TheCuratoriumof the School is composed of the General Inspectors of the two corps. To it belongs the authority of issuing orders and regulations; no important change in these can be made without its sanction.
The General Inspector of Military Instruction receives yearly at fixed periods, reports upon the state and progress of the school.
The accounts are under the control of the War Department, with which the Director of the School is in immediate communication. Questions of principle and unforeseen cases of importance are decided by theCuratorium.
The Inspector of the School, who is an Engineer Officer when the Director is an Artillery Officer, andvice versâ, has the immediate oversight of it. It is his duty to see that the orders and regulations are strictly followed.
The Director is appointed by the King. He is a Field Officer of either Artillery or Engineers, and has the rank of Commandant of a regiment. He has as assistant, a Captain appointed by theCuratorium. The Director is immediately responsible for the discipline and the finance of the establishment, and conducts its ordinary details, assisted by the Captain. He is also President of the Board of Studies; as such he exercises a general control over the instruction, and regulates the ordinary examinations.
Under the Director and the Board of Studies are four officers, three taken from the Artillery and one from the Engineers. They have the immediate charge of the students, and are themselves under the direct orders of the Captain.
The duties of Paymaster, Librarian, &c., are divided among them. They must also give at least two hours of instruction weekly to the pupils.
The Board of Studies consists of the Director of the Institution as President, and usually of the Senior Master of Mathematics, and the Instructors of Artillery and Engineering in the third cœtus. In equal numbers are likewise added Superior Officers of the Artillery and Engineers appointed by theCuratorium. The duty of the Board is to control the whole of the instruction, and to give an opinion when required, upon the performance and capacities of the teachers and students.
The teachers are to be selected as much as possible from among the Officers of Artillery and Engineers. Where this can not be effected, civilians of proved ability and experience are to be appointed.
The number of teachers is to be arranged with reference to the amount and extent of the studies, in such a manner that in the event of illness among them, no interruption in the instruction may arise. In addition to the teachers, there is a certain number of assistant-teachers, partly civilians, partly taken from among the fireworkers of the Artillery. The latter are employed under the Librarian, and in the practical instruction; they may also, in case of necessity, assist as clerks.
THE STUDENTS.
The maximum number of students who enter each year is 80; 60 from the Artillery, and 20 from the Engineers. In addition, a few young men may be received from the smaller German States. In the event of the number from one corps being short, an increased number may be admitted from the other.
The number in the second cœtus is variable. It consists, first, of the students previously in the first cœtus who have passed the Officers’ Examination; and, secondly, of such young officers as are appointed to the Institution by the General Inspectors.
The students of the first cœtus lodge, as far as room will admit, in the school buildings; the remainder, as well as the ensigns of the second cœtus, not yet promoted to officers, are quartered in a neighboring building. At least two of the direction officers lodge in the school buildings; a third lodges in the other.
The Director may grant permission to a student, as a matter of favor, to lodge with his parents.
The students quartered in the school and the neighboring building dine together in the mess-room of the school.
The officers (students) of the second and third cœtus live in lodgings in the town, and mess where they choose.
ENTRY INTO THE SCHOOL, AND PASSAGE THROUGH IT.
The entry into the first cœtus of the institution is conditional on the applicant having passed, in the manner officially prescribed, the examination for ensign. The necessary certificates are forwarded to the Director of the School.
The instruction in the first cœtus embraces in general the subjectsrequired for the ordinary Officers’ Examination, that is to say, the elements of Military Science, so far as every Subaltern Officer is obliged to know them. To this is to be added instruction in mathematics, in French, and in free sketching.
At the commencement of the instruction the teachers inspect the whole of the Ensign-Examination papers of the newly-arrived students, which are laid before them by the Director, in order the better to judge of their acquirements. During the first quarter they take pains to ascertain the ability as well as the amount of acquirements of each student, so as to be able to give a confident opinion upon him at the end of the quarter.
After the close of the first quarter a conference of the teachers, under the presidence of the Director, takes place, to form a report upon the students, and to furnish data for recommendations to the rank of ensign of such students as have given satisfaction by their conduct and progress. The students about whom the teachers have not yet been able to speak confidently, who, in certain studies, as in mathematics and the special branches of their arm, are behind-hand, as well as those whose conduct has not been without blame, are proposed to the higher authorities for permission to continue to remain at the school. On the other hand, the Board of Studies proposes for dismissal from the institution, students whose conduct has been unsatisfactory, and principally who give too little hope of a favorable career. The Board is to express an opinion whether any prospect may be held out of a future recall to the institution, according as its unfavorable report has been founded on the want of ability or on the want of industry of the student.
The students favorably reported on are immediately, by the General Inspectors, appointed ensigns, subject to vacancies. TheCuratoriumdecides regarding the further stay at the institution, or the dismissal of the others.
After the end of the second quarter, those pupils who can not yet be recommended for promotion to ensign are only in special cases allowed to remain till the end of the theoretical instruction of this year; if they can not then be recommended, they are sent back to their regiments.
Fourteen days before the close of the theoretical instruction for the year, that is to say, about the middle of June, the teachers give an opinion regarding each student of the first cœtus, as to whether or not they consider him capable of undergoing the Officers’ Examination, and to pass into the second cœtus. These reports, joined to that of the Director, as regards the conduct of the students,enable the Board of Studies to propose to the higher authorities either that permission may be granted to undergo the Officers’ Examination, (and, if successful, to enter the second cœtus,) or that the student be sent back to his corps. Students who have been refused permission on grounds not altogether unpardonable, from presenting themselves for the Officers’ Examination, or who in the course of instruction have been sent for any reason to their corps, with the prospect of being afterwards called back to the school, may, on the proposition of the Board of Studies, through theCuratorium, be granted a second and final entrance into the first cœtus.
TheCuratoriumdecides in every case whether a student who has not qualified himself for entry into the second cœtus, may return to the first cœtus after having left the institution, or in case he shall have in the meantime passed the Officers’ Examination, whether he may, as an exceptional case, enter the second cœtus. In a case of the latter kind, the applicant can not present himself for the Officers’ Examination without having previously passed a preliminary examination at the school, to do which, the permission of the General Inspector of his corps is necessary.
The theoretical course closes at the end of June. During the month of July the students of the first cœtus are employed in surveying operations. It is during this month that the examination for the rank of officer before the General Examining Board takes place. The students who pass this examination enter afterwards into the second cœtus; those who fail are, at the expiration of the practical course of their year, sent back to their corps.
The students who pass the Officers’ Examination, and are found qualified to enter the second cœtus, are then proposed for election to the officers of their corps. If the decision be favorable, their names are submitted by the General Inspectors to the King, to be appointed, on vacancies occurring, to the rank of Supernumerary (Ausseretatsmässigen) Second Lieutenant.
To assist the Officers of the Corps in making their election, an extract of the reports above alluded to is sent to them, so far as it concerns the students who have successfully passed their Officers’ Examination.
It is an indispensable condition for entering the second cœtus, that, if a student of the first cœtus, he should have passed the Officers’ Examination, or if he should now enter the school for the first time, that he should have the rank of Officer. The sum of acquirements necessary for the Officers’ Examination forms the basis of theinstruction given in the second cœtus. In it the instruction ceases to be entirely common to the two arms.
At the end of the theoretical course of the second cœtus, a report of progress and conduct is drawn up, as in the first cœtus, by the Board of Studies, on the data furnished by the teachers as regards the studies, and by the Director as concerns the conduct of the students. In forwarding this report to theCuratorium, it is stated for each student whether or not he is considered qualified to pass theformer partof the Special Corps Examination. Those who are unfavorably spoken of in this respect return to their corps, if there are no mitigating circumstances which permit a further stay in the second cœtus, following the decision of theCuratorium. They may either endeavor to obtain a transfer into another branch of the army, or by study and good conduct prepare themselves for admission into the third cœtus at a future period. But in this case they must not only be recommended by their corps, but they must also pass theformer partof the Special Corps Examination.
The students recommended to present themselves for theformer partof the Special Corps Examination undergo it before a Board appointed by the chiefs of the two corps in the beginning of July. It extends over the subjects of professional science which have been taught in the second cœtus. A particular regulation defines the mode of this examination, which is entirely written; it decides whether the student shall enter or not into the third cœtus.
The successful students pass, by direction of theCuratorium, into the third cœtus, while the unsuccessful ones, as well as those who have been reported unfit to undergo the examination, return to their corps. By good conduct and study they may obtain permission to come up again at the next examination for theformer partof the Special Examination. Their definite return to the school depends upon their passing this examination, and upon the express order of theCuratorium.
The instruction in the third cœtus is chiefly directed to supply the special scientific knowledge required by each of the two arms. The students of the two corps, therefore, receive separate instruction. A further object of the instruction is to enable the students to make use of the knowledge which they have acquired, on which account instruction and practical application go hand in hand. Practice and theory go thus together in this the highest portion of the instruction, so that they both terminate at the same time, namely, at the end of the month of June.
Previous to leaving the School, thelatter partof the Special Corps Examination is undergone before the same Board as for theformer part. This examination tests their qualifications in their special arm, and proves their fitness for Artillery or Engineer Officers. The results of this part of the examination and of the former part of it passed at the close of the second cœtus, are combined by the Board, and forwarded to theCuratorium. Along with these reports is submitted a proposition for those who have passed the examinations to be admitted into their corps. In the preparation of patents (for commissions) they are antedated to the time of passing the Officers’ Examinations, proper regard being had to the results of the Special Corps Examination for arranging the officers among each other.
Any officer who does not pass the Special Corps Examination, remains with the pay of an infantry officer in his corps until he either enters into another arm, or having obtained permission to re-enter the third cœtus, he qualifies himself for the final examination. A successful passing of the Special Corps Examination at this second trial can give, under the most favorable circumstances, no higher seniority than that of immediately after the officers who have passed their examination the previous year.
The general instruction may be divided into—
1. The theoretical part, designed with the view to the practical professional requirements of the students, and their further self-improvement.
The instruction ranges over—
(a.) Artillery.(b.) Military Engineering.(c.) Hydraulic Construction.(d.) Elements of Tactics.(e.) History of the Art of War.(f.) Mathematics.(g.) Theory of Surveying.(h.) Physics.(i.) Chemistry.(k.) French Language.(l.) Rules and Regulations of the Service.(m.) The Horse.(n.) Plan Drawing.(o.) Free Sketching.(p.) Descriptive Geometry.(q.) Artillery Drawing.(r.) Artillery Constructions Drawing.(s.) Fortification Drawing.(t.) Architectural Drawing.
(a.) Artillery.
(b.) Military Engineering.
(c.) Hydraulic Construction.
(d.) Elements of Tactics.
(e.) History of the Art of War.
(f.) Mathematics.
(g.) Theory of Surveying.
(h.) Physics.
(i.) Chemistry.
(k.) French Language.
(l.) Rules and Regulations of the Service.
(m.) The Horse.
(n.) Plan Drawing.
(o.) Free Sketching.
(p.) Descriptive Geometry.
(q.) Artillery Drawing.
(r.) Artillery Constructions Drawing.
(s.) Fortification Drawing.
(t.) Architectural Drawing.
2. The practical part of the instruction, designed by a series of practical exercises to exhibit the application of the theory taught and to extend the knowledge previously acquired.
The practical part includes—
(a.) Visits to the Military Establishments and Institutions in Berlin and Spandau, examination of the objects, collections, models, &c., which they contain.(b.) Chemical manipulation.(c.) Examination of raw materials, of cannon, limbers, and ammunition wagons, of shot and shells, and of small-arms.(d.) Management of machines.(e.) Practical exemplification of the rules for placing guns with reference to the ground, and to tactical considerations.(f.) Marking out and tracing batteries and field-works.(g.) Drawings from Artillery objects, and from buildings, &c.(h.) Being present at the practical operations of the Engineer Division of the Guards.(i.) Solution of problems in the attack and defense of fortresses.(k.) Practice in elementary tactics.(l.) Practical surveying.(m.) Artillery practice.
(a.) Visits to the Military Establishments and Institutions in Berlin and Spandau, examination of the objects, collections, models, &c., which they contain.
(b.) Chemical manipulation.
(c.) Examination of raw materials, of cannon, limbers, and ammunition wagons, of shot and shells, and of small-arms.
(d.) Management of machines.
(e.) Practical exemplification of the rules for placing guns with reference to the ground, and to tactical considerations.
(f.) Marking out and tracing batteries and field-works.
(g.) Drawings from Artillery objects, and from buildings, &c.
(h.) Being present at the practical operations of the Engineer Division of the Guards.
(i.) Solution of problems in the attack and defense of fortresses.
(k.) Practice in elementary tactics.
(l.) Practical surveying.
(m.) Artillery practice.
3. A course of Military and Gymnastic Exercises, requisite to prepare Officers for active military service.
They are divided into—
(a.) Exercises on foot.(b.) Exercises with the different kinds of guns in position.(c.) Fencing and gymnastics.
(a.) Exercises on foot.
(b.) Exercises with the different kinds of guns in position.
(c.) Fencing and gymnastics.
The theoretical studies commence each year on the 1st of October, and end on the 30th of June. They may be reckoned, after deducting the vacation and holidays, to include a period of thirty-five weeks.
As a general rule, the studies take place only in the forenoon, namely, during the five hours between eight and one o’clock. Occasionally only are there hours of study for a small part of the students in the afternoon. A portion of the afternoons, during the theoretical course, are employed for drills and practice, but in no case more than twice a week, in order that the students may have the necessary time for recreation. The students are required (those who are officers excepted) to remain in their quarters in the evening, to prepare the work which has been allotted to them by the teachers.
The parallel classes of each cœtus, with the exception of the drawing classes, are, as a general rule, to be under the same teacher.
The theoretical instruction is distributed as follows:
AMOUNT OF STUDIES, WEEKLY.
Art. Artillery.Eng. Engineers.
Art. Artillery.
Eng. Engineers.
REMARKS.
In the first cœtus.—All the instruction in this class is common to the two arms, and is equally divided among the six forenoons of the week.
In the first and second cœtus.—With reference to the mathematical instruction, it is particularly ordained, that each of the two mathematical teachers shall give instruction to the same students in the first and second cœtus, so that the one who teaches in the first cœtus one year, teaches in the second cœtus the year following.
In the second cœtus:—
1. The larger portion of the instruction, as the table shows, is common; in Plan Drawing the only difference is that the Engineers receive two hours’ additional instruction.2. The instruction in French, for a select number of the most advanced students only, takes place on two afternoons.3. The instruction in Free Sketching for the Engineers takes place also on two afternoons.
1. The larger portion of the instruction, as the table shows, is common; in Plan Drawing the only difference is that the Engineers receive two hours’ additional instruction.
2. The instruction in French, for a select number of the most advanced students only, takes place on two afternoons.
3. The instruction in Free Sketching for the Engineers takes place also on two afternoons.
In the third cœtus:—
1. About one-half only of the instruction in this class is common; in Plan Drawing the Engineers have one hour more instruction a week.2. The Chemical Manipulations (in which a very small number only of the students share) take place on two afternoons.3. The instruction in French, in which only those already selected in the second cœtus take part, also is given on two afternoons.4. For mathematical instruction the class is formed into two divisions. The first consists of those pupils who, in the opinion of the teachers, are able to follow profitably the instruction in the higher mathematics. The remainder form the second division, and go over a second time what they have already learned, to which is added a variety of questions in applied mathematics, important to the Artillery and the Engineers.
1. About one-half only of the instruction in this class is common; in Plan Drawing the Engineers have one hour more instruction a week.
2. The Chemical Manipulations (in which a very small number only of the students share) take place on two afternoons.
3. The instruction in French, in which only those already selected in the second cœtus take part, also is given on two afternoons.
4. For mathematical instruction the class is formed into two divisions. The first consists of those pupils who, in the opinion of the teachers, are able to follow profitably the instruction in the higher mathematics. The remainder form the second division, and go over a second time what they have already learned, to which is added a variety of questions in applied mathematics, important to the Artillery and the Engineers.
TENOR OF THE STUDIES IN GENERAL.First Cœtus.Artillery.—Elementary Description of all thematérielof the Prussian Artillery, and of the basis of its arrangement. Effect of the different natures of guns, and the simplest rules for their employment.General Military Engineering.—The elements of field and permanent fortification. The principles of the attack and defense of fortresses. General notions on the construction of military bridges.Tactics.—General organization of an army. Formation of the different kinds of troops. Fundamental rules for the placing, moving, and fighting of the separate arms, as well as their combination. Occupation of ground. Attack and defense of positions. Field-service.Mathematics.—Algebra and Arithmetic. Simple and higher equations. Progression series. The binomial theory for integral exponents. Series of powers and logarithms. Analytical trigonometry. Plane and analytical geometry. Plane trigonometry.French Language.—Translation from French into German, with parsing.Rules and Regulations.—Official correspondence, with examples. Discipline. Military code. Courts-martial. Courts of honor. Service in and out of garrison.Plan Drawing.—Theory of representing ground. Principles of topography. Surveying. Drawing from copies and simple models. Knowledge and description of the different conventional marks.Free Sketching.—Drawing of straight lines, broken lines, and angles. First principles of figure drawing. Hatching with black chalk. More difficult studies in figure drawing.Second Cœtus.Artillery.—Description of the organization of the Prussian Artillery. Rules for the employment of artillery in the field and in sieges.Special Military Engineering.—Extension of the course of field and permanent fortification, given in the first cœtus. Extension of the instruction on sieges. Formation of camps. Specialities of military engineering, in so far as it is of interest to artillerists.History of the Art of War.—History in early times, in a very general manner; that in the middle ages, as they approach modern times, in greater detail; in modern times, very fully. Organization of the armies and mode of conducting war at each remarkable period, illustrated by the description of some campaigns and great battles.Mathematics.—Solid geometry. Spherical trigonometry. The theory of projections. Theory of co-ordinates and conic sections. Statics, geostatics, and hydrostatics.Physics.—General properties of bodies. Laws of the equilibrium of solid, fluid, and aëriform bodies. Heat. Application of steam and gases. Measurement of heights. Hygrometry. Acoustics. Optics. Magnetism, Electricity. Electro-magnetism. Magneto-electricity.French Language.—Exercises in translating German into French, for a select number of pupils, about one-third of the whole.Artillery Drawing.—Use of drawing instruments and scales. Drawing of thematérielof the artillery, and principally of the separate parts of an object in different views and sections, to a certain scale, without the original.Artillery Constructions Drawing.—Construction of the different limbers, gun-carriages, &c., and the principles of their arrangement, forms, proportions, and admeasurements; in greater part, however, intended only as illustrations of the rules of perspective.Fortification Drawing.—Instruction in the composition of drawings; the practice includes representations of projects of fortresses and their details in plan and section, and in cavalier’s perspective (bird’s-eye view); both etched and shaded with Indian ink, and colored. The chief object is to qualify the pupils to understand, and to prepare correctly, drawings and plans of objects in field and permanent fortification.Plan Drawing.—Further practice in drawing of ground, with objects, buildings, &c., marked in black and colors. Further progress in geodesy. Sketches and reconnaissances.Architectural Drawing.—Perspective. Drawings of architectural decoration in outline, with the lines of shadow, but without further detail.Free Sketching.—Further figure-drawing. Landscapes and the drawing of ornaments, for the more skillful students.Descriptive Geometry.—The theory of descriptive geometry. Projections of various bodies in space, upon planes. Drawing according to proportional scales. Theory of light and shade of drawings.Third Cœtus.Artillery.—History and Literature of artillery. Review of the general relations of the artillery system in the principal states of Europe. Scientific basis of artillery objects, and their technical description. Theory of the parabola and of projectiles. Organization and employment of artillery, considered in its highest point of view.Exclusive Military Engineering.—Special application of the rules for sieges under given circumstances more or less connected. Complete instruction in building, and its application shown by projects for given sites.Hydraulic Constructions.—General principles of the science. Knowledge of the construction of such works, of which the principles should be known to engineer officers. In this is chiefly to be considered fascine work for the protection of the banks of rivers and canals, the construction of bridges and sluices, and the laying the foundation of heavy masonry in water.Mathematics.—(For the first division, about a quarter of the class.)—Differential and integral calculus. The higher geometry. Analytical mechanics and hydraulics.(For the second division, about three-quarters of the class.)—Repetition of the most important part of the studies already gone through in the first and second cœtus, with practical useful problems. Mechanics and hydraulics, as well as some instruction necessary for artillerists, but so as not to require the higher analysis, and more of a practical than of a theoretical nature.Chemistry(Instruction.)—The necessary preliminary knowledge of theoretical principles. Treatise of separate substances (of the metalloids and their indifferent combinations, of the acids, of the metals,) all illustrated by experiments.To conclude with a survey of the composition and alteration of the surface of the globe from a chemical point of view.(Manipulation.)—Instruction in the principles of qualitative chemical analysis, illustrated by experiments. Manipulation by the students under the superintendence of the instructor. Instruction in the principles of quantitative analysis. Analysis by the students, of substances employed by the artillery. (Only four or five of the best qualified take part in these experiments.)French Language.—Select conversation (only for the already selected students in the second cœtus.)The Horse.—Natural history and anatomy of the horse. Good and bad points. Food. Internal and external sickness, with the mode of discovery and cureofthe same, as far as practicable, by the means to be had on actual service. Shoeing.Artillery Drawing.—Continuation of the instruction.Matérielof the artillery, represented as combined artillery objects, partly on a given scale, partly drawn from a real object, by the more skillful students.Artillery Construction Drawing.—Construction of each description of cannon. Principles of their forms, proportions, and sizes. Problems on the construction of existing and not existing guns, carriages, &c. Construction of the artillerymatérielof foreign powers.Fortification Drawing.—Projects of field fortification, to be constructed of earth, or of earth and gabions, with application to the nature of the ground. Drawings with the use of Von Prittwitz’ copies of the fortification of places, as a continuation of the fortification drawings begun in the second cœtus. For all these exercises in projects and drawings, the concert of the teacher of exclusive engineering is required.Plan Drawing.—Practice in copying and reducing large plans. Drawing of plans of battles with the position of the troops, and of plans of sieges, with the trenches and batteries.Architectural Drawing.—Architecture in its application to military buildings, done in India ink. Finally, practical exercises in copying buildings.
TENOR OF THE STUDIES IN GENERAL.
First Cœtus.
Artillery.—Elementary Description of all thematérielof the Prussian Artillery, and of the basis of its arrangement. Effect of the different natures of guns, and the simplest rules for their employment.
General Military Engineering.—The elements of field and permanent fortification. The principles of the attack and defense of fortresses. General notions on the construction of military bridges.
Tactics.—General organization of an army. Formation of the different kinds of troops. Fundamental rules for the placing, moving, and fighting of the separate arms, as well as their combination. Occupation of ground. Attack and defense of positions. Field-service.
Mathematics.—Algebra and Arithmetic. Simple and higher equations. Progression series. The binomial theory for integral exponents. Series of powers and logarithms. Analytical trigonometry. Plane and analytical geometry. Plane trigonometry.
French Language.—Translation from French into German, with parsing.
Rules and Regulations.—Official correspondence, with examples. Discipline. Military code. Courts-martial. Courts of honor. Service in and out of garrison.
Plan Drawing.—Theory of representing ground. Principles of topography. Surveying. Drawing from copies and simple models. Knowledge and description of the different conventional marks.
Free Sketching.—Drawing of straight lines, broken lines, and angles. First principles of figure drawing. Hatching with black chalk. More difficult studies in figure drawing.
Second Cœtus.
Artillery.—Description of the organization of the Prussian Artillery. Rules for the employment of artillery in the field and in sieges.
Special Military Engineering.—Extension of the course of field and permanent fortification, given in the first cœtus. Extension of the instruction on sieges. Formation of camps. Specialities of military engineering, in so far as it is of interest to artillerists.
History of the Art of War.—History in early times, in a very general manner; that in the middle ages, as they approach modern times, in greater detail; in modern times, very fully. Organization of the armies and mode of conducting war at each remarkable period, illustrated by the description of some campaigns and great battles.
Mathematics.—Solid geometry. Spherical trigonometry. The theory of projections. Theory of co-ordinates and conic sections. Statics, geostatics, and hydrostatics.
Physics.—General properties of bodies. Laws of the equilibrium of solid, fluid, and aëriform bodies. Heat. Application of steam and gases. Measurement of heights. Hygrometry. Acoustics. Optics. Magnetism, Electricity. Electro-magnetism. Magneto-electricity.
French Language.—Exercises in translating German into French, for a select number of pupils, about one-third of the whole.
Artillery Drawing.—Use of drawing instruments and scales. Drawing of thematérielof the artillery, and principally of the separate parts of an object in different views and sections, to a certain scale, without the original.
Artillery Constructions Drawing.—Construction of the different limbers, gun-carriages, &c., and the principles of their arrangement, forms, proportions, and admeasurements; in greater part, however, intended only as illustrations of the rules of perspective.
Fortification Drawing.—Instruction in the composition of drawings; the practice includes representations of projects of fortresses and their details in plan and section, and in cavalier’s perspective (bird’s-eye view); both etched and shaded with Indian ink, and colored. The chief object is to qualify the pupils to understand, and to prepare correctly, drawings and plans of objects in field and permanent fortification.
Plan Drawing.—Further practice in drawing of ground, with objects, buildings, &c., marked in black and colors. Further progress in geodesy. Sketches and reconnaissances.
Architectural Drawing.—Perspective. Drawings of architectural decoration in outline, with the lines of shadow, but without further detail.
Free Sketching.—Further figure-drawing. Landscapes and the drawing of ornaments, for the more skillful students.
Descriptive Geometry.—The theory of descriptive geometry. Projections of various bodies in space, upon planes. Drawing according to proportional scales. Theory of light and shade of drawings.
Third Cœtus.
Artillery.—History and Literature of artillery. Review of the general relations of the artillery system in the principal states of Europe. Scientific basis of artillery objects, and their technical description. Theory of the parabola and of projectiles. Organization and employment of artillery, considered in its highest point of view.
Exclusive Military Engineering.—Special application of the rules for sieges under given circumstances more or less connected. Complete instruction in building, and its application shown by projects for given sites.
Hydraulic Constructions.—General principles of the science. Knowledge of the construction of such works, of which the principles should be known to engineer officers. In this is chiefly to be considered fascine work for the protection of the banks of rivers and canals, the construction of bridges and sluices, and the laying the foundation of heavy masonry in water.
Mathematics.—(For the first division, about a quarter of the class.)—Differential and integral calculus. The higher geometry. Analytical mechanics and hydraulics.
(For the second division, about three-quarters of the class.)—Repetition of the most important part of the studies already gone through in the first and second cœtus, with practical useful problems. Mechanics and hydraulics, as well as some instruction necessary for artillerists, but so as not to require the higher analysis, and more of a practical than of a theoretical nature.
Chemistry(Instruction.)—The necessary preliminary knowledge of theoretical principles. Treatise of separate substances (of the metalloids and their indifferent combinations, of the acids, of the metals,) all illustrated by experiments.To conclude with a survey of the composition and alteration of the surface of the globe from a chemical point of view.
(Manipulation.)—Instruction in the principles of qualitative chemical analysis, illustrated by experiments. Manipulation by the students under the superintendence of the instructor. Instruction in the principles of quantitative analysis. Analysis by the students, of substances employed by the artillery. (Only four or five of the best qualified take part in these experiments.)
French Language.—Select conversation (only for the already selected students in the second cœtus.)
The Horse.—Natural history and anatomy of the horse. Good and bad points. Food. Internal and external sickness, with the mode of discovery and cureofthe same, as far as practicable, by the means to be had on actual service. Shoeing.
Artillery Drawing.—Continuation of the instruction.Matérielof the artillery, represented as combined artillery objects, partly on a given scale, partly drawn from a real object, by the more skillful students.
Artillery Construction Drawing.—Construction of each description of cannon. Principles of their forms, proportions, and sizes. Problems on the construction of existing and not existing guns, carriages, &c. Construction of the artillerymatérielof foreign powers.
Fortification Drawing.—Projects of field fortification, to be constructed of earth, or of earth and gabions, with application to the nature of the ground. Drawings with the use of Von Prittwitz’ copies of the fortification of places, as a continuation of the fortification drawings begun in the second cœtus. For all these exercises in projects and drawings, the concert of the teacher of exclusive engineering is required.
Plan Drawing.—Practice in copying and reducing large plans. Drawing of plans of battles with the position of the troops, and of plans of sieges, with the trenches and batteries.
Architectural Drawing.—Architecture in its application to military buildings, done in India ink. Finally, practical exercises in copying buildings.
PRACTICAL EXERCISES.
These are carried on, as has been already remarked, in part during the nine months of theoretical instruction, on some of the afternoons, but they principally take place during the three summer months of July, August, and September, in the forenoon. They commence early in the morning, and often last till the afternoon, on which account there are no evening hours of study during this period. As the students of the third cœtus return to their corps at the beginning of July, those of the first and second cœtus only take part in this practice. The visits to the Fortress and Military Establishments of Spandau, and the preparation of projects of military constructions, and of reconnaissances, must be made during the period of theoretical instruction. It is therefore suspended for one day for the students of the first cœtus, and for three days for the Artillery, and five days for the Engineer students of the third cœtus.
The distribution of time for each cœtus is as follows:
Art. Artillery.Eng. Engineers.
Art. Artillery.
Eng. Engineers.
Remarks.—The employment of time in the last three months above given, requires the whole of the months of July and August, and about the first third of the month of September, after deducting fourteen days for the Officers’ Examination for the first cœtus, and occasional days lost through bad weather. The remaining two-thirds of September are given for vacation, as well to afford recreation to the teachers and students as to allow of the repairing and cleansing of the school-buildings.
MILITARY AND GYMNASTIC EXERCISES.
The month of October is appointed by the Director to the fitting and making uniform the regimental clothing brought with the studentsfrom their corps. Military exercises then take place once a week for two hours in the afternoon, till the 1st of April, or for about five months.
The military exercises are carried on under officers of the garrison, namely, a Captain and two Lieutenants of the Artillery of the Guard. They put themselves in communication with the Director to arrange the time, nature, and extent of the exercises.
The exercises consist of—
1.Exercises on Foot.—The whole of the first cœtus here take part, but only so many of the second Cœtus as are required as non-commissioned officers. Considering the composition of the squad, (Artillery and Engineers,) and the object of the exercise, the perfection of the students in company-drill is less to be attempted than the endeavor to give to each a good position and carriage in the front as well as in the ranks, and more particularly to accustom them to military order and precision.
2.Exercises with different descriptions of Guns in Position.—In preference, the light field-pieces of the year 1842 are to be used for drill, and correct, united and prompt execution required. With the siege-guns, every student is instructed and practiced with at least one calibre of each nature.
In addition to their military exercises, there are also—
3.Fencing and Gymnastics.—In these exercises the students of the first cœtus only take part, and for two hours of the afternoon each week, during the first six months. There is neither time nor appliances to admit of the students arriving at a high state of excellence. The practice in fencing is only intended to give confidence in the use of arms, that in gymnastics to produce activity, and to afford bodily exercise to young men much occupied in study.
EXAMINATIONS AND CENSURES.
In addition to the several examinations already enumerated, by which the fitness of the students for a certain rank or for promotion into a higher cœtus is shown, some other examinations take place.
1. For the purpose of enabling the Director and the Board of Studies to learn the progress of each separate student, and to confirm by their own knowledge the opinion given by the teachers, there is twice in each quarter an oral repetition of some portion of such instruction in the first and second cœtus. The period of the examination is previously named by the Director.
2. To give a general view of the progress of the entire year, andto incite the students to study, a public oral examination of those in the first cœtus takes place at the close of the theoretical instruction, in presence of the higher authorities of the school, superior officers of the two arms, and other persons interested.
As a further incitement to the students, and as a warning to those whose diligence or conduct has not been satisfactory, the quarterly “censures” are read out to the assembled cœtus. In general the names of the students are not mentioned, a number known to the individual only being used instead. The best pupils are, however, openly commended by name.
In the first cœtus, on the other hand, those pupils who have obtained very bad “censure” are mentioned by name.
The annual expense of the School is fixed at 16,049 dollars. The sum is distributed as follows:—
In the event of war, and if the instruction is suspended for an indeterminate period, the salaries of the civil teachers cease. Application is not to be made to the King for the grant of a provisional indemnity, except under very peculiar circumstances.
The payment of the salaries and allowances is made monthly and in advance.
The administration of the funds is directly under the supervision of the Director. The Treasurer carries out the details. The superior orders for the administration of royal grants are most strictly to be followed.
The annual accounts are forwarded by the Director to the War Department.
The property of the School consists of—
The Library, the Collection of Instruments and Models for Artillery and Engineers, the Collection of Physical Instruments, the Collection of Chemical Apparatus, and the School Utensils.
The principal object of the Library is to serve as materials of instruction for the teachers and students, and the Officers of Artillery and Engineers present at the Institution. After that, as a center, for the collection of all the best works, old and new, on Artillery and Military Engineering.
The Director and Board of Studies take care that the instruments and apparatus for the studies are always kept complete and in good order. As the means of the school do not thoroughly admit of the collections keeping pace with the progress of science, special care is taken that at least the most necessary articles are not absent.
The utensils of the school are kept always complete, under the supervision of the Director.
The property of the school is examined yearly by the Director and Board of Studies, and a report to that effect sent in with the annual accounts.