260 MOUNTAIN ARTILLERIES OF FRANCE AND ITALY. 
ALPINE GROUP. 
The other units of the Group consisted of the XIT. Regiment Chas- 
seurs-i-pied (Alpine), and a detachment of Engineers, and Medical and 
Veterinary sections. 
There are 14 of these Groups at present on the strength of the 
French Army, stationed on the Franco-Italian frontier, their duty being 
in the Alps, to carry out that which in the plains is usually performed by 
the Cavalry Division, the screening on mobilization of the main bodies 
concentrating in rear, and in this case advancing by the main valleys 
on Turin. 
On the first day I inspected the camp and billets of the Battery, 
together with the regimental transport of the Chasseurs. 
APPEARANCE AND Dress or Mun. 
The men of the Battery were housed in one long building, the floor of 
which was thickly covered with straw and actedasabed. They seemed 
according to their ideas comfortable and contented. They are a fine 
body of men, physique quite as good as our Mountain Gunners, the 
majority of them mountaineers selected with great care. Their uni- 
form is a sort of loose serge stable jacket, blue with red piping, a 
light blue cummerbund, khaki trousers, dark blue putties, ankle boots 
and beret cap (a cap resembling a Tam o’Shanter). 
Orrtcers’ Dress. 
_ The Officers wear the usual French artillery dolman, breeches cut 
like our Mountain Battery pattern, boots ankle, and gaiters of black 
leather, the latter shaped to the leg and fastened with laces, and hunting 
spurs, the ordinary sword belt, but on the hillsides sword attached to 
the saddle, short alpen-stock (like an ordinary stout walking stick with 
long spike) carried in the hand, beret cap with gold grenade on left side, 
and binoculars and aneroid (for ascertaining heights) slung over the 
shoulder. 
Camp. 
_ The mules were picketted in rear of the guns, which with the ammu- 
nition boxes are always packed at close interval. They were a very 
strong-and level lot averaging I should say about 15 hands with propor- 
tionate girth measurement. The government price varied from £35 to 
£40 IT wasinformed. The Battery mules were picketted by means of the 
head chain attached to a broad stout leather throat lash, the other end 
of chain being attached to a long picketting rope, to which the whole 
of the mules of one section were attached. 
ANIMALS. 
The regimental transport mules of the Chasseurs were on the other 
hand picketted like our Battery mules, by the fore-foot picketting 
arrangement, which everyone seemed to prefer for mules. Unlike the 
Ttalian Mountain Artillery which is formed into a distinct regiment the 
French Mountain Batteries are attached for administration purposes 
half to each of two regiments of field artillery. The tendency is 
therefore to assimilate them as closely as possible to all field 
