Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1886-12-02
FRANCE AND GERMANY.
The Magnitude of Their Armies-Their Mill
tary Systems Contrasted-The Great Lesson
London Telegraph.

mics by tina law or general service. Every
bodied man, with rare exceptions, is
bound to place his time, his strength and
his life at the command of his country.
Thus it would seem that the nation which
has the largest population must have the
largest army. But there is a limit impos-
ed by the strain caused by takingaway so
vast proportion of the manhood of the
country for unproductive purposes.
Thus it happens that the whole body of
available youths is never really taken
when they come of age. The laws bind
the hands of war ministers, who are not
allowed to have more than a certain
number actually serving at any time with
the peace army. The logged work and
admirable administration Of the German
War Office make themselves felt here, and
enable the officers to train soldiers in a
shorter time than the French have hither-
to succeeded in doing. The Germans take
three years as their term of service, the
French five years. Both terms are, how
ever, generally shorter in reality than
in theory, and the German Minister of
War, dismissing large proportion of the
army every year after the Autumn man
euvers, picks up many who would other
wise escape training, and gives them as
much preparation as may be In the time.
The shOrtness of service and this method
of training extra men enables Germany
to keep up a smaller peace army than
France, and yet to pass as many, or even
more, men through the military mill. The
German peace army only amounts to $780,
600 rank and file; the French to about
100000. But, on the other hand, the
Germans call up every year about 1921
young men for service; the French for
their five years service, which alone is
with them full training, only about no.
900. Again, the German troops have,
from the beginning to the end of their
service, the more systematic training, for
it has constantly happened that French
Ministers of War have had to send many
men back to the country on furlough, be-
cause the money granted for the year
would not hold out. Indeed, it is ex-
tremely difficult to say how mony men
theFrench army has in it's ranks at any
given time. But the German system
really trains all the men it pretends to,
and there can be no doubt that the Ger
man reserves which would be called up
for war are better trained than the French
though nominally the time they have
served in the ranks has been much short
er. f-perhaps we ought rather to say
when-hostilities break out, the two ar
mics will act In the same way, to all out
ward appearance. Both are organized in
number of army corps, irrespective of
troops for home defense, lines of com
hun1eet1on, and so on. France has
eighteen such army crops, besides the
forces in Algeria and Tuxis. Germany
has eighteen crops, also, two of them
namely, the Guards and the Eleventh
Corps-being exceptionally strong.
Speaking generally, each army corps,
either French or German, is quartersd in
a certain district and at once draws to it
self the, reserves in the district to bring
the various regiments to war strength.
But there is this difference, that in Ger
many such corps has been recruited ORR
ginalIy from the district in which it al
ways remains, so that the reserve man
come back, as 1t were, to an old home
when they reioin, whereas every French
corps is composed of men recruited from
all France, SO that on an average less
than an eighteenth of the reserve men
have had their training in the corps to
which they are called. Any German unit,
from company to army corps, may be
considered as family, with the same
esprit de corps, the same methods of
speech, and the same local traditions. In
the French army, of two men standing
next each other in the ranks, one may be
Breton and the other a Red Republican
from Marseilles. Surely something is
thus lost of the complicated ties which
go to make up good comradeship. OF
cavalry Germany has ninety-three regi-
ments, numbering some sixt y-seven
thousand of all ranks, and France, ex-
Guiding seven regiments in Africa, which
would not be available at first, seventy
regiments with about sixty three thousand
of all ranks. The cavalry is always kept
up to practically war strength, and huge
masses of hOrsemen could, and probably
would, be hurled across the frontier be-
fore single infantry division was mobi-
liked. That is the chief lesson taught by
late campaigns. We may expect to see
in the next war either terrible shocks of
cavalry almost Immediately after the
declaration of hOstilitIss. or, if the masses
do not meet, then such a marrying of
frontier districts, breaking up of roads,
bridges, railways and telegraphs, and
such general confusion as has never been
known In the history Of war. If we look
to the actual numbers of trained men,
Germany can count for her active army
with Its reserve, about $4,000 men, which
the Landwehr and one-year volunteers
VIII BRING up to more than 1,600,00I
while the Landsturm, which was rsor-
gaulzed few years ago, and old one
year volunteers will add considerably
more than another million, all these men
having passed through training. We
have not even dons yet, for behind these
are still other forces in the way of less
trained men for dspots and affiliated
Landsturm, bringing the total force
wholly or partially instructed and placed
by the law in the hands of the War Min
lister, TO upward of 3,350,00O. There are
$40 batteries of six guns each, or 2,O5C
guns. On the othor hand, the French
claim to have 100000 of men com plste.
~ trained-but this is doubtful, as be.
fore shown-and 2, 0OO, 900 more of men
liable by law, but either slightly trained
or not at all. The French field artillery
however, is superior to the German both
IN number of guns and power of the indi-
Vldual pieces. There are no less .han
Z,694 guns acturlly organized in batteries
and divided among the nineteen army
corps, and including twelve extra batter
les IN Algeria and Tunis. The reorgani-
cation of the artillery alone as during the
past fifteen years cost for new arma.
L. H. =