Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/805

 Origin of the War of 1914 601 a brief period of training in the army and then were sent into the reserve forces. This made a much larger force available in case of war than any standing army of the old type. When, fifty years later, William I and Bismarck were preparing to establish Prussia's control of Germany, the annual levy of recruits was in- creased and the term of service was lengthened. With an effective army thus built up of four hundred thousand troops, Prussia, in 1870, succeeded in reaching her ambition of consolidating Germany into the German Empire, with the king of Prussia at its head. 1091. The Spread of the Prussian System. Not long after the war of 1870-1871 all the European 'powers, except England, adopted the plan of building up an army by "conscription" ; that is, making all able-bodied men liable to service in the army for two or three years, after which they were sent into the reserve. A large number of permanent officers had to be maintained, and a vast amount had to be spent on rifles, cannon, and other arms, which were being constantly improved and rendered more and more deadly. The result of this competition in armaments was a tremendous increase in the size of the continental armies and a fearful burden of taxation, which the people had to bear. When the war broke out Germany and France had each over four millions of men in their armies, Russia had six or seven millions, and Austria- Hungary had over two and a half millions. England's forces, on the other hand, numbered less than two hundred thousand. The English army, like that of the United States, was recruited by voluntary enlistment and not built up by national conscription. 1092. The English Navy. England, however, relied for her protection upon her unrivaled navy, which she has maintained at a strength equal to that of any two other powers. There are two reasons for this great navy. England has a much larger population than it is possible to feed from her own farms, and so has to import most of her food. Then, too, England is almost wholly a manufacturing country and is vitally dependent upon her commerce. If, therefore, England should be defeated at sea, she would be utterly overcome.