V. MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN ITALY
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION IN ITALY.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
As the provinces, duchies, kingdoms, and dominions into which the territory and population of old Italia, in the progress of centuries after the utter destruction of the Western Empire, were divided by conquests, alliance and cessions of reigning families (brought and kept in power by force of armies), were merged, one after another, under the government of the House of Savoy, the military system of Sardinia was extended over the entire kingdom of Italy as now recognized.
The actual strength of the Italian army as constituted in 1869, was as follows:
----------------------------------+-----------------+---------------- | Peace Footing. | War Footing. ----------------------------------+-----------------+---------------- | Men. Horses. | Men. Horses. Infantry of the line | | (80 regiments, 8 of which | | are grenadiers, | 128,020 | 245,680 Bersaglieri (40 battal’ns) | | riflem’n, | 16,165 -- | 26,495 -- Cavalry (4 regiments of the line, | | 7 of lancers, 7 light horse, | | and 1 of guides--115 squadrons) | 18,167 13,569 | 19,000 14,102 Artillery (1 regiment of | | pontonniers, 3 foot, 5 mounted, | | with 80 batteries) | 9,646 4,260 | 16,086 11,234 Six artisan companies, also | | attached to the artillery | 1,174 -- | 1,589 -- Two regiments of sappers of the | | engineers (36 companies) | 4,132 48 | 6,793 396 Three regiments of train corps | | (24 companies) | 2,460 960 | 9,240 11,340 One administrative corps | | (7 companies) | 3,173 -- | ---- +-----------------+---------------- Total | 189,541 19,027 | 335,870 37,562 ----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
The time of service in the standing army is 10 years, on the implied condition of the men being sent on furlough, in time of peace, for one-half the period. A certain number, distinguished as “soldati d’ordinanza,” to which class belong the Carabinieri and some of the Administrative troops, have to serve eight years complete, and are then liberated. In the army of reserve, the time of service is 5 years. Every native of the kingdom is liable to the conscription, and to be enrolled either in the standing army or the reserve. An exemption in favor of young men studying for the priesthood, was repealed by a law which passed both houses of parliament in May, 1869.
The distribution of the standing army over the kingdom was as follows in the middle of 1869. There were 8 battalions of infantry at and near the capital, 5 at Genoa, 5 at Turin, 9 at Alessandra, 12 in Tuscany, and 120 in the valley of the Po, from Milan to Ancona. The troops in the valley of the Po were supported by 24 squadrons of heavy and 36 squadrons of light cavalry, and 248 pieces of artillery. At Naples there were 18 battalions of the line, 2 of marines, and 3 of bersaglieri; in the Neapolitan provinces, 39 battalions of the line, 20 of bersaglieri, and 32 squadrons of cavalry. There were, finally, 32 battalions of the line in Sicily.
II. NAVY.
The navy of the kingdom of Italy consisted, at the commencement of 1869, of 99 ships of war, armed with 1,032 guns. They were classed as follows:
Steamers. Iron-clads. Screw. Paddle. Sailing Vessels. No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns. Frigates, 1st class, 5 79 8 296 .. .. .. .. “ 2d class 7 118 1 36 .. .. 2 32 Iron-clad Ram 1 2 .. .. .. .. .. .. Corvettes, 1st class 2 36 4 94 3 32 4 52 “ 2d class 3 34 6 38 .. .. .. .. “ 3d class .. .. .. .. 4 12 2 20 Gunboats, 1st class 3 29 .. .. .. .. .. .. “ 2d class 4 8 6 24 .. .. .. .. Transports, .. .. 13 24 20 40 1 6 ------- ------- ------- ------- Total, 22 272 35 508 33 122 9 130 ------- ------- ------- Horse Power, 13,380 9,940 7,850
[Transcriber’s Note: The headers in this table, with “Steamers” over the first column, were printed as shown.]
The navy was manned in 1869 by 11,193 sailors, 650 engineers and assistants, 1,211 officers (2 admirals, 5 vice-admirals, 12 rear admirals, and 104 captains), and 2 regiments of marines with 234 officers and 5,688 soldiers.
III. EDUCATION OF OFFICERS.
The system of military education of the old kingdom of Sardinia has been enlarged and extended by the government of the Kingdom of Italy so as to embrace the military schools of Naples, without any change in its principles or details.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN SARDINIA.
I. GENERAL OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, AND MILITARY EDUCATION.
The wars in which Sardinia has recently been engaged, have led to the re-organization of her armies, and to the extension and improvement of institutions for military instruction, but time enough has not yet elapsed to perfect the system.
One-third of the officers are promoted from the ranks; the remaining two-thirds, that is, all who enter as officers, must pass through the Royal Military Academy, and before being commissioned as Captain in the Artillery and Engineers, must have completed the special course in the Complementary School. Admission to the Royal Staff Corps is conditioned on attendance on the lectures of the Staff School, and the results of a competitive examination. The following is a brief outline of the system of military instruction now in operation.
1. The character of the education may be described generally as partly resembling that of Austria, partly that of France. It commences very early. Every Officer who enters the Army as such must have passed through the great Military School, the Accademia Militare. The minimum age of entrance is fourteen. The admission is by nomination and not by competition; and the demand has always been under rather than above the requirements of the Army. “Bourses” or Exhibitions to assist pupils in their education, have been established on the Prussian and Austrian, rather than on the French principle. They are granted by the King on the recommendation of the Minister, in consideration of the claims of deceased Officers, or other public servants, and without reference to the merits of the pupils, preference being given to the candidates whose circumstances most require assistance. From twenty-five to thirty of these Bourses (or rather Demibourses, for no pupils receive entire support such as is given in France,) are given annually. We are informed that a decree will appear almost immediately, throwing open ten out of this number to public competition. The entire sum expended upon them is 70,000 francs, about 2,800_l._ per annum.
Passing from this outline of the principles of Sardinian Military Education, as exhibited in the Accademia Militare, which may be termed the General Seminary of the Sardinian Army, we shall briefly allude to the three remaining Institutions, in which Officers receive instruction and training at later periods of their career.
2. Admission into the Artillery and Engineer School may be considered the reward of the most distinguished pupils of the Accademia Militare, who after spending their last year in that Institution in the study of the higher mathematics, chemistry, and architectural drawing, are transferred for the completion of their education to the School of the Artillery and Engineers.
3. The Staff School, the formation of which dates from 1850, is chiefly frequented by Officers of the Infantry and Cavalry, who must be below the age of twenty-eight years upon their entrance. It is carried on upon the competitive system, the Officers being ranged according to merit in their Final Examination, the ablest entering the Staff Corps in that order.
4. Regimental Schools for Officers also exist, and in every Brigade or Division, Officers are taught topography, under the supervision of the Chief of the Staff of the Division. Care is taken to make this teaching uniform throughout the Army; and it may be regarded as preparatory to that of the Schools at Ivrea and Pinerol, which accord with the principle of the Prussian Division Schools in requiring that every Officer shall have received professional instruction; but as regards other points, and particularly the period for attending them, these Schools are peculiar to the Sardinian Army. In time of peace, no Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, can obtain a Company without having studied for a year in one or the other of these Schools, and having passed an examination on leaving it. The Instruction given is mainly practical, Field Fortification, the Secondary Operations of War, and Topography, being the branches of Military Science taught.
These Institutions appear to have been primarily established with a view to the instruction of Officers and Non-commissioned Officers throughout the Army, and in order to prevent Regiments or Corps from following some peculiar system of their own. The same motive seems to have led to the gradual reduction in number of the Prussian Division Schools. Secondarily, however, these Schools have been made available for the purpose of organizing and drilling the reserve of the Sardinian Army, a large body of Conscripts assembled for a few weeks in the autumn of each year in a camp about twelve miles from Turin. This object seems to have been attained most successfully.
Quite recently a class has been added to the school at Ivrea for the exclusive education of Non-commissioned Officers aspiring to a commission; and for the sake of economy this class is to be common to Infantry and Cavalry.
It is consequently from this body of officers that teachers are derived for the topographical classes established in each Regiment or Brigade. The Staff School having been recently founded, and a period of active war having intervened since its institution, can not be supposed to have completely organized its system of instruction. We have elsewhere mentioned that Topography, the Art of War, and Fortification, are the branches of military study most attended to; but we have reason to believe that its plan of instruction will be extended. It may not be superfluous to mention the high appreciation in Sardinia of the Austrian General Staff, as tending to confirm our own estimate of the excellence of the Austrian Staff School. We have been recently informed, on the best authority, that some of the most distinguished Sardinian Officers, who, from their service in the Crimea and elsewhere, have been able to compare the merits of different Staff Corps, consider the Austrian General Staff “the best in existence.”
As regards the System of Examinations, there is a Standing Board consisting of from five to seven Officers, presided over by a Lieutenant-General, which superintends all the more important Examinations of the Military Schools, such as those upon leaving the School, &c. The constant Examinations within the School, when the Cadets are being moved from one class to another, are conducted by the Professors.
The expense of Military Education in the Sardinian States amounts to 18,000_l._ annually. The Military Schools are all under the direction of the Minister of War.
5. Two Institutions peculiar to the Sardinian Service are the Schools for Officers, one or other of which it is necessary that every Officer under ordinary circumstances should attend for a year before being promoted to the rank of Captain. One of these is for the Infantry, at Ivrea; the other for the Cavalry, at Pinerol. In saying that every Officer must attend these Schools, we except that proportion of one-third who are promoted annually from the ranks, and whose attendance apparently has not hitherto been required.
Details respecting the organization and instruction of these schools will be found under the following heads.
II. THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT TURIN.
The Accademia Militare was originally designed by Charles Emanuel, for the instruction of sons of officers of the army and of the nobility in the use of weapons, in horsemanship, dancing, mathematics, and belles-lettres. In the course of time, the institution was converted to its present purpose, of training Officers for the Sardinian Army.
The regular course of study in this school lasts apparently for six years, shortly to be reduced to five years, and the earliest age at which it is possible now to enter is fourteen, the usual age of admission being fifteen or sixteen. Formerly, boys entered at eleven and twelve, but this practice has lately been altered, to the regret of many Officers, who prefer the plan so commonly adopted abroad, of training Officers to their business as soldiers from very early years.
The peculiarity of this school is that during a portion of the course it educates Officers for all Arms in common. The most talented pupils are then selected by examination for the Artillery and Engineers, which are the two favorite services, and indeed the most aristocratic corps in the Sardinian army. The number of the pupils is limited to 200, but it is rarely complete; at present there are 180 pupils. About half of these pay for themselves a yearly sum of 1,200 francs, 48_l._, the remaining half are supported, or partly supported by the Government. The system of demi-bourses prevails here as in France.
The pupils are divided into four classes, according to the years of the course; a fifth class, contains those who have been just selected for the Artillery and Engineers, who work by themselves, chiefly at the higher kinds of drawing and the Differential and Integral Calculus, and Mechanics. These senior pupils are Officers, and have each their separate room. German is taught, and there is a Course of Italian Literature, &c., but no Latin is taught in any part of the school. The system of working (at least with the higher boys) is in rooms where eight or ten are united, and apparently there is something of the Répétiteur system.
The arrangements of the house are excellent. The pupils appear to be strictly confined to barracks during the week, but allowed to go out on Sundays. The discipline is said to have been relaxed of late years, and this is attributed by old Officers to a cause which will appear curious in England, viz., to the pupils having any holidays at all. This innovation upon the simplicity of the Piedmontese system of education was alleged to have encouraged distinctions between the richer and poorer pupils, and thus to have injured both the economy and the Camaraderie of the school. Great stress was laid here, as at other Military Institutions, on a strictness of discipline very unusual in England. The boys begin their work at half-past five o’clock, and work till seven; then they go to chapel for a short time, and breakfast and recreation follow immediately after. Both are concluded by eight, when they return to their studies for an hour and a quarter; then a quarter of an hour’s relaxation is allowed, and the studies are resumed until eleven o’clock. An hour is then devoted to the schools of fencing, riding, gymnastics, or dancing. From twelve to a quarter before two o’clock is allotted to dinner and recreation, and then another hour is spent in the fencing, riding, gymnastic, or dancing schools. A quarter of an hour’s recreation is again granted, and from three to half-past four o’clock study is resumed. A quarter of an hour’s recreation follows, and half an hour is then given to military exercises, succeeded by another quarter of an hour’s interval for rest. Two hours are then devoted to study--from half-past five to half-past seven o’clock. An hour is afterwards allowed for chapel, supper, and retiring to rest.
A monthly account is taken of their work, and the marks then given exercise an influence upon their places in the examinations which take place every year.
The following tables give a full view of the work of the pupils during their six years’ course.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF STUDY IN THE DIFFERENT YEARS OF THE COURSE, AND GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR THE SCHOOLS.
[KEY] M Months. W In each Week. Rows referring to “Year” were printed in a column headed Classes.
----------------------------------------+----------- SUBJECTS OF STUDY. | Lessons ----------------------------------------+-----+----- First Year. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Cathechism, | 8 | 1 Arithmetic, | 1 | 6 Plane Geometry, | 1 | 6 Algebra, 1st Part, | 3 | 6 Solids, | 3 | 6 Italian Elocution, | 4 | 5 History of Italian Literature, | 4 | 5 French Language, | 8 | 5 Caligraphy, | 7 | 2 Soldiers’ Drill, | 3 | 2 Squad Drill, | 3 | 2 Army Regulations, | 2 | 2 Dancing, | 8 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 2 Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2 N.B.--This class will be abolished | | at the cessation of the present | | scholastic course. | | ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Second Year. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Cathechism, | 8 | 1 Algebra, 1st Part, | 8 | 3 Solids, | 6 | 3 Italian Literature, | 8 | 3 French Language, | 8 | 3 Battalion and Company Drill, | 2 | 3 Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 3 Garrison and Divisonal Duty, | 2 | 3 Law on Recruiting, | 1 | 2 Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2 Dancing, | 8 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 2 Soldiers’ Drill, | 2 | 2 Caligraphy, | 4 | 2 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Third Year, General Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Sacred History, | 8 | 1 Rectilinear Trigonometry, | 8 | 3 Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3 Italian Literature, | 8 | 3 French Literature, | 8 | 3 War in Detail, | 4 | 3 Company & Battalion Drill, | 5 | 1 Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 1 Rifle Practice and Gymnastics, | 1 | 1 Topographical Drawing, | 8 | 3 Fencing, | 8 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 1 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Third Year, Special Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Sacred History, | 8 | 1 Algebra 2nd Part, | 3 | 4 Rectilinear Trigonometry | 1 | 4 Spherical Trigonometry | 1 | 4 Algebra Applied to Geometry, | 3 | 4 Descriptive Geometry (the first | | 10 numbers), | 5 | 3 Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3 Italian Literature | 8 | 3 French Literature | 8 | 3 War in Detail | 4 | 3 Company & Battalion Drill | 5 | 1 Chasseur Drill | 1 | 1 Rifle Practice and Gymnastics | 1 | 1 Topographical Drawing | 8 | 3 Fencing | 8 | 2 Gymnastics | 8 | 1 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Fourth Year, General Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1 War in Detail, | 5 | 2 Art of War, 2nd Part, | 3 | 2 Artillery, | 5 | 2 Fortification, | 8 | 3 Physical Mechanics, | 8 | 3 Topography, | 3 | 2 Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3 German Language, | 8 | 3 Army Regulations, | 3 | 3 Military Accounts, | 8 | 2 Italian Literature, | 5 | 2 French Literature, | 2 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 2 Riding, | 8 | 3 Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2 Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2 Fencing, | 8 | 2 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Fourth Year, Special Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1 Infinitesimal Calculus, | 8 | 4 Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2 Fortification, | 8 | 3 War in Detail, | 8 | 2 Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3 German Language, | 8 | 3 Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2 Military Accounts, | 8 | 1 Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 2 Riding, | 8 | 3 Fencing, | 8 | 2 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Fifth Year, General Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Ethics | 8 | 1 Physical Mechanics | 8 | 3 Topography | 8 | 2 Art of War | 5 | 2 Artillery | 6 | 2 Landscape Drawing | 3 | 2 German Language | 8 | 2 Italian Literature | 4 | 2 French Literature | 5 | 1 Army Regulations | 4 | 2 Gymnastics | 8 | 2 Fencing | 8 | 2 Riding | 8 | 3 Military Accounts | 8 | 2 ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Fifth Year, Special Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Ethics, | 8 | 1 Calculus, | 8 | 4 Physics, | 8 | 3 Topography, | 8 | 2 Art of War, | 5 | 2 Artillery, | 6 | 2 Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2 German Language, | 8 | 2 Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2 Gymnastics, | 8 | 2 Fencing, | 8 | 2 Riding, | 8 | 3 ----------------------------------------+-----+-------
PUPIL SUB-LIEUTENANTS.
----------------------------------------+-----+----- Sixth Year, Special Services. | M | W ----------------------------------------+-----+----- Ethics, | 8 | 1 Rational Mechanics, | 8 | 6 Analysis, | 2 | 6 Chemistry, | 8 | 3 Architectural Drawing, | 8 | 2 German Language, | 8 | 2 Gymnastics, | 2 | 1 Fencing, | 8 | 2 Riding, | 8 | 3 ----------------------------------------+-----+-----
GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.
From 5 to 5½, Rising, Dressing, &c. “ 5½ to 7 A.M., Study. “ 7 to 8, Chapel, Breakfast, and Recreation. “ 8 to 9¼, School of Science and Literature. “ 9¼ to 9½, Recreation. “ 9½ to 11, School of Science and Literature. “ 11 to 12, School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics, Dancing, &c. “ 12 to 1¾, Dinner and Recreation. “ 1¾ to 2¾, P.M., School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics, Dancing, &c. “ 2¾ to 3, Recreation. “ 3 to 4½, School of Science and Literature. “ 4½ to 4¾, Recreation. “ 4¾ to 5¼, Military Exercises. “ 5¼ to 5½, Recreation. “ 5½ to 7½, Study. “ 7½ to 8½, Chapel, Supper, Dormitory.
III. ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER SCHOOL AT TURIN.
The Artillery and Engineer School (Scuola Complementaria,) which is established in a large building in one of the suburbs of Turin, is a School of Application, intended to complete the special education of the Young Officers of the Artillery and Engineers, which the Cadets of those Corps have previously entered upon during their four last years in the Accademia Militare. Its course of studies occupies nominally two years, but really only eighteen months, after which the final examinations begin, and the pupils receive leave of absence. The Students do not live in barracks here, but the Inspector of the School seemed to think it desirable that they should do so. The exercises of the day commence, at eight o’clock every morning, with an hour’s riding. A lecture then follows, which lasts for an hour and a half, from nine till half-past ten. The rest of the morning is left free till twelve o’clock, when the pupils return to the school till three, and where they study together in large classes in the same room; they have afterwards some military exercises till five, and are then free for the evening.
The number of pupils at the school is twenty; from ten to fifteen for the Artillery, the rest for the Engineers. The subjects of study will show what difference exists in the studies of the two Corps, and we were told that very little preference was shown in the choice of the Students for one over the other. The Engineers do not appear to be at all employed in civil works; indeed, the Government does not allow them to be so, as there are sufficient fortifications in the kingdom of Sardinia to afford them constant employment. The pay of the two Corps is equal, and is very little above that of the Infantry, and the same as that of the Cavalry. The Artillery and Engineers (the Armi dotti) appear to be decidedly the favorite and aristocratic corps of the Sardinian army. They rarely enter the Staff Corps, and the reason assigned for this is their unwillingness to quit their own arm of the service. The position of the pupils on entering the Corps is fixed by the Final Examination alone, and is not influenced by marks previously given for industry and application during the course, as is the case in some of the French and German schools--at the Polytechnic, for instance, and at Znaim. The only value of a high position in the Final Examination is that it gives seniority in the Corps.
The direction of the school is intrusted to a Field Officer of Artillery, assisted by two Captains, one from the Artillery, and the other from the Engineers. His authority extends to instruction and discipline.
The scientific instruction is given by professors (effective and supplementary) and by Officers belonging to the various Artillery divisions and establishments, who, together, constitute a Council of Instruction, of which the Director is President.
The examinations to which the Officer Students are subjected are held by a Commission, nominated by the Secretary of War.
Regulations respecting the Professors, &c.
The Professors and Instructors are personally responsible for the teaching of the subjects contained in the programmes and regulation for the discipline of the students in School, for the daily drawing up of the notes and execution of the drawings, and for the constant presence of the students during the time of the instructions and lectures.
The Military Professors and Instructors will maintain constantly among the students the spirit of subordination and military discipline in all its force.
The Professors not possessed of military rank, when reproof is not sufficient to keep the students to their duty, will report the matter to the Director and to the Captains attached to the direction of the School, in order that more vigorous measures may be adopted.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will satisfy themselves that the students have finished the notes preceding it, and the regulated tasks and drawings.
The Professors will also have the power of visiting with arrest students who are negligent in the execution of the notes and tasks, and those who exhibit a constant indisposition to work, reporting it to the Director of the School.
When the lectures are upon difficult subjects, it is the duty of the Professors sometimes to visit the students during the hours of study, for the purpose of explaining difficulties.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will dictate to the students a summary of the lesson which they are about to explain.
At the commencement of their course of lectures, they will point out to the students the books and treatises to be followed.
At fixed intervals, as they shall judge it most convenient, the Professors will suspend the course of their lectures to satisfy themselves by questions of the attention given and the progress made by the students.
At the opening of their course, the Professors will notify to the Director of the School the hours which suit their engagements best for the giving of the lectures; these hours will be subsequently maintained unchanged throughout the duration of their course. These hours can only be selected out of those fixed in the general time table.
In case of any lectures having to take place out of the lecture-rooms of the School, they will give notice in time to the Director.
If they should consider any change in the programme necessary, they will give notice in writing to the Director of the School, so that he may be able to submit their propositions to the General Commandant.
The Instructors will exact of the students, in the execution of the practical instructions and in the explanation of them, a demeanor perfectly military, and a tone of voice appropriate to the circumstance. All the students, without exception, should render themselves capable of executing the practical tasks and explanations now mentioned with the greatest perfection.
The Professors, as well as Instructors, in concluding their course of lectures, will transmit to the Director of the School a statement showing the degree of instruction acquired by the students, and their conduct in School; the credit for the instruction and for conduct will be given by means of two distinct integral numbers, selected from two to ten.
Duration of the Course and Subjects.
The course of the Complementary School will be terminated in a year and a half.
The students belonging to two successive promotions will participate in the same instructions during the last six months of the first course, and the first six of the second course.
The subjects which will be taught to the Officer-students of the Complementary School are,--
a. Mineralogy and metallurgy. b. Introduction to applied mechanics, and application of mechanics to machinery. c. Theory of the combustion of powder; of the movement inside the bore; of the resistance of ordnance; of the volume, weight, and center of gravity of ordnance; projectiles. d. Use of artillery in war, construction of batteries, service in the field. e. Permanent fortification. f. Course of construction and of military and civil } architecture. } g. Topography. } h. Geodesy. } { For Engineer-Officers only. } i. Military bridges and passage of water. l. Classified nomenclature, and drawing of artillery materials. m. Manufacture of powder, fire-works, arms, ordnance.
Practical Instructions.
Practical instruction will be given every day to the students of the Complementary School.
The object of this instruction is to render the Officers themselves familiar with the execution of the operations, and with the proper method of instructing Non-commissioned Officers and soldiers of Artillery.
These instructions, which will be, as far as possible, executed and explained by the Officers of the School, will consist of--
Gymnastics.
Riding, according to the regulations in force.
The pack of the infantry soldier, armament, infantry instruction.
Classified nomenclature of the various parts of horse furniture, convenient adaptation of them; pack of the cavalry soldier.
Principles of the physiology of the horse, and of veterinary science; care of horses.
Nomenclature and use of the field, mountain, siege, garrison, and coast material.
Lading of field and siege carriages, and mountain mules.
Service of field, mountain, siege, garrison, and coast artillery.
Driving and sectional drill, battery and brigade drill.
Regulations for marches, encampments.
Charges and compositions in use in the field, in sieges, and in garrisons.
Judging distance drill, practice; remedies applied to materials in the field.
IV. THE STAFF SCHOOL.
The Staff School at Turin has only existed since the year 1850. Previously to that time the Staff was supplied by picked scholars from the Accademia Militare.
The whole Staff Corps of the Sardinian Army only consists of thirty-six Officers, viz., twenty-four Captains, and twelve of higher rank; no one of a lower rank than Captain being admitted even as attached to the corps, a regulation which appeared to be considered inconvenient.
Officers are required to have served four years before their admission, as is the case in the Austrian Staff Schools, and they must not have exceeded their twenty-eighth year. Again, as in Austria, the Officers on leaving the school are ranged strictly in the order of merit, as tested by a final examination; and the ablest obtain appointments to the Staff in the same order. The Sardinian School has, however, some peculiarities, partly arising from the higher position which the Special Arms (Armi dotti) of Artillery and Engineers hold in Sardinia than in Austria or Prussia. The method of admission is as follows:--
An Officer requests his Colonel to recommend him for admission to the Staff School. Great caution seems to be observed in giving this recommendation; but having obtained it, an Officer has no further difficulty in entering the School. In consequence of the small numbers of the Staff Corps, the demand for entrance is not very great, and there is accordingly no competitive examination. The numbers in the School have, during the first five years of existence, varied greatly--from fourteen or sixteen to four or six. A year (or rather eleven months) is the time occupied by the studies; the first six months being given to theory, the last five to practice. The time thus occupied lasts from ten till three in the afternoon.
The amount of knowledge required for admission into the School is stated, in the “Note” of Colonel Petitti, to be an acquaintance with Geometry and Algebra, as far as Equations of the Second Degree.
The practical work consists in the usual surveys of countries, plans, &c. The young Officers are taken by the Inspecting Colonel of the School into the country, and worked hard for four or five months. There have hitherto been only places for one or two of these Officers on the Staff at the end of the year, and these (as has been already mentioned) have always been the most distinguished pupils of the School. The rest become teachers in the regimental schools. Officers leaving the Staff School do not appear to have a right to a step immediately (as in Austria) by virtue of their having been at the School; but the Sardinian system of making all the appointments above the rank of Major by selection gives them a prospect of advancement. Examinations are held in the School every three months, at which the Professors give marks of proficiency; these are combined with those obtained in the final examinations in determining the position of the pupils.
The Professors in the Staff School are all military men. The building is very good, and, although small, contains a library, instruments, museum, and all the apparatus for maps.
Among the conditions which must be met favorably to be admitted to the Royal Staff Corps are the following:--
Physique:--
If the constitution is robust, sufficiently strong, or weak.
If the sight is good, acute, or short.
Intellectual Qualities:--
If the intelligence is prompt, clear, reflective, and the mind orderly or confused.
If he is ready of speech, or uncommunicative.
Moral Qualities:--
If he is honorable, and of a good disposition, with much or little expansion of character.
If of conciliatory or rough manners.
If peaceable, quick, or irascible.
If active, resolute, authoritative, timid, or feeble.
Education:--
What degree of instruction he has arrived at in mathematics, in the theory and practice of surveying.
What ability in plan-sketching and topographical drawing.
If he cultivates any other branch of knowledge connected or unconnected with the Institute itself, and what.
If he is master of the Italian and French languages, so as to speak and write them with facility and correctness.
If he is acquainted with, and if he can speak, other languages.
If he is addicted to study.
Conduct:--
If his behavior is dignified, as becomes a soldier and a citizen.
If he enjoys the good-will of his superiors, the esteem of his comrades and inferiors.
Mode of discharging his Duty:--
If he discharges his duty with exactness and zeal, or remissly and ill.
Particular Aptitude:--
If he is more especially fitted for the duties of the surveying, topographical, or military branch of the service.
If he has shown aptitude for teaching.
If he is adapted for progress in the Corps, or in the Infantry or Cavalry services.
Miscellaneous Information:--
N.B.--Under this head will be inserted those notices which, finding no place under the preceding heads, contribute towards a fuller information respecting those Staff Officers who, in consequence of circumstances and duties special and unconnected with the service of the corps, may afford ground for special mention.
V. REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS OF IVREA AND PINEROL.
The requirement of professional study from Officers after entrance into the Army is a point almost peculiar to the Sardinian service. The principle of the Prussian Division School is, indeed, almost the same as that of the two Schools we are about to describe; but the examination for which the Division Schools prepare is a qualification for obtaining a commission, and not (like that of the Sardinian Schools) for subsequent promotion. And this difference is partly owing to an obvious cause, the slowness of promotion in the Prussian Service. If the Division Schools and their examination were placed before the promotion to a Captaincy, the candidates attending the School would be in most cases nearly forty years of age.
Some instruction in Topography is given to the Officers of every Regiment in the Sardinian Army, under the direction of the Chief of the Staff of the Division. Care is taken to render the teaching uniform throughout the Army, and it may be considered as a preparation for the more systematic instruction given in the Schools of Ivrea and Pinerol. The former of these is intended for the Infantry; the latter for the Cavalry. Every Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, must have passed a year of study in one or other of these Schools, as well as a subsequent examination, before he can obtain a Captaincy.
The studies are mainly practical, as may be seen from the “Prospectus of Instruction” annexed. Topography, Field Fortification, and Secondary Operations are the only branches of Military Science in which instruction is given; and upon these much care appears to be bestowed.
One-third of the Officers of the Sardinian Army are promoted, as has been mentioned, from the ranks. Accordingly, a class has been recently added to the School of Ivrea, intended exclusively for the Education of those Non-commissioned Officers who aspire to a Commission. This class is to be common to Infantry and Cavalry.
The following extracts from the Regulations of the Minister of War, will exhibit the practical character of instruction in this class of schools.
Prospectus of Instruction to be given to Lieutenants in the Military School of Infantry.
Soldiers’ Drill, Squad, Company, Battalion, and Chasseur ditto, &c. Fencing with the Bayonet. Exercise of the various Arms, &c. Musketry Practice. Regulations of Discipline, Garrison and Field Regulations, Army Accounts. Secondary Operations of War. Topography. Field Fortification.
School of Topography.
It is decided that such instruction [in Topography,] shall take place from the commencement of March till the end of July.
This will be obligatory on Officers who have not passed the age of thirty years.
Those Corps, however, who may think that they can thus employ themselves in the winter also for the hour or so which may remain over after the other occupations of the Officers, shall have the power of establishing, from the beginning of November, a school, in which drawing and other preliminary acquirements may be taught.
This School will be attended especially by beginners and the less educated, who will thus be able better to profit at the beginning of March by the lectures given to the Officers more advanced in this study.
The Schools will be instituted for regiments or brigades, according as the General commanding the Division shall determine, upon the report of the Chief of the Staff, regard being had to the Director who can be assigned to them and the opportunities afforded by the situation.
In cases, however, where it may be convenient, they can institute Divisional Schools as well, which will be attended by the Officers of the different corps already more advanced in the study.
There they will be exercised, by direction of the Chief of the Staff, in the various subjects taught in the School, especially in the application upon sketches of themes of secondary operations of war, and will be taken into the field to execute surveys on the spot with the instruments and by the eye.
In this case, in the Regimental Schools, the less educated officers will be trained under the direction of Officers who have given proof of sufficient capacity.
The Officers of the Detachments of Cavalry or of the Rifles, for whom it may not be convenient to establish separate schools, will attend those schools of their garrison to which they are assigned by the General Commandant of the Division upon the proposition of the Chief of the Staff.
Inasmuch as this Ministry is careful to provide the Schools of Topography with the instruments necessary for the practical training upon the ground, it makes known henceforward the implements with which they must be provided, at the charge of the Treasury, in cases where they do not already possess them, viz.:--
Small tables, with desks. Seats or stools. Slate, with stand. 2 pieces of Indian ink. 2 ditto of French blue. 2 ditto of gum. 2 tablets of carded wool. 1 case of mathematical instruments. 2 plane rulers of one metre each, besides some rulers of various dimensions, the necessary paper for themes, &c. 2 pen-knives. Some pencils. 1 paper of steel pens for drawing. Half a bundle of crows’-quills. Chalk for the slate, and sponge. Inkstand, with ordinary ink. 2 crayons (coulé) of No. 2. 2 ditto of No. 4. 2 pieces of Indian rubber.
GENERAL SYLLABUS OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE INFANTRY OF THE LINE.
Months of November, December, January, February and March.
Recruits will be kept separate from the seniors during these five months in all the instructions (except the drills.)
They will be instructed progressively once a day in soldiers’ and squad drill.
They will attend daily the gymnastic exercise and the school of reading and writing.
N.B. As they shall progress by degrees in the various branches of instruction, they will take their part in the service, at first on duty where arms are not required, and afterwards with their arms, as much as possible always upon public holidays.
Seniors will have to attend the school of reading, writing, arithmetic, and gymnastics daily.
The recruits as well as the seniors will be prepared for the practice range, during the months of February and March, by aiming at the butt and firing at the candle.
The Officers, especially the juniors, will be encouraged to exercise themselves in gymnastics, and to frequent the School of Topography.
The Captains will be taught riding as much as possible where they are in garrison with Cavalry.
In the months of February and March the Officers will be further prepared in the appropriate theory, with a view to the instruction of the following months, and all without exception will have to practice firing with the rifle.
April and May.
There will be no further distinction made between the recruits and seniors.
They will pass successively through soldiers’, squad, and company drill, bayonet exercise, and rifle practice at the butt.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics, will be continued at least for the lower classes.
The Captains will give instruction to their companies, especially in bad weather, on the subject of packing necessaries, and on the general behavior of the soldier under different circumstances on and off duty, showing them also the manner of making reports in a few clear and concise words.
The Officers will be prepared by the appropriate theoretical training for the instruction of the following months.
The School of Topography will be continued as much as possible for the Officers who desire to attend it.
June, July, August.
They will pass successively through battalion drill and regimental and brigade manœuvres.
The rifle practice at the butt will be continued.
The Chasseur exercise will be taught.
The swimming school will proceed with the utmost possible activity.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics will be continued at least for the lowest classes, as much at least as the instructions in other subjects, and especially swimming, permit.
The Generals of Brigade will explain theoretically to the superior Officers and Captains, and these latter to their own companies, the nature of service in the field.
September.
By frequent marches instruction will be given in field service, practical in its nature, and separate for every arm.
Manœuvres and evolutions appropriate to the ground will be gone through.
The troops will be disposed for the defense of a village or a position, of a stream, or the like.
October.
The instruction in the field will continue as much as possible, and especially in the garrisons where troops of different arms are quartered, one part of the force can be opposed to the other, and, where the service of the place permits it, by calling in the assistance of the National Guard, the garrison will be able entirely or in part to absent itself for two or three days.
GENERAL RULES RELATING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS.
1. As far as is possible the soldiers should receive at least two lessons in the day.
2. In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, the drill in the place d’ armes will take place only once a day, the other will be in the barrack or the neighborhood.
3. The Officers should give the instructions themselves, and should never appear as idle spectators before the soldier.
The subalterns will themselves conduct the soldiers’ and squad drill, and the bayonet exercise.
The Captains will be careful to instruct their own companies. At the rifle practice all the Officers of the Company should be present and interest themselves for the good working of so important a subject of instruction.
4. During recreation times, and in all those kinds of instruction which do not require silence and immobility, the Officers will be careful to converse with their inferiors, and to study their character and qualities, praising and encouraging the good to do well, and visiting with words of blame more or less severe those who are ill-regulated in their conduct.
5. In order to interrupt as little as possible the course of the instructions, the Colonels and Generals of Brigade will avail themselves of the festivals accurately to review the men before and after mass.
6. In forts the Infantry will be exercised at the service of guns according to the directions which will be given to the Officers of Artillery commanding in them.
7. Some Non-commissioned Officers in every regiment will be trained as the carpenters for making cartridges.
8. In the interior of the barracks the men will be encouraged to amuse themselves, and be gay, rather than to loiter about in idleness. It will be most advantageous to introduce singing to music, as was done in the camp of 1846.
9. In the month of August, Staff Officers will be dispatched to the principal garrisons who, being attached to Generals of Brigade and Division, will prepare with them the projects and plans for the field instructions of the months of September and October. These Staff Officers are further particularly charged to study the environs, and to point out in reports for that purpose the most important military positions, and the mode of occupying them.
10. Appropriate instructions concerning the rules to be observed in the rifle schools, concerning the swimming school, and the exercises in the field, will be forwarded at the proper time.
VI. SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY IN THE ARSENAL.
Men, who are destined to work in the arsenal, receive here practical instruction in their art. The arsenal contains, 1st, a chemical and metallurgical laboratory, in which analysis, &c., are performed; 2d, a mineralogical collection, containing 1100 specimens of minerals, and many models of crystalization, besides a complete collection of specimens from the territory of Genoa; 3d, a collection of philosophical apparatus, containing 600 different machines and instruments, partly from Puxy and Dumotier of Paris, and partly from Zest and Brabante of Turin; 4th, a library containing the best books on Mathematics, Natural Philosophy, Astronomy, Geology, Geography, &c.; 5th, a foundry of cannon, which includes the foundry properly so called, the atelier of modelers, the hall of models, the ateliers of trepans and of engravers; 6th, the lithographic establishment; 7th, the machine shop; 8th, a manufacture of all kinds of arms for the army and navy; 9th, the atelier of bombardiers; 10th the manufacture of gunpowder, and refinery of saltpetre; 11th, a forge for gun-barrels.
SCHOOL OF NAUTICAL INSTRUCTION AT GENOA.
The course of instruction in the Nautical Institute at Genoa embraces:--I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation; II. Mechanics and Steam Engine; III. Maritime and Commercial Law; IV. Geography and Meteorology.
I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation.
Introduction: 1. Nautical art in general; different sciences attached; need of varied knowledge for captains; special applications of mathematics to navigation. 2. Method to be pursued in carrying on nautical studies.
Plane Navigation: 3. Figure and dimensions of the earth; equations in equal spheres of a circle traced on the same. 4. Methods for determining the course of the ship; the compass. 5. Demonstrations of the principles on which the solution of problems of navigation rest, reduction tables. 6. Given two of the four quantities, how to find the other two in determining the position of a ship. 7. Reduction of a straight course; degree of confidence to be placed in results. 8. Maritime charts; how constructed; resolution of problems.
Nautical Astronomy. 9. Elementary notions of astronomy; special objects in teaching this science to seaman. 10. Astronomical tables in use among different nations, and how to use them. 11. Instruments for reflexion, and principles of construction; verification, rectification, and use of the sextant, octant, and artificial horizon; corrections to be made on the heights and angular distances observed; depression; refraction; parallax, semi-diameter. 12. Examination of the principal problems relative to the measure and transformation of time. 13. The chronometer; absolute state of the chronometer; diurnal variations; comparison; use of chronometers. 14. Compass; its construction and verification; determination of the declivity; tables of deviation; correction bars. 15. Different methods for determining the latitude and longitude at sea. 16. The tides, their fundamental theory; calculations regarding them. 17. Hydrographic charts; topographical instruments, and different projections.
II. Mechanics and Steam Engine.
Introduction: 1. Necessity for the use of mechanics and physics for the shipmaster, naval constructor and machinist. 2. Method of giving such instruction to seamen.
Mechanics:--Motion considered geometrically; composition; decomposition. 3. Transformation of motion. 4. Force; composition and decomposition of force; equilibrium. 5. Center of gravity, and how to find it; application of the same, on the theory of the ship. 6. Theory of simple machines; principal machines. 7. Principle of force. 8. Blows. 9. Resistance of materials; experimental elements of resistance, and elasticity of the principal substances in use in naval construction. 10. Mechanic of fluids; demonstrations of its principal theorems; application of the same to the stability of the ship.
Steam Engines:--11. General notions on steam; mechanical element of heat; thermometers; tension; expansion; condensation of steam. 12. Steam engines generally; examination and description of its organs, and its different forms and applications. 13. Marine steam engines, and different systems on which they are constructed. 14. The boilers and their different types. 15. Combustibles and their different kinds. 16. Different systems of propulsion. 17. Mixed Navigation. 18. Historical summary of the origin and progress of machine and steam power.
III. Maritime and Commercial Law.
Introduction: 1. Necessity of general culture to shipmasters; study of the native tongue; foreign languages; history; methods of gaining such instruction. 2. Necessity of the study of public maritime and special law, and commercial law; method of giving such instruction.
International Public Maritime Law: 3. The sea, and the laws by which it is governed; freedom of the sea; restrictions to this principle. 4. International maritime jurisdiction; treaties; reciprocity; consular agents. 5. War, embargoes and reprisals; letters of marque; capture; neutrality; blockade; contraband of war. 6. The latest modifications.
Internal Public Maritime Law: Territorial sea; harbors and shores; administrative division of the boundaries of states, and docks. 9. Laws applicable to wooden and iron ships, sailing and steamships. 10. Nationality of the ship. 11. Law applicable to the personel of seamen. 12. Customs, laws, sanitary and police, as regards navigation. 13. Wrecks and recovery. 14. Maritime crimes and penal mercantile jurisdiction.
Private Commercial Maritime Law: 15. Ownership of ships; privileges of ships. 16. Contract of freight; insurance and bottomry bonds; averages; jettison and abandonment. 17. Duties and responsibilities of the master toward the freighterer, the shipper, the crew, and the passengers. 18. Legal relations arising from commercial operations; bills of exchange; partnership and agency.
IV. Geography and Meteorology.
Introduction: 1. Necessity of this knowledge to seamen. 2. Relations between geography and meteorology. 3. Historical development. 4. Fundamental principles of geography, astronomy, and mathematics, and methods of instruction.
Physical Geography and Meteorology: 5. Fundamental principles of geology; physical configuration of the earth; forces which determine the formation of continents and islands; extension of lines, &c. 6. Description of different parts of the globe. 7. Physical geography of the sea; its extensions, divisions, depths, soundings, temperature, phosphorescence, colors, tides, currents, storms. 8. Descriptive hydrography--oceans, their divisions and dependencies; the rivers and lakes in different parts of the globe. 9. The atmosphere--its extension, temperature, and the thermometer; different thermometric scales; atmospheric density and pressure; the barometer--different barometric scales; the winds--general, periodical, variable; hurricanes; storms; law of storms; watery luminaries and electric meteors; signs and forecasts of the weather. 10. Magnetism--magnetic action; declension of the magnetic needle; the compass. 11. Geographical distribution of minerals, plants, and animals, utilized by man. 12. Man as a geographical modifying agent.
Political Description: Statistical and commercial geography. 13. Divisions, population, wealth, finances, commerce, and other statistical data of different states, in different divisions of the globe.
[Errata for Part V (Italy and Sardinia): Italy was unified immediately before the first (1862) edition of the book. The arrangement of this section generally reflects pre-unification systems.
[The actual strength of the Italian army ...] Three regiments of train corps (24 companies) opening ( missing [GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.] _part of this list is printed out of sequence, with the lines for 3 and 4¾ placed after those for 5¼ and later_]
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VI. MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN RUSSIA AND OTHER STATES
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VIII. MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN RUSSIA.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Emperor is commander-in-chief of all the forces, by sea and land, assisted by the Staff-Office, the members of which are expert linguists, as well as scientific experienced and military officers. The army is under a Minister of War, assisted by a colleague and a military council. The office of Master of Ordnance is generally filled by a grand prince. The regular force, or army of occupation consists of about 783,000 men, which can be easily swelled to at least 1,200,000, as the whole male population are liable to serve when summoned. The army is mainly recruited by conscription, which falls on the serfs and laboring population, as the nobility, officials, clergy and merchants are exempted. The term of service is twenty years for the guards, twenty-two for the line, and twenty-five for the train and military servants. But few pensions are granted to discharged or furloughed soldiers, although veteran soldiers are frequently appointed to situations as doorkeepers, watchmen, overseers, &c., in government establishments and public institutions.
Promotion by seniority, imperial favor, and good conduct on the field. Every officer must be educated and trained to his business, and serve from the lowest to the highest rank. Non-commissioned officers, musicians, assistant veterinary surgeons, head workmen in the military workshops and factories must all be trained for their special duties. A large portion of these classes are the sons of soldiers, who have been surrendered by their parents to the government, who receive them at the age of six or twelve, by special arrangement. They are termed cantonists. Among the special military schools of a technological character are, eleven for garrison artillery; three for armories; three for powder mills; three for arsenals; one for riding masters; one for fencing; one for accountants; one for topographical drawing, &c.
II. MILITARY SCHOOL FOR OFFICERS.
The officers of the Russian army obtain their first commission after passing through the Military Schools or Cadet Corps, or if qualified in scientific and other instruction, ascertained by open examination, by serving as privates six months, and as sergeants or ensign two years. Applicants for the Staff Corps, must have served as officers two years, must be recommended by their superior, and have been two years in the Staff School--and there pass an honorable examination in military history and strategy. The following statistics are taken from the Kalender of the St. Petersburg Academy, for 1859.
I. Under a Commission or Board of Military Instruction, which reports directly to the Emperor, there are
3 Military Schools of Special Application, viz.: 1 The Nicholas Academy of the Staff, with 22 and 250 teachers scholars. 1 The Nicholas Upper Engineer School, “ 50 “ 126 “ 1 The Michael Artillery School, “ 32 “ 117 “ 1 Page Corps, or College “ 41 “ 159 “ 1 Ensign’s School of the Guards, “ 31 “ 206 “ 22 Cadet Corps or Military Colleges, “ 723 “ 7440 “ -- --- ----- 27 899 “ 8,298 “
The Cadet Corps, or Military Schools, receive their pupils young, and impart a general as well as a scientific education, preparatory to entering the Special Schools of Application either for Engineer, or Artillery, and later in years and experience, the Staff School. These Special Military Schools are not surpassed by any of the same class in Europe.
II. Under the Ministry of War there are the following Scientific Establishments and Schools.
22 Military Schools, with 326 and 10,000 teachers scholars. 3 Lower or Element. Artillery Schools, 22 “ 166 “ 1 Topographers’ School, with 13 “ 140 “ 1 Medico-Chirurgical Academy, with Military Hospitals, 35 “ 978 “ 3 Veterinary Schools, 1,020 “ 12,304 “
The Military Schools are of an elementary and technological character, and are intended to supersede a class of schools known as the Cantonist Schools.
The experience of the Crimean War demonstrated to the world, the wise forecast of the Russian government in providing for the thorough scientific and practical training of the officers of her great armies as was confessed by the “London Times,” in the bitter disappointments of the English people with their own officers.
THE IMPERIAL STAFF SCHOOL AT ST. PETERSBURG.
[Extracts from Governmental Regulations.]
I. GENERAL DIRECTIONS.
A Military Academy, the highest institution of its class, is founded in St. Petersburg, to educate Officers for the service of the General Staff, and to promote the diffusion of Military Science in general. Its special functions are--
1. To prepare Officers for the special service of the General Staff.
2. To furnish to a certain number of Officers from the Artillery and Chief Engineer School a course of Grand Tactics and Strategy, on the same principles and to the same extent as it is furnished to the Officers preparing for the Service of the General Staff.
3. To apply all the means indicated in these Regulations to the diffusion of Military Science.
From forty to fifty Officers shall be educated in the Academy for the special service of the General Staff, and about ten from the Artillery and from the Chief Engineer School.
The Military Academy is under the immediate control of the Chief of the Staff of His Imperial Majesty, and is under the direction of a President appointed by the Emperor.
A Council, presided over by the President, considers and determines all important questions relating to Studies and Economic Administration.
A Vice-President, appointed by the Emperor, is associated with the President to assist him in the performance of his official duties.
The Officers receiving an education for the General Staff are placed under the control of four Staff Officers appointed by the Emperor.
The subjects of Study and the Scientific Course are divided into two Sections, the Theoretical and the Practical.
The number of Professors, Adjuncts, and Teachers is determined according to circumstances by the Academic Council, with the approbation of the Chief of the Staff of his Imperial Majesty.
The Salaries of the Officials for the internal service of the Academy are fixed in the List annexed to these Statutes.
It is the most sacred duty of the whole Staff of the Academy, and in particular of the Chiefs and Professors, never to lose sight of its object; and while they devote themselves to extend the knowledge of the student Officers, to impress upon them, by teaching and example, the precepts of the purest morality, the true and exact performance of their professional duties, an unconditional obedience to their superiors, and an inviolable devotion to the throne and their country.
The Academy has a peculiar Seal.
II. ADMISSION TO STUDENTS.
Only Superior Officers can enter into the Academy, and these up to the rank of Staff Captain if they serve in the Guards, Artillery, or Engineers; up to the rank of Captain, if they belong to an Army Regiment.
The Directors of the Noble Guard School, of the Page Corps, of the First, Second, Pant, Moscow, and Finland Cadet Corps, have the right to propose in the proper quarter, for admission into the Academy, the most distinguished Officers who have left these military institutions.
The Officers proposed for admission into the Academy must be at least eighteen years old, and be distinguished for capacity, industry, diligence, morals, and good conduct.
Officers from the Regiments and Artillery Brigades must present testimonials of blameless morals, conduct, and zeal for the Service from the Chief of their Division. Officers from the Engineer Battalions must present similar testimonials from the Chiefs of their Brigades.
Those who give testimonials are strictly responsible for their truth, as are the Chiefs of the Military Schools for the capacity and qualifications of the Officers they propose.
Admission into the Academy depends upon a strict examination in the following subjects:--
a. Languages:
Russian, German, or French.
b. Mathematics:
Arithmetic, Algebra to Equations of the Second Degree, Plane and Solid Geometry, and Plane Trigonometry.
c. Military Sciences:
The Principles of Intrenchment, Fortification, and Artillery.
d. Evolution:
Evolutions of a Battalion of Tirailleurs, of a Squadron, of a Whole Line, of a Scattered Front (Zerstreuten Fronte,) and, lastly, the Service of Outposts.
e. History:
General History of the World to the sixteenth century in its chief epochs, particularly in reference to Russia; special Histories of the European States in modern times.
f. Geography:
Universal Geography, and particularly that of the Russian Empire and the neighboring States.
Besides this, a clear conception of Situation, Plans, and Topographical Charts is required.
III. METHOD OF INSTRUCTION.
The Scientific Course is divided into two Sections,--The Theoretical and the Practical. The Theoretical part of the higher Military Sciences is expounded by the Professors, their Adjuncts, and the Teachers. Those Officers who belong to the Practical Section exercise themselves under the guidance of the Professors.
a. In Written Exercises on any proposed Military Subject.
b. In the composition of Military Descriptions (Beschreibungen,) of every kind.
c. In the Art of taking Military Surveys of a Country, and of judging the Tactical Nature of a Ground.
In each Section there are from twenty to twenty-five Officers destined for the Service of the General Staff, and from four to five from the Artillery and Chief Engineer School.
These Officers, according to their capacities and attainments in the Military Sciences, enter either into the Theoretical Section or into both the Theoretical and the Practical Section at the same time, and remain in each a year.
The complete Academic Course in both Sections extends over two years.
The following subjects are taught:--
a. Russian literature, with particular reference to the composition of Military Essays in a faultless style, and to the style of the Military Chancery (writing department of the War Office.)
b. General ideas on Artillery, and more precise details on the same subject as a Special Arm; its use in the open field and in sieges.
c. Petty Tactics in the employment of a single Division, with which all Officers must be thoroughly familiar, as this is indispensable to all. To this is joined the theory of the formation of columns, of their use, of the effect of the fire of Infantry, and lastly, the explanation of all evolutions with the three arms which are usually employed for movement, deployment, or forming in order of battle.
d. The Elements of Topography and Geodesy, of Military Drawing, and the art of measuring situations by the eye.
e. Military coup d’œil (Scharfblick,) and the art of judging the tactical nature of ground.
f. Castrametation, or the art of encamping, and the theory of positions.
g. Logistic, or all that relates to the details of marches, either in presence of the enemy, or in the movement of troops from one place to another.
h. Intrenchment and fortification, as far as regards the attack and defense of intrenched camps and fortified places, and the effect of intrenchments and fortifications on the operations of an active army.
i. Grand Tactics, embracing the various systems of the Order of Battle; and the formation and employment of the Three Arms, and treating of unexpected engagements or the sudden collision of two hostile Divisions.
k. The Military Geography of Europe, particularly that of the Russian Empire and the neighboring States.
l. Military Statistics, or knowledge of the land and sea Forces and warlike means of all the European States.
m. Strategy in all its extent; with a criticism on the last wars, and an indication of the events which demonstrate the influence of this science on the success of a campaign.
n. A general view of military history in its most remarkable periods, from the earliest times to Peter the Great, and a more complete view of the Military History of modern times.
o. The literary History of the Military Sciences, with a criticism on the best ancient and modern writers on the History of War; and a special reference of those who may contribute to the further education of the Officers after their departure from the Academy.
p. Duties of the General Staff Officer in times both of peace and war.
q. The art of riding.
The officers of the Practical Division are employed on the same Sciences; not, however, during the hours of lecture, but by practicing under the direction of the Professors, and according to the regulations of the Academic authorities.
The subjects they are employed upon are principally the following:--
a. Topographical and Tactical description of ground after inspection.
b. Military Geography and Statistics.
c. Logistic.
d. Grand Tactics.
e. Strategy.
f. Military History.
g. Literature of the Military Sciences.
h. Designing plans of battles and manœuvres, as exercises in Topography, Logistic, and Tactics.
i. Historic reports, and keeping the usual journal of the General Staff.
j. All that belong to the survey of a country, and the practical working of the Artillery and Siege operations.
Teachers are appointed for those officers who require to be perfected in the French or German language.
All the sciences are taught in the Academy in the Russian language; and an exposition in French or German is only allowed when dictated by circumstances, and then a special permission must be first obtained from the Chief of the Staff of his Imperial Majesty.
The Officers of the Practical Section are also required to use their native tongue in their written exercises, except in one or two composed in a foreign language by the direction of the authorities.
In summer, the Officers of the Theoretical Section repair to regiments to which they are directed to learn the camp service. The Officers of the Practical Section make surveys and reconnaissances, mark out camps and proportionate intrenchments on a given ground. At the time of grand manœuvres, they are associated with Officers of the General Staff, and have the opportunity of witnessing the practical exercises of the Artillery and Sappers, in order to be able to make a report as eye-witnesses on the effect of Artillery and Siege operations.
IV. LOCAL REGULATIONS.
All Officers receiving an education in the Academy are entered on the rolls of their Regiments, Artillery Brigades, and Sapper Battalions, as supernumeraries and detached Officers, without, however, losing their standing or right of promotion by seniority, their pay, servants’ rations, or any other advantages enjoyed by Officers present with their troop.
Those Officers who enter the Academy from the Regiments of the Garrison of St. Petersburg continue, while they belong to it, to perform the front service of their Regiments; those who come from the Artillery and Sapper Brigades, or from Regiments not stationed in St. Petersburg, are attached for the front service to one of the Regiments of the Garrison of St. Petersburg; the necessary arrangements are made by the authorities of the Guard Corps.
The Officers of the Artillery and Chief Engineer School, having only to attend the Course of Grand Tactics and Strategy, retain their posts while studying in the Academy.
Four Staff Officers, appointed by the Emperor, have the immediate control of the Officers preparing themselves for the service of the General Staff; they are to exercise a vigilant supervision over them, and to report on their conduct to the Vice-President; they are the organ by which all orders reach the Officers, and they form a Court of the First Instance in matters relating to the Service.
One day in the week is devoted to drill, and every day two officers mount guard with the first division of the garrison of St. Petersburg.
The Officers are to devote exclusively to study the leisure hours at their command after the performance of front and garrison duties; and are to observe, in all respects, the Statutes of the Academy.
To facilitate, economically, the residence of the Officers in St. Petersburg, they receive, with the exception of those belonging to the Guard, besides their usual pay and an allowance for quarters according to their rank, an annual allowance of 500 roubles, which is paid in the Academy.
Officers ordered to survey a country, or to make a reconnaissance, receive their traveling expenses from the Commissariat, according to the distance to which they are sent, and in proportion to their rank: their board expenses are not allowed.
V. REGULATIONS RESPECTING PROMOTION.
The course is terminated, and Students finish their career, in October annually.
At the same time, Officers are removed from the Theoretical section to the Practical, making place for candidates who wish to enter the former.
At their departure from the Academy the Officers receive from the Academic Council testimonials of conduct and scientific attainments, with a memorial of the rewards which they receive at leaving.
On leaving the Academy the Officers have to act as follows: those who belonged to the Artillery, or Chief Engineer School, repair to their highest Commanding Officer; the rest, who were educated for the service of the General Staff, return to their Regiments, Artillery Brigades, or Sapper Battalions, on whose rolls they remain as supernumeraries and Officers reckoned as of the General Staff, until they are formally transferred to the latter.
The rewards to which Officers can acquire a claim at leaving the Academy are the following:--The most distinguished is promoted to the lowest rank (on the Staff,) and receives a golden medal; he is only entitled to this if all the teachers give him the full number balls, and unanimously recognize him as most conspicuous for attainments. Besides this, he must have written a satisfactory essay on a given theme, relating to some important war, and have been blameless in moral conduct during his residence in the Academy. The student who is recognized as second, both in attainments and behavior, and has also obtained the full number of balls, is rewarded with the great silver medal, and receives double pay for a year. The student who obtains the third place in attainments and behavior, and the full number of balls, receives the little silver medal, and double pay for a year. Each medal bears the name of its possessor. Besides this, the names of all those who obtain one of the three above-mentioned rewards are engraved on marble tablets, which adorn the walls of one of the halls of the Academic building.
Should any of the Students feel no inclination for the service of the General Staff, even after a successful termination of the Theoretical Course, he may always request to be dismissed to his Regiment, Artillery Brigade, or Sapper Battalion.
Every Officer who at his departure from the Academy obtains a testimonial of having accomplished the object of his admission, and in consequence is provisionally destined for the service of the General Staff, if he continues after his return to his Regiment to educate himself for his vocation, and distinguishes himself by observance of a strict discipline, by conduct and zeal for the service, is rewarded at the end of a year by being completely transferred to the General Staff; and if he belonged to the Young Guard, the Artillery, or a Sapper Battalion, his right to promotion immediately commences; not so if he belonged to Troops of the Line.
Every year, on the 1st of January, the Chief of the Regiment, Artillery Brigade, or Sapper Battalion in command of an Officer reckoned as of the General Staff, forwards his form and his conduct list to the Quartermaster-General of the General Staff, who lays it before the Chief of the General Staff. At the same time the above-mentioned papers are communicated to the Chief in command of the Officer.
Besides this, the above-mentioned Chief makes a similar report on the zeal for the service and moral conduct of the Officers twice a year, namely, on the 1st of March and the 1st of September; and at the same time reports exactly on the way in which he performs the service of the front.
No Officer reckoned as of the General Staff is to be charged with the duties of Paymaster service in his Regiment, or employed as Quartermaster; and if any General wishes to select him for his Adjutant, he must first communicate with the Quartermaster-General of the General Staff.
If the General Staff is increased in time of war, or if any work on which it is employed requires to be accelerated in time of peace, the Chief of the General Staff commissions the Quartermaster-General to select the requisite number out of the Officers who are reckoned as of the General Staff. The latter then makes the selection, and announces the names of the Officers selected to their highest Commanding Officer. As soon as the object proposed is accomplished, these Officers return back to their commands. Such a selection, however, can only fall upon those who have spent at least two years with their commands after their departure from the Academy. If in the meantime an Officer has become Chief of a Battalion or Squadron, he shall not be transferred from this post before the lapse of a year. As soon as any of these Officers, or, in general, any Officer, who has left the Academy, reports himself at his Corps, his Chief immediately announces his arrival to the Quartermaster-General of the Staff.
To familiarize the Officers reckoned of the General Staff with the rules of the Art of War while they remain with their commands, and to practice them in the duties which belong to Officers of the General Staff, the Quartermaster-General is directed to charge them with such duties as may develop their talent, without, however, removing them for that purpose from the service of the front. These commissions of the Quartermaster-General are communicated through their superior Officers, who are directed not only to watch over their performance of these commissions, but also to assist them therein to the utmost of their power.
[Errata for Part VI (Russia): twenty years for the guards, twenty-two for the line, hyphen invisible [II. Under the Ministry of War there are the following ...] _In the printed book, the last two lines of this table were out of place. The “1,020 scholars” item was aligned with the overflow of the “Medico-Chirurgical Academy” entry, and the total (12,304) was aligned with “3 Veterinary Schools”._ The Military Schools are of an elementary and technological ... _In this and the following paragraph, the first letter of each line is invisible._ in the bitter disappointments of the English people hyphen in “dis-/appointments” invisible at line break]
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VII. NORWAY, SWEDEN AND DENMARK
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MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN SWEDEN.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The Swedish army is composed, according to official data in Martin’s Year Book, of five distinct classes of troops, viz.:
1. The Indelta, or national militia, paid and kept, not by the Government, but by the landowners, and, to some extent, from the income of State domains expressly reserved for this purpose. Every soldier of the Indelta has, besides a small annual pay, his torp, or cottage, with a piece of ground attached, which remains his own during the whole period of service, often extending over forty years, or even longer. In time of peace, the troops of the Indelta are not called up for more than a month’s annual practice, and for the rest of the year are free from military duty. In time of war, an extraordinary Indelta has to be raised by landowners, who, on this account, enjoy certain privileges, including non-contribution to the cost of the peace establishment. When the soldier dies, his widow turns over the holding to his successor, whom the owner of the land is bound to provide within three months. In the location of the officers, regard is had to the situation of the men who compose the company, regiment, and larger divisions.
2. The Beväring, or conscription troops, drawn by annual levy, from the male population between the age of 20 and 25 years. The law of conscription, which admits the right of purchasing substitutes, was introduced into Sweden in 1812. About 19,000 men are drafted annually, one-tenth of which number, on the average, find substitutes for themselves, at a cost of from 10_l._ to 25_l._
3. The Värfvade, or enlisted troops, to which belong the royal life-guards, the hussars, the engineers, and the artillery. The men may engage for either three, or six, or twelve years; but the greater number are for six years, peculiar inducements being held out for this term.
4. The volunteers, first organized in the year 1861, by the spontaneous desire of the population of the kingdom. In time of peace the volunteers are individually free, and bound by no other but their own rules and regulations: but in time of war they may be compelled to place themselves under the command of the military authorities.
5. The militia of Gothland, consisting of twenty-one companies of infantry, organized in a similar manner to the Indelta, yet quite independent of the latter. They are not compelled by law to serve beyond the confines of the Isle of Gothland, and have a separate command from the other troops.
The armed forces of Sweden, not counting the Volunteers, consist altogether of--
Indelta, 33,405 rank and file. Beväring, 95,295 “ “ Värfvade, 7,692 “ “ Militia of Gothland, 7,921 “ “ ------- Total, 144,313
In the organization of the army, as here enumerated, 85,000 men belong to the infantry of the line; 6,000 to the cavalry; 5,000 to the artillery, and the rest to the irregular militia. The number of volunteers was returned at 40,848 in 1869, but about one-third of these formed part also of the Indelta. In the parliamentary session of 1862, and again in the sessions of 1865 and 1869, the Government brought bills before the Diet for a reorganization of the whole of the army, on the basis of extending the conscription, reforming the Indelta, and doing away, to a great extent, with the Värfvade. But neither of these propositions was adopted by the representatives of the people, whose habits are not easily set aside.
Navy.
The Navy of Sweden was reorganized in 1866-67, being divided into two distinct parts; the first to serve as an ordinary fleet of war for aggressive as well as defensive purposes, and the second stationary, and solely devoted to coast defense. It consisted in 1869 of--
6 Iron-clads, of 638 horse-power, and 10 guns. 21 Unarmored steamers, of 2,810 horse-power and 127 “ 16 Sailing vessels, with 376 “ 158 Gunboats and floating batteries, 551 “ ----- Total, 201 vessels, of 3,458 horse-power 1,064 guns.
The iron-clads are built after the American model; one a turret ship, called the “John Ericsson,” is partly covered with steel armor. There were 6,453 sailors and marines in active service, and 28,000 men were on furlough or attached to the fleet of reserve and coast defense.
The expenditure for the army in 1869 was 9,528,600 riks dalers, and for the navy 3,963,800. The indebtedness of the state is about $41,000,000, mostly contracted in aid of a system of railways.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN NORWAY.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The armed forces of Norway, as organized by law in 1866, consisted in 1869 of the following:
1. The regular army, with reserve, raised partly by conscription and partly by enlistment, which must never exceed 12,000 men in time of peace, and can not be increased above 18,000 men without the special consent of the Storthing. The average number in time of peace for ten years past, is about 6,000. The term of service is seven years, but the men are on duty only 42 days in the first year, and this past, they are sent home on furloughs, with an obligation to meet for annual practice of 24 days during the following six years.
2. The Militia or Landvaern, which consists of all able-bodied male citizens 18 years of age, who for three years must, at stated periods, be trained in the use of arms and field exercises, and at the end of this time, be enrolled in
3. The final Levy, or Landstorm, where he is liable to be called out in time of war, until he is 45 years of age.
The normal strength of the armed forces of Norway in 1869 was returned at 47,714 on a peace footing, and 112,225 on a war footing, and required an appropriation of 1,215,500 specie dalers, making the cost of the Norwegian soldier (on the average of 6,000 men under arms), $155 per annum.
The King has permission to keep a guard of Norwegian volunteers, and to transfer, for the purposes of common military exercises, 3,000 men annually to Sweden; otherwise a soldier of Norway can not set foot in Sweden; or one of Sweden, in Norway.
The naval force consists of 20 vessels, of 2,280 horse-power, and 168 guns, manned by 2,248 sailors, who are volunteers out of 60,000 men in the maritime conscription, which includes all seafaring men of the seaports, between the ages of 22 and 35.
Three of the vessels are iron-clad monitors.
In order to utilize the vessels of the navy they are attached to the postal service, and are employed in carrying the mails and passengers, under a special minister, charged with the mail service. The navy and post service cost in 1869, 1,172,815 speciedalers.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN DENMARK.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
The armed forces of Denmark as organized in 1870, consists of--
1. The Regular or active army, and--2. The army of Reserve.
By the law of 1867, every male citizen who has completed the age of 21, is liable to service for eight years in the former, and to be enrolled ready for special call for eight years more in the latter.
The Kingdom is divided into five territorial brigades, and each brigade in four territorial battalions, in such way that no town except the capital, will belong to more than one battalion. Each territorial brigade furnishes the contingent of a brigade of infantry and one regiment of cavalry. The artillery contingent is furnished, one half by the two first territorial brigades, and the second half by the three other divisions. The forces therefrom comprise 20 battalions of infantry of the line, with 10 depot battalions and 10 of reserve; 5 regiments of cavalry, each with 2 squadrons active, and 2 depots; and 2 regiments of artillery, in 12 battalions. The total strength of the army, exclusive of the reserve, is 36,782 rank and file, with 1,068 officers, on the peace footing, and 47,725 men, and 1,328 officers on the war footing. About one half of the enrolled regular army are usually on furlough. The drilling is divided into two periods; the first lasts six months for the infantry; five months for the field artillery and the engineers; nine months and two weeks for the cavalry; and four months for the siege artillery and the technic corps. Each corps must drill each year during thirty to forty days.
The navy comprises the following vessels, all steamers:
Six iron-clads, with an aggregate of 2,455 horse-power, and with 65 guns--two of which are turreted, armed each with two of Armstrong rifled cannon; 12 unarmored vessels of 1,820 horse-power, and with 192 guns; 7 gun-boats of 480 horse-power and 38 guns; 6 paddle-steamers, of 1,060 horse-power and 38 guns. The navy in 1869 was manned by 901 men, and officered by 15 commanders, 34 captains, and 67 lieutenants.
The budget for 1869 provided 3,783,978 rigsdalers for the army, and 1,676,681 for the navy.
[Erratum for Part VII: PART VII. / NORWAY, SWEDEN AND DENMARK. heading supplied from Table of Contents]
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