292 



FRANCE. 



and the conscripts from the French population 

 of Algeria. All those who are incapable of bear- 

 ino- arms or who serve less than the full term 

 of three years pay a military tax of francs 

 and a variable surtax. For the colonial forces 

 men are recruited only by voluntary enlistment. 

 Since 1800 the annual recruit for the French 

 armv, inclusive of about 11,400 marines and the 

 volunteers, has averaged 220,000. In 1895 the 

 number was 224,535. The territory of France is 

 divided into 20 regions, including Algeria, each 

 occupied by an army corps, composed ordinarily 

 of two divisions of infantry, a brigade of cavalry, 

 a brigade of artillery, a battalion of engineers, a 

 squadron of train, a section of the general staff, 

 sections of recruitment, artificers, and the hos- 

 pital service, and a legion of gendarmery. The 

 military government of Paris, with the fortress 

 artillery and a separate brigade of engineers, is 

 distinct. Seven divisions of cavalry are attached 

 to the army corps and the military government 

 of Paris according to their requirements. The 

 Nineteenth Army Corps in Algeria has three spe- 

 cial divisions of cavalry and a division of infan- 

 try occupying Tunis. The infantry is armed with 

 the Lebel rifle of 1886, having a bore of 8 milli- 

 metres and a magazine holding 8 cartridges. The 

 dragoons, hussars, and chasseurs are armed with 

 carbines of the model of 1886, the cuirassiers 

 with revolvers. The field artillery comprises 430 

 mounted batteries of 6 pieces, 52 batteries of 

 horse artillery, and 14 batteries of mountain ar- 

 tillery, besides 4 mounted and 8 mountain bat- 

 teries in Algeria and Tunis. It is armed with 

 rapid-firing guns of 7.5 centimetres or the recently 

 introduced 12-centimetre guns. The foot artil- 

 lery, comprising 107 batteries, has guns of 9.5, 

 20, and 27 centimetres and mortars of 15 centi- 

 metres. 



The army in France on the peace footing, as 

 provided for in the budget of 1899, had a total 

 strength of 547,515 officers and men, 26,849 being 

 officers. The Algerian corps numbered 55,122, of 

 whom 2,195 were officers, and in Tunis were sta- 

 tioned 13,455, of whom 560 were officers, making 

 the total peace strength of the French army, 

 inclusive of 29,604 officers, 616,092 men, with 142,- 

 333 horses. The general staff numbered 3,485 

 officers, with 704 men, in France; 283 officers, 

 with 94 men, in Algeria; and 70 officers, with 23 

 men, in Tunis. In the military schools were 

 347 officers and 3,027 men. On other details there 

 were 1,728 officers and 245 men in France, 550 

 officers and 222 men in Algeria, and 110 officers 

 and 4 men in Tunis. In the 19 army corps of 

 France there were 336,006 infantry, including 

 12,300 officers; 11,860 administrative troops; 66,- 

 681 cavalry, including 3,489 officers; 78,090 artil- 

 lery, including 3,948 officers; 12,219 engineers, 

 including 484 officers; and 8,527 train, including 

 361 officers; making a total of 513,383 men, in- 

 cluding 20,582 officers. The gendarmery numbered 

 21,546 men, including 624 officers; the Garde 

 Republicaine, 3,050 men, including 83 officers. In 

 Algeria the infantry numbered 36,052 men, in- 

 cluding 866 officers; the administrative troops, 

 3,527 men; the cavalry, 7,597, including 365 offi- 

 cers; the artillery, 2,583, including 49 officers; 

 the engineers, 867, including 13 officers; the train, 

 2,175, including 38 officers. In Tunis the infantry 

 numbered 8,823 men, including 256 officers; the ad- 

 ministrative troops, 519 men; the cavalry, 1,853, 

 including 86 officers; the artillery, 854, including 

 17 officers; the engineers, 340, including 4 offi- 

 cers; the train, 716, including 13 officers. The 

 number of gendarmes in Algeria was 1,172, in- 

 cluding 31 officers; in Tunis, 143, including 4 



officers. The number of troops present in the 

 active army in the beginning of 1899 was 540,582, 

 and the number of gendarmes and Republican 

 Guards was 25,647. The effective war strength 

 of the French army is estimated at 2,500,000. The 

 total number of men liable to service is about 

 4,350,000, of whom 2,350,000 are in the active 

 army and its reserve, 900,000 in the territorial 

 army, and 1,100,000 in the territorial army re- 

 serve. 



The Navy. The French navy in 1898 com- 

 prised 19 first-class, 10 second-class, and 7 third- 

 class battle ships, 14 coast-defense vessels, 13 

 first-class, 17 second-class, and 10 third-class 

 cruisers, 21 torpedo gunboats, and 125 first-class, 

 78 second-class, and 45 third-class torpedo boats. 

 In this list only effective vessels are counted. 

 , There were building 1 first-class and 1 second- 

 class battle ship, 10 first-class cruisers, 1 third- 

 class cruiser, 1 torpedo gunboat, and 22 first- 

 class torpedo boats. A programme of construc- 

 tion has been adopted which will add 85 vessels 

 to the fleet in the course of eight years, beginning 

 in 1898, at a total expense of 721,815,572 francs. 

 The expenditure for 1899 was fixed at 111,494,942 

 francs. The vessels to be begun in that year were 

 1 battle ship of 14,500 tons, 2 armored cruisers 

 of 10,014 tons each, 2 cruisers of 4,000 tons, 2 

 destroyers of 400 tons, 4 large torpedo boats, 11 

 first-class torpedo boats, and 6 submarine boats. 

 The total programme comprises 8 battle ships, 

 10 armored cruisers, 10 other cruisers, 10 destroy- 

 ers, and 42 torpedo boats of various classes. The 

 superstructures on French battle ships have been 

 much reduced in size on the later constructions, 

 and the 1 principal guns are disposed as in Eng- 

 lish ships. The Hoche, of 10,823 tons, launched 

 in 1886, was the first of the newer type of ves- 

 sels, having in the bow and stern 13.4-inch guns 

 in closed revolving turrets and 10.8-inch guns on 

 either broadside in barbette turrets protected by 

 shields. The Neptune, of 10,810 tons, the Mar- 

 ceau, of 10,679 tons, and the Magenta, of 10,680 

 tons, have 13.4-inch guns mounted in barbette 

 turrets as the only heavy guns. In these vessels 

 the protection is better than in the earlier ones, 

 but the side armor is reduced from 20 inches, or 

 22 inches, as on the Amiral Baudin and Formi- 

 dable, to 18 inches. The quick-firing smaller guns 

 are much more numerous and more effectively 

 disposed. The Brennus, of 11,215 tons, has the 

 armor plates reduced to 17i inches, enabling her 

 to carry 3 heavy guns, 2 forward and 1 aft. The 

 Bouvines, Valmy, and Jemmapes, launched in 

 1892, with a displacement of about 6,500 tons, 

 have 18 inches of armor on the sides, and carry, 

 the first 12-inch, the two last 13.4-inch guns in 

 their turrets. The Trehouart, another vessel 

 of this class, was built a little larger. The Charles 

 Martel and Jaur6guiberry, of 11,600 tons, and 

 the still more powerful Carnot, Massena, and 

 Bouvet, carry 2 10.8-inch guns in turrets, besides 

 the 12-inch guns mounted in turrets fore and 

 aft. In the latest, the 5.5-inch and 4-inch, the 

 quick-firing guns are also placed in close turrets, 

 and the deck is not only armored but protected 

 by a bulwark of 4-inch plating against the direct 

 action of high explosives in shells. The Charle- 

 magne and St. Louis, of 11,097 tons, carry 4 12- 

 inch guns coupled in turrets, with a secondary 

 armament of 10 5.5-inch, 8 3.9-inch, and 26 small- 

 er quick firers, and with a belt of armor 15| 

 inches thick, are engined for a speed of 18 knots. 

 Their sister ship, the Gaulois, has her great guns 

 mounted in barbette. The Jena, of 12,052 tons, 

 carries a more powerful secondary armament 

 than the others, consisting of 10 5.5-inch, 8 4-inch, 



