~l.
WAR DEPARTMENT . . OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF,
SLCUNL : “ TARY INFORMATION, Division. 2 - 4 “’ “
GENERAL STAFF.
No. 2.
BULLET IN
MILITARY - NO 1 T. S.
No. I.
`December 31, 1903.
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WASHINGTON:
GOV E R N M E N T P R INT ING OFFICE.
1904.
WAR DEPARTMENT . . OFFICE OF THE CHIEF OF STAFF.
SECOND (MILITARY INFORMATION) DIVISION. *
-- M.S. GENERAL STAFF.
No. 2.
BULLET IN
OF
MILITARY NOTES.
No. I.
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December 31, 1903.
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WASHINGTON:
GOVERNMENT PRINT ING OFFICE.
1904.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN LIBRARIES
WAR IDEPARTMENT,
Document 224.
Office of Chief of Staff.
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I N T R O DU CTO R Y NOT E.
The scheme of arrangement of military notes for publica-
tion in the bulletin is as follows:
Notes to be arranged according to countries, the countries
to be arranged in alphabetical order. Notes pertaining to a
particular country to be arranged as follows:
1. Present strength, organization, armament, equipment,
distribution, etc.
2. Budgets (general statement only), estimates, recruit con-
tingent, etc.
3. Rations, clothing, accouterments, etc.
Remount system.
Changes of all kinds.
Trials of new devices and systems.
Miscellaneous military notes.
Reports of maneuvers. Q
Navy: Classification and distribution of vessels, vessels
building, authorized, etc.
10. Other naval notes of interest.
Following notes pertaining exclusively to different coun-
tries will appear:
11. Miscellaneous notes.
12. Bibliography.
13. Index.
14. Maps, plates, etc.
i
ARGENTINA.
FOREIGN POPULATION.
According to official data published in the South American
Journal of February 28, 1903, there were 1,001,899 foreigners
in Argentina in the year 1900, of whom 882,767 were Euro-
peans. Of these, 493,000 were Italians, 198,790 Spaniards,
94,000 French, 21,800 English, 17,100 Germans, 12,800 Aus-
trians, 14,800 Swiss, 30,567 various.
The foreign population is composed of 92 per cent of the
Latin race and 8 per cent of others. In Buénos Ayres, on
December, 1900, there were 320,000 Europeans out of a total
of 800,000 inhabitants, or about 40 per cent. Of these 320,000
Europeans, the various nationalities were:
Italians ------------------------------------------------------ 181, 700
Spaniards ---------------------------------------------------- 80, 300
French ------------------------------------------------------ 33, 200
English ---------------------- - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * = * * * * * sº gº sº m as 6,800
Germans ----------------------------------------------------- 5,300
Austrians ---------------------------------------------------- 3,000
Swiss -------------------------------------------------------- 2,800
Various------------------------------------------------------ 6,900
Of the remaining Europeans, 562,000 were distributed
throughout the country as follows:
Province of Buenos Ayres ------------------------------------- 296,000
Province of Santa Fe------------------------------------------ 159,000
Province of Entre Rios---------------------------------------- 50, 700
Province of Cordoba ------------------------------------------ 34,500
The remaining 10 provinces and national territories - - - - - - - - - - - - - 48,800
—Bulletin American Republics, April, 1903.
VESSELS BLJILDING.

Displace- Where yº gº
Name. ment. building. Remarks.
ARMORED CRUISERS.
Rivadavia -------------------------------... 7,600 Genoa. . . . . . Under trial.
Moreno------------------------------------. 7,600 |..... do . . . . . Launched Feb. 9, 1903.
–Proceedings of the Waval Institute, Wo. 107.
The above cruisers have since been sold to the Japanese
Government and have been renamed the Misshºn and Aasaga.
4
AUSTRIA-HUNGA RY.
THE RECRUITING LAW IN ITS NEW FORM.
The Austrian Parliament has already passed the amended
recruiting law, but in the Hungarian Parliament not only is
strenuous opposition raised against it by the independence
party, but this opposition is accompanied by street demon-
strations and meetings of protest, so that the purpose of
obstructing the passage of the bill until the expiration of this
year's enlistment term is already accomplished. Neverthe-
less, it is expected that the bill will eventually be passed,
after some concessions have been secured, such as the pro-
vision that all Hungarian officers shall serve only in the Hun-
garian army, the modification of the army emblems, and
others. Even Emperor Francis Joseph has recently declared
himself categorically in favor of its passage. The recruiting
for Austria has, in the meantime, been deferred till April
instead of March, under the supposition that the bill would
become a law by May 1. The new recruiting bill differs, it
is true, in its present form from its previous form, but its
most important provision—viz, the increase of the recruit
contingent for army and navy for 1903 to 126,000 men—has
remained unchanged. The second item, however—viz, the
calling of 6,000 Ersatz reservists into active service—has been
abandoned by the administrative authorities of the army, in
view of the opposition to it in the Chamber of Deputies.
This could be very conveniently done, inasmuch as the reasons
on which this demand was originally based, particularly the
formation of the new howitzer batteries, are not now so
urgent, since the organization of these batteries has been
delayed. The demands made in the bill, and which, as already
mentioned, have been granted by the Austrian Parliament,
are considered in all professional circles as the barely suffi-
cient minimum in order to maintain the armed strength of
the monarchy up to its present standard until the recruiting
conditions are definitely settled.
As a compensation for the increase granted in the number
of recruits, which in view of the prevailing conditions seemed
5
6 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
unavoidable, demands were made and wishes expressed in the
Austrian Chamber of Deputies, to which the army officials
declared their willingness to accede. To be sure, the demand
of a two-years’ term of service until the presentation next
year of the reports on the subject was not considered, and
nothing new concerning the new regulations for military
penal procedure was advanced; but the Austrian war minis-
ter, Count Welsersheimb, gave assurance that if an increased
recruit contingent were granted, a greater number of furloughs
than prescribed by law would take place; that their number
in the army amounted to 5,200 this year, and that they would
also take place in following years. Furthermore, the army
authorities would accede to their wishes regarding discon-
tinuance and alleviation of the military drills of the fur-
loughed class. For with an increase of the recruit contingent
there gradually takes place such an increase in the number
of persons obliged to participate in these military drills that,
inasmuch as the minimum calls to military drill are satis-
fied by the personnel of the first eight years, the call can be
omitted during the last two years. A new law concerning
the furnishing of relays constitutes another important stride
in the mitigation of military burdens. There is prospect of
a similar law regarding the military exemption tax, designed
to abolish the lowest grades of the latter; a new method of
procedure in the estimation of damages done to fields during
maneuvers, etc., is proposed; and new regulations are to be
adopted with a view to facilitating the conditions under which
the certificate of final fulfillment of military obligations is
obtained.
The explanatory statement accompanying the new recruit-
ing bill contains interesting data regarding the development
of the armies of the military powers within the last few
decades. When Austria-Hungary, in consequence of the
events of 1866, introduced universal military liability in 1867
and fixed its recruit contingent at 95,474 men, in order to
bring the war strength of the army up to 800,000 men, the
army of the North German federation had a war establish-
ment of 945,000 men and a recruit contingent of 100,000.
In France the war establishment was 1,200,000 men and the
recruit contingent (1868) 98,000 men; the war strength of the
Russian army was 1,767,000 men and the average recruit con-
tingent 145,000 men; while the war strength of the Italian
*BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 7
army numbered 494,000 men and its annual contingent 80,000
men (1867), of whom, however, only 50,000 were placed in
service in the first category, while the remainder, belonging
to the second category, formed the Ersatz reserve.
The recruit contingent of the whole Austro-Hungarian
army, including the Austrian and Hungarian landwehrs,
amounts to-day to 126,013 men; that of the German army,
including the one-year and two-year volunteers, 280,000 men
(in 1901, however, 269,166 men); that of France, 258,000 men;
that of Russia, including the Cossacks, 335,525 men; that of
Italy, 100,000 men; so that the contingents have increased
as follows in the last three decades: In Germany, by 180,000
men; in France, by 155,000 men; in Russia, by 190,000 men;
in Italy, by 50,000 men; and in Austria-Hungary, for both
army and navy, by only 7,626 men.
The present war strength in enlisted men who are trained
and have seen service is, exclusive of the Ersatz reserve, in
Germany, with her yearly contingent of 280,000 men, a term
of military liability of 25 years, and 25 per cent decrease,
5,043,750 men; in France, with her annual contingent of
258,000 men, her military liability of 25 years, and a 25 per
cent decrease, 4,837,500 men; in Russia, with her yearly con-
tingent of 335,525 men, her military liability of 22 years, and
a 22 per cent loss, a war strength of 5,757,620 men; in Austria-
Hungary, with a present annual contingent of 126,000 men, a
military liability of 21 years, and a 21 per cent decrease, an
establishment of 2,090,000 men. Inasmuch, however, as all
the annual contingents of France and Russia are not thor-
oughly trained, it seems admissible to include in Austria-
Hungary the Ersatz reservists, who are partially trained; but
even then the number of enlisted men trained for war in the
Hapsburg monarchy is hardly 3,000,000. In the explanatory
statement this relative superiority of the other great military
powers is used as a basis for the increase demanded in the
recruit contingent of 23,000 men.
As far as the peace strength of the armies of the military
powers is concerned, France has, according to Militärismus in
Österreich-Ungarn, relatively the largest army peace strength,
being 600,000 men, or 1.54 per cent of the total population.
Second in order comes Germany, whose military burdens are
generally claimed to be less onerous than those of the other
powers, with a peace establishment of 605,800 men (not
8 ... BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
604,266, as stated by Militärismus), or 1.07 per cent of the
whole population. Russia has a peace establishment of
1,167,000 men, or 1.01 per cent of the total population; Italy,
257,000 men, or 0.79 per cent; Austria-Hungary, 355,179, or
0.75 per cent. Germany also occupies second place with re-
gard to the recruit contingent, coming after Russia, whose con-
tingent is 335,525 men, while that of Germany is 269,166 men
(1901, including one-year volunteers and other voluntarily
enlisted personnel). The French recruit contingent amounts
to only 217,000 men, and the new army budget calculates on
only 215,000. The contingent of Austria-Hungary is only
126,000 men, and that of Italy only 102,000. There are in
Russia 325 recruits per 100,000 inhabitants, in Germany 415,
in France 555, in Italy 313; in Austria-Hungary there have
been heretofore 267 and there will be henceforth 325.
As regards expenditures for the military establishment in
comparison with the total expenditures, Germany occupies
first place, for they amount to 38.7 per cent of the total ex-
penditures, while even in England they are but 30.4 per cent,
in France 28.7 per cent, in Italy 21.8 per cent, and in Austria-
Hungary 16 per cent. The national wealth of England is
estimated, according to another statistical source, at 295
billions. Of this, 106 billions are movable capital, and the
amount carried by the budget is 3 billions. The national
wealth of France is estimated at 247 billions, of which 65
billions are movable capital. The budget carries 3} billions.
The national wealth of Germany is estimated at 201 billions,
of which 37 billions are movable capital. The amount carried
by the budget is 4 billions. Russia's national wealth is calcu-
lated at 160 billions, of which 14 billions are movable capital,
and the budget carries 2 billions and 700 millions. The
national wealth of Austria-Hungary is estimated at 103 bil-
lions, of which 10 billions are movable capital, and the amount
carried by the budget is estimated at 2 billions. The national
wealth of Italy is estimated at 79 billions, of which 7 billions
are movable capital, and the amount carried by the budget is
1.8 billions. Only as regards military burden per capita
does Germany stand third in order, with 18.9 crowns ($45.36)
per head. England occupies first place, with 29.7 crowns
($7.1.28) per capita, and France second, with 24.8 crowns
($59.52). Italy follows with 11.4 crowns ($27.36), Russia
RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 9
with 9.4 crowns ($22.56), and Austria-Hungary with 9.3
crowns ($22.32).
Among the arguments in behalf of an increase in the recruit
contingent of the Austro-Hungarian army, it is shown that
the one favoring an increase of the very weak peace establish-
ment of the battalions (18 officers and only 372 men) can not
be sustained, but that only the creation of 2 fortress artil-
lery battalions, 1 telegraph battalion, and 3 train squadrons,
besides the formation of 14 new field howitzer detachments,
for which the funds have already been granted by the delega-
tions, will be agreed to; especial consideration will, however,
also be given to the reorganization of the field artillery conse-
Quent upon its forthcoming rearmament, for which prepara-
tion must be made by an increase in its establishment. There
are to be newly created, upon the rearmament of the field
artillery, 2 detachments of horse artillery (as 10 cavalry
divisions are reckoned on) and 3 new divisional artillery
regiments, which are obviously intended for the 3 landwehr
divisions, as the Austrian landwehr is henceforth to furnish
9 divisions and the Hungarian landwehr also 9, according to .
the proposed reorganization to be carried into effect upon
the increase of the recruit contingent—a total of 18 landwehr
divisions, of which 1 will be endowed with mountain artillery.
The new organization gives the Hungarian landwehr 36 regi-
ments of infantry. *
The Austro-Hungarian army budget proper for 1903
amounts to 241,378,000 marks for ordinary expenditures,
16,412,000 for extraordinary expenditures, and 6,567,000
marks for the occupation of Bosnia—a total of 264,357,000
marks. As compared with the previous budget there is an
increase of 5 millions, which is principally due to the forma-
tion last year of 14 field howitzer “divisions” of 3 batteries
each, and the reorganization of the Tyrol mountain artillery.
Furthermore, since January 1 there have been formed 3 train
Squadrons, and at the end of the year a second school for
artillery cadets is to be established. For the cavalry a new
equipment for crossing streams with floating sacks has been
adopted. For the better subsistence of the men, and espe-
cially for better evening meals, 1% pfennigs are set aside. The
strength of the combined army, exclusive of both landwehrs,
is 21,612 officers and officials with officer’s rank, 294,524
10 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
enlisted men, and 62,725 horses. The gendarmery, includ-
ing the detachment of marine guards at Pola, numbers 1 gen-
eral officer, 1. judge-advocate (colonel), 27 field officers, 151
company officers, 52 paymasters, 11,505 noncommissioned
officers, “brigadiers” and gendarmes, and 21 subordinate
officials (Unterbeamten). For 1903, 95 additional gendarmes
are demanded.—Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitung,
April 4, 1903.
A NEW AUTOMATIC PISTOL.
Danzer’s Armee-Zeitung announces the manufacture, with
a view to testing them among the troops, of a considerable
number of automatic pistols of the Roth system. This pistol,
of a new model, is provided with a hammerless firing mech-
anism and a breech closure composed of two rigid and sym-
metrical locking lugs. It can receive 10 cartridges.
Let us recall that a repeating revolver, model 1898, of the
Roth system, is at present in use in the infantry.
The cavalry is partly armed with the model 1870–1874
revolver, of the Gasser system, and partly with the model 1898
revolver tranformed, this latter being adopted experimen-
tally.—Bulletin de la Presse et de la Bibliographie militaires,
August 31, 1903.
MACHINE GUNS.
Trials have taken place in Austria of machine guns for use
with cavalry and for mountain warfare. A detachment of 2
guns was formed for the Twelfth Hussars at Lemberg, and
another for the Fifteenth Corps at Serajevo. The gun for
the cavalry has a wheel mounting, drawn by 4 horses. In the
mountain section the gun is carried by mules, one animal for
the gun itself and two for the ammunition and mounting, and
in action is used upon a tripod, variable in height and having
a seat for the gunner upon the leg behind the breech.
The mountain guns are upon the Maxim-Nordenfelt system,
and fire the ordinary infantry cartridge with a rapidity of 500
rounds per minute, and sights graduated from 200 to 2,000
meters. The supply of ammunition carried with the 2 guns
upon the mules provides for 11,000 rounds.-The Army and
Mavy Gazette, October 31, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 11
AUTOMOBILES.
According to the Revue Militaire de Streffleur, certain very
interesting experiments have recently been made in Vienna
with automobiles for the transportation of supplies, with a
view to determining their practical speed while carrying a
load.
A motor carriage of 12 horsepower, weighing about 3,500
pounds, was used in the experiments. The motor was run by
benzine, and the carriage carried sufficient supplies for a
twelve-hour trip. *.
The wheels of the carriage were 4.59 feet in diameter and
the tire 4.72 inches; the gauge was 5 feet 2 inches. The body
of the carriage was 3.5 meters long and 1.3 wide. The weight
of the load carried was the same as that of the carriage itself.
With this load the carriage made 11 kilometers an hour,
ascended grades of 1:10, and was able to turn on a radius of .
3.5 meters.
The course of 52 kilometers was made at a rate of 11 kilo-
meters per hour.—La Belgique Militaire, July 12, 1903.
FURLOUGHED HORSES.
The army has 26,000 horses “on furlough,” that is, which
have been given out, after being trained, to proprietors who
are obliged to restore them within twenty-four hours in case
of mobilization.
Part of these horses are called in for the maneuvers, and
they must be presented at two inspections each year. They
are the “supplementary” saddle horses of the cavalry and
special services. At the end of ten years they become the
property of the persons to whom they have been intrusted for
keeping.—La Belgique Militaire, October 18, 1903.
A NEW SYSTEM OF LATRINES.
According to Streffleur's Review, some latrines of a special
system have just been installed in the marine barracks at
Wilhelmshaven.
In these latrines the matter falls into a ditch on a grating
which retains the solid parts while the liquid parts are received
in a basin at the bottom. Every three days a hot fire is
kindled between the grating and the basin, the solid parts
being completely burned and the urine evaporated. A tall
chimney like those of factories is, of course, necessary in
12 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
order to convey the gases and bad odors to a suitable height
above the earth.
It is said that latrines of this description have also been
established elsewhere in Prussia and give excellent results.
They are said to be entirely odorless.
According to the Austrian review cited, this type of latrine
is calculated to render great services in hospitals, for all pos-
sible disease germs are destroyed and are thus not left to
infect the soil and neighboring waters.-La Belgique Mºlā-
taire, October 18, 1903.
THE HAEUSNER PATENT Axl ELEss wheeL.
A patent has recently been issued for a device known as
the “axleless wheel,” for which great claims are made. The
axle is not done away with in this device, as the name would
PLATE 1.
seem to indicate, but instead of the wheel revolving on the
axle in the ordinary way, the wheel revolves on an eccentric
collar mounted on the axle.

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
13
PLATE 2.

14 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES,
The collar itself consists of two eccentric disks held apart
or separated by two distance pieces. Between the disks is a
coiled flat spring, one end of which is attached to one of the
distance pieces, and the other end (the inner one) of the coil
attached permanently to the axle proper, this attachment
being so made that the axis of the axle and the point of attach-
ment of the outer end of the spring, and also the center of
the eccentric disk, are in the same horizontal plane under
ordinary load. (See ple. 1 and 2.)
Any increase in the load or a sudden jar tends to revolve the
plane referred to from its horizontal position. This causes
the spring to wind on the axle and to increase its resistance.
It is claimed for the device that all shocks and vibrations are
absolutely prevented from reaching the occupants of the vehi-
cle; that owing to the fact that springs as heretofore used are
no longer necessary, the vehicle frame may be greatly simpli-
fied, and so rendered less costly to manufacture; also that no
resort to pneumatic, rubber, or other form of resilient tire is
necessary to reduce vibration, as the latter is entirely taken
up by the coil spring.
It is claimed also that the construction ‘‘is adapted for use
with vehicles of all kinds and equally well for handcarts or
trucks, as for private and other carriages, light or heavy
goods vehicles, motor road vehicles, railway carriages, etc.”.
THE AUSTRIAN NAVY.
Danzer’s Armee Zeitung publishes a despondent article
upon the Austrian navy in the form of a comment upon some
remarks of the Grazer Tagespost. The navy consists at the
present time of 1 second-class battle ship and 3 of the third
class, 1 second-class armored cruiser and 1 of the third class,
2 old ironclads, 3 weak torpedo cruisers, 7 dispatch vessels,
and 6 torpedo boats. All the others in the list have no greater
value than old iron, and the Austrian navy is actually weaker
than those of Chile, Argentina, or Spain. Here is certainly
some exaggeration, but the critic is right in the main, and he
deplores that no one in Austria recognizes the reality of the
situation. The delegations of the two Parliaments have
adjourned the laying down of a third battle ship of 10,600
tons, which can only be begun in 1904 for completion in
1910, by which time several of the older ships will have
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 15
become ineffective. The Armee Zeitung quotes the remark
of Captain Wislicenus in the German Tag, that to-day, thirty-
seven years after the battle of Lissa, the Austro-Hungarian
fleet is scarcely equal to one-half of the Italian fleet; it has
not a third of the power of that fleet, and in no way represents
the type of a modern navy. This is the fruit of the negligence
of many years, and the fleet is perfectly incapable of fulfilling
its mission, which is the domination of the Adriatic.
We quote these remarks as containing a considerable element
of truth, while we fully recognize that the Austrian navy, as
at present constituted, is both efficient and progressive. More
money is required to make it what it ought to be. — The Army
and Wavy Gazette.
AUSTRIAN BATTLE SHIP ERZHERZOG-KARL.
The Austrian battle ship “A” of 10,300 tons is to be launched,
according to Danzer’s Armee Zeitung, on October 4, at the
Stabilmento Tecnico, at Trieste.
She displaces 10,600 tons, and is 390 feet 6 inches long, with
72 feet 3 inches beam and 24 feet 6 inches draft. She will be
protected by an 84-inch belt of Krupp steel, 5-inch battery
plating, 8-inch bulkheads, a 2-inch deck, and 9 and 8 inches
of Krupp steel for the main and secondary guns. The arma-
ment will consist of four 9.4-inch, eight 7.5-inch, six 6-inch,
and twenty-eight smaller guns. Engines of 14,000 horse-
power, supplied by Yarrow boilers, are to give a speed of 19
knots.
The vessel will receive the name of Erzherzog-Karl.-The
Army and Mavy Gazette.
VESSELS BUILDING.

Displace- Where
Name. ImCIlt. building. Remarks.
PATTLE SHIPS.
Toms.
Erzherzog-Karl..... ----------.... 10, 600 Trieste . . . . . To be launched Oct. 4.
B (Ersatz-Drache)...... . . . . . . . . . . 10, 600 |. . . . . do ----, - Building.
C --------------------------------- 10, 600 |..... do ------ To be laid down 1903.
Badenburg . . . . . . .---------------. 8, 340 | Pola . . . . . . . . Launched October, 1902.
ARMORED CRUISER. * tºº
E (Ersatz-Radetsky) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,400 | Pola . . . . . . . . Building.
RIVER MONITORS.
Save-...-------------------------- 450 | Neupesth...] Nearly ready to be launched,
Theiss ---------------------------- 450 |..... do ------ DO. -
—Proceedings of the U. S. Waval Institute, Wo. 107.
EELGIUM.
NEW ARMY ORGANIZATION.
By a decree of November 24 last the King of the Belgians
has approved of the new organization of the army on a peace
footing.
In the event of a general mobilization the Belgian army
should be divided into a field army, troops garrisoning for-
tresses, and depot troops.
THE FIELD ARMY.
The field army is composed of 4 army and 2 cavalry divi-
sions. Each army division consists of 2 infantry brigades, 1
battalion of carabiniers, 1 engineer company, 1 regiment of
field artillery, 2 squadrons of cavalry, 1 field telegraph sec-
tion, 2 artillery ammunition columns, 2 infantry ammunition
columns, 1 supply train, 1 section engineer park, 1 ambulance
column, 2 provision columns, 1 remount depot, and 2 mobile
hospitals. Each cavalry division consists of 2 cavalry bri-
gades, 2 batteries of horse artillery, 1 artillery ammunition
column, the supply personnel, and 1 ambulance column.
DEFENSE OF FORTRESSES.
Consists of a mobile defense and of garrisons for defense.
The Mobile defense is made up, for Liege, of 1 regular line
regiment (the Fourteenth), and 2 squadrons to be raised in
time of war; for Namur, of 1 regular line regiment (the Thir-
teenth), and 2 squadrons to be raised in time of war (these two
regiments, the Thirteenth and Fourteenth, form the Ninth
brigade); for Anvers, by the Fifth division. This division is
composed of 2 infantry brigades (the First Carabinier Fortress
Battalion and 4 reserve infantry regiments of 2 battalions
each), 1 reserve cavalry regiment of 4 squadrons, to be raised
in time of war, 6 reserve field batteries, and the various other
services. The defense garrisons consist of 15 reserve infan-
try regiments, 5 fortress artillery regiments, 12 companies of
engineers, 1 fortress telegraph company, 1 artificers’ com-
pany, 1 fortress pontoon company, half a company of work-
men, etc.
16
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 17
INFANTRY.
The Belgian infantry consists of 19 regular regiments, viz,
1 carabinier, 1 grenadier, 3 chasseur, and 14 line regiments.
These regiments are made up into 4 divisions of 4 regiments
each, and 1 brigade (consisting of 2 regiments, the Thirteenth
and Fourteenth) for the defense of Liege and Namur. The
carabinier regiment supplies 1 regular battalion to each of the
divisions of the army.
Hitherto all infantry regiments have consisted of 3 regular
and 2 reserve battalions, with the exception of the carabinier
regiment, which consisted of 4 regular and 3 reserve battal-
ions. The number of regular battalions has not been altered,
but all regiments have been increased by 1 reserve battalion.
The grenadier regiment, as well as those of the line and of
the foot chasseurs, will thus have 3, and the carabinier regi-
ment 4 reserve battalions.
The regimental staff of officers consisted of the colonel, the
lieutenant-colonel, a captain as adjutant, a lieutenant or ensign,
and a regimental doctor. The new organization attaches to
the staff, in addition, a second adjutant with the rank of
second captain, who is not mounted. In the event of war he
becomes adjutant to a reserve or fortress regiment. The
battalion staff of officers consisted of the major, a second cap-
tain as adjutant, a paymaster, and a doctor. The new organ-
ization replaces the second captains by lieutenants as battalion
adjutants; those of reserve battalions have been done away
with, thus allowing for first or second captains to command a
reserve or fortress companies.
CAVALRY.
The cavalry retains its present organization. It consists of
8 regiments of 5 squadrons each, viz, 2 mounted chasseur
regiments, 2 guide, and 4 lancer regiments. Each regiment
has a staff, 5 active and 1 depot squadrons. In the event of
mobilization, the composition of the regiment is increased to
6 active squadrons and 1 depot squadron. Each of the 8 regi-
ments detaches its fifth squadron to one of the 4 army
divisions, which have thus each 2, as has already been stated.
The staff and 4 squadrons are, therefore, meant to form the
17430—04—2
18 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
independent cavalry; the fifth squadrons form the divisional
cavalry, while the sixth squadrons, commanded by second
captains, are attached to the fortress troops.
ARTILLERY.
Its organization includes a special staff, 4 regiments of field
and 5 of fortress artillery, and 4 special companies.
The field artillery, consists of 34 regular and 6 reserve bat-
teries, all with 6 guns. They are divided into field and horse
artillery batteries. The field batteries, armed with 8.7-cm.
guns, are attached to the army divisions; the horse artillery
batteries accompany the cavalry divisions and are armed with
7.5-cm. guns. The first and third field artillery regiments
each consist of a staff of 8 regular and 1 reserve batteries, plus
another reserve battery for furnishing 3 ammunition columns
and a depot. The second and fourth regiments each consist
of a staff, 7 regular field and 2 regular horse artillery bat-
teries; of 2 reserve field batteries, plus 1 reserve battery, for
providing 3 artillery ammunition columns and a depot.
“The field artillery,” says the Belgique Militaire, “as
regards Organization, remains provisionally as at present con-
stituted. To insure its reorganization, which will no doubt
be shortly taken in hand, the annual contingent of this branch
of the service has been increased by 240 men, who were first
raised at the last enrolment. These 240 men are obtained
from the reduction of the annual contingents enlisted for the
transports, the administrative battalion, and the fortress
artillery, as well as from men of the contingent enrolled into
the artillery pontoon company, which has been abolished.
The future doubling of the field artillery, laid down by the
mixed commission, will entail the formation of 18 regular and
6 reserve batteries, so as to have a brigade of 2 regiments of
6 batteries to an army division.”
Fortress artillery consisted of 58 regular, S reserve, and 5
depot battalions, divided into 5 regiments. These 5 regiments
were formed into 3 groups, the headquarters of which were
Anters, Liege, Namur, and the fort de Huy. The fortress
artillery will in future be organized according to the posi-
tions to be fortified and grouped in each of these by sections
and by battalions. The number of battalions attached to each
section will be determined by the importance of the latter.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 19
Up to the present the Belgian field artillery has consisted
of guns of the 1878 Krupp model of 2 calibers—one of 2.95-
inch for the horse artillery, and one of 3.42 for the foot artil-
lery. At the beginning of 1900 a committee was formed to
decide on the best type for new guns, and as a result of the
committee's deliberations a battery of guns of a new type was
ordered from the John Cockerill Nordenfeldt Company, at
Seraing, in order that the guns might be put to the test of
actual use in the army. In these guns the barrel and carriage
form, for the purpose of firing, one rigid piece; and this type of
gun would probably have been selected for the Belgian artil-
lery had not the new French gun prevented the committee
from coming to a final decision. The principle of the French
gun is the very opposite to the Cockerill gun, as in its case
the barrel slides backward and forward on the carriage.
The committee is now engaged in considering the respective
merits of the two systems, but it is not stated whether the
secret of the construction of the French gun is known to it.
Special companies.—The artillery has hitherto included 4
special companies, viz, 1 pontoon, 1 artificers, 1 workmen,
and 1 armourers. In future there will be only 3, the pontoon
company having been abolished and its functions transferred
to the similar company of engineers.
ENGINEERS.
Consists of 1 regiment and 5 special companies. The regi-
ment has hitherto consisted of a staff, 3 regular battalions of
4 companies, 1 reserve battalion of 4 companies, and 1 depot.
It will, in future, consist of a staff, 6 battalions, and a depot.
The depot retains its present organization.
Special companies have hitherto consisted of 1 railway com-
pany, 2 telegraph companies, 1 pontoon, and 1 workmen's
company. They will in future consist of 1 railway, I tele-
graph, 1 pontoon, 1 workmen and balloonist, and 1 torpedo
and artificers' company. The two telegraph companies are
thus amalgamated into a single unit. Its officers, and those
of the pontoon company, are mounted in time of peace.
TRANSPORT.
The transport regiment retains its present organization.
20 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
ADMINISTRATION.
No change has been introduced into the general staff, the
staff corps, or the commissariat. According to the Belgique
Militaire, the war effectives amount to about 170,000 men,
100,000 of whom belong to the field army and the remaining
70,000 to the garrisons for the defense of fortresses.—Revue
du Cercle Militaire.
COMPOSITION OF THE PERSONNEL OF THE INTENDANCE
SERVICE AND THE RECRUITMENT OF THE ADMINIS-
TRATIVE SERVICE OF THE ARMY.
(Royal decrees of December 17, 1902.)
ARTICLE 1. The grade of subintendant of the second class
will be divided in the future into two distinct classes, which
will bear the following designations:
Subintendants of the second class assimilated to captain
commandants.
Subintendants of the third class assimilated to second
captains.
ART. 2. The cadre of the subintendants of the second and
third classes is composed as follows: Subintendants of the
second class, 9; subintendants of the third class, 6.
ART. 3. The annual pay of subintendants of the third class
is fixed at 3,700 francs. The subintendants of the second
class receive the same pay as heretofore.
SECTION 1.-Recruiting of intendance service.
ARTICLE 1. The recruitment of the military intendance serv-
ice takes place through the grade of subintendants of the
third class; however, one place of military intendant of the
second class, and three places of subintendant of the first
class are reserved for first quartermaster captains, who have
demonstrated in examination that they possess knowledge
indispensable for the fulfillment of the duties and functions
of a disbursing officer, which the aforesaid service involves.
ART. 2. Candidates for employment as subintendants of
the third class should have the character, intelligence, and
physique necessary for the intendance service in the field.
ART. 3. Each year, at the time of the designation of the
candidates called upon to take the second examination for the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 21
subintendance service, instituted by royal decree of December
23, 1899, one-third of the number which can be admitted (or
one-third of this number less 1 or 2, if the number is not a
multiple of 3) is reserved for the officers of the adminis-
tration service who shall have passed the first trial of said
examination.
ART. 4. All the officers who have definitely passed the
Second examination for subintendant are entered on a sepa-
rate list, according to their seniority in the grade of sublieu-
tenant, without reference to the sessions of examinations or
to the origin of the candidate.
ART. 5. Only those candidates whose names appear upon
this list, and who have had in addition twelve years of service
as an officer, can be appointed as subintendants of the third
class.
ART. 6. The appointments to vacancies in the position of
subintendant of the third class are made in the order of the
list referred to in article 4, taking into account the provisions
of article 5.
ART. 7. Officers appointed as subintendants of the third
class take rank from the date of their nomination to that
grade.
SECTION 2.—Recruitment of officers of administration of units.
ART. 8. The recruitment of paymasters is made through
the grade of subintendant.
ART. 9. Vacancies in this grade are filled by examination,
to wit:
One-half by sublieutenants of all arms, and by administra-
tive officers of the fourth class; one-half by noncómmissioned
officers of the troop units.
Through the lack of suitable persons, the vacancies reserved
for one of these classes of candidates may be filled from the
others.
ART. 10. The sublieutenants or administrative officers of
the fourth class, appointed as sublieutenant paymasters, take
rank in the new position from the date of their admission to
the cadre of administrative officers of the units.
22 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
B.—CAPTAINS OF DEPARTMMNT OF EQUIPMENT.
ART. 11. The recruitment of officers of the equipment de-
partment is made through the grade of Second captain.
ART. 12. Officers having passed examination B for captain
of department of equipment, provided for in the royal decree
of December 23, 1899, are entered on a separate list, accord-
ing to their rank as sublieutenants, without reference to the
order of the examination or the origin of the candidate.
ART. 13. Vacancies in the cadre of officers of equipment
are filled in order from this list.
ART. 14. Officers appointed as second captains of equip-
ment department rank according to date of their nomination
to that grade. &
ART. 15. Captains of the department of equipment coming
from battalion of paymasters can not leave the service in the
department of equipment to resume their rank in the pay-
masters’ cadre.
C.—FIRST-CLASS QUARTERMASTER CAPTAINS.
ART. 16. Vacancies in the grade of first-class quartermaster
captains are conferred by choice of the King on second-class
Quartermasters, who have demonstrated in examination the
knowledge indispensable for filling the duties of that grade.
SECTION 3.—Recruitment of administrative officers.
ART. 17. Recruitment of administrative officers takes place
through the grade of administrative officers of the fourth
class.
ART. 18. Vacancies in this grade are filled by examination,
as follows:
One-half by noncommissioned officers and sub-lieutenants
of all arms; one-half by noncommissioned officers of the ad-
ministrative corps.
In default of suitable candidates, vacancies reserved for one
of the above classes of candidates may be filled from the
other.
ART. 19. The sublieutenants of all arms, appointed as ad-
ministrative officers of the fourth class, take rank in the new
service from the date of their admission to the administrative
corps.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 23
SECTION 4.—Temporary provisions.
ART. 20. The provisions of articles 4, 5, and 6 do not apply
to subintendant candidates of the third class who have passed
or who may pass examinations in 1901 and 1902. These can-
didates will be classified upon separate lists, according to
their present grade, and in each grade according to length
of service.
They may be appointed subintendants of the third class
without having had the twelve years of service as an officer,
required by article 5.
Vacancies may be filled in the order of examination and
according to the lists of each examination.
ART. 21. The present captains of the first or second classes
of equipment department who come from the paymaster’s
cadre are eligible for the position of first-class quartermaster
captains, after having proven by examination the possession
of necessary knowledge for filling this latter grade.
SECTION 5.— General provisions.
In time of war the preceding rules may be modified in the
cases provided for in article 5, of the law of June 16, 1836,
on the mode of advancement of the army.
ART. 23. All former provisions relative to recruitment of
the administrative service are hereby abrogated.—La Belgique
Militaire, February 1, 1903.
NEWS FROM THE BELGIAN ARMY.
A cabinet order of the 1st of April of this year has rees-
tablished the rules hitherto made concerning the relations of
men furloughed at will, and of the reserves, by new “Regu-
lations for men on furlough.” These contain, like the for-
mer orders, directions for the calling out of the furloughed
men and for the mobilization of the army.
The new issue is a consequence of the army rules of March,
1902, which have materially affected the status of all the men
who are to be called in. Our readers already know the
influence of these regulations on the war strength of the
army, which will now reach the number of 180,000 men.
Not only the number of men to be called in has been largely
increased, but also the control that the Government has over
24 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
the furloughed men has been very much strengthened. Ac-
cording to the old regulations the eight youngest classes of
the militia were obliged to be present at one yearly “control
meeting,” and were not permitted to visit foreign countries
without permission. For the ninth to the thirteenth classes
of militia there did not exist any duty (or service) in time of
peace. Now all the classes of militia, the “volontaires de
carrière” during their whole term of service, and the volun-
teers of the reserve, are required to be present at one “con-
trol” meeting yearly during the fourteenth and fifteenth and
during the eleventh and seventeenth years of service, respect-
ively, and are allowed to leave the country only with special
permission.
Therefore, there were only about 65,000 men under control
in the year 1900; now the number under control is about
118,000. These are very important changes, which, without
doubt, would be much appreciated in case of a mobilization.
In the following we give the most important changes that
are published in the new order: &
1. Board for class of furloughed ºnen.—This board is com-
posed primarily of the commanders of the cantons (noncom-
missioned officers of the gendarmerie), and, secondarily, of the
commanders of the military districts (lieutenants or captains
of the gendarmerie). Under command of the higher officers
of the gendarmerie they direct all matters pertaining to the
calling in of the furloughed men, and also attend to the re-
mounting and the service of security and information on the
boundary in case of a mobilization.
(FootNOTE.-The gendarmerie contains at present 1 general as chief, 4
staff officers, 11 captains “commandants,” 11 “capitaines en second,” 20
first lieutenants, 20 lieutenants, 3,073 noncommissioned officers, brigadiers,
and gendarmes. Belgium is divided into 39 military districts and 323
cantons.)
2. Keeping of the records.-In each community there is a
register of the men with limited or unlimited furlough; in
larger places the different classes of militia, etc., are kept sepa-
rately. Furthermore each soldier on entering the service re-
ceives a statement of personalities (Livret de mobilisation)
(descriptive list) with photograph, which he keeps during his
entire term of service, and in which all the changes of his mili-
tary or civil status are entered; in case of such changes as
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 25
discharge, removal, sickness, punishments, etc., the man has
to show the statement with the changes to the control board
for correction within fourteen days.
3. Furlough into foreign countries.—Such a furlough can
be granted for Europe by the commanders of military dis-
tricts, for foreign parts of the world, or for foreign ships, by
the secretary of war. The men desiring this kind of a fur-
lough must name one of their relatives, living in the same
community, or another representative (substitute), who must,
in some manner, give a bond for them; they must give their
address to the municipal board and must inform this authority
of all changes of address; every year they are required to
make a personal report, and must return immediately, in case
of war or peace, if their class happens to be ordered out.
4. Control meetings.-These are held between the 3d of
November and the 15th of December of each year, and are
for the purpose of mustering the men, inspecting the equip-
ments, and certifying to (providing or guaranteeing) the cor-
rectness of the records. As a general rule, not more than
200 men shall be called together at a time; the place to be so
selected that everyone can return home by noon; in inclement
weather covered rooms, but never inns, are to be used. The
mustering is done by the magistrates of the communities;
official persons subject to service and absentees (nonresidents)
may be excused. All those present during the “control meet-
ing” are subject to the army regulations; transgressions are
severely punished; in case of necessity the respective men can
be immediately ordered out for one or two months.
3. Assemblies.—For special purposes (disturbances, instruc-
tion with a new weapon, etc.) the eight youngest classes of the
militia can be ordered out in time of peace; for the five older
classes this is only allowed in time of war, or when the safety
of the country is threatened. The classes from 11 to 13 espe-
cially shall only be called out in case of need, or for the de-
fense of the fortresses, or for auxiliary service. By way of
exception, the King is permitted to call out further classes still;
these classes have no other duties in time of peace, but are also,
as far as possible, under control.
An order of the secretary of war was issued on the 5th of
June of this year which contains particular directions in re-
gard to the legal term of service for the militia, volunteers and
26 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
substitutes. It is of special importance, because it regulates
the different periods of instruction as well as determines the
effective forces for the different periods of the year.
As is well known, the real term of service in the regular
army is measured very unequally, depending upon the arm of
the service and the category of the man; it fluctuates between
twenty and thirty-nine months. Every man can claim a fur-
lough of fifteen days a year, but there are no other indulgences
(i.e., furloughs). The circular of the 15th of June interprets
these rules, as far as possible, for the best interests of the
army, inasmuch as it allows the discharge of the men to the
reserve only after the termination of a complete period of
instruction; if necessary, the period of instruction has to be
equalized with the term of service by “interim furloughs.”
But this interim furlough must not be given during the sea-
son for target practice or the maneuvers, nor can it be given
to recruits before they have completed eight months’ service.
The higher ranking officers must regulate the details. In the
larger garrisons the different troops are held responsible that
the service does not suffer from too many furloughs being
given at the same time.— Militar Wochenblatt Wo. 76, July
21, 1903; translated by Lieut. F. M. Morton, Eighth Infantry.
ORGANIZATION OF FORTRESS ARTILLERY.
The fortress artillery of Belgium comprises:
A. The fortress artillery of the fortified position of Anvers,
which is composed of 30 batteries for active service, 20 re-
serve batteries, and 1 depot. The active and reserve batteries
are grouped into 8 battalions.
B. The fortress artillery of the fortified position of Liege,
which comprises 12 active batteries, 4 reserve batteries, and
1 depot, which are grouped into 4 battalions.
C. The fortress artillery of the fortified position of Namur,
which comprises 9 active batteries, 3 reserve batteries, and 1
depot, which are grouped into 3 battalions.
Each fortified position is subject to the orders of the gov-
ernor, through the medium of the commandant of the posi-
tion artillery.
The position of Anvers comprises 5 sectors, commanded by
a colonel or a lieutenant-colonel, and the fortified town of
Termonde.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 27
The first sector (Coppelon, Schooten, Merxem) has 2 bat-
talions, one of 5 and the other of 3 batteries. The second
Sector (forts 1 and 4, Lierre, Duffel and Waelhem) has 4 bat-
talions, two of 5, one of 4, and one of 3 batteries.
The third (forts 5 and 8), the fourth (left bank), and fifth
sectors (Bas-Escaut) comprise each 1 battalion of 6 or 7 bat-
teries. e
Lastly, the fortified town of Termonde has a special organ-
ization consisting of 4 batteries, under the orders of a field
officer.
The position of Liege comprises 4 sectors, occupied each by
a battalion of 4, 6, 3, and 3 batteries, respectively.
The position of Namur comprises 3 sectors, occupied each
by a battalion of 3, 5, and 4 batteries.
The duties of the sector and battalion commanders of the
different fortified positions has not yet been definitely deter-
mined, but to appreciate the question involved and find an
adequate solution, it must be remembered that Anvers is a
city defended by an intrenched camp, comprising outside of
the mobile reserve several sector commands, with therefore
several sector commandants, having under their orders com-
mandants of infantry, artillery, and engineer troops.
These commanding officers of sectors will have logically
speaking the rights and duties of commanding officers of the
army corps. The artillery commander of the sector will
have under his orders the artillery troops belonging to his
sectors (2 battalions in the first, 3 battalions in the second,
and 1 battalion each in the third, fourth, and fifth sectors).
They will also have to furnish rations to personnel, matériel,
ammunitions, etc. In time of peace they will have to study
and prepare everything which concerns the defense of their
sector, as troops, matériel, works, etc.
Battalion commanders will have within their jurisdiction
the instruction and the administration of the batteries com-
posing their battalion.
At Liege and Namur the works consist simply of tºtes-de-
pont without any sector troops.
The division into sectors is purely administrative in char-
acter, and in time of war its existence could not in any way
be made justifiable. The result is that under war conditions,
and most certainly while in a state of siege, the division into
28 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
sectors and battalions must cease. Each fort, with the troops
called to defend it, will be placed under the orders of a field
officer or a “capitaine ff.” The colonels in command of the
garrisons of Liege and Namur constitute part of the commit-
tee of defense and of the general staff of the governor. The
lieutenant-colonel is attached to the colonel, in time of peace
as in time of war, for the accomplishment of the many special
duties arising in the artillery and for taking the direction at
a moment's notice of the batteries of artillery in the sector of
attack, where the available artillery forces belonging to the
mobile reserve of the garrisons will naturally be concen-
trated.—La Belgique M7/ētaire, May 17, 1903.
UNIFORM FOR OFFICIALS AND CIVIL EMPLOYEES OF
RAILWAY, POST, AND TELEGRAPH ADMINISTRATION.
As soon as the mobilization of the army has been decreed,
the officials and civil employees of the administration of rail-
roads, posts, and telegraph lines detailed for service with
the army in the field shall wear the hat prescribed for their
special service by the royal decree of September 23, 1865,
which designates the service and the grade of the official
pertaining to these administrations.
The distinguishing badge or insignia shall consist of a tri-
colored ribbon or band around the hat bearing the inscription:
Service Militaire
Postes,
(ou Chemins de fer, ou Telegraphes).
The insignia of the rank to which officials or employees are
assimilated will consist of gold or silver braid embroidered
upon the above-mentioned ribbon.
These distinguishing bands shall be given out to those con-
cerned at the moment of mobilization by the officers of the
headquarters to which these agents will be eventually
assigned.—La Belgique Militaire, March 22, 1903.
BRAZIL.
FORTIFICATIONS AND DEFENSES.
The steamer Petropolis, from Hamburg, has arrived at Rio
with a consignment of 20,000 torpedoes of the Schartz-Kopff
type, intended for the defense of that port.—South American
Journal, Movember 7, 1903.
FIELD ARTILLERY.
The firing experiments carried out yesterday on the Santa
Cruz target range, in the presence of the president of the
republic, brilliantly confirmed the results of the studies
recently made by the Ehrhardt factory and by Lieutenant-
General von Reichenau and published in various pamphlets.
These studies, as is known, tend to demonstrate the advantage
of replacing shrapnel, as the principal projectile of the field
gun, by a specially constructed high-explosive shell, on which
the Ehrhardt factory has a patent for those of reduced caliber.
The investigations of General Reichenau show that, owing
to the employment of steel shields which can not be perforated
by shrapnel or rifle bullets at ordinary ranges, field warfare
culminates in the artillery duel, for victory can not be attained
until the enemy’s artillery is silenced, and it is certain that
the gun which combines in itself the most advantageous qual-
ities for the various phases and vicissitudes of the artillery
combat is the best for all the intents and purposes of field
warfare.
According to the investigations of General Reichenau the
ideal gun of the future is not the shrapnel gun, or any other
heavy gun, but a gun of reduced caliber and weight, enabling
it to be provided with adequate armor and a copious supply
of ammunition.
The experiments carried out yesterday at Santa Cruz were
therefore extremely interesting, for in them the Krupp firm
discarded shrapnel as the principal projectile and in its place
used the torpedo shell, more commonly called high-explosive
shell, with the weight reduced, inasmuch as those of 7.5 cm.
employed in Europe weigh 64 kg. and those used yesterday
29
30 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
weighed only 54 kg. One more slight effort–one small
reduction—and we shall have arrived at the high-explosive
shell of 5 cm. advocated by General Reichenau.
It can not be said that the Krupp Company is not learning
with the others.
After having definitely declared in its celebrated report that
it had abandoned the experiments with guns of the system
with recoil on the carriage because it had realized the absolute
impracticability of this system for field service, and after hav-
ing consequently endeavored to furnish Switzerland with its
gun with rigid carriage, it was compelled, owing to the suc-
cess achieved by the Ehrhardt factory with their guns with
recoil on the carriage, to devote itself also to this system of
construction. And it did this with so much success that the
gun now adopted by Switzerland is nothing more or less than
an Ehrhardt gun manufactured by the Krupp shops with slight
alterations tending only to increase the weight of the carriage.
The experiments of yesterday now show us that Krupp is
also following the path traced by Ehrhardt with regard to the
projectile, ever since there were exhibited in the Exposition
at Düsseldorfsteel shields perforated by steel shrapnel bullets,
and it was published by the Krupp organs in Germany that
to the Krupp firm was due the credit of having wrested from
the French field artillery (provided with shields) the key of
its invulnerability by the employment of shrapnel fire, and
moreover, that not small-caliber shell, but shrapnel, would
constitute in future the principal projectile of the field artilley.
Now, it happens that the Krupp firm itself employed in
yesterday’s experiments not shrapnel but high-explosive shell
as the principal projectile, not yet of reduced caliber but of
reduced weight, completely abandoning the common powder
shell, which merely constitutes one of the requirements of the
programme established by the Brazilian commission appointed
to test the new field matériel and approved by the ministry
of war.
We can not refrain from expressing, in the name of the
Ehrhardt factory and of Lieutenant-General Reichenau, our
compliments to the worthy representatives of the famous
Krupp firm for the manner in which they are justly promot-
ing the useful labors and investigations of Ehrhardt and
Reichenau.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 31
If the experiments of yesterday were outside of the pro-
gramme and performed simply to dazzle the public, it should
be observed incidentally that, in order to place hors de combat
the four target guns and the garrisons of 200 men, there were
employed 186 projectiles, weighing 1,019.5 kg., or 5 kg. per
man; that is, almost 1 projectile per soldier—figures which
show great accuracy and powerful destructive effect for the
shell and the famous shrapnel.—Jornal do Commercio, Brazil,
October 11, 1903.
COAL DEPOSITS IN BRAZIL.
The Monthly Bulletin of the International Bureau of
American Republics, September, reports that there has been
discovered in Brazil at a place called Cedro, in the State of
Parana, a great deposit of coal.
The coal-bearing area extends over 7,000 acres, and the sam-
ples taken from the upper strata have been classified as “fat
pit coal.” These coal fields run through the center of Parana,
due north and south, and seem to be a continuation of the
vein that traverses the States of Rio Grande do Sul and Santa
Catharina.
The situation of the fields is most convenient, being only 30
kilometers from the São Paulo and Rio Grande Railway,
which forms a junction at Ponta Grossa with the Parana
Railway, which latter runs to the seaports of Paranagua and
Antonina.
As a consequence of the preliminary analysis, the governor
of the State of Parana has informed the minister of the inte-
rior to the effect that by this discovery the fuel problem for
the railways of the interior of Brazil will be solved.
The analysis of the samples taken from the upper strata
yielded favorable results, and the coal was pronounced to be
good quality. Should further experience confirm this result,
the discovery must be of immense value to Brazil.
TERMS OF “ ACRE” TREATY.
RIO JANEIRO, Movember 22.-By the treaty settling the Acre
dispute, which was signed on Friday by the representatives of
Brazil and Bolivia, Brazil retains the Acre territory as far as
the eleventh degree of latitude, in return for the payment to
32 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Bolivia of $10,000,000, the building of a railroad to Bolivia,
and the cession to Bolivia of 3,000 sq. km. of the territory.
Under the treaty, Brazil obtains about 160,000 sq. km., in the
Upper Acre, Upper Purus, and Upper Judua districts, so far
as the eleventh degree of latitude south, while Bolivia gets
3,000 sq. km. on the frontier of Matto Grosso, and the River
Madeira, besides the $10,000,000, which is payable in install-
ments and commercial facilities. The amount Brazil pays
Bolivia will be employed in the construction of a railroad to
facilitate commerce, and Brazil will construct a railroad in
its territory from the Madeira River to the River Mamore.—
The Washington Post, Movember 23, 1903.
EU LGARIA.
ORGANIZATION OF BUL.GARIAN ARMY.
The military forces of Bulgaria are divided into three
categories, viz, the regular army, the reserve, and the militia.
All subjects of the principality are liable for personal military
service, with but few exceptions, from the age of 20 to 45
years. Neither substitution nor buying off is permitted.
The annual contingent is about 18,000 men; the remainder of
the conscripts fit for military service (about 35,000) are sub-
jected to a special military tax. Mussulmans are always
exempted on payment of a tax. The total period of military
service is 25 years, of which 2 years are spent in the regular
infantry (3 years in other branches of the service), 15 years in
the reserve for infantry, 13 for other branches of the service,
4 years in the first, and 4 years in the second levy of the
militia.
For recruiting, both in peace and war, the country is
divided into 6 divisional districts; each of these is again
subdivided into 6 regimental subdistricts, 4 of which are
for the regulars, and 2 for the reserve meant to form a
portion of the division. Recruiting in Bulgaria is strictly
territorial. The divisional districts are those of Sofia, Thrace,
the Balkans, Preslav, the Danube, and Bdinsk. The army is,
as a rule, mounted by horses purchased in Austria and Rus-
sia, although Bulgaria herself is making attempts at horse
breeding.
Peace effective.—Infantry, 60 battalions and 13 companies;
total, 1,300 officers and 28,550 men. Cavalry, 23 squadrons,
or 200 officers and 3,850 men. Field artillery, 54 batteries,
or 280 officers and 5,020 men. Mountain artillery, 9 batter-
ies, or 45 officers and 900 men. Fortress artillery, 3 battalions,
or 65 officers and 950 men. Engineers, 80 officers and 1,900
men. Transport, 6 companies, or 20 officers and 160 men.
Total, 1,900 officers and 41,330 men.
17430—04—3 * 33
34 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
War effective.—Infantry, 180 battalions, or 3,050 officers,
175,500 men, and 10,000 horses. Cavalry, 30 squadrons of
180 officers, 5,000 men, and 5,500 horses. Artillery, 86 bat-
teries, or 470 officers, 16,500 men, and 13,000 horses. Engi-
neers, 6 battalions, or 110 officers, 5,500 men, and 700 horses.
Total, 3,810 officers, 202,500 men, and 29,200 horses. If one
takes into account the 48 militia battalions of 600 men each,
480 officers and 29,000 men of that force must be added to the
above numbers.
The infantry is armed with the 8 mm. Mannlicher rifle of
the 1888 and 1895 patterns. Each rifle is supplied with 200
cartridges, 100 being carried by the soldier, 50 in the regi-
mental, and 50 in the artillery park transport. Officers and
sergeant-majors are all armed with the Smith & Wesson revolver
and a Russian-pattern sword. The militia are armed with
Berdan rifles and have 80 cartridges per rifle. The cavalry is
armed with the Mannlicher carbine and a Russian dragoon
sword. Each carbine has 60 cartridges. The field artillery has
8.7-cm. Krupp guns with 120 shots per gun. The reserve
artillery has 75-mm. gun with 149 shots per gun and 90-mm.
bronze Russian guns. The mountain artillery has 75-mm.
guns with 133 shots per gun. The gunners are being armed
with carbines.—The United Service Magazine, Wovember,
1903.
ADOPTION OF AN AUTOMATIC PISTOL.
The Romania Militara announces the adoption, for officers,
of the Parabellum automatic pistol, model 1903, Borchardt-
Luger system, to replace the Smith & Wesson revolver.—
Bulletin de la Presse et de la Bibliographie militaires, Sep-
tember 30, 1903.
CHILE.
VESSELS BUILDING.
t Displace- Where
Name. ment. building. Remarks.
Libertad.------------------------------- 11,800 Barrow - - - - - Launched Jan. 15, 1903.
Constitution ---------------------------- 11,800 | Elswick . . . . Launched Jan. 13, 1903.
NoTE.—The above vessels were recently sold to England.
–Proceedings of U. S. Waval Institute, September, 1903.
THE NAVAL PREPARATIONS OF CHILE AND ARGENTINA
FROM 1893 TO 1903, IN COMPARISON WITH THOSE OF
EUROPEAN NAVAL POWERS.
The treaty between Chile and Argentina of January 9, 1903,
provides for the disarmament of the navies of both Republics.
This fact did not fail to furnish the opponents of the navy in
the German Empire with a weapon in defense of their pro-
posal for similar disarmament. Representative Bebel said in
the German Parliament on January 22, 1903: “Look at Chile
and Argentina, two barbarous countries which will stand no
comparison with our civilized countries. Well, these barbar-
ous countries have concluded a treaty with each other provid-
ing for the disarmament of their war ships.” But the reason
why Chile and Argentina concluded this treaty was that they
had reached a point in their competitive shipbuilding which
had exceeded the resources and the needs of the countries,
for both Republics had begun the construction of more
armored vessels within the ten years from 1893 until the
summer of 1900 than the truly civilized European countries
of Holland, Denmark, Norway, and Sweden together! In
the latter four countries armored vessels of a total displace-
ment of 68,820 tons were launched, while the displacement in
the two South American countries amounted to 83,000 tons,
of which 43,700 corresponds to Argentina and 39,300 to Chile.
Each of these two countries exceeds Spain in shipbuilding
during this period, the number of tons displacement for Spain
35
36 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
being 30,680, while they almost equal Austria-Hungary, with
53,230 tons, and Portugal, Turkey, Brazil, and Greece have
built no armored vessels within the last decade.
We will show this more in detail. During the period from
1893 to 1903 the following armored vessels were launched:
CHILE.
Name. Piºſe Remarks.
Toms.
Esmeralda... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 100 || Launched Apr. 4, 1896; Armstrong, Elswick.
Q'Higgins ------------------. 8,600 Launched May 15, 1897; Armstrong, Elswick.
Constitution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,800 | Launched Jan. 13, 1903; Armstrong, Elswick.
Libertad. ... -----------...--. 11,800 Launched Jan. 15, 1903; Wickers, Barrow.
Total ------------------ 39,300
ARGENTINA.
Garibaldi-------------------- 7,000 lººd in 1895; Anseldo Sestriponente, at
€Il O8.
San Martin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,000 Launched May 20, 1896; Anseldo Sestriponente,
at Genoa.
General Belgano - - - - - - - . . . . . 7,300 || Launched in 1897; Anseldo Sestriponente, at
- GenOa.
Pueyrredon - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7,000 lººd in 1897; Anseldo Sestriponente, at
€IłO8.
Bernardino Rivadaria - - - - - - - 7, 700 launched Oct. 22, 1902; Anseldo Sestriponente, at
GenOa.
Marieno Moreno. - - - - - - - - - - - - 7, 700 Launched Feb. 9, 1903; Anseldo Sestriponente, at
Genoa.
Total ------------------ 43,700
SUMMARY,
Number r, ,
Countries. of armor Pºe.
clads. º
Tons.
Chile ------------------------------------------------------------------ 4 39, 300
Argentina------------------------------------------------------------- 6 43,700
Aggregate------------------------------------------------------- 10 83,000
I) ENMARK.
Name. Pºe. Remarks.
Toms.
Skjold.---------------------- 2, 200 | Launched May 9, 1896.
Herluf Trolle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 Launched Sept. 2, 1899.
|
Total -----------------. 5, 500



BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 37
NORWAY.
Harald Haarfagne. . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 | Launched Jan. 21, 1897; Armstrong, Elswick.
TOrdenskjold...... . . . . . . . . . . 3,500 | Launched Mar. 18, 1897; Armstrong, Elswick.
Norge ----------------------- 3,860 | Launched Mar. 31, 1900; Armstrong, Elswick.
Eidsvold... ------------------ 3,860 | Launched June 14, 1900; Armstrong, Elswick.
Total ------------------ 14,720
SWEDEN. "
Thule ----------------------- 3,300 Launched Jan. 21, 1893; built at home.
Oden -----------------------. 3,300 | Launched in 1896; built at home.
Thor------------------------- 3,400 || Launched in 1898; built at home.
Njord------------. . . . . . . . . . . . 3,400 DO. *
Dristigheten.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,550 | Launched in 1900; built at home.
Aeran ----------------------- 3,650 | Launched in 1901; built at home.
Wasa -----------------------. | 3,650 DO.
Tapperheten . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,650 DO.
Total -----------------. 27,960
NETHERLANDS.
EWertsen. ------------------. 3, 500 Launched in 1894; built at home.
Piet Hein. ------------------. 3,500 DO.
Kortenār - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. 3,500 DO.
Konigin Regentes. . . . . . . . . . . 5,000 || Launched in 1900; built at home.
De Ruyter.-----------------. 5,000 || Launched in 1901; built at home.
Total ------------------ 20, 500
SUMMARY.
Number | r =
COuntries. Of * Dº
C18.CIS. e
Toms.
Denmark ------------------------------------------------------------- 2
Norway --------------------------------------------------------------- 4 14,720
Sweden --------------------------------------------------------------. 8 27,960
Netherlands ---------------------------------------------------------- 5 20, 500
Aggregate------------------------------------------------------- 19 68,620


against 10 armor clads of 83,000 tons displacement in Chile
and Argentina. . There is thus an excess of 12,380 tons in
favor of the American Republics.
The argument might be raised that the Scandinavian coun-
tries, and even more so the Netherlands (the latter being the
owner of large colonies), had devoted special attention to the
building of cruisers, but this is without significance. Chile
launched the cruisers Chasabuco (4,300), Ministro Zenteno
(3,600), and Blanco Encalado (4,500), with a total of 12,400
tons displacement; Argentina launched the Patria (1,070) and
the Buenos Aires (4,500), with a total of 5,570 tons displace-
ment; so that both countries together acquired 5 cruisers of a
38 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
total of 17,970 tons displacement. The Netherlands, it is true,
exceed this fleet of cruisers with their 6 cruisers of 23,790 tons
aggregate displacement; but the three Scandinavian countries
together launched only 2 cruisers with a total of 2,680 tons, viz,
Denmark, the Hejmdal, of 1,300 tons; Norway, the Frithjof.
of 1,380 tons. Therefore the number of cruisers launched by
either of the American Republics exceeded by far those of
the three Scandinavian countries, whose crowns Margarethe
Sprengeheft once united in her powerful hand.
If we now take into consideration the enormous commercial
fleets possessed by the two European countries in question,
especially those of Norway and Holland, the abnormality of
the shipbuilding in Chile and Argentina becomes apparent,
for they are countries which really have no enemies on the
water but themselves. For this reason the treaty became not
only advisable, but necessary, especially since the money spent
on the construction of the vessels goes abroad, whereby the
shipyards of other countries profit by the mutual rivalries of
these countries. The action taken is worthy of notice by the
great powers, although it can be of no influence on their
decisions, and can not even serve as an example to them wor-
thy of imitation.
That each of these still little developed Republics should
surpass in naval construction within the last decade the once
powerful Spain is at all events a circumstance which must
lead to reflection, especially as these Republics are both of
Spanish origin and are largely peopled by the Spanish race.
Spain built during the decade from 1893 to 1903 the following
armored vessels of her present fleet:
Displace- -º-
Name. ment. Remarks.
Toms.
Emperador Carlos V . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,380 Launched Mar. 12, 1895; built at home.
Princesa de Asturias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 100 | Launched Oct. 17, 1896; built at home.
Cardenal Cisneros . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7, 100 || Launched Mar. 19, 1897; built at home.
Cataluna. --------------------------- 7, 100 || Launched Sept. 24, 1900; built at home.
Total.----------------.... . . . . . 30,680
Even if we include the Cristobal Colon, which was launched
September 9, 1896, and destroyed in the battle of Santiago de
Cuba, and which had a displacement of 6,830 tons (the other
three armored cruisers which shared the same fate were
launched in 1893), the number of tons displacement of the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 39
armored vessels acquired is only 37,420, or less than either
Argentina or Chile. Even in the matter of cruisers Spain
does not show an excess. The great Lepanto, of 4,826 tons,
was launched in 1893, since which time only the Rio de la
Plata (1,720) and the Estremadura (2,050) have been launched,
which gives a total displacement of 8,596 tons for the three,
or a little more than Argentina and a half less than Chile.
These are the naval preparations of the two South Ameri-
can Republics in the course of a decade, either of which
approaches even so well ordered a navy as that of Austria-
Hungary, for in the latter country, notwithstanding greater
exertions were made than in former decades, the following
armored vessels only were launched:
Name. Pºe. Remarks.
Tom 8.
Wien. ------------------------------- 5,550 Launched July 7, 1895; built at home.
Monarch-------, -------. ------------ 5,550 Launched May 9, 1895; built at home.
Budapest -...---------...-----------. 5,550 | Launched Apr. 27, 1896; built at home.
Habsburg --------------------------. 8,340 | Launched Sept. 9, 1900; built at home.
Arpad------------------------------- 8,340 || Launched in 1901; built at home.
Babenberg.------------------------. 8, 340 || Launched Oct. 4, 1902; built at home.
Kaiser Karl VI. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6, 240 | Launched Oct. 4, 1898; built at home.
Kaiserin und Königin Maria. The- 5,270 Launched Apr. 29, 1893; built at home.
TéS18.
Total.------------------------- 53,230

against 83,000 for both Republics.
As regards other European navies, it may be remarked that
Portugal launched 9 vessels of 12,800 tons aggregate displace-
ment, while Turkey and Greece had none built during this
time.—Neue Militärische Blätter, August 8–15, 1903.
DEN MARK.
NEW FIELD GUNS.
Experiments of new field guns have been completed, and the
firm of Krupp has been commissioned to deliver the new
material, excepting the ammunition.
The gun is 75 mm. caliber, on the “Rohrrucklauf ’’ car-
riage, with shield. The weight of the projectile is 6.75 kgs.;
initial velocity, 500 meters per second. Rapidity of fire, 15 to
20 shots a minute. Weight of carriage is 1,000 kgs. Weight
of gun, including ammunition and limber (44 rounds), 1,800
kgs. The ammunition carts are armored.— Militär-Wochen-
blatt, July 9, 1903.
MACHINE GUN.
A Danish officer has just invented a very portable machine
gun, which has been adopted by the Danish army. Its caliber
is 6.5 mm., and it weighs only 6 kgs. The initial velocity is
720 meters per second. It obtained a rapidity of fire of 30
shots per second by using a feeding device (chargeur), con-
taining 30 cartridges. Counting the time lost in loading and
slight delays, practically 300 shots per minute were fired.
By means of a special arrangement of the mechanism, the
rapidity of fire can be increased or decreased, at will. With
this new arm, it is possible to follow a target in motion with
great ease, and it is operated with almost as little difficulty as
an ordinary rifle. The method of placing the cartridges in the
feeding device is very superior to that ordinarily used in the
case of the loading belt.—La Belgique Militaire, March 7,
1903.
PORTABLE OBSERVATORY.
The Danish artillery has just adopted a portable observa-
tory for field artillery. The observatory has the form of a
rectangular pyramid and folds up like an ordinary folding
ladder. It permits the elevation of the observer to a little
over 3 meters above the ground; weight, about 22 kgs.
40
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 41
Each battery carries one of these on the rear part of one of
the caissons. It is made of wood and iron, the happy combi-
nation of which renders it light without loss of stability, and
it can be readily adjusted and mounted. It is somewhat
bulky, however, and not easily carried on the caisson.—La
Belgique Militaire, May 3, 1903.
DANISH COAST DEFENSE SHIP.
The Danish coast defense ship Olfert Fischer, a sister of the
Herluf Trolle (3,470 tons), has been launched at Copenhagen.
The ship is protected by Creuzot steel 8 inches thick, reduc-
ing to 4 inches, and the side above the belt has 7-inch steel.
There are two 9.4-inch guns in a casemate, as well as a light
armament. Her speed is to be 16 knots.-Proceedings of
U. S. Waval Institute, September, 1903.
FRANCE.
REORGANIZATION OF THE COLONIAL INFANTRY.
Following is the text of the decree of September 19, 1903,
establishing the reorganization of the French Colonial Infantry:
“ARTICLE 1. The colonial infantry is composed of all the
infantry troops, French or native, organized especially with
a view to the occupation and defense of the colonies and pro-
tectorates, except Algeria and Tunis.
“It is charged first of all with the execution of military
operations in the colonies; cooperates, in case of necessity, in
the defense of the mother country, and takes part in military
expeditions outside of the French territory; it is distinct from
the troops of the home army and preserves its autonomy.
“ART. 2. The colonial infantry comprises:
“(1) A special staff.
“(2) Troop units of French and native infantry.
“(3) A disciplinary corps of colonial troops.
“ART. 3. The special staff of the colonial infantry com-
prises, in France and in the colonies:
“Officers of the army assigned to staff service; officers
detailed to the superior war school or serving a probationary
tour on the staff; officers detailed to the central administra-
tion of the war and colonial ministries, to the technical sec-
tions of the colonial troops; the higher commanders of the
troops; commanders of territories and of naval stations who
do not belong at the same time to a troop unit; officers
attached to the cadres of military schools; officers assigned to
the service of military justice and to the recruiting service.
“Officers placed at the disposal of the department of the
colonies to be employed in the colonies on various duties and
missions other than those provided for in the present article
and maintained on the budget of these services may be placed
on active service hors cadres while retaining their rights to
promotion. In case of the abolition of positions hors cadres,
the incumbents of these positions are reinstated in the cadres
42
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 43
in the proportions provided by the ordinance of March 16,
1838, and continue until their reinstatement in the cadres, to be
paid from the budget on whose account their placing hors
cadre was demanded.
“The strength of the special staff of the colonial infantry
is fixed by Table No. 1, annexed to the present decree.
“ART. 4. The troop units of the French colonial infantry
comprise:
“I.— France.
“(a) Twelve regiments of colonial infantry, each having
the following composition: Three battalions at 4 companies,
a staff, a petit état-major (noncommissioned officer staff and
band), a section hors rang" and a complementary cadre
(= supernumerary officers).
“The strength of these regiments is indicated in Table
No. 2.
“These regiments are composed of volunteers, of reenlisted
soldiers of commissionés, of volunteers of the land army
turned over to the colonial army, of men of the contingents
of the various colonies, and of men of the home contingent,
either volunteers or incorporés-d'office, but who, in this latter
case, will not be compelled to serve in the colonies, and will
not be sent there unless they make a written request after
their incorporation.
“(b) A section of colonial staff secretaries employed in
the staffs of the colonial troops in France and the colonies, as
well as in the recruiting bureaus in the colonies.
“The strength is indicated in Table No. 3.
“(c) A section of colonial telegraph troops (depot in France,
detachment in the colonies).
“The strength is indicated in Table No. 4.
“(d) A depot of the detached soldiers (isoles) of the colo-
nial troops.
“The strength, as far as it concerns the colonial infantry,
is indicated in Table No. 5.
“(e) A section of secretaries and military workmen of the
commissariat.
a Equal to a special group in each regiment comprising the petit état-
major, the band, workmen, clerks, etc.
44 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“The strength is indicated in Table No. 6.
“(f) A section of colonial hospital attendants.
“The strength is indicated in Table No. 7.
“The 12 regiments form 3 divisions, which are placed
under the command of a general officer of the colonial troops
commanding the army corps of the colonial troops.
“2.—/m the colonies.
“Indo-China. –The Ninth, Tenth, and Eleventh Regiments
of colonial infantry, of 3 battalions of 4 companies each, and
the Twelfth Regiment of 2 battalions of 4 companies each.
“Each regiment may, besides, contain a depot company if
occasion requires.
“Fast Africa.-The Thirteenth Regiment, of 3 battalions, of
4 companies each; a battalion of 2 companies at La Reunion.
“West Africa.-A battalion of 4 companies.
“Antilles and Guiana. –A battalion of 5 companies.
“Pacific.—A battalion of 3 companies.
“The strength of these various units is indicated in Tables
Nos. 8 and 9.
“ART. 5. The units of native infantry comprise:
“Indo-China. –Four regiments of Tonkin rifles, of which 3
(First, Third, and Fourth) are of 4 battalions each, and 1 (Sec-
ond) of 5 battalions of 4 companies each; First and Second
Regiments of Annam rifles of 3 battalions of 4 companies
each; a battalion of Chinese rifles of 2 companies; a battalion
of Cambodgian rifles of 2 companies.
“Fast Africa.-Third Regiment of Senegal rifles of 4 bat-
talions of 4 companies each; a battalion of Senegal rifles of 4
companies at Diego-Suarez; 3 regiments of Malagasy rifles of
3 battalions of 4 companies each.
“West Africa.-First and Second Regiments of Senegal
rifles of 4 battalions of 4 companies each; Fourth Regiment
of Senegal rifles of 2 battalions of 4 companies each; a bat-
talion of Senegal rifles at Zinder; a regiment of native infan-
try of 2 battalions at the Congo and the Tchad.
“There may be created in Indo-China, according to the
resources of the population, other native battalions, forming
units, recruited in the frontier regions, but their formation
will be counterbalanced by the abolition of the same number
of battalions of Tonkin rifles.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 45
“The strength of these units is indicated in Tables Nos. 10
and 11.
“The troop units, French and native, are grouped in the
different colonies, according to their number, in brigades,
divisions, or army corps.
“ART. 6. The disciplinary corps of the colonial troops
comprises:
“First. In France: The staff and a depot.
“Second. In the colonies: A company in Senegal, a platoon
in Indo-China, and a section in Madagascar.
“The strength is indicated in Table No. 12.
“ART. 7. In each colony the commander in chief of the
troops may organize a disciplinary section for the natives in
one or more native regiments.
“The components of these sections (officers and enlisted
men) will be made up from all the native units, which are to
send thither their soldiers guilty of indiscipline.
“ART. 8. The cadres of the colonial infantry, at present
kept in France for purposes of relief and in excess of the
units and services stationed at home, and enumerated in
articles 3, 4, and 6 of the present decree, are attached as
supernumeraries of their grades to the regiments of colonial
infantry garrisoned in France.
“ART. 9. The new organizations and increases in organi-
zation contemplated in the present decree will be provided
for only as fast as the necessary appropriations are made by
the parliament.
“ART. 10. All previous regulations contrary to this decree
are hereby abrogated and, especially, the decree of December
28, 1900, on the organization of the colonial infantry.
“ART. 11. The ministers of war and the colonies are
charged, each as far as concerns him, with the execution of
the present decree.
“Done at Paris, September 19, 1903.
“EMILE LOUBET.
“By the President of the Republic:
“General L. ANDRE,
“Minister of War.
“GASTON DOUMERGUE,
“Minister of Colonies.”
—Official Bulletin of the Minister of War, October 12, 1903.
46 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
REORGANIZATION OF THE COLONIAL ARTILLERY.
Following is the text of the decree of September 19, 1903,
establishing the reorganization of the French colonial artillery:
“ARTICLE 1. The colonial artillery comprises:
“1. All of the artillery troops, French and native, organ-
ized specially with a view to the occupation and defense of
the colonies and protectorates, except Algeria and Tunis.
“2. The personnel detailed to the navy to perform the serv-
ices of the naval artillery, in accordance with the provisions
of the decree of December 28, 1900, organizing the personnel
of the colonial artillery detailed to the navy department to
attend to the technical services of the naval artillery in France.
“3. The personnel charged with the performance, in the
colonies, of the technical services proper of the artillery
“directions,” the technical services of the naval artillery, and,
in conjunction with the personnel of the engineers, the serv-
ice of military constructions and of fortifications, which will
be the object of a special organization.
“It is charged, first of all, with the execution of military
operations in the colonies; cooperates, in case of necessity, in
the defense of the mother country, and takes part in military
expeditions outside of the French territory. It is distinct
from the land army and preserves its autonomy.
“ART. 2. The colonial artillery comprises:
“1. A special staff.
“2. Troop units. *
“ART. 3. The special staff of the colonial artillery com-
prises, in France and in the colonies: The personnel of the
arm employed in the colonial artillery bureaus, in the tech-
nical services of the naval artillery, and in the offices of dis-
trict engineers; the officers of the arm detailed to staff service,
to the superior war school, or serving a probationary tour on
the staff; those who are detailed to the central administration
of the ministries of war and the colonies, and to the technical
sections of the colonial troops; those vested in the colonies
with the duties of commanders in chief of troops, commanders
of territories, commanders of artillery, and commanders of
naval stations, when they do not belong at the same time to
a troop unit; those detailed to the cadres of the military
schools or of the instructional courses, to the service of mili-
tary justice, and to the service of recruiting.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 47
“Officers placed at the disposal of the department of the
colonies to be employed, in the colonies, in various services or
missions other than those contemplated in the present article,
and maintained on the budgets of these services, may be
placed in active service hors cadre while retaining their rights
to promotion. In case of the abolition of positions hors
cadres, the incumbents of these positions are reinstated in the
cadres in the proportions provided by the ordinance of March
16, 1838, and continue, until their reinstatement, to be paid
from the budget on whose account their placing hors cadre
was asked.
“The strength of the special staff of the colonial artillery
is fixed by Table No. 1.
“ART. 4. The troops of the colonial artillery at home
comprise:
“1. Three regiments of colonial artillery having each a
variable number of batteries and comprising altogether 36
batteries (12 field batteries, 6 mountain batteries, and 18 foot
batteries).
“Their effective is given in Table No. 2.
“2. Five companies of colonial artillery workmen.
“Their strength is given in Table No. 3.
“3. A company of colonial artillery artificers.
“The strength is given in Table No. 4.
“ART. 5. The troops of the colonial artillery in the colonies
and protectorates comprise:
“I. Indo-China.-Two regiments of colonial artillery; the
first, at Tonkin, composed of 8 mixed batteries (2 field, 4
mountain, and 2 foot); the second, in Cochin China, composed
of 10 mixed batteries (2 field, 3 mountain, and 5 foot). Two
mixed companies of colonial artillery workmen, one in Ton-
kin and the other in Cochin China.
“2. In French West Africa.-A regiment of colonial artil-
lery, composed of 6 mixed batteries (3 mountain and 3 foot),
a mixed section of mountain artillery (in the Tchad territory),
and a company of native drivers. Two mixed companies of
colonial artillery workmen, one in lower Senegal and the other
in the territories of upper Senegal and the middle Niger.
“3. In French East Africa.-A regiment of colonial
artillery composed of 8 mixed batteries (1 field, 3 mountain,
and 4 foot). Two mixed companies of colonial artillery work-
men, one in Émyrne and the other at Diego-Suarez.
48 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“4. In the Antilles.—A group of colonial artillery of 3
foot batteries. A detachment of colonial artillery workmen.
“5. In the Pacific.—A battery of colonial foot artillery.
A detachment of colonial artillery workmen.
“The strengths of these various units are given in Tables
Nos. 5, 6, 7, and 8.
“ART. 6. The regiments of colonial artillery in France are
composed of volunteers, reenlisted soldiers, commissionés,
volunteers of the land army turned over to the colonial army,
men of the contingents of the various colonies and of the
home contingent, either volunteers or incorporés d'office, but
who, in this latter case, will not be compelled to serve in the
colonies or sent there unless they make a request in writing
after their incorporation.
“ART. 7. The auxiliary artillery storekeepers, organized
by decree of the ministry of the navy and colonies, dated Jan-
uary 21, 1881, retain their present functions, and will be abol-
ished when their term expires.
“ART. 8. The colonial battery storekeepers retain their
present functions and will be suppressed at the expiration of
their term.
“The assistant (adjutant) battery storekeepers in the colo-
nies are reinstated; their number is determined each year
after an agreement between the ministers of war and the
colonies.
“ART. 9. The new organizations and increases contem-
plated in the present decree will be provided for only as fast
as the appropriations are made by Parliament.
“ART. 10. All regulations contrary to the present decree
are and remain abrogated.
“ART. 11. The ministers of war and of the colonies are
respectively charged, as far as concerns them, with the
execution of the present decree.
“Done at Paris, September 19, 1903.
“EMILE LOUBET.
“By the President of the Republic:
“GENERAL L. ANDRF,
“Minister of War.
“GASTON DOUMERGUE,
“Minister of Colonies.”
The Official Bul/etºn of the Minister of War, October 12, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 49
THE NEW CONTINGENT.
We have quite recently given some very interesting notes
on the work of distribution of the new contingent for 1904.
We called attention to the fact that at first sight the total
number of the contingent called this year would appear very
much reduced in comparison with that of preceding years,
and especially of last year; and we announced that the total
number of men called indifferently for one year and for three
years amounts this year to only 196,000, whereas it was last
year, as will be recalled, 233,000.
But what we had omitted to mention—and this is the very
remark which it is important to make before any other—is
that the deficit of 37,000 men found in the contingent to be
incorporated was given by the same number of conscripts as
last year within 500.
Therefore, since the number of recruits was the same, it is
easy to understand that the deficit arises from the more rigor-
ous application of the ministerial instructions given to the
recruiting boards, who rejected a great many young men of
doubtful fitness.
The reductions have been specially numerous among the
young men whose enlistment has been postponed twice.
Whereas in the last few years the recruiting boards have
taken 8,000 of these men, and not 6,000, as was erroneously
stated, they took only 3,000 this year. Consequently, with
respect to the strength of last year's contingent, the deficit,
in round numbers of 37,000, represents a falling off 15.8 per
cent.
For the one-year men the contingent, which was 79,000 men
last year, has fallen this year to 64,000. This shows a decrease
of 19 per cent. *
As regards the three-year men, the contingent has fallen
from 154,000 to 132,000, giving a decrease of 11.5 per cent.
A comparison of these two principal percentages, 19 for the
one-year contingent and 11.5 for the three-year contingent,
renders very manifest the heavy proportion of reductions
which were made in the one-year men.
We were saying the other day that the work of distribu-
tion was completed, as far as the one-year contingent was
17430—04—4
50 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
concerned. We now give below the general figures resulting
from this work:
One-year contingent, 64,000 men, distributed as follows:
The infantry receives 50,800, of which 48,000 go to the infan-
try of the line, 2,500 to the light infantry (chasseurs à pied),
300 to the zouaves, and 200 to the colonial infantry.
The artillery receives 9,400 men, of whom 2,600 go to the
foot artillery, 6,300 to the field artillery, and 500 to the
colonial artillery.
Finally, the engineers have allotted to them 1,000 one-year
men, the train 1,000, and the administrative troops 1,600.
The distribution of the contingent is not yet finally decided
upon, especially as regards the cavalry, the numbers of which
have been submitted for the approval of the minister of war.
But although the work as a whole can not be known for a
few days yet, we can announce now that the number of young
soldiers of three years incorporated in the infantry will very
probably be 85,000.--La France Militaire.
THE THREE-YEAR CONTING ENT.
We give below the distribution of the contingent of three-
year men for 1903.
The total number of men incorporated for three years this
year is 132,400.
They are distributed, by arms, as follows:
The infantry receives, in all, 85,983 men, divided as follows:
Infantry regiments, 73,202; light infantry (rifles), 7,545;
zouaves, 3,500; sharpshooters, 160; foreign regiments, 4;
fire brigade, 240; colonial infantry, 1,332.
The cavalry receives, in all, 18,200 men, divided as follows:
Cuirassiers, 3,133; dragoons, 6,490; light cavalry (mounted
chasseurs), 4,659; hussars, 2,870; African rifles, 1,019; spahis,
23; Saumur school, 6.
The artillery receives, in all, 19,468 men, as follows: Bat-
talions of foot artillery, 3,620; regiments of artillery, 15,040;
companies of workmen, 131; companies of artificers, 9; colo-
nial artillery, 668.
The engineers receive 3,920 men.
The train receives 1,880.
Administrative clerks and workmen, 1,824.
Hospital attendants, 1,125.
Grand total, 132,400 men.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 51
If this figure is compared with that of the contingent of last
year, it will be seen that in 1902 the three-year contingent
amounted to 154,000 men. -
The reductions this year affected especially the infantry,
to the extent of about 16,000 men; cavalry, about 3,300 men;
artillery, 1,000; engineers, 500, and the train, about 200 men.
It is interesting, moreover, to note that hitherto about 150
men were allotted to the spahis. This year only 23 were
allotted.
This is a result of the new instructions of the minister of
war and of the general idea expressed by General André in
the Senate, which consists in endeavoring more and more to
increase the proportion of natives in the African units.
For three contingents there are thus obtained, for the
spahis, about 400 men.
If we compare, now, the different figures by categories, we
observe in the three-year contingent what we have pointed
out concerning the one-year contingent.
Thus the persons of the class of 1900 whose date of enlist-
ment had been postponed once, having numbered 14,438 in
1902, are much less numerous in 1903. These are evidently
the consequences of the instructions transmitted to the recruit-
ing boards, who have shown themselves much more severe
this year for young men who have had their date of enlistment
postponed.—La France Militaire, October 18, 1903.
RECRUITING STATISTICS FOR 1902.
The number of youths of the 1901 class inscribed on the
rolls in January, 1902, amounted to 325,013, an increase of
15,681 on the number for the preceding year. By adding
those put back in 1900 (44,437) and in 1899 (23,395) the total
recruiting resources amounted to 392,845 men, who were dis-
tributed as follows: Men.
Exempt as unfit for service, etc -------------------------------- 25,854
Not allowed to serve (bad characters, etc.) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 92
Put back ----------------------------------------------------- 63, 794
Living abroad (out of Europe).----------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 695
Naturalized and exempt on account of age- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 252
Enrolled in the auxiliary services-------------. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 27,971
Serving as volunteers:
In the army (a) ------------------------------------------ 26, 109
In the navy (b) ------------------------------------------ 5, 384
Enrolled for one, two, or three years. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ------ 241, 694
52 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Three thousand men of the contingent enrolled for one, two,
or three years were posted to the colonial troops. The con-
tingent of the home army was thus reduced to 238,694 men.
During the year the number of youths who enlisted before
reaching the age for military service amounted to 19,839 in
the home and to 4,673 in the colonial army. By adding them
to the figures (a) and (b), the total number obtained for the
1902 contingent amounts to 292,315 men, of whom 284,642
were drafted into the home army. In order to be absolutely
correct, 8,474 men, who failed to appear, should be deducted,
who were posted as though present, but who, for the most
part, never joined. The 241,694 men called to the colours,
and the 24,512 who enlisted before reaching the age for mili-
tary service, were distributed in the following proportions,
viz:
HOME ARMY.

Called Out º º Cº.; Out
for 1 year. OT 2 8.In Or 3, 4,
* 3 years. |and 5 years.
Infantry---------------------------------------------- 65,075 106,934 12, 444
Cavalry----------------------------------------------. 113 22, 145 2,849
Artillery---------------------------------------------- 9,900 20,794 3,833
Engineers ----------------. . . . . • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 1,620 4,490 713
Transport -------------------------------------------. 1, 115 2,080 |... -- - - - - - - -
Administration troops, etc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,720 2,708 |- - - - - - - - - - - -
Total ------------------------------------------- 79, 543 159,151 19,839
COLONIAL TROOPS.
Infantry---------------------------------------------- 680 1,652 3,549
Artillery-----------------------------------------. . . . . - 63 605 1, 124
Total ------------------------------------------- 743 2,257 4, 673

The contingent for the home army shows an increase of
24,596 men on that of the 1900 class.
Under the heading of instruction, the 325,013 recruits are
classified as follows:
Neither read nor write- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Able to read only-------------------------------------
Able to read and write---------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Per cent.
13,696 or 4. 21
3,910 or 1. 20
33,075 or 10.18
Having a higher primary education - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 249,969 or 76.91
Having obtained a certificate of primary education
With degrees
State of education unknown - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
* = * * * * sº sº º sº * * * sº sº s sº ºn as nº s = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
5, 264 or 1.62
6, 770 or 2.08
12, 329 or 3.80
The calling to the colours of the men of the 1901 class took
place on the 14th, 15th, and 16th November, 1902. —Bulletin
de la Presse et de la Bibliographie Militaires.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 53
UNIFORMITY IN GLOVES.
The French minister of war has decided to discontinue the
purchase of leather or cotton gloves for the troops in order
to secure uniformity, the gloves on hand, or those already
ordered, to be distributed among the troops of a certain num-
ber of garrisons, which the army-corps commanders are to
designate.
The wearing of the gloves is restricted to adjutants, non-
commissioned officers, student officers, and reenlisted noncom-
missioned officers in street dress.
They are to be worn also by the military gendarmerie and
the regiments of firemen of the city of Paris.-La Belgique
Militaire, August 2, 1903.
FIELD-SERVICE BREAD.
The French war department has recently opened a contest
with a view to finding some special kind of bread wherewith
to replace the present field-service bread, which forms a part
of the two days’ rations, carried by the soldier in time of war.
The new product is to be bread, intermediate between the
present service bread and the ordinary homemade bread, and
in certain cases to replace both kinds.
The mode of manufacture is still kept a secret, but is said
to be very simple.
It is said that when eaten immediately after its fabrication,
this bread resembles in all points the customary fresh bread,
is of good flavor, and in appearance is like the ordinary bread
of wheat. It has the advantage of keeping fresh a very long
time, and can easily be cut with a knife after thirty days.
After that it continues to dry slowly, but without getting
moldy or deteriorating. After six months it was as well
preserved as the field-service bread, had a better taste, and,
above all, was better for use in soup.
Its price is somewhat more than the ordinary bread, but at
the same time contains a greater proportion of nutritious
elements.
If this new product is adopted by the army, as seems proba-
ble, it will be possible to reduce to a considerable extent the
reserve supplies of field-service bread, and consequently avoid
the inevitable waste, resulting from a renewal of the supply.—
La Belgique Militaire, September 13, 1903.
54 BUTILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
NEW CARTRIDGES.
The war minister has just ordered the trial of a new model of
ball cartridge of the 1891–1895 type modified. This cartridge
was made with a view to obviating the defects noticed on sev-
eral occasions in the present cartridges, which were badly
crimped, so that the bullet either fell out of the cartridge or
sank into it.
The new cartridges will be immediately issued to various
regiments designated for making the trials in question.
MODIFICATION ON THE FRONT SIGHT OF THE CARBINE.
It has been observed that when using solenite cartridges the
fire of the carbine of the special troops, and that of the model
1891 cavalry carbine, is lower than when ballistite cartridges
are used.
The defect mentioned is not of great importance in the cav-
alry carbine, but in the carbine of the special troops it is nec-
essary that it be remedied.
As a result of the studies made it was found that it would
be necessary to diminish (lower) the top of the sight # mm.
The minister of war has just ordered this transformation.
This work will be done in the arsenals and workshops for the
carbines stored therein. The change will be made on the car-
bines in the hands of troops by their chief armorers.--La
Aºrance Militaire, October 11, 1903.
THE ORGANIZATION OF THE SPECIAL MILITARY SCHOOL.
The following is the text of a decree of October 24, 1903:
“ARTICLE 1. Articles 16 and 25 of the decree of September
25, 1900, are annulled and respectively replaced by the fol-
lowing:
“‘Article 16. The staff of the school will be composed of 1
general of division or of brigade, commanding; 1 lieutenant-
colonel, second in command; 1 major (chief administrative
officer); 1 captain, treasurer; 1 lieutenant, assistant treasurer;
1 chaplain.
“‘Battalions.—One major of infantry; 8 captains as in-
structors, two of whom perform the duties of battalion adju-
tants or instructors of small-arms practice; 16 lieutenants, of
whom four belong to the supernumerary officers; 8 adju-
dants d’infanter/e, of whom one is an adjudant de bata ?//on.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 55
and one at the disposition of the lieutenant-colonel; 1 drum
major; 1 caporal-claſſron (corporal charged with the instruction
of the buglers); 12 drummers; 12 buglers.
“‘Cavalry section.—One major of cavalry; 2 captains as
instructors; 7 lieutenants as instructors; 2 veterinarians; 3
adjudants de namége (horsemanship); 6 Sergents de manège;
1 saddler sergeant; 1 sergeant, secretary of the horse infirm-
ary; 1 sergeant farrier; 1 corporal farrier; 3 trumpeters; 8
farriers; 5 workmen saddlers.
“‘Troopers charged with care of horses.—Two sergeants; 1
quartermaster-sergeant; 2 corporals; 50 troopers.
“‘Petit 6tat-major (noncommissioned staff).--Four adju-
dants of artillery; 1 adjudant vaguemestre; 1 adjudant, first
fencing master; 1 chief armorer; 1 ironworker; 1 engineer
Workman; 1 sergeant-major, secretary of the petit 6tat-major;
1 quartermaster-sergeant; 1 Sergeant of artillery, armament
clerk; 1 sergeant of artillery, performing the duties of battery
storekeeper; 15 Sergeants, assistant fencing masters; 8 Ser-
geants, instructors in gymnastics; 4 noncommissioned officers,
corporals, or privates, clerks of the major and of the treas-
urer; 2 woodworkers of the workmen companies; 5 armor-
ers; 1 cook for the petit état-major; 1 assistant cook for ditto;
1 storekeeper; 1 canţine waiter; 1 secretary (clerk) for the
library; 1 cook for the officers’ mess; 1 assistant cook for the
officers’ mess; 3 waiters for the officers’ mess; 6 orderlies; 86
privates as orderlies.
“‘Article 25. Sisters of charity will be assigned to the
hospital of the school, their number being determined by the
minister of war, and 15 hospital attendants, of whom 1 shall
be a sergeant and 1 a corporal.’
“ART. 2. The suppression of positions occasioned by the
foregoing provisions shall occur as fast as vacancies occur.
“ART. 3. The minister of war is charged with the execu-
tion of the present decree.”—Bulletºn Officiel du Ministère de
la Guerre, Partie réglementaère, Wovember 9, 1903.
A NEW LAW ON PROMOTION IN THE FRENCH ARMY.
It has been justly complained in the German army that
promotion in the Prussian infantry is very slow. An officer,
working his way up in the line and enjoying no preference,
requires at present, as is shown by the new army list, eleven
56 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
years in order to reach the rank of major, i. e., of Super-
numerary major without the pay of a field officer. The very
rapid occurrence of vacancies in the positions of regimental
commanders and general officers is not felt in the lower ranks
with sufficient intensity, for a very considerable portion of
these vacancies are filled by so-called “jumpers;” that is, by
officers who, in the general staff, war ministry, corps of aids,
and (in less numbers) also in the line, are jumped a number of
years ahead of the mass of their comrades by being granted
“antedated” commissions. This evil condition of affairs, as
the army list again shows, is likely to be still more keenly
felt within the next two years, for there are over 300 infantry
captains of 1893 who still await promotion. This incongruity
was brought up for discussion during the consideration of the
pay of lieutenant-colonels in the Reichstag, but no acceptable
remedy was found. If the long-planned increase of the pen-
sion rates were adopted within a few years, which was not
even proposed at this session, owing to financial considera-
tions, an improvement would probably later on gradually be
felt in the prospects for promotion. New formations of infan-
try units are hardly to be expected fri sufficient number to
offer a prospect of supplanting the average line officer with
younger material.
The more difficult the promotion problem becomes in the
German army, the more interest will be awakened by the
efforts of other armies to improve the conditions of advance-
ment of their officers and to initiate a system of rejuvenation
based on sound principles. The efforts being made in the
French army are specially worthy of our attention. It is
determined in France to improve the prospects of promotion
of line officers and at the same time effect a rejuvenation of
the forces in such a manner as to raise the standard of effi-
ciency as well as to increase the contentment with the service.
A bill has just been introduced by the well-informed and
much mentioned Deputy Raiberti, who is in charge of the re.
port on the military budget. It has attracted general attention
in the French army and also merits our notice. The new bill
is opposed to the one presented by the war ministry, which is
based on a classification of all officers in the central bureau of
the war ministry. The ministerial proposition, as is known,
met with vigorous opposition during the first discussions, be-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 57
cause it has been found that centralization in one hand con-
duces neither to justice nor thoroughness. If we cast a
comparative glance at German conditions, we shall also find
the strictest centralization in the military cabinet, before which
all propositions of the headquarter authorities, which are kept
secret from the public, are laid for decision. According to
our military habits we look upon this procedure as being
sanctioned by usage, and therefore do not criticise it.
The fundamental principle of Raiberti's bill is the insurance
of a uniform advancement according to seniority, while at the
same time not hindering specially qualified officers from be-
ing promoted more rapidly, so that a healthy striving for
advancement of the best elements will be encouraged and the
rising of young, energetic blood into the high positions will
be favored. On the other hand, the bill specially provides
that, while young persons are to reach the high positions, a
thorough training in each stage of the various grades is not to
be neglected.
Second lieutenants are to be promoted to first lieutenants
unconditionally and in unlimited numbers after two years'
service. Promotions from first lieutenant to colonel are to be
regulated by a special procedure, which combines the con-
siderations of seniority with the valuation of specially meri-
torious service. The rule will be adhered to that no captain
shall be promoted to major unless he has commanded a com-
pany (squadron, battery) at least two years in succession with-
out interruption.
The estimation of services rendered will be based on special
promotion lists, which are always valid for one year. These
lists are prepared by a special commission in every army
corps district. This commission consists of the commanding
general and the divisional commander, to whom are added a
general officer from each arm or branch of the service, with
deliberative voice.
This commission examines and passes upon the service
reports (efficiency records) of all officers from lieutenant to
colonel. Thereupon, those officers who are given the best
recommendation are given special preferences, in the regula-
tion of seniority, over those of their comrades who have not
merited a special recommendation. The period by which a
58 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
promotion is anticipated shall not exceed six months. In a
similar manner the commission determines the fitness of gen-
eral officers for promotion. The total result of the labors of
the commission is submitted to the war ministry for decision.
At the war ministry the lists received from the army corps
are assorted according to arms of the Service and grades and
combined into common lists. These lists then serve as the
basis for the promotions of the year, which are made in exact
accordance with the order of precedence established in the
lists. Those captains who have received the much-coveted
staff certificate from the war academy have their commission
antedated six months. Very important and of far-reaching
consequences is the regulation of the “age limit,” an arrange-
ment peculiar to the French army, which does not exist under
German conditions but still has a certain practical signifi-
cance. The “unwritten law" on age limit in the German
army has its far-reaching, practical significance. The French
bill determines the age limit in the following manner—that
is, all officers who have reached the age given below on
December 31 of the year in question are barred from further
promotion: Lieutenants, 43; captains, 47; majors, 50; lieu-
tenant-colonels, 52 years. The very high age limit for
lieutenants appears strange to us. It becomes explainable,
however, if we consider that lieutenants, coming, as they do,
from among the noncommissioned officers, reach the grade of
second lieutenant comparatively late, often not before the age
of 27 to 29 years. The other age limits are, in comparison
with German conditions, and especially with those of the
Prussian infantry, rather low, for the prospects of promotion
in Germany are at present so bad that not a few officers
actually reach the age mentioned in the grades in question.
The yearly promotion lists are published in the official
military gazette, and, as far as the order of precedence in
promotion is concerned, are absolutely binding. The war
minister has not the right to make any change in the order of
precedence. If an officer has to be stricken from the promo-
tion list owing to some occurrence in the service, he must
demand immediate notification with an assignment of the
I'68,SODS.
A public promotion list for the grades of general officer is
not prepared. This list is subject to examination and ap-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 59
proval by the superior war council and remains in the hands
of the war minister, who is responsible for the appointment
of suitable persons to the grades of general officer. No per-
son who has passed the age of 55 years can be promoted to a
generalcy; this limit is generally observed also in the German
army. Moreover, any officer who is recommended for pro-
motion to the grade of general officer must have been a colonel
at least four years and have been in command of a body of
troops for two years of this time.
Special provisions relate to the officers of the general staff.
Concerning the promotion of these officers, a commission
appointed every year is to decide. This commission is pre-
sided over by the chief of the general staff, and it examines
the certificates of fitness of the various officers, preparing, in
accordance therewith, a special promotion list. The minimum
period to be served in one grade before promotion to a higher
is as follows: For a captain, at least three years' service as a
lieutenant; for a major, after six years' service as a captain
(as in Germany); for a lieutenant-colonel, after at least one
year's service as a major; for a colonel, after at least two
years’ service as a lieutenant-colonel. It is also decided by
the commission in question which persons among the
lieutenant-colonels are qualified to serve as chiefs of staff of
an army corps. These positions are filled by first appointing
an officer as “assistant chief,” and then promoting him to the
position of chief when this place becomes vacant.
Finally, a few more very interesting propositions are made
concerning promotion in war. In war all promotions are made
by selection. Vacancies in the lower grades, that is, up to
captain, inclusive, are filled on the basis of personal distinction
by the commanding general, while the appointment to the
grades of field officers is reserved to the commanders of the
army, and general officers are appointed by the war minister.
All appointments during war are, however, only of a tempo-
rary nature, and must be examined and regulated by a com-
mission upon the conclusion of peace. Whether employment
in the colonial service is to be considered as war service in
respect to promotion must be determined in each case by a
special order to the President of the Republic.
The foregoing outline shows that the bill in question con-
templates an open procedure, to be enacted before everyone's
60 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
eyes. Should the bill, which has met considerable approval,
become a law, it would constitute an innovation fully meriting
our attention.—Weue Militärische Blätter, July 4, 1903.
A GENERAL METHOD OF CROSSING RIVERS BY INFANTRY.
The recent maneuvers in the southeast have proved once
more that the skill of our pontoneers is capable of accomplish-
ing wonders, and the improvements, if any remain to be made,
will doubtless relate only to details. There remains, on the
contrary, much to be sought in the way of rapid means
enabling a body of troops in the field to cross with its own
resources alone a water course where bridges, fords, and
pontoneers are lacking. Many schemes may, of course, be
devised, and the armies of all ages have left in this respect
examples of ingenious stratagems.
A good method ought to require little time and apparatus
easily obtained.
Here is one tried this year by the Seventh Regiment of
Infantry at Cahors, which seems in this regard to approach
very near the ideal.
The theme of the operation was a reconnaissance to be
carried out toward the northern quarter of the city, and for
this purpose to have the Lot River crossed at all costs by a
section on a war footing—that is, 50 men, with its officers,
Sergeants, and corporals—the bridges connecting the two
shores being cut down.
Lieut. Martial Pouyat, in command of the section, conceived
the idea of having his men cross by their own efforts along
a rope stretched over the river with the aid of casks serving
as buoys.
At 8 o’clock the section reached the left bank of the Lot
and sought shelter until the preparations for the passage
should be completed.
Fºrst operation.—Two peasants are summoned. Seven min-
utes are spent in constructing a raft of planks capable of car-
aying two men and the overcoats and equipments of six others
(advanced squad), who swim across and guide the raft, posting
themselves as sentinels on the other bank to protect the
passage.
Second operation.—A rope is attached to the pontoon and
fastened to five casks, which have been requisitioned and which
will hold it up.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 61
Third operation.—The passage commences, protected by
the advanced squad. Our photographs show the men leaving
the left bank. They get beyond their depth at the pontoon,
suspend themselves on the rope, and, without swimming, pull
themselves from cask to cask.
The passage, including the preparations, required fifty
minutes in all, which time might have been still reduced if,
for prudence sake, it had been decided to send the men into
the water in series of four only, which would have materially
facilitated the work of vigilance by the lifeboat, from which
Lieutenant Pouyat superintended this somewhat hazardous
but completely successful passage.
If we add that the Lot is 130 meters broad at this point, it
will be easy to judge how rapidly the work was done. As to
the apparatus, it is reduced to the greatest possible simplicity,
and there is hardly a country so God-forsaken as not to have
some hygienic or other beverage to put in casks.
This method is therefore truly general, since it answers all
the requirements of time and convenience and enables rivers
to be crossed under conditions where the best swimmers would
not succeed.
Let us note that it does not by any means render useless
the devolopment of swimming exercises in the army recom-
mended by all the regulations, but that it depends, on the
contrary, on their results as far as possible, making allow-
ance for the insurmountable difficulties which are often
encountered in certain persons and in certain cases.
—Armée et Marine, October 11, 1903.
THE “ROULE-SAC,” A NEW MEANS OF CONVEYING
KNAPSACKS.
In the endeavor to render more easy for the soldier the
carrying of his equipment, Doctor St. Paul, staff surgeon of
the second class in the French army, has devised a simple,
easily dismounted and reassembled vehicle, designed to hold
a number of knapsacks and to convey them after the troops
when the latter are marching on roads passable for vehicles.
(This vehicle can, by slight modification, be adapted for con-
veying other objects also, such as the tools of detachments of
workmen, the equipments of stragglers, or even sick on
litters.) According to a detailed description, accompanied
62 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
with illustrations, published in La France Militaire, the
“roule-sac” is composed of the following parts: (1) A frame
of 1.12-inch tubing, whose central axial or longitudinal tube
is 24.4 inches long; to this latter are attached two transverse
arms at a right angle; the anterior of these arms is 16 inches
long and the rear one 29.6 inches; the front arm is situated
6.4 inches from the front end of the central longitudinal tube
and the rear arm exactly at the end thereof. (2) Two side
wheels each 16.8 inches in diameter, which are fastened by
means of clamps in forks at the ends of the rear transverse
arm. (3) A front wheel, also 16.8 inches in diameter, which
is fastened in a movable fork at the front end of the middle
tube, having a play of 4.8 inches. The wheels are constructed
similarly to those of bicycles. The total weight of the “roule-
sac” is 18.5 pounds, but the constructor claims that he can
reduce this weight to 17.6 pounds. In order to diminish the
weight of the frame, as well as make the latter as solid as
possible, and also in order to still further relieve the soldier,
Doctor St. Paul has hit upon an arrangement whereby the
transverse arms can be replaced by bayonets. In order to
put the vehicle together it is merely necessary to attach the
three wheels and eight bayonets to the frame.
It may be remarked that the vehicle, which is constructed
for only four knapsacks, can really carry six of them. By
the use of the roule-sac, therefore, six men can be relieved of
their knapsacks, besides being freed from four of their bayo-
nets. If it becomes impossible to haul the roule-sacs, they
have to be carried by four men, the load being distributed as
follows: One man carries the frame, weighing 2.8 pounds;
another man the front wheel, weighing 5.67 pounds; another
the left and another the right side wheel, weighing 4.99
pounds each. (Besides this, straps, hooks, strings, etc., have
to be carried in order to fasten the separate parts to the knap-
sack.) The carrying capacity of the roule-sac was found to
be 396 pounds, so that it can easily support a man. The
assemblage requires less than one minute. The manner in
which the several component parts of the roule-sac are to be
carried by the men has not yet been thoroughly tested, but
the first trials showed that this will offer no special difficulties.
The roule-sac (the first model of which was neither provided
with a brake nor with the protective devices against mud and
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 63
dust) can be either pulled or shoved by two men alternately
relieving each other on an ordinary road. In ascents the col-
umn marching immediately behind the vehicle is to be called
to assistance in hauling it.
The roule-sac must be carried over difficultly surmountable
obstacles. Two of these vehicles traveling side by side, each
of them having a breadth of 29.6 inches and the two carrying
together 12 knapsacks, occupy a length of 1 meter (39 inches)
in a column (in this connection the parts of the wheels which
project beyond the frame seem to be taken into consideration);
this would mean a prolongation of the column by 1 meter for
three ranks (12 men). This equals 20 meters for a company,
250 for a regiment, and 1,000 meters for an infantry division.
By means of various modifications, such as leading the roule,
sacs alongside the ranks instead of behind them, the above
data will be rendered more favorable. Under any circum-
stances, when the troops come into action, or are marching in
tracts of country where there are no passable roads, the roule-
sacs can be transported behind on the train wagons or other
wagons requisitioned for the purpose. (Doctor St. Paul
believes that such a wagon would not need to be of unusual
dimensions in order to carry the 83 dismounted roule-sacs
which would be necessary for a half battalion of 500 men.)
It must further be remembered that, as a rule, it is only the
troops of the second line who would be able to use the roule-
sac, for the conditions of warfare would probably render it
unavoidable that the troops of the first line should be liberated
not only of roule-sacs, but of the knapsacks themselves. The
employment even of only a few roule-sacs per company will
afford the troops a considerable amount of relief, especially
when the vehicles can be hauled after the troops while march-
ing in the terrain.—From Weue Militärische Blätter, May
2–9, 1903.
MILITARY COURTS.
According to the old Code de Justice Militaire, of June 9,
1857, there is in each territorial division a permanent “con-
seil de révision,” of which the number is determined by law.
If the president of the military tribunal (court-martial), the
verdict of which has been contested, was a division general or
marshal, an officer of the same rank must preside in the court
64 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
at the new trial. In war time such a “ conseil de révision”
was formed in each army headquarters.
The new regulations know no such “conseils de révision.”
According to the latter only courts of cassation are enforced.
In time of peace such courts shall be convened only in the
territorial district of Algiers. The personnel will consist of
five members, who are to be selected from the corps of officers
of military justice to be organized in the future. Pleas of
nullity against the verdicts of military tribunals in French
territory fall under the cognizance of the “court of cassation
of the State.” The interpretations of the law concerning
courts-martial in the armies and in fortresses in a state of
siege have been already changed by a statute of May, 1875.
In general these alterations correspond to the proposed text
of the new law. According to this, one or two courts-martial
will be assembled in every division. Operating corps, which
contain only brigades, also convene courts-martial by order of
the secretary of war. During operations the commander in
chief is authorized to change the place of assembly of courts-
martial in accordance with the changes in the “Ordre de Ba-
taille.” The courts-martial in the army have not seven, but
only five members. The composition of the court is the same
in time of peace. The rank of the accused is also determined
in them for the class of officers acting as members. The com-
manders of armies ºf the divisions of “Stappendirectionen,”
of the territorial districts or detached commands, appoint their
respective subordinate officers as members of courts-martial.
During the trial of a marshal of France or of a general of a
division no officer is allowed to sit as a member who is inferior
in rank to the accused during his arrest if the indictment is
for an offense committed during the term of command.
In time of war a military court of cassation is convened at
every theater of operations at the headquarters of the com-
mander in chief. We shall see, afterwards, in which cases the
privilege of convening is suspended in the army and the for-
mation of military courts of cassation does not take place.
The commander in chief has the authority of appointing courts
of cassation. He also decides on matters of jurisdiction. For
the composition of these military courts of cassation in time
of war the regulations governing the courts of cassation in
Algiers in time of peace are binding. The persons desired
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 65
are taken from among the officers of the troops if there is a
scarcity of officers of the judicial department.
As soon as a fortified place has been declared to be in a state
of siege on account of the approach of a hostile force, one or
two special courts-martial are convened there. Their compo-
sition depends on the rules for other courts-martial. Their
activity ceases with the raising of the siege, except for the
cases that have already been assigned to them.
If it is necessary to form special courts of cassation in the
territorial districts of the country a special order shall pre-
scribe the number, presiding officer, and place of assembly.
In every fortified place which is in a state of siege a special
military court of cassation is appointed on the approach of an
enemy. In conquered or occupied territory of the enemy the
rules for French territory are enforced whenever the com-
munications of the army are cut off.
In the colonies courts-martial and military courts of cassa-
tion are formed for the land forces, which are sent there by
special orders. In these the number, seat, and resort are to
be determined.
The high provost, provost marshal (grands prévots), and the
commandants of the public power (executive)—gendarmerie—
independently of the duties of the police, which they have
according to military regulations, exercise an administration
of justice, the limits and rules of which are fixed by the new
army law.
The provost-marshal exercises jurisdiction, either himself
or by provosts or by commanding officers of the public
power, in the whole territory (tract of land) occupied by the
army, in the flanks, and in the rear of the army. On every
provost and every commanding officer the jurisdiction at the
station of the army, the army corps division, or detached body
to which he belongs, especially rests.
The provost-marshal, the provosts, and the commanding
officers themselves sentence without any detached body of
judges (i. e., without any other members).
The second book of the scheme or outline of the law discusses
the competence of military tribunals.
In time of peace all persons who belong to the army by
reason of the recruiting law, or who hold a commission, or
17430—04—5
66 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
*
who are government employees, are subject to the jurisdic-
tion of the existing courts-martial in the territorial districts.
In time of peace courts-martial are competent to act on all
crimes especially designated in the second and fourth articles
of war and for every misdemeanor which is committed during
active operations.
As it now exists in the old law of June 9, 1857, courts-
martial are not competent for officers and noncommissioned
officers of the gendarmerie nor for the gendarmes, as well as
all the crimes and misdemeanors which concern the execution
of those functions touching the judicial police and the estab-
lishment of contraventions in the administration.
If a person held for trial by a court-martial is to be tried
for a crime or misdemeanor which comes under the jurisdic-
tion of a court-martial and for a crime or misdemeanor which
comes under the jurisdiction of the civil court, he shall first
appear in that court to which the severer accusation pertains,
and is afterwards to be tried by the other court for the lesser
crime. If the same punishment is meted out to both crimes
and misdemeanors, or if one of the crimes is a case of deser-
tion, the accused is held for trial by the court-martial. Cases
of insubordination are always brought to trial before a court-
martial, if it is in connection with another crime or misde-
meanor coming under the jurisdiction of the civil court, even
though the latter demand a severer punishment.
Another chapter discusses the competence of court-martial
in time of war.
In time of war courts-martial are competent to try all
crimes and misdemeanors.
1. All persons who are subject to trial by court-martial in
time of peace.
2. All persons belonging to the staff, administration, and
other departments, which appertain to (or are dependent on)
the Army.
3. All sutlers, servants, traders, and other persons who
have special permission to follow the army.
If an army is in a foreign country, courts-martial are com-
petent to try all persons who are accused of being the offender
(originator) or abetter in any of the crimes or misdemeanors
specifically mentioned in the new law. Besides this the
commander in chief has the privilege of sending persons for
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 67
trial before the tribunals of the army, instead of sending them
for trial before the ordinary tribunals of the occupied country,
in order to punish certain crimes and misdemeanors of the
civil laws, and especially those which concern the security of
the army. The old law does not contain this last amendment.
If the army is in its own country and in front of the enemy,
the foreigners who commit the specified crimes or misde-
meanors are also subject to trial by the French courts-martial.
All military persons and civil functionaries (assimilés) up to
the rank of captain are amenable to trial by the court-martial
of this division, in the detachments to which they belong,
respectively; officers of higher rank are amenable to trial
before the courts-martial of the corps or armies.
The new code also takes up the competence of the “cour de
cassation” and the military courts of cassation.
Pleas of nullity can be entered against the verdicts pro-
nounced by courts-martial for the reasons of incompetency,
formalities, technicalities, encroachments of power, or infrac-
tion of the law. The plea of nullity of the sentence takes
place either in the court of cassation of France or in the mili-
tary courts of cassation.
The latter are competent for all sentences of courts-martial
in the armies, in the fortified places which are in a state
of siege, in Algiers, and in the colonies and for the trials
of military persons in the troops mobilized in the territorial
districts and united as operating corps. Also the pleas of
cassation of sentences of courts-martial in those parts of the
country situated in the zone of operating forces belong to the
military courts of cassation. If the verdict of the courts-
martial is contested in the above-mentioned cases by reason
of the incompetence of the military courts of justice, so in
time of war also she case must be brought before the court
of cassation of France.
From the verdicts of the military courts of cassation and
the “courts of cassation ” there is no appeal.
The privilege of the accused to enter a plea of nullity can
be suspended in the armies for some time by the President of
the Republic after a deliberation of the ministers. The com-
manding officer of a blockaded or besieged fortress is always
authorized to order such a suspension.
68 |RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The population of the country must in all cases be imme-
diately informed of such an order by public notice (show
bills). The effect of this is that the order of suspension
extends only over all sentences after the publication of the
decree, and that the sentences for capital punishment can be
executed only by an order signed by the authority (officer)
who ordered the court that convicted the accused.— Militar
Wochenblatt Wo. 77, July 23, 1903, translated by Lieut. E. M.
Morton, Eighth Infantry.
FRENCH BRIDGE EQUIPAGE.
The bridge equipage of the French army has until 1901
comprised wooden pontoon boats. These small pontoons
have not given entire satisfaction in all respects.
The number of experiments made since 1861 by the regi-
ments of pontonniers with metal boats indicates that the
artillery service realizes the inconvenience of wooden boats.
However, in 1894, when the military bridge service was
transferred to the engineers, experiments were still being
made.
Since 1895 the technical section of the engineers has ob-
tained authority for the trial of a certain number of divisible
boats made of metal. The incident which occurred in 1897
at Bezons revealed the necessity for a radical change from the
existing condition of affairs.
After the report made by the district chief of engineers,
and upon the favorable notice of the technical engineering
committee, the minister decided on the substitution of metal
for wood, and charged the commission on engineering im-
provements to make a trial of several types of metal boats.
We learn from the Revue du Genie Militaire that they have
just been definitely adopted.—La Belgique Militaire of Jan-
uary 18, 1903.
FIRING INSTRUCTION.
The progress in armaments has naturally led the various
European armies to assign an ever-increasing importance to
firing instruction. The rifle is a tool whose employment is
the more delicate the more it is improved; the more accurate,
in fact, the weapon becomes, the more important it becomes
for the marksman to be familiarized with the right way of
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 69
taking aim. With an arm of precision, if the line of sight is
badly taken, the projectile will go fatally wide of the mark,
and it will go the farther from the mark the greater the error
in the line of sight. Now, it is well known that in battle the
will power of a man is greatly weakened. Under the influ-
ence of fatigue and emotion his moral faculties are dimin-
ished; he becomes a sort of automaton which mechanically
performs the acts to which it is accustomed. It is there-
fore essential that a man should not have to reflect when
firing in war, for he is totally incapable of reflection under
fire. It is absolutely necessary that the man should fire
automatically—that he should take aim automatically and by
force of habit. Firing instruction should, therefore, strive
to realize this automatism.
Among the methods enabling this result to be obtained the
most simple and perhaps the most efficacious is surely the one
invented some time since by a French officer and which has
stood its tests. It consists in the correction of the aim by
firing into a looking glass. This method, although excellent,
is not yet practiced except by a very limited number of adepts.
Those of our readers who are unacquainted with it will surely
be glad to have us acquaint them with it. The starting point
of the researches of Lieutenant B. was that the soldier, not
being subject to any supervision in his aim, is content most
of the time with an approximate aim in simulated fire. The
very serious result of this is that he acquires the habit of not
aiming carefully. And if, as is admitted, the aptitude for a
work is in proportion to the attention and care given to its
execution, it may be said, in a general way, that the aptitude
of our soldier in aiming is at best only tolerable. It would be
Quite different if it were possible to verify every aim taken.
The instructor would not tolerate bad aiming, and the pupil
would consequently always be obliged to aim well. And,
since habit is second nature, if men are given the habit of
aiming well, they will preserve it in battle, which is the
desired result.
These premises being assumed, Lieutenant B. points out that
an instructor and a marksman, placed symmetrically before a
mirror, can see each other mutually. In this position the
soldier fires a shot, aiming at the instructor's eye in the mir-
ror. The latter easily perceives how the marksman has taken
70 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
aim. The nearer the two persons are to the mirror the easier
it is to ascertain this. It is not necessary that the instructor
and the soldier be equidistant from the mirror. One may
proceed as follows: A position is taken up in the open air and
a mirror is stood up against a chair on a table. The instructor
takes his seat beside the table, while the marksman stands
about 2 meters therefrom, or nearer if necessary. In this
way not only can the manner in which a man takes aim be
ascertained, but he may be taught to take aim. For this pur-
pose the instructor has the man stand near him, instructs him
to aim at one of his (the instructor's) eyes in the mirror, and
directs his arm correspondingly. The mirror method may be
employed as a means of verification as well in collective as in
individual fire.
For collective fire the soldiers are placed in line or in the
arc of a circle, in one or two ranks, at about 3 meters from
the objective. With a mirror whose dimensions are 50 by 60
cm., a large enough field is obtained to instruct a squad of 12
men in two ranks. In this latter case it is advantageous, for a
good observation of the aims, to have the first rank kneel.
The instructor supervises the marksmen one after the
other. It is useless, in reality, to watch the marksman every
time he aims, for, not knowing whether it is his line of sight
or that of his neighbor which the instructor is verifying, he
is constantly vigilant and consequently aims well.
It is also possible, instead of aiming at the eye of the
Instructor, to aim at a black spot painted on a piece of paste-
board placed in front of and against the eye of the instructor,
who can observe through a small hole situated below and in
line with this spot. For this purpose may be employed the
marker used in aiming drill to ascertain the regularity of
aim. This method offers the advantage of preparing the
marksman for firing at a movable (or intermittent) target, by
obliging him to take aim as soon as the instructor places the
pasteboard before his eye.
The mirror method may furthermore be utilized in prepar-
ing the soldier for reduced fire and in accustoming him to
the report. A few blank cartridges may be fired before the
mirror, precaution being taken to cut out the false bullet.
It is well in this exercise for each soldier to place his weapon
on the left shoulder of a comrade, the two men thus becoming
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 71
accustomed to the report at the same time, and it is, besides,
an excellent preparation for fire in two ranks. The same
method may, moreover, be applied to reduced fire, to real fire
at a reduced range, and even to target practice. It suffices
to take high elevations in order that the mirror will be under-
neath the trajectory; it also suffices that the instructor dispºse
the marksman and the mirror in such a way that the bullets
will strike the target, etc. As to the method of instruction,
it may be summarized as follows: Each squad leader is pro-
vided with a mirror and with a notebook in which are inscribed
the names of his men. Each day the soldier takes a lesson,
which consists in firing six (false) cartridges in one of the
three positions prescribed by the regulations. The instruc-
tion may be given out of doors or in the barrack room. The
instructor judges the shots according to the freedom of aim,
the regularity of pointing, and the action of the finger on the
trigger. He makes a note at each shot and inscribes this
note in his notebook. It takes about a quarter of an hour to
give a lesson to a squad. Every evening the notebooks are
delivered to the company commander who, from the notes :
given, can easily see the daily progress made.
To summarize, the method of Lieutenant B. is simple; any
noncommissioned officer, if he knows how to take an aim, can
control the fire of his men. This method can therefore not
help giving good results. Let us add right here that this
opinion is not arbitrary, but that it is, on the contrary,
founded by the brilliant success achieved by Lieutenant B. in
firing instruction. It would be of real interest to the army
to have this method introduced throughout all the regiments,
and we believe that it will find its way there by the force of
circumstances.—La France Militaire, October 11, 1903.
LESSONS OF THE MANEUVERS–CAVALRY ON THE
BATTLEFIELD.
The maneuvers of this year have brought into prominence
the more than ever great question of the present day, viz, the
employment of cavalry on the field of battle. On this subject
it is well known that opinions are far from being unanimous,
and that theories, more or less specious, conduce to the upset-
ting of the present organization, under pretext of throwing
more light on the subject. It is therefore not surprising that
72 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
military critics who followed the maneuvers have given an
important place in their accounts to questions regarding the
cavalry. For ourselves, convinced that the employment of
so important an arm can not be condensed into a mere formula
or aphorism, we are of opinion that the discussion may be
indefinitely prolonged without arriving at any definite con-
clusion so long as the problem is presented in the following
categoric terms, viz: “Should cavalry be employed in masses
or in small groups on the battlefield?” It is because the
problem is always thus presented that the real question is
obscured, so that the true solution, and the only logical and
rational one, is lost sight of; the distribution—the grouping
of cavalry must be regulated by the tactical situation, and by
the use which could or which should be made of that arm on
a particular occasion.
As a matter of fact the theory that consists in concentrating
all the available cavalry at a particular point with a view to
action by masses alone is exposed to the danger of rendering
the whole of the cavalry impotent for action at the desired
point, if the mass has not the necessary time to arrive there at
the proper moment. The other theory, which consists in
suppressing all massing, but would have scattered, isolated
squadrons in ambush, ready to fall on the prey that comes
their way may, indeed, give partial success, but can never
have any decisive result. It is, therefore, reasonable to say
that detachments of cavalry may be usefully employed in
battle during that period of the action generally termed
“lutte d'usure.” This, however, does not exclude massed
action at all times, when a decisive effort should be attempted.
This massed action should, in consequence, be taught in
maneuvers in peace-time. On the battlefield preparation
should be made for it by the junction of several larger bodies
of cavalry not employed in the “lutte d'usure.”
The following lines, borrowed from General von Pelet-Nar-
bonne, appear to define very precisely the logical employment
of cavalry on the battlefield:
“It should first be observed that attacks by small bodies of
cavalry, because they are often possible of easy execution, and
are more calculated to surprise the enemy, may also have
their portion of success. But in the decisive battle that cav-
alry alone is in a position to produce an effect which advances
BULLETIN of MILITARY NOTEs. 73
in several echeloned lines, combining a frontal with a flank
attack. This necessitates a suitable force, and for this object
the efforts of a cavalry commander, when he wishes to attempt
a decisive enterprise, should be to concentrate the greatest
possible number of squadrons that the ground will permit of.
Numbers are necessary for two reasons. In the first place, a
simultaneous attack should be made on all the hostile bodies
in position to fire on the ground of attack; in the second place,
endeavors should be made to scatter the fire of those bodies
by assaulting in echeloned units advancing from different
directions, and so disposed that the fire meant for one of those
units could not reach the one following. In order to comply
with these conditions, it is necessary to act with large effec-
tives—in short, with masses, or else to abandon the immense
results which these decisive attacks might yield. Massed
action, however, does not mean assembling troops of cavalry
in compact formations at the same point; its meaning, rather,
is to judiciously select an objective and to hurl against it the
desired number of squadrons, each formed in one rank, and
to so distribute these squadrons as to simultaneously attack
all hostile bodies capable of bringing fire to bear. A massed
attack of cavalry may, without doubt, be more or less favored
by circumstances; it will, as a rule, have more chance of suc-
cess on the flanks than anywhere else. It will succeed the
more if it has the benefit of effecting a surprise, which explains
the idea of acting in close or undulating country, and not on
one like a billiard table.”
Since General von Pelet-Narbonne wrote the above lines,
however, the progress made by artillery has given a fresh
incentive for massed cavalry attacks. These attacks will suc-
ceed to-day more easily than they did in the past, prepared
for, as they will be, by the concentrated fire of numerous
batteries; thanks to their rapidity of fire, they may even
open the door to a decisive infantry attack. Finally, it may
be said that neither action by small bodies nor massed action
should be exclusively adopted and applied to all situations.
It is idle to dispute over the intrinsic merits of one or the
other form of action. The whole question resolves itself
into which form of action is most suitable to the tactical
situation.—La France Militaire.
74 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
ARMY MANEUVERS, 1903.
The French army maneuvers commenced with the cavalry
maneuvers between the towns of Rethel and Vouziers,
Ardennes, on September 3 and 4, and were followed by the
maneuvers of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Army Corps in the
Department of Creuse, under the general direction of General
Négrier, from September 10 to 16; and by the maneuvers
of the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Army Corps between the
same dates in the valley of the Rhône, south of Valence, to
which foreign officers were invited. The general instructions
to the cavalry with regard to their maneuvers were that they
were to advance, when at a distance of 1,650 yards, in
extended order, either of line or of column, taking every
advantage of cover, under which they were to reform, if
possible, before charging. They were to leave cover at a
gallop, and on no account were they to expose themselves to
artillery or infantry fire when standing still, advancing at a
walk, or even at a trot. On September 3 the Fourth and
Fifth Divisions of Cavalry were to cut off the Eighty-fourth
Brigade of Infantry marching on Rethel, the infantry being
accompanied by the Second and Sixth Brigades of Cavalry
and a cyclist company. The latter, acting as scouts, quickly
came into touch with the two cavalry divisions, three sections
being charged by a squadron of cavalry. The cyclists dis-
mounted and maintained a steady fire; some men of the sup-
porting squadrons, however, crept up on foot behind them
and compelled them to surrender; the cyclists resisted the
men who charged, by striking at the horses with their car-
bines until stopped by their officers. The two divisions of
cavalry, however, were unable to check the march of the
infantry, though they repeatedly charged them, the fire of
the infantry being considered by the umpires too strong for
them. On September 4 a defense of the railway line by the
Fifth against an attack of the Fourth Division took place.
Each division had horse artillery, and both sides opened fire
simultaneously. The attacking party was eventually declared
to have attained its object. The new instructions did not
deter the cavalry from charging in the old-fashioned way,
with a total disregard of the destructive effect of modern fire.
The maneuvers of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Army Corps
between Clermont and Limoges were intended to illustrate
BULLETIN of MILITARY NOTEs. 75
the particular tactics advocated by General Négrier before the
council of war, but whether they succeeded in doing so or
not is a matter for conjecture. On September 10 the two
army corps advanced against each other. They met on Sep-
tember 12, when the Thirteenth Army Corps attacked and
drove back the Twelfth. September 13 was a day of rest, and
from September 14 to 16 the combined army corps, consisting
of 50,000 men, marched on Limoges, which was supposed to
be defended by a hostile force. The troops had been assem-
bled by train by September 6, and had gone through some
brigade and division maneuvers from the 6th to the 8th, the
9th being given up to rest. The Fourteenth and Fifteenth
Army Corps had also assembled by September 6, and on that
and the two following days they had engaged in divisional
maneuvers. September 9 was a day of rest. On September
10 the two army corps were confronting one another in the
valley of the Rhône above and below Bollène, the troops of
each corps being on both sides of the river. General Mathis,
in command of the Southern Army (the Fifteenth Army
Corps), intending to advance on Bollène on the right bank,
and wishing to throw a bridge across the river in order to
unite his forces, commenced operations by a feint in force on
the left bank, at the same time advancing his troops on the
right bank, but so as not to appear to threaten Bollène.
General Grasset advanced in three columns, and a general
engagement took place, General Mathis's troops on the left
bank withdrawing to a strongly intrenched position.
During the engagement engineers to the number of 200
came up the river from Avignon on pontoons towed by a tug
and commenced building a bridge in Mathis’s rear at 2 p. m.
The bridge was 230 yards long, and was composed of 28 boats.
The strength of the current was about 7% miles an hour. The
bridge was completed by 6 p. m., and General Mathis, while
still holding the strong position on the left, withdrew a con-
siderable body of his troops to the right bank in the evening,
preparatory to the advance on Bollène on the following day.
Mathis had a superiority in cavalry, and Grasset, fearing that
his transport would be interfered with, employed the greater
portion of the following day in securing its safety. Mathis
advanced on Bollène, and one of his infantry regiments, the
Third, fixed bayonets and prepared to charge across the river
76 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Lez, which was between them and Bollène. The charge was
delivered in some confusion, and the umpires decided that the
infantry were not in sufficient force to carry the position
and ordered them to retire. Reinforcements, however, soon
arrived, and Bollène was carried at the point of the bayonet.
Grasset withdrew to a strong position among the hills, where
the enemy’s superiority in cavalry could not be used advan-
tageously against him. He was able to hold this position the
following day, despite of all Mathis's attempts to dislodge
him.—La France Militaire.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Displace- Where build-
Name. ment. ing. Remarks.
BATTLE SHIPS. Tom S.
République----------------------------- 14, 865 Brest . . . . . . . . . Lºghed September,
2.
Démocratie----------------------------- 14, 865 |. . . . . do -------. Building.
Patrie ---------------------------------- 14, 865 La Seyne - - - - - DO.
Justice --------------------------------- 14, 865 |. . . . . do -------. Ordered.
Vérité ---------------------------------- 14, 865 | Bordeaux . . . . DO.
Liberté --------------------------------- 14, 865 | St. Nazaire. . . . DO.
Suffren --------------------------------. 12, 728 - - - - - do -------. Under trial.
Henri IV ------------------------------- 8,948 |. . . . . do -------. DO.
ARMORED CRUISERS.
Ernest Rénan. -------------------------. 13, 562 | Brest - - - - - - - - - Building.
Jules Michelet-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12, 550 | Lorient. . . . . . . DO.
Jules Ferry----------------------------- 12, 550 | Cherbourg. . . . Lºghed Aug. 23,
Victor Hugo---------------------------- 12, 550 | Lorient. . . . . . . Building.
Léon Gambetta.------------------------- 12, 550 Brest - - - - - - - -. Launched October,
1901; completed,
1903.
Gloire ---------------------------------- 10,014 || Lorient - - - - - - - Launched, 1900; com-
pleted, 1903.
Admiral Aube. ------------------------. 10,014 St. Nazaire. . . . Under trial.
Sully ----------------------------------- 10, 014 | La Seyne - - - -. DO.
Condé ---------------------------------- 10,014 | LOrient - - - - - - - DO.
Gueydan ------------------------------- y -- ~ | - - - - - do -------- DO.
Dupetit Thouars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 516 Toulon . . . . . . . Launched July, 1901;
- completed, 1903.
Desaix. --------------------------------- 7, 700 - - - - - do -------- Under trial.
Dupleix -------------------------------. 7, 700 - - - - - do -------- DO.
Kleber---------------------------------- 7, 700 |..... do -------- DO.
–Proceedings of U. S. Waval Institute, September, 1903.
THE FRENCH NAVY.
The number of new vessels to be laid down for the French
navy in 1904 is 70, but 50 of this imposing total is represented
by torpedo boats. All these latter are to be built by private
firms. On the other hand, 16 more submarines are to be built
in the French Government arsenals, with the view, no doubt,
of insuring secrecy as to their details. One armored cruiser
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 77
is to be laid down at Brest. She will be a sister ship of the
Ernest Réman, and will have a displacement of 13,644 tons.
She will be 523 feet 4 inches long by 71 feet 2 inches beam, and
she will be fitted with vertical triple expansion engines sup-
plied with steam from water-tube boilers, working up to 36,000
horsepower, and driving three screws. The speed anticipated
is 23 knots. Two torpedo-boat destroyers, which are to be built
at Rochefort, are to be of the Stylet type. The Styleſ, it may
be noted, was to have been begun in May, 1902, but she has
actually only been commenced this year. She will have a dis-
placement of 335 tons. She will be fitted with vertical triple-
expansion engines working up to 7,200 horsepower, supplied
with steam from water-tube boilers, and driving two screws.
Her maximum speed is to be 30 knots. She will cost 68,558/.
Of the torpedo boats proposed to be built in 1904 one is to be
constructed at Saigon. Each torpedo boat is to be 126 feet
8 inches in length by 14 feet 1 inch beam, and will be fitted
with a vertical triple-expansion engine supplied with steam
from water-tube boilers, and working a single screw. Each
boat is to steam at the rate of 26 knots. The armament of
each boat is to be 2 guns and 3 torpedo tubes.—AEngineering.
The first cruiser, Jules Michelet, of the Léon Gambetta class,
has just been commenced at Lorient. Others of this class are
approaching completion, and the delay in laying down the
Jules Michelet is due to alterations in her design. Her displace-
ment has been increased 20 tons, and the power of her engines
by 1,500 horsepower. The armament has also been changed,
and she is to carry two 240 mm. (9.4-inch) guns instead of one
194 mm. (7.6-inch) gun, and twelve 164 mm. guns, in lieu of
sixteen. She is to be ready for her trials in April, 1906, and
for commissioning in January, 1907.-Proceedings of U. S.
Maval Institute, September, 1903.
SUBMARINE BOATS.
It is announced that 6 submarine boats, with a submerged
displacement of 450 tons, designed by M. Maugas, are to be
put in hand for the French navy. These are to be subma-
rines proper, but will be a vast improvement upon the Gus-
tave Zede.—The Army and Navy Gazette, Wovember 7, 1903.
78 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
FRENCH SUBMERSIBLE BOATS.
The Petit War states that the two submersibles, Aorrigan
and Farfadet, reached Bizerta on August 15 almost unob.
served. They steamed at full speed through the canal and
anchored in Ponty Bay, awaiting permanent moorings to be
assigned them at Sidi Abdallah. The two boats behaved
admirably on their voyage from Rochefort. In passing along
the Portuguese coast they had to weather a strong gale from
the north, bringing a heavy sea with waves to the height of
16 or 17 feet. Once though the Straits of Gibraltar they
encountered splendid weather, and they were able to cover the
distance from Algiers to Bizerta in forty-eight hours.
STEAM TRIALS.
The new second-class battle ship //enri IV is continuing
her trials at Cherbourg. A recent trial for twenty-four hours
at 6,103 I. H. P. was on the whole satisfactory, though the
engines do not yet seem to work quite smoothly. During the
first six hours the coal consumption was 67.95 kg. (140.76
pounds) per sq. m. of grate per hour, and 745 gr. (1.49 pounds)
per horsepower per hour; during the whole twenty-four hours
the expenditure was 782 gr. (1.56 pounds) per horsepower per
hour. The total grate surface is, according to the contract, 75
sq. m., and of the heating surface 2,409.65 sq. m. The new first-
class armored cruiser Amira/ Gueydan, having had her bilge
keels shortened, and some other modifications carried into
effect, has resumed her trials. During a run of three hours at .
full speed, although the steam pressure fell from 18 kg. (39.67
pounds) to 16 kg. (35.26 pounds), in consequence of the bad
quality of the coal, and it was thus impossible to develop the
19,600 I. H. P. which should have been done, 17,500 being
the maximum horsepower reached, yet a speed of 21.04 knots,
which is slightly over the contract, was maintained as against
20.34 knots, which was the most attained at the trial in Decem-
ber last, when the engines developed their full horsepower.
The new armored first-class cruiser Jeanne d'Arc having
made good some slight defects, left Toulon on August 20 for
Brest, where she arrived on the forenoon of August 25.
Rear-Admiral Bugard, who commands the cruiser division of
the northern squadron, is to transfer his flag to her from the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 79
armored cruiser Bruine, which ship will then be paid out of
commission into the reserve, part of her crew being trans-
ferred to the Jeanne d'Arc to bring her up to her full com-
plement. Sundry alterations have still to be made before the
ship is ready for her new duties, and her propellers are also
to be changed as soon as the new ones, which are being made
for her by the Indret fºrm, are ready, for though the indi-
cated horsepower developed by her engines has exceeded the
contract, the estimated speed has not been realized.—Pro-
ceedings, U. S. Waval Institute, September, 1903.
INTERPRETERS.
A decree has been published, establishing the position of
officer interpreters in the French navy, open to officers of all
branches, executive, engineer, medical, and paymaster. A
limited number of officers will be permitted to reside abroad
for study, for periods not exceeding one year. While so
residing they will receive a special rate of pay, and their
traveling expenses will be defrayed. On returning to France
they will be examined in the language they have taken up,
and if successful will be appointed interpreters. They will
also be required to submit to the minister of marine an origi-
nal essay concerning the country in which they have been
residing, and a gold medal and prize of 300 francs will be
given to the author of the best production.—ſºoyal United
Service Institution.
GUN TRIALS ON BOARD THE HENRI IV.
Some gun trials have recently taken place, on board the
battle ship //enri IV to ascertain whether the firing of the
138 mm. (5.4 inch) gun in the upper turret would injuriously
affect the crews of the 274 mm. (10.8 inch) guns in the lower
turret. For the occasion some sheep were placed in the lower
turret, and after the firing the animals were found in a dazed
and stupefied condition; two were slaughtered and a post-
mortem examination showed that the heart of one and the
brain of the other were seriously affected. Further trials are
to take place, but it is said that the committee have reported
adversely against the present arrangement of the turrets.-
Proceedings, U. S. Maval Institute, September, 1903.
80 BULLETIN OF MII,ITARY NOTES.
SUBMARINE BOATS.
The submarines Korrigan and Farfardet, of the Rochefort
“Defénse Mobile,” concluded a series of maneuvers by attack-
ing the second division of the northern squadron off the Ile de
Ré, consisting of the Botvines, Valmy, Amºral Tréhouart, and
Depuy de Lôme. The attack is said to have been successful,
the leading ships having been torpedoed.
The submarines Gnome and Lutºn, now undergoing their
trials, are to be attached to the Rochefort “Defénse Mobile,”
the commander of which is said to be a most successful expert
with submarines.
Some particulars of the new submarine boats laid down
last year have been published, which are known as “X,”
“Y,” and “Z,” and have been designed, respectively, by MM.
Romazotti, Bertin, and Maugas. “Y” is expected to be
completed this year, and “X” and “Z” in 1904. “X” dis-
places 168 tons, and is 121 feet 6 inches long, with 10 feet 6
inches beam, and a draft of 7 feet 6 inches when navigating
on the surface. She is provided with two screws, and is pro-
pelled by electricity. The intended speed is given as 10%
knots. “Y” is larger, displacing 213 tons, and is 142 feet
8 inches long, with 9 feet 9 inches beam. She has but one
screw and the speed is to be 11 knots. “Z” has a displace-
ment of 202 tons, with 135 feet 8 inches length and 9 feet 8
inches beam, and a speed also of 11 knots. Two large sub-
mersibles, the Aigrette and Cigogne, have been laid down at
Toulon. They will have a displacement of 172 tons, will be
117 feet 6 inches long, with a beam of 12 feet 6 inches, and 8
feet 6 inches draft.—The Royal United Service Institution.
FRANCE–MADA GASCAR.
COLONIAL RESERVES.
By the decree of September 24, 1903, the natives of the
colony of Madagascar and its dependencies, who have been
discharged from the service after having served a year or
more, are to remain at the disposal of the military authorities
for a period of four years, during which time they shall be
subject to the call to the colors, in case of mobilization, or called
together in times of peace for one or more periods of exer-
cises, or for roll call.—The Official Bulletºn of the Minister of
War, October 12, 1903.
HORSE BREEDING IN MADAGASCAR.
After having conquered the great island, France has worked
incessantly and with wonderful success to cultivate it and to
increase the prosperty of the country. It is especially inter-
esting to study the methods which the Government has taken
to propagate horse breeding there. It soon developed that it
was absolutely necessary for the army of occupation to have
horses, both for the purpose of reconnoitering the nearly
unknown country and for the use of officers in their travels.
The transportation of horses from the motherland was too
expensive and hazardous, and of native horses the French had
found only a quite inconsiderable stock. The transportation of
burdens on the roads, nearly all of which were only mountain
trails, was done by native carriers, and the Government con-
templated using them in another place for the public service,
after having imported beasts of burden.
A counting of those quadrupeds in the year 1896 had shown
a stock of only about 500 in the entire colony, including those
which had been brought over by the army of occupation. It
is said that the first horses were imported from India about
the year 1810; since then Zanzibar, the Cape, and even Aus-
tralia have imported them. These animals, several times
interbred, have formed a race of horses which was restricted
17430—04—6 81
82 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
to the provinces of Imerina and Betsileo, and had accommo-
dated itself to the conditions of the country. The native
horse is small, seldom over 1.35 m. in height, abnormally
built, lively, hardy, and capable of endurance. However, it
was much degenerated by inbreeding and insufficient care, and
the French, when they found it, could not hope to use it
much. Even after breeding them to imported stallions they
did not expect much, for they endeavored to establish an
entirely new breed by importing foreign horses. Never-
theless, the interbreeding with native mares should also be
allowed. For this purpose Berberian stallions were chosen
which, on account of their conformation and especially on
account of their great hardiness, seemed to be the ones best
Qualified to improve the native race. But in the first place
the creation of a new race was intended, and for this purpose
a number of mares were imported from France in October,
1896. In March, 1897, the first breed was formed in Ampa-
sika, 2 km. from Tananarivo. In July 30 mares, especially
and carefully selected, of English-Arabian stock, 3 years old,
and from 1.47 to 1.50 m. in height, were brought there.
This experiment was a complete failure; the mares, already
weakened by the voyage, were further decimated by a dis-
temper, the “caries,” which prevails in the island and renders
more difficult the importation of foreign quadrupeds. This
distemper, which is characterized by an imperfect integration
of the bones, is caused by a scarcity of phosphatic salts in the
soil of Madagascar, and also in the food which is given to the
animals. It is evident that not only the young mares had to
suffer from this cause, but their foals also suffered from the
caries and faced an almost certain death. In the year 1901
there were only 14 mares and 16 colts alive. But now, after
many vain and repeated attempts, the French discovered that
they were on the wrong track and gave their attention entirely
to the interbreeding of native mares with Berberian stallions.
A depot for stallions was established at Tananarivo, and the
natives were encouraged by various inducements and prizes to
bring out their mares for breeding. The importation of
Berberian stallions was continued, and the interbreeding with
native mares had better permanent results: furthermore the
natives continued to bring their mares to the station more
frequently. But in the year 1901, the Berberian stallions also
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 83
began to suffer from the fatal caries, although they had resisted
it better than the other races, and a partial renewal was
necessary.
As the results of the horse-breeding experiments in the
north of the colony could be called fairly successful, the
French commenced the establishment of another such colony
in the southern province of Betsileo, where only a few horses
were living. A stud was established in the Floka Valley, not
far from the capital, Fianarantsoa, and here they again tried
to create a new race of horses by importing mares, believing
that the conditions might be more favorable 400 km. from
Tananarivo. In 1901 two stallions and twenty-five mares of
Arabian stock were imported, and their progeny seems to
have become acclimated, although even here the caries has
begun to attack several horses.
However, the attempts to import foreign horses are con-
tinued, despite the failures, and the French try to make up
the deficiency of phosphatic salts by artificial means and
remedies, which are given to the horses daily. They hope
thereby to at least check the distemper. Sufficient time has
not yet elapsed for them to learn much about it. Moreover,
this distemper, which is such a great impediment to the breed-
ing of horses, does not prevail on the seacoast, because there
the soil contains the elements necessary for the growth of the
animals; furthermore, the horses could easily be subsisted on
food imported from France. The disadvantageous conditions
exist only on the high plateau in the interior of the island.
They are now trying to do away with these unfavorable con-
ditions in two different ways; in the first place by experi-
menting with manures which will give the soil the necessary
salts; and, on the other hand, by searching for green crops
which, despite the defects of the soil, may furnish the horses
the necessary salts for the integration of the bones.
The Government has also made it a point to encourage the
native population in raising and using horses and in caring
for them. And the labor is not in vain, for the natives are
beginning to like the horse and to understand its nature,
which has been taught them very well by several Europeans,
who have been successfully occupying themselves for some
time by breeding horses. And still in another way, and by
this kind of encouragement they are trying to inspire the
84 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
natives with a liking for the noblest of the domestic animals.
This is done by Lieutenant Lobez, a cavalry officer, who has
undertaken to give the young natives riding lessons. He
succeeded in winning over several members of the best native
families for the riding lessons, in which they participated with
great enthusiasm. At the same time Lieutenant Lobez had a
pamphlet printed, translated in the native language, and
which, embellished with drawings, contained all that it was
necessary to know concerning the care and use of the horse,
and this pamphlet was distributed gratuitously among the
natives.
From this report we can see how wisely and continuously
the French have followed up this subject of creating a new
race of horses in the island. – Militar Wochenblatt Wo. 83,
August 6, 1903. Translated by Lieut. E. M. Worton, Eighth
Infantry.
G-ERMANY.
THE ACTUAL PEACE STRENGTH OF THE GERMAN ARMY.
The newly elected Reichstag will have, among other tasks,
the consideration of a military bill designed to fix anew the
actual peace strength of our army for April 1, 1904.
In the following article the meaning of the actual peace
strength of the army will be analyzed and the numbers at
which it has been fixed hitherto will be given chronologically.
The organization of the imperial army is based on the so-
called cadre system, which is the opposite of the enlistment
system. By cadres, in military parlance, are understood
school battalions of the peace army, which represent but a
fraction of the real war army. This standing peace army,
“the training school of the whole nation for war,” is only
expanded upon mobilization to its full war establishment by
means of calls to the colors and voluntary enlistment.
Whereas, for reasons not to be discussed here, it has been
impossible to make the numerical strength of the war estab-
lishment the subject of legislation, the peace strength of the
army was regulated by article 60 of the constitution, in that
the “actual peace strength” of the German army up to
December 31, 1871, was fixed at 1 per cent of the population
of 1867, after which time, however, the determination of the
same was left subject to imperial legislation.
By this actual peace strength provided for in the constitu-
tion is therefore to be understood the total number represent-
ing the establishment of the German army in peace.
This definition of the idea must now be supplemented in two
ways: On the one hand, this total number is to be considered
as a maximum, inasmuch as the actual peace strength of the
German army may not exceed this number on any day of
the year, while it does not always have to attain this numer-
ical strength. (In this latter respect it is only necessary to
recall the period which is usually allowed to lapse between
the day of discharge of the reservists and the day when the
recruits join the army.) On the other hand, the total number
85
86 |BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
in question is considered as a normal figure, inasmuch as it
must serve as an essential basis for the preparation of the
military budget.
The idea, as thus far elucidated, was modified by law of
August 3, 1893, which declared that the actual peace strength
should no longer be fixed, as hitherto, but that it should be
equivalent to the average yearly strength. At the same time
it was provided that the noncommissioned officers should not
be included in this figure, but that their number should be
determined by the imperial budget, like that of officers,
surgeons, and officials.
The reason for this change was chiefly that, owing to the
change in organization of the army made at that time, the
Government had to be given greater freedom of movement
with regard to the actual peace strength than heretofore.
The idea of the actual peace strength also passed with this
altered meaning into the imperial law of March 25, 1899, so
that the actual peace strength now has the same importance
as a normal figure in the preparation of the budget as it had
before 1893, but it can no longer be considered as a maximum.
Finally, as regards the various periods for which the actual
peace strength was fixed in the laws passed in accordance with
article 60 of the imperial constitution, the history of the
origin of section 1 of the imperial military law of May 2,
1874, will give information. When the draft of the law was
presented, section 1 provided that the actual peace strength
should amount to 401,659 men “until a further law on the
subject were passed.” The bill did not, however, become a
law in this shape. Long and hard debates were held in the
legislative bodies concerning this clause of the bill, which was
regarded as abrogating the rights belonging to the Reichstag
in budgetary matters. On the other hand, the military
authorities could not, for obvious reasons, agree to a new
determination of the peace strength every year. It was
only upon the compromise proposition of Representative von
Bennigsen that the minds were quieted and an agreement
was reached on the basis of fixing the actual peace strength
for seven years (until December 31, 1881). This compromise
period being retained, the second and third seven-year periods
were established in 1880 and 1887. During the latter period,
however, there was a change made in the establishment in
HULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 87
}~.
1890, for military and political reasons; the establishment, as
thus changed, remained unaltered, however, for the rest of
the period. Thereupon there was fixed a period of five and
one-half years (later prolonged to six years), while the afore-
mentioned imperial law of March 25, 1899, embraces a period
of only four and one-half years (called a quinquennium).
These periods were arbitrarily selected, as far as their
lengths are concerned, being based both on temporary polit-
ical conditions and scientific military experiences and con-
siderations. A further shortening of the periods would
probably hardly be compatible with the interests of the mili-
tary administration -
Let us now consider the matter chronologically. According
to the aforementioned article 60 of the imperial constitution
the actual peace strength of the German army until December
31, 1871, amounted to 1 per cent of the population of 1867, as
follows: 385,770 men—1 per cent of the population in 1867 of
the federal states belonging to the German tariff territory,
besides Baden, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, and Hesse; 15,889
men—1 per cent of the population of Alsace-Lorraine, accord-
ing to the French census of 1866; total, 401,659 men.
The same number was retained as a so-called average in the
imperial law of December 9, 1871, until the end of 1874, as
well as in section 1 of the imperial military law of May 2,
1874, until the end of 1881.
When the beginning of the fiscal year was changed from
January 1 to April 1 the first increase of the actual strength
was made by law of May 6, 1880, to 427,274 men, and by law
of March 11, 1887, the second increase was made to 468,409
men. In this case 1 per cent of the actual population was
taken as a basis from December 1, 1875, to December 1, 1885.
By law of July 15, 1890, however, and from this time on, the
number of men was fixed without any fixed percentage per
number of inhabitants being used as a basis, only political and
military necessities being taken as a guide. The number was
fixed at 486,983 men, including, as hitherto, the 66,952 non-
commissioned officers then existing.
In the imperial law of August 3, 1893, as above mentioned,
there was established for the first time an average yearly
strength amounting to 479,229 enlisted men.
88 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The apparent decrease of the actual strength as compared
with 1890 is explained chiefly by the fact that, as mentioned
before, the noncommissioned officers were no longer included.
The increase in the army in 1893 actually amounted to 173
half battalions of infantry, 60 batteries of field and 6 bat-
talions of foot artillery, 3 battalions of pioneers, and 7 bat-
talions of railroad troops.
The last time the actual peace strength was fixed an increase
of 7,006 men was refused. This was by law of March 25,
1899, according to which the actual peace strength, likewise
considered as an annual average, was to be so increased gradu-
ally after October 1, 1899, that it would consist within the
course of the fiscal year 1903 of 495,500 enlisted men. It is
to remain at this figure until March 31, 1904.—Neue Militä-
pische Blätter, September 19, 1903.
COMMUNICATION TROOPS OF THE GERMAN ARMY.
BALLOON TROOPS.
The second great branch of our service of military commu-
nications is the balloon service. The object of this service is,
with its two instruments, the captive and spherical (free)
balloon, to supplement and complete the reconnoitering work
of the other arms in warfare by reconnoitering the terrain
and observing the enemy from a great height, thus enabling
the commander to gain a rapid and comprehensive view of
the situation. Of course, the possibility of making such a
reconnaissance depends in a great measure on atmospheric
conditions, and the maximum distance at which it can be made
is 7 km. (43 miles). The captive balloon may, in favorable
weather, reach a height of 1,000 m., but will not as a rule
ascend higher than 600 m.
The military balloon service as at present organized dates
from the year 1901, and is thus of quite recent origin. It
includes a balloon battalion of two companies of pioneers,
together with a train detachment (one train officer and 60
drivers with 60 horses) as an integral unit. There is also an
educational establishment under the orders of the commander
of the balloon battalion, to which 15 officers of all arms are
detailed yearly for employment in the field balloon battalions.
There are, besides, detailed yearly to the balloon battalion for
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 89
the purpose of learning aerial navigation as applied to fortress
warfare, 4 officers for six months and 3 officers (from fortresses)
for one month.
A wireless telegraph section has been formed from detailed
and specially qualified enlisted men and has been attached to
the battalion, as also a photographic section, to which the car-
rier-pigeon service is subordinated.
The barracks of the balloon troops and units belonging
thereto are situated on the firing grounds at Tegel, where they
have their own plant for producing and compressing hydrogen
gaS.
As stated before, both captive and free balloons are used
in the balloon battalion; the latter, however, are really used
only in reconnoitering the works of a besieged fortress, over
which the balloon is allowed to glide. In peace the free
balloon serves for the training of officers. While riding
therein the officer has his eye accustomed to the peculiar man-
ner of observing from a balloon, acquiring an accuracy of
observation which is afterwards utilized in the captive balloon.
In order to preserve the picture which is offered to the ob-
server from above, photography, to the devolpment and
perfection of which great importance is now attached, is
employed.
The captive balloons in use in the balloon battalion are
alone capable of affording an approximately correct view of
the distribution and movement of the hostile forces. The
result of the reconnaissance is communicated by telephone,
or by written messages let down rapidly along the cable;
these are taken by an officer standing below, are recorded, and
are then forwarded to the commander. The course which the
message takes is thus absolutely assured.
The captive balloon, on the Parseval-Sigsfeld system, has an
oblong, cigar-shaped form and is intended to assume a slant-
ing position in the air. Underneath the rear end there is a
curved, elongated, roll-shaped appendage resembling a crab's
tail in appearance—the so-called “collar.” A small auxiliary
balloon is attached to one side and serves to regulate the
flight of the balloon proper.
The basket is fastened under the center of the balloon, the
cable being farther forward. This ingenious arrangement
affords great security against oscillations during observation.
90 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The balloon proper, which is cylindrical in the middle and
hemispherical at the ends, has a special reservoir underneath
which catches the air flowing in through a funnel and is sep-
arated from the main part, which takes up the gas, by a par-
tition consisting of folded fabric. This partition enables the
gas, when there is little air flowing into the reservoir below,
to expand toward the latter or vice versa. This arrange-
ment enables the cylindrical form to be preserved. The “col-
lar ’’ or air pouch, which is filled with air, tends greatly to
diminish the oscillations in the air which would naturally be
caused by the strong air currents.
The auxiliary balloon has the shape of a ring with an open-
ing in the center 10 cm. in diameter. The rope is 150 m.
long. Underneath, the auxiliary balloon has a long tail, con-
sisting of small cones strung along a rope. This contrivance
insures a great resistance against the effects of the wind, and
increases the stability of the whole. These captive balloons,
also called kite balloons, have thus far always been used with
great success at the imperial maneuvers.
For the purpose of handling a captive balloon, a company
of the balloon battalion is divided into seven squads, viz, the
balloon, gas, basket, reel, telephone, advanced, and reserve
Squads. º
The handling of the balloon itself is entirely in charge of
the balloon squad (2 noncommissioned officers and 38 enlisted
men). This squad must take the balloon from the wagon, fill
it, help in the ascent and recovery of the balloon, pull the bal-
loon along after it has ascended, take it apart after it is hauled
in, empty it, and reload it on the wagon. The gas squad (1
noncommissioned officer and 12 enlisted men) attends to the
gas wagon, one half working at the gas tanks and the other
at the hose connecting with the balloon. Each of the six gas
wagons of both sections of a field-balloon battalion contains
20 steel flasks filled with compressed hydrogen gas, of which
each flask contains 5 cu. m. In order to fill the balloon, 600
cu.m., or 120 flasks, are needed. A field-balloon battalion,
with 12 gas wagons, therefore has enough gas for two fillings,
any further supply being obtained from the gas column. The
operation of filling lasts about twenty minutes after the wag-
ons have been brought up. As soon as the command has
been given, the 38 men of the balloon squad throw themselves
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 91
upon the envelope, which lies on the ground, in order to hold
it down with all their might while it gradually arises and
until it becomes completely inflated.
The basket, reel, and telephone squads number each 1 non-
commissioned officer and 4 enlisted men. The first fastens
the basket on the balloon and attends to loading it on the
wagon during march. The basket is connected with the
terminal station not only by the steel wire cable but also by a
telephone cable, which enables communication to be kept up
between the basket and the earth. If the observer wishes to
send a message in writing he finds all necessary writing ma-
terial in the basket (message blanks, pencils, maps, etc.).
He then places his message in a leather bag weighted on the
bottom, which he hangs by the handle on the telephone cable
and lets it slide down. The message is then forwarded by
mounted troops to the commander's headquarters. The reel
squad is charged with the duties at the reel wagon, and attends
to the ascents and the recovery of the balloon. The cable is
about 1,000 m. long, and is wound around the drum of the
reel. The duty of the telephone squad is to keep the tele-
phone apparatus in working Order. The advanced squad
makes preparations for the surmounting of obstacles in the
terrain. From the reserve squad sentinels, patrols, and
cyclists are taken.
The field-balloon battalions generally march with the ad-
vanced guard, and the gas columns with the first line of wag-
ons of the ammunition column and train. Replenishments of
gas are then provided for them in the same manner as the
artillery ammunition columns are replenished with ammunition.
A fully rigged captive balloon weighs 275 kg. (605 pounds).
Of the officers designated for the actual service of reconnais-
sance with the captive balloon, 1 attends to the duties in the
basket station; he observes and reports on his observations by
telephone. The officer at the terminal station attends to the
telephone personally and records the messages received from
above. A third officer supervises the inflation and handling
of the balloon, while a fourth remains at the disposal of the
commander of the battalion for reconnaissance duties.
The type of free balloon which has proven the most suitable
in the course of time is the same as the spherical captive bal-
loon, i. e., it is about 600 m”. in size. Both illuminating and
92 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
hydrogen gas may be used to fill the balloon. Illuminating
gas possesses about two-fifths less buoyant power than hydro-
gen gas.
The difference between the free and the captive spherical
balloon consists chiefly in the somewhat larger dimensions of
the basket and the lack of the cable in the former. Besides,
the free balloon is provided with a drag rope, which, by drag-
ging along on the ground, decreases the speed of the flying
balloon when descending, and in a vertical direction, owing
to the fact that a part of the weight of the rope is borne by
the earth instead of by the balloon, it acts like ballast thrown
out by decreasing the speed of fall of the balloon. To the
bottom of the spherical balloon is attached a filling valve which
is opened when the balloon is released; it is held as wide open
as possible by means of shears, so that surplus gas can escape
during the ascent but little air can enter during the fall.
The number of occupants in the basket depends on the
quality of the gas, being three when fresh hydrogen gas is
used. To these is added the ballast, which is taken along to
regulate the height of flight and for use in landing. This
ballast is carried in sacks weighing 15 kg. each. In larger
balloons the number of passengers is correspondingly larger.
Field-balloon battalions are only assigned to and employed
in large troop units, generally at army headquarters, and
usually in the advance guard thereof, in order to approach as
near as possible to the object to be reconnoitered.
When a field-balloon battalion follows the advance guard
on the march, it must be remembered that if the balloon is
sent up, it will indicate to the enemy the direct approach of
the advance guard. On the other hand, the captive balloon,
suspended in the air, will have difficulties in advancing if there
are obstacles on the terrain along the line of march, and will
be unable to keep pace with the infantry, being already about
2 km. behind the latter owing to the twenty minutes required
for inflation. The desire to see early will often have to be
restrained owing to the obstacles just mentioned, and it will
therefore always have to be left to the commander to deter.
mine the moment when the balloon is to ascend, according to
the situation in each case and the reports received.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY N ()TES. 93
With regard to the general principles governing the service
of reconnaisance by means of the captive balloon, the follow-
ing may be considered as generally applicable:
The most important thing to be sought by the commander
in balloon messages is a knowledge of the roads over which
the enemy is approaching, as well as the length and composi-
tion of his various columns. If it is possible to discover the
deployment of the enemy it will be necessary to report the
position of his wings, as well as whether there are any sep-
arate detachments, as the measures to be taken by the com-
mander depend on these circumstances.
On the basis of these balloon reports the commander will
issue special instructions for making observations, at the
same time deploying his troops accordingly, indicating the
correct fronts, and making his dispositions for battle. After
the beginning of the struggle, constant attention must be paid
from the balloon to the extent of the enemy and to the group-
ing of his forces. If, after the deployment, the wings of the
enemy are correctly located, the main question will be, where
and in what position with regard to the first line does the
enemy keep his reserve? The steps to be taken by the
commander himself are governed by the answer to this ques-
tion. One of the chief objects of observation from the bal-
loon is the effect of the artillery fire. If the effect of our own
artillery fire is favorable, the balloonist can perform valuable
services by indicating the points where the enemy holds inte-
gral units in readiness as reserves for a counter attack. If the
hostile artillery is the most effective, a timely discernment of
the attack formations of the enemy may enable effective
counter measures to be opportunely taken with our own
I'êServèS.
Concerning the effect of the hostile artillery against the
captive balloon, the following rule obtains: Observations may,
under certain circumstances, be made with satisfactory results
from a great elevation at a distance of over 5,000 m. from the
hostile artillery, but if the conditions of the atmosphere and
of visibility do not permit the balloon to remain farther away
than 5,000 m., the balloon and the life of the aeronauts will
have to be placed at stake.
94 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The balloon of the second section of a balloon battalion can
be brought in twenty minutes to take the place of a lost bal-
loon. Moreover, frequent shifting of position and rapid
changes in elevation may tend to render it difficult for the
hostile artillery to find the range in firing at the balloon.
The cooperation of the captive balloon in the attack on an
enemy occupying a position is similar to its cooperation in a
battle in the open field. In this case the possibility of sur-
veying the enemy’s position from above becomes still greater.
The balloon, rising to the height of 1,000 m., will be able to
give a picture of any works of fortification or defense which
the enemy may have, as well as of the grouping of his forces.
The captive balloon will also have its mission in fortress
warfare, but this mission will, of course, be of a different
nature than that in field warfare. If it is considered that the
detachment of an army advancing to the siege of a hostile
fortress remains almost defenselessly exposed to the guns of
a large fortress (which carry as far as 8,000 m.) until the
siege artillery has been brought up, it will become apparent
that until this moment arrives it will be impossible to use the
balloon successfully. It is true that the use of the balloon
will now be restricted to reconnaissances at greater distances
than in field warfare, and the changes in position and eleva-
tion will be more frequent. The attendant difficulty of obser-
vation may be considered as counterbalanced by the fact that
before fortresses there will always be single objects to be
observed, concerning which information has been obtained in
advance from maps, plans, and books. At all events, the
aeronaut will have an opportunity to render good services by
furnishing a view of the routes connecting the fortress with
the line of battle and of the situation and character of the
detached forts, outworks, etc. It is obvious that this infor-
mation will be of great value to the assailant, for on the basis
thereof, he can improve the distribution of his fire and his
formations, and, by directing a heavy fire on the routes
between the fortress and the battle line, he can make it very
difficult for the enemy to move his troops back and forth or
send forward his reserves. The balloon can also perform
valuable services by estimating the effects of the fire and by
keeping watch whether the enemy establishes an intermediate
position. If this is the case, flat-trajectory fire from the guns
BUILETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 95
can disturb this work and thus contribute to a speedy termi-
nation of the siege.
The field of action of a captive balloon is much more
restricted in the defense of a fortress. From the moment
when the artillery duel is decided in favor of the besieging
army, the balloons ascending for reconnoitering purposes must
remain far enough from the line of forts in order to escape
the fire from the assailant’s guns.
The field-balloon battalions should also carry a spherical
balloon with them, which can ascend as a free balloon. Of
course, not only must the direction of the wind be favorable,
but there must be territory beyond the enemy which is con-
trolled by our own forces. As, however, this is seldom the
case, the use of free balloons in field warfare will form an
exception.
In fortress warfare, on the contrary, the assailant, having
surrounded the enemy, will always have territory beyond the
enemy under his own control, and even the defender will, at
least at long distances, be able to count on strips of land
which are not occupied by the enemy. In fortress warfare,
therefore, free balloons will be frequently employed by both
sides; by the assailant, in order to fly over the fortress at a
sufficient height and supplement the reconnoissance by photo-
graphs of the works; by the defender, in order to send infor.
mation to his own country or army and in order to receive
information back from the latter by carrier pigeons.
From the above remarks it will be seen that the balloon
troops assist an army commander in many ways in the solu-
tion of tactical problems, and may be of utility in war,
provided the wind and weather are favorable.— Major Wom,
Strantz, in Ueberall, Mo. 6, sieth year, 1903.
SOME DETAILS REGARD IN G. MOBILIZATION.
According to a pamphlet by Lieutenant-Colonel Rosentreter,
entitled “Zweibund gegen Dreibund,” the seven classes
belonging to the German regular army and its reserve will
suffice to entirely mobilize, with trained men, not merely the
625 German battalions existing in peace time, but also 530
other battalions of new formation. The five classes of the
first levy of the Landwehr will suffice, under the same condi-
tions, to form 600 Landwehr battalions. The necessity for
96 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
keeping up depot battalions will, as Colonel Rosentreter
admits, have the effect that only 340 reserve battalions and
450 Landwehr battalions of the first levy will be available as
field-troops. Two thousand one hundred and fifty-five field
battalions will therefore be formed in Germany by the twelve
junior classes. There will still be sufficient trained men
available to form 200 battalions of the second levy of the
Landwehr, and 400 Landsturm battalions, but it is doubtful if
sufficient cadres for these latter exist.
There are enough cavalry and artillery reservists to form
all the units that may be wanted. Difficulty will only arise
through the horses, especially from the want or the insuffi-
ciency of the training of the requisitioned saddle horses; a
certain time would thus elapse before the reserve units were
really fit to take the field. For the mobilization of the 32
reserve regiments and of the 18 Landwehr regiments of cav-
alry, Colonel Rosentreter provides for the formation of about
200 newly raised squadrons. With the 387 squadrons mobilized
by the regular army units, this would make 587 field-service
squadrons. As depot troops there would be 94 Squadrons of
the regular army (one of the 5 squadrons on a peace footing
not taken into the field), and 50 depot squadrons for reserve
and Landwehr regiments. The second levy of the Landwehr
would form 50 squadrons, but it may be asked: How would
they be mounted:
As regards the artillery, the number of reserve batteries to
be formed depends altogether on the number of battalions
put into the field. The proportion of artillery existing in
peace time is relatively high. As a matter of fact, the Ger-
man army possesses, in peace time, 574 field batteries, 42 of
which are horse-artillery batteries. Colonel Rosentreter
thinks that 48 reserve and 168 Landwehr batteries of the first
levy, available for field operations, would be mobilized. In
addition, 120 depot and 32 Landwehr batteries of the second
levy would be formed. The proportion of artillery given to
reserve divisions which would be formed would not be so
strong as that for the regular army. Reserve divisions of
from 16 to 17 battalions would be formed; each of these divi-
sions would receive at least 6 but less than 12 batteries, which
latter is the number usually allotted to divisions of regular
troops, which consist only of 12 battalions.—Journal of R. U.
S. Institution, September, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 9
7
TROOPS FOR THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION.
These troops are, in Germany, formed into a separate group,
at the head of which there is a special inspector, not under
the Inspector-General of Engineers, but under the Chief of
the General Staff, as these troops are regarded as special
adjuncts of the general staff. As regards Prussia, they con-
sist at present of
(a) A brigade of three railway regiments.
(b) Three telegraph battalions.
(c) A balloon battalion.
The training of the railway troops is carried out partly on
a drill ground near Berlin, partly on the Juterbog military
line of railway worked by them, and finally by means of
special exercises. Their mission in war time includes the
construction and working of normal and narrow gauge rail-
ways, the building of permanent bridges, and the destruction
of railway lines. But, in addition, there is also an experi-
mental section of specially selected men engaged in studying
automobiles. Special attention has been paid to the construc-
tion of bridges, and railway troops are now able to throw a
bridge of 60 m. in length across rivers, etc. In addition to
works of construction and repair, which are very thoroughly
studied, the working of a railway line also receives great at-
tention, thanks to the military line which is entirely worked
by the personnel of the railway troops. This line, which runs
from Berlin to Juterbog, is 70 km. long, and all the personnel
take their turn on it for practical training. All the rolling
stock of this line is kept up and repaired by the railway
troops. This line has recently had some interesting experi-
ments made on it in rapid concentration by electric traction.
The speed at first reached 60 km. an hour, and then 100, 120,
and finally 140, successively, with a tension of 10,000 volts.
The current-producing apparatus and the rolling stock acted
very well, but the line was found to be of too weak construc-
tion to permanently carry trains traveling at these rates of
speed.
Each telegraph battalion is so organized as to have a per-
manent team detachment, consisting of 40 men and 50 horses.
Their organization is calculated on the basis of giving, in war
time, a half company to each of the German army corps, not
17430—04 —7
98 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
including Bavaria, for duty in the first line; that is, for the
establishment, use, and repair of communications between
fighting units, either on the march or in quarters, and in cer-
tain cases even between the heads of columns and the cavalry
scouting in advance. For this service the telegraph half
companies use preferably the single cable, which can be
readily laid down and taken up, and which requires no sup-
ports; but they have also a supply of uninsulated wire. This
is principally used in the construction of permanent lines in
the rear of armies, or for the repair of existing lines. The
Internationale Revue states that during the recent events in
China, the telegraph detachment was able to lay down a per-
manent line of 200 km. in length, between Pekin and Pao-
Ting-Fou in forty days. A provisional line with a single
cable was still more rapidly constructed, viz, in eight days at
the rate of, on an average, 25 km. a day, in spite of the dis-
tressing climatic conditions. In addition to the battalions,
there is also a cavalry telegraph school for the training of
officers and noncommissioned officers in rapid demolitions and
repairs, and for the instruction of cavalry telegraphists.
Every regiment has the necessary matériel for this purpose.
A balloon battalion consists, in peace time, of two pioneer
companies and of a team detachment. Its rôle is the employ-
ment of free and captive balloons and the utilization of wire-
less telegraphy. Kites are used in Germany for captive
ascents, which can rise even in a high wind. The cable allows
for ascents of 1,000 m. in fine weather, but practically a height
of 600 m. is seldom exceeded. It is admitted that exception-
ally favorable conditions are necessary in order to make
observations at more than 7 km. A balloon company is
divided into seven groups, one for the balloon, one for the
gas, one for the car, one for the cable, one for the telephone,
one advanced guard and one reserve group.
The balloon group, 2 noncommissioned officers and 38 men,
superintend the unfolding, the putting together, and the
inflating of the balloon. The gas group, 1 noncommissioned
officer and 12 men, look after the preparation of the gas.
Half are employed at the generator or at the reservoirs, the
other half at the adduction tubes. The groups for the car,
the cable, and the telephone consist each of 1 noncommis-
sioned officer and 4 men. Their designation sufficiently dem-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 99
onstrates their duties. The advance guard group removes
obstacles before the arrival of the balloon. The reserve
group furnishes the necessary sentries, patrols, and cyclists.
One of the officers attends to reconnaissance from the car,
another works the telephone and transmits information, a
third directs the maneuvers of the balloon, while a fourth
officer remains at the disposal of the group commander for
various duties. A balloon group has 18 wagons, 15 of which
are for the fighting line, and 3 for the regimental transport.
The former, drawn by 6 horses, consists of 9 wagons for
materiel, 12 for gas, and 1 for the windlass; the gas wagons
allow for two inflations. There is also a reserve column of 12
gas wagons. Bavaria alone, in addition to Prussia, has
special communication troops which consist, as in Prussia, of
railway troops and telegraph and balloon detachments.
Transport and convoys.-In time of war, each transport bat-
talion (1 per army corps) is responsible for the mobilization
of the following formations for its army corps: Six provision
columns, 7 park supply columns, 12 field hospitals, 1 remount
depot, 1 bakery column.
In addition, each of them has to insure the mobilization of
a certain number of variable army units, or of services for
the lines of communication, of auxiliary convoy sections, or
of formations destined for the reserve divisions. Finally,
each of them forms a reserve battalion of 3 companies as a
depot, and a remount depot. The task is a very hard one, as
will be seen from the fact that the German battalion in peace
time only consists of 3 companies.
A provision column consists of either 27 wagons drawn by
4, or of 36 wagons drawn by 2 horses, and of 2 reserve wagons
(one of which carries a forge) drawn by 4 horses, in all 29 or
38 wagons, 141 horses, 2 officers, 2 officials, 97 men (34 car-
bines). The four-horse wagons, which are of various models,
the most recent being those of 1887, weigh only 729 kg. ; the
two-horse wagons, 1895 models, weigh empty only 400 kg.
The former may be loaded with 1,000 and the latter with 750
kg. weight. They are, preferably, loaded with dried vege-
tables, bacon, biscuit, preserved meat, and corn. The average
wagon carries the rations for 750 men or 150 horses for one
day. A provisional column carries about a day’s rations for
an infantry division.
:
:
.
º• *
tº:
º:
100 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
A park supply column consists of 60 two-horse wagons, and
of 2 two-horse baggage wagons, 162 horses, 3 officers or
functionaries, 106 men (40 carbines). A portion of the wagons
already exist, and are of regulation model, but the remainder
are requisitioned on mobilization. The latter are heavier
vehicles and can only move at the trot when empty. The
load per wagon is estimated at about 800 kg. A park supply
column is about double the size of a provisional column. The
whole of an army corps’ columns principally contain four
days’ rations for an army corps and for half a cavalry divi-
sion. Each column is always loaded with complete rations.
A field hospital consists of 9 wagons, 29 horses, 2 officers, 6
doctors, 1 functionary, 48 men (6 carbines). It is supposed
to look after 200 wounded men.
The bakery column consists of 20 four-horse oven wagons,
of a four-horse reserve wagon, 103 horses, 3 officers or func-
tionaries, 258 men (204 carbines). In twenty-four hours it
can bake 28,000 to 36,000 bread rations.
The remount depot consists of 98 saddle horses, 104 draught
horses, 2 officers, 117 men, and 3 wagons.
Such are the units composing the mobilized transport bat-
talion. They are army corps units, under the orders of a
battalion commander, who receives his orders from the army
corps staff. Certain other units are also sometimes placed on
the march under the orders of the officer commanding the
transport battalions, such as the army corps bridging trans-
port, and the army corps telegraph detachment, which are
also army corps units. The bridging equipment of an army
corps consists of 34 wagons (with 26 pontoons), 222 horses
under the orders of a captain of transport; with this unit
there are also 2 pioneer officers, with 7 noncommissioned
officers and 54 sappers. The corps equipment allows for the
construction of a bridge of 132 m. The telegraph detachment
has 10 wagons. The two transport sections are placed under
the Orders of the most senior captains. In case of emergency
the staff of the army corps may send its orders direct to one
of the sections. When the army corps marches in several
columns, certain transport units may also be temporarily
placed at the disposal and under the orders of the division
generals. As regards the units properly belonging to the
divisions, such as the divisional bridging equipment and
RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 101
ambulance, they are not, as a rule, placed under the orders of
the transport battalion commander. The former is equal to
about a third of the army corps equipment, and can construct
a bridge of 43 m. The ambulance consists of 13 wagons, 8 of
which are for the sick, and each carrying 40 stretchers, 13
officers, doctors, and functionaries, and 241 men, 176 of whom
are stretcher bearers.
There now remain only the ammunition sections and the
regimental transports to be considered. Each army corps
possesses two groups of ammunition sections, each consisting
of 2 infantry and 4 artillery ammunition subsections.
The infantry ammunition subsection consists of 26 wagons,
3 officers, 179 men (66 carbines), and 187 horses. The whole
of the 4 infantry ammunition subsections contain 80 cartridges
per rifle for the infantry of the army corps. As the company
wagons carry 55 cartridges per man, and the soldier himself
carries 120, the German infantryman of the army corps has
255 cartridges available. The 8 artillery ammunition subsec-
tions contain 128 shrapnel and 26 high-explosive shells per
field gun, and 13 shrapnel and 58 high-explosive shells per
field howitzer. In addition to the 8 army corps artillery
anmmunition subsections there are also 5 light ammunition
sections in each army corps, which are placed at the disposal
of divisions.
The reason for this organization lies in the small number of
ammunition wagons of the German field battery (9 only to 6
guns). The light sections carry 32 shrapnel and 24 high-ex-
plosive shells per gun, and 14 shrapnel and 84 high-explosive
shells per field howitzer. As the batteries themselves carry
124 shrapnel and 6 high-explosive shells per gun, or 54 shrap-
nel and 34 high-explosive shells per field howitzer, the Ger-
man army corps has altogether 340 shells per gun and 260 per
howitzer.
As has been already mentioned, the whole of the sections
and convoys are, as a rule, distributed into two almost equal
units. The first, which is also called “Gefechts-Staffel.”
because a portion of it is brought up to the troops when in
action, follows the fighting units at a distance of from 10 to
12 km. Its depth is 8,600 m. The second section is kept, as
a rule, a short march distance away. As in France, so in Ger-
many, it is considered desirable that transports and convoys
102 13ULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
should never interfere with the march of the troops, conse-
Quently the movements necessary for provisioning the troops
both in rations and ammunitions, and for refitting the ammu-
nition sections and convoys are frequently carried out at night,
and are often at considerable distances, when they would
cause immense fatigue, and the rapid wear and tear of the
units concerned, were they not conducted with the most
watchful and minute care by their commanders.
There now only remains the wagons belonging to corps
and to the regimental transports to be considered. The whole
of these wagons come under the denomination of baggage and
is divided into light and heavy baggage. These date from
1870. The light baggage consists of troop wagons necessary in
action, viz, for infantry, medical and ammunition wagons, and
lead horses; for the cavalry the boat wagons should be added
to these; for the artillery only the lead horses are used. The
heavy baggage consists of all the regimental vehicles which
are only required in cantonment or bivouac, such as baggage,
rations, and field forge wagons. It must be remembered that
in Germany the regimental transport only carries one days'
rations, and that the soldier on the other hand carries three
days’ reserve rations in his haversack. The heavy baggage is
generally grouped by divisions, and follows the troops at a dis-
tance of from 2 to 5 km. It is sometimes reenforced by a cer-
tain number of requisitioned wagons for carrying the sick and
a portion of the valises. The heavy baggage of an infantry
division consists, in round numbers, of 200 wagons and occu-
pies a distance of 3 km. on the march.-Precis from La France
Militaire. Journal of the R. U. S. Institution, August 15,
1903.
PEACE EFFECTIVE.
At the end of 1902 the German army reached its present
authorized strength, which is 29,326 officers and employees,
80,985 noncommissioned officers (almost all reenlisted men),
and 495,000 men, 10,000 one-year volunteers, and 105,143
horses. The army comprises 23 army corps, 48 divisions of
infantry, 1 division of cavalry (of the guard), 106 brigades
of infantry, 46 brigades of cavalry, and 46 brigades of field
artillery, making a total of 625 battalions of infantry, 482 (?)
guns, and 583 field battalions.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 103
It comprises further, 13 groups of machine-gun troops, 38
battalions of foot artillery, 26 battalions of pioneers, 23 bat-
talions of train troops. The railroad, telegraph, and balloon
troops comprise 11 battalions.—La Belgique Militaire, April
19, 1903.
EFFECTIVE OF THE FOOT ARTILLERY.
On the 31st of March, 1902, the effective of the foot artil-
lery in Germany was and is still within a few units of 895
officers, 19,204 soldiers, and 137 paymasters, doctors, hospital
attendants, and various other employees. – La Belgique Mill-
taire, January 18, 1903.
RECRUITMENT.
The number of men liable to service (called or postponed
from previous years) reached in 1902 the sum of 1,690,000 or
78,000 less than in 1899.
Out of that sum, 456,000 men were deemed fit for service,
or 28.1 per cent. Two hundred and twenty thousand recruits
were incorporated in the army (without counting the list of
volunteers) and 8,200 in the navy. The number of volunteers
was 49,000 for the army and 3,000 for the navy.
Let us remember in passing that in Germany, thanks to the
constant increase in population, the law does not fix the num-
ber of recruits to be incorporated each year (as in Austria, for
example), but the effective that the corps shall maintain; thus
when there are any deficiencies they are immediately filled by
means of the Ersatz reserve and immediately called to the
colors. There are, therefore, never any fluctuations in the
effective.--La Belgigue Militaire, March 29, 1903.
RECRUITMENT OF THE ARMY IN 1901.
The official report of recruiting operations in 1901 has just
been made public. It gives the following statistics:
The recruiting board has had to examine 1,198,499 young
men, distributed as follows: Twenty years of age (seen for
the first time), 513,947; 21 years, 340,888; 22 years, 263,911;
of more advanced age, 79,753. The annual contingent is in
round numbers 514,000.
From the number of men of 21 and 22 years to pre-
sent themselves again, one can realize the great number of
104 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
postponements. Our “Niemand Gedwongen Soldat” would
scarcely believe how many worthless volunteers want to force
their acceptance upon the colonels. -
Out of the total number of men registered, 49,244 could not
be found and 86,722 failed to report; a total of 135,966.
There were really examined 1,062,533 men, of which num-
ber 1,219 were excluded, 41,332 retired for disability, and
564,127 postponed (309,186 of 20 years, 229,497 of 21 years,
12,664 of 22 years, and 12,780 of more advanced age).
Besides there were 100,071 men assigned to the Landsturm
(first ban), 83,546 to the Ersatz reserve of the army, and 1,038
to the Ersatz reserve of the marine.
There were accepted and incorporated 99,310 men of 20
years, 54,615 of 21 years, 71,993 of 22 years, 2,488 of more
advanced age; total, 228,406.
In addition, 13,674 young men were classed in excess for
the purpose of making good deficiencies which might occur
among men fit for service.
There were 27,494 voluntary enlistments in the army and
1,356 in the navy, of more than 20 years of age, who are con-
stantly under the control of military law. Besides, there were,
among men less than 20 years of age, 21,492 volunteers in the
army and 1,773 in the navy, making a total of 48,986 volunteers
in the army and 3,129 in the navy, among which number were
about 11,000 one-year volunteers.
The 228,406 men to be incorporated in the army were dis-
tributed and assigned as follows:
Army.—Armed service, 215,479; to the noncombatant servi
ice, 4,701.
Navy.—8,226.
Total number incorporated in the army in 1901 was then
220,180 conscripts, 48,986 volunteers, or a total of 269,166.
It must be remembered in reading the above figures that
the cavalrymen continue to serve three years, as well as men
of the horse artillery, where many of the men voluntarily
serve one year more without their being reckoned as reenlisted
II].6°I).
The number of reenlisted men is 80,000 in round numbers. —
La Belgique Militaire, January 18, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 105
OFFICERS2 GLOVES.
A decree of March 12, 1903, authorizes officers and army
surgeons to wear gloves of reddish-brown color under the
following circumstances:
In the field at maneuvers, during their sojourn at the poly-
gons, at camps of instructions, target practice, reviews in field
uniform, during cadre and staff journeys, and during riding
exercises.—La Belgique Mºlėtaire, May 3, 1903.
CLOTHING.
On April 11, 1903, it was directed that the jackets (Litew-
ken) for soldiers of all arms be made in future of gray cloth,
after stock on hand had been exhausted.
By cabinet order of May 29, 1903, all officers, excepting
of the machine-gun detachments, will wear frock coat (Ueber-
rock) of same material as at present prescribed for the service
coat (Waffenrock). Officers of the machine-gun detachments
will wear, same as Jäger, frock coats of dark-green cloth; the
officers of the Jäger zu Pferde, as at present, coats of dark-
blue cloth. Sanitary officers and officials of the military
administration will wear frock coats of dark-blue cloth.
Blue-black frock coats may be worn until further orders.
Since June 27, 1903, the train carries saber in manner pre-
scribed for the field artillery. The long strap is discontinued.
On October 24, 1903, the shako of the men of the train was
replaced by the infantry helmet with chain. For full dress
in the Garde train, the plume will be of white hair; in the
line train, of black hair.
MACHINE – GUIN TROOPS.
On October 1, 1903, there will be created two subdivisions
of machine-gun troops for the two Saxon army corps, the
Twelfth and the Nineteenth, and a section for the Saxon foot
artillery regiment No. 12 at Metz.
The subdivisions of machine-gun troops will be attached to
the battalions of infantry at Dresden and Leipzic.—Revue
Militaire Suisse, September, 1903.
NEW BRIDGE MATERIAL–FOLDING SAVVS.
Under date of June 19, 1903, the war ministry announces:
1. New material for bridge construction (pontoons).
106 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
2. New telegraph wagon for transportation of telegraph
material.
3. Folding saws for field work.
The folding boats are reported unsatisfactory; the canvas
cover easily rendered unserviceable. The new pontoons are
to be made of a strong and light steel.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE NEW RIFLE, MODEL '98, TO THE
INFANTRY.
The new rifle, model 1898, was distributed to the Third,
Fourth, Fifth, and Sixth Corps, a little before the autumn
maneuvers. The guard corps also being provided with this
arm, it follows that five of the German corps are supplied
with the new rifle.
The German navy has been supplied with this rifle for two
years, and it will soon be distributed to the two Bavarian
Corps.
This timely diversity in the armament of the German army
corps does not offer any serious inconvenience, as the two
arms have the same caliber.
It is to be noted that the new sword bayonet is longer than
that of the rifle which has just been abandoned.—La Belgique
Militaire, February 1, 1903.
POSITION OF THE HEAVY ARTILLERY IN THE ORDER OF
MARCH.
The paragraph of the German field-service regulations
relating to the position of the heavy field artillery in the
order of march has been changed.
Hitherto it was prescribed that the heavy artillery should
march at the end of the combatant troops, and sometimes
behind the first line of wagons of the train. If its use was
foreseen, it was to be incorporated with the main body of the
troops, the supposition being that its employment would be
restricted to exceptional cases, such as position warfare.
Moreover, it was considered inadvisable to incorporate it in
all cases with the combatant troops, owing to the doubt as to
its marching capacity and to the undesirability of further
lengthening the artillery column; now, however, the expe-
riences of peace and in the South African war have shown
that the doubts as to the mobility of heavy artillery are
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 107
unfounded, and that it can no longer be considered as a hin-
drance to the other arms.
The paragraph in question, as modified, reads as follows:
“As a rule it will suffice to have the heavy artillery march at
the end of the infantry of the main body. When an attack
on fortified positions is evidently imminent, the heavy artil.
lery is to be moved forward in the marching column far
enough to insure its timely participation in the battle.”—
Summarized from Militär-Wochenblatt, October 17, 1903.
ADDITIONS TO PEACE ESTABLISHMENT.
On October 1, 1903, the infantry was increased by 2 Saxon
machine-gun detachments.
On July 1, 1903, a new remount depot was established at
Dölitz in the Pyritz.
On October 1, 1903, the foot artillery was increased by 4
companies; 2 companies were added to the Ninth Foot Artil-
lery Regiment at Diedenhofen, and 2 companies to the Thir-
teenth Foot Artillery Regiment at Müllheim. e
On April 1, 1903, a ninth fortress inspection of second
engineer inspection was created at Graudenz to include Culm,
Graudenz, and Marienwerder.
1. PROMOTION OF NONCOMMISSIONED OFFICERS.
The grade of supernumerary first sergeant (vice-feldwebel)
is opened by cabinet order of April 11, 1903, to all noncommis-
sioned officers of recognized merit and of exemplary conduct,
after a service of nine years, at the rate of one vice-feldwebel
to company, squadron or battery. They must be prepared
to take up their duties at moment of appointment. This
measure will increase the number of intelligent sergeants and
drillmasters.
2. MACHINE-GUN DETACHMENTS.
Beginning October 1, 1903, one-year volunteers may he
enlisted for the machine-gun detachments.
An officer reserve of same is to be created.
ALTERATIONS IN RIFLE.
Trials are being conducted with improved rifle, model 1898.
The alterations are in firing pin, sight, and cartridge.
108 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
ELECTRIC MARKING OF HITS.
An electrical apparatus, the invention of Lieutenant von
Tschirschky, is being tested for registering the hits in target
practice, without the assistance of markers in pit.
THE TRACK BICYCLE.
An arrangement whereby the ordinary bicycle can be used
on the rails, is shown in the accompanying illustration.
It consists of a light guiding carriage of Mannesmann tub-
ing, in the frame of which one or two bicycles can be placed
and easily connected, the whole forming a solid piece or car.
The apparatus can be taken apart in a few seconds and as-
sembled according to need, and can be driven by one or two
persons. It is intended to serve as a cheap and prompt
expedient in railway construction and operation.
The inventor is Lieutenant von Trutzschler, of the Kaiser
Alexander Regiment, the intention of the inventor being to
lighten the difficult railway patrol service in war.-Berliner
Tageblatt, August 19, 1903.

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 109
AUTOMOBILE EXPERIMENTS IN TRANSPORTATION OF
HEAVY LOADS.
Experiments were made recently on the maneuvers grounds
of Tempelhof with automobiles for transporting heavy loads.
The machine used was a traction engine for heavy weights,
constructed after the plans of Lieutenant Troost, with an
alcohol motor.
Two carriages were attached to the motor, which had a
capacity of 20 tons.
With the ordinary method of transportation this weight
would require a length of road of 200 m., 40 horses, and 20
drivers, while the length of the motor with the two cars was
less than 20 m. -
The train in question operated well on the sandy roads of
Tempelhof, and was able to make short turns without diffi-
culty. In order to ascend steep grades the motor ascended
first and drew the carriages after it by means of a cable.—
La Belgique Militaire, June, 1903.
ABANDONMENT OF FORTS.
By cabinet order of January 27, 1903, the following strong
places were ordered abandoned: The Fortress of Spandau,
excepting the citadel and Fort Hahneberg, the fort of Kaiser
Alexander, the works of Grossfürst Alexander, the fort of
Grossfürst Constantin, the works of Bienhorn, near Coblenz,
and Fort Fusternberg near Wesel.
And by order of March 22, 1903: The city walls of Glogau,
on the left bank of the Oder (with the exception of the star
fort situated between the upper Oder and the Breslau gate),
and the adjacent Brostau works, the city walls of Dieden-
hofen, on the left bank of Mosel, excepting bastions Nos. I
and III.
Four OR SIX GUN's 2
In No. 1, of July 4 of this year of the Meuſe Militärische
Blätter is contained an article entitled “The field artillery
question in the German army,” with the statements of which
one can agree for the most part as far as concerns the require-
ments placed on a new type of field gun and the question as
to whether our present model 1896 field gun is so far inferior
110 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
to the new system (meaning the French long-recoil gun with
shield), as to necessitate immediate rearmament.
The author’s opinion will not, however, be shared by many
with regard to the answer to the further question: “What
organization of field artillery appears to be the most suitable
in case the new system is adopted?” The principal questions
here under discussion are: Shall there be four or six guns
per battery and a diminution in or retention of the present
total number of guns?
When it is stated in the article that the French have reduced
the number of guns to four solely in the conviction that the
modern battery, in view of the necessity of a large ammuni-
tion supply, should under no circumstances have more than
four guns, a great many will fail with me to share this con-
viction. Let it remain unanswered whether this conviction
was really the controlling motive in France or not. Why
must the ammunition supply, upon the adoption of a more
rapidly firing gun, become so much greater than hitherto as
to render the number of ammunition wagons belonging to a
six-gun battery so large and cumbrous that a battery com-
mander could not command them? An increase in ammuni-
tion is doubtless necessary, but, in my opinion, certainly not
so great an increase as is indicated in the article mentioned,
for the necessity of sustaining a continuous rapid fire, and
thus showering a continuous hail of projectiles on the enemy,
will occur only at certain moments, while the remainder of
the time an ordinary fire will be kept up. It is hardly prob-
able that the nerves and forces of the gunners could endure a
continuous rapid fire. The artilleryman can no more keep up
a continuous rapid fire throughout a whole battle, than can or
does an infantryman with his repeating rifle. Yet both are
given a rapid-fire weapon so that they may use it in case of
necessity. I can not, therefore, infer the absolute necessity
of reducing the number of guns per battery from 6 to 4
because of the increased amount of ammuition to be carried.
The article then cites five other reasons in favor of a
diminution of the number of guns, as follows:
1. Facilitation of the fire control and better observation of
the fire effects of the individual guns.
2. Greater mobility and handiness.
3. Better utilization of the terrain.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 111
4. Diminution of space in the long artillery lines which will
be peculiar to the great battles of the future.
5. A more copious supply of good officers, noncommissioned
officers, men, and horses—a necessity which becomes very
great, especially in view of the establishment of reserve bat-
teries in case of mobilization.
Whoever, like the author of the article in No. 1, does not
demand a corresponding increase in the number of batteries to
accompany the reduction of the number of guns per battery
from 6 to 4, and therefore considers a diminution of the total
number of guns as advisable, will have little to object against
the correctness of the reasons enumerated. I might add to
them a sixth: The shortening (even though slight) of the
marching columns of the combatant troops by the reduction
of the total number of guns.
He who, however, does not consider a reduction of the total
number of guns advisable, even upon introduction of a barrel-
recoil gun, will not acknowledge the reasons for smaller
batteries as correct, and will therefore be in favor of the reten-
tion of 6 guns per battery. Then the reasons in favor of
6-gun batteries will outweigh those in favor of 4-gun bat-
teries. In other words, 4-gun batteries will only have an
advantage over 6-gun batteries when the number of batteries
remains the same as hitherto, and therefore the whole number
of guns is diminished. Such a diminution of the number of
guns I do not, however, consider advisable. Even admitting
that at the present time a battery of barrel-recoil guns of 4
pieces is equal or even superior to a 6-gun battery of the
German model 1896, what is there to hinder Germany’s neigh-
bors (France) from increasing the total number of their barrel-
recoil guns at any time when we have done them the favor in
adopting the system of reducing the number of our guns?
Has it ever happened before that a nation, upon adopting an
improved weapon, reduced the number thereof in use just
because, at the moment of its adoption, the nation, even with
this reduced number, would stand on an equal footing with,
or even at an advantage over, its enemy armed with an inferior
weapon in greater numbers? Yes. I might agree to the
reduction of the number of guns, provided we were so many
years ahead of other nations that they could not overtake us.
The article in No. 1 also points out that such costly measures
112 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. --
as the rearmament of the field artillery are not taken for the
time being only, but that the contingencies of a great number
of years and countermeasures to be taken by the enemy must
be taken into account. Therefore I do not see how the con-
clusion can be reached that a reduction of the number of guns
is advisable.
It would certainly be very desirable, owing to the shorten-
ing of the marching columns, the acceleration of the march
up to and in battle, and the diminution of the breadth of the
battle fronts, if we could reduce the number of guns; but
this can not be done without a considerable weakening of our
fire strength, and we surely do not want to do that. Even if
96 barrel-recoil guns are equal to 144 model 1896 field guns,
still 96 barrel-recoil guns represent only two-thirds the fire
strength of 144 barrel-recoil guns, and this is the way we
must figure it. As long, therefore, as we can bring into firing
position and utilize 144 field guns in an army corps of two
divisions (and the battles of 1870–71 do not prove the con-
trary, as is frequently stated) we should not think of reduc-
ing the number of guns.
I also hold, furthermore, as mentioned before, that the dis-
tribution of the guns into 6-gun batteries is better than that
into 4-gun batteries, even if no reduction is made in the total
number of guns. I believe that the present organization of
our field artillery into brigades of 2 regiments of 2 battalions
of 3 batteries of 6 guns each is the most advantageous, both
as regards the relative strengths of the troops and conditions
of promotion. If the batteries were organized with only 4
guns each, it would be necessary to form new batteries and
new battalions, either a third battalion for each regiment or
a third regiment for each brigade. The field artillery of a
division would then consist of 6 battalions and 18 batteries,
instead of 4 battalions and 12 batteries. It is, of course, not
to be imagined that the necessary appropriations and promo-
tions involved would ever be granted.
All advantages, however, which accrue from small batteries
when the total number of guns is diminished, would entirely
disappear if the same number of guns were to be divided
into 4-gun instead of 6-gun batteries. As far as fire control
is concerned, it is clear that the difficulty of giving commands
and the possibility of misunderstandings increase with the
RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 113
number of units through which a command must pass. Let
us simply imagine a case where the brigade commander has 2
instead of 3 regimental commanders and the regimental com-
mander 3 instead of 2 battalion commanders to whom to indi-
cate the field of aim and the problems or targets, and partially
crossed fire becomes necessary. Think of 6 battalion com-
manders indicating the targets to 18 battery commanders in
the same field of aim as was heretofore handled by 4 battal-
ions with 12 battery commanders.
The mobility and manageability of a brigade of 72 guns are
also greater for the same reason with the present distribution,
than they would be with an addition of 2 battalion command-
ers and 6 battery commanders. I also cannot consider proba-
ble a better utilization of the terrain in this case, whereas, on
the other hand, the extension of the front is increased owing
to the intervals desired between the separate units of com-
mand. Still more unfavorable, however, would be the effect
of the lengthening of the marching column, which would of
necessity occur if the same number of guns were divided into
4-gun batteries, instead of 6-gun batteries. The two or three
additional staffs with their personnel and vehicles would not
be so important, but in the smaller battery there results a
more unfavorable proportion between the length of the
marching column and the fire front, between the dead weight
and the living force, than in the larger battery. This is
owing to the fact that every battery, whether it be of 4 or 6
guns, needs a certain number of administrative vehicles, such
as provision, forage, and supply wagons, as well as the same
number of commanding and administrative organs, such
as battery commanders, commanders of lines of wagons,
mounted orderlies, scouts, buglers, Sergeants, quartermasters,
artisans, etc. .
Owing to the circumstances mentioned, the diminution of
the total number of guns by one-third is accompanied only
by a slight shortening of the marching column when the
number of batteries remains the same. For even when the
ammunition supply is the same, one caission must be added
for the two guns taken away from each battery, in order to
— carry the ammunition belonging to these two guns.
17430—04—8
114 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
There is still another important respect in which the division
into 4-gun batteries is less desirable than that into 6-gun batter-
ies, viz, the finding of the range. As every battery, whetherit
be of 4 or 6 guns, has to fire about the same number of rounds in
order to find the range, the small batteries will fire in all one and
one-half times as many ineffective shots as the large ones.
Furthermore, in the operation of getting the range, the tak-
ing of aim at the targets and the keeping of the shots of each
battery separate from those of its neighbors will be rendered
considerably more difficult where the targets are narrow, for
one and one-half times as many batteries will be firing at the
targets in a given section of terrain as before. Every artil-
leryman knows how difficult this often is even now. How
often must single batteries remain silent now until the others
have found their range, and this would hereafter occur still
more frequently. I, therefore, believe that the range will be
found more quickly if a given number of guns is divided into
batteries of 6 each than of 4 each, and the effect will also
be produced more quickly. As a consequence of the more
frequent doubtful or erroneous observations, the consumption
of ammunition in finding the range might be not only one and
one-half times as great, as would theoretically be the case,
but might increase still more to the detriment of small
batteries.
On the other hand, it requires no proof that after effective
fire has begun, provided the latter is delivered at the rate now
usual and as flanking fire, the 6-gun battery will not fire any
more rounds in a given time than the 4-gun battery, the total
number of guns, therefore, firing one and one-half times as
many shots if they are divided into 4-gun batteries. The fire
strength is, therefore, better utilized in the latter case, if (and
only if) flanking fire is adhered to and at the usual rate. It is
not, however, necessary to adhere thereto. If it is desired to
adhere to flanking fire it is merely necessary to accelerate the
succession of shots, which is, of course, very easy with a bat-
tery of six rapidly loaded and aimed guns, as compared with
one of four guns. There is thus no distinction here to the det-
riment of the 6-gun battery. There is, moreover, equally
little difference in the utilization of the fire strength when
rapid fire conducted by section or by gun is adopted, in which
the section leader causes the ready gun of his section to be fired,
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 115
or the chief gunner his gun as soon as it is ready. In other
words, in the attainment of the maximum fire strength, the di-
vision into batteries of 6 guns, 4 guns, 2 guns, or even 1 gun
is a matter of absolute indifference; it all depends on the total
number of guns.
Thus far the organization of the artillery for actual war-
fare. The article in question then touches also on the peace
organization, laying emphasis on the advantage which would
arise from a diminution of the number of guns per battery,
because then all batteries would have horses for all their four
guns even in peace, and the surplus horses arising from the
change could be used for drawing a certain number of caissons
in each battalion in peace. It need not be pointed out how
great are the advantages which accrue to instruction in every
way, if the exercises can be carried out in peace by all bat-
teries with their horses from the very first day with the full
number of guns and at least one caisson to represent the
ammunition train; or how much easier it would be if, at the
time of the training of the battery, the very difficult opera-
tion of ammunition supply could be practiced more than
has hitherto been possible, by a contraction in the battalion and
by the formation of ammunition trains and echelons in the
regiment. The field artillery still suffers very much from an
inadequate supply of horses in peace. Although the strik-
ingly diversified composition of the batteries and battalions has
been much simplified since 1899, yet nearly half of them are
still perceptibly hampered in their instruction by having only
two-thirds of their guns horsed. The demand that all guns
be provided with horses in peace is an urgent one, and can
no longer be disregarded without the greatest detriment to the
troops. If, however, the money for this purpose is abso-
lutely unobtainable, one would feel tempted, even against his
convictions otherwise, to plead in favor of the organization
into batteries of four guns in war and peace. Then all field
batteries, except those of some frontier guards, would have
an equal horse strength, viz., 52, and would thus have 4 guns
and 1 caisson horsed. I consider exercises in ammunition
supply at every opportunity so important that I am in favor
of having every battery even now turn out in maneuvers with
4 guns and 1 caisson. With the reduced strength of infantry
and cavalry, the reduced breadth of front of batteries of four
#ſ... "
º:•-
*
wºrº
116 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
guns is also more suitable in maneuvers. It is to be hoped,
however, that the necessity of giving each battery (only) 52
horses (5 sets) will not occur, but that before long all batteries
will have 6 sets of horses, either to be used for 6 guns or for
4 guns and 2 caissons.
Of special interest are the propositions made in the afore-
mentioned article concerning the Organization of the light
field howitzers. That their union with the field gun within
a regiment is not suitable will hardly be questioned. Upon
the adoption of the model 1898 howitzer it was a question
where and how it should be organized. Then there was
offered, in the great reorganization of the fall of 1899, the
suggestion of adding them to the field artillery, 1 battalion
of a regiment in 1 division of each army corps being given
howitzers. If only 1 battalion of 3 batteries was desired for
each army corps, the incongruity could not be avoided of one
division having howitzers and the other not. That the com-
manding general will always make his disposal of the field
howitzers himself in a planned battle is clear. The circum-
stance that he has no troops directly under his orders, but
has to take them in case of need from the division, is inevi-
table. Whether this is a disadvantage is doubtful. The cre-
ation of corps artillery, which has been rejected after long
controversy, I do not consider advantageous. The corps cav-
alry brigade, after an ephemeral appearance, has again sunk
into oblivion. Why does no one speak of the need of creating
corps infantry, when it is without doubt a fact that the com-
manding general almost always keeps a reserve of this arm
for his disposal? If he always takes this from a division,
why not also artillery'
At all events the question of a different organization of the
light field howitzers in the field army is not an easy one to
solve. No one seems to think of increasing the light howit-
zers at present; otherwise the assignment of a howitzer bat-
talion to every division might be thought of. Then, how-
ever, there would be 2 regiments in every army corps in
which both calibers would be represented. If the howitzer
battalion is made independent, and, as the article suggests, is
placed under the field artillery brigades, or even the foot
artillery, the question again arises, what shall the regiment
do from which one-half has been taken away? It would have
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 117
to be made complete again by the creation of a new gun bat-
talion. But we should have no money to pay for the increase
of the gun batteries by three in each army corps necessitated
thereby. Let us therefore wait.—Neue Militärische Blätter,
August 22, 1903.
THE FUTURE ARMAMENT OF THE GERMAN ARMY.
We have already announced, at the time it happened, that
the Germans were making experiments, especially in the
guard field artillery, with a new gun with recoil on the car-
riage, which is none other than the present field gun modified,
and firing, for economical reasons, a projectile of the same
caliber. Our readers also know that the model 1888 rifle has
undergone certain changes and that the new weapon has
already been introduced in several army corps under the name
of the model 1898 rifle.
The Berliner Tageblatt recently published a very interest-
ing article on these two questions, entitled “The future arma-
ment of the German army'' and written by Colonel Gâdke,
retired, who frequently contributes articles on military sub-
jects to this organ. We reproduce it in full.
“The rumor is current in the press that next spring a
demand for 15,000,000 to 20,000,000 marks will be submitted
to the Reichstag for the purpose of transforming the present
field guns into guns with recoil on the carriage. Although
this rumor was immediately declared incorrect by the War
Minister, the disavowal was doubtless merely made for form’s
sake. The amount required to carry out the transformation
would be much greater than that mentioned, and the time
when the proposition will be made to the Reichstag will per-
haps be somewhat delayed. At all events the Government
will be very anxious to have the Reichstag first allow the new
programme for the army; not until this is obtained will it
demand the appropriations, which will probably be very
high, for the transformation of the artillery matériel. How-
ever, this demand will be made during the course of next
year, for it is necessary. Germany, as regards her artillery
matériel, has been notably distanced by other nations.
“When, in 1896 and 1898, we adopted our present gun (and
howitzer), we were influenced by considerations more political
118 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
than technical. If the matter be regarded from a purely
technical standpoint, it may be said that this new gun was
constructed in too great a hurry, for it was not provided with
all the improvements which, even then, might have been
expected to be made. Of course it would have required a
few years more to solve the problems connected with the
construction of this new gun, and to make more thorough
experiments. This would have resulted in a delay which, in
view of the armament of the other powers at that period,
would have done us no harm.
“There are three essential points to be considered, viz, the
charge in one piece (fixed ammunition), the recoil of the gun
on the carriage, and protective shields. The first two improve-
ments serve for the acceleration of the fire, and the latter is
designed to protect the gunnery crew from the shrapnel bul-
lets of the adversary and, especially, from the hostile infantry
fire. If it is possible to armor the guns and caissons which
advance to the line of fire strongly enough to afford effective
protection to the cannoneers against musketry fire at 400, and
perhaps only 300, m., the result will be that the independence
and power of field artillery on the field of battle will be nota-
bly increased. But the most important feature is the incom-
parable acceleration of the rate of fire which is obtained in
consequence of the immobility of the carriage at the moment
of fire—a coin may be placed on its wheels without falling
off—while only the gun itself recoils and returns automatic-
ally to its original position. Under these conditions it is
useless, once the range is found, to repeat the operation of
laying the gun. The cannoneers may, while the fire lasts,
remain quietly seated on their seats beside the piece. The
work of the men serving the piece is thus considerably
diminished.
“Our present field gun does not enable a real rapid fire to
be executed; this is a matter which can not be too often
repeated. The decision of a combat by fire, between two
adversaries whose fire is directed equally well and with equal
rapidity, will be brought about by the side which can shower
an overwhelming mass of projectiles on its enemy in the
shortest space of time.
“It is absolutely useless, under the pretext of tranquillizing
ourselves, for us to attribute all possible defects to the French
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 119
gun, when the French are convinced of the certain superiority
of their artillery matériel over that which we possess at pres-
ent. After the change has been made, we will also seek to
improve the aiming gear, especially for fire executed from
behind cover. As to the diminution of the caliber of the
gun—which for many reasons would be desirable—it will be
out of the question for the following reasons: We are obliged
to use for the new system our present gun, which fires well,
and our ammunition supply, which is considerable. If it
were necessary to change the gun proper also we should have
to expend several hundred million marks.
“Matters stand about the same with regard to the infantry
rifle. The model 1898 rifle, which is still being distributed
among the troops, has but few advantages over the model 1888
rifle; it is absolutely eclipsed by the automatic rifle, which is
entirely practicable in war and whose adoption by all Euro-
pean armies is only a question of a few years. The advan-
tages which it is desired to obtain by adopting an automatic
rifle are obviously of a different order than those which are
sought in the gun with recoil on the carriage. In the case of
the automatic rifle there is attained an increase in the rapidity
of fire, which, however, is already so great that it is of little
importance whether it be a little greater or a little less.
“The greatest advantage of the automatic rifle lies in the
great tranquillity which it gives the soldier in aiming and
firing. As long as its magazine (8 or 10 rounds) is not empty,
it may be kept aimed and in the same position, for it is not
necessary, as in the rifle of to-day, to open and close the breech
mechanism. The recoil produced by the powder charge shoves
a new cartridge automatically into the chamber of the rifle.
Moreover, the question of the automatic rifle is inseparable
from that concerning a diminution of the caliber, which will
involve a diminution in the weight of the rifle and the car-
tridge, and, in consequence, will enable a man to carry a
greater number of cartridges. Above all, the adoption of
the small caliber will have, as a consequence, the prolongation
of the bullet and an increase in the powder charge, which will
enable a much flatter trajectory to be obtained. It may be
admitted as an incontestable fact that a perfectly flat trajec-
tory will be had up to 1,200 m. In other words, up to that
range the bullet will not rise higher from the ground than the
120 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
height of a man. Under these conditions, none of the errors
committed in the judging of distances will have the least
effect on the efficacy of the fire. An attack executed with fire
furnished from such rifles will be much more murderous than
at present.
“I believe, as I said before, that this question will also be
brought up before the Reichstag before many years. It will
then be necessary to give the field artillery and the cavalry a
light carbine. I believe that at that time the cavalry, which,
perforce, must attach an ever-increasing value to fire, will be
cured of the folly of charges in mass. All of these arms are
anxiously awaiting these innovations, and the experiments to
be made will but bring out certain minor improvements to be
made.” Translated from the German by Captain Painvin. —
Revue du Cercle Militaire, Movember 7, 1903.
MILITARY TECHNICAL ACADEMY.
The new Military Technical Academy was opened at Char-
lottenburg on October 1, 1903. It is intended to provide the
required instruction for officers of the technical branches of
the service. In addition, English, French, and Russian will
be taught. The course will extend over a period of three
years. The academy occupies temporarily the buildings of
the United Artillery and Engineer School.
WAR ACADEMY.
One hundred and thirty-five officers entered the War Acad-
emy at Berlin on October 1, 1903. Of these 89 belong to the
infantry, 8 to the cavalry, 21 to the field artillery, 7 to the
foot artillery, 10 to the pioneers and engineers. Prussia
sent 128, Saxony 5, Wurttemberg 1, and 1 is of the marine
infantry. The communication troops and train are not rep-
resented.
Officers of the War Academy were again detailed this year
to the number of 37 for duty on board war ships, for periods
of four to five weeks.
STUDY OF MODERN LANGUAGES.
By cabinet order of June 27, 1903, each army corps receives
a fund that is to be applied to the encouragement of the study
of modern languages and that may be expended in the pur-
chase of text books, for pay of teachers, for travel, etc.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 121
The acquirement of Russian and Polish is desired of officers
and officials serving east of the Elbe River; French of those
serving west thereof. English and Italian are also prescribed
according to talent or inclination of officer.
Second lieutenants, first lieutenants, and captains of second-
pay class only are entitled to benefits of special fund. Ex-
cluded also are officers attending the War Academy, the
United Artillery and Engineer School and the Military
Technical Academy.
Interpreters’ examinations will be held every five years.
VETERINARY ACADEMY.
In cabinet order dated August 27, 1903, it is decreed that
the military Rossarzt Schule be entitled hereafter the military
Veterinăr Akademie, and that the grades of rank of veterinaries
shall be—
1. Korpsstabsveterinär (formerly Korpsrossarzt).
2. Stabsveterinär (formerly Oberrossarzt).
3. Oberveterinár (formerly Rossarzt).
4. Unterveterinár (formerly Unterrossarzt).
It is intended to create a veterinary officer corps, active
and of the reserve.
NEW SIGNAL REGULATIONS.
New signal regulations were issued under date of January
27, 1903. Each company, squadron, and battery is required
to have 3 men capable of exchanging messages at 3 km. at
the rate of ten words a minute.
NEVV REGULATIONS FOR ENSIGN EXAMINATION.
Under date of January 8, 1903, cabinet order, new regula-
tions were promulgated for ensign (Fahnrich) examination,
to take effect on and after April 1, 1903.
NEVV REGULATIONS FOR RIFLE PRACTICE IN FOOT
ARTILLERY.
Cabinet order dated February 5, 1903, announces new reg-
ulations for rifle practice in foot artillery. The foot artillery
carries a shortened rifle.
122 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
SPECIAL REGULATIONS FOR FOOT ARTILLERY.
Under date of June 23, 1903, the war ministry makes known
special regulations for foot artillery, “A–Cannon barrels.”
Under date of July 9, 1903, “Section D–Ammunition.”
Under date of July 17, 1903, “The light artillery telephone.”
NEW REGULATIONS FOR CAVALRY TELEGRAPH.
New regulations for cavalry telegraph are decreed in cabi-
net order dated May 28, 1903 (Vorschrift für die Handhabung
und Verwendung des Kavallerie-Telegraphen).
NEVV REGULATIONS FOR ESTABLISHMENT OF AMMUNI-
TION MAGAZINES.
Under date of May 14, 1903, the war ministry makes known
new regulations for the “establishment of peace ammunition
magazines” (Vorschrift für Anlage von Friedensmunitions-
magazinen).
NEW REGULATIONS FOR ADMINISTRATION OF ARTIL-
LERY DEPOTS.
New regulations are decreed in cabinet order of February
26, 1903, for the administration of artillery depots, to take
effect on and after April 1, 1903 (Verwaltungsvorschrift für
Artilleriedepots).
NEW REGULATIONS FOR TROOP EXERCISE GROUNDS.
New regulations are decreed under cabinet order dated
January 8, 1903, for troop exercise grounds (Truppenubung-
splatzvorschrift).
INSIGNIA OF MARKSMAN SHIP.
Insignia of marksmanship are decreed in cabinet order dated
August 27, 1903, to the machine-gun detachment making high-
est aggregate score.
CALCAREO US BRICK AND STONE MANUFACTURE IN
GERMANY.
During the past year frequent inquiries have been received
at this consulate from correspondents in the United States,
desiring detailed and precise information concerning the man-
ufacture and use in Germany, for building purposes, of cal-
BULLETTIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 123
careous brick and stone, made by artificially combining under
pressure sand with slacked or unslacked lime. The range of
these inquiries has been principally as to the length of time
that such building materials have been made and used in this
country, whether they have stood the test of varying tem-
perature in wet or specially exposed situations and under
heavy erushing strain, what the Government architects and
leading builders think of them, and especially what patented
machinery and methods for making such materials are most
highly esteemed and approved in this country. The latter
class of interrogatories has been stimulated by the fact that
certain patented machines and processes of German origin for
making sand lime brick, have been recently exploited in the
United States, one of which at least has been advertised there
as having been “adopted by the German Government.”
With a view of answering as far as practicable these inquiries,
the following report is respectfully submitted.
FIRST EXPERIMENTS IN MANUFACTURE.
The first experiments in making brick from sand appear
to have been undertaken at Potsdam about thirty years ago.
They were suggested by the fact that Potsdam, like many
other places in central Germany, is surrounded by a wide,
sandy plain, which furnishes neither clay for bricks nor stone
for building purposes. These calcareous bricks were first
hardened by exposure to the air, a tedious process which
required several months, although the bricks hardened in that
way seem to have stood all tests and continue to harden with
increasing age.
About 1880, the discovery was made that freshly pressed
brick of sand and lime could be hardened in a few hours by
heat and pressure of steam, and from that date the manufac-
ture developed into an industry which reached its maturity in
Germany four or five years ago. Plants on a large scale were
first constructed in this country, and the industry has gradu-
ally extended throughout the Continent and to Great Britain.
ESSENTIAL CONDITIONS OF THE PROCESS.
The indispensable materials are good, clean, sharp cand—
as free as possible from impurities and containing not less
than 70 per cent of silicic acid—and fresh quicklime, such as
124 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
would be suitable for making mortar of good quality. All
the different methods or “systems” thus far invented for
combining these two materials may be grouped in two cate-
gories, viz, those in which the lime is slacked separately and
then mixed with sand, and secondly, those in which the dry
sand and quicklime are thoroughly mixed and then slacked.
The latter method is generally practiced, for reasons that will
be hereinafter stated. Throughout the whole process, which-
ever method of slacking is used, the point of prime impor-
tance is uniformity, without which there can be no excellence
in the product or profit in the manufacture. The best results
require the following conditions to be fulfilled:
1. Uniformity in the grain and purity of the sand employed.
If part of the sand employed is fine and part coarse, or if
there is a mixture of dirt or any impurity in it, the quality
of the brick or stone produced will be affected in proportion
to the degree of such defect in the crude material.
2. Uniformity in chemical composition and the consequent
chemical action of the lime on the sand. By this is meant
that the lime used must be fresh and quick throughout and
not partially slacked on the exterior of the mass by exposure
to moisture or weather.
3. Uniformity in the proportion of lime to sand throughout
the mixture. It will not do to have one part of the mixed
material rich in lime while another is poor; the two sub-
stances (sand and lime) must be so thoroughly mingled that
the mixture is of homogeneous composition throughout.
4. The slacking process, whether done before or after the
lime is mingled with the sand, must be thoroughly and uni-
formly accomplished, so that the whole of the lime shall be
converted into hydrate of calcium, and no dry unslacked pel-
licles left in the mortar when it goes to the press.
5. Uniformity in the proportion of water in the mortar, so
that each part of the mixture shall be thoroughly wet and
fluid. For this purpose very thorough mixture and stirring,
with machinery specially devised for the purpose is necessary
to Secure complete combination between the elements and a
smooth, uniform, consistency in the plastic state.
Only when all these fundamental conditions are observed
will the sand, brick, or stone be uniform and satisfactory in
its durability, in its resistance to moisture, frost, and pres-
sure, and in its consequent value as building material.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 125
PROCESS OF MANU FACTURE.
As to materials, the lime, which should first be pulverized
in a ball or other mill, should be so pure that when slacked
it will contain not less than 92 per cent of oxide of calcium.
Any admixture of clay or magnesia is detrimental, and if
such admixture exceeds even a small percentage, the lime is
thereby rendered unfit for the calcareous-sandstone process.
Fresh, dry, quicklime is slacked by absorbing 32 parts of
water to 100 of lime. The union of the elements is at first
mechanical, but it develops heat and under this higher tem-
perature a chemical combination occurs, producing hydrate
of lime or hydroxide of calcium, which is considerably
larger in bulk than the unslacked lime from which it was
produced. For the reason that the heat engendered by the
slacking process promotes the chemical union between the
lime and sand and further increases its plasticity, whereby
it works smoothly and easily in the press, the best practice
favors the mixing of the dry sand and lime before the slack-
ing process takes place. So important is the element of heat
in this connection that some mixing machines are provided
with steam jackets in which exhaust steam from the engine is
used to maintain uniformly high temperature.
From the mixing machine the mortar passes to the machine
press, of which there are several types manufactured by
German makers of established reputation. Whatever the
type, the press must be constructed to receive the mortar in
molds which are automatically filled and the material pushed
home by plungers, which, as the machine revolves, exert an
enormous pressure—as high as 350,000 pounds to each brick—
which renders it dense, firm, and smooth. In this condition
they are discharged from the press, loaded upon small plat-
form cars, and run into the hardening boiler.
The hardening boiler is a long cylinder of boiler iron, 8 or
9 feet in diameter, with a rail track laid along the bottom to
receive the cars and a lid or door which swings on hinges and
covers the entire end of the cylinder. When the boiler is
filled with cars on which the freshly molded bricks are piled
in loose, open formation, this door, or man-head, is closed,
secured with bolts, and steam turned in. In the beginning of
the industry, offsteam with a low degree of pressure was
used, but experience showed that, other things being equal,
*
126 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
the hardness of the bricks is increased with the degree of
steam pressure applied, so that the best practice now favors a
pressure of 9 atmospheres (132 pounds per square inch) for
small factories and 10 atmospheres (147 pounds) for large
plants where every step of the process is on an extensive
scale. The duration of a “turn”—that is, the filling of a
boiler, the hardening, cooling, and discharge of the finished
contents—occupies from ten to fifteen hours, and the bricks,
as soon as they are cool, are ready for use.
They can be made of any size or form, but are usually of
the ordinary type, 9 inches long by 4% inches broad and 2%
inches thick, and as in the best presses the enormous strain is
applied vertically—that is, upon the top and bottom of the
brick—it is prepared to sustain a heavy crushing strain when
laid in a wall.
PRESENT STATUS AS BUILDING MATERIAL.
Inevitably the record of sand-lime brick as constructive
material is brief and recent. There are probably not 100 of
them in any wall in this country more than 30 years old.
Their durability for long periods, upon which their real value
as building material mainly depends, has been theoretically
demonstrated by various and thorough scientific tests, based
on what had been previously known concerning the perma-
nence of sand when chemically and mechanically combined
with lime. It has been stated in this report that the earliest
calcareous-sand bricks were slowly hardened by exposure to
the air, and that they have continued to grow firmer and more
flinty with increasing age. Elaborate tests have since been
made with both air-dried and steam-hardened bricks and
building stones by the Swiss Government and by the imperial
testing station at Charlottenburg, which is standard for
Germany.
The sum of all testimony thus obtained is that, when pre-
pared properly, made of pure, good materials, artificial sand-
lime bricks and stones are permanent and fulfill all the
requirements of high-class building materials. The following
synopsis of a report by Professor Doctor Klein, of Konigs-
berg, on some sand-lime bricks made by Messrs. A. Czymmek
& Co., of that city, will serve as an example of many similar
and equally authentic experiments:
Qe
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 127
The bricks were of ordinary building size and a chemical
analysis showed that they contained an average of 4 per cent
of lime, had a sharp-grained texture, and were uniformly
hardened throughout. The lime was firmly bound with silicic
acid, and the bricks did not dissolve in dilute mineral acids.
After immersion for ten days in water they were dried in an
airy room, quickly gave up the greater part of the absorbed
water, and at the end of a week had resumed their original
weight. The air contained in the structure of the bricks was
sufficient to resist satisfactorily the transmission of heat, and
they withstood favorably exposure to intense heat and cold.
They also surpassed the prescribed standard for such material
in regard to crushing strain and resistance to fire, with subse-
quent sudden cooling in water. In conclusion, the report of
Professor Klein says:
“From observations made in a building erected several
years ago with sand-lime bricks, it was found that the rooms
were perfectly dry and that the brickwork had become harder,
especially where exposed to moisture, which proves that, owing
to a chemical action which takes place through the influence
of moisture, the bricks increase in hardiness with age.”
Among the various experiments made with sand-lime brick
at the imperial testing station at Charlottenburg and described
in the official reports of that institution, there is selected for
the present purpose a series which was concluded and the
result announced on the 16th of May, 1898, as follows:
Twenty samples of sand-lime bricks, 10 inches long, 5 inches
wide, and 2+ inches thick, were tested in the following
manner: Ten bricks were first thoroughly saturated by Soak-
ing one hundred and fifty hours in water, hard frozen, then
thawed and submitted to crushing strain, with the result that
they sustained in that condition an average pressure of 31,602
kg., or 219 kg. per square centimeter (1,226 pounds per square
inch). The other ten samples were tested in a dry condition
and withstood an average pressure of 34,313 kg. (75,488
pounds avoirdupois), or 238 kg. per square centimeter (1,333
pounds per square inch).
Other tests at the same institution showed that such bricks
will resist fire and all conditions of weather and temperature,
and that they absorb water but sparingly. They cost now in
128 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Berlin from $4.04 to $4.25 per thousand, and are approved
and used by competent architects and builders. — Consular
A'eports, Movember, 1903.
AGE LIMITS OF OFFICERS.
According to the Militar Zeitung, the age limits of officers of
the German cavalry are as follows: Colonels, 50 to 53 years;
lieutenant-colonels, 48 to 51 years; majors, 42 to 49 years;
captains, 34 to 43 years; first lieutenants, 29 to 33 years;
second lieutenants, 19 to 29 years.
In other branches of the service the age limits are about
the same.— United Service Magazine, October, 1903.
GERMAN OPINIONS.
INDIVIDUALISM IN COMBAT.
Although the fighting methods commonly called “Boer
tactics” may have had some advocates in Germany, these
methods are too contrary to the German character to have
become generally accepted. They have therefore been
strongly criticised.
It is interesting to learn the German ideas concerning
individualism in combat, for two schools have also formed
among us. According to one, it will be impossible to advance
under fire otherwise than by undiscernible groups, or even
individually; according to the other, the modern soldier will
not have a sufficiently hardened morale to advance under fire
unless accompanied and firmly supported.
Here are, for example, some opinions of German writers:
According to Major Hurt, the group of 8 to 10 men is
insufficiently supported to be able to advance (the isolated
individual would be all the more so).
The platoon or the company are alone sufficiently well com-
manded to be capable of being taken ahead. As to the sup-
ports, if it is desired that they remain available, they must be
kept grouped; they must diminish their vulnerability rather
by a judicious utilization of the terrain, than by the employ-
ment of scattered formations.
Von Scherff draws a sharp comparison between what is
happening today and the theories evolved after 1870. There
is nothing astonishing in this if we remember the ideas which
served as a basis for the French regulations of 1875.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 129
Von Stieler expresses the opinion that the best way to pro-
tect oneself against hostile fire is to conduct one’s own fire in
such a way as to secure supremacy.
He considers that dispersion carried to extremes, a loose
jumbling together of units, and advances by bounds from
cover to cover are fantastical ideas applicable to maneuvers
but impracticable in warfare. Moreover, he adds, the vul-
nerability of a formation does not depend on its intrinsic
shape, but on the angle at which it is seen. This observation
is correct, for, too often, when experiments of vulnerability
are being made on a target range, the enemy is looked at
only under the hypothesis of standing directly in front of the
observer. And von Stieler also admits that in war only those
units which are well in hand can advance toward the enemy
wnder the protection of the artillery.
One of the most interesting studies that has appeared in
Germany on the new tactics is due to the pen of von Bogus-
lawski. According to this writer, the South African war has
once more shown the difficulty of attack on ground devoid of
cover, but has by no means demonstrated the impossibility of
such an attack; at most, it has given rise to the search of new
methods of detail. These methods themselves are not very
favorably commented upon by Boguslawski. He also believes
that lines of skirmishers at broad intervals and dispersed over
a large front can not be conducted; moreover, their fire will
have no power.
He does not even admit that the density of the firing line
can be increased gradually, and takes historical examples as a
basis upon which to sustain his contention. He considers it
necessary to deploy from the beginning a rather dense line of
skirmishers, and in this regard makes the rather humorous
reflection that if such a line does sustain greater losses than
a chain of skirmishers, it will also inflict more.
Boguslawski does not believe in the possibility of having
executed, in war, advances by bounds at a running gait, owing
to the fatigue of the men and the weight of the knapsack.
He will not listen to the deployment of the supports behind
the chain (and herein he can not be considered wrong), but he
advocates their maintenance in company column. This forma-
tion may be very dangerous for the supports, and the line of
section by fours appears infinitely preferable.
17430—04—9
130 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
At all events, it is seen from the foregoing that the exag-
gerated ideas imported into Europe by the enthusiasts about
Boer tactics are vigorously opposed in Germany, just as they
are, for that matter, in France. To be sure, the consensus of
opinion is far from being as definite here as there, but the
principal reason of the differences of opinion is that the
majority of the writers who have written on the South African
war did not realize the true cause of the English reverses.
They have, moreover, confined their researches to infantry
formations as if this arm fought isolatedly; they have taken
up a stand in favor of a sort of particularism (particularisme),
whereas the truth lies in the union of the arms, just as General
Langlois pointed out so clearly in his remarkable work, The
Teachings of Two Recent Wars.
This cooperation of the different arms was the very thing
which the English lacked. They never attempted to open up
the way to their infantry with the guns.
Now this idea of combining the efforts of two arms des-
tined to fight side by side is not new, and still the necessity of
this combination of efforts is that which is shown most clearly
by the South African war. . What conclusion is to be reached,
then, if not that of which we have long since been convinced,
viz, that the Boers have invented nothing?—La France militaire.
NEW GALVANIC BATTERIES IN GERMANY.
A new German patent relating to galvanic batteries of the
class which is composed of a series or plurality of separate dry
cells has been issued. The improvements cover the produc-
tion of a battery which is capable of being kept in store, of
being transported in an absolutely dry condition, and of being
rendered fit for use at a moment’s notice by the introduction
of a suitable liquid or electrolyte into the separate cells con-
stituting the battery. The object aimed at appears to have
been secured by certain novel features of construction and
combinations of parts.
The dry cells consist each of a zinc or other metallic cylin-
drical electrode, and of a carbon electrode having a cylindrical
or prismatic cross-sectional area placed within the metallic
cylinder. The space between the two electrodes is filled up
with blotting paper or other suitable material capable of
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 131
absorbing the electrolyte. A plurality of these cells is
arranged within a suitable socket or frame-shaped casing, the
cells being separated from each other and the surrounding
casing by asphalt or other insulating material. When required
for use the covers are removed from the cells and filled up
with blotting paper soaked with any convenient electrolyte,
such as ammoniac solution, etc. The covers are then replaced
and the battery is ready for use. Insulating rings at the open
ends of the cells, or zinc cylinders, prevent short circuiting of
the cells by any overflowing electrolyte.—Consular Reports,
October, 1903.
TVVO HUNDRED AND ONE KILOMETERS PER HOUR.
The fast speed tests for electric trains on the military rail-
way, Marienfeld-Zossen, near Berlin, have shown the most
astonishing results. A maximum speed of 201 km. (125
miles) per hour has been obtained.
The directing engineers have long since been confident that
such a speed was possible, and this is, perhaps, but a step
toward obtaining still better results. In the face of these
facts we are inclined to think that we stand upon the threshold
of a new era of transportation. With an average speed of
175 km. per hour, the distance from Berlin to Cologne, 57.7
km., could be covered in about three and one-fourth hours,
while the fastest train at present takes nine hours to cover the
Sà,1][162.
During this most important test the Siemans car behaved
admirably, and in spite of the enormous strain to which it
was subjected the tests were conducted without a hitch.
The distance of 23 km., between Marienfeld and Zossen, was
covered repeatedly in the short time of eight minutes, includ-
ing starts and slow downs. The fastest speed was reached in
the stretch Mahlow-Dahlwitz-Rangsdorf, a distance of 5 km.,
which was covered in one and one-half minutes.
A number of professional men were present to witness the
test. With a potential of 14,000 volts, a speed of 201 km. per
hour was obtained.— Die Woche, Berlin, 1903, Heft 41.
NOTE.-Since the above was reported a speed of 130.4 miles
an hour has been obtained on this road.
132 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
GERMAN OCEAN STEAMERS.
The number of the ships of the German merchant marine
of a tonnage of 1,000 tons and more amounted to 946 last
year, and has only increased 30 this year, viz, increase in
steamers, 41; decrease in Sailing vessels, 11.
The number of the crews of the whole fleet has, however,
increased considerably, being now 56,300, against 50,500 last
year. The total tonnage shows a gain of nearly 250,000 tons,
as it is the tendency of the times to build ships with the
largest practical tonnage.
The names and tonnage of the largest German steamships
are: Kaiser Wilhelm II, Lloyd Line, 20,000 tons; Deutsch-
land, Hamburg-American Line, 16,502 tons; Kronprinz Wil-
helm, and Raiser Wilhelm der Grosse, both of the North
German Lloyd Line, 14,908 and 14,349 tons, respectively;
Patria, Pennsylvania, Pretoria, Graf Waldersee, passenger
and freight, of the Hamburg-American Line, over 13,000
tons each; Grosser Kunfuerst, North German Lloyd Line,
13,182 tons; Raiser Friederich, Elbing Company, 12,480 tons;
Moltke and Bluecher, Hamburg-American Line, 12,333 tons
each.
The steamers between 8,000 and 12,000 tons, 18 in number
(against 17 last year), are owned by the North German Lloyd
and the Hamburg-American Line, among them Auguste
Victoria, Fuerst Bismarck, Klautschou, and Hamburg of the
Hamburg-American Line, and Kaiserin Maria. Theresia and
the steamers of the Barbarossa and Rhein class of the North
German Lloyd Line.
The Hamburg-American Line and the North German Lloyd
Line own 25 steamers (23 in 1902) of from 6,000 to 8,000 tons.
The Hansa Company, of Bremen, owns the steamer Drach-
enfels, of 7,217 tons; the East Africa Line, of Hamburg, the
two new mail steamers Prinzregent and Feldmarschall, each
of about 6,300 tons; and the Hamburg branch of the German-
American Petroleum Association owns the Phaebus, of more
than 6,000 tons. Seventy-five steamers (against 70 in 1902),
owned by various companies, have between 5,000 and 6,000
tons; 72 (61 in 1902) are from 4,000 to 5,000 tons; 80 (same as
1902) are from 3,000 to 4,000 tons; and 465 (444 in 1902) are
between 1,000 and 3,000 tons.—Consular Reports, October,
1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 133
NEW EUROPEAN-MEXICAN STEAMSHIP LINES.
The Hamburg-American Line has inaugurated a special fast
freight and passenger steamship Service between Hamburg
and Veracruz, via Havre, Corunna, Havana, and Tampico.
The vessels range in tonnage from 5,600 to 6,030 tons, are
furnished with quadruple-expansion engines, and have an
average speed of from 13% to 14% knots. They are provided
with modern conveniences, and have been specially fitted with
a view to the comfort of passengers in the tropical service.
The largest vessel of the fleet of three will draw, when fully
loaded, 24 feet.
The service is monthly; a vessel leaves Hamburg on the
26th of the month, Havre on the 29th, Corunna on the 1st of
the following month, and arrives at Havana on the 14th and
at Veracruz on the 17th, where it will remain for about a week.
It then proceeds to Tampico, arriving on the 25th. On the
29th the boat leaves Tampico on her return trip, leaving Vera-
cruz the 1st of the succeeding month and Havana on the 5th,
arriving at Corunna, on the 18th, at Havre on the 20th, and
at Hamburg on the 24th, making the round trip in about two
months.
Another new steamship line, to be known as the Austro-
American, has recently been established by the Austrian
Lloyd, of Trieste, for service between Adriatic, Mediterra-
nean, and Mexican Gulf ports. The Lloyd Company, which
operates a fleet of 20 steamers, intends to have a monthly serv-
ice of steamers ranging from 3,550 to 6,400 gross tons each.
No time-table has yet been issued, nor is it possible at present
to obtain freight and passenger rates.
The first vessel to arrive at Veracruz was the steamship
Anna, of 3,550 tons, which left Trieste March 10, calling at
Genoa, Marseilles, Barcelona, Tampico, and Veracruz; on the
return voyage touching at Progreso. The company adver-
tises to receive freight from Mexico for Trieste and Mediter-
ranean ports; also cargo for ports on the Continent, with
transshipment to other vessels of the same line at Curaçao.—
Consular Reports, September, 1903.
MERCHANT VESSELS.
The Hamburg-American Line owns 119 vessels, valued at
143,500,000 marks ($34,153,000); the North German Lloyd,
134 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
107 vessels, valued at 141,800,000 marks ($33,748,400); Hansa,
41 vessels, valued at 22,300,000 marks ($5,307,400); South
American Line, 32 vessels, valued at 22,900,000 marks
($5,450,200); East African Line, 18 vessels, valued at
15,800,000 marks ($3,760,400); and Levant Line, 26 vessels,
valued at 9,700,000 marks ($2,308,600).
The average age of vessels, computed per ship tons, is between
5 and 6 years with the Australian line; between 6 and 7 years
with the Hamburg-American, the South American, the East
African, Hansa, and Kosmos; between 7 and 8 years with the
North German Lloyd; 10 years with the Argo and Neptun
lines, and 12 years with the Levant Line. —Consular Reports,
September, 1903.
WAR DOGS CONTEST.
Since the last international exposition of dogs, which was
held recently at Frankfort, a contest for war dogs has been
held. The trials took place in the woods, thick with under-
brush, situated on the outskirts of Frankfort.
They were under the superintendence of Captain von der
Leyden. There were 16 competitors sent by the battalions
of chasseurs, Third, Fourth, and Sixth, stationed respectively
at Lübben, Bitche, and Oels, and by the Second Battalion of
Bavarian Chasseurs, stationed at Aschaffenbourg. One or
two officers of each of these garrisons were present during
the contest.
They were camped in the midst of the forest at a point
where four roads met. The principal group stationed itself
at this point and sent two men with a dog along each road,
with orders to stop at a given point, 1,800 or 2,000 m. distant.
Upon arrival at the designated point, they were to send the
dogs back to the central point, after having placed in the side
pocket or box which each animal carried on its back or around
its neck a note of the exact time of departure.
This return was not easy, as the roads followed had sev-
eral right angles with many windings. Upon their return to
the encampment they were allowed to rest for some time, and
were then sent back to the detachment which had taken them
out. Meanwhile these several detachments had moved on to
a position 100 to 200 yards farther away from the central
group, so that the dogs had to track the two men.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 135
The dogs did not always succeed, for they often returned
without the note stating that they had been to the detachment.
The dog which had accomplished his mission satisfactorily
was allowed to rest at the encampment of the detachment
some little time before finally returning to the camp. This
terminated the trial.
Dogs competing were the Airedale terriers and collies.
Those which made the surest and quickest trips were the
Airedale terrier of the Fourth Battalion and the collie of the
Sixth Battalion.
The time necessary to cover a kilometer varied from 2% to
6% minutes. – La Belgique Militaire, January 18, 1903.
ARMY MANEUVERS, 1903.
The four army corps engaged were the fourth and eleventh
(Prussian) and the twelfth and nineteenth (Saxon), making
altogether 96 battalions of infantry, 26 squadrons of cavalry,
16 regiments of field artillery, 4 battalions of pioneers, and 4
battalions of the Army Service Corps. There were also 2
divisions of cavalry, consisting of 15 regiments, 4 horse bat-
teries, 3 groups of machine-guns, and some detachments of
pioneers. The men from two training schools, for noncom-
missioned officers attended the maneuvers, the commissariat
columns first introduced last year were again employed, and
there were, in addition, some balloon sections and telegraphists.
Though the advance over open ground was still made in
extended order, there was a marked tendency in the infantry
tactics to abandon the methods introduced in previous years
as a result of the experiences in the South African war. Be-
fore the grand charge, led by the Emperor, the cavalry
galloped for 6 miles in order to gain a position from which
to take the enemy by surprise; this object, however, was
scarcely attained, as clouds of dust revealed their presence
long before they reached the desired position from which the
charge was eventually delivered. There were eight batteries
of the improved gun employed, in which the French method
treating the recoil is followed, and a protective shield carried.
These guns gave every satisfaction, and they are believed to
be even superior to the French gun as being of Jess weight.
As to whether a German battery of these guns shall consist of
four guns or six was left still undecided by the maneuvers.
136 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
A German officer's criticism of the maneuvers, was to the
effect that, owing to reasons of convenience and economy,
ground was selected for the maneuvers, whereas the latter
should have to be adapted to ground of any kind. The con-
nection between the various infantry units was not well main-
tained, and this gave rise to unimportant and meaningless
engagements, which in real war would have resulted in units
being defeated in detail as they entered into action, just as
happened at Gravelotte. The cavalry was not effectively
employed in the work of reconnaissance, owing to many hav-
ing been surprised. Some scouting parties, too, in excessive
zeal, advanced to positions where in real war they would have
been annihilated by infantry fire. Infantry, and even artil-
lery, allowed attacking bodies to approach too close before
opening fire. The new method, too, of giving notice to cease
fire was confusing, and a return to the old method should be
made as quickly as possible. This latter may have been due
to the fact that the high wind seriously interfered with bal-
loon operations.
The weather conditions, too, were unfavorable to wireless
telegraphy.—La France Militaire.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Dº Where building. Remarks.
Mechlenburg. . . . . . . . . . . 11,900 | Stettin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Under trial.
Schwaben . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,900 | Wilhelmshaven . . . . . . . . Launched, August, 1901;
completed, 1903.
Braunschweig. . . . . . . . . . 13,200 || Kiel ........ -----. . . . . . . Launched; to be completed
1904.
ElsaSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 200 Dantzic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, May 26, 1903.
K----------------------- 13, 200 | Stettin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building; to be completed,
1905.
Hessen ----------------- 13, 200 || Kiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, Sept. 18, 1903.
Lothringen. . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 200 | Dantzic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building.
N----------------------- 13, 200 || Gaarden . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DO.
ARMORED CRUISERS.
Prinz Heinrich . . . . . . . . . 8,868 || Kiel .......... ---------- Under trial.
Prinz Adalbert . . . . . . . . . 9,050 |..... DO------------------ O.
Prinz Frederick Karl - - - 9,050 | Hamburg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, June, 1902.
OOD - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 9,050 | Kiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, June 27, 1903.
E (Ersatz-Deutschland) 9,050 | Hamburg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Building.
F----------------------- 9,050 Kiel ... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DO.
PROTECTED CRUISERS.
Frauenlob . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,715 | Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Under trial.
Arcona ----. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,715 |..... Do------------------ DO.
Undine. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,715 || Kiel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, December, 1902;
completed, 1903.
Hamburg. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 | Stettin. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | Launched, July 25, 1903.
Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 || Bremen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Launched, July 9, 1903.
Berlin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 |..... Do------------------ ſlaunched, Sept. 22, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 137
The battle ship Schwaben, the last of the Wittelsbach class,
is now in dry dock preparing for her trials. If this ship does
as well as her sisters have done, the class as a whole will be
very satisfactory. The Wettºn was the most successful, attain-
ing a speed of 18.125, with engines developing 15,500 horse-
power.
Only one launch of importance took place during June from
the German shipyards. This was at Kiel, where the cruiser
Roon, hitherto known as the Ersatz Kaiser, was launched in
the presence of the German Emperor and the royal family.
The vessel is named after the Prussian war minister, Count
Von Roon, Count Waldersee performing the naming cere-
mony. The Roon is of the same type as the Prinz Adalbert,
slightly modified. She is 403 feet in length with a 66-foot
beam, and displaces 9,500 tons. The propellers are of the
3-screw type, and the anticipated speed is from 21 to 22 knots.
Her guns consist of four 8.2-inch quick firers, mounted in
pairs in barbettes; four 5.9-inch guns mounted in casemates,
twelve 3.4-inch, and fourteen smaller pieces. She is also
provided with four torpedo tubes. A sister ship, known at
present as the Ersatz Deutschland, is building by Blohm &
Voss at Hamburg.— Page's Magazine.
The Roon is the first vessel in the German navy to carry
four smokestacks behind each other.
THE GERMAN BATTLE SHIP “ PREUSSEN.”
The German battle ship “K” was launched on October 31
at the Vulcan yard, Stettin, in the presence of the Emperor
and Empress, and received the name of Preussen. She is a
sister of the Braunschweig, launched in 1902, and of the Elsass
and IJessen, which have taken the water this year.--Army and
Mavy Gazette, November 7, 1903.
THE GERMAN ARMORED SHIP “ HESSEN.”
We have announced the launching at the Germania-Krupp
shipyards at Kiel of the large armored vessel Hessen. Fol-
lowing are some additional items of information concerning
this vessel:
The type to which it belongs is the Braunschweig type, and
it marks a new step by the German navy in the path of
heavier tonnages. The advancement in the matter of medium
138 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
calibers is also following the progression noticed in most of
the large navies. Thus, the 152-mm. caliber of the Wittels-
bach is succeded by that of 170 mm., rapid-fire.
As regards the distribution of the artillery, it is becoming
more and more like that adopted by England, the United
States, and Italy; that is, the principal pieces by pairs, in axis
turrets, and the medium pieces partly in casemates and partly
in turrets.
Let us remark, by the way, that this arrangement, which
is tending to come into fashion, is that which the French navy
adopted many years ago on the Brennus.
The armor, as in the preceding type, protects the whole
water line, the rear included. The constructor has taken care
to insure stability after the damages sustained from combat.
From a tactical standpoint, the German navy, with this new
type, continues to affirm its preferences for the offensive by
enabling these vessels, the same as the preceding types, to
crush their enemy by a pointed fire of considerable intensity.
We must likewise note the composition of the evaporating
apparatus, which comprises six cylindrical and six water-tube
boilers. This arrangement, which is being more and more
adopted in the new English units, corresponds to the idea of
employing cylindrical boilers with great water volume for
current service and the others to give a sudden increase in
speed at the necessary moment.
Finally, like ourselves, the Germans have adopted the three
screws for their large vessels, while the English admiralty
still adheres to the double screw.
The following are the characteristics of the //essen: Length
between perpendiculars, 121.5 m.; extreme width (beam),
22.5 m.; draft, 7.62 m.; displacement, 13,200 tons; engines
(triple expansion) 3; engines (triple expansion) motive power,
16,000 horsepower; speed, 18 knots; boilers, type and num-
ber—cylindrical, 6; water-tube (Schultz system), 8; normal
coal supply, 700 tons; maximum coal supply, 1,600 tons; sup-
ply of coal-tar oil, 200 tons; complement, 660 men.
Armament.— Guns: Four of 28 cm., L. 40, in two turrets;
14 of 17 cm., L. 40–10 in casemates, 4 in turrets; 12 of 88
mm., L. 35, with shield; 12 of 37 mm., L. 35, automatic; 8
of 8 mm., machine guns. 45-cm. torpedo-launching tubes: A
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 139
submarine tube ahead and 4 close to ship's sides; an aerial
torpedo tube behind.
Armor.—Middle belt, 225 mm.; belt at extremities, 10 cm.;
casemate, 14 cm.; citadel, 14 cm.; armored deck—horizontal
part, 4 cm.; inclined part, 75 mm.; turrets of the commander
(conning towers)—in front, 30 cm.; behind, 14 cm.; turrets for
guns of 28 cm., 28 cm.; turrets for guns of 17 cm., 15 cm.;
barbettes for 28-cm. guns, 25 cm.; barbettes for 17-cm. guns,
17 cm.—Armée et Marine, October 11, 1903.
GERMANY’S NAVAL POLICY.
The following is Germany’s naval programme, which was
to be completed by 1916, but the work has been so hastened
that the maximum strength of the fleet will be reached before
that year: Thirty-eight battle ships, 14 large cruisers, and 38
small cruisers. In accordance with the Emperor's scheme, 6
more large cruisers, and 7 smaller ones were demanded for
use on foreign stations, but this portion of the programme
could not be carried through the Reichstag, and for the pres-
ent it has been dropped, but only for the time. Germany
pins her fortunes to the battle ship of moderate dimensions,
and on a small displacement arranges a heavy gun power, and
except as scouts to the great fighting ships she spends little
or no money on cruisers. She has 4 armored cruisers of just
over 9,000 tons in hand, but one searches in vain for levia-
thans of 14,100 and 14,800 tons, which figure in the plans of
Great Britain and the United States. Germany knows that
she has not a long purse, and she knows that the next naval
war will be decided by battle actions. Since she can not
afford to prepare for sea fight and also make provision for
protecting her commerce with war cruisers, she concentrates
attention on the battle which will decide the issues of a quar-
rel, and her armed merchantmen will have to render what aid
they can to her shipping.
In 1906, when the numerical strength of the fleet will have
been doubled, the task of replacing the older battle ships will
be taken in hand, and long before 1916 (in addition to the
vessels which will have been built as net additions to the fleet)
Germany will have 17 new first-class battle ships and 10 large
cruisers of the army. Consequently, when the scheme is
140 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
completed, the first line of the German navy will comprise 38
battle ships, the oldest dating back no further than 1898; 14
large and 38 smaller cruisers, and also the ships she possessed
in 1898 when she began the great scheme of augmentation.
The bed rock on which the Emperor is building is this: Ger-
many, owing to the many claims she has to meet for her pre-
dominating army, her colonies, and her protective commercial
system, can not hope to have a fleet to equal that of Great
Britain, but it must be ship for ship more efficient than any
navy afloat, and in this manner its inferiority may be mini-
mized and even wiped out. “Germany,” to quote from the
navy act, “must have a fleet of such strength that even for
the mightiest power a war with her would jeopardize its own
supremacy.”— Cassier's Magazine for Movember.
GERMANY’S NAVY AND THE SUBMARINE BOAT.
The stand taken by the naval authorities of the German
Empire toward the submarine-boat question was fully dis-
cussed in the address held by Professor Busley on December
5, 1899, in the presence of the Emperor and a numerous
audience at the technical high school of Charlottenburg. He
distinctly stated that Germany does not intend to indulge in
costly experiments on this subject, which could only result in
adding a very unreliable naval weapon to the already exceed-
ingly complicated apparatus of naval warfare. Many pens
have been active since then in lauding the weapon, but the
stand taken in the matter by Germany’s influential circles is
probably the same as before, for practically no change has
been made since that time in the province of submarine boats.
France and the United States have begun the construction of
a number of these boats in addition to those they had, and
England has decided to commence the construction of 5. That
Norway also wishes to acquire one of these modern, compara-
tively cheap, and much-promising engines of war is further-
more of no significance. Brazil, Spain, Greece, and Turkey did
that long ago, without having even given an experimental trial
to their submarine boats in the wars which followed, and the
same may be said of the United States. England’s 5 sub-
marine boats are nothing but an experiment, and a pretty
costly one, generally speaking, though for England, in view
of her great navy and the responsibility of maintaining its
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 141
superiority in all respects, this is a mere bagatelle. It is no
more possible to protect the coasts of the German Empire
with submarine boats than to protect those of England,
France, or even the United States. The consequence of pur-
chasing such vessels would be to take a step toward the
strictest defensive, to go back to the narrowest policy of
coast defense, and this means a great stride backward. There
is really no such thing as coast defense, and coast-defense
vessels of all kinds, once so popular in parliaments, notably
the German, have now been practically abolished from all
navies which lay any claim to a commanding position on the
waters. To such belong the monitors, as also the “floating
gun carriages”—small vessels with a gigantic gun, among
which the 11 armored gunboats of the German Wespe class
are to be counted, and, in a certain sense, also the 8 coast-
defense vessels of the Siegfried class.
In order to prevent an enemy from blockading the coasts of
a country and to drive him from the home waters, he must be
attacked, and a decisive battle must be fought, if possible
before he has reached the waters in question. In England it
is a principle to defend their own coasts by making an attack
on the coasts of the enemy and bringing about a decisive
result there at all costs. We need not go that far in Ger-
many, and the time is not in sight when the German navy
shall be able to cause serious anxiety, for instance, to the
French coasts, for any length of time. On the other hand,
however, the German navy will be in a position within a few
years to make it inadvisable for any power to undertake an
attack on Germany’s coasts, or even to venture to blockade
them. Yes, if England could only combine her fleets for
such a purpose! But that is just what she can not do, and
therein lies her weakness. England must constantly endeavor
to keep her navy together in such a manner that an over-
whelming combination of two or more enemies can not take
place on the sea until a battle has been fought with an English
squadron. This is the reason why England keeps nine fleets
distributed over the different waters of the globe, all sup-
ported by solid naval bases, numerous coaling stations, and
enjoying a great advantage over all enemies in the service of
information, owing to the British cable system which controls
the whole world.
142 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The thought of coping with such potent factors in the con-
trol of the seas by means of the bugbear of submarine boats
must appear hopeless even to the layman. Fleets which can
at will shift from one quarter of the ocean to the other can
not be reached by means of slow, complicated, almost blind
machines which are hard to maneuver even in the best known
coast waters, and which in the most favorable case can only
perform for a limited number of hours the service which
would be assigned them in war. Moreover, these vessels
have never yet fired an actually loaded projectile at sea, in
spite of the many wars of the last decade.
The activity of submarine boats is, however, still further
restricted, even by some of their advocates. They are not
claimed to be adapted for “coast” defense, but for “harbor.”
defense, so that their sphere of utility is confined to a radius
of a few miles around the harbor that happens to have the
good fortune to possess one. There is then imagined a block-
ading fleet lying quietly at anchor, with fine weather; the
object of attack is then deliberately selected (being, of course,
the peaceable flagship), perhaps examined as to its anchorage
by means of a balloon; the submarine then proceeds outward
until it reaches the vicinity of the target, dives, and reappears
a few hundred meters from the target, showing its observa-
tion turret above water, fires an aerial torpedo—or perhaps a
fish torpedo, or both—turns, fires another explosive body of
some kind, disappears in the deep, and returns to the harbor.
The hostile ship is, of course, annihilated. And this experi-
ment can be repeated as often as desired.
Such are the results which very serious American papers :
promise for the Holland boats, and no less wonderful per-
formances are expected in France from the submarine fleet,
which will soon number some 30 vessels. Certainly very
little dependence is to be placed on the statements of Mr.
Lockroy. This follower of the new school, which advocates
smaller, cheaper vessels and opposes all “mastodons,” has
from time immemorial enthusiastically favored all abnormal
contrivances, such as, for instance, mortar boats, which, when
purchased for experiment, proved a dismal failure. When,
some time ago, he became naval minister, his term of office
lasted so long that it almost appeared as if he had been
appointed to this post by inadvertence, and that haste was
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 143
made to name a successor to him as quickly as possible. Now
he is said to be an especially vigorous member of the French
naval league, and here he may accomplish a great deal in favor
of submarine boats; the Paris journal Matin has collected
funds for two, the Algeria and the Français, and that is at
least something. The German naval league has not yet
launched any vessel, and it is to be hoped that it does not con-
template any such plan. The Spanish naval league, which is
said to be very popular and has had a journal of its own since
1901, was founded somewhat late. It will not win Spain's
colonies back. Neither can the Swedish or Norwegian leagues,
among which there are some ladies' societies for the improve-
ment of the naval power, raise the navies of their countries
out of their insignificant position with the few means at their
disposal. Very little is accomplished nowadays in govern-
ment matters by means of voluntary contributions. In order
to raise large funds for great purposes the usual system of
levying taxes is still necessary.
Germany’s naval leagues have already had to confront the
question as to whether they should abandon certain views or
not, whether an offensive fleet of powerful battle ships and
large, rapid, strongly armed cruisers should be acquired, or
whether armored coast-defense vessels and a large torpedo-
boat fleet should be chosen. In parliament the coast-defense
vessels had the ascendancy. There were produced the vessels
of the Sachsen class, the Oldenburg, the 13 armored gunboats,
and a large number of torpedo boats, which could not be made
small enough and with which great success was expected. The
most recent torpedo boats displace 350 tons and are nearly
five times as large as the first ones. No great results are any
longer expected from them.
There is at present a tendency in Germany which is unmis-
takably in favor of the acquisition of submarine boats. The
motives are of different kinds. A German shipyard has con-
structed a submarine boat for a Berlin firm which the latter
wishes to palm off on the Government. The press is being
utilized to this end in the usual manner, but this will have
little effect in Germany. It will be a long time before the
navy department will spend any money on novelties. Some
are engaged in writing sensational articles, others are con-
vinced of the possibility of improving submarine boats, and
144 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
still others favor them solely on account of their cheapness.
The apostles of peace, who see in them a cessation of naval
wars, may also be mentioned. Moreover, the cheapness of
these boats is only apparent. By the time a modern subma-
rine is entirely completed and has stood all its trials, it may
be reckoned at 500,000 marks in round numbers ($125,000).
For the defense of New York 50 vessels of the Holland type
are considered necessary, which would thus cost the snug sum
of 25,000,000 marks ($6,250,000). As the United States has
a very extensive seacoast, with over twenty large cities to pro-
tect, not to speak of its newly acquired islands, it would need
a submarine fleet of about 500 vessels, which would cost
250,000,000 marks ($62,500,000), to which must be added the
cost of shelters for the vessels and of trial docks for the train-
ing of the crews. The vessels can therefore hardly be called
cheap.
It may be that a submarine boat will also be purchased in
Germany sometime for experimental purposes. That, how-
ever, there is no intention at present of acquiring a fleet of
them, as France is doing, is certain, and the maneuvers which
were made in the United States for the purpose of inducing
that Government to order 7 of the Hollands are sufficiently
well known for us to be proof against them.–Neue Militä-
mische Blätter, January 3, 1903.
THE CARRIER-PIGEON SERVICE ON THE COASTS OF
GERMANY.
The German navy is devoting great care to the training of
carrier pigeons for employment on war vessels in case of war,
and has achieved notable success in this respect. Generally
speaking, the science of employing carrier pigeons is highly
developed in Germany. There are over 200 societies, with a
membership of about 2,500, and the number of pigeons owned
by them is over 6,500. The united body of these carrier-
pigeon societies is under the patronage of the German Em-
peror. The navy has military carrier-pigeon stations at Wil-
helmshaven, Helgoland, and Friedrichsort. Besides, a great
number of the above-named societies have placed their pigeons
at the disposal of the navy department and have stations at
Kiel, Lubeck, Rendsburg, Norttorf, Hamburg, Bremen, and
in the vicinity of Dusseldorf and Crefeld. The cost of trans-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 145
portation of the pigeons to the place of embarkation, as well
as of their care on shipboard, is borne by the navy depart-
ment. Experiments concerning the performances of carrier
pigeons have, according to the Internationale Revue, shown
that they can be released at distances as great as 190 miles
from the stations. For the sake of certainty, several pigeons
are released with the same dispatch, two being released at
distances up to 50 miles, and three to five, according to the
state of the weather, at distances from 50 to 190 miles. The
time of release should be so calculated that the pigeons may
reach their destination, if possible, before nightfall. Although
a maximum speed of flight of 62.5 miles an hour has been at-
tained, still # mile (1 km.) in two minutes is reckoned as an
average flight. During heavy fogs, hard rain, or snowfall
pigeons should not be released, as it would be to no purpose.
With the distance of 190 miles (300 km.) as a basis, carrier-
pigeon districts have been established, within whose limits the
pigeons belonging to them are used. On the Baltic Sea there
are two districts, as follows:
1. The western part of the Baltic Sea and the Danish coasts,
with Kiel and Friedrichsort as centers.
2. The eastern part of the Baltic Sea, as far as the Swedish
coasts and the Russian boundary, with centers at Rendsburg,
Norttorf, and Lubeck. w
The North Sea territory embraces three principal and two
secondary districts, as follows:
First principal district: West coast of Jutland and Schleswig-
Holstein, with Hamburg and Wilhelmshaven as centers.
Second principal district: Adjacent to the first as far as the
line Bremen-Borkum, with centers at Wilhelmshaven and
Bremen.
Third principal district: Between Niederrhein and the
English coast.
The centers of the secondary districts are at Helgoland and
Tönning.
As a general rule, carrier pigeons should not remain over
fourteen days in succession on a vessel, for otherwise they
lose considerable of their capacity. The sending of dispatches
is done as follows: The text is written on gelatin paper, and
this is inclosed in an india-rubber case, which is glued shut
17430—04—10
146 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
with a peculiar kind of glue. The case is fastened to the
pigeon's foot by means of a rubber ring. Dispatches brought
by military carrier pigeons are, without being deciphered,
sent immediately upon arrival to the central information
bureau of the station in question. Dispatches sent by pigeons
of private societies are turned over to the proper comman-
dant (Kommandantur), who forwards the dispatch by mail or
telegraph. On board vessels duplicates are made of dispatches
and kept for reference.
All war vessels except torpedo boats are obliged to take
carrier pigeons on board upon departure from Kiel or Wil-
helmshaven, and to release them on the way, in order to train
the personnel in the carrier-pigeon service for the event of
war.—Weue Militärische Blätter, September 19, 1903.
G-REAT ERITAIN.
VOLUNTEER RETURN, 1902.
The volunteer return for 1902, which has been issued
this week, shows that on November 1 of that year the total
number of efficients was 256,451, and of nonefficients 12,099.
The efficients of the various branches were: Artillery, 1,760
officers, 39,407 noncommissioned officers and men; engineers,
630 officers, 15,954 noncommissioned officers and men; infan-
try, 6,785 officers, 188,096 noncommissioned officers and men;
brigade bearer companies, 34 officers, 853 noncommissioned
officers and men; medical staff corps, 108 officers, 2,824 non-
commissioned officers and men. During the year there was
a decrease of 5,622 in the artillery, 23 in the engineers, and
15,691 in the infantry, whilst there was an increase in the
bearer companies and medical corps of 1,410, the netdecrease
being 19,926. One corps of artillery—the Second Northum-
berland—was disbanded at the end of the year. Nearly a
quarter of those enrolled were less than 20 years of age,
more than half between 20 and 30, about one-fifth between 30
and 45, and more than 8,000 over 45 years of age. Almost a
third of the force had served less than 2 years (35,421 under
1 year, and 45,805 under 2 years), whilst nearly 10,000 had
served for 20 years or more.—The Army and Mavy Gazette,
Movember 7, 1903.
THE NEW FIELD GUN.
During the past couple of years, his Majesty’s ordnance
department has been conducting experiments with at least
three types of field guns, with a view to selecting a weapon
to replace that with which our field artillery is at present
armed. -
When it was determined to increase the number of batter-
ies, these experiments had not reached a conclusive stage, and
147
148 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
the temporary expedient was adopted of purchasing the so-
called German quick-firing guns, of which some 30 batteries
are now in use in our service. This weapon did not at first
give satisfaction.
* * * * *
Some time ago, however, the authorities were able to pro-
cure two guns of the most recent French model. Certain
modifications were made in this type to suit the exigencies of
our own service, and the experiments witnessed the other day
on the Okehampton artillery ranges by the commander in chief
were carried out with the new weapons. The guns were made
in Woolwich Arsenal, and embody the breech action and
hydro-pneumatic brake, for absorbing the recoil, which have
made the French gun by far the most efficient yet devised
for field work. In the Okehampton experiments several hun-
dred rounds were fired, and the results obtained were such
that the work of manufacturing the new gun will be begun at
once and carried on with the utmost rapidity. When the re-
armament of our artillery has been completed, a process which
will take three or four years, the country will have the satis-
faction of knowing that it possesses a field gun equal, if not
superior, to that in the possession of any other power.
The new gun is an exceptionally powerful and efficient
weapon. It has an extreme range of 10,000 yards and a rate
of fire of 29 rounds per minute. The improved time fuse
permits of effective shrapnel fire at a range of 6,400 yards, an
enormous advance on anything possible with our present type
of field gun. There are four special points in which the new
type surpasses the old. These are simplicity of the breech
action, in which the interrupted screw is abolished, increased
range, vastly increased rapidity of fire, and perfect absorption
of the recoil. In the old type of gun a coned steel block car-
rying an interrupted screw thread was used to close the
breech, and intricate and comparatively delicate mechanism
was necessary to work it quickly, while the danger of burring
or injuring the screw threads when inserting the shell neces-
sitated an amount of care which materially interfered with
the loading of the gun. The new breech, which is the inven-
tion of Colonel Deport of the French artillery, entirely
obviates those difficulties. Instead of a threaded cone, worked
by a complicated system of levers and rachets, there will be
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 149
in the new gun a plain steel disk, swinging on a pivot. When
the crank handle attached to the disk is pulled the disk slides
round so that a cartridge can be inserted in the bore, a rever-
sal of the motion closes the breech and fires the gun, the whole
operation occupying less than a second of time when per-
formed by well-trained gunners.
The writer saw a French gun detachment fire 8 rounds in
15 seconds, for the benefit of the Czar of Russia, at Fort de
Fresne, near Rheine, and 30 rounds have been fired in 1
minute by a picked squad at the French school of gunnery.
This extreme rapidity is effected by the adoption of an
automatic attachment, which fires the gun the instant the
disk has swung into position and closed the breech.
When a slower rate of fire is required, as in ranging, the
automatic action is put out of gear by a very simple arrange-
ment, and the gun can then be fired by pulling a lanyard,
which releases the striker in the ordinary way. An exactly
similar breech mechanism has been adopted by the Admiralty
for heavy guns, and weapons manufactured in future will be
fitted with it.
In opening the breech after the shot has been fired, an
extractor grips the rim of the exploded cartridge case and
jerks it out, so as to leave the gun ready for the next round.
Fixed ammunition—that is, the cartridge and the shell joined
in one piece, like a rifle cartridge—will of course be used
for the new gun.
The method of absorbing the recoil when the gun is fired,
and thus enabling the cannoneers to remain in position to
continue the work of loading and firing, is effected by two
nearly vertical pistons fitted to the carriage. These are
partially filled with a mixture of glycerin and water. On
firing, the gun rises and the mixture, along with a certain
proportion of air, which acts as a buffer or cushion, is forced
through small holes in the piston heads, the resistance offered
by the liquid, combined with the weight of the gun itself,
being sufficient to absorb the shock of the recoil and prevent
injury to the gunners. The gun instantly sinks back to its
former position, and can be loaded and fired again without loss
of time. This description, which omits all technical details,
gives a sufficiently clear idea to the lay reader of the improve-
ments that have been effected, and which will restore our
150 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
artillery to the position of preeminence to which the courage,
high technical skill, and unequaled esprit de corps of the
British gunner have always entitled it.—The Waval and Mālā-
tary Record, October 8, 1903.
NEW SERVICE RIFLE.
It is stated that the decision of the small-arms committee at
the end of last year not to add a wind gauge to the rear sight
of the new rifle has now been reversed at Lord Roberts's
instance, and the new rifle will, when it is issued to the troops,
be provided with a wind gauge.—The Times, London, October
9, 1903.
NEW FIELD GUN FOR THE BRITISH ARMY.
There is to be introduced into the British army, to replace
the types already in vogue, a new field gun, the features of
which are accelerated quick firing, efficiency, strength, and
mobility. When the number of batteries was increased
Some time ago, the new German quick-firing field gun was
adopted, as it was considered that it was the best in existence.
These guns, however, have proved a miserable failure. They
were accurate enough, so far as their actual shooting was con-
cerned, but they were not sufficiently quick firing in the sense
in which quick firing is at present implied, and they were of
too light construction. -
Breakdowns were frequent with the gun carriages, and
they had practically to be rebuilt at the Government arsenal
before they were fit for hard service.
A short while ago the British war department secured two
of the most recent field guns now used in the French army.
Modifications were carried out and improvements effected to
adapt them to the exigencies of the British army, and from
the experiments that have been carried out upon the Govern-
ment proving grounds, they have proved eminently success-
ful, and superior to any other quick-firing field guns used by
other countries, with the exception of France.
The new weapon possesses four salient features in its design:
The improved breech action, increased range, greater rapidity
of fire, and perfect absorption of the recoil. The extreme
range is 10,000 yards, and the rapidity of fire is 29 rounds per
minute. Owing to the improved time fuse that has been
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES, 151
devised, shrapnel fire is now rendered effective at a range of
6,400 yards, which is a tremendous advance upon any field
gun in use in the British army at the present time. The inter-
rupted-screw principle in the old type of breech action has
been entirely dispensed with. The old threaded coned steel
breechblock necessitates intricate and delicate mechanism in
order to cause it to work efficiently, and, furthermore, requires
skillful manipulation in the insertion of the shell to prevent
the burring of the thread. This care impeded celerity in
loading and firing to an appreciable extent. The new breech
is that invented by Colonel Deport of the French artillery, and
in the place of the threaded cone block, there is a plain steel
disk swinging on a pivot and operated by a system of levers
and ratchets. A crank handle is connected to this steel disk,
and when this is pulled the disk slides round upon the pivot,
admitting the insertion of the projectile into the bore, while
a reversion of the opening action closes the breech ready for
firing. Directly the disk swings to and closes the breech, an
automatic device fires the gun. This is a very simple con-
trivance, and expedites the rapidity of discharge to a very
marked extent, as the whole operation of loading and firing
can be accomplished in about 2 seconds. At a trial of this
weapon in the French army, a gunnery detachment fired 8
rounds in 15 seconds, and 30 rounds have been discharged in
the space of 1 minute by expert gunners. Another advantage
of this system lies in the fact that if it is desired to maintain a
slow rate of firing, it is only necessary to throw the automatic
firing mechanism out of gear, which operation is effected by
a simple device, and the gun is then fired in the orthodox
manner by the pulling of a lanyard which actuates the striker.
When the shot has been fired, as the breech is opened, an
extractor comes into action, grips the cartridge remaining in
the breech and jerks it out, so that the gun is ready for the
immediate insertion of another charge.
Fixed ammunition, consisting of the cartridge and shell
joined in one piece, is employed for this weapon.
The hydro-pneumatic brake for the absorption of the recoil
is also utilized. This mechanism comprises two almost verti-
cal pistons, which are partially filled with a mixture of glyc-
erin and water. When the gun is discharged it rises under
the force of the shock, and in doing so the mixture in the
152 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
pistons, together with a certain amount of air which serves
as a buffer or cushion, is forced through small holes in the
piston head, and the resistance offered to the liquid, together
with the weight of the weapon itself, is such that the shock
of the recoil is entirely absorbed. After the shock has been
thus taken the gun returns to its normal position for loading
and firing again.
The advantage of this system is that the gunnery detach-
ment need not retire from their positions during the moment
of firing, but can maintain their ground with absolute safety.
By this means no loss of time in loading is incurred.
The Government war authorities have carried out most
severe trials with this weapon, but so successfully has it
emerged from the ordeal, that the field artillery batteries are
to be equipped with it at once. Furthermore, owing to the
unique success of the breech mechanism, an effort will be
made to adapt it to the requirements of the heavy guns car-
ried on cruisers and battle ships.-Scientific American, Movem-
ber 7, 1903.
HEAVY GUNS IN THE FIELD IN SOUTH AFRICA.
[Extract from a paper by Lieutenant-Colonel Inglefield, in the Royal Artillery Institution.]
Some particulars in regard to ammunition are worth noting.
The shell used with 4.7-inch guns were lyddite and shrapnel.
It would be a great advantage if these two projectiles could
be made of the same length and of the same weight. The
shrapnel, filled and fused, weighs 45 pounds, and the lyddite,
also filled and fused, 46 pounds 9 ounces. The latter, too, is
considerably longer than the former. As a result the lyddite
is more affected in flight by a cross wind, also the difference
of over 14 pounds in weight causes the two shells to range
differently, so that having found the range with one, it is
impossible to turn to the other without ranging again from
the beginning. This manifestly is a serious drawback.
A word now as to the relative merits of lyddite and shrap-
nel for work in the field.
Lyddite, except for the solitary trial at Omdurman, where
it was employed chiefly against buildings, had never been
used in war before this campaign. I think I am right in Say-
ing that great things were expected of it. What the actual
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 153
effect in South Africa was (so far as I had occasion to observe),
will, it seems to me, be best explained if I record the results
of observations made on various occasions.
At Boshfontein, some 50 miles west of Pretoria, on the 10th
November, 1900, a 4.7-inch gun came into action (range 3,000
yards) against a low range of rocky kopjes held in force by
the enemy. Only lyddite shell were used. The shooting was
good, but the effect, from what was afterwards ascertained,
was practically nil. The only shell that appeared to do any
damage was one that fell short and landed in a building
which had a thatched roof. It completely wrecked the place
and set it on fire. I visited it afterwards. It was hard to
believe that one shell could cause so much damage. Again at
Nooitgedacht (13th December, 1900), a building was fired by
a lyddite shell in the same way, and apparently with equally
disastrous results. Thus lyddite against buildings appears to
be very effective.
I used it also against the enemy's artillery at Hekpoort, on
the 6th of September, 1900, when a shell fell close to a
Boer gun. It seemed to fall on the very spot whence the
fire came, yet the enemy were able to withdraw this gun
under cover and eventually get away. Subsequently it was
ascertained that only one of the detachment had been wounded
and only slight damage done to the carriage.
Again, on the 23d of November, 1900, at Sterkfontein,
another of the enemy’s guns (it was one of our 12-pounder
R. H. A. guns, captured some time before by Delarey) was
damaged by a 4.7-inch lyddite shell, a mule and a man of the
detachment being wounded, but the damage was so slight that
again the gun was gotten away. In this case several lyddite
shells appeared to fall so close to the gun that it was astonish-
ing that it could remain in action. An officer who subsequently
found himself on the spot where the gun had been, told me
the ground all around was so plastered with bits of shell and
débris of rock, etc., that it was a marvel to him that the
whole of the personnel had not been wiped out and the gun
captured.
I have already, in speaking of the telescopic sight, quoted
another instance of accurate shooting with lyddite, where two
shells falling within 10 or 15 yards of a gun produced no
effect beyond causing the gun to retire. These cases came
154 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
under my personal observation. There are probably many
others where the results have been equally unsatisfactory, for
I know that, as a rule, battery commanders were disappointed
with the results obtained from lyddite shell.
It would seem, therefore, that a lyddite shell to be really
effective must either directly hit its objective or go exceed-
ingly close to it, and the reason for this would appear to be
that although the explosion, or, more properly speaking, the
detonation of a lyddite shell is tremendous, leading one to
anticipate the most disastrous results, yet the effect in reality
is exceedingly local. This is borne out by the examination of
various places where lyddite shell had fallen, both on rocky
and on soft ground.
I was able on one occasion to find the crater made by a shell
I had fired onto a very stony kopje. The ground was so
hard that the shell had not penetrated more than a couple of
feet, in fact barely as much, yet out of that crater I unearthed
17 pieces of the shell, which, together with a portion found
lying close by, constituted pretty nearly the whole of the shell.
The force of the explosion had driven a large stone weighing
some 170 pounds—and which had rested on the edge of the
crater—about 15 feet away, but beyond this the energy of
the shell had expended itself entirely in the crater.
I have here another 4.7-inch lyddite shell fired against the
rocky kopjes of the Boshfontein position (10th November,
1900). From the gash near its base it will be seen that it
struck rock, yet it did not break up. Here again we have a
useless shell. In this case the metal appears to have been so
tough that the shell was unable to break up as it should have
done.
On soft ground, such as the veldt, a lyddite shell makes a
big hole, but so far as I could ascertain most of the pieces
remain in the crater. As a rule, I was only able to discover
outside one or two fragments near the crater, and there were
always some inside. So disappointed was I with the results
obtained with lyddite shell that I would have liked to try the
effect of using a time fuse, and bursting the shell a few feet
above plane, but the experiment was deemed too risky to
attempt with the time fuses used for shrapnel.
I see now that the Germans have tried this with shell hav-
ing thick walls and filled with high explosive, but from what
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 155
Captain Kenyon—who alludes to this in the Royal Artillery
Institution proceedings of September last—says it would
seem that they have not found this very satisfactory.
The “time” fuses issued for shrapnel, I may here mention,
were not good. The “T. and P. middle” did not burn long
enough and the “blue-nose” fuse burnt irregularly. Maybe
the latter was not intended for such a high velocity gun.
Frequent trials, when two fuses were set exactly the same,
proved how unreliable these fuses were.
Lyddite having proved disappointing, permission was ob-
tained to carry a larger proportion of shrapnel. Instead of
only 25 per cent, 50 per cent were sanctioned, and shrapnel
shell were now used whenever the range was not beyond the
capabilities of the fuse.
A good instance of the value of shrapnel fire was afforded
in General Clement's attack on Delarey, in the Hekpoort
Valley, on the 19th December, 1900, when two shrapnel from
a 4.7-inch gun, at a range of 5,000 yards, effectually silenced
two Boer guns. It was subsequently ascertained that these
two shell did considerable damage.
Lieut. Col. F. A. Curteis, who commanded a battery of 5-
inch guns in Natal and in the Transvaal, tells me that he is very
much in favor of shrapnel, which he considers against troops in
the open or intrenched as in every way far more deadly than
lyddite. Also Capt. D. F. Nicholl, in a lecture he gave at
Malta, speaks very highly of the effect of shrapnel fire from
4.7-inch guns at Friederichstadt, where the enemy on the
open veldt gave him an excellent target. He says:
“For anyone who has not seen it, it is difficult to imagine
the effect of such shell in ‘’’ open country,” and he gives the
area of ground effectively covered by the bullets at 5,000
yards range, at about 120 yards in depth by 40 in breadth.
The experience I had bears out what he says, except that I
would put the breadth covered at nearer 70 or 80 yards than
40 yards; the depth, too, may be greater than 120 yards, but
any estimate of that from the gun end of the trajectory must
of course to a very great extent be guesswork. This differ-
ence in my estimate from his may arise from the fact that my
shell may have been burst higher in the air, though I gather
that his were not burst low down. It was due to the faulty
action of the “blue-nose” fuse that the shrapnel which proved
156 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
so effective in the Hekpoort Valley were burst as high up as
they were, but the effectiveness of these shell opened my eyes
to the possibility of obtaining excellent results by bursting
high-velocity shrapnel containing heavy bullets far higher in
the air than is generally thought advisable.
Now that the conditions of modern fighting have brought
about such a great extension on the part of all troops, it has
seemed to me one of the weak points of the shrapnel fire from
our field guns that the spread of the bullets is not greater.
Field guns can not increase this spread by shortening the
fuse, because the velocity of the shell, when opened, is not
sufficient to render the small bullets (35 to the pound) effective
when released high up, except perhaps at quite short ranges.
This the Boers proved to us conclusively on more than one
occasion, when their shrapnel bullets, fired from field guns of
ours that they had taken, fell harmlessly among us. But a
powerful shell, such as a 4.7 inch shrapnel, which travels at a
far greater speed and contains over 200 bullets (14 to the
pound), is not subject to any such limitations. It will cover
guite a large area at very long ranges and retain its effective-
ness. Moreover, by bursting the shell high, it will better
search out the enemy behind entrenchments, and by thus
keeping his riflemen down under cover lessen the fire of the
defense, and facilitate the advance of the attacking infantry
over that—now more than ever—dangerous zone, across which
the attackers must advance to the assault.
Herein, then, to my mind, lies the great advantage of heavy
guns. We have in them a means of bringing the most effect-
ive artillery fire it is possible to obtain against an enemy in
the field, and moreover of bring g that fire under conditions
in which field artillery can not hope to compete, for field guns
have not the necessary shrapnel power, if the shell is opened
as high and as short as it can effectively be with heavy guns.
But to obtain the full effect of this power, it is necessary (1)
that the gun should be a high velocity one; (2) that the bul-
lets in the shrapnel should be of sufficient size and weight;
(3) that the shell should be opened up high in the air; how
high it is difficult to say, for there is nothing more difficult than
to estimate the height of burst of a shell some 5,000 yards
from the guns; but, at a rough guess, I should say that 100 or
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES, 157
perhaps 150 feet, or even more, above plane would not be too
much.
To put it in a few words, if modern conditions of fighting
have brought about a great extension of the personnel of all
arms, the object of that extension being to avoid the deadly
effect of modern weapons, then to counteract that extension of
the personnel, modern fire must also extend, and the necessity
for that extension is as great in the case of bullets coming from
guns as it is in the case of bullets fired from rifles. It is mani-
festly useless to put many shrapnel bullets close together when
the enemy is scattered, and the proposal I submit for consider-
ation provides for an extension of the action of shrapnel other-
wise unobtainable, while at the same time, if a more compact
target should present itself by the simple process of lengthen-
ing the fuse, a more concentrated fire would be obtained.
Artillery practice in warfare also brings before us another
condition favorable to an extension of the area covered by
our shell fire, and that is the difficulty which not infrequently
exists, especially at long range, of getting our shell to burst
exactly where we would wish. A small error in this respect,
in a wide-spreading shell, matters less than in one having a
more limited sphere of action. It is the local action of the
lyddite shell that renders it generally of no value for work in
the field. The less local the action of our shrapnel is, the
greater, within reasonable limits, will its value be. — Proceed-
ings U. S. Naval Institute, September, 1903.
TRACTION ENGINES.
The employment of traction engines for the purpose of
military transport has not hitherto been successful, because
the engines can not be trusted to do the work, except on good
roads, and these they destroy speedily.
Meanwhile, unless practical experiment contradicts theoret-
ical promise, the Diplock “pedrail” system has solved the
difficulty of working in deep or rough ground and of using
common roads without injuring them. The “pedrail,” we
might say, almost walks.
The feet are planted in succession, and the result is that the
machine lifts itself over whatever obstacle may be before it,
and never has to be dug out of its own rut.
158 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Perhaps the most remarkable feature of this invention is
the entire absence of jolting, no matter how rough the track.
Three of the feet take the bearing together, each accom-
modating itself to the inequalities of the surface, and because
of this broad bearing the road itself is left uninjured.
The only difficulty that we can foresee in this invention is its
cost.—The Army and Wavy Gazette, October 10, 1903.
Complete description of system, with photographs of engine
on file in the library of the Second Division, General Staff.
MARCONI WIRELESS SERVICE.
Mr. Marconi has gone to sea in the Duncan, the battle ship
commanded by Capt. H. B. Jackson, the officer who made the
first experiments in wireless in the British navy. It appears
to have been decided at last that the Marconi system is to be
adopted entirely for the service. We may, therefore, now
hope to see some further advance made in the direction of
remedying the shortcomings in the system which have been
revealed in recent experiments and trials at sea.
The actual purpose of Mr. Marconi in taking passage on
the Duncan is to test the apparatus with a view of ascertain-
ing how soon he can establish communication with Gibraltar.
Hitherto vessels leaving Portsmouth have kept up communi-
cation with the Hector as long as possible, and those leaving
Gibraltar have similarly maintained communication with the
Rock. But the point at which a vessel may possibly be able
to pass a message from Gibraltar to Portsmouth, or vice versa,
has not yet been definitely established. This should be deter-
mined by the present experiments.
At the same time, it is understood that Mr. Marconi will
make further experiments at sea with the harmonic system,
which has already been effectually tried on shore.
The Duncan arrived at Gibraltar on Thursday, and is stated
to have been in communication with England throughout the
voyage by means of wireless messages having been received
each day from the Marconi Company’s station at Poldhu.-The
-Army and Mavy Gazette, October 31, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 159
THE HYPOSCOPE.
A new sighting device which has created considerable inter-
est in England is an instrument known as the hyposcope,
which is described as an arrangement of mirrors contained in
a light, strong, metallic case, which is easily attached to the
rifle, and which enables the marksman to shoot with accuracy
from behind an embankment or other obstacle, while he
himself remains invisible and unexposed. The following are
some of the advantages claimed by the inventor, Mr. Youlten:
“(a) It may be used at any range shown on the back sight
of any rifle. Shooting may be as accurately continued with-
out an ordinary back sight as with it—equivalent to an addi-
tional back sight, should that on the rifle be rendered useless.

160 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“(b) A trustworthy telescopic sight is also added, for which
the elevation scale of the back sight may be mechanically
(not visually) utilized.
“(c) The elevation of the hyposcope as an equivalent for
the rifle backsight may be accurately, and at once, effected
by a screw. This is placed several inches below the rifle back-
sight, so that the needful elevation may be obtained without
moving the rifle from rest or exposing any part of the marks-
man to the enemy.
“(d) A lateral wind gauge is provided. As this is quite
independent of the rifle backsight, a man may, without lower-
ing his rifle or taking his finger from the trigger, instantly

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 161
aim in a direction different to that for which he may have
made wind allowance, for in the eye mirror of the hyposcope
both the movable wind guage (vertical) line, which acts as a
backsight, and the fixed V are visible; thus either may be
instantly utilized at will.
“(e) In full view of the marksman is a table of wind
allowances.
“(f) The tube of the new instrument is square instead of
round, with a field of view of 6 degrees.
“(g) The ‘tilt of the rifle from its vertical axis is visible
in the sighting focus.”
The following illustrations will show the manner of using
the device and the method of its attachment to the ordinary
17430–04–11

162
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
|----- - - ----
ſae

BULLETIN OF
MILITARY NOTES.

164 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 165

166 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.

167
OF MILITARY NOTES.
BULLETIN
| .-.-.-.-.-.-.-.- |

168 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
rifle, the use of the “ordnance” hyposcope attached to the
Vickers-Maxim gun, which is the modified form of the instru-
ment used with the rifle, also the method of using the hypo-
scope by a scout, who remains concealed during his observa-
tions.
NEW GAS-CHECK PAD.
An English patent has recently been issued for an improved
gas-check pad for breech-loading ordnance, the object of
which is to provide a gas-check device which will be practi-
cally unaffected by extreme variations of temperature, and
also which can not be burned or otherwise injured by causes
due to explosions. This is provided for in an improved
plastic composition, which constitutes the body of the pad
and which is inclosed in an envelope of wire netting in the
manner hereafter described.

BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 169
The type of gas-check for which the invention is adapted
is the ‘‘De Bange.”
The improved composition according to this invention is
practically unaffected by variations in temperature to which
it is subjected in use, and while sufficiently flexible to prop-
erly yield to pressures modifying its form, it is wholly unaf-
fected by any hot gases that may come into contact with it.
The composition for the core consists of asbestos, glycerin,
starch, and grease, which are preferably compounded in about
the following proportions and manner. Mix about 4 parts
by measure of glycerin and 1 part by measure of starch,
and cook the mixture until it is reduced to a stiff paste,
and then add 2 parts by measure of tallow or linseed oil,
and mix thoroughly while hot. The mass should then be
allowed to stand for a time, say for several days, and it is
then mixed with asbestos, using preferably about from 20 to
Fig.1 *
zºº zººlºº ſº;
ºzº §§§ &º
º º d
...eyºğ Öº.2
º/3%% º
fººt.
%iº
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: * * * * * * * * : . . . . . º
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30 per cent of the said mass and from 70 to 80 per cent of
asbestos. These are thoroughly mixed and should be allowed
to stand under pressure for a time, say for several days, after
which the mixture is molded into pads which are then cov-
ered with a wire envelope as hereinafter described.
In the accompanying drawings, fig. 1 represents a sectional
elevation of a pad before it is subjected to final pressure.
Fig. 2 is a plan of the pad complete, showing the united and
interlocking edges of the covering. Fig. 3 is a side elevation
of the complete pad, a portion being broken away to show the
embedding of the wires of the covering in the mass of the
core, which takes place under pressure. Fig. 4 is an enlarged
detail of a piece of the wire netting used for the covering.
Fig. 5 is a similar view of the same distorted as when applied
to the core, and fig. 6 shows the interlocked edges of the net
ting as it is secured in place.



170 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
A represents the core of plastic material and B its envel-
ope of wire netting. The general form of the core is, as usual,
CZºzº,
zºzº
ź.
zy
}ºX/37. A
annular and properly shaped to fit upon the end of the breech-
block and the mushroom head which bears upon its opposite
Fig. 3
face. The composition hereinbefore described, having been
molded into the proper form. is covered by wire netting B,


BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 171
Which may be done in the following manner: A piece of the
netting being distorted as indicated in fig. 5, in the direction of
ſº
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3.
:
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Fig. 4
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the plane of the pad, is folded around the outer periphery of
the core, and the meeting ends are interlocked by passing the
Af ce ..? 2& 22
ſ/ Jºs 2
Jºse
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asºsºsºsºsºsºsºsº.
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wire ends 2 around the wire of the opposite edge, and bend-
ing them backward, as shown in fig. 6. Similarly, a piece



















172 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
of the netting is folded upon the inner periphery of the core
and its ends united. The meeting and overlapping edges of
the two pieces of netting are then secured together, as shown
in figs. 1, 2, and 3, by laying an annular piece of asbestos, or
other nonconductor of heat, underneath the same, and then
uniting the wires by solder.
After the pad has been thus formed it is subjected to heavy
pressure, which forces the wires into the mass of the core, or
the mass of the core between the wires, so that the wires are
completely bedded in the mass of the core, and smooth sur-
faces are provided, as shown in fig. 3, to be presented to the
adjacent parts of the gun. The envelope is free to yield to
pressures tending to modify the form of the pad, while re-
taining the contents, and is unaffected by hot gases, which
would injure or burn a combustible envelope. After the pad
sºčğSºº-ºº:
is produced as described, it should be subjected, say for about
an hour, to a heat of about 300°F., and after cooling a coat
or coats of linseed oil should be applied to it, and after dry-
ing the pad should be returned to the press for final pressure
and shaping.
NEVV LEE-ENFIELD RIFLE.
It is stated that the following results have been obtained in
a recent trial at the School of Musketry to ascertain the rates
of fire of the new short magazine Lee-Enfield rifle (charger-
loading), as compared with those of the present service Lee-
Enfield rifle used as a single-loader. Two expert shots and
two privates (fatigue men of the school) fired at 100, 200, and
500 yards with each rifle for one minute at each range. At
the first range (standing) the expert shots fired in the minute








BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 173
with the service rifle an average of 11.5 shots, making an
average of 10 hits and 28 points; with the new rifle they fired
23 shots, making 21.5 hits and 55 points. At the same range
the privates fired with the service rifle 10.5 rounds, making
9.5 hits and 26.5 points, and with the new rifle 19 rounds,
making 14.5 hits and 35.5 points. At 200 yards (kneeling)
the results were: Expert shots—service rifle, 14 rounds, 12
hits, 28.5 points; new rifle, 22 rounds, 18 hits, 44 points.
Privates—service rifle, 10.5 rounds. 6.5 hits, 14.5 points; new
rifle, 17 rounds, 12.5 hits, 31.5 points. At 500 yards (lying
down): Expert shots—service rifle, 11 rounds, 9.5 hits, 28
points; new rifle, 16 rounds, 14.5 hits, 40 points. Privates—
service rifle, 9.5 rounds, 7 hits, 17 points; new rifle, 15
rounds, 10.5 hits, 29 points.-London Times, October 16, 1903.
A NEW WARNING A PPARATUS.
Experiments are now being carried out with a new apparatus
for signaling the approach of submarines and torpedo boats,
the invention of an Italian naval officer.
The apparatus consists of two parts, of which one is
immersed in the sea, and the other fixed on board a ship. It
is claimed for the invention that the approach can be signaled
at a distance of some 12 miles, before in fact the ship can be
sighted with the naked eye. It is reported that some remark-
able results have already been achieved with it, and it is
believed that it will be found an effectual protection against
submarines and torpedo boats at night time.—Journal of
R. U. S. Institution, September, 1903.
CONCERNING THE FIELD HOVVITZ.E.R.
Bvt. Maj. G. F. MacMunn, D. S. O., R. F. A., in the course
of a thoughtful paper on the above, which appeared in a recent
issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Artillery Institution,
observes that after close on three years of varied soldiering,
ideas have pretty well crystallized on the use and abuse of
the various guns in the service. The 15-pounder, the 12-
pounder, the pom-pom, and the cow gun have been so con-
stantly employed, and so often discussed, that most Royal
Artillery officers have formed their own opinion on the sub-
ject. The field howitzer alone has not been largely employed,
174 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
nor has it come before the notice of everyone, while, save
Lieutenant-Colonel Hamilton-Gordon's interesting paper,
“Fourteen days’ howitzer work on service,” little has been
written on the subject. At the commencement of the late war
there were three batteries armed with this weapon in the serv-
ice, while there are now twelve, so that some remarks on the
5-inch howitzer in the field may be of interest. Owing to
various causes, fostered by inaccurate articles in the press,
the general public prior to the war had an absurd idea of the
capabilities of lyddite, while in the army, and even among
officers of the Royal Artillery, who had never actually used
the B. L. howitzer, an exaggerated idea of the power of this
explosive was prevalent. Howitzer batteries went to the
front with very high notions of the prominent part they
would play in the war, and when early in 1900 three more
batteries were equipped and sent out, the officers appointed
to them quite felt that they also were to see the best of the
campaign. To realize the “back seat” to which, through one
cause and another, most of the batteries were relegated, an
outline of their employment in South Africa is necessary.
The batteries of the original brigade division were distrib-
uted as follows: The Sixty-first to Natal, the Sixty-fifth and
Thirty-seventh to Lord Methuen's force. The Sixty-first
among the rocky hills of Natal was invaluable, and in constant
request in almost every action that General Buller fought.
The Sixty-fifth Battery arrived on the eve of Magersfontein,
and at once took part in the preliminary bombardment of the
Boer position, and again in the actual battle. Here was the
first disappointment; the enemy profiting by their experiences
of Belmont and Graspan, arranged to hold the bottom of the
kopjes instead of the tops. All the afternoon of December 10
the Sixty-fifth Howitzer Battery, in company with the rest of
the guns, pounded and swept the crest and the reverse slopes,
with damnable accuracy, while the Boers crouched unharmed
in their counter-sloped trenches at the bottom of the kopjes.
The failure of this heavy bombardment, and the severe re-
pulse of the following day at once lowered the prestige of the
field howitzer. The real lesson when the Boer position was
surveyed, proved to be that, owing to faulty information at
the time, the fire had been accurately directed on the deserted
rocks, and also that even had the Boer trenches been thor-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 175
oughly located, no percussion projectiles are effective against
deep and narrow earth trenches.
Close on Magersfontein followed the bombardment at Paar-
deberg by six 5-inch howitzers of the Sixty-fifth Battery and
four 6-inch howitzers of No. 15 Company, Southern Division,
also without material effect. To anyone familiar with lyd-
dite this is not surprising, the formation of the Modder River
bed and its adjacent “schluyts” of dry, friable deposit, being
most unsuitable for any percussion shell. The heavy howit-
zer shells merely blew out enormous craters, in which their
splinters were caught and their effect smothered, while the
bursters would detonate but imperfectly, evolving the per-
nicious green smoke so gratifying to the press reporter.
The failure of lyddite to do what was asked from it at Magers-
fontein and Paardeberg, added to the weight of the field how-
itzer being too much for horses on reduced rations, induced
the authorities to leave behind the Sixty-fifth Battery and the
Forty-third and Eighty-seventh, which had arrived from
England after the occupation, during the advance of the
grand army from Bloemfontein to Pretoria. In the meantime
the Sixty-first, now joined in Natal by the Eighty-sixth, were
advancing with General Buller and receiving due apprecia-
tion. The officers of the batteries left out of the grand army,
naturally enough, were disgusted with their luck, and attrib-
uted it to their weapons, and the high opinion of the howitzer
held by the Natal army was not known elsewhere. The
invaluable assistance afforded by Lieutenant-Colonel Hamil-
ton-Gordon's howitzers in Natal, in almost every one of the
heavy engagements there, unanimously acknowledged by all
arms, very distinctly proves that field howitzers are not
useless.
At Warrenton on the Vaal the Thirty-seventh Battery was
able to entirely keep under the fire of five Boer guns which
had been harassing our lines for days. Later on this battery
was continually employed both by sections and by single guns
with various flying mounted columns in Cape Colony and the
Transvaal. For a time also sections and single howitzers
from batteries of the brigade division stationed in the neigh-
borhood of Bloemfontein (Forty-third, Sixty-first, and Eighty-
seventh batteries) during the fall of 1900 and beginning of
1901, accompanied mobile columns, notably in November,
176 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
1900, when DeWet first attempted to reenter Cape Colony.
It has been Major MacMunn's experience that the rest of the
army have the very greatest confidence in howitzer fire, and
that troops will advance most confidently against any position
if supported by howitzers. He states that he has frequently
been told this by officers of other arms. Once the hostilities
had changed from the occupation by the Boers of carefully
prepared positions to the more hurried holding on to such
scrub or hills as the moment's needs might dictate, the howit-
zers became of special value. The Boers very soon discov-
ering that among suitable scrub and rocks the most accurate
shrapnel fire was not very dangerous, and that they might lie
“doggo" under a heavy fire, they would not clear. On the
other hand, a few rounds of lyddite, scattering stones and
bowlders in all directions, almost invariably did clear them.
Major MacMunn would deduce from this that where the inten-
tion is merely to remove opposition, and the infliction of loss
on the enemy is for the moment immaterial, that the howitzer
is of the very greatest value. It must be a very common
operation in all conditions of warfare, that in order to carry
out some big maneuver, the mere sweeping away of oppo-
sition, to save time and life, is essential. He has on several
occasions seen this done very promptly with howitzers.
One of the most effective combinations seems to be that of
howitzers and ordinary shrapnel guns, the quicker firing the
better. Suppose a line of broken rock, donga, and scrub full
of riflemen, or a patch of it from which great annoyance is
experienced; shrapnel fire alone often failed to dislodge an
enemy from such ground, but a couple of rounds of lyddite,
followed by a “rafale” of shrapnel, to “pot” those whom the
lyddite had bolted, seemed most effective. There seem to be
many positions and incidents of modern war where this com-
bination would be most effective. A section of howitzers
working with a single battery, and a battery of howitzers
attached to a brigade division would seem a better fighting
combination than a brigade division of howitzers, which could
always be assembled by brigades when necessity required it.
In peace time howitzer training must be by brigade divisions
to secure the uniform and specialized training necessary. The
combinations of howitzers and shrapnel guns bear the stamp
of age, for many batteries were so organized from the Penin-
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 177
sular days to the Mutiny. The equipment of the Hyderabad
contingent batteries is a relic, and the heavy batteries in India
carry on the old idea. The range of the field howitzer at
present in the service is 5,000 yards, and up to that range it
is in many ways far superior to the 5-inch and kindred guns,
being essentially more mobile and quicker in getting into
action.
Toward the end of the late war shrapnel was issued to the
field howitzers, but Major MacMunn has not heard if anyone
used it with effect. Officers who have used shrapnel on the
practice range have always spoken well of its results, but
Major MacMunn believes that some kink in the howitzer's
feminine nature has always led to exhibitions of shrapnel fire
for the benefit of ordnance committees being failures. If a
really satisfactory shrapnel can be fired from a field howitzer,
then we shall be able to get at deep and countersunk trenches.
After viewing the Boer trenches at Magersfontein, Fourteen
Streams, and elsewhere, it was quite evident that only one
class of projectile could possibly be effective, viz, shrapnel
falling with a very steep angle of descent and with heavy
bullets for choice, The chance of a percussion projectile
actually falling into a trench 2 feet wide is too remote to be
worth counting on. The power of firing unseen, possessed
by howitzers in a greater degree than other guns, and of also
changing their objective without any difficulties with their
line of fire, is not generally recognized as it should be. The
arc “dodge” which the Sixty-first Battery used so success-
fully in Natal, to give deflection far exceeding that on the
sliding leaf of the sights, is simply invaluable. The Sixty-
fifth Battery, after reaching Bloemfontein, had metal arcs or
rather chords made in the railway workshops to fix on their
frontsights to carry out this method of changing their line of
fire. *H.
As regards mobility of field howitzers of the present weight,
it has been quite clearly established that they can march 20
miles a day and over for several days on end, and trot into
action if necessary, provided (a) the horses are of a suitable
class, and (b) that they are fed on full ration of grain. What-
ever horses can do with lighter guns, howitzer horses can not
do their work on half rations. The strain of dragging the
17430—04—12
178 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
weight will tell in a very few hours unless there is plenty of
food. Good horses on good food will take the howitzers
anywhere. A section of the Thirty-seventh Battery marched
56 miles in 25 hours, including two outpans of three hours
each, accompanying Colonel Scobell's column from Aberdeen
to near Murraysberg, in Cape Colony, to prevent Scheeper’s
command from seizing the town. The roads were fair, and
each horse had 14 pounds of corn during the 25 hours.
There were 6 horses in each team and a spare pair as well
marching behind. Not a single horse was the worse. When
corn is short, it should be for the commander of a force to
decide if he wants his howitzers sufficiently to give their
horses food at the expense of other mounted units.
Major MacMunn, summing up the knowledge gained from
our experience of howitzers in South Africa, states that the
chief points would seem to be:
1. The extreme moral effect of lyddite shell (in spite of its
very small man-killing effect) bursting on hard and rocky soil.
2. The value of being able to search out every portion of
the enemy’s position, not only unseen ground that can only
be located from a balloon or distant observing stations, and
not from the actual position of the battery.
3. The fact that shrapnel from a howitzer seems to be the
only way of tackling an enemy in deep trenches.
4. The profound confidence that the crash of howitzer shell
bursting in the enemy’s position seems to inspire in the other
8, TI(\S.
5. The trajectory which allows fire to be closely continued
over the heads of assaulting troops, and thus the defenders
kept in some degree from standing up to their loopholes till
the last moment.
6. The rôle of “ferret” which howitzer shell can play to
pompoms and quick-firing shrapnel guns.
7. The ease with which dispersed howitzers can concentrate
their fire on any point. (The shell being visible from the
howitzer during flight, it is easier to distinguish the fall of
one’s shell from those of other batteries firing at the same
object.)
Regarding fire at unseen objects, such as concealed guns,
hidden supports, etc., it is perfectly feasible to lay out a line of
fire from a balloon. Major MacMunn spent several hours on
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 179
consecutive days observing the enemy’s position at Fourteen
Streams, and was able to do so. One picket placed vertically
below the car and the other as aligned by the man in the car
gives a correct line, which can either be used to bring up guns
on, or the compass bearing can be taken, lines ſaid out with
similar bearing, and deflection given to compensate for the
lateral distances of the battery position from the original
alignment. .4
The value of a howitzer for the destruction of masonry has
been established from the birth of the weapon; it is only the
howitzer for use with the field army that is under discus-
sion.— United Service Gazette, July 11, 1903.
FIELD ARTILLERY.
It is known that the Boers and English used during the war
in the Transvaal some very small caliber rapid-fire guns
(Vickers-Maxim, 37 mm.). These guns, commonly called
pom-poms, in imitation of their sound, have been the subject
of a variety of opinions. Generally speaking, public opinion
has not been very favorable to them, and it has been con-
sidered that they were more noisy than efficient, and could
not pretend to supply the place of either the rifle-caliber
machine gun or the field gun. *.
Such is not, however, the opinion of everybody, as is shown
by the following views emanating from the pen of Lieutenant
von Wichmann and Captain von Lossberg, Prussian officers,
both of whom participated in the Transvaal campaign on the
Boer side, and had an opportunity of seeing pom-poms work.
The former declares that no piece played a part to compare
with that of the 37-mm. gun. This gun, mounted on a pivot
carriage and provided with shields, enjoyed perfect stability
and commanded a broad field of fire, which enabled it to play
over a very broad front—22° to the right and to the left of
the axis—the cannoneers being well sheltered from bullets by
the shield.
Being very light with its limber, since the projectile weighs
only about a pound, it was nevertheless drawn by 6 horses,
which rendered it extremely mobile.
The Boers had 24 of them at the beginning of the war.
The limber contained 12 cases, each holding a belt of 25
180 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
rounds. This supply of ammunition was insufficient, owing
to the rapidity of consumption of these machine guns, and
the necessity of replenishing the belts from cartridges packed
in cases during combat frequently caused serious trouble.
When the English had concluded, wisely, to furnish them-
selves 37-mm. guns of the same system, they added to each
piece a caisson holding two chests similar to those of the
limber, thus tripling their combat ammunition supply.
The ranging was done by observing series of three or four
shots. The pieces were not grouped in constituted batteries,
but were joined to the existing field batteries, where they
were employed in groups of two or three pieces, according to
needs.
The rear sight was graduated up to 3,500 m. Lieutenant
von Wichmann says, however, that it was modified to permit
fire up to 5,000 m.
Its effect is especially powerful against a movable target,
which the lightness of the piece and its extreme freedom of
motion enable it to follow very easily. Lieutenant von
Wichmann cites cases where excellent results were obtained
with it against cavalry. Important columns were also suc-
cessfully fired upon at long ranges.
The moral effect of these small projectiles arriving sud-
denly in a dense hail was, it appears, very powerful, according
to the personal experience of the author, and according to
English prisoners questioned by him.
Captain von Lossberg goes even further, and claims to be
able to silence a field battery with two 37-mm. guns. He
says that he has seen this done personally.
The same officer attributes a great value to the shield with
which these guns were provided, and he states that they
resulted in a great feeling of security among the cannon-
eers. He cites a case at Brakspruit, August 5, 1900, where he
remained an hour at 1,000 m. from a well-sheltered infantry
firing at a 37-mm. gun; there was only one cannoneer
wounded, although the bullets fell like hail on the shield, and
this man was hit only because he left cover.
Lieutenant von Wichmann relates a similar occurrence at the
battle of Talana Hill. The latter also advocates the employ-
ment of this gun as the Boers used it—that is, not in consti-
tuted batteries, but in groups of two pieces. He estimates
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 181
that in this manner they will be able to render great service
to advance guards or to cavalry, offering even better service,
he claims, than a horse battery. He cites in support of his
proposition the fact that the English have furnished every
regiment of cavalry with a 37-mm. gun, served by 1 officer,
1 noncommissioned officer, 6 men, and 2 drivers, all mounted.—
La France Militaire.
INDIVIDUAL TRAINING IN INFANTRY ATTACK.
The following are the views of Lieut. Gen. Sir Ian Hamil-
ton, expressed before the war commission, on the subject of
the individual training of the infantry soldier:
“If the experience of the South African war can be taken
as a guide, the big battalion phase is now about to pass away,
and we are entering upon a period when the efficiency of an
army will depend far more upon the morale and high training
of the individuals who compose it than upon the mere num-
bers of these individuals who may be available. I believe an
army composed of individuals, each so highly trained as to be
able to take full advantage of the terrain, and of his won-
derful modern weapon, and each animated with a morale, and
trained to an efficiency which will make him capable of acting
in battle on his own initiative, will break through, scatter, and
demolish less efficient opposing forces, even if greatly superior
in numbers.
“No doubt this principle will be more strikingly exempli-
fied in the case of such countries as we are accustomed to wage
war in than in the comparatively small, inclosed, and highly
civilized countries of Europe. For where numbers are lim-
ited by questions of transport and supply, the folly of
dispatching anything but superlatively good soldiers is accent-
uated. In other words, while with our regular army the one
important thing is to improve the quality without troubling
too much about mere numbers, numbers may still have a cer-
tain advantage for the home defense of England.
“It must not be supposed that in insisting upon the neces-
sity for individual initiative and training I wish in any way
to ignore or depreciate discipline.
“Discipline there must be, but it must be discipline on a
higher plane. It must be the aim of the new discipline to
make the private soldier capable of keeping steadfastly in
182 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
mind for the whole of the day, or even for several days, and
striving with all his might to carry out what he has been told
by a superior who is no longer present, and who, for all he
may know, is dead. Within a mile of the enemy and in open
country it will no longer be possible for the brigade-major to
gallop up to the colonel with a folded piece of paper, pre-
scribing his next movement; nor can the colonel send his
adjutant to tell the captain to change direction or reenforce.
Within 1,000 yards of a hostile position the captain can hardly
hope any longer to influence the company as a whole by
orders, or even by personal example, and the idea of swarms of
men surging forward by word of command to the assault of
a position is one which we should do our best to encourage
among our potential enemies. If a battalion in open country
can succeed in getting within 500 yards of the enemy's de-
fensive position, they will have done all that they can do as a
collective body. The men will be lying widely extended, and
pinned down to some small depression or bits of cover by
streams of bullets passing just over them.
“At some part of the line, however, it is almost certain that
a brook, or ditch, or imperceptible fold of the ground will
give some trifling shelter to further advance. Half a dozen
private soldiers may find themselves at this spot. If they
possess sufficient training to recognize the possibilities of their
position, together with sufficient new discipline, initiative,
and enthusiasm to take advantage of it, they will creep on.
They will be followed by others, and if, as a result, the
enemy’s line is penetrated, even by a few men, the power of
their modern armament will make their flanking fire so demor-
alizing and effective that the position will either be abandoned
forthwith, or so much attention will be concentrated on the
intruders that an assault may become practicable all along
the line. It will be evident that to do this the mind of each
man must be imbued with a firm conviction that the other
men of his own rank, whom he does not see, and who may be
anywhere within the next few miles, are also doing the same
and trying to seize hold of every opportunity. In other
words, active discipline on the higher plane really consists in
an unalterable confidence that it also exists in others, and that
the individual is not risking his life for nothing.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 183
“All this means added importance to a thorough disciplin-
ary training and to esprit de corps. That is, I believe, where
the conscript soldier will fail. Only imperfectly acquainted
with his officers and with his fellow-soldiers, he will tend at
the first difficulty to remain lying under cover, because he has
no conviction that they are likely to do much more than he is
doing, and is not imbued by the sense that he is giving his
comrades away by not doing more. It is the magazine rifle,
with its smokeless powder, which is at the root of this start-
ling and imminent change in both tactics, which I have en-
deavored shortly to indicate. The modern firearm has been
improved and perfected far more rapidly than the soldier.
“We want an army composed of men, each of whom can
be trusted to make the fullest possible use of the finest and
most delicately adjusted rifle that can be made. I have
noticed a feeling in our army that improvements in arma-
ments can not be carried further, because the private soldier
would not be able to avail himself of such niceties. This is
indeed putting the cart before the horse, and it should be
clearly understood that the private soldier of the future must
be sufficiently educated to take every advantage of all that
science can do for him.
“Dispersion, concealment, and intelligent use of the ground
are also essential to success for either the attack or defense,
and this demands a high standard of individuality. There is
a timid school of theorists, who are eager to explain that the
defense is more likely to be successful than the attack. If
attacks are, indeed, to be conducted, as they are now on the
continent of Europe, or as they were until recently in our
own army, then this is undoubtedly true; but to my idea
under skillful leading the attack has rather gained than lost
by the new conditions. There is so much more scope for
maneuver, and so much more frontage of ground comes into
the sphere of operations, that it is almost always possible to
take up flank and supporting positions, from which a deadly
fire can be kept up on the enemy’s line of defense, while
small bodies work their way close up and effect a lodgment as
previously described.
“The difficulties of estimating the strength of an enemy or
the direction of his fire will give great advantage to a bold
184 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
and vigorous general who keeps on the move and who is
well served by his scouts and his patrols. The defense has
then to extend its line, and the opportunities for a clever
concentration to envelop one flank or to break through in the
center are largely increased.”
OFFICERS’ EXPENSES.
A special army order has been issued containing the follow-
ing instructions with regard to officers’ expenses and officers’
mess contributions: (a) Extravagance among officers, individ-
ually and collectively, has long been forbidden by regula-
tions. In view, however, of the financial concessions which
have recently been made for the purpose of diminishing offi-
cers’ expenses, it is the duty of commanding officers to see
that officers derive full benefit from these advantages. If
officers are extravagant in their mode of living it is the duty
of a commanding officer to discourage and prevent it, and
general officers are directed to insure, by careful periodical
inspection, that officers’ messes are so conducted that it is
possible for those of moderate means to live in the service.
Should any commanding officer fail to carry out, in their true
spirit and intention, the regulations of the service on a sub-
ject so materially affecting the interests and prospects of the
younger officers, the commander in chief will seriously con-
sider the propriety of retaining him in his command.—The
Broad Arrow, September 12, 1903.
CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS.
The new and elaborate regulations just published, with
regard to the future advancement of officers point to a very
earnest desire on the part of the authorities to stimulate exer-
tion and reward meritorious endeavor.
Promotion must, in the first place, depend upon the fitness
that is proved by examination, not necessarily the highest or
most complete test, but as good as can be got in this imperfect
world. The subjects are wide, but well chosen. Due weight
is given to the two great branches of knowledge—the theo-
retical and the practical. Candidates must show that they
have studied tactics and strategy, are well acquainted with
field fortification, military law, administration, etc. They
must also have mastered all the intricacies of drill, according
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 185
to the most approved modern methods, and having been fully
trained themselves, must be capable of conveying instruction
to others in evey detail.
If these rules are strictly enforced a great step will be
gained toward securing officers of a high standard of intelli-
gence and usefulness, and the common but much exaggerated
complaint that they do not take their profession seriously will
be more than answered. The complaint in question is one of
those parrot-cries so lightly and thoughtlessly taken up and
reechoed by people who do not care to inform themselves of
the true facts, which are quite contrary to the general belief.
Considering how small the incentives, how meager the returns
made by the State for patient and ungrudging service, it is
most creditable that the officers of the army should be ani-
mated with such a keen desire to improve themselves to
attain competence in leadership by study and practice and
qualify generally for the charge intrusted to them. They are
kept busy enough nowadays regimentally and in perpetual
courses of varied instructions, as all who have the privilege of
being behind the scenes will testify. Still, it is a point of
honor with the bulk to appreciate and conform to the new
order of things. In the happily rare instances where the con-
verse is the case, pressure will be applied and methods will
be more stringently enforced than heretofore to eliminate the
hard bargains.
The system of confidential reports upon officers is as old as
the hills. It has been the custom from time immemorial for
commanding officers of all categories to give their views upon
the faculties, temper, and general fitness of their subordinates.
For years this was performed for the most part perfunctorily;
no more than a series of questions, pertinent enough, but
answered with a conventional “yes” or “no,” almost inva-
riably by the former, and affording no guide or insight into
character or qualifications. A stricter system, no doubt, was
introduced as time passed, but it can never be contended that
the reports on officers have been entirely satisfactory and con-
vincing. Difficulties have stood in the way, and will probably
continue to deprive reports of much of their value.
There is first the ingrained reluctance of many to be too
hard on old comrades, too severely critical, even when it is a
manifest duty to speak out. Again, the competence of the
186 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
superior to pronounce opinions is often more than doubtful,
while these are constantly at variance, and some casting vote
is indispensable. The more exact performance of the busi-
ness of reporting is now to be rigidly insisted upon, and very
serious consequences may be expected to follow from it. The
reports will now, or ought to, greatly influence an officer’s fu-
ture. If they are favorable, a promise of accelerated promo-
tion is held out to him; if the reverse, he will be condemned
to retire from the profession for which he shows himself
unfitted or too careless to qualify. Two adverse reports in
succession will bring up the question of removal, even to men
of long standing; the juniors of less than three years' service
will be incontinently dismissed if they do not shape well.
The hope of speedy advancement is not, perhaps, too rosy;
superior officers are cautioned to be chary in recommending
it, and this may prove a serious flaw in the new arrangements.
It is rather a failing with our military authorities to hold
out inducements which are not too generously fulfilled.— The
Army and Mavy Gazette, October 24, 1903.
PROMOTION AND EXAMINATION OF OFFICERS.
The following amendments to the King's Regulations were
issued with a Special Army Order dated October 15. The
term “general officer commanding” means the commander of
an army corps or the officer commanding a district outside an
army corps command, unless otherwise stated:
The following will be substituted for paragraphs 203 to
214d.:
CONFIDENTIAL REPORTS.
“203. Confidential reports will be furnished to the War
Office annually on every staff, regimental and departmental
officer. These reports will be made out in the first instance
by the commanding officer or other immediate superior of
the officer reported on, and will record the opinions of the
brigade and divisional (or district) generals commanding.
The brigadier-general need not, however, report upon officers
below the rank of captain, unless he desires to bring an officer
specially to notice. Similarly, the general officer command-
ing division or district need not report on any officer below
the rank of field officer. The army corps commander will
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 187
add his remarks where he desires to do so. These reports
will be strictly confidential and privileged, in no case to be
made public, the instructions laid down in paragraph 214 be-
ing regarded as exceptional and limited to the officers therein
specified. Staff and seconded officers should only be reported
by their immediate superiors, and in such cases the appoint-
ment held should be shown in red ink on the report; but regi-
mental commanders are to bring to notice at any time any
circumstances affecting such staff and seconded officers, which
in their opinion should be laid before the commander in chief.
Seniors of regimental grades should be specially reported on
in anticipation of the annual report, if anything has occurred
likely to prejudice their promotion.
“204. Officers will be recommended in their annual reports,
either: (1) For accelerated promotion (which may be given
either in their own unit or extra-regimentally); (2) for pro-
motion in the ordinary course, or (3) for their promotion to
be delayed for further report. Should the confidential reports
of two successive years recommend delay in promotion, a
special report will be rendered by the three senior officers
present with the unit, stating whether they think it undesira-
ble that the officer should be retained in the service.
“208. In reporting on commanding officers, general officers
will state clearly their opinion as to their fitness for further
promotion or employment, and the nature of appointment, if
any, for which they appear to be most suited.
“209. Reports on adjutants and quartermasters of militia,
yeomanry, and volunteers, who are on the active list, will be
made by the following officers:
“Artillery.—By the officer commanding the militia and
volunteer artillery, through the commanding officer Royal
Artillery.
“Engineers.—By the field officer of Royal Engineers who
inspects the unit concerned, through the district commanding
Royal Engineer.
“Infantry.—By the officer commanding the regimental
district.
“Imperial Yeomanry.—By the officer deputed to inspect
through the inspector-general of cavalry.
“211. Whenever a portion of a unit is detached under a
field officer for any period exceeding six months, the officer
188 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
commanding the unit will call upon the field officer command-
ing the detachment to furnish him with such reports on each
officer as may enable him to complete his own report.
“212. In the case of every officer of less than three years'
service, the reports will be accompanied by special and inde-
pendent reports by each of the three senior officers of the
corps present, recording their opinion whether his retention
in the service is in every respect desirable and likely to be
advantageous to the army. When the officer is serving with
a detachment, these reports will be rendered by the two senior
officers and the officer commanding the detachment.
“214. When the officer, who, in accordance with paragraph
203, first renders the report considers it necessary to record
any fault which affects an officer's character as an officer and
a gentleman, or his fitness for his present position, or for pro-
motion to a higher one, the particulars of the adverse report
are, when practicable, to be read to him, and a copy handed
to him by the general officer commanding the brigade or other
officer to whom the report is rendered, who shall at the same
time communicate any points which may have come under his
observation. If the officer unfavorably reported on is not
present at the time of the inspection, the above particulars
are to be reported to him by letter. A note will be made in
the report that these instructions have been duly attended to,
or an explanation furnished when they have not been carried
out. If the result of the report is considered by the com-
mander in chief to prejudice the officer's chances of further
promotion he will be so informed.
“214a. In recommending officers for ‘accelerated promo-
tion' general and commanding officers will record clearly and
concisely, the special qualifications which make the officer
more efficient than his comrades. Recommendations of this
nature should be sparingly made, and should apply to cases
only where the officer is exceptionally gifted, or where he has
by the very zealous performance of his duties brought him-
self conspicuously to notice.”
The following will be substituted for paragraphs 1163 to
1197a, with effect from January 1, 1904:
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 189
“APPOINTMENT OF STAFF OFFICER FOR EDUCATION AND
INSTRUCTION.
“1163. General officers commanding will detail one of their
staff officers to supervise all arrangements connected with the
general education and instruction of officers and noncom-
missioned officers. He will be immediately responsible for
the proceedings of all boards of examination which will
assemble from time to time, and he will carry out the wishes
of general officers commanding in regard to the steps that
may be considered necessary to assist officers in preparing
themselves for promotion, in accordance with the syllabus set
forth in Appendices VII, VIII, and VIIIa. The name of the
staff officer so nominated will be notified to the War Office.
“1164. In order to insure, as far as possible, a uniform sys-
tem of examination throughout the army, an officer of the
headquarters staff of the army will, from time to time,
attend boards of examinations as an ea officio member. Gen-
eral officers commanding will, therefore, inform the Director
of Military Education and Training, War Office, of the dates
on which boards will assemble, giving not less than one
week’s notice.
“1166. Reference libraries, for the use of officers, are estab-
lished at certain military stations and supplied with standard
military works. These libraries will be in charge of the staff
officer referred to in paragraph 1163, who will inspect all the
books about May 15 of each year, and will send a report
accompanied by a list of the books in his charge and any
remarks that he may have to make concerning their condition,
etc., to the general officer commanding.
“1169. Riding classes for the instruction of officers of
infantry, engineers, and garrison artillery, each lasting from
six weeks to two months, will be formed during the winter
months by general officers commanding at all stations where
there are facilities for doing so.
“EXAMINATION OF SECOND LIEUTENANTs, R. G. A., To QUALIFY.
FOR ARMAMENT PAY.
“1171. (1) Before becoming entitled to the issue of arma-
ment pay second lieutenants, R. G. A., must pass the exam-
ination in coast-defense subjects detailed in Appendix WI.
(2) If an officer fails in this examination he will not be
190 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
examined again within three months, and if he fails to pass
within twelve months of joining he is liable to removal from
the regiment. (3) No officer is eligible for posting to siege,
heavy, or mountain artillery until he has passed this exam-
ination.
“EXAMINATION FOR PROMOTION OF OFFICERS UP TO THE RANK
OF MAJOR.
“1172. The professional examinations required for promo-
tion comprise the following subjects: (a) Regimental duties
(practical, oral, and written). (b) Drill and field training
(practical only). (c) Will be generally carried out during the
training period: (1) Practical military engineering; (2) prac-
tical tactics and topography (field sketching); (3) combined
training; (4) horsemanship (for mounted branches only). (d)
Will be held in May and November: (1) Military engineering,
tactics, and topography; (2) Military law; (3) organization
and equipment; (4) military history. (e) Artillery. (f)
A. S. C. subjects. (h) R. A. M. C. subjects.
“ 1173. For the various subjects (a) to (h), the scope of the
examinations for each rank, and the standard for qualification
and for special certificate, see App. VII.
“1174. The subjects for examination for the various ranks
will be as follows: (1) Warrant officers and noncommissioned
officers, before promotion to second lieutenant, subjects (a)
and (b). (2) Quartermasters and riding masters, before be-
ing granted a commission as lieutenant, subjects (a) and (b).
(3) Second lieutenants, before promotion to lieutenant, sub-
jects (a) and (b) unless they have passed in these subjects
under (1) in the arm of the service in which they are serving.
(4) Lieutenants (except those of R. A. M. C.), before promo-
tion to captain, subjects (c) and (d); lieutenants, R. A. (e) in ad-
dition; lieutenants, A. S. C. (f) in addition. (5) Lieutenants
(appointed after March 31, 1901) R. A. M. C., before promotion
to captain (h); this examination can not be taken before com-
pleting eighteen months’ service. (6) Captains (except those
of R. A. M. C.), before promotion to major, subjects (c) and
(d); captains, A. S. C. (f) in addition. (7) Captains R. A. M. C.
(promoted to that rank after July 27, 1895), before promotion
to major, subject (h); this examination may be taken after
completing five years' service, and will be held at the close of
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 191
a period of special study at times and under arrangements
made by the director-general, A. M. S.
“1175. When officers who have previously qualified are
transferred from one arm of the service, or from one branch
of artillery, to another, they will be required to pass a further
examination in the subjects which relate exclusively to the
arm or branch which they join before being considered
qualified for further promotion.
“1177. The following certificates will be accepted instead
of examination, but a certificate obtained by a subaltern will
not exempt for the rank of major. Candidates claiming
exemption will forward their certificates when they apply to
be examined: 1. A gunnery staff course certificate, instead of
(e) and those portions of (b) which are special to artillery. A
firemaster's or ordnance course certificate, instead of (e) and
that portion of (b) which relates to matériel (the advanced
class certificate (p. a. c.) included the firemaster's certificate).
2. A certificate of having passed the senior class at the Army
Service Corps School of Instruction at Aldershot in lieu of (f).
“1178. Captains who have passed the examination for
admission to the Staff College in military law, fortification,
topography, tactics, military history, and administration, will
not be required to be examined in subject (d), provided they
held the rank of captain at the time of the examination.
“1180. When an officer has passed in any of the subjects
(d) to (h), a notification thereof will be made to the general
officer commanding by the War Office. This notification will
be the authority for the return of the officers as “passed for
promotion,” and will be quoted in support thereof.
“1181. Where an officer has passed a meritorious examina-
tion and has obtained a special certificate, his name will be
noted at the War Office for accelerated promotion, provided he
is also recommended for accelerated promotion in his annual
confidential report. (Wide par. 214a.)
“1182. Officers will not be permitted to present themselves
for examination in subject (c) until they have been promoted
to the rank of lieutenant, nor will officers be allowed to
present themselves for (d) until they have passed in (c). An
officer who twice fails to pass in (c) will not, as a rule, be
permitted to remain in the service.
192 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“1183. A lieutenant of artillery or an officer of the A. S. C.
may be examined only in subject (e) or (f), respectively, at
any periodical examination.
“1184. Candidates for examination will apply through
their commanding officers to general officers commanding.
(See pars. 1187–1190c.) Such application should be accom-
panied by certificates from commanding officers showing, in
the case of a captain, that he is qualified under paragraph 1182,
and also, in the case of cavalry and infantry, that the officer is
in possession of a Hythe certificate. General officers com-
manding will forward to the War Office, not later than April
1 and October 1 in each year, a return, on Army Form B2053,
of all officers in their commands who are desirous of being
examined in subject (d). Officers will not be examined,
except under exceptional circumstances, in an army corps or
district other than the one in which they are quartered.
“1185. Officers of units serving abroad who may be on
leave in this country will be permitted to attend the examina-
tions in subjects (c) to (h), but, except in special circum-
stances, the examinations in subjects (a) and (b) must be
passed by officers while serving with their units. Application
for such permission must be made to the War Office direct.
“1186. The examination of officers serving in India, and all
correspondence connected therewith, will be conducted under
the orders of the commander in chief in India, who will report
for record at the War Office the result of all examinations.
“BOARDS OF EXAMINATION.
“1187. The (a) and (b) examinations will be carried out by
commanding officers, who will appoint a regimental board of
examination with himself or the second in command as presi-
dent and two officers not under the rank of captain as mem-
bers. This board will examine the candidates in strict ac-
cordance with the syllabus given in Appendix VII.
“1188. To examine officers in subject (c) and to supervise
the examinations in subjects (d), (e), (f), and (h) (except (h), i),
the papers of which will be forwarded from the war office,
general officers commanding will select and appoint for a fixed
term of not less than one year, if possible, officers of the va-
rious arms of the service sufficient in number for all the ex-
aminations within their command. (See par. 1190.) Boards
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 193
are to be formed by the general officer commanding from these
officers according to the constitution required in each case.
Selected officers may be exempted from serving on other gar-
rison boards.
“1190. For examinations in subject (c), the board will con-
sist of a president, not below the rank of colonel, and three
members not below the rank of major. “ The general officer
commanding will invariably detail a staff officer as a member
of the board (par. 1163), and an officer from the War Office
will, when possible, attend as an ea officio member to insure
uniformity. The dates of assembly of such boards are to be
reported to the War Office a week before assembly. The
board will furnish for each candidate who passes the exami-
nation a certificate, which will not be signed by the staff
officers.
“1190a. Boards of examination for subjects (d), (e), (f),
and (h) (except (h)i) will be assembled on the first Mondays
in May and November. These boards will consist of a lieu-
tenant-colonel as president and two field officers or members.
The local military authority will determine the constitution
of the boards to examine lieutenants of the R. A. M. C.
under (h)i, and will appoint dates for the examination.
“PROCEEDINGS OF BOARDS
“1191. Officers appointed to carry out an examination in
(c) are required not only to superintend the actions of indi-
vidual candidates, but also to adhere to every detail of the
instructions given in Appendix VII.
“1192. The general officer commanding will deal with the
proceedings of the boards, as follows: (i) In the case of quar-
termasters and riding masters examined for a commission
as lieutenant, and of warrant and noncommissioned officers
selected for promotion to second lieutenant, the proceedings,
together with the written questions and answers, will be
transmitted for confirmation to the War Office, the general
officer commanding expressing his concurrence, or otherwise,
in the opinion of the board. (ii) In the case of second lieu-
tenants, lieutenants, and captains examined in subjects (a),
a When an officer is to be examined in (c)iv an officer of the Army
Veterinary Department will be added to the board.
17430—04—13
194 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
(b), (c), and (h)i, the general officer commanding, after satis-
fying himself that the examination had been conducted in
accordance with regulations, will himself confirm or disap-
prove the proceedings." The proceedings will be retained in
the army corps or district headquarters office, and the certifi-
cates of promotion signed by the board will be at once for-
warded to the War Office. The names of the officers who have
passed will be notified in the orders of the command, and such
notification will be the authority for the return of an officer
as qualified in subjects (a), (b), (c), and (h)i. Each officer will
be furnished by his commanding officer with a certified copy of
this notification. (iii) In the case of subjects (d), (e), (f), and
(h), except (h)i, the general officer commanding will transmit
the proceedings to the War Office, the president of the board
having already forwarded the candidate's work in accordance
with instructions contained in Appendix VII.
“1193. A certificate of proficiency in riding, when riding is
a subject of qualification, must be appended to the proceedings
of the board; this may be obtained as laid down in paragraph
1169, or it may be granted by any general officer commanding,
after examination by himself or by a field officer deputed by
him. This certificate will not be required from officers who
have passed through the Staff College.
“EXAMINATION FOR APPOINTMENT As SECOND IN COMMAND OR
FOR IPROMOTION TO LIEUTENANT-COLONEL.
“1194. A major in a branch of the service in which exami-
nation for promotion is prescribed will not (except provision-
ally, and then only in very exceptional circumstances) be
appointed second in command or promoted to the rank of
lieutenant-colonel until he has passed the prescribed examina-
tion for such appointment or rank.
“1195. To enable officers to prepare themselves for exami.
nation, senior captains and majors will (as far as circum-
stances admit) be permitted at their own request, to proceed
during the drill season for a period not exceeding six weeks,
to one of the following home stations: Aldershot, Salisbury,
Colchester, The Curragh, Shorecliffe or Strensall. They will
a In the case of (a) and (b), the general officer commanding will be the
G. O. C., the brigade or equivalent officer.
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 195
be attached during that period to arms of the service other
than their own, and may be exercised in the command of
mixed forces under the orders and instructions of the general
officer commanding. Captains and majors on leave from
abroad will be allowed to attend if accommodation is available
for them. The commander in chief in India has made arrange-
ments under which officers who are on leave in India can be
attached in that country to other arms, and tested as to their
tactical fitness for command.
“1196. At stations where facilities exist boards will be
assembled from time to time under the orders of general
officers commanding in accordance with the following rules:
(a) The board will consist of three officers only. The presi-
dent must be a general officer, and the two members not under
the rank of lieutenant-colonel, or of junior rank to a candi-
date. An officer from the War Office will be an ea officio
member of this board. (b) Officers appointed to serve on
the board should be selected for their knowledge of tactics of
the three arms. (c) One member of the board should, if pos-
sible, be an officer of the arm of the service to which the can-
didate belongs. (d) The proceedings of the board will be
conducted in accordance with the instructions contained in
Appendix VIII.
“1197. At stations in the United Kingdom where facilities
for carrying out the examination for tactical fitness with
troops do not exist, general officers commanding will be at
liberty to substitute staff rides and war games. These exer-
cises will be conducted and the candidates examined by board
of officers assembled from time to time by order of the general
officer commanding. The general officer commanding will
himself be the confirming authority. (a) The board will con-
sist of a general officer as president, two colonels, and two
lieutenant-colonels as members. The President will have two
staff officers to assist him, and an officer from the War Office
will be an ea officio member of the board, but these officers
will not be concerned in signing the certificate. (b) Officers
appointed to serve on the board should be selected for their
knowledge of tactics of the three arms, and for their experi-
ence in such exercises. (c) One member of the board will, if
possible, be an officer of the arm of the service to which the
candidate belongs. (d) The proceedings of the board will be
196 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
conducted in accordance with the instructions contained in
Appendix VIIIa.
“1197a. An officer who fails to pass these examinations
(pars. 1196 or 1197), will not be allowed to present himself
for examination again, within six months, unless in special
cases, when War Office authority will be necessary.
“1197 b. Majors (promoted after March 31, 1895), of the
R. A. M. C., before promotion to lieutenant-colonel will be
examined in the subjects laid down in Appendix VIIIb. The
examination which may be taken at any time after three years
in the rank of major, will be held in the district in which the
officer is serving at the same time and place and under the
same arrangements as directed for lieutenants in paragraph
1190a.”
The following is a summary of the appendices which will be
substituted for Appendices VI, VII, VIII, and VIIIa, with
effect from January 1, 1904:
“APPENDIX VI.
“This gives the syllabus of examination of second lieuten-
ants, R. G. A., to qualify for the issue of armament pay. In
addition to the usual examination, before an officer is entitled
to draw armament pay, he must pass an examination, both
written and practical, in the following subjects, within four
months of joining his company :
“(i). For coast defense companies.—Artillery store accounts
and care and preservation of armament.
“APPENDIX VII.
“I. Syllabus.
“(a) Regimental duties.
omy, miscellaneous.
“(b) Training.—Cavalry: Drills, musketry, instruction,
miscellaneous. Artillery (horse, field, or mountain batteries):
Drills and exercises. Siege companies and heavy batteries:
Drills and exercises, observations of fire, equipment. Engi-
neers and infantry: Drills, exercises, musketry, instruction,
miscellaneous. Army service corps: Drills, exercises, mus-
ketry instructions, miscellaneous subjects.-For warrant
and noncommissioned officers on selection for commissions as
Discipline, duties, internal econ-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 197
second lieutenants, and for second lieutenants, quartermasters,
and riding masters, before promotion to lieutenant.
“(c) Duties in the field (oral and practical).-As a rule to be
carried out during the training period. Lieutenants and cap-
tains for promotion: (i) Practical military engineering; (ii)
tactics and practical topography (field sketching); (iii) com-
bined training; (iv) horse mastership (for mounted branches
only).
“(d) Theoretical and paper ea'amination.—To be held in
May and November. Lieutenants and captains for promotion:
(i) Military engineering, tactics, and topography (to include
the working out on paper and maps of some simple tactical
problems). (ii) Military law: Lieutenants, before promotion
to captain, and captains before promotion to major. (iii) Or-
ganization and equipment (for officers other than those of the
A. S. C. and R. A. M. C.): In addition to The Army Book of
the British Empire (this is under revision), War Establish-
ments, and Equipment Regulations, officers may read any
other works they please. (iv) Military history: These papers
will consist of general questions on strategy and military his-
tory, on books which will be notified in army orders of Jan-
uary in each year for the succeeding examinations in May and
November, and in addition there will be an examination in a
special campaign.
“(e) Artillery.—Lieutenant, horse and field artillery only:
Gunnery, guns and carriages, training, horse mastership,
entraining and detraining, gunpits and epaulments, destruction
and disablement of ordnance, passage of obstacles. Lieu-
tenant, garrison artillery: Gunnery, matériel, equipment,
training, miscellaneous, practice.
“(f) Army Service Corps subjects (to be divided into sep-
arate papers on supply and transport duties). —(For officers
of A. S. C. only): Lieutenants, before promotion to captain;
and captains before promotion to major.
“(h) Royal Army Medical Corps subjects (for officers of R.
A. M. C. only).-Lieutenants, before promotion to captain;
and captains before promotion to major.
“II. Instruction for the guidance of eacanºning boards in
subjects (d), (e), (f), and (h).
“This gives the details of the examinations, etc.
198 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“III. Standard of qualification.
“The percentage of marks required for a ‘pass” and for
obtaining a ‘special certificate’ will be as follows:
“For pass.-0.5 in each subhead of (c) and (d), and 0.5 in
(e), (f), and (h). An officer who fails in one subhead only of
(d) will be reexamined in that subhead only when he again
presents himself for examination.
“For special certificate.—Cavalry, R. E. and infantry: An
aggregate of 0.8 in (c) and (d). Artillery: 0.8 in (e), and
an aggregate of 0.8 in (c) and (d). A. S. C.: 0.8 in (f) and an
aggregate of 0.8 in (c) and (d). R. A. M. C.: 0.8 in (h) and
0.8 in (d) ii.
“APPENDIX VIII.
“Syllabus of eaſamination for promotion to //eutenant-
colone! or appointment as second ºn command.
“The subject in which the board is to test the capabilities of
the officer (except in the case of an officer of the Royal Malta
Artillery) are as follows: (i) Map reading: ‘setting” a map:
finding his position in the field on a small-scale map; facility in
reading such maps and in identifying points, both distant and
near; estimating distances on a map, direct and by road. The
test in the field should, when possible, be applied on ground
with which the officer who is being tested is not familiar. (ii)
Showing with colored pencils on a contoured map the dispo-
sitions of a force consisting of one or two battalions, one bat-
tery (or a portion of one), and one or two squadrons. in
compliance with the conditions of a tactical problem. (iii)
Indicating on a map the dispositions and writing the orders
to be issued to commanders of units by the commander of a
force—which will be such as is specified in ii—for the solution
of two tactical problems. The purpose of this subject is to
test an officer's capacity to devise an operation for a particular
purpose and to frame correct orders to carry out his inten-
tions. (iv) (a) Handling, in a tactical operation in the field, a
regiment, battalion, or battery, at the option of the candi-
date. (b) Carrying out changes of position, front and forma-
tion to meet surprise situations.
“The board will communicate. to the candidate two or
three imaginary situations (such as “a battery is coming into
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 199
action on your right front,’ ‘a cavalry regiment has appeared
to your left rear,” etc.), in order to ascertain the candidate’s
readiness to at once adapt his formation to meet the situation.
(v) Commanding in the field a force of all arms (as specified
in (ii) ) in any operation of minor tactics, and issuing the
necessary orders within half an hour of receiving a statement
on the tactical problem to be solved. The board will prepare
the schemes, superintend the exercise, and issue ‘general’ and
‘special’ ideas for the opposing forces. Actual troops must
be employed. When the force employed is unavoidably less
than that prescribed, an explanation should accompany the
proceedings of the board. Imaginary troops or skeleton
corps are not permitted, but should a board, from the result
of the practical examination, doubt the capacity of any can-
didate, it may set him a further question with imaginary
troops. The board will award credit for intelligence, judg-
ment, common sense, and readiness of resource in making the
best of any unforseen situation; and in forming their opinion
of a candidate's qualifications, they should consider his writ-
ten orders. These orders need not be attached to the pro-
ceedings. As a tactical problem frequently admits of more
than one solution, it is not to be expected that a candidate
will always hold the same views as the members of the board,
but when he does not he will be called upon to give his
I’68 SODS.
“APPENDIX VIIIa.
“Sy//abus of eacamination for promotion to lieutenant-colonel,
or appointment of second in command.
“The exercises in which the board will test the capabilities of
an officer are as follows: (i) A staff ride; (ii) a war game. (i)
The staff ride will consist of exercises in standing, march, and
battle orders; reconnaissance of positions, and lines of offense
and defense; defense of villages, woods, rivers, etc.; rough
sketches and calculations supporting the above schemes. (ii)
The war game will include exercises in writing an appreciation
of the situation, writing orders, calculations of time and space,
map reading. The board will draw up the necessary schemes
and express their opinion on the capabilities of each officer
under examination, recording individually their opinion as to
200 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
whether the candidate has passed or not. Candidates should
not be placed in command of larger forces than the brigades
in the staff ride nor divisions in the war game. The staff ride
will be carried out within the command area of the general
officer commanding the army corps or district concerned, and
will last four days. The work of each candidate will be super-
vised on the ground by a member of the board.
“APPENDIX VIII b.
“This contains the syllabus of the examination for promo-
tion to lieutenant-colonel, R. A. M. C.”—The Army and Mavy
Gazette, October 24, 1903.
COAL STORAGE.
That the effective storage of coal for the navy is a matter
of extreme importance is not to be denied, and every sugges-
tion made with a view to assisting in the solution of the
problem is well worthy of consideration.
The matter was prominently brought to notice some little
time ago by Lord Charles Beresford, who stated “that in his
experience a vessel would have to consume more than twice
the normal amount of coal per indicated horsepower if the
coal had been kept too long in store.” A loss of 50 per cent
is possibly too high an estimate, but it is well known from
experience and observation that in England a loss of from
10 to 12 per cent in steam-raising power will occur in coal
which has been exposed to the action of the weather for
twelve months or more. In foreign countries, and in hot
climates especially, the loss may be twice as high. In order
to prevent such deterioration taking place it was suggested
by Mr. Macaulay, the general manager of the Alexandra
docks and railway at Newport, that a better result might be
obtained if the coal were stored under water. The notion
doubtless appeared to many as absurd, but Mr. Macaulay has
carried out some experiments which go far to show that a
trial of his proposal is at least worth making. Indeed, it has
been reported that the Admiralty intend making some such
trial. Naturally some little time must elapse before the coal
thus placed under water can be tested, and if Mr. Macaulay's
experiments are any guide it should be found that the longer
the coal is in the water the better the result obtained.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 201
For the purpose of his experiments he took four descrip-
tions of coal: First, the very best Monmouthshire coal pro-
curable, perhaps the best in the world for stoking purposes.
Then he took two samples procured from the dock company,
one lot of which was known to have been under water for
three years, and some more which had been under water ten
years. Finally, his fourth sample consisted of coal recovered
from the bottom of the sea outside of the mouth of the river
Usk. The exact age of this river coal was not known, but it
had probably been under water considerably over ten years,
and was in the form of rounded bowlders, some of these being
covered with barnacles.
The four samples of coal were tested in a locomotive, with
the result that, in order of value for steam raising and actual
working results, the river coal answered the best; the coal
that had been under water ten years came next, the fresh coal
was third, and the coal that had been only three years under
water came last. But even this last sample had lost only 1.6
per cent of working power.-
If these experiments are worth anything at all, they would
appear to demonstrate that coal stored under water deterio-
rates much less quickly than coal stored in the air, and that
if only left long enough coal actually gains in power by being
placed under water.
Mr. Macaulay explains that the high value of the river coal
may be accounted for by the fact that in traveling through
the mud and sand at the bottom of the sea only the harder
and better kernels had been preserved and the less valuable
portions worn away. It will hardly be suggested that an
attempt should be made to reproduce by artificial means coal
such as this which was found in the Usk. But, on the other
hand, the difference between the 2 per cent loss of working
power in the coal dredged up from the bottom of the dock,
where it had lain for only three years, and the 10 per cent
loss of that stored for a twelvemonth on land is very striking.
If similarly good results can be obtained with coal pur-
posely submerged, the saving which can be effected on foreign
stations should be very large.
It seems possible, also, that north country coal treated in
this way will be found to have gained in smokeless quality.
There are no practical difficulties in the way of storing coal
202
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
under water in large quantities, or in recovering it quickly
when wanted. Nor is there very much in the argument that
placing wet coals in the bunkers of a ship would be a source
of danger.
A very few hours’ exposure in the sun's heat would be suffi-
cient to make it as dry as to obviate this disadvantage, and,
moreover, it is most likely that the coal would be used very
quickly after it was placed on board.
It has been truly said
that the efficiency and power of immediate action of a fleet
depends as much on an adequate supply of coal at its naval
base as upon almost anything else, and if by the method which
Mr. Macaulay indicates the quality of the coal so stored can
be improved he will well deserve the thanks of the nation.—
The Army and Navy Gazette, October 3, 1903.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Pºlº * Where building. Remarks.
BATTLE SHIPS. Toms.
A --------------------------------- 18,000 |... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . To be laid down this year.
B --------------------------------- 18,000 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DO.
! --------------------------------- 18,000 |. -----...--------. DO.
Hindostan. . . . . . . . . . -------. . . . . . . 16, 350 | Clydebank . . . . . Building.
New Zealand.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 350 | Portsmouth . . . . DO.
Commonwealth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 350 Glasgow . . . . . . . . Launched May 13, 1903.
Dominion -----------------------. 16, 350 | LOndon . . . . . . . . Launched Aug. 25, 1903.
King Edward VII. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16, 350 | Devonport. . . . . . Launched July 23, 1903.
Queen ---------------------------- 15,000 | . . . . . do . . . . . . . . . . Launched March, 1902.
Prince of Wales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,000 | Chatham . . . . . . . Launched May, 1902.
ARMORED CHUISERS.
Duke of Edinburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,500 | Pembroke ... --- Building.
Black Prince . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 500 | Blackwall . . . . . . DO.
3.--------------------------------- 13, 500 | Pembroke . . . . . . DO.
4.--------------------------------- 13, 500 |- - - - - do . . . . . . . . . . Projected.
5---------------------------------- 13, 500 |..... do -------... DO.
6---------------------------------- 13, 500 |. . . . . do ---------. DO.
Hampshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,700 | Elswick . . . . . . . . Building.
Devonshire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,700 | Chatham . . . . . . . DO.
Roxburgh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 700 || Glasgow. . . . . . . . DO.
Antrim --------. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,700 | Clydebank ..... DO.
Argyll -------. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,700 || Greenock....... DO.
Carnarvon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10, 700 || Glasgow ........ DO.
Monmouth . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,800 | Govan (London | Under trial.
and Glasgow
Co.).
Cornwall . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,800 Pembroke . . . . . . Launched October, 1902.
Suffolk ------. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 9,800 | Portsmouth ... Launched January, 1903.
Cumberland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 9,800 Govan (London | Launched December, 1902.
| and Glasgow
| CO.).
Lancaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9, 800 | Elswick . . . . . . . . IJIlder trial.
PROTECTEI) ("RU ISEFS.
Challenger . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F, 880 | Chatham . . . . . . . Under trial.
Encounter. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,880 || Devonport...... Launched June, 1902.
Topaz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 | Birken head | Launched July 23, 1903.
(Laird).
Amethyst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 | Elswick (Arm- Building; to have Par-
Strong). Son’s turbines.
Diamond . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 | Birken head | Building.
* (Laird).
Sapphire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,000 || Yarrow (Palm- DO.
er).
BULLETIN OF MILITARY IN OTES. 203
|Vessels building—Continued.
N'ſ Displace- e * * *
Name. Inent. Where building. i Remarks.
*------ * - - - - -—-. |
GUNBOATS. Tom S. |
Cadmus ----------...------------- 1,096 Sheerness ... - - - | Launched Apr. 29.
Clio ------------------------------ 1,096 |. . . . . do ... -------. Launched.
SCOUTS.
Adventure ................... ---. 2,750 | Elswick . . . . . . . . Building.
Forward-------------------------- 2, 545 Fairfield. . . . . . . . DO.
Pathfinder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,610 | Birkenhead . . . . . DO.
Sentinel ... ----------------------. 2,900 || Wickers. . . . . . . . . DO.
8---------------------------------- 2,800 | . . . . . do ---------- DO.
6---------------------------------- 2,800 Fairfield. . . . . . . . | DO.
7---------------------------------- 2,800 | Elswick . . . . . . . . DO.
8---------------------------------- 2,800 | Birkenhead .... DO.
The Princess of Wales visited Devonport on Thursday,
July 23, and launched the first-class barbette battle ship Hºng
Edward VII from the Royal Dockyard. The Aºng Edward
VII is one of a class of five battle ships designed by Sir
William H. White, formerly assistant controller of the navy
and director of naval construction. The following are the
principal dimensions of the Kºng Edward VII: Length
between perpendiculars, 425 feet; breadth, extreme, 78 feet;
load draft of water, forward, 26 feet 3 inches; aft, 27 feet
3 inches; load displacement, 16,350 tons; indicated horse-
power (estimated), 18,000; speed with full power, 184 knots.
Her engines, which have been made by Messrs. Harland &
Wolff, Belfast, consist of two independent sets of vertical
triple-expansion engines, each having four cylinders. Each
set is capable of developing 9,000 horsepower, with 120 rev-
olutions per minute. She will have fourteen separate water-
tube boilers of the Babcock & Wilcox type, and six separate
cylindrical boilers, each capable of being used independently of
the others. The armament will be as follows: Four 12-inch
breech-loading guns, working in two barbettes; four 9.2-inch
breech-loading guns, worked in 4 barbettes; ten 6-inch quick-
firing guns, worked in battery; twelve 12-pounder 12-
hundredweight quick-firing guns; two 12-pounder 8-hundred-
weight quick-firing guns; fourteen 3-pounder quick-firing
guns; two .303 Maxim guns, and four submerged torpedo tubes.
She will have a complement of 777 officers and men. The
first keel plate of the ship was laid on March 8, 1902, by the
King, after the Queen had named the battle ship Queen. The
Kºng Edward VII has been under construction sixteen and
204 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
one-half months, and is in a very advanced stage, about 6,100
tons of material having been worked into her, including 675
tons of armor.—Engineering.
The Admiralty are hesitating about proceeding further with
their plans for a new class of battle ship, designed by the new
chief constructor, of 18,000 tons displacement. It is felt that
warships with a beam of 80 feet and upwards will be difficult
to dock in many ports throughout the British Dominions, and
it is now proposed to adhere to the size of the King Edward
VII class, which have a displacement of 15,000 tons, and a .
width of 78 feet 6 inches. Three of this type of ships are
now building—the King Edward VII, the Dominion, and the
Commonwealth. —The Iron Age.
The Admiralty have issued specifications for three armored
cruisers to be built in private yards, and machinery for a
fourth to be built at Pembroke. The tenders are to be
returned by the first week in August. These cruisers are to
be practically of the same type as the Duke of Edinburgh
laid down at Pembroke, and to be engined by Messrs. Haw-
thorn, Leslie & Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne, and as the Black
Prince, being built and engined by the Thames Ironworks.
These ships are of the central-battery type, with most of the
quick-firing guns within the citadel, and separated by armored
bulkheads or traverses, while the forward and aft guns are
in separate gun towers. This enables six 9.2-inch guns to be
mounted, one at each corner of the citadel, with separate bow
and stern chasing guns of the same caliber.
In addition, there are to be ten 6-inch quick-firers and 28
small guns. The Duke of Edinburgh class of ship has a
length of 480 feet, a beam of 73 feet 6 inches, and at 27 feet
draft the displacement will be 13,550 tons. A speed of 22.33
knots is to be reached when the engines are developing 23,500
horsepower.— United Service Gazette. -
The first-class armored cruiser Donegal, the latest produc-
tion of the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company,
Limited, for the British Admiralty, returned to Fairfield
dock on Tuesday, September 14, having completed the trials
stipulated in the contract. The following is a statement of
the results: One-fifth power, 4,674 indicated horsepower, 88.8
revolutions, 14.75 knots speed; three-fourths power, 16,333
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 205
indicated horsepower, 136.4 revolutions, 22.30 knots speed;
full power, 22,154 indicated horsepower, 146.8 revolutions,
23.737 knots speed.— Proceedings of U. S. Waval Institute,
September, 1903.
COALING OF SHIPS.
A general signal was made to the Mediterranean fleet at
Gibraltar on July 31, announcing that the Spartiate had beaten
the record for first-class cruisers coaling from the Mole, having
taken on board 1,100 tons in five and one-half hours, an aver-
age of 200 tons per hour. The Spartiate's name has been
placed on the record board.— United Service Gazette.
NEW TORPEDO BOATS FOR THE BRITISH NAVY.
Messrs. John I. Thornycroft & Co., Limited, of Chiswick,
have just completed the five first-class torpedo boats, Nos. 109
to 113, recently ordered of them by the British Admiralty.
These boats are 166 feet long by 174 feet beam, and so are
slightly larger than the four similar boats built by the com-
pany two years ago, being 6 feet longer and 3 inches wider
in the beam. The armament consists, as usual in this class of
boat, of three deck torpedo tubes (two forward on the broad-
side and one aft), and three 3-pounder guns similarly disposed.
The propelling machinery consists of one set of Thornycroft
inclined four cylinder tripple-expansion condensing engines
driving a single screw, and steam is supplied from two
Thornycroft-Schulz water-tube boilers of the most modern
type. The working pressure is 220 pounds per square inch,
and the specified horsepower 2,900. These vessels are the
first to be tried under the new Admiralty regulations for trials
of torpedo boats and torpedo-boat destroyers. These regu-
lations are interesting as showing how very searchingly the
Admiralty tests such vessels before acceptance from the con-
tractors. There are three specified full-speed tests, as indi-
cated in the following table:

- e Minimum mean speed Minimum mean speed
Nature of trial. Duration. On measured mile. on straight.
Preliminary-----------------. 2 hours ... Contract speed, less | Contract speed, less
half knot. half knot.
Coal consumption . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 hours ...l..... do ---------------- DO.
Full Speed--------------------|----- do ----|----- do ---------------- Contract speed.
206 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
On each of these trials six runs are made on the measured
mile to ascertain the revolutions per knot at the specified
speed, and on this basis the speed during the rest of the trial
is calculated. If the mean of the six runs is less than the
minimum indicated above, the trial has to be abandoned. The
specified load is carried on the first two trials, but on the third
it is modified 1 ton (or in destroyers 4 tons), being added or
substracted for every one-tenth of a pound that the coal con-
sumption per indicated horsepower is greater or less than 2.5
pounds. On no trial is the maximum indicated horsepower
to exceed that specified by more than 5 per cent. On these
vessels the specified load was 42 tons, i. e., more than on the
30-knot destroyers of nearly thrice their displacement, and
the speed 25 knots.
In addition to the above, trials of 12 hours' duration were
carried out on boats Nos. 111, 112, and 113 at 10, 12, and 8.5
knots, respectively, to ascertain the most economical speed.
A speed of 12 knots gave the greatest radius of action, giving
52.26 knots per ton of coal, or a radius of 2,200 knots. At
15 knots the knots per ton were 30.64, and the radius of action
1,280 knots, but the coal per indicated horsepower was only
1,387 pounds per hour—a rather remarkable result. The
radius of action at full speed is about 300 knots. The above-
mentioned trials are, of course, in addition to steaming trials,
stopping and starting trials, gun trials, circle trials, trials
of auxiliary engines and minute inspection when the machin-
ery is opened out after trial. The trials have been carried
out during the winter and spring, which have been excep-
tionally stormy, and thus many of them took place in boister-
ous weather. The vessels proved themselves very good sea
boats, and showed that full speed could be maintained in
rough weather, and they are remarkably free from vibration.
To obtain fifteen successful full-speed trials one or two had
to be abandoned from various causes, but on most occasions
the machinery gave the greatest satisfaction in every way.—
Engineering.
THE NEW DIETARY OF THE NAVY.
The new dietary of the navy, in accordance with which the
men have a cup of cocoa on waking and supper, which they
have hitherto had to purchase at the canteen, came into oper-
ation throughout the fleet last week.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 207
As compared with the former diet, each man now receives
five instead of three meals per day. — The Times, London,
October 9, 1903.
THE BELLEISLE EXPERIMENTS.
The Belleisle hulk, which was sunk on September 4 by an
18-inch Whitehead torpedo, was floated and docked at Ports-
mouth last week.
The experiment was one of the most important that has ever
been carried out with the Whitehead torpedo, as the ship had
been so stiffened as to be stronger below the belt than any sea-
going warship; but, on the other hand, by way of compensa-
tion, the torpedo was specially favored. Outside the ship,
just abaft the port bow, was built a compartment about 2
feet in beam, and this was filled with corn-pith cellulose; next
to this compartment came the skin of the ship; between the
skin of the ship and the boiler room were six longitudinal
bulkheads, and these were intersected by a transverse bulk-
head extending from the boiler room to the skin of the ship.
Two of the longitudinal compartments had a beam of 3 feet
6 inches, and each was filled with coal. The Whitehead tor-
pedo was lashed under the outer casemate that was filled with
corn-pith cellulose, and was electrically fired from the Vernon.
If the conditions did not exactly comply with what would
obtain in actual warfare, it will be seen that in the handicap-
ping the ship was given the advantage. As a matter of fact,
however, the outside casemate with its cellulose was blown
into the air the instant the torpedo was exploded, the bulk-
heads were shattered, and the decks were so blown up inward,
upward, and downward that not a ton of coal could be found
in the original emplacement. The work of destruction in a
latitudinal line stopped at the bulkhead of the boiler room;
but the extraordinary radius of the explosion afforded some
useful instruction.
The result of the trial is regarded by the torpedo school as
such a success that the ship is to be brought forward for
further torpedo experiments.-London Times, October 16,
1903. -
208 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES
THE PRESENT STATUS OF THE SUBMARINE-BOAT
QUESTION.
England, which has hitherto maintained an attitude of skep-
tical reserve, is now taking a position in the submarine-boat
question. In the center of the broad opening of the Firth of
Forth, the small island of Inch Keith, situated off the coast
from Edinburgh, is being organized as a base for submarine
vessels. The work is kept very secret, as are also the exper-
iments being conducted at the shipyard of Vickers & Co. at
Barrow with new types of submarine boats.
From the fortification of Inch Keith as well as from a state-
ment of Admiral Fisher at a banquet of the Royal Academy,
it may be concluded that England has abandoned her reserve
with regard to these new engines of naval warfare, and that
the tactical utility of submarines is no longer doubted in
authoritative circles.
It is true that what leaks out concerning the experiments
being made in France, the leading country in the submarine-
boat question, is not of such a nature as to prove the absolute
necessity of adopting submarines in navies. The American
experiments in this line also show thus far that the submarine
boat is still in an elementary stage of its existence. At any
rate, all that we hear seems to indicate that while the subma-
rine boat will eventually acquire a tactical value, the ideal
type has not yet been found.
One of the chief objections made against submarine boats is
the inadequate means of observation offered by the submerged
vessel. Observation is done at present by means of the
so-called periscope, a mirror arrangement in the form of a
tube projecting above the surface of the water. Concerning
the latest experiments which have been made in France in
this respect, we read the following in the Internationale
Revue:
“A short time ago the submarine boat Espadon was prac-
ticing near Cherbourg, when her commander saw a large
trans-Atlantic steamer loom up in the distance; this he decided
to utilize as the object of an experiment. He immediately
dove, requiring seven or eight minutes for this purpose, and
approached the steamer with the aid of his periscope to within
the distance necessary for discharging a torpedo. Then he
suddenly emerged in front of the steamer and cried out to the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 209
commander that he had just struck him with a torpedo. The
bold feat was rewarded with loud hurrahs, according to press
reports.”
The force of the exaggerated conclusions drawn from this
instance in regard to the powers of observation of the sub-
marine was, however, considerably weakened by an accident
which recently occurred, also at Cherbourg. Three subma-
rine boats, among them the Marval, were maneuvering there,
when suddenly the Warval, while under water, collided with
a harbor steamer in such a manner that the latter sank. The
French press at first merely felt pride at the fact that the
Marval had escaped from this collision with but slight injuries,
but it was soon realized that the observation of the AWarval
must have failed and that a great danger lies in such exercises.
If, for instance, the Espadom, when attacking the steamer,
had got beyond control for any reason, there might easily
have resulted a catastrophe for the steamer.
Other experiments are described in the June number of the
Marine-Rundschau, where the following appears: “The sub-
marine boats Fanfadet and Korrigan attacked the northern
squadron anchored off Rochefort on April 24, and their bluish
periscopes were seen at a distance of 7% miles. During these
maneuvers torpedo-boat destroyers were employed by the
squadron to keep off the submarine boats, but without suc-
cess. The two boats even made successful attacks on ships
in motion. On May 1 the armored coast-defense vessel under
Admiral Tréhouart was struck several times by both subma-
rines while running into the La Pallice road, and was declared
hors de combat.” -
While the three armored coast-defense vessels and the
armored cruiser Dupuy de Lôme were running from La Pal-
lice to Cherbourg, the two submarine boats were recognized
at Chassiron from a long distance by their high projecting
periscopes. The vessels were running at a speed of 9 nautical
miles in line ahead; the leader was struck by a maneuver tor-
pedo, the submarine then diving and passing under the vessel,
when it turned and struck one of the following vessels from
the other side. -
The latter experiments do not, at any rate, appear at all
unfavorable. Another question is whether the torpedo boats
17430—04—14
210 |BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
show the requisite amount of resistance against mines explod-
ing in their neighborhood or against the detonation of their
own torpedoes. In this respect an experiment undertaken at
Cherbourg is instructive. The submarine boat Wałade was
sunk and anchored with nothing but some wethers on board,
whereupon mines were set off at distances of 30 to 50 m. As
neither the boat nor the wethers showed any injury, the crew
and the committee boarded the boat and the latter fired a
loaded torpedo at a target 60 m. off, where it exploded with-
out affecting the boat in any way, although the explosion
exerted a powerful pressure on the body of the boat. These
experiments seem to show this much, that it will be necessary
to approach within the immediate vicinity of submarines in
order to render them harmless by means of countermines,
and that the torpedo discharged by a submarine does not
injure the latter even when it explodes at a short distance.
How great the inclination is in England to assign a decisive
pôle to the submarine boat in a future naval war is shown by
a war game played by the Naval War Game Society at Ports-
mouth, which is discussed in the June number of the Marine-
Rundschau.
A war between Germany and the United States had been
made the subject of the game, it being assumed that Germany
had no submarine boats and the United States 8. Although it
was assumed that the German navy surpassed the American
by 5 ships of the line and about 50 torpedo boats, it is easily
imaginable that the Anglo-Saxons would let their cousins
across the water win after a few ornamental defeats. The
main battle occurred in the waters of Kiaou-Tchou, where the
Americans annihilated the whole German fleet except one
vessel, which escaped. The last action occurred in the West
Indian waters, and here it was the submarine boats which
caused the result to turn out in favor of the Americans. The
English thus ascribe a considerable offensive power to the sub-
marine at high sea, an opinion not shared among American
naval circles. At least the American Lieutenant White, upon
completion of his experiments with the submarine boats Adder
and Moccasin, handed in a report which closed with the fol-
lowing sentence: “As a final resource in defense, and in the
support of works of defense, the submarine boat, if further
improved and well handled, will become a valuable weapon.
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 211
Its inhabitability, its maneuvering powers, and its stability
must, however, first be proved under such circumstances as
would prevail if the boat stood exposed to wind and wave
before the entrance to a harbor of commercial or strategical
importance.”
The idea is therefore here definitely expressed that the sub-
marine boat, even if still further perfected, is only adapted
for defensive purposes and is, practically speaking, confined
in its activities to harbors.-Meue Militärische Blätter, June
20–27, 1903.
A USTRALIA.
APPARATUS FOR ARRESTING FIRE IN SHIPS' HOLDS.
It is well known that fires on board a ship are most difficult
to contend with; it is next to impossible to find the actual
location; there is danger of suffocation in any attempt to go
below, and a fire in the center of the cargo can not be reached.
The heating of coal cargoes has caused the loss of many
ships, and there has been little chance of coping with such a
condition, except by discharging a portion of the cargo and
flooding the hold with water, which is often impossible.
Dr. L. E. Eames, of Newcastle, N. S. W., has evolved a
system for using gas, for which he claims the following:
1. It will check spontaneous combustion where there are
evidences of heating.
2. It will extinguish fire if it has already occurred.
3. It will prevent the occurrence of an explosion from a
mixture of gas and air.
By his method the air in the ship's hold is rapidly mixed
with a sufficient supply of a gas to make it efficient in arrest-
ing a heated condition, the gas being absolutely nonexplosive.
The apparatus consists of a fairly water-tight wooden box
or-trough, built on the floor of each hold, at the lowest point,
and as near the center between the bulkheads as is convenient
(in coal bunkers, at the bottom toward one side), and a small
pipe leading from the deck to this trough. In the coal ships
the thermometer tube may serve for the purpose, and when
the ship is carrying a general cargo the tube may remain a
permanent fixture. The trough is filled with a few tons of a
212 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
material about half as bulky as coal. This, with some gallons
of an easily stored liquid, comprises the entire outfit. The
entire cost of fitting a ship with apparatus sufficient for
charging the hold six times is estimated at $100. As the ma-
terial does not deteriorate with age or exposure to the action
of salt water it may be carried for years, yet it is always ready
for use in case of emergency.—Consular Reports, April, 1903.
SUEZ CANAL.
Last year 3,708 vessels, of a net tonnage of 11,248,413
tons, passed through the Suez Canal, an increase over the
previous year of 9 vessels and 424,573 tons, and over 1900 of
267 vessels and 1,510,261 tons. Transit receipts amounted
to 103,720,020 francs, and were higher than in any previous
year since the opening of the canal, showing an increase of
3,333,623 francs as compared with 1901. The directors re-
mark that “no special reason can be assigned for the increase
in the trade through the canal, except that the economical
situation of India has recently improved and that there has
been an increased activity in the trade with the East.”
The number of troops carried through the canal last year
amounted to 84,946, against 136,514 in 1901, being a decrease
of 52,568. There was an increase of 8,528 British, 272
American, and 130 Portuguese, against a decrease of 21,597
Russian, 17,677 German, 13,433 Turkish, 6,743 French, 600
Italian, 245 Japanese, and 176 Dutch troops as compared with
1901. The number of civilian passengers amounted to
98,213 in 1902, as against 92,046 in the preceding year,
being an increase of 6,167, while the number of pilgrims,
emigrants, and convicts was 40,499 in 1902, as compared with
41,661 in 1901, or a decrease of 1,162.-Consular Reports,
October, 1903.
CANADA.
REORGANIZATION CANADIAN ARMY.
The country generally approves the great scheme of mili-
tary reorganization submitted to Parliament by Sir F. Bor-
den, as recommended by Lord Dundonald.
The fundamental idea is a central camp of instruction,
20,000 or 30,000 acres in extent, at which selected men of all
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 213
arms will be assembled to carry out maneuvers under service
conditions. These men, knowing their work thoroughly, will
then go to district camps of instruction, which will thus be
permeated with the knowledge acquired in the central camp.
In combination with this training there will be armories for
every company and sqadron throughout the country and
means for the men to instruct themselves in their profession
during the winter months. Sir F. Borden informed the
House that he had adopted the principle proposed to him by
Lord Dundonald for obtaining a militia force of 100,000 men
available for immediate service in case of need, but costing
the country the smallest possible sum. About 40 per cent of
this total will be trained annually and will receive improved
pay. The remaining 60 per cent of the establishment will be
enrolled for war service and for as much voluntary peace
training as they care to do. They will be supplied with rifles
and ammunition, and will be enabled to make themselves good
shots. These will form the flesh and blood which in case of
mobilization will clothe the skeleton of picked and well-
trained officers and men.
A capital sum of $1,300,000 a year for five years is prom-
ised to provide new guns for field and garrison artillery; to .
increase the supply of modern rifles from less than 40,000 to
more than 100,000; to furnish a reserve of service clothing,
stores, and equipment, and to provide rifle ranges and armo-
ries for the militia all over the country. The military depart-
ments are being more efficiently organized, and new ones are
being started, including an intelligence department, which is
to undertake the survey and mapping of Canada, an ordnance
department, and an engineer department. Sir F. Borden
also stated that the cavalry, which now numbers nearly sixty
squadrons, will be trebled or quadrupled.—The London Times,
Friday, October 16, 1903.
INDIA.
NEWS FROM THE BRITISH INDIAN ARMY.
1. THE ARMY IN THE LAST YEAR.
Maj. Gen. Sir Edmund Elles, member of the viceroyal gov-
ernment, has appended to the report of the expenses of the
army a memorandum about the progress of the Indian army
214 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
during the fiscal year 1902–3, expired on the 31st of March,
which contains many things worthy of observation.
In that year the rest of the native regiments have received
the Lee-Enfield rifle, so that now all the regular troops of the
field army are equipped with it. For the volunteers, reserves,
and for the organization of a general reserve 78,936 more
pieces are required. Furthermore, the number of British
officers with the native troops has been increased by 64, a
sanitary corps has been organized, 3 more batteries of how-
itzers were added to the field army, in the frontier posts
troops of foot artillery were formed of natives, 60 machine
guns were distributed (there being 132 already on hand and
the total number required is 288–96 more are needed), cart-
ridge belts (in the place of cartridge boxes) were issued, and
7 Madras regiments were organized. For a long time there
had not been enough Madras regiments to supply the demand
for them. It is decided to gradually disband them and to
reorganize them with recruits from the tribes of Upper India,
which are more warlike."
The sanitary and commissary departments have been con-
siderably improved.
The strategical railroad, Kushalgar-Kohat Tal (an extension
of the road Raual Pindi-Kushalgar in the western direction
runs closer to the Afghan boundary), is finished; the construc-
tion of the line Quetta-Nushki (its extension would run
through Beloochistan to the southern part of Persia) has been
started. Furthermore, bridges have been built over the Swat
at Chakdara and over the Cabul at Nowshera for strategical
purposes. The fortifications at Dargai have been completed
and have received a permanent garrison.
For the fiscal year 1903–4 more improvements are contem-
plated than have already been made—the equipment of the
volunteers with the Lee-Enfield rifle, the building of forti-
fications to defend the seacoast (this will cause very great
expense), the formation of native foot artillery in the sea-
ports, the reorganization of the remounting department, and
measures to raise the breeding of horses, mules, and donkeys.
a A short time ago both Madras lancer regiments had also been disbanded
in the same way.
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 215
2. CHANGES IN THE MILITARY CLASSIFICATION OF THE COUNTRY.
On the 1st of April a radical innovation was made at the
very important northwestern boundary. Three new districts
have been formed of the Punjab district, namely, Peshawar
(first class under a major-general), Kohat and Derajat (both
second class and under a brigadier-general). The capitals of
these districts have been moved nearer to the boundary for
the summer, i. e., for the district Peshawar, from Peshawar
to Kerat; for the district Kohat, from Kohat to Samana, and
for the Derahat district from Dera Ismail Khan to Sheikh
Budin. There is no doubt but that the new division makes
the Punjab frontier more irresistible and mobile.
On the other side of India the important Burma command
has been made the post of a lieutenant-general, and is there-
fore now equal in importance to the four great commands
(Punjab, Bengalen, Madras, and Bombay). Consequently its
correspondence no longer goes through the Madras command,
but the district remains under the immediate command of the
commander in chief of the army in India (Lord Kitchener).
3. MANEUVERs—INFANTRY, CAVALRY, VOLUNTEERS.
Col. Sir E. E. Howard Vincent, member of Parliament,
had been present at the great army maneuvers held last De-
cember at Delhi. From his report, which was published in
the Army and Navy Gazette, one can learn very much about
the Indian army.
In spite of the excellent ground for the purpose the Indian
army had never before had what we would consider suitable
maneuvers or field exercises. In one of the last fiscal reports
of the army £1,500 had been appropriated for this purpose
(maneuvers). There were absolutely no officers for the staff
or the general staff. The infantry is crippled by not having
enough soldiers. For the army at home—as Sir Howard
Vincent says—the active complement of a battalion is 1,010;
but for India, where the loss of active men is much greater
on account of sickness and accidents, it is only 850 for the
British and only 750 for the native contingents. The result
is that the brigades are very weak.”
a It is known that the English army has no regiments; a brigade has
four battalions.
216 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Sometimes they go in the field with only from 1,200 to
1,500 men. That means, as the battalions have 8 companies,
from 38 to 41 men for a company. Each company has a
captain and 2 subalterns. Sir Howard is right in calling it a
prodigality of officers.
Of native cavalry, there are 19 Bengal, 7 Bombay, 4 Pun-
jab, and 2 Central India regiments; all with 4 squadrons, each
one with a captain of horse and a squadron commander
(officer). Furthermore, there are 3 Madras cavalry regi-
ments and 4 of the Haiderabad contingent, each one with 3
squadrons. The first-named 32 regiments are formed upon
the Siladar basis, i.e., they provide for their own remount-
ing, clothing, and equipment. There is never a scarcity of
recruits—most of them small farmers or the sons of farm-
ers—who consider it an honor to serve in the regiments.
Most of them come from the warlike tribes of the north.
The real value of these regiments depends upon the individ-
uality of the colonel (British officer). He accepts the men; he
furloughs and discharges them; he buys the horses (most of
the horses of the troops are the property of their riders and
there is a singular system of taxation); he buys equipment and
clothing. The nine British officers are very seldom all avail-
able for duty, and thus it happens that for sometime quite
young lieutenants are in charge of squadrons and half squad-
rons. However, this makes no material difference, as the offi-
cers appointed in the Indian army are especially chosen.
The native officers are appointed by the colonel and receive,
from the jemadar up to the risaldar (major), a monthly salary
of from 100 to 400 marks ($28 to $92). Noncommissioned
officers and private soldiers often serve from twenty-five to
thirty years and receive a pension. Good men are fur-
loughed after a long service of some months, sometimes with
their horses. -
These Indian cavalry regiments are always very well pre-
pared for action. Having all they need at hand, they are
ready to march at a moment's notice. One squadron always
remains behind as reserve, so that the regiment has 500 sabers
in the field (in place of 650). Sir Howard Vincent advises
an increase in the native cavalry.
Referring to the volunteers, it seems as if the handful of
white men (about 200,000, of which 76,000 belong to the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 217
regular army) could not be of any importance among more
than three hundred millions of Asiatics. But this is not the
case. Just by reason of the incongruity between the races
it seems to be more necessary that every able-bodied man
learn to handle weapons. The last annual report (for 1901–2)
of the Inspector-General of Volunteers, General Hill, shows
us that not all the Europeans remember their duty a long
time. So, besides the volunteers or the engineer troops, which
consist of more than 11,000 well-instructed men—and that is
more than a third of the total force of volunteers—the situa-
tion is not good. Undoubtedly it is also the fault of the gov-
ernment, because the extra supplies granted are too small.
The State ought to pay the expenses incurred for the military
instruction of the volunteers. The admission of colored men
to the volunteer corps is not practicable, because the white
men would immediately withdraw, and in a short time the
corps would be composed entirely of natives. In other words,
the natives would be instructed and armed while the white
men would remain uninstructed and unarmed.— Militar.
Wochenblatt Wo. 68, July 2, 1903, translated by Lieut. E. M.
Morton, Eighth Infantry. -
ITALY.
ORGANIZATION OF THE ITALIAN ARTILLERY.
The following is the composition of the artillery, assigned
to the troops taking part in the maneuvers of Venetia, from
August 28 to September 6, 1903:
Blue side. (t Red side. b Artillery.
Fifth Division . . . . . . . . . Ninth Division - - - - - - - 1 group of 3 batteries of 75 mm. A-guns,
| 1 group of 2 batteries of 75 mm. A-guns,
1 ammunition column, per side.
Sixth Division . . . . . . . . Tenth Division . . . . . . . I).O.
Division of Mobile 1 group of 3 batteries of 87 mm. B-guns,
Militia. 1 group of 2 batteries of 87 mm. B-guns,
1 ammunition column.
Complementary troops | Complementary troops 2 groups of 3 batteries of 87 mm. B-guns,
* g & e per side. s
Special services of Special services of 1 ammunition column, 1 artillery park,
Third Army Corps. Third Army Corps. per side.
Cavalry brigade . . . . . . 1 horse battery.
Cavalry Divisions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -... 2 horse batteries, 1 artillery park.
Alpine Troops.--------|-----------------------. 2 mountain batteries.
a The Third Corps is stationed normally in Lombardy (the Fifth Division at Milan and
the Sixth at Brescia).
The Blue side: Third Corps, division of independent cavalry and Alpine Troops.
b The Fifth Italian Corps, whose headquarters are at Verona, comprises two divisions,
the Ninth being at Verona (with the Verona, Vicenza, and Mantua subdivisions), and
#. at Padua (with the Padua, Rovigo, Venice, Belluno, Treviso, and Udine sub-
IVISIOIlS).
º Red side: Fifth Corps, a division of Mobile militia and a brigade of independent
Cavalry.
The field batteries proper comprise 6 pieces drawn by 6
horses, and 4 caissons and a battery wagon drawn by 4 horses.
The horse batteries have only 4 pieces and 3 caissons drawn
by 6 horses, and a battery wagon drawn by 4.
The divisional ammunition columns are of 3 sections each,
viz, 1 infantry ammunition section (of 2 caissons); 2 artillery
ammunition sections (of 2 caissons each).
The artillery park of the division comprises 2 infantry am-
munition caissons, 2 artillery ammunition caissons, 1 two-
wheeled wagon.
The corps parks are composed, one of 3 and the other of 4
sections, each comprising a two-wheeled wagon for cartridges
and a caisson for artillery ammunition.
218
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 219
Moreover, each group staff carries with it a forge and a
battery wagon.
The field batteries are supplied with 100 rounds per piece,
the mountain batteries with 60.
As will be perceived from the foregoing, the groups hav-
ing the new guns are of 2 or 3 batteries of 6 pieces, in con-
formity with the present peace organization.
As regards the ammunition supply columns, they are in an
embryonic state and are only represented figuratively.
No formation of heavy army artillery has been provided for
these maneuvers, although at the beginning of this year the
Italians made some experiments with position guns, the wheels
of which were provided with Bonagente belts.-Giornale
Militaire (ficiale, Wo. 30, 1903.
THE BON AG ENTE BELT.
The Bonagente belt consists of a system of metallic soles
and gutters articulated together and surrounding the wheel,
so that at every instant the carriage rests on the ground by
means of rather broad, flat surfaces, and always has before it
a real roller path. This arrangement enables siege guns to
maneuver rapidly on varied ground as well as in mountainous
country, and even on soft ground; it is also always ready to
enter into action. The placing in battery, in fact, simply
consists in letting the trail down on the ground by resting it
on a supporting plate, the belts taking the place of a platform.
This suppression of the platform offers such obvious and
important advantages that it is useless to insist on the matter.
(According to Esercito Italiano, No. 4, 1903.)—Revue D'Ar-
tillerie, May, 1903.
ARTILLERY SCOUTS.
A decree of June 3, of the current year assigns scouts to
each regiment of mounted and horse artillery. The soldiers
detailed for this service shall receive special instruction,
relating to field equitation, the transmittal of orders, orienta-
tion and use of maps on the terrain, the effectives and the
different units of the various arms. These scouts must fur-
nish reconnaissance of the zones of action of the artillery units
to which they are attached, give information in regard to the
effects of fire upon covered targets and keep watch over the
220 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Safety of the detachments of their arm who are not under
the protection of their own troops. There will be two scouts
(corporal-majors and corporals or soldiers) per battery and
a certain number of n. c. o. who also shall serve as scouts.
All shall wear a distinctive badge.—La Belgique Militaire,
July 5, 1903.
GRAND MANEUVERS, 1903.
As a general rule, during these maneuvers great endurance
and good humor were displayed by the troops. Although the
heat was very great during the first week in September, their
moral as well as their sanitary condition was on the whole
most satisfactory. The various services were well carried
out. Special experiments were made with regard to means
of communication—optical signals, wireless telegraphy, cap-
tive balloons, etc. Each cavalry brigade was provided with
a wireless telegraphy installation. For the first time in Italy
trials were carried out with automobiles placed at the disposal
of the staff. These were much appreciated, and after experi-
ence it was recognized that it was no longer possible to do
without them. By their means, both the directors of the
maneuvers and corps commanders were able at all times to
obtain an exact and complete view of the situation. In a
comparatively short time the corps commander is himself
able to traverse the long fighting fronts and to ascertain at
first hand many circumstances, which, without their assistance,
he would necessarily remain ignorant of.
As regards heavy transport, experiments were limited to
a steam automobile capable of moving at a rate of 8 km. an
hour on a good level road while towing 7 or 8 large vans.
On less well kept roads than those followed it is clear that
it could not have rendered such good service. The working
of the automobile was intrusted to men of the engineers.
It is probable that a section of automobilists will shortly be
formed. The railways were called upon to perform a heavy
task. The lines in Venetia are not numerous, and they had
to provide for the transport of 60,000 men, 6,000 horses, and
1,000 wagons. Two days were required for the operation,
and 100 special trains were called into requisition. Neverthe-
less, everything went off normally, with the exception of a
bad accident at Beano, due to the negligence of a guard and
a station master.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 221
The service of supplies was carried out with regularity.
Here and there the punctuality of certain providers was not
all it should have been; but in war time this would probable
not occur, as the regulations lay down heavy penalties for
war which can not be enforced in peace time. In the same
way, occasions may be noted where the cavalry and other very
mobile corps were not followed sufficiently close by their
transport. More rapid modes of transport should be found
for the latter. The reservists deserve special mention. They
bore all fatigue and hardship with the greatest cheerfulness,
and their sanitary condition was good.—Revue Militaire
Suisse.
VESSELS BUILDING.

Name. Pºe. Where building, Remarks.
BATTLE SHIPS.
Toms. .
Roma.----------------- 12,625 | Government yard, Spezia...] Launched Sept. 20, 1903.
Napoli----------------- 12,625 Government yard, Castel- Building.
lamare.
X---------------------- 12,625 | Government yard, Venice. Projected.
Vittoria Emanuele - - - . 12,625 Government yard, Spezia. . . Not yet launched.
Regina Elena.......... 12,625 Government yard, Castel- DO.
lamare.
Benedetto Brin........ 13, 526 |..... do --------------------- Launched Nov. 7, 1901.
Regina Margherita....| 13,526 Government yard, Spezia. . Under trial.
ARMORED CRUISER.
FranceSCO Ferruccio - . 7,460 | Government yard, Venice. Launched Apr. 30, 1902.
TORPEDO CRUISER.
Coatit ----------------. 1,313 | Government yard, Castel- || Under trial.
! lamare.
–Proceedings U. S. Naval Institute, September, 1903.
JAPAN.
RAILVVAYS.
Soon after the Japan-China war, the Japanese Government
adopted several measures involving the expenditure of con-
siderable sums in industrial enterprises which would require
several years for their completion. Among these was a
scheme for the expansion of State railway lines. Of 738
miles of railroad then projected, 169 miles had been opened
for traffic the 1st of April, 1902, and from the appropriation
of $42,454,002 for this purpose $23,717,250 had been ex-
pended. The Diet was asked last winter to make a further
appropriation of 55,000,000 yen ($27,499,900) for the con-
struction of these roads, and this was granted; but it is
claimed that the ministry have consented to introduce a bill
into the Diet at its next session providing that future ex-
penditures for railway construction shall be limited to the
profits from lines already in operation. The total mileage of
State railways on April 1, 1902, was 1,060, and the net profit
for the previous year was $4,182,227.74, or a fraction over
8 per cent on the cost of construction. The total mileage of
private roads at the same date was 2,967, and they report a
profit of 8 per cent. The total passenger mileage on all roads
for the year was 1,899,253,377 and the total goods ton mileage
791,106,994. There are 1,350 locomotives, 4,529 passenger
cars, and 19,774 freight cars in use.—Consular Reports, Octo-
ber, 1903.
VESSELS BUILDING.

# * * * * * Displace- Where wr Cº.
Name. Iment. building. Remarks.
BATTLE SHIPS.
1, 2, 3---------------------------------- 15,000 |- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - To be built 1904–1909,
ARMORED CRUISERS.
1, 2, 3---------------------------------- 9,900 |... . . . . . . . . . . . . . DO.
PROTECTED CRUISERS. ,
3,4------------------------------------ 5,000 |. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DO.
Nitalka. ...--------------------------. 3,470 Yokosuka . . . . Launched.
Tsuchima ---------------------------. 3,470 | Kure . . . . . . . . . Building.
Otawa -------------------------------- 3,000 | Yokosuka. . . . . DO.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 223
The Japanese battle ship Chinyen, which was at gun prac-
tice in Ise Bay on May 27, suddenly left off and rapidly
returned to Yokosuka. It appears that a shell which was
being placed in a 30% cm. Krupp gun exploded, and 6 men
were severely wounded, 6 others receiving slighter injuries.—
United Service Gazette.
MEXICO.
THE MEXICAN ARMY.
The army consists, in peace time, of 3,500 officers, 31,000
men, 11,000 horses or mules. Its budget for the financial year
1901–2 amounted to 14,000,000 pesos, or about £2,916,666.
The Government studied a scheme embodying personal and
obligatory military service and national recruiting by draw-
ing lots, but in consequence of a wish to avoid displeasing the
nation, who are at present hostile to conscription, it was com-
pelled to postpone the promulgation of the scheme. The army,
then, is recruited by voluntary engagements of three, four, or
five years; but as this is insufficient, the different confeder-
ated states are obliged to feed the depôt supplies as they are
required. These special contingents are called out in each
state through the drawing of lots; the administration, how-
ever, largely allows dispensations from service, and generally
arranges so that the military service shall fall on the lowest
classes of society, thus getting rid of the inconvenient social
refuse. The maximum period of service is for five years; a
man may, however, reengage for another four.
The law of organization of July 1, 1901, clearly lays down
that the permanent peace army should possess the necessary
units for the enrollment and mobilization, under the best
conditions, of an effective three times its strength.
1. Composition of the permanent army.
Infantry:
28 battalions of 4 companies - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 112 companies.
4 battalion cadres of 2 companies - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 companies.
2 district companies-------------------------------- 2 companies.
Cavalry:
14 regiments of 4 Squadrons------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 56 Squadrons.
4 regimental cadres of 2 Squadrons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 Squadrons.
224
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 225
Artillery:
2 field artillery of 4 batteries- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 8 batteries.
1 mountain artillery of 4 batteries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 batteries.
1 horse artillery of 4 batteries- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 batteries.
1 machine-gun company- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24 guns.
1 Q. F. Small-bore Squadron - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 16 guns.
1 artillery transport of 2 sections.
Engineers:
1 battalion of 4 companies---------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4 companies.
1 park -------------------------------------------- 1 company.
1 telegraph company------------------------------- 1 company.
Transport: 1 Squadron of 2 companies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 companies.
Medical service: 1 company and 1 ambulance train.
Territorial military divisions.—The above-named units are
not grouped into brigades, divisions, and army corps in peace
time. The Mexican territory is divided into 11 military zones,
3 commands, and 4 districts, under an engineer commander
(Jefaturas). The distinction of forces between these zones
and commands is very variable, and is regulated by the execu-
tive. In the event of political disturbances the Government
may unite two or more zones under the same command, and
reinforce them at the expense of others. The garrisons of
ports and of the commands are directly under the war
minister.
2. Special troops that may be attached to the permanent army.

Officers. Men. Horses. | Mules.
Military mounted police. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 111 111 10
Rural police --------------------------------------- 150 1,200 1, 200 | . . . . . . . .
President’s life guards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 50 50 | . . . . . . . .
3. Peace effectives and organization of permanent army units.
1. INFANTRY.
Officers. Men. Horses. Mules.
Company of an infantry battalion of 4 companies:
Higher effective ----------------------------------- 9 225 |........ 7
Lower effective ------------------------------------ 9 145 ||-------- 7
Company of an infantry battalion cadre:
Higher effective - ... ------------------------------- 4 127 --------|--------
Lower effective ----------------------------------- 4 71 --------|--------
District Company ... ------------------------------------ 5 142 |-------- 10
The infantry is armed with the Mauser 7-mm. rifle or with
the Remington of the same caliber. Every company is in
17430—04—15
226 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
possession of the following pioneer implements: 8 spades, 4
picks, 2 machetes, 1 hand ax, 2 handspikes, 1 saw.
2. CAVALRY.
Officers. | Men. Horses. Mules.
Squadron of ordinary regiment:
Higher effective --------------------...--.......... 8 141 141 8
Lower effective -----------------------------------. 8 105 105 8
Squadron of regimental cadre. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 72 71 6
The men are armed with the Mauser carbine and the sword.
Each squadron has a squad of sappers, with the following
implements: 2 spades, 2 picks, 1 ax, 1 handspike, 2 screw-
wrenches, 1 pair of pliers.
3. ARTILLERY.
Horses
Officers. | Mon. and Guns.
mules.
Field battery -----------------------------------------. 8 120 69 6
Mountain battery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 86 68 6
Horse battery. ----------------------------------------- 6 74 71 4
The field and horse batteries have 80 mm. guns of the Bange
system; the mountain batteries have 70 mm. guns. All fire
black powder.
Horses
Officers. | Men. and Guns.
mules.
Machine-gun company ... ------------------....... ---. 8 116 50 24
The guns are Colts and Hotchkiss.
HOrses
Officers. | Men. and Guns.
mules.
Squadron of quick firing small-bore guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 130 174 16

The guns are of the Hotchkiss and Vickers-Maxim systems.
Horses
Officers. | Men. and Wagons.
Imules.
Artillery transport Section. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 66 148 34
HULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
22
7
Each section carries 200,000 cartridges and 2,262 shells.
All the batteries
possess an assortment of implements for field works.
All the gunners are armed with the carbine.
4. ENGINEERS.
HOTSes
()fficers. | Men. and Wagons.
mules.
Sapper Company------------------------------------- 6 145 |------------------
Park . . . . . .------------------------------------------- 13 102 50 ------...-
Engineer company ---------------------------------- 2 110 !--------|----------
5. TRANSPORT (UNDER THE GENERAL STAFF).
Horses
Officers. | Men. and Wagons.
mules.
Company -------------------------------------------- 3 58 186 16
Escort for topographic commission - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . 3 90 90 ----------
6. MEDICAL DEPARTMENT.
Horses
Offleers. | Men. and Wagons.
mules.
Company of Orderlies-------------------------------- 9 281 68 ----------
The military service of artillery establishments is carried
out by 2 battery cadres, with an effective of 8 officers and
110 men.
I3. —WAR FOOTING.
The Mexican army consists in time of war of, first, the per-
manent mobilized army, and, second, the reserves.
1. The permanent mobilized army.—The law on organiza-
tion gives very well-defined rules for the change from a peace
to a war footing.
In the infantry each battalion is doubled and transformed
into a regiment of 2 battalions.
The war effective of the
company is fixed at 5 officers and 224 men. The battalion
cadre becomes successfully a battalion at the lower, then at
the higher, and finally at the war effective. In the cavalry
each regiment forms 2 new squadrons, and then consists of 6
squadrons, with a strength of 5 officers and 140 mounted men
each. In the artillery, each field-artillery regiment forms 2
228 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
new batteries, and consists of 6 units, at a strength of 6 offi-
cers, 121 men, 136 horses and mules; the mountain artillery
regiment is doubled, and then consists of 2 battalions of 4
batteries each, with an effective of six officers, 116 men, and
94 horses and mules; the horse-artillery regiment forms 2 new
batteries, and then consists of 6 units, with an effective of 6
officers, 80 men, and 110 horses each. The squadron of quick-
firing guns doubles its personnel, and has 32 guns. The ma-
chine-gun company also doubles its effective, and proportion
of 2 ammunition sections per mobilized division. The engi-
neer battalion is also strengthened. Each of its companies is
attached to a mobilized division. Should the number of divi-
sions exceed 4, two new companies are formed by means of
sappers from the infantry and cavalry. The engineer park
mobilizes the bridging equipages and the divisional parks.
The telegraph company mobilizes the telegraphist detach-
ments. The medical department mobilizes the ambulances
and the field hospitals.
2. The reserves.—The mobilized army on a peace footing
will be reenforced by the reserves. While waiting for a
precise recruiting regulation for uniting the contingents,
these reserves will be thus constituted: First reserve: Rural
and urban police of the federation; active forces and rural
and urban police of the federal States, fiscal police, coast and
frontier police. Second reserve: National guards, organized
in each federated State, and officered by officers from the
permanent army and reserve officers. Finally, the mobilized
army consists of -
Officers. | Men.
Infantry (60; battalions). ----------------------------------. . . . . . . . . . . 1,500 40,000
Cavalry (108 Squadrons) ---------------------------------------------. 700 15,000
Artillery (224 guns and machine guns) - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | 400 4,500
Engineers------------------------------------------------------------ 100 1,500
Total.----------------------------------------------------------- 2,700 61,000
Reserves officered and armed. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 125,000
Grand total ----------------------------------------------------. 3,700 186,000

With 32,000 horses and 12,000 mules.
By calling out all the military of the federated States the
Mexican Republic could put a quarter of a million men, out
of a population of 14,000,000, into the field; but she has not
half the armament necessary for that effective.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 229
Grouping of forces.—All the mobilized units mentioned
above will be grouped into regiments, brigades, divisions, and
exceptionally into army corps. The normal division con-
sists of a staff; 2 infantry brigades, of 2 regiments of 2 battal-
ions; a cavalry brigade of 2 regiments of 6 squadrons; 4 field
or mountain batteries; a horse artillery battery; a group of
quick-firing small guns, attached to cavalry; a variable num-
ber of machine guns; an engineer company; a divisional engi-
neer park; a divisional artillery park; a telegraph section; a
police section; an ambulance; a field hospital; an administra-
tive convoy, carrying 4 days’ rations. tº.
The approximate effective of the division amounts to 500
officers and 9,000 men. The army may be approximately
mobilized into 4 or 5 normal divisions and 4 or 5 mixed brig-
ades. When 2 divisions are united as an army corps, each of
them retains 2 cavalry squadrons for reconnoitering, etc.; the
other squadrons form the cavalry of the army corps.-Revue
Militaire, translated in Journal R. U. S. Institute, Septem-
ber, 1903.
MONTEN EGF O.
ARMY STRENGTH AND ORGANIZATION.
The armed force of Montenegro merely consists of the
opoltchénié, which can only be called upon to bear arms in
war time. The only permanent force existing in peace time
is the palace guard and a battalion and a half battery cadre of
instruction. There are no military instruction establishments
whatever in the country. The male population of the princi-
pality is divided into two categories: The first, from 16 to 40
years of age, constitutes the national military corps; the sec-
ond, from 41 to 60 years of age, is meant to reenforce these
corps and to form auxiliary units.
Montenegro is divided into 8 military districts. Each dis-
trict must furnish, in war time, 1 infantry brigade and 1
battery of 6 guns, 4 of which are mountain and 2 field guns.
The reigning prince is the head of the national militia, assisted
by the heir apparent and the war minister.
Young Montenegrins when they reach the age of 25 receive
military instruction in the battalion or battery cadres. The
battalion has a permanent effective of 15 officers and 60 non-
commissioned officers; the temporary effective is from 400 to
500 men; the period of instruction is for four months. The
permanent cadre of the half battery is 4 officers and 16 non-
commissioned officers, with 4 mountain guns; the temporary
effective is from 60 to 75 men; the period of instruction is for
six months. No organized transport exists, pack animals
and women taking its place. The palace guard consists of 40
infantry with 10 noncommissioned officers, and of 300 cavalry,
only 100 of whom do duty at a time. There are, altogether,
in Montenegro about 750 officers, of whom 50 have received
military instruction abroad.
Every Montenegrin fit for military service receives from
the Government, in peace time, a rifle and revolver with car-
tridges, which he must keep in good serviceable condition.
The armament consists of Russian rifles, model 1891, and
230
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 231
Hasler and Smith-Wesson revolvers, as well as yatagans and
swords. The reserve consists of about 100,000 rifles of vari-
ous patterns, such as the Russian, the Berdan, the Veddnl,
the Kruka, Martini-Henrys, Sniders, and other older models.
The artillery has 12 field and 18 mountain Krupp and 4 bronze
Russian guns (of 4 and of 9 pounds), as well as machine guns.
Together with the guns they took from the Turks in 1877–78,
the Montenegrins have altogether about 100 guns, with a
Quantity of powder and projectiles.
In war Montenegro puts into the field its 8 national militia
brigades. Each brigade consists of from 4 to 9 battalions,
and each battalion of from 5 to 11 companies. Altogether
she can put into the field 47 battalions of from 500 to 1,000
men each, and 8 batteries. The total strength of her mobi-
lized forces may be reckoned at from 32,000 to 40,000 men.
With the second category, Montenegro would be able to
mobilize 9 infantry brigades (about 60 battalions) and 9 bat-
teries, or altogether 50,000 men, with from 50 to 60 guns.—
The United Service Magazine, Wovember, 1903.
THE MILITARY FORCES OF MONTENEGRO.
1. RECRUITMENT.
(a) Corporals and soldiers.-There is a general law in force
making personal military service obligatory between the ages
of 16 and 60, without any exception, except for Mahomme-
dans, who may be exempted by the payment of an annual
military tax of 20 crowns.
The liability is distributed for age, as follows: 21 to 45
years, in the first ban; 16 to 20 years, and from 46 to 60
years, in the second ban. Those who, outside of these age
limits, may still be fit for service form part of the third ban,
and in time of war constitute the personnel of the train troops.
The length of service is four months for the infantry and
six months for the artillery.
The service under arms ends at 26 years of age.
The annual contingent is about 2,000 men. The population
according to the most recent data is 227,841.
(b) Womcommissioned officers.-The candidates for noncom-
missioned officers are obliged to serve three years, and are
appointed after a course of nine months with a battalion or a
permanent battery.
232 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
(c) Officers in active service.—Officers for active service,
that is, of the infantry and field artillery of permanent organ-
ization, are taken from the foreign military Schools, especially
from those of Italy and Russia. At present, two of the Mon-
tenegrin generals, one in the infantry and the other in the
artillery, are from the Italian schools.
(d) Monactive officers.-Nonactive officers are chosen with
reference to their social position and personal worth, not
requiring any special preparation.
2. PEACE ORGANIZATION.
The peace organization is as follows: War department: 9
infantry brigade commands, 1 battalion of regular infantry,
4 companies, 1 permanent battery of field artillery.
A number of detachments of infantry for guarding the
frontier, are recruited by turns from the different provinces.
Every year the infantry battalion is replenished by 1,800
recruits, assigned in three classes of 600 men each, whose
length of service is four months; the battery of artillery
should receive 200 recruits, assigned to two classes of 100
men each, the service lasting six months, but in reality since
1897 (the date when the artillery arms were organized) to the
present only four courses of instruction have been followed
(400 men in all).
3. WAR ORGANIZATION.
It appears that in time of war 4 divisions are formed of 2
brigades each. º
Each brigade of infantry comprises from 2 to 9 battalions
of the first ban, from 1 to 2 of the second ban, and 1 battery
of artillery.
Each battalion has several companies averaging 120 men,
the strength of the battalions varying from 400 to 800 men.
Some of the batteries have 6 field pieces (the Seventh and
Eighth batteries). Others have 4 pieces of mountain artillery.
Total effective.—Fifty battalions of the first ban (not count-
ing 3 Mohammedan battalions, whose registry is still in vogue)
and 6 batteries, giving a total of 27,000 men (from 21 to
45 years of age), who have to pass through the courses of
instruction.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 233
Nine battalions of the second ban, 14,000 men, are divided
into three classes, as follows: First, all those who are least
able to stand the fatigues of war; second, the men between 46
and 60 years of age; third, the young men between 16 and
20 years of age.
Third ban, carriers and drivers, 4,000 men, over 60 and
under 16 years of age.
4. ARMAMENT.
Russian rifle, model 1891, for the first ban.
Berdan rifle for the second and third bans.
The field artillery, Krupp steel gun, caliber 75 mm.—
Rivista Militaire Italiana, March and April, 1903.
NETHERLANDS.
ORGANIZATION OF THE LANDVVEHR.
The Landwehr, which was created by the law of June 24,
1901, to replace the schutter), received its first contingent on
August 1 last.
As this institution is to have an organization distinct from
that of the army, a royal decision of May 29 last divides the
territory into 48 Landwehr districts.
Each of these districts will be placed under the authority of
a field officer, who is to assume, in case of mobilization, the
command of the battalion of Landwehr infantry to be organ-
ized in the district.
However, as these 48 battalions can not be completed until
1909, at which time the law will have become fully effective,
the above-mentioned decision prescribes that the districts shall
be provisionally combined into 12 groups, which shall be com-
manded by 6 district commanders, to be appointed during the
course of this year, and 6 lieutenant-colonels or majors as
provincial aids-de-camp.
The organization of the Dutch army includes 10 lieutenant-
colonels or majors as provincial aids-de-camp. Their sup-
pression has been demanded at different times of Parliament.
The minister of war opposed their suppression, insisting on
the importance of the mission intrusted to them, especially'
with regard to recruiting and their utilization for the com-
mand of the Landwehr troops as provided above.
According to the explanatory statement accompanying a
bill which the Government has just introduced in the Second
Chamber of the States-General, Soliciting the appropriations
necessary for the carrying out of the law, the contingent of
1895, comprising 7,045 men, will be provisionally grouped
into 6 battalions of infantry of 4 companies each and 8 com-
panies of fortress artillery.
234
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 235
The staff of each district will include, besides the com-
mander, an adjutant and an adjutant sous-officier (highest rank-
ing noncommissioned officer). The cadre of each of the 32
companies of infantry and fortress artillery will comprise 1
captain, 1 first or second lieutenant, and 1 sergeant-major.
The men belonging to the fortress artillery, to the engi-
neers, and to the hospital companies will be divided into 8
detachments, each placed under the orders of a first or second
lieutenant.—Bulletin de la Presse et de la Bibliographie Mili-
taires, September 30, 1903.
ROU MANIA.
ARMY STRENGTH AND ORGANIZATION.
In view of the present troubles in the Balkans, it may be of
interest to give a short account of the armed strength of some
of the States, taken from the Rouskii Invalid. The armed
forces of Roumania consist of the regular army, the militia,
and the opolichénié. In peace time there only exists cadres
for the regular army, which is divided into permanent and
into territorial troops. The period of service for the perma-
nent troops is three years; for the territorial troops it is five
years for the infantry and four for the cavalry. At the same
time in this latter force the soldier at first only puts in three
months of continuous service; he is then sent to his home and
called up in his turn for one week each month. The recruit-
ing is by districts, and for this purpose the Roumanian terri-
tory is divided into 4 army corps districts, at Kraiova,
Bucharest, Galatz, and Yassi; these are again divided into 2
divisional and 8 regimental subdistricts. Remounts are
mostly provided for by purchases in Russia and Hungary,
the remainder being furnished by country-bred horses.
The effective of the army in war is as follows: Infantry, 8
rifle battalions; 34 infantry regiments (102 battalions); alto-
gether, 2,250 officers, 126,000 men, and 47,000 horses. Cav-
alry, 6 Roshāori regiments (24 squadrons, forming an inde-
pendent division); 11 Calachari regiments (44 squadrons);
total, 530 officers, 13,200 men, 12,100 horses. Artillery, 12
regiments (75 batteries, 450 guns); 40 ammunition columns;
2 fortress artillery regiments; total, 930 officers, 26,900 men,
22,800 horses. Engineers, 12 sapper companies; 4 telegraph,
4 pontoon, and 4 railway companies; total, 140 officers, 6,200
men, 1,500 horses. Grand total, 2,850 officers, 169,800 men,
and 41,400 horses. If to these are added the transport, auxil-
iary troops, 32 militia regiments, etc., the numbers will amount
to 7,500 officers, 314,000 men, and 65,000 horses.
236
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 237
The infantry is armed with the 6.5 mm. Mannlicher rifle,
the cavalry with swords and with steel scabbards; the first
rank carries in addition the lance and the carbine, the second
rank carries the carbine alone. The corps artillery regiments
(4 field and 1 horse batteries) have 75 mm. guns; the divisional
artillery is armed partly with the 75 mm. and partly with the
87 mm. guns, all from the Krupp works. The gun detachments
are armed with revolvers and sword bayonets; those of the
horse artillery with swords.-The United Service Magazine,
Movember, 1903.
ARTILLERY.
According to the “Cercul Publicatiunilor Militaire,” the
war budget for the current year provides for a credit for the
construction of 3 howitzer batteries.
Counting the 2 batteries created in 1902, Roumania will
possess 5 batteries of field howitzers of 6 pieces each—one
battery for each of the four army corps and one for the
independent division of Dobroutscha.-La Belgique Militaire,
February 1, 1903.
RUSSIA.
SIE GE BATTERIES.
In France, foot artillery, charged with the armament,
attack, and defense of fortified positions and of coasts, has
preserved the formation of independent battalions, which
Germany has abandoned.
Russia, for her part, forms her siege troops into regiments,
and will have in Europe—at Dvinsk, at Brest-Litovski, and
Kief—three regiments of siege artillery. The fourth regi-
ment is formed at Caucase, in view of the eventual seizure of
Armenia; for Russia, with her policy of expansion, does not
forget her former aims and her realizations in regard to
Armenia, upon which she has had her eye for so long, and
which have been deferred only by the developments in the
Far East.
Each regiment of artillery comprises one general staff offi-
cer; 4 companies, each with 4 officers and 155 men; 200 pieces
artillery and explosive sections, a workshop and artillery lab-
oratory, and a siege artillery section. The inspector of for-
tresses and siege artillery has the supervision of the siege
artillery.
In this reorganization of her siege artillery, Russia, like
France and Germany, provides, in case of mobilization, for
groups of heavy batteries destined to operate with the field
batteries in the capture of forts d'arrêts and of intrenched
camps, the destruction of fortified works in besieged places,
and the reenforcing of defensive positions.
For the execution of these various tasks the peace strength
of these companies is doubled upon mobilization, and consti-
tutes each a battalion of 4 siege companies.—La Belgique
Militaire, May 24, 1903.
RUSSIAN INFANTRY IN EASTERN SIBERIA.
Russia has recently organized 2 brigades of infantry for
service in eastern Siberia. The numbers of these brigades
are 7 and 8, and each comprises 4 regiments. The Seventh
238
RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 239
Brigade includes the Twenty-fifth, Twenty-sixth, Twenty-
seventh, and Twenty-eighth Regiments of Riflemen of east-
ern Siberia, and the Eighth includes the Twenty-ninth,
Thirtieth. Thirty-first, and Thirty-second Regiments.
The only new regiments created are the Twenty-sixth,
Twenty-seventh, Twenty-eighth, Thirty-first, and Thirty-
second. The Twenty-ninth, Thirtieth, and Twenty-fifth
Regiments are the First and Second Regiments of Infantry
from the fortress of Vladivostock and the regiment of infantry
from Port Arthur, with their designations changed. These
regiments consist of 3 battalions of 4 companies each.-Revue
du Cercle Militaire, December 12, 1903.
WAR BUD GET FOR 1903.
The tables below show the provisions of the budget of the
war department for the present year:
Rubles.
Central administration - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3,332,605
Local administration-------------------------------------- 9,984, 968
Instruction and technical establishments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11, 115,717
Hospitals and medical department. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 4, 571,306
Clothing and equipment- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21, 533,805
Victualing ----------------------------------------------- 50, 216, 135
Forage--------------------------------------------------- 19,900, 496
Pay of troops.------------------ -------------------------- 73, 686, 424
Rent and upkeep of quarters- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 21, 465, 141
Building Works------------------------------------------- 20, 165,062
Manufacture of artillery matériel. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11,671, 635
Upkeep of artillery matériel. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3,040,438
Transport service and changes of garrisons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11, 892,499
Expenditure connected with posting of recruits. - - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 446, 146
Calling out reservists and militia- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2, 860, 498
Administration of Turkestan - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 398, 248
Gendarmerie --------------------------------------------- 5, 191,066
Stoppages, interest, and help for pensioners' fund - - - - - - - - - - - 5,553, 187
Extraordinary expenditure- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 867, 443
Province of Kwantun --------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5, 835,621
Transformation of armament--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 24, 588,983
Various expenditures ------------------------------------- 2,939, 790
Reserve funds -------------------------------------------- 4,076, 384
Expenditure to be carried forward to next year-- - - - - - - - - - - - 8, 595,000
Total ---------------------------------------------- 329,923, 806
A comparison of this budget with that for the preceding
year shows an increase of more than 7,000,000 rubles, due
especially to the expense of rearmament. As a matter of
240 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
fact, the amount of that item alone exceeds that of last year
by nearly 7,000,000 rubles. Nearly all the items with regard
to the troops and their staffs are in excess of the previous
year, except as regards barracks. The amounts for rent and
construction are less than in the budget for 1902. (La France
Militaire.)—Journal of Royal U. S. Institution, May 15, 1903.
RUSSIA’S FOOD DEPOTS.
La France Militaire publishes a report of the military com-
mission at the exhibition of 1900, giving details of the food
depots on the western frontiers of Russia. It may be news
to our readers that Russia some years since determined to
imitate Germany's action in establishing along her land fron-
tier flour mills and large depots of cereals, biscuits, etc.,
which could be drawn on daily, or less often in peace time,
and as constantly replenished, so as to keep the food stuffs
always fresh.
In addition, grain, preserved meats and vegetables, or
“iron” rations are also stored. Each case of metal which is
soldered and closed with an india-rubber band, which is easily
opened, contains one ration. The “iron’ ration is plunged
in boiling water when full and finished to see if any air bub-
bles escape, in which case the ration is rejected. The roast-
beef ration contains 309 and the stewed beef 217 g. They
are made by the firm of François Azibert, a French house
long since established at St. Petersburg. The great food
depots would be used in case of war to instantly issue mil-
lions of bread and “iron’ rations to the troops in the first
line, so as not to make too heavy a call on local supplies, the
depots being replenished from Kief, Odessa, Moscow or St.
Petersburg as soon as possible.
The towns at which these depots exist—the buildings of
which are extremely interesting as showing the latest ideas
in storage and accommodation of vehicular transport—are
Novo-Georgievsk, Brest-Litovski, Rovno, Warsaw, Bialystok,
Kremenchug, Briansk. The biscuit made in the depots are
cooked in French ovens on the Mour principle and are excellent
in quality.
The compressed vegetable rations are made up in tablets
weighing 3 kg., say 6.6 pounds avoirdupois. Six hundred of
these represent 200 rations of 18 g. each.-The Broad Arrow,
August 29, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 241
MEDICAL SERVICE.
The minister of war has just asked the Emperor for au-
thority to revise the regulations relative to the organization
of the medical service, with a view to putting army sugeons
at its head.
A special commission, composed of surgeons and officers,
is charged with the preparation of this revision, and to pro-
vide that the recruitment of the medical personnel of the
army shall be from those conversant with military service
with the army administration methods.
This commission is presided over by the inspector-general
of the medical service, and includes among its members the
director of the military medical academy and representatives
from the sanitary committee of the great general staff, the
administration service, the minister of war, and from the
intendance service, etc.—La Belgique Militaire, March 22,
1903.
THE NEW FIELD G UN.
The Mitteilungen über Gegenstände des Artillerie- und
Geniewesens (No. 4) reproduces some data concerning the
above gun taken from a book by General Potocki.
The caliber of the gun is 7.62 cm., its weight is 393 kg.,
and the recoil-checking device is a “sledge” device (i. e., a
sliding upper carriage) with hydraulic cylinder, which,
according to experiments, can cease to work without this
affecting greatly the rapidity of fire, which always remains
from 15 to 20 rounds per minute.
The shrapnel (the only projectile) weighs 6.62 kg., contains
260 bullets of 10.66 gr. each, and gives an efficiency of 43 per
cent. It has an aluminum fuse weighing 275 gr.
The maximum range is 5,325 m., the muzzle velocity 589 m.,
and the remaining velocity, at 2,134 m., is 342 m.
The complete piece, with limber, weighs 1,884 kg.—Revista
del Boletán, Militar, August 2, 1903.
WAR BALLOONS.
By order of the naval general staff some experiments have
been made at Sevastopol with balloons, the reports on which
were so favorable that it has been determined, like the French,
to organize a naval balloon corps with three parks, stationed
17430—04—16
242 RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
at Sevastopol, Port Arthur, and Cronstadt, respectively. For
the present these will be applied principally to the defense of
the ports in question; but plans are being worked out for
applying the system to squadrons in home and foreign waters.
Lieutenant Bolshev, who is in charge, was sent to France for
four months to study the methods there employed.—Journal
of the Royal United Service Institution, October 15, 1903.
A NEW APPARATUS FOR CROSSING STREAMS.
ALUMINUM BUOY,
The Russian Lieutenant Polyanski recently delivered a
lecture before a military club concerning an apparatus con-
structed by him for crossing streams. It is his opinion that
if this apparatus is adopted the question of crossing rivers
will enter on an entirely new phase.
The inventor places the following requirements on a prac-
tical apparatus for crossing streams:
1. It must be possible to cross a river at any point chosen
without any noise or difficulties.
2. The troops must always have the apparatus with them.
3. The apparatus must be capable of being carried by the
soldier (horse, gun), and should occasion no increase in the
weight of the soldier’s equipment.
4. It must be simple in construction and easily assembled
into a raft.
5. It must have the greatest possible carrying capacity, be
dirigible on the water, and not admit dampness. Its manu-
facture must be cheap.
6. The apparatus must be capable of being used by every
arm of the service.
In accordance with these requirements he constructed a
hollow, hermetically sealed cylinder of welded aluminum, with
oval transverse section. This cylinder has a hermetically
closed bottom and is closed on the other end by means of a
lid having deep sides, which fits into the end of the cylinder
and is provided with a special india-rubber socket, which
enables the cylinder to be hermetically closed on this end also.
This lid, according to the suggestion of the inventor, will
supplant the cooking utensils and the canteen. On marches
the soldier's cloak will be carried, properly rolled up, in the
|BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 243
cylinder. The latter is then wrapped up in the tent sheet and
carried on the back of the soldier on a broad belt, together
with the boot bag, tent pole, and tent rope.
A greater or less number of such cylinders tied together
with the tent ropes can, after the cloaks have been removed,
be assembled into a raft. According to the belief of the
inventor four cylinders will carry one man. Experiments
will soon be made to ascertain the exact capacity of the cylin-
der before a great number of them are made. The raft will
be steered by the men on it with their intrenching spades.
According to the statements of the inventor, the apparatus
possesses the following further advantages: The cylinder can
be used as a solid rest in firing; on marches it protects the
cloaks from dust and rain, so that the soldier will have a dry
article of clothing to wear in camp. The cylinder may also
serve as a water bucket when a detachment of troops has
to provide itself with drinking water for a considerable period.
The invention is patented.—Copied from Danzer’s Armee-
Zeitung in Allgemeine Schweizerische Militärzeitung, Movem-
ber 7, 1903.
INTRODUCTION OF BARLEY COFFEE AS A BREAKFAST
DRINK.
The Razvietchik states that experiments are being made in
administering barley coffee to the men in the One hundred
and seventy-seventh Russian Infantry Regiment. It has been
found possible to use the battalion tea-cooking utensils hitherto
in use also in the preparation of this drink, which the soldier
is to receive at breakfast.
A package of 205 gr. of barley coffee suffices for 100 men,
and the cost price is said to be very moderate.
The physicians of the One hundred and seventy-seventh
Regiment express the opinion that the drink is very nourish-
ing, is drunk with a relish by the men, and that it would be
desirable to render its use compulsory.—Organ der Militär-
wissenschaftlichen Vereine, Vol. LXVI, Wo. 1, 1903.
RAILWAYS.
According to a statement in the Messagère de l’Empire, the
length of railroads in operation in Russia on May 14, 1902,
was 59,553 km., of which 9,580 km. were double track. The
length of the roads under construction, which are under the
244 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
jurisdiction of the ministry of communications, is 7,130 km.,
of which 1,709 km. were opened to temporary traffic on May
14, 1901.
Besides the above the East China Company has constructed
2,870 km. more on Chinese soil. On the date mentioned the
construction of 4,029 km. of new lines had been decided on.—
Organ der Militär-wissenschaftlichen Vereine, Vol. LXVI,
No. 1, 1903.
ROLLING STOCK OF RUSSIAN RAILWAYS.
Consul-General Richard Guenther writes from Frankfort,
June 24, 1903, as follows:
“The St. Petersburg Gazette states that the number of
passenger cars of all the public railways of Russia (Finland
excepted) on January 1, 1903, was 15,545, valued at 98,461,858
rubles ($50,707,858), of which the Government railways of
European Russia owned 9,733; the private trunk lines, 3,858;
the Asiatic Government lines, 1,541; and the private local
railways, 413. The total number of mail cars was 521, and of
baggage cars 1,582, with a carrying capacity of 961,143 poods
(17,311 tons). The total number of freight cars of the whole
Russian system was 315,046, with a total carrying capacity of
232,586,669 poods (4,190,751 tons). The total value of these
is estimated at 404,024,566 rubles ($208,072,655).”—Consular
Reports, September, 1903.
RUSSIAN UTTERANCES AGAINST FIELD-GUN SHIELDS
AND VON REICHENAU'S PROJECTS.
Although it may be considered as definitely decided that
protective shields and armor will not be adopted on ammuni-
tion wagons belonging to the new 1900 model of field ord-
nance, the greater part of which has now been completed,
still Russian artillery authorities continue to engage in a lively
discussion of this special question, and especially of the
projects which originated with Lieut. Gen. Von Reichenau in
general.
With few exceptions all persons who have thus far ex-
pressed their opinions in the matter are opponents of the
shields and of the consequences which they involve, viz, the
adoption of a smaller caliber, high-explosive shell, new firing
methods, etc. Let us listen to some of these voices which
represent the Russian standpoint:
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 245
One of the chief adversaries of Von Reichenau is a specialist
who frequently appears in the Russian Invalid, under the
name l’Artilleur.
In regard to Von Reichenau’s pamphlet concerning the in-
fluence of shields on the development of the matériel of field
artillery, which has been translated in Russian military jour-
nals, l’Artilleur is of opinion that the author’s statements and
views do not deserve the consideration which they have been
given even by Russian specialists. He writes as follows in
No. 71 of the Invalid:
“As is known, General Von Reichenau is the director of the
artillery section of the Ehrhard factory at Düsseldorf, which
has been carrying on a zealous propaganda for two years in
favor of its rapid-fire field guns, without having received any
orders thus far except from Switzerland and England. After
only a few months half of the batteries which England pur-
chased from the firm became unserviceable, and the same has
since happened in Switzerland, so that little was heard any
longer concerning this system, which is known to be unfavor-
ably considered by the majority of German artillerists,
among them being some avowed advocates of protective
shields.” # * *
If we read the above-mentioned article of Von Reichenau’s
we can not help, in fact, thinking that it is a mere advertise-
ment for this factory, for the general style of the article, the
high-flown phraseology, the exclamation points, the categori-
cal assertions, threats, etc., are all inappropriate in a writing
of this kind.
In a word, the article bears the character of an ordinary
sensational hair-cure advertisement.
Its chief object is to demonstrate that all previous systems
of rapid-fire guns are worthless, and that those constructed by
the Ehrhard firm should be adopted.
The data given, viz, caliber 2 inches instead of 3 as hereto-
fore, initial velocity 2,130 (2,000 heretofore), weight of the
projectile 5 pounds" (heretofore 153), the projectile itself a
high-explosive shell with 20 fragments—all suffice, according
to l’Artilleur, to show that, in spite of the somewhat greater
a The original says “poods,” but as a pood equals 36.11 pounds, and this
would make the projectile weigh 180.55 pounds, it must be a mistake in
the print.—Transl.
246 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
initial velocity with the weight of projectile three times less
(as compared with the former) and a caliber of 2 inches, the
new gun would have a steeper trajectory than the old one.
This is, writes l’Artilleur, a direct step backward. Finding
the range will be rendered more difficult, the distance effec-
tively covered by fire will be shortened, and consequently the
efficacy of the gun will be diminished. The projectile gives
at least fifteen times less fragments than the present 3-inch
shrapnel. It will therefore be necessary, in order to secure
the same effect, to fire fifteen times as many of the new
Reichenau projectiles and a weight five times as great. And,
then, the high-explosive shell is very weak in its action.
To hit an enemy with it is at least as difficult as to try to kill
a flying insect with a club.
We have, therefore, probably underestimated the amount
of projectiles necessary to be shot in using high-explosive shell.
In order to prove the value of the new gun the Ehrhard
firm executed firing tests at lines of sharpshooters at ranges
of 1,000 and 1,200 m. Leaving out of consideration the indif-
ferent and inaccurately classified percentages of hits, such a
test for a gun may be considered almost ridiculous, as it was
made only at musketry ranges.
The gun is therefore of no value, which, moreover, is
acknowledged by the German authorities.
The reasons given in Von Reichenau's articles for the neces-
sity of introducing this gun are in contradiction to all prin-
ciples of gunnery and tactics, and show many discrepancies
among themselves. We quote only the most essential points.
The author writes, for instance, in the chapter “The shield
is a necessity’, that the possibility of cover is to be valued
more highly than rapid firing. Why, asks l'Artilleur, have
rapid-fire guns, which really gave origin to the idea of adopt-
ing shields, been adopted every where at such enormous
expense and trouble? Because it was desired by means of
them to increase the celerity of fire and also the effects. * * *
In answer to the objection that shields render the target
more conspicuous, Von Reichenau suggests that they be
painted a suitable color. How shall this be done, asks
l'Artilleur, when one can not tell beforehand what kind of a
background the guns are to have and from what point they
are to be seen by the enemy Z One is constrained to think in
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 247
this case of the ability of chameleons and other animals which
change their color according to needs.
The interrupted arrangement of the gunnery crew seated
behind the shields enables, according to Von Reichenau, a more
careful supervision to be exercised over the men than in the
closer formation of infantry behind cover. L’Artilleur re-
plies: Who is to observe the cannoneers? The battery com-
mander, who will also sit behind a shield? " * * Finally,
Reichenau agrees himself that the shields have other than
imaginary disadvantages both on guns and on caissions, for by
increasing the weight of the material they indirectly (i. e., by
necessitating the adoption of a smaller caliber) lead to a reduc-
tion of the muzzle energy of the projectile, which means a
retrograde step in the efficacy of the gun. It is true that
Reichenau believes that in this manner three times as many
projectiles will be enabled to be carried. He is silent, how-
ever, as to the fact that even this increased number of pro-
jectiles will give five times as few fragments as the present
shrapnel.
In his chapter “The remodeling of the field gun,” Von
Reichenau places entirely new requirements on the latter; for,
according to him, it is to serve principally in the destruction
of cover (shields). Shrapnel, which has really been the chief
cause of the introduction of shields, he considers as worthless
even against infantry, and substitutes in its place shell, whose
effects, as he claims further on in contradiction to himself, are
entirely sufficient even against living targets. * * *
Von Reichenau, in the course of his reasoning, retracts his
original assertion that batteries provided with shields are
easier to direct than unarmored batteries. Thus, he considers
it necessary to reduce the number of pieces per battery from
6 to 4, in order to enable the number of caissons per gun to
be increased from 3 to 8. A simple mathematical calculation
will show, however, that in spite of this low number of only
4 guns per battery, the total number of vehicles, including
the caissons, will be increased by 12 as compared with the
former number, and that therefore the depth of the march-
ing column would become that much greater. The disad-
vantages which this would entail even in the position need no
mention. * * *
:
.
3.
:
:
.
-
-
248 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Concerning Reichenau's statements in his chapter on the
artillery duel, in which he seeks to prove the universal superi-
ority of his system over all others, l’Artilleur has the follow-
ing to say: -
“The author bases the success of his guns on the making
of direct hits against the enemy’s shields, and thinks that but
few shots are necessary to attain this result. Just as if our
modern 3-inch guns were not capable of satisfying these
requirements as to accuracy of fire!”
The reduction of the caliber will not do this alone; on the
contrary, finding the range is rendered more difficult thereby,
a circumstance which is not compensated for even by the
increased number of projectiles (of smaller caliber). * * *
The necessity of firing at infantry not only at musketry range
but also at longer ranges, which can be done so successfully
with shrapnel, seems to be entirely left out of account by
Von Reichenau. * * *
In the chapter “The shield-provided gun in the attack and
defense of fortified positions,” the self-sufficiency of the author
(Reichenau) again comes fulsomely to the fore. * * *
Playing havoc with all ballistic laws, he has his 2-inch pro-
jectiles penetrate breastworks (and also shields) “with tremen-
dous velocity,” and gradually sweep them away. “Charmed
by this action of the guns, the infantry will not allow them to
fire from the position occupied, but will drag them on to the
attack with its own arms in order to have the honor of fight-
ing shoulder to shoulder with them.” “ * *
L’Artilleur closes his philippic against shields and Reichenau
with the following remarks, which coincide with the views of
the majority of his fellow-countrymen, and those reiterated
in the press:
“Even if all errors made by Von Reichenau, and other
doubts, are left out of consideration, and his gun, projectile,
etc., are accredited with being the acme of perfection, it still
remains incomprehensible how the need can ever be felt of
expending vast sums for the adoption of guns with shields,
which are so easily destroyed by similar guns of the enemy.
While on the one hand they render more certain the action of
their own high-explosive shell, the shields will at the same
time form terribly attractive targets for hostile shell and as
such are eminently calculated to bring about the total annihi-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 249
lation of the crew behind them, for even if the shields do
protect (or are supposed to protect) against shrapnel and rifle
bullets, Von Reichenau will not admit the use of shrapnel any
longer, and, as far as rifle bullets are concerned, it is impossi-
ble to think of a marksman approaching within effective range
of these miraculous 2-inch Reichenau guns protected by
shields.
“Von Reichenau has done more harm than good to the
cause of the shield by his pamphlet, for what he says argues
rather against its introduction than in favor of it.”
Another Russian critic, I. Slobin, makes some utterances
in No. 148 of the Invalid, which are less sharp and ironical
but more objective and pertinent. He addresses his criticism
chiefly to the articles published by Colonel Sviatzki, one of
the most zealous of Russian advocates of the shield and a sup-
porter of Reichenau, and lays the greatest weight on the
question as to the extent to which the mobility of artillery is
influenced by the adoption of shields.
Slobin's article is especially instructive, inasmuch as, while
setting forth his own views, he also states the opinions of the
advocates of shields, though it be only to refute them, and
the reader is thus given an opportunity to hear the other side
indirectly also.
He says: * * * Much has been written concerning the
shield question, but as a rule the battery already in posi-
tion and in action has been taken as the basis for judgment,
the other situations being given less consideration. Now, it
is well known that the activity of a battery in battle consists
in maneuvering and firing, and both are often equally impor-
tant factors to success, for the gun must first be brought into
position in order to be fired. In considering the shield ques-
tion it must therefore be rendered clear what advantage or
detriment the shields cause in both cases. Whom, how, and
when do they afford cover, not only during fire but also during
movement? We have never found a definite answer to these
Questions. All opinions concerning rapid-fire guns are to the
effect that they have a powerful action. But a battery in
position, well trained and led by an efficient commander, is
of itself, whatever the system be, a very important factor,
while at the same time offering a comparatively small target.
Once it is engaged in battle and works properly itself, the
250 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
guns will seldom be placed out of action and the personnel
serving them can be replenished in case of need by infantry-
men; this is taught by the experience of previous wars and
substantiated by Prince Hohenlohe.
On the other hand it is well known that a battery is most
imperiled during movement, for during this time it merely
presents a huge target without being able to defend itself.
Therefore the influence of shields must be taken into consid-
eration, not only during fire, but also during the maneuvering
of the battery. What is this influence? During movement
the shields may possibly shelter the two cannoneers seated on
the carriage, and then only from the front; they will not
protect those who are seated on the limbers and caissons, nor
the remaining personnel and horses, any more than has been
the case heretofore. If, therefore, a driver or a horse falls,
the gun will be stopped for a greater or less length of time.
Once, however, the battery arrives safely into position and
unlimbers, the enemy, who has long been awaiting this happy
moment, pours a hail of projectiles on him.
In the meantime the shields, owing to the increase in weight
caused by them, merely delay the action of their own bat-
tery, i. e., the preparation of the gun for fire. But this is
not all. In order to conceal the action of occupying a posi-
tion to the enemy, it is recommended that the piece be unlim-
bered beforehand behind some cover, inequality of the ground,
or the like, and that the guns then be hauled into position by
the men. This will have to be done for the most part on
plowed ground, in brush, or on sandy soil. I have found in
long years’ experience in peace practice on Sandy firing
grounds what exertions this dragging forward of the guns
causes the cannoneers; how much worse will it be when the
6-pood (about 220-pound) shield is added?
The complicated recoil cylinder also increases the weight of
the new gun by almost 6 poods (220 pounds), so that the total
weight is equal to that of the (old) heavy field gun, which is
to be rejected just on account of its weight, upon introduction
of the new model 1900 gun. But let us assume that the gun
is in position and has opened fire. The two numbers (1 and
2) who are nearest to the shield are protected from frontal
fire, but by no means from flanking fire and shrapnel bullets;
Nos. 4 and 5 are still less so, and Nos. 3 and 6 not at all.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 251
It is true that the most important person, viz, the gunner,
is one of the first two numbers, but No. 3, his nearest assistant
and substitute, is entirely without shelter, unless the caissons
be also armored and placed alongside the gun. But this also
has its serious disadvantages.
Therefore, at the most dangerous time, viz, during the
movement of the battery, during unlimbering, and before the
opening of the fire, the shield, owing to its weight, is only det-
rimental and of no advantage.
During fire it shelters, and then only partially, certain
numbers of the crew, but not even them during their whole
work at the gun.
Colonel Sviatzki writes: “A battery which suffers delay in
finding the range and loses too much time in unlimbering and
in determining the object of fire will be instantly annihilated
by the enemy.”
Very correct, although a little exaggerated. This, how-
ever, only proves the correctness of my view. During my
command of the experimental rapid-fire battery in 1899, I
pointed out in my report, with regard to the practical firing
(2,000 rounds in all), what a tremendous significance the
quickest possible opening of the fire and rapid finding of the
range has in rapid-fire batteries in particular. The prepon-
derance will always be in favor of the side which has fulfilled
this mission first. For this purpose, however, there is needed
a light, handy gun, with which it is possible to work on all
kinds of ground and with a small personnel. Every addi-
tional pood (36 pounds) is of the greatest disadvantage. We
must therefore endeavor to construct such a type of gun that
the battery can follow the infantry everywhere, whether on
plowed ground, sand, or uphill. Then, even if the numbers
on the caissons (No. 6) do remain behind, it will not do much
harm, for the remaining numbers can attend to the unlimber-
ing, etc., themselves. This was the principle followed, as
far as we know, by the artillery commission appointed to
plan the new rapid-fire gun.
Let us now examine a little more closely, for the sake of
argument, the time during which the shield can be regarded
as a useful burden, and let us hear its principal defender,
Colonel Sviatzki. He states in his memoir: “The struggle
(duel) of the artillery weapons, even when they are masked,
252 IBULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
but not intrenched and not protected by shields, lasts only
from 10 to 20 minutes.” The rapid-fire battery, continues
Slobin, can fire its supply of ammunition in 7 minutes (count-
ing 20 shots per minute per gun). Therefore if the average
duration of the struggle is taken as 15 minutes, there remain
8 minutes for the maneuvering, during which time the shield
affords no protection. But even during fire the cannoneers
will frequently be compelled to leave these shelters, for
instance, to fetch up ammunition, in changing the direction of
the fire, in working on the trail of the carriage on soft soil,
etc. Thus, in a struggle taken as lasting so short a time as
from 10 to 20 minutes, half the time will be consumed in the
necessary maneuvers.
The proportion, of course, changes if the battle lasts longer.
The time spent in maneuvering will then in all probability
be much shorter than that spent standing still and in position.
We must admit that this speaks to the advantage of shields,
but then the assailant will also endeavor to shelter himself by
throwing up earthworks.
We will also admit that he who shelters his firing crew with
shields during the interruption of the fire will do better than
the commander of that Prussian battery who (according to
Prince Hohenlohe), when he had expended all his ammunition,
ordered his men to sit on the limbers and sing the “Wacht
am Rhein.”
The moral element must be taken into account even in the
use of shields as cover, and the shield is not—a fortress. The
shield may, as even fortresses are said to do, very easily exert
a demoralizing influence, and (then again) the crew which is
accustomed to crawl around on its knees behind shields will
hardly refuse to perform the strenuous labor which is so abso-
lutely essential in order to derive all the benefits out of a
rapid-fire gun.
To this the reply is given: Only the shield enables artillery
to fight hand in hand with infantry. But this will occur,
when circumstances require it, even without shields, and it
has occurred. There are plenty of examples of this in mili-
tary history, but the type of gun used must be light and
mobile and the troops must be imbued with the right spirit.
Colonel Sviatzki says, it is true, that no innovation can be
made without sacrifices, and in order to compensate for the
BULLETIN OF MILITERY NOTES. 253
increased weight caused by the shields, he calmly proposes to
eliminate two numbers of the crew behind the guns. The
result of such a change could only be determined by war, but
it appears very dubious to us. It is not difficult to decrease
the number of cannoneers or to adopt shields, but how are the
missing hands to be replaced in difficult situations, as, for
instance, when the ground is soft and the caissons far to the
rear?
It should also not be forgotten that the weight of the gun
should be such as to allow the batteries to travel at least a
half day’s march at a trot with the personnel seated on them,
and the horses should then have enough strength left in order
to cover the last stretch of 600 to 1,000 yards up to the posi-
tion at a gallop on all kinds of ground. This was difficult
even with our light field gun, in spite of our 3 to 4 inch (?)
powerful artillery horses, which in war must generally be
replaced by 13-inch (?) country jades. And to this must be
added the shields and armored caissons. Let the Germans
try it. Technical science has not yet advanced far enough to
combine great efficiency with mobility. The guns of all
armies are too heavy, and it is dangerous to burden them yet
with shields.
It may happen that shields will be adopted for all guns, but
all guns will surely not then arrive promptly into position.
One more word in conclusion. Colonel Sviatzki writes in
his article recommending shields as follows, and believes he
has scored a point: “That artillery will gain the ascendency
which is not afraid to fight until the last number (cannoneer)
is lost. The correct training and education of the artillery-
man is the prime factor (especially when shields are used ?).”
This old, time-honored principle, replies I. Slobin, has indeed
always guaranteed success. But it does not argue in favor of
the shield, but rather the contrary. All shields and armor,
arrows, lances, swords, battering rams—everything up to our
modern rapid-fire gun—have had to yield to this principle; it
will stand unshakable and firm forever. “Therefore,” con-
cludes Slobin, “give us an efficient, light, and mobile gun
(without shield or armored caisson), and the ‘correct training’
of the artilleryman will do the rest.”
254 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The summing up of the above-cited utterances of the princi-
pal opponents of the shield in Russia amounts to the following:
Although even the Russians admit the advantages of shields
in certain cases, and the more conservative among them attach
ſittle importance to the objections of a more or less psychical
nature which have been made against shields, still the disad-
vantages of increased weight and the consequent necessity of
using special ammunition are regarded as preponderating and
therefore as arguing against the adoption of shields. The
matter of cost is an additional item.–Meue Militärische
Blätter, Auſ/ust 8–15, 1903.
THE RUSSIAN SMALL-ARMS FACTORIES.
GENERAL REMARKS.
The large small-arms factories in Russia are those of Tula,
Sestrorietsk, and Ijevsk. They not only manufacture rifles,
but all other kinds of war stores. They are organized as
follows: At the head of each factory is a director, who is
assisted by a subdirector in technical matters. The director
of the important Tula factory is a general from the field
artillery. The director superintends the administrative
details, and he is assisted by a council, composed of several
persons, with a field officer at their head, which council
attends to all technical questions of fundamental importance.
The majority of the mechanical sections of the three factories
are in charge of active artillery officers, a small part being in
charge of civil officials taken from the technical institutes of
the artillery. In Russia artillery officers are alone considered
capable of directing work in factories of military stores. Only
in cases of necessity are efficient engineer officers admitted in
the subordinate positions in the factories. The directors of
the mechanical sections are responsible not only in financial
matters but also in regard to the workmanship of the war
matériel manufactured under their supervision. They are, as
a matter of course, subordinated to the director and sub-
director of the factory.
A board of control and inspection is assigned to the factory,
without being subordinate to it. It takes charge of the man-
ufactured matériel, and consists of several field and subaltern
officers. A considerable number of armorers are detailed to it.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 255
Apart from the factories themselves, but belonging to
then, there are hospitals for sick and injured workmen, San-
itariums, children's schools, cooperative societies, and train-
ing schools. These latter also serve for the training of
personnel to supply vacancies of armorers in the front. The
course lasts four years. In the training schools the sons of
workmen are taught a practical trade, at which they can after-
wards work in the factory itself. Almost all the pupils of
these schools enter the arms factories as workmen after com-
pleting their preliminary training.
1. THE IMPERIAL FACTORY AT TULA.
This factory is situated on the Upa River, in the middle of
the city of Tula. This city, situated 125 miles south of Mos-
cow, is the seat of the government of the same name. Tula
is the oldest and at the same time the most important rifle
factory in Russia. Although nominally founded in 1712 by
Peter the Great, it really delivered rifles to the government
as early as the end of the sixteenth century. A Dutchman by
the name of Franz Marcellus first established a small factory
there; in 1639 a school for armorers was founded in the neigh-
boring town of Tschentsovo in order to supply skilled labor
for Tula. As early as the end of the seventeenth century the
annual production amounted to 2,000 rifles; by the beginning
of Peter the Great’s reign it had increased to 8,000.
The work was done without the aid of any machinery, being
done mostly in the homes of the armorers.
Peter the Great gave Tula a great boom. He intrusted a
certain Nikito Demidoff with the construction of a factory at
the confluence of the Upa and Tonlitza rivers; this was com-
pleted in 1714. It derived water power for its engines from
the Upa. A former private, but clever fellow, Batistekheff,
assumed charge. But like so many of Peter’s creations, this
one also fell into decline after his death. Not until 1737 was
it revived, the Russian war ministry ordering as high as
30,000 rifles there in a year.
An imperial ukase of May 13, 1778, brought about a great
change. According to this a special bureau of construction
was created, the establishment was organized on a sound
economical basis, and apprentice schools, hospitals, and an
256 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
educational institute for orphans of workmen killed by acci-
dent were founded. An Englishman by the name of Dawig
became technical director.
Thus well prepared, the factory was able to fulfill the
enormous demands made upon it in the following period of
the Napoleonic wars. During the period from 1812 to 1814
there were 500,000 infantry rifles manufactured or repaired
at Tula.
From 1817 on the work decreased, and an Englishman
named John Johnes carried out extensive improvements in
the factory under the direction of General Staden. Milling
machines, which had just been invented, were adopted. Such
accuracy had been attained in the manufacture that any parts
of a rifle could safely be assembled into a whole weapon with-
out special preparation. This was done for the first time in
1826, in the presence of Emperor Nicholas I.
At a conflagration in 1834, which destroyed almost the
entire city of Tula, the rifle factory was also consumed. It
was rebuilt and resumed operations in 1843. It was fitted
with modern machinery, cost 2,600,000 rubles, and had a
steam engine of 50 horsepower.
Until 1864, when serfdom was abolished, the employees in
the rifle factory were Government (forced) laborers; but from
then on they become free citizens, like all other Russian sub-
jects. As the Government did not care to undertake compre-
hensive organic changes in this service, it leased the factory,
under reservations, to General Standerscheld. During the
period following, up to 1870, the distribution of labor re-
mained the same, the armorers and their assistants working
(partly without machinery) at their homes. Only certain
work was done at the factory. In 1870 the factory was taken
back under Government control and the following innova-
tions were introduced:
(1) Machinery was installed for the manufacture of 750,000
rifles per year.
(2) Arrangements were made for performing all the work
in the factory itself.
(3) Every part was to be produced in a separate room by
itself.
(4) Turbines were installed for the utilization of water
power, the steam engines being reserved for emergency only.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 257
On September 1, 1873, the factory began work. The
changes and new machinery cost 2,900,000 rubles. Most of
the machine tools were purchased from the English firm of
Greenwood & Batley. Work was begun on the construction
of the Berdan rifle and in 1880 it was completed.
After a visit by Emperor Alexander II, Tula assumed the
name of “Imperial factory” (1875). It was here that the
then Lieutenant-Colonel Mossine invented the three-line rifle,
which resembled in construction the model constructed by the
Belgian, Nagant (1891).
At this time another enlargement was made in the works,
1,400 machine tools being purchased abroad. In the manu-
facture of the three-line rifle France had assistants working
in the factory.
The whole vast factory is lighted throughout with electric
lights; it employs at present 8,500 workmen. In 1896 it was
able to turn out 274,000 weapons, or 913 per day. Besides
three-line rifles (model 1891), it also manufactures Smith &
Wesson revolvers, as well as those of the Nagant system.
2. THE FACTORY AT SESTRORIETSK.
This shop is situated on the Sestra River, St. Petersburg
Government, 16 miles from the capital, being connected with
the latter by a railroad.
Peter the Great also founded this factory in 1714, design-
ing it especially for the needs of the navy. It was completed
in 1721. The first director was a Swede by the name of
Christian Otto, who utilized the water power of the Sestra
for the factory.
From 1727 to 1735 the work of manufacturing rifles was at
a standstill. Here, just as in Tula, the death of Peter the
Great was followed by a decline in this prematurely estab-
lished Russian industry. The factory was engaged in the
manufacture of anchors, ship nails, cannon balls, intrenching
tools, and iron castings for the navy.
A fire destroyed most of the factory in 1780. In 1799 work
was again begun on the manufacture of firearms. Until Rus-
sian serfdom was abolished the inhabitants of the place were
compelled to work in the factory, but this forced labor was
discontinued in 1867. Like Tula, Sestrorietsk was also turned
17430—04—17
258 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
over to a contractor, not returning under government control
until 1884. At present the three-line rifle is manufactured
there, with the exception of the breech casing and the bored
barrels, which are made in the shops at Ijevsk.
The factory at present employs 1,200 workmen, who op-
erate 940 machine tools. The number of workmen, however,
has varied greatly, fluctuating between 2,500 and 2,600 in
1880 and 1895 and 1,000 in 1898. The shops turned out
152,000 Berdan rifles in 1880, and 75,000 three-line rifles in
1894. Of this latter model there have been a total of 378,000
manufactured at Sestrorietsk.
Working eight hours a day the factory is capable with its
present force of finishing 30,000 rifles a year. Sporting
weapons have also been manufactured since 1900.
3. THE FACTORY AT IJEVSK.
This is situated in the Viatka government, Sarapoul district,
on the Ije, an affluent of the Kama, midway between the Ural
Mountains and Moscow.
At this same place Count Shuvaloff had established a
foundry in 1760. In 1807 this was taken over by the Russian
war ministry and a rifle factory was added to it. It has since
been operated by the Government. Whereas, however,
nothing but iron parts were produced up to 1870, a change
was made in this year and Ijevsk became a steel works. Here
are manufactured steel parts of every description for army
needs, but especially breech casings and barrels for rifles, as
well as tools for the manufacture of arms. Breech casings
and barrels are finished off at Tula, Sestrorietsk, and in the
rifle factory annexed to the steel works at Ijevsk. Both the
steel works and the rifle factory are under the same director,
but the latter has a special subdirector for each establishment,
who is more or less independent.
At Ijevsk the water power of the river, which flows past
the factory, is utilized, and amounts to 1,120 horsepower,
while steam engines with 1,973 horsepower are also used.
There are about 3,000 different machines in use, among which
1,370 are milling machines. The works are electrically lighted
and heated for the most part by steam. As in Tula, there are
a training and an armorers' school attached to the factory.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 259
The steel works and rifle factory together employed 7,000
workmen in 1896; with this force a daily output of 1,000 rifles
was accomplished, besides the breech casings and barrels
necessary for Tula and Sestrorietsk.
The steel works produced in 1898 about 5,000 tons of steel,
worth 2,140,000 rubles.
Ijevsk until 1844 also manufactured all kinds of side arms,
such as halberds, lances, swords, and infantry bayonets.
Since the year mentioned, however, the manufacture of these
objects has been transferred to the factory at Zlatooust.
Since 1888 sporting weapons have also been manufactured
at the Ijevsk rifle factory, and they have a good reputation in
Russia.
Since 1891, when the machinery was increased and improved,
the three-line rifle has been manufactured. Ijevsk is the only
Russian rifle factory where the three types of this rifle, viz,
infantry, dragoon, and Cossack model 1891 are produced. In
1896 the daily output was 1,000 weapons and in 1899 only 600.
The working hours are nine daily, and the number of work-
men about 4,500. The principle of the interchangeability of
component parts is strictly adhered to. For this purpose a
number of instruments of correction and precision have been
constructed.
Since the beginning of the manufacture of the three-line
rifle, model 1891, there have been produced 330,000 infantry
rifles, 375,000 dragoon rifles, and 175,000 Cossack rifles, or a
total of 880,000 weapons.—Meue Militärische Blätter, April
18–25, 1903.
ARMY MANEUVERS, 1903.
The Peterburgskiya Wiedomosti publishes in three recent
numbers some particulars of the grand maneuvers of the
Russian Army. The general scheme of the maneuvers was
that an army, known as the “Southern Army,” was march-
ing from Riga on St. Petersburg, and that it was the duty of
a Northern Army to intercept it. The Northern Army, under
command of General Baron Meyendorf, consisted of the
Guards Corps and the Eighteenth Army Corps, making a
total of 62 battalions, 36 squadrons, and 132 guns; the
Southern Army, under command of the cavalry general,
Kakhanoff, consisted of the First and Twentieth Army
260 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Corps, making a total of 664 battalions, 28 squadrons,
and 154 guns. Precise dates are not given, but apparently
on the 15th of August, Meyendorf, who had intended to seize
Pskov, with his Eighteenth Army Corps, heard that his oppo-
nent was pushing forward his cavalry to prevent this. Having
confirmed this movement of the enemy's cavalry, by recon-
noitering, he gave orders to his own cavalry to advance in
force. Pskov is almost midway on the direct railway line
between Riga and St. Petersburg; it is situated on the lake
of the same name, which lies to the north of it, at the point
where the river Velikaya, running almost due north, empties
into the lake. The Northern cavalry in their advance reached
a village where they camped as though for the night, but in
the depth of the night they broke up their camp and con-
tinued their march, moving forward as quietly as possible in
three columns at a gentle trot. The moon appeared only
occasionally from behind the clouds, and it was necessary to
employ local peasant guides in order not to miss the way.
At 2 o’clock in the morning the first column entered Pskov
by the bridge, and were so far unexpected that the Smolenski
Dragoons, who were in possession of the town, had not time
to get into their uniforms to oppose them. (These dragoons
made a forced march on Pskov; riding from 5 a. m., on
August 14, until 10.30 a. m., on August 15, they had covered
over 66 miles, and had entered Pskov the same evening.)
The second column also entered the town by the permanent
bridge, while the third column threw a pontoon bridge across
the river and entered by that means. The umpires admitted
the occupation of the town by the Northern Army, and Cos-
sack guards were placed at all the entrances to it, while the
remainder of the men turned in to finish their night's rest.
The 16th of August was a day of repose for both armies.
The Tsar arrived in Pskov on August 17, and had the position
of the contending armies explained to him. On the same day
the Southern cavalry, which had crossed the Velikaya, re-
crossed the river at daybreak in support of the First Army
Corps, taking up a position on its right flank. Part of the
Eighteenth Army Corps of the Northern Army, in moving
on Pskov from the east, when about to cross a small river,
came under the fire of the First Army Corps, and an engage-
ment ensued, the result of which was undecided, owing to the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 261
troops of both sides becoming mixed up. On August 20 the
opposing armies took up positions facing one another, the
Northern Army on the right bank and the Southern Army on
the left bank of the Velikaya.
At 9 p.m. the cavalry of the latter army, consisting of 24
squadrons and 18 guns, advanced and were met by 10 squad-
rons of the former army, but by the umpire's decision both
sides were put out of action for the space of an hour. The
Southern horse made the best of this time, and at the end of
it, while the attention of the Northern horse was still directed
to the infantry battle which was going on, they suddenly
charged, and succeeded in capturing the 18 guns of the
Northern cavalry, only two regiments of the latter being
there to defend them, the other regiments not being able to
come up in time. The umpire ordered the captured guns out
of action, and also ordered the two defeated regiments to retire
2 miles in the direction of Pskov. At the close of the day the
Southern Army had turned the position of the Northern Army
with the object of driving it to the northwest of Pskov, but
it was still between it and that town. On August 22 the
Northern Army strengthened itself in its position preparatory
to the final scene on the 23d. On that day the Southern
Army made the expected general attack, and when this was
at its full, and the whole scene of the operations covered with
a veil of smoke, the Tsar gave the order to cease fire. At the
concluding review the troops formed an enormous square
with their faces turned toward the Tsar's pavilion, which was
in the center.—The Times, London, August, 1903.
THE RUSSIAN SCHOOL-SHIP OCEAN.
The Ocean, constructed at Kiel in the Hawaldt yards, is
principally intended to furnish annually to the Russian impe-
rial navy 750 skilled machinists and firemen.
It is furnished, for this purpose, with the most modern
engines and boiler tubes of four different types. The princi-
pal engines, two in number, are vertical and triple expansion,
each one furnished with four cylinders and possessing a total
of 11,000 horsepower. All kinds of the most modern auxil-
, iary engines, in use by the different navies, are found on
board.
262 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
One of the particulars of installation consists in that the
evaporation furnished by all the plants comprised in the aux-
iliary engines, is that the steam produced in the ship returns
through the boilers without the least waste.
The boiler tubes are divided into two groups, each in a
Special compartment. The first group is composed of two
types of large water tubes having six Belleville and six
Niclause boilers; the second is composed of two types of
boilers of small tubes having three Yarrow and two Schultz-
Thornycroft boilers. The total heating surface is 34,500
square feet. They adequately suffice for the production of
the necessary steam, with normal draft, for a speed of 18
knots.
The steam piping is so arranged that each engine can work,
not only with no matter what group of boilers, but also with
no matter what single boiler.
Outside of its character of instruction, and in the aim to
reduce the amount of expense resulting from it, the Ocean
can transport the matériel of state from the Baltic Sea in
the extreme East and vice versa.
It possesses for this purpose four merchandise holds, amply
capable of holding 4,000 tons; in addition the coal bins are
capable of carrying 1,600 tons of fuel.
The Ocean is arranged to accommodate 55 officers and 700
men. It contains a vast workshop, a steam kitchen, and a
spacious bakery, also a refrigerating plant, whose tempera-
ture can be reduced to 3° below zero, even in the Tropics. It
occupies a space of 2,000 square feet and furnishes more ice,
daily, than can be used.
The number of small boats is 14, of which 4 are propelled
by steam and 5 by automatic motors.
The principal characteristics of the Ocean are as follows:
Maximum length, 490 feet; length, between perpendiculars,
470 feet; beam, 58 feet; draft under full cargo, 25 feet;
total displacement, 11,900 tons.—Armée et Marine, January
11, 1903. Translated by Capt. F. D. Wickham, Twelfth
Infantry.
BULLETIN of MILITARY NOTEs.
263
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. |Pºº Where building. Remarks.
BATTLE SHIPS. Tom 8.
X------------------------------ 16,000 | St. Petersburg . . . . ." Building; to be completed
1905.
X------------------------------ 16,000 ||--------------------- Projected.
X------------------------------ 16,000 --------------------- DO.
X------------------------------ 3 * * ~ | * > = • - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DO.
X------------------------------ 3 * ~ v i - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - DO.
Imperator Alex. III . . . . . . . . . . 13, 516 St. Petersburg. . . . . Launched August, 1901.
Borodino . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13, 516 |..... do ------------- LaunchedSeptember,1901.
rel --------------------------- 13, 516 |..... do ------------- Launched July, 1902; to be
completed 1904.
Kniaz Suvarof... --- - - - - - - - - - - - - 13, 516 - - - - - do ------------- Launched September,1902;
to be completed 1904.
Slava -------------------------- 13, 516 - - - - - do ------------- Launched August 30, 1903.
is tº s º ºs & s e = s. s. s. s = as sº a sº e s m = ºr s. s. s. s. s. s is 2,500 || Nicolaiev . . . . . . . . . . . Building.
X------------------------------ , 500 |. . . . . do ------------- DO.
Ivan Zlatoust. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , 500 | Sevastopol. . . . . . . . . DO.
CoAST DEFENSE IRONCLAD.
Admiral Boutakof............. 6,000 St. Petersburg . . . . . Building.
PROTECTED CRUISERS. }
Oleg --------------------------- 6, 750 | St. Petersburg . . . . . Launched August 27, 1903.
Kagul ------------------------- 6, 750 | Nicolaiev. . . . . . . . . . Launched June 2, 1903.
Otchakof . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6, 750 | Sevastopol. . . . . . . . . Launched October, 1902.
Vitiaz ------------------------- 6, 750 | St. Petersburg . . . . . Building.
s & e sº e s = < e < * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * = * * 6, 750 |... --do - - - - - - - - - - - - - DO.
Boyarin ----------------------- 3, 200 Copenhagen. . . . . . . Under trial.
Kalgoula . . . . . . . . . . . . . --------- 3,200 | Nicolaiev. ......... Building.
Almaz ------------------------- 3, 200 | St. Petersburg..... Launched June 2, 1903.
Zemtchug . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,200 |- - - - - O - - - - - - - - - - - - - Launched August 27, 1903.
IZumrud----------------------- 3, 200 - - - - - O - - - - - - - - - - - - - Building.
7------------------------------- 3, 200 | Dantzic (Schichau) DO.
8------------------------------- 3,200 | St. Petersburg . . . . . Projected.
THE NAVAL ESTIMATES FOR 1903.
The estimates for the present year amount to 104,417,791
rubles (£10,876,853 5s.), showing an increase of 6,338,802
rubles (£660,291 17s.) over last year’s.
made up as follows:
This increase is
Rubles. £. S.
For maintenance of fleet and for new ships. 4,000,000– 416,666 13
Extension works at Vladivostok - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 181, 550= 123,078 2
Extension works at Port Arthur - - - - - - - - - - - 905,000– 94, 270 17
Miscellaneous expenses - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 252,252= 26, 276 5
The distribution is as follows:
1. Maintenance of central and port adminis-
trations ---------------------------- 2,438,249= 253,984 5
2. Upkeep of training establishments - - - - - 1, 175, 502= 122,448 2
3. Ordinary construction and guns - - - - - - - 40,449,682= 4, 213,508 12
4. Admiralty yards and workshops - - - - - - - 5, 623,877= 596,238 0
5. Ships in commission ------------------ 21, 462, 717– 2, 235,699 19
6. Surveying and beacons - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,535,015= 159,897 8
7. Construction and rent of buildings - - - - - 5, 216, 372= 543, 372 2
264 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
º
Rubles. £ S.
8. Pay and rations of men on shore- - - - - - - 11,608, 550= 1, 209, 223 19
9. Rewards, pensions, and allowances - - - - 1,492, 351 = 155, 453 5
10. Medical care and hospitals- - - - - - - - - - - - - 1, 266,437= 131, 920 10
11. Various items------------------------- 1,951, 353= . 203,265 19
12. Construction Emperor Alexander III,
Harbor----------------------------- 2, 349,033= 244, 691 0
13. Expenditure on surveying - - - - - - - - - - - - - 54, 700– 5,697 18
14. Extension and improvement of Vladi-
Vostok ----------------------------- 3, 181,559– 331,411 8
15. Port Arthur -------------------------- 4, 105,000– 427,604 0
16. Erection of a new slip at Galerny
Island.----------------------------- 407, 394= 42, 436 18
Total ------------------------------ 104,417, 791=10,876, 853 5
THE RUSSIAN NAVY.
The active list of officers consists of 24 vice-admirals, 35
rear-admirals, 105 captains, 351 commanders, 900 lieutenants,
and 775 junior officers, a total of 2,190.
The marine artillery corps, is in process of disbandment,
and the following officers are the only ones now attached to
it: Two lieutenant-colonels, 3 captains, and 1 staff captain.
The navigation officers corps is also being disbanded, and
consists now only of 2 colonels, 7 lieutenant-colonels, 16 cap-
tains, and 1 staff captain. *
The engineers corps consists of 22 inspectors of machinery,
208 chief engineers, 208 engineers, and 200 assistant engineers.
There are 750 naval cadets, who are divided according to
yearly terms extending to six, but there are numerous vacan-
cies in the senior terms.
The number of warrant officers, petty officers, and men is
62,226.
Particulars are now obtainable of the new Russian battle
ships, whose existence the admiralty refused to credit. They
will, as we stated months ago, carry four 12-inch and twelve
8-inch guns. In type, they will be enlarged Borodinos, and
they will closely resemble those vessels. That is to say, the
secondary guns will be in pairs, in turrets; two pairs at the
base of each mast, and the third pair of turrets amidships at
a lower level, so that eight guns can be fired axially without
the slightest risk of interference. The six new ships will be
of 16,000 tons displacement, 430 feet long, 80 feet beam, and
RULLETIN () F MILITARY NOTES. 265
26 feet mean draft. The horsepower will be 18,000, from
which a speed of 18 knots is expected. Two of the ships
will have Belleville boilers; two Niclausse. The boilers of
the other two are not yet decided on.
The new Russian cruisers will be three in number. Their
exact size and type is as yet undecided, two alternatives being
under consideration. One party desires to see a 10,000-ton
vessel, a species of Borodino, armed with four 8-inch and
twelve 6-inch guns; the other is in favor of reproducing the
8,000-ton Bayan, which has been a singularly successful ves-
sel. The advocates of this type desire to see 23-knot cruisers,
and insist on speed before power. The Bayan is nominally
of 21 knots, but she has several times easily exceeded that
contract speed; she has also maintained it without difficulty
for some twelve hours on several trials.-Proceedings U. S.
Maval Institute, September, 1903.
The battle ship Tsarevitch has been doing a singularly suc-
cessful series of trials, and the anticipated speed has been
greatly exceeded. Designed for 18 knots, she is stated to
have done well over 19, and for the present holds the battle
ship speed record.—Ang/meer.
Arnold-Foster says: “The admiralty have not received offi-
cial particulars as to the Russian shipbuilding programme.
Such particulars are not published or made public by the
Russian Government. It is known, however, that two first-
class battle ships have now been commenced in the Black Sea,
and it is considered probable that two more will be laid down
at an early date in the Baltic.
The Russian admiralty has recently ordered the laying
down of two more battle ships for the Black Sea fleet, one at
Nikolaiev, and the other at the Sevastopol admiralty yard.
These vessels are to be of 12,000 tons, but further details
have not been reported, although it is believed that the en-
gines will be made by private firms. Three new torpedo-
boat destroyers are also reported to be under consideration,
to be built by private firms, and to be of the same type as the
Zavieţni, which was built at Nikolaiev. The Russian Black
Sea fleet now consists of seven battle ships, the Potemkin, Tri
Sviatetilia Rostislav, Georghi Pobyedomosets, Dvenadsat
Apostolov, Sinope, and Tehesma, the Ekaterina being at pres-
ent laid up for repairs to her machinery. — Page's Magazine.
266 BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The Russian protected cruiser Almaz was launched at the
Baltic yard, St. Petersburg, on June 2, and on the same day
the Kagul took the water at Nikolaiev. The Almaz belongs
to the smaller class, displacing 3,285 tons with a length of 325
feet, beam 43 feet 6 inches, and draft 17 feet 6 inches. She
is to have engines of 17,500 horsepower, supplied by sixteen
Belleville boilers, intended for a speed of 19 knots. The
protection is to be given by a 2.7-inch belt, and the principal
guns will have a 5-inch protection. There are to be six 4.7-
inch, and the armament will also comprise eight 1.8-inch,
two 1.4-inch, and three machine guns. The ship has a double
bottom, and 44 water-tight compartments. The Kagul dis-
places 6,250 tons, and is 436 feet long, with 64 feet 5 inches
beam. In thickness the protection is analogous to that of
the Almaz, but the armament consists of twelve 6-inch, twelve
3-inch, and eight 1.8-inch guns. The torpedo transport Volga
is progressing at St. Petersburg, and her name plate was put
in position when the Almaz was launched.
The new Russian cruiser Kagul which was launched at
Nikolaiev, on the Black Sea, on June 2, was laid down in the
admiralty yard there in August, 1901. The dimensions are:
Total length, 439 feet 73 inches; greatest beam, 54 feet 5%
inches; draft, 20 feet 7% inches; and displacement, 6,675
tons. Two engines of 19,500 indicated horsepower are ex-
pected to give the Kagul a speed of 23 knots. The armament
is carried in two turrets and four armored casemates; it con-
sists of twelve 6-inch guns of 45 caliber, and of twelve 3-inch
guns of 50 caliber, with six 46 mm. quick-firing guns, and
two submarine torpedo tubes. It is to be remarked that all
the material used in the construction of this vessel was sup-
plied by Russian works. – Engineering.
The Odessa Novosti states that two ships of the Russian
Volunteer Fleet, the Moskva and Aherson, have been pur-
chased by the Russian admiralty in order to be placed at the
disposal of Admiral Alexeieff for transport purposes in the
Far East. The price paid exceeds three and a half million
rubles (£350,000 to £400,000). With this sum the committee
of the Volunteer Fleet proposed building or purchasing three
new vessels.-Londom Times, October 16, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 267
SUBMARINE BOAT,
It is reported that a submarine boat built at the Baltic
works has arrived at Kronstadt for trial.
She is of rather large class, being 77 feet long, with a diam-
eter of 14 feet, and is to have a complement of 12 men.
The ingenious system of torpedo tubes, devised by a Russian
engineer named Djevetski, has been applied, intended to per-
mit the torpedo to be aimed and directed just after issuing
from the tube.
In this new boat gasoline is used for surface navigation and
electricity, supplied by accumulators, when the boat is sub-
merged.—Army and Navy Gazette, October 10, 1903.
LATEST STATIONS OF SHIPS.
EASTERN STATIONS.
Vladivostok.-First-class battle ships Petropavlovsk, Pol-
tava, Sevastopol, Peresviet, Retvisan, Pobieda, first-class
armored cruisers Rossia, Gromoboi, Rurik, first-class cruis-
ers Askold, Bogatyr; third-class cruiser Movik.
Port Arthur.—First-class cruisers Pallada, Diana, Variag;
third-class cruisers Boyarān, Djigºt, first-class armored gun
vessel Grem?ashchi; first-class gunboat Gºliak, transports
Amur, Yemissel; third-class torpedo cruisers Vsadnik, Haid-
amak; torpedo boats Be2shumny, Bezposhadny, Bd7telny,
Be2stras/ºny, Boëvoi, Vnimatelny, Vnushitelny, Wymoslºvy,
Vlastny, Grozovoi, Burny, Boćki.
In the Gulf of Kwantung.—Third-class cruiser Zabłaka;
gun vessel Sivuch.
MŽuchwang.—Gun vessel Bobr.
Shanghai...—First-class armored gun vessel Otwajny.
Chemulpo. –Gun vessel Aorečts.
Coast of Aamchatka.-Gun vessel Mandjur.
MEDITERRANEAN.
Phalerum.—Second-class battle ship Imperator Wicola I;
first-class armored gun vessel Khrabry.
Piraeus.-Gun vessel Kubanets.
In archipelago.—Training ship Ocean.
Returning from Mediterranean.— Vigo; torpedo boats 119
and 120.
268 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
EN ROUTE TO PACIFIC.
Battle ships Oslāabia, Tsarevitch; first-class armored
cruiser Bayan; training ship Ocean, torpedo boats 212, 213,
221, and 222.-Aronstädtsk? Wiéstnik.
MORE VVARSHIPS FOR RUSSIA.
BERLIN, October 31.-A dispatch from St. Petersburg to
the Lokalanzeiger says Russia has decided to assign 14,000,000
rubles in addition to the regular naval budget for an increase
of the fleet and 3,000,000 rubles for the fortifications at Port
Arthur.—Special cable dispatch to The Sun.
ADDITIONAL RUSSIAN CRUISERS.
It is announced in the Kronstadtski Wiestnik that it is in-
tended to commence in the Black Sea two additional cruisers
of the Kagul type, about 6,000 tons.
On the Niva, the Izumrud, 3,200 tons, is just about to be
launched, and after undergoing trials, she and her sister, the
Jemtcheg, are to go to the Far East.
The same paper states that 6 destroyers are building at St.
Petersburg.—The Army and Navy Gazette, October 10, 1903.
USE OF KITES ON VAR SHIPS.
According to an article in La France Militaire, some inter-
esting experiments were recently made on board the vessels
of the Baltic torpedo-boat flotilla with kites, which are to re-
place balloons on Russian war ships. Inasmuch as kites are
considerably less voluminous than balloons, they naturally take
up less room than the latter on shipboard. Five of them joined
together can easily lift a man into the air, who can thus sur-
vey a region 10 miles in circumference. During a calm these
kites can be launched even when the vessel is going at a rapid
speed. Their construction is the simplestimaginable, and they
are to be adopted on board all Russian war ships.-Organ der
Militär-wissenschaftlichen Vereine, Vol. LXVI, Wo. 1, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 269
MAN CHURIA.
RAILVVAY FORCE IN MAN CHURIA.
The proposed Russian railway force in southern Manchuria
is said to consist of 4 brigades of about 22,000 men, including
infantry, artillery, and cavalry. This is to be independent of
any field force that may be brought to operate in Manchuria.
Out of these forces a reserve of 10,000 men is to be dis-
posed so as to garrison the important points on the railway,
the most important of these being the station of Liao Wang,
where a force of at least 3,000 men will be maintained.
STRENGTH OF RUSSIA IN THE EAST.
According to the Broad Arrow of October 3, 1903, the
total Russian strength in Manchuria and Kwantung is about
250,000 men. It is stated that there are 50,000 men, includ-
ing 18 batteries of artillery, in Manchuria proper, and 110,000
on the lines of communication between Port Arthur and
Amur.
There are said to be about 15,000 men at Tsitsikar, perhaps
60,000 at Harbin, 40,000 more along the Sungari River,
20,000 at Moukden, 20,000 at Kirin and along the Nonni
River, 5,000 at the Sungari River railway bridge, 40,000 at
Vladivostok and Nikolsk-Ussuri, 35,000 at Port Arthur, and
some 5,000 men at Ta-lien-Wan, or Dalny, as it is now called.
MAN CHURIA AND KOREA.
Reuter's representative has had an interview with Mr. J.
W. Davidson, United States consul at Formosa, who has just
arrived in England after a four months' tour in Manchuria
and Korea. The journey, which was undertaken primarily
for the purpose of studying the Siberian, Manchurian, Korean,
and Chinese railway systems, has yielded an immense quantity
of valuable data, which will shortly be published.
Every assistance was given to Mr. Davidson, who had a
special salon car, which was stopped wherever he pleased.
The consul did not confine himself to the railway route in
Manchuria, but visited every city and village of importance
in the whole country. In addition to Russian and Chinese
interpreters, Mr. Davidson was assisted by a commercial staff,
who collected data for him in the various countries traversed.
270 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
From Formosa Mr. Davidson went first to Japan, thence to
Korea and to Peking, and afterwards to Port Arthur.
MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT MANCHURIA.
“There are,” he said, in reply to questions, “many miscon-
ceptions about Manchuria, and while much has been written
about the Manchuria of a few years ago there has so far been
little opportunity for the public to know the real facts con-
nected with the Manchuria of to-day. It has been said that
Manchuria of itself could not support an army of occupation,
but as a fact the development of the wheat and beef indus-
tries has been so rapid that within a very short time the coun-
try will be independent of all outside sources for both flour
and beef. Another misstatement is that the Russians are
erecting permanent buildings in places away from the rail-
road. In all my travel I found but one building, namely,
the Russo-Chinese Bank at Tsitsikar, which could at all be
regarded as a permanent structure. As a fact the Russians
who live off the railway line occupy remodeled Chinese build-
ings, or light structures which can last at the most but a
couple of years. It has also been generally stated that the
Russians illtreat the Chinese. All the time I was in Man-
churia I saw but one case of a Chinaman being beaten by a
Russian soldier, and on that occasion an official of the Russo-
Chinese Bank who arrived on the scene took the offender
before his commanding officer. A further gross misconcep-
tion is as to the condition of the railway. I spent four months
almost entirely in the train, and I never heard of a single
derailment or of any accident more serious than a freight car
running off a siding. To-day there are thirty trains running
daily in and out of Harbin on a single line.”
JAPAN's NATURAL OUTLET.
Asked as to Russia's position in Manchuria, Mr. Davidson
replied: “I must keep away from politics, and can only say
this, that the general impression I gathered was that Russia
would give Japan a free hand in Korea in return for similar
privileges in Manchuria. There is an idea that the natural
outlet for Japanese surplus population is Formosa, but this
can never be. Formosa is a tropical country, and the large
Chinese population is entirely supported by agriculture.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 271
Japanese are unable to work in the fields exposed to the
tropical sun, and the fact is that during the eight years of
Japanese occupation the Japanese population has grown but
little, there being at present, exclusive of the military, only
some 40,000 subjects of the Mikado in the whole island, and
there is very little likelihood of this number increasing. On
the other hand, Korea is the natural outlet for Japanese sur-
plus population. The climate is more like that of Japan,
and the dullness and comparative stupidity of the average
Korean enables the Japanese to compete more favorably with
him than with the keen and industrious Chinaman of For-
mosa. The result is that even at present more Japanese are
in Korea than there are in Formosa.
RUSSIA’s ENORMOUS GARRISON.
“Regarding Russia's strength in Manchuria, every place
of importance on and off the railroad is held by troops, whose
number, inclusive of the garrison of Vladivostok, is not less
than 200,000. Russians with whom I have conversed in
Manchuria say that if they withdraw their forces from the
interior posts to the stations along the line, brigandage would
be fostered by the Chinese officials, thus seriously interfering
with the successful working of the railway. As soon as they
are convinced that this condition will not exist in the interior
the occupation will be limited to the railway line, and for
this reason the buildings which the officials occupy in the
interior are of a temporary character only. It is a fact that
the Russians are occupying every city of even the most
trifling importance in Manchuria, but except for a few immi-
grants who have commenced farming on a very small scale
near Hailar, the old Mongolian capital in northern Manchu-
ria, there is no evidence of any attempt to bring immigrants
into Manchuria for the purpose of the occupation of agricul-
tural lands. There is a spirit of commercial unrest as to the
future of the country. I found in the remoter cities that the
Russian shopkeepers were very doubtful as to the duration
of the occupation, so much so that they refused to invest
heavily in commercial enterprises. The Russian position
along the line of railway is, however, quite another matter,
and splendid cities are springing up along the track. From
a commercial standpoint Harbin is the foremost. But three
272 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
years old, this place has a Russian population exceeding
40,000, and in its rapid growth and general social conditions
resembles very closely a “boom’ mining town in America.
With its large flour mills and important wholesale establish-
ments, it has a stability which will make it in a few years not
only the greatest market in Manchuria, but in my opinion
one of the most important cities of the Far East. Harbin
will be the great railway center for all Manchuria, and
engine shops costing £251,000 are in course of erection.
|PORT ARTHUR AND DALNY.
“The new town of Port Arthur is being constructed on
lines which will make it the most attractive residential city in
China. The Government requires that every building erected
shall have architectural beauty and the Chinese are not per-
mitted to live or build in the new town. The result is that
the city, which already has a population of 20,000, is one of
exceptional beauty. The Russian viceroy himself told me
that he has encouraged the construction of retail shops in
Port Arthur, so that the soldiers might be able to buy in a
cheap market. It was, however, his intention that Dalny
should be the great commercial and manufacturing city, and
all applicants who wished to erect factories at Port Arthur
were told that they must be built at Dalny. The custom-
house will be established there or close by, and while the
Government can at any time close Port Arthur to all foreign
shipping, the assurance has been given that Dalny will always
remain open. The Manchurian Railway, if conducted on
business-like methods, will have a tremendous carrying trade
of Manchurian products which will be shipped from Dalny.
There never has been, and engineers are confident there
never will be, sufficient ice there to interfere seriously with
shipping.”
Turning to the outlook for British and American trade in
Manchuria, the consul said: “The occupation of Manchuria
by Russia will not so seriously affect British trade as American
trade, for the reason that the products at present shipped into
Manchuria from England are not largely produced in Russia,
whereas, in the case of American goods, the four principal
items are those of which Russia is a natural and large pro-
ducer. These items are kerosene oil, cotton goods, flour, and
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 273
lumber. One trade created by the Russian occupation is the
beer trade. This has gone entirely to America, for only
American beer is consumed in Manchuria.”—Mavy and Mili-
tary Record, December 24, 1903.
THE OPPON ENTS IN EAST ASIA.
The situation in East Asia has become so acute that any
day may bring forth warlike developments, i. e., between
Japan and Russia, for England will take care not to depart
from her attitude as a friendly observer, which, however,
will be rendered very difficult for her in this case. England
neither wishes to, nor can, incur the displeasure of Japan, and
must, therefore, preserve a friendly attitude toward the latter
country, and there will doubtless be opportunities offered
during the course of events for her to give a practical dem-
onstration of this friendship, which, on the other hand, must
not assume such proportions as to incur the displeasure of
Russia. It will also be necessary, however, for England to
remain “friendly” toward Russia, and this fact would very
soon be demonstrated by manifest acts performed as an exam-
ple. For Russia will, after the outbreak of the war, send her
reenforcements of warships to East Asia, and these will pass
the British naval fortifications at Aden, Colombo, Singapore,
and Hongkong, where no obstacles will be placed in their way.
The situation was different with regard to Spain. In that
case the rule was established—and that according to “inter-
national law”—that the Spaniards might remain only twenty-
four hours in neutral ports and take on as much coal as seemed
necessary to enable them to reach the nearest home port.
During the China-Japan war England detained the torpedo
cruiser Tassuta, which was about to depart for Japan, at Aden
until peace was concluded, doing this as a neutral power.
Russian ships will not, however, be detained anywhere, not
even colliers, and they will even be given coal in case of need—
not to the nearest home port, but to their place of destination,
East Asia.
A war between Russia and Japan will be divided into two
periods, of which the second can not begin until the first is con-
cluded. The Japanese army, on whose numerical superiority
in particular the reliance of the Japanese is placed and which
17430—04—18
274 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
moreover would operate so near to its sources of supply, can
not, generally speaking, think of engaging in the struggle
until the Japanese fleet has established its supremacy over the
Russians on the water. Japan will hardly succeed in accom-
plishing this, and it is therefore very probable that the first
period—the naval war—will put an end to Japan's advance on
the Continent for this time. That Japan will attempt this
advance is probable, for what with the completion of the great
Siberian Railroad, the extension of the railroads in Russian
East Asia and in China, and the increase of the Russian fleet,
Japan is being continually placed at a greater disadvantage
with the course of time.
It is wonderful how systematically and consciously Russia
has proceeded in the construction of her navy. By this means
she is now placed in a position to oppose the Japanese with
strength and confidence, and the significance of such an en-
counter should not be underestimated, for it will be the first
instance of an attack of a small part of the yellow race against
the white, and will show how dangerous it becomes when the
yellow man elevates himself to the level which the Japanese
has reached in so astoundingly short a time. It is now up to
Russia to act as the first European power in curbing the de-
sires of the Japanese for conquest in Asia, and it would be
well if she could succeed by superiority on the water alone in
frustrating their whole plan of advance. If Russia can do this
(which is possible) she will owe it to her navy, which has been
created at great expense almost entirely within the last decade,
and the events in East Asia, whose effect on European affairs
(including German) can be denied by no one, will again prove
instructive in showing the value of a strong naval power in
spite of all arguments to the contrary.
For a number of years Russia has been sending all new bat-
tle ships belonging to that part of her navy called the East
Asiatic fleet, as well as most of her torpedo vessels, to East
Asia, where she has created naval bases at Port Arthur and
Vladivostock which can not, like the Chinese ports of Wei-
haiwei and Port Arthur, easily fall into the hands of an
enemy, not even of the Japanese. In the Baltic Sea only
coast-defense vessels, together with the attendant light craft,
torpedo vessels, and boats have remained behind. Russia is
building no more coast-defense vessels, and the statesman can
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 275
always judge of the relations between Germany and her east-
ern neighbor by the matter of coast defense as it is treated by
Russia in the face of the growth of the German navy.
Great expenditures have been made on Vladivostock since
it was founded. In 1872 all the personnel and matériel at
Nikolayevsk, at the old military harbor, was transferred to
Vladivostock, and to-day the military harbor in the bay of
Peter the Great, significantly called “the golden horn’’ in
view of the ardently desired possession of Constantinople, is in
reality what its name indicates, viz, “mistress of the East.”
The development of Port Arthur, which the Japanese had
disarmed and dismantled to the extent of their ability, was
begun immediately after it was taken possession of on March
28, 1898, and from that time on begins the steady and con-
stantly increasing reenforcement of the Russian fleet in East
Asia, which is chiefly stationed at Port Arthur, where the seat
of the governor has also been located. Suction dredgers and
docks were built, the houses and furniture were procured in
San Francisco, a wharf arose, the demolished works were re-
built, new works were erected, together with arsenals,
churches, magazines, and hospitals, and the armament was on
the spot before the works were completed.
Japan has done very much for her navy, as well as for her
coast fortification as far as the military harbors are concerned.
The military harbors of Yokosuka, Jure, Sasebo, and Mai-
zuru in Wasaka Bay (the latter only opened on October 1, 1901)
may be regarded as sufficiently protected; on the other hand,
the numerous seaport towns and bays lie opposed to a victori-
ous enemy, and much more can be procured in them than on
the east coast of Asia, as far as those parts belonging to Russia
are concerned. We may mention only Kobe, Hacodale, and
Nagasaki; a superior enemy would also soon interrupt, if not
destroy, her trade connections. In this respect also Japan is
the party which would have the most to lose, Russia risking
practically nothing, for even were she to lose the supremacy
on the sea she would still have connections by land through
Siberia, and, with the exception of the steamers of the volun-
teer fleet, there is practically no mercantile marine in East
Asia under the Russian flag.
But Japan has also spent much money on her navy, even
before the war with China, which, as soon as she was sure of
276 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
her superiority at sea, she began under a very slight pretext.
If the Japanese should now similarly believe that they possess
the superiority over Russia, and that the time for breaking
loose had arrived, they will dearly pay for the error of placing
the Russians on a level with the Chinese. In spite of her
rapid progress in modern civilization——to the account of which
the national debt of 545.03 million yen may be charged—
Japan is by no means the great power she believes herself to
be. The navy, which was built partly before the war with
China and partly afterwards from a part of the war contribu-
tion paid by China, and which consists mainly of battle ships
and armored cruisers, is not a coast-defense fleet, but an offen-
sive fleet, which was created expressly for the purpose of
fighting Russia, as there is no other opponent that could
figure against Japan in East Asia since China was defeated.
The creation of this modern Japanese fleet has resulted in an
entirely different grouping of the naval forces than before
the appearance of Japan’s war fleet. Until 1898 there was in
Asia (except China) no ship of the line under any flag, unless
the old French second-class armored vessels Triomphante,
|Vauban, and Bayard, which were, successively, flagships there,
are counted as such. Japan had the small, harmless casemate
amor-clad Fuso, and England’s flagship was the armored
cruiser Imperieuse, similar to the Russian flagship Admiral
Machimoff at that place. England's squadron was strong—
stronger than any other, not even excepting the Japanese
fleet. China’s Payang squadron was considered as having
gone to rack, although still worthy of notice, while Russia
had but a few vessels there. There are now in East Asia,
besides the old French ships of the line (which are kept on the
stocks at Saigon with a sort of predilection), 16 modern ships
of the line—6 Japanese, 6 Russian, and 4 English. Russia is
doubtless at least as strong as Japan, then follows England,
while France and the German Empire follow a long way
behind. China has disappeared from the water; America has
appeared as a new power, which, however, will probably be
satisfied with the Philippines for the time being, and will
hardly manifest any desire to participate itself in a struggle
against Russia—in spite of Roumania and Kisheneff.
In a decisive struggle on the water for the supremacy
thereon—in a “battle” which must occur in a war between
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 277
Russia and Japan shortly after war is declared—ships of the
line and large cruisers will contest for the victory. The light
vessels are only auxiliaries, which will be of secondary sig-
nificance in the decision, and the torpedo vessels and boats
will play a subsidiary rôle in battle—possibly none at all—and
only enter on their field of activity during an attack on coasts
and coast towns.
The two opponents will assemble only their modern vessels
for the decisive conflict, but these will be represented in their
entirety, while the older craft will be relegated to the second
line; and it may be remarked right here that Japan is superior
to Russia in the matter of such a reserve in East Asia. Rus-
sia would have first to send to the Baltic for her older vessels;
she is, however, about to send to the prospective theater of
war two such vessels, viz, the armored cruiser Dimitri Dom-
skoi, and the flagship of the Mediterranean squadron, the ship
of the line Imperator Alexander /, which was launched in 1887.
In the battle it will make no difference what vessels either
side has under construction, equipment, or project, and the
greatest willingness on the part of parliaments which are at
other times reluctant in the appropriation of money will then
be of no avail, for the time of negotiations will be past and
only those vessels will count which each side can actually bring
into action. Although the fortune of battle is fickle, it is the
same on the water as on land with the “large battalions,” viz,
the victory will be with those who have the superior forces.
If the collision takes place before the expiration of a month
Japan and Russia will be about equal in strength, and the
result will depend on what skill Europeans and Asiatics mani-
fest in actual cannon fire and the conduct of their vessels in
the battle against one another. After the expiration of a
month, however, Russia will have a reenforcement of 1 or 2
admirals and 2 or 3 ships of the line, besides 2 armored cruis-
ers and 7 torpedo-boat destroyers, and will then be superior
beyond doubt, for Rear-Admiral Wirenius is on the way
to East Asia with the 2 ships of the line Oslabya and Tsessare-
witch, the armored cruiser Bayan, and 7 torpedo-boat destroy-
ers; the Tsessarewitch and Bayan passed Port Said on October
12, and it is stated, as remarked above, that the flagship of
Rear-Admiral Molass of the Mediterranean squadron has also
278 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
been ordered to East Asia, the armored cruiser Dimitri Don-
Skoi following soon after. If, therefore, Japan now hesitates,
the Russians will within four weeks have become stronger
(counting the Dimitri Donskoi) by 5 armored vessels of a
total of 50,900 tons displacement and a complement of 3,300
men, and by 7 torpedo-boat destroyers, while in the shipyards
of St. Petersburg feverish activity is being displayed in the
equipment of the line ship Alexander ///, of the large cruiser
Aurora, and of the small cruiser Alma, which will soon fol-
low. Japan has no ship of the line or armored cruiser under
equipment; nor for a number of years will the vessels ordered
in England according to the recent programme, involving 241.5
million marks, be ready. *
Japan and Russia can now respectively place in battle the
following ships of the line and armored cruisers:
Japan.-Ships of the line: Fuji, 12,600 tons, launched at
the Thames Iron Works, Blackwell, April 2, 1896; Yashima,
12,500 tons, launched at Armstrong works, February 28, 1896.
In 1898 there followed from the Armstrong works the Shiki-
shima, of 15,100 tons; in 1899 2 were launched—the Asahi, of
15,440 tons, at Clydebank, and //atsuse, of 15,240 tons, at the
Armstrong works; finally came the Mžkasa, of 15,360 tons,
delivered in 1900 by Vickers & Maxim. The first 2 vessels
have a complement of 650 men each, and the other 4 in round
numbers, 740; they have a total displacement of 86,240 tons
and a total complement of 4,260 men. The 6 ships of the
line all come from English private shipyards.
Armored cruisers: Asama and Tokºra, Iwate and Idzumo,
of 9,900 tons each, launched from 1898 to 1900 in England;
Adzumo, 9,500 tons, launched in 1899 at St. Nazaire, and
Jakumo, 9,800 tons, launched in the same year at Stettin.
Total, 6 armored cruisers of 68,800 tons displacement and a
complement of 4,306 men.
Of these 12 vessels which would come chiefly into consider-
ation in a battle, and which have an aggregate displacement
of 155,040 tons and a complement of 8,566 men, 10 (with a
displacement of 125,840 tons) were built in England and 1 each
in France and Germany. There is thus not very much Ger-
man material in Japan's fighting fleet.
BULLETIN () F MILITARY NOTES. 279
In the matter of heavy artillery the 12 vessels have 24
30.5-cm. pieces, 24 23-cm. pieces, and 156 15-cm. pieces, or a
total of 204 heavy guns.
Russia.-Ships of the line: Sebastopol, Pottawa, Petropaw-
lowsk, of 11,250 tons each, launched in Russia in 1894 and
1895; Pobyeda, Peresvyet, of 12,880 tons, launched in 1900
and 1898 in Russia; Retvisan, 12,900 tons, launched in 1900
at Cramp & Sons, Philadelphia, United States. Total, 6
ships of the line of 72,410 tons displacement and a comple-
ment of 4,300 men.
Large cruisers: Rurik, 11,100 tons; Rossia, 12,800 tons;
Gromsbol, 12,550 tons; Waryac, 6,570 tons; Bogatyr, 6,400
tons; Askold, 6,000 tons; Diama, 6,700 tons; Pallada, 6,700
tons. Total, 8 large cruisers of 68,720 tons displacement,
with a complement of 4,870 men.
Of these 14 immediately available vessels of 141,130 tons
displacement and a complement of 9,177 men, 2 (of 12,400.
tons) were built in Germany. The Askold was launched in
1900 at Stettin and Bogatyr in 1901 at Germania.
The heavy ordnance is composed as follows: Twenty
30.5-cm. pieces, 8 25.4-cm. pieces, 12 20.3-cm. pieces, and 174
15-cm. pieces; total, 210 heavy guns.
In the number of vessels Russia is superior by 2, while
Japan is ahead in displacement by 13,910 tons, both on the
ships and armament. Russia's complement is the stronger
by about 600 men, while the number of heavy guns is almost
equal. Japan is slightly stronger in caliber.
The opponents in East Asia will thus be about equal until
reenforcements arrive; indeed, Japan is rather superior than
the contrary, considering her larger vessels, more extensive
armor, and—what is worthy of notice—the superior speed of
her vessels; however, the Japanese do not understand exactly
how to manage their beautiful, powerful ships.
With great military and political powers, Admiral Alexieff,
adjutant-general of the Czar, has been appointed viceroy of the
Amoor and Kwantung districts at present, and, until further
orders, all the land and naval forces are subordinated to him.
The latter are under the command of Vice-Admiral Stark,
and under him are Rear-Admirals Prince Uchtowski and
Baron von Stackelberg. When Rear-Admirals Wirenius and
280 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
(possibly) Molass arrive with their ships there will be 6 Rus-
sian admirals in East Asia. Japan's navy, however, has 46
admirals.
It aroused attention that the Czar's visit in Rome should
have been abandoned, and the cause was quickly attributed
to fear of anarchists. It is, however, very likely that the
affairs in East Asia led to the postponement of the visit, for
it would have been very painful for the Czar to have heard of
the outbreak of war or of a collision at sea in the midst of his
festivities in Italy; he might even have heard of the defeat of
his fleet, which is by no means impossible. Russia has great
things at stake, for if Japan were to win a glorious victory,
Russia, by the loss of Port Arthur and Vladivostok, would
have worked for decades in vain, and the Siberian Railroad
would redound to the benefit of the yellow conquerors,
who, as soon as they set foot on the mainland, would
doubtless seek to stir up the Chinese race to a struggle for
Asia, and especially to drive back all European influence.
That Japan, however, will scarcely succeed in this coup is due
to the Russian policy, which saw the danger approaching at
the proper time and provided itself with the necessary means
for coping against it. Among these means the Russian navy
will play a great, if not the decisive, part. The navy was
not created for purposes of conquest, but for opposing
Asiatic desires for conquest; it was not built to threaten any
European power—for instance, Germany—but to protect the
development of the Russian seacoasts in East Asia.-F. Es-
senhardt in Weue Militärische Blätter, October 24, 1903.
DALNY AND THE SIBERIAN RAILROAD.
Dalny is the commercial terminus of the Siberian Railway
and has an excellent harbor where steamers tie up to the
dock. The harbor can be fortified, and I understand that
such a step is in contemplation.
Taking advantage of the cheap Chinese labor (coolie labor
can be had for about 12 cents gold per day), the Russians
are building here a fine city of stone and brick. Many new
houses are as yet unoccupied, and still the building goes on
with almost feverish haste. I secured a couple of large photo-
graphs of the city for file with this report. These convey a
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 281
fair idea of the appearance of the place with the improve-
ments in progress.
The main Russian garrison is, of course, at Port Arthur,
where I was reliably informed 15,000 men, including 4 bat-
teries of Maxim guns, had been seen on review at one time.
The same authority gives the number of Russian troops in
Manchuria as 60,000, and that the Government at that time,
Ostensibly as an experiment, were endeavoring to see how
quickly a force of 15,000 men could be brought over the
Siberian Railway. This force was passing into Manchuria
about the latter part of July. One authority gave the num-
ber as 30 train loads; one of the officials of the Russo-Chinese
Bank gave it as 70 train loads, mostly Siberian troops.
I saw half a dozen or more train loads (about 400 men to the
train load) myself, but of course missed those which we
passed in the night and those arriving before July 22.
The first day or two after leaving Dalny I took note of
every station at which there were troops, but soon reached
the conclusion that this included practically every station,
which it did until we reached the Siberian frontier at
Myssovia.
At various places along the railroad in Manchuria barracks
were being constructed, these generally being of a permanent
nature—stone and brick.
At Harbin, or Kharbin, where the Siberian Railway from the
west forks—one branch continuing eastward to Vladivostok,
the other to the south to Dalny and Port Arthur—the con-
struction of buildings is going ahead much the same as at
Dalny.
The town covers 2 square miles or more, in which there are
said to be but 6,000 Chinese, while there were buildings,
mostly of brick and stone, going up for 40,000 Russians.
Manchuria is a rich, fertile country, and along the line of the
railroad, until the Sungari River is reached, it is practically
all under cultivation.
North of the Sungari River there is but a small part of
the land under cultivation. The Chinese, I was told, are for-
bidden to settle north of the Sungari River.
The natives (Chinese) in Manchuria do not impress one
nearly as favorably as those farther south in Hongkong,
282 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Canton, and Shanghai; in fact they may be described as “a
tough lot.”
I remained over two days at Irkoutsk, called on the gov-
ernor, and through him secured permission to visit the military
garrison some 2 or 3 miles outside the city. The regular gar-
rison here is ordinarily 6 regiments, one of which is cavalry.
This, however, at the time of my visit was absent at Krasu-
viarsk, where there is fine open country, attending maneuvers.
I was courteously received, however, by one of the general
officers, who, with a colonel of the general staff and chief of
the school of junkers (cadets), showed me through the barracks
and about the grounds.
The barracks are very primitive one-story buildings, with
dirt floor. The men sleep on a long, inclined platform, much
like those found in our guardhouses some twenty years ago.
The junkers (cadets) are fine-looking young fellows, rather
older than the average of our cadets at West Point. Their
quarters were considerably better than those of the men,
being floored, and each cadet had a separate bunk—a board
about 2% by 6 feet.
The Siberian Railroad is well built, 5-foot gauge, the grades
easy, the curves rather sharper than those of our best roads.
The fuel used is almost entirely wood and oil. The speed of
the trains is very slow--not more than 17 to 19 miles per
hour. The amount of rolling stock does not appear to be as
great as on Our American roads, i. e., not so much per mile
of road.
The time from Dalny, Port Arthur, or Vladivostok to Mos-
cow is fourteen days. The accommodations on the two first-
class trains per week are excellent. Cost of first-class ticket,
including sleeper, from Dalny to Moscow, is about $142 gold.—
Eotracts from report of Maj. W. C. Brown, First Cavalry,
September 17, 1903.
CITY OF DALNY.
The city of Dalny is situated on the eastern shore of the Liao-
tung, about 20 miles from Port Arthur, and within the terri-
tory leased by the Chinese Government to Russia on March
27, 1898, the lease being for a term of twenty-five years, to
be subsequently extended by mutual agreement. The lease
included 800 square miles of territory and all harbors between
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 283
Port Arthur and a part of Talienwan, the harbor of Port
Arthur and a part of Talienwan to be for the sole use of Rus-
sian and Chinese men-of-war, Russia to have the privilege of
extending its trans-Siberian railroad through Manchuria to
Port Arthur and Talienwan.
TOWNSHIP OF DALNY.
The township of Dalny comprises an area of 75 square
versts (21,000 acres), and during the current year it is pro-
posed to purchase an additional tract of 25 square versts
(7,000 acres) on the northwest of the township.
The lands forming the township of Dalny were purchased
in 1899 by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company from the
local inhabitants at a price fixed by a committee of appraisers.
On these grounds were formerly several small Chinese vil-
lages, the inhabitants of which were principally devoted to
agriculture and fishing. F.
CITY OF DALNY.
The city of Dalny is picturesquely situated in an extensive
valley which slopes gently down to the deep and well-protected
bay of Talienwan, and is surrounded on three sides by a range
of hills rising to a height of 800 feet. It is divided into three
parts-–the administration city, the European and commercial
city, and the Chinese city.
Administration city.—The administration city borders on
the harbor and bay, and is 108 acres in extent. All space in
the administration quarter is reserved for the use of the Chi-
nese Eastern Railway Company and its officials. In this sec-
tion are the residences and offices of the governor and other
officials of the railway company. There are over 200 build-
ings erected, besides a large area of temporary structures for
minor employees and workmen. *
Among the principal buildings are 112 handsome brick and
stone residences, the administration building, the port office,
the seagoing-service office, the railway office, the Greek church
and school buildings, the railway company’s hospital (for 186
patients), the post, telegraph, and telephone offices, the Serv-
ice Club and Concert Hall, the Yacht Club, Hotel Dalny, the
Russo-Chinese Bank, police office and jail, the electric plant,
machine shops, and the principal stores and shops.
284 RULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The city is supplied with water and electric lights through-
out, and has an adequate police force and fire brigade, which
extend also to the commercial city.
The permanent buildings of Dalny are at present confined
almost entirely to the administration quarter.
Furopean and commercial city.—The European and com-
mercial city, which has an area of 1,100 acres, borders on the
harbor and extends to the range of hills on the south and
east.
Along many of the principal avenues and streets of the
commercial city a large number of shops, stores, hotels, and
dwelling houses have been built for the accommodation of
both the large native population and foreigners. Most of
these buildings, however, are only temporary. They are put
up on the company’s land with permission of the city authori-
ties, and are to be removed in case the lots upon which they
are built are sold or leased.
The most central part of the commercial city is Nicolas
place, from which ten avenues branch. Around this circle
(which is 700 feet in diameter) it is intended that the public
buildings, banks, hotels, and office buildings shall be erected.
Nicolas place is connected with the piers and shipping quarter
by Moscow avenue, which is to be the main business thorough-
fare of the city.
The residential section is to be on the elevated ground of
the European city.
Chinese city.—The Chinese quarter is separated from the
administration and European cities by the town park and
nurseries, which are upon the site of an old Chinese village.
CLIMATE OF DALNY.
The climate of Dalny is agreeable, healthy, and dry. Ac-
cording to the weather bureau of Dalny, the temperature in
winter for the last four years has not been below 19°C. (3°
F. below zero). During very severe winters the bay becomes
frozen, but ice breakers are to keep the channel and harbor
open for navigation.
ADMINISTRATION.
The rules governing the building and administration of the
township of Dalny are prescribed in the “temporary regula-
tions governing the administration of the Kwangtung dis-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 285
trict,” which were approved by the Emperor of Russia on
August 16, 1899:
“The city of Dalny is to be built by the Chinese Eastern
Railway Company under the direction of the Russian minister
of finance.
“The city of Dalny is limited to the land purchased by the
Chinese Eastern Railway Company, and is to form a separate
township under the control of the Russian minister of finance.
“The governor of Dalny and his assistants are subordinated
to the commander in chief of the military and naval forces of
the Kwangtung district.”
From 1899 to the beginning of 1902 the entire population
of Dalny was composed of the employees and workmen of the
Chinese Eastern Railway Company, and the functions of gov-
ernment were performed by a police justice. In 1902, owing
to the growth of the city, the necessity for a higher executive
officer was felt, and by an imperial edict of May 17, 1902, Mr.
W. Sakharof, formerly chief engineer of the port, was ap-
pointed governor of the township.
The adminstration of Dalny is now vested in a town council,
of which the governor is chairman. The town council is com-
posed of six regular members and three substitutes. Three
of the members must be Russian citizens, and one appointed
by the Chinese Eastern Railway Company. The rights and
powers of the town council and the rules governing the elec-
tion of members thereof are prescribed in the “temporary
regulations governing the administration of the Kwangtung
district.”
SAILE OF LOTS.
Lots within the limits of the township of Dalny, with the
exception of the administration quarter and sites reserved for
public grounds and buildings, are to be sold or leased at pub-
lic auction, according to the rules approved by the Russian
minister of finance. Both Russian subjects and foreigners
have the privilege of buying or leasing lots. In the case of
foreigners, the principles of reciprocation are observed accord-
ing to existing treaties.
The lots are divided into four classes, according to their
value, each class having a reserve or starting price, approved
by the minister of finance. Not later than three years after
receiving the certificate of sale or lease of lots, the owner or
286 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
lessee must fulfill the conditions of the certificate relating to
the erection of buildings upon the lots acquired.
The minimum expenditure upon buildings on lots, bought
or leased, per square sagene (49 square feet) is:
Class. Value.
|
| Rubles.
First - -------------------------------------------------------------------- | 15 $7.72
Second-------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 6. 16
Third --------------------------------------------------------------------- 9 4.63
Fourth -------------------------------------------------------------------. 6 3.09
The first sale of lots in Dalny was on November 1, 1902,
when 49 lots in the civil part of the commercial city were
sold. Twenty-five Russians and six Chinese were the pur-
chasers. The area sold and the prices obtained were as
follows:
Numb 1 Average
Number | TOtà. e price per
Class. i of lots. 8.Teš. Price. Square
foot.
Sq. feet. Cents.
First --------------------------------------------- | 16 267,639 $95,733 35
Second ---------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 33 557, 699 || 123,234 22
On March 1, 1903, 24 lots in the Chinese quarter were sold,
the starting price being 10 rubles ($5.15) per square sagene
(11 cents per square foot).
Great interest is attached to the result of the coming sale,
which will be on May 15, 1903, when 40 lots in the principal
business section of the commercial city will be sold.
POPULATION.
The population of Dalny on January 1, 1903, according to
the official census, was 41,260, divided as follows:

Nationality. Men. Women. Children. Total.
- -
Russian ------------------------------------------ 1,894 672 543 3, 113
Foreign -----------------------------------------. 68 9 3 80
Japanese and Koreans.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 257 37 13 307
Chinese: -
In the city----------------------------------- 24,010 1,860 569 26,439
In the township . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,678 2,754 2,889 11, 321
Total.-------------------------------------- 31,907 5,332 4,021 41,260
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 287
INDUSTRIES.
Among the principal industries now established in Dalny
8, I'ê .
The smaller dry dock, which was completed in the summer
of 1902 and has since been in constant use. This dry dock is
380 feet long, 50 feet wide, and 18 feet deep, and with its
electric pumps can be emptied in less than two hours.
In connection with the dry dock are the harbor repair shops,
with a foundry, Smithy, machine and fitting shop, boiler shop,
etc. These shops, which are electrically driven and lighted,
are fully equipped for the handling of repair jobs. Ship
repairs are being continually executed, and castings up to 2%
tons have been made and machined. In another six months
the newly erected machine shops will be fitted out for doing
all classes of steamship, railway-engine, and car repairs.
The electric light and power station, which is considered
the finest electric plant east of Singapore, was finished over a
year ago. This plant, which is a model in every detail, is
fitted with three of Ganz & Co.'s (Budapest) generators, with
a total of 1,000 horsepower, and has a reserve space for addi-
tional machines to double its present capacity when required.
The cast-iron foundry, which is on the seaboard near the
Chinese city, has a production of 150 tons a month, princi-
pally water pipes for the city mains and for shipment to the
interior of the province, and general castings.
The city workshops, for making and repairing tools, tram
cars, and other implements used in the construction of the
city.
The furniture shops and steam drying mills; the concrete
block factory, where the stone and cement blocks which are
used for the foundations of the piers and sea walls are made;
the brickyards, tile factory, and lime kilns, which produce
the greater part of such materials as is used in the city, and
a small gas works for supplying the gas buoys in the harbor.
BUILDING THE CITY.
In the construction of the city thousands of Chinese laborers
are daily engaged in the enormous excavations, the making of
streets and roads, and the completion of the work on the
harbor. Numerous steam and tram lines are used for the
288 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
conveying of earth and stone and for filling in the piers and
water front.
The harbor is the scene of the greatest activity at present.
The small harbor has been dredged to a depth of 18 feet, and
the pier for coast steamers (which has been in use for over a
year) is nearly completed and has a railroad to its end.
The work on the large dry dock is progressing rapidly.
The cofferdam is built and the excavation well under way.
This dry dock is to be 630 feet long, 88 feet wide, and 28 feet
in depth, and will cost about 1,800,000 rubles ($927,000).
The eastern side of the large pier for ocean steamers is
completed and in use nearly to its end. On the west side
the walls are nearing completion, and one of the iron wharves
for light-draft vessels is built. Three railway tracks con-
necting with the main line, and two storage warehouses, with
a floor area of 19,600 square feet each, are completed. This
pier is 1,925 feet long and 350 feet wide, and has a depth of
water of from 18 to 28 feet, and when completed will contain
seven railway tracks and nine large warehouses.
One can judge from this splendid pier how thoroughly and
substantially the construction of the harbor is being done.
The foundation is laid with 50-ton concrete blocks and the
walls finished with the best of dressed granite.
For the outside pier, the foundation only is laid. The
wharf between the two piers is completed and in use. The
foundation of the breakwater is finished for a distance of
2,800 feet, and the sea wall along St. Petersburg quay is built.
Work accomplished.
Area of port territory filed in . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . square yards.-- 6, 800,000
Dredged from harbor. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - cubic yards. - 3, 166,000
Earth excavated --------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - do. - - - 12,916,000
Stone brought by rail- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - do---- 375,412
Stone brought by Sea - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . do---- 882, 210
Length of streets made. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yards. - 77,000
Streets macadamized - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - do---- 20, 300
Sidewalks made ------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - miles. . 6
Suburban roads made--- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - do. --- 14
RAILWAY SERVICE.
The branch railway connecting Dalny with the main line of
the Chinese Eastern Railway at Nangalin was built and for-
merly operated by the engineers in charge of the construction
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 289
of Dalny. At the beginning of the current year this branch
road was given over to the control of the main line, and Dalny
was connected by daily service of through trains with Port
Arthur, Harbin, and Manchuria. Prior to this the Man-
churian trains did not come to Dalny, passengers and freight
being transferred at Nangalin. Besides the Manchurian
service, there are now two daily trains between Dalny and
Port Arthur and two weekly express trains between Dalny,
Moscow, and St. Petersburg.
On February 21, 1903, the first passenger express train
from St. Petersburg and Moscow arrived at Dalny, and the
weekly trans-Siberian express service was inaugurated. The
demand for passages on this quick and comfortable route
became so great that another train was soon added.
The trans-Siberian express leaves Dalny on Tuesdays and
Saturdays, making the trip to Moscow—a distance of 5,375
miles—with a change of cars at Manchuria Station and Baikal,
in thirteen and one-half days. The “train de luxe” is a solid
vestibuled train, composed of coaches of the International
Sleeping Car and Express Train Company, having first and
second class compartment sleeping cars and dining car. The
fare from Dalny to St. Petersburg is as follows:
Class. Fare.
Rubles.
First ---------------------------------------------------------------------- 267.90 || $137.96
Second-------------------------------------------------------------------- 178.60 91.97
STEAMSHIP SERVICE.
In November, 1902, the head office of the seagoing service
of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company was transferred
from Port Arthur to Dalny. The mercantile fleet of the sea-
going service consists of 19 steamers, having a total net ton-
nage of 20,205 tons. These steamers are for the coast trade,
but as yet all are not running on schedule time.
Of the company’s ships there are, in addition to the express
steamers to Shanghai and to Nagasaki, four steamers a week
between Dalny, Port Arthur, and Chefoo; a fortnightly serv-
ice between Dalny, Port Arthur, Chemulpo, and Shanghai; a
direct line between Dalny and Hankau during the tea season,
and occasional steamers bringing coal from Japan. With the
17430—04—19
290 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
exception of chartered vessels, none of the ships of the other
coast lines call regularly at Dalny.
In conjunction with the trans-Siberian express trains there
is a weekly service between Dalny and Shanghai and Dalny and
Nagasaki by the company’s new express steamers Manchuria
and Mongolia, which are equal in speed and comfort to the
steamers of the mail lines, and make their trips to Shanghai
and Nagasaki in thirty-six hours.
The schedule for these express steamers is arranged by the
head office of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company at St.
Petersburg to connect western Europe with Shanghai and
Nagasaki in the shortest possible time. The trip from Shang-
hai or Nagasaki via Dalny and the Trans-Siberian Railway sys-
tem to London or Paris is now made in about eighteen days.
Upon the completion of the railway around Lake Baikal
(which is expected in a few months) the trip from Dalny to
Moscow will be made without change of cars. Faster trains
will then be run, and, it is stated by railway officials, the time
reduced two or three days.
TRADE OF DALNY.
The total trade of Dalny for the year 1902, according to the
statistics of the Chinese Eastern Railway Company, was:
Imports.--By steamers, $2,480,305; by junks, $333,511—
total, $2,813,816; by rail (value not given), 9,937,368 pounds.
Eaports.—By steamers and junks, $120,125.29; by rail
(value not given), 47,662,092 pounds.
Imports by articles.—The principal imports were as follows:
Article. Value. Article. Value.
Coal (49,023 tons) ... -- . . . . . . . $216,839.72 || Groceries...... * * * * - - - - - e. e. e. a s s $72,541.87
Cement (112,750 barrels) . . . . . 329,334.77 || Beer - - - - - - - - - - - - - . . . . . . . . . . . 18,238.21
Timber ----------------------. 167,763.82 || Hay and straw. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,960. 12
Kerosene --------------------- 33,929.75 || Cattle. ----------. . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,402.00
Flour------------------------- 88, 110.83 || Granite and stone. . . . . . . . . . . . 31,795. 07
Rice-------------------------- 39, 705.99 || Tea (in transit) .............. 545,853.65
Manufactured goods ......... 47,922.81
Source of imports.—Of the imports, coal for the port and
the southern division of the railroad is supplied by Japan.
But little of the “Kaiping” coal, from the Tungshan district,
is used, and the Manchurian mines do not at present produce
coal in sufficient quantities for the use of the railroad.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 291
The cement is almost entirely Russian, being shipped by sea
from Odessa and the Baltic ports. Most of the kerosene oil
is also Russian.
The timber comes from the Yalu district, North Korea, and
in fair quantities from Oregon.
American flour now controls this market, but the new Rus-
sian mills at Harbin are producing an excellent grade of flour,
which may soon become a strong competitor for supremacy.
The manufactured goods and provisions are principally
from Shanghai and other trade centers of the East.
Eºports and reeaports.—The diminutive exports from Dalny
by steamers and junks might be classified as reexports. The
native produce of Manchuria does not as yet find its way out
through Dalny.
Among the exports by rail, cement and tea are by far the
most prominent. Of the former about 80,000 barrels were
reshipped for use along the Manchurian Railway system.
Tea is the only article which is being shipped through by the
trans-Siberian Railway in any quantities. According to the
railway statistics, tea to the extent of 7,000,000 pounds was
reexported in 1902. It is expected that a much larger portion
of the tea destined for the European markets will pass through
Dalny during the coming season.
The transit trade of Dalny will increase with greater rail-
way accommodations and cheaper freight. At present few
but the tea merchants can afford to ship their goods over the
Manchurian and Siberian roads. It is predicted that Dalny
will soon become the “Southampton of the East”—the great
mail and passenger station.
Port Arthur, where many of the principal commercial firms
of the Orient are established, is the business center of the
Kwantung Peninsula. In Dalny are agents of the American
Trading Company, the East Asiatic Trading Company,
Kunst & Albers, and Ginsburg & Co., all well-known firms
in Port Arthur and elsewhere, but the business of the city is
almost entirely retail, the dealers being supplied chiefly by
the large houses in Port Arthur and Shanghai.
The commerce of Dalny may be said to begin in the present
year, and with its railway and steamship connections, the
excellent facilities for handling and reshipping cargoes, the
low harbor dues, and the present absence of all customs
292 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
duties, the trade report of Dalny for 1903 may be expected
to show an increase in commerce which a port of its excep-
tional advantages demands.-Consular Reports, September,
1903.
MAILS FOR THE FAR EAST.
The Siberian route is now available for the transmission of
letters and postcards from this country for the Far East, but
not for any other class of correspondence or parcels. Com-
munications intended for this route should be superscribed
“via Siberia” or “via Russia” and the postage fully prepaid,
otherwise they will be sent by the ordinary routes. Let-
ters addressed to His Majesty’s ships on the China Station,
to Hongkong, or to Chefoo, Wei-hai-Wei, Shanghai, Amoy,
Canton, Foochow, Hankau, Hoihow, Ningpo, and Swatow, at
which places there are British post-offices, pass at the rate of
1d. per half-ounce. To other places in China (including Man-
churia) and to Japan, Korea, and the Philippine Islands the
rate is 2%d. per half-ounce and for postcards 1d. each. Mails
will henceforth be dispatched from London to Moscow every
evening, Sunday excepted. From Moscow there is a daily
service to Dalny or Vladivostok, whence the mails are sent on
by steamer. The time occupied in transit varies from 22 to 30
days.-The Army and Mavy Gazette, Movember 7, 1903.
SERVIA.
ARMY STRENGTH AND ORGANIZATION.
The military forces of Servia consist of the national army
and the militia (opoltchénié). The national army is divided
into three levies, viz: First, consisting of men from 20 to 30
years of age and containing permanent cadres and a reserve;
second, men from 31 to 37 years of age, and, third, men from
38 to 45 years, and has no constituted cadres in peace time.
The militia consists of men from 17 to 50 years of age not in
the national army. No substitution or buying off is allowed.
Those exempted from service are almost exclusively unfit and
are required to pay a tax until the age of 45. The period of
service in the first levy is 2 years for cavalry and artillery,
and 13 years for other branches of the service. The recruit-
ing is by districts and for this purpose the country is divided
into 5 divisional districts, each consisting of 3 regimental and
4 battalion subdistricts. The annual contingent is usually
about 20,500 conscripts, of whom 6,000 are generally unfit
for service.
Peace effective is extremely difficult to calculate with any
degree of certainty, because, for economic reasons, it is usual
to send down men before their proper date for release. The
units are strongest in the spring, and from then gradually
dwindle away until a company rarely consists of more than
10 or 15 men. The Servian army is a species of semi-militia.
|War effective.—According to the official tables, the accuracy
of which must, however, be accepted with caution, we read
that the total strength of the three levies amounts altogether
to 8,110 officers, 311,290 men, 420 guns, and 39,070 horses.
The number of actual combatants would thus be about 228,000
men, but it should be remembered that a very large propor-
tion of these are men of the second and third levies, who have
little or no training.
The infantry is armed with the 7-mm. Mannlicher rifle.
The allowance of cartridges per rifle is 136 rounds carried by
the soldier, 65 rounds carried by battalion draft horses, 100
293
294 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
rounds in the divisional park, 100 rounds in the reserve ammu-
nition columns, and 135 rounds in the field magazines. The
engineers, fortress artillery, and militia have a reserve of
Berdan and Peabody rifles. The cavalry carry Mauser-Kota
carbines and swords. The artillery is armed with 80-mm. de
Bange guns, and has, in addition, 60 Krupp and 40 mountain
guns. The gunners are armed with the same rifle as the infan-
try. The siege artillery has 90 guns of six different types, and
in the fortress artillery the difference of the systems is even
more marked.—The United Service Magazine, Wovember, 1903.
SPAIN.
ARMY STRENGTH. -
By royal decree of December 2, 1903, the strength of the
permanent army of Spain is fixed at 83,000 during the year
1904, this exclusive of the numbers in the corps of pensioners.
The minister of war is authorized to raise this figure tem-
porarily, if he deem necessary, by granting in other months
the furloughs necessary in order that the expenditures may
not exceed in any case the appropriations provided in the
estimates.
WAR BUD GET FOR 1903.
This budget was published by a royal decree of December
31, 1902. The receipts amount to 969,237,257 and the ex-
penditure to 958,231,313 pesetas, thus showing an excess of
11,105,944 pesetas of receipts over expenditure. The credits
for the war department amount to 144,940,348 pesetas, a de-
crease of 9,566,365 pesetas on those of 1902. The expendi-
ture of the war department is made up as follows:
Central administration: Pesetas.
Personnel -------------------------------------------- 3,067,024
Matériel --------------------------------------------- 361,600
Provisional administration:
Personnel -------------------------------------------- 10,715,762
Matériel --------------------------------------------- 401, 778
Permanent corps, recruiting excess of cadres, etc. . . . . . . . . . . . 88, 820,656
Subsistence, barracks, lighting, camps, hospitals. . . . . . . . . . . . 20, 614,658
Penitentiary establishments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 131,040
Military transports --------------------------------------- 1,031,000
Forage and remounts ------------------------------------- 2,288,085
Artillery matériel----------------------------------------- 5,600,000.
Engineer matériel ---------------------------------------- 4,809,000
Various unexpected expenditures. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 360,000
Pay for holders of decorations. ------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 321, 135
Engagement and reengagement bounties. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1,450,000
Rent of military buildings--------------------------------- 313,932
Past fiscal year ------------------------------------------- 4,654,678
Total ---------------------------------------------- 144, 940, 348
(Revue Militaire.)—Journal of the Royal United Service
Institution, May, 1903.
295
296 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
SCHOOL OF EQUITATION.
A school of equitation has been created at Madrid by royal
decree of December 3, 1902. The command is given to a
colonel, assisted by a lieutenant-colonel, who is second in com-
mand and chief professor. The professors are 5 in number–
a major and 4 captains—with 5 first lieutenants as assistant
professors. —La Belgique Militaire, April 19, 1903.
REORGANIZATION OF THE SPANISH ARMY.
The following changes in the organization of the Spanish
army were actually accomplished during the incumbency of
General Weyler as secretary of war:
The reorganization of the telegraph battalion to a regiment
of 6 companies, which now contains 1 colonel, 1 lieutenant-
colonel, 3 majors, 9 captains, 19 first lieutenants, 1 chief sur-
geon, 1 chief veterinarian, 1 riding master, 1 supervisor of
fortifications, 45 sergeants, 84 corporals, 18 hautboy players, 4
horseshoers, 24 gefreiten, and 505 private soldiers. Of horses
there are 35 for officers of the regiment and 15 troop horses:
46 pack mules, and 22 draft mules. In war time the regiment
is increased to 37 officers and 1,312 men.
Its fifth and sixth companies are stationed in the Balearic
Islands and the Canary Islands, respectively, and companies
1 to 4 remain with the staff in Madrid. The first three com-
panies are equipped with all kinds of electric apparatus. The
fourth company has only optic apparatus and is divided into
a field section and six light sections. The fifth and sixth
companies have each an electric and an optic mountain division.
The administrative troops, too, have been reorganized and
divided into two sections, i.e., “intendantur” and “controlle.”
The latter, as its name signifies, has to do with keeping the
accounts (auditor’s department). Both departments are quite
independent. The “intendantur” is under an intendant of the
army (degree of a division general), and has division intendants
and subintendants of the first and second class (rank of major),
and of intendant officers of the first, second, and third degrees
(the latter with rank of second lieutenants). The chief of
the “controlle” is the army supervisor (brigadier-general),
to whom the district controllers, war commissioners of the
first and second classes, and controlle officers of the first, sec-
ond, and third classes are subordinate. The age limit for the
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 297
“intendant” officers is the same as for the active officers.
The higher class of controlle officers enter the service at 68
years of age, officers of the rank of colonel at 66, of the rank
of major at 64, and subaltern officers at the age of 62. The
“intendant” officers are instructed at the academy of admin-
istration in Avila, from which the pupils can also enter the
“controlle.” Furthermore, subalterns of all branches of the
army can be employed, if they so desire, in both departments
(sections), and half of all the vacant positions are kept open
for them. In each company of the “Jager” battalion, num-
bers 1 to 6, a light optic signal section of 3 men has been
formed, which men have been instructed at the telegraph
regiment. Furthermore, 6 men have been instructed in sig-
naling for each battalion staff, so that now a battalion has 18
signal corps men commanded by a sergeant. Altogether 90
signal corps men have received instruction, and at the same
time 30 men in sections of 15 men each, together with 1
officer. The instructed men have been divided into posts of 3
men each, and are equipped with telegraphic and telephonic
material, illuminating apparatus, heliographs, acetylene and
spirit lamps. Besides this each battalion receives petroleum
material, carried on a mule for two posts. The signal corps
men are used especially in mountain districts and are especially
instructed for this duty.
The institution of a riding school in Madrid, proposed by
General Weyler, has been sanctioned by the King, and the
plans worked out. The personnel are, 1 colonel, as director;
1 lieutenant-colonel; 1 major, and 4 captains, as instructors;
5 first lieutenants, as assistant instructors; 1 chief surgeon, 1
chief veterinarian, 1 sergeant of cavalry, 1 saddler, 1 chief
gunner, 4 sergeants, 12 corporals, 2 trumpeters, 3 horse-
shoers, and 69 men, and also 7 officers’ horses and 97 troop
horses. The regulations have been enforced only tempo-
rarily, and will be finally adopted after a certain term of
probation.
During the last autumn, exercises were held in all the mili-
tary regions (army corps districts), by order of General
Weyler; but they were not very extensive, owing to a lack of
funds. Only at the First and Third Army Corps was it pos-
sible to call in the men furloughed before the end of the third
year of service. In the Third Army Corps (Valencia) the first
298 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
reserve had also been called in. The other parts of the army
practiced with the regular troops in the environs of the garri-
sons. In general, the Spanish newspapers seem to be satisfied
with the results of the practice, but give us to understand
that there is much room for improvement.
A plan of new drill regulations for the infantry, prepared
by Major Burguete, has been tried, so far as it concerns the
school of the company at the First Regiment “Konig,” and
has been favorably criticised. The experiments with the new
rules (regulations or directions) for the battalion had not been
carried out as the author wished, whereupon he felt himself
compelled to withdraw the entire work.
In artillery instruction there have been several periods of
target practice, and that for field (light) artillery; target prac-
tice for batteries, squadrons, and larger sections has been held
at the ranges of Brujuda and Pancorbo; for siege artillery at
the Polygon of Carabanchel; for rapid-fire guns of the light
artillery at the same place, and finally for the seacoast artil-
lery at Ceuta.
The reduction of positions for officers has continued, i. e.,
many vacancies have occurred; in 1902 a third of all the
vacant positions in the regular army and in the reserve were
dropped. Furthermore, all the officers who have married
without observing the regulations for the marriages of officers
have been discharged. In such cases the wife and survivors
do not receive pensions when the husband dies. Also, during
General Weyler's administration, the preparatory schools for
sergeants at Seville and Walladolid were discontinued, and
some changes were made in the uniform.
In place of the retiring minister of war, Lieut. Gen. Don
Arsenio Linares Pombo, captain-general of the Sixth Region
(Burgos), was appointed minister of war by a royal order of
December 6 of last year. With this appointment he accepted
for the second time an office he had held for a shorter period
during the years 1901 and 1902. During his former period
of office General Linares had made an energetic effort to
remedy the greatest defects of the army, and he had worked
out not less than fourteen projects and proposed them to the
Cortes, which projects were not completed at his resignation.
The principal defect at that time, he declared, to be the small
peace force of 80,000 men, which was more or less of a skele-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 299
ton organization. To this matter the secretary has immedi-
ately turned his attention again and has brought about several
changes by an order of February 21 of this year, which, as is
said in the preamble, are certainly not definite, but which
must be enforced until radical changes shall be proposed at
the next session and accepted by the Cortes. From the “ver-
fufgung” (order) itself the following is taken:
For financial reasons the secretary is compelled, to his
regret, to keep the peace force of about 80,000 men.”
If he should diminish the army, not only would difficulty
occur in calling in the reserves, but the advancement of offi-
cers would be retarded more than it already is since the fatal
war with the United States. The present system which has
been adopted since the conclusion of peace has the advantage
of combining, as far as possible, the financial interests with
the national defense, and as regards the officer corps, of allow-
ing, if necessary, the reserves to be put in different army
divisions at once and to employ a greater number of officers.
After the 1st of March of this year, according to the new
order, all the men of the second battalions of the existing
56 infantry regiments were transferred to the first battalion,
so that the second battalion is formed only of “cadres” which
have to instruct the recruits, who, after this is done, go over
to the first battalion and are there assigned to companies. It is
done in the cavalry in the same way, where the fourth squad-
ron has only a nucleus, and is in charge of the instruction of
the recruits, for which during this time it receives the neces-
sary horses from the other 3 squadrons, and the horses are
returned again to their squadrons with the instructed men.
The exceptions to this measure are the 4 regiments of the
cavalry division, which keep their full 4 squadrons on account
of their greater number of men.
a According to the newspapers, the secretary has proposed to the Cortes
to increase the force in time of peace by 10,000 men in order to reenforce
the garrisons of Africa and Mahon for the year 1903. Furthermore are
demanded: Increased appropriations formaneuvers; the procuring of horses
and wagons for transportation purposes for the infantry and cavalry, in
order to increase the mobility of the troops; a small increase in the pay of
the army; forming of “cadres” for third battalions, and dividing of the
army into seven army corps with the abolition of the captain-general in the
Balearic and Canary islands and in Coruna. The procuring of the necessary
supplies for the artillery material and the completion of the fortresses is
reserved for extraordinary grants.
300 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Each of the 13 field artillery regiments is formed of 2 sec-
tions. In 12 of these regiments the first section is composed
of 3 batteries of rapid-fire guns, while 1 regiment has 9-cm.
guns. The second sections of all the regiments are formed of
2 batteries of 9-cm. or Sotomayor guns. The rapid-fire bat-
teries and the batteries of the regiment, of which the first
section is equipped with 9-cm. guns, contain 4 guns, 4 caissons,
and 2 carriages. Each gun is drawn by 6 horses, each caisson
by 4 horses.
The ammunition support amounts to 134 rounds. The regi-
mental park in the garrison contains a reserve of 268 rounds
for each gun, and a caisson with the necessary harnesses. The
batteries of the second sections are equipped with Krupp and
Sotomayor guns and also have 2 caissons. The garrison parks
keep in reserve 2 caissons and 2 carts with harnesses for each
battery. Grades (officers or instructors) and horses are fur-
nished by the batteries of the first section as required. After
being instructed, the recruits are transferred to the first sec-
tions, where they also learn to serve the rapid-fire guns.
The officers of the “cadres” who have no especial service,
and who are not employed in the instruction of recruits,
receive their arms and commands, according to the arm of
service they belong to on going into the field. If the employ-
ment of the troops is necessary anywhere, only the elements
having the full complement march out, i. e., in the infantry,
the first battalions under the command of the lieutenant-
colonel; in the cavalry, the first half regiment under the
colonel; in the artillery, the first section with the regimental
and section commander. The officers of the “cadres” remain
behind in order to keep up the full complement of the reserves,
or if necessary to instruct those men who are to reinforce the
sections which have marched into the field and to send them
into the field (to join their sections). For the instruction of
larger bodies than a battalion, half brigades of two regiments
are formed in the garrisons and are placed alternately under
command of each of the regimental commanders. In larger
garrisons, and in like manner, brigades and divisions are
formed, which are also placed, by turns, under the command
of generals for purposes of instruction.
Until further orders the 13 Jager battalions, with 3 battal-
ions of mountain infantry, form 3 brigades of 6 battalions
BULLET IN OF MILITARY NOTES. 301
each, of which the first one is in Catalonia, the second in New
Castile, and the third in garrison in the camp of Gibraltar.
The infantry regiments—Catalonia No. 1, Tarifa No. 5, Ciu-
dad Rodrigo No. 7, and Segorbe No. 12, with the second and
fourth mountain infantry regiments, are formed into 2 half
brigades of 3 battalions each, and are stations in the camp
of Gibraltar. To this camp brigade are added the cavalry
squadrons from Algeciras and 2 mountain batteries. It has
to send a battalion to Ceuta, which is relieved every year.
The Jager brigades are equipped with all war material,
ammunition, etc., and receive a transport section and 1
ambulance. Q
For the purposes of better instruction and the more rapid
employment of troops when necessary, the regiments, bat-
talions, etc., are put in 1 garrison, if the scarcity of garrisons
and other insuperable obstacles do not prevent it.
The regular army contains:
Royal household troops.---------------------------------------- 405
Infantry ------------------------------------------------------ 43,705
Cavalry------------------------------------------------------ 12, 250
Artillery------------------------------------------------------ 13, 142
Engineer corps ------------------------------------------------ 4, 404
Military administration ---------------------------------------- 1,460
Sanitary department ------------------------------------------- 881
Artillery brigade, topography (personnel) of the general staff - - - - 386
Volunteer militia in Ceuta.-------------------------------------- 178
Company in Melilla---------------------------- ---------------- 90
Military schools ----------------------------------------------- 608
Division of war department ------------------------------------ 319
Army orphan asylum ------------------------------------------ 52
Troops for correction in Mahon--------------------------------- 120
Besides this there are workmen, etc.
There are 13,535 horses, 2,685 for officers of all grades, and
4,174 draft horses and mules.
Until the order of the secretary of war of February 21, of
this year, the officer corps was guaranteed by 5 military acad-
emies. These were for infantry in Toledo, for cavalry in
Walladolid, for artillery in Segovia, for the engineer corps
in Guadalajara, and for administration is Avila. To these
academies young men of common birth who had passed the
examination for admission, or who were students of the pre-
paratory schools in Frujillo, and also men from the army
302 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
who had gone through one of the three schools for sergeants
in Seville, Barcelona, or Walladolid, were admitted for three
and five years. The higher military academy was for the
purpose of disseminating advanced military knowledge in
the army, but more especially to secure the complement of
officers for the general staff. The new order explains the
principles by which the education and instruction of the offi-
cers must be performed. His Majesty the King has approved
them and has ordered that a commission of officers of high
rank be convened for the purpose of reorganizing the military
schools, according to these principles, and for working out
new plans for institutions and instruction. The commission
is to meet immediately in Madrid, under the presidency of a
general, and is to take up the contemplated work as soon as
possible.
The above-mentioned order of the new secretary of war
also directs the establishment of a general military college
and school of application for infantry, cavalry, artillery,
engineer corps, and administration. The general military
college shall give the future officers the general knowledge
which every officer must thoroughly possess; therefore, the
instruction in this school will be the same for all students.
The term is of two years’ duration, and the students, after
graduation, receive the rank of an “alfarez” (lieutenant).
The admission to the college is governed by the rules decided
upon by the above-named commission, the contents of which
rules all who are interested in them will soon know. The
order only says that the pupils enjoy the civil laws, that they
must be of the required age, and that they must show, by an
examination, the necessary intellectual qualifications. The
sons of persons of the army and navy who have been killed
by the enemy will be admitted without examination. All
candidates who have graduated from the general military
college are allowed to enter the schools of application of the
different branches of the army; the war department, however,
has reserved the right of limiting the number of admissions
to a certain number, a measure made necessary in order that
the “cadres” may not be overcrowded. The courses of the
schools of application for infantry, cavalry, and administra-
tion are for one year. “Alfarezes” who complete this course
become second lieutenants (under lieutenants) in the infantry
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 303
and cavalry and officers of the third grade in the administra-
tion department. After this the second lieutenants of infantry
must join the “shooting schools” and serve one year, serve
two years in the regiments, and are then promoted to first
lieutenants. The second lieutenants of cavalry enter the
riding school for one year and are promoted to first lieuten-
ants after having completed one year's service in the troop.
The officers of the third grade of the administration depart-
ment spend, first of all, one year in any one of the military
schools, spend two years at the “intendancy,” and are then
promoted to officers of the second grade.
In the schools of application for the artillery and the engi-
neer corps the courses are for three years; but the “alfarez.”
becomes a second lieutenant at the end of the second year of
instruction, and upon graduating from the School a first
lieutenant.
The general military college (colegio general militar) is
directed by a brigadier-general as commandant and has a
lieutenant-colonel as chief instructor. The chief of the finan-
cial department is also a lieutenant-colonel. The number of
professors, majors, and captains as instructors is so regu-
lated that each one has an average of only thirty students and
teaches in only two branches. First lieutenants also act as
assistant instructors. The instructors and assistant instruct-
ors are taken from all branches of the army, viz., 50 per cent
from the infantry, 25 per cent from the cavalry, 15 per cent
from the artillery, and 10 per cent from the corps of engi-
neers. The schools of application and the general military
college are located in separate buildings. The first named
are commanded by a colonel or by officers of the rank of
colonel. The corps of instructors for each school consists of
1 lieuteuant-colonel as director of study, 1 major as second
director; majors and captains as instructors and first lieuten-
ants as assistant instructors, the number of which depends
upon the number of students. All the instructors must
belong to the branch of the army that the school is intended
for. -
The methods of instruction are revised every five years.
According to the preliminary rules students who do not
succeed in graduating are allowed to begin another year of
study; if they do not succeed the second time they must leave
304 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
the school. The same rules applies to the general military
college as to the schools of application. If the student was
deficient in only one subject he can be reexamined in this sub-
ject, etc. The higher military academy will be reorganized
also. The officers who complete the courses with success are
returned to their organizations. They are then available for
duty in the staff departments, they are in the service of the
general staff during the greater field maneuvers, and consti-
tute the reserve of the general staff corps. These advantages
are also enjoyed by officers who have completed these courses
in the past and by those who have graduated and are serving
with their organizations. All the graduates receive a badge
to be worn on the uniform.–Militar Wochenblatt, July 18,
1903, translated by Lieut. E. M. Worton, Eighth Infantry.
VESSELS BUILDING.
g |
Displace- Where
Name. i.e. building. Remarks.
PROTECTED CRUISERS.
Reina Regente ----------------------------------. 5,372 Ferrol . . . . . . . . Building.
Isabel la Catolica --------------.... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3, 500 | Canaca. . . . . . . . DO.
Proceedings, U. S. Naval Institute, September, 1903.
SVVEDEN.
PAY OF THE OFFICERS.
The reorganization of the army involves an increase in the
pay of the officers, as follows:
The compensation of the officer comprises his pay, the daily
subsistence allowance, and commutation of quarters. The old
allowance of a certain number of centimes for service expenses
will no longer be granted except as extra pay in the case of
certain subaltern employees of the intendance department.
On the other hand, the mounted officers will continue to
receive their extra pay. The pay of captains is notably
increased, while the increase in the higher grades and that of
lieutenants is not so great.
The comparative rates, showing the increases granted, are
shown below, being reckoned in Swedish crowns (equal to
$0.268):

Present | Former
p8.y. pay. Increases.
Crowns. | Crowns. | Crowns.
Sublieutenant--------------------------------------------. 720 600 120
Lieutenant:
Second class------------------------------------------. 1,020 900 120
First class --------------------------------------------- 1,500 1,200 300
Captain:
Second class------------------------------------------- 2,400 1,800 600
First class --------------------------------------------- 3,400 2,800 600
Major ----------------------------------------------------- 4,000 3,500 500
Lieutenant-Colonel....... ------------..................... 4,500 4,000 500
The amount of the complete daily subsistence allowance is
3 crowns for subaltern officers and noncombatants ranking as
officers, 4 crowns for captains, 5 for majors and lieutenant-
colonels, 6 for colonels, and 7 for general officers.
17430—04—20 305
306 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The pay and allowances, according to the foregoing, are as
follows, still reckoned in crowns:
Daily sub- || Commuta-
Grades. Pay. sistence tion of Total.
allowance. quarters.
A.—Officers in garrison.
General officers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,000 2, 555 1,500 12,055
Colonels --------------------------------------. 6,000 2, 190 1,200 9,390
Lieutenant-Colonels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,500 1,825 1,000 7, 325
Majors ----------------------------------------- 4,000 1,825 1,000 6,825
Captains:
First class---------------------------------- 3,400 1,460 g 500 5,360
Second class ... ---------------------------- 2,400 1,460 500 4,360
Lieutenants:
First class---------------------------------. 1,500 1,095 400 2,995
Second class --------- -----------------.... 1,020 1,095 400 2,515
Sublieutenants.-------------------------------. 720 1,095 400 2,215
B.—Officers not in garrisom.
Colonels --------------------------------------- 6,000 2, 190 900 9,090
Lieutenant-Colonels - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. 4,500 1,825 600 6,925
Majors ----------------------------------- * * * * * * 4,000 940+442 600 5,982
Captains:
First class---------------------------------- 3,400 584+438 400 4,822
Second class ------------------------------- 2,400 584–H438 400 3,822
Lieutenants:
First class---------------------------------- 1,500 438+328 300 2,866
Second class ------------------------------- 1,020 438-i-328 300 2,086
Sublieutenants--------------------------------. 720 438–H328 300 1,786
Observation.—The commutation of quarters, which amounts
to 1,500 crowns for general officers in the first part of the
table, refers to that allowed for the garrisons of Stockholm
and Goeteborg, the allowance being somewhat less in other
places.
For colonels and general officers the old rates of 6,000 and
8,000 crowns have been preserved, but the daily subsistence
allowances have been increased by one crown per day for all
services. In this manner the pay of the officers has been
increased laterally, so to speak, for by increasing it directly
the pension rolls would have been too heavily burdened.
The daily subsistence allowance is granted for all circum-
stances of the military service—staff service, bureau service,
etc. Moreover, since at certain times of the year certain
services do not require the officer to be present a whole day,
and as it would be practically almost impossible to determine
exactly the differences, a fixed number has been determined
on for the officers in garrison, in actual service, and numbers
of whole and half days for the officers not in garrison. As
will be seen from the rates in the preceding table, the daily
allowances consist of a single number of crowns for the for-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 307
mer, while for the latter the numbers of crowns are sepa-
rated by the + sign, representing the addition, in crowns, of
the amount of whole and of half days. In respect to the lat-
ter point, colonels and lieutenant-colonels receive a fixed
number; majors receive the equivalent of 188 complete days
and of 177 half days, and the other grades the equivalent of
146 complete days and 219 half days.-La Belgique Militaire,
October 18, 1903.
VESSELS BUILDING.

Displace-| Where build-
Name. ment. ing. Remarks.
COAST-IDEFENSE BATTLE SHIPS.
Aran ----------------------------------------- 3, 650 | Gothenburg ... Under trial.
Wasa ----------------------------------------- 3,650 | Malmö - - - - - - - Launched.
Manligheten --------------------------------. 3,650 |..... do -------- Building.
Tapperheten --------------------------------- 3, 650 | Stockholm -...] Launched.
Dristigheten---------------------------------- 3,450 | Gothenburg ... Under trial.
ARMORED CRUISER.
Fylgia.---------------------------------------- 4,600 | Stockholm ... Building.
—Proceedings U. S. Maval Institute, September, 1903.
SVVITZEFLAND.
STRENGTH OF THE FEDERAL ARMY.
The Swiss federal army consisted on the 1st of January,
1903, of the following effectives, including officers, viz:
Men.
Active army-------------------------------------------------- 150, 163
Landwehr:
First levy ------------------------------------------------ 44,941
Second levy---------------------------------------------- 25, 136
Cavalry and departments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. - 18,470
Total -------------------------------------------------- 238,710
To these must be added 624 pensioned officers and 411
officers of the staff, territorial service, etc., bringing the total
up to 239,745.
The distribution of the various arms is as follows:
Men be-
nºt longing
$" | to active
of men.
army.
Staffs. ----------------------------------------------------------------- 1,999 1,546
Infantry -------------------------------------------------------------- 174,884 122,290
Cavalry --------------------------------------------------------------- 8,429 4,791
Artillery-------------------------------------------------------------- 32,405 19,203
Engineers------------------------------------------------------------- 9,738 5,370
Medical Service ------------------------------------------------------- 8,359 5,045
Administration troops ..... ------------------------------------------. 2, 375 1,501
Cyclists --------------------------------------------------------------- 521 417
The 238,710 men of the Swiss federal army are divided into
4 army corps, fortress troops, and unattached troops, as
follows:
A. —ARMY CORPS.
Active army.
Unbri- Total of Grand total
Staffs. Divisions. gaded active of army
troops. army. Corps.
General staff of army.... 66 |::::-----------------|---- ------- 66 66
First Army Corps. . . . . . . . 340 {;ā...}} ; 8,439 36,421 46, 204
Second Army Corps ..... 328 {{#. .# 3,506 36,002 45, 367
Third Army Corps. - - - - - - 326 § .. # ; 3,473 35,431 44, 383
Fourth Army Corps - .... 328 {; :#; 3,406 32,271 43,644
Total ------------------------------------------------------ 140, 191 179,664


BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 309
B. —FORTRESS TROOPS.
Amount to 20,003 men, of whom 6,244 belong to the active
army, viz, staff, 70; St. Gotthard, 3,962; and St. Maurice,
2,212 men.
C. —UNATTACHED TROOPS.
Amount to 39,043 men, of whom 3,728 belong to the active
army, viz: staffs, 88; various units, 3,640. In the category
of unattached troops is included the second levy of the Land-
wehr, with the exception of 4,062 men attached to the fortress
troops.
The strength of the Landsturm consisted on the 1st of Jan-
uary last of 289,244 men, 45,906 of whom are armed and
243,338 men are unarmed. (Revue Militaire.)—Journal of
the Royal U. S. Institution, May, 1903.
COMPOSITION OF CORPS OF OFFICERS OF THE ARMY.
According to the annual for 1903, the Swiss army com-
prises 9,133 officers and military officials of the élite and the
landwehr, 4,196 of whom are appointed by the Federal Council
and 4,937 by the authorities of the Cantons.
Among these there are 180 colonels, including the colonels
who command army corps, divisions, and brigades; 282 lieu-
tenant-colonels; 552 majors, of whom 400 are named by the
Federal Council; 2,467 captains, of whom 1,426 are named
by the Federal Council; 3,487 first lieutenants, of whom 1,348
are named by the Federal Council; 2,156 lieutenants, of whom
560 are named by the Federal Council.
The distribution among the different armies is as follows:
13 commanders of army corps or divisions, 114 general staff
officers, 4,571 officers of infantry, 368 officers of cavalry,
1,166 officers of artillery, 146 officers of fortress troops, 23
officers of engineers, 1,191 medical officers, 93 pharmacists,
238 veterinarians, 693 officers of administration of different
services, 81 officers of the department of military justice, 97
chaplains (Catholic and Protestant), 37 postal and telegraph
officials, 2 officers of cycle troops.
In the cadres of the subordinate officers of the élife and of
the landwehr, there exists a considerable number of vacan-
cies.—La Belgique Militaire, March 1, 1903.
310 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
THE USE OF MACHINE GUNS IN MOUNTAIN WARFARE
IN SWITZERLAND.
A branch of military science in which Switzerland is mak-
ing rapid progress is the use of machine guns for the purposes
of mountain warfare. -
In contrast to the German system, the Swiss army admin-
istration has assigned machine guns not to the infantry, but
exclusively to the cavalry, and has incorporated them organ-
ically with the latter.
Switzerland has at present 4 machine-gun companies. One
company belongs to each of the cavalry brigades. As is
known, the mobilized Swiss army has 4 army corps, and with
each corps there is a cavalry brigade of 2 regiments, each reg-
iment consisting of 3 squadrons. The strength of a mobilized
squadron is 120 horses, so that each brigade has 720 horses.
Switzerland has no horse artillery. In order to supply this
deficiency and give the cavalry the necessary fire strength,
the machine-gun companies have been attached to it. The
Swiss cavalry is not considered as “combat cavalry,” but is
to find its only mission in the service of reconnaissance. For
this purpose it requires, of course, a great degree of inde-
pendence, but it especially requires fire strength, which is
attained only in an insufficient measure by cavalry in dis-
mounted combat, for a double training both as rider and as
marksman is scarcely compatible with the militia system.
The Swiss machine guns use the infantry bullet and are car-
ried, the same as the first ammunition supply, on the backs of
pack horses. The entire personnel serving them is mounted.
Each company has 8 guns, and each 2 of these guns form a
section. To each gun belongs a pack horse, which carries the
first ammunition supply of 2,000 rounds. Besides, each com-
pany is followed by a small ammunition train of 4 light 2-horse
wagons, each of which holds 15,520 cartridges. The company
thus has 9,760 rounds available for every one of its 8 guns.
The Swiss machine gun is fired from a tripod mount, which
is arranged for various elevations—kneeling, lying, sitting,
and it can be fired at a very steep angle, so that deep ravines
can be swept from a height, or vice versa, so that fire can be
executed at a great elevation from a low position. This ar-
rangement is rendered necessary by the use of the gun in high
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 311
mountains. As a general rule, the marksman who aims and
serves the gun fires from a sitting posture.
The regulations recognize the following kinds of fire: Sin-
gle fire, volley fire, fire by piece, rapid fire.
This shows a considerable difference as compared to the
kinds of fire prescribed in the German regulations, which
only provide for “serial” fire (Reihenfeuer)" and continual
fire. We will proceed to point out the salient features of
these various kinds of fire.
Single fire consists in the firing of single shots. It is to be
used against very small and rapidly disappearing targets, for
instance, against single officers or mounted troops, against
patrols or observation posts, etc., when it is desired to hit .
and remove these targets without the enemy’s noticing the
presence of the machine guns, believing that the shots proceed
from single sharpshooters. Owing to the stability of the
machine gun the Swiss regulations attribute a great superior-
ity to it over the infantry rifle, even in single fire, which
means that a great demand is made on the man intrusted with
the service of the gun.
Volley fire is a species of fire in which a volley of 20 to 30
rounds (the length of a loading belt) is delivered. It is also
employed against small targets and is furthermore used in
finding the range. In this latter case the section leader indi-
cates the gun which is to fire and orders target and sight. He
utilizes the pauses between the various volleys to determine
the necessary changes with regard to the choice of the target
and the sight, based on the observations made.
Whereas, therefore, single fire and volley fire can not be
regarded as actual effective fire, in which the full fire efficacy
of the machine gun can be developed, the fire “by piece” and
rapid fire represent the full effects.
In fire “by piece” each gun fires a series of 100 to 150
rounds by itself. After the delivery of these shots a pause
takes place, which is utilized in oiling the weapon and exam-
ining the mechanism. When this is done the fire is continued
without further order.
aThe German regulations say this is fire of about 25 shots and then a
pause to observe the effect.—Translator.
312 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Rapid fire differs from the German continual fire in that it
places less strain on the weapon and on the serving personnel,
for the section leaders do not require both guns of their sec-
tions to fire simultaneously, but alternately. In this manner
each gun fires about 100 shots, when it pauses and lets the
other gun of the section continue the fire. This pause in the
fire is also used to oil and examine the mechanism.
Both vertical and horizontal dispersion can be effected at
will in connection with the fire. Dispersion in a vertical
direction is not only used against deep and against movable
targets, but also when the range is not sufficiently well known
or there is uncertainty as to the external effects of wind,
humidity of the atmosphere, etc., on the accuracy of the fire.
Especially thorough are the provisions for quickly stopping
the fire, in order to accustom the gunner to fire discipline and
obedience even in the heat of battle and during the din of the
rattling weapon. The command for stopping the fire is
“Halt!” and the company or section leader may also use a
whistle. If a gunner fails to obey this sign, the authority is
expressly given to seize him by the arm.
Although, as we have seen, the real mission of the machine
gun, according to the Swiss idea, is to be performed in close
connection with the cavalry, still it is permitted under cer-
tain circumstances to take the machine-gun company away
from its cavalry brigade and attach it for temporary purposes
to another unit. In the cavalry battle the cavalry brigade
commander is not to concern himself at all with the machine
guns, but to attend to his own peculiar mission as a cavalry-
man, for which he is trained. It is the duty of the commander
of the machine-gun company, on the other hand, to attentively
follow all the phases of the battle, and, according to his judg-
ment, decide as to the right place and time to participate in
the struggle.
The company can be used either closed or in sections. The
use of single machine guns is, however, forbidden. Cases
may occur in which it will be advisable to attach one or more
sections to independent cavalry (advanced guards, flankers,
advanced squadrons).
As the machine guns are very mobile, the regulations pre-
scribe that they are to be held back until actually needed in
battle. It is erroneous to place them in action too soon or
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 313
without reflection. If they are separated by a considerable
distance from the remainder of the troops during action, a
special body of troops should be detailed to protect them.
The above principles of fire conduct and tactical employ-
ment of machine guns, according to Swiss ideas, furnish a
number of interesting comparisons with the German regula-
tions and rules.—Neue Militärische Blätter, May 30, 1903.
PURCHASES OF HORSES.
The Swiss Federal Council, upon the recommendation of
its military department, resolves:
Article 25 of the regulations of April 19, 1898, concerning
the organization and operation of the federal cavalry remount
depot, is hereby superseded by the following provisions:
“ART. 25. The purchase of horses will be attended to by a
commission of three members. One of these members will
negotiate with the sellers, one member will represent the
veterinary department, and one member will represent the
cavalry.
“The member designated to negotiate with the sellers will
be hired by contract by the military department for a consid-
erable period, and will be paid from the appropriations for
the purchase of remounts. Both the other members of the
purchase commission will be appointed by the military de-
partment in each case, after the recommendations of the chief
of the cavalry and of the chief veterinarian are received.
“The military department will issue the necessary instruc-
tions relative to the organization of the purchase commis-
sion and to the procedure to be followed by it.”—Allgemeine
Schweizerische Militärzeitung, Wovember 7, 1903.
NEW SWISS FIELD ARTILLERY MATERIAL.
The question of the introduction of guns with the new
recoil on carriage, and shields, has reached a solution. The
commission for the rearmament of the artillery has rendered
its report, and the Federal Council has addressed a message to
the Federal Assembly, recommending the adoption of the new
artillery material. The credit asked for exceeds by several
millions that which was provided for the gun with elastic
spade. This comprises a greater cost for the new gun, and
314 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
for a larger supply of ammunition which is rendered indis-
pensable. It is also necessary to construct a greater number
of caissons. The last 3 per cent loan will provide the neces-
sary funds.
At the moment when Switzerland is asking herself the
question whether she should impose upon herself the sacrifice
of 21,000,000 francs in order to increase sufficiently the
power of her artillery, and as a consequence the strength of
her army, it behooves us to render an exact account of the
studies and propositions made for the rearmament of the
artillery.
I.-FIELD GUNs.
TRIALS.
The preceding report of the commission of rearmament
proposed to provide the field artillery with Krupp guns with
elastic spade, model 1900, with the wheels, limbers, and
caissons, from the federal workshops at Thoune.
The message of the Federal Council, dated March 8, 1901,
recommended to the Federal Assembly the introduction of
this new model, without modification of the number of bat-
teries or of the number of pieces in each battery, with an
ammunition supply of 500 rounds per piece.
The characteristic feature of this material was the return
to battery by means of springs compressed by the recoil
against a spade having its support in the soil.
The breech mechanism is of a wedge pattern, with a direct-
ing shaft, inclosing a percussion device for firing, and requir-
ing but a single motion to open or close the breech. The
metallic cartridge case, containing the charge, was fixed to
the projectile. This material was at once simple, strong, and
light, had been well tested in numerous trials, and was pro-
vided with an improved aiming mechanism.
Trials which took place May 31, 1901, at Biere, before the
commission from the Chambers, gave, as compared with ord-
nance material, the following results:
A greater degree of mobility, especially with piece in
battery.
The same number of hits per round at a distance of 1,600 m.
A greater number of hits per round at 3,000 m.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 315
A greater number of targets hit, although the battery of
75 mm. had only 4 pieces, while the battery of 84 mm. had 6
pieces.
Lastly, a fire that was twice as rapid.
The pieces with recoil on carriage, studied by the commis-
sion up to the time that it made its report, were too compli-
cated or had too much movement upon firing. The improve-
ments which have given this system its value had not yet
been realized.
The Chambers decided in June to continue the tests in
order to study further pieces with recoil carriages and to
compare them with the elastic spade type.
Following this decision, the commission on rearmament
proposed to the military department an increase of its per-
sonnel from two to four new members, who were appointed.
The Federal authorities having invested the military depart-
ment with authority to invite gun manufacturers to present
their field pieces with recoil carriages, they were enabled to
hold comparative trials with single pieces in the month of
November of that same year.
Seven pieces took part in the trial: 1 Krupp piece; 1 piece
from the Rhein-Metallwaren and Machinenfabrik, of Dussel-
dorf; 1 skoda piece; 1 St. Chamond piece; 1 Nordenfeldt-
Cockerill piece; 1 Schneider-Canet piece, with compressed-
air recuperator; 1 Schneider-Canet piece, with spring recu-
perator.
The competing firms had the privilege of presenting their
pieces with or without shields. No conditions were imposed
upon them concerning the construction of either the gun or
carriage. -
All of these guns, as well as one with elastic spade, were
subjected to severe tests as to their endurance and efficiency,
in which tests the Krupp piece, with recoil carriage, proved its
superiority to all others by its remarkable steadiness during
fire, the precision of its fire without reaiming, and the ease
with which the delicate parts could be controlled.
The exceptionally favorable working of the Krupp gun, in
combination with its simplicity of construction and accepta- .
ble weight, gave a new justification for continuing the trials
with a battery of this type.
316 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
“All the pieces presented,” said the report of the commis-
Sion, “have shown, relatively, a high degree of perfection in
their special construction, but that does not yet prove that
they will have sufficient resistance and work satisfactorily
after a long period of use by troops.
“It was still necessary to subject the piece of best con-
struction to some complete and severe tests, in a battery,
where the possibility of derangement and deterioration
increase with the number of pieces. Only comparative tests
between batteries will demonstrate the superiority of these
pieces over those with elastic spade.
“Consequently the commission proposes the purchase of a
battery of 4 Krupp pieces with recoil carriage, which during
the coming year will be subjected to comparative tests cover-
ing a period of about five weeks, with a battery of pieces of
elastic spade, model 1900.
“It proposes, in addition, to have one or two more caissons
constructed, which will have all the improvements adopted up
to the present day.”
COURSE OF TRIALS.
Special trials took place from the 30th of July to the 28th
of August, 1902, under the direction of the head instructor of
artillery. Two batteries of 4 pieces were formed, one of
guns with elastic spade, the other with guns with recoil car-
riage and shield. The first battery included 1 gun of new
construction, having an elastic spade and shield, whose car-
riage had been lengthened.
The results were as follows:
For pieces with recoil carriage, the instructions for the
cannoneers is very simple, especially for the reason that the
handling of the trail is much simplified.
The new model sight, with movable head, simplifies the
conduct of fire. With the pieces that were lashed and hitched
no differences in mobility were noticed, although their weights
were not the same. In moving the pieces by hand the piece
with elastic spade was more mobile than the piece with recoil
- carriage. On wet soil the piece with elastic spade sank in the
ground on firing more than those with recoil. No incident
of any importance happened throughout to the material.
The accuracy of both types is very good.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 317
TRIALS WITH 5 CM. GUNs witH EXPLOSIVE SHIELLs.
On the 31st of July, Rhein Metallwaren und Maschinen-
fabrik Company sent to the commission a pamphlet describ-
ing its pieces of 5 cm. with recoil carriage, model of 1902.
This pamphlet, which contained the views of General von
Reichenau, an attaché of the manufacturer, was sent, followed
by two other publications from the same author
The ideas of General von Reichenau can be summarized as
follows:
It is necessary to provide as extended an armor protection
as possible, affording protection in the most effective manner,
not only from shrapnel, but in the first line against infantry
fire, not only frontal but also oblique. Armor shields of this
kind, with the thickness of 6 mm. for protection against
frontal fire, can not be adapted to pieces of 75 mm. on account
of their weight. Diminution of caliber is consequently nec-
essary. It is a mistake to use a heavier projectle or a greater
caliber than is necessary for the task in hand. The projec-
tile should be sufficiently powerful against living targets at
all ranges; it should possess the necessary power to penetrate
shields, destroy houses, pierce inclosures and walls; it should
finally give an easily observed burst. The aggregate effect
should be due to the quantity of ammunition employed. To
attempt to obtain increase of efficiency by isolated shots is to
take an absolutely false view.
The pieces should be very accurate and have a large supply
of ammunition. A small caliber should be used, the accuracy
of which can be increased by increasing the initial velocity,
and which, with the same weight of ammunition, can carry a
greater number of rounds.
The high explosive shell, with a percussion fuse, is the
most effective projectile against both personnel and matériel.
Shrapnel has had its day as the principal projectile for bat-
tle. Shrapnel firing is too complicated. Quick firing and
shrapnel firing are contradictory. If, in firing percussion
shrapnel against shields, the entire shrapnel strikes the shield,
the effect produced is very small; finally, for the reason that,
as with all projectiles with black powder, it does not burst
until several meters behind the point of compact. The most
convenient caliber is 5 cm. The gun should be supplied
318 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
solely but liberally with high explosive shells with percussion
fuses.
Before arriving at a definite conclusion, it behooves us that
comparative trials should be made between a piece 50 mm. and
a 75 mm. gun. gº
Trials were made from the 5th to the 10th of January, 1903,
at Steinmaur and at Thoune, following a programme which
conformed as nearly as possible to the proposition made by
the manufacturer. e
Out of twelve comparative series tried in competition, only
one was favorable to the 50 mm. gun. In a series of 10
shots, the 75 mm. piece obtained in each case, generally with
less expenditure of ammunition, more hits per kilogram of
shell. In series of nine, the targets were hit by the 75 mm.
gun.
The firing of the 75 mm. shrapnel, with percussion fuses,
against shields and armored caissons, as well as against a wall,
was rather superior.
During these most interesting trials, the ease with which
the pieces with large shields could be seen at long distance
was again noted.
The highest praise is due the 50 mm. shell for the compact
cloud of smoke easily seen, which it produced. The working
of the piece was also above criticism.
The members of the commission are very strongly in favor
of retaining the 75 mm. guns and shrapnel as the principal
projectile. The batteries should also be provided with some
high-explosive shells, with percussion fuses.
SHIELDS.
The advantages and disadvantages of shields are very much
discussed, and their adoption by the French artillery imposes
their adoption by other armies. The shields, when proof
against shrapnel bullets and infantry projectiles, give the
gunners actual protection when under shrapnel artillery fire
and infantry fire. They are, however, easily seen and aid the
explosion of percussion shells.
The explosive shell, hitting, easily bursts immediately in
rear with a very destructive effect. Under these conditions
the shield should be of only such size as is necessary to give
frontal protection against shrapnel and infantry fire.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 319
Some Krupp trials have demonstrated that shields 3 mm. in
thickness, like those used in the trials, were penetrated by a
greater number of special steel shrapnel bullets.
Other experiments by the same firm have shown that,
thanks to the recent improvement applied to the hydraulic
brake, it is possible to reduce the weight of the gun by 50 kg.
without impairing the steadiness of fire of the piece. With
this diminution of weight the gun can carry shields of 43 mm.
thickness and still keep the weight of the piece in battery
below 1,000 kg. These shields, thus strengthened, offer suffi-
cient protection.
It was also decided to armor the body of the caisson. In
many cases the terrain will afford shelter for the ammuni-
tion supply without rendering necessary resorting to the
danger of placing the caisson side by side with the gun; yet
under other circumstances it would be necessary to do so.
POINTING APPARATUS.
As to the pointing apparatus, the sight with the curved bar
and movable head is recommended, but telescopic sight with
a goniometer attachment as an auxiliary sight.
RESERVE CARRIAGES OF THE BATTERY.
Up to the present time the reserve of the battery has been
composed of 4 carriages with 4 horses (spare carriage, forge,
battery wagon, and baggage wagon), and 2 two-horse provi-
sion wagons.
One field kitchen, which should be attached to the baggage
wagon, but which ordinarily has 1 horse attached.
It is proposed to give the batteries, each, 1 six-horse battery
wagon, carrying a portable kitchen, forge, etc.; 1 baggage
wagon with six horses, similar to the infantry baggage wag.
on of 1899; 2 provision wagons with two horses.
For a group of batteries, also 1 six-horse wagon, with spare
parts.
The reserve up to the present time has had 20 draft horses.
In future 18 draft horses will be necessary, including one-
third of the horses for the group wagon.
320 ... BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
AMMUNITION.
Fixed ammunition will be supplied in future, the greater
number being shrapnel with combination fuses, the others
shells with percussion fuses. These projectiles should have
the same weight. -
PROPOSAL FOR REARMAMENT OF FIELD ARTILLERY.
The commission unanimously recommends as the armament
for the field artillery 75 mm. recoil carriage, made by Krupp,
the wheels, the caissons, the battery wagons, the group
wagons, and the ammunition cases to be constructed accord-
ing to proposals of the federal workshops in 1903. The bat-
tery baggage wagons to be similar to the infantry baggage
wagons, model of 1899. Proposed matériel will be designated
official as field artillery matériel, 1903.
The characteristic properties of the new recoil-carriage
gun are:
Rapidity of fire, which amounts to as many as 20 shots per
minute. -
The steadiness of the piece in firing, without the necessity
of applying brakes to the wheels.
The continuous service by the cannoneers, either sitting or
kneeling, without the necessity of quitting their place on the
discharge.
The protection of the cannoneers by shields which are proof
against shrapnel and infantry fire.
The remarkable accuracy of fire without reaiming.
The improvements of the pointing apparatus, simplifying
the conduct of fire.
The facility of lateral aiming within certain limits.
The rapid and sure operation of the breech mechanism.
The employment of fixed ammunition making a rammer
unnecessary.
The mobility of the piece in battery.
The decision of the commission is based upon improvements,
which, within the last two years, have developed in the long
recoil-piece qualities, giving qualities which did not previously
exist, or which existed only in part; the possibility of firing
with accuracy a series of shots without reaiming; the steady
working of the piece without the necessity of attaching brakes
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 321
to the wheels; the simple construction of the hydraulic brake
and of the apparatus for returning to battery by means of .
steel springs; no loss of movement; sufficient protection for
the delicate parts.
Weight of the piece in battery is of less than 1,000 kg.,
even with shields of more than 3 mm. of thickness, and reach-
ing to the ground.
COMPOSITION OF THE FIELD ARTILLERY.
Batteries will comprise 4 pieces, with 6 horses each (each
caisson carrying at least 96 rounds), 1 battery wagon with 6
horses, 1 baggage wagon with 6 horses, 2 provision wagons
with 2 horses each. Each group will have in addition 1 group
wagon with 6 horses. The park of the corps will have 8 cais-
sons per battery, with 4 horses each—that is, 2 caissons per
piece. Two of the caissons of the park shall be of the new
model, and the others of the 84 mm. caissons modified.
The total number of pieces per round is fixed at 800.
The commission proposes to organize 72 batteries of 4 pieces
each. The number of batteries at present, 56, will be aug-
mented then by 16. There will thus be 18 batteries for each
corps instead of 14.
The battery of 4 rapid-fire pieces giving a greater effect
than the battery of 6 pieces with present model and being
more mobile, the proposed organization increases materially
the power of artillery, notwithstanding that the number of
pieces in service will be only 288 instead of 336 as at present.
LIST OF MATÉRIEL.
The list of matériel to be acquired for the new armament of
the 72 batteries, for replacement and for schools, amounts to
339 pieces: 16 spare carriages (or four for each army corps);
900 new caissons; 75 battery wagons; 72 caissons; 24 group
wagons; harness and equipment for the spare draft horses;
harness and horse equipment (supplies) for carriages; kitchen
utensils and sanitary supplies for the 16 new batteries; 230,400
rounds of fixed ammunition; about 40,000 panniers for ammu-
nition, with covers for the spare parts.
17430—04—21
322 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
USE TO BE MADE OF THE PRESENT MATÉRIEL.
Of the present artillery matériel 200 pieces, with 400 rounds
per piece, and 200 caissons, will be used as reserve.
The number of rounds per piece of the 84 mm. guns of posi-
tion artillery should be as high as 500.
The present matériel for the driving school should be re-
placed by the 84 mm. guns, from which the breech mech-
anism should be taken (about 120 pieces). The remainder,
unless needed for fortifications, should be classed as unfit for
service.
LENGTH OF TIME FOR REARMAMENT.
The commission deems it to our military interest to decide
as soon as possible upon the introduction of the new material
and to carry out the rearmament promptly. It urges again—
First. That our field-artillery material which has been in
service for twenty-six years is very much worn out.
Second. That the armies of our neighboring countries have
effected their rearmament or will effect it in a much shorter
time than it will take to complete ours.
Third. That it is a matter of great importance that the
troops, especially the militia, should know that our army is
supplied with the best gun.
Fourth. That the trials have given an industrial impetus that
will not be surpassed for a long time.
Lastly. That present ideas of tactical requirements are not
on the eve of modification.
A decision is very urgent, for there are two factors in our
national condition of a nature to prolong the execution of the
rearmament.
The first is that we have no establishments sufficient for the
rapid construction of the parts of the material that should be
made in our country.
The second is the courses of instruction and their short du-
ration, which take place every two years, which, being com-
bined in certain cases with the maneuvers, leave but little time
to devote to technical instruction.
One year or one year and a half after the decision to intro-
duce the material has been taken the school material will be
at our disposition, and we will be able to commence with the
new instructions.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 323
If the batteries do not take part in the maneuvers during
the next two years, the instruction and the new organization
of the field artillery can be accomplished in three years and
a half after the adoption of the new material. The construc-
tion will be finished during that time. The prolongation of
that critical period of the rearmament, already very long,
should be avoided absolutely.
II.-HOWITZERS.
TRIALS.
All of our neighboring countries have their howitzer bat-
teries equipped to follow the army in the field. Howitzers,
according to caliber, form three classes—those of 10 to 10.5
cm.; second, those of 12 cm., and, finally, heavy howitzers of
15 cm.
Howitzers of 10 and 10.5 cm. belong especially to the army
corps, although heavy howitzers of 15 cm. are sometimes
attached to the army in the field. Our 12-cm. mortar is too
heavy, has too little mobility, and too short range to be con-
sidered in connection with the field service.
The first trial of the howitzers took place at Thoune in
1899. Krupp alone was able to offer a 10-cm. howitzer with
elastic spade, whose fire effects could be compared with those
of the 75-mm. field gun. During the summer of 1900 some
of the members of the commission had an opportunity of
witnessing trials of howitzers at Krupp’s proving ground at
Meppen. In February, 1901, the entire commission was
present at Meppen, during trials made by Krupp, at his own
expense, of howitzers 10.5, 12, and 15 cm. for the purpose of
comparing the effect of high-explosive shells with that of
torpedo shells. These trials were completed in May in the
presence of two members of the commission.
In March, at Harfleur, five delegates from the commission
witnessed the trial of howitzers of 10.5 and 12 cm. with long
recoil carriages, firing shrapnel. Unfortunately there was no
shell fired.
On account of the high price of ammunition for howitzers,
it was decided to defer further trial until the question of field-
gun carriage was settled. It was the intention to make these
trials with a carriage system similar to that to be adopted for
the field guns.
324 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The contest between field pieces having fixed the question
of carriage, it was decided in March, 1902, to ask the manu-
facturers to submit for trial howitzers of 12 cm. caliber.
Only the Skoda and Krupp guns sent models of howitzers of
this caliber, which were tried at Thoune, from the 18th to
the 20th of November. The working of the Krupp howitzer
with long recoil carriage was notably superior.
These trials, as a whole, demonstrated the fact that the
exaggerated hopes entertained of the efficiency of howitzers
had not been realized, and that their use would not be justi-
fied except for the fulfillment of special tasks, notably that
of high-explosive effects. The condition of power in the
howitzer involved the sacrifice of a great part of the mobility
necessary in batteries of field guns. It is unanimously con-
sidered that howitzers should not be introduced at the cost of
the reduction of the number of field guns. The commission
declared themselves in favor of the 12-cm. howitzer, as that
caliber unites to a considerable power a sufficient degree of
mobility.
The price of ammunition preventing the organization of a
special course of experiments or the undertaking of these
special courses, it was decided to make these tests from time
to time in the schools for recruits and during the courses of
instruction for the position artillery, and it was recommended
that a battery of at least two howitzers be purchased for that
purpose.
BATTERIES OF HOWITZERS.
The commission provided for the purchase of 32 howitzers
of 12 cm. caliber, with long recoil carriage, permitting the
formation of 8 batteries of 4 pieces each, to form 4 groups of
2 batteries each. Provision was made for 500 rounds of
ammunition per howitzer, the number of caissons and the
general organization of the batteries to be determined upon
after the trials had been made.
The batteries of howitzers will not be made an integral part
of the army corps, but will be distributed according to need
among the artillery. They will thus be employed either as
heavy field artillery or as mobile position artillery. The per-
sonnel will be taken from that of the position artillery.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 3.25
III.-MOUNTAIN GUNS.
TRIALs. Since their last report the commission of rearma-
ment has not found any mountain gun of sufficient merit to
be substituted for the present gun, which, owing to the action,
it was desired to increase by 500 m.
In February, 1902, the commission asked for authority to
make further investigation relative to the efficiency of the
new types of mountain guns.
It was natural at the outset to try the Krupp piece of the
same system as the field guns just tested. Comparative trials
took place between the regular mountain piece and the Krupp
model of recoil carriage.
Experiments made March 20 at Thoune and on the 21st at
Sweischberg showed marked superiority in favor of the long
recoil carriage, with which the same effect was produced at
2,400 m. as with the regulation piece at 1,800 m.
It was decided, therefore, to continue these tests in the
recruiting school of mountain artillery. They took place in
the mountains from the 21st of May to the 18th of June.
Both the pieces and the packed equipment worked well. It
was decided to continue the trials with these two pieces which
had been improved in certain details.
During the limited number of comparative series fired, the
single piece was tested against the whole regulation battery.
It obtained in almost every instance a very much greater
number of hits per shot, and when fired alone more hits per
minute, than the entire battery.

326 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 327
It is necessary to state that it is not possible to construct
a mountain gun with long recoil that does not require an
increase of three or four pack animals apiece. The transpor-
tation of the ammunition also involves an increase in the
number of pack animals.
A trial made in February, 1903, at a temperature –14°C.
on snowy ground demonstrated that the piece worked well
under these conditions.
MOUNTAIN BATTERIES.
As to the formation of mountain batteries and their organ-
ization, no decision could be rendered until after the trials.
If they are attended with good results it is proposed to form,
with 12 mountain guns, batteries of 2 or 3 pieces, or batteries
of 4 or 6 pieces, to be subdivided into half batteries. The
fighting power of these batteries will be greater than that of
the 4 present batteries of 6 pieces. Small units are needed
here. The number of rounds per piece for mountain guns
should be 500, the same as for howitzers.
CONCLUSION.
The following are the conclusions of the commission:
The commission for the rearmament of the field artillery,
during six years, has submitted all the pieces that they were
enabled to study to severe tests and thorough examination.
Also it can now declare once more that of the models con-
sidered, without reserve, the piece of 75 mm., with long-
recoil carriage, made by Frederic Krupp at Essen, to be not
only the most perfect in all respects and the best of the
models experimented with, but the one best suited for field
service. It is convinced that our field artillery, thanks to the
adoption of this gun, will have better guns than the artillery
of other armies, which have already completed their rearma-
ment.
The commission is furthermore persuaded that for many
years to come there is no fear that technical progress will
develop a new construction which will surpass the one which
it now presents.
It considers that under the circumstances which have been
several times made manifest in this report, there is no longer
occasion for further delay in deciding upon the new armament
for field artillery.
328 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Data relative to the artillery material of the present model and that of the model
of 1903.
Present | Model of
model. 1903.
Caliber. --------------------------------------------------------- IIll]]. - 84 75
Length of piece -------------------------------------------- calibers.. 25. 6 30
Weight of piece with breech Imechanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg.. 425 327
Height of carriage of piece ------------------------------------- IIll]] . . 1, 110 990
Tread ---------------------------------------------------------- mm. - 1,370 1,400
Diameter of wheel. --------------------------------------------- IIll]] . . 1,440 1,300
Width of tires--------------------------------------------------- IIl DI] . . 70 70
Weight of carriage with accessories. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg-- 655 626
Weight of piece in battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . - - - - - - - - kg. - 1,080 952
Weight of trail on ground......... ------------------------------- kg.. 95 70
Weight of limber------------------------------------------------- kg-- 885 800
Ammunition carried. . . . . . . . . . . . ------------------------- rounds.. 35 40
Weight of Carriage Complete . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg-- 1,965 1,752
Weight of shrapnel and shell. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg.. 6, 7 6.35
Initial Velocity------------------. -------------------------------. II] .. 485 485
Weight of caisson.-----------------------------. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . kg. - 2,300 1,820
Ammunition carried. . . . . . . . ----------------------------. rounds.. 105 96–100
Thickness of shields, 3 mm.; for each millimeter of increase
in thickness of shells about 16 kg. additional weight should
be added.—Revue Militaire Suisse, May, 1903.
SWISS FIRING SOCIETIES AND THEIR MILITARY ROLE.
“Our army,” says a Swiss military author, “can not
pretend superiority over the armies of the States which
surround us, neither in the number, nor in the degree of
instruction, of its men. In one field alone it can try to equal
and even surpass them—that of shooting. To reach this end
it is necessary to consider the means at hand: arms, stores,
methods, etc.”
The military instruction given in Switzerland tends, in fact,
as far as possible to “transform bourgeois into soldiers,” and
especially “to make anyone a fair shot.”
Therefore the Swiss militiaman is called upon to receive
methodic firing instruction in the school of recruits and in
private lessons.
It does not seem, moreover, that the Swiss, as a whole, are
such excellent shots as is usually imagined. Without doubt,
shooting furnishes a sort of national sport; it is none the less
true that, outside of specialists, the mass of the citizens seem
to have only a moderate ability in shooting. “We have lived
for long years,” says a Swiss officer, “in the firm conviction
that the more or less direct descendants of William Tell could
not be other than first-class shots. It would be sufficient to
look at our recruits and our soldiers to be convinced of the
contrary.”
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 329
In order to recover the old predominance which the Swiss
had in shooting, they propose, now to work along different
lines from those formerly adopted; they have perfected in a
practical manner the military firing instruction. On the other
hand, and more than in the past, they have been brought to
assign to independent firing societies the important duty of
developing in the marksman the ability, which he has acquired
in the school for recruits, of keeping up this ability and con-
firming it.
Thus regarded, the firing societies in Switzerland enter the
general military organization of the country.
On this head it is interesting to present a succinct study.
I. FUNCTION OF THE FIRING SOCIETIES.
The cantonal organization has determined the creation of
countless societies of all kinds, and particularly of firing
societies.
These societies, generally established per commune, have a
double function. On the one hand they procure for their
members recreation by means of firing meets on certain days
of the week. On the other hand, they permit the members
who are part of the elite of the landwehr or landsturm to
fulfill, in special meetings and without being removed from
their homes, certain military obligations.
The Swiss military law prescribes, indeed, that the officers,
noncommisioned officers, and soldiers armed with the rifle,
belonging to the classes mentioned above, shall take part,
during the year in which they have no other military service,
in firing exercises. They have the privilege of fulfilling this
obligation either by taking part in the voluntary firing exer-
cises of the societies, or by reporting at the meetings offically
Organized for this purpose.
II. ORGANIZATION OF FIRING SOCIETIES-THEIR SUPERVISION.
The firing societies are entirely independent; they have
every liberty in receiving or excluding members; they them-
selves name their committees. They have in their charge the
target material and are responsible for the necessary precau-
tions to secure the safety of the markers and of the public.
330 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The firing societies are placed under the supervision of can-
tonal firing commissions, composed of from three to seven
members, named by the military authorities of the Canton
and of which the president, at least, has to be an officer of the
elite or landwehr.
Their rôle consists in examining the laws of the Societies, in
giving necessary explanations as to the annual firing pro-
gramme; finally, in supervising effectively the execution of it.
For each division district, the military department desig-
nates a superior officer as firing officer (our inspector of target
practice). This officer is relieved from infantry duty and
puts himself in communication with the cantonal firing com-
missions, to whom he gives the instructions deemed necessary
and whom he aids in their work. He has the privilege of
being present at the firing exercises of the societies. He sub-
mits at the end of the year a report on the observations which
he has made.
III. ENCOURAGEMENTS FROM THE COMMUNES AND THE STATE.
The military organization law requires the communes to
furnish suitable target ranges for the societies. There must
be in the commune an available range up to 300 m. For dis-
tances from 300 to 500 m. several communes can unite to use
the same range, provided that it be not more than 7 km. from
the center of each of the interested communes. It must be
added that, on account of the topographic conformation of the
country, it is very easy to find, at a short distance and with
little expense, such ground.
In order to encourage voluntary firing exercises, the Con-
federation grants subsidies to every society of at least ten
members which agrees to accept and conform to the annual
programme established by the military department for the
firings to be executed with the Ordnance arms (rifle and
revolver). These subsidies consist of sums of money allotted
to every society which has carried out the prescribed series of
firings. In order to obtain them the societies have to send to
the cantonal military societies each year, before the 1st of
October, a report showing how many of their members have
fulfilled the conditions of the firing programme.
The subsidies from the State are sent to the societies, which
make any use of them that they see fit.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 331
Moreover, it can be considered as an indirect subsidy, when
the State furnishes to the societies every year the cartridges
necessary for their target practice at a cost less than purchase
price.
IV. PROGRAMMES OF FIRING REQUIRED BY THE FEDERAL
MILITARY DEPARTMENT—SUBSIDIES ALLOWED.
Every year the military department publishes the pro-
grammes of exercises to be carried out by the members of
these societies, in order that these societies may have the
right to the subsidies from the Confederation. These pro-
grammes vary but little from year to year. Below is given
one of them as a type:
1. OBLIGATORY PROGRAMME–FIRING ON CONDITIONS—FIRING SHOT BY
SHOT.
First eacercise.—From 5 to 10 shots, at 300 m. on a school
target (target with concentric zones), kneeling.
Second eſtercise.—From 5 to 10 shots, at 400 m. on a school
target, standing.
Third eacercise.—From 5 to 10 shots, at 400 m. on a school
target, prone.
Fourth eacercise.—From 5 to 10 shots, at 300 m. on a stand-
ing silhouette target, kneeling.
The firing with conditions is executed according to the rules
in force for the military service. Each hit is marked sep-
arately. In five successive shots it is necessary to obtain
with ordnance arms a fixed number of points.
If these conditions are not fulfilled in the first shots, there
follows a sixth, then a seventh shot, etc., until the number
of points fixed shall have been reached. As soon as the con-
testant shall have succeeded he passes on to the next exercise.
He passes on to it even if he has not completed the pro-
gramme in 10 shots. This provision prevents the discourage-
ment which would come over a shooter blocked by an exercise
which he could not get out of, and it gives to him the oppor-
tunity to catch up on other exercises, more difficult perhaps,
but suiting better his sight, his temperament, etc.
Every member who has fulfilled the conditions in the four
required exercises, or who has fired ten shots in each exercise,
has completed his obligatory firing for the year, (1) and the
332 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
firing society has the right, from this fact, to a subsidy of 1
franc 80 centimes paid from the Confederation.
2. OPTIONAL PROGRAMME.
(a) Fire with single cartridge: 10 shots at 300 m. at target
(5 kneeling, 5 standing).
(b) Magazine fire: At 300 m. at target, kneeling, in 40
seconds.
The societies receive a subsidy of 1 franc 40 centimes for
each member having taken part in the two exercises of the
optional programme.
Several societies can arrange to carry out this programme
conjointly.
3. REVOLVER FIRING.
The programme admits of the firing of 60 shots at least, in
two days, at distances of from 30 to 60 m.
The society firing the revolver has a right to a subsidy of
3 francs for each one of its members having fulfilled the above
programme and belonging to the following classes: (1) Offi-
cers; (2) noncommissioned officers, armed with the ordnance
revolver or owning one; (3) soldiers receiving a revolver
from the Confederation.
V. NUMBER OF SOCIETIES AND MEMBERS–NUMBER OF TARGET
FANGES–SUBSIDIES PAID.
Thanks to the encouragement of the Confederation, the
number of societies and members have been constantly
increasing for the past ten years. The subsidies have natur-
ally increased in proportion as the number of cartridges con-
sumed. The following table sets forth the results obtained:
Number Cartridges consumed.
Years. Of SOGie- || Members. | Subsidies.
ties. 10.4 mm. 7.5 mm.
Francs.
1888. --------------------------- 2,836 120,681 | 229, 219 || 10,496, 280 |. . . . . . . . . . . .
1889---------------------------- 2,914 125,332 236, 511 || 10,843, 500 |. . . . . . . . . . . .
1890---------------------------- 2,943 128, 146 237,038 || 12, 270,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . .
1891---------------------------- 3,007 127, 111 237,281 11, 314,000 | . . . . . . . . . . . .
1892. --------------------------- 2,946 117,925 212,367 || 7,740,910 3,676,721
1893---------------------------- 2,950 134,117 263,376 || 3,386,000 6, 192,000
1894---------------------------- 2,977 133,486 164,539 2,594,000 8, 217,000
1895---------------------------- 3, 216 185, 149 293,193 4,020,000 | 11,247,000
1896. --------------------------- 3,310 192,205 316,385 3,134,000 || 10,627,000
1897---------------------------- 3,384 198,470 328,041 2,374,000 || 11,649,000
Total ------------------------------|-----------. 2,618,710 | 68,172,690 || 51,609, 720
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
333
The table shows from 1894 to 1895 a very important and
continuous increase in the number of firing societies.
This is
explained by the obligation placed on the infantry of the
landsturm to participate in the obligatory firing.
The following table gives for the year 1899, and by Cantons,
the detailed account of the subsidies granted to the firing
societies and their members:
- I’rizes
Condi- -
w - Optional Revolver for est.
Cantons. iº. firing. firing. dis- Total.
ring. tances.
Zurich. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---------------- 34,699 8,900 312 250 44, 161
Berne --------------------------------- 48,695 12,704 246 345 61,990
Lucerne ------------------------------- 12, 542 815 ---------. 35 13,392
Uri ------------------------------------ 1,773 39 ----------|---------- 1,812
Schyz---------------------------------- 5,835 1,025 30 30 6,920
Oberwalden . . . . . . . . ------------------- 1,794 48 83 ---------- 1,875
Nidwalden ---------------------------- 1,818 225 36 10 2,089
Glarus. -------------------------------- 3,710 (556 51 10 4,427
Zug.------------------------------------ 2,500 191 21 |---------- 2,712
Fribourg------------------------------- 7,690 fill l---------- 10 8, 211
Solothurn------------------------------ 11,221 3,983 lö ---------- 15,219
Bale ---------------. . . . . --------------- 3,262 263 18 45 3,588
Bale (country). ------------------------ 7, 115 1,991 18 ---------- 9, 124
Schaffhausen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 3,841 1, 175 42 290 5,348
Appenzel, A. Rh ----------------------- 1,849 438 ----------|---------- 2,287
Saint-Gallen --------------------------- 25,668 4, 642 153 345 30, 808
Graubunden.--------------------------- 11,781 1,728 ----------|---------- 13, 509
Aargau -------------------------------- 18, 542 4, 176 141 ---------- 22,859
Thurgeau. ----------------------------- 11, 414 3,328 f: 30 14,826
Tessin --------------------------------- 9,662 722 60 |---------- 10,
Vaud ---------------------------------- 24, 511 3, 595 276 80 33,462
Valais.--------------------------------- 9,475 762 27 ---------- 10, 264
Neufchatel ---------------------------- 10,789 1,061 57 20 11,922
Geneva -------------------------------- 6, 224 465 39 l---------- 6, 729
Total ---------------------------- 287, 305 54,846 1,617 1, 610 345,432

Finally as to the target ranges, it must be
1895 there were 2,735 of them.
They were, besides, more or less well arranged.
Four per cent of these ranges allowed firing at 300 m.; 62
per cent at 400 m.; 18 per cent at 500 m.; 16 per cent at greater
distances.
VI.
noted that in
RESULTS OF FIRING WITH CONDITIONS.
The following table, taken from the statistical annual of
Switzerland for 1900 gives the results of firings with conditions
in 1898, with the ordnance rifle, caliber 7.5 mm.
334
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Firing with conditions in 1898 (ordnance rifle 7.5 mm. cal.).

Exercise I, Exercise | Exercise | Exercise
target 1,0 II, target 1, III, target IV, target
300 m. 300 m. 1, 400 m. 5 b, 300 m.
kneeling. standing. prone. kneeling.
Number of contestants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128, 107 128,253 128,016 127,782
Number of shots fired - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 857,436 938. 398 944,036 777,712
Per 100 shots on a target. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71.5 72. 3 69. 2 39.7
Not fulfilling conditions................. 27, 145 42, 570 42,922 15,467
Per 100 of the shooters not having Com- ~ *
plied with the conditions.............. 21.2 33.2 33.5 12.1
a Target 1 is a black board of 50 cm., having in its center a bulls eye of 25 cm.; outsidc
#º outside of this a bluering in wen.
b Target 5, called field target, represents a silhouette of a man standing.
The preceding table shows that on the one hand, on target
1, the number of hits is about 70 per cent, and that the con-
testants not having complied with the conditions are 30 per
cent.
On the other hand, it shows that in the firing on the silhou-
ette of a man standing at 300 m., 12 per cent only failed to
fulfill the conditions, and that the hits amount to 40 per cent.
The results of the firing at targets 1 and 5 appear at first
a little contradictory; they are explained certainly by the fact
that the conditions of firing which determine the classification
of the shooters are easily enough realized, either at target 1
or at target 5.
The only result to which can be attributed a valued signifi-
cance is that of the percentage of hits. It is found that there
are 70 per cent at 300 to 400 m. on target 1, which has 1.50 m.
on a side, and 40 per cent on the target 5 (silhouette of man
standing) at 300 m.
The results are very evident. If they are compared with
the results of Captain Warnery, cited above and relating to
the ability in firing of the recruits and militiamen of Switzer-
land, one is tempted to admit that a number of the con-
testants take part in the firing with conditions, who are not
required to perform military duties.
However that may be, and lacking more precise indications
on the subject, no one can doubt the importance of target
practice in Switzerland. It is indeed a national sport to
which recent events seem to give an added favor. The mili-
tary Organization of Switzerland tends to make a shot of every
militiaman.
BULLETIN OF MILLITARY NOTES. 335
It can be considered that this end is attained, thanks to the
firing societies and thanks to the innate tastes of the citizens
for shooting.—Revue Militaire Suisse, January, 1903, trans-
lated by Lieut. O. O. Sherrill, Corps of Engineers.
ARMY MANEUVERS, 1903.
The First Army Corps, which has just been through the
maneuvers, is entirely composed of the élite, or, as we would
term them, regulars, that is to say, men of from 20 to 32 years
of age, with subaltern officers of from 22 to 38. These men
had put in 45, 55, and 90 days’ regular service as recruits,
and the officers commanding them had put in, before reaching
the rank of lieutenant, 155, 197, and 170 days’ regular serv-
ice, according as they served in the infantry, the artillery,
or the cavalry. There can consequently be no question of
comparing these troops with those of powers possessing per-
manent armies; they must rather be compared with reserve
troops, who, having lost sight of all military instruction
during several years of civil life, come back to the colors to
maneuver under nonprofessional officers.
The cavalry.—The recruiting of the men is carried out with
discrimination, that is to say, that men for the cavalry and
field artillery are taken from agriculturists, carters, and
coachmen, who, as a rule, bring their own horses, which they
know well, and know how to look after them, and can ride.
Officers of the cavalry are almost all wealthy, possess valua-
ble horses, and as a rule ride well. They are too apt to
attempt brilliant but impossible charges on the battlefield, and
devote but little attention to scouting and patrolling. The
Maxim machine guns formed a mounted company with 4
guns, and were attached to a cavalry regiment. These guns,
with their carriages and ammunition boxes, were drawn by
strong horses, were rapidly brought into action, and fire the
infantry cartridges at an average rate of 400 shots a minute.
Infantry.—Is a little heavy. This is the cause of a certain
lack of smartness in the men who at the same time are not
overloaded. The pace is slow, there are no bugles, and the
troops march to the drum. On the maneuver ground a cer-
tain hesitation, a certain wavering in the ranks, was observ-
able, due to the dearth of properly trained noncommissioned
officers to look after the half sections.
336 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Artillery.—The horses for the artillery belong in part to
the Government, the remainder being provided by contractors
at a charge of 5 francs a day for the maneuvers. All the ani-
mals were in good condition and bore the necessary fatigue
very well. One point is of interest with regard to the cav-
alry horses, viz, with the exception of a few officers' chargers
all will go in harness. They are thus able on occasion to ren-
der enormous services to the artillery and to the transport.
Both the administration and the medical services were well
organized. By the former, rations for 34,000 men were fre-
quently issued in an hour and a half without noise, interrup-
tion, or mistakes. Everyone was in his place and always
knew exactly what he had to do. By the latter, the wounded
and sick were tended with an attention, gentleness, and a
cheerfulness as is seldom met with among the military sur-
geons of permanent armies. The feeding of the men was
good, no wine or alcohol was allowed, but the soldier got
8d. a day in the infantry and 1 franc in the cavalry and artil-
lery. In cantonments, even more than during the maneuvers,
the indifferent quality or the entire absence, of noncommis-
sioned officers was most noticeable. Lieutenants were fre-
quently obliged in consequence to undertake the duties of
corporals and lance corporals. On the other hand, the men
worked without method and lost time, frequently having to
do their work over again; the intervention of officers in small
matters of detail irritates the men, blunts their initiative in-
stead of developing it, and lessens the authority of the offi-
cers.-La France Militaire.
TURE EY.
THE TURRISH ARMY.
According to German statistics of the Turkish army, which
stand a good chance of being correct, says La France Mili-
taire, since German officers serve as instructors in it, the army
numbers 243,800 men and about 20,000 officers of all grades.
This effective is divided into 320 battalions, one-half infantry,
with 160,000 men; 201 squadrons of cavalry, 20,000; 262 field
batteries, 28,000; 145 companies of fortress artillery, 17,000;
49 companies of sappers and of technical troops, 6,000; 24
companies of train troops, 2,000.
Besides there are cadres for 400 battalions of rédif (reserve)
and 666 battalions of ylavé (supplementary troops).
Turkey is divided into 7 army corps districts or ordu, and
2 division districts (Hedjaz and Tripoli). Three of these ordu
have their headquarters in Turkey in Europe (Constantinople,
Adrianople, and Salonique), the others in Turkey in Asia.
The composition of the army corps is variable; for instance,
the Third Corps (Salonique) comprises 5 divisions of infantry,
1 of cavalry, and 4 brigades of artillery, while the Fifth
Corps (Damas) has but 1 division of infantry, 1 brigade of
cavalry and 2 of artillery.
Military service is rendered only by Mussulmans of from 20
to 40 years of age. The length of active service is three years
for the infantry and four years for the cavalry. In the reserve
of the active army (ihtyat) it is two or three years. After-
wards it is eight years in the rédif (or reserve) and six years in
the mustahfiz (or militia).
However, this distribution is only theoretical, and the
Turkish Government does not hesitate to call men to the
colors whenever she needs them.
In the infantry men more often serve four years than three.
On the other hand, those who are rich can purchase their ex-
emption from service at the end of three months by paying
17430—04—22 337
338 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
about 1,300 francs. Besides, the population of Constantinople,
Djeddah, Medina, and Mecca is exempt from service. The
Christian subjects of the Sultan must pay a military tax.
The cadres of the battalions of the rédif have quite a large
effective, from 13 to 17 officers and from 20 to 30 men, and
the officers of the higher units, including even those of the
division, hold their grade in peace times. These units are
ordered out when the Government deems it necessary.
The cadres of the supplementary battalions have a peace
footing of 9 officers and 12 noncommissioned officers.
Turkey also has at her command, aside from the irregular
troops of Asia and the militia of Tripoli (17 battalions and 30
squadrons), certain auxiliary troops from Albania or those
made up of the Koutzorzovalaques, from the southern slopes
of the Pinde.
In time of peace these auxiliary volunteers are partly organ-
ized. In Albania and Epirus there still exist certain beys,
sort of feudal princes, who, while they recognize the suze-
rainty of the Sultan, still govern their territory in their own
fashion and according to local customs. The population of
these territories forms a kind of battalion of militia, which is
divided according to tribes after the manner of the old Scot-
tish clans. *
The beys have submitted to the Government a regulation
which leaves every Albanian free to inscribe himself as a vol-
untary in case of war, but once registered, if he does not
present himself, he is shot.
The effective of the Turkish army on a war footing would
be about 20,000 officers, 1,073,000 men, and 1,512 guns. Of
this number there can be counted upon as in training 505,000
infantry, 25,000 cavalry, and 68,000 of other arms.-La Bel-
gique Militaire, May 3, 1903.
THE MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF TURKEY.
From a work entitled “Die Türkei im Spiegel ihrer Finan-
zen,” by Charles Morawitz, translated and added to by George
Schweitzer, we take the following interesting data concerning
the military organization of Turkey:
The receipts of the army amount to about $1,432,982
and the expenditures to about $20,921,992, of which about
$10,680,943 go for pay.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 339
The receipts are derived from the military exemption tax
of Mussulmans. This tax amounts to $233, but the exemp-
tion can not be bought until three months' service has been
performed. The first attempts to furnish Turkey with mod-
ernly organized troops date from the massacres of the Jan-
izaries in 1826. This first attempt was unfortunate enough.
A good judge of the matter, the afterwards Prussian Field
Marshal Moltke, writes as follows concerning it in one of
his very interesting letters concerning conditions and events
in Turkey: “A most unfortunate creation was that of an
army patterned after European models, with Russian jackets,
French regulations, Belgian rifles, Turkish caps, Hungarian
saddles, English swords, and instructors from all nations,
composed of feudal troops, of troops of the line to serve a
life term, and militia troops of undetermined length of
service, in which the leaders were recruits and the recruits
scarcely yet conquered enemies. This new army of Mahmud,
which had already been decimated in the Russian war
(1828–29), was completely annihilated several years later
during the uprising of Mehmed Alis.”
For the reorganization of the army, which had now become
necessary, the Porte turned to Prussia for experienced in-
structors. Friedrich Wilhelm III hastened to comply with
this wish and sent several Prussian officers, among them the
then Captain von Moltke. The innovations adopted by law of
September 6, 1843, contained, among other things, a thor-
ough reorganization of the system of recruiting, which had
previously been very irregular, as the term of service had
been undetermined up to that time. From then on Turkey
adopted the European system, fixing military liability at five
years and creating at the same time the army reserve (redif),
which was formed of those persons who had already served
five years under colors. However, the results were only
moderately successful, and the new organization, half Prus-
sian and half French, was remodeled on a purely French
model after the journey of Abdul Aziz to Paris. When,
after the wars of 1876 to 1878, Turkey could hardly count on
more than 200,000 good troops, the Sultan, after the fruitless
efforts at reorganization of Ghazi-Osman-Pasha, the “Lion
of Plevna,” turned again to Germany for good organizers.
340 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The German Emperor Wilhelm I first furnished Turkey sev-
eral officers from his army, among them being General
Kähler, and later the celebrated military writer, General von
der Goltz, the present commanding general of the First Prus-
sian Army Corps at Königsberg, who was appointed assistant
chief of the general staff of the Turkish army, a member of
the reorganization committee and inspector of the military
educational institutions. -
The reorganization committee of the army, which was
appointed in 1886, and whose most prominent members were
Baron von der Goltz-Pasha, Mouzaffer, and Veli-Riza-Pasha,
prepared a recruiting law which was enacted November 25,
1886, as well as a law on military service, which was promul-
gated May 13, 1887. According to this law, Mohammedan
subjects of 20 years of age are subject to military service.
The military service lasts twenty years, as follows: Three or
four years in the line (nizam) (three in the infantry and four
in the cavalry or artillery); two or three years in the reserve
(ichtiat) (three in the infantry and two in the cavalry or
artillery); eight years in the militia (redif), and six years in
the militia reserve (mustafiz). In order to fully utilize the
defensive force of the country, 666 depot battalions (ilaveh)
were organized. The army consists of conscripts and volun-
tary recruits. The annual contingent amounts to 100,000 men,
65,000 being for the active army and the rest for the reserve.
Promotion is not governed by fixed rules. The higher grades
especially are often filled in an entirely arbitrary manner, the
favorites of the palace being constantly promoted, and gen-
erals are found who are hardly 30 years old. In times of peace
the active army consists of 19,000 officers, 20,000 noncommis-
sioned officers, and 160,000 men of infantry and cavalry
together. Besides, the field artillery comprises 18,000 men,
the fortress artillery 17,000, the engineers 6,000, the train
2,000, and the gendarmerie 40,000. The effective war strength
amounts to 19,000 officers, 1,310,000 men, and 1,530 cannon.
According to the official army list the Turkish army has the
following officers: 36 muchirs (marshals), 88 feriks (divisional
commanders), 201 livas (brigade commanders), 332 miralai
(colonels), 414 kaimakams (lieutenant-colonels), 1,070 bim-
bachis (majors, first class), 1,151 kologhazis (majors, second
class), 4,384, juzbachis (captains), 3,267 mulazim evel (first
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 341
lieutenants), and 4,018 mulazim Sani (second lieutenants).
There are, moreover, about 3,000 noncombatants (surgeons,
subsistence officers, etc.).
The monthly service pay is as follows: Marshal, $364.80;
general of division, $273.60; brigadier-general, $182.40; col-
onel, $91.20; lieutenant-colonel, $57; major, first class, $45.60;
major, second class, $27.36; captain, $18.24; first lieutenant,
$13.68; second lieutenant, $11.40; quartermaster-Sergeant,
$2.60; noncommissioned officer, $1.50; gefreiter (lance cor-
poral), $1.05; private, $0.91.
For some years the pay of marshals and officers down to
lieutenants, inclusive, has been subject to a deduction of 10 per
cent; this deduction, which was originally ordered tempora-
rily for purposes of equipment, still continues unchanged. A
peculiar feature of the Turkish army consists in the fact that
all officers from marshal to lieutenant receive their subsistence
either in kind or by orders on the purveyors, according to
their choice. As the ration is very copious, the officers pre-
fer the orders, which they can easily sell. The ration repre-
sents about $4.40 per month. A marshal draws (besides for-
age) 15 rations, a general of division 10, a brigadier-general
8, a colonel 7, a major 4, a captain 2, and a lieutenant 1.
Except for the First and Second Divisions of the First Army
Corps, which form the bodyguard and receive their pay every
Thursday, the payments to the soldiers and subaltern officers
are very irregular; they usually receive small installments on
the occasion of the festivities following the great fasts, while
payments are only made during the rest of the year accord-
ing to whether there happens to be money in the regimental
chest or not. The army purveyors fare no better, for they
are also paid very irregularly, and it occasionally happens
that, in order to secure a settlement of their accounts, they
suspend the furnishing of provisions for a few days, during
which time the soldiers have to fast.
Special attention has been paid for some time to the train-
ing of the corps of officers. Until very recently persons who
had formerly been enlisted men, and a part of whom could
neither read nor write, formed the main contingent. Now,
however, the latter consists almost entirely of Mektebli
(trained officers who graduate from the military schools with
342 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
the commission of lieutenant), and the old system of allowing
privates to rise to the rank of officer is being gradually aban-
doned. There are two military schools, one for infantry,
cavalry, and the general staff, and the other for artillery and
engineers; besides these there are six military preparatory
schools. -
From the military school of Pankaldi there are graduated
yearly 600 pupils with the rank of lieutenant of cavalry or
infantry, and 40 captains with the general staff certificate.
The artillery and engineer school at Kumbar-Haneh furnishes
these arms of the service 50 lieutenants yearly.
For a number of years about 40 officers and military sur-
geons have been sent annually to Germany in order to com-
plete their studies there. Five officers were but recently
assigned to the German general staff for a stated period.--
Neue Militärische Blätter, September 5–19, 1903.
According to the new law every Turkish subject is called
to the colors at the age of 20 and the period of his military
obligations lasts for twenty years, of which three are passed
in the regular army, or nizam (four in the cavalry and artil-
lery), three years in the reserve, or ihtiat (two years for the
cavalry and artillery), eight years in the landwehr, or rédif,
and six years in the landwehr reserve, or mustahfiz. Six hun-
dred and sixty-six complementary or ylavé battalions have
since been formed from men not taken for the regular army.
The annual contingent is about 100,000 men, of whom 65,000
are posted to the regular army and 35,000 to the reserve. In
peace time the army consists of 19,000 officers, 20,000 non-
commissioned officers, 160,000 infantry and cavalry, 18,000
field and 17,000 fortress artillery, 6,000 engineers, 2,000 trans-
port, and 40,000 police.
In war, the army expands to 46,400 officers, 1,531,600 men,
1,530 guns, and 109,900 horses.
As regards recruiting, the Ottoman Empire is divided into
6 army corps districts, the headquarters of which are at Con-
stantinople, Adrianople, Monastir, Ersindjan, Damas, and
Bagdad. Each of these districts, almost without exception,
furnishes a nizam army corps, 2 rédif corps, and a certain
number of ylavé and mustahfiz battalions. The army corps
districts are again divided up into divisional brigade, regi-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 343
mental, and battalion subdistricts. The nomad tribes of
Asiatic Turkey furnish, in war time, irregular hamidié cav-
alry regiments, the men bringing their own horses, equip-
ment, and clothing, the Government merely providing them
with arms. There is no regular remount service, horses
being bought for the most part in Russia and Hungary.
The infantry is armed with three models of Mauser rifles
and with Martini-Henry rifles. In addition the regular infan-
try carry sword bayonets and riflemen the yatagan. The
allowance of cartridges per rifle is 100 carried by the soldier,
400 in the regimental transport, and 500 at the depot. Cav-
alry carry curved swords and American revolvers, some
regiments having in addition Martini-Henry, Winchester, and
Mauser carbines. Uhlan regiments carry bamboo lances.
The artillery have Krupp guns, the field artillery guns being
87 mm., the horse artillery 75 mm., and the howitzers 120
mm. Some batteries are still armed with bronze guns. Each
battery has 12 ammunition wagons after the German model.
The siege artillery is provided with many different sorts of
guns, for the most part of old pattern. The field and fortress
artillery gun detachments are armed with the carbine and
sword bayonet.—The United Service Magazine, Wovember,
1903.
RAPID-FIRE GUNS AND MAUSER RIFLES.
According to Revista di Artigliera e Genio, the Turkish
Government has been considering a long time furnishing her
army with rapid-fire field guns, but their financial difficulties
have always retarded the realization of this project.
These financial difficulties having been overcome, an imperial
decree orders the purchase of 16 batteries of Krupp rapid-fire
guns, with their corresponding caissons and ammunition.
This armament will be distributed among the Second and
Third Army Corps in European Turkey.
In addition, the minister of war is authorized to purchase
220,000 Mauser rifles, caliber 7.5 mm.
As is known, the Turkish army is armed with three differ-
ent kinds of rifles, the Mauser 7.5 mm. for troops of the
First, Second, and Third Corps; the Mauser 9.5 mm. for the
Fourth Corps, and the Martini-Henry for the others.
344 IBULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The distribution of the new arms will make the armament
uniform, and it is very probable that the Martini-Henrys will
be passed on to the division occupying Tripoli.-La Belgique
Militaire, February 1, 1903.
TURKISH CRUISER ABDUL MEDJIDI.
The Turkish cruiser Abdul Medjidi was launched at the
Cramps' shipyard on July 25. She is of 3,250 tons displace-
ment, and will be armed with two 6-inch, eight 4.7-inch, six
3-pounder, and six 1-pounder R. F. guns, all protected by
shields.—Proceedings of the U. S. Waval Institute, September,
1903.
GENERAL.
BUD GETS AND ARMIES.
La France Militaire gives some interesting details of the
budgets and armies of the Powers making up the Triple and
Dual-Alliances of which it may be well to give a précis.
From 1892 to 1903 the Italian military budget has varied
from a maximum of 248 to a minimum of 224 million francs;
the present budget being for 239 millions. The average,
therefore, of the budget amounts to 236% million francs, of
which 16 millions are assigned to extraordinary expenditure.
The average strength of the army has varied from 232,162 to
207,088 men, the present effective being 217,753 men. The
average strength of the army, then, for the last ten years has
been 221,388 men, 13,656 being officers and 207,732 rank and
file. Every 1,000 men of the Italian army consist of 62
officers and 928 rank and file. The average cost per man,
including officers, is 996 francs 50 centimes (rather under
£40). The average horse effective during the same period is
45,695 or 21 horses to every 100 men. The artillery consists
of 873 guns made up into 185 field batteries of 4 guns each,
16 mountain and 6-horse artillery batteries of 6 guns each.
This makes 4 guns to every 1,000 men.
The war budget in Austria-Hungary has varied between
353 and 478 million francs, the present budget amounting to
433% millions. The budget average for the last ten years,
then, is 407% million francs, of which 54 millions are devoted
to extraordinary expenditure. The average strength of the
Austro-Hungarian army is 350,657 men, of whom 21,710 are
officers and 329,947 rank and file. The proportion of officers
per 1,000 men is the same as in Italy, viz., 62 officers and 938
rank and file. Each man, including officers, costs on an aver-
age 1,008 francs 10 centimes (rather over £40). The average
horse effective is 58,864, or 17 horses to every 100 men. The
artillery consists of a total of 1,048 guns, or 3 per 1,000 men.
In Germany, during the same period of ten years, the war
budget has varied between 677 and 8274 million francs. On
the average it amounts to 736 million francs, 150 millions of
345
346 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
which are for extraordinary expenditure. From 492,246 men
provided for in 1891, in 1903 the effective has reached 604,168
men, 26,335 of whom are officers and 577,187 rank and file.
The average strength is therefore 562,187 men. In every
1,000 men there are 43 officers and 957 rank and file. Each
man, including officers, costs on an average 1,042 francs 80
centimes (rather under £42). The average horse effective
amounts to 96,298, or 16 horses to 100 men. The German
army has 3,444 guns, or 6 guns per 1,000 men.
The Russian military budget has varied between 599 and
874% million francs during the last ten years. The strength
of the army in 1892 was 803,500 men; to-day it is 1,018,000
men. In every 1,000 men there are 38 officers and 962 rank
and file. The annual cost per man is 813 francs 13 centimes
(rather over £32). The average horse effective is 163,500, or
19 horses per 100 men. The Russian artillery consists of 398
batteries of 8 guns, altogether 3,184 guns, or 3 guns per 1,000
men. It should be noted that the personnel of the medical and
pay departments in Russia have no military rank. If, there-
fore, the 5,925 officials belonging to these services were in-
cluded as officers, there would be altogether a corps of 39,750
officers. In this case there would be per 1,000 men 44 offi-
cers and 956 rank and file.
The French war budget has varied between 622% and 693%
million francs during the last ten years; the average is, there-
fore, 645 million francs, 42 million of which go to extraordi-
nary expenditure. The effective, too, has varied between
556,037 and 615,828 men, including officers. To every 1,000
men there are 52 officers and 948 rank and file. The average
annual cost per man is 1,038 francs 70 centimes (about £41
10s). The average horse effective is 141,593, or 24 horses per
100 men. The artillery consists of 3,048 guns, or 5 guns per
1,000 men.—The United Service Magazine, September, 1903.
SOME REMARKS ON MOUNTAIN ARTILLERY EQUIPMENTS
AND ESTABLISHMENTS.
(Extracts from lecture delivered at Royal Artillery Institution, by Lieu-
tenant-Colonel Simpson, C. M. G., R. G. A.)
A false impression may have been formed as to the useful
employment of this branch of artillery in future warfare, due
largely to the batteries having taken the field in South Africa
with a muzzle-loading gun firing smoke powder, and throw-
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 347
ing a shell of only 7% pounds weight, as also to some doubt
having arisen as to the steadiness of battery mules under cer-
tain trying conditions of war.
The weak points of the gun have been fully recognized
for some years before the war, and had it been possible to
rearm No. 4 battery (as it now is) with the 2.95-inch quick-
firing mountain gun, my application for the same would no
doubt have been favorably entertained by the authorities.
But there were only four of these guns with limited ammu-
nition available, and the 10-pounder B. L. gun was only in its
trial stages.
Our smoke powder certainly attracted heavy fire on us at
times and on the troops in our immediate neighborhood.
Complaints have been made as to the limited range of the
2.5-inch gun and its inability to breach strongly built towers.
Now, the latter was never considered part of its rôle, and
the former I can not concur in, as on several occasions, such
as in the demonstrations under General Barton from Chievely
during the period of General Buller's western operations on
the Tugela, and again subsequently at Vaal Krantz, most
effective results were obtained against Boer laagers and per-
sonnel with ring shell at ranges over 4,000 yards.
In mountain warfare, in my opinion, no greater ranges are
necessary or indeed possible with any mountain gun. At
ranges between 2,300 and 4,100 yards No. 4 Mountain Bat-
tery fired during the war about 2,500 rounds.
As regards the steadiness of mules in action, I do not think
even now it is fully understood that the stampeding of the
mules at the battery at Nicholson’s Nek was entirely due to
the charge of untrained ammunition mules of the leading
infantry battalion in that disastrous night march. They scat-
tered everything by the mere force of their impact, both
infantry and guns.
The presence of mountain artillery in South Africa at all
may be accounted for by the fact that had the Basutos risen
no other artillery than mountain could have been employed
in their country, nor could other than mountain guns have
accompanied me with the small column which I took through
a part of the southern Drakensberg, shortly after the capture
of Van Reenan’s Pass in August, 1900. * * *
Before Vaal Krantz the army was kept waiting several
days while the engineers constructed a “slide” up which the
348 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
naval and field guns were to be dragged by winches to the
summit of Zwart Kop, and I shall not forget the surprise of
lookers-on who had never previously seen a mountain bat-
tery when, disregarding this “slide,” the battery walked
up the steep bowlder-strewn slopes of the mountain without
difficulty. * * *
Now as regards the equipment of our mountain artillery in
the immediate future. Two new pattern mountain guns have
recently been introduced into the service. For operations in
a purely mountainous country, the 10-pounder B. L. jointed
gun of 418 pounds will constitute the general service gun, and
So form the armament of our British and native batteries in
India. No. 6 Battery has proceeded to Aden equipped with
this gun, to be ready for eventualities in that Hinterland.
For special service, where short ranges, horizontal targets, and
the negotiation of stockades, etc., are the primary considera-
tion, in a jungle or desert country, and where a gun possessing
more the qualities of a howitzer is necessarily required, the
2.95-inch B. L. gun of 234 pounds, firing a 12.5-pound shrapnel
and an 18-pound double common shell, has been introduced
into the Egyptian batteries, the mountain artillery of the
West and Central African forces, and our native artillery in
Hongkong. It has taken part in all the recent operations in
West Africa, including the occupation the other day of Kano.
The 10-pounder is remarkable for its length, which is 6 feet
4% inches, or about 6 inches longer than the old mountain
artillery gun, and the number of bullets in its shrapnel is 63
more than in that of the old 2.5-inch gun. Its breech-closing
mechanism is detachable, and carried on rear of wheel saddle.
Great care has to be taken that the retaining ring is not put
in upside down or the gun will be put out of action. The two
portions of the gun can be united without noise by a wrench
instead of a hammer. The charge is 6 ounces 14 drams of
cordite.
One of the revelations of the late war has been, as we all
know, the pom-pom, that weapon which may be said to com-
bine the maximum of moral with the minimum of material
effect. Shortly after the relief of Ladysmith I was ordered
to exchange the guns of one section of No. 4 Battery for 4
pom-poms, with a view to its conversion into two sections of
the same under special pom-pom officers. They did good work
BUILLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 349
until they were broken up at the end of the war. It struck
me at the time how useful a section of jointed pom-poms in
pack transport attached to a brigade division of mountain
artillery might be in Indian frontier warfare, and I made cer-
tain representations to the authorities, which I am glad to see
have borne fruit, orders having been given by the Indian
government for the construction by Messrs. Vickers, Son &
Maxim of a section of jointed pom-poms for experimental trial
in India. They are now in that country undergoing these
trials, and as a description of the equipment may possess some
interest, I herewith give a few details in connection with it,
as also with the weights of the loads, the primary consid-
eration in pack equipments. These guns will probably be
handed over to the infantry and treated rather as a “glorified
Maxim” than a piece of artillery; I hope otherwise.
DESCRIPTION OF 37 MM. AUTOMATIC GUN (MOUNTAIN EQUIP-
MENT).
The gun is of the field type slightly modified to enable the
barrel and water jacket to be detached from the breech casing.
The carriage is constructed so as to be readily taken to
pieces, and consists of crosshead, elevating bracket, elevating
gear, trail, axle, and wheels. The crosshead which carries
the gun is attached to an elevating bracket by means of hold-
ing-down lugs, and can easily be detached from the mounting
by turning the same 90°. The elevating bracket is supported
in the front lugs of the trail in such a manner that it is re-
moved from the axle at the same time as the trail. The rear
part of the elevating bracket forms a segment, which serves
as a support for the traversing clamp fixed between the lugs
of the breech casing. By means of this clamp the gun can
be locked in any position between the traversing limits.
The trail is telescopic, and consists of two outer and two
inner parallel steel tubes held together by transoms. The
inner tubes are drawn out to their full length when the gun
is in firing position. At the front end of the outer tubes are
two fork-shaped brackets, by means of which the trail is
secured to the axle and supports afforded for the elevating
bracket. The axle and wheels are of usual construction.
The gun is fed from an ammunition tray carried on right side
of crosshead. The pack saddlery is similar to that for the
2.95-inch gun, with the cradles adapted for the loads. The
350 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
same number of mules as in our other mountain equipments
are required to carry gun, carriage, and stores.
DISTRIBUTION OF LOADS.
FIRST LOAD–BARREL AND WATER JACKET.
The shield in two parts is carried as side loads.
Weights. Where carried.
Pounds.
Barrel and water jacket -------------------------------------- 176.00 || Top.
Cover for barrel and water jacket ---------------------------- 2.00 Do.
One lifting rod-----------------------------------------------. 5, 50 || Offside.
Do -------------------------------------------------------- 5.50 | Near side.
One-half shield ----------------------------------------------- 25.00 || Offside.
0 -------------------------------------------------------- 25.00 || Near side.
Saddle complete with harness, girths, and numnah.......... 55.00
Total---------------------------------------------------- 295.00
--- -
- - .
SECOND LOAD–BREECH CASING.
The sight is carried on the near side in a leather case.
Weights. Where carried.
Pounds.
Breech casing------------------------------------------------- 204.00 || Top.
Ver.--------------------------------------------------------- - 3.00 || On casing.
One lifting rod----------------------------------- --- 5.50 Offside.
Do ------------------------------------------- 5.50 | Near side.
One sight in case ------------------------------------ ---- 5.50 Do.
Saddle complete with harness, girths, and numnah.......... 56.00
Total---------------------------------------------------- 278.50
THIRD LOAD–AXLE.
The axle is carried on the top, on the offside, slightly cross
ways, to clear the neck of the animal, and on the top near



BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 351
side is carried a water tank. Between these two articles is
carried the shoulder piece.
Weights. Where carried.
Pounds.
Axle ---------------------------------------------------------- 50.00 Top off.
Shoulder piece------------------------------------------------ 15.00 Top.
Water tank (full) -------------------------------------------- 21-00 || Top near.
Feedblock---------------------------------------------------- 32.00 | Near side.
Case for feed block ------------------------------------------- 11-50 Do.
Mechanism ----------------------------------- ---------------- 24.00 || Offside.
Case for mechanism ------------------------------------------ 9-50 Do.
-50
-50
FOURTH LOAD–WIHEELS.
The wheels are carried as side loads on pivots fixed to the
side bars of the saddle-tree. These pivots represent the axle
arms, and form a perfect support for the wheels. They are
held in position by the drag washers and linch pins, and by
short straps attached to the girth rings.
The crosshead of the carriage is carried as a top load and
is secured by a strap.
Weights. Where carried.
- Pounds.
Two wheels--------------------------------------------------. 154.00 * 1 near
slue.
Drag washers and linch pins --------------------------------. 2.50 On pivots.
rosshead---------------------------- ------------------------- 32.00 || Top.
Saddle complete with harness, girths, and numnah.......... 59.00

352 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
FIFTH LOAD-TRAIL.
Weights. Where carried.
Pounds.
Trail and elevating gear-------------------------------------. 148.00 || Top.
One dismantling tool------------------------------------..... 8,50 || Offside.
One crossbar-------------------------------------------------. 3-00 | Near side.
One tool box with spare tools and stores................ ------ 29-00 || Offside.
One mechanism in case--------------------------------------- 33.50 | Near side.
Saddle complete with harness, girths, and numnah.......... 55.00
Total---------------------------------------------------. 278.00
SIXTH LOAD–AMMUNITION.
The ammunition is carried in two leather boxes as side loads.
Each box has two compartments, each holding a belt of 30
rounds.
The boxes are supported from the hooks on the saddle-tree,
and lashed to the “D’s” on the pannels.
The ammunition tray is carried as a top load.
Weights. Where carried.
Pounds.
Two ammunition boxes---------------------------------...... 40.00 Sides.
120 rounds of ammunition.------------------------------..... 184.75 Do.
One ammunition tray---------------------------------------. 14.50 || Top.
Saddle, complete with harness, girths, and numnah......... 55.00
Total---------------------------------------------------- 2.94.25
The gun can be brought into action in two and one-fourth
minutes, and if it proves satisfactory, it will no doubt be
adopted in India as supplementary to the mountain batteries.

BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 353
Now with reference to our future permanent establishments
of mountain artillery. As we have to employ a large propor-
tion of mountain guns in countries possessing a climate
unsuitable to the health of the British soldier, it is fortunate
that the service of this arm peculiarly lends itself to the
intelligence and zeal of the native soldier, thus enabling us to
reduce to a minimum the number of our British batteries.
In India, supplemented as they are by 12 regular native
and imperial service batteries, 8 British batteries are at pres-
ent found a sufficient proportion of mountain artillery to
maintain for frontier service.—Proceedings of the Royal
Artillery ſmººtution, July, August, and September, 1903.
-
-
HIGH EXPLOSIVE SHELL FOR FIELD GUNS.
An interesting question has arisen in the domain of the
gunner. A German artillerist of repute has had the courage
to question the right of the shrapnel shell to occupy the posi-
tion of supremacy it has attained in the mobile artillery of
the day. The subject is brought to notice by Maj. H. A.
Bethell, R. F. A., in a translation of the supplement to a book
by Lieutenant-General von Riechenau, of the German army,
entitled The Effect of Armour Shields upon the Develop-
ment of Field Artillery Matériel and Tactics.
General von Reichenau's deductions being based on the
results of a series of experiments carried out under his own
direction, are entitled to careful consideration. General von
17430–04–23

354 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
Reichenau is the advocate of a small-bore, high-velocity shell
gun to supplant the present type of field gun. The gun
experimented with by him was made by Ehrhardt, of Dussel-
dorf. It was tried lately by the Swiss Government, but its
performance then fell short of that produced under General
von Reichenau's supervision. The results he recorded were
undoubtedly remarkable, and were attributed to the high
velocity, flat trajectory, and great accuracy of the piece, a gun
of 2-inch caliber, as well as to the excellence of the ammunition.
For example, in one of the series of shots out of 20 dummy
kneeling figures in a trench, 16 were considered to have been
killed in 23 rounds at 1,200 yards. From his successful ex-
periments Von Reichenau concludes that a powerful field gun
of much smaller caliber than the present 3-inch gun can be
produced; and that the high explosive percussion shell is a
formidable projectile, capable of doing all that time shrapnel
can do, and much easier to use. Further, that against guns
protected by shields such a shell is the only projectile which
is of any use.
The French now have shields on both guns and wagons,
and he asserts no other artillery could face their artillery on
anything like equal terms. By a chain of reasoning he de-
duces that shields have become a necessity for field artillery;
that to admit of the additional weight of shields, the weight
of the gun must be reduced; that shrapnel is useless against
shields; and that for their destruction high-explosive shells
must be carried to attack the enemy’s artillery. That being
so, he would entirely supersede shrapnel by high-explosive
shell.—The Army and Mavy Gazette, October 3, 1903.
RECOIL MINIMIZER FOR FIREARMS.
United States patent was issued on November 3, 1903, for a
device called “Recoil minimizer,” which consists of a saucer-
shaped shield attached to and placed in front of the muzzle of
the rifle, the object being to catch the gases at the instant the
projectile leaves the muzzle, and thereby overcome, more or
less, the ordinary recoil.
The inventor claims to be able to reduce the amount of
recoil by about 83 per cent, while at the same time increasing
the initial velocity.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 355
The inventor also claims that the device may be applied to
heavy ordnance as well as to small arms. The following illus-
tration shows the device as attached to the muzzle of the rifle.
A device similar to this was tried by the ordnance some
three years ago with a 3.2-inch field gun at Sandy Hook.
While the device was found to materially reduce the recoil,
the rearward blast of the gun, caused by the deflection of the
gases to the rear by the device, was such as to cause it to be
reported upon adversely. -
J
y, 2% =

THE KOKOTOVIC UNIVERSAL SIGHT.
. In No. 52 of Danzer’s Armeezeitung, of December 25, 1902,
there appears a notice of a lecture which Capt. Rudolf von
Kreybig, of the Hungarian Landwehr Regiment No. 1, deliv-
ered before the Vienna military club, concerning a military
technical novelty—a specially-constructed front sight invented
by Capt. Domobran Kokotovic, of the Hungarian landwehr
hussars. In No. 1 of the same publication, January 1, 1903,
Kreybig replies to some of the objections which are made in the
first-mentioned article, and he has recently published a pam-
phlet in which the new sight and its advantages are discussed
in detail." As there has been much controversy in Switzerland
concerning the advantages and disadvantages of various forms
of front sights, we will publish a few data concerning the new
invention and its significance.
a “The Kokotovic universal sight and its influence on firing,” by Rudolf
von Kreybig, captain in the First Hungarian landwehr infantry regiment.
Budapest, Buchdruckerei Aktiengesellschaft Pallas, 1903. 12°. 52 pp.
356 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The firearms of to-day are similar in almost all European
armies; they are excellent, are easily manipulated, and possess
considerable precision. It is therefore in firing instruction
that superiority over the enemy must be obtained. Firing
instruction is based in European armies on aimed fire, i. e.,
the requirement that each shot be fired with the well-defined
purpose of hitting where the marksman intends. The purpose
of all firing instruction must therefore consist in an endeavor
to train every man in aimed fire, i. e., to inculcate upon him
the habit of taking a medium sight (between a full sight and
a fine sight), so that it becomes a second nature to him. Every
| means must therefore
* - - - - -\! - - - - A C- . be welcomed which
2 mm. #= Sight facilitates the learn-
Rounding off : . . ... : Plate ing and practice of
2 this method of aim-
ing. The new front
A= 3 sight furnishes such a
means; “it will, by
| º | appealing to the ordi-
4. nary intelligence of
| Vy | the soldier, obviate the
defects of our pres-
5 ent pointed, wedge-
H- shaped front sight.”
\Z The new sight has
an edge instead of a
5 point. The base is
-sy- protected against in-
juries by a plate upon
which rises the real front sight (bead) 2 mm. high. The plate
is rounded off on its under side (turned toward the person
aiming), in order to render reflexion impossible, so that, look-
ing from the rear, the sight appears as in fig. 1 instead of as
in fig. 2 as with the old form of front sight. The picture
will, therefore, now appear in the notch, as in fig. 3, instead
of as in fig. 4, and errors in aim are very easily recognized
by the marksman, especially the coarse aim, and the shifting
of the front sight to one side of the notch of the rear sight.
(See figs. 5 and 6.)
This new invention seems to offer an inestimable remedy
against taking too full or coarse a bead, which is the cause of
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 357
the well-known overshot. “The statement of the lecturer
must therefore be admitted,” remarks the reporter in No. 52
of Danzer’s Armeezeitung, “to the effect that with the new
front sight errors of aim, owing to defective schooling or
want of practice, immediately disappear. It must also be
admitted that a quicker, more correct, and more definite aim
is facilitated with this sight than with the pointed sight,
because much less requirements are placed on the judgment
and eye of the marksman and because the marksman does not
have to go to so much careful painstaking with the new sight
in order to get the tip of the front sight exactly in the middle
of the notch of the rear sight and on a level with the upper
edge of the latter, but has merely to get the upper edge of
the front sight even with the upper horizontal line of the rear
sight.”
The new sight, therefore, possesses real advantages, and
the reporter acknowledged especially “the high educational
value of the universal sight.” Krey big furthermore claims
that everywhere where the new device was used better scores
were made, and he cites examples; that the rapidity of fire is
increased, stating that “the skirmisher to-day requires, by
experience, in order to fire an actually aimed, well pondered
shot at long ranges (700–1,000 paces), or against small, not
easily visible targets, from one-half to one minute, and at
short ranges or against large, easily visible targets, as high
as one-half minute; and that with better scores the self-con-
Sciousness of the marksman and his confidence in his weapon
are enhanced, which contributes very greatly to the morale of
the troops. It may therefore be assumed “that fire with the
universal sight will produce more favorable results in battle
than fire when the wedge sight is used.” The firing instruc-
tion of the soldier is facilitated, a logical consequence of which
is that the conduct of the fire is also facilitated, for when the
man learns something and easily adheres to it, the employ-
ment of this thing learned will, of course, also be rendered
more easy for the leader.
Thus far one can surely agree with the lecturer. Captain
von Kreybig now, however, makes further assertions, based,
to be sure, on the Austrian firing instructions of 1900—with
which we must by all means take issue, not because they are
erroneous, but because they do not hold good in the field.
358 BULLETIN. OF MILITARY NOTES.
He claims to be able to effect an exact shift of the point of
impact in a vertical direction, owing to the dimensions of his
sight. This does very well for a weapon for target practice;
for a field weapon, however—and the new sight is certainly
designed only for such, as will soon be shown—an exact shift-
ing of the point of impact can not be thought of. This is one
of the subtleties of the target range which have no value on
the battlefield and lead too easily to false inferences.
Our firing regulations (the provisional firing instructions for
noncommissioned officers) rightly observe in paragraph 29:
In the field there are distinguished three positions as regards
height, viz, “bull's-eye”=the middle of the target; “height”=
the upper edge of the target, and “low”–the lower edge of
the target (“hold below” (vorhalten) means lower than the
foot of the target, and is used only in target practice). Inas-
much, however, as the Austrian firing instructions say that
by raising the front sight an amount equal to the depth of
the notch of the rear sight, the group, of hits will be raised
about 15 cm. for every hundred paces of the distance of the
target, and since it would be exceedingly difficult even for the
most expert marksman to raise the wedge-shaped front sight,
which is 4 to 7 mm. high, to this extent (1.4 mm.) with any
degree of accuracy without any criterion whatever, the uni-
versal sight offers a special advantage, because (with it) the
muzzle has only to be raised until the upper edge of the plate
comes into a horizontal line with the (upper) edges of the
rear sight in order to raise the group of hits 20 cm. for every
hundred paces, which the fire leader can have executed at
will by merely giving the command, “Coarse sight!”
So much for the statements of Kreybig. Without enter-
ing any further into details, it seems clear that this “advan-
tage” of the new sight is more or less illusory. Aiming is a
purely individual act, which depends very essentially upon
the construction of the eye of the marksman, so that every
one must determine for himself how he can hit best, and the
command “Coarse sight!” will accordingly have little influ-
ence on the results, especially as such fine corrections are not
to be thought of in the field. Let us be satisfied to have a
marksman fire, generally speaking, with medium sight, which
a Literally, hold so that the target will appear to sit up on the front
sight.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 359
method of aiming we must inculcate in him exclusively, for
all else is illusion. We shall conquer no enemy with foolish
target-range methods; in fact, such overdrawn niceties lead
to serious disappointments by producing results on the target
range which by no means correspond to the results in battle.
What position shall we take toward the new invention from
the standpoint of our Swiss small arm'. In order to answer
this question we must again keep clearly in view that the Ko-
kotovic front sight is designed for a purely field weapon.
But is our rifle such a one? No, it is not, even though it would
like to be at all costs, though greatly to its detriment the
short-necked stock has been straightened, the butt end flat-
tened, and the drop arranged for taking rapid aim (and, com-
pared with our former Wetterli, it has become for this very
reason less handy); though the former trough-shaped, semi-
circular notch of the rear sight has had to give place to the
triangular one, and the sharp wedge-shaped front sight to one
which is flat on top (occupying, in this respect, the middle
ground between the old front sight and that of Kokotovic),
nevertheless it is a combination arm, being a half field and
half sporting rifle, for it is expected to serve in the perfection
of the marksman’s training outside of the service and to hold
its own in competition with the carbine and even be able to
supplant the latter. This explains the point of aim which is
determined upon when the weapon is tested.
The regulations recommend that this point be, in general,
the bull's-eye, and the new front sight can not be used for this
kind of aim, as will be shown further below. Let us examine
a little whether this point of aim is really suitable in the field.
All neighboring nations have adopted as a principle “low fire”
(aiming at bottom of target); even Dragomiroff, who does not
attach much value to aiming, requires that his Russians shall
“fire at the feet in volleys at 400 paces and nearer for fear of
firing over. At all ranges aim should be taken below the
bull's-eye, a low shot being better than an overshot.”
In an address concerning fire leading, which I once deliv-
ered before the Burgdorf Officers' Society, I questioned the
possibility of practically carrying out our bull’s-eye aiming
and found that my audience agreed with me. A man instinct-
ively holds low, I went on to explain, because only in this
manner does he constantly see the target and can therefore
360 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
aim at it better. In the great majority of cases it will, at all
events, be very small and low, and the feet will hardly be
visible to the marksman; in fact, the heads will generally be
the only things that can be distinguished; and then, to think
that a man should have to hold at the bull's-eye (center of the
target)! I should like to see the marksman who can do this,
who can aim at the middle of the head at field distances! No;
he will seek to hold the head on the sight and aim below.
The reason, however, that our regulations prescribe aiming
at the bull's-eye, although it is plain that the provisions can
not be carried out in practice, is that our recruits are taught
in the firing schools to aim at the center of the target. But
such firing is by no means field firing. It would therefore
be decidedly better, as a special preventive against the fatal
overshot, for us to adopt the same point of aim as Our
neighbors." *
Exact aiming for ring targets with our rifle is natural,
because the latter is not preeminently a military rifle and is
tested for bull’s-eye aiming, i. e., for fire at the center of the
target, and in order to aim at this point too broad a front
sight can not be employed, and must therefore be consid-
erably narrower than the Kokotovic; the latter could not,
therefore, be adopted for our army. The reporter of the
Kreybig lecture indeed rightly observes, , from this stand-
point: “As far as theoretical speculation can show, the great-
est disadvantage of the new sight lies in the fact that, owing
to its broadness, small and very distant targets are sooner
concealed than with the pointed sight.” In “low aiming”
this disadvantage naturally disappears.
In conclusion, it may accordingly be said that, in spite of
the obvious advantages of the regulation sight, the adoption
of this new sight by us could not be thought of, even were
(t “Let us,” says Reisner von Liechtenstern, “some time during indi-
vidual field firing on the terrain, cause a target representing a column to
be fired at at from 500 to 700 m., in order to be convinced that, with a nor-
mally firing rifle, anyone will overshoot who does not hold under the
target with the sight adjusted to the range; he will, at long ranges and at
pressing moments, take a somewhat full sight, and moreover the ground
generally conceals the foot of the target. The intermediate ranges are
thus the real domain of detachment firing.” This is the judgment of an
expert observer. According to this, nothing would stand in the way of
my proposition.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 361
we to decide to adopt the rule of “aiming low” in field prac-
tice, as this method of aiming is impossible with ring targets,
and our rifle must serve not only as a field weapon, but also
as an accurate sporting rifle in competition with the carbine.
This double character of our rifle will therefore have to be
taken into consideration in all modifications which tend to
restrict the taking of the aim. Our present front sight may
therefore be considered as having reached the limits of admis-
sibility and possibility, and any broadening of the point must
be condemned as unsuited to the purpose.—Allgemeine
Schweizerische Militärzeitung, March 28, 1903.
PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS WITHOUT LIGHT.
“Katatypes” is the name given by the inventors, Ostwald
and Gros, of Leipzig, to prints made from photographic
negatives without the aid of light. The process is based on
the properties of peroxide of hydrogen and on the formerly
mysterious chemical phenomenon which is known as kataly-
sis. By katalysis is meant the production of a chemical re-
action by means of a substance which itself undergoes no
chemical change. The first known instance is the conversion
of starch into sugar by treatment with acids, the latter being
found unchanged and undiminished in quantity in the final
mixture.
Another case is the explosion of mixed hydrogen and oxy-
gen in the presence of finely divided platinum.
Recent experiments on the speed of chemical reactions have
thrown a little light into the darkness of this mysterious katal-
ysis and it is now believed that all such reactions would take
place of themselves but with almost infinite slowness and that
the function of the katalyzer is to make the reaction rapid
enough to be perceptible to our senses. Possibly it over-
comes some unknown resistance to the reaction, thus acting
as a sort of chemical unguent. Now, most of the chemical
changes which are apparently wrought by light are of this
sort. They take place, though slowly, in the dark. Every
photographer knows this from experience. His bichromated
paper becomes useless in a few days, his plates in a few
months or years.
The function of light in photography, then, is simply that of
an accelerator, a katalyzer, and it may be replaced by other
362 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
katalyzers. Now there are few better katalyzers than the
layer of finely divided silver which forms a photographic nega-
tive picture, and there are few substances more susceptible
of katalyctic action than peroxide of hydrogen, which, despite
its excess of oxygen and its resultant tendency to split up into
oxygen and water, is entirely permanent under normal condi-
tions. This is the theory of the katatype. Its practice is as
follows:
The negative is flowed with an ethereal solution of peroxide
of hydrogen. The peroxide is instantly decomposed more or
less completely wherever it comes in contact with the silver
film, and the evaporation of the resulting water leaves on the
plate an invisible picture in unaltered peroxide which is densest
where the negative is least dense, and is therefore a positive.
As peroxide of hydrogen is both an oxidizer and a deoxidizer
and lends itself to many chemical reactions, the subsequent
processes are of great variety. The simplest consists in trans-
ferring the picture by slight pressure to gelatin-coated paper
which is flowed with ferrous sulphate, washed and treated
with gallic acid, the result being a dark violet and very per-
manent picture; in fact, a picture in writing ink. Other tones
may be produced by using various solutions in place of gallic
acid. In another process the ferrous sulphate is replaced by a
solution of manganese, the result being a picture in peroxide
of manganese which may be toned in various ways. Or the
invisible picture may be transferred from the negative to gum
or gelatin pigment papers, not sensitized with bichromate, and
developed in ferrous solutions.
The production of ferric salts in proportion to the density
of peroxide makes the shadows insoluble and the lights are
washed away with warm water in the usual way.
A similar process is employed for the production of gelatine
plates for printing in lithographic ink.
The advantages claimed for the katatype are that it makes
the photographer independent of the uncertainty of natural,
and the inconvenience and expense of artificial, light, and that
it dispenses with all sensitized and, therefore, perishable
papers.
The result is the same, whether the plate is flowed in bright
sunlight or in absolute darkness.-Scientific American, Mo-
vember 28, 1903.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 363
THE ZEBRULA vs. THE MUL.E.
German papers say the mule will probably be replaced in
the twentieth century by a more efficient animal, as it has
been demonstrated that the mule, the cross between horse and
donkey, is inferior to the cross between horse and zebra.
Formerly the opinion prevailed that the zebra was almost
extinct. The opening up of Africa, particularly the eastern
part, reveals these fine animals in large numbers.
Compared with horses and cattle they possess peculiar
advantages, as they are immune against the very dangerous
horse disease of Africa and also against the deadly “tsetse”
fly. The question was therefore raised whether the zebra
could not take the place of the mule commonly used in the
Tropics. The greatest credit with reference to the solution
of this problem is due to Prof. Cossar Ewart, who has been
trying since 1895 to produce crosses between horses and
zebras, with a view to developing an animal superior in every
respect to the mule.
Three species of zebras still exist in Africa, the so-called
“Grevy” zebra, on the high plateaus of Schoa; the common
or mountain zebra, formerly found every where in South
Africa; and the “Burchell” zebra, still frequently found.
Professor Ewart produced crosses from mares of different
breeds and zebra stallions of the Burchell kind. The offspring
is called zebrula, and on account of its form and general bodily
condition—especially the hardness of the hoofs—is especially
adapted for all transport work heretofore performed by
mules. The zebrula is much livelier than the mule and at
least as intelligent.
The Indian government has already experimented with
zebrulas for transporting mountain artillery at Quetta.
In Germany much interest in this animal is manifested.
The well-known Hagenbeck is experimenting in this direction
and intends to introduce the zebrula into Germany and America.
The zoological garden at Berlin possesses some very fine speci-
mens. The zebra stripes are often well preserved, while the
undertone of the skin is generally that of the mother. A full-
grown zebrula is 14 hands high and the girdle circumference
about 160 cm. (63 inches).
364 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The experiments so far have been so successful that it is
predicted that the zebrula during the present century will
completely supersede the mule.—Consular Reports, October,
1903.
RECENT OBSERVATIONS ON SUNSTROKE AND HEAT
PROSTRATION.
Concerning sunstroke and heat prostration and means of
affording protection against heat radiation, Doctor Schmidt
and Assistant Naval Surgeon Doctor Stephan have attained
some noteworthy results in experiments conducted in the
institution for naval and tropical diseases at Hamburg. From
a description of these results published by Doctor Stephan in
the Marine-Rundschau we take the following extracts:
It is frequently impossible to distinguish between heat
prostration and sunstroke, especially in the Tropics. As is
known, by the term heat prostration is understood a gradual
overheating of the body, caused by the accumulation of
warmth; by sunstroke is meant, on the other hand, a sudden
irritation of the brain by the direct action of the sun's rays,
without any rise in the temperature of the body. Concern-
ing the nature of this action, however, or the exact process by
which it took place, nothing accurate has been known hereto-
fore. In order to learn something about it, the skull of a
fresh corpse was taken and the crown, consisting of dura mater,
bone, muscles, skin, and hair was sawed off. The hair was
one-fifth inch long, while the total thickness of all the layers
was one-half inch. This crown was so placed between the
source of light—always a 65-candlepower Nernst lamp—and
the thermopile that the hair side was constantly exposed to the
light. The surprising fact was shown that heat had penetrated
the skull after five seconds. It was moreover possible, with
a still weaker lamp as the source of light, to obtain well-
defined photographic views through the entire crown. The
heat of the incomparably hotter tropical sun must therefore
penetrate the skull like lightning and act on the brain. Thus
we can understand why sunstroke may take place even under
thin sails.
The skin, hair, fat, muscle, bone, brain, and blood were
now tested singly, the investigators allowing the light to pass
through layers of equal thickness. It was shown that a given
BULLETLN OF MILITARY NOTES. 365
thickness of white skin let twice as many heat rays through
as black. It is therefore a wise provision that tropical inhabit-
ants are dark skinned. The hair lets little heat through and
therefore affords effectual protection against the sun’s rays.
With a medium growth of hair the color of the hair makes no
difference. The thick, wooly hair of the negro and the coarse,
straight hair of the Mongolian are therefore suitable for hot
countries. Bald persons or those with thin hair must be
specially careful in protecting themselves against the tropical
sun. Muscle lets heat through as follows: One and one-half
times as much as fat, over twice as much as bone, and over
six times as much as blood and brain.
Now the prolongation of the spinal marrow contains the
so-called vital node, i. e., the centers of respiration and of
heart distribution. Injuries of the vital node result in imme-
diate death, while irritation thereof at least causes grave dis-
turbances of respiration or of the heart action. This vital
part of the spinal marrow is situated at the point where the
spinal column is joined to the skull, and is protected externally
by the thin cervical vertebra, a (sometimes) considerable cush-
ion of muscle and fat, the thin skin of the nape, and (in sol-
diers) by short hair. If we consider the great penetrability
by heat of the main mass of the nape, which consists of mus-
cle and fat, it will be seen how important is the protection
of the nape in the Tropics. Of course, it should not hinder
the free passage of the air. The brain itself lets little heat
through, and therefore does not allow it to penetrate very
deeply. It might at first be thought that this were advan-
tageous, because tending to prevent a rapid heating of the
brain. In reality, however, it is just the reverse. According
to physical laws heat is stored in the place where it crosses
over from a body penetrable by heat to one less so. This
takes place in the head, for all layers of the skull and the
water contained between the meninges are much more easily
penetrated by heat than the brain. Unfortunately this storing
up of heat takes place right in the gray covering of the brain,
which is considered nowadays as the seat of intellectual
activity. This renders it comprehensible why we often
see all the grave symptoms of sunstroke appear after a few
minutes in the Tropics, before there has been time for any
warning signs or anatomic changes. gº
366 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
The blood was given a specially thorough examination.
Blood in circulation lets less heat through than stagnant
blood, but the difference is slight. Absolutely considered,
blood lets little heat through. As it copiously saturates
most of the living tissues, it constitutes an excellent protec-
tion against heat. This applies, however, only to healthy
blood with the proper amount of red corpuscles. Blood
with little coloring lets much more heat through. The pene-
trability by heat increases disproportionately in the higher
stages of blood impoverishment. This places the significance
of the so frequent tropical chlorosis in a new light, from
whatever cause it springs. It is now easily explained why
malaria patients or other persons of impoverished blood are
prone to sunstroke, and furthermore why sunstroke and
malignant malaria so often occur together or are confounded.—
Meue Militärische Blätter, August 20, 1903.
STUDY ON THE BUBONIC PLAGUE, ITS PREVENTION,
SYMPTOMS, AND TREATMENT. -
(Written by order of the medical board of the Republic of Venezuela.)
This pest is a terrible disease produced by the microbe
called Yersin's bacillus.
The conditions under which this disease develops are pretty
well known; therefore its contagion can be prevented with a
little care.
Rats and mice are the greatest propagators of the plague.
Once it is acquired by man, the slightest contact suffices for
him to transmit the disease to his fellows.
In cities visited by the plague it is observed that the epi-
denuic begins with rats before appearing in human beings.
The transmission of the plague to rats and human beings
seems to take place by means of parasites, and especially of
fleas; the latter live on the rats and do not leave them until
their corpses have cooled.
Other insects are also accused of transmitting the plague,
although not with the same certainty as fleas; such are flies,
mosquitoes, and bedbugs.
The plague respects neither age, sex, nor race, and the hud-
dling together of people and uncleanliness are very favorable
to its contagion.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 367
Doctor Dávila, of Mazatlan, Mexico, states that during the
epidemic in the latter city it was sufficient to maintain a scru-
pulous cleanliness by means of soap and water and the
repeated changing of clothes in order to escape the contagion,
especially for physicians.
From five to ten days are necessary for the incubation of
the disease. -
When the plague attacks man it does so with all the char-
acteristics of a malignant infection.
Painful swelling of the lymphatic ganglia, violent fever, and
great prostration are the characteristic features of the bubonic
plague.
Occasionally, however, it concentrates its attacks on the
lungs or the intestine, evolving also something like a real
sepsis, which may give rise to errors in diagnosis if we are
not on our guard.
An attack by bubonic plague is as follows.
Sudden taking with strong chills, high fever reaching from
39° to 41.5°, vomiting, slight diarrhea, severe headache,
repugnance to light, pains in the mouth of the stomach, in
the loins, the arms, and the legs, all of which compels the
patient to lie down under the influence of a great prostration.
On the third to fourth days there is noticed a momentary
abatement of the fever, which reaches 38° or 38.5°.
The pulse beats at a rate of 120 to 140 times per minute;
breathing is very frequent; the patient becomes delirious,
being either calmly or violently so and occasionally with
convulsions.
By the second day the vomiting and diarrhea increase in
intensity.
The appearance of the tongue is noticeable: At first damp
and enlarged in volume, it retains the imprint of the teeth,
and it becomes covered in the center with a white coating,
while the edges and tip preserve their rosy color; later it
becomes dry and cracks, the white coating in the center turn-
ing black and the edges and tip becoming entirely covered
with a dark fur (capillary hemorrhages), as do also the gums
and lips.
A cough and signs of bronchial congestion trouble the
patient and the appearance of several hemorrhages comes to
complete the scene, which lasts from one to three days.
368 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTEs.
At the end of these three days, and sometimes earlier, two
symptoms occur which are almost characteristic of the dis-
ease, viz, the buboes and the carbuncles. -
The buboes may occupy all of the lymphatic glands; the
most common are those of the groins, armpits, hams (pop-
liteal space), and neck.
Their size varies from that of a hazelnut to that of a wal-
nut; they are very sensitive and their initial situation exerts
much influence on the prognosis of the disease, for it is seen
that buboes of the neck (cervical buboes) are of extreme
gravity for the patient.
These buboes almost always terminate in suppuration, and
their opening produces ulcers extremely slow in healing and
whose scars produce repulsive deformations.
The carbuncles are like burns of the first, second, and even
third degree.
Their number varies from one to twelve, and they are situ-
ated on all parts of the body except the palms of the hands
and the soles of the feet.
When these carbuncles are numerous and coincide with the
petechiae the prognosis is fatal; this is the black death of the
ancients.
Unless treatment is given with Yersin's serum death is the
termination of over half the cases of bubonic plague, and
those who escape with their life from the disease remain in-
valids for a long time owing to ganglionary suppurations and
suppurative inflammation of the bowels and the serous mem-
branes enveloping them.
The ordinary diagnosis of the plague is easy in the time of
an epidemic.
Not so the diagnosis of the form called pneumonic (for in
this case everything leads to believe that the patient has a
simple inflammation of the lungs) and that of the intestinal
and septicaemic forms.
A bacteriological examination of the sputa in the first case
and of the blood in the other two is the only criterion in such
CàSeS.
There will be found in these products, as there is also found
in the buboes, the Yersin bacillus, a short rod, chubby, with
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 369
rounded ends, which takes up analine dies well but is not col-
ored by the gram (iodized iodine solution).
The life of this bacillus outside the human body is very
short.
Simple drying causes it to lose its virulence, and the direct
light of the sun kills it in two or four hours.
A temperature of 55° kills it in ten minutes.
One of 80° kills it in five minutes.
Antiseptics destroy it easily.
Bichloride of mercury at 1 per 1,000 kills it instantly.
Phenol, as well as lisol, in the proportion of 1 per 100,
cause it to perish in ten minutes.
The mineral acids (muriatic, nitric, sulphuric) destroy it in
a few minutes.
A lime whitewash in the proportion of 1 per 100 kills them
in one hour.
Treatment.—The discovery of the antiplague serum and its
application against the plague is one of the most beautiful con-
Quests of serotherapy.
Yersin's serum has a preventive action and confers an im-
munity whose duration does not exceed from fifteen to forty
days.
During epidemics and in order to rid oneself of the pest it
is necessary, therefore, to have injected into oneself 5 cm” of
the antiplague serum every two weeks.
Once the disease appears no time should be lost, and it
should be injected into the patient by the intervenal method,
taking the most rigorous antiseptic precautions; the amount
is 20 cm” of the antiplague serum for an adult, 10 cm” for a
child from 2 to 10 years old, and 5 cm” for a suckling.
Every twenty-four hours and two or more times the same
injections should be repeated by the subcutaneous method.
The Haffkine injection, or that of cultivated bacilli killed by
a 'heat of 70°, has more dangers than advantages.
A water diet first and milk afterwards, tonics in general,
the most rigorous cleanliness, and baths with antiseptic sub-
stances, with complete isolation, complete the treatment.
17430—04—24
370 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
SANITARY POLICING OF PORTS AND Towns witH REGARD TO
THE BUBONIC PLAGUE.
ARTICLE 1. Entrance will be refused to every vessel coming
from an infected port or one suspected to be infected.
ART. 2. Every vessel coming from ports near to one which
is infected will be subjected to quarantine, which shall not
last less that twelve days, counting those of the voyage.
ART. 3. After the quarantine period has elasped and be-
fore the vessel is allowed to enter, the passengers, cargo,
rigging, and mail will be given a thorough disinfection. For
the first, general baths will be used of corrosive sublimate in
a solution of 1 per 10,000 or 15,000; for the second and third,
vapors of formaldehyde administered in adequate ovens; and
for the fourth, sulphurous or formic vapors.
Open crockery-ware crates and other packing cases into
which rats and mice can easily penetrate will be opened, after
being disinfected, in a closed place in order to prevent any rats
or mice which may still be alive from escaping, and so that
they may easilly be imprisoned and killed.
The vessel will be disinfected by washing it with solutions
of corrosive sublimate, formaline, lisol, or phenol, there
being employed in the cabins and holds portable ovens letting
off vapors of formaldehyde.
ART. 4. The disinfections treated of in the foregoing
article will be done under the immediate supervision of the
health officer of the port or some other medical man designated
for the purpose.
ART. 5. Both on the anchor chain and the moring cables
of the vessel which has been admitted to port, and to the
buoys or wharves, there shall be attached tin funnels or jars
with barbs to prevent rats and mice from crossing to land.
ART. 6. In case a vessel does not wish to submit to the
quarantine prescribed in article 3 and desires to continue its
voyage, the passengers will be taken to pesthouses or house
boats established for this purpose, where they will remain
the required number of days. They will be given a medical
inspection daily, will be disinfected daily, and those who
show symptoms of the plague will be isolated, the hut in
which they became sick being burned, and in case of death
the following will be done:
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 371
If the death occurs in a pesthouse on whose grounds there
is a cemetery, the corpse will be carried to the latter, sur-
rounded with antiseptic substances, and will be buried 3
m. deep between two layers of lime, care being taken that
the grave is well tramped down; if it occurs on a house boat
the corpse will be inclosed in a double sack of canvas recently
tarred, to which is tied with a strong wire a weight twice as
heavy as that ordinarily used to take it to the bottom, and it
shall be thrown into the sea at a distance not less than 6 miles
from the coast and at a depth not less than 50 fathoms. In
either case and whenever possible the cremation of the body
shall be preferred.
ART. 7. The health officer of the port, or the physician
delegated by the board of health of the port, shall inject
Yersin's serum into all the persons submitted to examination.
ART. S. In regard to the other measures to be taken they
will comply strictly with the provisions contained in the san-
itary regulations in force in the ports of the nation and with
the regulations of the local boards of health.
The existence of the bubonic plague in several ports having
relations with our country places Venezuela in the danger
zone, that is, in the zone in which the plague may make its
appearance, being imported by vessels which carry on traffic
between those ports and ours. The municipal authorities
should, therefore, take the necessary measures to prevent so
terrible a disease from being imported to us; and, if such a
misfortune should occur, the towns should find themselves in
a position of defense enabling them to prevent the spread of
the epidemic.
In order to prevent its being introduced into the country
the local authorities shall cause the greatest rigor to be
observed in the enforcement of the sanitary regulations of
the ports, and they shall appoint local boards of health
invested with sufficient powers for their purpose. &
In order to prevent the disease from spreading, the police
ordinances concerning cleanliness of cities should be enforced,
as well as those which refer to this special case, such as the
destruction of rats and mice, the vigilance of the infected
zone, and the free inoculation of Yersin's serum as a pre-
ventive.
372 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
1. In the infected zone, besides the ordinary precautions,
such as barring the streets, prohibiting the deposit of gar-
bage, etc., the following precautions will be taken: Thorough
cleaning of privies, cesspools, sewers, yards, cattle pens, etc.,
and their whitewashing twice a week with lime whitewash
mixed with chloride of calcium.
2. Careful inspection, by means of domiciliary visits by
commissions composed of neighbors and police, of all houses
in order to detect those which are unclean and cause them to
be cleaned immediately.
3. In the infected zone, besides the domiciliary visits also
medical inspection and free inoculation with Yersin's serum,
not only of the citizens of this zone but also of all persons
who have in any manner come in contact with the sick; med-
ical examination of all sick persons suspected.
4. Notices to the public offering free medical assistance to
every person requesting it of the authorities.
5. The organization of this service by parishes.
6. Remind physicians of their obligation to inform the
authorities—the health office, if it is in the federal district, and
boards of health—of every case of plague to which they may
be called.
7. Distribution to all physicians of a pamphlet concerning
the bubonic plague and its clinical varieties. g
8. Daily conferences in the hospitals concerning cases of
plague observed. #
9. Destruction of rats and mice by means of traps, and
destruction of their bodies by fire.
10. In regard to sick persons, special buildings, and persons
who have had to do with the sick, the following precautionary
measures shall be adopted:
(a) Transportation of the sick to the isolating hospital, and
the house shall be marked with a signal (flag) placed in a very
conspicuous place to indicate that that house is infected. This
sign shall not be removed except by order of the authorities
when the interested parties present prove that it has been
suitably disinfected.
(b) Transportation to the houses of inspection of every
person who has had relations with the sick person. In these
houses they will be subjected to a bath, have their clothes
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 373
washed, and submit to a daily medical inspection, being then
allowed to depart and attend to their affairs.
(c) Disinfection of the infected house with liquid sulphurous
anhydrid for twelve to twenty-four hours, according to the
size of the rooms.
(d) Thereupon remove from the house all articles of apparel
and bed clothing, and after having submerged them in a 2 per
cent solution of formaline, wrap them in cloths dampened in the
same solution in order to transport them to the town laundry.
Moreover, all articles which can not be disinfected with forma-
line or sulphur should be burned, such as mattresses, ticks,
pillows, etc.
(e) Pulverize solutions of formaline on the walls, floors,
woodwork, flat roofs, etc., of the infected houses.
(f) Wash the yards, cesspools, sewers, privies, cattle pens,
etc., with whitewash 1 per cent strong, and then paint the
whole house over.
All disiafecting work should be performed under the im-
mediate supervision of a health officer.
Prohibition of the sitting up with dead persons.
In case of death from the plague the bodies will be imme-
diately placed in their urn between two layers of lime slightly
dampened, and, being closed, they will be transported to a
special cemetery where they will be cremated, or, if this is im-
possible, they will be buried between two layers of lime at a
depth of 3 m. -
Hearses will be disinfected before leaving the cemetery.
Burials on tarìmas (low wooden beds) and any other method
of transportation will be prohibited.
The necessary hearses and lime shall be placed at the disposal
of the public.
No one will be allowed to attend burials.
ADDITION TO THE GENERAL PRECAUTIONS.
1. Daily cleaning and disinfection, by means of solutions of
formaline, lisol, creoline, phenol, corrosive sublimate, white-
wash, etc., of churches, barracks, markets, slaughterhouses,
colleges, schools, theaters, and in general all places where
there is or may be a gathering of people.
374 EULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
2. Prohibit public assemblies, such as theaters, religious
festivities, band concerts, pilgrimages, cock and bull fights,
military drills in the streets, etc.
3. Daily disinfection of carriages, street cars, railroad cars,
moving vans, garbage wagons, and other vehicles.
Caracas, September 10, 1903.
CARLOS GONZALEZ BONA,
President of the Board.
Official Gazette of Venezuela, September 19, 1903.
FROM THE NAVIES.
On August 25 the firm of Vickers & Maxim, Barrow-in-
Furness, which has recently become the largest establishment
for shipbuilding and gun construction in England, launched
the line ship Dominion, the third of the ship building pro-
gramme of 1901–2. The first, the Commonwealth, was
launched at Gowan on May 13, and the second, ſºng Edward
VII, was launched at Devonport on July 23. These ships
have a displacement of 16,350 tons, and thus exceed the largest
of the German navy—those of the Braunschweig class—by
over 3,000 tons, and England passed beyond the limit of
16,000 tons for the first time and the first of any nation in
their construction. The opinion was held in many profes-
sional circles that this would have to be the final limit, but
this view has proven erroneous. Other nations have followed
England in the enlargement of their ships of the line. Thus
the United States decided to have 5 of 16,000 tons built,
as follows: Louisiana, Connecticut, Vermont, Mønnesota, and
Ransas, but in that country ships are named long before their
keel is put on. The Louisiana was 12 per cent completed
on June 1 and the Connecticut only 10 per cent, while the
3 others have not been begun, although the contract for them
has been let. The cost of construction of each, including
armament and equipment, amounts in round numbers to
$4,375,000. Before these vessels are ready for sea about four
years will have elapsed, as delays in construction are almost
the rule in the United States, while England can place her 3
in service at the end of 1904. Russia, according to her new
programme, is building 5 (according to other sources 6) ships
of the line of 16,000 tons each, and it is the intention in
future to have all ships constructed at home, although they
will cost half again as much this way.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 375
The building programme adopted in 1898 and now executed
gave France, the United States, and German shipyards large
orders; Germany receiving 3 cruisers and the other two coun-
tries each 1 ship of the line, 1 cruiser, France also receiving
some torpedo vessels. Except the line ship Cessarewitch, all
these vessels have been delivered. The Cessarewitch, built by
the La Sayne establishment at Toulon, which has recently lost
much of its former world-wide reputation, has thus far been
unable to attain the speed of 18 nautical miles an hour called
for in the contract. Japan has ordered 3 ships of the line in
England, of the English ſºng Edward VII type, of 16,350
tons, but it is not yet known which yards have received the
orders. That Japan would follow the movement of enlarging
the displacement could be assumed with certainty, although
the 4 ships of the line of about 15,500 tons each constructed
for her in England after the China war are the largest she
now has afloat. Japan has thus far provided very poorly for
a reenforcement of her battle fleet, which consists of 6 large
ships of the line and 6 armored cruisers, for at present there
is not a single ship of the line or armored cruiser under con-
struction or equipment; in this respect Russia is much ahead
of her, and Russia's naval power gathered in east Asia, to-
gether with the reserve which is partly on its way and partly
about to be made ready for sea, is likely to have a pacifying
effect on the warlike Japanese. Japan’s shipyards can neither
build line ships nor armored cruisers, and indeed her ship-
building industry in general is dependent in a great measure
on Europe, the money spent for her fleet almost all flowing
into the pockets of her ally, England, which, moreover, threat-
eningly collected her Asiatic fleet in the waters of China at
the end of June, and at a time when the differences between
Japan and Russia had been peaceably settled.
England will have her 3 large line ships of 16,350 tons
ready for sea at the end of 1904, Russia her 5 or 6 at the mid-
dle of 1907, America 2 at the beginning of 1907 and 3 more a
year later, and Japan her 3 at the middle or end of 1906. But
England is building 4 other ships of the line of 18,000 tons
each, of which 2 are called Wew Zealand and II'mdostan, so
that England will have 7 ships of the line with a total displace-
ment of 121,050 tons as an addition to her navy by the end
of 1906.
376 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
France, Italy, and Germany have not yet been able to
decide to participate in this race in the enlargement of ships
of the line, all three of these nations having remained under
15,000 tons, although Italy over two decades ago acquired the
armored vessels Italia and Lepanto of over 15,900 tons, being
the first country to add such gigantic war ships to its navy.
The latest Italian vessels, of the Vittorio Emanuele type, are
of only 12,620 tons; 2 of them are nearly ready for launching;
2, the Roma and Napoli, are under construction at Spezzia
and Castellamare, and 3 others, the Duca d'Aosta, Duca di
Genova, and Duca degli Abruzzi, are being begun.
In France a man of the “new school,” Naval Minister Pel-
letan, is still ruling; he is a strong advocate of egal/te
(equality), and would like to abolish all distinctions of rank
and address every sailor as "nonsieur, or at least as citoyen
(citizen). He has not been able to stop the construction of
the ships of the line—the “mastodons,” as his adherents call
them—which he found under construction upon assuming the
naval ministry from his predecessor, de Lanessan, in June,
1902, as far as they were under construction in private ship-
yards, for an inquiry in the matter was answered negatively;
the contractors have their contracts and insist on fulfilling
them. Thus, in spite of Pelletan's reluctance, the line ships
Vérité at Gironde Bordeaux, Liberté at St. Nazaire, and
Justice at La Sayne, Toulon, are being continued; Pelletan
found the République at Brest so far advanced in construction
that it had to be put to sea, which occurred on September
4, 1902.
The construction of the two last ones, Démocratie and Patrie,
has, however, been stopped, because they lie in government
yards. All these line ships are of 14,870 tons displacement.
On the other hand, Pelletan is paying great attention to
cruisers, torpedo vessels, and submarines. The Mediterranean
squadron, which saluted King Alfonso XIII at Barcelona in
the summer of 1903, contained 6 ships of the line in two
divisions, and these 6 ships of the line belong to five different
types. On the other hand, the northern fleet, which has the
same number of line ships as that of the Mediterranean, has
a squadron of cruisers such as was never collected before by
any navy, for it consists of the armored cruisers /eanne
d'Arc, Gloire, Condé, Marseillaise, and Léon Gambetta, with
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 377
a total displacement of 50,880 tons, 107,500 horsepower, a
complement of 3,184 men, and armed with twelve 19.4-cm.,
forty 16.4-cm., and fourteen 14-cm. rapid-fire guns and
numerous lighter rapid-fire ordnance. The Marine-Rundschau
of August says: “The assignment of 5 armored cruisers to
the northern squadron and of 1 armored cruiser (Dublaia) and
1 commerce destroyer (Jurien de la Gravière) to the Atlantic
division appears to indicate that the oft-recommended plan
of making the Atlantic ports the starting points of a war on
commerce has found sanction in authoritative quarters.”
Indeed, it appears very very much that way, and it should
be well remembered that the so rapidly developing commer-
cial fleet of the German Empire offers the opponent a tempting
object for cruisers. -
Since the launching of the Suffren, of 12,730 tons, on Au-
gust 5, 1899, at Brest, the only ship of the line that has been
launched was the above-mentioned République, in 1902–1 ship
in four years.
Germany’s latest ships of the line will have 13,200 tons
displacement. Of these, the Braunschweig was launched
December 20, 1902, at the Germania shipyard; the Elsass
followed on May 26, 1903, at F. Schichau's, Danzig; on Sep-
tember 18 the L is to be ready for launching at the Germania
shipyard, while 3 others are under construction, among them
the M, at F. Schichau's, Danzig. This ship the Emperor,
contrary to old custom, christened before its launching, it
being called Lothringen.
Let us now give a few words concerning the British naval
expenditures. The budget, which was passed without much
debate, carries £34,457,000, as against £31,255,000 for the
previous year. Eight million pounds sterling were appro-
priated, also without difficulty, for the naval-works bill. In
all, the costs of enlarging the military harbors and wharves
amount to over £31,750,000, and as the new military harbor
of Rosyth, on the Firth of Forth, is to be constructed as
rapidly as possible, the sum of £40,000,000 is likely to be
reached. The 4,500,000,000 [marks] which the Boer war cost
has not induced England to retrench her expenditures for
naval improvements in the least.—Weue Militärische Blätter,
August 22, 1902. -
VALUES OF FOREIGN COINS AND
CUFFENCIES.
The following statements show the valuation of foreign coins, as given
by the Director of the United States Mint and published by the Secretary
of the Treasury, in compliance with the first section of the act of March 3,
1873, viz: “That the value of foreign coins, as expressed in the money of
account of the United States, shall be that of the pure metal of such coin
of standard value,” and that “the value of the standard coins in circula-
tion of the various nations of the world shall be estimated annually by the
Director of the Mint, and be proclaimed on the 1st day of January by
the Secretary of the Treasury.”
In compliance with the foregoing provisions of law, annual statements
were issued by the Treasury Department, beginning with that issued on
January 1, 1874, and ending with that issued on January 1, 1890. Since
that date, in compliance with the act of October 1, 1890, these valuation
statements have been issued quarterly, beginning with the statement issued
on January 1, 1891.
Attention has been repeatedly called to the fact that the market exchange
value of foreign coins differs in many instances from that given by the
United States Treasury. An explanation of the basis of the quarterly val-
uations was asked from the United States Director of the Mint, and under
date of February 7, 1898, Mr. R. E. Preston made the following statement:
“When a country has the single gold standard, the value of its standard
coins is estimated to be that of the number of grains fine of gold in them,
480 grains being reckoned equivalent to $20.67 in United States gold, and
a smaller number of grains in proportion. When a country has the double
standard, but keeps its full legal-tender silver coins at par with gold, the
coins of both gold and silver are calculated on the basis of the gold value.
“The value of the standard coins of countries with the single silver
standard is calculated to be that of the average market value of the pure
metal they contained during the three months preceding the date of the
proclamation of their value in United States gold by the Secretary of the
Treasury. The value of the gold coins of silver-standard countries is cal-
culated at that of the pure gold they contain, just as if they had the single
gold standard.
“These valuations are used in estimating the values of all foreign mer-
chandise exported to the United States.”
The following statements, running from, January 1, 1874, to April 1,
1903, have been prepared to assist in computing the values in American
money of the trade, prices, values, wages, etc., of and in foreign countries,
as given in consular and other reports. The series of years are given, so
that computations may be made for each year in the proper money values
of such year. In hurried computations, the reductions of foreign curren-
378
BULLETIN
379
OF MILITARY NOTES.
cies into American currency, no matter for how many years, are too often
All computations of values, trade,
wages, prices, etc., of and in the “fluctuating-currency countries” should
be made in the values of their currencies in each year up to and including
1898, and in the quarterly valuations thereafter.
To meet typographical requirements, the quotations for the years 1875–
1877, 1879–1882, 1884–1887, 1895, 1897, and 1899 are omitted, these years
being selected as showing the least fluctuations when compared with years
made on the bases of latest valuations.
immediately preceding and following.
To save unnecessary repetition, the estimates of valuations are divided
into three classes, viz, (A) countries with fixed currencies, (B) countries
with fluctuating currencies, and (C) quarterly valuations of fluctuating
currencies.
A.—COUNTRIES WITH FIXED CURRENCIES.
The following official (United States Treasury) valuations of foreign coins
do not include “rates of exchange’’:
Countries.
Argentine Republic -
Austria-Hungarya...
Belgium
sº e º sº gº as tº a tº a s = *
Brazil
s = * = e º ºs e º is a tº e º is
British North Amer- |. . .
ica (except New-
foundland).
|British Honduras. . . . . .
Denmark
Ecuador b
e sº º sº * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Standard.
Gold and
silver.
Gold
sº sº s ºr *
and
silver.
Gold
and
silver.
Gold
* * * * *
and
Monetary
Value in
unit. U.S. gold. Coins.
PeSO - - - - - - - $0.96, 5 | Gold—argentine ($4.82,4) and ,
argentine; silver—peso and
divisions.
CrOwn - - - - - .20,3 Gold—20 crowns ($4,05,2) and 10
CI'OWIAS. -
Franc - .... . 19, 3 || Gold—10 and 20 franc pieces;
Silver—5 francs.
Milreis . . . . . 54, 6 Gold—5, 10, and 20 milreis; sil-
Ver—#, 1, and 2 milreis.
Dollar..... 1.00
sº tº º 'º º do .....| 1.00
Peso....... .36, 5 || Gold—escudo ($1.25), doubloon
($3.65), and condor ($7.30);
silver—peso and divisions.
Colon. ... -- .46, 5 | Gold—2, 5, 10, and 20 colons; sil-
ver—5, 10, 25, and 50 centisimos.
PeSO . . . . . . . .92, 6 Gold—doubloon ($5.01,7); sil-
ver—peso (60 cents).
Crown..... . 26, 8 || Gold—10 and 20 crowns.
Sucre . . . . . . .48, 7 | Gold—10 sucres ($4.8665); silver—
sucre and divisions.
Pound (100 4.94, 3 | Gold—10, 20, 50, and 100 piasters;
piasters). silver—1, 2, 10, and 20 piasters.
Mark ...... . 19, 3 | Gold—10 and 20 marks ($1.93 and
$3.85,9).
Franc ..... . 19, 3 | Gold—5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 francs;
silver—5 francs.
Mark ------ . 23, 8 | Gold—5, 10, and 20 marks.
Germany............
silver.
a The gold standard went into effect Jan. 1, 1900 (see Commercial Relations, 1899, Vol.
II, p. 7).
bčoiá standard adopted in November, 1900.
Values are still sometimes expressed in the florin, which is worth 2 crowns.
(See Consular Reports No. 225, June, 1899.)
380
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
A.—COUNTRIES WITH FIXED CURRENCIES-Continued.

countries, standard. * *.i. Coins.
Great Britain........ Gold..... Poundster-| $4.86,6}| Gold—sovereign (pound ster-
ling. ling) and half sovereign.
Greece--------------- | Gold and | Drachma. . . . 19, 3 || Gold—5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 drach-
silver. mas; silver—5 drachmas.
Haiti ---------------- ---do ----- Gourde . . . . .96, 5 || Silver—gourde.
India a.... . . . . . . . . . . . Gold..... Rupee . . . . . . 32, 4 Gold—sovereign ($4.8665); sil-
ver—rupee and divisions.
Italy----------------- Gold and Lira - - - - - - - . 19, 3 | Gold–5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 lire;
silver. silver—5 lire.
Japan b - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Gold..... Yen - - - - - - - .49, 8 || Gold—1, 2, 5, 10, and 20 yen.
Liberia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ---do ----- Dollar - - - - - 1. 00
Netherlands. . . . . . . . . Gold and Florin - . . . . .40, 2 Gold—10 florins; silver—#, 1, and
silver. 2} florins.
Newfoundland . . . . . . Gold..... Dollar ..... 1.01, 4 || Gold—$2 ($2.02,7).
Peru 6 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---do ----- Sol . . . . . . . . .48, 7 | Gold—libra ($4.8665); silver—Sol
and divisions.
Portugal. -- - - - - - - - - - - ---do ----- Milreis - ...| 1.08 Gold—1,2,5, and 10 milreis.
Russia d - - - - - - - - - - - - - ---do ----. Ruble . . . . . . 51, 5 | Gold—imperial ($7.718) and #im-
perial ($3.80); silver—#, #, and
1 ruble.
Spain ---------------- Gold and | Peseta. . . . . . . 19, 3 || Gold—25 pesetas; silver—5 pese-
silver. taS.
Sweden and Norway. Gold..... Crown..... . 26, 8 Gold—10 and 20 crowns.
Switzerland ......... Gold and | Franc - - - - - . 19, 3 || 3 old—5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 francs;
silver. silver—5 francs.
Turkey -------------- Gold..... Piaster . . . . . 04, 4 || Gold—25, 50, 100,200, and 500 pias-
terS.
Uruguay. - - - - - - - - - - - - ---do ----- Peso - - - - - - - 1.03, 4 Gold—peso; silver—peso and di-
visions.
Venezuela . . . . . . . . . . . Gold and | Bolivar . . . . . 19, 3 || Gold—5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 boli-
silver. vars; silver—5 bolivars.
a For an account of the adoption of the gold standard, see Consular Reports No. 238, p. 359.
b Gold standard adopted Oct. 1, 1897.
c Gold standard adopted Oct. 13, 1900. º -
d For an account of the adoption of the gold standard, see Review of the World's Com-
merce, 1896–97, p. 254.
(See Consular Reports No. 201, p. 259.)
B.—COUNTRIES WITH FLUCTUATING CURRENCIES, 1874–1898.
Value in terms of the United
States gold dollar on Jan. 1–
Countries. Standard. | Monetary unit.
1874. 1878. 1883. 1888.
Austria-Hungary a ... -- - - Silver....... Florin . . . . . . . . . $0.47, 6 (30.45, 3 30.40, 1 || $0.34, 5
Bolivia...................l..... do ------ Dollar until .96, 5 | .96, 5 .81, 2 . 69,9
1880; bolivi-
ano the re-
after.
Central America.... -----|..... do - - - - - - Peso - - - - - - - - - - - .96, 5 .91, 8 |........ . 69,9
China --------------------|----. do ------ Haikwan tael- 1.61 |--------|--------|--------
Colombia ----------------|..... do - - - - - - PeSO ----------- .96, 5 .96, 5 .81, 2 . 69,9
a See footnote to Austria-Hungary under Table A.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
381
B.—COUNTRIES WITH FLUCTUATING CURRENCIES, 1874–1898—Continued.

Value in terms of the United
States gold dollar On Jan. 1–
Countries. Monetary unit. -- - - - - - ------------
- 1874. 1878. 1883. 1888.
Ecuador - . . . . . . . . . . . ----- Peso ----------- $0.96,580.91,850.81,2 $o. 69,9
Egypta -----------------. Pound (100 |........ 4.97, 4 || 4.90 4.94, 3
. piasters).
India -------------------- Rupee --------. . 45, 8 .43, 6 .38, 6 . 32, 2
.99, 7 | .99, 7 |... . . . . . .99, 7
Japan -------------------- yen tº ºn tº tº º E. & & º tº º | • * ~ * ~ * | * ~ * ~ * * * * .87, 6 .75,3
Mexico ------------------ Dollar - - - - - - -.. 1.04, 75 .99, 8 .88, 2 .75, 9
Netherlands b - - - - - - - - - - - - Florin......... . 40,5 . .38, 5 ||--------|--------
Peru --------------------- Sol ------------ .92, 5 | . 91,8 .81, 2 . 69,9
Russia ------------------- Ruble --------. 77,17] .73, 4 .65 . 55,9
Tripoli------------------. Mahbub of 20 87,09 . 82, 9 .73, 3 . 63
piasters.
Yalue in terms of the United
Countries. Monetary unit. States gold dollar on Jan. 1–
1889. 1890. | 1891. 1892.
Austria-Hungary C - - - - - - - Florin . . . . . . . . . $0.33, 6 $0.42 (30.38, 1 || $0.34, 1
Bolivia------------------- Boliviano. - - - - - . 68 . 85 .77, 1 . 69, 1
Central America. . . . . . . . . PeSO - - - - - - - - - - - . 68 . 85 .77, 1 . 69, 1
Colombia ----------------|-----do ------|----. do --------. . 68 . 85 .77, 1 . 69,1
Ecuador -----------------|-----do ------|----- do --------- , 68 . 85 .77, 1 . 69, 1
India -------------------- Rupee - - - - - - - - - . 32, 3 | .40, 4 .36, 6 . 32,8
.99, 7 | .99, 7 º
Japand------------------. yen sº tº e < * * * * * * * ! .73, 4 .91, 7 | .83, 1 . 74.5
Mexico -----------------. Dollar - - - - - - - -. .73, 9 .92, 3 | .83, 7 . 75
Peru --------------------. Sol -----------. .68 .85 | .77, 1 | .69.1
Russia d ....... ----....... Ruble . . . . . . . . . . 54, 4 | .68 .61, 7 . 55, 3
Tripoli. -----------------. Mahbub of 20 | . 61, 4 | . 76, 7 | . 69, 5 . 62, 3
piasters.
Value in terms of the United
Countries. Monetary unit. States gold dollar on Jan. 1—
1893. 1894. 1896. 1898.
Bolivia------------------- Boliviano - - - - - $0.61, 3 |$0.51, 6 |$0.49, 1 || $0.42, 4
Central America......... Peso - - - - - - - - - - - .61, 3 | .51, 6 | . 49, 1 . 41,4
Colombia ----------------|-----do ------|----. do --------- .61, 3 | .51, 6 . 49, 1 . 42,4
Ecuador ------------ * - - - - I - - - - - --~r - - - - - - ) - - - - - do --------- .61, 3 | . 51, 6 . 49, 1 .42, 4
India -------------------- Rupee - - - - - - - - - . 29, 2 | . 24, 5 .23, 3 . 20, 1
Japan d -----------------. Yen ----------- .66, 1 .55, 6 | . 52, 9 |........
Mexico ------------------ Dollar . . . . . . . . . .66, 6 .56 . 53, 3 .46
Peru --------------------- Sol ------------ .61, 3 | .51, 6 . 49, 1 .42, 4
Russia d ------------...--- Ruble --------- .49, 1 .41, 3 | .39, 3 |........
Tropoli ------------------ Mahbub of 20 | . 55,3 . . 46.5 | .44, 3 |........
piasters.


qThe Egyptian pound became fixed in value at $4.94,3 in 1887.
b The Netherlands florin fluctuated up to the year 1880, when it became fixed at 40.2 cent .
c See footnote to Austria-Hungary under Table A.
dSee footnote, table of fixed currencies.
*
382
OF MILITARY NOTES.
BULLETIN
C.—QUARTERLY VALUATIONS OF FLUCTUATING CURRENCIES.
1900.
Countries. Monetary unit.
Jan. 1. Apr. 1. July 1. Oct. 1
Bolivia ---------------. Silver boliviano . . . . . . . . $0.42, 7 || $0.43, 6 $0.43, 8 $0.45; 1
Central America ... --- Silver peso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 7 .43, 6 .43,8 .45, 1
| Amoy tael. ... ---. ----- .69, 1 .70, 5 . 70,9 .72, 9
Canton tael-...---------- .68, 9 .70, 3 .70, 7 .72, 7
Chefoo tael............. . 66, 1 .67, 4 .67, 8 .69, 7
Chinkiang tael . . . . . . . . . .67, 5 . 68,8 . 69,3 . 71, 2
Fuchau tael ... ---...--- . 64 . 65,2 .65, 6 .67, 4
Haikwan tael .......... . 70,3 .71, 7 .72, 1 .74, 2
- Hankau tael....... ----- .64, 7 . 65,9 .66, 3 .68, 2
China ---------------- {
Hongkong tael . . . . . . . . . (a) (a) (a) (a)
Ningpo tael -----...---- .66, 5 .67, 7 .68, 2 .70, 1
Niuchwang tael ........ .64, 8 . 66, 1 .66, 5 . 68,4
Shanghai tael .......... .63, 1 . 64,4 . 64, 8 .66, 6
Swatow tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63,9 . 65, 1 .65, 5 . 67,4
Takao tael.............. . 69,6 . 70,9 . 71,4 . 73, 4
\l Tientsin tael ........... . 67 . 68,3 .68, 7 70,7
Colombia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silver peso... . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 7 43, 6 43,8 .45, 1
Ecuador b. -------------|----- do ------------------|----------|----------|--------------------
India ------------------ Silver rupee c. . . . . . . . . . . .20,3 .20, 7 .20, 8 |---------.
Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silver dollar. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46,4 .47, 3 . 47,6 .49
Persia ----------------- Silver kran . . . . . . . . . . . . . .07, 9 . 08 .08, 1 .08, 3
Peru b ----------------. Silver Sol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42, 7 43, 6 43,8 .48, 7
1901.
COuntries. Monetary unit.
Jan. 1. Apr. 1. July 1. Oct. 1.
Bolivia ---------------- Silver boliviano . . . . . . . . $0.46,8 $0.45,1 $0.43,6 $0.42,8
Central America ... --- Silver peso.............. .46, 5 .45,1 .43,6 . 42,8
ſ Amoy tael.............. .75, 7 .72, 9 .70, 5 .69, 1
Canton tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . .75, 5 .72, 7 . 70,3 .68, 9
Chefoo tael............. . 72,4 . 69, 7 .67, 4 . 66, 1
Chinkiang tael . . . . . . . . . . 74 . 71,2 . 68,8 .67, 5
Fuchau tael . . . . . . . . . . . . .70, 1 .67, 5 . 65,2 . 64
Haikwan tael ... . . . . . . . .77, 1 . 74,2 .71, 7 . 70, 4
- Hankau tael. . . . . . . . . . . . .70,9 . 68,2 .65, 9 .64, 7
China ---------------- { Hongkong tael . . . . . . . . . (a) (a) (a) (a)
Ningpo tael ............ .72,8 . 70,1 .67, 8 .66, 5
Niuchwang tael . . . . . . . . .71 . 68,4 .66, 1 . 64, 8
Shanghai tael . . . . . . . . . . . 69,2 . 66,6 . 64, 4 .63, 2
Swatow tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 . 67,4 .65, 1 . 63,9
Taka0 tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76,2 . 73,4 .70, 9 .69, 6
\l Tientsin tael ........... . 73,4 .70, 7 . 68,3 . 67
Colombia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silver peso. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46, 8 45, 1 43, 6 . 42,8
Ecuador”......... ----...... do ----------------------------|------------------------------
India -----------------. Silver rupee "...........!----------|----------|----------|---------.
Mexico ---------------. Silver dollar............ .50, 9 . 49 . 49 .46, 4
Persia ----------------. Silver kran ............. .08, 6 08, 3 .08, 3 .07, 9
Peru b ----------------- Silver Sol -------------------------|----------|----------|----------
a The “British dollar” has the same legal
value as the Mexican dollar in Hongkong,
the Straits Settlements,
and Labuan.
bSee footnote, table of fixed currencies.
COU Int.
c The sovereign is the standard coin of
India, but the rupee is the money of ac-
See also table of fixed currencies.
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
383
c.—QUARTERLY vaLUATIons of FLUCTUATING CURRENCIES-Cont'd.
1902.
Countries. Monetary unit.
Jan. 1. Apr. 1. July 1. Oct. 1.
Bolivia ---------------- Silver boliviano - - - - - - - - $0.41, 3 || $0.40, 3 $0.38, 2 $0.38, 4
Central America - - - - - - Silver peso . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41, 3 . 40,3 . 38, 2 . 38,4
| Amoy tael. ------------- .66, 9 .65, 1 . 61,8 . 62
Canton tael. - - - - - - - - - - - - .66, 7 .64,9 . 61, 7 . 61,9
Chefoo tael...... ---...-- . 63,9 .62,3 . 59, 1 . 59, 3
Chinkiang tael --------- . 65,3 . 63,6 . 60,4 .60, 6
Fuchau tael ------------ . 61,8 . 60,2 . 57,2 . 57,4
Haikwan tael...... ----- . 68 . 66,3 ... 62, 9 . 63, 1
Hankau tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62,6 .60, 9 . 57,9 . 58
g Hongkong tael . . . . . . . . . (a) (a) (a) (a)
China ---------------- ſ Nankin tael ------------|--------------------|----------|----------
Ningpo tael ------------ . 64, 3 . 62,6 . 59, 5 . 59,6
Niuchwang tael........ .62, 7 . 61.1 . 58 . 58,2
Peking tael-------------|----------|----------|----------|--------- .
Shanghai tael . . . . . . . . . . . 61, 1 . 59, 5 . 56, 5 . 56,7
Swatow tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61,8 . 60,2 . 57, 1 . 57,3
Takao tael...... -------- .67, 3 .65, 5 . 62,2 . 62,4
\l Tientsin tael . . . . . . . . . . . . 64, 8 . 63, 1 . 59,9 .60, 1
Colombia-------------. Silver peso . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41, 3 . 40, 3 . 38,2 . 38,4
Mexico ---------------- Silver dollar. . . . . . . . . . . . .44, 9 .43, 7 .41, 5 .41, 7
Persia ----------------- Silver kran . . . . . . . . . . . . . .07, 6 07,4 07 .07, 1
1903.
Countries. Monetary unit.
Jan. 1. Apr. 1. July 1. Oct. 1.
Bolivia ---------------- Silver boliviano - - - - - - - - $0.36, 1 $0.35, 2 $0.38, 4 $0.40, 8
Central America. . . . . . . Silver peso - . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36, 1 .35, 2 . 38,4 .40, 8
| Amoy tael ------. . . . . . . . . 58,4 . 57 . 62,2 .65, 9
Canton tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . .58, 2 . 56,8 . 62 .65, 7
Chefoo tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,8 . 54, 5 . 59, 5 . 63
Chinkiang tael . . . . . . . . . . 57 .55, 7 .60, 7 . 64,4
Fuchau tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 . 52, 7 . 57, 5 . 61
Haikwan tael . . . . . . . . . . . 59, 4 . 58 . 63, 3 .67, 1
Hankau tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . 54, 6 . 53, 3 . 58,2 .61, 7
China ---------------- K Hongkong tael . . . . . . . . . (a) (a) (a) (a)
Nankin tael ------------|----------|-------------------- .65, 2
Ningpo tael. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56, 1 . 54,8 . 58,3 .63, 4
Niuchwang tael . . . . . . . . 53,3 53, 4 . 59,8 . 61,8
Peking tael........ -----|----------|----------|---------- . 64,3
Shanghai tael . . . . . . . . . . .53, 9 , 52 . 56,8 . 60,2
SWatow tael . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58,8 . 52, 6 . 57, 5 .60, 9
Takao tael.... . . . . . . . . . . . 56,6 . 57, 3 . 62,6 .66, 3
Tientsin tael. . . . . . . . . . . . .60, 1 . 55,2 . 60,3 .63, 9
Colombia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Silver peso.............. .36, 1 .35, 2 . 38,4 .40,8
Mexico ---------------- Silver dollar............ . 39,2 .38, 3 .41,8 .44, 3
Persia ----------------- Silver kran ............. .06, 6 .06, 5 | .07, 1 .07, 5
a The “British dollar” has the same legal value as the Mexican dollar in Hongkong
the Straits Settlements, and Labuan.
FOREIGN weig FITS AND MEASURES.
The following table embraces only such weights and measures as are
given from time to time in Consular Reports and in Commercial Relations:
FOREIGN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, WITH AMERICAN EQUIVALENTS.
Denominations. Where used. American equivalents.
Almude------------------. Portugal-----------------------------. 4.422 gallons.
Ardeb--------------------- Egypt -------------------------------- 7.6907 bushels.
Are ----------------------- Metric -------------------------------- 0.024.71 acre.
Arobe --------------------- Paraguay----------------------------- 25 pounds.
Arratel Or libra. . . . . . . . . . . . Portugal.----------------------. ----- 1.011 pounds.
Arroba (dry)-----------... Argentine Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25.3175 pounds.
D0 -------------------- Brazil--------------------------------. 32.38 pounds.
DO -------------------- Cuba --------------------------------- 25.3664 pounds.
D0 -------------------- Portugal.------------------------------ 32.38 pounds.
D0 -------------------- Spain --------------------------------- 25.36 pounds.
Do -------------------- Venezuela ---------------------------- 25,4024 pounds.
Arroba (liquid) - - - - - - - - - - - Cuba, Spain, and Venezuela. . . . ...... 4.263 gallons.
Arshine ------------------. Russia -------------------------------- 28 inches.
Arshine (Square).---------|----- do -------------------------------- 5.44 Square feet.
Artel.---------------------. Morocco ------------------------------ 1.12 pounds.
Baril ---------------------. Argentine Republic and Mexico ..... 20.0787 gallons.
Barrel--------------------. Malta (customs). -- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 gallons.
PO -------------------. Spain (raisins) ----------------------- 100 pounds.
Batman or tabriz ......... Persia ------------------------------- 6.49 pounds.
Berkovets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Russia-------------------------------- 361.12 pounds.
Bongkal -----------------. India --------------------------------- 832 grains.
Bouw --------------------- Sumatra ------------------------------ 7,096.5 square meters.
Bu ------------------------ Japan -------------------------------- 0.1 inch.
Butt (Wine). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Spain -------------------------------. 140 gallons.
Caffiso -------------------. Malta.--------------------------------- 5.4 gallons.
Candy -------------------- India (Bombay) -- . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 529 pounds.
Do -------------------. India (Madras)..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500 pounds.
Cantar ... ----------------. Morocco ------------------------- '• - - - - 113 pounds.
Do -------------------. Syria (Damascus) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 575 pounds.
Do --------------. . . . . Turkey ------------------------------. 124.7036 pounds.
Cantaro (Cantar) - . . . . . . . . . Malta.--------------------------------. 175 pounds.
Carga --------------------. Mexico and Salvador. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 pounds.
Catty---------------------. China--------------------------------. 1.333; (1}) pounds.
Do”------------------. Japan -------------------------------- 1.31 pounds.
Do -------------------- Java, Siam, and Malacca. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.35 pounds.
Do -------------------. Sumatra -----------------------------. 2.12 pounds.
Centaro -...-----------...... Central America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 4.2631 gallons.
Centmer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Bremen and Brunswick. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117.5 pounds.
Do -------------------. Darmstadt--------...-----. . . . . . . . . . . . 110.24 pounds.
Do ------------------.. Denmark and Norway . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110.11 pounds.
Do -------------------- Nuremberg-----------------------.... 112.43 pounds.
Do -------------------- Prussia ------------------------------ 113.44 pounds.
a More frequently called
pounds avoirdupois.
“Kin.” Among merchants in the treaty ports it equals 1.33}
384
BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES. 385
FOREIGN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, WITH AMERICAN EQUIVALENTs—
Continued. -
Denominations. Where used. American equivalents.
Centmer------------------- Sweden.------------------------------ 93.7 pounds.
Do -------------------- Vienna ------------------------------- 123.5 pounds.
Do -------------------- Zollverein ---------------------------- 110.24 pounds.
Do -------------------- Double or metric . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220.46 pounds.
Chetvert - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Russia-------------------------------. 5.7748 bushels.
Chih ---------------------- China -------------------------------- 14 inches.
Coyan--------------------- Sarawak. ----------------------------. 3,098 pounds.
D0 -------------------- Siam (Koyan) ------------------------ 2,667 pounds.
Cuadra-------------------- Argentine Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 a.CreS.
DO -------------------- Paraguay----------------------------- 78.9 yards.
Do -------------------- Paraguay (Square) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.077 square feet.
D0 -------------------- Uruguay------------------------------ Nearly 2 acres.
Cubic meter--------------- Metric-------------------------------- 35.3 cubic feet.
Cwt. (hundredweight) ---| British ............................... 112 pounds.
Dessiatine ---------------- Russia-------------------------------- 2.6997 acres.
D0 -------------------- Spain --------------------------------- 1.599 bushels.
Drachme-----------------. Greece-------------------------------- Half ounce.
Egyptian weights and
Iſleå.SUlreS.
Fanega (liquid)
Feddan
Frail (raisins)
FraSCO
sº º sº e me tº e s sº e :=
4s a e s is as at e º e s = n < * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * *
gº ºs e º ºs e s s sº s = * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
e = e s we e s is s at sº * * * * * * * * * *
Hectare
Hectoliter:
tº e º sº e s = e = * s & s is sº * * * *
* e s = s.s. s. s is a s sº me as s & s º º ºs
a = a as ºr as as ºr e º e s is a e = * * * * * *
Kilogram (kilo)
Kilometer
e º ºs e º 'º e º º Aº ‘sº º ºs º e s = ± &
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
17430—04—25
!
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
tº sº sº tº me as sº e º ºs e s = < * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* = s. sº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
& s s s = e sº e = * * * * * * * * * = * * * * * * * * e s is tº
4-3 & º 'º - ºr * * * * * * * * * * * = & ºn tº * * * * * * * * *
Uruguay (double)
Uruguay (single)
Venezuela.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * g e s = º º is sº sº º
tº dº º ºs s as sº e s ºn s = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
e sº s = <= s. sº sº sº s sº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* & sº e º sº m s = s = º is a º ºs ºs m. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * =
* * * * = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
s sº as as ºn m e º sº a tº sº * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Luxemburg
Russia.
* = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
s = e s = e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
sº º ºs ºº e º sº e = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
tº º º ºs = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
s & s º ºs e ºs = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
tº º ºs s as º ºs e º ºs e º sº º sº e º ºr e º º sº * * * * * * * * * *
Japan
Russia.
• * = • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
as se e s = a is a s as a s = s = * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1.5745 bushels.
2.575 bushels.
1.599 bushels.
1.54728 bushels.
Strike fanega, 70
pounds; full fanega,
118 pounds.
7.776 bushels.
3.888 bushels.
1.599 bushels.
16 gallons.
1.03 a CreS.
50 pounds.
2.5096 quarts.
2.5 quarts.
35 pounds.
264.17 gallons.
0.9028 pound.
0.88 gallon.
15.432 grains.
2.471 acres.
2.838 bushels.
26.417 gallons.
1.422 a.Cres.
6 feet.
2.2046 pounds.
0.621376 mile.
216 cubic feet.
4.9629 bushels.
3.5 bushels.
386 BULLETIN OF MILITARY NOTES.
FOREIGN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, WITH AMERICAN EQUIVALENTS-
Continued.
Denominations. Where used. American equivalents
Kwan --------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 8.28 pounds.
Last----------------------- Belgium and Holland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85.134 bushels.
Do -------------------- England (dry malt).................. 82.52 bushels.
Do -------------------- Germany ----------------------------- 2 metric tons (4,480
pounds.)
Do -------------------- Prussia ------------------------------- 112.29 bushels.
Do -------------------- Russian Poland....................... 11; bushels.
Do -------------------- Spain (salt) -------------------------. 4,760 pounds.
League (land) ... - - - - - - - -. Paraguay----------------------------- 4,633 acres.
Li------------------------- China -------------------------------- 2,115 feet.
Libra (pound) ... --------. Argentine Republic ... --...--...----. 1.0127 pounds.
Do -------------------- Central America - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 1.043 pounds.
Do -------------------- Chile --------------------------------- 1.014 pounds.
Do -------------------- Cuba --------------------------------- 1.0161 pounds.
Do -------------------- Mexico ------------------------------- 1.01465 pounds.
Do -------------------- Peru. --------------------------------- 1.0143 pounds.
Do -------------------- Portugal------------------------------ 1.011 pounds.
Do . . . . ---------------- Spain--------------------------------- 1.0144 pounds.
Do -------------------- Uruguay------------------------------ 1.0143 pounds.
Do -------------------- Venezuela. --------. ------...--------- 1.0161 pounds.
Liter---------------------- Metric-------------------------------- 1.0567 quarts.
Livre (pound) . . . . ---| Greece ------------------------------- 1.1 pounds.
Do -------------------- Guiana ------------------------------- 1.0791 pounds.
Load---------------------- England (timber) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Square, 50 cubic feet;
unhewn, 10 cubic
feet; inch planks,
600 superficial feet.
Manzana. -----...... . . . . . . Costa Rica.--------------------------- # acres.
Do -------------------- Nicaragua and Salvador . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.727 acres.
Marc---------------------- Bolivia ------------------------------- 0.507 pounds.
Maund-------------------. India--------------------------------- 82% pounds.
Meter --------------------- Metric-------------------------------- 39.37 inches.
Mil------------------------ Denmark----------------------------- 4.68 miles.
Do -------------------- Denmark (geographical) ... . . . . . . . . . 4.61 miles.
Milla---------------------- Nicaragua and Honduras ............ 1. 1493 miles.
Morgen ------------------- Prussia ------------------------------ 0.63 acre.
Oke ----------------------- Egypt -------------------------------- 2.7225 pounds.
Do -------------------- Greece-------------------------------- 2.84 pounds.
Do -------------------- Hungary ----------------------------- 3.0817 pounds.
Do -------------------- Turkey ------------------------------. 2.82838 pounds.
Do -------------------- Hungary and Wallachia - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2.5 pints.
Pic-----------------------. Egypt -------------------------------- 21; inches.
Picul----------------...--. Borneo and Celebes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135.64 pounds.
Do -------------------- China, Japan, and Sumatra . . . . . . . . . . 133} pounds.
Do -------------------- Java. --------------------------------- 135.1 pounds.
Do -------------------. Philippine Islands... . . . . . . . . . ... ----. 137.9 pounds.
Pie------------------------ Argentine Republic............. ----- 0.9478 foot.
Do . . . . . . . ------------. Spain --------------------------------- 0.91407 foot.
Pik------------------------ Turkey ----. . . . . . . . . . . . . -------------- 27.9 inches.
Pood ----...... ........... Russia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 36.112 pounds.
BULLETIN OF
387
MILITARY NOTES.
FOREIGN WEIGHTS AND MEASURES, WITH AMERICAN EQUIVALENTS_
Continued.
Denominations. Where used. American equivalents.
Pund (pound) -- . . . . . . . . . . Denmark and Sweden. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.102 pounds.
Quarter ------------------- Great Britain. ----------------...----- 8.252 bushels.
Do -------------------- London (coal)------------------------ 36 bushels.
Quintal ------------------- Argentine Republic - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 101.42 pounds.
Do -------------------- Brazil -------------------------------- 130.06 pounds.
Do -------------------- Castile,a Chile, Mexico, and Peru. ... 101.41 pounds.
Do -------------------- Greece. ----------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 123.2 pounds.
Do -------------------- Newfoundland (fish) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 pounds.
Do ------------------- Paraguay----------------------------- 100 pounds.
Do -------------------- Syria --------------------------------- 125 pounds.
Do -------------------- Metric-------------------------------- 220.46 pounds.
Rottle--------------------. Palestine ----------------------------- 6 pounds.
Do -------------------- Syria --------------------------------- 53 pounds.
Sageme-------------------- Russia-------------------------.. ---- 7 feet.
Salm---------------------- Malta.--------------------------------- 490 pounds.
Se------------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 0.02451 acre.
Seer----------------------- India--------------------------------- 1 pound 13 ounces.
Shaku -------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 11.9305 inches.
Sho -----------------------|----- do -------------------------------- 1.6 quarts.
Standard (St. Petersburg).| Lumber measure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165 Cubic feet.
Stone--------------------- British ------------------------------- 14 pounds.
Suerte -------------------. Uruguay ----------------------------- 2,700 cuadras (see Cua-
dra).
Sun ----------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 1.193 inches.
Tael ---------------------- Cochin China ... ----................. 590.75 grains (troy).
Tan ----------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 0.25 acre.
To ----------------------------- do -------------------------------- 2 pecks.
Ton ----------------------- Space measure ----------------------. 40 cubic feet.
Tonde (cereals). . . . . . . . . . . Denmark----------------------------- 3.94783 bushels.
Tondeland................l..... do-------------------------------- 1.36 acres.
Tsubo--------------------- Japan -------------------------------- 6 feet square.
Tsun ---------------------. China -------------------------------- 1.41 inches.
Tunna -------------------- Sweden.------------------------------- 4.5 bushels.
Tunnland...-----------...----- do-------------------------------- 1.22 a Cres.
Vara ---------------------. Argentine Republic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34.1208 inches.
Do -------------------. Central America. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 32.87 inches.
Do -------------------. Chile and Peru....................... 33.367 inches.
Do -------------------. Cuba --------------------------------. 33,384 inches.
Do -------------------- Curaçao ------------------------------ 33.375 inches.
Do -------------------- Mexico ------------------------------. 33 inches.
Do -------------------- Paraguay-------------------------.... 34 inches.
Do -------------------. Spain.-------------------------------. 0.914117 yard.
Do -------------------- Venezuela ---------------------------. 33.384 inches.
Vedro--------------------. Russia -------------------------------. 2.707 gallons.
Vergees -----.............. Isle of Jersey-----------------........ 71.1 square rods.
Verst---------------------- Russia-------------------------------. 0.663 mile.
Vlocka-------------------. Russian Poland ---------------------. 41.98 acres.
a Although the metric weights are used officially in Spain, the Castile quintal is
employed in commerce in the Peninsula and colonies, save in Catalonia; the Catalan
quintal equals 91.71 pounds.
METRIC VVEIGHTS AND MEASURES.
METRIC VVEIGHTS.
Milligram (Tºo gram) equals 0.0154 grain.
Centigram (Táo gram) equals 0.1543 grain.
Decigram (To gram) equals 1.5432 grains.
Gram equals 15.432 grains.
Decagram (10 grams) equals 0.3527 ounce.
Hectogram (100 grams) equals 3.5274 ounces.
Kilogram (1,000 grams) equals 2.2046 pounds.
Myriagram (10,000 grams) equals 22.046 pounds.
Quintal (100,000 grams) equals 220.46 pounds.
Millier or tonnea—ton (1,000,000 grams) equals 2,204.6 pounds.
METRIC DRY MEASURES.
Milliliter (rºot liter) equals 0.061 cubic inch.
Centiliter (+$o liter) equals 0.6102 cubic inch.
Deciliter (Tº liter) equals 6.1022 cubic inches.
Liter equals 0.908 quart.
Decaliter (10 liters) equals 9.08 quarts.
Hectoliter (100 liters) equals 2.838 bushels.
Kiloliter (1,000 liters) equals 1.308 cubic yards.
METRIC LIQUID MEASURES.
Milliliter (rºwn liter) equals 0.0388 fluid ounce.
Centiliter (rho liter) equals 0.338 fluid ounce.
Deciliter (I'm liter) equals 0.845 gill.
Liter equals 1.0567 quarts.
Decaliter (10 liters) equals 2.6418 gallons.
Hectoliter (100 liters) equals 26.417 gallons.
Kiloliter (1,000 liters) equals 264.18 gallons.
METRIC MEASURES OF LENGTH.
Millimeter (rºot meter) equals 0.0394 inch.
Centimeter (+$g meter) equals 0.3937 inch.
Decimeter (Tº meter) equals 3.937 inches.
Meter equals 39.37 inches.
Decameter (10 meters) equals 393.7 inches.
Hectometer (100 meters) equals 328 feet 1 inch.
Kilometer (1,000 meters) equals 0.62137 mile (3,280 feet 10 inches).
Myriameter (10,000 meters) equals 6.2137 miles.
METRIC SURFACE MEASURES.
Centare (1 Square meter) equals 1,550 square inches.
Are (100 Square meters) equals 119.6 square yards.
Hectare (10,000 square meters) equals 2.471 acres.
388
I N D E X.
Abandonment of forts: Page.
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 109
Acre Treaty ---------------------------------------------------- 31
Administrative service:
Spain ------------------------------------------------------ 296
Switzerland ------------------------------------------------ 336
Age limits:
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 128
Apparatus for arresting fire in ships’ holds - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 211
Argentina, notes on--------------------------------------------- 4
Armament:
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 117
Montenegro ------------------------------------------------ 233
Roumania-------------------------------------------------- 237
Servia ----------------------------------------------------- 293
Spain -------------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 300
Turkey ---------------------------------------------------- 343
Artillery, field:
Artillery, mountain, remarks on equipment for- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 346
Austria-Hungary—
Rearmament ------------------------------------------ 9
Reorganization ----------------------------------------- 9
Belgium, new guns ----------------------------------------- 19
Brazil, firing experiments---------------. ------------------- 29
Canada, expenditures for new guns - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 213
Denmark—
Portable observatory for -------------------------------- 40
Rearmament ------------------------------------------- 40
Field guns, high explosive shell for - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 353
Germany—
Question of number of guns----------------------------- 109
Rearmament ------------------------------------------- 117
Great Britain—
Field howitzer------------------------------------------ 173
New field gun ---------------------------------------- 147, 150
Pom poms --------------------------------------------- 179
Roumania, new howitzer batteries - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 237
Russia—
New gun ----------------------------------------------- 241
Utterances against shields-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 244
390 INDEX.
Artillery, field—Continued. Page.
Switzerland—
Batteries of howitzers----------------------------------- 324
Composition of ----------------------------------------- 321
Conclusions of commission------------------------------- 327
Data relative to present material------------------- - - - - - - 328
Field-gun trials----------------------------------------- 314
Fixed ammunition for----------------------------------- 320
Mountain guns and batteries- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 327
New material----------------------------------------- 313,321
Proposal for rearmament---------------------. ---------- 320
Question of shields------------------------------------ 318,328
Time required for rearmament. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 322
Trials of howitzers-------------------------------------- 323
Turkey, rapid-fire guns-------------------------------------- 343
Artillery, heavy:
Germany, position in March--------------------------------- 106
Great Britain, heavy guns in South Africa. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 152
Russia, siege batteries--------------------------------------- 238
Australia, notes on---------------------------------------------- 211
Austria-Hungary, notes on ---------------------. ---------------- 5
Automobiles:
Austria-Hungary, experiments- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
Germany, experiments.-------------------------------------- 109
Italy, experiments------------------------------------------ 220
Axleless wheel, Haeusner patent - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 12
Belgium, notes on ---------------------------------------------- 16
Boer tactics:
Germany, opinions on--------------------------------------- 128
Great Britain, views of Sir Ian Hamilton - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 181
Bonagente belt ------------------------------------------------- 219
Brazil, notes on------------------------------------------------- 29
Brick and stone manufacture:
Germany, calcareous brick ----------------------------. ----- 122
Bridge equipage:
France----------------------------------------------------- 68
Germany ------------------------------------------------ 100, 105
Bubonic plague, study on------------------------- -------------- 366
Budgets:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 8, 345
France----------------------------------------------------- 8, 346
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 8, 345
Great Britain. --- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * = • * = - - - - - - - - - 8
Italy------------------------------------------------------- 8, 345
Mexico --------------------------------------------------- 224
Russia ------------------------------------------------- 8, 239, 346
Spain ------------------------------------------------------ 295
Turkey ---------------------------------------------------- 338
Bulgaria, notes on ---------------------------------------------- 33
Canada, notes on ----------------------------------------------- 212
INDEX. 391
Changes in military classifications of countries: Page.
British India ----------------------------------------------- 215
Chile, notes on ------------------------------------------------- 35
Coal:
Brazil, deposits of.-------------------------------------- !--- 31
Great Britain, storage of.------------------------------------- 200
Communication troops:
Germany—
Balloon troops and units -------------------------------- 88
Organization and training - - - - - - - - * - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 97
Transport and convoys---------------------------------- 99
Confidential reports:
Great Britain--------------------------------------------- 185, 186
Crossing of rivers:
France----------------------------------------------------- 60
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 242
Denmark, notes on --------------------------------------------- 40
Drill regulations:
Spain, infantry --------------------------------------------- 298
Electric marking of hits- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 108
Equipment:
France, the roule-sac - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 61
Field hospitals:
Germany--------------------------------------------------- 100
Firing, small arms:
France, firing instructions - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 68
Switzerland, firing Societies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 328
Food depots:
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 240
Foreign population:
Argentina -------------------------------------------------- 4
Buenos Ayres ---------------------------------------------- 4
Dalny------------------------------------------------------ 286
Foreign weights and measures ------. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . -------- 384
Fortifications and defenses:
Belgium --------------------------------------------------- 16
Brazil ----------------------------------------------------- 29
British India----------------------------------------------- 214
France, notes on ----------------------------------------------- 42
Galvanic batteries:
German patent --------------------------------------------- 130
Gas-check pad, new:
English patent --------------------------------------------- 168
General notes -------------------------------------------------- 345
Germany, notes on --------------------------------------------- 85
Great Britain, notes on - - - - - - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 147
Horses:
Austria-Hungary, furloughed horses - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 11
British India, breeding of ----------------------------------- 214
392 INDEX.
Horses—Continued. Page.
Madagascar, breeding of ------------------------------------ 81
Switzerland, purchase of ------------------------------------ 313
India, notes on ------------------------------------------------- 213
Insignia of markmanship:
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 122
Intendance service:
Belgium, personnel ----------------------------------------- 20
Italy, notes on ------------------------------------------------- 218
Japan, notes on ------------------------------------------------ 222
Korea. (See Manchuria and Korea.)
Latrines:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 11
Machine guns:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 10
Denmark -------------------------------------------------- 40
Switzerland, use in mountain warfare - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 310
Machine-gun troops:
Germany ------------------------------------------------ 105, 107
Switzerland ------------------------------------------------ 310
Madagascar, notes on ------------------------------------------- 81
Manchuria and Korea------------------------------------------- 269
British and American trade in Manchuria - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 272
City of Harbin --------------------------------------------- 271
Dalny:
Administration of township of Dalny - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 284
Branch railway connecting Dalny with main line of Chi-
nese Eastern Railway--------------------------------- 288
Building the city--------------------------------------- 287
City of Dalny ---------------------------------------- 282,283
Climate of Dalny --------------------------------------- 284
Exports and reexports ---------------------------------- 291
Industries of Dalny------------------------------------- 287
Population of Dalny ------------------------------------ 286
Sale of lots--------------------------------------------- 285
Source of imports--------------------------------------- 290
Steamship service--------------------------------------- 289
Township of Dalny ------------------------------------- 283
Trade of Dalny----------------------------------------- 290
Dalny and the Siberian Railroad - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 280
Expenditures at Vladivostok - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 275
Japan's natural outlet--------------------------------------- 270
Mails for the Far East -------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 292
Misconceptions about Manchuria - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 270
Opponents in East Asia ------------------------------------- 273
Port Arthur ------------------------------------------------ 291
Port Arthur and Dalny - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 272
Railway force in Manchuria --------...------------------------ 269
Railway systems-------------------------------------------- 269
INDEX. 393
Manchuria and Korea—Continued. Page.
Russia's enormous garrison -------. -------------------------- 271
Strength of Russia in the Far East. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 269
Maneuvers:
British India----------------------------------------------- 215
France----------------------------------------------------- 74
France, lessons of.------------------------------------------ 71
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 135
Italy----------------------------------------------------- 218, 220
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 259
Switzerland ------------------------------------------------ 335
Medical service:
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 241
Switzerland ------------------------------------------------ 336
Metric weights and measures - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 388
Mexico, notes on ----------------------------------------------- 224
Military courts:
France.---------------------------------------------------- 63
Military schools: -
Austria-Hungary, Second school for artillery cadets - - - - - - - - - - - 9
France----------------------------------------------------- 54
Germany ------------------------------------------------ 120, 121
Germany, veterinary academy- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 121
Spain ------------------------------------------------------ 301
Spain School of equitation-- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 296,297
Turkey ------------------------------------------------- .-- 342
Mobilization:
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 95
Mexico ---------------------------------------------------- 227
Montenegro, notes on ------------------------------------------- 230
National wealth:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 8
France----------------------------------------------------- 8
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 8
Great Britain----------------------------------------------- 8
Italy ------------------------------------------------------ 8
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 8
Navy, the:
Carrier-pigeon service—
Germany -------------------------------------------- - - 144
Coaling of ships—
Great Britian, record of Spartiate - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 205
Dietary of navy—
Great Britain------------------------------------------- 206
Interpreters—
France------------------------------------------------- 79
394 INDEX.
Navy, the Continued. Page,
Naval balloon corps—
Russia ------------------------------------------------- 241
Naval estimates—
Great Britain------------------------------------------ 377
Russia----------------------------------------------- 263, 268
Naval notes— -
Austria-Hungary, battle ship Erzherzog-Karl- - - - - - - - - - - - - - 15
Denmark, coast-defense ship ---------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - 41
France------------------------------------------------- 375
Gun trials------------------------------------------ 79
Steam trials---------------------------------------- 78
Germany ---------------------------------------------- 375
Armored ship Hessen - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 137
Battle ship Preussen- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 137
Great Britain----------------------------------------- 203,374
New torpedo boats---------------------------------- 205
Japan ------------------------------------------------- 375
Battle ship Chinyem - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 223
Russia ------------------------------------------- 265,268, 375
Latest stations of ships------------------------------ 267
Turkey, cruiser Abdul-Medjidi - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 344
United States------------------------------------------- 374
Naval preparations and policies— .
Argentina--------------------------------------------- 35
Austria-Hungary -----------------, ------------------ 14, 36, 39
Brazil-------------------------------------------------- 36
Chile -------------------------------------------------- 35
Denmark ------------------------------------------- 35, 36, 38
France------------------------------------------------- 76
Germany ---------------------------------------------- 139
Great Britain----------------------------------------- 203,204
Greece------------------------------------------------- 36, 39
Holland ------------------------ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 35, 38
Japan----- - * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * is s = º 'º - - - - * * * * tº as º ºs 275,278
Netherlands-------------------------------------------- 37
Norway--------------------------------------------- 35, 37,38
Portugal ----------------------------------------------- 36, 39
Russia------------------------------------------- 264, 274,279
Spain -------------- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * = s. 35, 38
Sweden ------------------------------------------------ 35, 37
Turkey ------------------------------------------------ 36, 39
Naval recruits—
Germany ---------------------------------------------- 104
Naval war game—
Great Britain, Naval War Game Society - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 210
School-ships—
Russia, school-ship Ocean ------------------------------- 261
INDEX. 395
Navy, the Continued. Page.
Submarine boats—
France------------------------- ** * * * * tº sº sº sº sº tº º ºs ºne ºr me s = e º sº. 77,78, 80
Experiments --------------------------------------- 208
Germany, ideas on-------------------------------------. 140
Great Britain, status of question - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 208
Russia ------------------------------------------------- 267
Warning apparatus—
Great Britain, signaling approach of submarines . . . . . . .... 173
Wireless telegraphy—
Great Britain, Marconi service- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 158
Strength of navy— *
Austria-Hungary --------------------------------------- 14
Russia ------------------------------------------------- 264
Netherlands, the Notes on- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 234
New cartridges:
France----------------------------------------------------- 54
Ocean steamers:
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 132
Mexican lines ------------------------------------------ 133
Merchant vessels, value of. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 133
Officers' expenses:
Great Britain----------------------------------------------- 184
Organization of armies:
Belgium—
New organization--------------------------------------- 16
Fortress artillery ------------------------------. -------- 26
British India ----------------------------------------------- 215
Bulgaria --------------------------------------------------- 33
Canada, reorganization-------------------------------------- 212
France—
Colonial artillery --------------------------------------- 46
Colonial infantry --------------------------------------- 42
Madagascar colonial reserves - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -. 81
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 85,95
Italy, artillery---------------------------------------------- 218
Mexico -------------------------------------------------- 225, 227
Montenegro ---------------------------------------------- 230, 232
Netherlands, the-------------------------------------------- 234
Roumania.------------------------------------------------- 236
Russia, infantry in Siberia.----------------------------------- 238
Servia ----------------------------------------------------- 293
Spain, reorganization --------------------------------------- 296
Switzerland ---------------------------------------------- 308, 309
Turkey -------------------------------------------------- 337,338
Pay of officers:
Sweden ---------------------------------------------------- 305
Turkey ---------------------------------------------------- 341
396 INDEX.
Promotion: Page.
France—
New law ----------------------------------------------- 55
Officers of general staff---------------------------------- 59
Promotion in war--------------------------------------- 59
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 55
Noncommissioned officers.---------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 107
Great Britain—
Examinations for-----. --------------------------------- 189
Regulations -------------------------------------------- 184
Railways and railway troops:
British India ----------------------------------------------- 214
China------------------------------------------------------ 244
Japan------------------------------------------------------ 222
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 243
Rolling stock ------------------------------------------- 244
Rations:
France, field Service bread - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 53
Russia, barley coffee---------------------------------------- 243
Recoil minimizer for firearms:
United States patent ---------------------------------------- 354
Recruit contingent:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 7
Belgium, recruitment of administrative service- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 20
France--------------------------------------------------- 7,49, 51
Three-year contingent ---------------------------------- 50
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 7, 103
Italy------------------------------------------------------- 7
Montenegro ------------------------------------------------ 231
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 7
Turkey ---------------------------------------------------- 342
Recruiting law:
Austria-Hungary - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 5
Bulgaria --------------------------------------------------- 33
Germany -------------------------------------------------- 103
Mexico ---------------------------------------------------- 224
Montenegro ------------------------------------------------ 231
Regulations:
Belgium, furloughed men ----------------------------------- 23
Germany—
Administration of artillery depots- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 122
Cavalry telegraph--------------------------------------- 122
Ensign examination ------------------------------------ 121
Establishment of ammunition magazines------------ - - - - - 122
Foot artillery------------------------------------------- 122
Rifle practice------------------------------------------- 121
Signal ------------------------------------------------- 121
Troop exercise grounds --------------------------------- 122
Roumania, notes on----------------------------- • * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * 236
Russia, notes on ------------------------------------------------ 238
INDEX. 397
Scouts: Page.
Italy, artillery---------------------------------------------- 219
Servia, notes on------------------------------------------------- 293
Sighting devices ------------------------------------------------
The hyposcope --------------------------------------------- 159
Kokotovic universal sight----------------------------------- 355
Small arms:
Austria-Hungary, automatic pistol--------------------------- 10
British India, distribution of Lee-Enfield rifles - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 213
Bulgaria, automatic pistol ----------------------------------- 34
France, modification of sight- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 54
Germany—
Alterations in rifle- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 107
Rifle--------------------------------------------------- 119
New rifle----------------------------------------------- 106
Great Britain—
New service rifle---------------------------------------- 150
Trials with Lee-Enfield rifle - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 172
Russia, factories -------------------------------------------- 254
Spain, notes on------------------------------------------------- 295
Speed tests:
Germany, electric trains--- --------------------------------- 131
Strength of armies in 1866:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 6
France----------------------------------------------------- 6
Italy------------------------------------------------------- 6
North German Federation. -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 6
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 6
Strength—war and peace:
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 7, 345
Belgium --------------------------------------------------- 20
Bulgaria --------------------------------------------------- 33
France----------------------- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 7,346
Germany ---------------------------------------- 7, 87, 95, 102,346
Additions to peace establishment- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 107
Foot artillery------------------------------------------- 103
Italy------------------------------------------------------- 345
Mexico -------------------------------------------------- 224, 227
Montenegro ---------------------------------------------- 230, 232
Roumania-------------------------------------------------- 236
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 7, 346
In Far East -------------------------------------------- 269
Servia ----------------------------------------------------- 293
Spain ---------------------------------------------------- 295,301
Switzerland ------------------------------------------------ 308
Turkey -------------------------------------------------- 337,342
Suez Canal, statistics regarding ---------------------------------- 212
Sunstroke and heat prostration, recent observations on - - - - - - - - - - - - 364
Sweden, notes on ----------------------------------------------- 305
398 INDEX.
Torpedo experiments: Page.
Great Britain, Belleisle experiments - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 207
Track bicycle--------------------------------------------------- 108
Traction engines: Diplock ‘‘pedrail” system - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 157
Turkey, notes on ----------------------------------------------- 337
Uniforms:
Belgium, railway, post and telegraph administration - - - - - - - - - - 28
France, gloves---------------------------------------------- 53
Germany—
Clothing ----------------------------------------------- 105
Gloves------------------------------------------------- 105
Values of foreign coins and currencies- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 378
Vessels building:
Argentina-------------------------------------------------- 4
Austria-Hungary ------------------------------------------- 15
Chile ------------------------------------------------------ 35
Denmark -------------------------------------------------- 41
France----------------------------------------------------- 76
Germany ------------------------------------------------ 136, 137
Great Britain----------------------------, ---------------- 202
Italy------------------------------------------------------- 221
Japan------------------------------------------------------ 222
Russia ----------------------------------------------------- 263
Spain ------------------------------------------------------ 304
Sweden - - - - - - - --------------------------------------------- 307
Volunteers:
Great Britain----------------------------------------------- 147
War dogs:
Germany, contest------------------------------------------- 134
Zebrula v. The mule, experiments with--------------------------- 363
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