The New Orleans daily Democrat., 1877-06-26
THE RUSSIAN ARMY.
IT'S RECENT ORGANIZATION HY THE
GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS.
Interesting Particulars Concerning Its
subdivisions ana Imposing strength.


subdivisions ana Imposing strength.
Especial correspondence of the NJ O. Democrat.I
WASHINGTON, June 18.
The difficulty Of obtaining information con-
cerning Russian military operations s proverbial.
whether in the field or in camp, whether relating
to the organization and administration OF armies
In time Of peace, or their movements and stra-
tegy In war time. The British, French, German
and Austrian military sytems are as familiar to
students of the aft OF war on this side Of the
water as our own system is. Not only do those
governments afford every facility for the study of
their war like institutions to observers, but they
publish official works with more or less regularity
for the accurate information of mankind. Not SO
the
RUSSIAN ONE MAN POWER.
That vast aggomeration oil barbarisms known
as the Russian Empire aims to keep it's military
system sealed book to the outside world Be-
yond vague mention OF vast masses of armed
men on the Danube and in Armenia, with other and
vaster masses behind them, subject to methods
Of mobilization equally vague and unknown ss to
detail, the world hiss little or no knowledge Of
the Russian army. Lord Raglan's complaint that
there was no way OF getting information az to the
numbers OF the Russians in his front except by
killing them and then counting the slain, has
been from time mmemorisl and still is the great
besetting difficulty of every commander who has 10
fight against Russians on their own soil or within
easy reach Of their borders This fact was never
more forcby illustrated than it now is by the
wide discrepancy in the various accounts from
the seat OF war, which place the
NUMBER OF RUSSIANS
along the Danube at all the way from zoo, 900 TO
400, 900 men and in Armenia at from 12O, 900 TO
800, 600.
A few days ago, however, found at q second
hand book stall German pamphlet which con-
tains information upon these points much need
ed. The work was written by 8 German officer
who was employed by the Grand Duke Nicholas
to assist in the reorganization OF the Russian
army, begun about Elk years ago, and which s
now, for the first time in the history Of that
Empire. being put to practical test in the field.
Up to 1870 the Russian regular army consisted Of
two distinct forces, the
FIELD ARMY AND THE COAST ARMY.
The former was organized on what may be
called the sohamhorst system, in which the high
est unit of mobilization was the division, while
the organization of the coast army Was 8 i'll more
primitive no permanent unfoation being known
beyond that Of the regiment, witch, however,
answered to the brigade Of other European
armies. The field army was again divided into
two forces, the Imperial Guard and the line: but
as the line always did all the fighting, 1t is not
necessary to describe the guard. Under this old
djspensation
THE cossAcKs
and in fact the entire Army OF the Caucasus was
rated as an irregular force, though for what rea-
son does not clearly appear, since the nature of
their service was fully active and their enlist
ment as permanent as in any other branch. The
army corps was an unknown institution in the old
Russian system. Whenever ii was necessary to
employ large masses Of troops in concert num-
Der Of divisions were thrown together In the Or
der OF seniority Of their commanders, and the
whole placed under the command Of some men,
Der or relative of the imperial family. The re-
suit was that the hesiancy and indeoision OF
Russian strategy became proverbial in European
military circles, while the clumsness Of their
maneuvres and the bungling awkwardness of
their minor tactics grew into bywords. Duparcq,
in his Elements dart ct d'Histoire Militsires,"
limited to sheer momentum of dense masses in
motion, while their notion Of the defensive was
confined to the inertia Of similar masses at rest |"
1.-THE RUSSIAN SOLDIER"
says the German author OF the treatise entitled
"The Cavalry OF Modern Times die Kapallerie
der JetztzeiD, ''is drilled to stand still and be
killed, which makes Russian square the most
difficult Of all squares to be pierced and split
asunder by cavalry" And Napoleon, most cpl
grammatic of all, said that latter you have killed
q Russian you mast push him over p
Well, the current notion concerning the Rus
sian armies has been derived from these a1d
completely changed since the Franco-Prnssian
war that it is no longer safe to estimate the pos
sibilites Of Russian force by the old standards.
and those who look for repeitions of the strategy
of siistria, Gurgevo and Sebsstopol in the pres
ent war will be likely to encounter grievous dig
appointments.
Our author begins his little work very properly
with brief sketch of the architect of reorgani-
zation,
THE GRAND DUKE NICHOLAS,
who is now Commander in. Chief OF the Army Of
ths Danube. "The Grand Duke" he says, Sis
q modest undemonstrative man, Of decidedly
English type in person, manners and
habits of thought. Cool phlegmatic and
the embodiment Of system. Utterly unen.
thusiastic and given to pessimist views
of verything. Disposed to discount every con-
ceivable disadvantage to the utmost, and con-
versely to give the least possible scope for the op.
erations Of good luck Careful Of the health and
comfort of his men, and firm believer in the
doctrine Of Wellington, that soldiers fight best
ON FULL sToMACHs.
Brave and prudent, resolute and cautious, infiex-
ible and moderate, strict in discipline and just in
his views of punishment and reward the head of
the Russian army is one of the ideal soldiers OF
modern times"
This is certainly glowing picture, and some
Of its coloring may be due to the fact that the
Grand Duke treated his German subordinate
with the most delicate courtesy and the most
distinguished consideration" as the latter him.
,1F aJa oIp ito 30 tbo