THE ARMY AND NAVY
Everybody in Norway, that is every man, has to serve five years in the
army, so that every citizen is a soldier--the first year after the
twenty-third birthday seventy days, and thirty days or so each year
thereafter for four years more. The organization has a nominal
strength of 80,000 men of three divisions known as the landstrom, or
reserves (25,000); the landvern, or militia (55,000), and the opbud,
or regulars, who numbered about 5,000, garrison the different
fortresses along the coast. Every able-bodied Norwegian, except pilots
and clergymen, is obliged to serve in any position to which he is
assigned by the king, who is commander-in-chief. The sailors and
fishermen are enrolled in the navy and must serve aboard a man-of-war
at least twelve months. The land forces require five months' service
for infantry, seven months for cavalry and artillery, and six months
for engineers, which is distributed over a period of five years.
Training camps are established every summer in convenient localities
from two to three months. Every man capable of bearing arms is in time
of war liable to do service in the reserves, from the eighteenth to
the fiftieth year of age.
The organization is complete throughout the nation, so that an army
of 80,000 men can be mobilized in a few days. Every cavalryman and
artilleryman is required to bring a horse with him when he is called
to camp, and the arsenals contain a complete equipment of arms and
accoutrements. The non-commissioned officers are former members of
the regular army, in which they must have served three years in the
infantry and cavalry or four years in artillery and engineers. During
this period they are given a practical education in books and in the
mechanical duties of the soldier. They are taught to repair guns,
manufacture powder, make harness, shoe horses, and do everything else
that is likely to come within their experience in the field.
This training is highly valued by the young men of the country,
particularly by boys from the farms, because it gives them a certain
social standing, the right to wear a uniform, and a corresponding
amount of influence in the community. This regular army school takes
in about 1,700 young men every year.
The officers are educated in a military college. The complete course
covers five years for the staff, artillery, and engineer corps.
Candidates must first have graduated from one of the government
technical schools. The infantry and cavalry course is three years.
Graduates are appointed second lieutenants in the regular army, and
are promoted through the regular grades.
The army of Norway costs the government about 14,000,000 kroner, or
$3,800,000 a year, which is an average of $1.70 per capita of the
population, or half the tax paid by the English and Germans. The last
budget was about $1,000,000 larger than usual, for the purpose of
erecting new fortresses upon the southern coast. All the principal
seaports are already fortified, and there is an excellent system of
torpedo defense in the different fjords, but there is a remarkable
public apprehension concerning the intentions of Russia; and, mindful
of the fate of Finland, the Norwegians are preparing to resist any
aggressiveness on the part of the czar. It is not disputed that Russia
desires a winter port on her northern coast for St. Petersburg and
Kronstadt are always closed by the ice for five and sometimes six
months in the year. The Norwegian fjords never freeze. They are
protected by the monstrous mountains, and the water is tempered
by warm currents that flow in from the gulf stream. The national
apprehension of both Norway and Sweden that Russia covets one of their
seaports has existed a good many years. The bugbear has appeared at
intervals for half a century, and a great deal of money has been
expended in preparations to meet it. The people are, therefore,
cordially patriotic in their support of the army, although many of
them emigrate to the United States to avoid military service.
Norway has a small but efficient navy, composed of third and fourth
class cruisers, monitors, small gunboats and torpedo boats, forty-six
in all, aggregating 29,000 tons, 53,000 horse-power, carry 174 guns,
and manned by 140 officers and 1,000 men. The officers are educated in
naval schools, with a five-year course for regulars and three
years for the reserves, which include all the merchant sailors and
fishermen.
Norway has taken an active part in the promotion of international
arbitration, and has sent delegates to every conference on that
subject. The storthing, in a decided manner, has repeatedly expressed
its belief in that method of settling disputes, and in correspondence
with the Russian government has laid a foundation that may be useful
in case the czar, under any pretext, should use aggressive measures in
this direction. So much interest has been shown in the question
that Alfred Nobel, the Swedish philanthropist, and the inventor
of dynamite, who made his money manufacturing that most powerful
explosive, by his will authorized the members of the Norwegian
storthing to award a prize of $40,000 annually to the person who, in
their judgment, during the preceding year, shall have done the most
to promote peace among nations and the adoption of the plan of
arbitration in the settlement of international differences.
For many years the chief political issue in Sweden has been the
increase of the army and the military service required of each
citizen. The king finally won, and in 1901 a law was passed increasing
the term of service from ninety days to eight and twelve months. The
nation claims that period in the life of every able-bodied man, and it
is given more or less reluctantly.
Every male citizen is enrolled in the army, and at the time when he
becomes twenty-one years of age, he is required to report himself at
the military headquarters nearest home, where he submits to a physical
examination, and if accepted, is assigned to the proper company and
regiment of militia, and directed to report for duty to his immediate
commander. The small number of persons rejected for disability is good
testimony to the health and vigor of the race. Severe penalties are
placed upon those who attempt to escape military service by feigning
illness or maiming themselves, but it is said there are still men who
would cut off one or two of their fingers and run risk of spending
four years in the penetentiary in preference to spending a couple of
months every year under military instruction. The military spirit in
Sweden is not strong, although history shows that there are no better
fighters in the human family, and it is remarkable to watch the high
degree of efficiency to which green boys from the farms can be brought
after a few weeks of drill and discipline.
The regular army of Sweden oh a peace footing is composed of 34,329
enlisted men, 3,729 officers, 1,655 musicians, 840 engineers, and
623 members of the staff, making a total effective fighting force of
39,114. Of these 6,891 are cavalry and 3,432 artillery.
These forces compose the garrisons at Stockholm and other principal
cities of the country, and are at all times under arms. The militia,
divided into regiments and companies according to location, numbers
181,000 men, and is subject to call by the king at all hours and under
all circumstances. Each member of the militia, as I have said, must
serve a certain time in the army, eight months for infantry and twelve
months for cavalry and artillery, the service being extended over the
period of five years. During this five years a man spends from two to
four months each year in a garrison or camp, according to the judgment
of his commanding officers, when he receives the nominal pay of the
private in the regular army. He has no option as to the time of the
annual period or service. He may be asked to remain in the army for
eight or twelve months continuously; it all depends upon the plans of
the war office.
When a man has served his time in the militia, he is given a
certificate to that effect, which exempts him from further active
military service, and makes him a member of the reserves, which number
203,000 men, all of whom have served in the militia, and are subject
to the summons of the king whenever the country is invaded by foreign
foe. With local troubles they have nothing to do. The militia is
considered sufficient for any such emergency, but under the Swedish
system the effective force at the command of the king in case of
foreign invasion is something like 420,000 men.
There are a lot of picturesque old castles and fortresses on the coast
of Sweden in which garrisons are still maintained, but they would not
last an hour if attacked by modern guns and projectiles. They are
reinforced, however, by earthworks, with the very best artillery.
Swedish guns rank among the highest, and several Swedish patents in
ordnance have been already adopted by the fortification board of
the United States. All the harbors are protected by torpedoes, and
Stockholm is absolutely impregnable from the sea, being situated upon
a fjord or bay that can not be entered except through passages that
are easily defended.
The navy of Sweden is comparatively small, but for its numerical
strength it is probably the most effective in the world. At least that
is the opinion of competent critics. The total force numbers 4,500
officers and men on a peace footing, which may be increased to 8,500
from the reserve on a few hours' notice. The fleet consists of
fourteen first-class cruisers and battle ships, four second- and nine
third-class, five torpedo catchers, twenty-six torpedo boats, and
twenty gunboats of small tonnage, the armament of the fleet being 290
guns and ninety-seven rapid-firing guns. All the vessels were built in
Sweden.
Every Swede is a sailor. He is brought up on the water, and taught
in childhood to swim and to sail a boat, and, although the shipping
industry is not so extensive as in Norway, the national interest in
aquatic sports is probably greater and more general than in any other
nation. The long line of seacoast and the 1,100 lakes within Swedish
territory gives abundant opportunity for the exercise of this
inclination. Hence in the case of war, the navy could be recruited
indefinitely with competent men.
King Oscar took a deep personal interest in naval affairs, because his
early life was spent in the navy, his commission as lieutenant bearing
the date of June 19, 1845. When he was called to the throne, he at
once commenced to plan for improvement of that branch of the service,
and for many years was virtually his own minister of marine. He did
much to encourage the maritime spirit among the people, being honorary
president of the Royal Yacht Club, and presided over its meetings,
which were sometimes held in the palace to suit his convenience. He
took an active part in the organization and promotion of the naval
reserve, and never lost an opportunity to show his zeal in the
development of the shipping industry and the aquatic pastimes.
Nor was the king a paper sailor. On special occasions he showed great
bravery and presence of mind at sea, and of his sixty decorations and
medals he valued none higher than that which was awarded him by the
Humane Society of France in 1862, when he saved the lives of three
people at the risk of his own.
The Swedish militia is commanded by officers of the regular army. No
man can receive a commission in the militia unless he has spent at
least sixteen months in the military academy and passed the required
examinations. About a thousand young men are graduated each year from
the several schools situated in different parts of the country, which
are a part of the regular educational system of the nation. Thus the
government has at its command abundant material for the military
organization. The officers are promoted as vacancies occur, are
retired on half pay when they are aged or disabled--generals at 65
years, colonels at 60, lieutenant colonels and majors at 55, and
captains at 50. Militia officers are eligible to appointments in the
civil service; they may be elected to the riksdag, and they have the
same social standing at the palace as the officers of the regular
army. The palace is the center of the social system in Sweden, and
only certain persons are eligible to invitations to the king's balls
and dinners. All officers of the militia are included in the list,
and all peasants in the riksdag, although their wives are never
invited.[h]