Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1898-08-30
BIG EUROPEAN ARMIES.

0l0 EUnUrEAN AnmI6S.
The War Footing and Peace Footing
of the Great PoweFs-How the
Armies Are Formed.
The news that Gar Nicholas has startled
the world with a letter advocating an in
ternational peace movement with the ulti-
mate object of cutting down standing
armies and putting all civilized nations on
peace footing has drawn attention to
the facts and figures surrounding the vast
armies maintained by the European powers
and the enormous saving resulting from
universal treaty of peace.
All the great powers of Europe have been
adding to their standing armies year by
year, and the building up OF navies has
never ceased. Russia itself has been fore
most in maintaining large army, and it
has been pushing itself to the front, par
ticuiarly In Asia, as a military nation.
In Russia military service is obligatory.
Christian clergymen, Mohammedans, art
lists and members of learned professions are
exempt, but the remaining able bodied men
are subject to conscription at the age Of Il.
The annual contingent from conscription
amounts to about 10000 men.
Size of Rus.in's Army.
On peace footing the Russian army
consists OF sl7,933 combatants- 561 officers
and 1882 men. OF this force there are SIS
battalions of infantry. consisting of 15.7G
officers and 429.3S3 men; S56 squadrons OF
cavalry, 1852 officers and 59,916 men; so
batteries of artillery. 2,O13 officers and Co.
ioi men: forty-four companies OF engine
engineers, 712 officers and 23,5il men; train
division. 4S officers and 1854 men; reserve,
10 battalions and thirty-three batteries,
4,2z1 officers and $3.50 men; garrison troops,
La officers
Zuz o1hcerS and 4,S36 men; CoSsack infan-
try 1b0 officers and ,s56 men; Cossack cav
airy. 1.s2 officers and 4i.71 men: Cossack
artillery, 100 officers and 3,3D men: Cau-
casian militia. Il officers and 1853 men; GUS
tom or frontier guards, $50 officers and
$3.50 men.
Upon war footing the Russian army can
be increased to a total of 2,420, 746 officers
and men. as follows: Eight hundred and
eighty-nine battalions of infantry, s16,s5l; !;
SS Ss9 & &squadrons Of cavalry regulars, 6. 9oo
5si; III companies of engineers, 1884; train
division, LAG, ,29s; reserve troops, consisting
OF ga bmattalions, m 92 batteries and 46 COM
panies, 5H5.S; garrison troops, 210,s21; depot
troops, 2SO ,493: Cossack troops, 15i, ,014; Cau-
casion militia, 3.429: frontier guards. 29. $50.
This war force Of Russia does not include
the territorial army and all of the CoSsack
troops available for national defense.
frances Military Force.
France has the next largest standing
army to Russia, but its available war force
| exceeds that Of the czar. Every French
man is liable to military duty. The French
| army on a peace footing consists Of 30.3il
officers and 5o6,6s6 men, in divisions as rol-
GERS and SAB men; 81 battaIions Of infan-
try. II, ~ officers and $500 men; AIS squad
GERS GERS and md 300 men; $50 batteries Of field ar
| tillery. 3Oi6 officers and 81 23S men; 100 bat
| talions and 54 companies Of fortress artil-
| lery, 1,158 officers and 2O.0OS men; 1O8 COM
panies of engineers. 4S3 officers and II, ,623
men; train division, 1856 officers and l6'lsa
| men.
| In time of war all these divisions are re-
cruited up to their full war footing. from
| the trained reserves, bringing the effective
/ strength of a regiment of infantry up to
SO men and a mounted battery to about 1872
men. The effective French war force has
been estimated as follows: Active and re-
eFa army less less 3 per per Cent
| serve Of territorial army, less IS per cent:
| $4,000: depot, ETC.. 10000. making a total OF
BAN 900 officers and men.
| German Army in Peace and War.
The German army in time of peace cofl-
sists of O440 officers and 1885, ,9S3 men. In the
following divisions, ,Staff and special troops.
infantry. 1888 officers and 3eS,713 men: 465
squadrons of cavalry. 2,35l officers and 6o. .S41
men; 434 batteries of field artillery, 1865 Of
| fcers and 1881 men; 62 companies. train
L H.,
talions foot cavalry, 72s officers and 17,169
men; 101 companies of pioneers. SIS officers
and 1924 men: 27 districts, landwehr. $50
officers and Ell men.
| An estimate Of the effective German war
| strength Is as follows: Active army and
| reserve, less 10 per cent, 1OSl go: hrst ban
| of landwehr. less 20 per cent, 6oos9O: second
| ban of landwehr, less 30 per cent. 6s2.s6O Of
fcers of active army and reserve. 5000;
| total, including officers and men, .416, 800
| This has been raised considerably, as
-skt Ia 1toI1 1A 10 l.
tary service.
Britain's Military Strength.
The British standing army is recruited
entirely by voluntary enlistment. Its
| strength In time Of peace Is estimated al
22s, 1872 officers and men, in divisions as fol-
| lows: Staff and special troops. 1891 officers
and $50 men; 14S battalions. seventy-one
depots and 345 cadres of infantry. 4.7So Of.
| ficerS and 1920 men; 1S6 SquadronS, II
depots and 43 cadres of cavalry, 856 officers
and 1S4l2 men: 23O batteries and 50 cadres
of artillery, LAS officers and LAS men; q
officers and $500 men; battalions, bat.
teries and 16 cadres of colonial troops, III
officers and 5.064 men.
The estimated war strength of the Brit.
117,2n officers and men; reserves of regular
army, I3,S25 officers and men; militia
Officers and % 1ts S men
tai of Coz, 2S3 officers and men. To this may
be added 10S.9S1 officers and men in the
regular army in the colonies: There are
India, and about q, 800 British troops in In.
dia. The native troops amount to 10000
men and the Indian police. officered by
British. amount to 140. 900.
Besides the troops of the standing army
in the colonies there are colonial troops
organized for local defense. Some of the
colonies might contribute some of these
| local troops in case of war. The strength
of these colonial troops Is estimated as fol.
lows: Canada. 69S,053 officers and men
Australia New Zealand and Tasmania
about 10000 officers and men.
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