Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/659

] The light cavalry (hussars and dragoons) are armed with breech-loading carbines and swords. In the heavy cavalry, 1 6 men per squadron carry carbines, the remainder pistols. The cuirassiers are armed with a long heavy sword (Fallasch), and wear a black cuirass weighing 16 tt&amp;gt;, and supposed to be bullet-proof. The uhlans carry a lance and the usual cavalry sword. The cuirassiers use saddlery of the &quot;German&quot; pattern, very cumbrous; the rest of the cavalry use the &quot;Hungarian&quot; saddle. On the whole, the Prussian cavalry ride slightly heavier than the corre sponding troops in England. Great attention is paid to the selection of horses for the cavalry, and constant efforts are made, by the importation of valuable stallions and brood mares, to encourage the breeding of a suitable class of horses. The remounts are bought by commissions appointed for the purpose, and either sent direct to the regiments, or, if too young for work, to the remount depots, where they are carefully broken. In war time the necessary augmenta tion is obtained partly by purchase in the market and partly by contracts previously made in peace time. If these measures are not sufficient, the Government has the power of compulsory purchase. For this purpose all the horses in the kingdom are registered and periodically inspected, and returns kept of those considered fit for military service. On the order for mobilisation the owners may be summoned to attend with their horses; these are inspected by a military board, who select as many as they require, and take possession at once; and a mixed board afterwards determines the compensation to be given to the owners.

Artillery.—The artillery of an army corps consists of two regiments of field artillery and a regiment of garrison artillery. One of the two field artillery regiments is organised in two divisions (Abtheilung) of four batteries (two heavy and two light) each; this furnishes the divisional artillery, oneAbtheihtng to each infantry division. The other consists of three divisions, two of field and one of horse artillery, of three batteries each; and furnishes the corps or reserve artillery, and the horse artillery, which is attached to the cavalry divisions. A field battery on peace footing has only 4 guns, with 114 men, 37 horses, and 2 waggons. In war time it has 6 guns, with 155 men, 125 horses, and 1 waggons. A. horse battery has a war establishment of 6 guns, 154 men, 207 horses, and 10 waggons. On mobilisa tion a depot division is formed for each army corps, con sisting of 1 heavy, 1 light, and 1 horse battery, and a detachment of artificers. Further, a Colonnen Abtheilung, consisting of 9 ammunition columns (of which 5 carry artillery ammunition and 4 small-arm ammunition) is formed, and attached to the field artillery. The regiment of garrison artillery is composed of two divisions of four companies each, with a peace strength of 108, and a war strength of 209 men per company. On mobilisation the Held artillery is augmented by men of the reserve, and by men drawn from the garrison artillery regiment; the gar rison artillery is principally reinforced from the artillery men in the land vehr. Sometimes the number of companies of garrison artillery is doubled. The Prussian artillery are armed with rifled breech-loading guns of cast steel, the heavy batteries with the 6-pounder gun, throwing a shell weighing about 15 5&amp;gt;; the light batteries and horse artillery with the 4-pounder gun, throwing a 9 tt&amp;gt; shell. The extreme range of these guns is about 5000 paces, but their effective range does not exceed 2500. A heavy battery carries 134 rounds per gun, a light battery 157 rounds; and the corps ammunition columns carry a further supply of about 100 rounds per gun.

Pioneers.—Each army corps has a battalion of pioneers, of four companies, of which the first is the pontoon company, the second and third sapper companies, and the fourth the miner company. The men of each company are thoroughly instructed in their own special duties, but know also the duties of the other companies sufficiently to be able to assist if required. The peace establishment of a company is 146 men. In war time the second sapper company remains behind, and forms three garrison companies, and a depot company is also formed. The other three companies, augmented to a war strength of 218 men, take the field, and furnish the per sonnel for a light field bridge train or pontoon train, and an entrenching tool column, which also accompany the army corps. Further, four railway detachments and four field telegraph detachments are formed for the whole army. The railway detachments are formed from the railway battalion, which was organised immediately after the war of 1870-71, and is composed entirely of men trained to the various duties connected with railways, the officers and non commissioned officers being qualified to act as railway managers, station-masters, &c. On mobilisation they receive their augmentation from reserve and landwehr men who are actually holding these positions on the various lines; and in war time they are charged with constructing, repairing, and working or destroying the lines in an enemy s country. The field telegraph detachments, in the same way, are trained in peace time to everything connected with telegraphy ; in war they carry a light line, which they lay down as required, or work the existing lines.

Military Train.—The train is a mere skeleton in peace time. The battalion which is attached to each army corps is little but a cadre maintained for instructional purposes, and only numbers 240 men of all ranks, while the train soldiers attached to an army corps on war footing amount to 3500. The men are only subjected to six months training, and by the constant renewal the number passed into the reserve is enormously increased ; additional men are drawn from the cavalry reservists. In war time the train battalion is broken up altogether, and forms a number of separate detachments, viz., five provision columns, three ambulance detachments, a horse depot, a field bakery column, and an escort squadron, to take charge of the five Fuhr Park columns which are organised of hired or requisi tioned transport. Further, nearly 1000 train soldiers are sent to the various regiments (65 to an infantry regiment, 37 to a cavalry regiment) to drive the regimental baggage train, act as servants to staff and field officers ; 800 to the artillery, principally as drivers, &c., for the ammunition columns ; and 300 to the pioneers, for the pontoon and tool train; and 400 to the various administrative services. The whole of the transport in the Prussian service is depart mental, that is, is told off to certain special departments and duties, and is not available for general service. Thus the regiments have their regimental transport, the artillery their ammunition columns, the commissariat their provision columns, the medical department their field hospital and ambulance train, &amp;lt;fec.

Depot and Garrison Troops.—The depot troops have been described in speaking of the field troops whom they have to feed. The garrison or reserve troops have no such immediate connection with the active army, and are almost entirely formed of the landwehr; they are specially intended for home defence and garrisoning the fortresses, but are also used to maintain communications, and relieve the active army of all detachments to its rear, and sometimes, as in the latter period of the Franco- Prussian war, are organised in divisions, and pushed for ward to reinforce the active army. Every battalion dia- 