ITALY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LVII, Issue 271, 26 April 1915, Page 7

ITALY'S FIGHTING STRENGTH.

COO,OOO IN LAND FORCES. j The Italian anny numbers, on a war footing, 400,00!) combatants in the field I army, ami the mobile militia have a I nominal strength of 320,000. Of these probably 21)0,DU0 can readily take the ' field, making an approximate total fighting force of tfOO,OOb. The young Italian lias to serve in either the army or the navy for 19 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 tile Vcoiiiplementary troops,'' and supply a reserve to'make up the waste of war. The mobile militia consists of men w'lo have served two years in the permanent j army and six years in the reserve. These men remain in the mobile 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 14,150 officers and men, 1309 horses, ana ISO guns. Each army corps has also a regiment of field artillery with ;i0 guns in six batteries, two or three heavy batteries, a cavalry regiment, and a regiment' of bersaglieri, or light infantry. ■The bersaglieri, regiments /consist of three battalions of infantry and one of J cyclists, the latter being intended to assist the cavalry in the field. There are eight regiments (about 20,000 men) of Alpini, or frontier troops, specially organised to defend the mountain passes leading into Italy. They; have with them two regiments each of 30 batteries of mountain artillery. In addition there are a regiment of eight batteries of horse artillery (in addition to the two batteries attached to each J division), two regiments of heavy artillery, of eight batteries each, and ten batteries of fortress artillery. Italy owned nine airships in 1913, and about 150 efficient aeroplanes. The' infantry arc armed with the Maimlielier-Careano rifle, a magazine weapon of 0.5 mm. (,'2osinch) calibre. The lield artillery lias been, or is being, re-armed with a l)e I'ort q.f. gun of ,75mhi. (2.9sine : i calibre). The frontier of Italy is as follows:French, 300 miles; Kwise, 418 miles; Aus-tro-1 fungarian, 454 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 Onsalc, Piaeeii/.a, Verona, Mantua, Venice, and Alessandria. Several of the towns further south are protected, including, of course, Rome.