The Sun.
London, England, 1854-09-18 00:00:00

TRE FRENCH ARMY.

At a moment when the great Army of the North of
France, under the personal command of the Emperor,
is attracting much attention—when the war in which we
are engaged gives an absorbing interest to everything
connected with the military resources of the two coun-
tries—and when in England a variety of circumstances,
and especially the late disclosures in the 46th Regiment,
make us rather dissatisfied with the administrative sys-
tem of our own service, it may not be considered unpro-
fitable to sketch comprehensively the organization of the
mighty force to which by land the safety and honour of
ournearest neighbour and ally are intrusted. They have,
like us, 100 regiments of infantry, of which 75 belong to
the line, and 25 are light infantry. Besides these there
are 20 battalions of Chasseurs-a-Pied, three regiments of
Zouaves, three battalions of African Light Infantry, nine
companies of Fusiliers de Discipline, three companies of
Pionniers do Discipline, two regiments of the Legion '
d'Etrangeres, three battalions of Algerian
three companies of Sous Officiers Veterans, and three
companies of Fusilers Veterans. Each regiment is di-
vided into two bataillons actifa and one of reserve,
or, as we should term it, a depot to keep up its
strength. Each battalion is again subdivided into
eight companies of 100 men each, including one
company of Grenadiers, distinguisable by red facings ;
one of Voltigeurs, wearing yellow ; and six of the Centre,
wearing green. Two regiments and a battalion of
Chasseurs form a brigade, and two brigades a a division.
T'ue officers to a company are three—a captain, a lieu-
tenant, and a sous-lieutenant. Those to a regiment are
a colonel, a lieutenant-colonel, three chefs de bataillon,
one major, three captaines adjutant-major, one captaine
tresorier, one captain d'habiliment, one adjutant sous-
lieutenant, one Porte drapea,u sous-lieutenant, one lieu-
tenant d'etat-major, and three medical officers. From
these details it follows that each battalion is about 800
strong, or nearly equal to one of our regiments; that
each regiment is about 1,600 strong, not including the
depot ; and that it has 43 officers attached to com-
panies, and 17 having duties which comprehend
the whole body. With slight modifications, this ar-
rangement obtains regularly throughout the entire
infantry force of France, but it may be mentioned
that the Chasseurs-h-Pied, or, as they are more
commonly called, the Chasseurs de Vincennes, have bat-
talions 1,000 strong,—an increase of numbers probably
due to the dangerous and important nature of the ser-
vice which they have to perform.
The cavalry force consists of 12 regiments of reserve,
including two of Carabiueers and ten of Cuirassiers ; 20
regiments of the line, including 12 of Dragoons and eight
of Lancers ; 25 regiments of light cavalry, including 12
of Chasseurs, nine of Hussars, and four of Chasseurs
d'Afrique. There are also three regiments of Spahis
and four companies of Cavalrie de Remonte. Each
cavalry regiment contains six squadrons of 100 men
each, and should therefore at its full war complement
muster 1,200 strong, but none are at present made up
to that size. Squadrons have twice the number of offi-
cers required by companies of infantry, there being a
captain-commandant, a second captain, and a first and
:second lieutenant, and two sous-officers. Each regi-
ment has besides, like the infantry, its colonel, lieute-
nant-colonel, and other officers having regimental duties ,1
including two chefs d'escadron, a captaine iristructenr,
and two veterinary officers. The Guides, the Spahis,
and the Chasseurs d'Afrique have three chefs d'escadron
and three capitaines-adjutantenajar. There may be
other modifications also in the organisation of the force,
but, as a general rule, the foregoing distribution of it
is pretty closely observed.
The Fdinch army possesses an artillery divided into
three classes—the first foot consisting of five regiments;
the second monte au cas.Ron, including seven regiments ;
and the third horse, made up of four regiments. There
are also reserved corps, and a regiment of pontoniers.
Each regiment contains five batteries, and each battery
consists, like ours, of six guns, but, as formerly noticed,
they are of considerably heavier calibre than ours, and,
being adapted to throw shot and shell alike, the howit-
zer is dispensed with. It is stated that the Emperor
had some difficulty in introducing this innovation upon
the former practice of the service, but its value seems
now to be generally admitted, and not the least of the
advantages secured by it is that of uniformity—a great
point in such matters, as any person who visits the Ord-
nance department at Woolwich will readily appreciate.
We are reducing the varieties of calibres employed in our
service, but the rude state in which the manufacture
of artillery guns still remains, as compared with our
knowledge of mechanics generally, renders it perhaps
imprudent that we should yet pin our faith to any fixed
standard. The Emperor's new field piece at least ob-
viates those risks of mistake in ammunition adapted for
it, which not unfrequently arise where different sizes are
used amid the hurry and confusion of warfare. The
organisation of the artillery foice in France, as in Eng-
land, demands a large staff of officers, including generals
of division, generals of brigade, colonels, lieutenant-
colonels, chefs d'escadron, captains of the first and
second rank, lieutenants of the first and second rank,
sons-lieutenants performing the duties of first-lieutenants,
and sous-lieutenants-eleves in two divisions, who per-
form the duties of lieutenants of the second rank:

The engineer corps of the French army is made up of
three regiments—the first consisting of 11 companies,
the second of 15, and the third of 12-38 in all, and
officered like companies of the line.
It is unnecessary, in a sketch like this, to do more
than allude to the system of conscription by which the
effective strength of the French army is sustained,
but,
to other topics, it may be permitted
heftor out thsiang
that, while England, the least military of
the European Powers, finds no difficulty in raising
soldiers by voluntary enlistment, France, where the
earliest instincts of thildren point to the army, is obliged
to exact compulsory service from her sons, that she
may be safe at home and respected abroad. What
makes the contrast more remarkable is, that in the Eng-
lish army position and command are almost exclusively
in the. hands of the privileged classes, whereas in France
there is nothing to prevent a young peasant rising from
the ranks by merit to be a marshal. In the one country
it is the only profession the upper ranks of which are
effectually closed to ambition ; in the other it is the
only one that may be said to be entirely open.
The amount of public feeling which has been
elicited by the recent Courts-martial on Lieutenant
Perry plainly shows that we are not indifferent
to this view of the subject, for had we been
satisfied with the manner in which our troops are
officered it is not probable that the case referred to
would have excited so much attention. It has hitherto
been discussed upon its individual merits ; but it is in
reality only one example cf the fruits of a vicious sys-
tem, to which, as the following details show, the organ-
isation of the French army presents a noble contrast.
That army is placed by the Emperor under the supreme
control of his Minister at War, who, for the time being,
s
is Marshal Vaillant. Ile has to assist him in the e-
charge of his arduous duties a number of consultative
committees, the members of which are selected from
the General Staff. These take cognisanceVrn the
of the
infantry, another of the cavalry,
artillery, another of the fortificationasn,
other including the health of the troopsandotaned so on,
b siness in the
series of bureaux for facilitating u.
de-
partments. There is also a very well-arranged
• various branches of
Staff, or as it is called in France, the E
the service. The General_tt