Evening star., 1897-06-15
THE WORLDS ARMIES.
What the Various Countries Could Put
in the Field.

"nut the various countries COul0 Put
in the Field.
From the London Mail
The United States can call upon greater
number Of trained soldiers than any other
country in the world. Although the stand
iI.g army numbers only 27,OOO men, each
state has to support its own militia, and
should it become necessary as a last re-
source. upward of 7.5OO,OOO men could as
sist in maintaining the independence Of the
states.
To defend the coast there would be a
navy of some seventy ships, with 10000
men.
OF the European armies, the biggest is
that OF France. The number of men In
the active army and its reserves is $780,
OOO. 1t is not likely, however. that under
any conceivable circumstances more than
2,5OO,0O men could be called out. The navy.
with 451 ships, also has a reserve of $4,000
men, of whom about 255OO are serving at
the present time with the fleet.
Next in point of numbers on war foot
ing comes Germany. The peace strength
of the standing army is about 520, 600. There
has been no late return of the war strength.
but in the last extremity Germany would
have an army of not far short of 5000 900
trained men, while 22,OOO men could man
the 22O odd vessels constituting the navy.
The third great power is Russia. The total
peace footing of this country is 900 600 and
the war footing 2.6OO,OOO. The navy con-
sists of 100 ships. manned by $4,000 men.
Italy can boast of an army numbering
100000 of which nearly $50. 600 are under
arms. 100000 are on unlimited leave, and
100000 are mobile militia, and 1850 900 are
territorial militia. The navy comprises
q 800 men and 22O ships.
From military point of view, Great
Britain Ill compares with her European
neighbors. The total of all branches of the
service only amounts to 715,6S3, and of
these only 665, ,164 are classified as effective.
TI,A fNro nf hrv,, rv,I ~ -
onies only numbers 147 1O5, the army re-
serve is 100 the militia 40, ,1O4, the yeo-
manry 11,67S. and the volunteers 263 52S
The British navy, therefore, should at all
times be a remarkably strong one.
Austria-HungaIy has a war footing of
1,75O,OO0 but should the necessity arise
over 4.0o0,OO men would have to take arms
in defenseeof their country. The navy has
only a total of some $500 men to man the
40 ships. The permanent army of Spain
numbers 900. which could be increased
In time Of war to 1.Os5. 900: 1900 men could
man the 10S vessels comprising the navy.
The army Of Switzerland is divided as
follows: The elite 800, the Landwehr
81 500. and the Landsturm 273,2OO.
Sweden has SO ,S46 men and 1000 re-
serves. with a navy of fifty-three ships.
with 10000 men, and Norway an army Of
$4,000. although the number Of troops
actually under arms never exceeds even in
war, 1.SOO men. without the consent of the
storthing. The navy of thirty-one ships is
only manned by 535 men. although some
S23 900 men could be called upon to serve.
China could bring $4,000 men on the
field and Japan 271 900.
OF the smaller powers, there Is Rou-
mania. with permanent army Of 81 900
men. and territorial army numbering 81. =
800: Portugal. with war strength Of 15O,-
600: Persia. with 24.5OO: servia, with
10000: Netherlands. with 69,OOO and q
navy Of 133 ships and $500 men; Belgium
with a strength of 155. 800 men and a garde
civique of nearly $1,000, and Denmark.
with a war strength Of 10000 men and an
extra reserve of 1880, only called out in
extreme emergencies.
The smaller nations OF the world all have
their means of defense. and the Congo In
dependent State, Costa Rica Ecuador.
Mexico. Morocco. Peru. Paraguay, Bolivia.
Afghanistan, the Argentine Republic, IL
beria, Nicaragua, the Orange Free State
and the South African Republic among
them. could number something like a mill
lion and q half men.