Bread 26.5 ounces 26.5 ounces.
Meat 6. „ 8.2 „
Rice 3.2 „ 4.22 „
Or groats 4.21 „ 5.28 „
Or peas or beans 8.22 „ 10.6 „
Or potatoes 53.8 „ 70.5 „
Salt .87 ounce .87 ounce.
Coffee .468 „ .468 „
26.57 oz. of anhydrous food. 28.26 oz. of anhydrous food.
_War Ration._
Bread 26.5 ounces.
Or biscuit 17. „
One { Fresh beef 13. „
of { Salt beef 9. „
these. { Bacon 5.75 „
Rice 4.4 „
One { Groats 4.4 „
of { Beans 8.8 „
these. { Flour 8.8 „
Potatoes 50. „
Salt 8.7 „
Coffee, pure .7 ounce.
Coffee, roasted 1. „
40.2 ounces anhydrous food.
RUSSIA.
169 Fast Days.
196 Meat Days 117 days 52 days
with schtschi schtschi and peas and
and gruel. gruel. gruel.
Meat 7. oz.
Bread 42. oz. 42. oz. 42. oz.
Sour-krout 14.5 fl. oz. 14.5 fl. oz.
Chervil 1.1 oz.
Peas 2.33 oz.
Buckwheat 1.87 fl. oz. 1.87 fl. oz. 1.87 fl. oz.
Oats .5 fl. oz. .7 fl. oz. .28 fl. oz.
Flour .7 fl. oz. .7 fl. oz.
Onions .2 fl. oz. .3 fl. oz. .5 fl. oz.
Vegetable oil .25 fl. oz.
Butter .6 oz.
Lard .5 oz. .5 oz.
Salt 1.86 oz. 1.86 oz. 1.86 oz.
Pepper .07 oz. .07 oz. .07 oz.
Bay leaves .07 oz. .07 oz. .07 oz.
Water 70. fl. oz. 70. fl. oz. 70. fl. oz.
(Buckwheat cooked into gruel.)
_Sepoy Ration._
Flour 16. ounces.
Rice 16. „
Butter or vegetable oil 2. „
Peas 4.25 „
Salt 1.33 ounce.
34.9 ounces of anhydrous food.
=Ratisbon=, or =Regensburg=. A town of Bavaria, on the right bank of the
Danube, 67 miles north-northeast of Munich. In 1524 the Roman Catholic
powers of Germany assembled here, and formed a league against the
Protestants; and near it, in 1809, Napoleon I. was wounded in a battle
in which he forced the Austrians to retreat.
=Raucoux= (Belgium). Here Marshal Saxe and the French army totally
defeated the allies, October 11, 1746.
=Ravage.= Desolation by violence; violent ruin or destruction;
devastation; havoc; waste; ruin; as, the ravages of an army. Also, to
lay waste by force; to desolate violently; to commit havoc or
devastation upon; to plunder.
=Ravelin.= In fortification, is the work constructed beyond the main
ditch, opposite the curtain, composed of two faces, forming a salient
angle, and two demi-gorges, formed by the counterscarp. It is separated
from the covered way by a ditch which runs into the main ditch. See
DEMI-LUNE.
=Ravenna= (anc. _Ravenna_). An important city of Central Italy, 43 miles
east-southeast from Bologna, 4¹⁄₂ miles from the Adriatic. Augustus made
it a first-class seaport and naval station. It was taken by Odoacer,
then by Theodoric, and by Totila; was subdued by the Lombards in 752,
and their king, Astolphus, in 754, surrendered it to Pepin, king of
France. In 1275, Guido da Polenta conquered it. Ravenna was afterwards
taken by the Venetians, who kept it till 1509. Under the walls of
Ravenna a battle was fought between the French under Gaston de Foix
(duke of Nemours and nephew of Louis XII.) and the Spanish and Papal
armies. The confederate army was cut to pieces. De Foix perished in the
moment of his victory, and his death closed the good fortune of the
French in Italy. Ravenna became a part of the kingdom of Italy in 1860.
=Ravine.= In field fortification, a deep hollow, usually formed by a
great flood, or long-continued running of water; frequently turned to
advantage in the field.
=Raw.= Unseasoned, unripe in skill, wanting knowledge in tactics.
=Raw Troops.= Are inexperienced soldiers, or men who have been little
accustomed to the use of arms.
=Razant.= See RASANTE.
=Razed.= Works or fortifications are said to be razed when they are
totally demolished.
=Razzia.= A plundering and destructive incursion.
=Readiness.= A state of alertness or preparation; thus, to hold a corps
in readiness, is to have it prepared in consequence of some previous
order to march at a moment’s notice.
=Reading.= A town of England, in Berkshire, on the Kennet, 36 miles west
by south from London. In 871 it was in possession of the Danes, who,
after resisting an assault of the West Saxons, were in the following
year obliged to evacuate it. In 1006 they again made their appearance,
and burned the town. In the civil war of the 17th century Reading was at
different times in the possession of both parties, and suffered much
during the contest.
=Ready.= In tactics, a word of command in firing, being a contraction of
_make ready_.
=Reamer.= See ORDNANCE, CONSTRUCTION OF, BORING.
=Rear.= In general acceptation, anything situated or placed behind
another.
=Rear.= The direction opposite the enemy. The opposite of front.
=Rear Assembling-bar.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.
=Rear Foot-board.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.
=Rear Open Order.= An open order taken by moving the rear rank
backwards.
=Rear-chest.= See ORDNANCE, CARRIAGES FOR, THE CAISSON.
=Rear-front.= The rear rank of a body of troops when faced about and
standing in that position.
=Rear-guard.= A detachment of troops whose duty it is to protect the
rear of an army.
=Rear-line.= The line in the rear of an army.
=Rearward.= The last troop; the rear-guard.
=Rebel.= One who rebels; one who revolts from the government to which he
owes allegiance, either by openly renouncing the authority of that
government, or by taking arms and openly opposing it; one who defies and
seeks to overthrow the authority to which he is rightfully subject; a
revolter; an insurgent.
=Rebel.= Acting in revolt; rebellious; as, rebel troops.
=Rebel.= To revolt; to take up arms traitorously against the state or
government; to renounce the authority of the laws and government to
which one owes allegiance.
=Rebellion.= The act of rebelling; open and avowed renunciation of the
authority of the government to which one owes allegiance; the taking of
arms traitorously to resist the authority of lawful government; revolt;
insurrection.
=Rebellious.= Engaged in or marked by rebellion; traitorously renouncing
the authority and dominion of the government to which allegiance is due;
violently resisting government or lawful authority; as, rebellious
troops.
=Rebounding-lock.= A gun-lock in which the hammer rebounds to half-cock
after striking the cap; specially used in sporting arms.
=Rebuffo= (_Fr._). A bastard cannon, or three-fourth carthoum (or
karthaune), a 36-pounder of 15 calibers long; according to Ufano a
45-pounder.
=Recall.= A call on the trumpet, bugle, or drum, by which the soldiers
are recalled from duty, labor, etc.
=Recaptor.= One who retakes; one who takes a prize which had been
previously taken.
=Recapture.= The act of retaking; especially the retaking of a prize or
goods from a captor. That which is captured back; a prize retaken.
=Recast.= To mold anew; to cast anew; to throw into a new form or shape;
to reconstruct; as, to recast cannon.
=Receipt.= A voucher or acknowledgment, which should always be given
when official papers are received. When flags of truce are the bearers
of a parcel or a letter, the officer commanding an outpost should give a
receipt for it, and require the party to depart forthwith.
=Receive.= In a military sense, to await the approach of a friend or
foe. _To receive an enemy_, is to make the best disposition possible of
your troops, for the purpose of meeting the attack of an advancing
enemy.
=Recharge.= A renewal of the charge or attack.
=Rechaud= (_Fr._). A chafing-dish, or pan used for various purposes,
particularly during a siege. Rechauds are filled with burning materials
and hung in different parts of the walls, so as to throw light into the
ditches, and to prevent surprises.
=Rechute= (_Fr._). Literally means a second fall; but in fortification
it signifies a greater elevation of the rampart in those parts where it
is likely to be commanded.
=Recoil.= In gunnery, is the retrograde motion impressed upon cannon by
the discharge. The gas produced by the ignition of the charge in the
bore, expanding with equal force in every direction, finds only two ways
of escape (the muzzle and the vent); the pressure upon these points will
therefore cease while it will be proportionally increased upon the parts
directly opposite, that is, the bottom of the bore and that portion
directly opposite the vent, producing in the first case the recoil, and
in the other, indirectly, the dipping of the muzzle. The distance of the
recoil depends entirely upon the nature and inclination of the ground
upon which the carriage stands, the situation of the trunnions, angle of
elevation, comparative weight of the gun and carriage, and upon the
strength of the charge. The recoil has no appreciable effect upon the
flight of a projectile, the latter being expelled from the gun before it
has recoiled a fraction of an inch.
The recoil of heavy guns fired with large charges is a serious
consideration in gunnery. The recoil must be checked in a comparatively
short space, and yet checked too suddenly the shock destroys the
carriage as well as platform. Various methods have been tried. The
truck-wheels upon which the top carriage runs in and out of battery are
provided with eccentrics, which are thrown out of gear to produce
sliding friction,--but this alone is not sufficient in most cases.
Counter-mortars are sometimes clamped on the chassis-rail against the
carriage, but this is objectionable, as it tends to destroy the chassis.
Friction-plates, with clamping attachments to the carriage between them,
and extending full length of the chassis, have also been tried, but the
buckling of the plates soon ruined them. This plan has been recently
revived, and the buckling prevented by interposing india-rubber between
the rear ends of the plates and the transom of the chassis. For the most
approved methods, see AIR-CYLINDERS and HYDRAULIC LOADING APPARATUS.
=Recommend.= To commend to the favorable notice of another.
Non-commissioned officers of companies are appointed by the colonel upon
the recommendation of company commanders. Recommendation of members of a
court-martial in favor of the person being tried, is introduced after
the finding and sentence are closed and authenticated. The
recommendation should distinctly set forth the reasons which prompt
it.--_Hough._
=Reconnoissance.= The reconnoitring or examination of any tract of
country preparatory to the march of an army, in order either to take up
quarters for the season, or commence operations against an opposing
enemy.
The _military reconnoissance_ of a country is generally performed under
the protection of an armed force. It is considered as one of the most
essential operations connected with the tactics of the field, and serves
as the basis of every movement or combination which it may be proposed
to make. Those who are charged with this duty should be habituated to
the performance of topographical surveys; in the first place, by the
most accurate methods, and with the best instruments; and, secondly, by
such methods as admit of being practiced rapidly, on foot or on
horseback. In these cases a compass held in the hand must be used for
observing the angles, and the distances must be obtained by pacing, or
be merely estimated by the eye. The nature of the roads should be
described with indications denoting that they are passable for
artillery, for cavalry, or merely for infantry; and if defective,
estimates should be made of the materials and time requisite for
repairing them. In contemplating rivers and marshes as means of
retarding an advance of the enemy, it should be ascertained and reported
whether by being dry in summer, or frozen in winter, they may not at
times cease to be obstacles. It should be also stated how, on a retreat,
the roads may be blocked up, the fords rendered impassable, or the
bridges destroyed.
=Reconnoitre.= To make oneself acquainted by personal inspection, as far
as may be practicable, with the enemy’s position and movements; also, to
survey, and draw in a rapid manner, ground of importance to operations
of war, not represented in existing maps, with sufficient accuracy or
minuteness; and likewise to particularize the banks of rivers, canals,
streams, mountains, passes, positions, villages, forts, and redoubts.
=Record.= To preserve by committing to writing; to make official note
of; as, to record the proceedings of a court.
=Record.= An authentic copy; a statement of the proceedings of a court
or board; a written history; an official account or register.
=Recorder.= One who keeps a record; specifically, the officer who
registers the proceedings of a board or minor court.
=Recover.= In tactics, a word of command in firing whereby the piece is
brought from the position of aim to that of ready.
=Recreant.= Crying for mercy, as a combatant in the trial of battle;
yielding; cowardly. Also, one who yields in combat, and cries craven;
one who begs for mercy; a mean-spirited, cowardly wretch.
=Recruit.= To supply with new men, as an army; to fill up or make up by
enlistment. Also, a person enlisted to make up deficiency in an army; a
newly-enlisted soldier.
=Recruiting.= The act of obtaining men for service. The people of the
United States and Great Britain resemble each other in their jealousy of
large standing armies and their abhorrence of a system of universal
service, as well as in their warlike spirit and self-sacrificing
patriotism. The organization of the English army, based upon voluntary
enlistment, has been pronounced by foreign officers of thorough
education and acute observation as unworthy of scientific study,--that
is, for home application, although the United States have borrowed a
great deal from it,--in the writer’s opinion, to their detriment. In
Great Britain the whole recruiting has been placed under the immediate
direction of the adjutant-general since 1802. For this purpose, the
country has been divided into recruiting districts, at the head of which
is placed an inspecting field-officer with the duty of superintending
all recruiting parties in his district, and of approving the recruits
brought. Staff-officers and sergeants of the Pensioner Force are also
occasionally intrusted with the obtaining of recruits. The United States
recruiting service is conducted by the adjutant-general, under the
direction of the Secretary of War. Recruiting officers consist generally
of captains and lieutenants of the line, who must not permit any man to
be deceived or inveigled into the service by false representations. If
the recruit is a minor, his parents or guardians must, if possible, be
informed of the minor’s wish to enlist, and their written consent
obtained therefor. Any male person above the age of eighteen, and under
thirty-five years, being effective, able-bodied, sober, free from
disease, of good character and habits, with a competent knowledge of the
English language, may be enlisted. No man having a wife or child can be
enlisted in time of peace without special authority from the
adjutant-general’s office. The Prussian system is based upon the theory
that military service is not a trade or craft, to be followed by a
portion of the population, but a duty owed by every male citizen to his
country. For further particulars of this system, see LANDWEHR. The
Prussian system has been adopted by all other states of the German
empire, and also by most of the other European nations.
=Recruiting Flag.= See FLAG, STORM.
=Recruitment.= The act or business of recruiting or raising new supplies
of men for an army.
=Recursant.= In heraldry, moving or coursing backward;--said of an eagle
displayed with the back towards the spectator’s face.
=Red Hand.= In heraldry, a sinister hand erect, open, and couped, or the
wrist gules, being the arms of the province of Ulster, was granted to
the baronets of England and of Ireland as their distinguishing badge, on
the institution of that order in 1611, and is borne by the baronets of
Great Britain and of the United Kingdom. It is assumed into the armorial
coat, and may be borne upon a canton, or on an escutcheon, which may be
placed either in the middle chief or in the fess point, so as least to
interfere with the charges composing the family arms.
=Red River Settlement.= Is in British North America, between Lakes
Superior and Winnepeg. While the proposed transfer to the crown
(1869-70) of the rights of the Hudson’s Bay Company was pending, it was
the scene of much contention and violence. The hasty action of the
Canadian authorities incensed the French-speaking population, who, led
by Louis Riel, organized a force, imprisoned their opponents (English
and Scotch), seized on Fort Garry, established a provisional government,
robbed the strong-box, and dictated terms to the governor of the
Hudson’s Bay Company, who was obliged to submit to them. In July, 1870,
a military force suddenly appeared in the province, and Riel fearing
capture, escaped, and thus closed the insurrection.
=Red Tape.= The tape used in public offices for tying up documents,
etc.; hence, official formality.
=Redan.= Is the simplest work in field fortification. It consists of two
parapets whose faces join in forming a salient angle toward the enemy,
like a letter V, in which the apex is to the front. Regarded by itself,
the redan is a work of very little strength, since there is no flanking
fire to protect its faces, and nothing to prevent an enemy from forcing
an entrance at the gorge; but redans are useful in many positions, and
the rapidity with which they may be constructed renders them favorites
with engineers and generals. A row of redans along an exposed front of
an army adds much to its strength, the troops behind protecting the
gorge, and the redans flanking each other. It forms an excellent defense
for a bridgehead, the gorge being covered by the river. Redans figured
largely in Wellington’s works for defending Lisbon in 1810. The redan of
Sebastopol in 1855 was the principal point of the English attack, and
the scene of two bloody repulses by the Russians in June and September.
=Redcoat.= A soldier who wears a red coat; an English soldier.
=Red-hot Shot.= Are cannon-balls heated to redness, and fired from
cannon at shipping, magazines, wooden buildings, etc., to combine
destruction by fire with battering by concussion. In modern warfare,
shells containing molten iron are intended to be used in lieu of red-hot
shot; but they have not yet been tested in actual practice, although a
similar device was attempted unsuccessfully in 1863 by the U. S. forces
when besieging Charleston.
=Redinha.= A village of Portugal, province of Estremadura, the scene of
an affair between the British under Lord Wellington, and the French
retreating army under Marshal Masséna, in 1811.
=Redoubt.= Is a small fort of varying shape, constructed for a temporary
purpose, and usually without flanking defenses. The term is vague in its
acceptation, being applied equally to detached posts and to a strong
position within another fortress. Redoubts are made square, pentagonal,
and even circular. Each redoubt has parapet, ditch, scarps, banquette,
etc., as in regular fortification; but it is commonly rather roughly
constructed, haste and unprofessional labor precluding mathematical
accuracy. The entrance may be by a cutting through the parapet, the
cutting being covered within by a traverse, or, preferably, by an
excavated gallery leading into the ditch, and thence by a ramp through
the counterscarp. For the sake of flanking the ditch, and preventing an
assaulting party from forming in it, caponnières of timber, loop-holed,
are sometimes formed; or, if the soil be stiff or chalky, a gallery may
be cut behind the counterscarp, and loop-holed towards the ditch. In
some modern redoubts, the line of each side is broken to afford flanking
defense. Redoubts have the weak feature of not defending their own
ditches, and of being approached at their salient angles with
comparative impunity. They are therefore not adapted to a protracted
defense, but as temporary field-works, or in war of posts, they are
often of incalculable importance. Troops whose stability in open field
is doubtful are especially strengthened by redoubts in their line.
Redoubts are particularly useful in fortifying the tops of hills, or
commanding passes, or where the object is to occupy a hostile territory,
or to feel the way gradually through a wooded country.
=Redoubtable.= Formidable; to be dreaded; terrible to foes; as, a
redoubtable hero; hence, valiant; often in contempt or burlesque.
=Redout Kalé=, or =Redoot Kalé=. A flourishing, fortified seaport of
Russia, in Trans-Caucasia, stands on the eastern shore of the Black Sea,
about 15 miles north of Poti. During the Crimean war, the Russian
garrison at Redout Kalé, finding the fort invested by Sir Edmund Lyons,
with several men-of-war, set fire to the town, May 19, 1854.
=Redressing Wrongs.= See APPENDIX, ARTICLES OF WAR, 29, 30.
=Reduce a Place.= Is to oblige the commander to surrender it to the
besiegers, by capitulation. _To reduce the square_, is to restore or
bring back a battalion or battalions, which have been formed in a hollow
or oblong square, to their natural situation in line or column. _To
reduce to the ranks_, is to degrade, as to reduce a non-commissioned
officer, for misconduct, to the station of a private soldier.
=Reduce, To.= To degrade to a lower rank.
=Reduced.= In a military sense, is to be taken off the establishment,
and to cease to receive pay as soldiers. When a regiment is reduced, the
officers are generally put upon half-pay. Sometimes the corps are
reduced, and the officers remain upon full pay. This happens at the
close of a war, when the standing army of the country is confined to a
certain number of battalions. Hence is derived the expression, _in_ and
_out_ of the _break_. _In the break_, is the liability of being reduced.
_Out of the break_, is the certainty of being kept upon the
establishment.
=Reduit.= In fortification, is a central or retired work within any
other work, intended to afford the garrison a last retreat, whence they
may capitulate. It is commonly of masonry, loop-holed, and often
circular. Many engineers doubt the use of reduits altogether, as
blocking up the working space, being themselves inconvenient for the
men, and incapable of protracted defense, while they frequently mask the
fire of other works more to the rear.
=Re-embark.= To embark or go aboard of a ship again.
=Re-embattle.= To array again for battle; to arrange again in the order
of battle.
=Re-engage.= To engage again; to enlist a second time.
=Re-enlist.= To enlist again. In the U. S. army any non-commissioned
officer, musician, or private soldier, who re-enlists within one month
after the date of discharge from first enlistment, receives $2 per month
in addition to the monthly pay he was receiving prior to discharge; and
also $1 per month additional after each subsequent re-enlistment so long
as he shall remain continuously in the army.
=Re-enlistment.= A renewed enlistment.
=Re-entering Angle.= See ANGLE.
=Re-entering Place of Arms.= In fortification, is an enlargement of the
covered way of the fortress, between a bastion and a ravelin; its rear
coinciding with the counterscarp of the ditch, and its front consisting
usually of two faces of the glacis, which are disposed at angles of
about 100° with the glacis before the neighboring bastion and ravelin.
It serves as a place for assembling troops previously to making sorties;
and the fire from its faces serves to defend the approaches to the
salient parts in front of the collateral works.
=Rees.= A town of Rhenish Prussia, 12 miles southeast from Cleves. This
town was taken by the Dutch in 1614, and by the French in 1678.
=Reflection, Angle of.= Whether the instance be a ray of light or a
cannon-ball, the angle of reflection will always be found equal to the
angle of incidence.
=Re-form, To.= In a military sense is, after some manœuvre or evolution,
to bring a line to its natural order by aligning it on some given point.
Also, to restore order among broken troops.
=Reformado.= An officer was formerly so called, who for some disgrace
was deprived of his command, but retained his rank, and perhaps his pay.