ITALY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXV, Issue 91, 20 April 1915, Page 6

ITALY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH.

600,000 IN LAND FORCES. The Italian army numbers, on a war footing, 100,000 combatants in the lieM army, and the mobile militia have a nominal strength of 32(5,000. Of these probably 200.000 can readily take the held, making an approximate total fighting force of 000.000. The young Italian has to serve in either the army or the navy for 10 years, beginning at the age of 20. A section is posted to the permanent army; a second lot also to the permanent army with "unlimited leave" ; and the third section is exempted from active service, and goes into the Territorial militia. The second category form the "complementary troops," and supply a, reserve to make up the waste of war. The mobile militia consists of men who have served two years in the permanent army and six years in the re-, serve. These men remain in the mohile militia four years, and then pass into the Territorials, joining the exempted men in this form of service,: and supplying the only part' of this service which can be counted upon for use in war time.

The field army consists of twelve army corps, each of two divisions (one has three). The divisions each consist of 14,156 officers and men, 1399 horses, and M 0 guns. Each army corps has also a regiment of field artillery 'with 36 guns in six batteries, two or three heavy batteries, a cavalry regiment, and a regiment of llersaglieri, or' light infantry. The Persaglieri regiments consist of three battalions of infantry and one of cyclist, the latter, being intended to assist the cavalry in the field. There are' eight regiments (about 26,000 men) of Alpini, or frontier troops, specially organised to defend the mountain passes leading into Italy. They have with them two regiments each of 36 batteries of 111011117 tain artillery. In addition there are

a regiment of eight batteries of horse artillery (in addition to the two batteries attached to each division), two regiments of heavy artillery of eight batteries each, and ten bateries of fortress artillery. Italy owned 9 airships in 1913, and about 150 efficient aeroplanes. The infantry are armed with the Mannlicher-Carcano rifle, a magazine, weapon.of 6.5 mm. C26sinch) calibre. The field artillery has been, or is being, re-armed with a Dc Port q.f. gun ,of 75 mm. (2.95 inch calibre.) The frontier of Italy is as follows: —French, 300 miles; Swiss, 118 miles; Austro-Hungarian, 484 miles; total. 1202 miles. The principal passes of the Alps are defended by fortifications, and the basin of the Po river, which stretches across the broad "root" of the Italian peninsula, is studded with fortifications. The chief strong places are Casale. Piacenza, Verona, Mantua, Venice, and Alessandria. Sevetrai of the towns further south are protected, including, of course, Rome.