uniform state of discipline as may fit them to co-operate on any
service. _Organization_ may be said to be begun by grouping those
combatants who have the same mode of action. These groups are known as
“arms of service.” An arm of service may be defined to be “a union of
combatants having the same mode of action.” There are four of these arms
in modern armies, viz.: _Infantry_, _Cavalry_, _Artillery_, and
_Engineers_. These four arms form the principal part of a mobilized
army, and as they or their representatives are always formed into a line
of battle to resist the attack of an enemy, or to make an attack, they
are generally known as the “line of the army” or “troops of the line,”
to distinguish them from other bodies of men who form parts of an army.
These _arms_ are subdivided into fractions for the purpose of
instruction and of supply. The unit for instruction and the unit for
supply may be the same or different. The unit of supply, as a general
rule, is constant, and is also usually the unit of instruction in
discipline. The unit of instruction in tactics will depend upon
circumstances, and upon the kind of movements the commander desires to
make. The common unit for the four arms, for supplying the men’s wants
and for instruction in discipline, is the “company.” This unit receives,
at other times, other names, depending upon circumstances. For instance,
a _battery_ of artillery is the same as company; the term _squadron_ of
cavalry frequently means a company, etc.
_A company_ consists of a given number of men commanded by a
commissioned officer who has the rank of captain. Two, sometimes three,
and even more commissioned officers of a grade below that of captain are
appointed to assist the captain in the discharge of his duties. These
officers have the grade of lieutenant. Their number and the number of
men forming a company are fixed by law. A certain number are selected
from the men and appointed non-commissioned officers, with the rank of
sergeant or of corporal. These non-commissioned officers are used to
instruct the men in their military duties and in discipline. The whole
company should be divided into _squads_ of equal numbers, and each squad
placed under the charge of a non-commissioned officer, who should be
held responsible for the cleanliness of the men of his squad, not only
as to their persons, clothing, and arms, but as to their tents or
quarters. The _company_, with its size based on the theory that it must
not be larger than one man on foot can thoroughly command in person, is
the unit of organization. Two or three or more companies form a
_battalion_. Four, and at the outside, five companies placed in line
form, in these times, so extended a line that a single person in
immediate and personal command of them will find difficulty in making
himself heard and understood throughout the entire line. For this reason
the battalion should not, as a rule, contain more than four companies.
_The battalion_ is the _tactical_ unit, both for instruction in tactics
and in the execution of its movements. The battalion is sometimes made a
unit of administration, and forms a complete organization under the
command of a commissioned officer of the grade of major or
lieutenant-colonel. The more usual rule is to increase the number of
companies so as to have enough to form at least two battalions, and with
these companies to form the organization known as a _regiment_.
_The regiment_ is always an _administrative_ unit, and is commanded by a
commissioned officer who has the grade of _colonel_. The colonel is
charged with the proper administration of the supplies for the regiment,
and with preserving good order and promoting discipline. He takes every
opportunity to instruct both the officers and men in the principles and
details of all movements that ought in any case to be made by a
battalion. Upon the organization of a regiment, the company officers are
assigned to companies, and each company is designated by a letter of the
alphabet. Upon the recommendation of the captains, the colonel appoints
the non-commissioned officers of the companies. He appoints an adjutant
from the lieutenants of the regiment, and a non-commissioned staff from
the enlisted men, to assist him in his duties. He selects from the
lieutenants a quartermaster, whose appointment is confirmed by the
Secretary of War.
The elements of organization for the other three arms of service are
practically the same, being that of a company or similar body of men
under the command of a captain, and these units grouped together into a
battalion or regimental organization for administrative purposes. This
subdivision into companies and into regiments is most essential for
instruction in discipline.
_Discipline_ is an indispensable condition for the existence of a good
army. It imparts _cohesion_ and _flexibility_ to the armed mass. Without
discipline an army is only an armed mob over which a commander would
have no control, and upon which he could not rely in the execution of
his plans. When the army is to be mobilized the regiments are brought
together and organized into _brigades_ and _divisions_. Two or more
regiments form a brigade; two or more brigades form a division. A
general officer of the grade of _brigadier-general_ is assigned to the
command of a brigade, and one of the grade of _major-general_ to the
command of a division. These divisions and brigades may be composed
entirely of one arm, or they may be composed of troops belonging to all
four of the arms.
_The division_ is the unit of organization and administration of a
mobilized army, and is also the _tactical_ unit of the general in
command. When the army is very large, three or four divisions are joined
together and form an _army corps_. The officer commanding an army corps
should be of a higher grade than he who commands a division. This grade
in the U. S. army would be that of _lieutenant-general_.
_An army corps_ is most generally composed of all arms of service, and
is, to all intents and purposes, an army complete in itself. Two or more
army corps or armies would be under the command of the _general_, or of
a “general-in-chief.” There has arisen an organization forming an
essential part of every army, known as the _general staff_, and divided
into corps and departments to which are assigned special duties. In some
cases, the term “general staff” is limited to include only those
officers who are used by the general to communicate his orders, and to
inform him of the general and particular conditions of the troops; and
the term “staff department” or “supply department” is used to include
those officers whose duties are confined to distinct branches of service
having for their object the supply of troops. If the army is one of very
great size, the general ordinarily attaches to his headquarters a
representative of the three arms of artillery, cavalry, and engineers,
giving them the position of staff-officers with the name of “chief of
artillery,” “chief of cavalry,” etc. They are required to keep the
general informed of the state of supplies, and whatever concerns their
particular arm, in a similar manner to that required by the other
officers of the staff. The general also appoints from the subordinate
officers belonging to his command a certain number of _aides-de-camp_.
These officers are _ex officio_ adjutants-general, and receive orders
from the general himself. They are confidential officers, who are
supposed to be used only in delicate and difficult duties, where they
may in a degree represent the general. Hence, they are intrusted to
deliver verbal orders which cannot be intrusted with propriety to
enlisted men or to the ordinary means of communication.
_Proportion of Arms of Service._--The mass of a modern army is composed
of infantry. The amount of cavalry will depend upon the topographical
features of the country, being in some cases as much as one-fourth of
the infantry, and in others as little as one-tenth. The amount of light
artillery depends upon the character of the country. There should be at
least two guns to every thousand men. The quantity of heavy artillery,
or number of siege-batteries, which enter the composition of an army,
will depend to a great extent upon the plan of campaign and the probable
use for which they may be intended. The circumstances of the case in
each campaign will therefore decide as to the proportion to be employed.
The number of engineer troops will depend both on the nature of the
country and on the probable amount of work which will be required from
this class of troops. Each division should contain at least one company
of engineer troops. It is usual, if there be none, to detail one or more
companies of infantry to act as engineer soldiers; they are designated
as “pioneers.” These engineer troops, or troops acting in that capacity,
marching in the advance, make the roads practicable for the command by
repairing them, removing obstructions, etc. At the crossing of streams,
where bridges are to be made, or where existing bridges are to be
repaired to an extent requiring more knowledge of bridge construction
than that usually possessed by the pioneer, another detachment of troops
belonging to the engineer arm is brought forward to do the work. These
troops are known as _pontoniers_, and have special charge of bridge
construction for the army. They may be divided into two parts: one to
have charge of construction of temporary bridges, especially of floating
and trestle bridges, and construction of ferries; the other to have
charge of repairs of bridges which have been broken or injured by the
enemy, and where quick repair is of importance to an army’s movements.
These troops charged with bridge construction usually form a part of the
reserve, and are only attached to a division under peculiar
circumstances. There should be also in the reserve several companies of
sappers and miners; their number, like the heavy artillery, being
dependent upon the nature of the campaign.
_The army_, as a machine, is now ready to be used by the general. The
next step is to keep it in a condition so that it can be used; in other
words, to _preserve_ the fighting condition of the army. The discipline
and drill have been cared for, and with the organization just sketched
out, the general can move the whole mass as a unit in accordance with
his will. The army can be kept ready for use only by supplying all the
actual and necessary wants of the soldier, and by keeping him in comfort
and good health. To do this there must be ammunition, clothing, food,
shelter, medicines, surgical attendance, hospital comforts, etc.,
provided for his use. Also a good system of recruiting must be adopted,
by means of which the natural losses due to sickness and death may be
made good.
_The transportation_ of the munitions, equipments, provisions, hospital
supplies, tents, engineering tools, bridge equipage and boats, baggage,
cooking utensils, etc., necessary for the use of an army moving against
an enemy, requires the use of large numbers of wagons and a great number
of draught animals, which of course should not exceed the absolute
necessity of the service. These accompaniments to the army received from
the Romans the name of _impedimenta_, for the reason that they hindered
the movement of the army. These supply departments form important parts
of the composition of a modern army, and the method of executing the
duties assigned them constitutes an important branch of the “science and
art of war.”--_Prof. J. B. Wheeler._
=Organize.= To arrange or constitute in parts, each having a special
function, act, office, or relation; as, to organize an army, etc.
=Orgue= (Fr. _un orgue_). A term used to express that arrangement or
disposition of a certain quantity of musket-barrels in a row, which, by
means of a priming train of gunpowder, may be subjected to one general
explosion. This machine has been found extremely serviceable in the
defense of a low flank, a tenaille, or to prevent an enemy from crossing
the ditch of a fortified place.
=Orgues.= Are beams of wood hanging perpendicularly over the entrance of
a fortified town, which were formerly used as a portcullis, to be
dropped in case of any emergency. They are not now used.
=Orient.= The east or eastern part of the horizon. In surveying, _to
orient_ a plan signifies to make its situation or bearing with respect
to the four cardinal points.
=Oriflamme=, or =Auriflamme=. A banner which originally belonged to the
abbey of St. Denis, and was borne by the counts of Vexin, patrons of
that church, but which, after the country of Vexin fell into the hands
of the French crown, became the principal banner of the kingdom. It was
charged with a saltire wavy or, with rays issuing from the centre
crossways. In later times the oriflamme became the insignia of the
French infantry. The name seems also to have been given to other flags;
the oriflamme borne at Agincourt was an oblong red flag split into five
parts.
=Orihuela.= A town of Spain, in Valencia, on the Segura, 31 miles
southwest from Alicante. It was a place of some importance in the
Moorish invasion, and was held in 713 successfully by Theodoric against
Abd-el-Aziz after the battle of the Guadalete. It was conquered in 1265
by Don Jaime of Aragon for his father-in-law, Don Alonso, king of
Castile. The city was sacked in 1520 in the civil war at that time
raging, and again in the War of the Succession, 1706. It was held for
some time in 1837 by the Carlist general Forcadell.
=Orillon.= This may be described as a projection at the shoulder of a
bastion beyond the ordinary flank of a curved portion of rampart and
parapet, the curve being convex to the ditch. The orillon, introduced
during the 17th century, was generally used in conjunction with a
retired flank, made ordinarily with a curve concave to the ditch. Both
orillon and retired flank are now obsolete.
=Orissa.= An extensive province of Hindostan, in the Deccan. A race of
Hindoo princes governed the country till 1592, when they were conquered
by the viceroy of Akbar. The French, who had taken possession of a part
of the country long known as the Northern Circars, attempted to drive
the English (who had formed commercial settlements on the coast) out of
India. The result of the contest for supremacy in India between the
French and English is well known. The Mahrattas, who had seized a
portion of Orissa in 1740, were forced to surrender it to the English in
1803. The soldiers of the East India Company were marched into Orissa at
the commencement of the present century, and an engagement was
subsequently entered into between the Company and the native chiefs and
princes, by which the former bound themselves to perform certain
services for the country (as maintaining the river-banks in good
repair), while the latter engaged to pay a yearly tribute.
=Orizaba.= A town of Mexico, in the department of Vera Cruz, 60 miles
southwest from Vera Cruz. It was occupied by Gen. Prim, in command of
the Spanish troops that formed part of the expedition sent by England,
France, and Spain to Mexico in March, 1862. A conference was held here
shortly after the occupation of the town between the plenipotentiaries
of the three powers, when the English and Spanish commissioners
determined to withdraw their contingents from Mexico, in accordance with
the terms of the treaty of Soledad, while the French on the other hand
resolved to push on to the capital, to establish a settled government in
the country in lieu of that of Juarez.
=Orkney Islands= (anc. _Orcades_). A cluster of islands in the North
Sea, separated from the north coast of Scotland by the Pentland Firth.
From an early period the Norsemen resorted to these islands as a
convenient spot from which to make a descent on the Scotch and English
coasts. In 876 Harald Haarfager conquered both them and the Hebrides;
they were conquered by Magnus III. of Norway in 1499, and were ceded to
James III. in 1469.
=Orle.= In heraldry, one of the charges known under the charge of
sub-ordinaries, said to be the diminutive of a bordure, but differing
from it in being detached from the sides of the shield. Or an orle gules
was the coat borne by John Baliol. An orle of heraldic charges of any
kind denotes a certain number (generally eight) of these charges placed
in orle, as in the coat of the old Scottish family of Gladstanes of that
Ilk; argent, a savage’s head couped, distilling drops of blood proper,
thereon a bonnet composed of bay and holly leaves all proper, within an
orle of eight martlets sable.
=Orléans.= An important town of France, capital of the department of
Loiret, 75 miles south-southwest from Paris by railway. Orléans,
originally called _Genabum_, afterwards _Aureliani_ (probably from the
emperor Aurelian), was besieged by Attila in 451, but relieved by the
Romans, who here defeated Attila. It afterwards passed into the hands of
the Franks, was taken by the Northmen in 855, and again in 865. In 1428
it was besieged by the English under the Duke of Bedford, but was
delivered from the besiegers by the inspiriting exertions of Joan of
Arc, who on this account is also named the Maid of Orléans. In the civil
wars of the 16th century it was besieged in 1563 by the Duke of Guise,
who was assassinated before the walls. During the Franco-Prussian war,
1870-71, Orléans was occupied by the Germans, September 27, and
evacuated November 10, 1870.
=Ormskirk.= A town of England, county of Lancaster, 12 miles north by
east from Liverpool. Near this place, in 1644, the royalists were
defeated by the Parliamentary troops with great slaughter.
=Ormus=, or =Ormuz=. A small island in the strait of the same name, at
the entrance of the Persian Gulf, and within 10 miles of the Persian
coast. It is about 12 miles in circumference, and belongs to the sultan
of Muscat. It was occupied by the Portuguese in the 16th century. The
town was demolished in 1622 by Shah Abbas, assisted by the English, and
its trade was removed to Gombroon.
=Ornamental Fireworks.= See PYROTECHNY.
=Ornaments, Military.= Are those parts of the dress of a soldier which
are more for appearance or distinction than for absolute use, as plates
for belts, trimmings, etc.
=Orneæ.= An ancient town in Argolis, near the frontiers of the territory
of Philius, and 120 stadia from Argus. It was originally independent of
Argos, but was subdued by the Argives in the Peloponnesian war, 415 B.C.
=Orteil.= See BERME.
=Ortelsburg.= A town of East Prussia, in the government of Königsberg,
80 miles southeast of Königsberg. Several engagements took place here
between the French and Russians in 1807.
=Orthez=, or =Orthes=. A town of France, in the department of the Lower
Pyrenees, situated on the Gave de Pau, 25 miles northwest from Pau. It
suffered much during the civil wars in France after the Revolution. Near
this town the British and Spanish armies commanded by Wellington
defeated the French under Soult, February 27, 1814.
=Ortona.= An ancient city of Latium, situated on the confines of the
Æquian territory. It is twice mentioned during the wars of the Romans
with the latter people: first in 481 B.C., when it was besieged and
taken by the Æquians; and again in 457 B.C., when the Æquians by a
sudden attack took Corbio, and after putting to the sword the Roman
garrison there, made themselves masters of Ortona also; but the consul
Horatius engaged and defeated them at Mount Algidus, and after driving
them from that position, recovered possession both of Corbio and Ortona.
No mention of it is found in later times, and it probably ceased to
exist.
=Orvieto.= Called in the time of the Longobards _Urbs Vetus_, of which
its present name is a corruption, a city of Italy, province of Perugia;
is of Etruscan origin, but of its early history nothing is known. It has
been a place of residence and retreat in turbulent times of upwards of
thirty popes.
=Osage Indians.= A tribe of aborigines of Dakota stock who are located,
to the number of about 2500, on a reservation in Indian Territory. They
are divided into eight bands,--the Beavers, Big Chiefs, Big Hills, Black
Dogs, Clammores, Half-Breeds, Little Osages, and White Hairs, and have
made but little progress in civilization.
=Oschatz.= A town of Saxony, circle of Leipsic, 31 miles east-southeast
from Leipsic. It was here that the treaty of peace was concluded between
Frederick the Great and the empress Maria Theresa which put an end to
the Seven Years’ War, in 1763.
=Osci=, or =Opici=. One of the most ancient tribes of Italy; they
inhabited the centre of the peninsula, from which they had driven out
the Siculi. Their principal settlement was in Campania, but we also find
them in parts of Latium and Samnium. They were subdued by the Sabines
and Tyrrhenians, and disappeared from history at a comparatively early
period. They were called in their own language _Uskus_.
=Osnabruck=, or =Osnaburg=. A town in Hanover, 71 miles from Hanover.
Here was concluded the peace of Westphalia in 1648.
=Ossun.= A town of France, in the department of the Upper Pyrenees, 7
miles southwest from Tarbes. A great battle was fought with the
Saracens, in the 8th century, in its neighborhood.
=Ostend.= A fortified seaport town of Belgium, province of West
Flanders, situated on the coast of the North Sea, 67 miles northwest
from Brussels. During the war of the Dutch against Spain, Ostend
sustained a memorable siege for more than three years (1601-4). So
tremendous was the bombardment that the noise of the Spanish artillery
is said to have been occasionally heard at London. At last, after a loss
of 50,000 men on the part of the garrison, and 80,000 on that of the
Spaniards, the town surrendered on honorable terms, and the Spanish
general Spinola was put in possession of Ostend, now reduced to heaps of
ruin. On the death of Charles II. of Spain, the French seized Ostend;
but in 1706, after the battle of Ramilies, it was retaken by the allies.
It was again taken by the French in 1745, but restored in 1748. In 1756
the French garrisoned this town for the empress queen Maria Theresa. In
1792 the French once more took Ostend, which they evacuated in 1793, but
regained in 1794. The English destroyed the works of the Bruges Canal;
but the wind shifting before they could re-embark, they surrendered to
the French, May 19, 1798.
=Ostrolenka.= A town of Poland, on the Narew. Near here the French
repulsed the Russians under Essen, February 16, 1807, and an indecisive
and bloody engagement took place between the Poles under Skrzynecki and
the Russians under Diebitsch, May 26, 1831.
=Ostrovno.= A village of Russia, in the government of Mohilev, 90 miles
northwest from Mohilev. The Russians were defeated here in 1812 by the
French.
=Oswego, Fort.= See FORT ONTARIO.
=Oswestry.= A town of England, in Shropshire, 15 miles northwest from
Shrewsbury. Oswestry is said to derive its name (originally
_Oswaldstree_) from Oswald, the king of Northumbria, who was slain here
in the early part of the 7th century, in a battle fought with the
ferocious Penda, king of Mercia.
=Otaheite=, or =Tahiti=. The largest of a cluster of islands in the
South Pacific Ocean, that were frequently visited by Capt. Cook, and
named by him the Society Islands. In 1799, King Pomare ceded the
district of Matavai to some English missionaries. Queen Pomare was
compelled to put herself under the protection of France, September 7,
1843. She retracted, and Otaheite and the neighboring islands were taken
possession of by Admiral Dupetit-Thuars in the name of the French king,
November, 1843. The French imprisoned Mr. Prichard, the English consul,
March 5, 1844, but the act was censured in France.
=Otchakow.= A small town and seaport of South Russia, in the government
of Kherson, 40 miles east-northeast from Odessa. During the Russian wars
with Turkey in the 18th century, Otchakow was alternately the property
of each, until it was taken by Potemkin in 1788, and definitively
annexed to the Russian dominions.
=Otoes.= A tribe of Indians of Dakota stock who reside with the
Missourias on a reservation in Nebraska. They are generally peaceful and
industrious, and number with their kindred tribe about 450.
=Otomis=, or =Othomis=. An ancient tribe of Indians who are said to have
inhabited the Valley of Mexico before the Aztecs. They are now scattered
through different parts of the country, and having lost all tribal
distinctions are become amalgamated with other Mexican races.
=Otricoli.= A town of Italy, 37 miles north of Rome. The Neapolitans
were defeated by the French in its neighborhood in 1798.