provide each 1 battalion of 4 eompanies of pioneers, and 1 telegraph
company ; the remaining ordus have each 1 company only. The
2nd ordu has in addition a pontoon train under the ordnance
department. There are two regiments of 3 battalions of 2 com-panies and 1 torpedo battalion. The establishment of an engineer
company is about 200 men of all ranks, and of a telegraph company
about 106. Higher Organization.—Each ordu is supposed to form
a nizam army corps of 2 divisions, and ordus 1 to 5 also
supply 4 divisions of redifs. A nizam division would
probably consist of 16 battalions of infantry, 1 battalion
of rifles, and 1 regiment of field artillery. A cavalry
division might consist of 6 regiments and 1 battalion of
horse artillery——24 squadrons and 18 guns. A nizam
army corps would comprise 2 infantry divisions and 1
cavalry division. The redif divisions would depend on
the nizam army for their artillery, and there is not sufficient
nizam cavalry to enable them to be formed into army
corps. The army corps organization, however, has not
been wholly naturalized in the Turkish empire, and is not
well suited to its conditions. The combatant forces of
Turkey number about 700,000 men, exclusive of a large
number of mustahfiz, who cannot be said to be organized,
but who would provide able-bodied men partly trained.
(g. s. c.)
Switzerland.
The Swiss army is a purely militia force, receiving only
periodical training, but based upon the principle of
universal service. Liability begins at the age of 20 and
lasts for 25 years. Cavalry men receive a recruit’s course
of 80 days’ training on joining, and subsequently a re-petition course of 10 days in each year, until the end of
the 11th year. Artillery and infantry undergo recruits’
courses of 55 and 45 days respectively, and a repetition
course of 18 and 16 days in every alternate year till the
end of the 12th year, when they pass into the landwehr,
and receive 6 and 5 days’ training every fourth year. The
Confederation supplies certain units which are recruited
throughout the country. The rest of the army is recruited
in 8 territorial districts. The armed strength consists of
(1) the active army; (2) the fortress garrison; (3) the
landwehr; (4) the landsturm. The active army is
organized in four army corps which draws only to a small
extent upon the landwehr. The fortress garrisons are
made up of active troops (élite) and landwehr. The rest
of the landwehr is organized in regiments, squadrons,
companies of position artillery and engineers, and adminis-trative units. The landsturm includes all able-bodied
men between 17 and 50 who are not included in the
active army and landwehr, volunteers under 17 and over
50, and officers up to 55 years of age. It is divided into
two classes, of which the first consists of all men under 20,
who on mobilization join the active army as recruits.
The 2nd class, consisting of men of 20 and upwards, is
divided into the “armed landsturm” and the “auxiliary
troops.” The armed landsturm forms 96 fusilier battalions
of 3, 4, or 5 companies, 23 carabinier companies, and 26
companies of position artillery. It is inspected and drilled
on one day in each year. The “auxiliary troops ” form
410 pioneer companies about 200 strong, and “special
detachments ” for administrative services. Cavalry.—The cavalry of the active army consists of 24 squadrons
of dragoons and 12 companies of guides, the former being
organized in 8 regiments of 3 squadrons. The landwehr cavalry
supplies the same number of units, but has no horses. A dragoon
regiment has 17 officers and 358 N.C.O.’s and men. Of the 12
companies of guides, 8 are attached to divisions and have the same
strength as a squadron of dragoons. Cavalry horses are kept for a
year in the remount depots before being issued to recruits. After
passing through the recruit’s course, the cavalry man takes his
horse to his home, paying half its cost as security. This sum is
repaid by the state in “ yearly instalments,” and at the end of the
10 years’ service the horse becomes the property of the man.
Dragoons are armed with sword and a magazine carbine, weighing
7'05 lb., calibre 0’295 in., muzzle velocity 1800 f.s. The Swiss
cavalry, on account of its brief training, is intended to be em-ployed almost wholly in reconnaissance and as mounted infantry. Artillery.—The active artillery comprises 56 field and 4 moun-tain batteries, each of 6 guns ; there is no horse artillery. For
fortress work there are 8 companies, 3 observation companies, and
2 machine gun detachments. The landwehr provides parks,
ammunition trains, and 15 position companies. The 56 field
batteries form 12 regiments, 8 of which, each consisting of 2
brigade divisions of 2 batteries, are attached to the 8 divisions.
The remaining 4 regiments each consist of 2 brigade divisions of
3 batteries, allotted as corps artillery to the 4 army corps. A
regiment of 4 batteries contains 23 officers and 652 N.C.O.’s and
men, with 340 horses and 24 guns. The field artillery is armed
with a 3·31-in. Krupp gun, firing a 14‘8-lb shrapnel, with a
muzzle velocity of 1590 f.s. The mountain gun, calibre 2·95 in.,
fires a shrapnel of 10·14 lb, with a muzzle velocity of 1004 f.s.
There are 5 brigade divisions of position artillery, each composed
of 2 active companies and 3 of landwehr. A brigade division
numbers 41 officers and 778 N.C.O.’s and men. Its armament
consists of 16 12-cm. guns, 12 12-em. mortars, and 12 6-cm. guns.
Of the position artillery, 1½ brigade divisions are allotted to the St.
Gothard and St. Maurice defenees ; the rest is available for em-ployment with the field army. There are 3 brigade divisions of
fortress artillery attached to the defences above mentioned.
Artillery horses and those of the train are hired when required. Infantry.—The active infantry consists of 96 fusilier and 8
carabinier battalions, each containing 25 officers and about 730
N.C.O.’s and men, or 720 combatants in all. A fusilier regiment
consists of 3 battalions. The landwehr infantry consists of 66
fusilier and 8 carabinier battalions. Throughout the army there
is only one establishment—that laid down for war. The active
army and landwehr infantry are armed with the Schmidt magazine
rifle, calibre 0'295 in., weight with bayonet 10‘43 lb, muzzle
velocity 1900 f.s. The landsturm infantry have the Vetterli rifle,
calibre 0·410 in., weight with bayonet 11‘46 lb, muzzle velocity
1411 f.s. Engineers.—The engineers of the active army comprise 8 half-
battalions of 2 companies of sappers, 4 bridging detachments of
2 pontoon companies, 4 telegraph companies, 1 railway battalion
of 4 companies, 1 balloon company, and 3 fortress companies.
The landwehr provides 16 sapper companies, 2 bridging detach-ments, 4 telegraph companies, and 4 railway companies.
Higher Organization.—The field army is organized in four army
corps of 2 divisions, with corps troops. Each division contains 2
infantry brigades of 2 regiments of 2 battalions, together with 1
guide company, 2 brigade divisions of field artillery, a carabinier
battalion, and half a battalion of engineers. The 8 divisions are
recruited in 8 territorial districts. On mobilization the active
army absorbs 230 officers and 5736 N.C.O.’s and men from the
landwehr. The approximate total strength of establishments is as
follows:——
Officers
N.C.O.'s and Men.
Total.
Active army.....
4522
97,169
101,691
Active landwehr....
230
5,736
5,966
Fortress garrison ....
224
5,085
5,309
Fortress landwehr....
314
8,462
8,776
Landwehr troops ....
1751
43,159
44,910
Total ....
7041
159,611
166,652
In addition, the “armed landsturm” numbers about 53,500
men of all ranks. The pioneer companies supply about 104,000
men, and the special detachments about 114,000 men. The
former have received extremely little training, the latter consist
of men told off as far as possible for miscellaneous duties to which
they are accustomed.
The Swiss army is a highly organized force, which,
regarded as a militia, has no equal. The amount of train-ing imparted to it is necessarily limited, but is made as
thorough as possible; and the results obtained, as shown
by manoeuvres, are surprising. Against the small amount
of actual drill must be set the long service of 11 or 12 years
passed in the same unit. The men thus acquire a solidarity
which cannot be at once attained in bodies made up from
reserves on mobilization. Composed of mature and hardy
men inured to the conditions of a mountainous country,
the army is unquestionably a powerful defensive force,
