Army

Army, a body of armed men, so organised and disciplined as to act together, be mutually reliant, and perform in unison the evolutions of the march and battlefield according to the absolute will of one man. An army is a movable engine composed of a vast number of individual parts or powers, arranged so as not only to act in concert, but to exert their whole aggregate force in any direction and upon any point which may be ordered or required. The organisation of an army is of two kinds, tactical and administrative. The former enables the leader of an army to transmit his orders to three or four subordinate commanders, who pass them on to three or four others under them, until, through a regular chain of responsibility, the original impulse is communicated to the private soldier (see TACTICS). The latter, in a similar manner, divides the army into groups of gradually decreasing size, so that the men may be efficiently paid, fed, clothed, and armed (see ARMY ADMINISTRATION). The present article will treat only of the constitution and establishment of armies, and indicate their gradual historical development. Technical terms generally, as well as all the component elements of the army, in personnel and matériel, and the organisation and duties of the troops, will be found noticed under their proper headings; the tactical positions of an army are defined below.

Ancient Armies.—The earliest regular military organisation is attributed to Sesostris, who flourished in Egypt about sixteen centuries B.C. This extraordinary conqueror divided Egypt into thirty-six military provinces, and established a sort of militia, or warrior caste, to each member of which he allotted lands for the support of himself and his family. With this army he overran Asia as far as India, and from the Ganges to the Caspian. After him, little further progress was made in military art until the Persian empire arose. Its soldiers introduced the mass-formation, with cavalry in intervals of squares; but the most important feature of the Persian organisation was the establishment of what was practically a standing army, divided as garrisons throughout the conquered provinces, and under the control of military governors distinct from the satraps. In time of war this standing army was augmented by a general levy which included the tributary nations, and therefore resulted in a heterogeneous collection of barbarous and undisciplined peoples; a source of weakness which caused the defeat of Xerxes' numerically powerful army. In Greece, it was not a standing army, but a sort of national militia, that gained Marathon, Plataea, and Mycale. The leading men in each state paid attention to organisation and tactics in a way never before seen. The Lacedæmonians invented the Phalanx (q.v.), a particular mass-formation for foot-soldiers; and to this the Athenians added lighter troops to cover the front and harass the enemy in march. Their cavalry also were efficient and alert. The charge of the Athenian army at Marathon showed the crowning excellence of their rapid system of attack; and Miltiades, their leader, is said to have first invented the 'double step,' to increase the momentum of a phalanx when rushing on the enemy. The Thebans introduced the column formation, which, being deeper and narrower than the phalanx, was intended to pierce the enemy's line at some one point, and throw them into confusion. Philip, the father of Alexander the Great, established in Macedonia the world's second standing army; and, as a further change, made the phalanx deeper and more massive than it had been among the Lacedæmonians. He brought into use the Macedonian pike, a formidable weapon 24 feet in length. With a phalanx sixteen ranks in depth, six rows of men could present the points of these long pikes protruding in front of the front rank, forming a bristling array of steel terrible to encounter. Meanwhile, a more western power was developing what was perhaps the most perfect organisation in the annals of military history. The Romans initiated changes in army matters which have had a widespread influence throughout the civilised world. About the period 200 B.C., every Roman, from the age of 17 to 46, was liable to be called upon to serve as a soldier; the younger men were preferred, but all were available up to the middle-time of life. They went through a very severe course of drill and discipline, to fit them alike for marching, fighting, camping, working, carrying, and other active duties. Every year the magistrates sent up the names of eligible men, and tribunes selected a certain number from this list to form Legions (q.v.), or army corps. The Roman legion, in its best days, excelled all other troops alike in discipline and in esprit. So long as none but freemen were enlisted, the position of a legionary was one of honour; but when it became necessary to supply the armies of ambitious leaders with large drafts of slaves and criminals, the character of the body naturally fell with that of the individual. With a gradual laxity in discipline, the decline of the Roman power commenced. The under-current of insubordination resulted in reverses, and though discipline was revived spasmodically under great commanders, it ultimately died out.

Medieval Armies.—With the decline of the Roman power, all that remained of scientific warfare was lost for a time. The northern invaders made little use of tactics, but relied chiefly on their personal bravery, and on the impetuosity and weight of their attack in column. The army, among the Franks and Germans, was the nation. Every freeman bore arms, alike as a duty and as a privilege. Kings and generals were intrusted in time of war with an absolute power, which the nation resumed with the return of peace. The conquerors of the Roman empire at first recognised no superior save the community, of which all conquests were the property. What all had aided to acquire, all demanded equally to share. Hence arose a division of the conquered territory, individual chiefs rewarding their own followers with gifts of the lands they had helped to conquer. The growth of a feeling that such gifts could be revoked, and that they implied an obligation to future service, marks the beginning of the Feudal period (see FEUDALISM), when national armies disappeared, and each baron had a small army composed of his own militia or retainers, available for battle at short notice. The contests of these small armies, sometimes combined and sometimes isolated, make up the greater part of the wars of the middle ages. Of military tactics or strategy there was very little; the campaigns were desultory and indecisive; and the battles were gained more by individual valour than by any well-concerted plan. The characteristics of the system most strongly opposed to the progress of military science were the undue importance attached to the cavalry, the want of organisation, resulting from the numerous rival commands which made up its armies, and the shortness of the service, extending only to twenty days, or at the most, three months in every year. The Crusades (q.v.) effected some improvement in all these respects. The forces which went to the Holy Land were at first mere armed mobs, upheld by fanaticism, but ignorant of all discipline, and under leaders destitute alike of forethought and powers of combination. The reverses they sustained, however, showed the necessity for some organisation, and the extended service called attention to and developed the value of the foot-soldiers. From this period dates the modern recognition of the importance of an arm which increased under the franchise extended to the towns, and the superiority of which, since the overthrow of the Burgundian chivalry by Swiss infantry in the three disastrous battles of 1476-77, has never been disputed. The invention of gunpowder effected much less change, during the middle ages, than is generally supposed. When men could fight at a greater distance than before, and on a system which brought mechanism to the aid of valour, everything connected with the military art underwent a revolution. Historically, however, this great change was not very apparent until after this period. The art of making good cannon and hand-guns grew up gradually, like other arts; and armies long continued to depend principally on the older weapons—spears, darts, arrows, axes, maces, swords, and daggers. As to army-formation, there was still little that could deserve the name; there was no particular order of battle; each knight sought how he could best distinguish himself by personal valour; and sometimes it happened that the fate of a battle was allowed to depend on a combat between two knights. No attempt was made, until towards the close of the 15th century, to embody a system of tactics and manoeuvres for cavalry; and even that attempt was of the most primitive kind. Nor was it far otherwise with the foot-soldiers; they were gradually becoming acquainted with the use of firearms; but, midway as it were between two systems, they observed neither completely; and the armies in which they served presented very little definite organisation.

Modern Armies.—The Turkish Janissary force (q.v.), the earliest standing army in Europe, was fully organised in 1362; but the formation of standing armies among western powers, which may be said to have introduced the modern military system, dates from the establishment of compagnies d'ordonnance by Charles VII. of France, nearly a century later. These companies of men-at-arms amounted, with their attendants, to 9000 men; and to them the king afterwards added 16,000 franc-archers, largely recruited from the mercenaries which growing wealth and luxury had developed. The superiority of such a force over militia forced its adoption on the surrounding states. Monarchs contracted with powerful nobles to raise, by enlistment, regiments, which were now broken up into squadrons or battalions as tactical units, the regiment remaining the administrative unit. Between the beginning of the 16th and the end of the 18th centuries, the proportion of musketeers gradually increased; the pike was abandoned for the bayonet, and even the cavalry were taught to rely more on their fire than on the effect of their charge. The improvements in weapons naturally affected the formation. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-48), Gustavus Adolphus and Wallenstein adopted opposite modes of dealing with masses of infantry; the former spread them out to a great width, and only six ranks in depth; whereas the latter adopted a narrower front, with a depth of twenty to thirty ranks. In Louis XIV.'s reign, the prolonged wars introduced the larger grouping in brigades and divisions. Frederick the Great, in the next century, reduced the depth of his infantry formation to three ranks, and introduced a most rigid and exact system of tactics and drill; so that when able to manoeuvre, he nearly always won his battles; but when the result depended on bold and unexpected onslaughts, he was more frequently a loser than a winner. He, however, greatly improved the cavalry tactics, and restored to this arm a reliance on the effect of a rapid charge, while the introduction of horse artillery added to its power.

The French Revolution effected almost as great changes in the military as in the political organisation of Europe. The struggle from which France emerged victorious in 1797 had exhausted even the enormous levies which had fed her armies for the previous five years; and in 1798 a law was passed establishing compulsory military service. Every citizen was declared liable to five years' service, and all between the ages of 20 and 25 were enrolled. The immense advantage which this terrible power gave Napoleon, compelled other nations to follow the example of France, and in Europe voluntary enlistment has since survived in England alone. From this period also dates the introduction of the short service and reserve system. Restricted under the Treaty of Tilsit (1807) to 43,000 men with the colours, the Prussian strength was nevertheless annually added to by Scharnhorst, who first developed the idea of sending the trained soldiers back to their homes at the end of the year, and replacing them with fresh recruits; and thus, while keeping the establishment within the required limits, producing a powerful and steadily growing reserve. In spite of the strength which Prussia mustered under Blücher, however, the teaching of Sadowa and the events of 1870 and 1871 were required to induce the other powers to follow her example. Now, in most nations will be found an Army of Reserve, intended to augment the standing army, or first fighting line, from a peace to a war strength, and consisting of two classes—those waiting for an immediate call to arms, if required, and those constituting the militia or second line of reserves—the entire effective military power of the state (see MILITIA, LANDWEHR, the latter dating from 1813). The principles of organisation were also modified in the large armies which took the field in the beginning of the century. In 1792, mixed divisions, composed of all arms, had been introduced, and in 1804 Napoleon organised, under his marshals, corps d'armée, each in itself a complete army. The Prussian model has been accepted as the best type of Army Corps (q.v.), and in that country originated also the territorial system now generally adopted by all European powers. A modern army, when mobilised, consists of several such corps, and a mass of cavalry, placed under one commander. A smaller force taking the field, consisting of one corps or less, is generally called an expeditionary force. It should perhaps be added that a corps d'armée takes up on the line of march from 20 to 30 miles; the actual rate of marching may be stated at from 1 to 2 miles an hour, even this rate being dependent on the state of the roads and any circumstances (such as an excessive proportion of guns) that may impede a column of march.

It may be convenient to mention here certain distinctions in the application of the word 'army.' A Covering Army is encamped or in cantonments, for the protection of the different passes or roads which lead to the town or other place to be protected. A Siege Army is ranged around or in front of a fortified place, to capture it by a regular process of besieging. A Blockading Army, either independent or auxiliary to a siege army, is intended to prevent all ingress and egress at the streets or gates of a besieged place. An Army of Observation takes up an advanced position, and by celerity of movement keeps a close watch on all the manoeuvres of the enemy. An Army of Reconnaissance has a more special duty at a particular time and place, to ascertain the strength and position of the enemy's forces. A Flying Column is a small army carrying all its supplies with it, so as to be able to operate quickly, and in any direction, independently of its original Base of Operations (q.v.).

THE BRITISH ARMY.—In Anglo-Saxon times every Englishman necessarily belonged to the fyrð, or national militia, and the defence of the country was one of the three obligations of the Trinoda necessitas (q.v.). The Conquest introduced the feudal system, the kingdom being divided into some 60,000 knight's-fecs, which carried the obligation of forty days' service a year, at home or abroad. The posse comitatus, under the sheriff, and the militia were also maintained. But gradually the unfitness for a long campaign of an army which so soon disbanded, brought about the substitution of an escuage, or fixed fine, for personal service, and armies were raised by contract with some powerful baron or experienced captain. Forced levies were illegal but common from the reign of Edward III. to that of Elizabeth, whose forces for the Irish wars were supplied by this means. Under Charles I., the important question arose whether the king of England did or did not possess the right to maintain a military force without the express consent of parliament; and the bitter feeling, when the king billeted his soldiers on the people and imposed martial law in time of peace, culminated in the presentation of the Petition of Rights (q.v.). Cromwell established a standing army of 80,000 men, mostly of the yeoman class, the most effective army, probably, that England has ever possessed; but the cost and the preponderating political influence of such a force produced finally a still deeper discontent. Consequently, on his restoration, Charles II. found himself at first compelled to agree to the abandonment of all the army except a kind of body-guard or household brigade of 5000 men, sanctioned by the parliament. Monk's Coldstream regiment and another were retained, and formed the first regiments of guards; the Earl of Oxford's Royal Regiment of Horse Guards (Oxford Blues) stood first upon the establishment, and two troops of cavalry raised by Charles formed the originals of the present Life Guards. In 1661 Dumbarton's regiment, probably the oldest in the world, was brought over permanently to England, and made the Royal Regiment of Foot. It had formed the guard of Charles of France in the 9th century, and had shared in the battles of the Thirty Years' War. Its old title of the Royal Scots has since been revived; another sobriquet, 'Pontius Pilate's Guards,' refers to its great antiquity. The Infanta of Portugal brought, as part of her dowry, Tangier and Bombay, and the king to garrison these raised other regiments, including the Queen's and the Holland Regiment, the latter long known as 'the Buffs.' Throughout the reign the establishment grew, in spite of parliament's open jealousy of such an increase; and although the Commons by holding the purse virtually held the power, Charles's army numbered at his death 16,500 men. With Monmouth's rebellion as an excuse, James II. raised its strength to 20,000, some 13,000 of whom were kept in camp at Hounslow.

In the succeeding reign the real basis of the modern British army was laid. The Declaration of Rights (q.v.) settled, in positive terms, 'that the raising and keeping of a standing army in time of peace, without consent of parliament, is contrary to law.' To punish certain offences against military discipline, which had hitherto been enforced by Articles of War emanating from the sovereign, the first Mutiny Act was passed in 1689, to last for six months only; but it was afterwards, with a few exceptions, annually renewed until its incorporation in the Army Discipline Act of 1879 (see ARMY DISCIPLINE). In 1691 the Commons sanctioned a vote of 65,000 men, but on the return of peace in 1697 this force was reduced to 19,000; in the war of the Spanish Succession, the troops at one time numbered over 200,000, but they were again reduced, after the peace of Utrecht, to 19,000. Although the strength of the army has since steadily increased, these fluctuations have continued. The forces raised to 74,187 in 1745 were reduced to 18,857 after the Rebellion; the strength of 245,996 necessary in 1812 had fallen to 71,790 ten years after. The elasticity which permitted these enlargements and contractions was obtained by varying the number of battalions in a regiment, of companies in a battalion, or of men in a company. During the half-century which followed the last date, the actual number of regiments varied but little. Five cavalry and thirty-five infantry regiments were added in the reigns of the first two Georges; and the necessity of organising a corps of gunners for the defence of Gibraltar and other fortresses led to the formation in 1715, under the Board of Ordnance, of two companies of artillery, which received a regimental constitution the following year, although its officers were not regularly commissioned until 1741. Fifty engineer officers also were appointed in 1717; but seventy years elapsed before privates were enlisted and that arm became a corps. It was also at first under the Board of Ordnance; and hence it is that the Artillery and Engineers are still called Ordnance Corps. The outbreak of the French Revolution found the service at a very low ebb. The laurels gained in the earlier wars of the century had been tarnished in America, where two British armies had surrendered; the ranks were largely filled with pardoned criminals and released debtors; and the system of billeting caused endless complaints from soldiers and civilians alike. In the Peninsula, the army was permanently organised in divisions, and the commissariat and transport were brought to great perfection. But these services were afterwards reduced along with the army, which fell from 246,000 to 72,000, and the result was the miserable state of unpreparedness which was discovered when the strain of the Crimean war came.

Recent Changes.—This struggle revealed many defects in the organisation of the British army; but for many years little of lasting value was done towards remedying these defects, beyond an improved method of admission, by examination, of candidates for Her Majesty's commission, and some small amelioration in the position of the privates. An English military critic could still say that 'there was no such thing as a definite English brigade, divisional, or army corps organisation; if war came, the whole had to be evolved from a force of brave men with muskets or field-guns, but destitute of all else.' Other events and considerations occupied the public attention. Still, the Indian rebellion, the second and third China war, and the Abyssinian expedition, did not allow the subject to fade altogether from the public mind. So, when the mighty events of the Franco-German war of 1870-71, and the lessons to be derived from them, burst upon Europe, they fell in England upon a soil not unprepared, and acted as a great impulse towards a real reorganisation of the British army. The work since then has been kept steadily in hand by the War Office, under successive ministries, both Liberal and Conservative. Mr (afterwards Lord) Cardwell began it in 1871, under Mr Gladstone; Colonel Stanley continued it during Lord Beaconsfield's administration; and

Mr Childers, during Mr Gladstone's second tenure of office, practically completed the work, by his measure bearing date, July 1, 1881.

To Lord Cardwell is due, in the first instance, the introduction of the principle of localisation of the military forces, the linking of battalions, and the admission of short as well as long service—the first steps towards the creation of an efficient reserve—and the abolition of the purchase of commissions by officers. Long service (21 years with the colours) was previously general; but any soldier could leave at the end of 12 years. If he did not, he was re-engaged, with a penny a day extra pay, an allowance of some £3 to £5 in lieu of a free kit, and the certainty of a pension at the end of other 9 years if he conducted himself well. His pension could be increased by a penny a day for each good-conduct badge acquired during that time: thus 1s. 5d. a day was often obtained for life after 21 years' service.

Lord Cardwell had in view the linking of battalions and the more intimate connection of the militia with their territorial regiments. The abolition of promotion by purchase was a necessary step in this plan, in order that, without injury to the positions which officers had purchased in their own battalions, they might be placed on one list for promotion with those of their linked battalion. In 1871, therefore, Mr Gladstone, in the face of strong parliamentary opposition, abolished the system of purchase, and the localisation scheme was initiated by the establishment of brigade depôts.

By the new organisation the militia came more into the foreground. The ranks are now composed of much the same material as before, but they gain by being in more direct contact with the line, and their efficiency and discipline have much improved. The officers are now under military law, and when opportunities occur sit on courts-martial with officers of all branches of the service. Formerly they were nominated by the lord-lieutenant of the county; since 1871 they have been appointed, though without an examination as yet, by the Secretary for War and the Queen. Many officers now enter the army through the militia by a special examination.

In comparing the present system of linked battalions with the old regimental system, it is necessary first to remember that the infantry counted 109 regiments of the line, beside the Rifle Brigade.

In 1881 these were so reorganised as to produce 71 regiments (linked battalions). Or, in other words, many of the former 109 regiments disappeared, and by uniting, in many cases, two one-battalion regiments (linking them, as it was now technically called), 71 regiments of two (or more) battalions were formed. But these did not for the most part remain two-battalion regiments; one or more battalions were added from the militia. In these new regiments the first and second battalions were line battalions, except the former 60th (now King's Royal Rifle Corps) and the old Rifle Brigade, in each of which the first four battalions were regulars of the line; any subsequent battalions were militiamen. Volunteer regiments are now likewise affiliated, with the same regimental districts, to these regiments.

In place of the former regimental numbers, now no longer applicable, territorial designations were chosen in preference, and each regiment recruits chiefly in the territory from which it takes its title, called the 'Regimental District.' Its depôt always remains in that district, and local volunteers are attached to it.

In 1897-98 additions were made to the strength of the army amounting to nearly 17,000 men. A third battalion was added to the Coldstream Guards and also to the Scots Guards; a battalion from each is in future to be available for ordinary garrison duty in the Mediterranean and Egypt. In 1900 a new regiment of Irish Guards was raised. Two additional line battalions were added to the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the Royal Fusiliers, and the Lancashire Fusiliers, making each of these regiments of four battalions each. A second battalion was also added to the Cameron Highlanders, which up to 1897 was the only single battalion regiment in the regular army. The West India Regiment was increased by a third battalion, and the Royal Malta Regiment by a second battalion.

The artillery was also increased. The cavalry was reorganised to some extent, and regiments have been grouped into three corps, Dragoons, Hussars, and Lancers respectively. Enlistment is for one of these corps only, and not for any particular regiment, the men being liable to serve in any regiment of their respective corps, the fighting and working dress being identical for all regiments of a corps, though each regiment retains its distinctive full-dress.

The 21st Hussars were armed with the lance and changed to the 21st Lancers. Four Cavalry Brigades, with their headquarters at Aldershot, Canterbury, Curragh, and Colchester respectively, have been formed for the better training of cavalry in masses.

The new arrangements as to short service produce gradually for the British army an element which it long wanted—an efficient Reserve. And on the two occasions when the reserve men were called out—viz. in 1878, on a prospect of war with Russia; and in 1882, when many of these reserve men took part in the Egyptian campaign—the results are considered to have justified the anticipations conceived of this new plan.

Some important steps have been taken to improve the material of which the rank and file of the army is composed, and the terms of enlistment have been somewhat modified. Enlistment is still for a period of 12 years, but a recruit is now given the option of enlisting for 3 years with the colours followed by 9 years with the reserve, or for 7 years with the colours and 5 with the reserve.

Men serving abroad are liable to be kept an extra year with colours. Men of good character who after 7 years' service with the colours have joined the reserve, may rejoin the colours to complete 12 years' service provided they have still not less than 2 years' service to complete. Deferred pay has been abolished, and in its place an addition of 3d. to the soldier's daily pay, making it 1s. 3d. provided he is 19 years of age and certified to be an efficient soldier.

The distribution of regiments into divisions and army corps, which previously was wanting, has been completed. The actual regiments have been told off; and in 1887 arrangements were made for maintaining two army corps and a division (6 regiments) of cavalry at fighting strength. Thus about 66,000 men, with 180 guns, are kept ready to embark immediately on the outbreak of hostilities. These troops are independent of those already abroad; and the battalions composing these two army corps will be those next on the roster for foreign service, whose strength will not be much below the war establishment. This state of things did not exist at the outbreak of the South African and Egyptian wars. Some battalions had their complement of seasoned men; others required reserved men or volunteers from other regiments to swell their numbers. The Reserves amount to over 75,000 men, all of them trained soldiers; and 32,000 men from the militia reserve, who take a double bounty, and thereby render themselves liable to be called to the colours under the same conditions as the men who have served their time in the regular army. As to artillery, the militia and volunteer artillery are considered sufficiently good to garrison the home forts, but cannot provide field artillery. A siege-train is always ready at Woolwich. Great progress has been made as to the organisation of the Transport Service, and during the Egyptian campaign of 1882 a post-office corps was added, with much advantage to the army in the field. Experiments have been made in reconnoitring by means of captive balloons, and in transmitting information by carrier-pigeons. Field telegraphs have been used in all recent expeditions, and the telephone has been tried on outpost duty. Volunteer corps have been invited to enrol cyclists to act as orderlies and messengers, and excellent results have been obtained from preliminary experiments. The conveyance of troops by sea has also been provided for: plans for embarkation, transport, and disembarkation lie ready at the War Office, and the capacity of all steamships fit for carrying troops is known to the Admiralty. A vanguard for the First Army Corps may be said to be comprised in the garrisons of Gibraltar and Malta.

The great distinction between the British army and that of almost every other state in Europe is that the service is voluntary. The subjects of the crown engage, by free choice, to serve in the army for a definite number of years. In the rare cases where forced service by ballot is obtained, it is in the militia, not the regular army (see MILITIA).

In the following table, relating to the official year 1898-99, it is shown of what component elements the British army now consists. The militia and the volunteer corps are not here included.

BRITISH ARMY VOTED FOR 1898-99.

Under the column 'India' are included only those troops of the royal army which are lent to India, and paid for out of Indian revenues; the other military forces in that region are enumerated under EAST INDIA ARMY, all the privates of which are natives. Of the total 162,706 (exclusive of staff and miscellaneous establishments) forming the regular army of the United Kingdom—exclusive of India—5743 were officers; 12,435 non-commissioned officers, drummers, and trumpeters; and 144,528 rank and file. There were voted for the use of this army 15,679 horses. The total cost has been estimated at £93 per head—double that of any other European soldier, but only one-third that of the American private, who is the only other soldier of the great powers who enters military service not by conscription but of free-will. The total expenditure sanctioned by parliament in 1898-99 was £19,220,500—of which £3,080,700 was for non-effective services (rewards, half-pay, retired-pay, widows, pensions, &c.). This, it should be noted, is the charge for the peace establishment, in which, to admit of expansion for actual war, the upper ranks (which cannot be summarily created) are disproportionately large.

The total military strength of the United Kingdom—including all the various branches of the service, regular and other, with the British forces in India and the colonies—comprised the following in 1898-99:

The colonial corps employed under the Colonial Office in West Africa, and the forces employed under the Foreign Office in East Africa, are not included in the above. The local forces of Canada, South Africa, and Australia are quite distinct, and are under the control of their respective governments.

Since the Egyptian troubles of 1882, there has been an English army of occupation of over 4000. The native Egyptian army, though officered by English officers, is totally distinct, and in 1882 was entirely reorganised under a British general, as Sirdar. The extraordinary success of this re-organisation was shown by the brilliant Soudan campaign of 1897, when an army of 12,000 Egyptian and Soudanese, strengthened by a British brigade, routed the Dervishes even when strongly posted, captured Berber, and occupied the province of Dongola.

The South African war in 1899-1900, in which nearly 250,000 men, including reserves and volunteers, together with detachments from every British colony, were employed, was found to have revealed certain shortcomings in organisation; and on its conclusion a new scheme for the re-organisation of the British army was under consideration.—See Major-general G. E. Voyle's Military Dictionary (Lond. 1876); Major A. Griffith's English Army (1879); Sir Charles Dilke, The British Army (1887); Goodenough and Dalton, The Army Book of the British Empire (1893); J. F. Maurice, The Balance of Military Power in Europe (1888); The Armies of To-day, by Lord Wolseley and others (London and New York, 1893).

ARMIES OF EUROPE.—Herewith are given a few facts and statistics of the armies of the European countries; further details being given in relevant sections of the articles on the several countries.

Germany.—By the imperial constitution of 1871, the Prussian obligation to serve in the army is extended to the whole empire. Every German capable of bearing arms must serve in the army or navy for twelve years—seven in the standing army (since 1893, the infantry are only two years actually under arms), and five in the Landwehr (q.v.); or corresponding periods in the fleet and Seewehr. Afterwards he is enrolled in the landsturm until 42 years of age. In the infantry, however, many of the more intelligent men are subjected to only two years' training; and 'one-year volunteers' are passed into the reserve at the end of their first year, on condition of passing certain examinations, and bearing the expense of their clothing, equipment, &c. for the year. In the German organisation the territorial system is carried out thoroughly. The army consists of 19 army corps, 12 of which are Prussian; and each of these is raised, recruited, and stationed within a particular district. These corps districts are divided into divisional and brigade districts, which are subdivided into landwehr battalion districts, and these in turn into company districts, so that every village has its definite place. Each line regiment (3 battalions) draws its recruits from an allotted district, and passes its time-expired men into the landwehr regiment (2 battalions) of the same district. After the exemptions common to all countries have been granted, the ballot allows a margin of about 10 per cent.; those who draw the fortunate numbers passing at once into the Ersatz reserve, which receives no training, but may be called on to replace casualties in the field.

France.—A law passed in 1872 enacted that every Frenchman, with a few specified exceptions, unless serving in the navy, was liable to personal service in the army, and forbade substitution. The period of liability extended to twenty years, of which five were spent in the active army, four in the reserve of the active army, five in the territorial army, and six in the reserve of the territorial army. The expense of keeping up such an establishment in peace, however, led to the division of the recruits by ballot into two classes, one of which served the full five years in the active army, while the other was sent home after six months' or a year's training. One-year volunteers were also accepted; but so many men joined in that capacity, that, in 1887, a bill was brought before the French legislature abolishing the privilege. By laws including those of 1882, 1887, and 1892, every Frenchman may be called to serve from the age of 20 to 45 in the active army of the reserve—three in the active army, ten in its reserve, six in the territorial army, and six in the territorial reserve. France is divided, for military purposes, into 18 regions, each occupied by a corps d'armée, containing 2 divisions of infantry, 1 brigade of cavalry, 1 of artillery, 1 battalion of engineers, and 1 squadron of the military train, and retaining its organisation permanently in peace and in war. The corps are not permanently localised, but frequently change stations; and in time of war the region in which a corps happened to be stationed would be drawn on for reserves and stores.

Austria.—The military forces of the Austro-Hungarian empire are divided into the standing army, the landwehr, and the landsturm. All subjects are liable to service, and those exempted on physical grounds pay a fine proportionate to their means. In principle every qualified man must serve three years with the colours, seven in the reserve, twelve in the landwehr, and, by a law passed in 1889, ten in the landsturm, from which, in time of war, men may be drafted into the landwehr; and men who have passed through the regular army will be liable for service in the landsturm as officers or non-commissioned officers till the age of sixty. In practice, however, financial considerations cause the division of recruits into three classes: about 95,000 annually form the first class, trained as above; nearly 10,000 are drawn to supply the Ersatz reserve; and all the remainder are passed at once into the landwehr, there to serve their twelve years. The regiments of the standing army are under the control of the Minister of War for the empire, while the landwehr is controlled by the Austrian and Hungarian Ministers of National Defence. There is no permanent corps organisation, the division being the principal unit; but in war, 3 infantry divisions, with a proportion of cavalry and a regiment of artillery, would be joined to form a corps.

Russia.—Universal liability to service has been established since 1870, but, although prohibited, the purchase of exemption has hitherto been permitted. The period of service is five years in the active army (one on furlough), thirteen years in the reserve, and five in the 'Zapas.' The Russian military forces are composed of regular and irregular troops, and militia, only called out to repel invasion. Every man not included in the army or reserve belongs to the militia up to his fortieth year. The country has been divided into fifteen military districts, with sub-districts and 'circles' as in Germany. The number of army corps is 17, with the army of the Caucasus (7 divisions of infantry and 1 of cavalry) in addition. The irregular troops are supplied by the Cossacks, who give military service in lieu of taxes, and comprise about 190,000 men, chiefly cavalry. The want of barrack accommodation leads to a great deal of billeting, and many men stationed in country districts see their officers only in summer, when they are assembled for training in large standing camps.

Italy.—The Sardinian law of conscription forms the basis of the Italian military system, and all are liable from 18 to 40. Substitution is allowed in the case of brothers, and one-year volunteers are accepted. Contingents are divided by lot into two classes, one enjoying unlimited furlough, and the other serving eight years in the army, four in the active militia, and the rest of their time in the local militia. In infantry regiments three, in cavalry regiments four years only are served with the colours; the remainder, as a rule, being spent on furlough. The kingdom is divided into five 'zones,' and, in direct opposition to the Prussian principle, recruits are drawn from all zones for each regiment.

Of the other military powers of Europe, in 1893-94, the army of Belgium, including the staff and all arms, rank and file, numbered on the peace footing 51,200 men, besides the Garde Civique, 42,800; Denmark, 14,000; Netherlands, 21,000 in Europe, and 33,400 in the East Indies; Spain, 115,800, with 27,000 in the colonies; Portugal, 35,000; Sweden, 38,800, besides the 'Bevåring' of 228,000; in Norway the troops of the line, with the reserves, were about 30,000; Switzerland, 117,179, and the landwehr, 81,000; Turkey, nominally 230,000, but seldom equal to 180,000; Roumania, about 50,000; Servia, including reserves, 105,000. The following table presents an approximate estimate of the military resources of the great powers of Europe:

Before the war of 1894-95 the Chinese army was supposed to have 200,000 soldiers on a peace footing, and over 1,000,000 in war; while Japan had 270,000 regulars and 200,000 in reserves. According to The Armies of To-day (1893), Austria spends for army purposes 15.5 per cent. of its whole public revenue; Germany, 19.2; France, 31; and Russia, 35; while in Britain in 1893 it was not 20 per cent. The total French military expenditure was given by the budget of 1894 at 636,000,000 francs (nearly £25,500,000); that of Russia for 1894 was 240,336,310 roubles (say £20,000,000).

UNITED STATES ARMY.—At the commencement of 1861, the United States army consisted of only about 14,000 regular troops. In various successive levies by the president during the civil war (1861-65), as many as 2,653,062 men had been called out—nearly one-fourth of the entire population of the Northern States. After the war, the standing army was steadily diminished; a law passed in June 1874 provided that the army at no time may exceed 25,000 enlisted men. During the war with Spain, however, 219,035 volunteers were enrolled, and the regular army aggregated 55,682; total, 274,717. And by the Reorganisation Bill of 1899 the regular enlisted force was increased to 65,000 men: 25 regiments of infantry, 10 of cavalry, 7 of artillery, and 5 companies of engineers, with general staff and hospital and signal corps. The country is divided into military departments. Each state is also supposed to have a militia, in which all men from 18 to 45 should be enrolled; but in several states the organisation is imperfect. The organised militia numbers 113,764 of all ranks; but the number of citizens liable to military duty is estimated at over 10,000,000.

ARMY ADMINISTRATION.—The whole of the operations connected with the raising, clothing, paying, maintaining, and controlling of an army are included in the term army administration. The sovereign has the supreme command of the British army, and controls it in every way through the Secretary of State for War, who is responsible to parliament for his own acts and for the advice he gives. The secretary is the head of the War Office (q.v.), and is assisted by two under-secretaries, one permanent, the other parliamentary, but sitting in a different House from his chief. The sovereign's orders affecting organisation, entry into and retirement from the service, promotion, alterations in conditions of service, or, in fine, any fundamental matter of agreement between the sovereign and the soldier, are communicated by 'Royal Warrants' signed by the Permanent Under-secretary for war, and published when necessary. These warrants are also republished in the 'Army Circulars,' a monthly issue of orders (signed by the same functionary) dealing with minute details of allowances, supplies, arms and stores of all kinds, in fact any expenditure of money or material. Army Circulars are supplementary to the 'Revised Army Regulations,' and are incorporated in those books when a new edition is published. Orders connected with the personnel of the army, and not involving expenditure, such as training, discipline, medals, rewards, special promotions, &c., are published by the commander-in-chief, acting under authority from the Secretary of State, in monthly pamphlets called 'General Orders,' signed by the adjutant-general of the army. They are supplementary to the 'Queen's Regulations and Orders for the Army.' By the 'Army Regulations' and the 'Queen's Regulations,' everything connected with army administration is determined. In 1895, on the retirement of the Duke of Cambridge from the post of commander-in-chief, a reorganisation of the War Office was carried through, by which the subordination of commander-in-chief (as well as of adjutant-general, quarter-master-general, director of artillery, and inspector of fortifications) to the Secretary of State was clearly defined. In the United States the supreme command of all military forces is vested in the president. His representative is the Secretary of War.