TheEnglish Commissioners in their Report on “The best Mode of Reorganizing the [English] System of Training Officers for the Scientific Corps, together with an Account of Foreign and other Military Education,” close with the following general remarks on French Military Education:—
Thefollowing summary may close our account of French Military Education.
1.The French army combines a considerable proportion of officers professionally educated, with others, who form the majority, whose claims to promotion consist in their service, proved ability, and conduct. One-third of the officers in the line, two-thirds of those in the scientific corps, and the whole of the staff, receive a careful professional education; the remainder are taken upon the recommendation of their superior officers, from the ranks. But it was stated to us expressly that such officers do not often rise above the rank of captain.
2.There are no junior military schools in France, and no military education commences earlier than sixteen. This is the very earliest age at which pupils can be received at the Polytechnic or at St. Cyr, and theusualage is later; whilst in the case of the Special Corps, strictly professional education does not begin till twenty or twenty-one. The best preparation for the military schools is found to be thatgeneral(in France chieflymathematical) education which is supplied by the ordinary schools of the country, directed as these are and stimulated by the open examinations for admission to St. Cyr and the Polytechnic.
3.The professional education for commissions in the line is that given at the school of St. Cyr. A fair amount of mathematics is required at entrance, but the chief instruction given at the school is of a professional character. Active competition, however, which is the principle of all French military education, is kept up amongst young men educating for the line by the competitive entrance to the school, by the system of examinations pursued in it, and in particular, by the twenty-five or thirty places in the Staff School which are practically reserved for the best pupils on leaving.
4.In the Staff School itself the competitive system is acted upon; there are strict examinations, and the pupils are ranged in the order of merit on leaving the College.
5.The officers of artillery and engineers may be said to be in quite a peculiar position in France, owing to the high education given at the Polytechnic School. The consequence is, that the preparatory education of French artillery and engineer officers is of the highest scientific character. We have already spoken largely on this point, and need do no more than allude to it.
6.We may remark, that preparatory military education in France is mainly mathematical—at the Polytechnic almost wholly so. The literary and classical elements, which enter so largely into all education in England and Prussia, are in French military education very much thrown aside. Lectures in military history and literature are said, however, to succeed at St. Cyr.
7.The system of State foundations (Bourses) existing in the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, and affording a curious parallel to the military foundations in the Austrian schools, requires some notice. Every pupil, in both the Polytechnic and St. Cyr, who can prove poverty, is entitled to State support, either entire or partial. At the present time, not less than one-third of the students in each of these schools receive such maintenance. The system of civilBoursesis of old standing in France; most of these were destroyed at the Revolution. They were renewed and greatly devoted to military purposes by Napoleon. The extent to which they are given may seem excessive, but it must prove a powerful incentive and assistance to talent.
8.It has been remarked that there is comparatively little practical teaching in the School of Application for Artillery and Engineers at Metz. But a very extensive practical training is in fact supplied to these officers after they enter the service, remaining as they must do with the troops until promoted to the rank of second captain, and subsequently being employed in the arsenals, workshops, fortified places, &c.
9.The French have no “senior departments” for military education. In this respect their practice differs from that of England and Germany.
The following remarks on French Military Education are from the Report of the English Military Education Commission submitted to Parliament, and printed in 1870:
1.The proportion of professionally educated officers in the line is greater now than in 1856, when it was stated by the Commissioners in their report to be one-third.2.The professional education for commissions in the line is given by a two years’ course at St. Cyr, admission to the school being dependent on competitive examination. Admission to the Artillery and Engineers is obtained through the Polytechnic, where young men intended for commissions in those arms receive a preparatory education of a highly scientific character, in common with candidates for many other branches of the public service. Admission to the school is obtained by competition, and the choice of services isdependent on the results of another competitive examination at the end of the two years’ course. Commissions are then obtained in the respective corps, and the young officers go for a further period of two years to the School of Application at Metz, there to receive their strictly professional instruction. The course of teaching at Metz is still mainly of a theoretical character, and the main portion of the practical training of the officers is deferred until they join their regiments. The Staff Corps is recruited entirely from the Staff School; a very small number of pupils from the Polytechnic have a claim to admission to the school, but the great majority of the students are admitted by competitive examination, open nominally to the sub-lieutenants of the army and to the best students of St. Cyr, but in practice almost entirely confined to the latter. The students join the school with commissions as officers; at the end of the two years’ course they are definitely appointed to the Staff Corps in the order in which they stand in a competitive examination, but before being employed upon the staff they are sent to do duty for five years with the various arms.3.The military schools in France are not, as in England and in Prussia, placed under the control of a special department. They are all under the immediate management of the Minister of War. There is, however, for each branch of the service in the French army a consulting committee (comité consultatif), or board of general officers, attached to the War Department, for the purpose of giving advice to the Minister, and in matters affecting the individual schools the Minister generally consults thecomité consultatifof that branch of the service for which the school is specially preparatory.4.Each school has its ownconseil d’instruction, composed of officers and professors of the establishment, which exercises a general supervision over the course of instruction, and has the power of suggesting alterations or improvements in it. The financial business of the school is managed by another board (conseil d’administration); and there is generally also a similar board (conseil de discipline), which exercises more or less authority in questions of discipline. The effect of this arrangement is to give the various officers and professors of each school to some extent a voice in the general management of the institution.5.The staff of officers and instructors employed appears, in most cases, very large in proportion to the number of the students; 48 for 270 in the Polytechnic; 33 for 170 in the school at Metz; 62 for 600 in St. Cyr, &c.Though there is in all the schools a military staff separate from the staff of professors and instructors, and more especially charged with the maintenance of discipline, the line of separation between the two bodies is not, except at the Polytechnic, so distinctly drawn as in the English military schools. The military professors exercise disciplinary powers; while, on the other hand, the members of the strictly military staff in almost all cases take some part in instruction. The latter appear to be more utilized for this purpose than is the case either at Sandhurst or Woolwich.6.Considerable care is exercised in the appointment of professors; at the Polytechnic the candidates are selected by theConseil de Perfectionnement; at La Flèche they are recommended to the Minister of War by the Minister of Public Instruction; at the Staff School and St. Cyr the appointments are thrown open to competition.7.The discipline maintained at all the schools is of a very strict nature;except for the youngest pupils at La Flèche it is entirely military; the punishments are similar to those inflicted in the army, and even include imprisonment. The maintenance of discipline is considerably facilitated by the fact that the pupils at most of the schools are actually subject to military law; and those of St. Cyr, if dismissed from the school, are sent into the ranks as private soldiers. There appears, however, in all the schools to be an absence of the moral control over the young men which is exercised in the Prussian schools. The Commandant of each school has very extensive powers in regard to discipline, but in no case has he authority to dismiss a student from the school without the sanction of the Minister of War.8.The principle carried out in France is that special military education should not be begun until a comparatively late age, and should be founded upon a groundwork of good general education in civil schools. The only approach to a junior military school in France is that of La Flèche, and this is mainly a charitable institution; the pupils, it is true, learn drill, but beyond this no special military instruction is given them. The course of study is the same as that at theLycéesor ordinary civil schools, and the pupils are under no obligation to enter the military service. Nor can the Polytechnic be called an exclusively military school; even those who enter the Artillery and Engineers from it have their education in common with civilians at the very least until the age of 18, and in the great majority of cases their strictly professional instruction at Metz does not begin till 20 or 21. The very earliest age at which a special military education commences in France is 17, which is the age of admission to St. Cyr, and comparatively few enter the school before 18 or 19. The knowledge required for admission to St. Cyr is entirely such as is acquired at civil schools, and so much importance is attached to a good general education that the degree of eitherbachelier ès sciencesorbachelier ès lettresis made a necessary qualification for admission to the examination, while the possession of both degrees gives considerable advantage to a candidate. The principle of deferring the commencement of special instruction has even received extension since 1856; the age of admission to St. Cyr, which was then 16, has been now increased to 17, and the junior school of La Flèche has been made even less military in its character than it was at that time.9.When a professional education has once commenced, the principle appears to be that it should be almost entirely confined to subjects which have a practical bearing on military duties. Mathematics, as a subject by themselves, do not form part of the ordinary course of instruction at any of the special schools. The previous course at the Polytechnic secures of course very high mathematical attainments in the candidates for the Artillery and Engineers who enter Metz; but at Metz itself the study of mathematics is no longer continued. In the same way at the Staff School a knowledge of mathematics as far as trigonometry is required for admission, and their practical applications to operations of surveying enter into the school course; but no part of the time spent at the school is devoted to mere theoretical instruction in pure mathematics; yet the officers of the Staff Corps are intrusted with the execution of those scientific surveys which in our service are in the hands of the Engineers.St. Cyr offers to some extent an exception to the rule that the course of study at the special schools should be of an exclusively professional character, as the instruction given there during the first year is partly of a general nature,embracing history and literature. This, however, arises from the fact that the students from theLycéesgenerally show a deficiency in the more literary subjects of a liberal education, and a portion of the time at the school is therefore spent in completing and improving their general acquirements. A knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and plane trigonometry is required as a qualification for admission, but beyond a verybriefrevision of these subjects, and a voluntary course forcandidatesfor the Staff Corps, mathematics are not taught at the school. It would seem indeed that, except in the case of candidates for admission to the Artillery and Engineers, mathematics do not hold so prominent a position in French military education as is generally supposed in England to be the case. For staff and regimental officers the main requisite demanded seems to be a practical knowledge of trigonometry as required for surveying.10.Much time is devoted in all the French schools to drawing in its various branches; some hours daily are invariably given up to the subject; indeed the time spent upon purely geometrical drawing appears almost to be excessive. The great importance attached to the drawing ofmachineryis a peculiar feature in all the schools. Landscape drawing is one of the regular subjects taught to candidates both for the line and the Staff Corps.The theoretical instruction given at every school is supplemented by visits to numerous military establishments, manufacturing departments, and fortresses. This is also a feature in the system of military education in Prussia; in both countries it seems to be thought desirable to afford young officers a practical insight into the working of the various establishments connected with the army. In the case of officers of the Artillery and Engineers it appears in France to be made a special object to cultivate a mechanical genius, and to secure a thorough acquaintance with manufacturing departments with which their professional duties bring them into contact.Military law and administration (comprising financial and other regulations connected with the army), and drill, riding, and fencing in the way of practical exercises, form part of the education of officers of all branches of the service; in drill, lectures explanatory of the drill-book are invariably given in addition to the practical instruction.11.The system of instruction in all the French military schools is more or less that of the Polytechnic. Lectures attended by large numbers, enforced study of fixed subjects, the execution of all work under close supervision of theinstructors, and frequent periodical examinations, are everywhere found. Active competition is the leading feature of the system; the students are perpetually being “kept up to the mark.” A fixed period of two years is in all cases assigned to the course of study; the course can not be completed in a shorter time, and the regulated period can not (unless under quite exceptional circumstances) be exceeded.It seems also to be thought that, as a necessary consequence of the strictly competitive system, the subjects upon which the competition depends should be exactly the same for every student. No choice of studies is allowed; those which enter into the examination are equally obligatory for all. The only exception to this rule is at St. Cyr, where in languages a choice between German and English is given.No pecuniary rewards are offered to the students at any of the schools. The bestowal of the numerousbourseswhich are granted to those admitted to thePolytechnic and St. Cyr is regulated entirely by the poverty of the candidates, without any regard to their ability.12.The education of officers in France is entirely concluded before any regimental duty has been done. The French system is in this respect the exact opposite of that pursued in Prussia, where no professional instruction, as a rule, is given until a certain amount of service with the troops has been performed. There are in France no establishments for the instruction of officers of some years’ service, like the Staff College in England, or the Artillery and Engineer School and the War Academy in Prussia.13.The chief changes which have taken place in the military schools of France since the publication of the Report of the Commissioners of 1856 may be summarized as follows:—(a.) The modifications in the course of instruction at the Polytechnic; the abridgement of the studies previously pursued; and the slightly increased importance now attached to literary subjects.(b.) At Metz, the introduction of an examination at the end of the first years’ course of study.(c.) At St. Cyr, the alteration of the age for admission to the school from 16 to 17; the extension of the subjects of the entrance examination; the modifications in the course of instruction, and the postponement of the commencement of strictly military studies almost entirely until the second year; the introduction of a stricter system of discipline, combined with additional encouragements to good conduct and industry; and the increased advantages offered with the view of attracting to the school a higher class of professors and officers.(d.) At La Flèche, the complete reorganization of the institution with the object of more closely assimilating its general arrangements to those of a purely civil school.(e.) At the Staff School some modifications in the course of study and in the mode of admission to the school have been made; but the most important alterations are those adopted in July 1869, by which the number of students admitted annually to the school is increased considerably beyond the number of vacancies likely to occur in the Staff Corps, and the novel principle is introduced that admission to the school does not carry with it the certainty of permanent employment on the staff.It may be added that there seems a tendency to diminish the importance of mathematics as an element of preparatory military education, and to attach slightly more weight to studies of a literary character. This is more particularly seen at St. Cyr and at La Flèche, and to a less extent at the Polytechnic. There is also a growing disposition to increase, in the case of the cavalry and infantry, the proportion of officers who have received a professional education.
1.The proportion of professionally educated officers in the line is greater now than in 1856, when it was stated by the Commissioners in their report to be one-third.
2.The professional education for commissions in the line is given by a two years’ course at St. Cyr, admission to the school being dependent on competitive examination. Admission to the Artillery and Engineers is obtained through the Polytechnic, where young men intended for commissions in those arms receive a preparatory education of a highly scientific character, in common with candidates for many other branches of the public service. Admission to the school is obtained by competition, and the choice of services isdependent on the results of another competitive examination at the end of the two years’ course. Commissions are then obtained in the respective corps, and the young officers go for a further period of two years to the School of Application at Metz, there to receive their strictly professional instruction. The course of teaching at Metz is still mainly of a theoretical character, and the main portion of the practical training of the officers is deferred until they join their regiments. The Staff Corps is recruited entirely from the Staff School; a very small number of pupils from the Polytechnic have a claim to admission to the school, but the great majority of the students are admitted by competitive examination, open nominally to the sub-lieutenants of the army and to the best students of St. Cyr, but in practice almost entirely confined to the latter. The students join the school with commissions as officers; at the end of the two years’ course they are definitely appointed to the Staff Corps in the order in which they stand in a competitive examination, but before being employed upon the staff they are sent to do duty for five years with the various arms.
3.The military schools in France are not, as in England and in Prussia, placed under the control of a special department. They are all under the immediate management of the Minister of War. There is, however, for each branch of the service in the French army a consulting committee (comité consultatif), or board of general officers, attached to the War Department, for the purpose of giving advice to the Minister, and in matters affecting the individual schools the Minister generally consults thecomité consultatifof that branch of the service for which the school is specially preparatory.
4.Each school has its ownconseil d’instruction, composed of officers and professors of the establishment, which exercises a general supervision over the course of instruction, and has the power of suggesting alterations or improvements in it. The financial business of the school is managed by another board (conseil d’administration); and there is generally also a similar board (conseil de discipline), which exercises more or less authority in questions of discipline. The effect of this arrangement is to give the various officers and professors of each school to some extent a voice in the general management of the institution.
5.The staff of officers and instructors employed appears, in most cases, very large in proportion to the number of the students; 48 for 270 in the Polytechnic; 33 for 170 in the school at Metz; 62 for 600 in St. Cyr, &c.
Though there is in all the schools a military staff separate from the staff of professors and instructors, and more especially charged with the maintenance of discipline, the line of separation between the two bodies is not, except at the Polytechnic, so distinctly drawn as in the English military schools. The military professors exercise disciplinary powers; while, on the other hand, the members of the strictly military staff in almost all cases take some part in instruction. The latter appear to be more utilized for this purpose than is the case either at Sandhurst or Woolwich.
6.Considerable care is exercised in the appointment of professors; at the Polytechnic the candidates are selected by theConseil de Perfectionnement; at La Flèche they are recommended to the Minister of War by the Minister of Public Instruction; at the Staff School and St. Cyr the appointments are thrown open to competition.
7.The discipline maintained at all the schools is of a very strict nature;except for the youngest pupils at La Flèche it is entirely military; the punishments are similar to those inflicted in the army, and even include imprisonment. The maintenance of discipline is considerably facilitated by the fact that the pupils at most of the schools are actually subject to military law; and those of St. Cyr, if dismissed from the school, are sent into the ranks as private soldiers. There appears, however, in all the schools to be an absence of the moral control over the young men which is exercised in the Prussian schools. The Commandant of each school has very extensive powers in regard to discipline, but in no case has he authority to dismiss a student from the school without the sanction of the Minister of War.
8.The principle carried out in France is that special military education should not be begun until a comparatively late age, and should be founded upon a groundwork of good general education in civil schools. The only approach to a junior military school in France is that of La Flèche, and this is mainly a charitable institution; the pupils, it is true, learn drill, but beyond this no special military instruction is given them. The course of study is the same as that at theLycéesor ordinary civil schools, and the pupils are under no obligation to enter the military service. Nor can the Polytechnic be called an exclusively military school; even those who enter the Artillery and Engineers from it have their education in common with civilians at the very least until the age of 18, and in the great majority of cases their strictly professional instruction at Metz does not begin till 20 or 21. The very earliest age at which a special military education commences in France is 17, which is the age of admission to St. Cyr, and comparatively few enter the school before 18 or 19. The knowledge required for admission to St. Cyr is entirely such as is acquired at civil schools, and so much importance is attached to a good general education that the degree of eitherbachelier ès sciencesorbachelier ès lettresis made a necessary qualification for admission to the examination, while the possession of both degrees gives considerable advantage to a candidate. The principle of deferring the commencement of special instruction has even received extension since 1856; the age of admission to St. Cyr, which was then 16, has been now increased to 17, and the junior school of La Flèche has been made even less military in its character than it was at that time.
9.When a professional education has once commenced, the principle appears to be that it should be almost entirely confined to subjects which have a practical bearing on military duties. Mathematics, as a subject by themselves, do not form part of the ordinary course of instruction at any of the special schools. The previous course at the Polytechnic secures of course very high mathematical attainments in the candidates for the Artillery and Engineers who enter Metz; but at Metz itself the study of mathematics is no longer continued. In the same way at the Staff School a knowledge of mathematics as far as trigonometry is required for admission, and their practical applications to operations of surveying enter into the school course; but no part of the time spent at the school is devoted to mere theoretical instruction in pure mathematics; yet the officers of the Staff Corps are intrusted with the execution of those scientific surveys which in our service are in the hands of the Engineers.
St. Cyr offers to some extent an exception to the rule that the course of study at the special schools should be of an exclusively professional character, as the instruction given there during the first year is partly of a general nature,embracing history and literature. This, however, arises from the fact that the students from theLycéesgenerally show a deficiency in the more literary subjects of a liberal education, and a portion of the time at the school is therefore spent in completing and improving their general acquirements. A knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, and plane trigonometry is required as a qualification for admission, but beyond a verybriefrevision of these subjects, and a voluntary course forcandidatesfor the Staff Corps, mathematics are not taught at the school. It would seem indeed that, except in the case of candidates for admission to the Artillery and Engineers, mathematics do not hold so prominent a position in French military education as is generally supposed in England to be the case. For staff and regimental officers the main requisite demanded seems to be a practical knowledge of trigonometry as required for surveying.
10.Much time is devoted in all the French schools to drawing in its various branches; some hours daily are invariably given up to the subject; indeed the time spent upon purely geometrical drawing appears almost to be excessive. The great importance attached to the drawing ofmachineryis a peculiar feature in all the schools. Landscape drawing is one of the regular subjects taught to candidates both for the line and the Staff Corps.
The theoretical instruction given at every school is supplemented by visits to numerous military establishments, manufacturing departments, and fortresses. This is also a feature in the system of military education in Prussia; in both countries it seems to be thought desirable to afford young officers a practical insight into the working of the various establishments connected with the army. In the case of officers of the Artillery and Engineers it appears in France to be made a special object to cultivate a mechanical genius, and to secure a thorough acquaintance with manufacturing departments with which their professional duties bring them into contact.
Military law and administration (comprising financial and other regulations connected with the army), and drill, riding, and fencing in the way of practical exercises, form part of the education of officers of all branches of the service; in drill, lectures explanatory of the drill-book are invariably given in addition to the practical instruction.
11.The system of instruction in all the French military schools is more or less that of the Polytechnic. Lectures attended by large numbers, enforced study of fixed subjects, the execution of all work under close supervision of theinstructors, and frequent periodical examinations, are everywhere found. Active competition is the leading feature of the system; the students are perpetually being “kept up to the mark.” A fixed period of two years is in all cases assigned to the course of study; the course can not be completed in a shorter time, and the regulated period can not (unless under quite exceptional circumstances) be exceeded.
It seems also to be thought that, as a necessary consequence of the strictly competitive system, the subjects upon which the competition depends should be exactly the same for every student. No choice of studies is allowed; those which enter into the examination are equally obligatory for all. The only exception to this rule is at St. Cyr, where in languages a choice between German and English is given.
No pecuniary rewards are offered to the students at any of the schools. The bestowal of the numerousbourseswhich are granted to those admitted to thePolytechnic and St. Cyr is regulated entirely by the poverty of the candidates, without any regard to their ability.
12.The education of officers in France is entirely concluded before any regimental duty has been done. The French system is in this respect the exact opposite of that pursued in Prussia, where no professional instruction, as a rule, is given until a certain amount of service with the troops has been performed. There are in France no establishments for the instruction of officers of some years’ service, like the Staff College in England, or the Artillery and Engineer School and the War Academy in Prussia.
13.The chief changes which have taken place in the military schools of France since the publication of the Report of the Commissioners of 1856 may be summarized as follows:—
(a.) The modifications in the course of instruction at the Polytechnic; the abridgement of the studies previously pursued; and the slightly increased importance now attached to literary subjects.(b.) At Metz, the introduction of an examination at the end of the first years’ course of study.(c.) At St. Cyr, the alteration of the age for admission to the school from 16 to 17; the extension of the subjects of the entrance examination; the modifications in the course of instruction, and the postponement of the commencement of strictly military studies almost entirely until the second year; the introduction of a stricter system of discipline, combined with additional encouragements to good conduct and industry; and the increased advantages offered with the view of attracting to the school a higher class of professors and officers.(d.) At La Flèche, the complete reorganization of the institution with the object of more closely assimilating its general arrangements to those of a purely civil school.(e.) At the Staff School some modifications in the course of study and in the mode of admission to the school have been made; but the most important alterations are those adopted in July 1869, by which the number of students admitted annually to the school is increased considerably beyond the number of vacancies likely to occur in the Staff Corps, and the novel principle is introduced that admission to the school does not carry with it the certainty of permanent employment on the staff.
(a.) The modifications in the course of instruction at the Polytechnic; the abridgement of the studies previously pursued; and the slightly increased importance now attached to literary subjects.
(b.) At Metz, the introduction of an examination at the end of the first years’ course of study.
(c.) At St. Cyr, the alteration of the age for admission to the school from 16 to 17; the extension of the subjects of the entrance examination; the modifications in the course of instruction, and the postponement of the commencement of strictly military studies almost entirely until the second year; the introduction of a stricter system of discipline, combined with additional encouragements to good conduct and industry; and the increased advantages offered with the view of attracting to the school a higher class of professors and officers.
(d.) At La Flèche, the complete reorganization of the institution with the object of more closely assimilating its general arrangements to those of a purely civil school.
(e.) At the Staff School some modifications in the course of study and in the mode of admission to the school have been made; but the most important alterations are those adopted in July 1869, by which the number of students admitted annually to the school is increased considerably beyond the number of vacancies likely to occur in the Staff Corps, and the novel principle is introduced that admission to the school does not carry with it the certainty of permanent employment on the staff.
It may be added that there seems a tendency to diminish the importance of mathematics as an element of preparatory military education, and to attach slightly more weight to studies of a literary character. This is more particularly seen at St. Cyr and at La Flèche, and to a less extent at the Polytechnic. There is also a growing disposition to increase, in the case of the cavalry and infantry, the proportion of officers who have received a professional education.
SC Sums charged to the Schools Estimate.MP Military pay charged to other Estimates.T Total.CS Cost to the State.‡EP Each pupil.
SC Sums charged to the Schools Estimate.
MP Military pay charged to other Estimates.
T Total.
CS Cost to the State.‡
EP Each pupil.
* These sums include the pay of the officer students at these establishments, amounting to 288,000 frs. at Metz, and 103,000 frs. at the Staff School.† The estimate for the Medical School appears to be exclusive of the pay of all military medical officers employed at the school, but the amount of this additional sum is not stated.‡ For 1,520 pupils, who repaid 956,500 francs.
* These sums include the pay of the officer students at these establishments, amounting to 288,000 frs. at Metz, and 103,000 frs. at the Staff School.
† The estimate for the Medical School appears to be exclusive of the pay of all military medical officers employed at the school, but the amount of this additional sum is not stated.
‡ For 1,520 pupils, who repaid 956,500 francs.
Footnotes to Part I: France1It will be admitted, as a postulate, that only one parallel to a given right line can pass through a given point.2The volume of the cone is derived from that of the pyramid; and it is to be noted that the demonstration applies to the cone with closed base, whatever the figure of that base.3Numerical examples on the areas and volumes of the round bodies, including the area of a spherical triangle, will be required by the examiners. The calculations will be made by logarithms.4The true distinction betweenAlgebraandArithmeticis so commonly overlooked that it maybe well to present it here, in the words of Comte. “The complete solution of every question of calculation is necessarily composed of two successive parts, which have essentially distinct natures. In the first, the object is totransformthe proposed equations, so as to make apparent the manner in which the unknown quantities are formed by the known ones; it is this which constitutes theAlgebraicquestion. In the second, our object isto find the valueof the formulas thus obtained; that is, to determine directly the values of the numbers sought, which are already represented by certain explicit functions of given numbers; this is theArithmeticalquestion. Thus the stopping-point of the algebraic part of the solution becomes the starting-point of the arithmetical part.“Algebramay therefore be defined as having for its object theresolution of equations; taking this expression in its full logical meaning, which signifies the transformation ofimplicitfunctions into equivalentexplicitones. In the same wayArithmeticmay be defined as intended forthe determination of the values of functions. Henceforth, therefore, we may callAlgebrathe Calculus of Functions, andArithmeticthe Calculus of Values.”5The students will apply these reductions to a numerical equation of the second degree, and will determine the situation of the new axes with respect to the original axes, by means of trigonometrical tables. They will show to the examiner the complete calculations of this reduction and the trace of the two systems of axes and of the curves.6They will be deduced from the property, previously demonstrated, of the derivative of the ordinate with respect to the abscissa.7The method of the change of the planes of projection will be used for the resolution of these problems.8Compiled from “Report and Appendix of English Commissioners on Military Education.” 1857.9In an Analysis of the Report of this Commission, see page 97.10The influence exercised in the various branches of study, and consequently in the position of the students in the list classified according to merit, by the professors andrépétiteurson the one hand, and by the examiners on the other, as in the table above.11The students are selected, by a competitive examination, out of a very large number of candidates, as will be seen from the following table, extracted from the yearly calendars:—Year.Candidates whoinscribed their Names.Candidatesexamined.Candidates admittedto the Polytechnic.18325674681831833367304110183462754115018357296331541837629508137183853341013118395305311351842709559137184380255916618447465311431845780559136Giving an average of one student for four candidatesexamined, so that it is impossible to imagine that there is any lack of ability in those selected.A similar result appears to follow from some other more recent statistics.Year.Number of Candidates whoinscribed their Names.Number declared admissibleto the Second Examination.Number admitted.1852510216202185349422221718545192381701855544232170In judging, however, of these numbers, it should be borne in mind that, a very large number of the candidates who succeed have tried more than once; the successful of this year have been among the unsuccessful of last year, so that the proportion of individuals who succeed to individuals who fail, is, of course, considerably larger than one to four. Of the 170 candidates admitted in November, 1855, 117 had put down their names for the examination of 1854, and 53 only had not been previously inscribed. Of the 117 who put down their names, 19 had withdrawn without being examined at all, 71 had been rejected on the preliminary examination, 27 had been unsuccessful at that of the second degree; 98 of the 170 came up for the second time to the examination.12In 1856 there were only 15 professors; there are now two additional professors for history, the study of which has been recentlyintroducedat the school.13Formerly two professors of the school were also members of the Council of Discipline, but the professors have now no voice in matters of discipline.14The examination chamber is a small room in the school buildings, near the library, ornamented with portraits of Vauban, and of D’Argenson, under whose ministry the original schools at La Fère and Mézières were founded. At a large table under these portraits, and extending across the room, General Morin, President, and four officers, members of the jury, were seated. The sixth member sat at a small table in front, near the blackboard, at which the student stood. The Commandant, the Director of Studies, and the other officers of the school were seated also in this part of the room.The student who was first examined was questioned partly by the examiner, partly by the president, and gave his answers, working problems and drawing illustrations on the board as he went on. He was asked questions as to the details of the steam-engine, and as to the method of casting cannon. The German teacher of the School put him on to construe from a German book, and tried him in speaking; he succeeded just passably in both. The whole occupied about three-quarters of an hour.The second student, after answering similar scientific questions, had opportunity given him to show his knowledge, which was considerable, of the geology of the neighborhood; and having lived in foreign countries, he was able to make a very good display of his knowledge of German, Spanish, Italian, and English.After each examination the jury retired into the inner cabinet, by a door opening to it from behind their seats.15Founded the Ecole Royale Militaire, 1751. Junior pupils transferred to La Flèche, 1764.Suppression of the Ecole Royale Militaire and establishment of ten Colleges, 1776.New Ecole Royale Militaire, for the best pupils of the Colleges, 1777.Suppression of the Colleges and of the Ecole Royale Militaire, 1787.Foundation of the Ecole de Mars, May 1794.Foundation of the Prytanée Français at Paris, Versailles, St. Germain, Fontainebleau, 1800.Foundation of the Ecole Spéciale Militaire at Fountainebleau, 1803.The four Schools of the Prytanée Français are converted into the Prytanée Militaire, 1806; and are transferred to La Flèche, 1808.The Ecole Spéciale Militaire is transferred to St. Cyr, also in 1808.16About twenty-five are sent every year from La Flèche. The admissions from the army (i.e., of soldiers between twenty and twenty-five years old) do not amount to more than four or at the utmost five per cent. They are very frequently young men who have previously failed for St. Cyr, and who then enter the army as privates, and come in as such. They have to pass the same examination.17Few usually present themselves; and these also, it is said, are very generally oldélèvesof St. Cyr, who had not succeeded in obtaining admission to the Staff School before. They are not examinedwiththe pupils of St. Cyr, but are intercalated in the list according to their merit.18The system was, in fact, first tried at St. Cyr, and adopted, on the representation of the Mixed Commission, at the Polytechnic. The previous method, by which different sets of examiners took different districts, had created distrust and dissatisfaction.19“Report of Observations in Europe during the Crimean War,” by Major Gen. McClellan.20There must be some error in the printed regulations on the subject.
1It will be admitted, as a postulate, that only one parallel to a given right line can pass through a given point.
2The volume of the cone is derived from that of the pyramid; and it is to be noted that the demonstration applies to the cone with closed base, whatever the figure of that base.
3Numerical examples on the areas and volumes of the round bodies, including the area of a spherical triangle, will be required by the examiners. The calculations will be made by logarithms.
4The true distinction betweenAlgebraandArithmeticis so commonly overlooked that it maybe well to present it here, in the words of Comte. “The complete solution of every question of calculation is necessarily composed of two successive parts, which have essentially distinct natures. In the first, the object is totransformthe proposed equations, so as to make apparent the manner in which the unknown quantities are formed by the known ones; it is this which constitutes theAlgebraicquestion. In the second, our object isto find the valueof the formulas thus obtained; that is, to determine directly the values of the numbers sought, which are already represented by certain explicit functions of given numbers; this is theArithmeticalquestion. Thus the stopping-point of the algebraic part of the solution becomes the starting-point of the arithmetical part.
“Algebramay therefore be defined as having for its object theresolution of equations; taking this expression in its full logical meaning, which signifies the transformation ofimplicitfunctions into equivalentexplicitones. In the same wayArithmeticmay be defined as intended forthe determination of the values of functions. Henceforth, therefore, we may callAlgebrathe Calculus of Functions, andArithmeticthe Calculus of Values.”
5The students will apply these reductions to a numerical equation of the second degree, and will determine the situation of the new axes with respect to the original axes, by means of trigonometrical tables. They will show to the examiner the complete calculations of this reduction and the trace of the two systems of axes and of the curves.
6They will be deduced from the property, previously demonstrated, of the derivative of the ordinate with respect to the abscissa.
7The method of the change of the planes of projection will be used for the resolution of these problems.
8Compiled from “Report and Appendix of English Commissioners on Military Education.” 1857.
9In an Analysis of the Report of this Commission, see page 97.
10The influence exercised in the various branches of study, and consequently in the position of the students in the list classified according to merit, by the professors andrépétiteurson the one hand, and by the examiners on the other, as in the table above.
11The students are selected, by a competitive examination, out of a very large number of candidates, as will be seen from the following table, extracted from the yearly calendars:—
Giving an average of one student for four candidatesexamined, so that it is impossible to imagine that there is any lack of ability in those selected.
A similar result appears to follow from some other more recent statistics.
In judging, however, of these numbers, it should be borne in mind that, a very large number of the candidates who succeed have tried more than once; the successful of this year have been among the unsuccessful of last year, so that the proportion of individuals who succeed to individuals who fail, is, of course, considerably larger than one to four. Of the 170 candidates admitted in November, 1855, 117 had put down their names for the examination of 1854, and 53 only had not been previously inscribed. Of the 117 who put down their names, 19 had withdrawn without being examined at all, 71 had been rejected on the preliminary examination, 27 had been unsuccessful at that of the second degree; 98 of the 170 came up for the second time to the examination.
12In 1856 there were only 15 professors; there are now two additional professors for history, the study of which has been recentlyintroducedat the school.
13Formerly two professors of the school were also members of the Council of Discipline, but the professors have now no voice in matters of discipline.
14The examination chamber is a small room in the school buildings, near the library, ornamented with portraits of Vauban, and of D’Argenson, under whose ministry the original schools at La Fère and Mézières were founded. At a large table under these portraits, and extending across the room, General Morin, President, and four officers, members of the jury, were seated. The sixth member sat at a small table in front, near the blackboard, at which the student stood. The Commandant, the Director of Studies, and the other officers of the school were seated also in this part of the room.
The student who was first examined was questioned partly by the examiner, partly by the president, and gave his answers, working problems and drawing illustrations on the board as he went on. He was asked questions as to the details of the steam-engine, and as to the method of casting cannon. The German teacher of the School put him on to construe from a German book, and tried him in speaking; he succeeded just passably in both. The whole occupied about three-quarters of an hour.
The second student, after answering similar scientific questions, had opportunity given him to show his knowledge, which was considerable, of the geology of the neighborhood; and having lived in foreign countries, he was able to make a very good display of his knowledge of German, Spanish, Italian, and English.
After each examination the jury retired into the inner cabinet, by a door opening to it from behind their seats.
15Founded the Ecole Royale Militaire, 1751. Junior pupils transferred to La Flèche, 1764.
Suppression of the Ecole Royale Militaire and establishment of ten Colleges, 1776.
New Ecole Royale Militaire, for the best pupils of the Colleges, 1777.
Suppression of the Colleges and of the Ecole Royale Militaire, 1787.
Foundation of the Ecole de Mars, May 1794.
Foundation of the Prytanée Français at Paris, Versailles, St. Germain, Fontainebleau, 1800.
Foundation of the Ecole Spéciale Militaire at Fountainebleau, 1803.
The four Schools of the Prytanée Français are converted into the Prytanée Militaire, 1806; and are transferred to La Flèche, 1808.
The Ecole Spéciale Militaire is transferred to St. Cyr, also in 1808.
16About twenty-five are sent every year from La Flèche. The admissions from the army (i.e., of soldiers between twenty and twenty-five years old) do not amount to more than four or at the utmost five per cent. They are very frequently young men who have previously failed for St. Cyr, and who then enter the army as privates, and come in as such. They have to pass the same examination.
17Few usually present themselves; and these also, it is said, are very generally oldélèvesof St. Cyr, who had not succeeded in obtaining admission to the Staff School before. They are not examinedwiththe pupils of St. Cyr, but are intercalated in the list according to their merit.
18The system was, in fact, first tried at St. Cyr, and adopted, on the representation of the Mixed Commission, at the Polytechnic. The previous method, by which different sets of examiners took different districts, had created distrust and dissatisfaction.
19“Report of Observations in Europe during the Crimean War,” by Major Gen. McClellan.
20There must be some error in the printed regulations on the subject.
Errata for Part I (France):I. GENERAL MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF FRANCE.ORGANIZATONAlgebra4is not, as are Arithmetic and GeometryFootnote tag missing; position conjecturalthe chief scientific creation of the first French Revolutionscienticpatriotism and courage can not always supply“alwaysreturned to Paris in the reign of terror, “to see from his lodgingsquotation mark in originalare obliged to re-enter the army.abligedchosen from former pupils of the school“the” missingand the life that is led in them.leadwork heartily and zealously togethertogethen[TABLE FOR THE SECOND OR LOWER DIVISION]GeodesyGoedesySchools of Application for Artillery and Engineershyphen in “En-/gineers” invisible at line breakLessons—10-13.Derivatives and Differentials ...Lessons—10-13.Lessons24-27.Geometrical Applications continued ...Lessons14-17.Geometrical demonstration of the formula.demostrationLesson3.Integration of Differentials ...Lessons3.[DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.—GEOMETRICAL DRAWING.]Lessons1-3.Revision and Completion .... missingnot enough in themselves to define objects completely.final . missing or invisibleLessons3-6.Composition of the Velocities of a Point.period . after “3-6” invisiblethree movements of translation with respect to three axestranlationof invariable form, but also in motion.motion,Suspendorsspelling unchangedLessons1-2. / Chemical sources of electricity.period . after “1-2” missing or invisibleLesson3. 1.Chemical Actions.Lesson3.—1.Straight and curved rods.Staightthe general direction of the vibrating motion communicated.commuicated.[Footnote 12]recently introduced at the school.introduedClerks and draughtsmen are provided as required.clerksEXAMINATION AND CLASSIFICATION.header supplied from Table of ContentsREGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.header supplied from Table of ContentsFifty-eighth Lecture.—(2.) ... artillery commands.missing . after “commands”which is indicated in the programme of the memoir.final . missing[RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.—ARTILLERY STUDENTS.]| 75 | 73 50 | 78 | 151 50 | 10totals printed as shown: “10” error for 11?1st. The direction ... / 2d. The tracing ...paragraph breaks added by transcriber for consistencyLecture7.—Gauging of the volumes and valuationGuagingLecture22.—Resistance to torsion.21.1st. Composition of the personnel and matériel of the ArtillerymatéreilAt 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds;theismade without points; and a description of the battle.”final ” missingGeographical Representation, 6text unchanged: error for “Graphical”?The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:—compriseMILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACYword AND supplied from Table of ContentsThey leap backward precisely in the same directionsin the someFirst.To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle,obstableregular hours, and a rational discipline.discipline,but beyond a very brief revision of these subjects, and a voluntary course for candidates for the Staff Corpsvery beief ... condidatesthe execution of all work under close supervision of the instructors,instrutors
I. GENERAL MILITARY ORGANIZATION OF FRANCE.ORGANIZATON
Algebra4is not, as are Arithmetic and GeometryFootnote tag missing; position conjectural
the chief scientific creation of the first French Revolutionscientic
patriotism and courage can not always supply“always
returned to Paris in the reign of terror, “to see from his lodgingsquotation mark in original
are obliged to re-enter the army.abliged
chosen from former pupils of the school“the” missing
and the life that is led in them.lead
work heartily and zealously togethertogethen
[TABLE FOR THE SECOND OR LOWER DIVISION]
GeodesyGoedesy
Schools of Application for Artillery and Engineershyphen in “En-/gineers” invisible at line break
Lessons—10-13.Derivatives and Differentials ...Lessons—10-13.
Lessons24-27.Geometrical Applications continued ...Lessons14-17.
Geometrical demonstration of the formula.demostration
Lesson3.Integration of Differentials ...Lessons3.
[DESCRIPTIVE GEOMETRY.—GEOMETRICAL DRAWING.]
Lessons1-3.Revision and Completion .... missing
not enough in themselves to define objects completely.final . missing or invisible
Lessons3-6.Composition of the Velocities of a Point.period . after “3-6” invisible
three movements of translation with respect to three axestranlation
of invariable form, but also in motion.motion,
Suspendorsspelling unchanged
Lessons1-2. / Chemical sources of electricity.period . after “1-2” missing or invisible
Lesson3. 1.Chemical Actions.Lesson3.—1.
Straight and curved rods.Staight
the general direction of the vibrating motion communicated.commuicated.
[Footnote 12]
recently introduced at the school.introdued
Clerks and draughtsmen are provided as required.clerks
EXAMINATION AND CLASSIFICATION.header supplied from Table of Contents
REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS.header supplied from Table of Contents
Fifty-eighth Lecture.—(2.) ... artillery commands.missing . after “commands”
which is indicated in the programme of the memoir.final . missing
[RECAPITULATIVE TABLE.—ARTILLERY STUDENTS.]
| 75 | 73 50 | 78 | 151 50 | 10totals printed as shown: “10” error for 11?
1st. The direction ... / 2d. The tracing ...paragraph breaks added by transcriber for consistency
Lecture7.—Gauging of the volumes and valuationGuaging
Lecture22.—Resistance to torsion.21.
1st. Composition of the personnel and matériel of the Artillerymatéreil
At 5 A.M. the drum beats, the young men quit their beds;theis
made without points; and a description of the battle.”final ” missing
Geographical Representation, 6text unchanged: error for “Graphical”?
The prescribed instruction comprises the following courses:—comprise
MILITARY AND NAVAL SCHOOLS OF MEDICINE AND PHARMACYword AND supplied from Table of Contents
They leap backward precisely in the same directionsin the some
First.To form a rapid judgment of the obstacle,obstable
regular hours, and a rational discipline.discipline,
but beyond a very brief revision of these subjects, and a voluntary course for candidates for the Staff Corpsvery beief ... condidates
the execution of all work under close supervision of the instructors,instrutors
Report of the Commissioners appointed to consider the Best Mode of Re-organizing the System for Training Officers for the Scientific Corps; together with An Account of Foreign and other Military Education and An Appendix. London: 1857. pp. 442 and 245, folio.
Report from the Select Committee on Sandhurst Royal Military College; together with the Proceedings of the Committee, Minutes of Evidence, Appendix and Index. Printed by Order of the House of Commons. London: 1855. pp. 230, folio.
Helldorf’sDienst-Vorschriften der Königlich-Preussischen Armee. Berlin, 1856.
Friedlander’sKriegs-Schule.
Von Holleben,Paper on Military Education in Prussia.
Official Programme of the Principal Subjects of Instruction Taught in the Artillery and Engineer School at Berlin.
Account of the War, or Staff School at Berlin.
Directions for the Supreme Board of Military Studies. 1856.
Directions for the Supreme Military Examinations Commission. 1856.
Barnard’sNational Education in Europe. 1852.
Bache’sReport on Education in Europe. 1838.
According to the law of the 3rd of September, 1814, which is the basis of the present military organization of Prussia, every Prussian above twenty years of age, is bound to service in arms for the defense of his country.
The military force of the country is made up of three distinct bodies, and the whole of the adult male population is distributed among them. It consists of,—
I. The Standing Army.
II. The National Militia orLandwehr, divided into two portions, viz., the firstLandwehrand the secondLandwehr.
III. The Last Reserve orLandsturm.
I.The standing army is composed of all young men between twenty and twenty-five years of age. The period of service in time of war is for five years, but in time of peace the young soldiers can obtain leave of absence after three years’ service;—they belong for the remaining two years to what is termed the “reserve,” receiving neither pay nor clothing, and they are subject to be recalled if war should break out.
Encouragement, indeed, is given and advantages held out to induce men to stay, and to take a new engagement for an additional term of six years; but it is said that only a small number are thus obtained. The bulk of the troops are men serving for this short time; and there are many, it should be added, whose term of service is even yet shorter. For all educated young men, all, that is, who pass a certain examination, are allowed, on condition that they pay for their own equipment and receive no pay, to shorten their service from three years to one. This privilege appears to be very largely used. It should also be stated, that young men of any class may volunteer to perform their service at any age after seventeen.
The Prussian standing army amounts at the present time toabout 126,000 men. It is divided into nine army-corps or corps d’Armée, one of which is named the guard, and the others are numbered from I. to VIII. In each there is a regiment of artillery and a division of engineers. A regiment of artillery consists, in time of peace, of three divisions; each division of one troop of horse artillery and four companies, of which, one is Fortress artillery with two-horsed pieces. Each regiment has thus three companies for the service of the fortress and twelve for field service. The whole of the artillery is under the command of a general inspector, and it is divided into four inspections. An engineer division is composed of two companies. There are nine engineer divisions, one in each army corps. The whole are commanded by a general inspector, and they are divided into three inspections.
The promotion in the Prussian infantry and cavalry is regimental, and by seniority, up to the rank of major; after that it is by selection; and an officer who has been passed over two or three times may consider that he has received an intimation to retire from the service. In the artillery the promotion is by regiments; in the engineers it is general.
II.The first Landwehr, or Landwehr of thefirstsummons (des ersten aufgebots,) consists principally of young men between twenty-five and thirty-two years of age, who enter when they have completed their period of service in the standing army. They are called out once every year for service with the divisions of the standing army to which they are attached, for a period varying from a fortnight to a month; and they may be sent in time of war on foreign service.
Those who have passed through the first Landwehr, enter at the age of thirty-two in the second Landwehr, or Landwehr of thesecondsummons (des zweiten aufgebots.) They are called out only for a very brief service once a year, and they can not at any time be ordered out of the country, but continue to form a part of thesecondLandwehr until they are thirty nine years of age.
III.After the age of thirty-nine a Prussian subject belongs to the last reserve or Landsturm, and can only be summoned to service in arms upon a general raising, so to say, of the whole population, when the country is actually invaded by the enemy.
With the standing army, the center of the system, all the other forces are kept in close connection. For every regiment of the standing army there is a corresponding regiment of Landwehr, and the two together form one brigade. In the local distribution, every village and hamlet of the Prussian dominions belongs to a certainregiment of Landwehr, serving with a certain regiment of the army, and belonging accordingly to one of the nine army corps.
Such is the military organization, which, from the important part played in it by theLandwehr, is sometimes termed the PrussianLandwehrsystem. The history of its formation is remarkable, and the circumstances which led to its creation helped also to create the very peculiar education of the army.
The PrussianLandwehror militiais not of modern origin; in its form at least it is but a revival of the old feudal military organization, so far as that consisted of raising the countryen masse, instead of keeping up a permanent, trained, and limited military force.LandwehrorLandsturm2was the old German name for this feudal array, before the system of standing armies was begun in Europe by Charles VII. of France, with his Scotch regiments. It was possibly the failure of the trained Prussian armies—long reputed the models of military discipline—in the attack upon France in 1792, and still more signally at Auerstadt and Jena, which partly led to the revival of theLandwehras the peculiar national force of Prussia. The means by which Stein, and after his expulsion, Scharnhorst, called it into activity, was a master stroke of policy under the existing difficulties of the country. The following outline may be sufficient to explain its effects upon education.
The condition which Napoleon had exacted at Tilsit—a reduction of the standing army from 200,000 to 40,000 men—would have lowered Prussia at once to the rank of a second-rate power. It was adroitly evaded by the plan of keeping only 40,000 men in arms at one and the same time, disbanding these as soon as they were disciplined, and replacing them constantly by fresh bodies. Thus the whole population of the country was ready to rise in 1813, after the crisis of Napoleon’s retreat from Russia. The plan was chiefly due to the genius of Scharnhorst, whose early death deprived Prussia of her greatest scientific soldier. TheLandwehrthen proved itself a most efficient force, though its success was promoted by the national enthusiasm, which must prevent our taking such a period as a criterion of its permanent military working. Since that time it has continued to be the national army of the country.
We were assured that this peculiarity of the Prussian army system, by which almost every man in the country serves in his turn in the ranks, has had a tendency to improve the education of the officers. It seems to have been felt that the officers would not retain the respect of intelligent privates unless they kept ahead ofthem in education. And this impression appears to have been the cause of the royal edicts passed in 1816, by which it was required that every Prussian officer should pass two examinations before receiving his commission, one to test his general education, and the other his professional knowledge.
The Prussian systemof military education stands in close connection with the general education of the country, just as the Prussian military organization is the peculiar creation of that country’s history. And the greatest improvements in the army and in its scientific teaching have been made at those remarkable periods when we should most naturally have looked for them—the time of Frederick the Great and the Liberation war of 1813-1814.
The leading principles of Prussian military education consist,first, in requiring from every officer in the army proof of a fairgeneraleducation before his entrance, and of a fairmilitaryeducation afterwards.Secondly, they encourage a higher military education in a senior school, which has almost exclusively the privilege of supplying the staff.
In this requirement of a fair education, both general and military,universallyfrom its officers, Prussia stands alone among the great military nations of Europe, and this honorable distinction is in a great measure the result of the diffused system of education throughout the country, and of the plan adopted by Stein and Scharnhorst, to make the officers the leaders of the army both in education and in military science.
The military schoolsof Germany may be said to have begun with the Reformation wars. Some such were founded by Maurice of Saxony, the great political and military genius of Germany in that century; the example was soon imitated in Baden, Silesia, and Brunswick, and a curious sketch of military education, by the hand of Duke Albert of Brandenburg, has been lately published from the Berlin archives, in which theology and mathematics hold the two most important places.
The first school of any real importancewas founded in Colberg, by the great elector, Frederick William, in 1653. This had considerable success, and both his successors, King Frederick and Frederick William I., improved it greatly, and finally transferred it to Berlin. It was the time (about 1705, 1706,) of the great advance in military engineering under Vauban and Coehorn, and a schoolfor engineering was founded, in which some of their pupils had a great share. The first Prussian trigonometrical survey also dates as early as 1702; that of England was not begun till 1784. It may indeed be said that the scientific arms began to take a more favorable place in the Prussian army about this time. They have held, and even still hold in some respects, a less distinguished position in Germany than in France, England, or Sardinia; and the first instance of an artilleryman being made a general, was in the reign of Frederick William I.
On Frederick the Great’s accession he found several military schools in existence. These had been chiefly founded by his eccentric father, who had a passion for Cadet Houses and cadets, and their object is said to have been to supply an education to the nobility, who at that time were very ill-taught in Germany. After Frederick’s first wars, his own attention was much occupied by the need of a better military education, and he continued to work at the subject very zealously till his death. His example on this point, as that of a great military authority, is most instructive, since his object was at first only to educate cadetsbeforetheir entrance to the army, but was afterwards extended to completing the education of officers already on active service. His views on the last point were carried out by Scharnhorst. They were the germ of the present Prussian military education.
It is curious to observe that the Austrian Succession War and the Seven Years’ War, the first great wars since Louis XIV., and which broke the Thirty Years’ Peace of the eighteenth century, are periods at which scientific military education made a great step in Europe. A Treatise of Marshal Count Beausobre’s on the subject first showed the existing want; it is entitled “Utilité d’une Ecole et d’une Académie Militaire, avec des Notes, ou l’on traite des Ecoles Militaires de l’Antiquité”. It attracted great attention on its appearance. Most of the military academies properly so called, date from about this time. The earliest warrant for Woolwich, dates in 1741. The Theresianum of Maria Theresa was begun at Vienna about 1748. The first French school was the celebrated engineer school of Mezières founded in 1749. This was soon followed by the old military school of Paris in 1751, and by the school for artillery at La Fère in 1756. Frederick’s ownRitter Academiedates from 1764.
Frederick began this institution with his usual energy, immediately on the close of the Seven Years’ War. “My fire is quenched,” he writes, “and I am now only busied in improving the practice ofmy men. * * * * The position of the common soldier may be left as it was before the war began, but the position of the officers is a point to which I am devoting my utmost care. In order in future to quicken their attention whilst on service, and to form their judgment, I have ordered them to receive instruction in the art of war, and they will be obliged to give reasons for all they do. Such a plan, as you will see, my dear friend, will not answer with every one; still out of the whole body we shall certainly form some men and officers, who will not merely have their patent as generals to show, (die nicht blos patentirte Generale vorstellen,) but some capacity for the office as well.” He had, in fact, seen with great admiration the improved military school recently founded by Maria Theresa; and as it is best on such points to let this great authority be heard for himself, we shall quote his own words:—
“In order to neglect nothing bearing on the state of the army, the Empress founded near Vienna, (at Wiener Neustadt,) a college where young nobles were instructed in the whole art of war. She drew to it distinguished professors of geometry, fortification, geography, and history, who formed there able pupils, and made it a complete nursery for the army. By means of her care, the military service attained in that country a degree of perfection which it had never reached under the Emperors of the House of Austria; and a woman thus carried out designs worthy of a great man.”
His letters show that he contemplated an improved school, and he says to D’Alembert: “I send you the rules of my academy. As the plan is new, I beg you to give me your honest opinion of it.” Accordingly, the academy was founded. We will describe it in his own words:—
“An academy was founded at the same time, in which were placed those of the cadets who showed most genius. The king himself drew up the rules for its form, and gave it a plan of instruction, which stated the objects of the studies of the pupils, and of the education they were to receive. Professors were chosen from the ablest men who could be found in Europe, and fifteen young gentlemen were educated under the eyes of five instructors. Their whole education tended to form their judgment. The academy was successful, and supplied able pupils, who received appointments in the army.”4
This school, which was opened in 1765, was Frederick’s only foundation of the kind; he was occupied with it incessantly. The plan of its studies was drawn up by his own hand, and we havemany of his letters of encouragement to its pupils or professors. Whether he is writing to Voltaire, Condorcet, or “My Lord Marischal” Keith, he constantly shows both his well-known attention to the economy of his new school, and a paternal interest in his young cadets and their teachers.5
Accordingly, both in professors and pupils, the new institution soon gained an European character. Out of itstwenty firstdirectors, no less than ten were distinguished foreigners; one of the best teachers at Berlin was D’Antoni, a distinguished soldier from the Turin institution and the artillery school at Alessandria—schools which were still the representatives of the military science of the great Italian generals, of the Duke of Parma, of Spinola, and Montecuculi.
This institution was still, as it would appear, upon the old principle of juvenile army schools, nor does Frederick seem to have set on foot any school for officers after entering the service. But he evidently felt strongly the need of improving his staff officers, and of raising the science of his artillery and engineers. Thus we find him referring to the French engineer school at Meziéres; and he endeavored to raise the intelligence and education of his officers. It may, however, be suspected that the spirit of the “Potsdamer Côterie,” as it was called, became gradually, and particularly after Frederick’s death, too literary and speculative to suit the rough work of war; and it may, perhaps, be thought that some defect of this kind is still traceable in the excessive amount of teaching and the abstract nature of some of the subjects taught in the staff school at Berlin.
Such seems to have been the opinion of Scharnhorst, the virtual author of the present system of army education, and whom the Prussians still regard as their first authority on that subject. “Instruction is given,” he says, “at the military school in all literature, in philosophy, and in many various sciences. Frederick seems to have wished to lay in it the foundation of the education at once of an officer and of a learned man. Few men, however, are able to excel at once in various branches of human knowledge, and the surest means to do so inoneis not to attempt it inmany.”