Evening star., 1909-01-18
PREPARING FOR WAR
Austrian Forces Concentrated
in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
TROOPS MOVED SECRETLY
Newspaper Reference to Mobiliza-
ton Suppressed.
GETTING READY FOR TROUBLE
Strength Of the 18th Army Corps
Raised From. $1,000 to $1,000.
On Servian Frontier.
GETTING READY FOR TROUBLE

Special Cabiegram to The Star.
VIENNA, January 1S.-Austria has con-
centrated a great army In Bosnia and
Herzegovina. Everything has been done
to keep all movements Of troops secret.
The troops have been marched through
the larger towns at night, and news
papers which have had the temerity to re-
fer to them have been confiscated whole
sale. But where a professional army
might be moved with considerable se-
crecy, it is not possible 80 to handle a
citizen army. The situation is at present
as follows:
Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia, is the
headquarters of the 10Th Army Corps,
whose normal peace strength. formed Of
two divisions each Of four regiments of
infantry, is about 1900. counting the
cavalry and artillery.
BY a recent decree of the emperor the
war minister was empowered to raise the
strength Of a regiment from the normal
peace strength of 1,500 to $500 by re-
tanning the youngest class of reservists
and supplementary reServists under the
colors-that is, those men who had al
ready completed their term Of service.
Further. the government has admitted
that several battalions from other army
corps have been sent as reinforcements to
teen battalions Of 100 men each. These
have been formed into a third infantry
division of about 10000 men. Several
batteries of the new Quick-firing guns
have also been sent from the Vienna
arsenal.
18th Army Corps Numbers $4,000.
The present strength of the 18th Army
Corps Is about sixty battalions Of infan-
try, four to a regiment. and, say, 1900
artillery, cavalry, ETC., OF a total of 55, 600
men.
Besides these. pumber Of small flying
columns-''St trafunis," as they are locally
called-have been formed to deal with the
bands the enemy may be expected to send
across the frontier. and 1000 men have
been set apart for this work.
The power to retain reservists under
colors given by the emperor's decree is
not limited, as was implied at the time,
minister can, If he likes, exercise 1t with
regard to all the other fourteen army
corps in nAustria-Hungary, and increase
the total number Of men under arms by
103, ,OOO-that is, third of the peace
strengthens most of the men serve three
years.
Four of the army corps, which would be
the first to be used in case Of hostilities-
the 7th and the 9th (kaschau)-have been
raised from the normal peace footing to
%, 600 men or more.
There is thus force OF $4,000 men
ready to march against Servia at mo-
ment's notice, and this is considered suffi-
cient for the first line.
So far no reserves have been called up
from their peace occupations. as this
could not possibly be kept secret, and
would precipitate hostilities. The full
mobilization of the Austrian army would
mean that ten years of reservists, includ-
ing the Landwehr and Honveds. would be
called out, which would produce about
two and half million men.
Army Highly Efficient.
An Austrian general states that the
army is now, or will
be in q month, at the very acme of eff