The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1875-02-11
The Preparations Of Germany for War

Correspondence of the London Timcs.l
BERLIN, January 13.-The Landsturm bill,
having passed the second reading, is now
before Us in the form in which it is sure to
| become Il law in the course of the month.
! Briefly to describe its importance, one need
only say that according to the estimate of
! General Noist Rhetz, who represented the
/ War Office in the debate on the bill, two mil.
| lion men more are placed by it at the disposal
! of the Government III time of war. In
speaking of their being at'the disposal o, the
! Government | do not Use the expression 10
! the limited sense in which it applies
to the English militia, but in the
unlimited and absolutely unconditional
meaning given it in German military law.
| Under this sweeping bill the Government is
entitled to call in all able bodied men be-
! tween seventeen and forty-two years of age
not belonging to the army or reserve.
should an enemy invade or threaten to in
wade the country" The alternative alluded
TO in the last few words simply amounts to
this, that all able.bodied men up to iorty-two
years OF age may be placed in the ranks at
| the first breath of war. To render
this discretionary power still more ef.
fective, the authorities are not obliged
to call out all men Of the same
aye at the same time, or to carry out
the law in the same way 10 all the various
provinces OF the empire. Far from it. In
accordance with the intentions announced
BY Government, young men OF twenty not
enrolled in the army because OF physical de-
billy are much less likely to be placed IN the
Landsturm than able-bodied men of forty,
although the latter may have already acqult
ted themselves of their military duty 10 army
and reserve. Or if a province be invaded
by the enemy, its older men, we are told,Wili
be suffered TO remain at home, alth0hsh
their contemporaries in neighoorlDg
district may be compelled to take up arms.
The most important clause. perhaps, is that
By which the Landsturm, although us a rule
formed into separate battalions, may be EN-.
pIoyed to fill up gaps in the LandWehr, and
De thus Atl'zed for the ordinary purposes OF
war. After this stringent proviso you Will
not be surprised to hear that even While
kept together and acting a. Landsturm, men
belonging to this category are expressly
Obliged, under the terms OF the bill, to serve
IN and out of the country as occasion
may require. Considering that almost one
entire half of the two millions that
NAY be included in the pew force have
oaSsed through the army, aud that the o.her
HllllOU, W u very lat &c SAtCut, alC
nen, and would have likewise been enlisted
had the Government the means fully TO carry
out the CONSUMPTION milne Of peace, the in.
crease accrung TO the German forces from
The new statute Is indeed formidable. The
ouiy hindraDce 10 its becoming thoroughly
overwhelming is the want OF officers, the
number OF lieutenants aud captains retiring
naturally being very much smaller than the
number Of privates going back to civil life
after short stay in the army. Even as 1t
IL, from 800, 900 to 800. 600 drilled men may
be easily organized in fresh and sufficiently
Differed battallons under the new law, not
to speak of those made available to ill up
gaps in the Landwehr and Hue.' The Land
sturm is to wear the Landwebr uniform,
which the uuiutlaled eye can scarcely distlD-
guf.h from that of the line and though IL is
never to assemble in peace, it will have
is members aud officers as carefully regis.
tered by the War Office as any other part
of the National forces. The arms required
tor the whole of the Landsturm, az General
Won Voigt Rheiz Informed us 10 the course
of the debate, are already 10 the possession
OF the government statement, which can
only be taken as meaning That the needle
guD, superseded by the Mauser rifle IN line
and reserve, will be placed in the hands OF
the Landsturm should it ever be called
in, TO these features characlerlzng the
military Significance u the aea:'E :; 40