THE FRENCH ARMY.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 February 1920, Page 10

THE FRENCH ARMY.

ONE YEAR CONSCRIPTION, FOUR MILLION TRAINED MEN. , OUTLINE OF NEW POLICY, On the eve of the General Election the Committee of the French Senate proposed a reorganisation of the French Army/on the basis of conscripting 200,000 men annually for one year's service. Voluntary re-enlistment is to provide 150,000 professional non-commissioned officers and soldiers permanently, thus raising the peace establishment to 350,000 troops. Since twenty classes of 200,000 will give 4,000,000 trained men, the scheme is calculated to maintain the military strength of the nation on a scale which will render it safe from aggression for many years, if it is honestly administered and supported by the Government and Parliament, writes the military correspondent of the London Daily, TelegraphIn view of the alliance between England and France to enforce the Treaty Of Peace, and considering the present state of British armaments, the military organisation of the French nation is of supreme political importance to us. It iB also of great technical interest to ex-, amine the proposed conditions of service, for they represent a system which has never yet been tried. Apart from the pressure which the latent menace of Germany's enmity imposes upon France, it is noticeable that military service can not be unpopular in France, or 110 politicians could propose to revive and renew the recruiting laws at this particular juncture. The French peasant will greatly appreciate the reduction of his training from two years, which was burdensome, to one year, which he will, in most cases, enjoy, and which will not involve some of the evil consequences which the second and third year used to entail. One year's service must mean fairly intensive training, and constitute a healthy physical education, whereas the second and third year with the colors involved a good deal of leisure in the pleasure resorts of garrison towns, which was said to demoralise the young soldiers, and render them unfit for country life. The presence of so large a proportion of professional soldiers in the ranks—i.e. fifteen to twenty conscripts—will enhance the military spirit of the whole force, and may be expected to render it a more trustworthy guard of internal order even than the Republican Army before the war, which is an important consideration in view of the proposed reduction of the cavalry from ten to four divisions, for the cavalry was reckoned to be the bulwark of the State against sedition and disorder. Externally, the proposed scheme should make France more powerful in arms than any other Continental State, if the terms of the Pearo Treaty are observed by Germany. Those terms prescribe the reduction of the German land force to the hare strength required to maintain infernal order, while a numher of stringent provisions are directed against the manufacture and accumulation of war material, artillery, aeroplanes, and so forth. The organisation of the General Staff is likewise prohibited. It is, however, to be remarked that the Germans have not yet dismantled their armed forces to "this extent, nor does it seem probable that they will be made to, though yesys must elapse before the cadres of their vast army organisation are reconstituted. even if the Allies leave them to flo what they can in this direction. PARTICULARS OF THE PLAN. The army is to be organised in twen-ty-one military districts, as before, each of which will be the region of an army corps, but only one of the two active divisions of each corps will be kept on foot except the troops occupying the banks of the Rhine, which will be on a war footing. While many advantages are promised by the scheme of one year's compulsory service, it is not without some grave technical disadvantages. Probably the period of service for some of the recruits will overlap that of others, so as to prewnt the defenceless state of France, which would otherwise supervene when each class was dismissed and before the next was constituted- In any ca6e, the first two months of the period of training of each class must be a weak period, since the regiments will be mere training depots for at least half the class during these months, whatever precautions are taken to obviate the danger period by overlapping of the periods of training. Tims, the first half of the first class might be called up three months before the second half, and so on. Special troops will continue to be organised for the army in North Africa and Morocco, and no decision has been announced as to the strength of the native forces now enrolled. Probably a considerable nucleus will be maintained on a peace footing, with reserves for rapid expansion in war. For other oversea garrisons, for such duties as are likely to fall to the French troops in Syria and elsewhere beyond the French frontiers, the famous Colonial Army Corps will be letained. This corps, like our Regular Army before the war, serves partly at home and partly abroad; the regiments at home constitute training depots to replenish the units serving abroad. Recruits were obtained by voluntary enrolment from the class for this service. BRITISH AND FRENCH.

Since the Governments of England and France are committed to stand by one another, it is necessary not only to examine how far French military prepara* tions are likely to be adequate for the prevention of a renewal of European war, but how far we can support and complete these forces to preserve the peace. The events of the late war and the administration of the Military Service Act in Great Britain since lOlfihave rendered the very word conscription odious to the British people. On the other hand, the improved rates of pay for the British Army are attracting a stream of desirable recruits. The necessity for retrenching expenses after the waste of the war seems more likely to limit our military strength than lack of volunteers to serve, but in view of the terrible eventual cost in life, as well as in treasure, of excessive reductions, it is to be hoped that sufficient nucleus forces will be maintained by the British authorities. and especially that instructors and trained Staff officers in sufficient, nucleus strength be kept on foot. These ratings cannot > hastily improvised, nor can our forces lie expanded without them.

So far there has been no sign of the Army Council under Mr. Churchill having nny plan or policy for the Army of the future. Troops are being raised by hand-to-mouth arrangements for Indian and other oversea service, but no symmetrical organisation has been devised for either home or foreign service troops. Tor i recruiting, reinforcing, or for constituting reserves. In • eejutral wav the t«4*

diers who served in the late war and who have been demobilised are regarded as a vast, trained reserve. Doubuess the majority of these men would respond to a national call if the peril recurred. Nevertheless, it is time that the organisation of reserve forces aii'd the restoring of the Territorial Forces on a peace footing were undertaken. The fourteemdiviaions originally raised are not necessarily the best organisations for the future. However, the Territorial troops gave a fine account of themselves, the general principle of the force is popular and workable, and should be used to the utmost. The decision not to use Territorials in the great war until they had been mobilised for months exposed us to terrible danger of utter .defeat at the battle of Yprea. Territorials Will not now be liable to serve abroad unless a fresh Military Service Act is passed, but they will probably volunteer as they did in 1014. It should not be necessary to keep them out of the fray next time we are at war during the critical battles on the plea that they are unready for war, owing to lack of training or equipment or stores.