Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 2.djvu/674

612 tised, and with such effect that the Russian soldier contrasts very markedly with the awkward, iingainly peasant. The military power of Russia has been vastly increased of late years by the construction of the great strategic lines of railway which now traverse the empire in all directions, and enable her to concentrate her vast resources with ease and quickness. The immense extent of the empire has hitherto been an insuperable obstacle to the full development of her power. In 1854-56 the efforts made to hold the Crimea exhausted Russia more completely than a series of defeats in the heart of the empire could have done. For every man who actually reached the Crimea four were expended on the road from sickness and fatigue, and the total losses suffered in this war were estimated at the enormous amount of 450,000 men. Now reinforcements can be brought with ease by rail from the most distant provinces, and for a concentration on her south-western frontiers she has four distinct main lines of railway, con nected by branch ones with every important military station. It is not to be wondered at that Prussia and Austria watch with uneasiness the development of the military resources of their powerful neighbour.

 The old Piedmontese law of conscription is the basis of the present military organisation of Italy, as its constitu tion is of the constitution of the new kingdom. The Piedmontese have long borne a high reputation among southern nations for their military qualities. The dukes of Savoy have played a not unimportant part in history, and showed special ability in preserving the independence of their small kingdom between two such powerful neigh bours as France and Austria. During the wars of the French Revolution Piedmont was temporarily absorbed into the French republic ; but the kingdom of Sardinia was restored in 1815. Various causes combined to place Pied mont at the head of the national and liberal movement which agitated Italy during the ensuing thirty years, and bring her in direct antagonism to Austria. Charles Albert, her then ruler, had paid great attention to the army, and when Italy rose against Austria in 1848 he took the field with an excellent force of nearly 70,000 men. At the outset fortune favoured the arms of Italy ; but the genius and energy of Radetsky, the veteran Austrian commander, soon turned the tide, and in the summer of 1849 the Piedmontese army was decisively defeated at Novarra, and her king compelled to sue for peace. Charles Albert abdi cated in favour of his son Victor Emanuel, a prince who had already distinguished himself by his personal gallantry in the field. Under his care the army soon recovered its efficiency, and the force which joined the allied armies in the Crimea attracted general admiration from the excellence of its organisation, equipment, and discipline. In 1859 Piedmont again took up arms against Austria for the libe ration of Italy ; but this time she had the powerful assist ance of France, and played but a subordinate part herself. Tn this campaign the Sardinian army was composed of one cavalry and five infantry divisions, and numbered about 60,000 combatants. By the peace of Villa Franca, Italy, with the exception of Venetia, was freed from the Austrians, and Lombardy was added to Piedmont. The revolutionary campaign of Garibaldi in the following year united the whole peninsula under the rule of Victor Emanuel, and in 1866, when Italy for the third time took up arms against Austria this time as the ally of Prussia her forces had risen to nearly 450,000, of whom about 270,000 actually took the field. But in quality these were far from being equal to the old Piedmontese army; and the northern army, under the personal command of the king, was de feated at Custozza by a much smaller force under the Archduke Albrecht of Austria. Since 1866 the army has been somewhat reduced, but increased care given to its organisation and training, and in manoeuvring power it now stands high among the armies of Europe. The existing organisation of the Italian army is deter mined by the laws of 1873. Every Italian is liable ta personal service from the age of 18 to 40. Substitu tion (except in the case of brothers) and exemption by payment are abolished. Absolute exemption is only allowed to such as are physically unfit for service. Partial exemptions are allowed to only sons of widows, supports of families, &c., who are passed at once into the local militia without serving in the army. Ten.porary exemp tions or &quot; adjournments &quot; may be granted for three suc cessive years on iirgent personal or family reasons. The remainder of the annual contingent is divided by lot into two classes. The first class serve eight years in the army, four in the active militia, and the rest of their time in the local militia. Of the eight years in the army, three in the infantry and five in the cavalry are usually spent with the colours; the remainder on furlough. Further, the Minister of War has the power to send home on furlough, after a year s service only, young men of exceptional character or intelligence, school teachers, artists, &c. The second class are liable to service in the several forces for the same period?, but are considered as on unlimited furlough, and only sub jected to six months training. One-year volunteers are received on the same conditions as in other armies. The numbers of the first class contingent are determined annu ally by law, and are distributed among the districts and cantons according to the number of men found fit for service. This is estimated at from 90,000 to 95,000; and the contingent of the first class was fixed in 1872 and 1873 at 65,000. The war strength of the army, exclusive of local or &quot;sedentary&quot; militia, is estimated at 750,000, of whom 375,000 are in the active army, or first line; 250,000 in the active militia, or second line; and 125,000 in the depots. The peace establishment is fixed at 200,000. The Italian army consists of 80 regiments of the line, 10 of bcrsaglieri (riflemen), 20 regiments of cavalry, 10 of artillery, and 2 of engineers. A regiment of the line con sists of 3 battalions of 4 companies each, and numbers about 1500 men on peace and 3000 men on war footing. Eight of the existing regiments are grenadiers. The lersaglieri are formed in regiments of four battalions each, and are picked troops, armed with a shorter rifle, and especially trained to traverse long distances at a run. They are frequently used in conjunction with cavalry, and it is proposed to relieve them of their knapsacks, to in crease their mobility still further. The cavalry consists of 5 regiments of the line, 7 of lancers, 7 of light horse, and 1 of guides. Each regiment has six squadrons, with a war strength of 150 horses per squadron. Of those squad rons, two are intended to be detached to the infantry divisions in war time, while the remaining four form the corps cavalry. The artillery comprises 10 regiments of field artillery, and 4 of garrison artillery, besides a certain number of coast and artificer companies. A regiment of field artillery consists of 10 batteries of 8 guns each, and 3 companies of artillery train. A regiment of garrison artillery consists of 15 companies. The engineers consist of a separate staff of officers, and 2 regiments, each divided into 4 companies of pontoniers, 16 of sappers, and 3 of engineer train. In addition to the above field organisation, every regiment of cavalry, infantry, artillery, or engineers has a depot, which in peace time is maintained on cadre establishment only, but in war is completed from the surplus furlough men, and replaces casualties in the field army.