Page:EB1911 - Volume 10.djvu/818

Rh regiments of cuirassiers, 32 of dragoons, 21 of chasseurs à cheval, 14 of hussars, 6 of chasseurs d’Afrique and 4 of Spahis (Algerian natives); (c) 40 regiments of artillery, comprising 445 field batteries, 14 mountain batteries and 52 horse batteries (see, however, above), 18 battalions of garrison artillery, with in addition 13 companies of artificers, &c.; (d) 6 regiments of engineers forming 22 battalions, and 1 railway regiment; (e) 20 squadrons of train, 27 legions of gendarmerie and the Paris Garde Républicaine, administrative and medical units.

Colonial Troops.—These form an expeditionary army corps in France to which are attached the actual corps of occupation to the various colonies, part white, part natives. The colonial army corps, headquarters at Paris, has three divisions, at Paris, Toulon and Brest.

The French colonial (formerly marine) infantry, recruited by voluntary enlistment, comprises 18 regiments and 5 independent battalions (of which 12 regiments are at home), 74 batteries of field, fortress and mountain artillery (of which 32 are at home), with a few cavalry and engineers, &c., and other services in proportion. The native troops include 13 regiments and 8 independent battalions. The strength of this army corps is 28,700 in France and 61,300 in the colonies.

Command.—The commander-in-chief of all the armed forces is the president of the Republic, but the practical direction of affairs lies in the hand of the minister of war, who is assisted by the Conseil supérieur de la guerre, a body of senior generals who have been selected to be appointed to the higher commands in war. The vice-president is the destined commander-in-chief of the field armies and is styled the generalissimo. The chief of staff of the army is also a member of the council. In war the latter would probably remain at the ministry of war in Paris, and the generalissimo would have his own chief of staff. The ministry of war is divided into branches for infantry, cavalry, &c.—and services for special subjects such as military law, explosives, health, &c. The general staff (état major de l’armée) has its functions classed as follows: personnel; material and finance; 1st bureau (organization and mobilization), 2nd (intelligence), 3rd (military operations and training) and 4th (communications and transport); and the famous historical section. The president of the Republic has a military household, and the minister a cabinet, both of which are occupied chiefly with questions of promotion, patronage and decorations.

The general staff and also the staff of the corps and divisions are composed of certificated (brevetés) officers who have passed all through the École de Guerre. In time of peace an officer is attached to the staff for not more than four years. He must then return to regimental duty for at least two years.

The officers of the army are obtained partly from the old-established military schools, partly from the ranks of the non-commissioned officers, the proportion of the latter being about one-third of the total number of officers. Artillery and engineer officers come from the École Polytechnique, infantry and cavalry from the École spéciale militaire de St-Cyr. Other important training institutions are the staff college (École supérieure de Guerre) which trains annually 70 to 90 selected captains and lieutenants; the musketry school of Châlons, the gymnastic school at Joinville-le-Pont and the schools of St Maixent, Saumur and Versailles for the preparation of non-commissioned officers for commissions in the infantry, cavalry, artillery and engineers respectively. The non-commissioned officers are, as usual in universal service armies, drawn partly from men who voluntarily enlist at a relatively early age, and partly from men who at the end of their compulsory period of service are re-engaged. Voluntary enlistments in the French army are permissible, within certain limits, at the age of eighteen, and the engagés serve for at least three years. The law further provides for the re-engagement of men of all ranks, under conditions varying according to their rank. Such re-engagements are for one to three years’ effective service but may be extended to fifteen. They date from the time of the legal expiry of each man’s compulsory active service. Rengagés receive a bounty, a higher rate of pay and a pension at the conclusion of their service. The total number of men who had re-enlisted stood in 1903 at 8594.

Armament.—The field artillery is armed with the 75 mm. gun, a shielded quick-firer (see : Field Equipments, for illustration and details); this weapon was the forerunner of all modern models of field gun, and is handled on tactical principles specially adapted for it, which gives the French field artillery a unique position amongst the military nations. The infantry, which was the first in Europe to be armed with the magazine rifle, still carries this, the Lebel, rifle which dates from 1886. It is believed, however, that a satisfactory type of automatic rifle (see ) has been evolved and is now (1908) in process of manufacture. Details are kept strictly secret. The cavalry weapons are a straight sword (that of the heavy cavalry is illustrated in the article ), a bamboo lance and the Lebel carbine.

It is convenient to mention in this place certain institutions attached to the war department and completing the French military organization. The Hôtel des Invalides founded by Louis XIV. and Louvois is a house of refuge for old and infirm soldiers of all grades. The number of the inmates is decreasing; but the institution is an expensive one. In 1875 the “Invalides” numbered 642, and the hôtel cost the state 1,123,053 francs. The order of the Legion of Honour is treated under . The médaille militaire is awarded to private soldiers and non-commissioned officers who have distinguished themselves or rendered long and meritorious services. This was introduced in 1852, carries a yearly pension of 100 frs. and has been granted occasionally to officers.

Fortifications.—After 1870 France embarked upon a policy of elaborate frontier and inner defences, with the object of ensuring, as against an unexpected German invasion, the time necessary for the effective development of her military forces, which were then in process of reorganization. Some information as to the types of fortification adopted in 1870–1875 will be found in. The general lines of the scheme adopted were as follows: On the Meuse, which forms the principal natural barrier on the side of Lorraine, (q.v.) was fortified as a large entrenched camp, and along the river above this were constructed a series of forts d’arrêt (see ) ending in another entrenched camp at (q.v.). From this point a gap (the trouée d’Épinal) was left, so as “in some sort to canalize the flow of invasion” (General Bonnal), until the upper Moselle was reached at (q.v.). Here another entrenched camp was made and from it the “” (q.v.) of forts d’arrêt continues the barrier to (q.v.), another large entrenched camp, beyond which a series of fortifications at Montbéliard and the Lomont range carries the line of defence to the Swiss border, which in turn is protected by works at Pontarlier and elsewhere. In rear of these lines Verdun-Toul and Épinal-Belfort, respectively, lie two large defended areas in which under certain circumstances the main armies would assemble preparatory to offensive movements. One of these areas is defined by the three fortresses, La Fère, Laon and Reims, the other by the triangle, Langres—Dijon—Besançon. On the side of Belgium the danger of irruption through neutral territory, which has for many years been foreseen, is provided against by the fortresses of Lille, Valenciennes and Maubeuge, but (with a view to tempting the Germans to attack through Luxemburg, as is stated by German authorities) the frontier between Maubeuge and Verdun is left practically undefended. The real defence of this region lies in the field army which would, if the case arose, assemble in the area La Fère-Reims-Laon. On the Italian frontier the numerous forts d’arrêt in the mountains are strongly supported by the entrenched camps of Besançon, Grenoble and Nice. Behind all this huge development of fixed defences lie the central fortresses of Paris and Lyons. The defences, of the Spanish frontier consist of the entrenched camps of Bayonne and Perpignan and the various small forts d’arrêt of the Pyrenees. Of the coast defences the principal are Toulon, Antibes, Rochefort, Lorient, Brest, Oléron, La Rochelle, Belle-Isle, Cherbourg, St-Malo, Havre, Calais, Gravelines and Dunkirk.