Dusk fell on them as they mounted again; on their left the little river had been companion of their journey since leaving the last range of hills, but now they turned away to the right and ascended slightly from the valley. Suddenly the ground fell away from before them, and they went down past three houses to a railway station and goods yard, in which stacks of forage and other stores, covered by waterproof sheets, lay with only one man to guard them, one who was unsuspecting of surprise and easily captured. Lenoir left here all his men with the exception of Pierre and l'Anglais, and these he took with him away out to the other side of the village. Beyond the houses the officer and his two men sat down on the ground, waiting. At last the moon rose, and they espied a tent almost concealed among trees. Within the tent they found a corporal and a squad of men belonging to a squadron of train, all asleep. Lenoir wakened the corporal and informed him that he and all his party were captured, and that the stores under their charge were subject to the orders of the officer commanding the blue army.
That was the end of the task. With his little squad of scouts Lenoir had captured the unguarded stores of the red force, and had thus rendered ineffective anything that they might accomplish in the matter of field operations. Theoretically the red force was beaten on its first day in the field, but in actual fact the stores went up from the captured base to the red army, as if no capture had been accomplished, for it would not do to go to the expense of moving out two army corps from barracks for the purpose of manœuvres, and then cancelling the manœuvres because a cavalry patrol had, by means of hard riding and good cross-country judgment, achieved a theoretical victory. Practice has shown that in real war a chance for such an achievement as that of Lenoir's patrol does not occur in one out of a thousand situations, and in actual war, also, no commander would be so foolish as to leave his chief supplies in charge of a corporal and squad of men of a squadron of train. Adequate protection is always afforded to lines of communication by an attacking force in war.
The incident is noteworthy, however, in that it affords an example of the way in which military plans are thought out. The commander responsible for the conception of Lenoir's mission judged exactly what line of country would be clear for such an advance. He could not know whether or no his judgment would be at fault, but he saw that the plan was worth the risk of an officer and a dozen or so of men, whose absence would not materially weaken his force. Some slight psychological knowledge must have been his as well, for even on manœuvres a commanding officer usually protects his lines of communication, and the base from which his stores are sent, more effectually than did this red commander. Again, the way in which Lenoir chose his men is noteworthy. He picked the best scouts from the squadron to which he belonged; possibly, had he chosen to look throughout the whole regiment, he might have obtained even better men to accompany him, but he chose men whom he knew to be good riders, careful of their horses, and able to undergo a long march. The two signallers represented a minimum that he must take if he wished to send or receive messages to or from any other force. As a matter of fact nothing occurred to render it necessary that any individual scout should be placed in a position where the exercise of initiative would be an essential; neither were the signallers called on for special exertions, or for the full exercise of their special department of knowledge, but they might have been. Lenoir chose his men with a view to compressing the greatest possible effectiveness into the smallest number compatible with the accomplishment of his mission. He chose them also with a view, not to what they actually did as individuals, but with a view of the demands that might have been made on them. As the affair turned out, they simply had a quietly good time in this "base" village until the manœuvres concluded; Lenoir saw to it that the horses received all necessary attention, and for the rest he left his men to their own devices. And one may trust a soldier, either conscript or volunteer, to make life worth living when given such a chance as this.
It was a week or more before the scout of the red force got his helmet back. He met l'Anglais by appointment in the canteen devoted to the use of the blue cavalry, and received back the headgear undamaged. It may be said in conclusion that he compensated l'Anglais in the usual fashion—and any soldier will know what that means.
CHAPTER XI
INTERNAL ECONOMY
If one should take the trouble to enquire of the chef at any leading hotel as to whether he had undergone military service as a conscript, the answer would in nineteen cases out of twenty be in the affirmative, and probably the full nineteen out of every twenty would also reply in the affirmative if asked whether they were Frenchmen. It would be enlightening for the average Englishman to make such enquiries, for by that means he would realise to a far greater extent than in any other way, the universality of the French Army. Comprehension of the fact that virtually every man of the French nation is capable of taking his place in the ranks of some regiment without undergoing some form of preliminary training, is impossible to the English mind until concrete examples of the effect of this are confronted.
The point with regard to the chefs is in connection with the way in which the French Army has its food cooked and served. Thepantalon rougelives well, for cooking is an art indigenous to France, and the very best cooks of France practise their art on their comrades of the barrack-room, while there are few companies or squadrons in the French Army that do not contain at least one professional chef. The British Army suffers at times from monotonous menus, "stews" alternating with "roast" until a meat-pie would be a joy, and any variety of diet would be welcome. But in the French Army, given materials corresponding in any way to the needs of the soldier, there is no lack of variety in the food. There are two ways of cooking a potato in the British Army to twenty in the French service; the British soldiers get eggs served in two or three ways, but the conscript cook of the French Army can cook an egg in a way that disguises it to such an extent that a hen would disown it—and there are many ways of doing this. Soup precedes the more solid course of the French soldier's meal, and there are savoury dishes and concoctions which to the British soldier would be but mystery. The French cook is an artist at all times, and his art is no less evident during his conscript days than before and after.
Sweet dishes are rare, and the taste of the soldier lies more in the matter of savouries. In addition to the regular provisions made for the troops, there are many men, who, in their spare time, cook dishes to suit their own fancies. The "messing allowance" of the British service is a thing unknown, for the French soldier's limited pay is pay pure and simple, and is not sufficient in amount to admit of deductions of this nature. Much is often made of the fact that the rate of pay in the British Army is far higher than that of any conscript force, but against this it must be said that, so far as the French conscript is concerned, the Government provides in kind for practically all his necessities, leaving the total of his pay—small as that is—as his own pocket money. The bread ration, for instance, is larger in the French than in the British Army, and the French Government provides, free of cost, all necessary articles for a varied and nutrient diet. The sergeants in the French Army contribute to a slight extent toward the cost of their messing, but then it must be borne in mind that all non-commissioned officers of the French Army are re-engaged men on a considerably higher rate of pay than that allowed to a conscript during his first two years. Among the rank and file, mess books are kept for the companies or squadrons of each unit, and usually these mess books are placed in the hands of corporals, who eat with the men, and thus benefit from their own good judgment in the matter of choosing provisions to the value allowed by the mess book, and equally they suffer for their own mistakes.
With a view to the possible disorganisation under war conditions of arrangements for cooking food by the company or squadron, the French soldier is taught and encouraged to cook and prepare his own food on the field. During the manœuvre period, the arrival of French troops in camp is marked by the lighting of fires, at which men cook their own food, and officers supervise this business in order to make certain that no man goes to sleep for the night without having first had a sufficiently sustaining meal. Within a quarter of an hour of the arrival of an infantry regiment in camp, the kettles are boiling and the coffee is made; the slabs of compressed soup, which form a feature of the culinary service of the army, are broken up and dissolved, and bread and meat are issued to form the solid part of the day's meal. Motor-driven vans travel with the army, filled with quarters of fresh meat hung in dust-proof compartments; these travelling meat safes form a recent innovation, and have been found thoroughly satisfactory in that they increase the fresh food supplies of the troops.
A point worthy of note in connection with the arrangements for the supply of food is that in the French Army the principal meal of the day falls at the end of the day's work, both in barracks and in camp. In the British service the principal meal is taken at midday, with the result that, so far as official meals are concerned, the soldier gets nothing but a light tea between the dinner of one day and the breakfast of the next, and he has to buy his own supper to compensate for this. In the French Army men are provided with coffee before turning out for the first parade in the morning; at ten o'clock soup is served; at two o'clock or thereabouts, according to the nature of work on which men are engaged, another light meal is provided, and then with the end of the day comes a two or three course meal which corresponds in quantity and nutrient value—though not in the manner of its cooking—to the midday dinner of the British soldier. By this means the French soldier is relieved of the necessity of buying any supper, and his official rations of food are, in the majority of cases, amply sufficient for his needs without his having recourse to his own pocket.
Although, as has been stated, the mess books are controlled by corporals, this by no means forms the total of the supervision entailed on French military cooking and provisions. The senior officers of the regiment are especially charged with the supervision of these details of internal economy; the officer of the week is a frequent visitor of the cook-houses of his regiment, and surprise visits are made to the dining-tables of the men in order to make sure that no cause for complaint exists with regard to the quantity or quality of provisions supplied. The adjudants also are concerned in the efficiency of the cooks, and the provision of proper meals for the non-commissioned officers, while, since these latter have a share in paying for the goods supplied, they have also a voice in matters of choice and cookery. On the whole, bearing in mind the quality of French cookery and the fact that that cookery is as much in evidence in the French Army as out of it, it may be said that the French soldier fares rather better than the man serving in the British Army in this all-important matter of food and its preparation.
In other matters of internal economy, officers manifest an unceasing interest in the well-being and comfort of their men. The canteens of the French Army are under the direct supervision of senior officers, and thus such supplies as men may purchase individually in the way of food, drink, or cleaning materials, are always up to the required standard of quality. The matter of laundrywork is also in the care of officers of the various regiments, and altogether the comfort and well-being of the men are matters for which officers are held responsible to a greater extent than in the British service, where, with regards to some things, departments rather than men are made responsible.
The conduct of drill and routine, directly under the supervision of the commanding officer of each regiment, are managed differently from drill and routine in the British service. For instance, British soldiers go out to drill for an hour, and at the conclusion of that hour, whatever has happened, the parade is dismissed; the French squad turns out for drill nominally for an hour—assuming that as the period taken for illustration—but in reality the drill lasts until the superiors are satisfied that the men have done what they set out to do. Stereotype is not compatible with the methods of the French Army, but efficiency counts before set rules, and the object of training is always efficiency, without regard to former practices. Slaves to custom do not exist; custom itself does not exist, except in so far as it is essential to the performance of duties, and the maintenance of efficiency.
It should be borne in mind that this difference in the ways of two armies, French and English, is rendered necessary by the basis on which the armies are founded. The British Army is based on a voluntary system, and the lowest stated period of service is three years. The French Army is based on conscription, which does away with all idea of selection, and the stated period during which men can be compelled to train is two years only—or rather it was two years only up to a short time before the army changed from peace strength and conditions to a war footing. Under the two years' system, men must be kept at work all the time in order to teach them the whole of their work; drill and fatigues alternate, and there are but short intervals between; one of the rules of the French Army is that the conscript shall be made to work all the time, and another rule that must be borne in mind in connection with this is that each man shall be provided with sufficient food of a suitable nature to enable him to do his work, at no cost to himself.
The rules of the army provide that during all manœuvre periods conscripts shall endure active service conditions. Pipeclay and polish disappear, and no "parade movements" are indulged in. There are no stage effects, and a cavalry leader who on manœuvres indulged his men in a charge that would not be really useful under war conditions would get a severe reprimand, if not a more substantial punishment. All unnecessary show is condemned, and the French Army on manœuvres is made to understand that its work is genuine preparation for the rough business of active service. Another point worthy of note is that, during manœuvre periods, full use is made of all available buildings for purposes of sleep and shelter, just as would be done in time of war, and straw is used to supplement the coverings carried, when the nights are cold. The bulky and ungainly-looking great-coat of the French soldier is practically sufficient for covering when in camp, since it is extremely warm, and is manufactured from a porous class of material which swells and becomes waterproof in even a slight shower. It has been long since realised in the French Army that individual comfort makes for collective efficiency, and, though discipline is exceedingly strict, yet this is counterbalanced by the way in which the well-being of the men is studied.
To each regiment two doctors are allotted, and the medical service of the French Army as a whole, though only a modern growth, is equal to that of any other continental nation. The French Red Cross Society is but little more than forty years old, but the facility with which the nation as a whole, adopts and adapts all things to its use, has been well manifested here, for the Red Cross service of the French Army gives place to none in the matter of efficiency. In such a time as the present, when every resource of the nation is strained in coping with a ruthless invader, it is only to be expected that medical provision will at times be found hardly or only just adequate for unprecedented demands, but the medical service for the army has risen to the occasion in just as heroic fashion as has the nation as a whole.
In the matter of making each regiment as self-contained as possible, the French Army is about equal with the British. In a French regiment, signallers, scouts, and others are trained from the ranks of the regiment itself to undertake the special duties imposed on each of these branches of military activity. In the matter of scouting, and in such things as taking cover, trench-digging, the use of extended formations, etc., the French Army has benefited largely by the British war in South Africa, of which the lessons were studied quite as keenly as in the British Army itself, and the training of men was modified on experience thus gained by others. Again, French officers attached to the Russian and Japanese staff in the Russo-Japanese war brought back much practical knowledge which was applied in their own army, more especially with regard to fortifications, defensive positions, siege warfare, and the work of armies in close contact and in large masses. It may be said as a whole, with regard to the working of the army, that France has never hesitated to adapt the lessons taught by others to her own use, while there can be no doubt that the lessons learned from the failure of such armies as Napoleon the futile forced into action in 1870 have been taken to heart and applied, with a view to fitness for the struggle that is not yet ended.
CHAPTER XII
SOME INCIDENTALS
The subject of disciplinary battalions is not a pleasant one in the opinion of the French soldier, but the formation of such battalions is a necessity in the conscript army of a nation which demands military service of all its citizens. For in such an army the criminal classes and bad characters are included with the rest, and, if they do not conform to military rules in a better way than they submit to the ordinary restrictions imposed on any law-abiding civil community, then some form of discipline must be adopted in order to coerce them. When the regimental authorities of any unit in the French Army have ascertained, by the repeated application of ordinary corrective methods, that it is impossible to make an efficient soldier of any man in the unit in question, the man concerned is taken before theconseil de discipline, which has power to recommend that he should be sent to service in the disciplinary battalion stationed in Algeria.
Theconseilconsists of a major as president, together with the two senior captains and two senior lieutenants of the regiment to which the man belongs, exclusive of his own squadron or company officer. The case against the man is presented by the senior officer of the squadron or company to which the man belongs; this evidence for the prosecution having been taken, the prosecuting officer retires, and the accused man is brought in to make his defence. Then the court, after due deliberation, makes its report, recommending either that the man shall be given another chance in the regiment, or sent to a disciplinary battalion. The report is then sent to the colonel of the regiment, who either endorses or rejects the decision of the court. Should his decision be favourable to the accused, the man is given another chance, but if, on the other hand, he endorses the recommendation of the court, the sanction of the general commanding the station is required in order to complete the proceedings. With this sanction the offender is sent to Algeria, where the disciplinary battalions are known as "Biribi" and are stationed on the most advanced posts of this French colony. Owing to their shaven heads, the men in these battalions are known astêtes des veaux, and their release from this form of service is entirely dependent on their own conduct. In one historic case, the son of a general served four years as a private in one of these battalions, which include, in addition to men of a distinctively criminal type, a number of social wrecks. A disciplinary battalion is a veritable lost legion.
Some years ago one of these battalions was on the march from Biskra in Southern Algeria, and on the march one unscrupulous ruffian, who cherished a grudge against the major commanding, fell back to the rear of the column, pretending to be ill. He feigned greater and yet greater exhaustion, and at last sat down as if unable to march further. The major came up and inquired kindly what was the matter, and on the soldier stating that he felt too exhausted to march, the major handed him a brandy flask, from which the man took a drink. As the major was occupied in returning the flask to his saddle wallet, the soldier fired his rifle at him, but fortunately missed, owing to the swerving of the officer's horse. At this the major realised with what a dangerous class of man he had to deal, and, drawing his revolver, he blew the man's brains out. Some time later another officer of the same battalion found a stone placed on the spot commemorating the memory of the soldier criminal; the stone was removed, but was replaced; six times in succession this was done, and yet it was never ascertained who was responsible for cutting inscriptions on the stones, or placing them there.
A very common mistake is made in confusing the disciplinary battalions of the Algerian frontier with the world-famous Foreign Legion of the French Army, and consequently the Foreign Legion has gained an undeserved reputation for iron discipline and unduly harsh treatment of its men. The chief disabilities attendant on service in the Foreign Legion consist in periods of service in some of the peculiarly unhealthy localities included in French colonial possessions. The Foreign Legion suffered more than any other unit of the French service during its period of active service in French Cochin-China, while inland in Algeria its members are subjected to a peculiarly trying climate, and in other parts of French Africa the Foreign Legion does duty in company with a considerable amount of epidemic disease.
Service in the Foreign Legion is, of course, a voluntary matter, and the fact that the Legion is always up to strength is sufficient evidence of methods adopted with regard to the discipline of the men and the treatment accorded to them. For, although the Legion itself is famous, its individual members are not, and it cannot be said to offer any conspicuous attractions to intending candidates for admission. It is probably the most cosmopolitan body of men in any part of the world, and the formation of such a body, in which the distinctions of nationality are abolished, is peculiar to the French nation. The Legion includes natives of every country populated by the Caucasian races, and especially of Italian, German, English, and French citizens. It is an agglomeration of adventurers, of whom the largest proportion desire only obscurity; it may be said that the Legion is made up of the bad bargains of half a world, but it is good fighting material, for all that. Ouida has drawn a highly coloured picture of service in the Foreign Legion in the book "Under Two Flags," but this picture consists mainly of romance with the soldiering left out, while actual service with the Legion involves soldiering with the romance left out. Hard soldiering, in various climates and under many conditions; in company with various kinds of men, of whom one never asks details of past history; one is accepted in the Legion for present soldierly qualities, and by tacit agreement the past is given the place allotted to most sleeping dogs. The period of service in the Legion has the merit of being intensely interesting to any man who, consciously or unconsciously, is a student of the psychology of his fellows. The Legion itself affords instances of devotion and self-denial as heroic as any that Ouida has penned, but it may be said here with regard not only to the Foreign Legion, but to all the armies of all the world, that such systematic persecution on the part of an individual officer toward any individual man as Ouida has pictured in "Under Two Flags" is a rank impossibility. The system of decentralisation of command, of interlinking authority and supervision, and of central control by heads of units, renders impossible the persistent gratification of spite by an individual officer against an individual soldier.
In this connection, stories of persecution of individuals who have done nothing to merit the punishment inflicted on them, especially in military service, should always be accepted with the proverbial grain of salt. For there is never smoke without fire, and the man who is unpopular with all his officers and non-commissioned officers to such an extent as to incur a succession of punishments is usually deserving of all that he gets. Humanity is so constituted that sympathy almost invariably goes to the individual who is at variance with the mass, and in the exercise of sympathy one is apt to overlook the qualities and characteristics of the object on which it is bestowed. We hear, usually, the story of the man who considers himself aggrieved or unjustly punished, and, without listening to the other side of the case, we immediately conclude that his statements are correct in all their details. As a rule, the man who thus attempts to secure a reversal of the decision against him has some inherent quality which makes for unpopularity. He is inclined to curry favour, which renders him a marked man among his comrades, or he commits acts against discipline in such a way that, although it is practically certain that he is the offender, the evidence against him is insufficient to warrant punishment. These and other characteristics of the man concerned bring heavy punishment on him when is finally caught, and, although the punishment is perfectly just, the offender immediately whines over it in such a clever way that sympathising outsiders accord him far more consideration than he deserves, and consider that his just judges have been inhuman brutes, though they merely fulfilled their duty. The offender makes sufficient fuss to be heard, but the individual or body of individuals who ordered his punishment are not able to advertise themselves in similar fashion, and thus a one-sided view is taken.
To return to the Foreign Legion, it may be said that any attempt to quote incidents typical of its members and their ways would be quite useless, for there is in the Legion sufficient material to furnish all the novelists of this and the next century with plots to keep them busy. To outward seeming the soldiers of the Foreign Legion are average men, engaged in average military duties, and it is not until definite contact with them has been established that any realisation of their exceptional qualities and curious defects can be obtained. As is well known, the Legion includes every class of adventurers from men of royal blood and noblemen of the highest rank downward, and many an assumed name conceals a story which would be worth untold gold in Fleet Street, or in the journalistic equivalent of Fleet Street in some other European capital.
It is not generally realised in this country that the extent of the French colonies is such as to necessitate the maintenance of a considerable body of colonial troops. With the exception of the troops stationed in Algeria and Tunis, service in the French colonies is a voluntary matter; the natives of the various French dependencies have been induced to accept military service on a voluntary basis to a considerable extent. In addition to the famous Algerian Turcos, battalions of Senegalese troops have been formed with excellent results; it has been found that the natives of this dependency make good soldiers, particularly suited to service in the interior of Africa, owing to their immunity from diseases which render tracts of country almost impenetrable to white troops. The numbers of native colonial troops given in Chapter I are constantly and steadily increasing, for, in addition to making good soldiers, the natives of French dependencies come forward readily and in increasing numbers to recruiting centres.
As regards the regular army, matters have been much better with reference to discipline and punishment since the system which permitted ofvolontaireswas abolished. Thevolontaireswere men who, on payment of a certain sum to the State, were permitted to compress their military training into the space of one year. The payment of this sum was supposed to guarantee a certain amount of social standing in civil life, and thevolontaireswere always regarded theoretically as a possible source from which to promote officers in case of need. In practice, however, the experiment worked out quite differently. Thevolontaireswere found to be men of varying grades in life, with varying degrees of education, and equally varying mental qualities. They were extremely unpopular among the ordinary conscript rank and file, on whom many of them affected to look down as inferior beings. The more unscrupulous of them would attempt to evade duty by bribing non-commissioned officers, while those who were unable to compass bribery railed against the unequal treatment meted out to them in comparison with that enjoyed by their comrades. Their one year of training was insufficient to make practical soldiers out of the raw material submitted, and altogether it was a good thing for France when the whole system was swept away, and, consistently with the Republican principle, all citizens were regarded as equal under the drill instructor. Thevolontairesystem was no more and no less than favouritism on the part of the State.
It must not be overlooked that, although the initial period of service in the French Army is compulsory, quite a large percentage of the men remain in the Army of their own free will at the end of the two compulsory years. For such as elect to make a career of the Army in this fashion, there is a materially increased rate of pay, ranging from an approximate equivalent of 8d. a day upwards, with a pension, and usually with Government employment if desired, after only fifteen years of service. Thesere-engagésvery seldom stay down in the ranks, but form the chief source from which non-commissioned officers are obtained. Kipling's phrase with regard to British non-commissioned officers is equally applicable to the Army of the Republic, for the non-commissioned officer is the backbone of the French Army just as surely as the officer is its brains. The sergeant-major of a squadron, or the French equivalent of a British infantry colour-sergeant in a company, is the right hand of the captain commanding, adviser as well as intermediary between officers and men. The sergeant in charge of apelotonor troop is not only the principal instructor with whom the men of the troop have to deal, but is also counsellor and guide to the young lieutenant who comes straight from a military school to take up his commission, and needs experience of the ways of men in addition to the theoretical knowledge he has already gained. The corporal, who does not hold non-commissioned rank as in the British Army, and counts his position as an appointment rather than a definite promotion, forms a sort of go-between for men and sergeants, imparting individual instruction to the men, and supervising their welfare in the barrack room, while himself qualifying for the rank of sergeant. The revolutionary proposal to abolish corporals in the French Army rose out of an idea that men resented being governed by one who had formerly been a comrade with them, but could no longer be so regarded after he had assumed authority over them. It is to be hoped that the proposal will never be acted on, for the principle of entrusting matters of individual tuition and supervision to the old soldiers takes no account of personal worth or fitness for command.
The life which the conscript must lead during his two years of service is determined largely by the garrison to which he is drafted. Life in a sunny and sleepy garrison town in the wine-growing district of the south is—granted reasonable military conditions—quite ideal; the monotony of the life spent in drill in a frontier fort tends to make the conscript bad-tempered, while men stationed among the French hills of the south and eastern frontiers gain most in the way of physical fitness, and also, in their work of making new roads, clearing passes, constructing frontier obstructions, ascertaining distances, and carrying the heavy loads incidental to their work from point to point, acquire a certain quality of mental celerity of which men stationed in the sunny garrison towns of the south go free. But the various attractions and drawbacks of the twenty great garrison towns, together with their situation and special characteristics, are sufficient to merit separate consideration.
CHAPTER XIII
THE GREAT GARRISON TOWNS OF FRANCE
Paris, as capital of the Republic, first merits consideration among the great garrison towns of France. It has the most extensive system of fortifications in the world, and has had the doubtful privilege of having undergone more sieges, burnings, and other military experiments than most large cities can boast or mourn. The inner line of fortifications was planned as far back as 1840, with a total measurement of 22½ miles, but after the war of 1870 two main lines of detached forts were erected in addition to those already in existence, which formed the skeleton on which the more modern plan is built. The older forts are those of St. Denis, Aubervilliers, Romainville, Noisy, Resny, Nogent, Vincennes, Ivry, Bicêtre, Montrouge, Vanves, Issy, and Mont Valérien; the new forts which completed the scheme are those of Palaiseau, Villeras, Buc, and St. Cyr, which form the Versailles portion of the scheme, and Marly, St. Jamme, and Aidremont, round St. Germain. On the opposite side of the Seine are situated forts Cormeillers, Domont, Montlignon, Montmorency, Écouen, Stains, Vaujours, Villiers, and Villeneuve St. Georges. The Chatillon fort occupies a position between the two lines, and is placed on the site whence German batteries bombarded Paris during the siege of 1871, forming a proof of the wisdom displayed in the German choice of position. The double line of forts thus disposed renders Paris as nearly impregnable to the attack of an enemy as is possible under modern military conditions.
The total number of troops garrisoned in Paris in normal times is about 25,000, and there are also about 4500gendarmerie. Paris in itself ranks as a separate military district of the Republic, and is noteworthy as being the head-quarters of the Republican Guard, practically the only body of picked men in the French military system, and analogous with the Guards' Brigade of the British Army.
Amiens, the head-quarters of the 2nd Army Corps, is a city of nearly 100,000 inhabitants, containing a cathedral which is generally considered the finest existing example of Gothic architecture. Situated eighty-one miles north of Paris, it is one of the principal points of concentration for troops in the vicinity of the northern frontier, and forms head-quarters for the departments of Aisne, Oise, Somme, and parts of Seine-et-Oise and Seine. Although head-quarters of an Army Corps, Amiens does not rank among the principal fortified posts of France.
Besançon, situated 243 miles south-east of Paris, ranks as a first-class fortress, and is the head-quarters of the 7th Army Corps. It is the centre of military administration for the departments of Ain, Doubs, Haute-Marne, Haute-Saône, Jura, Belfort, and part of Rhône. It is an ancient town containing Roman remains dating from the second century of the Christian era, including an amphitheatre and triumphal arch. Situated on the main line of rail from Dijon to Belfort, Besançon is one of the centres of mobilisation for the defence of the eastern frontier, and it is from this point that a good many of the first line of troops were drafted to the area of recent conflict in Alsace and Lorraine. In itself Besançon is a quiet and pleasant city on a peninsula stretching out from the left bank of the river Doubs, and it has a reputation as the principal watch-making centre of France.
Bordeaux, the metropolis of south-western France, is 360 miles distant from Paris by rail, and forms the head-quarters of the 18th Army Corps. As one of the finest cities of France, and a coastal town, it is a popular station among the troops, and serves as head-quarters for the departments of Charente-Inférieure, Gironde, Landes, Basses-Pyrénées, and Hautes-Pyrénées. The military history of Bordeaux dates back to very ancient times, for it was sacked successively by Vandals, Visigoths, Franks, and Norsemen, and attained to a period of peace only at the middle of the twelfth century. As centre of one of the principal wine-growing districts of France, it is as near climatic perfection as the conscript can expect to get, though those who serve in the department of Hautes-Pyrénées undergo more rigorous conditions of weather. In addition to being a port of departure for trans-Atlantic traffic, Bordeaux is a popular pleasure resort, and thus plenty of amusements are within reach of the troops serving at head-quarters.
Bourges, the head-quarters of the 8th Army Corps, is one of the principal military stations of France, although not in itself a town of very great importance. Its training establishments rank very highly in the military life of the nation, including as they do a national cannon foundry, very extensive engineering works, and schools of artillery and pyrotechnics for the training of officers. Bourges is head-quarters for the departments of Cher, Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, and part of the department of Rhône. It is one of the chief arsenals of the Republic, and occupies a position near the geographical centre of France. The town dates back to Roman time, and had the doubtful distinction of being destroyed by Julius Cæsar, at about the time of his invasion of Britain.
Châlons-sur-Marne has been a centre of conflict in most of the wars in which France has been engaged from very early times. It was destroyed by the Vandals, by Attila and his ruthless Huns, and by the Burgundians in mediæval times, and is situated on a plain which has always been considered an ideal battlefield, and has served that purpose throughout the centuries up to the present day. It is the head-quarters of the 6th Army Corps, and is the military centre for the departments of Ardennes, Aubes, Meurthe-et-Moselle, Marne, Meuse, and Vosges. It is 107 miles east of Paris by rail, and is one of the principal brewing centres of France, the wine trade in which it used to be engaged having gone northward to Rheims. In the scheme under which the French Army is constituted, Châlons is one of the centres for early mobilisation of troops of the first line with a view to the defence of the north-eastern frontier.
Clermont-Ferrand is head-quarters for the departments of Loire, Haute-Loire, Allier, Cantal, Puy-de-Dôme, and part of the department of Rhône. It is the head-quarters of the 13th Army Corps, and is a town of about 55,000 inhabitants, situated 260 miles directly south of Paris by rail. It may be regarded as one of the first centres of systematic mobilisation of which France affords historical record, for at the end of the eleventh century Peter the Hermit preached the first Crusade in the church of Notre Dame at Clermont-Ferrand.
Grenoble, dominated by Mont Rachais, a hill rising nearly 3500 feet above sea-level, ranks as a first-class fortress, and is the military centre for the departments of Hautes-Alpes, Drôme, Isère, Savoie, Haute-Savoie, and part of the department of Rhône. It is the head-quarters of the 14th Army Corps, and is one of the most beautiful of French cities. In consequence of this it is a well patronised tourist centre, and as such is a popular station among the conscripts.
Le Mans, the military centre for the departments of Eure-et-Loire, Orne, Mayenne, Sarthe, and parts of the departments of Seine-et-Rise and Seine, is situated 131 miles W.S.W. from Paris by rail, and has historical associations with Richard Cœur de Lion and Henry II of England, having been the birthplace of the latter. It is the head-quarters of the 4th Array Corps, and has a population of about 65,000, including the garrison of about 5500. It was a walled city of the Roman Empire in the third century, and has undergone sieges by the dozen from mediæval times onward. It was one of the centres of conflict in the internecine strife between Bendean and Republican troops at the time of the Revolution, while in 1870 it was the scene of a French defeat. Its cathedral contains the tomb of an English queen, Lion-hearted Richard's consort, and the town is one of great historic interest.
Lille, the military centre for the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, is the head-quarters of the 1st Army Corps, and is in the centre of one of the most thickly populated manufacturing districts of France. It is situated 153 miles north of Paris, and up to a few years ago ranked as a first-class fortress town, but, on account of its great commercial importance, and the manufacturing character of the district in which it is situated, it was decided that Lille should be regarded as an open town, and not subject to bombardment. The nature of the country in which Lille is situated and the density of population may be judged from the fact that it forms a military centre for two departments only, instead of for four or five, as in the case of other head-quarters garrison towns. The old fortifications of Lille have been converted into boulevards; under the old scheme of defence the works were so constructed that large areas in the vicinity of the citadel could be placed under water, in case of attack. As French cities go, Lille is comparatively modern, dating back only toa.d.1030, when Count Baldwin IV walled in the village from which the present prosperous town of nearly 200,000 inhabitants has sprung.
Limoges, the military centre for the departments of Charente, Corrèze, Creuse, Dordogne, and Haute-Vienne, is situated about 250 miles S.S.W. of Paris by rail. It is the head-quarters of the 12th Army Corps, and even at the time of the Roman conquest was a place of importance, having contributed 10,000 men to the defence of Alesia against the Roman invasion. During the Hundred Years' War it sustained alternate sieges by French and English, and from the time of John of England to that of the Black Prince it was under threat to fire and sword, to which the Black Prince gave it up after taking the town by assault. Remains of a Roman fountain and amphitheatre still exist in the town, of which the present population is about 85,000.
Marseilles is the military centre for the departments of Basses-Alpes, Alpes-Maritimes, Corse, Vaucluse, Bouches-du-Rhône, Gard, Var, and Ardèche. It is the head-quarters of the 15th Army Corps, and is a naval station as well. It has been a place of commercial importance from the earliest days, and, situated as it is in one of the healthiest districts of France, as well as being on the coast, it forms an ideal military station. In former times it was subject to epidemic diseases on account of the sub-tropical nature of the climate, but modern methods of sanitation have neutralised this drawback, and Marseilles is now as pleasant a place as any that a conscript can hope for in order to undergo his term of service. It is the principal port of France, and as such is strongly fortified, but its fortifications belong to the naval administration of the Republic. Historically, Marseilles dates back to the year 600b.c., when the Greeks established a colony here. It passed to Roman rule at the time of the invasion of Gaul and became connected with, among other notable Romans, Petronius, the arbiter of elegance at Nero's court. Throughout the Middle Ages Marseilles enjoyed a semi-independence, and it has always played a prominent part in the history of the Mediterranean sea-board.
Montpellier, the head-quarters of the 16th Army Corps, is the military centre for the departments of Aude, Aveyron, Hérault, Lozère, Tarn, and Pyrénées-Orientales. It is about 480 miles south of Paris, and about seven miles distant from the Mediterranean, from which it is divided by the lagoons of Perols and l'Arnel. The town is of comparatively late formation as towns go in France, having become a place of note only in the eighth century. It is a wine and brandy centre, and is also engaged in silk works, and, owing to its situation, enjoys a congenial climate. The population is upwards of 80,000.
Nantes, the head-quarters of the 11th Army Corps, is known as the most populous town of Brittany, and is the military centre for the departments of Finistère, Loire-Inférieure, Morbihan, and Vendée. It is situated about 27 miles from the sea and about 250 miles from Paris by rail. The population is about 140,000, and from an historical point of view Nantes is one of the most interesting of French cities. Its name is derived from its having been the chief city of the Nannetes, an ancient Gallic tribe, and under the Romans the city became one of the principal centres of Western Gaul, having retained its prominence up to the present day. It has seen many sieges and assaults, and was the last city of France to surrender to Henry IV of France, who signed here the famous edict that gave Protestants equal rights with Catholics for nearly a hundred years. Many notable Frenchmen owned Nantes as their birthplace, among them Jules Verne and several famous French generals. Unto the present day the Bretons of Nantes and the surrounding district retain their distinct peculiarities of character, forming for France what East Anglia forms for England, and Norman influence, combined with Celtic origin, is evident in the people of the country. The Breton, by the way, makes a fine soldier, having more of doggedness than the usual Frenchman to combine with the dash and agility of body and mind characteristic of the Latin races.
Orleans, the head-quarters of the 5th Army Corps, is the military centre for the departments of Loiret, Loire-et-Cher, Seine-et-Marne, Yonne, part of Seine-et-Oise and part of Seine. It is situated 75 miles south-west of Paris by rail, and has a population of about 60,000, including its garrison. As the capital of a separate kingdom, Orleans enjoyed great prominence throughout the Middle Ages, and it is always remembered for its associations with the soldier-maid of France, Jeanne d'Arc. One of the principal artillery schools of the Army is situated here. An ancient Celtic centre, the town was renamed in the period of Roman occupation, and was a flourishing city as early as the fifth century. It was vainly besieged by Attila and the Huns, taken by Clovis, and held against the English at the time when Jeanne brought reinforcements to the garrison and compelled the raising of the siege. The long wars between Huguenots and Catholics brought more strife to Orleans, and in the revolutionary period it suffered severely, while it was occupied by the Prussians both in 1815 and in 1870, numerous battles being fought in its vicinity during the last-mentioned war. It is worthy of note that a Duke of Orleans, a member of the old royal family of France, served in the British Army in the reign of Victoria.
Rennes, the ancient capital of Brittany, is the head-quarters of the 10th Army Corps, and the site of a large arsenal in addition to the barracks, while it is the military centre for the departments of Côtes-du-Nord, Manche, and Ille-et-Vilaine. In the early part of the eighteenth century the town was almost destroyed by fire, a catastrophe that is not even yet forgotten; while as the birthplace of Boulanger, who introduced many reforms into the French Army and was largely responsible for its efficiency in recent years, Rennes is peculiarly connected with military matters. It may be remembered, by the way, that the second Dreyfus trial was held here in 1899. The population of the town is about 75,000, and it is 51 miles south-east of St. Malo and 232 miles west-south-west of Paris. Historically, Rennes was the centre of several Roman roads which are still recognisable, and in mediæval times it suffered greatly from the wars between French and English. In the revolutionary period the Republican Army made Rennes their centre for the operations against the Vendeans, but it has no later prominence in connection with military history.
Rouen, 87 miles north-west of Paris by rail, is the head-quarters of the 3rd Army Corps, is the ancient capital of Normandy, and military centre for the departments of Calvados, Eure, Seine-Inférieure, and parts of Seine-et-Oise and of Seine. It has a population of about 120,000, including the garrison, and is a town of narrow, picturesque streets and of old-world dignity and interest. Here William the Conqueror died and Jeanne d'Arc was burned—a statue commemorates the latter event in the town. Although 78 miles from the sea, Rouen is one of the principal French ports, the bed of the Seine having been deepened from the sea to the city by an ingenious system of embankments, which forced the river to deepen its own bed rather than extend its width—and military labour went far toward the construction of the embankments.
Toulouse, the head-quarters of the 17th Army Corps, is the military centre for the departments of Ariege, Haute-Garonne, Gers, Lot, Lot-et-Garonne, and Tarn-et-Garonne. The town is peculiarly liable to great floods, and those of 1855, which swept away the suspension bridge of St. Pierre, and of 1875, which destroyed 7000 houses and drowned 300 people, are still remembered in the city. It is situated 478 miles south of Paris and 160 miles south-east from Bordeaux, and, with a population of about 150,000, ranks as the metropolis of Southern France.
Tours, the head-quarters of the 9th Army Corps, is situated 145 miles south-west from Paris by rail, and is the military centre for the departments of Maine-et-Loire, Indre-et-Loire, Deux-Sèvres, and Vienne. Under the Gauls it was the capital of the Turones, from whom it derived the name which it still bears, and traces of Roman occupation still remain in the form of the ancient amphitheatre. After the fall of Roman power, Tours was fortified against barbarian invasion, and subsequently it was closely connected with the great names of French history, notably those of Clovis, who presented rich gifts to the church at Tours out of the spoils won from Alaric and the Goths, and with Charlemagne, who disciplined its monasteries. Few towns surpass Tours in historic interest, and it is noteworthy in modern times, as the birthplace of Balzac and the two Marshals Boucicaut. In 1870 the government of the national defence was established at Tours, and the Third Republic may thus be said to have had its birth here.
No list of the great garrisons of France would be complete without a reference to Verdun and Toul, the ends of the great chain of fortresses which defend the eastern frontier. Toul, 14 miles to the west of Nancy, is the centre of a vast network of entrenchments and defences, and the hills surrounding the town are crowned with forts which command all the country within range to the east. A series of forts, echeloning along the ridge of the Meuse, connect Toul with Verdun, and forms a defensive line which is only equalled in strength by the defences of Paris, as far as the French military defensive system is concerned. Verdun, at the northern end of the line of frontier defences, is surrounded by a ring of detached forts, eleven in number, and occupying a circumference of 25 miles. Since the loss of Metz to Germany, Verdun has been so strengthened as to form the most formidable fortress in France.
CHAPTER XIV
SOME EFFECTS. ACTIVE SERVICE
One of the principal effects of a conscript system such as that of France is that the great majority of the population of the country is characterised by fixed habits and ideas with regard to the way in which work should be done. The Latin races are all marked by a certain flexibility and dexterity of mind, a quickness of apprehension which is absent, for the most part, from other Caucasian stock, and military training increases this and applies it to physical use as well as to mental qualities. The conscript, back in civilian life at the end of his training, is to be compared to the sailor of the British Navy in many respects; he has learned a certain handiness, a dexterity in connection with his daily work, and it is a lesson that stays with him, as a rule, to the end of his life.
While military service alters, it does not create; the stolid Breton—stolid by comparison with the men of central and Southern France, remains stolid as before he went up for training, for the Army has grafted on him nothing that is new—it has merely added to his knowledge and developed, in the way of characteristics, what was already there. But the Breton is the better for his two years—without them he would be a very stolid and unimaginative person indeed, and he has learned to stir himself, to make the best of himself and the work that is his to perform. Similarly the traditional Frenchman, coming from the wine-growing districts of the south, and a hot-headed and impetuous individual, has his eccentricities modified, for hot-headedness does not pay in military service, and this man has learned to control himself just as the Breton has acquired a little more rapidity of movement. Yet the individual characteristics of the two types remain; personal traits have been modified by discipline, but not destroyed, for while the Army of the Republic creates nothing, it also annihilates nothing. The men have been moulded to a pattern, but they are the same men in essence, with no quality removed altogether. Usually, they are vastly improved.
Especially is this last true of the many youths who think—it is a common failing of youth—that they know everything and are capable of all things. The Army modifies their self-conceit; it teaches them that they are but as other men, needing to learn. It first of all destroys the unhealthy growth of unjustifiable self-confidence, reducing these men to utter self-abasement; then, on this foundation, the Army and the training it involves gradually build up, not a belief in self-powers, but a knowledge of the capacities and powers of self, of their limitations as well as their extent. The braggart who goes to his military training comes back chastened and, if he still boasts, it is of things that he is really capable of doing, knowledge that he has actually obtained—he makes no claims that he cannot justify, as a rule. This much the Army of France does for the men who pass through it and back to their normal tasks in life.
The life of the conscripts has been charged with blunting the finer sensibilities of those who have to undergo its rigours, but the charge cannot be allowed. For one might as well say that the engineer is rendered incapable of appreciating music, or the doctor has no conception of the beauty of a garden, by reason of the mathematical nature of the work accomplished by the one and the physical repulsiveness of much that the other has to perform. The Army and the training that it involves never injured a Frenchman yet, so long as the laws governing the Army received proper interpretation. In the end of the last century there were injustices prevalent both among men and officers, but the world and France gain wisdom with experience; the Republican Army as at present constituted is a growth of only forty years, and its predecessor, the Army of Napoleon the futile, showed by the war of 1870 what an immense amount of reform was necessary before French arms could regain their lustre. In the history of an army, forty years is a very short time, and, rather than cavil at the slowness with which reforms have been accomplished, it is due to France that one should admire the way in which the Army has been built up from so sorry a foundation into the great and effective machine of to-day.
In civilian France, military ways persist. Habits of neatness and method, and accuracy in trifles, attest the military training that men have undergone. The very step of a Frenchman walking is reminiscent of the days when he was taught to march, and he has a respect for and knowledge of firearms which the average civilian of English life—unless he be addicted to some form of sport—never acquires. The Frenchman is never at a loss with a sporting gun, knows better than to point the weapon at the head of another man when loading, and in other ways betrays familiarity with the tool of a craft—one that many Englishmen regard as something to be handled carelessly or passed by as a thing of mystery. This is given only as an instance of the many ways in which the conscript system modifies men, for there are many ways in which modifications are effected. Some students of the subject question whether the French flexuousness and adaptability are results of the military system of the Republic or whether they are ingrained in the race independently of military training. Since practically every citizen is a soldier, this is a point that cannot be easily determined, but there can be no doubt that the characteristics in question are increased by military service.
Every Frenchman who has passed through the Army is in possession of a little book which he guards most jealously, since in that book are inserted full particulars of his term of service with the colours, and all things relating to his military history, as well as details of his duties in case of mobilisation of the Army. The little book of the ex-conscript is to him what "marriage lines" are to a woman—except that the ex-conscript incurs penalties if he loses his book, while the woman who loses her "marriage lines" can always get another copy as long as the register containing particulars of the ceremony is in existence.
It must be understood that, in case of need arising for the mobilisation of the Army, the body of men brought to the colours is so great that some system must be followed in bringing them on to a war footing. The little book contains particulars of the place at which the conscript on the reserve is to report himself, together with the day of mobilisation on which he will be required to join the colours—the actual mobilisation is spread over a period of days, in order that some men—the first line troops—may be drafted out to their posts before the rest come in. When the order for mobilisation has been given out—by the ringing of bells, proclamation by criers, and in various other ways—the reservist immediately consults his little book, and ascertains on what date he will have to present himself to the authorities, and at what station he is expected to rejoin. His wife or his mother or sister cooks him food for the day of his going, and, after a prayer at some wayside shrine or in some sanctuary, and perhaps an offering vowed to the Virgin or to the patron saint, the citizen sets out to become a soldier again. August, 1914, was the first time of complete mobilisation in the history of the Third Republic, and the system under which the men were gathered back to the colours worked smoothly in all its details. There was no confusion anywhere; to each man his place, to each unit its place, and the Army Corps went out to the Belgian frontier or to the edge of the provinces that slope down toward the Rhine, with ominous celerity, and with those interminable regimental songs sounding as they sound when men go out to manœuvres at the end of the soldiers' year. The hour for which this Army had been prepared had come, and the Army was found ready to meet the hour.
Although the effective strength of the French Army, when the last man has been armed and placed in the field, is about 4,800,000 men, it must not be supposed that the Republic maintains all these numbers as a fighting force in the field throughout the campaign. About a million and a half of men go out as the "first line," and from those who remain this line is strengthened as and where required. It has become clear since the battle of the Marne that almost a second army was collected under the shelter of the Paris forts to reinforce the retreating line of men who fell back from the Belgian frontier, and in this connection it may be noted that the traditional French method of conducting war is with sixty per cent of the men in the firing line, and the remaining forty per cent in rear as reserves. France's conduct of the war against Germany has shown that this method of fighting—diametrically opposed to the German conception of war—is still being adhered to, and the troops in the firing line by no means compose the whole of the French striking force.
As to active service in the French Army, the general English view is that the French soldier, with the exception of the Algerian garrison, sees no service outside European bounds, and the deeds of French soldiers are ignored as regards French colonial possessions and expeditions. In the expedition to Tonquin, to which reference has already been made in connection with the Foreign Legion of the French Army, there were deeds done by individuals and by regiments that are worthy of memory besides the brilliant exploits of our own Army. It is not only to the war in the Crimea and the present campaign that we must look for evidence of the indomitable courage that the French undoubtedly possess, but also to service on the French colonial battlefields, in Chinese swamps and African wilds.
The present campaign has proved that French soldiers are capable of retreating in good order when strategy renders a retreat necessary—a feat hitherto deemed impossible to the army whose sole strength was supposed to consist in its power of impetuous attack. The retreat from the Belgian frontier has rendered necessary a reconstruction of ideas as regards French psychology, and has shown that the training imposed on the conscripts of France in time of peace was the best that could be applied. Just as in the field the best general is the best psychologist, so in time of peace the best administration is that which, regardless of criticism of its methods, prepares its men most effectively for war, selecting the form of training to be applied in a way that takes into consideration the mental characteristics and temperament of the material required to be trained. The merits of the form of training selected can only be determined by the effectiveness of the trained material in action, and, granting these things, the conduct of the French Army in the present campaign is a splendid vindication of the peace training of that Army. The first stages of the war have been all against the French way of fighting—the way in which the French soldier is supposed to exhibit himself at his best; yet in retreat, and in action approximating in length and tedium to the monotony and continued exertion of siege warfare, the French soldier has given his commanders cause for pride.
Let it be remembered that the men who are fighting the battles of France, and of all civilisation, on French soil in these closing months of 1914 are not like the veterans with whom Napoleon won his battles. The wars of the Napoleonic era, lasting for years as they did, brought into the field a host of trained men—trained in war by the practice of war, rather than by experiments under peace conditions; from the time of the Revolution onward there were sufficient veteran soldiers, seasoned in real warfare, to stiffen the ranks of any army that might be raised to attack—neither to retreat nor to defend, but to attack in accordance with French tradition. The Army of the Republic to-day is made up of men who have had two years' training apiece (with the exception of the small percentage ofre-engagés, who also have had no war service) under peace conditions, and who for the most part have never seen a shot fired in anger, as the phrase goes. Yet out of this semi-raw material (semi-raw as far as war experience goes) France has raised an Army which may without exaggeration be termed magnificent, an Army that has kept the field under harder circumstances than those which brought about the surrender of Sedan, an Army that no more knows when it is beaten than does the British force fighting by its side.