to which the Western army belongs is
advancing from Moravia against the enemy's main force
occupying the left bank of the Danube at Vienna and Tulln.
Several of the enemy's divisions of infantry, with advanced
cavalry, on the march from Upper Hungary to join their
main army on the Danube, are to reach the line Ungarisch
Brod-Waag Neustadt on the 9th of September.
The Western army, formed from the corps of the left wing
of its own army, receives orders to attack these divisions,
which form the Eastern army, and to drive them back into
Waag Thai.
HYPOTHESIS FOR THE EASTERN ARMY.
(See any general map of Austria-Hungary. )
The enemy is advancing from Moravia toward the Danube
and the left wing of his main force is to reach the district of
Mistelbach and Nikolsburg on the 9th of September. The
main army, to which the Eastern army belongs, is posted on
the left bank of the Danube at Vienna and Tulln and will
oppose the enemy's advance.
The Eastern army, advancing from Upper Hungary, receives
orders to attack the left wing of the enemy's main army and
to draw upon itself the greatest possible force.
ORGANIZATION OF THE WESTERN ARMY.
Commander: His Imperial and Eoyal Highness General
Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of Austria-
Hungary.
Chief of staff : A major general of the general staff.
MANEUVERS. 319
SECOND CORPS.
Commander: General Count Uxhull-Gyllenband.
Chief of staff : A colonel of the general staff.
Artillery brigade commander : A major general.
Twenty-fifth infantry division : Commander, His Imperial
and Royal Highness Lieutenant General Archduke Leopold
Salvator; 16 battalions of infantry, 2£ squadrons, 1G guns
Forty-ninth infantry brigade : 9 battalions of infantry.
Fiftieth infantry brigade : 7 battalions of infantry.
Forty-seventh infantry division : Commander, Lieutenant
General Fischer-Colbrie : 13 battalions, 2 squadrons, 16 guns.
Nineteenth infantry brigade: 7 battalions.
Ninety-fourth infantry brigade : 6 battalions.
The second corps therefore consisted of 29 battalions of
infantry, 4J squadrons of cavalry, and 32 guns in its two
divisions. Its total strength was 29 battalions, 4± squadrons,
48 guns, 2 pioneer companies, 1 light bridge equipage, and 1
telephone detachment.
COMBINED CORPS.
Commander : Lieutenant General Schonaich.
Chief of Staff : A colonel of the general staff.
Artillery brigade commander: A major general.
Fourth infantry division (in the regular organization of the
army, this division belongs to the second corps, which is
stationed in Vienna, and which is the only one of the fifteen
corps that has three divisions of infantry): Commander,
Lieutenant General Von Vivenot; 16 battalions, 2 squadrons,
16 guns.
Seventh infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
Eighth infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
Thirteenth Austrian landwehr infantry division: Com-
mander, Lieutenant General Von Steinitz; 12 battalions, 2
squadrons, 16 guns.
Twenty-fifth Austrian landwehr infantry brigade : 6 bat-
talions.
Twenty-sixth Austrian landwehr infantry brigade : 6 bat-
talions.
The total strength of the combined corps was 28 battalions,
4 squadrons, 48 guns, 2 pioneer companies, 4 bridge equi-
pages, and 1 telephone detachment.
320 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
THIRD CAVALRY DIVISION.
Commander : His Imperial and Royal Highness Lieutenant
General Archduke Otto.
Chief of staff : A lieutenant colonel of the general staflf.
Eighth cavalry brigade: 12£ squadrons.
Tenth cavalry brigade: 11£ squadrons.
Total strength of the division : 24 squadrons, 12 guns (horse
artillery).
Total strength of the Western army: 57 battalions of
infantry, 32£ squadrons of cavalry, 108 guns, 4 pioneer com-
panies, 5 bridge equipages, 2 telephone detachments, and
1 balloon detachment.
ORGANIZATION OF THE EASTERN ARMY.
Commander: His Imperial and Royal Highness General
Archduke Friedrich.
Chief of staff : A major general.
FIFTH CORPS.
Commander : Lieutenant General Von Pitreich.
Chief of staff : A colonel of the general staff.
Artillery brigade commander: A major general.
Fourteenth infantry division : Commander, Lieutenant
General Baron Von Kraus ; 12battalions, 3 squadrons, 16 guns.
Twenty-seventh infantry brigade : 4 battalions.
Twenty-eighth infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
Thirty-third infantry division: Commander, Lieutenant
General Nitlos; 14 battalions, 3± squadrons, 16 guns.
Sixty-fifth infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
Sixty-sixth infantry brigade : 6 battalions.
Total strength of the fifth corps : 26 battalions, 6i squadrons,
48 guns, 2 pioneer companies, half of alight bridge equipage,
and 1 telephone detachment.
In addition to the fifth corps, the Eastern army contained
two separate infantry divisions, not organized as a corps, and
a cavalry division.
FIFTH INFANTRY DIVISION.
(In the regular organization of the army, this division
belongs to the first corps.)
Commander: Lieutenant General Baron Von Mertens; 16
battalions, 4± squadrons, 32 guns.
Ninth infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
Tenth infantry brigade : 8 battalions.
MANEUVERS. 321
THIRTY-SEVENTH HUNGARIAN LANDWEHR INFANTRY DIVISION.
Commander: Lieutenant General de Felso Eor; 13 battal-
ions, 3 squadrons, 16 guns.
Seventy-third Hungarian landwehr infantry brigade: 7
battalions.
Seventy-fourth Hungarian landwehr infantry brigade: 6
battalions.
SECOND CAVALRY DIVISION.
Commanaer: Lieutenant General Count Attems; 24 squad-
rons, 12 guns (horse artillery).
Sixteenth cavalry brigade: ll£ squadrons.
Seventeenth cavalry brigade: 12£ squadrons.
Total strength of the Eastern army: 55 battalions of
infantry, 37£ squadrons of cavalry, 92 guns, 2 pioneer com-
panies, half of a bridge equipage, 1 telephone detachment,
and 1 balloon detachment.
On the 14th of September, the ninety-second Austrian land-
wehr infantry brigade was ordered from Gaya to reenforce
the Western army. This brigade consisted of 6 battalions.
There were, therefore, altogether 118 battalions of infantry,
69£ squadrons of cavalry, 200 guns, 6 pioneer companies, 5i
bridge equipages, 3 telephone detachments, and 2 balloon
detachments, besides the regulation supply and medical serv-
ices participating in, the maneuvers of this year.
Each cavalry regiment has a pioneer platoon, which is equal
in strength to one-fourth of a squadron. This accounts for
the fractions in the above number of squadrons
The military attaches were invited to attend the grand
maneuvers, but not the preliminary exercises or the discus-
sion at the close of the maneuvers.
The following-named countries were represented at the
maneuvers by military attaches or by officers specially
appointed for this purpose, the rank of the foreign officers
being indicated after the names of their respective countries :
Egypt : One major.
France : One major of artillery, military attach^.
Germany : The Crown Prince of Germany, with one colonel
and one first lieutenant; one major of the general staff, mili-
tary attach*?.
Great Britain : One lieutenant colonel of artillery, military
attach^.
829 21
322 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Italy : One lieutenant colonel of the general staff, military
attach^.
Japan : One major of infantry, military attache.
Norway : One captain.
Roumania: One lieutenant colonel of engineers; one major
of artillery, military attach^.
Eussia: One colonel of the general staff, military attache;
one lieutenant colonel of the general staff, assistant military
attach^.
Servia: One colonel.
Switzerland : One lieutenant colonel of artillery and one
lieutenant colonel of infantry.
Turkey: One general, military attach^; one lieutenant
colonel of the general staff, assistant military attach^.
United States of America : One captain of cavalry, military
attach^.
All these officers arrived at Sasvar on the evening of Septem-
ber 1 1 . They were transported from Vienna in a special train
furnished by the government. As is customary in all Euro-
pean States, they were quartered, mounted, and provided with
orderlies at the expense of the state and had all their meals
at the emperor's table.
THEATER OF OPERATIONS.
The part of the theater of operations with which this '
report is concerned is bounded on the north by a line drawn
through Gaya and Ungarisch Brod; on the east by the Waag
river; on the south by a line passing through Tyrnau, Rohr-
bach, andDiirnkrut ; on the west by the line Mistelbach, Nikols-
burg. All fighting of any great importance took place in the
space bounded on the north by the Chvojnica Eiver; on the
east by the Miava River; on the south by the Miava River
as far west as Sasvar, then by the forest extending south and
west and that town to the March River; on the west, by the
March River.
In the eastern part of the theater of operations are found
the Weisse Karpaten Mountains to the north and the Kleine
Karpaten Mountains to the south, with a number of high-
ways and numerous narrow wagon roads and trails leading
through and between them. The highest point of these
mountains, within the theater as limited above, is about 3,000
feet above the level of the sea, while their average height is
MANEUVERS. 323
about 1,200 feet. The country descends from these moun-
tains in a succession of hills and valleys to the March.
After the March was crossed by the Western army there
were no obstacles of any great difficulty between the oppos-
ing forces. The means of lateral communication between the
wings of each army were favorable. The location of the
highways and the configuration of the country, as well as
the object to be accomplished, favored the concentration of
the Eastern army toward Szobotist and Szenicz, on the Malina
River. The district immediately west of the line joining
these two points became the scene of all the important
engagements of the maneuvers.
This field was an ideal one for tactical exercises on a large
scale. It is an unfenced, hilly, and generally open country,
the highest point being about 900 feet above the level of the
sea, and the slopes of the hills being sufficiently easy for the
movement of all arms in any direction. It abounds in favor-
able points for extensive views and in excellent artillery posi-
tions. The soil is of such a character that artificial cover
could be hastily constructed for foot troops and guns. The
valleys and depressions generally enabled commanders to
hold their reserves where they were screened from the view
and fire of the enemy.
Of the numerous villages and hamlets in the theater of
operations, the most important of the former are Bur Szt.
Miklos, Sasvar, Egbell, Holies, Verbocz, Szobotist, and
Szenicz. To the north are the towns of Goding, Skalitz, and
Strassnitz; to the east, Miava; to the southeast, Tyrnau; to
the west, Lundenburg. Sasvar, where the emperor and his
staff, the maneuver direction, the military attaches, etc., were
quartered, has a population of 2,500.
SITUATION OF THE TWO ARMIES AT THE BEGINNING OF WAR-
LIKE CONDITIONS.
All troops were to reach, on the evening of September 10,
the positions that they were to occupy at the beginning of
hostile relations between the two armies.
WESTERN ARMY.
At the time above mentioned, the second corps was located
at Prinzendorf ; the combined corps at Nikolsburg; the third
cavalry division at Hohenau, with a part of its line of outposts
beyond the March.
324 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
EASTERN ARMY.
At this time, the fifth corps was located at Miava; the
fifth infantry division at Strassnitz ; the thirty-seventh land-
wehr infantry division at Pistyan; the second cavalry divi-
sion at Szenicz, with its outline of outposts pushed forward to
Stepano and Bur Szt. Peter.
The 11th of September was a day of rest for all troops until
, noon. At that hour the service of information began in both
armies. The main bodjr of each army rested the entire day.
EXTRACT FROM THE ORDERS FOR RECONNOISSANCE OK THE
11TH ANI> 1STH OF SEPTEMBER.
WESTERN ARMY.
For the reconnoissance of the territory between the March,
on the west ; the line Strassnitz, Ungarisch Brod, on the north ;
the Waag, on the east, and the line Diirnkrut, Tyrnau, on
the. south, the third cavalry division will send forward, at
noon on the 11th of September, reconnoitering detachments,
which will reach on that day the line Egbell, Sasvar, Laksar
Ujf alu, Bohrbach ; and on the 12th, the line Strassnitz, Miava,
Nadras.
The following information is to be obtained :
(a) The strength and distribution of the columns advancing
between the Kleinen and Weissen Karpaten.
(b) The strength and direction of march of the hostile
force advancing from Ung. Brod. It is very important to
learn as soon as possible whether this force is endeavoring to
form a junction with the main body by way of Welka and
Verbocz, or to reach Holies by way of Strassnitz.
The main body of the third cavalry division will cross the
March on the morning of the 12th and will advance into the
district Dojcs, Stepano, Bur Szt. Miklos.
The second corps will reconnoiter north as far as Egbell,
Unin, Holy Vrch; south, as far as Hohenau, Morva Szt.
* Janos, Blasenstein St. Peter.
The combined corps will reconnoiter north as far as Holies
and Verbocz.
The third cavalry division will send out at noon on the 11th
of September the following reconnoitering patrols :
No. 1 (i squadron of the fifth dragoons) : From Drossing
by Malaczka to Rohrbach; on the 12th, by Blasenstein St..
Peter to Nadas.
MANKUVERS. 325
No. 2 (1 squadron of the eighth uhlans): By Morva Szt.
Janos, Tomek M. to Laksar Ujfalu ; on the 12th, by Jablonicz
to Brezova, from which point it will reconnoiter toward
Verbo and Miava.
No. 3 (1 squadron of the eleventh dragoons) : By Morva Szt.
Janos to Sasvar ; on the 12th, by Szenicz to Szobotist, from
which point it will reconnoiter toward Verbocz and Miava.
No. 4 (1 squadron of the fifteenth dragoons) : By Kuklo to
Petersdorf ; on the 12th, by Holies to Strassnitz; at daybreak
on the 12th it will send a platoon from Petersdorf by Unin to
Holy Vrch as a post of observation.
Independent officers' reconnoitering patrols on the 11th of
September :
No. 1 (from the fifth dragoons): By Morva Szt. Janos,
Laksar Ujfalu to Brezova; on the 12th, to observe the roads
in the vicinity of Brezova.
No. 2 (from the eleventh dragoons) : By Morva Szt. Janos,
Sasvar, Szenicz, Szobotist; on the 12th, to observe the roads
toward Miava and Verbocz.
No. 3 (from the fifteenth dragoons) : By Morva Szt. Janos,
Petersdorf, Holies, Skalitz to Strassnitz; on the 12th, to
observe the road from Strassnitz to Holies.
All of these three patrols will note the night positions of
the enemy and will personally report upon them on the 12th.
EASTERN ARMY.
The second cavalry division will reconnoiter the district
between theThaya River and the highway Durnkrut, Schrick,
Mistelbach. Its reconnoitering detachments will proceed on
the 11th as far as the March River; on the 12th, as far as the
locality of the §nemy, or the road Nikolsburg, Schrick. The
main body will advance on the 12th by Hohenau toward Mis-
telbach and will hold the crossings over the March southeast
of Land shut, east of Hohenau, and east of Drosing. In
opposing the crossing of the March by the enemy the passage
of his main body over the river must be prevented or at least
delayed. In case of irresistible pressure by the enemy, the
division will retire toward Sasvar.
The fifth infantry division will reconnoiter both banks of
the March and the country to the west as far as Gaya and
Nikolsburg. The most advanced reconnoitering patrols will
endeavor to reach, on the 11th, the railway Nikolsburg,
Lundenburg, Broczko.
326 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
The thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division will com-
plete the reconnoissance of the second cavalry division as far
as Miava, toward the north; as far as Durnkrut and Ma-
laczka, toward the south; on the 11th, if possible, as far as
Blasenstein St. Peter.
The fifth corps will reconnoiter on both sides of its line of
march, will establish communication with the second cavalry
division, and may, if necessary, consolidate the divisional
cavalry.
The eleventh rifle battalion will proceed by Szenicz to Sas-
var, which point it will reach by noon on the 12th and where
it will be placed at the disposition of the commander of the
second cavalry division.
The commander of the second cavalry division will send for-
ward on the 11th the following reconnoitering detachments:
No. 1 (1 squadron of the sixth dragoons): From Dojcs by
Unin and Radimo towards Kopcsan; if possible, as far as
Teinitz; to continue on the 12th through Lundenburg toward
Feldsberg, leaving a strong post in Kopcsan.
Xo. 2 (t squadron of the sixth dragoons): To Broczko; on
the 12th, by Bernhardsthal to the cross roads west of Muhl-
borg (218).
No. 3 (1 squadron of the fourth hussars): To Szekelyfalu;
on the 12th, by Hohenau and Prinzendorf toward Mistelbach.
Should it not succeed in crossing the March, the bridge and
causeway at Hohenau will be constantly observed on the 12th
and during the forenoon of the 13th.
No. 4 ( L squadron of the eleventh hussars) : To Kis Levard;
on the 12th, by Jedenspeigen, or, if necessary, by Durnkrut
and Zistersdorf, toward Prinzendorf.
On the 12th, all detachments will set out at 5 o'clock a. m.
For the service of intercommunication there will be estab-
lished on the 11th of September:
(a) One squadron of the ninth hussars, as a strong orderly
post, on the highway at the western entrance to Sasvar. None
of the enemy's horsemen will be allowed to pass this point.
(h) One-fourth squadron of the fourth hussars, as a strong
orderly post, toward Tomek Major, southwest of Sasvar.
There was also an orderly post of ten men at Rudolfshof, north
of KKbell.
MANEUVERS. 327
EXTRACT FROM THE ORDERS FOR THE 13TH OF SEPTEMBER.
(See map.)
WESTERN ARMY.
Object: From its initial position on the other side of the
March, the army is to assemble on a line approximately coin-
cident with that joining Sasvar and Holies and is then to
advance against the enemy in the general direction of Miava
and Brezova.
The army will advance from its initial position as follows :
(a ) The third cavalry division, on general reconnoitering
service, according to special orders.
(6) The second corps by Hohenau into the district Sasvar,
Szmolinszko, Csari, and Bur Szt. Gyorgy, in such a way that
the march may be continued on the next day with one divi-
sion directed towards Petersdorf . The advance will begin in
time for the point of the advance guard to reach the bridge
of Hohenau at 8 o'clock a. m.
(c) The combined corps into the district Landshut, Kostitz,
and Lundenburg. The corps artillery to Lundenberg.
The second corps will send one battalion, at noon on the
11th of September, to occupy Morva Szt. Janos and Szekel-
f alu, for the purpose of covering the crossing of the cavalry
division and as a support for the reconnoitering detachments.
The ferry at Drosing will be held until the evening of the
12th by half a company.
The combined corps will prepare to cross the March, on a
broad front, early on the morning of the 13th, by means of
bridges or by fording, at the above Broczko. The railway
bridge will be utilized, so far as it is practicable to do so, in
the crossing. Two battalions of this corps will be sent for-
ward to Lundenburg at noon on the 11th of September.
Army headquarters, until 5 o'clock a. m. on the 12th, at
Mistelbach ; then by Zistersdorf to Morva Szt. Janos.
The third cavalry division will be assembled, on the 12th
of September, on the highway at the western entrance to
Morva Szt. Janos, with the fifteenth dragoons as advanced
guard and with the main body 1,000 paces in rear of the
latter. The advance of the division will begin at a quarter
past 7 o'clock a. m.
328 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
EASTERN ARMY.
Object: To continue offensive operations toward Mistel-
bach.
Points to be reached on the 12th :
By the fifth infantry division : Holies and Kapcsan. This
division will seize the crossings in the vicinity of Goding and
Kapcsan and will send a detachment to Broczko.
By the fifth corps: Szenicz and vicinity, one division;
Szobotist and the villages immediately west of that town, one
division.
By the thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division : Jablo-
nicz and Hradischt.
Army headquarters will leave Miava at 7 o'clock a. m., and
will march to Szenicz.
The second cavalry division will be assembled, on the 12th,
at Bozek, with the fifth dragoons as advance guard and with
the head of the main body 1,000 paces west of that town.
The advance of the division will begin at half past 6 o'clock
a. m.
DETAILS OF THE OPERATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 18, CAVALRY
BATTALION OF KUKLO.
The third cavalry division passed the night from Septem-
ber 11 to September 12 in the vicinity of Hohenau, and the
second cavalry division in the vicinity of Szenicz.
The eleventh rifle battalion, attached to the second cavalry
division, reached Szenicz on the morning of the 12th, after a
night march, from which point it was hurried to the front,
in wagons, and was placed between the support and the
reserve of the advance guard.
The third cavalry division reached Bur Szt. Gyorgy before
8 o'clock a. m. on the 12th, and the division commander,
the Archduke Otto, there made the following dispositions for
the attack of the enemy, now known to be advancing on the
road from Sasvar toward Hohenau.
The advanced guard, consisting of the fifteenth dragoons,
with two guns, to proceed north of the above-named road and
toward Kuklo, with the object of deceiving the enemy as to
the direction of the main attack. As an offensive right flank,
the eleventh dragoons, with the rest of the artillery, was sent
out on the road leading to the southeast from Bur Szt.
Gyorgy, with the elevation 184 as its point of direction. The
MANEUVERS. 329
. main attack was to be delivered by the eighth uhlans and the
fifth dragoons, formed in one line and advancing between the
highway and the wood southeast of Knklo.
The second cavalry division reached Sasvar about half past
7 o'clock a. m. on the 12th, and, after proceeding some dis-
tance beyond that town, on the road leading toward Hohenau,
the commander, Lieutenant General Count Attems, learned
that the enemy was approaching north and south of the road
from Bur Szt. Gyorgy to Kuklo. He decided to attack, and
accordingly issued the following orders :
One brigade (the fifth and eleventh hussars), in one line,
to deliver the main attack, its point of direction being the
church tower of Bur Szt. Gyorgy; the fourth hussars in
the second line, to the left ; the sixth dragoons in the third
line, to the right and in prolongation of the line occupied by
the horse batteries, which were posted on a low ridge at the
edge of the wood about 1,000 paces southeast of Kuklo.
The artillery of the third cavalry division was the first to
get into position, and, from the higher ground at the northern
edge of the wood directly south of Kuklo (elevation 171),
opened a most destructive fire against the attacking brigade
of the second cavalry division. At ^bout the same time that
this brigade met the principal shock of the enemy in front, it
was attacked on its left flank by the eleventh dragoons and
was defeated. The fourth hussars, forming the second line
to the left rear of the attacking brigade of the second cavalry
division, apparently accomplished nothing. The sixth dra-
goons, forming the third line to the right rear of this brigade,
charged and defeated the fifteenth dragoons of the third cav-
alry division. The latter regiment, it will be remembered,
had been sent forward on the northern side of the highway
from Bur Szt. Gyorgy to Kuklo.
In consequence of the defeat of the main body of the second
cavalry division, the retreat was ordered for the entire
division, which fell back through Sasvar to Morvaor. Its
retreat was covered by one company of riflemen, which had
advanced as far as Kuklo, and by its artillery. This com-
pany fell back to the edge of the wood west of Sasvar, where
the other three companies of the battalion of rifles attached
to the second cavalry division had been posted. This bat-
talion, with the assistance of the artillery, checked the pur-
suit by the third cavalry division, and the maneuvers for
that day were soon afterward te* urinated.
332 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
EASTERN ARMY.
The army will attack and drive back the enemy's forces
that have crossed the March.
The fifth corps will move forward, in the space between the
Miava on the one side and the road Csasztko, Unin, Lettnicz
on the other, toward Morvaor and Szmolinszko.
The second cavalry division will proceed to the vicinity of
Petersdorf, will maintain communication between the fifth
corps and the fifth infantry division, and will operate in
conjunction with the latter.
The fifth infantry division will march toward Petersdorl
and Egbell. In conjunction with the second cavalry division,
it will delay the advance of the enemy's forces by Broczko
toward the east. The principal object, however, will be to
support the fifth corps in battle by attacking with the. largest
force practicable. The advance will begin in time to cross
the line of outposts at 7 o'clock a. m.
The thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division will march
by Csacso and Szenicz and will reach N. Kovallo at 9 o'clock
a. m. It will send a detachment by Rothes Kreuz and Bur
Szt. Miklos in time to reach Sasvar by 12 o'clock m.
The field balloon will begin observations at N. Kovallo at
half past 5 o'clock a. m.
The headquarters of the army will march from Szenicz by
N. Kovallo to the elevation 258, where it will arrive at 8
o'clock a. m.
DETAILS OF THE OPERATIONS ON SEPTEMBER 13.
In compliance with the above orders, the second corps,
consisting of the twenty-fifth and forty-seventh infantry
divisions, took up the following positions :
One brigade of the twenty-fifth division, with the corps
artillery regiment, 16 guns, occupied the height of Barbaiki,
facing east; one brigade of the forty-seventh division, with
the division artillery regiment, 16 guns, was posted on the
heights south of Petersdorf and Lettnicz, facing north; the
second brigade of the forty-seventh division was placed in
echelon to the left and rear of the first as corps reserve. A
battalion of infantry and a regiment of cavalry were left in
Sasvar to oppose any attempt of the enemy's cavalry to pass
through that place toward the March. The second brigade
of the twenty-fifth division covered the right flank of the
MANEUVERS. 333
second corps on the height Vrch (272) and in the wood south
of Barbaiki.
The attack of the Eastern army was opened by the fifth
infantry division at Petersdorf and Lettnicz, about 8 o'clock
a. m., against the brigade of the forty-seventh infantry divi-
sion, in position on the heights south of those villages. The
fifth corps advanced with its thirty- third division on the
right, directed toward Lettnicz, and its fourteenth division on
the left, directed toward Barbaiki (305) and Vrch (272).
The fourteenth division was the first to come under the fire
of the enemy's artillery occupying the height of Barbaiki.
From this time until the deployment of the Eastern army,
the action was confined almost exclusively to the artillery.
The divisions of this army having reached their respective
positions in the line of battle about half past 9 o'clock a. m.,
the army commander ordered a general attack, hoping to de-
feat the second corps, notwithstaniding its strong position,
before the arrival of the combined corps on the field of action.
The second corps was at this time wholly dependent upon
itself. Being held in its position on Barbaiki by the four-
teenth division attacking in front, with the thirty-seventh
landwehr division threatening its right flank and with the
fifth and thirty- third divisions and the second cavalry division
attacking its left wing in front and on the flank, the result
-was inevitable. Although the brigade of the forty-seventh
division, holding the heights south of Petersdorf and Lettnicz,
had been reenforced by the corps reserve, the entire left wing
of the second corps was forced to abandon its position and
fall back to the height of Brezi (240) north of Szmolinszko.
The right wing of the second corps held tenaciously to the
height of Barbaiki, the commander of the Western army
evidently hoping each moment to see the head of the combined
corps appear in the open space about Egbell. So far as I
could observe or learn, no part of this corps reached the field
of battle before the close of the maneuvers for the day. About
12 o'clock in., the right wing (twenty-fifth division) of the
second corps was driven out of its position on Barbaiki and
in the adjacent wood to the southwest, and ordered to retire
to the height of Vinohradki, north of Morvaor. The victory
of the Eastern army was now complete and the lines of de-
marcation between the opposing forces were established by
the maneuver direction.
334 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
COMMENTS.
Through some mistake in transmitting orders, the combined
corps did not begin the crossing of the March before 8 o'clock
on the morning of September T3. In actual warfare this
would have been a fatal blunder, as the second corps was
overwhelmed by the attack on converging lines of the entire
Eastern army before the combined corps reached a position
from which it could fire a single shot at the enemy. If such
a mistake is possible in maneuvers, one may well ask if sim-
ilar or even greater ones, under the vastly more difficult
circumstances of actual war, might not be committed. It
would seem that, under the general orders above given, a
zealous and enterprising corps commander, separated by a
practically unfordable river from the other half of his own
army, the latter being in presence of an enemy twice its
strength, would not wait from the afternoon of one day until
8 o'clock on the morning of the next to begin the crossing of
that river to support the other half of the army in its
perilous situation.
Besides the railway bridge immediately in front of the com-
bined corps, the corps commander had at his disposition four
complete bridge equipages. With these facilities at hand for
crossing, with roads from J. H. Kadubek and Adamhof lead-
ing through the forest west of Egbell and converging toward
that point, it is still unaccountable that, even if the crossing
did not begin before 8 o'clock a. m., the head of the corps at
least was not able to engage the enemy in the vicinity of
Egbell by noon, the hour at which the maneuvers for the day
terminated. Egbell is only about 6 miles from the point at
which the corps crossed the March.
This was the great blunder of the maneuvers of this year.
Since the two corps of the Western army were assigned to
different sections of the March for crossing, the original mis-
take was made by the general staff in ordering the second
corps forward to Morvaor, on the left bank of the river, on
the 12th of September, and in leaving the combined corps at
Landshut, on the right bank, with orders to cross early on
the morning of the 13th. Such orders in actual war would
most likely result in disaster.
During the night, from the 12th to the 13th of September,
the fifth infantry division was cantoned at Holies, about 10
miles only from the points at which the combined corps crossed
MANEUVERS. 335
the March. By making a night march this division could
Iiave reached a position on the river from which it could have
prevented the crossing of the combined corps early on the
morning of the 13th of September, or at least delayed this
crossing until the second corps was defeated by the Eastern
army. The latter would still have had three divisions of
infantry, after detaching the fifth division, with which to
attack the two divisions of the second corps.
CANTONMENTS OF THE TWO ARMIES DURING THE NIGHT
FROM SEPTEMBER 18 TO SEPTEMBER 11.
WESTERN ARMY.
Third cavalry division : At and in the vicinity of Holies.
Combined corps: At and in the vicinity of Egbell and
Szmolinszko.
Second corps : At and in the vicinity of Csari, Kuklo, and
Bur Szt. Gyorgy.
EASTERN ARMY.
Fifth infantry division : At and in the vicinity of Radosocz.
Thirty-third infantry division (fifth corps): At Unin,
Petersdorf, and Lettnicz.
Fourteenth infantry division (fifth corps) : At and in the
vicinity of Szmrdak and Kovallo.
Thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division: At Stepano
aind Dojcs.
Second cavalry division : At and in the vicinity of Bur Szt.
Peter and Bur Szt. Miklos.
These localities were occupied, practically without change,
until the morning of September 15.
Sunday, September 14, was a day of rest. In addition to
the fighting of the 12th and 13th, the troops had been occupied
almost continuously for about three weeks in hard marches
and severe exercises preliminary to the grand maneuvers. A
day of rest on the 14th was essential, in order not to cause
unnecessary and unreasonable fatigue.
EXTRACT FROM THE ORDERS FOR THE 15TH OF SEPTEMBER.
WESTERN ARMY.
The army, reenforced by the ninety-second landwehr in-
fantry brigade, which has arrived at Holies, will resume the
advance against the line of Szobotist and Szenicz.
336 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The troops will move forward as follows :
The second corps, in the space between Sasvar and Szenicz,
on the south, and Lettnicz and Holy V., on the north.
The combined corps north of this space.
The ninety-second landwehr infantry brigade, with one
squadron of the third cavalry division, provisionally as far
as Radimo, where it will receive orders from the army com-
mander.
The third cavalry division, between the Chvojnica River
and the Unin woods, and will cover the left flank of the
army.
In case of an engagement, the direction of the interior
wings of the two corps will be Holy V.
The line of the outposts will be crossed by the heads of
columns at 7 o'clock a. m.
Army headquarters will be on the height Vinohrad, south
of Egbell, by 7 o'clock a. m., and will then march with the
combined corps.
EASTERN ARMY.
The army will continue the offensive on the 15th, and, with
this object in view, will advance as follows, the right wing
being placed in the first line :
The fifth corps, in the space between the road Unin, Peters-
dorf, and Egbell, on the north, and the line of the height 286
(south of Lettnicz) and M. H. (northeast of Szmolinszko),
on the south, toward Broczko ; the main body by Petersdorf .
The advanced guard will cross the line of outposts at 7 o'clock
a. m. One brigade of this corps will constitute the army
reserve, which will pass the west end of Unin at 7 o'clock
a. m., and will march by Petersdorf to Egbell.
The fifth infantry division will follow the fifth corps in
echelon to the right rear, and will cross the line of outposts
at Radimo at 7 o'clock a. m. The direction will be approxi-
mately that of Rudolfshof, north of Egbell.
The thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division will assem-
ble, ready for battle, on the heights of Barbaiki and Vrch,
and will move forward to Szmolinszko, in the direction of
Csari, regulating its march by the progress of the fifth corps.
The second cavalry division, upon Kuklo. It will cover
the left flank and will send a detachment to destroy the
bridge over the March at Hohenau.
MANEUVERS. 337
The field balloon will begin observations on the height 286,
south of Lettnicz, at half past 5 o'clock a. m.
Army headquarters will be on the height 286 at 7 o'clock
a. in.
I>ETAILS OF THE OPERATIONS ON THE 15TH OF SEPTEMBER,
BATTLE OF EOBELL.
The ninety-second landwehr infantry brigade arrived by
rail at Gaya on September 13 and on the morning of the 14th
was placed under the orders of the commander of the West-
ern army, who ordered it to proceed at once by marching to
Holies. This brigade had been held in readiness to reenforce
one or the other of the two armies, according to circum-
stances, in the course of the maneuvers. The time of this
reenforcement and the selection of the army that was to
receive it were determined by tbe general staff.
As the lines of outposts of the two armies had been not
more than about two miles distant from each other since
September 13, the battle of the 15th began from these lines
at about 7 o'clock in the morning. Each army commander
knew, and would doubtless have known in actual war, the
location and approximate composition and strength of his
adversary's forces.
The fifth corps of the Eastern army and the combined
corps of the Western army first came into collision. The
former was formed in three columns, each of one brigade
and one artillery regiment, the fourth brigade acting as army
reserve. The right brigade occupied the height 248, west of
Petersdorf; the center brigade, the height 262, south of
Petersdorf ; the left brigade, the height 266, extending the
line south in the direction of the height of Barbaiki (305).
The combined corps was deployed on a line extending
north and south through Egbell, the fourth division to the
north, and the thirteenth landwehr division on the height of
Vinohrad (261), to the south of that town. One brigade of
the forty-seventh division (second corps), with the division
artillery regiment, continued toward the south the line occu-
pied by the thirteenth landwehr division. These two posi-
tions of the opposing forces were separated by an open,
shallow valley inclosed between gently sloping hills.
On account of the strong position held at Egbell by the
Western army, the commander of the fifth corps could gain
829 22
338 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
no ground toward the front and was forced to suspend any
further attempt at a forward movement until the fifth
division should come into action on his right flank. Pending
the arrival of this division, the action on both sides was con-
fined almost entirely to the artillery.
The fifth division marched from Kadosocz and Vlcskovan
to Radimo, where it learned that the fourth division (com-
bined corps) was advancing in the direction of Breszti (255),
north of Petersdorf . The former was now obliged to change
its direction toward Breszti, thereby leaving a considerable
gap between itself and the fifth corps. On reaching Breszti
the fifth division was attacked in front and on its left flank
by the fourth division, and on its right flank by the ninety-
second landwehr brigade, which was marching from Holies
to Radimo. To relieve this critical situation of the fifth
division the commander of the Eastern army now threw his
reserve into the gap between the fifth division and the fifth
corps and ordered a general advance, the principal attack
being directed against the height of Vinohrad, south of
Egbell. But the fourteenth division, forming the left wing
of the fifth corps, met with such strong resistance that it
could make no progress toward the enemy's position, which
had been strengthened by bringing the army reserve into the
fighting line. The fifth division could no longer hold on to
its position at Breszti.
It was now about 9 o'clock a. m. and the Eastern army,
after two hours of hard fighting, had not succeeded in any
of its attacks. About this time the commander of the West-
ern army ordered a counter attack by his combined corps
and the ninety-second landwehr brigade in the direction of
Unin. This resulted in the defeat of the center and right of
the Eastern army.
During all this time, the thirty-seventh landwehr division,
forming the left wing of the Eastern army, had been able not
only to hold its own on the heights of Barbaiki (305) and
Vrch (272), but to gain some successes against the opposing
twenty-fifth division (second corps). This was the only part
of the battle of which I could see nothing from the high
ground about Petersdorf and Lettnicz. It is reported that
the second cavalry division, operating by way of Sasvar and
Morvaor, captured the enemy's corps artillery posted on the
height of Vinohradki (256), south of Szmolinszko.
MANEUVERS. 339
With the defeat of the enemy's center and right, the com-
mander of the Western army was able to direct the entire
second corps against the thirty-seventh landwehr division.
In consequence of this attack and of the uncovering of its
right flank by the defeat of the center and right of the Eastern
army, the thirty-seventh landwehr division was compelled to
abandon its position and join in the retreat of the rest of the
army. The retreat became general for the Eastern army
about 10 o'clock a. m. The Western army pursued in the
general direction of Szenicz until half past 12 o'clock p. m.
comment.
The maneuvers on this day consisted almost entirely of
exercises in grand tactics. Although the line of battle was
about nine miles in extent, the commanders were able, by
moving comparatively short distances, to observe most of the
course of the battle from certain commanding points. With
the knowledge possessed by each army commander of the
disposition of his adversary's forces, the excellent maps in
use and the generally open field, there could be few surprises*
The retreat and pursuit were carried out in a faultless man-
ner, the artillery playing a most important role in both.
CANTONMENTS OF THE TWO ARMIES DURING THE NIGHT
FROM THE 15TH TO THE 16TH OF SEPTEMBER.
WESTERN ARMY.
Ninety-second landwehr brigade : At Radimo.
Combined corps : At and in the vicinity of Egbell, Lett-
nicz, Petersdorf, and Rudolfshof.
Second corps : At and in the vicinity of Sasvar, Morvaor,
Bozek, and Stepano.
Third cavalry division : At and in the vicinity of Csari,
Kuklo, and Bur Szt. Gyorgy.
EASTERN ARMY.
Fifth corps: At and in the vicinity of Szobotist.
Fifth infantry division : At Roho, Rovenszko, and Ribek.
Thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division : At and in the
vicinity of Szenicz.
Second cavalry division : At and in the vicinity of Hluboka,
Csacso, and Kuno.
340 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
EXTRACT FROM THE ORDERS FOR THE 16TH OF SEPTEMBER.
WESTERN ARMY.
The enemy has been driven back beyond the line Radimo,
Unin, Dojcs.
Object : To pursue with the full strength of the left wing
and, if an opportunity presents itself, to renew the attack and
to force the enemy back into the mountains.
The array will advance as follows :
The second corps, with one division and a half, in the space
between the line of Sasvar and Hluboka, on the south, and
the line of N. Kovallo, Ribek, and Rovenszko, on the north.
The combined corps, with the ninety-second landwehr
infantry brigade attached, north of the last-named line.
The third cavalry division, in the direction of Szenicz. It
will cover the right flank of the army.
One brigade of the second corps will constitute the army
reserve. It will follow the combined corps in the direction
of Unin and Holy Vrch.
All columns will cross the line of outposts at 7 o'clock a. m.
The army reserve will set out at the same hour from the
southern extremity of Unin.
Army headquarters will be on the elevation south of Unin
at 7 o'clock a. m.
EASTERN ARMY.
Object: To hold the prepared position on the ridge east of
Rovenszko against the enemy.
Dispositions for the defense :
The thirty-seventh landwehr infantry division will occupy
that part of the ridge extending from the road from Rovenszko
to Kraty M. south to a point on the highway west of Kuno.
The fifth infantry division, with corps artillery regiment
No. 5, will occupy that part of the ridge from the road
Rovenszko-Kraty M. to the highway Szobotist-Csasztko.
Both divisions will be ready for battle at a quarter before
7 o'clock a. m.
The fifth corps will constitute the army reserve, and will
occupy the hills 430 and 424, 3 kilometers northwest from
Szobotist. It will be ready for a counter attack in the direc-
tion of Csasztko, and will take the necessary measures for
securing its right flank on the height 541 and for the proper
screening of its position. For this purpose, three squadrons
MANEUVERS. 341
from the fifth infantry division will be placed at its dispo-
sition.
The second cavalry division will cover the left flank of the
army and will operate against the right flank of the enemy.
It will cross the line of outposts at 7 o'clock a. m.
The position of the fifth and the thirty-seventh landwehr
infantry division will be fortified.
Army headquarters will be on the height 324, west of
Szobotist, at" 7 o'clock a. m.
DETAILS OF THE OPERATIONS ON THE 16TH OF SEPTEMBER.
The thirty -seventh landwehr infantry division, forming the
left wing of the Eastern army, had an advanced post of two
battalions at Csacso. The divisional artillery (thirteenth
regiment) was posted on the high ground 296, northwest of
Kuno. The fifth infantry division continued toward the
north, the line of defense occupied by the thirty-seventh
landwehr infantry division. The artillery of the fifth
division (second regiment) and that of the fifth corps (fifth
regiment) were posted on the high ground 324, southwest of
Szobotist. North of the fifth infantry division came the fifth
corps, with its fourteenth division on the left and its thirty-
third division on the right. It was concealed behind the
ridge running northwest from Szobotist to Kavran from
the view of the enemy. The height of Kavran (541), on the
extreme right flank, was occupied by a battalion of infantry,
and the height of Barkovec (443) was held by three battalions
of infantry and one battery of artillery. With the three
squadrons of the fifth division that had been attached to the
fifth corps, the latter had nine squadrons available for screen-
ing its position.
The advance of the second corps of the Western army was
over gently rolling country and was executed without any
important incident, except the driving in of the outpost at
Csasco and the occupation of Szenicz. The attack of this
corps was directed mainly against the front of the thirty-
seventh landwehr infantry division, but, when the signal was
sounded terminating the maneuvers for the day and for this
year, it had not been able to gain any ground beyond the
ridge running north from Szenicz and Szottina toward Roho.
The second cavalry division was forced by the second corps
to withdraw to a point southeast of Szenicz.
342 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The combined corps had much more difficult ground over
which to march and fight. By 10 o'clock a. m. its right
wing (the fourth division) had reached the high ground east
of Roho; but the extreme left of the left wing (thirteenth
landwehr infantry division) had not yet been able to capture
the height of Barkovec (443), and the entire line of battle of
the Western army was stopped by the heavy fire from the
enemy's exceptionally strong position.
About this time the Archduke Frederick, commanding the
Eastern army, ordered a counter attack by the fifth corps, to
meet which the Archduke Francis Ferdinand, commanding
the Western army, ordered his reserve into the fighting line.
Before any decisive result could be accomplished, so far as I
could observe or learn, the emperor's signal, closing the
maneuvers, was sounded.
COMMENT.
The marches, deployments, and attacks, from a tactical
point of view and without reference to the objects to be
accomplished, were faultless; but it seemed to me that a
frontal attack by the Western army against such a position
as that held by the Eastern army would have resulted, in
actual war, in certain defeat with heavy losses. This posi-
tion was not only strong naturally, but the men and guns
were well protected behind artificial cover ; the field of fire
was excellent, and the reserves could be moved to any part
of the line without being seen by the enemy. Instead of
attacking with equal strength along the entire front, the
Western army might have succeeded by employing a contain-
ing force against the front of the enemy's line and by attempt-
ing to turn his left flank, which was the only weak point in
the defensive position.
If it had been possible to continue the maneuvers long
enough for a decision to be reached, the counter attack of the
fifth corps would probably have succeeded. But in actual
warfare the battle would most likely have resolved itself into
a trial of endurance and, without a change in the position of
one or the other of the armies, might have lasted several days.
As it was, the men of the fifth corps .were perfectly fresh,
while the opposing troops had marched that morning more
than 10 miles, had marched and fought for about three hours,
and many of them had been on their feet continuously for
about eight hours.
MANEUVERS. MS
The action of the two cavalry divisions seems to have been
confined to their artillery. One of the umpires, a major
general, who was with the second cavalry division, remarked
in my hearing that the right flank of a column of the second
corps was exposed to the fire of the horse batteries of this
division, at a distance of 2,000 paces, long enough to have
enabled these batteries to fire 2,000 rounds.
On the whole, the maneuvers were executed in a manner that
demonstrated the highest degree of training and efficiency.
At best, maneuvers can be only a simulation of war, and there
never has been a battle fought that was wholly free from
mistakes and it is more than probable that such a battle never
will be fought. Many mistakes in detail in maneuvers would
soon be corrected in war. For instance, unnecessary expo-
sure of a command, by failing to take advantage of available^
cover, while advancing against an enemy firing blank car-
tridges, would in time disappear if the ball cartridges of war
were substituted for the blank cartridges of maneuvers.
MISCELLANEOUS NOTES.
Organization, Armament, and Equipment. — I- think
that the information already on file on these subjects is up to,
date and that there is therefore nothing new to report.
Efficiency. — The Austro-Hungarian army is the best
trained army that I have ever seen, and I believe that it is
one of the most efficient armies in Europe. It may well be
compared, like the army of a neighboring state, to a perfect
machine. One reason why this army is so machine-like is
that it is trained and maneuvered as a machine with all its
parts assembled and properly adjusted.
To give some idea of the physical condition of the men and
of their powers of endurance, I may mention that during the
maneuvers they sometimes marched 25 miles a day and many
of them were up by 2 o'clock in the morning and did not
reach their cantonments until late at night; yet I did not see
one straggler, one man fall out of ranks, one man on a litter
or in an ambulance. It is reported that none went to the
hospital.
Discipline. — During the course of the maneuvers, I did
not observe a disorderly act on the part of any soldier. I
did not see a single soldier in the slightest degree under the
influence of intoxicants. Sunday, September 14, was a day
344 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
of rest, and therefore afforded an excellent opportunity to
observe the general behavior of the men when off duty. I
spent the day in Sasvar, in the midst of thousands of them,
and I did not see one of them slovenly in appearance, bois-
terous in manner, or disorderly in conduct. During my resi-
dence of a year in Vienna, which has a garrison of about
"20,000, I have never seen an intoxicated soldier and I have
never seen the slightest manifestation of disrespect by a sol-
dier toward an officer or a civilian.
Artillery. — All regiments of field artillery had four bat-
teries of four guns each, except the second division artillery
regiment of the fifth infantry division, which had four bat-
teries of eight guns each. This division belongs to the first
corps, stationed in Galicia, and the artillery regiments of the
three corps stationed in that province are kept on a war foot-
ing. The horse batteries had six guns each. No caissons
were used. The ammunition that could not be carried in
the limber chests of the pieces was transported in country
wagons. The horses are the best of all artillery horses that
I have ever seen. They look rather light, but they are excep-
tionally strong in endurance, and are so much better bred
than ours are that, if they were placed in competition with
ours they would still be doing their work when ours were
dead or abandoned by the wayside.
Cavalry. — Except in the maneuvers of the 12th of Sep-
tember, I saw almost nothing of the action of the cavalry.
Reference was made in the comment on the maneuvers of
that day to its dismounted action. By way of illustration
of the training of the cavalry, it may be mentioned that a
brigade can charge in a perfect line and halt in a perfect
line after the charge; a division can move at a walk, trot,
or gallop with every horse in the division maintaining the
prescribed gait. I have seen a regiment in column of pla-
toons in double rank take a series of obstacles without one
horse shying or refusing a single obstacle and without an
accident.
Infantry. — I should say that the attacking formations are
too dense and that the failure to take advantage of cover is
too general ; but it may be answered that, while a dense line
of attack will suffer greater losses than will a thin oue, yet
an overwhelming fire and power to crush an enemy can be
obtained only through density. The use of volleys has been
abandoned.
w^lll
i
MANEUVERS. 345
Automobiles and Bicycles. — While the field of the ma-
neuvers was smoother and more open than would generally
be the case in war, yet it was impracticable to use auto-
mobiles or bicycles across country for the carrying of supplies
or messages. The man and horse will continue to be the
most reliable means of carrying orders, ammunition, and
the wounded on the battlefield. The bicycles were pushed
along over the hills and the valleys and across the fields, the
men belonging to them following on foot as best they could
the headquarters to which they wfere attached, while the
orders and reports were carried by orderlies mounted on good
horses that could go anywhere, generally at a gallop, and
often at a run. These machines, automobiles and bicycles,
may be of considerable utility on the roads of lines of com-
munications, but on the battlefield the bicycles are a useless
impediment. The employment of a fighting force mounted
on bicycles will be impracticable in war, notwithstanding the
organization and maintenance of small bodies of such troops
in certain armies, and notwithstanding the volumes that
have been written in support of this idea by military bicycle
enthusiasts.
FRENCH MANEUVERS.
[Reported by Capt. T. Bkntlf.y Mott, Artillery Corps, Unite. » States Military Attach 6
at Paris.]
The maneuvers being in a way the annual examination or
stock-taking of the French army, the programme varies from
year to year, so as to solve as many problems as possible and
extract the most useful conclusions from the work. There-
fore we find that combined operations of the army and navy
and the assembling of an enormous force which characterized
the maneuvers of 1901 were not repeated this year.
In 1900 the region selected for the maneuvers of an army
was the great flat plain around Chartres; in 1901 the rolling
plains of Champagne; this year it was the broken, hilly
country about Toulouse, in the southwest of France. Each
year the problems are different, as are the effectives, the ter-
rain, the troops, and the generals. The same imposing
personeity, however, has directed the work of the troops for
three years.
General Brugfere, since his appointment in 1900 as vice
president of the conseil supdrieur de guerre, has directed the
maneuvers and sharpened the weapon which in case of war
346 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
would be placed in his hands. This seems a wise arrange-
ment, apart from the happy selection made in the person of
General Brugfere. Almost every year each general com-
mands in the field his appropriate force, and one or two are
selected in turn to command an army ; but the officer desig-
nated in advance to command, in case of war, the principal
army or group of armies of the republic is permitted to
superintend and control all the maneuvers and to actively
command an army of maneuver as long as he retains this
designation. He thus learns to know the army thoroughly,
sees and judges the officers at their work, and fits himself by
long practice to face every problem which war is likely to
present.
General Brugfere spends not less than one month of every
year in the field directing the maneuvers of divisions, army
corps, or armies, and most serious and exacting work it is.
In the saddle by 5 or 6 o'clock, he follows and directs the move-
ments till noon; when the troops halt for their rest, lie must
gather the general and staff officers together for their critique ;
the afternoon can never be free to the commander of such a
large force, even if he does not visit the cantonments ; then
the work for the next day must be prepared, and he is fortu-
nate if the evening does not bring some official dinner or func-
tion where he must stay until a late hour to entertain some
distinguished guest or himself accept hospitality.
The French law admits of no higher grade than major gen-
eral, and thus from among the long list of these officers those
who by activity, youth, and intelligence are marked as men
who would be called upon for important service in war, can
be selected without regard to seniority and given opportunity
in time of peace to use the tools they must needs know in case
of war. This is the great value to the country of peace ma-
neuvers on a large scale. For the instruction of enlisted men
and officers below the grade of general (not counting the gen-
eral staff) maneuvers of brigade and divisions would probably
fill every requirement.
The general performing the functions described is frequently
referred to as the generalissimo, but this he is not in law or
in fact. The minister of war commands the army, issuing
his orders directly to the corps commanders and chiefs of
supply departments; he also is ex officio president of thecon-
seil sup^rieur de querre. The general officer appointed as
MANEUVERS. 347
vice president of this conseil is the one selected in advance to
command, in case of war, the principal army or armies of
France; but in time of peace he does not command them
except at the maneuvers, as explained above. As vice presi-
dent of the conseil sup^rieur, he, of course, has important
duties and much influence. This officer is not at present, and
often will not be, the senior major general of the army, but
rather the one who gives the most promise in case of severe
active service.
The greatest interest, especially on the part of the foreign
press, always attaches to the grand maneuvers, because the
spectacular features are more prominent, the numbers in-
volved greater, the officers commanding are of higher rank,
and foreign officers are present; but these grand maneuvers
constitute in reality a small fraction of the army's annual
maneuver work. For example, this year the grand maneu-
vers involved two army corps and a division of cavalry; but
the other eighteen army corps had maneuvers during two
-weeks no less instructive and useful to the troops concerned ;
fourteen regiments of cavalry maneuvered under General
Donop for ten days, and the siege maneuvers for fortress artil-
lery at the Ch&lons camp kept 25,000 men busy for over two
weeks.
The cost of all these maneuvers is very great, but no part of
the army appropriation is, in the opinion of the most compe-
tent observers, spent to better effect. The array learns to
know its chiefs and the chiefs learn to know not only the army
but themselves. If defects in organization, supply, or instruc-
tion are brought out and corrected each year, there can be no
doubt that many a higher officer learns something of his own
limitations to his lasting benefit.
The cost in round numbers of the 1902 maneuvers was
7,000,000 francs. The various items may be interesting :
Francs.
Algerian maneuvers * 195,500
Garrison maneuvers 249,000
Staff journeys 120,800
Cantonments (revision) 87,000
Maneuvers with cadres - - 169,100
Officers sent to various maneuvers - 28, 000
Technical exercises, infantry 720,000
Technical exercises, cavalry .. 11,000
Technical exercises, artillery 523,000
Technical exercises, engineers 98, 000
348 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
Fmncs.
Maneuvers of an army (2 corps) 348,000
Maneuvers of an army corps _ 338,000
Maneuvers of divisions and brigades..- 2,200,000
Maneuvers of cavalry (7 brigades) 350,000
Maneuvers in the Alps and Vosges.. 1,368,000
Fortress maneuvers 180,000
In other words, about 5,600,000 francs for maneuvers
proper and 1,347,000 francs for technical exercises. The
budget for the latter probably entered in the payment of the
expenses of the siege or fortress maneuvers at the Chalons
camp, for the cost of these is estimated at 1,000,000 francs.
This sum does not include indemnity to farmers for damage
to growing crops, as this comes from another appropriation.
The following is the list of maneuvers executed in France
during August and September, 1902 :
Maneuvers of an Army. — Sixteenth and seventeenth
corps complete, plus a brigade of colonial infantry and two
brigades of cavalry. Duration, twelve days.
Maneuvers of Divisions. — In the third, fourth, fifth,
seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth,
eighteenth, and twentieth corps, and the fortieth division
of the sixth corps. Duration, fourteen days.
Maneuvers of Brigades. — In the first and second corps
and the twelfth and forty-second divisions of the sixth.
Duration, twelve days.
Maneuvers of Brigades and Divisions.— In the four-
teenth and fifteenth corps. Duration, fourteen days.
Cavalry Maneuvers. — The first division (3 brigades,
G regiments), a provisional division (G regiments), and a bri-
gade of cuirassiers ; 3 batteries of horse artillery. Duration,
ten days. These cavalry brigades, which took part in neither
last year's nor this year's grand maneuvers, executed cavalry
evolutions.
Fortress or Siege Maneuvers. — About 25,000 men,
mostly artillery and engineers, but some infantry; 167 guns.
Duration, two weeks.
THE CAVALRY MANEUVERS.
The cavalry maneuvers were regarded as of special interest
on account of the large force engaged and the personality of
the director, General Donop. This officer seems to lead the •
progressive school of innovators in cavalry matters while at
the same time keeping the confidence of those passionate
MANEUVERS. 349
horsemen who dread any change that might tend to lessen the
value attaching to the horse and to mounted action in favor
of work dismounted.
The novelties brought out by General Donop this year
were: The charge by successive echelons in single rank
arranged checkerwise instead of the charge in mass; the use
of Hotchkiss machine guns (small-arm caliber) carried on
pack animals as integral parts of the squadrons; the large
employment of systems of light footbridges for crossing the
men over small rivers, and*a considerable development of
fighting on foot.
The question of a suitable method of charging for five or
ten regiments of cavalry does not present the same interest
to us that it does to the French cavalryman, whose belief
that his arm must charge on every occasion is born and bred
in him as is his form of religion, and he can't reason about it
without falling into the domain of sentiment.
The use of the Hotchkiss mitrailleuse seems to have been
attended with every success. It was considered to afford
excellent support to the mounted troops and a shelter to fall
back upon, relieving infantry or cyclist companies from cor-
responding duties. The tactics for this gun are, it is under-
stood, now being prepared, and the coming year should bring
definite regulations concerning its use with cavalry divisions.
The pack saddle used is made by Mr. Alexis Gendron, of
Paris, and he has promised me drawings of it for the war
department.
The "Donop bridges" have brought about a large amQunt
of discussion, and their partisans find every advantage
claimed met by some fault alleged.
One system consists briefly of a light footbridge supported
on collapsable floats, with all parts light enough to be car-
ried on a pack animal. (General Donop is quoted as believ-
ing that no vehicles save those necessary for the artillery,
and then as light and mobile as possible, should accompany
cavalry columns.) The bridge can be thrown across a stream
25 yards wide in about half an hour; the men walk over,
conducting their horses, which swim alongside. The floats
can then be made into a raft and the wagons and artillery
ferried over.
It can be imagined how long it would take to pass a
regiment by a single bridge under ordinarily unfavorable
350 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
conditions, or the serious encumberment of having several
equipages to a single regiment..
The Creusot footbridge was favorably received by the cav-
alry technical committee. The material for a 65-foot bridge
is all carried on one two-horse wagon, and consists chiefly of
four corrugated-iron boats and five balks.
The bridges were generally built by the cyclist sappers,
detachments of which accompanied each division.
The fighting on foot during the cavalry maneuvers is an
echo of the numerous articles, some from weighty sources,
that have appeared in the press ever since the South African
war. The teachings of our war of secession have not been
neglected by French writers, but they have never fully over-
come the contempt of cavalry officers for dismounted action.
It is to be noticed that even this year the fighting on foot
was done, as it were, 4l by order," and not at all habitually,
and as a matter of course by officers recognizing the value
and application of this method of meeting an enemy. Cer-
tain days of maneuver were arranged apparently for the pur-
pose of illustrating the use of dismounted fire action, while
the other days passed almost without seeing its application.
These remarks show how far the French are from viewing
this role of the cavalry with our eyes.
These maneuvers were carried on in a rich farming country,
and their expense may be judged when the damages due to
farmers after one day's operations amounted to 60,000 francs.
THE SIEGE MANEUVERS.
These were the most extensive and costly siege maneuvers
that have ever been seen in France ; in fact such have been
undertaken only three times before. They took place at the
great camp of Ch&lons sur Marne, where the "normal school
of target practice" is situated, and is one of the best-equipped
artillery ranges in the world, permitting each year practice
with shell under war conditions of whole regiments of field
artillery at once. The maneuvers lasted from August 4 to
August 20, and occupied 25,000 men. These were to a great
extent under canvas, an unusual thing in French maneuvers,
but made necessary or advantageous by the work in hand.
The troops consisted of engineers (railway sappers, miners,
aerostats, and telegraphists), position, field, and foot artillery
gathered from the center and west of France.
MANEUVERS. 351
The general theme had in view the attack and defense of a
part of the principal line of a land fortress. Five thousand
men "were assigned to the defense and 25,000 to the attack.
The investment was supposed to be completed by the assailant,
though the sorties of the defenders had harassed him in build-
ing his first line of approach, his railways, his batteries, etc.
The engineers (railway troops) built and equipped l± miles
of permanent railway to connect the works with the main
line; constructed a military railway station and manned the
trains which brought up all the heavy siege material during
the whole time of the operations. Besides this, they built
some 12 miles of light temporary line for siegework.
A serious effort was made to conceal from each side what
.was being done by the other and all communication between
the troops of the contending parties was absolutely prohibited
during the whole period. The besieged were considered cut off
and no information of the enemy was allowed them except
what they could find out from their spies or balloons. Consid-
erable extension was given on both sides to every means of
deceiving the enemy ; false works were built and never occu-
pied while well-concealed batteries were dug alongside and
usually at night; the exterior slopes were sodded, and in some
cases the interior of the battery was likewise given the ap-
pearance of the surroundings as a protection against balloon
observations. (The soil was almost white, easily betraying
new workd when such precautions were not taken.)
Considerable use was made of a revetment of iron sheets
cut into network, as commonly used by plasterers.
Captive balloons were employed by both parties and in all
weather. The defense lost their balloons twice (by shells cut-
ting the cable which ran along the ground) during the two
days of firing with real shell. A telephotograph apparatus
was used both with the balloons and with kites. "When the
weather was too bad for an ascension or when it was desired
to reach a part of the enemy's line too dangerous for a bal-
loonist, this method of automatic photography was used, with
what real success can not be said, but it was persistently
tried.
The balloons were used to find the range and regulate the
fire; they telegraphed the fall of the shots, and during the
fire with real projectiles, they were enabled to prove exactly
how efficacious is this method of fire observation. The army
seems satisfied with it.
352 NOTK8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The assailants' first line was about 2£ miles long, comprised
thirty-nine works, armed with 167 guns of all calibers. The
heaviest piece used was the 270-millimeter mortar, firing a
350-pound shell. There were four of these. There were 24 of
the 75-millimeter guns. mA new model 155-millimeter short
seems to have attracted a good deal of favorable attention,
but no details of its peculiarities are obtainable. The usual
equipment of truck cranes, truck platforms and truck gun
carriages was on hand, rails were laid for them behind the
parapets and their functioning seems to have been satis-
factory.
The organization of the defense comprised both permanent
works already existing and works built during the siege.
At each extremity of the sector attacked was a heavy fort pro-
vided with bomb-proof shelter, deep ditch, flanking arrange-
ments and a glacis covered with barbed wire. In the interval
was an almost continuous line of infantry epaulements of
various profiles and dotted at intervals with field-gun bat-
teries. Behind this line, concealed from view of the enemy,
were the main artillery positions containing the heavier guns ;
some of these had been brought into action in the earlier
stages, but for the most part they were carefully dissimulated
and reserved for receiving the attack in force when it should
be pronounced. In rear were various kinds of shelter im-
provised for the reserves.
About a mile in rear of the first line of works a second had
been arranged to oppose the enemy in case he got possession
of the advanced positions.
All the usual phases of a siege were simulated and the zig-
zags and parallels actually dug, often at night and with a real
effort at concealment. The last parallel, of no mean profile,
had a length of 1,600 yards. The assailant made several
attacks in force to seize works of the enemy which impeded
the progress of his trendies. Some of these were considered
successful; others not. The defense made numerous sorties,
some at night, with similar results.
On the 13th, 14th, and 19th the attack used real shell, the
observation and correction of the fire being assured from bal-
loons. The fire ceased as soon as the range was gotten accu-
rately, in order to save ammunition; thus the experience was
chiefly valuable as practice in indirect fire at unknown ranges,
practically all shooting being of this nature, which the French
MANEUVERS. 353
employ more and more each year in field and siege artillery,
while its development in coast artillery seems much less
marked. Most of the batteries could not see their targets at
all, being on the reverse slopes of the hills, in woods, etc.
An auxiliary target was habitually used, on which the sights
were directed, while the angle between this line of sight and
the line of fire was read and changed from shot to shot by
the goniometer sight, which I have frequently described and
referred to in my reports. Thus the methods of aiming and
ranging in the field and siege artillery approach each other
more and more every year. During this actual practice
3,000 shots of all calibers were fired.
These siega maneuvers cost, roughly, 1,000,000 francs, and
the army and the press seem satisfied that the money was
usefully spent. The most evident conclusions to be drawn
from them seem to be :
That a great development of indirect fire from carefully
concealed batteries is advantageous. The positions of such
batteries may be behind hills or woods, and even balloons
will have trouble in detecting them.
A careful study of the method of observing and correct-
ing the fire of field and siege guns from a balloon is much to
be desired. Actual practice can alone produce a satisfactory
system of transmitting information and of using it.
The erection of dummy batteries for drawing the opponent's
fire is a useful ruse and can be depended upon even in the
face of balloon observation. At Chalons a large percentage
of shots was wasted on such dummy works built by the
defense, which entirely deceived the attack.
GRAND MANEUVERS OF THE SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH
CORPS.
The only maneuvers of "an army"' in 1002 were those in
the neighborhood of Toulouse, in which two army corps, a
brigade of colonial infantry, and a cavalry division of two
brigades constituted the maneuvering force. The ordre do
bataille gives the strength and organization of this army.
All the other troops of the French army had maneuvers of
effectives not greater than one army corps.
Most of the troops of the sixteenth and seventeenth corps
left their garrisons August 27 and were moved to the places
354 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
of concentration by rail. Some that had marched started
the 23d. The concentration was completed on the 29th.
The work began the next day, August 30, with maneuvers
of division against division in each corps, which occupied
three days; then the sixteenth corps operated against the sev-
enteenth corps for four days; finally, the two corps, united
into an army, maneuvered against a represented enemy for
two days. There were nine working days and two days of
rest, neither of the latter falling on a Sunday. As a rule,
Sunday is a maneuver day or a day of rest, as is most con-
venient.
The consolidated reports for September 4 gave the follow-
ing total effective of the maneuvering troops:
Staffs and auxiliary services..
Infautry
Cavalrv
Artillery
Engineer*
Total _
130 '
1W.I
1,111 1
37,718
231
2,738
190
3,015
22 '
878
1,684 J
44,629
THE THEATER OF OPERATIONS.
The theater of operations lay to the southeast of Toulouse,
between that town and Castelnaudary and for the most part
to the north of the Canal du Midi, which, starting at Toulouse,
connects the river Garonne with the Mediterranean. Numer-
ous small streams flowing northwest are separated by hills
which are generally high and frequently precipitous. Be-
sides the usual rows of trees planted along the banks and
ditches which separate the fields, there are numerous patches
of woods, which, with the frequent ravines, the rolling coun-
try, and deep-sunken roads, furnish concealment and cover
for troops and constitute an admirable terrain for tactical
movements and the application of flank attacks and conceal-
ment in approach.
The numerous hills furnished not only a great variety of
artillery positions, but by the very fact of their abundance
gave a chance to the artillery commanders to exercise skill in
selecting the best, and afforded every opportunity for the
application of the system of indirect fire, the battery being
under natural cover, and of stationing batteries in " waiting
positions," concealed, but with all the initial elements for
laying determined.
MANEUVERS. 355
The terrain was not favorable to the action of cavalry in
large bodies, nor to charging in any number, but it was favor-
able to the action of cavalry in raiding movements and for
harassing and deceiving the enemy by attacks on foot
followed by a rapid change of position mounted.
The only railroad in the region runs along the Canal du
Midi. Three of those perfect roads seen only in France run
from Toulouse southeast through the scene of operations;
two nearly as good run at right angles to these from Ville-
franche and from Bozifege. The rest of the numerous roads
of the region are what in France are considered poor; they
are very hilly and in bad condition, but even these in
America would be called excellent roads.
This country is not a very rich agricultural district though
thoroughly cultivated ; corn is raised in large quantities but
of poor quality. It was the only crop remaining in the
ground and caused much trouble to the troops that constantly
marched through it.
The weather during the maneuvers was all that could be
desired; it rained frequently at night, but was fine during
the day.
It was in this region that Soult and Wellington maneu-
vered in 1814 and fought the battle of Toulouse.
The maneuvers were divided into three periods, each sepa-
rated from the others by a day of rest. First period, maneu-
vers of division against division ; second period, maneuvers
of corps against corps ; third period, maneuvers of an army
of two corps against a represented enemy.
MANEUVERS OP DIVISION AGAINST DIVISION.
SIXTEENTH CORPS.
Situation August 29. — An army is being concentrated in
the vicinity of Toulouse. It has sent a division (the thirty-
second) with the seventeenth dragoons, toward Castelnaudary
to watch the roads leading from the east, from which direction
the enemy is expected. This forms the party " B."
The party "A" is in two groups; the sixty-first brigade,
the colonial brigade, four squadrons of cavalry, and three
batteries are in the neighborhood of Carcassonne (southeast
of Castelnaudary); the other group, sixty-second brigade, a
squadron, and three batteries, is on the other side of the
Montaigne Noire in the valley of the Agout. The party "A"
356 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
is expected to move on Castlenaudary and Toulouse and
break up the concentration of the other forces.
The programme mapped out for the three days' work of
these troops was as follows: August 30, " B " tries to prevent
the concentration of "A;" August 31, "B" retires and takes
up a defensive position and is attacked by "A;" September 1,
"B" is reenforced and resumes the offensive against "A,"
who has been obliged to detach a brigade to watch the valley
of the Arifege ; September 2, rest.
Operations of August 30. — General Laplace, command-
ing the party "A," divided his forces into three columns; the
sixty-second brigade, one squadron, and three batteries, were
to move along the road Brousses Montolieu and the CMu.
Bouillonnac; the sixty-first brigade, a squadron, and two
batteries, were directed on the same place by Pennautier,
Ventenac Cabardfes, Moussoulens, and the valley of the
Rougeanne ; the colonial brigade and one battery formed the
left column and were to follow the national road No. 113 by
Pennautier and Pezens, directing itself toward Alzonne.
The front of march of party "A" was about 9 kilometers,
each column having about 3 kilometers to cover in order to
come to the aid of its neighbor over ground that was quite
easy.
General Herson had divided the party " B " also into three
columns. One regiment was directed on Alzonne, two upon
Raissac sur Lampy, and the fourth regiment of the division
upon St. Martin le Vieil. These troops thus had a front of
about 6 kilometers, but over much rougher ground. The
one hundreth regiment of infantry (party "B") left the
column at Villarzens to occupy Alzonne, whose northern edge
it indifferently organized for defense. Proper measures,how-
ever, were not taken to barricade the eastern approach to the
village, and it was from exactly this direction that an attack
might have been expected and did take place. The rest of
the division continued its route toward St. Martin le Vieil,
but after passing the Tenten, General Herson detached the
one hundred and forty-third infantry by Raissac sur Lampy
toward the Chateau de Bouillonnac. As was stated above,
this Chateau de Bouillonnac was the point toward which the
whole thirty-first division had been directed, and so, when
the one hundred and forty-third regiment came up, it found
the place occupied by very superior forces; nevertheless it
MANEUVERS. 357
attacked with some vigor, but the umpire sood made the com-
manding officer understand that his action was a mistake
and there was nothing for him to do but to retreat. During
this time, toward the south, the one hundredth infantry-
stationed at Alzonne received the attack of the whole colonial
brigade, and, as they had failed to fortify the eastern entrance
to the village and had not destroyed the bridges over the Ver-
nassone, the place was taken with little trouble by General
Perraux. The latter left one of his regiments of colonials in
the village and sent the other with a battery toward the north
in the direction of the Chateau de Bouillonnac.
The arrival of this regiment and of the sixty-second brigade,
which after a hard march debouched upon the Plateau of
Bouillonnac, made certain the defeat of party " B," whose
artillery, almost unoccupied during the beginning of the day,
had, at its close, the heavy task of arresting the progress of
the victorious enemy and of covering the retreat. The
maneuver ended here.
Operations of August 31. — On the night of August 30
the party "A" cantoned to the north of the national road
No. 113 on the left bank of the Vernassone; party " B " can-
tuned on the right bank of this stream. The latter having
been beaten on the previous day by superior forces, and being
separated by such a short distance from its adversary, General
Herson decided to make a night march so as to withdraw from
his dangerous position and take up a line to the northwest
so as to menace the flank of his adversary if he continued
his march toward Castelnaudary or else to check him if he
attempted to make a front attack upon the heights which
separated the valleys of the Fresquel and the Tenten.
The position chosen by General Herson rested its left on
the Ch&u. de Ferrals and its right on the Ch&u. de la Rou-
quette, passing by the Bois des Potences, a front of about
3 kilometers.
The interval between the Ch^u. de la Rouquette and the
bridge over the Papoul, near the village of Lasbordes, was
intentionally deprived of troops, only a few sections of in-
fantry being left along the positions T61£graphe, Fort, Fort
du Faure, and the Ch&u. de St. Gemme. This weak screen,
spread over about 5 kilometers, was intended to deceive the
adversary and to tempt him, by easy success, along the route
Villepinte, St. Martin Lalande ; once engaged along this road
358 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
the party "B" was to fall upon its flank near Villagre and
the hill marked 169. This ridge presented quite a strong
position for the party "B," whether for defense or from
which to make an attack.
The first column of the party "A" to make its appearance
was the colonials who debouched from St. Martin le Vieil
and St. Gemme Latour. They attacked at once, and the
defenders of the position left it rather too precipitately to
cany out the role given them, not waiting even to be can-
nonaded. While the colonials pushed toward the northwest
the rest of the party " A" moved up the brook Lampy, follow-
ing the route Raissac sur Lampy, St. Martin le Vieil, and
Carlipa. Here the head of the column was stopped short by
an unexpected fire of musketry. This was the cavalry of the
party "B," who were fighting on foot, and, though a single
squadron, forced several battalions to take the time to deploy.
During this time the colonials, pushing the advanced line
of the party "B" in front of them, debouched from the Fort
du Faure and continued their offensive upon T^ldgraphe.
At this moment it looked very much as though the troops of
General Laplace were going to fall into the snare prepared
for them by the general commanding the party "A."
On its side, the thirty-first division (party "A"), after hav-
ing driven off the dismounted cavalrymen, moved up against
Villespy without apparently bothering itself about the thirty-
first division, which was solidly fixed in the Bois des Potences;
the artillery of this division on the hill marked No. 191 was
getting ready to enfilade the thirty-first division the moment
it came in front of the woods ; but this attack did not come
off on account of a mistake in the bugle calls which stopped
the maneuver along the whole line, and after which the day's
work ended ; not, however, before a counter attack executed
by the defense of the St. Andr6 wood had commenced by a
charge of a squadron of the thirty-second division of cavalry
against the left flank of the colonials.
Operations of September 1.— The party "A" cantoned
the previous night east of the line Villepinte and Villespy.
It had detached its colonial brigade to the bouthwest toward
the railroad to watch the roads coming from the valley of the
Arifege. This valley is to the west of and parallel to that of
the Tr^boul.
MANEUVERS. 359
The party "B," on the contrary, received from Toulouse
reenforcements consisting of one brigade. As may be imag-
ined, this is simply the colonial brigade which has changed
sides. The troops of the thirty-second division (party "B")
cantoned at Castelnaudary, Peyrens, and Issel. Their gen-
eral, confident in his recently acquired numerical superiority,
decided to take the offensive and push back the enemy on
Carcassonne.
The troops of party "B" were started out very early in
the morning; a dense fog made it difficult to see more than a
few paces in front, and General Herson decided to profit by
the circumstances and throw his cavalry upon the canton-
ment of the party "A." This was done with considerable
success at Villespy, where the cavalry created a great deal of
disturbance and uncertainty and made its escape without dif-
ficulty. Order having been established, the troops on both
sides took their positions for the combat of the day.
The thirty-first division (party "A") occupied the hills
which crossed the road from Villepinte to Villespy. Its
sixty-second brigade and most of the artillery were in the
environs of Villepinte, leaving only a small detachment on
the heights of Tdldgraphe, Cammasou, and Cammasblanc;
these positions were very strong and assured to the occupant
access to the valley of the Tenten. One regiment occupied
the village of Villepinte; two batteries were sent to the top
of the peak, 700 meters north of the village. This was rather
an uncomfortable position for the batteries, as once there
they could not move forward and could only fall back with
the greatest difficulty. Two hundred meters farther north the
other regiment of this brigade (sixty-first) was held massed
under cover of a hill. The second group of artillery was on
the T613graphe hill with a good view toward Villagre and
Garric. One battery of the first group was on the road to
Gresse. One regiment was in reserve a little behind T£\6-
graphe. Tho front occupied by party "A" between Cam-
masou and Villepinte was only about 1,600 meters.
At the opening of the maneuver the troops along this front
had a very simple affair, since the orders given not to trample
on the crops caused the front and flanks to be almost unattack
able. But this situation was changed about 9 o'clock by the
yorps commander giving orders to march and attack across thQ
fields — at least the corn, the vineyards being respected.
360 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
Party "B" had taken up its march on a rather extended
front. The left column was moved on Villespy, the right on
St. Andr6, and it looked as though the opposing sides would
not make contact since the thirty-first division, as has been
explained, was between Cammasou and Cammasblanc. The
colonial brigade (party "B"), however, descending the valley
of the Papoul found the advance line of party "A" to the
east of this stream, and the commander of the party "B," at
last learning the position of his enemy, could oblique one of
his columns in that direction and reenforce the colonials.
These had reached the Escabasse farm and were moving upon
the ravine which separates Bigou from Villagre. One regi-
ment of party "B" had opened fire upon the eighty-first, in
front of it, but its artillery could not follow the movement
in this difficult country and the attack was given up. These
troops of party "B" made very little progress toward their
object, especially under the heavy fire of the batteries on
T£l£graphe. The theoretical projectiles of these guns, how-
ever, did not prevent the colonials and the sixty-fourth
brigade (party "B") from taking the enemy's first line; on
the other hand, the commander of party "A" moved three
regiments against the heights which the enemy had taken
and which he refused to abandon. The maneuver had to be
stopped, and, after considerable discussion, the umpires
decided that this counter attack of the party "A" had failed
and that they must fall back.
Upon the renewal of the action the colonials, delighted at
their first success, made a dash at the peak to tho north of
Villepinte, where, as has been stated, two batteries had been
placed in position; aided by the sixty-third brigade, the
colonials forced the one hundred and forty-second infantry
to quit Villepinte, and thus the guns were left without any
support. The officer commanding them waited in vain for
succor or a formal order to retreat ; nothing coming, he dis-
tributed the carbines to the cannoneers in a last effort to beat
off the attacking infantry. This failed, however, and the
guns were captured. The thirty-second division and the
colonials had the honors of the day.
SEVENTEENTH CORPS.
The maneuvers of the two divisions of the seventeenth
corps during this time had chiefly for their object the con-
centration of the units in the neighborhood of Toulouse,
MANEUVERS. , 361
where the corps commander was to take charge on the 3d of
September and begin his operations against the sixteenth
corps.
It does not seem necessary to describe in detail the opera-
tions of these two divisions as they do not offer as much
interest as the work of the sixteenth corps, and a description
of the maneuvers of corps against corps will be taken up at
once.
MANEUVERS OF T£E SIXTEENTH CORPS AGAINST THE SEVEN-
TEENTH CORPS.
The following is the theme of the maneuver : An army com-
ing from the north has, on the 2d of September, reached the
Tarn, between Montauban and Albi (not on map). It has
detached against Verfeil an army corps (the seventeenth)
charged with the object of pushing back the enemy's forces,
which have been reported as marching from Castelnaudary
upon Toulouse, The sixteenth corps constitutes the advance
guard of an army coming from the east and which has estab-
lished itself upon the Aude as high up as Carcassonne, between
the Pyr^ndes and the Montaignes Noires. This army is sup-
posed to occupy a front of about 40 kilometers perpendicular
to the Canal du Midi. The sixteenth corps has received orders
to push rapidly from Castelnaudary upon Toulouse and occupy
the latter place.
The headquarters of the seventeenth corps on the night of
the 2d of September was Verfeil (nearly east of Toulouse);
the headquarters of the sixteenth corps, Castelnaudary.
Initial Positions Night of September 2.
The initial positions of army "A," the seventeenth corps
reenforced by the provisional cavalry division (three brigades),
are marked in red on the map. The corps headquarters were
at Verfeil ; headquarters of the thirty-third division, Verfeil ;
of the thirty-fourth division, Lavalette; of the cavalry divi-
sion, Lauzerville. The corps artillery and engineers were
about Bertron.
The initial positions of army "B," the sixteenth corps, are
marked on the map in blue. The corps headquarters were at
Castelnaudary; headquarters of the thirty-first division at
Souilhanel; of the thirty-second division at Castelnaudary.
The corps artillery and engineers were about Castelnaudary.
362 k NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
The colonial brigade, with headquarters at Tr^ville, was
held at the disposal of the director of maneuvers, General
Brugfere, who proposed to throw it on one or the other side
as he saw fit.
Orders Given for the Movements of September 3.
The following orders were issued by the respective com-
manders of the armies the evening of September 3 :
ARMY "A," SEVENTEENTH CORPS.
The seventeenth corps will move upon Villef ranche to in-
tercept the enemy in his march upon Toulouse and push him
back to the southeast.
The three brigades of cavalry united into a provisional di-
vision and reenforced by the two batteries of horse artillery
of the seventeenth corps will have for their object to find and
push back the enemy's cavalry and then to reconnoiter and
retard the march of his infantry, at the same time covering
the front of march and the left flank of the seventeenth corps
so as to enable it to take position on the hills on the right
bank of the Hers, between St. Germier and Montgaillard.
The corps will march in two columns; the left will consist
of the thirty-fourth division, the corps artillery, and engineers,
and will march by Lanta, Tarabel Cessales ; the head of the
advance guard should move out of Lanta at 4.30 a. m. The
column will march as follows : Advance guard — the divisional
squadron and company of engineers, sixty-seventh brigade,
divisional artillery (six batteries). Main body — company of
engineers, corps artillery, sixty-eighth brigade.
The right column, thirty-third division, will march as fol-
lows : Advance guard — divisional squadron and company of
engineers, seventh infantry, three batteries. Main body-
ninth infantry, three batteries, sixty-sixth brigade. Itiner-
ary : Dremil, Aigrefeuille, Pr^serville, Fourquevaux, la Bas-
tide de Beauvoir, Maur£mont.
The head of the advance guard should debouch to the south
of Dremil at 6.30 a. m.
The corps commander will marck.at the head of the main
body of the left column.
ARMY ,SB," SIXTEENTH COR*9. •
The sixteenth corps will move directly upon Toulouse by
the main road along the canal. Its brigade of cavalry and
MANEUVERS. 363
two horse batteries will reconnoiter in the direction of Salles
sur 1'Hers and Nailloux, the region south of the canal ; they
will have two points to fall back upon, one at the Chateau
Majesty, 2 kilometers southwest of Avignonet and one at
Gardouch. At each of these places a battalion of infantry
will be stationed.
The following order of march will be observed :
Advance guard — the divisional squadron and company of
engineers, sixty-fourth brigade, six batteries. Main column —
sixty-third brigade, corps artillery and engineers, sixty-second
brigade. The main body of the advance guard should reach
the hamlet les Carmes on the road south of Ricaud at 4.45 a. m.
The distance between the advance guard and the main column
should be 2,000 meters.
A flank guard composed of the squadron and company of
engineers of the thirty-first division, the sixty-first brigade,
and the six batteries of the thirty-first division will cover the
right flank of the corps, marching by Montmaur, Mourvilles
Hautes, Lux, St. Vincent, and Cessales toward Bastide de
Beau voir.
The head of this flank guard should beat Montmaur.at 5 a. m.
The corps commanders will march with the main body of
the advance guard of the principal column.
THE COLONIAL BRIGADE.
This brigade will be at 9.30 a. m. at the hill marked 266, on
the road and halfway between Auriac and Vaux. It will
receive orders there from the director of maneuvers to move
against one of the combatants.
Resume of the Maneuver of September 3.
The commander of the seventeenth corps intended to install
himself on the ridge Tucal Lagrange, due north of Montgail-
lard, and from there continue his movement on Villef ranche.
He expected his division of cavalry with its known superiority,
to drive back readily the adverse cavalry and inform him of
the whereabouts of the enemy's columns, at the same time
protecting his left flank.
About 7.30 a. m. this division was marching on the road
from la Bastide to Beauville when it was shelled by the artil-
lery of the opposing cavalry brigade (sixteenth), which, in
marching from Villenouvelle on Varennes, had caught sight
of the enemy.
364 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The provisional division established its artillery to the west
of the road and opened fire, while two regiments of dragoons
were sent by Varennes upon Maurdmont. The opposing
brigade, however, leaving a support for its artillery, slipped
between the dragoons and the rest of the division, fell on
their flank and cut them off. It was a skillful use of the very
broken ground.
But here the advance guard of the thirty-fourth division
(left column, 'seventeenth corps) arrived; the infantry opened
fire on the victorious cavalry brigade and obliged it to retire
and cover the right of the flank guard of the sixteenth corps.
The provisional cavalry division then continued its march
to the east, and soon opened with its batteries and one brigade
upon the head of the advance guard of the right column of
the sixteenth corps, which had reached Cessales. This column
had thrown one battalion into Cessales and with another pro-
tected the two batteries which, in position to the north of the
village, were firing upon the cavalry detachments in the
neighborhood and upon a larger body of cavalry plainly visi-
ble upon the hill of Lagrange. This body was the provisional
division which had taken post there and was waiting the
arrival of the advance guard to establish this first position as
contemplated by the commander of the seventeenth corps.
While the advance guard of the flank column of the six-
teenth corps was making its dispositions to take possession of
the heights to the northwest of Cessales, the first hussars
(provisional division) made a prettily concealed movement
against two batteries in action north of the village, got in
among the guns before they could be returned to the flank
and captured them. The infantry battalion which protected
these batteries had moved forward to aid in the attack on
the heights above mentioned.
As soon of the commander of the sixteenth corps learned
from his cavalry that the main body of the enemy was toward
his right, he changed his original march along the main road
from Villef ranche to Toulouse, and realizing the importance
of the position of Montgaillard, at once sent there his corps
artillery and one brigade, while the rest of the corps (one
division in all ) moved along the road leading from Ville-
franche to Cessales to take position between Montgaillard and
Cessales, to aid the sixty -first brigade already engaged at
Cessales.
MANEUVERS. 365
General Brugfere had given orders to the colonial brigade
at 0.30 a. m. to reenforce the seventeenth corps and to this
end to move by Cambriac and Beauville to support the thirty-
fourth division which was attacking in the direction of St.
Germier-Cessales. This order was received when the brigade
was on the road halfway between Auriac and Vaux. By
11.45 the brigade had reached the outskirts of Beauville.
The flank-guard column of the sixteenth corps (sixty-first
brigade) was hotly disputing the possession of the heights
near Cessales with the advance guard of the thirty-fourth
division (seventeenth corps) when the end of the maneuver
was sounded. The colonials had not had time to attack in
strength in aid of the thirty-fourth before the maneuver ended.
The positions of the various troops were noted by the
umpires and orders were given for all parties to resume them
the next morning at 6.45 a. m., it being the intention to
resume at 7 a. m. on September 4 the movements where they
had left off at noon on September 3.
A glance at the map will show that the main forces of the
two sides were separated at the beginning of the movements
of September 3 by some 38 miles; it was evident, therefore,
that unless the troops were subjected to unnecessary fatigues,
the day would be spent in marching and maneuvering for
position rather than in fighting. Such, as is seen by the
rdsumd above, was the case, the advance guards and cavalry
alone making contact and the engagements being chiefly
between the artillery.
If the troops of each corps had only to leave their position
in the morning, march 16 miles, fight an engagement, and
go into bivouac on the spot, the necessity for making the
maneuver cover more than one day would not have been so
pressing; but it must be remembered that in this not very
thickly populated region the cantonments were rather widely
separated and many detachments had to leave them by 2.30
a. m. to march to the point of assembly of their brigade or
division. Then the march in the face of an enemy was neces-
sarily slow at times and subject to digressions following the
reports coming in of his movements; finally when the "end
of the maneuver" was sounded the various organizations had
to march to their cantonments, from 2 to 4 miles distant,
prepare their supper, and make their dispositions for the
night, knowing the reveille would sound between 2 and 3
o'clock the next morning.
366 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
This idea of making a single maneuver cover several days
seems rather new in France and its practice this year may be
said to have made an excellent impression, the occupation
next morning of the lines held at the close of the previous
day being much as things would happen in real war when
two forces have gotten closely in touch with each other.
Besides all this, the development of the maneuver was slower,
more rational, and more instructive.
Cantonments Night of September 8-4.
Seventeenth Corps, Colonial Brigade, Division op
Cavalry. — The advanced troops of the corps cantoned along
the line Varennes-Mourvilles, with the troops which had not
come up distributed in the villages from Odars to Tarabel,
Maureville, and Caraman ; the colonial brigade at Toutens,
Cambiac, and the village in rear; the calvary division around
Baziege and Montgiscard ; corps headquarters at Bastide de
Beauvoir.
Sixteenth Corps. — Advanced troops from Montgaillard
to Cessales, the others in the villages on the road from Ville-
franche to Lux and those to the south of this line; the cavalry
brigade at Gardouch and Vielle Vigne; corps headquarters
at Aviguonet.
The outposts at each side were established in front of the
cantonments.
Intentions op Each Commander for September 4.
The troops on each side were to resume the positions held
at noon the day before and the movements to proceed as
though they had not been interrupted.
At 7 a.m., then, the line of battle of the seventeenth corps
as marked by the artillery positions was along the front
Bosse (near the high road), Bordeneuve, Emboudiferes, the
sixty-seventh brigade of infantry was toward St. Germier
ready to attack Cessales, the colonial brigade moving from
Beauville with the same object. The cavalry division cov-
ered the left of the seventeenth corps toward Beauville with
the cavalry brigade of the sixteenth corps opposing it.
The sixteenth corps held Montgaillard, l'Ermitage, Tucal
(a high hill and the key to the position), Esquilles, Cessales;
the main artillery position being Rigaud Chateau.
MANEUVERS. 367
Resume of the Maneuver of September 4.
•
The first troops to attack were the sixty-seventh brigade,
moving on Cessales, which the sixty-first held; at 8 a. m. the
colonial brigade made itself felt in the same direction. The
sixty-first yielding to this pressure, and the necessity of join-
ing hands to its left with the troops of the thirty-second
division, now moving up the stream and forming to the left,
evacuated Cessales, which the colonials seized.
From Tucal the artillery could enfilade the sixty-seventh
brigade as it advanced, and this determined the commander
of the thirty- fourth division to make a change of front, facing
more to the south. The artillery was established at Lagrange
and the sixty-eighth brigade sent toward Emboudi&res. This
was about 8 o'clock.
At 9 o'clock the thirty-third division (seventeenth corps)
sent its sixty-fifth brigade from Coudfere Haute by the dip in
the ground west and south of Maur^mont and deployed it,
facing Montgaillard and l'Ermitage; its sixty-sixth brigade
moved from Bastide de Beauvoir by Varennes upon Barthioles
and deployed facing the hill of Tucal. This deployment was
supported by three of the batteries of divisional artillery which
took up a position south of Barthioles, the other three batteries
being at Enf riesbise and having for their objective l'Ermitage.
The corps artillery was sent to Bourdis to support the artillery
of the thirty-fourth division at Lagrange.
To meet this move, the commander of the sixteenth corps
sent the sixty-fourth brigade to reenforce the few troops
which supported the three divisional batteries on Tucal and
had the hill fortified, placed the sixty-third brigade on the
west of Montgaillard and l'Ermitage with the other three
divisional batteries, called up toward l'Ermitage the sixty-
second brigade (which had been held in reserve near Rigaud)
as well as the whole corps artillery. Remembering that the
sixty-first brigade was in front of Trebons, we have the whole
position of the sixteenth corps.
The seventeenth surrounded this position in a vast arc of
a circle from Cessales through Lagrange to the south of
Enfrisebise.
By 10 o'clock the action was intense. The sixty-sixth
brigade (seventeenth corps) had gotten into a wood 700
meters west of Tucal while the sixty-seventh was descending
from the heights of Lagrange to attack Tucal from the north,
368 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
supported by a heaVy artillery fire from Lagrange and Bour-
dis (nine batteries) and by the reserve of the seventeenth
corps (sixty-eighth brigade).
At 11 o'clock the sixteenth could no longer hold Tucal and
fell back to a position half a mile in rear. It was at this
critical moment that the reserve brigade of the sixteenth
corps and the corps artillery arrived near PErmitage (a move-
ment, as we saw above, ordered as soon as the intentions of
the enemy became evident); these troops were assembled to
make a counter-attack, but it had only commenced when
General Brugfere hoisted the signal for the "end of the
maneuver."
Cantonment Night op September 4-6.
The seventeenth corps occupied the villages in rear of its
positions from Villenouvelle and Bazi&ge on the railway to
Caraman and Maurdville to the northeast. The colonial
brigade was around Toutens and Beauville. The cavalry
division west of Bazi&ge in the same region as the night
before.
The sixteenth corps occupied the villages in rear of its
positions from Montgaillard and Cessales to Lux and Ville-
f ranche ; the cavalry brigade the same region as the night
before.
The outposts established in the morning along the positions
held at the end of the previous day's fighting.
Intentions of Each Commander for September 5.
The maneuver was to be resumed at 7 a.m. exactly where
it left off the previous day. The seventeenth corps having
taken Tucal expects to continue its offensive movement, while
the sixteenth corps intends to resist at every point until the
reenforcements which are coming up (this information hav-
ing been sent the general commanding the sixteenth corps
by General Brugfcre) have arrived, when the offensive can
be resumed with good hope of success.
Hypothesis of the Maneuver of September 5.
General Tisseyre, commanding the seventeenth corps, hears
that an enemy's force is reported in the direction of Cuq
Toulza (about 25 kilometers northeast of Villefranche), com-
ing from the east. He sends the fourteenth brigade of
cavalry to reconnoiter, and it reports that a force estimated
MANEUVERS. 369
at a brigade of infantry passed Cuq Toulza at 4 a.m., march-
ing in the direction of Auriac.
General Tisseyre gives orders to the colonial brigade to
move by St. Germier, Beauville, and Cambriac to meet and
delay this force.
Note. — This hypothesis was announced by General Brugfere
with the sole object of changing the colonial brigade and the
fourteenth brigade of cavalry from the side of the seven-
teenth corps to the sixteenth corps, in order that a new
element might be introduced into the succeeding maneuvers
and to give the opposing commanders a chance to make dis-
positions in the face of unexpected events.
At 7.30 a. m. General Tisseyre learns that the enemy has
received reenforcements during the night, and he decides that
he can not maintain himself upon the position at Tucal which
be captured the day before and makes his arrangements to
fall back upon the strong line of La Bastide de Beauvoir-
Basifege, where he expects to vigorously resist the enemy's
further advance.
General Pedoya, commanding the sixteenth corps, learns
at 7 a. m. that reenforcements of one brigade of infantry
(the colonial) and one of cavalry (the fourteenth), which
had been looked for, had arrived near Beauville at 6.30 a. m. ;
he immediately decides to take the offensive, and gives orders
for a concerted movement against the enemy's positions to
begin at 8 a. m., at which hour the reenforcements will have
had time to reach and attack his left flank.
Note. — General Brugfcre's order informing General Pedoya
of the arrival of reenforcements stated that the colonial bri-
gade would be at his disposal at 7.30 a. m. and the cavalry
brigade at 6.45.
In order to facilitate and make more natural this change
of fortune, General Brug&re directed the commander of the
sixty-first brigade to take Cessales (occupied by the outposts
of the colonial brigade) before daybreak. This was done at
4 a. m. and the colonials were driven back in the direction of
Toutens.
Resume op the Maneuver op September 5.
When the maneuver proper was resumed at 7 a. m., the
troops occupied the positions of the day before, only Cessales
was in possession of the sixteenth corps, held by the sixty-first
370 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
brigade, while the colonial brigade (now part of the sixteenth
corps) was assembled east of St. Germier.
The attack of the sixteenth corps was begun by the thirty-
second division, which, supported by its own artillery and
the corps artillery, drove the two regiments of the enemy
from the hill of Tucal and installed themselves there at 8.30
a. m. Meanwhile the sixty-first brigade (sixteenth corps)
had advanced from l'Ermitage and attacked the farms Ledegs
and Montagnol.
Toward the right, the sixty-first brigade was now brought
from Cessales and Trebons and placed in line in rear of the
right of the thirty-second division, which having taken Tucal
was ordered to attack Lagrange, its left marching on Maur£-
mont. The colonial brigade was to move with the high road
as its axis against the enemy's left; its head reached St. Ger-
mier at 9 a. m.
During this time the sixteenth corps had made its disposi-
tions for falling back.
The thirty-fourth division occupied successively the heights
of Barthioles and Lagrange by its sixty-seventh brigade and
of Embulargne-Larguille and Bordeneuve by its sixty-eighth;
then the hills at Varennes (sixty-seventh) and Lambri (sixty-
eighth). This about 10 a. m.
The thirty-third division at the same time slowly retired to
the range of hills north of Villenou velle and running west of
Maur&nont.
The pursuit of the sixteenth corps became more vigorous
by 10.30 a. m. The colonial brigade passed to the north of
the high road and, supported on its right by a provisional
cavalry division formed of the fourteenth and sixteenth bri-
gades, tried to envelop the enemy's left. At 11 a. m. it had
reached the line Lambri-Mourvilles.
On its left the thirty-second division, south of the main
road, was moving against Varennes and Coudere Haute. It
was supported in this attack by its divisional artillery and
the corps artillery.
The thirty-first division on its side pushed back the troops
that were holding the line Maur^mont -Villenou velle.
At the close of the maneuver, noon, the main part of the
seventeenth corps was grouped about la Bastide de Beauvoir,
which strong position was solidly occupied by the thirty-
fourth division. The thirty-third was still retiring by eche-
lons, fighting in retreat to reach and occupy the heights
MANEUVERS. 371
which run along the stream just et-st of Bazifege, which once
reached would enable it to join hands with the thirty-fourth
at la Bastide.
Cantonments Nights of September 5-6 and 6-7.
The seventeenth corps occupied the villages along its front
and to the rear as far as St. Foy, Odars, and Pempertuzat
(south of the canal) ; .its cavalry (two brigades) were at the
last-named place and Donneville. Outposts from CMteau
de Mourville by Varennes and down the right bank of the
stream to Bazi&ge.
The sixteenth corps was in the villages from Villenouvelle
to Maur^mont and Segreville and in those to the rear; its cav-
alry (two brigades) south of the canal as far west as Ville-
franche. Outposts from Falgayrac by Houliers and down
the left bank of the stream to Bazifege.
September 6 was a day of rest.
Instructions for the Maneuver of September 7.
The seventeenth corps will move in the night of September
6-7 to the positions Chateau de Montlaur, hill 223, hill 235,
Fourquevaux, where it should be in place at 6.45 a. m. It will
resist here to the last extremity, reinforcements being on the
way which should arrive by noon on the 7th.
The sixteenth corps will follow up its success by vigorously
attacking, at 5 a. m., the enemy which is retiring to the west.
Orders given by the Commanders of each side for the Movements
of September 7.
Seventeenth Corps. — The troops will fall back before
daylight under protection of the outposts.
The thirty-third division will take up the position Montlaur,
hill 223, up to Palis; the thirty-fourth will hold with one
brigade Palis, Tiff aut, and la Truffe, the other brigade will
form the general reserve.
The cavalry division (two brigades) will cover the right
flank.
The corps artillery will be posted (in "position d'attente,"
that is, concealed but with all elements ready for opening fire)
in the southwest angle of the roads that cross near Fourque-
vaux.
As soon as the attack of the enemy is pronounced, the out-
posts will fall back slowly upon the front of the position
372 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
indicated, each on its own division. (These outpost troops
consisted of four battalions.)
Sixteenth Corps and Colonial Brigade. — The corps
will resume its forward movement. The cavalry division
(two brigades), reinforced by two batteries of ^orse artillery,
will act against the enemy's right flank down the valley of
the Hers (that is, along the canal).
The thirty-first division will assemble to the east of Segre-
ville, with a detachment at Falgayrac, and take as its line of
direction the road to Segreville-Caragoudes.
The thirty-second will assemble at hill 219, north of Ces-
sales, with a detachment at Chateau Pausi£, and will attack
the enemy as soon as he is encountered.
A curtain composed of the colonial brigade, one battalion
of the one hundred and forty-third, and a group of corps
artillery will occupy the heights on the left bank of the stream
Varennes-Bazifege to keep the attention of the enemy and hold
his lines. In other words, General Pedoya, knowing his
superiority, determined to make a turning movement around
the enemy's left flank while holding his line by front attacks
and thus preventing his meeting this movement when it
should be discovered. The force for this turning movement
was the thirty-first division, which was ordered to move from
Segreville on Caragoudes and Tarabel.
The thirty-second was ordered to take as its axis the high
road from St. Germier to la Bastide. The curtain along the
stream, composed as stated, was ordered to march from
Lagrange upon Coud&re Haute and on to the southwest of la
Bastide.
These dispositions seemed entirely sound, the only criticism
possible being the separation by about 2 miles of the two right
columns of attack (leaving out the curtain of troops on the
left). These were divided by the Marquaisonne, a no mean
obstacle, and the country was very rough. The curtain
troops might also have given another group of artillery to
convince more effectually the enemy of a serious attack on
his right.
As it turned out, General Tisseyre did not worry himself
much about his right, and the turning movement having
been discovered, and indeed made itself felt before the attack
of the thirty-second division, he did not hesitafe to meet this
move by sending up his general reserve and making a change
MANEUVERS. 373
of front with Fourquevaux as a pivot. This he was able to
do without danger of having his center pierced by the thirty-
second division since it had not come up.
General Pedoya, finding the flank movement met in good
time, profited by the resulting weakness of the enemy's right
to make his decisive attack there with the colonials and
thirty-second division. These troops were cot fully assem-
bled, but were sent in, nevertheless, as it was late. This
attack was not pushed home, as it was 1 o'clock and the
troops had had a fatiguing day of marching since dawn;
therefore General Brugfere hoisted the signal for the end
of the maneuver.
The following is a more detailed r6sum6 of the day's
movements :
By 8.30 a. m. the sixteenth corps had begun to push back
the four battalions left by the seventeenth corps along its old
positions; by 9.30 the sixteenth had crossed the stream and
reached the heights west of the road; the right column
hal gotten to Tarabel.
At 10 a. m. the squadron of the thirty-fourth division
(seventeenth corps) reported to General Tisseyre that strong
columns of the enemy were seen about Tarabel. He immedi-
ately directed the brigade of the thirty-fourth, which was
his general reserve, upon Fourquet and Foucaud Chau. The
thirty-third division was ordered to hold fast with two regi-
ments along the line from Ratabou to Palis and send the
other two to Bichinis to be held ready for any eventuality.
It can be seen that this reserve could be thrown equally well
toward Fourquet or Palis.
On the other side, the thirty-first division continued its
movement toward Foucaud CMu, the thirty-second toward
la Pradasse and le Loup, further south. The latter's artil-
lery, established on the hill marked 241 (near the high road),
now took in reverse the brigade of the thirty-fourth division
at Foucaud; this and the advance of the thirty-second
obliged this brigade to retire to the south of the Marquai-
sonne and occupy the heights of Fourquevaux, which it did
under the protection of the batteries of the divisional and
corps artillery. (11.30 a. m.)
Meantime, the colonial brigade marching south of the high
road could not get further than Francou on account of the
fire which came from the two regiments near Embesse and
the six batteries on the hills near it.
374 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
About noon the thirty-second division took possession of
Palis. The thirty-first was attacking the heights of Fourque-
vaux when the maneuver was stopped (1 o'clock).
The cavalry does not seem to have been used to any effect
by either party during the day. The two divisions faced
each other near Ayguevives, and early in the day, after
maneuvering for position, they got ready to charge, but a
wide and deep ditch was found to separate the two forces;
the charge was halted and nothing happened. It would
have seemed a fair chance for a little fighting on foot, but
none was observed, the artillery alone firing.
On the evening of September 7 General Brug&re united the
sixteenth and seventeenth corps into an army, of which he
assumed command. The intention was to maneuver this
army against a represented enemy on the 8th and 9th. This
force, commanded by General De Lacroix, was constituted
by the sixty-seventh brigade, another provisional brigade of
infantry, a group of field artillery, and the thirteenth and
fourteenth brigades of cavalry united into a division and
reinforced by a group of horse artillery.
The place of the sixty-seventh brigade in the seventeenth
corps was taken by the colonial brigade.
Cantonments Night op September 7-8.
General Brugfcre's army was quartered as follows :
Sixteenth corps in the region from la Bastide and Bazi&ge,
on the south, to Odars and Belb^raud,. on the north.
Seventeenth corps to the northwest of the sixteenth from
St. Orens to Pempertuzat.
Cavalry division (sixteenth and seventeenth brigades)
south of the canal between Castanet and Toulouse.
The outposts began at Fontenilles (on the river three kilo-
meters due south of Lanta), ran west to the Marquaisonne,
and along its left bank to near Toulouse.
General De Lacroix's army was quartered along the line
Flourens, Quint, Lauzerville to Ste. Foy, and the villages to
the northeast.
Cavalry division on the right flank in the villages east of
Toulouse.
The outposts faced those of the enemy.
MANEUVERS. 375
Hypothesis op the Maneuver op September 8 and 9.
General Brugfere's army coming from the south has crossed
the Arifege at Auterive, Gr^piac, and Venerque, and on Sep-
tember 7, in the afternoon, after crossing the Canal du Midi,
has encountered the advance guard of the enemy and pushed
it back to the heights of Ste. Foy-Lauzerville.
General Brugfere intends to attack vigorously on the 8th
the force at Lauzerville; the main strength of the enemy
appears to be on the heights from Quint to Aigrefeuille and
St. Pierre.
Intentions and Orders for the Movement op September 8.
The commanding general intends first to hold the enemy
by a vigorous attack along his whole line and then act upon
one or the other of his flanks following the results obtained
by the preliminary action and the facilities offered by the
terrain as the fight develops it.
The seventeenth corps will take for its objective the line
Quint- Aigrefeuille, the sixteenth the line Aigrefeuille-Dre-
mil. These two corps will keep in touch with each other
along the line CMteau d'Odars, Lafiou, Testettes, Gde. Borde,
Aigrefeuille (a north-south line).
In each corps the movement will be executed with divisions
side by side. One brigade of the sixteenth corps will consti-
tute the general reserve ; at the opening of the action it will
be massed at Mourifes, 1,000 meters southeast of Belbdraud
(near the railroad).
The cavalry division will operate in the direction of Flou-
rens to worry the enemy about his communications with his
army in rear.
General De Lacroix had placed his first line along the hill
Cayras, Bordeneuve, 223, Lauzerville, Pujol, Ste. Foy; the
remaining six battalions organized the defense of the line
Quint- Aigrefeuille in rear; the engineers had placed bridges
over the Saune between these two lines.
Resume op the Maneuver of September 8.
The Southern army moved to the attack from right to left
as follows : Thirty-first division, thirty-second, thirty-fourth,
thirty-third; sixty-third brigade (thirty-second division) in
reserve. At 7.30 p. m. the thirty-first had "reached the
heights of Prdserville, the thirty-second was crossing the
376 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
river north of Odars, the thirty-fourth was at Auzielle,
the thirty-third at St. Orens.
An hour later, after preparation by the artillery lasting
half an hour, the thirty third took hill 214 and the thirty-
fourth Lauzerville and Larroque. At 9 a. m. the sixty-fourth
brigade took Pujol and half an hour later the thirty-first
division got possession of Ste. Foy and Enfarines.
The whole artillery of the two corps was now established a
little behind the long ridge running from Pr^serville through
Lauzerville to Cayras to prepare the attack against the main
position of the enemy, upon which his advance line had fallen
back. This withdrawal had taken place in good order under
the protection of two batteries posted at La Tourette (east of
Quint) and of three others near and west of Aigref euille.
The position from the hill northwest of Quint to that east of
Aigref euille was fortified and held by the whole force of Gen-
eral De Lacroix except one brigade in reserve south of Mon-
tauriol.
The artillery preparation lasted about half an hour, when
the infantry moved forward again. They crossed the Saune
between 10 and 10.30 a. m. and slowly climbed the slopes to
the enemy's position, each move being prepared and followed
by the artillery. The ground here afforded excellent cover to
the advancing troops, and constant and skillful use was made
of it by the small columns of attack which moved up along
the whole front.
The thirty-third division was directed against Quint, the
sixty-eighth brigade against Boisrond and la Serre, the
colonials against the Chateau Arbanfere, and the sixteenth
corps had reached Brignac on the right.
The assault of these positions was about to take place when
the enemy retired from them and fell back on the line Levade,
Montauriol, Dremil Lafage (the most southerly village of
that name).
The maneuver ended for the day, to be resumed on the 9th
where it left off.
The outposts the night of September 8-9 were established
by each army along the line Quint, Boisrond, Gde. Borde,
Brignac Lagarde.
The troops on each side went into bivouac or such canton-
ments as could be found within 2 or 3 miles of the outposts.
The cavalry of both sides was sent to the cantonments of the
previous night.
MANEUVERS. 377
Orders were given that all troops should find themselves at
5.45 a. m. in the positions they held at the close of the maneu-
vers on the 8th, these positions to be verified where necessary
"by the umpires. The signal for beginning the movement
will be hoisted about 6 a. m.
Note. — No change in any of the forces* was made, except
that the colonial brigade was moved from the first line to
become the general reserve at Gde. Borde, the sixty-third
brigade taking its place in line.
Resume op the Maneuver op September 9.
General De Lacroix placed one brigade at the most advan-
tageous point about Dremil and Montauriol and the ground
between, on one or the other side of the road, as was most'
suitable ; the other brigade was on the hills about Levade
and Serre, north of Quint; the artillery was posted on the
hill 243.
General Brugfere's forces moved to the attack as follows :
Thirty-first division on St. Pierre and Dremil, sixty-third
brigade on hill 243, sixty-fourth brigade on Piot. The artil-
lery of this corps (sixteenth) was firing from Bordes Haute
(south of St. Pierre) and Libournel.
In the seventeenth corps, the sixty-eighth brigade moved
on Montauriol, the thirty-third division on Levade passing
between Quint and La Tourette ; six batteries were on the
ridge of Boisrond, six others on hill 214 near Bordeneuve.
About 8.15 the sixty- third brigade debouched from Car-
bougnferes; General De Lacroix ordered the one hundred and
twenty-sixth infantry, till then in reserve behind the little
wood near hill 243, to make a counter attack in aid of the
regiment already engaged. It was a very fine sight, but
seemed like a useless sacrifice. This incident was one of the
inost striking examples of all the maneuvers I have seen of
the target made by a great mass of troops open to hot fire at
close range. It is wholly impossible to say what would have
happened had the guns been really loaded.
The brigade reserves and the colonials now coming up soon
made the counter-attack pause. It is probable that this
charge was ordered to cover the retreat of the rest of the
army to the north, a sufficiently difficult thing, with a stream
to cross and the enemy on their heels. It is also to be sus-
pected that an aimable desire to close the maneuvers with a
378 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
magnificant spectacle for the benefit of the vast throng of the
country people assembled, all of whom had friends and rela-
tives among the troops, was not absent from the minds of
the officers who arranged the work of the day.
Meantime the ront of the Northern army was completed by
the taking of hill 243 by the colonials and by Lacase and
Levade falling before the seventeenth corps. Dremil and
Chateau Lafage had also been taken by the rest of the six-
teenth corps. The attack had thus gained the enemy's posi-
tions along the whole line and General Brug&re had the
maneuver stopped.
There was no review of the troops by the president this
year as has been customary, but at the close of the day the
^various organizations were assembled where they had
attacked and the minister of war rode along the lines and
conferred a number of decorations.
In the afternoon of the 9th all the troops were marched to
the cantonments they were to occupy in view of the departure
which took place on the 10th, when all were sent by rail or
marching to their garrisons.
Forty trains conveying troops left the vicinity of Toulouse
between 9 a. m. and 6 p. m. on the 10th: the troops that
marched set out on the 11th.
OBSERVATIONS.
The impression seems to have been left upon the minds of
all who witnessed this year's maneuvers that they were more
businesslike, more instructive, more interesting, and less
spectacular than any seen in recent years, although no new
questions were definitely solved. Indeed, it would seem that
those most under discussion will never be decided to the satis-
faction of Frenchmen until a long campaign has shown con-
clusively what ohanges in the old system are made imperative
by the smokeless powder, flat trajectory, long range, and
rapid fire of present infantry and artillery weapons:
These things have been discussed in the press, both civil
and military, and the " teachings of the Boer war " have been
cited ad nauseam for over two years.
Writers without other responsibility than the possession of
a printing press have been crying aloud for changes and
demanding the adoption of new methods of combat which
will enable an army of Frenchmen fighting in France to
MANEUVERS. 379
stand off odds as great as those met by an army of Boers
fighting in South Africa.
Those high in military authority have met this indis-
criminate clamor with both conservatism and open-minded-
ness. The Frenchman is not a Boer in physique or habits of
life ; France is not the South African veldt, and the French
army is first and forefhost, if not wholly, maintained to
defend the national territory or at best to make a campaign in
contiguous countries. At the same time those teachings of
the recent war applicable and essential to a continental army
have been studied carefully by the highest military chiefs
and it is not to be supposed that somo of their published
works dealing with the subject represent the whole result of
their labors. On the contrary, the matter is being examined
most carefully and the changes made clearly necessary by
the progress of armament are being tried and doubtless will
be slowly introduced ; but where the best responsible military
intellects are widely at variance as to the needfulness and
the scope of these changes, it would seem that the French
Government is acting wisely in not making too great haste.
The French army is too large a body to be remodeled and
retaught unless the necessity for it is unquestionable.
If the year's maneuvers did not settle the question of what
changes in battle tactics are imperative and what needless,
they did offer occasions to practice some of the new ideas and
furnished to all the chance to think and compare on the
ground, in the presence of actual formations of troops en-
gaged, and to draw conclusions more or less definite as to
whether battles can be fought to-day in the same fashion as
they were fifteen years ago.
The terrain about Toulouse was admirably adapted to
marches of approach under cover and illustrated the need
and value of scouting. No points of vantage offered a post
from which a general could see his army, his corps, or some-
times even a whole brigade. The necessity for initiative in
the lower commanders was evident to all, and fortunately the
rigid formations of the drill book, so tempting to follow on
the great plains where the maneuvers often take place, were
out of the question on this broken ground.
The eternal question of formations for assault was much
talked of during and after the maneuvers, and plenty of
criticism could be heard upon the terrible loss of life which
380 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
must ensue when masses of men are moving against a hill in
final assault; this is inevitably the first thought of observers
unaccustomed to seeing bodies as large as army corps in
action. But the question may fairly be asked, how can 40,000
men attack a position about 4 miles long (as for example on
September 8) without being seen and fired at in close forma-
tions?
Ten thousand men to a mile means 600 to every hundred
yards, and at the place chosen for assault, more than this.
The successive lines and the reserves can not produce their
effect if not close enough together; if close together, how
avoid a large target and much loss? Is, then, the assault to
be given up? Even flank attacks if not complete surprises
present nearly the same problem between forces about equal.
If there is to be no assault, will the enemy be driven in con-
fusion from his position and a decisive result obtained ?
Each man asks himself or others these and similar questions
and the replies are as various as the individuals. The French
in general believe that the assault must be made as heretofore;
that the troops for this work must accomplish the final act by
shock, and that to this end a certain density of formation is
necessary ; heavy losses in these troops will be inevitable, but
the position will be carried and it will be carried in no other
way. So, also, in no other way will effective and disorganizing
pursuit be usually possible.
If an intelligent reason can be given for the dense forma-
tions under fire sometimes seen where the ground makes cover
impossible, it is hard to defend the poor use of cover made by
the individual French soldier. On outpost, on the defensive
and thus stationary, he will get in a ditch or behind a wall
if told, but in moving to the attack he almost always stands
and fires, kneeling only when ordered to, which is far from
habitual ; as for lying down it practically is not done except
to rest. It may be that all this would correct itself when
bullets come singing by, but since maneuvers are for instruc-
tion and therefore intended to inculcate correct habits, it
would seem that here is the place to teach the individual that
use of cover which has been dinned into Europe's ears Qver
since 1899.
The most precious if not the only effects of training that
remain to the enlisted man or subaltern officer when once
engaged under killing fire are the habits and instincts made
MANEUVERS. 381
part of his physical system by long and intelligent instruc-
tion ; these habits and instincts constitute the only effective
difference in battle between disciplined regulars and undis-
ciplined levies, and they chiefly cause the former to succeed
where the latter would fail.
In these days more than ever a perfect drill book presenting
a most skillful method of attack can not make soldiers suc-
ceed whose individual habits as fighting men are bad. The
intelligent procedure, then, is to prescribe a general method
of attack premitting much elasticity of application; educate
the officers to a thinking use of this elasticity, and the men,
the tools, to an instinctive obedience to the necessities of the
ground.
This elasticity, producing considerable variety of method
during this year's maneuvers, was the most noticeable result
of the recent wide criticism of the old attack formations.
The influence of the new ideas upon company and battalion
commanders, as well as upon the higher grades, was evident,
but the enlisted men seemed unchanged in those bad habits
above referred to and commented upon in previous years.
There is another side to this question containing an impor-
tant lesson to ourselves. The French soldier's pack is of such
bulk (it weighs less than ours) and so carried that he has
much trouble in shooting prone ; this, then, is probably one
reason why he has not the habit seen in our men of lying down
to fi?e; he really prefers to stand as a matter of comfort and
he can not shoot well if he does lie down.
The lesson to be drawn from this is, make the pack as light
as possible; reduce it to just what a man would carry when
going off with three days' rations and the anticipation of long
marches and constant fighting; place it in the small of his
back; reduce its bulk. Having done this, require him to
carry it whenever he is under arms — drill in it, do guard in
it, above all shoot in it in all positions and especially when
skirmishing.
The French soldier carries his pack as easily and as natu-
rally as he does his rifle; for him the two go inevitably
together — it is one of his good habits inculcated by peace
training — but the load is too heavy and too bulky and he
can't shoot prone in it.
On the other hand our men have excellent habits of seek-
ing cover and skill in shooting prone, but they have acquired
382 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902,
them through always drilling and shooting without any pack.
A combination of these respective good habits is most neces-
sary and can only be obtained in the way indicated.
The following remarks on the attack of positions are be-
lieved to translate the ideas obtaining among the officers who
to-day direct the training of the French army : The new the-
ories which deny the possibility of an assault and admit only
fire action and enveloping movements are considered danger-
ous, and if allowed prevent a decisive result from being
obtained. The South- African war is an example in point;
no one of its battles was decisive to either side, since neither
seemed capable of final offensive action. It is to protest
against such theories that the attack continues to be made in
the French maneuver battles, though it is wholly granted
that the assaulting columns must remain under cover until a
complete preparation has been accomplished.
The latter is effected by the artillery and by deployed
infantry which has gotten to as close range as possible; it is
considered complete when the enemy's front is wholly engaged
and his reserves neutralized by the expectation of assault and
the uncertainty of the point chosen; when a fierce and in-
creasing fire has reduced his effective and shaken his nerve,
and when the assaulting troops have gotten within striking
distance without being seriously shaken or reduced by the
enemy's fire.
The above results once accomplished and the fire of the
enemy practically silenced, the troops designated to make
the decisive attack move upon the demoralized enemy with-
out pause and drive him from his position with the bayonet.
The fire at will is the habitual fire employed, volleys used
only exceptionally. Fire is opened only when it can be made
effective, and then with all the intensity consistent with the
supply of ammunition and the further work to be done.
The grand maneuvers this year presented unusually favor-
able occasions for the employment of cavalry in what wo con-
sider one of its most important roles, that is, rapid movements
to favorable positions followed by fighting on foot; but it can
not be said that advantage was taken of these opportunities,
and this in spite of the example to a certain extent set in
General Donop's maneuvers, already referred to, or the teach-
ings of that officer.
The ground was such that cavalry could readily move under
cover to favorable positions for fire action against infantry
MANEUVERS. 383
columns or against the enemy's cavalry heid fast by the nu-
merous impassable obstacles of the terrain. But it seems a
point of honor with French cavalrymen to attack opposing
cavalry only with the saber, however favorable the opportunity
to get behind air obstacle and fight on foot.
There are no more intelligent or hard-working officers in
the army than in the cavalry, but in no arm is tradition so
oppressive or outside interference so much resented. It is not
an exaggeration to say that the average cavalry officer would
rather sacrifice himself and his men in a fine charge with the
saber or lance than accomplish a useful result through what
he feels is the ignominious method prescribed for "mounted
infantry."
The whole matter is a question of caste which military con-
viction can nob dissolve, and it must inevitably injure the
usefulness of a brilliant and devoted body of officers.
If it must be acknowledged that maneuvers can not conclu-
sively show this or that method of combat to be good or bad,
can only illustrate theories and not prove them, the same
inconclusiveness can not be alleged as regards the visibility
of uniforms, the marching capacity of the men, the suitable-
ness of their equipment, or the mobility and strength of the
artillery material.
In all these things the maneuvers, as conducted in France,
offer conclusions hardly less valuable than could be drawn
after a campaign.
Previous reports, dealing especially with the artillery, have
expressed the opinion that French officers had good cause for
their general satisfaction with the qualities of mobility, resist-
ance, and freedom from derangement exhibited by the 75-mm.
gun.
Nobody has ever doubted the wonderful effectiveness of this
piece as shown in polygon tests, but the statement has been
often made in many countries that it was too complicated, too
liable to derangement, too hard to repair, and too heavy to
stand the rough work of a campaign.
If the French had any doubts on this subject they gave little
evidence of worry, and certainly they are not the kind of peo-
ple to go on turning out each year a thousand or more guns
of the same type without having had severe tests of their
resisting power under campaign conditions.
384 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
These tests were never given out, but those to which the
batteries were incidentally subjected this year in the maneu-
vers over the rough ground around Toulouse were sufficiently
convincing to those who saw them. Freshly plowed fields,
others of standing corn ready to cut, bad roads, steep slopes,
and numerous ditches offered a sufficient variety of obstacles
to test all the field qualities of the artillery, and it can not be
denied that it acquitted itself brilliantly.
Indeed, the almost reckless disregard for men, horses, and
material during combat can not fail to strike any observer.
In action, when a movement is necessary, the movement is
made exactly as it would be were the fight real. If a ditch, a
stream, or a cornfield lies in the way of the artillery changing
position, if a heavy plowed field divided by treacherous banks
and ditches confronts the cavalry about to charge, there is no
going round to find a safer way or an easier place, unless always
it is evident that this exists near by and that time would be
saved. The artillery horses are put at the ditch and the gun
bumps over as best it can; a carriage may break a tongue or
a wheel, but the others have gotten to where they are needed
and the broken tongue is quickly replaced and the other gun
comes up; the leading squadron has a dozen men unseated as
the horses fail at the deceptive obstacle, but the others follow
steadily on, undisturbed by the knowledge that more men will
be spilled.
It is admirable training and spirit, and as far as the mounted
services are concerned, vividly illustrates the value of the hard
work done all the year round over every sort of obstacle pre-
pared on the garrison maneuver fields or sought in any cross-
country ground available.
The question of the too great visibility of French campaign
uniforms seems for the first time to have been made a subject
of serious study this year. The khaki uniforms, the russet-
leather equipments, bronze buttons, leather sword scabbard,
campaign hat, etc., characterizing the dress of the British or
American officers attending the maneuvers, received marks of
decided approval from the Minister of War, many general
officers, and the military press. As a result, a board of officers
was convened to study this question and in a preliminary
report (as published in the press) they recommended changes in
the French field uniform following pn the lines of our own, the
MANEUVERS. 385
suppression of bright metal and the substitution of a felt hat
for the forage cap being noticeable suggestions.
If these recommendations are given effect at all it can not
be for many years, since the replacing of a stock of over a
million uniforms is not a matter which the French budget can
lightly contemplate.
Nothing but admiration can be expressed for the endurance
and cheerfulness of the troops of all arms. Generally they
left their cantonments at 3 a. m., marched and maneuvered
till noon, and then, after a rest of an hour or two, marched
another two or three hours to the next cantonments. Some-
times the day was much longer than this.
During the "long halt" after noon the ingenuity of the
Frenchmen in the matter of making a good meal with few
resources was evinced in the most picturesque and yet sub-
stantial fashion.
The stacks would be formed where the battalion halted at
the "cease maneuver," in line or column of companies of other
formation. Then each little family (a squad of eight) would
begin preparations for a comfortable meal out of the provi-
sions kept from the supper of the previous night. Each squad
had a different method and the supplies produced from the
haversack were no lpss various. Here a man would be peeling
raw potatoes to boil, there last night's cooked potatoes were
being mashed to go in the gravy ; here a piece of raw beef
was being broiled or sausages ingeniously grilled on twigs
across the fire trench, while in the next squad the cold roast
beef was being heated up with fat to make the gravy. Every-
where were tiny fires, made of the twigs collected before the
morning's march began and carried all day on the knapsack,
and over them water boiling for the coffee.
Wherever the army halts, whether it consists of eight men or
eighty thousand men, the method is the same. A portion of
last night's supper, prepared most skillfully in each squad, is
eaten with hot coffee ; then a rest and in good weather a nap,
after which the march to the night's cantonment is begun.
As this system is exactly that which would obtain in war,
it is evident how useful is its constant practice during all
maneuvers. Indeed, it can hardly be truthfully said, as somo
maintain, that the maneuvers of large bodies of troops is
solely an exercise —though a most necessary one — to the gen-
eral and staff officers ; it is equally a practice to the enlisted
386 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 190J.
men in marching, sleeping, eating, and taking care of them-
selves under the precise conditions which would obtain in a
campaign on European territory.
There was no " special attraction "offered by the great mil-
itary show of this year. In 1900 carrier pigeons and the
extensive usfc of automobiles were the talk of the newspaper
correspondents; in 1901, such space as was left after gossip
concerning the Czar and suite, the grand review of 140,000
men, and the cavalry charges, was devoted to the numerous
balloons and wireless telegraphy; this year these various
novelties were reduced to simply practical proportions.
Automobiles, usually small, light, and powerful, and in
cases capable of going across rough fields, were used by Gen-
eral Brugfere, his guest, the Prince of the Asturias, and the
two corps commanders, but their use was restricted to serious
business. Indeed, I remember seeing only five in all. No
balloon was employed except a small one for hoisting signals,
and there was no carrier-pigeon service and no wireless
telegraphy.
GERMAN MANEUVERS.
[Reported k\ Li Err. Col. J. B. Kerr, Assistant Adjutant General, Vnitkd States Military
Attache at Berlin.]
While the German Kaiser maneuvers several years ago
were held between two armies, each composed of several
corps, the maneuvers of 1902, in accordance with the practice
of recent years, were restricted to the employment of two
army corps. The organizations of the two corps were estab-
lished as far as practicable, excepting as to their strength,
after the model adopted for war, which finds its greatest
expression in the fact that each corps is composed of three
divisions. The opposing forces being thus limited, their
contact furnished more important tactical than strategical
lessons.
The maneuver was held in eastern Prussia, within and
immediately to the west of the territory acquired from
Poland, near the Russian frontier.
The forces engaged were designated as the Blue and the
Red, the strength of each being 35,000 men.
General of Infantry Von Lignitz, the commander of the
third army corps, commanded the Blue. His forces advanced
from the west and consisted of his entire army corps, the
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MANEUVERS. 387
third augmented by the first guard infantry division, which
in turn had been reinforced by the Leib guard hussar regi-
ment as divisional cavalry, by one company of pioneers of
the guard corps, and by the first and second guard cavalry
brigades. There were also attached to the corps, balloon and
telegraph detachments. The Blue cavalry up to include
September 10 consisted of one regiment with each division as
divisional cavalry, and one cavalry division designated as
cavalry division A. The latter was composed of three cav-
alry brigades, two batteries of horse artillery of the first
guard field artillery, one machine-gun " abtheilung " (bat-
tery), one bicycle company, and a detachment of guard
pioneers. During September 11 and 12, cavalry divisions A
and B were united into a corps, under the immediate com-
mand of the Emperor, and constituted a part of the Blue
force.
The Red army was under the command of General of
Infantry Vofl Stulpnagel, the commander of the fifth army
corps. * His forces advanced from the east and consisted of
the fifth army corps, reinforced by the provisional forty-first
infantry division formed by two brigades taken from the
second army corps, with dragoon regiment No. 3 as divisional
cavalry, and one provisional field artillery brigade. A regi-
ment of mounted orderlies acted as divisional cavalry to the
tenth infantry division of this corps, this being the first time
orderlies have been employed in the Kaiser maneuver in
regimental organization. The remaining infantry division,
the ninth, was reinforced by the uhlan regiment No. 1 as
divisional cavalry. Cavalry division B was also under the
Red commander until the evening of September 10. This
division was composed of three brigades, two batteries of
horse artillery, one machine-gun battery, and a pioneer
detachment.
There were altogether engaged in the Kaiser maneuver 79
battalions, 90 squadrons, 78 batteries of field and horse artil-
lery, 4 machine-gun batteries, 9 pioneer companies, 2 corps
telegraph and 2 balloon detachments. The organizations of
the Blue and the Red forces are shown in detail in the
accompanying diagrams.
The Emperor acted as chief umpire, excepting during the
last two days, when he commanded the Blue cavalry corps,
the function of chief umpire being performed for this time
388 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
by Field Marshal Prince Albrecht of Prussia, assisted by
Major General v. Gossler, chief quartermaster in the general
staff. There were also fourteen other general officers and two
colonels on duty as umpires. To each of these umpires were
assigned five officers, principally from the general staff, as
adjutants, and a number of noncommissioned officers and
privates for duty.
The maneuver direction was under the charge of General
of Cavalry Count v. Schlieffen, chief of the general staff, who
acted under the supervision of the Emperor, and in his absence
under that of Field Marshal Prince Albrecht.
Besides the regular army with the colors, 199,795 men addi-
tional from the reserve, landwehr, and the ersatz reserve were
called into active service with the Prussian army corps alone,
for periods of time varying from fourteen to twenty-eight
days during the year 1902. Of this number 12,440 men
engaged in the Kaiser maneuvers with the third army corps
and 9,595 with the fifth. They were called August 1 for
twenty-eight days' service, and were required to report in
time to have twenty days' drill, discipline, and practice in
marching before the maneuvers commenced.
In accordance with the requirements of the field- service
regulations, the organizations taking part in the Kaiser
maneuvers left in their garrisons about one-fifth of their
strength. These consisted of the sick, the physically weak,
and detachments for guard. As many men as were necessary
were recalled to the colors to make up the prescribed peace
establishments. The cavalry regiments recalled only as many
men as they could mount on horses in condition for hard serv-
ice. The commanders of squadrons decided whether young
remounts should be taken or not. After the permanent organ-
izations were thus reinforced, new organizations of peace
strength were formed. The battalion was the highest organ-
ization formed for the Kaiser maneuvers. There were, how-
ever, entire new infantry regiments of war strength organ-
ized for the corps maneuvers of the seventh, tenth, and
seventeenth army corps. In the formation of new organiza-
tions for all the maneuvers, nearly one-half the officers and
noncommissioned officers were taken from the active army,
these being detached for this duty. The places thus made
vacant were filled temporarily by officers and noncommis-
sioned officers from the reserve and landwehr. The remaining
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MANEUVERS. 389
officers and noncommissioned officers of the new organi-
zations came from the various reserves. In selecting the
classes for the exercises regard was had that the men, if pos-
sible, be able to exercise at least once as reservists and once as
landwehrmen. In the landwehr the selection began with the
youngest class, in the reserve with the second youngest class.
The calling in of the chief, assistant, and under surgeons,
and veterinary surgeons was under regulations prescribed in
special orders. Enlisted men called in for the maneuvers
from the reserve and landwehr, whose annual incomes were
less than $714 each, were exempted from the payment of all
taxes during the exercise months; an entire month being tax
free if one day's service was had in the month. Before the
granting of this tax freedom, however, applications were
required to be made for the same. These were handed in
after the maneuvers to the proper civil authorities.
The territory used for the maneuvers extended from Frank-
fort on the Oder west to Posen. It is bordered on the west
and south by the Oder. The Obra runs nearly parallel with
the border between the provinces of Posen and Brandenburg,
and flows into the Warthe at Schwerin. It passes through a
section strengthened by numerous lakes and divides the
region into two parts of about equal size, the eastern of
which served mainly as the exercise ground of the fifth army
corps and the western that of the third army corps. In the
environs of Schermeisel the Baltic hills rise to respectable
heights. Eastward to the Obra these hills decline gradually,
forming terraces, until in front of Meseritz a wide valley
begins, in the center of which the town is situated at the
crossing of the Obra. The latter is a stream of considerable
width and of dark color due to the swampy subsoil. The
swampy character of the ground makes the Obra a formi-
dable hindrance totroops of any kind. As the lakes generally
had marshy, reedy borders, the water supply of the troops
was somewhat complicated. The maneuver ground was rich
in forests, especially on the lower Warthe and on the Oder
between Frankfort and Zullichau. Smaller water courses
with marshy borders also cut the generally hilly ground.
There are two main roads from Posen to the Oder. The
northern is along the left bank of the Warthe to Custrin, and
the southern extends through Gratz Zullichau to Grossen
Frankfort, with branches through Meseritz and Schwiebus.
390 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Ground on the maneuver field exempted from occupancy
by the troops, such as nurseries, hop, tobacco, and garden
grounds, etc., which could not be readily distinguished at a
great distance, were marked before the beginning of the
maneuver, by means of conspicuous notices placed on sign-
boards at the height of nine feet. Ditches, steep inclines, and
pits were marked by black flags. All field damages by the
troops, which were caused by the owners neglecting to timely
harvest the crops, gave no valid claim for indemnification.
Citizens were required to submit claims for damages within
two days after the end of the maneuver. The expenses for
damages during the Kaiser maneuvers last year having been
unusually large, on account of the unfavorable weather and
the backward crops, the Emperor directed that for the present
year and in the future, while actual damages would be fully
compensated, excessive and unjust claims must be strongly
rejected.
The fifth army corps having been assembled, its Kaiser
parade was held for the first time in the province of Posen,
on the drill ground near the village of Lawica, four miles
from the city of Posen. The troops during and after con-
centration were generally billeted. The great parade of this
corps took place September 3, when it was inspected and
reviewed by the Emperor just previous to its start for the
maneuvers. From the 4th to the 8th of September, inclusive,
the corps marched, practicing reconnoitering exercises.
The third army corps was assembled in like manner for its
Kaiser parade at Frankfort on the Oder, where the corps was
paraded, inspected, and reviewed by the Emperor on Septem-
ber 6. The distinguished foreign guests, to whom His Majesty
the Emperor and King had forwarded invitations to attend
the maneuvers as his special guests, assembled here and
formed a brilliant attending suite. Among, these from the
United States, were Maj. Gen. Henry C. Corbin, Adjutant
General, United States Army, Maj. Gen. Samuel B. M. Young,
and Brig. Gen. Leonard Wood, with their aids de camp;
Lieut. Col. John A. Johnston, assistant adjutant general;
First Lieuts. Frank R. McCoy, Tenth Cavalry, and James F.
McKinley, Fourteenth Cavalry. From Great Britain, Field
Marshal Earl Roberts, Lieutenant Generals French and Kelly-
Kenny, Major General Hamilton, Secretary of State for War
Brodrick, and the Earl of Lonsdale. From Italy, General
Saletta, chief of the general staff. From Bavaria, Crown
MANEUVERS. 391
Prince Ludwig, and Princes Leopold and Amulf. From
other countries, General Granadez of the Republic of Guate-
mala, the Crown Prince of Roumania, Prince Henry of
Prussia, Field Marshal Count Waldersee, and the military
attaches of the United States, Great Britain, France, Russia,
Austria, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and the Argentine Republic.
The numerous attendants of the high personages and foreign
officers is an eloquent evidence of the generous hospitality of
the Emperor. The difficulties arising from the transporting,
mounting, quartering, boarding, and guiding of all the invited
guests and of the officers attached to and accompanying them
were overcome in a faultless manner, and the model-like
machinery put in operation for this purpose proved a valuable
and pleasant lesson of the maneuvers. The parade and sub-
sequent maneuver took a splendid turn. The reinforcements
of this corps for .the maneuver from the guard corps did not*
attend fhe parade, as they were paraded and inspected by the
Emperor with the guard corps on the Tempelhofer field,
Berlin, August 30, previous to marching for the maneuvers.
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS.
The following official announcements were given out by
the maneuver direction concerning war dispositions, situa-
tions, intentions, events, etc., from day to day during the
maneuvers :
GENERAL DISPOSITION.
A Red army corps has crossed the Weichsel and advanced in the direc-
tion of Rogasen ; another from the south has advanced through Silesia in
the direction of Sagan.
A Blue army corps is being concentrated near Frankfort on the Odor.
SPECIAL DISPOSITION FOR BLUE.
The Blue (third) army corps is to repulse the enemy, who has invaded
the territory.
On the evening of September 7, there are in position near Frankfort on
the Oder the fifth and sixth infantry divisions on the left bank, and the
sixth cavalry brigade on the right bank of the Oder, while the remainder
of cavalry division A is at Drossen. The first guard infantry division,
which has been placed at the disposition of the commanding general, is to
be transferred to Landsberg on the Warthe, by rail, by noon September 8.
Additional troops are being concentrated on the left of the Oder.
The northern army corps of the enemy crossed the Warthe with the
left wing of its infantry on September 5 at Obornik, and with its right
wing on the sixth at Wronke. The main body of its cavalry was on this
day at Neustadt. The advance guard of the southern army corps of the
enemy is expected at Sagan on the 8th.
392 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
SPECIAL DISPOSITION FOR RED.
Both army corps shall endeavor to effect a junction in the direction of
the enemy. On the evening of September 7, the northern army corps
(fifth) reached Zirke with the main body of the forty -first infantry divi-
sion ; Kwiltsch with that of the tenth, Neastadt with that of the ninth,
and Bentschen with cavalry division B. The southern army corps is to
reach Sagan on the following day with its advance guard.
EVENTS OF SEPTEMBER 8 AND INTENTIONS FOR SEPTEMBER 9.
Blue.
The third army corps began its advance September 8 from Frankfort on
the Oder, in two columns, against the enemy approaching by Obornik and
Wronke.
The following points were reached :
By the fifth infantry division, Reppen, with advance guard at Botts-
chow.
By the sixth infantry division, Drossen, with part of its advance guard
•at Heinersdorf .
Cavalry division A on the morning of September 8 moved the sixth
cavalry brigade, which, on September 7, was still near Frankfort on the
Oder with the machine-gun battery of the third army corps, by Schon-
walde, Lindow, to near Grochow. It also advanced the two guard cavalry
brigades, the battalion of horse artillery, and the two machine-gun bat-
teries of the guard corps from Drossen by Zielenzig, Schermeisel, as far as
Grochow.
Cavalry division A, now united, marched northeast from Grochow with
the intention of observing the flank of tho advancing enemy, and to veil
the approach of the first guard infantry division. Its reconnoitering
squadrons had along its whole front come in touch with the reconnoiter-
ing detachments of the enemy. Late in the afternoon the cavalry divi-
sion went into bivouac between Falkenwalde and Neudorf.
The first guard infantry division by noon of September 8 had arrived at
Landstxrg by rail and went into close quarters south of Landsberg, occupy-
ing the Obra line from Blesen down stream; one company securing the
crossing near Zantoch.
By noon September 9 the commanding general intends to reach, with
the advance guards of the fifth and sixth infantry divisions, the line
Grunow-Lagow, forest outlets west of Langenpfuhl. The first guard in-
fantry division the line Neudorf-Grunzig.
Cavalry division A stands ready near Neudorf.
Red.
The fifth army corps, on September 8, continued its advance march
undisturbed by the enemy. Only reconnoitering detachments repeatedly
met the enemy.
The following points were reached by the advance guards :
Of the forty-first infantry division, Politzig.
Of the tenth infantry division, Schierzig.
Of the ninth infantry division, Lagowitz.
"NVv»r and to the east of these points the divisions went into bivouacs.
MANEUVERS. 393
Cavalry division B advanced from Bentschen by Stentsch, Schwiebus, to
Wutschdorf. It also came into touch with the enemy only with its
reconnoitering detachments. In the afternoon the division went into
bivouac in the locality of Lagow, Grunow, Wutschdorf , and Selchow.
On September 9 the commanding general intends to advance as follows:
Forty -first infantry division, by Meseritz, Pieske, to Tempel.
Tenth infantry division, by Banchwitz, Hammermuhle, Kalau, Hoch-
walde, Seeren, to Langenpf uhl.
Ninth infantry division, by Schindelmuhl, Paradies, Starpel, toSchonow.
Cavalry division B stands ready to advance in a northerly direction
and to place itself at the head of the vanguards of its infantry divisions.
SEPTEMBER 9.
Blue. .
The third army corps continued its advance march as intended. Weak
mixed detachments early occupied the forest edge west of Grunow, the
narrows near Lagow, the forest edge west of Langenpfuhl and east of
Grochow, also Neudorf and Grunzig. The reconnoitering detachments
of the enemy experienced much opposition in observing the advance
march.
The following points were reached by the advance guards :
Of the fifth infantry division, Lagow.
Of the sixth infantry division, Grochow.
Of the right column of the first guard infantry division, Neudorf.
Of the left column of this division, Grunzig.
The main bodies went into bivouac in rear of the advance guards.
During the day no important engagements occurred with the army corps
of the enemy.
Cavalry division A, in further carrying out its intention of operating
against the right flank of the enemy, advanced from Neudorf at 5.80
a. m. through Blesen, east of the Obra, to Meseritz. It succeeded in sur-
prising in attack the head of the forty -first infantry division. In leav-
ing by Weissensee it suffered considerable losses by artillery fire from
the environs of Kurzig. It then remained for observation between
Neudorf and Grunzig. The division went into bivouac for the night
near Gleissen.
The reconnoitering squadron sent against Krossen reported that cuiras-
sier patrols of the enemy were recognized in the afternoon of September
8 near Sommerfeld and Chris tianstadt.
The commanding general intends to attack on September 10. The fifth
infantry division is to march north of the line of lakes against Tempel.
The sixth infantry division and the first guard infantry division are to
turn the right wing of the enemy.
Cayalry division A is to advance by Blesen.
Red.
Cavalry division B advanced at 7.30 a. m from the line Langow-Selchow
through Schonow to Pieske and joined with the advance guard of the
forty-first infantry division north of the latter place. It next took posi-
tion east of Lake Pieske, where it held itself in readiness and observed to
394 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
the north, also the east outlets of the beech forest. When shortly after
10 o'clock the infantry of the enemy with some guns debouched from the
forest west of Tempel, the horse artillery of the cavalry division deployed
against them and compelled them to retreat into the forest.
The forty -first infantry division, marching by Meseritz, had deviated
from its course in the direction of Kurzig, when its head, near Lange's Vw. ,
was surprised and attacked by a hostile cavalry division with machine
guns, which had advanced along the right bank of the Obra through
Blesen, the infantry division suffering heavy losses. The division later,
from the height due southwest of Kurzig, fired with its artillery at this
hostile cavalry division, which then withdrew through Weissensee to
height 79, southwest of Weissensee.
In accordance with orders received from the general headquarters at
12 o'clock noon, the tenth infantry division turned off through Hochwalde
to Pieske, and the ninth infantry division through Burschen to Seeren.
The latter in the afternoon compelled weak hostile infantry and artillery
west of Langenpf uhl to retreat into the beech forest.
In the evening, cavalry division B was in bivouac near Ober Gorzig, the
forty-first infantry division near Kurzig, the tenth infantry division near
Pieske, with advanced posts against Tempel, and the ninth infantry
division near Seeren, with its advanced posts at Langenpf uhl and Schonow.
The commanding general intends to attack, on September 10, the forty-
first infantry division in the direction of Grunzig, the tenth infantry
division by Tempel, in the direction of Neudorf , and cavalry division B,
the flank and rear of the hostile division.
The ninth infantry division is to advance by Langenpf uhl against Gro-
chow, and is to block the narrows east of Gross Kirschbaum with a
detachment.
SEPTEMBER 10.
Blue.
The commanding general of the third army corps intended not to
advance or to attack until after the arrival of the fifth infantry division
north of the line of lakes. The fifth infantry division, however, was
attacked in the beech forest by a hostile division (ninth) from the direc-
tion of Langenpf uhl, and after a fluctuating fight was compelled to retreat
upon Schermeisel.
The sixth infantry division while deploying was attacked from Tempel
by a hostile division (the tenth), its left flank was turned and the
division was thrown against Grochow.
The first guard infantry division was standing in a position of readiness
between Neudorf and Grunzig, when it was attacked by a hostile division
(forty-first) from Kurzig and Weissensee. It maintained itself and in its
turn attacked with its right wing in the direction of Tempel, without,
however, gaining a decision in its favor.
Cavalry division A participated with its artillery in the fight of the first
guard infantry division. Its left flank was temporarily threatened near
Blesen by a hostile cavalry division, which, however, soon withdrew. It
did not follow. The division remained on the left wing of the army corps,
where a cavalry division newly arrived by Landsberg on the Warthe
united and formed with it a cavalry corps.
MANEUVERS. 395
The fifth infantry division bivouacked for the night near Lake Vorwerk ;
the sixth infantry division near Gleissen; the first guard infantry division
near Falkenwalde and Oscht, occupying Grunzig; the cavalry corps north
of Weissensee. *
The commanding general intends to attack on September 11.
Red.
The fifth array corps attacked as follows :
The forty-first infantry division, in two columns, in the direction of
Grunzig and "Die Zauche;" the fighting here remained undecided.
The tenth infantry division deployed from Tempel on both sides of the
main road to Grochow against the hostile sixth infantry division, which
was not then deployed, turned its left wing and drove it toward Grochow.
The ninth infantry division met the hostile fifth infantry division in the
beech forest and compelled it to retreat toward Schermeisel.
Cavalry division B advanced against the hostile left flank from Ober
Gorzig by Blesen, but before being able to participate in the fight it had
to be sent away in a southern direction to form connection with the sixth
army corps advancing against Krossen.
The commanding general then withdrew the forty-first infantry division
to Tempel ; the tenth infantry division followed the enemy up to Grochow ;
the ninth infantry division pursued the enemy to Schermeisel. Near
these places they went into bivouac.
The commanding general intends on September 11 to stand on the
defensive — the forty-first infantry division northwest of Tempel ; the tenth
infantry division behind height 152 northeast of Schmacht; the ninth
infantry division is to cover the left flank of the corps in the direction of
Gleissen-Lake Vorwerk on the hills west of and near Grochow.
The right flank is to be secured by a strengthened regiment of cavalry.
SEPTEMBER 11.
Blue.
The third army corps attacked all along the line in the following order:
The fifth infantry division toward Grochow, turning the hostile left
wing.
The sixth infantry division by Posersfelde Vorwerk toward the heights
near Schmacht.
The first guard infantry division by Neudorf in the direction of the
heights near Tempel.
The cavalry corps from near Kurzig assisted in the attack of the first
guard infantry division and crossed the railroad east of Tempel, and its
horse artillery from the hills east of Tempel so enfiladed the hostile right
wing that it was shaken and obliged to retreat.
The hostile left wing near Grochow was also forced to retire.
The tenth infantry division could not maintain itself longer and joined
in the general retreat.
The cavalry corps availing itself of its opportunity threw itself with
full force against the shaken forty-first infantry division. The latter was
396 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
overridden, and the attack was then continued against the tenth infantry
division, which also suffered heavy losses.
The army corps pursued the retreating enemy.
It bivouacked for the night as follows:
The fifth infantry division near Schonow.
The sixth infantry division near Langenpfuhl.
The first guard infantry division near Pieskerand Kurzig.
The cavalry corps behind the left wing near Weissensee.
On September 12 the commanding general intends to continue the
offensive.
Red.
The divisions of the fifth army corps early in the morning stood in their
positions ready for battle.
The hostile attack first fell upon the ninth infantry division near
Grochow. Its left flanlc being turned, the division was compelled to fall
back upon Langenpfuhl.
The following infantry divisions were also attacked at the same time :
The tenth near Schmacht and the forty-first west of Tempel. The artil-
lery of the latter was already heavily engaged and hard pressed, when it
received an enfilading fire from several battalions of artillery deployed on
the heights east of Tempel. The retreat of the right wing was thus ren-
dered unavoidable. The tenth infantry division, favored by the ground,
had maintained its position until now, but could only avoid the threatened
turning of its flank by retreat. The entire army corps was thus forced in
retreat, when from the environs east of Tempel a hostile cavalry corps
charged the disordered and shaken parts of the forty-first infantry division,
dispersed them, and then overrode the tenth infantry division. Hard
pressed by the enemy, the army corps retreated beyond the line of Lake
Strauch-Hoehwalde-Liebenau.
For the night the divisions bivouacked as follows:
The forty -first infantry division near Kalau.
The tenth infantry division near Paradies and Jordan.
The ninth infantry division near Leimnitz and Rinnersdorf.
News having been received that on September 12 the sixth army corps,
which had crossed the Oder during the night, might be expected by
Wutschdorf , the commanding general intends to fight on the heights near
and to the west of Kalau.
The following additional events of the maneuvers are of
interest :
SEPTEMBER 8.
The bicycle company attached to the Blue cavalry division
was employed September 8 from 7 a. m. in guarding the
narrows of Lagow and Gross Kirschbaum and the eastern
outlets of Schermeisel.
The Blue corps telegraph detachment with the advance
guard of the sixth infantry division established connection
between Ziolenzig and its corps headquarters at Drossen. It
MANEUVERS. 397
also forwarded reports from the Blue cavalry division, which
had established optical (flash) signal stations at Zielenzig
and in the environs of Konigswalde and near Schermeisel.
The two following suppositions were authorized : First, a
Blue reconnof tering squadron was supposed to have proceeded
to Krossen ; second, the Oder bridges from Krossen to Tschi-
cherzig were supposed to be occupied the morning of Septem-
ber 9 \>y Blue pioneer detachments of the fifth infantry
division prepared to destroy the bridges.
The headquarters of the Red army at Bauchwitz was con-
nected by its telegraph patrols with Schwiebus, Pieske,
Liebenau, and Niedewitz.
During the day the cavalry of both sides successfully recon-
noitered the situations of their opposing forces.
SEPTEMBER 9.
The Blue cavalry division early on the morning of the 9th
proceeded from its bivouac between Neudorf and Falkenwalde
through Blesen toward Meseritz. It reached Georgsdorf at
8 a. m. during a heavy fog. It discovered the advance of
the Red forty-first infantry division on the main road from
Meseritz to Pieske. At about 9 o'clock a. m. the second guard
cavalry brigade of the Blue cavalry division crossed the Obra,
and having established the two batteries of horse artillery
and the two machine-gun abtheilungen of the division in very
favorable positions, surprised and suddenly attacked the head
of the forty-first infantry division. As a result of the attack
the battalion of Red infantry marching at the head of the
division and three batteries of field artillery following it were
put out of the fight by the umpires. A great part of the Red
artillery of the division then went into action and forced the
Blue cavalry to retreat with considerable loss in a north-
western direction. Halting at Weissensee, its horse artillery
entered into a short duel with the Red batteries near Kurzig.
The division then proceeded to the eastern environs of Neu-
dorf.
SEPTEMBER 10.
In accordance with the supposition, the advance guard of
the Red sixth army corps, advancing through Silesia, would
be ready to cross the Oder on September 10. The commander
of the Blue forces, therefore, decided to attack early on the
398 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
morning of the 10th, in order to defeat the Red fifth corps
before the arrival of the sixth, and in order to be free, if
possible, to turn afterwards against the latter.
Although the approach of the Red corps through Silesia sug-
gested a defensive action on the part of the Rted fifth corps,
its commander decided to take advantage of the favorable
opportunity presented by the very extended Blue line and
ordered an attack. With this view he directed the forty-first
infantry division to advance from Kurzig against Grunzig ;
the tenth infantry division from Pieske through Tempel
against Neudorf ; and the ninth infantry division by Lan-
genpfuhl against Grochow ; the latter division blocking the
narrows east of Gross Kirschbaum with a detachment which
should prevent any part of the hostile fifth infantry division
from proceeding north. The Red cavalry division was ordered
to attack the flank and rear of the left wing of the Blue line
held by the first guard infantry division.
The Blue commander, having also determined upon an at-
tack, ordered the first guard and the sixth infantry divisions
to attack and turn the right flank of Red, and the fifth infan-
try division to advance north of the lakes against Tempel.
The latter division was to approach near to the sixth and was
to occupy the lake narrows of Gross Kirschbaum with a de-
tachment. The Blue cavalry division was ordered against
Blesen. The first guard and the sixth infantry divisions had
assembled for the march at 6 a. m., and the fifth infantry di-
vision was already marching in two columns on the roads to
Grochow and to Schermeisel. When cavalry division A had
reached Falkenwalde, the Blue commander discovering the
advance of Red, he countermanded his order shortly after 6
a. in. for the turning of the hostile right wing, and instead
directed the first guard infantry division to await attack while
scouting toward the south ; the sixth infantry division to ad-
vance on the main road Grochow-Tempel to the edge of the
forest; the fifth infantry division to advance north of Gross
Bechen See against Langenpf uhl ; and dragoon regiment No.
2 to scout as far as Tempel.
The Red army advanced with the tenth infantry division
in the center, the forty -first infantry division directly to its
right, and the ninth infantry division to its left. The two
latter divisions each advanced in two columns. When the
left column of the center division debouched from the forest
MANEUVERS. 399
at 7 a. m. on the main road to Tempel, it and the ninth infan-
try division were ordered to attack in the direction of Gro-
chow, and the forty-first infantry division to hold the enemy
near Grunzig-Neudorf .
The left column of the center division, in accordance with
its instructions, turned off from the main road and deployed
against the heights west of Tempel, its artillery going into
action west of the Piesker See. The right column of the center
division was ordered to turn the left wing of the Blue, reported
near Grochow. The fight commenced by the meeting of dra-
goon regiment No. 2 with the Red regiment of mounted orderlies
north of the main road Tempel-Grochow, the mounted order-
lies being compelled to retreat. When the Blue commander
perceived the advance of hostile infantry from Tempel, he
ordered the sixth infantry division to attack it. This divi-
sion being in march column its deployment was necessarily
slow, Red inflicting heavy losses upon the division before it
could come into action. At 8 o'clock a. m. it had succeeded
in bringing into line two regiments north and one south of
the high road, supported by artillery. Against this force was
opposed the left column of the Red tenth infantry division
strengthened by two battalions. The remainder of the tenth
infantry division attacked the first guard infantry division
deployed between the roads leading from Tempel to Grunzig
and Neudorf .
The Blue sixth infantry division now suffered severely
from the effective fire of Red artillery on the heights west
and south of Tempel, and having given way before the well-
directed attack of Red infantry in its front was driven with
heavy losses into the forest, its artillery being compelled to
retreat across the Panikel brook to the heights north of
Grochow. The retreat of the sixth Blue infantry division
was continued to Grochow.
While this fight was taking place in the center, the left
wing of Red, the ninth infantry division, had advanced from
Langenpfuhl on the main road, sending an infantry regiment
between the Gross Bechen and Klein Bechen lakes toward
Schermeisel, and a detachment of all arms against the narrows
of Gross Kirschbaum. When the main column of the Red
ninth infantry division, which had left its artillery east of
the beech forest, met the advancing Blue tenth infantry
brigade of the fifth division in .the forest on a line with the
400 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
north point of Gross Bechen See, the division deployed north
of the main road, sending one battalion south of the road,
but on account of a flank attack of the tenth Blue infantry
brigade it was compelled to retreat and to withdraw from the
beech forest. The Blue did not pursue beyond the eastern
edge of the forest. The ninth infantry division was then
re-formed immediately to the left of the center Red tenth
infantry division, leaving one regiment of infantry behind to
observe the Blue. In the meantime the Red infantry regi-
ment sent between the two Bechen lakes had met at the
western edge of the beech forest the ninth Blue infantry
brigade of the fifth division ; a fight here developed which
prevented the ninth infantry brigade from assisting the sixth
Blue infantry division. This success of the Red infantry
regiment (Grenadier regiment, King William I, No. 7) proved
to be remarkable and out of all proportion to the number of
troops engaged.
The Red detachment of all arms of the ninth infantry
division which had advanced against Gross Kirschbaum also
succeeded in pressing back the Blue detachment which occu-
pied the narrows ; it then established connection with Red
infantry regiment No. 7 in the beech forest.
On the right wing of the Red army the forty-first infantry
division reached the line Weissensee-Klischt at 7.30 a. m. and
engaged parts of the first guard infantry division, which stood
with its infantry east and south of the Zauche and its artillery
southwest of Grunzig, the second guard infantry brigade
holding Weissensee. The Red artillery was in action with the
Blue guard artillery when Red received a report at 8.30 a. m.
that Blue was advancing against Tempel. In order to meet
this the commander of the forty-first Red infantry division
ordered the eighth brigade to advance against Grunzig. As
the first guard infantry division had drawn off the Red nine-
teenth infantry brigade from the attack against the Blue
sixth infantry division north of Tempel, and as it was also
opposed by the Red forty-first infantry division, it became
impossible for it to advance in a southern direction to the
assistance of the sixth infantry division. It, however, held
its position until the forty-first infantry division withdrew to
Tempel. The Blue fifth and sixth infantry divisions retreated,
pursued by the ninth and tenth infantry divisions.
MANEUVERS. 401
As a result of the operations of the day the umpires awarded
a victory to Red.
The two cavalry divisions were not engaged in the battle.
The Red cavalry division was preparing to attack the Blue
cavalry division near Grunzig, when it was supposed to have
received an order to establish connection with the supposed
sixth army corps advancing toward Krossen. In reality it
was transferred to the Blue side, where it was united with
cavalry division "A" into a Blue cavalry corps commanded
for the remaining two maneuver days by the Emperor in
person. To meet the requirements of the situation a second
Blue cavalry division was supposed to have arrived by Lands-
berg on the Warthe.
The Emperor bivouacked with the Blue cavalry corps for
the night north of Weissensee. The Blue commander ad-
vanced a regiment of infantry of the first guard infantry
division to Grunzig to maintain connection with the cavalry
corps.
SEPTEMBER 11.
Early the morning of September 11 the Red commander
formed his corps for battle, the forty-first infantry division
northwest of Tempel, the tenth northeast of Grochow, and
the ninth immediately to the west of and near Grochow.
His right flank was covered by a regiment of dragoons rein-
forced by two squadrons of mounted orderlies.
The balloon of the Blue commander rose at 6 a. m. near
Posersfelde, and at 7 a. m. the Blue army stood ready behind
its outposts. The fifth infantry division, with one infantry
brigade and one battalion of artillery on the high road east
of See Vorwerk, and with one infantry brigade and the
remainder of its artillery immediately west of Gehauenstein.
The sixth infantry division northwest of Posersfelde, and the
first guard infantry division near Neudorf, with one regiment
of infantry near Grunzig.
The Emperor, who had spent the night with the cavalry
corps in a tent with a small attendance, stood with his corps
at 7 a. m. south of Grunzig.
Blue advanced for attack, the fifth infantry division against
Schermeisel-Grochow, the sixth against Grochow, the first
guard infantry division through Neudorf against Tempel.
In connection with the attack of the latter division, the
402 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Emperor moved the cavalry corps from the environs of
Kurzig against the right flank and back of Red.
The Blue commander having discovered that a Red divi-
sion was deploying west of Tempel and two others north of
Grochow-Schermeisel, ordered the sixth infantry division to
make a delaying fight against the two latter divisions until
an attack of the fifth infantry division against the left wing
of Red should become effective.
The ninth infantry division on the left wing of Red first
deployed one regiment of infantry as far as Siebenruthen and
one battalion of sharpshooters to near Schermeisel, with its
artillery immediately behind these. As Blue only advanced
faintly from the forest of Zielenzig, the commander of the
ninth Red infantry division decided to order the remainder
of his division to attack north of Schermeisel. With this
view he deployed the eighteenth infantry brigade at 7.25
a. m. north of Siebenruthen and beyond the road of Grochow-
Gleissen, connecting with the tenth infantry division. The
entire artillery of the ninth infantry division, with the
exception of two batteries which remained near Grochow,
was now deployed on the height between Schmact and
Siebenruthen.
The sixth Blue infantry division engaged the ninth infantry
division in the line of Hemm-Berg-Poserfelde, the fronts
extending as far as the road Gleissen-Nendorf, where a
dragoon regiment covered the Blue flank. The Blue bat-
talions at Hemm hill were at first compelled to retreat. The
Blue tenth infantry brigade of the fifth division coming to
their assistance, Red was pressed back from Hemm hill, and
Blue advanced to the eastern edge of the forest. Blue now
assembled artillery on the heights southeast of Gleissen and
at 7.40 a. m. eighteen batteries were firing from this position.
At 8.10 a. m. one battalion of this artillery was advanced to
north of Posersf elde. From there it entered into a duel with
a battalion of Red artillery located on the heights north of
Schmacht, the Blue battalion suffering heavy losses from the
superior fire of the Red battalion. The Red forces near
Schmacht began to fall back at 8.30 a. m., in which retreat the
entire ninth infantry division gradually participated. The
advance of the Blue fifth infantry division on the main road
east of Schermeisel made itself felt, the Blue sixth infantry
division cooperating in this advance along its entire front.
MANEUVERS. 403
A general retreat of the left wing of Red, the ninth and tenth
infantry divisions, was now begun, although up to this time
only weak forces of the tenth infantry division had been
engaged.
The forty -first infantry division had gone into position east
of the Panikel brook on the edge of a hill extending to
Tempel, with its infantry in front and its artillery in rear.
While taking up this position it was under the fire of all of
the artillery of the first guard infantry division, which was
in position between Grunzig and Neudorf . This deployment
took place about 7.30 a. m., and as the Red artillery moving
into position offered a fine target, it must have suffered
severely, although it was somewhat over 4,000 yards distant.
The infantry of the guard division from the environs north
of Neudorf was in readiness on both sides of Panikel brook,
and attacked at 7.40 a. m., one regiment on the left wing
advancing toward the northern outlet of Tempel, while the
right flank was secured by a regiment of cavalry. The
advance of the guard infantry was made along part of its
line by creeping and along part by rushes; its artillery
advanced by echelons upon the heights west of Klischt in
order to prepare the assault for its infantry. All disposable
troops of the forty-first infantry division had entered the
fight, and its commander had sent in his last reserve. The
Red commander now received information of the advance of
a Blue cavalry corps against his right flank, the horse artil-
lery and machine guns of which had opened up an energetic
enfilading fire from the heights east of Tempel. The Red
commander now (shortly after 8 o'clock a. m.) put in march
reenforcements from his center to strengthen his right wing.
These at first consisted of one regiment of infantry and a
battalion of field howitzers ; later a second regiment of infan-
try was ordered. When these reenforcements had crossed
Panikel brook, the forty-first infantry division was already
in rapid retreat before an assault of the first guard infantry
division, covered by rapid artillery fire from all of its bat-
teries. While in a disordered retreat it was attacked in flank
and rear by the Blue cavalry corps led by the Emperor, the
corps charging mounted with the lance. The guests of the
occasion, whom the Emperor had invited from the United
States, Major Generals Corbin and Young, and Brigadier
General Wood, with their aids, rode with the Emperor
404 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
during this charge, and notwithstanding the flat seats of their
German army saddles, were evidently at home and thoroughly
enjoyed this very exciting and brilliant charge.
The reenforcements mentioned above from the tenth infan-
try division were now also attacked and defeated.
The Emperor had at 7 a. m. assembled from their bivouacs
60 squadrons of cavalry, 4 batteries of horse artillery, 4
machine-gun batteries, and 1 bicycle company south of Grun-
zig, his command being covered by the heights of Die Zauche
and the neighboring southern forests. The bicycle company
first advanced to the forest edge and secured the assembling
position. When the Emperor learned of the advance of
the first guard infantry division near Neudorf he advanced
his corps in a southerly direction, covered by the heights
east of Tempel, and crossed the railroad H miles east of
Tempel. The horse and machine-gun batteries went into
position on the heights east of the station of Tempel and
opened fire at about 8 a. m. against the flank of the forty-
first infantry division. A pioneer company which had
occupied Tempel was forced to retire. Red cavalry now
appeared in front across the railroad ; the life hussar brigade
marching at the head of the cavalry corps deployed against
it, when it retreated south of Tempel toward the forest. At
about 8.30 a. m. the cavalry corps stood facing west, east of
Tempel between the railroad and highroad, division A on the
right and division B on the left, both divisions in brigade
columns. When soon afterwards the first guard infantry
division advanced for assault, and the retreat of the forty-
first infantry division was observed, the Emperor deployed
the corps for attack, advancing it in several lines in a north-
westerly direction. Division A met principally the retreat-
ing infantry of the forty-first infantry division ; division B
met the reenforcements from the tenth infantry division, and
put the battalion of field howitzers accompanying it out of
fight at the edge of the forest north of the railroad. The
third line of division B carried the attack as far as the Pan-
ikel brook. Against the left flank of division B a counter
shock had been made from a southerly direction by dragoons,
which attack was met and defeated by the ninth cavalry bri-
gade. The main charge of the cavalry corps extended over
two miles ; it passed from the right flank entirely through
the length of the disordered forty-first infantry division to
MANEUVERS. 405
beyond its left flank and well into the tenth infantry divi-
sion, both divisions being rolled up, as it were. The infan-
try, as it was charged, fixed bayonets and assembled hastily,
as best they could, in detachments to ward off the lances of
the passing cavalrymen. The forty-first infantry division
was adjudged to be practically hors de combat and the
tenth infantry division to have suffered heavy losses.
The Red commander intended to assemble his corps behind
the line Pieske-Hochwalde. With this view he ordered the
forty-first infantry division to retreat from Tempel to Pieske,
the tenth infantry division by Tempels M. in the same
direction, and the ninth to Langenpfuhl. The retreating
north wing of Red was fired upon by the artillery of the first
guard infantry division and the cavalry corps, also by the
machine-gun batteries from the heights west of Tempel.
The cavalry corps withdrew behind the left wing of the first
guard infantry division.
On the right wing of Blue the ninth infantry brigade of the
fifth division took up the pursuit on the highroad Schermeisel-
Langenpfuhl, its artillery firing into the retreating ninth
infantry division until it found cover in the beech forest.
The tenth brigade of the fifth infantry division advanced by
Grochow and connected with the ninth. The sixth infantry
division followed by Grochow and connected with the first
guard infantry division ; it then followed in the direction of
Seeren-Pieske. The pursuit was not continued beyond the
line Schonau-Langenpfuhl-Pieske.
The Empress, mounted on horseback, and accompanied by
a maid of honor, the Crown Prince, and an escort, arrived at
7 a. m. on the "commander's hill," where the Emperor had
the preceding day viewed the maneuver. Here she was
received by Field Marshal Prince Alfrrecht, who was acting
chief umpire. Later she was greeted by the Emperor after
the cavalry charge.
SEPTEMBER 13.
It may be remarked that at all German maneuvers it is
customary to restore to action within a short time all parts of
troops that have been put out of action by the umpires, in
order that all of the organizations engaged may have, as far
as possible, uninterrupted practice during the time allotted
for the maneuvers. The morning of the 12th of September,
406 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
therefore, found all the divisions of the two armies restored
to full strength.
The following supposition was authorized :
"The Blue cavalry corps was reinforced during the night
of September 11 by two batteries of horse artillery which
arrived by Landsberg on the Warthe."
To better carry into effect this supposition the horse artil-
lery of the cavalry corps was reorganized into six batteries
of four guns each, and each battery was supposed to have
six guns.
The Red commander decided to hold the heights near Kalau
and to the west of it until reinforced by the sixth Red corps,
which was supposed to have crossed the Oder during the
night of the 11th.
The forty-first infantry division was held in readiness near
Kalau, the tenth infantry division north of Neuhofchen, the
ninth infantry division near Paradies. Early the morning
of the 12th the Red commander discovered that the Blue
sixth infantry division was entering the forest of Kainschter
from Seeren, and that the fifth infantry division had assem-
bled near Schonau. He thereupon ordered the forty-first
infantry division, reinforced by most of the artillery of the
ninth infantry division, to take a position between the high-
road north of Kalau and the road of Kalau-Hochwalde ; this
position extended from height 105 to height 121 ; the tenth
infantry division to hold the section between the left of the
forty-first infantry division to the south as far as the Packlitz
See. Shelter trenches and gun pits were dug throughout the
entire length of these two positions.
The ninth infantry division was ordered to march by
Schindelmuhl into the Kalauer forest, to be held in readiness
for offensive action in the direction of Kainscht. This divi-
sion left back as reserves, at the disposition of the Red com-
mander, one infantry regiment near Kalau, and one regiment
and one battalion of field artillery between Elisenthal and
Neuhofchen.
The divisional cavalry of the forty-first infantry division
(one regiment) made a reconnoissance against Kainscht, while
the divisional cavalry of the ninth infantry division (one
regiment), reinforced by two squadrons of mounted orderlies,
advanced through Liebenau and scouted in the direction of
Seeren-Schonau.
MANEUVERS. 407
The Blue commander resolved to take the offensive and
advanced the fifth infantry division against Starpel-Neu M.,
while he attacked with the sixth and first guard infantry
divisions from the line Hochwalde-Kainscht-Nipter. This
attack was prepared by the artillery in position on the heights
south of Seeren and on the Rtfssen Bergen, the sixth infantry
division sending for this purpose one regiment of artillery to
reinforce the first guard artillery ; it also sent directly after-
wards one regiment to reinforce the artillery of the fifth
infantry division.
Blue covered its right flank with the divisional cavalry of
the fifth and sixth infantry divisions and one battery of field
artillery. This brigade, which was designated as the fifth
cavalry brigade, advanced to Liebenau and from there oper-
ated against the rear of the Red army, reenforcing the Blue
cavalry corps under the Emperor during its charge.
Flying reconnoitering detachments of Blue were also sent
as far as the road Starpel-Liebenau and the road Liebenau-
Selchow.
The cavalry corps advanced to the environs southeast of
Meseritz in order to cooperate on the left Blue wing if desired.
During the night Blue constructed a bridge across the Obra
above Meseritz.
The Blue army advanced at 7 a. m. At 9 a. m. one bri-
gade of the fifth division had reached Neu M. and one Star-
pel. At this time a Red brigade of the tenth infantry
division reinforced by two battalions had advanced to the
line Burschen-Kessel See and had forced the extreme right
of Blue, which had advanced against Neu M. to retreat. At
8.30 a. m. 18 Blue batteries had been assembled on the heights
south of Seeren and engaged in an artillery duel with 21 Red
batteries on the heights east of Burschen-Hochwalde ; the
batteries on the extreme right of the Red artillery position
also directed their fire against the sixth infantry division
advancing from the forest north of Hochwalde. This divi-
sion (the sixth), which advanced by Seeren, had reached,
as early as 7.45 a. m., the section northeast of Hochwalde,
where under cover of the forest it deployed in two lines for
attack. It advanced in the direction of the Drei Herrscher
Berg (the three sovereigns' hills), and as it did so constantly
increased the density of its firing line. At about 9.45 a. m.
it reached the heights situated between the two roads from
408 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Kalau to Hochwalde, on which heights Blue later placed in
position one regiment and one battalion of field artillery.
Opposing this attack of the sixth infantry division, Red had
drawn up at first one and a half regiments of infantry of the
tenth infantry division on the heights, which sloped rather
steeply to the front toward Hochwalde and Burschen; behind
these Red posted nine batteries of artillery. The remainder
of the tenth infantry division was principally engaged with
the fifth infantry division near Starpel. To the right of the
tenth infantry division, Red had in position a brigade of the
forty-first infarftry division on the heights between the two
roads from Kalau to Hochwalde, with a reserve of two bat-
talions at Kalau. The thirteen battalions of the sixth in-
fantry division were directly opposed to nine and one-half
battalions of Red. The remaining brigade of the forty-first
infantry division (the eighth) was drawn up on both sides of
the highroad from Kalau to Meseritz ; in rear of it, west of
the road, the field artillery of the forty-first infantry division
was in position. The fight here opened by ah artillery duel
between the divisional artillery of the forty-first infantry
division and twenty Blue batteries of the first guard and
sixth infantry divisions in position on the Russen Berg. The
extreme right wing of Red was formed by the ninth infantry
division in the Kalauer forest. This division had marched
with ten battalions and three batteries from Paradies (Para-
dise) through Schindelmuhl-Hammer M. ; it had left at each
of the two Packlitz (Jordan) River crossings one company of
infantry, and arrived at 7 a. m. in the neighborhood of the
western forest edge halfway between Kalau and Nipter,
where the division closed up. At about 8.30 a. m. hostile
Blue skirmishers of the first guard infantry division appeared
south of Nipter east of the highroad.
The first guard infantry division marched at 6 o'clock a. m.
one brigade (the second guard infantry brigade) from Pieske
through the Kainscht forest to Kainscht, and one brigade
(the first) from Kurzig by Muhlen Vw. Kainscht to Nipter.
Its divisional cavalry was at 7. a. m. south of Kainscht; it
then reconnoitered in the direction Hochwalde-Paradies.
The commander of the first guard infantry division having
discovered the Red infantry of the ninth infantry division in
the Kalauer forest, and desiring to secure the narrows near
Hammer M. and Schindelmuhl for the use of the Blue cavalry
MANEUVERS. 409
corps, ordered the first guard infantry brigade to advance
from Nipter to Hammer M. and the second guard infantry
brigade to follow, this with the view of attacking later on
east of Kalau. The right flank of the division was covered
during the advance by a battalion of infantry which marched
east of the highroad to Kalau. The first guard brigade sur-
prised part of the ninth infantry division in the Kalauer
forest, compelling it to retreat. The second guard brigade
also entered into the fight east of the highroad to Kalau, and
pressed back the Red troops in its front. Red had drawn
over to the east side of the road all available infantry, but
was unable to withstand the advance of the first guard infan-
try division until near the edge of Kalau, where it succeeded
in temporarily checking it.
The ninth infantry division was only able to keep with
much difficulty slight touch with the forty-first infantry
division, as the former was driven farther back into the forest.
The first guard infantry division made itself felt on the
right wing of Red, and as it advanced to the western edge of
the Kalauer forest it more and more threatened the east flank
of the forty-first infantry division near Kalau; the latter
division was compelled to send back to Kalau its last reserve,
although it was hard pressed at the time by the sixth infantry
division.
Blue gradually advanced in the center. The Red tenth
infantry division was unable in the absence of reinforcements
to withstand the attack of the sixth infantry division, which
attack was supported by heavy artillery fire.
The Red commander decided to retire from his position at
10.10 a. m. He ordered the forty-first infantry division to
retreat in the direction of Schindelmuhl, its artillery to take a
covering position near Neuhofchen. The tenth infantry
division to maintain itself as long as possible, but if pressed
back to retreat to Neuhofchen.
On the left wing of Red the tenth infantry division had
gained at the beginning an advantage over the fifth infantry
division. But Blue advanced artillery beyond Starpel at
10.15 and the Red artillery being in the forest and on unfavor-
able ground could not reply with effect; the left wing of Red
was thus compelled to retreat in the direction of Elisenthal,
where part of it made a stand to further cover its retreat.
The situation had become very unfavorable to Red, the
general retreat now under way was being pressed by the Blue
410 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
infantry and artillery with great vigor in front when strong
forces of Blue cavalry appeared near Jordan-Paradies and
threatened the rear. The Red commander had already at
9 o'clock received a report to the effect that large masses of
Blue cavalry were advancing from the direction of Bauch-
witz. This was the cavalry corps under the command of the
Emperor.
This corps left its bivouacs near Weissensee at 4.45 a. m.
and advanced through Meseritz. It was checked for a short
time near Heide M. by Red bicyclists; these being driven off,
the corps proceeded through Wischen. When east of the
Packlitz river section one regiment and the Blue bicycle com-
pany were detached to make feints against the crossings of
the Packlitz near Hammer M. and Schindelmuhl, while the
Emperor proceeded with his corps through Altenhof. The
forests and hills favored his advance from Altenhof, and
taking advantage of the cover afforded by these, he skillfully
placed his command at 10 a. m., unobserved by Red, in a
concealed position immediately behind the top of the ridge
Annas Hoche, north of Paradies. Division A was drawn up
to the east and division B to the west of the highroad Kalau-
Paradies. The 6 batteries of horse artillery and the machine
guns found favorable positions and opened fire from Annas
Hoche at 10.15 against the parts of the ninth and forty-first
infantry divisions retreating east of the highroad. These
were at 10.30 a. m. attacked by the brigade of cavalry which
stood on the right of the cavalry corps, this attack being
quickly followed by that of the entire corps, which rolled up
the Red wing from its right flank and rear. The cavalry
charge was also covered by the Blue infantry and artillery of
the main line, which fired into the Red to the front and rear
of the passing cavalry. A noticeable feature of the charge
was that the cavalry did not halt upon reaching the infantry,
but continued along the full length of that part of the hostile
infantry and artillery lines east of the highroad ; crossing the
road, the charge turned to the left, passing along the left
wing of the forty-first infantry division ; the cavalry corps
was here joined by the Blue divisional cavalry, the fifth cav-
alry brigade, which had early in the morning been sent to
reconnoiter in the direction of Schonau-Liebenau and to the
rear of Red, and which at this time had reached Jordan.
The cavalry then continued along the lines of the tenth
MANEUVERS. 411
infantry division adjoining the forty-first. The charge was
made over a distance of three miles, the ground in places
being soft on account of recent cultivation. Generals Corbin,
Young, and Wood, with their aids, rode with the Emperor
during this charge. The intermingling of the Blue cavalry
with the Red infantry and artillery retreating in deep dis-
ordered lines, and the hasty assembling of Red in bunches
or squares for protection, gave much life and zest to this ride,
remarkable for its endurance after the long detouring to the
east and south. The charge ended at the environs of Eisen-
then without a serious accident to man or horse of either
side. The demands upon the capacity of the cavalry were
extraordinarily high, and the leading of this great mass of
riders from start to finish was superb.
This attack of the cavalry corps under the emperor has
given rise to a discussion in the press as to whether it would
have been advisable in war. As to this it may be well to con-
sider that the prevailing tactical conditions assumed such a
form as to extraordinarily favor a mass attack of mounted
men. The ground permitted the cavalry to approach and to
form under cover, its horse artillery and machine guns to go
into action, and the charge to be well under way before even
being fired at. The objective troops were undergoing a crush-
ing defeat from infantry and artillery in their front. It was
also desired not to allow the opportunity to be lost to practice
the cavalry as a corps in all that pertains to the raid, the
approach, and the charge.
The victory for the day was awarded to the Blue; the Red
forty-first infantry division and the greater part of the tenth
having been decided hors de combat.
When the distinguished personages present and the high
officers of both armies had assembled on the commander's hill
to bid adieu to their host and to hear the critique, the emperor
on this occasion bade good-bye to his heartily welcomed guests
from the United States, all being mounted on horseback at
the time.
REMARKS.
As the government owns the railroads of Germany it is
generally cheaper to transfer troops by rail than to march
them through the country.
All the infantry, excepting one battalion, which had but a
short distance to march, was transported from the maneuver
412 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
ground by rail to the garrisons. The cavalry and artillery
marched, and it is reported that their horses arrived in better
condition than when they left their posts.
The various staffs, including the regimental staffs, the
technical troops, and the guards attached to the emperor's
headquarters were also transported by rail.
Altogether there were 2,049 officers, 50,458 enlisted men,
2,614 horses, and 147 vehicles returned by rail. Sixty-three
battalions were started by train the afternoon and night of
the last maneuver day, September 12, they being provided
with a good meal just before leaving. Seventeen battalions,
the technical troops, etc., started the 13th. For transporta-
tion 48 special trains were used; 9 were loaded at Wutsch-
dorf, 8 at Stentsch, 16 at Schwiebus, 11 at Meseritz, and 4 at
Durlettel. In order to expedite the entrainment, temporary
platforms, electric lights, ramps, etc., were provided at all
these stations.
The transfer was made in accordance with a prearranged
plan. Officers of the railroad division of the great general
staff were detailed to arrange with the regular railroad offi-
cials the details; they were also ordered, together with detach-
ments of railroad troops, to the support and assistance of the
traffic officials until after the troops arrived at their garrisons.
The transfer of the troops was effected without interference
with the regular passenger trains, and with but slight inter-
ruptions of the regular freight trains.
The cavalry and artillery that marched from the maneuvers
to their garrisons sent the men who had but a few days to
serve on by rail in order that they might be back in their
garrisons at the expiration of their term of service. Nearly
one-half of the enlisted force of the army was discharged in
September, the term of service of the infantry being two
years, the one-year volunteers one year, and the remainder
of the army three years. All recruits report about the first
of October. There is great economy in this, as the young
men who enter the army are thus enabled to receive the
greatest amount of training and experience in the time allotted
for their service.
Some of the cavalry troops were exercised in connection
with the maneuvers for about two months. The " Skull"
brigade, composed of the first and second hussars, less the
fourth squadron of the first hussars, which remained in
MANEUVERS. 413
garrison on account of sickness among its horses, marched for
the maneuvers from Danzig August 2 and returned to its
station October 2. Some of the other regiments were also
engaged in the exercises for equally long periods.
The ground was equally favorable for the operations of all
arms, and being hilly and frequently interspersed with large
and small forests, permitted the attackers from the very out-
set to easily deploy heavy firing lines, and favored the going
into action of large artillery organizations.
Forest fights were numerous on the 10th and 12th of Sep-
tember, the most extensive and important occurring on the
12th. For these both sides employed "jage kommandoes"
(hunting detachments). These reconnoitered far in advance,
often taking the place of reserves for infantry and cavalry
patrols, occupying outlets of forests and defending lake nar-
rows and bridges.
Bicyclists were also employed for reconnoitering and patrol
duty, the weather being particularly favorable to their use.
In fact the ground was in such good condition that the
pioneers attached to the cavalry division could no doubt have
used bicycles with advantage.
The highest bicycle record for twenty-four hours was made
by an officer on patrol traveling 165 miles.
SANITARY MEASURES.
In order to reduce the number of men likely to be disabled
on account of sickness to the lowest possible number, the
surgeons of the troops were required to recommend the sick,
the naturally weak, and those belonging to the various organ-
izations who had recently passed through diseases to be left
back in the garrisons as guards. In the same manner the
men called out from the reserves were accepted for the
maneuvers only after a careful surgical examination.
Steps were taken to guard against any infection from con-
tagious diseases. The war ministry issued, August 1, a decree
calling attention to the fact that generally every year during
or shortly after the maneuvers there have appeared contagious
diseases in the army, notably abdominal troubles, dysentery,
etc., which in most cases was decided to have been introduced
from the civil population. This danger of contagion was
ordered to be met by all possible means of precaution, as
when the troops were attacked in maneuvers they often
414 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
brought the disease hack into the regular garrisons. All men
were ordered to stay away from places and houses where such
diseases had existed. The local civil authorities and the
police caused every case of disease of a contagious character
in the entire maneuver region to he reported. Notices of the
same were then posted on signboards.
CAVALRY.
In all formations the horses of the rear rank followed in
the intervals to the right or left of the horses of the front
rank, instead of the croups of the horses in front ; in columns
of fours, twos, etc., the horses likewise followed in the
intervals.
The carbine is carried in a boot attached to the offside of
the saddle cantle; it hangs nearly vertical. The saber is
attached to the near side of the cantle. The kit is carried in
the pommel pouches; the grain sack and overcoat are
strapped in rear of the saddle. Part of the ammunition is
carried in a cartridge box slung on the shoulder belt so as to
rest on the back, and part in the saddle pouches.
As cavalry in line loses much of its maneuvering power,
the column formations were generally retained as long
as possible, they being quickly changed into the attack
formation at the right moment. The changes were effected
only when the direction of the attack had been decided upon
and the ground upon which it was to be made reached, or
when hostile artillery fire necessitated the formation. In
fighting on foot when it was desired to have the led horses
mobile, only the odd numbers dismounted, the even numbers
holding the horses and the lances of the dismounted men.
When the horses were to be stationary, they were linked, the
horse holders in this case being the right and left flank file of
each rank of the platoons, with a noncommissioned officer
with each platoon. The officers' horses were held by trump-
eters. When fighting on foot with horses stationary, the
dismounted men stuck their lances in the ground or laid
them down clear of the horses. There was no extensive use
made of cavalry fighting on foot this year, as at the maneuvers
last year at Czechlau, where a Red dismounted cavalry
division successfully engaged the entire hostile tenth infantry
division and immediately afterwards defeated a mounted
cavalry division of superior numbers. The successful use of
MANEUVERS. 415
masses of mounted cavalry in shock action, illustrated by
the charges made by the cavalry corps under the command
of the emperor the 11th and 12th of September of this year,
are of the greatest importance.
The favorable decisions rendered by the distinguished
generals acting as umpires prove as clearly as can be proven
without actual hostile contact, that when cavalry under the
cover of its horse artillery and machine guns is thrown against
defeated and hard-pressed infantry the advantages of victory
niay be secured to the fullest extent.
The Germans decidedly accept the principle that cavalry
attacks against shaken infantry can be of great, even decisive,
effect when made with nerve and ably led. It is regarded
that the attacks of the Boers at Brakenlaagte and Tweebosch
recently confirmed the principle under modern conditions.
That these attacks prove that, although when riders have no
tactical training, and when the force of their attack may be
disadvantageously influenced by the absence of lance and
saber, much can be gained by initiative and timely resolution,
even when the outside circumstances tend more to hinder
than to aid success.
ARTILLERY.
The field batteries of the guard corps and those batteries
having regular station near the Russian frontier all had six
guns each; the remaining batteries four guns.
In their field artillery the Germans still adhere to the pre-
cept that in war only the simple things promise success.
Their guns were all without barrel-recoil checks and without
protective shields. They possess great mobility ; their bal-
listic power is also excellent. The guns, carriages, and har-
ness, with its rope traces, are all light, the horses of a battery
appearing at a short distance as if stripped for a race.
A battery of six guns is able to deliver 50 directed shots
per minute.
The artillery as a rule opened the various fights and en-
deavored to gain advantage by bringing as many guns as
possible into action. Two or more batteries were generally
combined, their isolated action being exceptional. The guns
were used generally at ranges beyond the effective fire of
infantry, and the latter seemed never to be without the sup-
port of artillery. The artillery seldom had a special escort;
416 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
if they were endangered the nearest troops assisted them.
Batteries once in action were not relieved, but were sup-
ported by the advance of fresh batteries. Under fire, the
personnel of the batteries took, when practicable, the kneel-
ing position. The interval between guns was generally about
10 paces. The pace employed in going into action depended
upon the object, the situation, and the ground. The guns
were sometimes unlimbered under cover and run up to the
firing position by hand. The firing was generally directed
upon that part of the enemy playing the decisive role. As
every change of position interrupted the fire effect, as few
changes as possible were made.
MACHINE GUNS.
Germany has made long and thorough trials with machine
guns for field service. Among the numerous systems tested,
the Maxim, Hotchkiss, and Skoda proved to be the best. Of
the three the Maxim, a recoil loader, was found to be the
fittest and was adopted. It has since been gradually im-
proved and developed. The Maxim system was also adopted
by Russia, England, and Switzerland. Austria uses it ex-
cepting in the fortresses and the navy, which have the Skoda,
a similar gun, the cartridge feed being different.
The machine gun first participated in the kaiser maneu-
vers in 1899, the batteries then being in their experimental
stage. Five permanent batteries were provided for in the
budget of 1901, and seven additional ones in the budget
of 1902. There is, besides, one battery with the first
Bavarian army corps, provided for in the Bavarian budget.
It is expected that this number will be gradually increased.
There is no service handbook published giving a technical
description of the German machine gun similar to the hand-
book for the German infantry rifle and cavalry carbine,
models of 1898. It is doubtful if such a handbook will ap-
pear, as up to the present there has been no service descrip-
tion published of the German field guns, models 1896 and
1898. The greatest difficulty to overcome, in order to render
the batteries serviceable, was found to be the carriage. It
was necessary that the gun should have the mobility of
mounted troops ; should offer in battle no greater target than
does the infantryman in his different firing positions ; that it
should be able to be taken everywhere a footman equipped
MANEUVERS. 417
for war was able to go. To secure good firing results a rigid
frame had to be found. To further improve the firing,, the
batteries have been usually attached to sharpshooter bat-
talions or infantry troops where skilled marksmen were to
be found. The batteries, however, at the maneuvers were
habitually placed under the direct orders of the higher lead-
ers, who used them to assist or oppose any one or all of the'
three arms.
In order to accompany mounted troops, the rifle, ammuni-
tion, and men are all conveyed on carriages or on horseback.
In Switzerland, Maxims are transported on horses, and the
mitrailleur companies are mounted and attached to cavalry
brigades. For German terrain wheeling is more practicable,
as it offers a much greater readiness for fire. No unpacking
and packing up is necessary, and the guns are thus relieved
of the awkwardness of mountain artillery. Firing from the
carriages, however, was only exceptional, occurring notably
in cases of sudden cavalry fights and in surprises. In the
majority of cases for action the gun with its firing frame
was taken off the carriage and placed on the ground. The
firing frame, which is also called the gun sled, permits the
piece to be fired at different heights above the ground, so
that the gun may be operated by the gunners in the lying,
sitting, or kneeling position. The target offered to the
adversary corresponded to the different firing positions of
infantry. The rifle as such and its operators could not be
distinguished from infantry, at a few hundred yards, by the
naked eye, as would likely be the case in those armies using
the rifle on a tripod. The sled with rifle was generally
pulled over the ground by two men, but was sometimes car-
ried and sometimes drawn by a noncommissioned officer's
horse or by a draft horse. When firing without removing
the sled from the carriage, the gun was made ready to firo
within ten to fifteen seconds' time. The position of the gun-
ners in this case corresponded to infantry firing erect. The
guns may also be placed on the caissons and fired. The
ammunition consisted of the ordinary rifle cartridge, placed
in belts, each containing 250 cartridges, which were carried
in narrow cartridge boxes, each holding one rolled-up bolt.
Six of these boxes were stored in one ammunition sled, and
the sleds were stored in the limber chests. The ammunition
sleds are simply open boxes, arrauged with runners in such a
S29 27
418 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
m inner as to beusedas sleds; they are similar to the gun
sleds. Cartridge boxes were also carried in the axle chests
for use when firing from the carriage.
The battery of six machine guns as now established con-
sists of 1 captain, 3 lieutenants, 1 first sergeant, 1 vice first
sergeant, 2 sergeants, 8 noncommissioned officers, 1 trump-
eter, 1 noncommissioned officer aspirant, 7 lance corporals,
1 armorer, 1 sanitary noncommissioned officer, 54 privates,
36 draft horses, 18 riding horses, 6 machine guns, 3 ammuni-
tion caissons, 1 supply wagon, 1 baggage wagon, and 1 forage
wagon. The guns are organized into three sections of two
guns each. The caissons and the supply wagon form the
ammunition train. The guns and the ammunition train
together constitute the fighting battery. The other three
wagons form the baggage train. The guns, caissons, and the
supply wagon have four horses each, the other wagons two
horses. For each gun there is a chief gunner, who is a non-
commissioned officer, and four privates, designated as Nos. 1
to 4. Nos. 2 and 3 operated and aimed the gun, Nos. 1 and
4 unlimbered and attended to the ammunition. Nos. 1 and 4
also drew the ammunition sled when necessary, while 2 and
3 drew the gun sled. The chief gunner was mounted on
horseback, Nos. 2 and 3 rode on the axle boxes, and 1 and 4
on the limber boxes. The ammunition train was accompa-
nied by the armorer, a noncommissioned officer, the sanitary
noncommissioned officer, the reserve gunners, and the range
finders. The range finders and the armorers, however, when
there was any probability of an action, placed themselves on
the gun limbers between Nos. 1 and 4. The section leaders
were lieutenants or sergeants. The leaders of the ammunition
train, lieutenants or sergeants. The gunners were equipped
with carbines; mounted men, including the drivers, with
automatic pistols.
A battery of six guns carries in war 87,000 cartridges,
which surpasses the cartridge equipment of two companies of
infantry, which have 42,500 cartridges each. The fire effect
of a machine gun is equal to that of a platoon of infantry of
war strength, 80 men. Machine guns afford leaders an
opportunity of developing from the smallest space the strong-
est fire. The range of the machine gun is the same as that
of the infantry rifle. The rapid succession of shots, the
small dispersion of the cone of projectiles, and the placing of
MANEUVERS. 419
several guns on a limited space, often enables the machine-
gun battery to obtain success quickly, and even at great dis-
tances to be destructive against large and dense targets. As
many shots fall on one point, the observation of the firing is
facilitated, and on account of the firm firing frame the hitting
capacity is greater than that of the rifle.
The gun may be said to have two distinct parts, the recoil-
ing and the nonrecoiling parts. To the former belong the
barrel and its rear elongations containing the lock and con-
necting parts. To the latter, the rifle frame and the mantle,
which are connected with each other. The mantle is of
bronze and surrounds the barrel, giving to the whole the
appearance of a short cannon. It contains water to prevent
the barrel from becoming too much heated, and which is re-
newed from time to time. The barrel and lock in a general
manner correspond to those of an ordinary rifle. The recoil
gives the barrel a backward motion and is used for bending
a spiral spring ; the power thus stored brings the lock into
the position necessary for loading, and later it brings the
barrel forward again after it has received a new cartridge.
After the delivery of the first shot the gun works automatic-
ally, producing an uninterrupted fire. The gunner during
this fire has only to maintain the rifle in proper direction, and
to press against two small plates on the rear surface of the
case. The belt with the cartridges is pushed on by the mech-
anism from one cartridge to another. One man can so operate
the piece as to deliver 600 shots per minute; a slower rate of
fire and also individual fire may be held. It is not absolutely
necessary to fill the mantle with water, as the device is not
easily affected. The mantle has in tests been penetrated by
three bullets and still proved to be serviceable.
The German machine-gun regulations provide for two
kinds of fire, interrupted and uninterrupted fire. In the
former after a successive delivery of about 25 shots an inter-
ruption takes place in order to observe the shot results. The
object of this fire is to find the correct sight. Inasmuch as
shot grazes may generally be more readily observed in front
of the target, the first sight is ordinarily taken with this
object. The uninterrupted fire only takes place when the
conditions require it. The target is fired at in its entire ex-
tent, or a certain part or even point of the same may be
selected. In the former case spreading fire is used, the piece
420 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
as mounted providing for this in a horizontal, vertical, or in-
clined direction ; the rapidity of spread depending upon the
kind and distance of the target. The shot grazes are con-
tinually observed through telescopes. In certain cases the
observers are placed some distance on the flanks and are, as
far as practicable, covered. They communicate their observa-
tions to the firing troops by signs, calls, or intermediate posts.
At long ranges, when the target can be recognized only by
means of telescopes, points on the ground are selected and
given to the gunners as aiming points. For night firing the
guns are arranged and fired during the day and the proper
elevations and directions determined for the night. Specially
instructed men in range finding, supplied with the small
range finder, model-1899, belong to the machine-gun batteries.
They measure the distances to appearing targets or to suit-
able points in the foreground, prove distances during the
fight and determine new points for aiming.
The machine rifle can be used on any kind of ground that
is practicable for infantry. When detached from the carriage,
the gunners can take both the rifle and the ammunition sleds
on their backs and ascend with them steep slopes or ladders.
The rifles may be placed on the flat roofs of houses or the
houses may be occupied by them. In battle the rifles and
gunners do not offer larger targets than infantry fighting
under equal conditions. They are safer against losses than
infantry, as cover scarcely sufficient for a platoon of infantry
affords protection to a full battery. The attack of cavalry can
be strongly met by the battery going into action either with
their guns on or off their carriages, the fire being delivered
undisturbed and distributed over the whole of the advancing
riders.
In action against artillery the latter arm has the superiority
at long ranges, but at distances under 1,500 yards the machine
gun has the advantage. When artillery is to be fought the
sleds are taken as near to it as practicable and fire opened
against a flank if possible, the rifles concentrating their fire
upon a few guns ; spreading it over the whole opposing bat-
tery at the same time is generally regarded as not so effective.
Artillery in action against machine guns derives great
advantage from the use of protective shields.
The machine-gun battery is habitually used undivided, only
for special purposes are the sections authorized to be used
independently. The use of individual machine rifles is
MANEUVERS. 421
forbidden. The uniting of batteries is practiced only in excep-
tional cases. The batteries are at their greatest advantage
when full use can be made of their mobility and when they
can go into action under cover separated from their carriages.
The batteries are placed directly under the orders of the
higher leaders of troops, as a full knowledge of the general
situation, the intentions of the leader, and the phase of the
fight is of special advantage to their proper use. They are,
therefore, not attached to special troops or to troop parts, as
their greatest fighting value could then be profited by only in
exceptional cases. The battery commanders are in the closest
practicable connection with their higher troop leaders.
Before selecting a position a reconnoissance is made, espe-
cially toward exposed flanks, hence the large number of
mounted men in the battery. Care, however, is taken that
the attention of the adversary is not prematurely called to the
position selected. Effort is invariably made to take position
under cover and to open fire as a surprise. In action the
troop leader indicates the purpose and the general object of
the fight. The battery commander selects the position, deter-
mines the distance, indicates the targets in detail, the kind of
fire, and orders the commencement of the same. The section
leader indicates the target to his section, the elevation,
superintends the operating, and is responsible for the correct
perception of the target. The gun leader selects the most
favorable position for the gun, sees that it is at the proper
height, superintends the execution of all orders, and sees .that
the center of the fire cone comes into the target. He also
sees that the fire action of his piece is undisturbed. The men
are not allowed to show themselves more than is required for
a proper observation of the field of action, the operating of
the rifle, the transportation of cartridges, and the measuring
of distances.
In the fight, as a rule, all vehicles are left back under
cover. Advances ar& made by the men carrying or dragging
the detached rifle and ammunition sleds, individual horses,
when necessary, being used to assist. Cover is left only when
the conditions of the fight absolutely require it. The timely
supply of ammunition is of the highest importance. In
action, when the leaders of the caissons have brought full
ammunition sleds to the firing line, the empty sleds, boxes,
and belts are taken back and filled anew. The supply of
422 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
fresh men and material is also connected with the ammuni-
tion supply. The cooperation of infantry ammunition col-
umns is regulated by the superior headquarters.
It is often of an advantage to attach machine guns to
advance guards, and sometimes to the advanced cavalry,
especially when the quick occupation and maintaining of
favorable positions are in question, thus affording the bulk
of the troops time and space for deployment. The machine
guns are especially adapted for this work on account of their
mobility and great fire effect. After the arrival of the
infantry they are, if possible, taken from the firing line and
kept ready for other use.
When attack is to be made against a fully developed de-
fensive position, they are held back to form in the hand of
the higher leader a mobile reserve, which can be used for a
rapid support of threatened points, for action against the
wings and flanks of the enemy, .or for breaking into the
defense at objective points. These batteries are able to fol-
low advancing infantry in an attack. A closer approach,
however, to the objective point than 800 yards, the range of
their greatest fire effect, is, as a rule, faulty. In case of
victory they participate in the pursuit by fire ; they advance
into the captured position to support the infantry and deprive
the enemy of filial resistance. When the attack fails they
quickly go to the rallying position.
In defense it must be considered that these batteries are
not suited to a delayed fire fight. They are not given from
the commencement of the defense a certain section to defend,
but are kept with the reserve to strengthen the line of defense
at threatened points, to prevent flanking operations, to repel
assaults, and to be used for offensive movements.
In going into position at points previously selected, cover
is obtained, if necessary, by intrenching. In pursuit and
retreat the batteries are at their best. When attached to
independent cavalry they are used in the attack or defense
of cavalry fighting on foot or on horseback. On reconnoiter-
ing duty with cavalry they are of special use in taking and
maintaining positions. When cavalry is advancing against
cavalry they go into position as early as possible in order to
support the deployment and the attack. If the action is
successful they pursue by fire and prevent renewed resistance.
If unsuccessful they continue in the fire position or retreat
to a receiving position. In most cavalry engagements the
MANEUVERS. 423
vehicles are held near or else the guns are fired from the
carriages. The batteries assigned to the cavalry divisions
remain with the cavalry during a general engagement.
Machine guns are also used with advantage for covering
artillery in position, if other forces can not be found for this
purpose.
The great importance of the machine-gun battery in war is
thus apparent. The machine gun is merely an auxiliary
arm which, with its great fire power and mobility, assists the
other arms in all fighting situations, including the rendering
of quick and effectual assistance to shaken 'and distant points
of the fighting field. It is of use to all three arms.
Germany has favorably solved the carrying question,
which easily places it in advance of all other continental
nations in the benefits derived from the uses of this arm.
INFANTRY.
While exact and rapid maneuvering is held in high honor
and is assiduously practiced, the infantry drill regulations, as
well as those for the cavalry and artillery, provide for but a
few simple evolutions. The time and labor of the troops are
regarded as too valuable to be wasted in acquiring proficiency
in intricate drill movements, which experience has taught are
of no importance or use on the battlefield. A most striking
feature of the maneuver was the few movements in the drill
formations and in the manual of arms. The infantry, upon
going into action, invariably sent into the fighting line only
the men that were absolutely necessary, effort being always
made to retain a reserve. The distance between the various
lines was generally regulated by the object of the action and
by the ground; as the action increased the distances were
gradually shortened, in flat country without cover they were
greater. In reenforcing the fighting line troops were brought
up and mingled with those already engaged. The regiments
assumed deep formations in order to keep the various portions
together and to prevent intermixture with other regiments.
No normal front was observed by the regiments in action, it
varied with the object of the fight and with the ground. The
brigades, as a rule, fought with their two regiments side by
side, the fighting formation being that of the extended order.
Independent fire, in which the men waited for the most favor-
able moment for firing, seemed everywhere to be practiced.
424 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Small volleys were occasionally used at the beginning of an
action to get the range. Rapid fire was used in the last stages
of the action, and on occasions where the enemy was met with
suddenly at close range. The infantry almost invariably fired
in the prone position.
The umpires in making their decisions attached unusual
importance to the superiority of fire. The idea generally
prevails in Germany that the Boer war has taught that the
fire effect alone decides the fight, and that the proper handling
of the supports and reserves behind the firing line must more
than ever become a studied art. The immense penetrating
power of modern rifles and the extreme flat trajectory of pro-
jectiles is regarded to have formed a zone within which it is
very difficult to bring to the front reserves, ammunition,
water, etc., if uncovered.
TELEGRAPH TROOPS.
While these troops are formed into special organizations of
their own, they are, nevertheless, grouped with the railway
and balloon units as communication troops under an inspector
independent of the inspector general of engineers and pioneers.
Although the telegraph troops did not fight with arms in
hand, they materially assisted in the strategical measures of
the commander in the preparation for battle, and in the for-
warding of orders and reports, by their rapid and exact mes-
senger service. These troops with the least expense of labor
and material and in the shortest time established connections,
which, by their situation, were protected from their marching
troops and vehicles, and which in turn in nowise served to
obstruct them. After long marches new lines were built,
permanent lines repaired, stations established, a multitude of
dispatches sent and received, often during the night, and
after the main fighting a line built to follow the pursuing
troops, or stations broken up and material gathered in for
retreat. These troops are of more and more importance as
the size of armies increases. It is regarded as absolutely
necessary that these special organizations be frequently prac-
ticed in maneuvers in order that they may be kept up to date.
A net of field telegraph wire with twenty stations was erected
in the triangle Sonnenburg-Meseritz-Schwiebus, the total
length of the wire being 145 miles. The stations were each
marked by a white flag with a black T. Most of the line
MANEUVERS. 425
consisted of cables ; a small part of it, however, was erected
on poles.
A telegraph patrol was assigned to each cavalry regiment.
THE OPTICAL, TELEGRAPH.
The optical telegraph or light apparatus was worked hand
in hand with the electric telegraph and by the same troops.
It not only served as a reserve means to be used where the
electric telegraph was hindered by destruction or interrup-
tions, but to establish connections over ground impracticable
for wire. It was principally used by the first guard infantry
division.
The composition and means of transporting the chemicals
used in making the light signals, as well as the great power
of the same, were described in my report of the kaiser
maneuver of 1901.
WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY.
There were two stationary and three transportable stations
used for wireless telegraphy during tlje maneuver. The first
of the stationary stations was established in Sonnenburg, the
headquarters of the emperor, and was in charge of Lieutenant
Alsleben, the second in Schermeisel ; the three transportable
stations were assigned to the headquarters of the maneuver
direction, the fifth army corps, and cavalry division B.
At Sonnenburg the steeple of a church was used for the
sending and receiving wire. For this purpose a pole was
placed on the steeple which increased its height to 54 yards.
At Schermeisel the height of the pole was only 33 yards.
Each of the transportable stations was carried on a wagon
constructed especially for the purpose, and which consisted
of a front limber and a rear chest. The limber transported
the receiver, the rear chest the sender, the current of which
is produced by a benzine motor with a dynamo. A balloon
was used for raising the sending wire. The wagons were
drawn by six horses each, and followed the troops to which
they were assigned. These wagons have very much the
appearance of an artillery ammunition caisson. When an
order or report was to be sent the wagon was unlimbered,
the men deployed, the ballocyn raised, and the message sent.
In less than ten minutes the stations would be loaded and the
wagon again follow its troops.
The distance between the two fixed stations established for
the maneuver at Sonnenburg and Schermeisel was 22 miles.
The station at Sonnenburg was also in direct communication
with the wireless telegraph station of the balloon detachment
at Berlin, the distance between these two stations being. 62£
miles. The distance between the transportable stations and
Sonnenburg varied, as they were established from 31 to 75
miles. Each station was in charge of an officer, the appa-
ratus being operated by soldiers.
The apparatus is not at all affected by aerial electrical dis-
charges. It was furnished by the " Gesellschaft fur drahtlose
telegraphy system, Prof. Braun, Siemens, und Halske" (com-
pany for wireless telegraphy system, Professors Braun, Sie-
mens, and Halske). The firm and the balloon troops are in
close connection. They have much improved their apparatus
for the army. The Germans were the first to equip their
army with such apparatus, while most of the other countries
are even now occupying themselves with the connection of
places over water, where the difficulties presented by the
ground do not exist.
TRANSPORTATION AND SUBSISTENCE.
The regulations that have been in force for several years
requiring the train battalions to participate in the maneuvers
of their respective army corps were for the kaiser maneuver
of 1902 greatly extended. In both the third and fifth army
corps provision columns were established from the train bat-
talions exactly as would be done in case of mobilization.
This enabled the different arms to be handled as in actual
war and gave the maneuver a more warlike air.
The present train organization was adopted by Prussia in
1859. It requires every army corps to have one train battalion,
which serves to educate the staff officers, officials, and men of
the train in time of peace in all that pertains to train admin-
istration. It furnishes the means for train drill, in which
drivers are required to attain proficiency in the many train
details which can be acquired only by practice. It forms the
nucleus of the transportation necessary for the more extended
requirements of war.
The troops of the German a* my are subsisted in several
different ways, which are employed according to circum-
stances and the prevailing conditions of the country in which
MANEUVERS. 427
the troops find themselves. Thus may be mentioned the pro-
visioning by hosts (billeting), the most comfortable ; the
provisioning by requisition, which includes both the bringing
together of the necessary provisions by citizens and by the
troops themselves. These ways soon fail when troops remain
for some time or when other troops have already been in the
country. In these cases recourse is had to the magazines,
which are established by the commissariat along railroads or
at other suitable points. The wagon-train columns, which
establish connection between the troops and magazines,
become of the highest importance when the army is advanc-
ing against a retreating enemy that has left the country
exhausted.
Heretofore in the great maneuvers and in cases of mobiliza-
tion only one field-bakery Golumn was established with each
army corps. During the present maneuver this number was
increased to three. In addition, the entire apparatus of the
field bakeries was made transportable in order that they
might be able to produce bread during the march. By this
arrangement the troops were better supplied with bread in
unexpected and difficult situations than in case of the old
stationary bakeries. The bakery columns were able to bake
35,000 rations within twenty-four hours, the requirements of
each of their army corps for one day. These columns were
attached to the bivouac columns, the two together receiving
the official designation "bivouac column."
Each division was furnished two provision columns to be
used for carrying rations and forage from the magazines, and
two bivouac columns for the immediate supply of the bivouac
requirements. These were designated as provision columns
Nos. 1 and 2, and bivouac columns Nos. 1 and 2. One pro-
vision column and one bivouac column together contained
nearly two days' requirements for a division. The bivouac
column carried the supplies for the day the troops went into
bivouac, including the necessary wood for cooking. The pro-
vision column carried one day's supplies of rations, forage,
and wood for the following day, which was not used until
after the exhaustion of the supplies of the bivouac column.
With the infantry divisions provision column No. 1 con-
sisted of 48 two-horse wagons. With this column were 5 officers,
including a paymaster and a veterinary surgeon, 99 noncom-
missioned officers and privates, 29 riding and 108 draft horses.
4*28 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
All of the other provision columns consisted of hired wagons
and horses. The horses and wagons of the bivouac columns
were also hired.
There was in addition one baggage column assigned to each
division; the wagons and horses for this column were hired.
Both the bivouac and baggage columns were also provided
with officers, noncommissioned officers, and privates, who
superintended the train and attended to the loading and
unloading.
One transportation-battalion commander was attached to
each division and superintended the entire transportation of
the division.
The wagon columns were organized into platoons and sec-
tions, under officers.
The wagons were distinctly marked with a number; the
kind of column to which it belonged was also plainly desig-
nated by large letters, as well as the division to which it was
assigned.
The disposal of the columns and the manner in which they
brought provisions from the magazines were left to the divi-
sion commander.
Each man carried one day's ration, excepting potatoes, and
some wood for cooking.
One day's ration of oats was carried on each horse.
Potatoes were purchased in the open market from time to
time, and were carried on the officers' provision wagons.
Provisional magazines were established at Konigswalde,
Schermeisel, Grochow, Sternberg, Topper, Mittel Stentsch,
Meseritz, Bauchwitz, Durlettel, Bratz, and Ober Stentsch.
The baggage columns arrived first in camp, and after them
the bivouac columns. A great number of water wagons
accompanied the troops. These were principally one-horse
wagons, each carrying a barrel with a capacity of about 65
gallons. There were also a few large sprinkling wagons used
to carry drinking water. Trial was made of one large trans-
portable drinking-water apparatus for distilling water to ren-
der it germproof. After the steam was condensed it was
charged with a fresh supply of air. In this way about 250
gallons of pure water was prepared in one hour.
The length of the train for one army corps in war is about
6£ miles. As such a long column is not desirable it is divided
into two echelons, according to their use. The first echelon,
MANEUVERS. 429
with which are two provision columns, marches from 4£ to
6± miles behind the fighting troops. The second echelon fol-
lows at one day's march distance. When a column has been
emptied, it returns from the first to the second echelon and
from this to the magazines to be reloaded. The column lead-
ers always endeavor to see that their wagons are able to make
these marches unhindered. The innovation of the mobilized
train battalion for the maneuvers of 1902 was everywhere
hailed as a new and useful step in the practice of warlike
conditions.
The indemnification for the feeding of the troops in billet
was decided by the imperial chancellor of the empire, and the
allowance for a private for the maneuvers as announced in
orders, dated January 2, 1902, was as follows :
With
bread.
Without
brand.
For a full day's feeding..
For a midday feeding
For an evening feeding..
For a morning feeding _
$0. 19 $0. 15
.09}^ .08%
.06 .06
.03% .02%
The compensation for the keeping of an officer included
that of his soldier servant ; the following rates were paid per
day:
For quarters and board for a general officer $0. 49
For quarters and board for a field officer 89
For quarters and board for a captain or lieutenant 25
When a full day's board was not furnished, a smaller
amount was paid for the quarters and meals actually fur-
nished.
For the various noncommissioned officers the allowances
were graded between those of the lieutenant and the private.
During the maneuvers no officer of the army, official,
clergyman, teacher, or citizen enjoyed any immunity or privi-
lege which excluded him from the full obligation to serve as
host for the officers or soldiers billeted upon him.
Special preserved meat, ordinarily known as "Lauwer-
Riipins preserved meat," was extensively furnished as a part
ration and for field trial. This patent is especially designed
for the tropics, and consists of the inclosing of the meat in
an envelope of tasteless and nonodorous mineral grease, the
melting point of which is above 70° C. This in turn is
inclosed in a second envelope of gelatinous membrane of a
430 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
chocolate-brown color. The double cover effectually served
to protect the meat against all exterior agents, and the food
was regarded as well adapted for use in campaign.
Schoolhouses being required for the use of the troops, the
schools in and near the city of Posen were suspended from
August 27 to September 8; those in other localities being
similarly affected a few days later.
In order to provide for the great increase necessary in the
field-bakery columns, bakers, in accordance with orders,
were called in from the reserve (landwehr and ersatz reserve)
in time enough to be thoroughly instructed in the manipula-
tions of the field baking stoves in garrisons before they were
employed in service in the maneuver.
In order that prompt payments might be made by the
troops for forage and supplies, the prices to be paid were fixed
for each community and published previous to the maneuver
in the local newspapers.
RECONNOI8SANCE.
The principal means of gathering information was by the
use of exploring cavalry-patrols.
Cavalry and infantry patrols sufficed for the information
service until the moments of contact with the main forces of
the enemy and until the adversary made his dispositions to
accept combat. The difficulties confided to the exploring
cavalry increased in proportion as the veil covering the enemy
thickened.
In previous maneuvers it was found that the reports of the
patrols often reached the commander too late, or else they
depicted situations existing several hours before and which
were changed as the time arrived for prompt action. To
overcome these difficulties extensive use was made of captive
balloons, which are now no longer regarded as innovations in
the German army.
The balloons were raised and lowered by hand winches and
were rapidly taken to different positions. They were inflated
with compressed hydrogen gas and made ready for ascension
in about thirty minutes. Kite balloons were used, which per-
mitted ascensions to be made in all winds. To enable them
to withstand the wind the balloons were provided with air
and rubber pouches. Small additional auxiliary balloons or
bags were also attached to the main balloons by lines in such
MANEUVERS. 431
a manner as to fly some distance away from them, and which
looked when in the air very much like the tail of an ordinary
kite.
The observers irose to an altitude of from 400 to 600 yards.
At this height they could observe the changes of position of
companies within a radius of 4i miles and the movements of
battalions and batteries at 7£ miles. The movements of large
bodies of troops could be perceived at 15 miles. These obser-
vations permitted the reporting of such troops as could take
part in the day's battle. The observers discovered the front
of the opposing troops, and, during the artillery duel, desig-
nated objects upon which fire could be directed. In general
they were not used for the observation of the shots, this hav-
ing been found to be impracticable unless particular targets
are assigned and the observations limited simply to this ob-
ject. During the battle at short distances the observers were
able to give exact information concerning the grouping of
the opposing forces and the details of the ground. The bal-
loons were not used during the night, although it is claimed
that when in close contact they may even then be able to
gain important information. In defensive positions they
were particularly useful in the discovery of the direction of
the attack and in the location of the ordinary and the masked
or covered batteries. After trials, the Germans have found
that the best results are obtained by raising the balloons
within 200 or 300 yards of the main headquarters ; also, that
each minute of delay in the transmission of an observation
made from a balloon frequently caused a loss of part its
value. Effort is made to have the tactical situation depicted
to the commander as it appears at the very moment, and not
such as it was a few hours before. In battle, no patrol can
depict a situation so rapidly and so completely. Were the
balloons raised at some distance from headquarters the obser-
vations would have to be transmitted, and any delay would
cause it to lose its principal value. Instantaneous descrip-
tion of the situation is of the utmost importance. From
trials during previous maneuvers it has been found that
when messages from the balloon had to be transmitted some
distance they often could not be prevented from wandering
around the field, and even when they were ready to be for-
warded by telegraph or telephone lines these latter were
sometimes occupied by the transmission of communications
432 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
and urgent orders and the observations failed to reach head-
quarters in time to be of value. The greatest objection to
the location adopted for the captive balloon in the field army
is that it betrays the seat of the headquarters. It has, how-
ever, the advantage of indicating to the friendly troops the
proper direction to send their communications, and it also
serves somewhat as a guide for the march of the troops.
The knowledge by the enemy of the location of headquarters
is not now, perhaps, of so much importance, as the wings are
well connected with the center by the new flash-signaling ap-
paratus and the telegraph and telephone lines.
Much attention is paid to the question as to who should
ascend in the balloon to take the observations. If possible,
the observations are made by a trustworthy officer of experi-
ence attached to the staff of the commander. Particular
cases and the kind of observations to be made decide whether
this officer shall be an officer of the balloon section or of the
staff corps, the engineers, artillery, or infantry. The success
of the communications made from the balloon is greater
when the relations between the observer and the chief of
staff of the headquarters are intimate.
The long range of modern arms now holds the patrols at
great distances, rendering their reconnoitering more difficult;
the balloon at the present day is therefore a greater necessity.
The clear weather which prevailed throughout all of the
maneuver days favored the use of balloons, equally klso the
services of information, reconnoitering, transmission of orders
and news, and the transportation service.
The hard ground permitted the balloons to be mobile both
before and after they were raised . Thus the Red commander's
balloon, which was raised near Grochow September 11, fol-
lowed at a high elevation its wagon (to which it was attached
by cable) when that vehicle was driven along with the retreat-
ing troops through Tempels M., Seeren, Hochwalde, Kalau to
Paradies, a distance of 16 miles. During this time numerous
valuable reports in regard to the strength and the directions
taken by the pursuing troops, the roads that .were free of the
enemy, etc., were received from the observer by the Red
commander.
Cuttings from maps were frequently used by the observer,
who would sketch in the extent of the enemy's position, the
general line of the hostile outposts, etc. Ordinary descrip-
tions of the situations or conditions of the fight on the different
MANEUVERS. 433
parts f the battlefield were generally transmitted by tele-
phone, but sometimes by means of written reports, observers
being able to make use of both methods.
The greatest number of messages received from one balloon
in one day was eighteen.
Th' "signal balloon" was of great value in marking the
headc uarters of the maneuver leading, and for ordering the
halt, he recommencement, and the end of the maneuver.
AUTOMOBILES.
Du *ing the maneuvers full advantage of the great velocity
of th automobiles for persons could be taken advantage of
only when the road was free from troops. This often occurred
between the heads of the advance guard and the advance
cava' y, between the ends of marching columns, between the
arm) >arts and the ends of certain telegraph lines, and on the
crossroads connecting the lines of march. As the drivers
were sometimes unfamiliar with the roads, frequently only
from 15 to 25 miles per hour was practicable, the average
speed being somewhat less. The automobiles in general,
howc er, were regarded as of satisfactory speed. The desire
for hides of greater velocity results from the wish to
maintain quick time on ascents and in mountainous country.
The objection -to the automobiles using benzine was that
the dangers arising from the use of benzine were greater
than would have been from those using steam. Reliance had
to be »laced upon benzine depots, as the quantity necessary
for 4 *r use could not be found near the line of march.
Besi-1 the. benzine had to be clean and to fulfill certain
othe. required conditions. Reliable and fearless men were
required for drivers, who had to be relieved in order that
they might rest. The propelling force was not so well regu-
lated as that generally produced by the steam motor.
It i regarded as undecided in Germany whether it is more
to the purpose to use automobiles only for the transportation
of pe 3ns, or for bearing freight, or for drawing other loaded
vehic ,3, or whether the same importance should be attached
to all iree kinds.
Thv reight automobile and the draft automobile, or
traction engine, are yet far from the standard desired. An
automobile to carry freight is particularly desired, as it can
go backward or forward, and in close places can be better
434 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
directed than a wagon and team. Effort is being made by
tbe army to secure a motor tbat will be able to draw on good
roads an attached burden of 30,000 pounds at an average
speed of about 3 miles an hour.
Twenty automobile j for tbe transportation of persons
were used in the maneuver. These carriages were generally
of a light character, some of them having only two wheels.
A lC-horsepower Mercedes was placed at the disposal of the
emperor, which he used once in going from Sonnenburg to
Trossen and return early the morning of September 10.
The firms of Adler, Benz, Daimler, Durkopp, Eisenach
Vehicle Factory, Marienfelde, Opel, and Stoewer were also
represented in carriages. The two- wheeled automobiles were
all of the kinds known as the Neckarsulm, Cyclone, and Prog-
ress. Of the two-wheel variety those having the motor in
front stood the test better on soft ground.
There were also in addition ten Daimler freight automo-
biles used. These were in charge of Captain Mayer and were
brought from Berlin to Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and taken
from there to the maneuver ground. They were used in
transporting provisions in connection with the steam traction
automobiles under the command of Captain Weisse ; the lat-
ter consisted of several Thornycroft and Fowler steam trac-
tion automobiles.
The ten Daimler freight automobiles were assigned the task
of filling two maneuver provision magazines, which task they
were reported to have accomplished in a satisfactory manner.
It necessitated the transportation of 275,000 pounds about 44
miles. Trailers were attached to some of these automobiles
with favorable results, the automobile and trailer carrying a
load of 8,800 pounds, with an average speed of 6 miles an hour
over roads generally good but sometimes soft in places.
For the motive (motor) power of the ten freight automo-
biles alcohol was used, preference being given it on account
of its being a home product. The cost of this power in Ger-
many is less than that of benzine.
There is much material on hand in Germany for the con-
struction of narrow-gauge field railroads. For this purpose
sections are made consisting of the rails united and held in
place by the ties. These sections are transported on wagons
and are quickly laid over the ground in any direction.
MANEUVERS. 435
REPORTS.
In accordance with field-service regulations the corps com-
manders of those army corps which have engaged in the
kaiser maneuvers must forward by the 1 st of November to
the chief of the general staff of the army reports on the
maneuvers held before his majesty the emperor. These
reports, to which must be attached the reports of aU the
infantry and cavalry division commanders, contain only such
descriptions of the tactical exercises as would be given in war
service.
Officers are not employed in sketching the movements in
maneuvers; it is preferable for this purpose to append por-
tions of maps.
The umpires also report by the 1st of November to the
chief of the general staff of the army the decisions given by
them, stating concisely their reasons for the decisions.
CARRIER PIGEONS.
There are 784 carrier-pigeon societies in Germany, which
own about 240,000 birds. The number of birds found in the
empire decreases gradually from the western frontier to the
the eastern, as the pigeons were introduced from the west,
Belgium, and the farther from the starting point the less they
are understood and the more difficult it becomes to find the
proper personnel for keeping and training them. The socie-
ties are consolidated under the name of the "Association of
German Carrier-Pigeon Amateur Societies." This associa-
tion has accepted an obligation to train a certain number of
their carrier pigeons under the regulations prescribed by the
war ministry, and to place them at the disposition of the mil-
itary authorities in case of war. The war ministry presents
9 gold, 140 silver, and 240 bronze medals annually to the
societies for good flyingf results. It also pays $1,000 yearly to
the association. OneThalf of this is generally given as a con-
tribution to the fund for payment of the managers, and one-
half to the fund used for premiums for the destruction of
birds of prey.
In addition to the amateur societies there is a military car-
rier-pigeon service with headquarters at Spandau, where a
fine special building for a central station has been erected.
This service is subordinated to the " inspection of telegraph
troops," the individual stations are subordinated to the local
436 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
military commanders. In the budget, for the administration
of the imperial army, $10,000 annually is appropriated for
the military carrier-pigeon service. The system now spreads
its net over the whole German empire; every fortress has its
carrier-pigeon post, in addition a large number of breeding
stations have been established at various places, with a
capacity of 200 pigeons each. Pigeons are sometimes bewil-
dered by the noise of guns ; it is therefore considered neces-
sary to send at least four out with a single dispatch, in cases
of news of special importance two or three times as many.
It is considered as possible that in time wireless telegraphy
may do away with the necessity of keeping up these stations.
During the maneuver the pigeons were carried exclusively
by the cavalry, there being one carrier-pigeon patrol of the
strength of one noncommissioned officer and three privates
established in each cavalry regiment. These patrols prac-
ticed with their pigeons only during two days, the 8th and
9th of September.
The pigeon ration, the preparation of the dispatch, the
adjustment of the same, and the regulations observed in
starting the birds upon their flights, were the same as
described in the report on the German kaiser maneuver of
1901.
THE JAPANESE ABM7 MANEUVEBS OF 1902.
[Reported by Maj. O. E. Wood, Artillery Corps, United States Military Attache at Tokyo.]
The maneuvers took plac between November 9 and 15,
1902, near Kumamoto, in H' » Province, Island of Kyushu,
about 830 miles south of Tok ad within 60 miles of Naga-
saki. 0
The foreign military attach and other officers who were
invited to attend the maneuvc/s left Tokyo on November <>
and 7, arriving at Kumamoto two days later, and were met
by officers of the Japanese staff, who conducted them to their
quarters in a large school building, which had been specially
prepared for their reception.
The foreign spectators were as follows: The military
attaches of Great Britain, France, Qermany, Russia, and the
United States of America; ant? in addition there were three
English, two French, three German, two Italian, one Ameri-
can (Lieut. H. L. Wigmore, U. S. Engineers, A. D. C), three
I
k
MANEUVERS. 437
Korean, and ten Chinese officers, among whom was Major
General Creagh of the British army.
On November 10 the emperor arrived at Kumamoto and
was received at the railroad station by the princes, high offi-
cers of the Japanese army, and the foreign officers.
On the 11th, 12th, and 13th the emperor witnessed the
maneuvers, and on the 14th a grand review was held by his
majesty on the Champ des Manoeuvres in Kumamoto.
On the afternoon of the 14th a grand reception and banquet
took place in the emperor's presence, attended by over 1,000
officers and officials of high rank.
GENERAL PLAN OF MANEUVERS.
1. The Southern (invading) army, composed of the sixth
division and a battalion of infantry from Tsushima Island,
commanded by Lieutenant General Okobo, has disembarked
its main force in Imari Bay, a part of it effecting a landing
in the bay of Yatsushiro.
2. The Northern (defending) army, composed of the twelfth
division, commanded by Lieutenant General Inouye, having
concentrated its main force near Kurume, will advance a
division in the direction of Kumamoto.
GENERAL. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE SOUTHERN ARMY.
The advance guard of the sixth division of the Southern
army, charged with occupying Kumamoto as soon as possible
and proceeding northward toward Kurume, will arrive at
Yatsushiro in the afternoon of November 9. The main force
of the division will be assembled in the environs of Yatsu-
shiro ready to move forward by 11 a. m. November 10.
The outposts for the night of November 9-10 are assumed.
GENERAL. INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE NORTHERN ARMY.
The twelfth division of the Northern army, charged with
repulsing the enemy, will arrive in the neighborhood of
Takase during the night of November 9-10. It will then be
learned that the enemy disembarked in Yatsushiro Bay on
November 9 and has concentrated its force in the neighbor-
hood of Yatsushiro.
The outposts for the night of November 9-10 are assumed.
438 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1002.
CAVALRY OPERATIONS OF NOVEMBER lO.
The cavalry of the Northern army advanced southward,
crossed the Midorigawa River, and occupied Kokan Mura and
vicinity at 12.30 p. m.
The cavalry of the Southern army, in cooperation with the
company of infantry acting as its support, drove back the
hostile cavalry and took possession of the bridge near Kawa-
shiri at 2 p. m. The northern cavalry retired to Chikami.
COMMENTS.
The action of November 10 was not witnessed by the for-
eign spectators and was a small affair of the advance cavalry
of both armies. The first brush took place at a bridge in the
neighborhood of Kawashiri. There was only a small force of
Northern cavalry on the north bank, and their fire was over-
powered by that of the Southern army, which was supported
by a company of infantry, who poured in a hot fire from the
front and the left flank. The Northern force was consequently-
forced to retreat and the invaders remained in possession of
the Kawashiri bridge.
POSITION OF THE TWO ARMIES ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 10.
The Southern Army. — Main body near Ogawa, with the
advance guard near Eitashinden, and left detachment near
Sumiyoshi.
The Northern Army. — Main body near Kumamoto, with
the advance guard near Motoyama Mura, and line of out-
posts extending from Shin Tokawara to Nishimuta.
GENERAL. ORDERS FOR NOVEMBER 11.
SOUTHERN ARMY.
The division will advance. The independent cavalry will
advance from Kumanjo. The advance guard (one regiment
of infantry and one of artillery) will leave the south end of
Matsubase at 7 a. m. and move on the Kyushu road. The
left detachment (two battalions of infantry) will leave
Kitashinden at 5.30 a. m.
NORTHERN ARMY.
The division will advance from Ogawa. The advance
guard (one regiment of infantry, two squadrons of cavalry,
PLATE VII.
Ordre de bataille, VI* Division, Armee du Sud.
Qeniral Okubo. commandant la Division.
Colonel Yamamoto, chef <? Et at- Major.
23r Brigade dimfanterie.
0' Kigoehi.
2? Big9 din/anterie.
IS-& Tomita.
4& Big* (tinfanierie.
JJ & Hirai.
Ba4T dinf* de Tsushima.
C Sadowara.
IV Brigade dinfanterie-
G1 Ida.
IP Big4 dinfanterie-
O Matsui.
45' Big* dinfanterie.
& Nojima.
6* Big4 de eavalerie.
& Jv>apa.
6* Big* dartillerie de eampagne.
C Hara.
iininsf tFTiT^sr ^b^uT^st tst^st'^b Tins^sy \ir^2^Tff
n\ rn m n\ n\ rn n\ n\ m n\ n\ rn ft\ jt\ m n\ n\ rn
^ Bataillon de genie.
C Tsutsumi.
Train de division.
Oolonne diquipage depont (supposi)
MANEUVERS. 439
one battery of artillery aud two companies of engineers) will
leave Chikami at 5.30 a. m. for Ogawa. The left detachment
(one regiment of infantry, one squadron of cavalry, two bat-
teries of artillery and one company of engineers) will leave
Hattanda at 5.30 a. m. for Matsubase. The remainder of
the division will follow the advance guard.
OPERATIONS OF NOVEMBER 11.
On the receipt of information that some of the hostile infan-
try had crossed the Midorigawa, the commander of the South-
ern army ordered the advance guard and the twenty-third
brigade of infantry to deploy for action; the former between
Iwatake and Uchikoshi and the latter at the northern end of
Hanazono Mura; the artillery taking its position astride the
main road near Iwatake. At -8 a. m., being informed of the
approach of the hostile infantry near Kiyoto, the divisional
commander of the Southern army came to the determination
that he would meet the enemy.
The Northern army division occupied Utomachi with the
advance guard, deployed the main body near the north end
of the town, and placed the artillery near Udo Station. As
a consequence of the artillery action, he decided to attack
Hanazono Mura, which he effected about 10 a. m. The left
detachment of the Northern army drove back the right
detachment of the Southern army near Kumanjo, and made
for Matsubase; in this pursuit an obstinate resistance was
offered. Judging from the report of guns heard in the direc-
tion of Kumanjo that the enemy in front was not of superior
strength, the Southern commander made an attack on the
hostile forces in the direction of Udo. In this fight the
Southern army division was compelled to make a general
retreat by the situation existing in the direction of Kumanjo;
the troops regaining order near Toyofuku. The Northern
army division pursued the enemy up to the line connecting
Matsubase with Magarino.
The Southern division placed its outposts fully prepared
for battle on the line of Kawatoko, Urakawachi, and Kugu.
Having a line established along the Onogawa to guard
against surprises, the Northern army division bivouacked in
the rear, with its main forces present at Magarino.
440 NOTES OP MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
COMMENTS.
The position of the Southern artillery was well chosen;
they had been under cover behind some bushes and farm-
houses, but rushed out and unlimbered just behind the crest
of a hill which commanded a large extent of ground. Gun
pits were dug, the guns placed well back on the reverse slope,
and the horses and limbers were sent to the rear in? short
order, but were badly bunched, for a single shell judiciously
placed would have killed or wounded the greater part of them.
On the crest of a lower hill, nearly in front of these guns,
was a company of Southern infantry strongly intrenched, but
they were packed in the trenches like sardines in a box.
The Southern forces held a stronger position than the
Northern troops, occupying as they did a range of heights
while their opponents were in low-lying ground and would
have to advance over open country if they determined to
attack.
During the progress of the engagement the general com-
manding the Northern army received reenforcements, and,
making a feint with his right, massed them on his left and
hurled them against the Southern right in the neighborhood
Kumanjo, and then advanced toward Matsubase, encounter-
ing strong resistance.
The infantry came into action rapidly on both sides, the
men seeming to rise out of the ground in all directions; but
their line was too dense and the supports in company column
too close.
The Northern force was adjudged victorious and the South-
ern army had to fall back.
GENERAL ORDERS FOR NOVEMBER 18.
NORTHERN ARMY.
1. The division will effect reconnoissance with view to
attack.
2. The twelfth brigade of infantry will occupy the line
extending from the west end of Matsubase to the extremity
of the heights to the east of Magarino.
3. The twenty-fourth brigade of infantry will occupy the
line extending from the nameless village to the east of Maga-
rino to the end of the height to the northwest of Haginowo.
4. The cavalry will search for the enemy from Toyosaki to
1he northwest of Haginowo.
plate vm.
Ordre de bataille, Xlt Division, Armee du Nord.
General Inonyi, commandant la Division.
IAeut-Oolonel Ohara, chef a" Mat-Major.
4W Brigade d'infanterie.
GPOtani.
2* Wtf d'infanterie.
& Semba.
4& Be? d'infanteruf.
& Kagawc.
Iff Brigade d'infanterie .
Q1 Takinoucki.
1* Rtf d'mfanlerie.
C Imamura.
.4T Big1 d infant
V Yoda.
13* Big* de cavalerie.
L-& Yamamoto.
1ST Big* d'artillerie de eampagne.
Z'.C Mai9umoto.
nff"^^™ti7 Tinfinr iininsr Tm^^r ^sr^^r ivv ttt- nnr
n\ tt\ m n\ m rn n\ rn m n\ rn rn n\ m m rn ny m
V? Bataillon de ginie.
L'-C Okada.
Train de division, (supposij
MANEUVERS. 441
5. The regiment of artillery will take its position on the
height to the southeast of Magarino.
6. The reserve (one regiment of infantry) will be assem-
bled on the dry rice field to the northeast of Uenohara.
SOUTHERN ARMY.
1. The division will take up the defensive on its position
extending from Kawatoko to the height north of Toyofuku.
2. The cavalry will keep its main force at Yamasaki and a
part at Toyosaki. \
3. The dispositions are, roughly, as follows:
The right wing (having the twenty-third brigade less one
regiment as a kernel) on the line extending from the height
west of Kawatoko to Urakawachi. The left wing (having
the eleventh brigade as the kernel) on the line extending
from the left of the right wing to Kugu and Shima. The
artillery regiment and a company of engineers on the height
at Toyofuku. The reserve (four battalions of infantry) near
the south fork of the Urakawachi.
OPERATIONS OF NOVEMBER 18.
In pursuance of the orders issued last night, the Southern
army division occupied the line extending from Kawatoko to
Kugu, the artillery being posted astride the crossroads about
600 meters to the southeast of Kugu, the reserve being on the
dry rice field about 600 meters to the northeast of Toyofuku,
and the cavalry keeping its greater force at Yamasaki and a
part at Toyosaki. As ordered, also, the Northern army divi-
sion occupied the line connecting Atariomura, Nanden, and
Matsubase, the artillery being on the heights at Nanden, and
the reserve of the division near the three-forked road to the
northwest of Magarino, and the independent cavalry keeping
its greater force engaged in the search on the right side of
the division and a part present near Hagiwo.
With such dispositions, the operations began at 8 a. m.
The commander of the Northern army division decided to
keep ou the ground, as he judged that the hostile forces were
superior to his own. The commander of the Southern army
division, on the discovery that the fire of the enemy's artil-
lery grew weaker gradually, decided to lead an attack near
the nameless pond at Atariomura with his right wing and on
Nanden with the left wing. He thrust forward the reserve
442 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1903.
to the nameless pond out of the valley in the southern part
of Urakawachi. The Northern army commander gave a
counter attack when the left wing of the Southern army
reached Kugu.
However, the heavy loss suffered by the artillery compelled
the Northern army to make a general retreat, and the com-
mander decided to retire to the north of the Kasegawa.
At this moment the division commander received instruc-
tions from the corps commander, and learning that a rein-
forcement (having one regiment of infantry as the kernel)
would arrive in the forenoon to-morrow, directed the retreat
to Oita.
The Southern army decided to pursue the enemy and to
secure the various points of passage across the Midorigawa.
COMMENTS.
Each force was strongly intrenched along two parallel
ridges about 3,000 meters distant from each other. A valley
consisting of dry rice fields lay between these ridges, which,
being undulating and covered here and there by clumps of
trees, afforded fine artillery positions. After an hour's can-
nonading, the infantry of both armies advanced and brisk
fighting ensued ; the Southern reserves attacking the North-
ern left wing, while the reserve force of the Northern army
engaged the Southern left wing. The two opposing lines
had nearly met when the bugle was sounded suspending
operations for .the day. The Southern army was adjudged
to have the advantage.
POSITION OF THE TWO ARMIES ON THE NIGHT OF NOVEMBER 12.
The Northern army occupies the line connecting Chikami
with Fuyeda, with cantonment in rear of the line.
The Southern army has a force consisting of one regiment
of infantry, a large body of cavalry, and one battalion of
artillery in the vicinity of Medomachi, with the main body
of the division to the south of Kawashiri. •
GENERAL ORDERS FOR NOVEMBER 18.
SOUTHERN ARMY.
1. With the object of advancing on Kumamoto, the divi-
sion will be formed in three columns, and first of all sweep
away the hostile forces in front.
MANEUVERS. 443
2. The right detachment (one regiment of infantry, one
squadron of cavalry, one battalion of artillery, and one com-
pany of engineers) will cross the Nakanose-bashi bridge at
7.45 a. m. The right column (twenty-third regiment of in-
fantry, one squadron of cavalry, and one company of engi-
neers) will march by way of Gensan and Hetamura; the left
column (the rest of the division, less the independent cavalry)
will leave the northern extremity of Kawashirimachi, all
moving at the same hour, 7.45 a. m.
NORTHERN ARMY.
1. The division will meet the enemy, occupying the line
connecting Chikami with Yayamachi.
2. The various troops will be in position by 6.30 a. m.
The forty-seventh regiment of infantry from Kamigo to south
end of Chikami. The twenty-fourth regiment of infantry,
one battalion of artillery, and one company of engineers,
from the south end of Fuyeda to southeast end of Yayama-
chi. The second battalion of forty-eighth regiment infantry
at south end of Nishimuda. A regiment of artillery (less
one battalion) on the dry rice field to the northwest of
Nishimuda.
3. The regiment of cavalry" will cover the front of the left
flank.
4. The fourteenth regiment of infantry and the forty-eighth
regiment (less one battalion) will act as the reserve, being
posted on the dry rice fields to the southeast of Kamichikami.
OPERATIONS OF NOVEMBER 18.
At 7.30 a. m. the Southern commander decided to place
his artillery in the dry rice fields to the north of Gensan and
destroy the advance guard of the right and left columns in
order to make a reconnoissance of the enemy's force.
At 7.50 a. m. the artillery of the Southern division opened
fire against the enemy% artillery posted opposite it.
At 8 a. m. the twenty-third regiment of infantry, the right
column of the Southern division, started from Nishimura
for Nishimuda, and at 8.15 arrived at a point about 600
meters southeast of Nishimuda and exchanged a hot fire with
one battalion of the forty-eighth regiment of infantry which
occupied this point.
444 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
At 8.15 a. m. the Northern commander reinforced the
troops on the Nishimuda side by the forty-eighth regiment
of infantry (less one battalion) and ordered one battery of
artillery to proceed to a position near Nishimuda to attack
the side of Kibe.
At 8.20 the Northern commander, informed of the forward
movement of a large body of the enemy on the side of
Nakanose-bashi, strengthened the troops in the direction of
Fuyeda by two battalions of infantry, forming part of the
reserve.
At 8.40 a. m. the Northern commander, with the object of
carrying out a great counter attack on Nishimura, an attack
directed from the tract of country lying between Chikami
and Nishimuda, added to the artillery already posted there a
battalion of reinforcements, and made the fourteenth regi-
ment of infantry (less one battalion) deploy on the side of
the left wing of the forty-seventh regiment of infantry.
At 9 a. m. the five battalions of the Northern division on
the side of Fuyeda went forward, driving back, little by little,
the right detachment of the enemy.
At 9.05 a. m. the chief of the Northern division went from
the east side of Chikami-mura toward Nishimura with all
his reserves. One battalion of the fourteenth regiment of
infantry lost its way during this maneuver and was conse-
quently unable to take part in the principal attack.
At 9.10 a. m. the chief of the Southern division decided to
attack Chikami from the side of Takaye with all the troops
of his reserve, and the two opposing armies opened a pre-
paratory fire on each other, when, about 9.20, the order
arrived to close the maneuvers.
COMMENTS.
The Northern army, which had retreated on the previous
day, took up a position in the neighborhood of Chikami and
Nagamachi, south of the city of Eumamoto, and encamped
there, while the Southern army encamped on the field between
Kawajiri and Tabe. During the night the Northern army
threw up intrenchments near the houses at the southern end
of Chikami, and behind these the forty-seventh infantry was
posted. Other defensive works were also constructed at
Nishimuda, Fuyeda, and Nagamachi, where five battalions
of infantry and a regiment of artillery were posted. The
MANEUVERS. 445
artillery of the attacking force opened fire shortly before 8 a. m.
and sharp fighting ensued. About an hour later the reserve
force of the Northern army forded the Shin River and
advanced, extending west of Nishimuda, and made a furious
attack on the enemy.
In the meantime the main body of the attacking force
attempted to compel the evacuation of the troops intrenched
at Chikami — the right wing. To save this position five bat-
talions of the Northern army w.ere dispatched to the southern
end of Chikami, to the assistance of the defenders, who,
after exchanging a hot fire for a few minutes, advanced from
their position and made a charge. The charge proved unsuc-
cessful, as they were not supported in time by the battalions
which had been sent to their assistance. They were conse-
quently compelled to retreat to the breastworks, and an
apparently desperate encounter took place.
At length the Southern force charged and approached to
within a few yards of the defenders, when the order for the
suspension of operations was received.
This concluded the maneuvers. His majesty, who was
present, then summoned the officers of both sides before him,
and the marshal, Marquis Oyama, chief of staff, commented
upon the operations of the preceding four days.
The emperor congratulated the officers on their skill and
spoke of the diligence of both officers and men engaged.
THE GRAND REVIEW.
On the morning of November 14 a grand review was held
by his majesty on the Champ des Manoeuvres, a large open
square in the city of Kumamoto.
After the emperor had ridden down the long lines, fol-
lowed by a large number of high ranking Japanese officers
and all of the foreign officers, the troops of the two divisions
were merged into one body for parade purposes, the various
lines passing the reviewing point successively as follows:
Eight regiments of one battalion of infantry in company
front, two battalions of engineers in company front, twelve
batteries of field artillery in battery front, two regiments of
cavalry in squadron front. Alignments and distances in
column generally good.
After the passage the troops left the field in various direc-
tions and the foreign officers were dismissed.
446 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
EXTRACTS TAKEN FROM REPORTS BT SPECIAL CORRESPOND-
ENTS OF VARIOUS JAPANESE AND ENGLISH NEWSPAPERS.
The area chosen for the maneuvers was a portion of the
great plain of Higo, south of the city of Kumamoto, in Kyu-
shu, the most southerly of the four main islands which con-
stitute the Japanese archipelago. From an historical point
of view Kyushu is intensely interesting to the European
owing to the large numbers of its chiefs and people who were
won over to Christianity by the Jesuits some three hundred
years ago, and also to the fact that it helped more than any
other part of Japan to bring about the restoration of 1868.
The great plain of Higo is well suited as a maneuvering
ground for Japanese troops, being composed largely of rice
fields in which the Japanese soldiers ought to feel most at
home.
The number of soldiers who have not passed some years of
their life among the paddy fields is very small, and that this
fact is no inconsiderable advantage to the Japanese army
was shown in a conclusive manner at the last attack on the
Taku forts, on which occasion the little Japanese marines
were able to negotiate the swampy rice fields with surprising
rapidity, while their less sophisticated brothers in arms from
Europe often found themselves floundering knee-deep in the
soft mud.
The Higo plain is broken in some places by hillocks and
woods and a good deal of undulating ground, which gave
the artillery a supply of good positions. The cavalry had,
however, little opportunity for close reconnoissance, a fact
which is not to be lamented, as the cavalry is not the Japan-
ese army's strong point.
The general idea of the maneuvers is very simple. A for-
eign fleet commands the sea along the west coast of Kyushu
and lands an army, which is imaginary, but whose advance
division is represented by the sixth army division and com-
manded by Lieutenant General Okubo, at Yatsushiro, to the
south of Kumamoto, and at another point in the vicinity.
To meet this invasion and to save Kumamoto, the most
important military center in Kyushu, from capture; another
imaginary army, of which the advance division is the twelfth
army division under Lieutenant General Inouye, had been
concentrated at Kurume to the north of Kumamoto.
The men of the Southern force, which was composed of the
Kumamoto division, which distinguished itself so much at
MANEUVERS. 447
Weihaiwei, Port Arthur, and elsewhere during the China-
Japan war, wore white caps as a distinguishing badge; and
the men of the other side, the Kokura division, wore black
caps.
A few words as to the Japanese cavalry. Owing to the fact
that Japan is a mountainous country and that her plains are
generally used as paddy fields, the people are not a nation of
horsemen; even the old samurai do not seem to have been
good horsemen, they simply used horses to convey them rap-
idly from place to place. The army authorities are now going
to great trouble to improve their breed of horses, and have
already established studs in various parts of the country and
sent officers to England, France, Germany, Austria, and to
America to buy good stallions and to investigate the horse-
breeding industry in general as it is carried on abroad. They
find, however, that the foals out of the half-breed mares gen-
erally revert to the native type. The military horses are now
castrated, so that they do not seem to be the same beasts which
were known in North China the year before last as "the wild
animals of Japan." Though small, they seem to suit the
country and to be able to stand a lot of work.
As to the infantry, it struck me, as I watched these gallant
little soldiers advance to the attack on the second day, that
the Tommy Atkinses of Japan have a peculiarly neat, com-
pact, and uniform appearance which would throw a British,
French, or German drill sergeant into ecstacies of delight.
In fact, being all beardless and of much the same height,
they look so much alike that a foreigner who sees them for
the first time is inclined to wonder how their officers can dis-
tinguish between them. As for their low stature, they are not
ashamed of it, for the advantage it gives them in the impor-
tant matter of finding cover need not be enlarged upon.
A small corps of cyclists under Captain Umezu was also on
the scene, but was attached to the general staff and did not
take any part in the hostilities. Behind a farmhouse was a
field hospital with all the up-to-date appliances, and surgeons
and orderlies were standing around as seriously as if the brisk
cannonading was real and the wounded might be brought in
at any moment.
The Japanese soldiers did not bivouac during the maneu-
vers, they were all billeted in the villages and farmhouses.
No attempt was made by the army authorities to test their
448 NOTB8 OP MILITARY INTBREST FOR 1902.
transport system, only a few kitchen utensils being brought
for the officers, on pack horses. I think that this was a mis-
take as the main object of grand maneuvers is to judge of the
efficiency of all the various departments of an army, whose
functions can be truly tested only when they are called upon
to operate on a large scale over an extensive area. When
the time for eating the midday meal arrived there was very
little of the bustle of preparation which would be seen at such
a time in an English or German camp. The Germans would
be dividing their rations of potatoes, bacon, and black bread.
The British battalion that had been in South Africa or India
would soon have its tea brewed and its meat frizzing over the
fire. The Frenchman would be getting ready his coffee with
that extraordinary rapidity at which his allies in the Crimea
were so surprised. Fatigue parties would be going for water
and a look of expectation would appear on every visage. In
Japan it is somewhat different, although, of course, the con-
ditions on the present occasion do not admit of a just compari-
son being made. Each soldier would simply sit down, take
out of his knapsack two balls of cold rice, two pieces of fish,
and some "konomono," a kind of pickled radish of which the
Japanese are very fond. After he had done justice to this
humble fare he would take a pull from the water bottle at his
belt and his meal was finished. On the last day of the ma-
neuvers I noticed two soldiers take their food leaning against
a bank directly the signal to do so had been given, and then
fall asleep, both of them in almost a standing position, and
with their guns at their side and all their warlike equipment
on them.
The question of what rations are best suited for the Japanese
soldier is one that has often been discussed by the military
authorities. Some think the rice should be abandoned in
favor of bread, and indeed the navy has long since, under ad-
vice of its medical officers, adopted a system of diet in which
rice takes only a secondary place, biscuits and barley coming
first. The result of this innovation has been very encourag-
ing, first, on account of the evident superiority of the blue
jacket over the soldier in powers of endurance, and, secondly,
the remarkable decrease of "kakke," a disease very common
among Japanese. Notwithstanding this, the great majority
of the medical authorities in the army think that rice should
be retained because it is always to be obtained in abundance
ft
MANEUVERS. 44$
during peace or war. In the war of 1894-95 the Japanese
found, wherever they moved, sufficient quantities of rice to
meet any deficiency in the supply sent from home ; and in
every village they found, ready for use, all the appliances
required for the preparation of rice. Had any other diet than
rice been adopted, the commissariat would, of course, have
been seriously taxed at times. During the Boxer troubles of
two years ago the Japanese were, however, placed at a great
disadvantage compared with the foreign soldiers, whose food
could, in case of emergency, be prepared in a few moments,
while they had to spend a long time looking for pots. in which
to boil their rice. Then, again, the foreigners could take pre-
pared food with them, but the Japanese could not carry pre-
pared rice for long, as it quickly becomes sour.
The daily army ration is 6 go (0.95 quart) of rice for each
man, besides 6 sen (3 cents IT. S.) worth of vegetables, meat,
and fish. He can not therefore be said to be well fed. The
bluejackets are much better treated; they get 20.1 sen a day,
or rather their daily rations cost this much, and when at sea
they fare still more sumptuously.
The equipment of the Japanese soldier weighs 25£ kilo-
grams, but the authorities are thinking of reducing it to 21
kilograms.
As to their health, they seem to be, next to the German
soldiers, the healthiest troops in the world. The death rate
in the Japanese army is now next lowest to the death rate in
the German army. Conscription seems to be improving in
a marvelous manner the physique of the Japanese, but it is
attended by one disadvantage, namely, that when young
men return to their homes after three years' experience of the
better food and the better accommodation of the barracks
they become discontented with the old style of life and are
often a source of trouble to those about them.
THE SWISS MANEUVERS.
[Reported by Maj. O. R. Cecil, Third Infantry, United States Military Attache at Bern.]
The maneuvers took place northwest of Luzerne, between
the Limmat and the Aare.
The terrain is cut by numerous small streams, between
which the ridges are much broken and heavily wooded, and
rise from one to six thousand feet above the valleys. Across
these ridges there are but few roads passable for wagons and
450 ' NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
artillery, and in the valleys there are many marshy places,
especially so between Munster and Suhr.
The following troops engaged in the maneuvers :
Fourth army corps, Colonel Kunzli commanding.
Corps troops —
Two regiments of cavalry, three squadrons each.
One regiment of field artillery, two battalions of
three batteries each.
One Maxim company.
One bridge train.
One telegraph company.
Two engineer companies.
Two intendance companies.
One provision train.
The corps had two divisions, the fourth and the
eighth, each composed of:
Two brigades of infantry, of two regiments of
three battalions each.
One regiment of field artillery, of two battalions
of two batteries each.
One engineer half battalion.
One field hospital.
One company of guides.
One section of bicyclists.
The foreign countries were represented as follows :
Germany — one lieutenant general, one lieutenant colonel,
and one captain.
England — one lieutenant colonel and one major.
France — one major general and two majors.
Italy — one captain.
Netherlands — one lieutenant general and one captain.
Austria-Hungary — one major.
Russia —one major general.
United States — one major.
All were well mounted and handsomely cared for as guests
of the confederation.
SEPTEMBER 11.
To-day begins the maneuvers of division against division.
The supposition is that a Northern or White army located
in the district Entfelden, Granichen, Aarau, is ordered to
move against Luzerne; the main body in the valley of the
MANEUVERS. 451
Suhr, with the fourth division on its left. This division is
ordered to march through the valley of the Wynen via Kulm
and Munster, its infantry not to cross the line Rutihof-Heids-
berg-Bleien-Schwartwyl-Reffenthal before 7 a. in.
To resist this movement a Red army (supposed) located in
the vicinity of Sursee and Munster is ordered to move by the
valley of the Suhr, with the eighth division on its right.
This division is ordered to march through the valley of the
Wynen, its infantry not to cross the line of Schwarzenbach-
Niederwyl-Wetzwyl before 7 a. m.
The following orders were issued by the division com-
manders to cover these movements :
RED.
Headquarters Eighth Division. Munster, September 10t 6 p. m.
March order for September 11,
1. The hostile army is situated in the district Entfelden, Granichen,
Aarau.
To-morrow the main body of our army (supposed) will advance throngh
the valley of the Suhr toward Aarau.
2. The main body of this division will march throngh the valley of the
Wynen on the road Munster, Menzikom, Pfeffikon, Gontenschwyl, Kulm
toward Aarau. The flank column on its left will march from Gunzwyl via
Rickenbach, Mullwyl toward Gontenschwyl, where it will await further
orders.
3. The eighth cavalry will march at 6 a. m. from Maihausen to XJnter
Kulm, where it will block the issue from the defile. It will also recon-
noiter via Schmidrued through the Wynen and See toward Aarau. It
will maintain communication with the main body (supposed) in the valley
of the Suhr.
4. The infantry of the advance guard will assemble near Maihausen,
head of the infantry to pass the frontier of the Canton at 7 a. m., where
the eighth rifle battalion will join its regiment.
5. The main body will be in marching order at 6. 50 a. m. on the Neudorf ,
Munster road, head near the chapel, and will follow the advance guard
at a kilometer distance.
6. The left flank column and the ninetieth battalion (outpost) will pass
Richenbach at 7 a. m. and maintain connection with the chief column over
the Sterenberg.
7. The combat trains will follow their regiments.
The troops will march in the following order:
Advance guard —
Eighth cavalry.
Left column-
Thirtieth infantry, one officer and two groups of guides.
452 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Chief column-
Advance guard, twenty -eighth infantry, one section of guides,
one company of engineers.
Main body (1 kilometer distance) , one battalion of the sixteenth
infantry brigade, one company of engineers, eighth artillery
regiment, rest of the sixteenth infantry brigade.
Eighth division field hospital (1 kilometer distance).
WHITE.
Headquarters Fourth Division. Aarau, September 10.
1. The main body of the enemy is near Sursee, with small bodies near
Minister. Oar army will begin the march to-morrow with its chief forces
along the Suhr toward Sursee, Luzerne. This division is ordered to march
by Kulm, Munster toward Luzerne.
2. The division will pass the night in the cantonments occupied yester-
day.
3. (a) The eighth infantry brigade and two groups of dragoons will
secure the line Rutihof-Galmhof-Bampf ; fourth, rifle battalion and one
group of dragoons the valleys of the Suhr and Uerke, and maintain con-
nection with the outposts of our army (supposed) at Rutihof . Outposts
must be placed at 7 p. m.
(6) Two officers of the fourth dragoons to be at Aarau at 5.80 p. m. to
receive patrol instructions from the division commander. Six noncom-
missioned officers and four groups of the fourth dragoons to be at the
Suhr station in marching order at 6.45 p. m.
4. Until further orders the division commander will be at Aarau.
Headquarters Fourth Division. Aarau, September 10, 6 p. m.
March order for September 11.
1. The fourth division will march to-morrow via Kulm, Menzikon,
Munster toward Luzerne.
2. The independent cavalry and one battery of artillery of the fourth
artillery regiment will march from near Teuf enthal at 6 a. m. to the hills
of Seeberg north of Leimbach to secure the debouch of the division from
the valley of the Kulm. They will reconnoiter the valley of the Wynen
and keep contact with the army (supposed) in the valley of the Suhr.
3. The advance guard will march at 7.15 a. m. from near Reffenthal to
Kulm, Reinach, Munster. One company will be detached over Bampf
and Durrenasch in the direction of Homberg and Schwarzenbach.
4. The main body will be ready to march at 7 a. m. on the highway
Aarau, Suhr, Granichen. It will follow the advance guard at one kilo-
meter distance.
5. The right column will leave at 6.80 a. m. from southeast of Ober
Entfelden and march via Engstel, Rutihof, Wannehof, Gschneit, Dornegg,
"Waltersholtz, Rehag toward Munster.
MANEUVERS. 453
6. The division commander will be at Aaran until 6 a.m., after that at
the head of the main body on the road Granichen, Kulm, Mnnster.
The troops will march in the following order:
Independent cavalry —
Fourth dragoons, one battery of the fourth artillery regiment.
Advance guard —
Sixteenth infantry, one section of guides, one battery of the
fourth artillery regiment, one section of engineers, one bal-
loon company, one telegraph company.
Main body —
A company of guides, less one section; one company of engi-
neers, less one section; sixteenth infantry; one section of
artillery ; eighth infantry brigade ; division hospital.
Right column —
Fourth rifle battalion, one section of dragoons.
Fourth Division Commander.
The fourth (White) division commander sent his cavalry
and one battery of artillery to occupy height 681 at Seeberg,
and to secure the exit from the defile at Kulm. From that
point the cavalry was ordered to patrol the front of the
division.
The advance-guard regiment marched by the road Rutikof ,
Wannenhof, Gschneit, Dornegg, and Walterholz. The main
body moved by the road and passed the defile early. The
eighth (Red) division was reported to be moving by the hills
to the west of the valley.
The eighth (Red) division detached the thirtieth infantry
and a few mounted men to move via Rickenbach, Mullwyl to
Gontenschwyl to maintain communication with the Red army
(supposed) marching by the valley of the Suhr. The main
body of the division marched through the valley of the
Wynen via Munster, Pf effiton, G-ontenschwyl, Schoren toward
Aarau.
The main body (Red) was inclined to the left, and about
8.20 a. m. the fifteenth infantry brigade (Red) was united
near Geisshof . The cavalry of the two divisions passed each
other without detection, that of the Red division west of the
Wynen and that of the White division near Seeberg, east of
the Wynen. About 8.30 a. m. the White battery at Seeberg
was detected, assaulted by two companies of the advance
guard and captured. The three remaining batteries of White
artillery came into action near Zetzwyl in a good position for
long-range fire on the enemy advancing near Gontenschwyl.
At 9.30 a. m. the fifteenth brigade (Red) was in action, but
454 XOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
the White division threatened the Red left flank with three
regiments of infantry and the fifteenth brigade was forced to
retire. The sixteenth brigade (Red), near Geisshof, did not
come into action.
At 9.15 a. m. the four batteries of the Red division came
into action near Reinacherberg, but were too far away to
have much effect upon the White artillery near Zetzwyl, and
the country was so broken that they were unable to reach the
White infantry. At 10.30 a. m. six batteries of corps artil-
lery were placed at the disposal of the White division by the
director of maneuvers. At 11.30 a. m. the troops were so
much mixed that the recall was sounded. At 12.45 p. m., on
the supposition that the Red army had been defeated, the Red
division retired on Munster and the White division pursued.
Contact was soon lost and the operations for the day ended.
The White division established its outposts for the night
on the line Schlierbach-Emmet-Schwarzenbach.
The Red division established its outposts for the night on
the line Adischwyl-Gunzwyl.
SEPTEMBER 1«.
After the defeat of the 11th the commander of the Red
army (supposed) announced that he would take up a defen-
sive position on the Leidenberg to the west of the northern
end of Lake Sempach, and ordered the eighth (Red) division
to protect his right flank.
The Red division took position near Wili, about 3 kilo-
meters southwest of Munster. This position is on a domi-
nating height with a spur extending in the direction of
Munster. The northern end of this ridge is fairly well cov-
ered with trees and extends to the highroad between Munster
and Sursee. The east slope is abrupt and covered with trees.
To the west of point 801 the ground is quite open. Farther
to the west, point 852, across the valley is the southern
extremity of the wooded ridge extending from Rickenbach.
To the south of the Blosenberg (name of hill) is a spur, wooded
at its southern extremity. This hill and the Rickenbach
range constitute the divide between the Wynen and the Suhr.
The Red division was ordered as follows :
The eighth cavalry at Kommeln to reconnoiter Wetzwyl
and Rickenbach in the direction of Gontenschwyl and Rein-
ach, the company of guides to report at headquarters at
MANEUVERS. 455
5.30 a. m. for further orders; the sixteenth infantry and half
battalion of engineers at 6 a. m. to occupy and fortify the-
position in front of point 801 (right wing at Wili, left wing
resting on the Sochten, Walde road); the eighth artillery
regiment (four batteries) to take position at point 801 and
prepare gun pits to fire in the direction of Rickenbach and
Liden; the fifteenth infantry brigade (division reserve) at
G a. m. to take position in the forest east of Wili, and to
detach one company to protect the balloon near Romerhof -y
the outpost battalions to withdraw to the main line at
6.30 a. m. ; the balloon to observe from near Romerhof and
to report to point 801.
The commander (White army, supposed) determined to
follow up the victory of the day before, and ordered the
White division to force back the enemy in its front in the
direction of Hildisrieden, Rothenburg.
The commander (White division) gave the following orders :.
The division will assemble in two columns, the seventh infantry brigade^
at Rickenbach and the eighth at Niederwyl.
The fourth cavalry and the Maxim company will relieve the outpost
line at 5.30 a. m. and advance via Witwyl and Helisberg.
The guides company will reconnoiter in the direction of Munster and
Blosenberg at 6 a. m.
From Niederwyl one infantry regiment and two batteries of artillery
will make a demonstration on the front of the position of the enemy at
Munster and Wili.
Three regiments and two batteries will pass via Rickenbach into the
woods to the west and debouch ; one (fourteenth infantry) regiment on
Hasenhausen in the direction of hill 804, and two (eighth infantry
brigade) regiments to the north of Holdern, via Kommeln, Walde to
reach the woods on hill 804. Infantry will not pass the outpost line
before 7 a. m.
At 8.45 a. m. the feint attack was made, but its weakness
showed its real character. It was stopped by the troops in
position. Soon after large bodies of troops were seen coming
from the wood to the west. These troops approached to
within 200 meters of the defense under cover of the woods.
At 9 a. m. the eighth (Red) division was reenforced by six
batteries of corps artillery, a brigade of guides, and Maxim
company.
Seven batteries were placed on the left center and the cav-
alry on the left, all facing west. At 10 a. m. the White
infantry, advancing from the valley, were attacked by the
Red cavalry and Maxim company in the flank. These,
456 XOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
however, were repulsed. The main attack by the White
followed. The fifteenth infantry brigade (Red) and the
reformed cavalry advanced to meet them, but at 11 a. m.,
before the two sides met, the recall was sounded.
At 1 p. m. the maneuvers were resumed. The fourth
(White) division retreated in the direction of Kulm in pursu-
ance of the following order from the commander of the White
army (supposed) :
A strong Red army corps is situated in the vicinity of Dagmessellen,
Reident with a portion of the force at Nerketal. My communications
being threatened, I am forced to retire to Schoftland. Yon will retreat
to Kulm.
At 1.30 p. m. the Red division started in pursuit. At 2.30
p. m., however, a heavy rainstorm separated the combatants.
The White division held an outpost line in the vicinity of
Kulm.
The Red division held an outpost line in the vicinity of
Qontenschwyl, Zetzwyl.
SEPTEMBER 13.
The commander of the Red army (supposed) issued the
following order, dated Tringen, September 12, 5 p. m., to
the eighth division :
1. The hostile army has retired to-day in the direction of Aaran.
2. I intend to continue the advance to-morrow via Schoftland, Entfel-
den toward Aaran.
8. Yon will advance to-morrow via Kulm, Snhr toward Aaran.
4. The outpost line will not be passed before 7 a. m.
The fourth (White) division is ordered to take up a rear-guard position
near the town of Suhr, connecting with a supposed division occupying
Distelberg.
The fourth division, therefore, took up a position extend-
ing along the steep ridge on the south side of the Gonhard
forest, from the town of Suhr through letter " h" of the word
Gonhard on the map as far as the highroad Unter Entf elden,
Aarau . The fourth division commander had his troops in posi-
tion at 7 a.m., four batteries well masked at the east end of the
ridge covering the valley of the Suhr for about 1,300 meters
and the valley of the Wynen for about 4 kilometers; the
seventh infantry brigade from the town of Suhr to " h" in the
word Gonhard ; the eighth infantry brigade from this point to
the highroad Unter Entfelden, Aarau. A flank detachment;,
consisting of the fourth rifle battalion, occupied the little
MANEUVERS. 457
wood to the east of Buchs. The cavalry was ordered to delay
the march of the enemy as long as possible. The streams were
swollen and the bridges were supposed to be destroyed or
prepared for destruction. Roads were constructed by the
engineers through the Gonhard forest toward Aarau.
The fourth Red division commander formed his division at
Gontenschwyl and Leimbach in two columns of equal strength,
and advanced along the Wynen valley by the parallel roads
on either side of the river. At Kulm, about 8.30 a. m., where
these roads converge, he learned of the disposition of the
enemy and sent three regiments of infantry and six batteries
of corps artillery from Teuffenthal via Reffenthal, Hochspuhl
toward Eien. The other regiment of infantry and four bat-
teries of artillery continued along the main road toward Suhr.
Soon after 11 a. m. the corps artillery came into action from
the crests of Strick and Hochspuhl. About noon a battalion
of infantry appeared at the edge of the wood directly south of
Suhr, and a little later the divisional artillery came into action
near the wood to the southwest of the town of Granichen,
directly under the artillery of the defense. At 1.45 p. m. the
Red infantry (three regiments), having made its way through
the wood to the east of Suhr, waded the Wynen to attack the
left flank of the White position, and at the same time the regi-
ment of infantry on the main road made a strong demon-
stration. Both these attacks were repulsed. At 2.15 p. m.
the signal was sounded ending the maneuvers of division
against division.
SEPTEMBER 14.
Sunday, no military operations.
september 15.
Maneuvers of the Fourth Army Corps against a Combined Division.
On the evening of September 14 the initial situation was
announced as follows :
The principal forces of a Red army have arrived at the Boz-
berg and the lower Aare. One army corps (fourth corps)
coming from Olten has reached the district Aarau, Hunzen-
schwyl. The heads of the columns of a White army have
reached the line Stadel-Dielsdorf-Weiningen-Dietikon.
458 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The troops of the fourth corps and the combined division
on the evening of September 14 were in the following
positions :
FOURTH CORPS.
Corps headquarters and one company of guides at Aarau.
Fourth division in the district Aarau, Buchs, Rohr, Rup-
perswyl, with division headquarters at Aarau.
Seventh division in the district Suhr, Granichen, Schaf-
isheim, Hunzenschwyl, with division headquarters at Suhr.
Fourth cavalry brigade and Maxim company in the dis-
trict Teuffenthal, Durrenasch.
Twefth artillery regiment at Ober and Unter Entfelden.
Ponton train at Schonenwerd.
Telegraph company at Aarau.
Administration corps at Lenzberg.
COMBINED DIVISION.
Division headquarters at Dietikon.
Twelfth infantry brigade in the district Oetwyl, Gerold-
schwyl, Weiningen, Unter and Ober Engstringen, Aegens-
dorf, with brigade headquarters at Weiningen.
Fourteenth infantry brigade in the district Schlieren,
Altstetten, Hongg.
Sixth rifle battalion at Ob Urdorf.
Seventh rifle battalion at Dietikon.
Sixth guides company at Dietikon.
Guides brigade at Nied Urdorf and Uitikon.
Divisional artillery in the district Unter and Ober Eng-
stringen, Hongg, Schlieren, Altstetten.
Engineer battalion at Dietikon.
Balloon company at Weiningen.
RED.
Army Headquarters. Frick, September 14, 5 p. m.
Order for the fourth corps.
Our army (supposed) will cross the Aare early to-morrow morning near
Brugg, Stilli, and Dottingen.
The fourth corps will march to Wettingen ; the head of the column to
reach there at 10.80 a. m., where it will await further orders, and recon-
noiter along the Limmat.
The Aare may be crossed after 4.30 a. m. by cavalry patrols; after 6
a. m. by strong cavalry detachments; after 6.80 a. m. by all other troops.
Red Army Commander.
MANEUVERS. 459
Fourth Corps Headquarters. Aarau, September 14, 6 p. m.
Corps order for September 15.
1. The hostile army has reached the line Stadel-Dieldorf-Weiningen-
Dietikon to-day.
The main forces of our army are situated on the Bozberg and Aare.
They will cross the Aare near Bragg, Stilli, and Dottingen to-morrow.
The fourth corps has received orders to march on Weiningen to-morrow ;
its head to reach there at 10.30 a. m. September 15, to clear up the country
along the Limmat, and to await further orders at Weiningen.
2. The cavalry brigade will cross the Aare at 6 a. m. to-morrow, quickly
take possession of the crossings of the Reuss near Mellingen, Gnadenthal,
and Bremgarten, and from there to clear up the country toward Wettin-
gen, Dietikon, and Zurich. They will await there until the infantry
arrives on the Reuss.
3. The heads of the infantry of the fourth corps will cross the Aare at
6.30 a. m. in two columns.
Right Column. — Eighth division; twelfth artillery regiment ; fourth
telegraph company, under command of the commander of the eighth
division, to march along the road Hunzenschwyl, Lentzburg, Othmar-
singen; Mellingen; to use the bridge over the Reuss and to march to
Nieder Rohrdorf , where it will await further orders.
Left Column. — Fourth division ; fourth bridge train, under the com-
mand of the commander of the fourth division, to march on the road Rup-
perswyl, Wildegg, Morikon, Braunegg to the road ©rugg, Mellingen, and
to pass over the Reuss by the railroad bridge and at Mellingen.
Each column will protect itself. The left column to maintain commu-
nication with the troops of the Red army (supposed) marching toward
Brngg. The right column to cover the right flank of the fourth corps.
4. The trains will follow both columns to the Aare, where they will
remain until the advance guards have crossed the river.
5. The fourth corps commander will be behind the advance guard of
the right column.
Fourth Corps Commander.
white.
Army Headquarters. Niederglatt, September 14, 5 p. m.
Order for the combined division.
To-morrow, September 15, the White army will march against the enemy
located between the Rhein and the Limmat.
The combined division will proceed to the Reuss and cover the left flank
of the White army, and prevent the hostile forces situated on the right
bank of the Aare from crossing the Reuss.
The line Oetwyl-Baltenswyl-Ober IJrdorf may be crossed after 4 a. m.
by cavalry patrols; after 4.45 a. m. by strong cavalry detachments; after
6 a. m. by all other troops.
White Army Commander.
460 NOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
Headquarters Combined Division. Dietikon, September 14, 7 p. m.
Division order for September 15.
1. Nothing new concerning the enemy.
The combined division will advance to-morrow to prevent the enemy
from crossing the Reuse.
2. The guides brigade will send patrols via Bremgarten, Mellingen,
toward the line Wildegg-Seegen (in conformity with special orders).
Bicyclist patrols will occupy the bridges of Ottenbach and Obfelden.
8. The guides brigade will leave the road south of Dietikon, east of
Baltenswyl, at 4.45 a. m. , and march on the Beuss via Birmenstorf to Werd
and Rottenschwyl. There it will await the arrival of the infantry and
reconnoiter toward the line Wildegg-Lenzburg-Hallwylersee.
4. (a) The main body of the combined division will assemble at 5.45 a. m.
as follows: The twenty-fourth infantry and one engineer company (with-
out wagons), northwest of Dietikon, on the Baden road; Fourteenth
infantry brigade, on the Schlieren, Bremgarten road, head of the column
at the street crossing east of Baltenswyl, in the following order: Two bat-
talions of the twenty-eighth infantry, two batteries of the seventh divi-
sional artillery, one battalion of the twenty-eighth infantry, and one of the
twenty-seventh infantry.
(6) Twenty-third infantry and staff of the twelfth infantry brigade, on
the road Dietikon, Baltenswyl, head at the north issue of Baltenswyl.
(c) The seventh rifle battalion will cover the assembling of the division
near Baltenswyl at 5.80 a. m.
(d) The sixth rifle battalion will leave Ob Urdorf at 6 a. m. and march
via Unter Reppischthal to Hohlenstrass, where it will await further orders.
(e) Sixth artillery regiment on the Dietikon, Bremgarten road, head
200 meters north of the street crossing east of Baltenswyl.
(/) Sixth guides company and one company of engineers near Baltens-
wyl. A staff officer will assign them their places.
(g) One ompany of engineers on the Dietikon, Bremgarten road, head
near the Jtreet crossing east of Baltenswyl.
(h) The balloon company near Werd, east of Dietikon.
(1) The regimental trains will follow their regiments, except that of
the twenty -fourth infantry, which will follow the twenty third.
(j) The provision train will go to Dietikon after distribution.
(k) The division commander will be at the Hotel Krone until 5.80 a. m.,
afterwards at Baltenswyl.
Combined Division Commander.
The first fighting of the day was a cavalry engagement near
Mellingen. The White cavalry arrived at the Mellingen bridge
at 6.45 a. m., took possession of the bridge, covering it with
their Maxims and two squadrons. At 7 a. m. seven squadrons
of the Red cavalry came up and a spirited engagement took
place. The old stone housed of the town extend on the west
side to the bridgehead. The Red cavalry succeeded in bring-
ing a strong Maxim fire to bear on the White cavalry, from
MANEUVERS. 461
a masked position. They then dismounted and made their
way over the roofs to within a short distance of the White
cavalry, bringing a strong fire to bear. The umpires decided
that they had taken the bridge. The fourth corps commander
transported an infantry battalion in 35 wagons of various
descriptions and reinforced his cavalry at the bridgehead.
The main body of the fourth corps advanced to the Reuss
in two columns. About 8. 30 a. m. the ponton train arrived and
constructed a bridge 900 meters below the civil bridge, which
was ready for the crossing of the infantry of the fourth divi-
sion at 10.10 a. m. In the meantime the eighth division
crossed over the civil bridge. During the crossing of the
bridge a regiment of White infantry and a battery succeeded
in taking possession of a hill to the east of the bridge held by
a battalion of Red infantry and the Red cavalry. The infan-
try of the eighth division (Red) were pushed forward and ten
batteries of Red artillery played on the hill. The White
forces were dislodged from the hill.
After resisting the advance of the fourth corps (Red) at
every available point, the White forces retired in the direction
of Zurich. It was announced that the Red forces had occu-
pied Baden and Wettingen, and that the White forces had
retired to the line Dielsdorf-Regenstorf-Weiningen, and that
the combined division was ordered to cover Zurich by taking a
position between the Limmat and Uetlisberg. Upon this infor-
mation the combined division commander withdrew his divi-
sion in the direction of Ob Urdorf . At the same time the
fourth corps commander was informed that he need no longer
cooperate with the supposed Red army along the Limmat,
but that he would take his corps direct to Zurich. He reached
the line Bremgarten-Wyden-Rudolfstetten-Dietikon that
evening and placed his outposts on that line.
SEPTEMBER 16.
WHITE.
Headquarters Combined Division.
Near Ob Urdorf, September 15> 4.4&P- ro.
Order for September 15.
1. The enemy has halted at Hasenberg Mntscheller.
2. The combined division will take position between Ob Urdorf and
Uitikon, and blockade the roads to Zurich between Uetliberg and the
Limmat.
402 XOTE8 OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
3. (a) The Fourteenth infantry brigade (less twenty-eighth infantry)
and the sixth rifle battalion will take position from the Limmat to Hei-
denkeller, including part of the forest of Scheuracker.
(b) The twenty -eighth infantry will take position near Uitikon and
hold the remainder of the forest of Scheuracker, including the road
Bir-menstorf, Zurich.
(c) The seventh rifle battalion will take position near Neuhans, Brand
and hold the roads between Landhaus and Ringlikon.
(d) One company of engineers will be assigned to each of the three
detachments. The troops will prepare field intrenchments, and specially
strong intrenchments will be erected near Heidenkeller, Scheuracker,
Uitikon, and on the roads near Waldegg and Brand. In front of the
position of the seventh rifle battalion strong obstacles will be placed.
(e) The artillery will take position above Uitikon, and make gun pits;
front Reppischthal, Ob Urdorf, Birmenstorf.
4. The troops named above will bivouac in their positions. The artil-
lery will bring the horses of one detachment to Albisrieden and of the
other two to Altstetten.
5. The following troops will go into camp: Twenty-third infantry in
Albisrieden; twelfth infantry brigade staff, twenty-fourth infantry,
sixth guides company, and the balloon company in Altstetten ; guides
brigade in Schlieren.
6. The provision and baggage columns will receive further orders.
7. The division commander will be at Altstetten.
Commander Combined Division.
Headquarters Combined Division.
Altstetten, September 15, 8.30 p. m.
Order of assembly for September 16.
1. No news about the enemy.
2. The combined division will hold the front fortified to-day.
8. (a) The twenty -seventh infantry, sixth rifle battalion, twenty-eighth
infantry, seventh rifle battalion, and the divisional artillery will be ready
for battle in their positions at 5 a. m.
(b) The twelfth infantry brigade, formed in platoon columns, will
be in the forest north of the Albisrieden, Waldegg road at 5 a. m., head
100 meters east of Waldegg.
(e) The guides brigade will be ready near Schlieren at 5 a. m. and will
reconnoiter toward Berg, Dietikon, Spreitenback, aud Oetwyl, Wurenlos.
(d) The Maxim company and the sixth guides company will be at the
disposal of the division commander near Waldegg, east of Uitikon, at 5 a. m.
(e) The engineer companies will remain with their detachments,
(/) The balloon company will be ready at 5 a. m. at the west issue of
Albisrieden.
- (gr) The regimental trains will remain with their regiments.
(h) The provision and baggage columns will assemble at 5 a. m. at the
north issue of Altstetten and march to Hongg, where they will await
further orders on the Regensdorf road.
MANEUVERS. 463
(i) The division commander will be at the Hotel Lowen at Altstetten*
until 4.30 a. m., and after that time at the artillery position at Uitikon.
Combined Division Commander.
red.
Headquarters Fourth Corps. Mellingen, September 15, 6 p. m.
Corps order for September 16.
1. The enemy opposing our advance to-day has retired to the hills east
of the Br em gar ten, Dietikon road.
2. Our army (supposed) has advanced to the Baden, Wettingen road,
and will press forward toward the Glatt to-morrow.
The fourth corps will continue its advance on Zurich to-morrow.
3. (a) The cavalry division will send patrols early to-morrow morning
in the direction of Ob Urdorf, Birmenstorf , and Bonstetten toward Zurich.
It will also protect the right flank of the corps and observe the Reuse
bridges at Ottenbach and Obfelden.
(b) The fourth division will advance in the direction of Hasenberg, Ob
Urdorf. It will withdraw the forty-fifth infantry battalion.
(c) The eighth division will advance in the direction Friedlisberg,
Uitikon.
(d) The twelfth artillery regiment will follow the fourth division to
Hasenberg.
(c) The bridge train will remain near the bridge at Mellingen.
(/) The telegraph company will follow the eighth division and extend
the line from Stetten to the hill northwest of the Hasenberg farm.
4. The heads of the divisions will pass the Bremgarten, Dietikon road
at 7.30 a. m. Each division will protect itself. The fourth division will
keep communication with the army (supposed) on the right bank of the
Limmat.
The left column (eighth division) will leave its baggage at Rohrdorf ;
the right column (fourth division) at Stetten. The baggage columns will
not advance until the main bodies of the divisions have reached the hills
east of the Bremgarten, Dietikon road.
5. The troops will remain in the following places to-night :
Fourth division and twelfth artillery regiment at Fislibach.
Eighth division, bridge train, telegraph company, and twelfth guides
company at Mellingen on the left bank of the Reuse.
Cavalry, brigade at Hendschikon.
6. At 5.80 a. m. to-morrow the corps commander will ride from Mel-
lingen via Rohrdorf, Rennetswyl, Bellikon, to Hasleberg.
Fourth Corps Commander.
The march of the fourth corps was delayed by the thick
woods, but it eventually came forward in good shape.
The artillery occupied the borders of the woods to the west
of the valley, while the infantry made its way through the
woods to the north and east of Risi, where the principal
attack was made. This right wing was strengthened by one
regiment of infantry taken from the fourth division.
464 NOTES OF MILITARY INTEREST FOR 1902.
The fighting commenced in front of the fourth division
(White) about 9 a. m., but it was 11:30 a. m. before the six
batteries of corps artillery and the four batteries of divisional
artillery came into action at the edge of the woods in front
of the eighth division (White).
For the defense there were two batteries on the right, two
on the left, and two down in the little village near the road
on the west front. As the attack developed, these two bat-
teries were withdrawn and placed on the extreme left of the
line near the edge of the woods.
The infantry for the attack were massed in the woods near
Risi, where they were sheltered until sufficient numbers had
assembled for the assault, which was met by a counter attack
from the reserve brigade (White). This was about 12.30
p. m., and as the moving masses came near to each other the
call was sounded putting an end to hostilities. The troops,
after a short rest, were marched to their encampments to pre-
pare for the inspection on the 17th. This was the end of the
maneuvers.
SEPTEMBER 17.
The Fourth corps was inspected by Colonel Mueller, chief
of the military department. The corps was formed in two
lines. The corps then formed in column and passed in review
in fifty-eight minutes without a hitch, the infantry in half-
company front, the artillery in battery front, and the cavalry
in platoon front. All carried their entire equipments. The
infantry carried their rifles slung on the right shoulder, barrel
vertical. The troops marched well and preserved good align-
ments and distances.
After the review the troops were marched to their places
of assembly and sent to their homes. This was done without
confusion; 47 trains, carrying 22,000 men, 2,000 horses, and
380 wagons, were sent in the afternoon from eight* railway
stations in the neighborhood. On the 18th, 11 more trains
carried the remainder of the troops.
REMARKS.
On the" whole, the Swiss troops will compare very favorably
with other irregular troops. They appear to be well dis-
ciplined, although at times their movements were somewhat
disordered. The staff did their duty in a most creditable
MANEUVERS. 465
manner. The formations in attack are too dense, and the
men do not take enough advantage" of cover. They habitu-
ally fire kneeling.
Colonel Mueller, chief of the military department, compli-
mented the general appearance of the troops and the work-
ings of the staff, but criticised the transport of the food to
the troops not being prompt enough ; that the time given for
the training of the troops was not long enough, and in con-
sequence the troops were not proficient in close-order drill ;
that the infantry and artillery officers did not use every
advantage to obtain a superiority of fire in the maneuvers,
and that the artillery was kept too far away to support the
infantry at the proper time.
829 30
INDBX,
Page.
Acquisition of Chart Colony, France 193
Administrative troops. (See I u tendance
and administrative troops.)
Aeronautics. (See Ballooning.)
Afghanistan :
Army (strength and composition )__ 160,161
Arsenals 161
Cavalry _. 160, 161
Fortifications __ 161
Guns . 161
Horses 161
Infantry 160,161
Lances 161
Rifles 161
Stations 160
Uniforms _ 161
Africa, British; stations of troops 266
African Rifles, Great Britain 256
Ages at promotion, France 143
Ages at retirement :
Austria-Hungary 141
France 143
Great Britain ISO
Indian Staff Corps 152
Russia „ 154
Aiming, pointing, laying devices; field
guns:
Great Britain 69, 70
Italy 74, 76, 80
Switzerland 92
Algeria and Tunis :
Army strength 14, 15
Budget... 11
Companies of Saharan Oases 191-193
General staff 12
Officer strength 14, 15
Staffs _ 12,13
Allowances. (Bern Pay and allowances. )
Amid ballistite, Italy 123
Ammonal, bursting charge :
Austria-Hungary 115,126-128
Compared with dynamite 128
France 128
Germany 128
Great Britain 128
Ammunition :
Artillery-
Field guns —
Austria-Hungary 86
France _ 02,87
Germany 87
Great Britain 71,88
Italy _ Ml, 89
Russia 89
Page.
Ammunition — Continued.
Artillery— Continued.
Field howitzers and mortars —
Austria-Hungary h6
Germany 87,88
Great Britain _ 89
Russia _. 89
Supply in the field—
Austria-Hungary 86
France 5V-62.87
Germany 87,88
Great Britain 88,89
Italy 89
Russia 89
Cavalry brigades' ammunition col-
umns, Great Britain 224
Infantry (supply in the field), France. 62
Machine-gun target practice, Great
Britain 238
Target practice for small arms,Belgium_ 100
Apothecary school (military), France 13
Appointment of officers:
Austria-Hungary 139
France 141
Germany 1!1
Great Britain ._ 145,148
Africa 256,257,263
Indian Staff Corps 150,151
Russia 152, 153
Argentina ;
Army strength and composition 162
Artillery-
Field •_ 162
Mountain _._ 162
Cavalry . 162
Gendarmerie 162
Horses exported to South Africa. 253
Infantry _. 162
Mounted infantry 162
Navy 162
Officers 162
Recruiting contingent... 162
Rifle 109
Train 162
Volunteers 162
Armament of the German East- Asiatic ex-
peditionary corps 209
Armor for field guns. (Set Shields for field
guns.)
Armored automobile, Great Britain 248-251)
Army corps, Great Britain 222-225
Army corps commander, Austria-Hungary. 141
Army organization. (See Army strength
and composition.)
(467)
468
INDEX.
Page.
Army pay department. (See Intendance
and administrative troops.)
Army service corps. (See Intendance and
administrative troops. )
Army strength and composition:
Afghanistan _ 180,161
Argentina _ 162
Austria-Hungary 6
Belgium _ «
Bolivia 163,164
Brazil _ 9
China (proposed organisation) 164-166
Cuba - — 166-169
Denmark... 169
Ecuador _._ ... 170-171
France 12,14,16,171,214
Algeria and Tunis 14,15,187-193
Colonial 173-176,187-193
Germany _ 17-19, 196,211,213-218
Great Britain. 24,27,222-225
India __— 24, 27-34
Italy 36
Eritrea _ 270
Japan 37,38,271-273
Mexico 38
Morocco 276
Persia 270
Peru _ 277,278
Portugal 278-286
Russia 40
Spain 43,44
Sweden 286-288
Arsenals:
Afghanistan __ 161
Italy 71
Articles of war, Germany— 17,198
Artificers, Italy 269
Artillery :
Ammunition. (See Ammunition: Ar-
tillery.)
Direction of, war ministry, France. 181,182
Field. (See Field artillery.)
Field guns. (See Field guns.)
Field-howitzer batteries. (See Howitzer
batteries. )
Field howitzers. (See Field howitzers
and mortars. )
Firing at balloons, Austria-Hungary.. 163
Foot and fortress. (See Foot and fort-
ress artillery.)
Heavy. (See Heavy artillery.)
Horse. (Sec Horse artillery.)
Howitzer batteries. (See Howitzer bat-
teries.)
Howitzers. (See Howitzers and mor-
tars.)
In maneuvers—
Austria-Hungary 344
Germany 415,416
Mortars. (See Mortars.)
Mountain. (See Mountain artillery.)
Mountain guns. (See Mountain guns.)
P*g*
A rtillery— Continued.
Mounted. (See Hone artillery.)
Organization. (See Artillery: Strength
and composition.)
Parks-
France 55
Russia 40
Practice ammunition for small arm*.
Great Britalu _ 23*
Reserve —
Spain _. 44
Switzerland 45
Schools, France 13,141,142
Sortie batteries, Russia 40
Strength and composition —
Afghanistan 160, 161
Argentina —
Field 162
Mountain _. 162
Austria-Hungary 6.51
Corps 51
Divisional 51
Field..T _ 6,61,86,344
Horse.. 6,86
Howitzer 6,51,86
Mountain 6,61
Belgium »
Field.. 8
Bolivia _ 164
Brazil. ?. 9
Field 9
Ecuador 170,171
France 15
Colonial _ 16, 173, 175
Field 15,64,87
Foot and fortress 15
Horse 87
Mountain . 15
Mounted colonial _w. 173
Germany 18, 195
Field—:. 18,195
Field-howitzer _ 87,88
Foot and fortress 18, 195
Horse .:___ 87
Great Britain. — * 23,25,27
Field 23,88
Foot and garrison 23
Horse ■. 23,88
Howitzer 89
India 24,27,34
Mountain .._ 23
Italy — 36, 71, 269, 270
Field 36,71,89,269,270
Fortress 269
Horse 269
Mountain-.— . 71,269
Seacoast 269
Japan 37,38,271
Field -__ 37,38,271
Mountain 271
Mexico.. T, _ 38
Field a 38
INDEX.
469
Page.
Artillery — Continued.
Strength and composition — Continued.
Morocco 275
Persia 276
Peru 277
Mountain _„ 277
Portugal —
Garrison _ 281
Horse (mounted) 278,281
Mountain 281
Russia 410,84, 86,89
Field— 84, 86, 89
Flying parks 40
Foot _ 40
Sortie 40
Spain 43,44
Field 44
Foot and fortress 44
Sweden 288
Switzerland ^ 46
Field 46
Foot and fortress 44
Turkey 290,291
Field __ 290,291
Horse 290,291
Howitzer 290,291
Mountain 290,291
Artillery and engineer schools, France. _ 141, 142
Artillery small-arms practice ammunition,
Great Britain 236
Aspirant officers, Austria-Hungary _ 139
Assimilated ranks, France 180
Australia, rifle _, 107
Australian horses exported to South Africa. 252
Austria-Hungary :
Ammonal - 116,126,128
Appointment of officers 139
Army strength 6
Artillery ^ 6,51
Corps . 51
Divisional _ 51
Field — 6,51,86,344
Horse __ 6,86
Howitzer batteries 6,51,88
Mountain „ 6,61
Automatic rifle 95
Budget 6, 6
Bursting charges —
Ammonal.. 115,126,128
Ecrasite (picric acid) ^ 127, 128
Carbines 98,99
Cavalry T 6
Cavalry arms... T__ _.„ 98,99
Commissions 139, 141
Corps artillery 51
Divisional artillery , 61
Ecrasite r 127, 128
Engineers and technical troops., 6,98
Field artillery 6,51,86,344
Field gun __ 47,52,86
Field howitzer ... 47,86
General staff 7
Page.
Austria-Hungary— Continued.
Guns, field ^ _ 47,52,86
Horse artillery 6,86
Horses exported to South Africa 252
" Howitzer batteries 6,86
-Howitzers 47,86
Infantry 6
Infantry arms _ 98, 99
Knapsacks, firing at _ 97
Maneuvers ... 293-345
Mountain artillery * 6,51
Officers-
Appointment 139
Promotion 139
Retirement __ _ 140,141
Strength __.^__ 6
Picric acid 127, 128
Pistols and revolvers 99
Powders and explosives-
Ammonal i 115,126-128
Ecrasite (picric acid)^™.^... 127,128
Promotion of officers 139
Banks _ ., 141
Recruiting and number of recruits. _ 157, 158
Retirement of officers 140, 141
Revolvers and pistols 99
Rifles-
Automatic _ 96
8-mm. M. 1888-90 95,96
Mannlicher 8-mm 98
Automatic pistols. (See Pistols.)
Automatic rifles :
Austria-Hungary 96,99
Denmark 100, 101
France _ _ _. 96, 102, 103, 104
Germany __ 96
Great Britain 107
Italy .„ 104
Mexico.. __ 95, 103, 104, 110
Mondragon. 103, 104, 110
Woodgate 107
Automobile baking oven, Italy. — 270
Automobiles :
Armored, Great Britain 248-250
Austria-Hungary 345
France 172,386
Germany ___. .17, 197, 433, 436
Great Britain 247,260
In maneuvers —
Austria-Hungary 345
France __ 386
Germany 433,435
Italy 270
Bagdad railroad - 289,290
Baking-oven automobile, Italy 270
Ballistite, Italy. 123
Balloon of Santos Dumont, No. 6 158
Balloon troops:
Germany 17, 196, 197
Russia 40
Spain 44
Ballooning 168-160
470
INDBX.
P»Kt.
Balloons :
Auttiia-Hungary 163
Ditlgibl* _ _ 158-160
Firing testa at, Austria-Hungary 163
Germany „ 431-433
In maueuvers, Germany __ 431-433
8anto« Dtimont'ft— 168
Ilarrark accommodation for married men.
Great Britain 228
Barrel-recoil guns :
Denmark... 47,91,196
France. 47
Geimany 196
Italy _ _ 196
Krupp 47, 49, 49, 91, 93, 196
Schueider-Creuaot 91
Sweden 47,91
SwiUcrlaud 47,91-92,196
Turkey 93
Battalion strength, Spain 44
Battery construction, Austria- Hungary 53
Battery strength :
Austria-Hungary 86
France ._ 87
Germany 87,88
Great Britaiu - 88
Italy 89
Russia 89
Spain _ _ 44
Bayonet* :
Austria-Hungary 99*
Germany 209
Great Britaiu 106,107
Belgium :
Ammunition for musketry practice ... 100
Army strength 8
Artillery ._ __ 8
Browning pistol 99
Budget 7
Cavalry 8
Cavalry arms 99
Engineers and technical troops 8,99
Field artillery 8
Field-artillery small arms 99
Field guns 47,90
Gendarmerie arms 99
General staff «. 8
Infantry 8
Infantry arms 99
Mauser rifle . 99
Nagant revolver 99
Officer strength 8
Pistol (Browning) ^ 99
Revolver (Nagant) 99
Rifle (Mauser) _ 99
Target-practice rifle ammunition 100
Technical troops 8,99
Berdan rifle :
Montenegro 111
Rusma Ill
Bermuda militia 26
Bicyclists. (See Cyclists.)
P»g*.
Boer Mauser rifle 96,97
Boer tactics :
France. 378-379
Germany 198, 199
Bolivia :
Army strength 163, 164
Artillery 164
Cavalry 164
Contingent 163
Foreign instructors .. _. 164
Guns.2 164
Infantry 164
Machine guns ■„ 164
Military school 164
Mortars.. _ 164
Rifle clubs 164
' Rifles 109,164
Make and number 164
Mauser 164
Remington 164
Target practice 164
Borchardt pistol. (See LOger-Borchardt
pistol.)
Brake for field guns. (See Recoil-checking
in field guns.)
Brazil:
Array strength 9
Artillery 9
Budget _ 8
Cavalry 9
Engineers 9
Field artillery 9
Field guns 47,91
Infantry 9
Officer strength 9
Rifle 109
Breech mechanism of field gun :
Great Britain __ 66
Italy 72
Brevet promotion, British India 152
Brevet ranks :
Austria-Hungary 141
Great Britain 148, 149
India 152
Bridge troops (pontoon companies, ponto-
niers, etc.) :
Japan „ 38
Portugal 280
Russia 40
8pain 44
Switzerland 46
Brigade commanders, Austria-Hungary... 141
Bronte in ordnance manufacture, Austria-
Hungary 62
Bronze-hardening, Austria-Hungary 52
Browning pistol 105
Buchet motor for balloon 159
Budgetary strength. (See Army strength
and composition.)
Budgets, military :
Austria-Hungary 6
Belgium . 7
INDEX.
471
Page.
Budgets, military — Continued.
Brazil ___ 8
France v., 9,12
Germany _ 16
Colonies... 17
Great Britain 20,21
Italy ... 35
Japan. __ 37
Mexico 38
Russia ._ 39
Spain 43
Sweden 287
Switzerland 46
Bulgaria :
Mannlicher rifle and carbine 100
Smith ft Wesson revolver __ 100
Bullets :
Austria-Hungary 99
Germany 106, 104
Lucciani Plate III
Solid-steel bullets 98
Bursting charges 115
Austria- Hungary 115, 126-128
Ammonal „_. __ 116, 126-128
Kcrasite (picric acid) 127,128
France 115,132-137
Ammonal ___ ._ 128
Melinite 116, 136, 137
Melinite r. gun cotton 136,137
Schneiderite 116,132-136
Torpedo experiments . 136
Germany —
Ammonal. 128
Great Britain 115,129-132
Ammonal 128
Lyddite 115,129
Wet gun cotton _ 115,129-132
Italy 124-126
Pertlte (picric acid) 124-126
< jidet schools :
France — 13
Great Britain 24
Cadets, Germany 144
Caisson, field guns:
Austria- Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 87,88
Great Britain , __ 88,89
Italy 83, 89
Russia 1 89
Caliber of rifles, question of - 96
Cambodia sharpshooters _ 173
Oamel saddles, Sahara 191
Camelry, Saharan 187-191
<*mels, Sahara _._'_ 189,190
Canada, Ross rifle 267
Canadian horses exported to South Africa. 262
Canadian mules for South Africa 266
Carabineros. (See Customhouse guards.)
Carbine ammunition for target practice,
Great Britain -__ 236,237
Page.
Carbines:
Austria-Hungary —
Mannlicher 98
Automatic, France 103
Belgium —
Mauser 99
Bulgaria—
Mannlicher ... 100
France —
Automatic Mondragon 103
Germany 105
Great Britain 106
Italy 109
Japan 109
Mexico 110
Portugal Ill
Russia 111
Sweden 112
Uruguay 110
Carbineers, Italy 36
Carcano-Mannlicher rifle, Italy 96
Carriage, field guns :
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 47,86,87
Great Britaiu 69-70,88,89
Italy 72,83,89
Russia 89
Carrier pigeons in maneuvers, Germany. 435, 436
Cartridge-bag cloth, Krupp 116, 116
Cartridges of target rifle, Germany 105, 106
Case shot:
Austria-Hungary 86
Great Britain ._ _. 88
Italy 81,82,89
Russia 89
Casualties among horses in South Africa... 264
Cavalry :
Arms —
Afghanistan 161
Argentina 109
Austria-Hungary 98,99
Belgium 99
Bulgaria 100
France 102,191
Saharan troops 191,192
Germany 105,195
Italy 109
Japan 109
Mexico 110
Portugal _ 111
Russia _ Ill
Sweden.. 112
Switzerland _. 112
Uruguay 110
Brigade 224
Carbines. (See Cavalry : Arms.)
In maneuvers —
Austria-Hungary .__ _ 344
Germany 414,415
Japan ._ 447
472
INDEX.
Page.
Cavalry— Continued.
Maneuver* of—
Franco 348-350
Germany 199
Pistols and revolvers. (See Cavalry:
Anns.)
Schools—
A ustrla-H ungary „ 139
Trance 13, 141
Strength and composition—
Afghanistan 160,161
Argentina 162
Austria-Hungary _ 6
Belgium _ 8
Bolivia _.. — . 164
Brazil _ --- 9
Cuba 166,167
Denmark. 169
Bcuador____ 170,171
France 14,15,177,178
Colonial 174,187-191
Germany 17,18,105
Great Britain _ 23-26,27
India 24,27,34
Italy 36
Japan 37,271,447
Mexico.... ... 38
Morocco. _ _ 276
Persia _— 276
Peru ._ 277
Portugal 279,281,283
Russia 40
Spain 43,44
Sweden 288
Switzerland _ 46,46
Swimming rivers, France 172,173
Tactics, Germany _— 199
Target-practice ammunition. Great
Britain 236,237
Cavalry and infantry schools:
Austria-Hungary 139
France 13,141,142
Central African regiment, Great Britain... 256
Ceylon-Mauritius artillery commission 146
Changes in organization. (See Army
strength and composition.)
Chaplains :
Austria-Hungary 6
Great Britain 24
Russia 40
Spain 43
Chari Colony, Frauce 193
Chevallier electric target, France 193, 194
Chief, general staff, France 181
Chile, rifle i 109
China :
Conditions of service 164-166
Pechili troops, proponed reorganization
of 164-166
Recruiting methods proposed 164-166
Chinese sharpshooters in French Indo-
China „ 174
Chrome-steel perforated with LuccJani bul-
let*. Plate III, 122
Civil guard, Spain 43
Civilians are not given commissions,
Austria-Hungary _ 139
Clothing, Japan 271
Clothing of the German East Asiatic expe-
ditionary corps 210
Clergy. (Set Chaplains.)
Coast batteries. (Set Seacoast artillery.)
Coast defenses :
British India 29
Turkey ( Persian gulf) 200
Cochin-China (French) battalions of sharp-
shooters 173
Cockerill-Nordenfelt field gun :
Belgium 90
Denmark _ 91
Colleges, military. (See Schools.)
Colombia, rifle 100
Colonial army. (See Colonial troops.)
Colonial artillery, France 173,175,176
Colonial defense, France 171
Colonial Inrantry, France •_ 173, 175
Colonial troops :
France 9, 10, 14, 15, 102, 173-176, 187
Arms 102
Great Britain 22,27-34
India 24,27-34
Italy 270,271
Japan 272
Portugal (officer strength) 285
Color for uniforms, Sweden 288
Comb powder, Lucciani, France ... 115,119-122
Commissariat. (See In tendance and ad-
ministrative troops.)
Commissions :
Austria-Hungary 139
Appointment 139
Promotion 1 139
Rank „ 141
Retirement'. 140,141
France —
Appointment 141
Promotion 142
Promotion lists 142,143
Retirement- 143
Germany-
Appointment 144
Promotion ^ 144
Retirement 145
Great Britain-
Appointment 145,146
Appointment, Africa.. 257,258,263
Appointment, India _ 150,151
Brevet promotion, India 152
Indian staff corps 150-152
Local promotion, India 162
Promotion 147-160
Promotion in Africa 264
Promotion in India 151,162
Retirement 160
INDEX.
473
Page.
Commissions — Continued.
Great Britain— Continued.
Retirement, India 152
Seconded officers 146
Supernumerary officers' 147
Temporary promotion, India 162
Russia—
Appointment 152, 153
Promotion 153, 164
Retirement 154
Communication troops (railroad, telegraph,
balloon, etc.):
Austria-Hungary 6
France 15
Germany 18, 195, 197
Russia (balloon) 40
Spain (balloon) 44
Compulsory retirement :
Austria-Hungary 140
France 143
Germany 146
Great Britain __ _ 150
Conditions of service :
Austria-Hungary ^ 157
China «. 164-166
Cuba _ 167, 168
Denmark 169
France 184
Germany 166,211,212
Great Britain _ 226,227
African troops 266-267
Italy 157
Russia 156,167
Conscription. {See Recruiting.)
Conscripts. (See Contingents of recruits.)
Conseil superieur de guerre, France 182
Construction of batteries. (See Battery
construction.)
Contingents of recruits :
Argentina 162
Austria-Hungary 157,158
Bolivia 163
France 184-186
Germany 155, 156, 157, 168, 185
Italy 157, 158
Russia 166, 157, 158
Cooking apparatus on wheels:
Germany (lack of) 209
Russia 209 ,
Cordite, Great Britain 88,89,96 '
Cordite M. D.:
Great Britain 115
Italy _ ._ 123
Corps, artillery, Austria-Hungary _. _. 51
Cost of maneuvers, France 317,348
Cost per soldier, Great Britain ___ 230 I
Courts-martial, Germany 198
Culm:
Cavalry 166, 167,1 68, 169 j
Infantry _ 166, 167
Rural guard, law of reorganization. 166-169
Customhouse guards, Spain _ 43
Page.
Cycles in maneuvers :
Austria-Hungary ' 345
Germany , 414, 415
Cyclists :
Great Britain-
Training of 226
Japan —
In maneuvers 447
Portugal 2S1
Cyprus, mules exported to South Africa ... 255
Danger cone, field material :
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 87
Great Britain 88,89
Russia . 89
Daudeteau rifle, France 96
Deaths in the army, statistics, France. _ 186, 187
Defenses :
Afghanistan . 161
France, colonies 176,177
Great Britain, India.. _ 29
Turkey, Persian Gulf 290
Demobilization, Great Britain 230
Denmark :
Army strength and composition 169
Automatic rifle 100, 101
Cavalry 169
Field guns— 91
Infantry 169
Machine gun h .... 100,101
Rifles-
Automatic 100,101
Krag-Jorgensen 100
Detonators , 115
For ammonal, Austria-Hungary 126
For schneiderite, France 133, 134, 136
For wet gun cotton, Great Britain.. 129, 130
Dirigible balloons 158-160
Disciplinary companies :
France 174
Russia 40
Discipline, Germany 198
Diseases^ n the army, statistics of, France,
. 186, 187
Distribution of troops. {See Stations. )
Districts :
Great Britain-
India _ 31
Portugal _ _ 278
Russia 4IM2
Division commanders, Austria-Hungary 141
Divisional artillery, Austria-Hungary 51
Dragoons, Switzerland .._ 45
Drill regulations, Great Britain. 226
Duration of service. (See Length of serv-
ice.)
Diissehlorf Exposition (ordnance) _ 47
Duties, general staff, France 181
East Africa :
British ; rifles (troops) _ 256
Portuguese; officer strength 285
474
INDEX.
P»g«.
East Asiatic (German) expeditionary corps ;
equipment, supplier, and transport* 200
Errasite, bursting charge, Austria-Hun-
gary 127
Kruador :
Army 170,171
Artillery 170,171
Cavalry. 170,171
Horses 170
Infantry _. 170,171
Militia (national guard) 170,171
Minister of war and navy 109
NaraJ school 170
Territorial depot troops 170
War college _. 169
Effective strength. (See Army strength
and composition.)
Ehrbardt guns :
Brazil. 91
Denmark **. _„ 91
Great Britain 64
Ehrhardt shields for field guns.. 50,61
Eighty-millimeter gun, France 87
Elghty-seven-millimeter gun :
Austria-Hangary 86
Russia 89
Klectric target, Cbevallier, France 193,194
£lite, Switzerland 44,46
Engineer and artillery schools, France.. 141, 142
Engineer schools, France 13, 141,142
Engineers and technical troops :
Arms —
Argentina 109
Austria- Hungary 98
Belgium 99
Schools, France 13,141,142
Strength and composition —
Austria-Hungary 6
Belgium 8
Brazil 9
France 15
Germany 18,196
Great Britain 23,26,27
India 24,27,34
Italy 36
Japan 37,271
Mexico 38
Morocco 276
Peru 277
Portugal 278, 279, 280, 282
Russia 40
Spain 43,44
Sweden 288
Switzerland __ 46
Target-practice ammunition, Great
Britain. 236
Ensign, Germany 144
Equipment of the German Rant Asiatic ex-
pedition 209
Eritrea troops 270,271
Ersatz reserve, Germany 212
Estimate of cost of war for Germauy ... 218-220
£tat major general, France. ISO
Exemptions from military service :
Austria-Hungary 157, 158
France 157, 158, 184, 186
Germany _ 166, 166, 157, 158, 186
Italy 157, 158
Russia 156, 157, 158
Expenditures. (See Budgets.)
Expenditures during war, estimated for
Germany 218-220
Explosives. (See Powders and explosives.)
Extraordinary expenditures. (See Budgets. )
Factories:
British India 31
Italy (small arms) 71,72
Fahnenjunker, Germany 144
Feldmarschall-lieutenant, Austria-Hungary 141
Feldseugmeister, Austria-Hungary 141
Field artillery:
A ustria-Hungary—
Ammunition 86
Battery 86
Guns 6,51,86
Howitzer 86
Powders 86
Strength and composition 6,51
Belgium —
Guns »o
Strength and composition 8
Brazil-
Guns 91
Strength and composition 9
Denmark —
Guns 91
France-
Ammunition 51-62,87
Ammunition supply 61-62
Battery strength 87
Guns 47,63,64,67,383,384
Powders 87
Strength and composition 16,64
Tests of material 383,384
Germany —
Ammunition 87,88
Battery strength 87,88
Guns _ 63,87,88
Howitzers 87,88
Powders 87,88
Strength and composition 18,196
Great Britain-
Ammunition .__ - 71,88,89
Battery strength 88,89
Guns 47,64,66-71,88,89
Howitzers 89
Powders— 88,89
Strength and composition 23
Italy-
Ammunition 89
Battery strength 89
Guns 47,72-83,89
Powders 89
Strength and organization 36,
71,89,269,270
Japan, strength and composition. 37,38,271
INDEX.
475
Page.
84
Held artillery— Continued.
Mexico, strength
Netherlands, gnns
Russia—
Ammunition
Battery strength 89
Guns_ 47, 84, 80
Mortars 89
Powders 89
Strength and composition 40,84,85
Spain, strength and composition 45
Sweden, gnns 47,91
Switzerland —
Gnns 47,91,93
Strength and composition 45
Turkey-
Guns 47,93,291
Strength ._ 93,290,291
Ffcld-gun shields. (See Shields for field
guns.)
Field gnns :
Austria-Hungary 47,62,86
Belgium.. 47,90
Brazil 47,91
Cockerill-Nordenfelt _ 90,91
Denmark 47,91
Ehrhardt— 84,91,92
Trance 47,53,54,87,383,384
Germany- __ 47,63,64,87,196,197,213
Great Britain 47,64,66-71,88
Greece - 47
Italy 47,72-83,89
Krupp 47,48,49,50,91,92,93,196
Netherlands 47
Reichenau 6-cni __ __. 50,92
Russia 47,84,89
Schneider-Creusot. 1_ 91,92
Shields. (See Shields for field guns. )
Sweden __ 47,91,287,288
Switaerland 47,91-93
Turkey 47,93,291
Tables of data—
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany ___ 87
Great Britain 88,89
Italy - 89
Russia 89
Switzerland 91,92
Field-howitzer batteries. (See Howitzer
batteries.)
Field howitzers and mortar* :
Austria-Hungary _ 47,51,80
France 5*«
Germany 64,87,88
Great Britain 89
Russia 81i
Field howitzers and mortars, tables of data :
Austria-Hungary 86
Germany - _ 87,88
Great Britain 89
Russia .._ _ - 89
Page.
Fifteen-centimeter howitzer, Germany 88
Fifteen-centimeter mortar, Russia 89
Fifteen-pounder, Great Britain 66-71,88
Filite, Italy „ 89
Financial aspects of mobilization, Ger-
many 211-220
Firing mechanism, field gun :
Great Britain. 68
Italy 73
Firing tests against knapsacks, Austria-
Hungary 97
Five-inch howitzer, Great Britain 89
Flying parks, Russia 40
Foot and fortress artillery :
France, strength 15
Colonial. 173,175,176
Germany —
Small aims 105
Strength _ 17,18,195
Great Britain, strength 23
Italy. 71,269
Portugal (garrison) 281
Russia, strength - _ 40
8pain 44
Switzerland 45
Forbes range-finder, Great Britain 238-247
Foreign instructors :
Bolivia 164
Morocco i 275
Persia. 276
Formosa forces 272
Fortifications and defenses :
Afghanistan 161
France, colonies 177, 176
Great Britain, India. 29
Turkey, Persian Gulf ._ 290
Fortress construction (festungsbau) person-
nel, Germany 195
Fortress sappers, Portugal 280
France :
Ammonal (bursting charge) 128
Ammunition supply in the field 55-62
Appointment of officers 141
Army strength 12,14,15,171,214
Artillery _ 15
Ammunition 55-61
Colonial 15, 173, 175
Field - 15,54
Foot and fortress <• 15
Madagascar 173
Mountain 15
Mounted, colonial 173
Automatic rifles. 95,102,103,104
Automobiles 172
Budget — _ 9-12
Bursting charges 116,132-137
Ammonal 128
Melinite 115,136,137
Melinite v.guu cotton 136, 137
Schneiderite 115,132-136
Torpedo experiment* 136
Cnm*lry 1*7,191
47G
INDEX.
Page. !
frame — Continued . |
Camels 180,190
Carbine _ 101,102
Casualties in the army 186,187
Cavalry 14,15,177,178
Colonial _ 174,187-191
Swimming riven ._ 172,173
Cbevallier electric target 193, 194
Colonial army .__ 173-176
Colonial artillery 173,1?6,176
Colonial cavalry 174, 187-191
Colonial defense 171,173-176
Colonial infantry 173,175
Deaths in the army __ 186, 187
Disease* in the army. 186,187
Disciplinary company 174
Electric target, Cbevallier 193,194
Engineers and technical troops 15
Field guns 4,53,54,87,383,384
Field howitzers and mortar* 55
General staff 12,178-184
General-staff Journeys 172
Gun cotton v. melinite.. 136,137
Gunpowder. (See France: Powders
and explosives.)
Horses swimming rivers 173
Infantry '_ 14,15
Colonial 173, 176
Infantry arms 101,102-104
Lebel rifle _ 96,101,102
Lucciani's comb powder 115,119-122
Madagascar artillery 173
Maneuvers-
Cavalry maneuvers 348-350
Cost of maneuvers 347,348
Grand maneuvers 353-386
Siege maneuvers ._ 350-353
Medical statistics . 186,187
Melinite v. gun cotton 136,137
Mondrngon automatic rifle 102,103
Officers —
Appointment 141
Promotion 142
Retirement :_ 143
Strength . 12
Powders and explosives :
Ammonal 128
Lucciani's comb powder 115,119-122
Melinite 115,136,137
Melinite r. gun cotton 136,137
New gunpowder 118,119
Schneiderite 115,132-136
Torpedo experiments 136
Promotion of officers 142
Recruiting 157, 158, 184-186
Retirement of officers 143
Rifles :
Automatic „ 9T», 102, 103, 104
Daudeteau 96
Lebel 96,101,102
Mondragoii, au tomtit ic 103, 104
Saharan troops 171,187-193
Pm*e.
France— Continued.
Schneiderite (powder) 115, 132-136
Schools 13,141
Siege maneuvers 350-353
Staff Journeys _ _ _ ._ 172
Staffs) 12,13
Stations. 14, 15, 175, 176
Suicides in the army 186
Supply of ammunition 55-62
Swimming rivers by cavalry 172, 173
Targets, electric, Cbevallier 193,194
Telegraphers 15, 176, 177
Uniforms 384,385
War ministry 181, 182, 183
Frontier guards :
Russia _ 40
Spain (carabineros) 43
Furniture in officers' quarters, Great Britain 251
Fulminate as detonator 129
Fuses, field gun; Italy 81,82
Garde republlcalne, France 174
Garrisons, artillery. (See Foot and fortress
artillery.)
Garrison service, Germany 197
Gendarmerie :
Argentina 162
Belgium, pistol of gendarmerie 99
France .. 12
Japan , 37
Russia __ 40
General der Kavallerie, Austria-Hungary . 141
General staff :
Austria-Hungary 7
Belgium 8
France 12,178-184
Germany 19
Great Britain... 22,24
Italy 36
Mexico. 38,39
Russia ___ 40
Spain 43,44
Sweden 286,287
General*' appoiutment, Austria-Hungary _ 139
Geographical institute, Italy 36
German military instructors in Bolivia 164
Germany :
Ammunition, field artillery 87,88
Appointment of officers 144
Armament, East Asiatic expedition ... 209
Army, strength and composition 17,
18,195,213-218
Artillery 18,195
Field. 18,87,88,195
Foot and fortress 18,195
Asiatic brigade _ 200
Automatic rifle 95,104
Budget 16
^ Carbine __ 105
Cavalry 17, 18, 195
Cavalry arms.. 105,195
Clothing, East Asiatic expedition 210
Colonial budget 17
INDEX.
47?
Page.
Germany— Contln ned.
Discipline 198
East Asiatic expedition 200,210
Equipment, clothing, armament. _ 209
Transport 200-209
Expenditure* in war, estimate of __ 218-220
Field artillery _ 18,87,88,195
Field guns 47, 63, 64, 87, 196, 197, 213
Field howitzer* 87,88
Financial mobilization . _ 211,220
Foot and fortress artillery — 18, 196
General staff 19
Horses 213
Infantry _ 196
Infantry rifle _ 105,197
Length of service _ 156,211,212
Machine-gun troops. 196,197,210,220,416-423
Machine guns 416-423
Maneuvers 386-436
Artillery - 415,416
Automobiles 1 433-435
Balloons - - 431-433
Carrier pigeons k 435-436
Cavalry 414,415
Infantry 423,424
Machine-gun troops 416-423
Reconnaissance.. _ 430-433
Sanitary measures . 413
Signaling- 423
Subsistence 430
Telegraphers 424-426
Transportation 411,412,426-430
Wireless telegraphy 425,426
Mauser rifle 96
Medical officers. , 213
Mobilization, financial aspect 211-220
Mobilized strength 214-218
Morale of the army 198
Navy, personnel 213
New formations. 220
Officers —
Appointment 144
Promotion 144
Retirement 144
Strength 18,213,217,218
Pistols, Mauser 221,222
Powders and explosives —
Ammonal 128
Powder cloth, Krupp 115,116
Promotion of officers 144
Retirement of officers _ 144
Rifles - ._.:_ 17,106
Automatic 95,104 i
Mauser ~~ 96
Target rifle __ 105,106
Transports of the East-Amatic expedi-
tion — 200
War expenditures (estimute) 218-220
Grand 6 tat major, France 180
Gras rifle:
Greece 109
Morocco 274
Pngr.
Great Britain :
African troops _ _. 256-267
Ammonal bursting charge 12*
Ammunition —
Artillery 71,88,89
Cavalry brigades 224
Appointment of officers _ 145, 146
India 160,161
Armored motorcar 248-25C
Army commissions —
Appointment 145, 14fi
Promotion 147-160
Retirement 150
Seconded officers , 146
Supernumerary officers 147
Army commissions, Indian stuff corps —
Appointment 150, 151
Brevet promotion 152
Local promotion 152
Promotion _. 151,152
Retirement 152
Tem porary promotion 152
Army strength and organization 23,
24, 25, 222-225
Africa 256-267
India 24,27,28,29
Australian rifle 107
Automatic riflo 107
Automobiles 247-250
Budget 20,21
India _ 28,29
Bursting charges 115,129-132
Ammonal 128
Lyddite r„__ ._ 115,129
Wetgun cotton 115,129-132
Carbiue _ 106
Cavalry __ 23-26,27
India 24,27,34
Cordite, M.D 115
* Demobilization ___ 230,231
Engineers and technical troops 23, 25, 27
India 24,27,34
Field guns 47, 64, 66-71 , 88, 89
Field howitzers 89
Forbes range-finder . 238-247
General staff— 22,24
Harris rifle ._ 107
Horses shipped to South Africa 2 "> 1-25 4
Howitzers _ 811
Hylard rifle 107
India. (&•« India, British.)
Infantry rifle .. Km;
Lee-En field rifle ... KMi
Lee-Metford rifle _ „ 97,106
Lee-Metford-Speed rifle 96
Length of service _ _ 226,227
Lyddite 115,1211
Martini-Henry rifle (India) loti
Mauser rifle (South Africa) luti
Mechanical transport 247
Medical corps 227
Militia 2&,22!»,2»*
478
INDEX.
I'M*.
Great Britain— Continued.
Mule* for South Africa 254-256
Officers —
Allowance* £51
Appointment 145,146
lndla._ _ 150,151
Brevet promotion, India 162
Local promotion, India 152
Mounts. 251
Promotion 147-150
India 151,152
Retirement.. 150
India 152
Seconded 146
Strength _ 23-36
India _L 24,34
Supernumerary 147
Temporary promotion, India 152
Powders and explosives —
Ammonal 128
Cordite, H. D 115
Lyddite 115,129
Wet gun cotton * 115,129-132
Promotion of officers 147-150
India 151,152
Range-finders, Forbes 238-247
Retirement of officers 150
India _ 151,152
Rifles 31,96,97,106
Australia 107
Automatic 107
Harris 107
Hylard _ 107
India 31,106
Lee-Enfield .„*_ 106
Lee-Metford 97, 108
Lee-Hetford-Speed 96
Martini-Henry (India) 106
Mauser (8outh Africa) 106
Ross 107,267
Snider (India) 108
Woodgate, automatic 107
Ross rifle 107,267
Sappers (India) 34
Snider rifle (India) 106
Staffs 22,23,24
India _ 34
Stations 27
Africa 231,240,256
India ._ _. 34
8outh Africa 231,240
Target practice for small arms.. 225, 232-238
Training 225,226
Volunteers __ 25
"Wet gun cotton 115,129-132
Woodgate automatic rifle 107
Yeomanry 25,230
Great general staff, France 180
Greece:
Field guns 47
Gras rifle 109
Guard duty, Great Britain 228
Page.
Guards, rural, Cuba. (See Rural guards
of Cuba.)
Guides, Switzerland 45
Gumbinnen court-martial, Germany 198
Gun cotton compared with schneiderite,
France 133
Gun cotton, wet (bursting charge):
Compared with lyddite 129
Compared with melinite 136, 13*
France _ 136,137
Great Britain 115,129-132
New detonator for 129,130
Gun layers, additional pay for, Great
Britain 65
Guns:
Field. (See Field guns.)
Field howitzers. (See Field howitzers
and mortars. )
Howitiera. (See Howitzers and mor-
tars.)
Machine. (See Machine guns. )
Mountain. (See Mouutain guns.)
Number of guns —
Afghanistan 160, 161
Bolivia 164
Japan 38
Painting of guns, Great Britain 65
Harris rifle, Great Britain 107
Headquarters staff of the war office, C xl
Britain 22,23
Heriot orphan asylum 13
Health of Japanese army 4 .9
Heavy artillery :
Great Britain «
Russia I 85
High-explosive shell :
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 87
Russia 89
Hindustani language, requirement for pro-
motion, India ; 146
Hongkong army commissions
Hors cadre personnel, France
Horse artillery :
Austria-Hungary —
Battery strength
Gun
Strength
Frances —
Battery strength
Colonial
Gun
Germany —
Great Britain-
Battery strength
Gun
Strength
Italy
Mexico
146
13
86
86
6
87
173
87
87
36,269
... 38
INDEX.
479
Page.
Hone artillery— Continued.
Persia ' , — 276
Portugal (mounted) 278,281
Russia-
Battery strength 89
Gun 89
Strength 89
Turkey _ 93,290,291
Horse conscription, Germany 17
Horse-levying regulations, Germany 198
Horse strength, Japan 38
Horses :
Afghanistan 181
Cuba - 167
Ecuador 170
Great Britain-
South Africa. 251-254
Japan 272
Morocco 275,276
Horses for rural guards, Cuba 167
Horses, loss of, in South Africa 254
Horses of officers, Great Britain 251
Horses shipped to South Africa by Great
Britain 251-254
Stamp preferred 254
Horses swimming rivers, France 172,173
Hospital corps and medical service :
Austria-Hungary 6
Belgium 8
France 13,14
Great Britain 23,25,27
India '24,27
Italy... - 36
Mexico 38
Rusjua — - 40
Spain 43,44
Switzerland 46
Hotchkiss machine gun, Germany 416
Howitzer batteries :
Austria-Hungary 51
Battery strength 86
Field howitzer 86
Germany —
Battery streugth 87,88
Heavy field howitzer 87
Light field howitzer 88
Great Britain-
Battery strength 89
Field howitzer 89
Russia __ 40
Battery strength 89
Field mortar 89
Turkey 93,290,291
Howitzers and mortars :
Austria-Hungary _ 52,53,86
Frauce 55
Germany- 64,87,88
Great Britain __ 89
Russia (mortar) 89
Tables of data—
Austria-Hungary - 86
Germany 87, 88
Pago.
Howitzers and mortars — Continued.
Tables of data— Continued.
Great Britain 89
Russia 89
Hydraulic brake, French field gun 53,54
Hylard rifle, Great Britain _ 107
Hyposcope, Great Britain 108
Hythe school of musketry, Great Britain.- 225
Identification tags, Switzerland 288,289
India, British :
Army commissions 150-152
Appointment 150, 151
Local promotion 152
Promotion 151,152
Retirement 152
Temporary promotion 152
Army strength .__ 24,27,28,29,34
Budget 28, 29
Coast defenses 29
Horses exported to South Africa 253
Indian staff corps 31,34,150-152
Mules exported to South Africa 255
Officer strength 24,34
Rifles 31 , 106, 107
Sappers 34
Stations 34
Transportation 32
Infantry :
Direction of war ministry for, France . 182
In maneuvers —
Austria-Hungary 344
Germany _ 423-424
Japan 447
Mounted, Argentina 162
Rifle—
Afghanistan.. 161
Argentina 109
Austria-Hungary 98
Belgium 99
Brazil — 109
Bolivia 109
Bulgaria 100
Chile 109
Colombia 109
Denmark 100
France _ _ 101,102-104
Germauy 105,197
Great Britain 106,107
India 106
Greece _ 109
Italy. 109
Japan 109
Mexico— 110
Montenegro 111
Netherlands 111
Norway _ Ill
Portugal _ 111
Russia 111
Servia 112
Spain 112
Sweden 112
Switzerland 112
480
INtfRX.
Page.
Infantry— Continued.
Rifle— Con tinned.
Turkey 113
Uruguay _ 109,110
Schools—
Austria-Hungary .' 139
France 13
Strength and composition—
Afghanistan 160, l«l
Argentina... 162
Austria-Hungary. _ 6
Belgium.. 8
Bolivia lf>4
Braril 9
Cuba 166
Denmark _ 169
Ecuador 170,171
France 14.15
Colonial 173,175
Germany 195
Great Britain and colonies 23,25,27
Africa 256-267
India... _ 24,27,34
Italy 36
Japan.. .37,271
Mexico 38
Morocco _ 276
Peru 277
Portugal 279, 281, 282, 2*3, 284
Russia _ 40
Spain •„■„. _ 43,44
Target - practice ammunition, Great
Britain __ 236,237
Training, Great Britain 226
Volunteers, Great Britain 229
Infantry and cavalry schools :
Austria-Hungary __ ___ 139
France 13
Inspections and inspectors :
Germany —
Engineer. 17,96
Fortress 17
Great Britain 22,23,228
African troops 259
India 24
School, military 146
In tendance and administrative troops :
Austria- Hungary __ 6
Belgium 8
France (administrative troops) 14,
15,180,182,184
Great Britain (army service corps) 23,
27,223
India 24,27
Italy _ 36
Japan ... 272
Spain . 43
In tendance direction of war ministry,
France 181, 182
Italy:
Amid ballistite.. 123
Army strength 36
Italy— Continued.
Artillery 36,71,89,269,270
Field 36,71,89,269,270
Fortress 269
Horse __ 269
Mountain 71,269
Seacoast 269
Automobile baking oven 270
Automatic rifle 104
Ballistite 123
Budget 35
Bursting charges (pertite) 124-126
Carbines 109
Carcano-Mannlicher riflo 96
Cavalry 36
Engineers and technical troops 36
Eritrea troops 270,271
Field artillery 36,71,89,209.270
Field guns 47,72-40,89
Fortress artillery 269
General staff : 36
Horse artillery 269
Infantry _■ 36
Mannlicher-Carcano rifle 96
Mountain artillery _ 71,269
Mules exported to South Africa 265
Officer strength 36
Pertite (picric acid) 124-126
Powders and explosives —
Amid ballistite 123
Ballistite : 123
Bursting charge .:.___. 124-126
Pertite (picric acid). 124-126
Solenite 123,124
Rifles — 109
Automatic 104
Carcano-Mannlicher 96
Mode»18»l 109
Vetterli 100
Schweitzer oven automobile 270
Seacoast artillery __.<. 269
Staffs 36
Transportation regulations 267,268
Vetterli rifle ,. j_._ \vo
Japan :
Army strength and composition 37,
38,271-273
Artillery 37,38,271
Field... _ 37,38,271
Mountain 271
Budget . 37
Carbine 109
Cavalry 37,271,447
Engineers and technical troops 37,271
Guns, number of 38
Infantry 37,271
Horse strength 38
Maneuvers 436-449
Cavalry in maneu vers 447
Grand review 445
Infantry in maneuvers. 447
Rations 148,449
INDEX.
481
Page.
Japan — Continued.
Mobilized strength 271
Navy ... - 271
Officer strength 38
Kifle, 30 Meijl _ 109
Sappers __ J 37
Telegraph troops 272
Junker schools, Russia 152,153
Justice, military :
Italy 36
Spain 43
Kingston royal military college, Canada... 146
Kitchen on a railroad train, Russia — 286
Kitchen on wheels, Russia. 285,286
Knapsacks, firing tests against; Austria- j
Hungary 97 j
Kongo (French), native cavalry 174 |
Krag-Jorgensen rifle:
Denmark _ ... _ 110
Norway 111
Krebs and Renaud motors for balloons 169
Kropatschek rifle, Portugal 111
Krapp field guns 47,48,49
Afghanistan 161
Brazil 91
Denmark 47,91
Sweden _ _ 47,91
Switzerland 47,91-92
Turkey 93
Krupp powder cloth 116,116
Krapp shields for field gun* 47,48,49,60
Kwangtung, Russian troops 40
Lances:
Afghanistan 161
Germany 209
Landsturm. (8ee Militia.)
Landatunu arms, Austria-Hungary 98
Landwehr. (See Militia.)
Laying devices. (See Aiming, pointing, lay-
ing devices. )
Leaves of absence, British African troops.. 266
Lebel rifle:
France 96
Mexico 110
Lee-Enfield rifle, Great Britain 106, 107
Lee-Metford rifle, Great Britain 97
Lee-Metford-Speed rifle, Great Britain 96
Length of service:
Austria-Hungary 157
Cuba 168
Denmark 169
France 184
Germany-. r»G,2ll,212
Great Britain 226,227
Italy 157
Russia 156,157
Length of service required for promotion:
France 142
Great Britain 148
Indian staff corps 151
Russia _ 153
Page.
Levels, field guns, Italy ._.:_ 76,77,78
Limber, field gun:
Great Britain 71
Italy 76,83
Local promotion, Great Britain 149
India 162
Loss of horses in South Africa 264
Lucciani cartridges Plate III
Lucciani comb powder, France 115,119-122
LUger-Borchardt pistol 99
Lyddite, Great Britain 115,129
Compared with wet gun cotton 129
Machine-gun troops :
Germany 17, 196, 197, 210, 416-423
Great Britain-
India 247
Mexico 38
Portugal 281
Russia 40, 111
Switzerland (Maxims) _ 45
Machine guns :
Bolivia 163
Denmark— 100,101
Germany 416,423
Great Britain 238
India 247
In maneuvers, Germany 416-423
Target-practice ammunition, Great
Britain. 238
Machine rifles. (See Automatic rifles.)
Madagascar mounted batteries 173
Malta artillery commissions 145
Malta militia _ 25
Maneuvers :
Austria-Hungary 293-345
France __ 345-386
Cavalry _ 34S-350
Cost of maneuvers _ 347,348
Grand maneuvers 353-386
Siege 350-353
Germany 386-436
Artillery 416,416
Automobiles 433-436
Balloons 431-433
Carrier pigeons _ 436,436
Cavalry 414,415
Infantry 423,424
Machine-gun troops 416-423
Reconnaissance 430-433
Sanitary measures 413
Signaling 423
Subsistence 430
Telegraphers 424-426
Transportation 411,412,426-430
Wireless telegraphy... ___ 425,426
Japan 436-449
Cavalry in maneuvers 447
Grand review 445
Infantry in maneuvers.. 447
Rations — 448,449
Switzerland _ 449-466
R29 HI
482
INDEX.
Pag*.
Manolicher :
Oarbtne
Carcano-Mannlicher rifle __.,
06 !
99, 106 I
Rifle— |
Austria-Hungary 98 !
Bulgaria 100
Netherlands Ill |
Portugal Ill
Switzerland 112 I
Manufactories. (See Factories.)
Maria Theresa school, Austria-Hungary— 139 ,
Marine artillery, France - _ 9
Marine infantry, France _ 9
Married men's quarters, Great Britain 228 ;
Mars pistol 2. 108
Martini-Henry rifles :
Afghanistan 161 i
India 106
Morocco-..- 274
Turkey - - 113 i
Mauser :
Pistol (magazine) 106 I
Germany.. 221,222
Revolver 97
Rifle— '
Argentina — 109
Boer _ 96,97,106
Boliria 109
Brazil 109
Chile 109 !
Colombia . 109 I
Germany .. 96
Great Britain (South Africa) 106 |
Mexico 110
Servia _ 112 |
Spain - 44,112 \
Sweden _ 112 |
Turkey 113 i
Uruguay 109,110
Works at Oborndorf— _ 105 .
Maxim companies. (See Machine-gun J
troop.)
Maxim machine guns :
Austria 416
Germany 416
Great Britain 416
India _ 247
Infantry in India provided with 247
Russia - 416
Switzerland 416
Maximum range, field material :
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany — _ 87,88
Great Britain - 89
Russia - 89
Mechanical transport and mechanical trans-
port companies, Great Britain 247, 248
Medical officers. (See Medical service.)
Medical schools (military), France 13
6
8
. 13,14
— ■ 213
226,228
. 24,27
_ 36
,- 38
— 40
_ 43,44
.— 46
186,187
. 184
189,190
.._ 109
136,137
Medical serrice :
Austria-Hungary
Belgium .
France
Germany (number of surgeons)
Great Britain 23,25,27,
India
Italy
Mexico
Russia
Spain ,
Switzerland
Medical statistios, France
Medical stores, France
Mehari camel, 8ahara
MeiJI-30 rifle, Japan _.
Melinite, France 116,
Mexico:
Army strength 38
Artillery 38
Automatic rifle 9S, 103, 104, 110
Budget 38
Cavalry 38
Engineers and technical troops 38
Field artillery 3>
General staff _ 38,39
Infantry 38
Rifles „ 95,110
Automatic 96, 103, 104, 110
Lebel 110
Mauser 110
Mondragon automatic 103,104,110
Remington 110
Sappers 38
Military justice. (See Justice, military. )
Military schools. (See Schools.)
Militia:
Ecuador. 170, 171
Germany (landwehr and landsturm) .. 212
Great Britain _ 26,26,229
Training of 230
Peru 1 277
Rifle used by —
Austria-Hungary (landsturm) 98
Italy 109
Russia 111
Russia __ _ 40
Switzerland 46,46
Training of, Great Britain 230
Miners (sappers-miners), Portugal 278
Minister of war :
Ecuador > 171
France 182, 183
Mobilization, British India 32
Mobilization from a financial standpoint,
Germany __ 211-220
Mobilized strength :
France 214
Germany 214-218
Japan ._ *71
ikdex:
484
Page. |
Mondragon automatic rifle : j
France __ _,_ 103,104
Mexico 110
Montenegro, rifles 111 I
Berdan Ill !
Magazine 111
Werndl 111 ,
Morale, Great Britain 228
Morocco :
Army strength and organization ___ 271-276
Artillery 275 '
Cavalry _ __ 276
Engineers 276
Foreign instructors 275 !
Guns 275
Horses 275, 276
Infantry 275
Officers 274
Recruiting — 273
Rifles 274
Mortars:
Boliria 163
Field, Russia _ 89
Mossin-Nagant rifle, Russia 96
Motor cars. (See Automobiles. )
Motors for balloons .* 159, 160
Mountain artillery :
Austria-Hungary —
Battery strength 61
Gun _ _.. 52
Number of guns 51
Strength and composition 6,61
France 15
Colonial— 173, 174, 175, 176, 192
Great Britain 23
Italy 36,71,269
Japan 37,271
Mexico 38
Peru 277
Portugal 281
Russia 40
Switzerland —
Gun 92
Strength 45
Turkey 93,290,291
Mountain guns :
Austria-Hungary 52
Krupp .. 92
Morocco 275
Switzerland 92
Mounted infantry, Argentina 162
Mounted rifles, Germany 17
Mules for South Africa 254-256
Musketry instruction. (See Target prac-
tice.)
Muzzle Telocity, field material. (See Veloc-
ity, projectiles of field material. )
Nagant revolver 112
National guard :
Ecuador 170, 171
Peru - 277,278
Naval schoolf Ecuador 170
- *****
Navy:
Argentina •— 162
Germany (personnel) 213
Ecuador (Navy Department) 169
Netherlands :
Field guns. 47
Rifle, Mannlicher _ Ill
New Zealand horses exported to South
Africa •___ 252
Nitrocellulose. (See Powders and explo-
sives.)
Nitroglycerin. (See Powders and explo-
sives.)
Noncommissioned officers given commis-
sions, Russia 152, 153
Noncommissioned officers not given com-
missions, Germany 144
Nordenfelt field gun. (See Oockerill-Nor-
denfelt field gun.)
Normal powder:
Finland 116
France 115
Norway 116
Sweden _ 115,116
Switzerland 116,117
Norway :
Powder, normal 116
Rifles, Krag-Jorgensen 111
Number of officers. (Sec Officers: Strength.)
Number of recruits. (See Contiugents of
recruits.)
Nurses, Great Britain 227,228
Oasis troops in Sahara (French) 191,193
Officers :
Allowances. (See Officers: Pay and
allowances.)
Appointment. (See Appointment of
officers.)
Commissions. (See Commissions.)
Mobilized strength, Germany 216-218
Mounts (allowance for), Great Britain . 251
Number. (See Officers: Strength.)
Pay and allowances —
Great Britain 251
Africa 260-262
Promotions. (See Promotion of offi-
cers.)
Ranks, Austria-Hungary 141
Recruitment. (See Appointment of offi-
cers.)
Retirement. (See Retirement of offi-
cers.)
Strength-
Argentina _ 162
Austria-Hungary 6,7
Belgium 8
Brazil 9
Frauce. „ _ _ 12-15
Germany _- 18,19,195,213,217,218
Great Britain 22-25
Africa _. 256,267
ludia 24,25,34
484
INDEX.
Officer*— Con tin ued .
Strength— Continued.
Italy 36
Japan 88
Mexico 88
Morocco. 274
Portugal... 280,281, 282, 286
Russia 40
Spain 48,44
Sweden _ 288
Target practice of officers, Great BritaJ n 238
One-hundred-and-fifty-two-mlllimeter mor-
tar, Russia - 89
One-bundred-and-flve-millimetcr howitzer,
Germany _._ _ 87
One-hundred-and-four-millimeterhowitxer,
A uitria-H unitary 86
One-hundred-and-twenty-se ven • millimeter
howitzer, Great Britain 80
One-year volunteers:
Austria-Hungary(commission given to) 139
Germany ___ 212,213
Opolchenie, strength, Kussla 40
Optical telegraph in maneuvers, Germany. 425
Ordnance department, Japan 38
Ordnaoce stores, Prance 184
Organisation. (See Strength and composi-
tion.)
Orphan asylum, France 13
Oven automobile, Italy .. 270
Pages, corps of, Russia 162
Painting of guns, Great Britain 85
Parabclluni pistol.- . 105,113
Parks of artillery :
France 55
Russia (flying parks) _ 40
Pay and allowances :
Austria-Hungary (maneuvers) 300,301
China 165
Cuba.- 167
France, Sahara n camelry (apahis) 189
Great Britain 226,227,229,230
African troops 260-262
Gun layers 65
Mechanical transport companies.. 247,
248
Officer* 251
Japan, officers 273
Pay department and paymasters. (See lu-
tendance and administrative troops.)
Peabody rifle, Turkey __ 113
Pechili troops, proposed organisation of_ 164-166
Penal establishments. (See Prisons.)
Pensions of officers, Austria-Hungary 141
Percussion fur.es. (See Fuzes.)
Persia :
Cavalry _ 276
Foreign instructors 276
Horse artillery 276
New brigade formed _ 276
Uniforms 276
Persian Gulf defenses, Turkey
Pertlte (bunting charge), Italy..
290
124-126
Army strength 277,278
Artillery 277
Cavalry _ 277
General staff 277
Infantry 277
Militia 277
Mountain artillery 277
National guard 277
Reserve _ 277,278
Sappers 277
Pharmaceutical schools (military), France. 13
Physical qualification of soldier, China 166
Physicians. (See Medical service.)
Picric acid :
Austria-Hungary ,. 127
Compared with schnelderite 133
France 133
Italy 124-126
Pigeons in maneuvers, Germany 436,436
Pioneers :
Austria-Hungary (arms) 96,99
Germany 195
Switzerland 46
Pistol target practice, Great Britain 237
Pistols :
Ammunition for target practice, Great
Britain 237
Magazine (automatic) —
Austria-Hungary 99
Borchardt 105
Browning 99
Germany 105,221,222
Great Britain- — 108
Italy 109
Ltlger- Borchardt 99
Mannlicher 99, 106
Mars 108
Mauser 105, 221, 222
Parabellum 105, 113
Roth 99
Switzerland 113
Revolvers —
Argentina 109
Bulgaria. „ 100
Italy 109
Mauser , 97
Nagant (Russia) 112
Russia 112
Smith ft Wesson (Bulgaria) 100
Switzerland 112
Pointing mechanism. (See Aiming, point-
ing, laying devices.)
Polytechnic school, France 13, 141
Ponton lers. (See Bridge troops.)
Population, census :
Germany 165
Russia 156
INDEX.
485
Page.
Portugal :
Army strength and composition 278
Artillery 278,279,280,281,283
Garrison 281
Mountain . 281
Mounted 278,281
Azores troops 279
Cavalry 279,281,283
Cyclists 281
Districts 278
Engineers 278, 279, 280, 282
Garrison artillery 281
Horse artillery (mounted) 278,281
Infantry 279,281,282,283,284
Kropatschek rifle _ 111
Machine-gun troops 281
Madeira troops 279
Mannlicher rifle 111
Mountain artillery __ 281
Mounted artillery 278,281
Officer strength in East Africa 286
Railroad troops 280,282
Reserves _ 279
Rifles—
Kropatschek 111
Mannlicher 111
Sappers — 278
Telegraphers 280,282
Position artillery, Switzerland — 45
Powder cloth, Krupp's — 115,116
Powders and explosives :
Amid ballistite, Italy— ~ 123
Ammonal —
Austria-Hungary 116,126-128
Compared with dynamite 128
France — - 128
Germany 128
Great Britain 128
Austria-Hungary —
Ammonal _ 115,126-128
Ecrasite (picric acid) 127,128
M. 1893 (nitroglycerin) 86
Nitroglycerin 86
BsJlistite, Italy — 123
Bursting charges 115
Ammonal 126-128
Austria-Hungary _ 126-128
Ecrasite... - 127
France 115,132-138
Germany , 128
Great Britain 115,129-132
Italy 122, 124
Lyddite - 116, 129
Melinite 116, 136, 137
Pertite - 122,124
Schneiderite 115, 132-136
Torpedo charges _ 136,137
Wet gun cotton 115,129-132
Cartridge-bag cloth, Krupp 116,116
Comb powder, Lucciani —
France 115, 119-122
Cordite, Great Britain 88,89
Page.
Powders and explosives— Continued.
Cordite M. D.—
Great Britain 115
Italy 123
Detonators . 115
For Ammonal 126
For schneiderite . 136,134,136
For wet gun cotton 129,130
Dynamite-
Compared with ammonal 128
Compared with schneiderite 138
Ecrasite, bursting charge—
Austria-Hungary 127
Field artillery—
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 87, 88
Great Britain 88,89
Italy _ 89
Russia _•_ 89
FiUte, Italy 89
Finland-
Normal powder 116
France —
Ammonal 128
Luccianl's comb powder. __ 115, 119-122
Melinite. 115, 136, 137
Melinite r. gun cotton 136, 137
New gunpowder _ 118,119
Nitrocellulose 87
Normal powder 115
Schneiderite 115,132-136
Torpedo experiments 136
Fulminate as detonator 129
Germany —
Ammonal 128
Nitrocellulose- 87
Nitroglycerin 87,88
Powder cloth, Krupp 115,116
Great Britain-
Ammonal 128
Cordite ___ 88,89
Cordite M. D 115
Lyddite 115,129
Nitroglycerin ___ 88, 89
Wet gun cotton. 116,129-132
Gun cotton compared with schneiderite - 133
Gun cotton, wet —
Compared with lyddite 129
Compared with melinite 136,138
France 136,137
Great Britain 116, 129-132
Italy- 122-126
Amid ballistite.. - -._ 123
Bursting charge 124-126
Fillte H!»
Pertite (picric acid) 124-126
Solenite 123,124
Krupp's powder cloth 115, 116
Lucciani 's comb powder, France 116,
119-122
486
INDEX.
Powders and explosives— Continued.
Lyddite—
Compared with wet gun cotton 129
Great Britain... 116,129
Melinite—
France 115,138,137
Nitrocellulose—
France 87
Germany 87
Russia—
Pyrocollodion 89
Nitroglycerin —
Austria-Hungary —
M. 1893 _ 86
Two-millimeter 86
Germany 87,88
Great Britain-
Cordite... 88,89
Italy—
Filite _ 89
Normal powder —
Finland 116
France 115
Norway 116
Sweden 116,116
Switzerland 116,117
Norway, normal powder 116
Pertite, bursting charge, Italy 124-126
Picric acid—
Austria-Hungary 127
Compared with schneiderite 133
France... _ 133
Italy i 124-126
Powder cloth, Krupp 115,116
Pyrocollodion, Russia 89
Russia —
Normal adopted in Finland 116
Pyrocollodion 89
Schneider-Canct detonator 133, 134, 136
Schneiderite, France 115,132-136
8olenite, Italy 123,124
Sweden, normal powder 115,116,117
Switzerland, normal powder 117
Torpedo experiments, France 136
Wet gun cotton —
Compared with lyddite 129
Great Britain 115,129,132
Price of horses for South Africa, Great
Britain... 251-254
Prisons (and penal establishments):
Italy 36
Japan 271,272
Russia 40
Privileges of soldiers, China 165
Promotion lists, France 142,143
Promotion, medical officers, Great Britain. 27
Promotion of officers
Austria-Hungary 139
France 142
Germany 144
Great Britain 147-150
Indian staff corps 151,162
Russia 153,164
Prytanee school for sons of officers,
France... 13
Putilof gun, Russia 84
Pyrocollodion, Russia 89
Qualification of soldier, China 166
Quarters :
For married men, Great Britain 228
For officers, Great Britain 261
Quick-firing field guns. (See Field guns.)
Range-finders, Great Britain :
Forbes 238-247
Hyposcope 108
Range of field material. (See Maximum
range, field material.)
Railroad-train kitchens, Russia 286
Railroad transportation, military, Italy. 267, 268
Railroad troops:
Austria-Hungary 6
France 15
Germany : 15, 195
Great Britain 23
Italy 36
Japan 37,271
Portugal 250,282
Russia 40
Spain 44
Railroad to Bagdad, Turkey 289,290
Ranks, officers, Austria-Hungary 141
Rapid-fire field guns. (See Field guns. )
Rapid-fire mountain guns. (See Mountain
guns.)
Rations in maneuvers :
Austria-Hungary . 302-304
Japan 448,449
Recoil-checking in field guns :
Cockerill-Nordenfelt „ 91
Denmark 47, 91
Ebrhardt.. 91
France 47,53,54
Germany 47
Great Britain 69
Italy 75
Krupp guns 47,91,92,93
Russia 84
Schneider-Creusot __ 91
Sweden 47, 91
Switzerland 47, 91-92
Reconnaissance in maneuvers, Germany,
430-433
Recruiting:
Austria-Hungary 167,168
Bolivia 164
China 165
Contingents. (See Recruiting: Statis-
tics.)
France i57, 158, 184-186
Germany. 155,166,157,168
Great Britain 228
Italy 157, 15*
Methods proposed, China 164-166
Morocco 273
Number of recruits. (See Recruiting :
Statistics.)
INDEX.
487
Page.
Recruiting— Continued.
Officers. (See Appointment of officers.)
Russia 166,167,168
Statistics—
Austria-Hungary 167,158
Trance "_— _ 167,158,184-186
Germany 166,166,157,153
Italy 167,168
Russia. 40,156,157,158
Recruits' target practice. Great Britain. 233,234
Regulations, new, Germany 17
Reicbenau 5-centimeter field gun _ — 50,92
Religious services. (See Chaplains.)
Remington rifle, Mexico 110
Remounts. (See Horaee.)
Renaud and Krebs motor for balloons 159
Reorganization :
Army. (See Army : Strength and com-
position.)
Artillery. (See Artillery: Strength
and composition.)
Cavalry. (See Cavalry: Strength and
composition.)
Engineers. (See Engineers and technic-
al troops : Strength and composition. )
Infantry. (See Infantry: Strength
and composition.)
Intendance. (See Intendance and ad-
ministrative troops.)
Reserves :
Germany 211,212
Peru 277
Portugal 279
Rifle used by 111
Spain-
Strength 44
Strength of reserve officers 43
Switzerland —
Strength 45,46
Strength of reserve officers 45
Retirement of officers :
Austria-Hungary 140,141
France 143
Germany 146
Great Britain - 160
152
154
Indian staff corps ioz j
Russia
Revolvers. (See Pistols.)
Rice as rations, Japan 448,449
Rifle ammunition for target practice, Great '
Britain - 236,237
Rifle clubs, Bolivia.. 164
Rifles of small caliber :
Afghanistan , Martini-Henry 161
Argentina: Mauser 109
Australia _ - 107
A ttstria-H ungary —
Automatic 95
8-mm. M. 1888-90 96,96
Mannlicher 8-mm 98
Automatic —
Auatria-Hungary 95,99
Denmark.. 100.101
Page.
Rifles of small caliber— Continued.
Automatic — Continued.
Trance 95,102,103,104
Germany 95
Great Britain 107
Mexico 95,103,104,110
Mondragon _ 103,104,110
Woodgate 107
Belgium ; Mauser 99
Berdan—
Montenegro 111
Russia •_. Ill
Boer; Mauser 96,97
Bolivia-
Mauser _. 109, 164
Remington 164
Brazil ; Mauser .- 109
Bulgaria ; Mannlicher 100
Canada; Ross rifle 267
Carcano-Mannlicher ; Italy 96
Chile; Mauser 109
Colombia; Mauser __ 109
Daudeteau ; France 96
Denmark —
Automatic _ 100, 101
Krag-Jttrgenaen 100
France — _- 101-104
Automatic 95, 102, 103, 104
Daudeteau 96
Lebel . 96, 101, 102
Mondragon automatic 103,104
Germany 17,105,197,209
Automatic 95, 104
Mauser 7.9~mui 96
Target rifle 106
Gras—
Greece 109
Morocco 274
Great Britain 106, 107
Australia 107
Automatic 107
Harris 107
Hylard 107
India 31,106
Lee-Enfield 106
Lee-Metford 97,106
Lee-Metfonl-Speed 96
Martini-Henry; India 106
Mau«er; South Africa 106
Rofs 107,267
Snider; India 106
Woodgate, automatic 107
Greece; Gran - 109
Harris ; Great Britain 107
Hylard ; Great Britain - 107
ludia - -- 31,106,107
Italy. 109
Automatic 104
Carcano-Mannlicher 96
Model 1891 109
Vetterli 100
Japan; 30-Meiji ._ 100
488
INDEX.
ft**.
Rifle* of small caliber— Continued.
Krag-Jorgenscn —
Denmark 100
Norway 111
Kropatacbek ; Portugal „ 111
Lebel—
France 96, 118, 119
Mexico 110
Lee-Enfield ; Great Britain 108, 107
Lse-Metford ; Great Britain 97,118
Lse-Metford-8peed, Great Britain 96
Mannlicher—
Austria-Hungary 98
Bulgaria _ 100
Netherlands 111
Portugal 111
Switzerland Hi
Mannlicher-Carcano ; Italy 96
Martini-Henry —
Afghanistan 161
British India 106
Morocco 274
Turkey. 113
Mauser-
Argentina 109
Boer 96,97,106
Boliria 109, 164
Brazil _ __ 109
Chile 109
Colombia 109
Germany 96
Great Britain ; South Africa 106
Mexico 110
Servia 112
Spain 112
Sweden 112
Turkey. - _. 113
Uruguay 109, 110
MeiJi-30; Japan. 109
Mexico 96,110
Automatic....... 95, 103,104,110
Lebel 110
Mauser 110
Mondragon automatic 103, 104, 110
Remington 110
Mondragon automatic —
France 103,104
Mexico 110
Montenegro 111
Berdan 111
Magazine.... 111
Werndl .— Ill
Morocco—
Gras 274
Martini-Henry 274
Moasin-Nagant ; Russia 96,111
Netherlands; Mannlicher 111
Norway; Krag-Jurgen«en — 111
Peabody; Turkey — 113
Portugal —
Kropatacbek ill
Mannlicber 111
Great Britain _
Rifles of small caliber— Continued.
Remington —
Boliria . _ 164
Mexico l lo
267
107
Mossin-Nagant 96, 11 1
Schmidt-Rubin; Switzerland 112,113
Snider; India 10*»
Servia; Mauser 112
Spain ; Mauser 1 12
Sweden; Manser 112
Switzerland 112,113
Mannlicher 112
Model '93 112
Schmidt-Rubin 112,113
Target rifle ; Germany 105
Thirty-Meiji ; Japan 109
Three-line (0.3-inch) —
Montenegro HI
Russia 96,111
Uruguay; Mauser 100,110
Werndl; Montenegro ill
Woodgate, automatic ; Great Britain.. 107
Rigid-carriage guns :
Germany 47,196
Italy 72, 196
Switzerland 196
River submarine-mining companies, Rus-
sia 40
Roll calls, Great Britain 22m
Ross rifle:
Canada 267
Great Britain ltJ7
Roth-Krnka bullet, Austria-Hungary 93
Roth pistol, Austria-Hungary &*»
Rounds of ammunition carried :
Field artillery—
Austria-Hungary <*6
France 62,87
Germany 87
Great Britain ._ 88, 89
Italy 89
Russia m
Field-howitzer batteries —
Germany *<7
Great Britain us
Field-mortar batteries, Ru**iu *9
Horse artillery —
Austria-Hungary *6
France 87
Germany 87
Great Britain 8*
Russia ._ 89
Infantry, France 62
Royal military academy, Great Britain 24
Royal military college. Great Britain 24
Rural guards of Cuba, law of reorganiza-
tion 166-169
INDBX.
489
Page.
Russia:
Anuy commissions —
Appointment _ 162, 163
Promotion 153, 154
Retirement 154
Army strength and composition 40
Artillery ... __ 40,84,85,89
field ._ 84,85,89
Flying parks 40
Foot 40
Sortie batteries 40
Budget 39
Cavalry 40
Distribution of the army 40,42
Districts 40,42
Engineers and technical troops 40
Field artillery 84,85,89
Foot artillery __ 40
Field guns _ 47,89
Field mortar 89
Gendarmerie 40
General staff 40
Infantry 40
Kitchen on wheels 285,286
Military districts 40-42
Mortars, field... . 89
Normal powder in Finland 116
Officers-
Appointment 152,163
Promotion 153, 154
Retirement 154
Strength _ 40
Powder, Normal, adopted by Fiulaud-. 116
Railroad-train kitchens __ 286
Rifles 96,111
Sappers 40
Sortie batteries 40
Stations 40-42
Saddles for camels, Sahara 191
Sahara (French):
Camelry (spahis) 187-191
Troops 171,191-193
Saint Cyr school, France 13,141
8aiut Maixent school, France 142
Sandhurst military college, Great Britain ._ 145
Sanitation, British India 32
Santos Duniont balloon 158
Sappers:
Great Britain-
India _ 34
Japan 37
Mexico 38
Peru 277
Portugal _ 278
Russia ___ 40
Spain 44
Switzerland 46
8aumur school, France 142
Schneider-Canet detonator 133, 134, 136
Schneidcr-Creusot field gun, Denmark 91
Schneiderite. bursting charge, France 115,
132-136
Page.
Schools :
Austria-Hungary 139
Bolivia _ 164
Ecuador 169
For enlisted men, France 13
France 13, 141
Germany 196
Great Britain 24,145
Gymnastics, school of—
France 13
Great Britain.. 24
Italy 36
Musketry, school of—
France 13
Great Britain 24
Russia 40,162,153
War school, France 13,180
Schmidt-Rubin rifle, Switzerland 112, 113
Schweitzer automobile oven, Italy 270
Seacoast artillery :
Itaiy 36, 71, 269, 270
Japan 272
Sea transportation for the German East
Asiatic expedition.. __ 200-209
Second lieutenant ; appointment. (&>« Ap-
pointment of officers.)
Seconded officers. Great Britain 146
Selection in promotion :
Austria-Hungary 140
France 142
Germany 144,145
Great Britain 148,149
Russia 153,154
Self-propelled war car, Great Britain—. 248-250
Seniority in promotions :
Austria-Hungary 139
France 142
Germany 144, 146
Great Britain 147,148,149
Russia 153
SerpoUet motor for balloons 169
Service, length of. (&e« Length of nervier.)
Servia, Mauser rifles _ 112
Seven -and-a-half -centimeter gun :
France 87
Germany 72, 89
Seven-centimeter guns, Italy 72
Seven ty-fl ve-inillimeter gun t
France 87
Italy.. 72,89
Seventy-seven-millimeter gun, Germany.. . 87
Sevetity-six-millimeter gun :
Great Britain 88
Russia 89
Shell burst with schneiderite, France... 133, 134
Shell with wet gun cotton, Great Britain. 130, 131
Shields for field guns 47,98
Ehrhaidt _ 60,61
Experiments —
Ehrhardt 50,61
Krupp 47,60
Germany 63,196,197
490
INDEX.
Page.
Shield! for field guns— Continued.
Krupp 47-60,91-02
Switzerland 91,92
Shoe*, Japan __ _. _._ 271
Shrapnel:
Austria- Hungary _ 86
France _. 87 |
Germany... _ 87
Great Britain 88,89 :
Italy _ 80,89
Sickness in the army, statistics, France. 180, 187
Siege artillery :
Japan. __ 272
Spain 44
Siege maneuvers, France. _ 360-363
Sights for small arms, Austria-Hungary... 99
Sightsof field guns. (See Aiming, pointing,
laying devices ; field guns. )
Signaling in maneuvers, Germany 426
Singapore army commissions 146
Six-inch field mortar, Bussla 89
Skoda machine gun :
Austria-Hungary 416
Germany 416
Small arms 96
Carbines. (See Carbines. )
Factories, British India 31
Pistols. (See Pistols.)
Revolver*. (See Pistols. )
Rifles. (See Rifles of small caliber. )
Smith & Wesson revolver, Bulgaria 100
Snider rifle, India 106
Solenlte, Italy 123,124
Solid-steel bullets 98
Somaliland battalion, Great Britaiu __ 266
Sortie bAtteries, Russia 40
South African stations of British army 232
Spahis :
Algeria 174
Sahara „ 187
Spain :
Army strength and composition 43,44
Artillery 43,44
Field _ 44
Foot and fortress 44
Cavalry 43,44
Engineers and technical troops 43,44
General staff 44
Hospital corps 43,44
Infantry 43,44
In ten dance (administrative service) . . 43,44
Mauser rifles 112
Medical service 43
Mules exported to South Africa 266
Officer strength 43
Rifles, Mauser .. 112
Sappers 44
Train troops 43
Veterinarians 43
Spirit-level sight, field gun, Italy 76
P*«*.
Spring-spade guns :
Germany 196
Italy 196
Switzerland _. 196
Squadron organization and strength :
Cuba 167
France, spahis 174
Spain 44
Staffs :
Austria-Hungary • 6
Belgium 8
France 12,13,178-184
Genera (See General staff.)
Germany 19
Great Britain 24
Italy 36
Mexico 38
Russia 40
• Spain . 43,44
Sweden 286,287
Stations:
Afghanistan 160
France 14, 16, 176, 176
Algeria and Tunis ___ 14, 16
Great Britain and possessions ,. __ 27
Africa 256
South Africa 231,232
Russia 40-42
Statistics of diseases, France 186, 187
8team motors for balloons 159, 160
Steel bullets, solid _ _ 98
Strength and composition :
Army. (See Army strength and com-
position. )
Artillery. (See Artillery : Strength and
composition. )
Bridge troops. (See Bridge troops.)
Cavalry. (See Cavalry: Strength and
composition.)
Engineers. ( See Engineers and technic-
al troops : Strength and composition. )
Field artillery. (See Field artillery. )
Field-howitzer batteries. (See How-
itzer batteries. )
Foot and fortress artillery. (See Foot
and fortress artillery. )
General staff. (See General staff. )
Horse artillery. (See Horse artillery.)
Howitzer batteries. (See Howitzer bat-
teries.)
Infantry. (See Infantry : Strength and
composition.)
Intendants. (See Intendance and ad-
ministrative troops.)
Machine-gun troops. (See Machine-
gun troops.)
Medical service. (See Medical service. )
Militia. (See Militia.)
Mountain artillery. (See Mountain
artillery.)
INDEX.
491
Page.
Strength and composition— Continued.
Officers. (See Officers: Strength.)
Pioneers. (See Pioneers.)
Pontoniers. (See Bridge troops.)
Railroad troops. (See Railroad troops.)
Recruit strength. (See Recruiting:
Statistics.)
Reserves. (See Reserves.)
Sappers. {See Sappers.)
Seacoast artillery. (See Seacoast artil-
lery.)
Siege artillery. (See Siege artillery.)
Telegraphers. (See Telegraph troops
and telegraphers.)
Train troops. (See Train troops.)
Veterinary service. (See Veterinary
service. )
Submarine boats; France 171
Submarine-mining companies, Russia 40
Subsistence, Japan 448,449
Sudanese spahis, French 174
Suicides in the army, France 1 186
Superior war schools. (See War school.)
Superior council of war, France 182
Supernumerary officers, Great Britain 147
Indian staff corps 152
Supplies :
Ammunition. (See Ammunition.)
France 184
German East Asiatic expedition 209
Japan 271
Surgeon general's pay, Great Britain 227
Surgeons. (See Medical service.)
Sweden : ,
Army strength 288
Artillery — 288
Budget 287
Carbines 287
Cavalf} _ 288
Engineers 288
Field guns — 91,287,288
Goneral staff 286,287
Horseti, number of 288
Infantry 288
Mauser rifle _ 112
Normal powder 115,116,117
Officer strength 288
Powder, "normal"- 115,116,117
Rifles _ 112, 287
Staffs 286,287
Transport 288
Uniform 288
Swimming rivers by cavalry, France... 172,173
Switzerland :
Administrative troops (intendance)... 46
Army strength 45,46
Artillery 45,46
Field 45
Foot and fortress 44
Budget - 45
Cavalry __._ 45,46
£lite strength ._ 45,46
Page.
S w itzerland — Con tin ued .
Engineers 46
Field artillery 45
Field guns _ 47,91-93
Fortress artillery 44
Identification tags 288,289
Infantry strength 46
Landwehr strength 45,46
Landsturm 46
Maneuvers 449-465
Mannlicher rifle 112
Medical service 46
Mountain artillery 45
Powders, ** normal " 117
Reserve strength 45,46
Rifles—
Mannlicher 112
Model '93 112
Schmidt-Rubin 112,113
Sappers 46
8chmidt-Rubin rifle 112,113
Staffs ,. 46
Train troops 44
Tactics, Germany 198
Target, Chevallier electric, France 193,198
Target practice :
Against balloons, Austria-Hungary. __ 163
Small arms —
Ammunition, Great Britain 236
Bolivia 164
Great Britain 225,232-238
Target rifle, Germany 105
Technical high school, Germany 17
Technical schools :
Austria-Hungary 139
Germany 196
Technical troops. (See Engineers and
technical troops.)
Telegraph troops and telegraphers :
Austria-Hungary 6
Frauce 15,176,177
Germany 18,195
Great Britain 23
In maneuvers, Germany 424-426
Japan __. . 272
Mexico 38
Portugal 2-0,282
Russia 40
Spain 44
Telegraphy, wireless. (See Wireless teleg-
raphy.)
Temporary ptomotion of officers :
• Great Britain ._ 149
India 152
Ten-and-a-half-centimeter light howitzer,
Germany 87
Ten-and-four - tenth - centimeter howitzer,
Austria-Hungary 47,86
Term of service. (See Length of service.)
Term of service required for promotion.
(See Length of service required for pro-
motion.)
492
INDEX.
Torpedo experiment*, France .... 196
Thirty-Meiji rifle, Japan 109
Three-end-four-tenth-inch gun, Russia 89
Three-inch gun :
Great Britian 66-71,88
Russia 89
Three-line rifle :
Montenegro —
111
111
159
Tieiandier motor for balloons
Topographers :
Russia 40
Spain _ _ 44
Torpedoists, Portugal 280
Train troops :
Argentina 162
Austria-Hungary 6
France _ 15
Germany 18
Great Britain-
India 32,33
Japan ... 37, 271
Mexico (transport service) 38
Sweden (transport) 288
Switzerland __ 45
Training :
Great Britain 226
Militia ._ 230
Transport of the East Asiatic Expedition-
ary Corps, Germany... 200-209
Transportation :
German maneuvers 411,412,426-430
Great Britain-
India...'. 32,33
Italy 267,268
Mexico. _ __ 38
Sweden 288
Tunis. (Set Algeria and Tunis.)
Turkey :
Artillery 290,291
Bagdad railroad _ 289,290
Field artillery 93,290,291
Field guns 47,93
Horse artillery. _._ _ 290,291
Howitzer artillery 290,291
Mountain artillery 93,290,291
Persian Gulf defenses 290
Twelve - and - seven-tenth • millimeter how-
itzer, Great BriUin ___ 89
Twelve-pounder, Great Britain 88
Uchatius's bronze-hardening, Austria-
Hungary 52
Ugandan regiment, Great Britain 256
Uniforms:
Afghanistan 161
France 384,385
Persia.. 276
Sweden 288
United States, horseii and mules exported
to South Africa 252,255,256
Uruguay, Mauser rifle 109, 110
Vehicles, field artillery. (See Wagons, field
artillery.)
Velocity, projectiles of field material :
Austria-Hungary 86
France 87
Germany 87,88
Great Britain _ 88, 89
Italy. __ 89
Russia 89
Versailles school, France 142
Veterinary service :
Austria- Hungary 6
France 13
Germany 19
Great Britain 24
Mexico 38
Spain 43
Vincennes school, France 142
Volunteers:
Argentina 162
Germany, one-year 212, 213
Great Britain 25,26
Infantry 229
Training. _ 230
Wagons, field artillery :
Austria-Hungary 86
France _ ___ 87
Germany.. ___ 87,88
Great Britain 88,89
Italy 89
Russia 89
War academies. (See War school. )
War department (war ministry, war office):
Austria-Hungary 6
Ecuador 169
France 181,182,183
Great Britain. 22,23,229,230
Italy 36
Russia 40
War expenditures, computation, Germany,
218-220
War minister, duties of, France 182, 18&>
War ministry- {&* War department.)
War office. (Sew War department.)
War school, France 13,180
Weight carried by soldier, France 381
West African (French) spahis 174
Wet gun cotton, bursting charge :
Compared with lyddite 129
Compared with melinite 136,138
France 136, 137
Great Britain 115,129-132
Now detouetor for 129,130
Wireless telegraphy, Germany.. 17, 197,425,426
Woolwich royal military acutiemy. Great
Britain 145
Yeomanry, Great Britain. ^ 23-26
Training 23-26
";< T\ > : 1 '"
■H r
J
3 6105 127 306 517
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