one control; (2) the tactical and administrative unit of the Royal Regiment
of Artillery; (3) an entrenched work constructed as a position for guns in
siege warfare.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery is organized in batteries of horse, field,
heavy, siege, and mountain artillery. These differ in the weight and type
of gun with which they have to do, but the general principles of
organization are the same. (See _Army_.) Nominally a battery consists of
six guns with their attendant ammunition wagons (12) and certain other
transport. A major commands the battery, and has a captain and three
subalterns to assist him. For all purposes a battery is permanently
organized in three sections, each of two guns and four wagons, under
subaltern officers; while in action it is divided into two parts, (_a_) the
fighting battery of six guns and six wagons; (_b_) the wagon line of the
remaining wagons, under command of the captain. The change from march
formation to that necessary for firing is termed 'coming into action'.
Horse, field, and some heavy batteries are horse-drawn (six or eight horses
to a gun), while other heavy batteries and siege-guns are drawn by
mechanical transport or mounted on railway platforms. Mountain batteries
are organized for pack transport only--either mules or carriers--all the
material being specially constructed to this end. Among combinations with
the word battery come the following: _battery commander_, the officer
commanding a battery; _battery leader_, the senior subaltern, who receives
and carries out the commander's orders in action; _battery-fire_, each gun
of a battery firing in turn: as opposed to gun-fire, where each gun fires
independently. See _Artillery_.
BATTERY, in criminal law, an assault by beating or wounding another. The
least touching or meddling with the person of another against his will may
be held to constitute a battery.
BATTERY, in electricity and galvanism, a combination of several jars or
metallic plates. See _Daniell's Cell_; _Electric Battery_; _Secondary
Cell_.
BATTHYANYI (b[.a]t-y[.a]n'y[=e]), one of the oldest and most celebrated
Hungarian families, traceable as far back as the Magyar invasion of
Pannonia in the ninth century. Among later bearers of the name have
been--Count Casmir Batthyanyi, who was associated with Kossuth, was
Minister of Foreign Affairs in Hungary during the insurrection of 1849, and
died in Paris 1854; Count Louis Batthyanyi, born 1809, of another branch of
the family, was leader of the opposition in the Hungarian Diet until the
breaking out of the commotions of 1848, when he took an active part in
promoting the national cause; but on the entry of Windischgraetz into Pesth
he was arrested and shot, 1849.
BATTLE, a combat between two armies. In ancient times and the Middle Ages
the battleground was often chosen by agreement, and the battle was a mere
trial of strength, a duel _en gros_; and as the armies of the ancients were
imperfectly organized, and the combatants fought very little at a distance,
after the battle had begun manuoevres were much more difficult, and troops
almost entirely beyond the control of the general. Under these
circumstances the battle depended almost wholly upon the previous
arrangements and the valour of the troops. In modern times, however, the
finest combinations, the most ingenious manoeuvres, are rendered possible
by the better organization of the armies, and it is the skill of the
general rather than the courage of the soldier that now determines the
event of a battle. Battles are distinguished as _offensive_ or _defensive_
on either side, but there is a natural and ready transition from one method
to the other. The purely defensive attitude is condemned by tacticians
except in cases where the only object desirable is to maintain a position
of vital consequence, the weight of precedent being in favour of the dash
and momentum of an attacking force even where opposed to superior forces.
Where the greatest generals have acted upon the defensive, it has almost
always been with the desire to develop an opportunity to pass to the
offensive, and, having discovered their opponent's hand, to marshal against
the enemy, exhausted with attack, the whole strength of their resources.
Napoleon won more than one great victory by this method, and Wellington's
reputation was largely based upon his skill in defensive-offensive
operations. Tacticians have divided a battle into three periods, which are
disposition, combat, and the decisive moment. In some measure they require
distinct qualities in a commander, the intellect which can plot a
disposition being by no means always of the prompt judgment passing to
instant action which avails itself of the crucial moment to crush an enemy.
Cooperation and mutual support of all arms and services is essential to
success in a modern battle, which may occupy many days or even weeks and
embrace a large area of country, e.g. the battle of the Marne, the battle
of the Somme. This co-operation is ensured by the most careful and detailed
arrangements being made beforehand, such arrangements even including the
rehearsal of more important phases over ground prepared to represent the
country over which the operations will eventually take place. The modern
battle may be, and probably will be, a continuation of many
operations--_offensive_ and _defensive_--carried out by distinct and
separate formations. The general scope of the operations as a whole will be
planned by the supreme commander, while the choice of the methods to be
used is left to the commander of the formations affected. See _Strategy_;
_Tactics_.
BATTLE, a town in Sussex, so named from the battle of Hastings having been
fought there. An abbey built by William the Norman has disappeared, but
important remains of a later building exist on the same site; and there is
an old church of great interest. Pop. (1921), 2891.
BATTLE (or BATTEL), WAGER OF, an obsolete method, according to English law,
of deciding civil or criminal cases by personal combat between the parties
or their champions in presence of the court. A woman, a priest, a peer, or
a person physically incapable of fighting could refuse such a trial. It was
not abolished till 1819 (by the Statute of 59 George III, c. 46), but had
long previously been in abeyance. See _Ordeal_.
BATTLE-AXE, a weapon much used in war in the early part of the Middle Ages
among knights. It is a weapon which affords hardly any guard, and the
heavier the blow given with it the more the fighter is exposed; but its use
was to some extent necessitated by the resistance of iron armour to all but
heavy blows. In England and Scotland the battle-axe was much employed, the
Lochaber-axe remaining a formidable implement of destruction in the hands
of the Highlanders to a recent period.
BATTLE CREEK, a town of the United States, in Michigan, at the junction of
the Kalamazoo and Battle Creek, with a college, and manufactures of
agricultural implements, &c. Pop. 25,267.
BATTLEFORD, a trading town of Canada, province of Saskatchewan, at the
junction of the Battle and Saskatchewan (North Fork). Pop. 1335.
BAT'TLEMENT, a notched or indented parapet of a fortification, formed by a
series of raised parts called _cops_ or _merlons_, separated by openings
called _crenelles_ or _embrasures_, the soldier sheltering himself behind
the merlon, while he fires through the embrasure. Battlements were
originally military, but were afterwards used freely in ecclesiastical and
civil buildings by way of ornament, on parapets, cornices, tabernacle work,
&c.
BATTLE-PIECE, a painting representing a battle. Some of the greatest pieces
of this kind are the _Battle of Constantine_, of which the cartoons were
drawn by Raphael, and which was executed by Giulio Romano; Lebrun's
_Battles of Alexander_; and the _Battles of the Amazons_, by Rubens.
BATTUE (ba-tue'), a method of killing game by having persons to beat a
wood, copse, or other cover, and so drive the animals (pheasants, hares,
&c.) towards the spot where sportsmen are stationed to shoot them.
BATTUS, legendary founder of the Greek colony of Cyrene, in Libya, about
650 B.C. There were eight rulers of the family founded by him, bearing
alternately the names Battus and Arcesilaus.
BATU KHAN, Mongol ruler of the Western conquests of his grandfather,
Genghis Khan, from 1224 to 1255. He overran Russia, Poland, Hungary, and
Dalmatia, holding Russia for ten years.
BATUM. See _Batoum_.
BAUDELAIRE (b[=o]d-l[=a]r), Charles Pierre, French poet, born 1821. His
first work of importance was a series of translations from Poe, ranking
among the most perfect translations in any literature. A volume of poems,
_Les Fleurs du Mal_ (1857), established his reputation as a leader of the
Romanticists, though the police thought it necessary to deodorize them. Of
a higher tone were his _Petits Poemes en Prose_; followed in 1859 by a
monograph on Theophile Gautier, in 1860 by _Les Paradis Artificiels_ (opium
and hashish studies), and in 1861 by _Wagner et Tannhaeuser a Paris_. He
died in 1867. The best English rendering of the _Fleurs du Mal_ is by A.
Symons (1905).--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Henry James, _French Poets and Novelists_;
Asselineau, _Charles Baudelaire, sa vie et son oeuvre_; F. Gautier,
_Charles Baudelaire_.
BAUDRY (b[=o]-dr[=e]), Paul Jacques Aime, a prominent modern French
painter, born in 1828, died Jan., 1886. He took the grand prix de Rome in
1850, and exhibited many important works, of which the better known are his
_Charlotte Corday_ and _La Perle et la Vague_. The decoration of the
_foyer_ of the New Opera House at Paris was entrusted to him--an enormous
work, occupying a total surface of 500 sq. metres, but admirably
accomplished by him in eight years.
BAUER (bou'er), Bruno, German philosopher, historian, and Biblical critic
of the rational school, born 1809, died 1882. Wrote _Critique of the Gospel
of John_ (1840); _Critique of the Synoptic Gospels_ (1840); _History of the
French Revolution to the Founding of the Republic_ (1847); _History of
Germany during the French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon_ (1846);
_Critique of the Gospels_ (1850-1); _Critique of the Pauline Epistles_
(1850); _Philo, Strauss, Renan, and Primitive Christianity_ (1874); _Christ
and the Caesars_ (1877), &c.
BAUHIN (b[=o]-an), Gaspard, born at Basel in 1560; in 1580 elected to the
Greek chair at Basel, and in 1589 to that of anatomy and botany. He died in
1624. His fame rests chiefly on his _Pinax Theatri Botanici_ and _Theatrum
Botanicum_. Linnaeus gave his name to a genus of plants.
BAUHIN'IA, a genus of plants, ord. Leguminosae, usually lianes, found in
the woods of hot countries, and often stretching from tree to tree like
cables. Many are showy and interesting. The bark of _B. varieg[=a]ta_ is
used in tanning; the bast fibres of some Indian species are made into ropes
and twine.
BAUMGARTEN (boum'g[.a]r-tn), Alexander Gottlieb, a German philosopher, born
in 1714 at Berlin; in 1740 was made professor of philosophy at
Frankfort-on-the-Oder, and died there in 1762. He is the founder of
aesthetics as a science, and the inventor of this name. His ideas were
first developed in his _De Nonnullis ad Poema pertinentibus_ (1735), and
afterwards in the two volumes of his uncompleted _Aesthetica_, published
1750-8.
BAUR (bour), Ferdinand Christian, German theologian, founder of the
'Tuebingen School' of theologians and Hegelian thinkers, born in 1792. The
publication of his first work, _Symbolism and Mythology, or The Natural
Religion of Antiquity_, in 1824-5, led to his appointment as professor in
the evangelical faculty of Tuebingen University, a position occupied by him
till his death in 1860. His chief works in the department of the history of
Christian dogma are: _The Christian Gnosis, or The Christian Philosophy of
Religion_ (1835); _The Christian Doctrine of the Atonement_ (1838); _The
Christian Doctrine of the Trinity and the Incarnation_ (1841-3); _The
Compendium of and Lectures on the History of Christian Dogmas_ (1847,
1865). To the department of New Testament criticism and the early history
of Christianity belong the so-called _Pastoral Epistles of the Apostle
Paul_ (1835); _Paul the Apostle of Jesus Christ_ (1845); _Critical
Inquiries Concerning the Canonic Gospels_ (1847); _A History of Christian
Doctrine to the End of the Eighteenth Century_ (1853-63). Baur's views in
regard to the Church of the earliest times and the New Testament Scriptures
have been very influential. He saw different and opposing tendencies at
work in the Church of apostolic times, and believed that the New Testament
mainly took form in the second century, the only genuine writings previous
to A.D. 70 being the four great Pauline epistles and _Revelation_.
BAUTZEN (bout'sen), or BUDISSIN, a German town in Saxony, upon a height on
the right bank of the Spree, with some old and interesting buildings. The
inhabitants are mostly Lutheran, and both Catholics and Protestants worship
in the same cathedral. Chief manufactures: woollen goods, paper, gunpowder,
machines. Napoleon defeated the united armies of the Russians and the
Prussians at Bautzen on the 21st May, 1813. Pop. 32,754.
BAUXITE (b[a:]k's[=i]t), a rock resembling clay, but consisting of hydrated
aluminium oxides, with, in good examples, a silica content of less than 2
per cent. Bauxite is mined at Les Baux in Provence, in Arkansas, and other
places, including County Antrim, where it occurs between basaltic lavas. It
is the source of commercial aluminium, and is also used for bricks for
high-temperature furnaces, and in alum manufacture. Like laterite (q.v.),
it results from tropical conditions of weathering acting on a variety of
silicate rocks.
BAVA'RIA (Ger. _Bayern_; Fr. _Baviere_), previous to the changes caused by
the European War (1914-8), a kingdom in the south of Germany, the second
largest State of the _Reich_, composed of two isolated portions, the larger
comprising about eleven-twelfths of the monarchy, having Wuertemberg,
Baden, &c., on the west, while the smaller portion, the Pfalz or
Palatinate, is separated from the other by Wuertemberg and Baden, and lies
west of the Rhine; total area, 30,346 sq. miles. The main political
divisions are: Upper Bavaria (pop. 1,532,065; chief town, Munich, the
capital of the country, pop. 596,467); Lower Bavaria (724,331); Palatinate
(937,085); Upper Palatinate and Regensburg (600,284); Upper Franconia
(661,862); Middle Franconia (930,868); Lower Franconia and Aschaffenburg
(710,943); Sehwaben and Neuburg (789,853); total in (1919), 7,150,146. Next
towns after Munich are Nuernberg, Augsburg, Wuerzburg, and Ratisbon
(Regensburg). The main portion of the country is hilly; in the south, where
it belongs to the Alps, it is mountainous; but north of the Alps and south
of the Danube, which flows east through the country from Ulm to Passau,
there is a considerable plateau, averaging about 1600 feet above the
sea-level. The south frontier is formed by a branch of the Noric Alps,
offsets from which project far into the plateau; principal peaks: the
Zugspitze, 10,394 feet, and the Watzmann, 9470 feet. The highest summits on
the Bohemian (Austrian) frontier, belonging to the Boehmerwald Mountains,
are the Rachel, 5102 feet, and the Arber, 5185 feet. Ranges of less
elevation bordering on or belonging to the country are the Fichtelgebirge
in the north-east, the Frankenwald, Rhoengebirge, and Spessart in the
north, and the Steigerwald and Franconian Jura in the middle. The
Palatinate is traversed by the north extremity of the Vosges Mountains, the
highest peak being the Konigstuhl, 2162 feet. The greater part of the
country belongs to the basin of the Danube, which is navigable, its
tributaries on the south being the Iller, Lech, Isar, and Inn; on the
north, the Wornitz, Altmuehl, Nab, and Regen. The northern portion belongs
to the basin of the Main, which receives the Regnitz and Saale, and is a
tributary of the Rhine. The Palatinate has only small streams that flow
into its boundary river the Rhine. The chief lakes of Bavaria are all on
the higher part of the south plateau; the smaller within the range of the
Alps. The Ammer-See is about 10 miles long by 2-1/2 broad, 1736 feet above
the sea; the Wuerm-See or Starnberger-See, about 12 miles long by 3 broad,
1899 feet; and Chiem-See, 9 miles long by 9 to 4 broad, 1651 feet. The
climate in general is temperate and healthy, though somewhat colder than
the other South German States; yearly average about 47deg F.
As regards soil, Bavaria is one of the most fertile countries in Germany,
producing the various cereals in abundance, the best hops in Germany,
fruit, wine, tobacco, &c., and having extensive forests. Lower Franconia
(the Main valley) and the Palatinate are the great vine-growing districts.
The celebrated Steinwein and Leistenwein are the produce of the slopes of
the Steinberg and Marienberg at Wuerzburg (on the Main). The forests of
Bavaria, chiefly fir and pine, yield a large revenue, much timber being
annually exported, together with potash, tar, turpentine, &c. The principal
mineral products are salt, coal, and iron, some of the mining works
belonging to the State. The minerals worked include copper, quicksilver,
manganese, cobalt, porcelain clay, alabaster, graphite. Large numbers of
horses and cattle are reared, as also sheep and swine. The return of cattle
in 1917 showed 272,667 horses, 3,896,702 cattle, and 616,464 sheep. The
manufactures are individually mostly on a small scale. The principal
articles manufactured are linens, woollens, cottons, leather, paper, glass,
earthen and iron ware, jewellery, &c. The optical and mathematical
instruments made are excellent. A most important branch of industry is the
brewing of beer, for which there are upwards of 7000 establishments,
producing over 300 millions of gallons a year. The distilleries produce
over 4 millions of gallons of alcohol. A number of the people maintain
themselves by the manufacture of articles in wood, and by felling and
hewing timber. The trade of Bavaria in home produce exported and goods
imported for consumption in the country is not large. Principal exports:
corn, timber, wine, cattle, glass, hops, fruit, beer, wooden wares, &c. The
chief imports are sugar, coffee, cotton, rice, spices, dye-stuffs, silk and
silk goods, lead, &c. From its position Bavaria has a considerable transit
trade. The Konig Ludwig Canal connects the Main at Bamberg with the
Altmuehl a short distance above its embouchure in the Danube, thus
establishing water communication between the North Sea and the Black Sea.
The railway system has a total mileage of 5290, mostly belonging to the
State.
Education is in a less satisfactory condition than in most German States.
There are about 7500 elementary schools, at which attendance is compulsory
up to fourteen years of age. There are three universities, two of which
(Munich and Wuerzburg) are Roman Catholic, and one (Erlangen) Protestant.
In art Bavaria is best known as the home of the Nuernberg school, founded
about the middle of the sixteenth century by Albert Duerer. Hans Holbein is
also claimed as a Bavarian; and to these have to be added the eminent
sculptors Kraft and Vischer, both born about the middle of the fifteenth
century. The restoration of the reputation of Bavaria in art was chiefly
the work of Ludwig I, under whom the capital became one of the most
prominent seats of the fine arts in Europe. The religion of the State is
Roman Catholicism, over 70 per cent of the population being Roman
Catholics. All citizens, whatever their creed, possess the same civil and
political rights. The dioceses of Bavaria comprise two Roman Catholic
archbishopries, Munich and Bamberg; and six bishopries, Augsburg, Ratisbon,
Eichstaedt, Passau, Wuerzburg, and Spires.
For over a century Bavaria was a kingdom, and the crown hereditary in the
male line of the descendants of the ancient Counts of Wittelsbach. The
executive power was vested in the king, but his ministers were responsible
for his acts. The legislature consisted of two chambers--one of senators,
composed of princes of the royal family, the great officers of the State,
the two archbishops, the heads of certain noble families, and certain
members appointed by the Crown; the other of deputies, 163 in number,
elected by direct and secret vote, and calculated at the rate of 1 for
every 38,000 inhabitants. The lower chamber was elected for six years. The
Budget for each of the years 1916 and 1917 balanced at L12,183,411; for
1918 and 1919 at L42,639,595; the public debt on 1st July, 1917, was
L128,719,000, L98,179,000 being railway debt. The army (peace footing,
72,000) was raised by conscription--every man being liable to serve from
the 1st of January of the year in which he completes his twentieth year. In
time of peace the army was under the command of the King of Bavaria, but in
time of war under that of the Emperor of Germany, as commander-in-chief of
the whole German army.
As a result of the revolutionary movement in Nov., 1918, the Bavarian
dynasty was deposed and a republican form of government set up. The
provisional constitution, made public on 7th Jan., 1919, established a
Socialist Republic in Bavaria. The supreme power lies with the people; the
Diet consists of one chamber; the suffrage is universal; the privileges of
birth and caste are abolished. The supreme executive power is exercised by
the ministry as a whole. The Church is separated from the State, and all
religious associations have equal rights.