The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-04-02
Injured to Hardships the Russian Peasants
Become Hardy, Patient and
C0ntented Soldiers.
Cossacks Form Interesting Branch of Service
and have No Parallel in Any
Other Army in World.

Va siA " SoA IAAuSc pOuCueS ana q
bandolier, carrying 12O rounds in all,
kit bag, an aluminium water bottle.
great coat and the sixth part of a
shelter tent; total weight, 1922 pounds.
This includes an emergency ration Of
biscuit and salt. Meat is carried "on
the hoof," cattle for slaughter accom-.
pany the marching columns.
~ special part Of the Russian in.
fantry embraces the rifle corps, which
are light troops composed Of picked
recruits. There are in peace thirty.
two regiments of two battalions each
and thirty-two independent battalions:
in war rather more
The mobile artillery is organized In
horse, field and mountain artillery,
with fine reserve Of field artillery and
4 depot artillery and militia field ar.
tillcry. There is also a foot or garri.
son artillery for fortresses and as siege
trains.
The horse artillery consists of thirty.
one batteries, Of which the guard
counts five, the line twenty-three.
There are two horse mountain batteries
in Europe and another in Turkestan.
The gun has callber of 3.42 inches,
it fires a fifteen-pounder shell, it
weighs 3,7OO pounds behind the team
and it's extreme (shrapneD range Is
4,4SO yards. Each battery has six
The field artillery consists of three
guard batteries, four grcnadier and
forty-five line. The strength and arma-
ment vary in brigades; some have three
batteries, some two; the guns may be
heavy" or light "mountain" or
"howitzer."
The "heavy" guns have caliber of
ID inches; they fire a SHELL twenty.
seven to twenty-eight pounds, each
has weight behind the team of 1920
pounds and it's extreme (shrapneD
range is 1850 yards.
The "light'' gun is the same as that
Of horse artillery.
Mountain" guns have caliber Of
2.5 inches. Each gun weighs 1914
pounds and fires seven to eight pound
shell, and the range is 400 yards.
The "HowitZer" gun is a six-inch
steel breech-loading gun, having cali
Der OF o.99 inches; it weighs 4,1OO
pounds against the team; it's projectiIes
are explosive steel and shrapnel shells.
the first weighing tifty-nine pounds, the
latter siXty-cight pounds, and contains
CS3 bullets. The maximum range q
5000 yards
The batteries are made up of six o.
eight guns.
"A very complete system of field am
munftiOn column exists, with fiyinr
parks for war, carrying all kinds Of
material, including that for small arms.
The foot or garrison artillery con.
sists Of fifty-six fortress artillery bat.
tallions, four of seige artillery, with a
number of independent fortress artil-
lery companies and "sortie" batteries
The heavy guns in use include 40 steel
guns, six and eight inch screw guns,
"a steel mortars and eight or nine
inch screw mortars. Active and re.
serve guns together make up total Of
424 big guns in the European pack and
24O in the Caucasian pack.
a batch Of recruits on reaching a
garrison town, are sorted out by their
officers. The strongest and most intel.
ligent are sent to serve in the artillery.
Tall men are drafted into the cavalry.
For the infantry, with the exception of
the guards, the short and stolid men
are chosen, who will be capable of en-
during great fatigue and developing
good marching powers.
Some of the most intelligent of the
recruits are chosen by the officers 10
assist in knocking into shape such raw
material as comes from the races Of
Tartars, Caucasians, Lithuanians, Es-
thonians, Germans, Poles, little Rus.
slams and many others whose names
are scarcely known in this country.
Every morning and every night the
Russian soldier is summoned to pray