504 



ITALY. 



ritorial divisions with 10 brigades in each di- 

 vision. The permanent army comprises 96 

 regiments of line infantry, 12 of bersaglieri, 6 

 of Alpine troops, 22 of cavalry, 12 of field- 

 artillery, 5 of fortress artillery, 2 brigades of 

 horse and 2 of mountain artillery, 4 regiments 

 of engineers, 1 of pontoniers, and several bri- 

 gades for special service. The infantry arm in 

 the active army is the Vetterli rifle, tiring 35- 

 gramme cartridges and 12 shots a minute. Ev- 

 ery Italian is liable for military duty between the 

 ages of twenty and forty. At the drawing of 

 lots the young men tit for service are divided 

 into three categories. The first is the recruit of 

 the active army, which is annually fixed by Par- 

 liament. After the period of active service the 

 men pass into the mobile militia for four years, 

 and then spend seven years in the territorial 

 militia, except the cavalry, coast companies, 

 and train, who go over to the territorial militia 

 at once. The men of the second category re- 

 ceive from two to six months' instruction, a part 

 of them only fifteen days' instruction, and are 

 employed as complement troops to fill vacancies 

 upon mobilization. They pass with their class- 

 es into the mobile and the territorial militia. 

 The third category consists of men who are 

 exempt from service in peace-time, and who, 

 after training for fifteen days, are assigned at 

 once to the territorial militia. The amount of 

 instruction and the average time spent with the 

 colors depends upon the sum at the disposal of 

 the ministers of war. The mean duration of 

 service with the colors in the Italian infantry is 

 something over twenty months, as compared 

 with thirty-two months in the French, and 

 twenty-seven in the German and Austrian ar- 

 mies. The infantry, artillery, and engineer ca- 

 dres are kept about half full, the rest of the men 

 being dismissed on unlimited furloughs after 

 eight months' drill. The cavalry cadres are 

 maintained at nearly their war strength. The 

 mobile militia is composed of men who have 

 passed through the active army and of the 

 second portion of the complement troop. The 

 strength of the active army on the peace 

 footing is about 217,000 men, which can be 

 raised to 704,000 by calling in the men on fur- 

 lough. The second line of reserves numbers 

 330,000 men. The territorial militia would 

 raise the total to about 2,000,000, but it is 

 inferior even to the French territorial army 

 in organization, training, equipment, and mo- 

 rale, while the Italian active army is rated as 

 high for apparent efficiency as any army in 

 Europe, especially the infantry; the cavalry 

 arm is excelled in Germany and other coun- 

 tries, while the artillery is considerably below 

 the French in skill. A model body of troops 

 are the Alpine regiments, which are intended 

 to perform the same service as the cavalry 

 on the eastern frontier of France, that of cov- 

 ering the mobilization of the army. There 

 are 36 companies, kept permanently at the war 

 strength of 250 men, organized in 10 battal- 

 ions of 3 or 4 companies each. The compa- 



nies are recruited principally in the district 

 in which they are posted. There are 21 on the 

 French, 4 on the Swiss, and 11 on the Austrian 

 frontier. Connected with each company is a 

 reserve company and a mobile militia company 

 each of greater strength than the active com- 

 pany, all under the command of a colonel. The 

 total number is a little over 36,000 officers and 

 men. They are constantly exploring and prac- 

 tising mano3uvres along the mountain bound- 

 ary. Attached to the force are mountain bat- 

 teries and engineer companies, and numer- 

 ous hill forts have been constructed. 



The Navy. The navy in 1885 was composed 

 of 3 ironclad turret-ships and 14 other iron- 

 clads of the first class ; 1 ironclad, 2 armored 

 floating batteries, 6 corvettes, 1 yacht, and 4 

 torpedo-rams, of the second class ; and 1 tor- 

 pedo-ram, 7 avisos, 6 gunboats, and 1 torpedo- 

 vessel, of the third class ; in all, 46 battle-ships, 

 carrying 155 guns. There were besides 49 

 torpedo-boats, 2 more of larger dimensions, 

 school-ships, gunboats, and other steam -ves- 

 sels, in all 84. The personnel numbered 15,- 

 055 men, exclusive of officers. The first-class 

 war- ships carry 100-ton guns. The largest is 

 the " Lepanto," of 18,000 horse-power and 13,- 

 700 tons displacement, with 4 great guns and 

 plates 19 inches thick. The " Duilio " and the 

 "Dandolo " have 22-inch armor. The "Rng- 

 giero di Lauria," launched in August, 1884, 

 has 18-inch plates and is of 10,000 horse-power 

 and 10,000 tons. The "Andrea Doria" and 

 "Francesco Morosini " are like it, and the 

 "Italia" is a Bister ship to the monster "Le- 

 panto." A cruiser, the "Giovanni Bausan," 

 modeled after the Chilian " Esrr.eralda," but 

 more powerful, was launched in Engl.ind in 

 1885. She carried two 25-ton breechloaders 

 and an armament of rapid-firing 6-pounders, 

 torpedoes, and machine-guns in turrets. 



In the torpedo service, which the Italian 

 Government aims to make very complete and 

 efficient, the Schwarzkopf is being substituted 

 for the "Whitehead torpedo, as is being done 

 likewise in the Spanish, the Chinese, and the 

 Japanese navies. The hulls of the great iron- 

 clads have all been laid in Italy, and the work 

 is done, as far as possible, by Italian labor a 

 condition stipulated in the contracts given out 

 abroad, as to Schneider for armor, and to Arm- 

 strong for guns. The 100-ton guns give the 

 highest initial velocity yet obtained, throwing 

 a projectile of 950 kilogrammes with a charge 

 of 350 kilogrammes. 



The Red Sea Expedition. Forestalled in Tu- 

 nis by France, Italy had the opportunity of 

 forming an alliance with England and of estab- 

 lishing a footing on the African coast by co- 

 operating with that power at the time of the 

 Egyptian crisis of 1882 in restoring order in 

 the Nile valley. The Government then recoiled 

 from so bold a course, and elected to conform its 

 policy to the dictates of the powerful Central 

 European League. The intended abandonment 

 of the Soudan by England afforded a chance 



