MILITARY FRONTIER 



MILITIA 





Koy.tl Engineers (q.v.) undergo a 

 course ( instrm -ti"ii for two or 

 yi-iirs, \\lii<-h includes, in 

 ti> purely engineering 

 ibjocts, knowledge of fortifica- 

 . photography, 

 . astronomy, as well as drill, 

 general military instruction 

 mu.sUi-try. Special courses are 

 liv.-u in lidd-rngiiii'rrinj,', \vhili- 

 lull, r branches include mining, 

 ipliy, drawing. The school 

 has at its head a general officer 

 known as the commandant. 

 Military Frontier. Name 



R'vi-ii to certain border districts 

 r whirh special protection is 

 >ry. The military frontier of 

 10 Austro-Hungarian Monarchy 

 was organized in 1535 for defence 

 against Turkey, and was peopled 

 by Christian fugitives. Made a 

 crown land with military adminis- 

 tration in 1849, it consisted of the 

 Transylvanian military frontier, 

 abolished 1851, parts of the 

 Banat and the county of Bacs- 

 Bodrog, incorporated in Hungary, 

 1872, and parts of Croatia- Slavonia 

 united with that kingdom in 1881. 

 See Marches. 



Military Knights of Windsor. 

 Body of retired military officers, 

 forming part of the order of the 

 - Garter (q.v.). 



When Edward 

 III instituted 

 the order in 

 1349 with 26 

 companions, 

 he included in 

 the foundation 

 an equal num- 

 ber of canons 

 and of veteran 

 knights. The 

 latter, known 

 as Poor 

 Knights, be- 

 cause wounds 

 or other mis- 

 f or tune had 

 rendered them 

 incap able of 

 themselves suitably, 



Military Knight 



of Windsor, lull 



dress uniform 



supporting Jt 



he endowed with an annual income 

 and allotted quarters in Windsor 

 Castle. Elizabeth reduced their 

 number to 13 and re-endowed them. 

 In the reign of Charles I five 

 more knights were added on a 

 lower foundation. In 1919 an Act 

 of Parliament was passed, decreeing 

 that no further appointments 

 should be made to the lower 

 foundation, which will be absorbed, 

 so that in future the knights will 

 again number 13. One of them is 

 governor of the rest, and he is given 

 the rank of major-general if he does 

 not already hold it. Appointments 

 are made by the sovereign, and 

 the knights are under the orders of 

 the governor of Windsor Castle. 



They have residences in the castle 

 and a small annual stipend. They 

 are the oldest military brotherhood 

 in existence, and the only military 

 body in England cntitlfd tu wi-.-ir 

 the national badge of 8. George. 



Military Medal. British mili- 

 tary decoration. Instituted in 1 9 1 6, 

 it * is conferred on non-com- 

 missioned offi- 

 cers and men 

 and women 

 "for individual 

 o r associated 

 acts of bravery 

 on the recom- 

 mendation of a 

 commander- 

 in-chief on the 

 field." During 

 the Great War 

 a number of 

 nurses were 

 H awarded it for 

 Military Medal conspicuous 

 and ribbon devotion to 



duty during German air raids. The 

 ribbon is dark blue with three white 

 and two crimson stripes. See Medal. 

 Military Police. Corps or de- 

 tachment of troops detailed to aid in 

 the maintenance of discipline and 

 the like. In the British army 

 they are under the command of 

 the assistant provost-marshal of 

 the division to which they are 

 attached. They are responsible for 

 arresting any persons not provided 

 with passes, making improper 

 requisitions, plundering, or com- 

 mitting offences against orders or 

 military law ; for guarding against 

 spies in the district ; for collecting 

 stragglers and returning them to 

 their units ; and for the control of 

 traffic on lines of communicatior 

 See Police. 



Military Service Acts. In the 

 United Kingdom, four Acts passed 

 to obtain men for service in the 

 Great War. The first was intro- 

 duced in the House of Commons by 

 H. H. Asquith on Jan. 5, 1916, 

 when the results of the Derby 

 scheme had been made known, 

 became law on Jan. 27, and came 

 into force Feb. 10. It provided for 

 the conscription of all single men 

 and childless widowers between 18 

 and 40 years old. Ministers of re- 

 ligion were exempted, and provision 

 was made for persons engaged on 

 work of national importance, for 

 those whose withdrawal from their 

 ordinary duties would mean ex- 

 ceptional hardship, conscientious 

 objectors, etc., tribunals being es- 

 tablished throughout the country 

 to adjudicate upon these cases. 



The second bill, also introduced 

 by Asquith, May 2, 1916, made 

 military service compulsory on all 

 males between 18 and 41, with ex- 

 ceptions as in the earlier measure. 



It brought in, moreover, all youths 

 of 18, retained in the army those 

 whose period* of service had ex- 

 pired, and made provision for a 

 fiirt li'-r examination of cases of 

 men already exempted. It became 

 law on May 25, and came into force 

 a month later. The third bill was 

 a direct consequence of the German 

 offensive of March, 1918; it was 

 introduced on April 9, and became 

 law on April 15. Its main provision 

 was to raise the age of liability to 

 military service from 41 to 50 and 

 in the case of medical men to 55. 

 None of these bills applied to 

 Ireland, and all lapsed with the 

 signing of peace in 1919. 



The fourth bill was introduced 

 in March, 1919, being necessary in 

 order to maintain an army of 

 occupation in Germany. It gave 

 power to the Government to ex- 

 tend the compulsory period as far 

 as April 30, 1920, for any man who 

 at the end of the war was in the 

 naval, military, or air forces. See 

 Compulsory Service ; Conscription. 



Military Tournament. .Mili- 

 tary and sporting competition con- 

 fined to members of the army, and 

 often including such items as 

 artillery driving, tent-pegging, 

 fencing, etc. These tournaments 

 are frequently preliminary to the 

 Royal Naval and Military Tourna- 

 ment, London, held annually. See 

 Tournament, Royal. 



Militello. Town of Sicily, in the 

 prov. of Catania. It is 18 m. S.W. 

 of Catania, with which it is con- 

 nected by rly., and carries on a 

 trade in oil, wine, and silk. The 

 town was destroyed by earthquake, 

 1693. Pop. 12,000. 



Militia. Bodies of civilians 

 trained and occasionally exercised 

 for home defence alone. At the end 

 of the 19th century the militia of 

 the United Kingdom resembled 

 the volunteers of Great Britain in 

 being civilians who of their own 

 free will joined a training corps 

 which should be available for de- 

 fence against an invader, but could 

 not be sent overseas. Recruits 

 were trained continuously for 

 three months and afterwards an- 

 nually for one month. In 1908 this 

 militia disappeared under the 

 Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 

 1907, but the obligations of the 

 T.F. were those of the old militia, 

 though the character of its training 

 remained that of the old volunteers. 



The Channel Islands, however, 

 Malta, and Bermuda retained this 

 title for their defence forces. In 

 March, 1921, during the reorganiza- 

 tion of the reserve units of the 

 British army, it was decided that 

 one militia battalion should again 

 be maintained for each regiment of 

 regular troops. Canada describes her 



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