THE ARMIES AND NAVIES OF EUROPE.

Globe, Volume XXII, Issue 1955, 31 May 1880, Page 3

THE ARMIES AND NAVIES OF EUROPE.

The “Statesman’s Year Book ” of 1880, states that the army of the German Empire was formed in October last of 150 regiments of infantry, including the guards, 20 battalions of jager, or riflemen, 93 regiments of cavalry, 49 regiments of artillery, 20 battalions of engineers, including a railway regiment, and 18 battalions of military train. This enormous force of fighting men comprised on the war footing 31,195 officers, 1,273,346 rank and file, 281,542 horses, and 2700 guns. The strength of the Imperial army on the peace footing is 18,079 officers, 400,935 rank and file, 97,389 horses, and 1200 guns. Not included in these totals are the troops of the field reserve, calculated to number 250,000 men, and those of the Landsturm. It. is estimated that, with the addition of the latter, Germany can place in the field at any time 2,500,000 of armed men, without drawing upon the last reserves. The total effective force of tho French army, which is now in process of reorganisation on the basis of universal liability to serve, was reported to the Chamber of Deputies in the session of 1879 to be as follows :—lnfantry, 281,601 men (including officers and rank and file), 2469 horses; cavalry, 68,617 men, f 9,023 horses artillery, 66 331 men, 32,690 hors, s ; and the engineers, military train, administrative troops, and gendarmerie (tho latter consisting of 27,014 men and 13 667 horses) brought up tho total strength to 502,697 men and 102,894 horses. The Russian army in 1879 was reported to consist, on a peace footing, of 852 battalions, 281 squadrons, and 1422 guns, the number of officers being 33,043, and of rank and file 732 829. On a war footing there would be 39,330 officers and 1,173,879 rank and file. The regular a-my oh a peace footing consists of 457,872 officers and men, and on the war footing of 808,670; the army of the first reserve on tho peace footing of 180,740, and on the war footing of 127 927; and the army cf the second reserve of 129,815 on the peace footing, and 276,666 on the war footing. A comparison of the British, German, and French navies is slightly favorable to us, inasmuch as the French and German vessels are many of them newer than these of ours against which they are paired off, but tho French at least have more- and better ships approaching completion than we have. Ever since 1875, in fact, the French have been spending £1,500,000 a year above tho ordinary amount on mere ship-building ; whilst we have not increased our expenditure, except by tne purchase of the Turkish and Brazilian ironclads, and this year there is an actual decrease in our estimates. However, even as it stands, the statement is unpleasant enough. Of those which are ranked as first-class ironclads, England has 20 as against 23 in the possession of France and Germany. In the second class tho French alone h ve 9 against our 6. In third class we are superior, having 9 vessels against 2 , but in the four.h class we are again behindhand. More serious and significant still, France and Germany have no fewer than 64 unarmoured cruisers of the newer types against our 62. No words are needed to point the significance of the figures when it is remembered that we are dependent for our food upon our absolute command of tho sea, that our commerce is more than three times that of France and Germany together, and that our extensive colonies depend upon us for protection.