MILITARY SYSTEM AND SCHOOLS IN ITALY.
* * * * *
MILITARY SYSTEM AND INSTRUCTION IN ITALY.
I. MILITARY SYSTEM.
As the provinces, duchies, kingdoms, and dominions into which the
territory and population of old Italia, in the progress of centuries
after the utter destruction of the Western Empire, were divided by
conquests, alliance and cessions of reigning families (brought and kept
in power by force of armies), were merged, one after another, under the
government of the House of Savoy, the military system of Sardinia was
extended over the entire kingdom of Italy as now recognized.
The actual strength of the Italian army as constituted in 1869, was as
follows:
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
| Peace Footing. | War Footing.
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
| Men. Horses. | Men. Horses.
Infantry of the line | |
(80 regiments, 8 of which | |
are grenadiers, | 128,020 | 245,680
Bersaglieri (40 battal’ns) | |
riflem’n, | 16,165 -- | 26,495 --
Cavalry (4 regiments of the line, | |
7 of lancers, 7 light horse, | |
and 1 of guides--115 squadrons) | 18,167 13,569 | 19,000 14,102
Artillery (1 regiment of | |
pontonniers, 3 foot, 5 mounted, | |
with 80 batteries) | 9,646 4,260 | 16,086 11,234
Six artisan companies, also | |
attached to the artillery | 1,174 -- | 1,589 --
Two regiments of sappers of the | |
engineers (36 companies) | 4,132 48 | 6,793 396
Three regiments of train corps | |
(24 companies) | 2,460 960 | 9,240 11,340
One administrative corps | |
(7 companies) | 3,173 -- | ----
+-----------------+----------------
Total | 189,541 19,027 | 335,870 37,562
----------------------------------+-----------------+----------------
The time of service in the standing army is 10 years, on the implied
condition of the men being sent on furlough, in time of peace, for
one-half the period. A certain number, distinguished as “soldati
d’ordinanza,” to which class belong the Carabinieri and some of the
Administrative troops, have to serve eight years complete, and are then
liberated. In the army of reserve, the time of service is 5 years. Every
native of the kingdom is liable to the conscription, and to be enrolled
either in the standing army or the reserve. An exemption in favor of
young men studying for the priesthood, was repealed by a law which
passed both houses of parliament in May, 1869.
The distribution of the standing army over the kingdom was as follows in
the middle of 1869. There were 8 battalions of infantry at and near the
capital, 5 at Genoa, 5 at Turin, 9 at Alessandra, 12 in Tuscany, and 120
in the valley of the Po, from Milan to Ancona. The troops in the valley
of the Po were supported by 24 squadrons of heavy and 36 squadrons of
light cavalry, and 248 pieces of artillery. At Naples there were 18
battalions of the line, 2 of marines, and 3 of bersaglieri; in the
Neapolitan provinces, 39 battalions of the line, 20 of bersaglieri, and
32 squadrons of cavalry. There were, finally, 32 battalions of the line
in Sicily.
II. NAVY.
The navy of the kingdom of Italy consisted, at the commencement of 1869,
of 99 ships of war, armed with 1,032 guns. They were classed as follows:
Steamers. Iron-clads. Screw. Paddle. Sailing
Vessels.
No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns. No. Guns.
Frigates, 1st class, 5 79 8 296 .. .. .. ..
“ 2d class 7 118 1 36 .. .. 2 32
Iron-clad Ram 1 2 .. .. .. .. .. ..
Corvettes, 1st class 2 36 4 94 3 32 4 52
“ 2d class 3 34 6 38 .. .. .. ..
“ 3d class .. .. .. .. 4 12 2 20
Gunboats, 1st class 3 29 .. .. .. .. .. ..
“ 2d class 4 8 6 24 .. .. .. ..
Transports, .. .. 13 24 20 40 1 6
------- ------- ------- -------
Total, 22 272 35 508 33 122 9 130
------- ------- -------
Horse Power, 13,380 9,940 7,850
[Transcriber’s Note:
The headers in this table, with “Steamers” over the first column,
were printed as shown.]
The navy was manned in 1869 by 11,193 sailors, 650 engineers and
assistants, 1,211 officers (2 admirals, 5 vice-admirals, 12 rear
admirals, and 104 captains), and 2 regiments of marines with 234
officers and 5,688 soldiers.
III. EDUCATION OF OFFICERS.
The system of military education of the old kingdom of Sardinia has been
enlarged and extended by the government of the Kingdom of Italy so as to
embrace the military schools of Naples, without any change in its
principles or details.
MILITARY SYSTEM AND EDUCATION IN SARDINIA.
I. GENERAL OUTLINE OF MILITARY SYSTEM, AND MILITARY EDUCATION.
The wars in which Sardinia has recently been engaged, have led to the
re-organization of her armies, and to the extension and improvement of
institutions for military instruction, but time enough has not yet
elapsed to perfect the system.
One-third of the officers are promoted from the ranks; the remaining
two-thirds, that is, all who enter as officers, must pass through the
Royal Military Academy, and before being commissioned as Captain in the
Artillery and Engineers, must have completed the special course in the
Complementary School. Admission to the Royal Staff Corps is conditioned
on attendance on the lectures of the Staff School, and the results of a
competitive examination. The following is a brief outline of the system
of military instruction now in operation.
1. The character of the education may be described generally as partly
resembling that of Austria, partly that of France. It commences very
early. Every Officer who enters the Army as such must have passed
through the great Military School, the _Accademia Militare_. The minimum
age of entrance is fourteen. The admission is by nomination and not by
competition; and the demand has always been under rather than above the
requirements of the Army. “Bourses” or Exhibitions to assist pupils in
their education, have been established on the Prussian and Austrian,
rather than on the French principle. They are granted by the King on the
recommendation of the Minister, in consideration of the claims of
deceased Officers, or other public servants, and without reference to
the merits of the pupils, preference being given to the candidates whose
circumstances most require assistance. From twenty-five to thirty of
these _Bourses_ (or rather _Demibourses_, for no pupils receive entire
support such as is given in France,) are given annually. We are informed
that a decree will appear almost immediately, throwing open _ten_ out of
this number to public competition. The entire sum expended upon them is
70,000 francs, about 2,800_l._ per annum.
Passing from this outline of the principles of Sardinian Military
Education, as exhibited in the _Accademia Militare_, which may be termed
the General Seminary of the Sardinian Army, we shall briefly allude to
the _three_ remaining Institutions, in which Officers receive
instruction and training at later periods of their career.
2. Admission into the Artillery and Engineer School may be considered
the reward of the most distinguished pupils of the _Accademia Militare_,
who after spending their last year in that Institution in the study of
the higher mathematics, chemistry, and architectural drawing, are
transferred for the completion of their education to the School of the
Artillery and Engineers.
3. The Staff School, the formation of which dates from 1850, is chiefly
frequented by Officers of the Infantry and Cavalry, who must be below
the age of twenty-eight years upon their entrance. It is carried on upon
the competitive system, the Officers being ranged according to merit in
their Final Examination, the ablest entering the Staff Corps in that
order.
4. Regimental Schools for Officers also exist, and in every Brigade or
Division, Officers are taught _topography_, under the supervision of the
Chief of the Staff of the Division. Care is taken to make this teaching
uniform throughout the Army; and it may be regarded as preparatory to
that of the Schools at Ivrea and Pinerol, which accord with the
principle of the Prussian Division Schools in requiring that every
Officer shall have received professional instruction; but as regards
other points, and particularly the period for attending them, these
Schools are peculiar to the Sardinian Army. In time of peace, no
Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, can obtain a Company
without having studied for a year in one or the other of these Schools,
and having passed an examination on leaving it. The Instruction given is
mainly practical, Field Fortification, the Secondary Operations of War,
and Topography, being the branches of Military Science taught.
These Institutions appear to have been _primarily_ established with a
view to the instruction of Officers and Non-commissioned Officers
throughout the Army, and in order to prevent Regiments or Corps from
following some peculiar system of their own. The same motive seems to
have led to the gradual reduction in number of the Prussian Division
Schools. _Secondarily_, however, these Schools have been made available
for the purpose of organizing and drilling the reserve of the Sardinian
Army, a large body of Conscripts assembled for a few weeks in the autumn
of each year in a camp about twelve miles from Turin. This object seems
to have been attained most successfully.
Quite recently a class has been added to the school at Ivrea for the
exclusive education of Non-commissioned Officers aspiring to a
commission; and for the sake of economy this class is to be common to
Infantry and Cavalry.
It is consequently from this body of officers that teachers are derived
for the topographical classes established in each Regiment or Brigade.
The Staff School having been recently founded, and a period of active
war having intervened since its institution, can not be supposed to have
completely organized its system of instruction. We have elsewhere
mentioned that Topography, the Art of War, and Fortification, are the
branches of military study most attended to; but we have reason to
believe that its plan of instruction will be extended. It may not be
superfluous to mention the high appreciation in Sardinia of the Austrian
General Staff, as tending to confirm our own estimate of the excellence
of the Austrian Staff School. We have been recently informed, on the
best authority, that some of the most distinguished Sardinian Officers,
who, from their service in the Crimea and elsewhere, have been able to
compare the merits of different Staff Corps, consider the Austrian
General Staff “the best in existence.”
As regards the System of Examinations, there is a Standing Board
consisting of from _five_ to _seven_ Officers, presided over by a
Lieutenant-General, which superintends all the more important
Examinations of the Military Schools, such as those upon leaving the
School, &c. The constant Examinations within the School, when the Cadets
are being moved from one class to another, are conducted by the
Professors.
The expense of Military Education in the Sardinian States amounts to
18,000_l._ annually. The Military Schools are all under the direction of
the Minister of War.
5. Two Institutions peculiar to the Sardinian Service are the _Schools
for Officers_, one or other of which it is necessary that every Officer
under ordinary circumstances should attend for a year before being
promoted to the rank of Captain. One of these is for the Infantry, at
Ivrea; the other for the Cavalry, at Pinerol. In saying that _every_
Officer must attend these Schools, we except that proportion of
_one-third_ who are promoted annually from the ranks, and whose
attendance apparently has not hitherto been required.
Details respecting the organization and instruction of these schools
will be found under the following heads.
II. THE ROYAL MILITARY ACADEMY AT TURIN.
The _Accademia Militare_ was originally designed by Charles Emanuel, for
the instruction of sons of officers of the army and of the nobility in
the use of weapons, in horsemanship, dancing, mathematics, and
belles-lettres. In the course of time, the institution was converted to
its present purpose, of training Officers for the Sardinian Army.
The regular course of study in this school lasts apparently for six
years, shortly to be reduced to five years, and the earliest age at
which it is _possible_ now to enter is fourteen, the _usual_ age of
admission being fifteen or sixteen. Formerly, boys entered at eleven and
twelve, but this practice has lately been altered, to the regret of many
Officers, who prefer the plan so commonly adopted abroad, of training
Officers to their business as soldiers from very early years.
The peculiarity of this school is that during a portion of the course it
educates Officers for all Arms in common. The most talented pupils are
then selected by examination for the Artillery and Engineers, which are
the two favorite services, and indeed the most aristocratic corps in the
Sardinian army. The number of the pupils is limited to 200, but it is
rarely complete; at present there are 180 pupils. About half of these
pay for themselves a yearly sum of 1,200 francs, 48_l._, the remaining
half are supported, or partly supported by the Government. The system of
_demi-bourses_ prevails here as in France.
The pupils are divided into four classes, according to the years of the
course; a fifth class, contains those who have been just selected for
the Artillery and Engineers, who work by themselves, chiefly at the
higher kinds of drawing and the Differential and Integral Calculus, and
Mechanics. These senior pupils are Officers, and have each their
separate room. German is taught, and there is a Course of Italian
Literature, &c., but no Latin is taught in any part of the school. The
system of working (at least with the higher boys) is in rooms where
eight or ten are united, and apparently there is something of the
_Répétiteur_ system.
The arrangements of the house are excellent. The pupils appear to be
strictly confined to barracks during the week, but allowed to go out on
Sundays. The discipline is said to have been relaxed of late years, and
this is attributed by old Officers to a cause which will appear curious
in England, viz., to the pupils having _any_ holidays at all. This
innovation upon the simplicity of the Piedmontese system of education
was alleged to have encouraged distinctions between the richer and
poorer pupils, and thus to have injured both the economy and the
_Camaraderie_ of the school. Great stress was laid here, as at other
Military Institutions, on a strictness of discipline very unusual in
England. The boys begin their work at half-past five o’clock, and work
till seven; then they go to chapel for a short time, and breakfast and
recreation follow immediately after. Both are concluded by eight, when
they return to their studies for an hour and a quarter; then a quarter
of an hour’s relaxation is allowed, and the studies are resumed until
eleven o’clock. An hour is then devoted to the schools of fencing,
riding, gymnastics, or dancing. From twelve to a quarter before two
o’clock is allotted to dinner and recreation, and then another hour is
spent in the fencing, riding, gymnastic, or dancing schools. A quarter
of an hour’s recreation is again granted, and from three to half-past
four o’clock study is resumed. A quarter of an hour’s recreation
follows, and half an hour is then given to military exercises, succeeded
by another quarter of an hour’s interval for rest. Two hours are then
devoted to study--from half-past five to half-past seven o’clock. An
hour is afterwards allowed for chapel, supper, and retiring to rest.
A monthly account is taken of their work, and the marks then given
exercise an influence upon their places in the examinations which take
place every year.
The following tables give a full view of the work of the pupils during
their six years’ course.
DISTRIBUTION OF THE VARIOUS BRANCHES OF STUDY IN THE DIFFERENT
YEARS OF THE COURSE, AND GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR THE SCHOOLS.
[KEY]
M Months.
W In each Week.
_Rows referring to “Year” were printed in a column headed Classes._
----------------------------------------+-----------
SUBJECTS OF STUDY. | Lessons
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
First Year. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Cathechism, | 8 | 1
Arithmetic, | 1 | 6
Plane Geometry, | 1 | 6
Algebra, 1st Part, | 3 | 6
Solids, | 3 | 6
Italian Elocution, | 4 | 5
History of Italian Literature, | 4 | 5
French Language, | 8 | 5
Caligraphy, | 7 | 2
Soldiers’ Drill, | 3 | 2
Squad Drill, | 3 | 2
Army Regulations, | 2 | 2
Dancing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2
N.B.--This class will be abolished | |
at the cessation of the present | |
scholastic course. | |
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Second Year. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Cathechism, | 8 | 1
Algebra, 1st Part, | 8 | 3
Solids, | 6 | 3
Italian Literature, | 8 | 3
French Language, | 8 | 3
Battalion and Company Drill, | 2 | 3
Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 3
Garrison and Divisonal Duty, | 2 | 3
Law on Recruiting, | 1 | 2
Figure Drawing, | 8 | 2
Dancing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Soldiers’ Drill, | 2 | 2
Caligraphy, | 4 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Third Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sacred History, | 8 | 1
Rectilinear Trigonometry, | 8 | 3
Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3
Italian Literature, | 8 | 3
French Literature, | 8 | 3
War in Detail, | 4 | 3
Company & Battalion Drill, | 5 | 1
Chasseur Drill, | 1 | 1
Rifle Practice and Gymnastics, | 1 | 1
Topographical Drawing, | 8 | 3
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 1
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Third Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sacred History, | 8 | 1
Algebra 2nd Part, | 3 | 4
Rectilinear Trigonometry | 1 | 4
Spherical Trigonometry | 1 | 4
Algebra Applied to Geometry, | 3 | 4
Descriptive Geometry (the first | |
10 numbers), | 5 | 3
Geography and Ancient Mediæval History, | 8 | 3
Italian Literature | 8 | 3
French Literature | 8 | 3
War in Detail | 4 | 3
Company & Battalion Drill | 5 | 1
Chasseur Drill | 1 | 1
Rifle Practice and Gymnastics | 1 | 1
Topographical Drawing | 8 | 3
Fencing | 8 | 2
Gymnastics | 8 | 1
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fourth Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1
War in Detail, | 5 | 2
Art of War, 2nd Part, | 3 | 2
Artillery, | 5 | 2
Fortification, | 8 | 3
Physical Mechanics, | 8 | 3
Topography, | 3 | 2
Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3
German Language, | 8 | 3
Army Regulations, | 3 | 3
Military Accounts, | 8 | 2
Italian Literature, | 5 | 2
French Literature, | 2 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2
Fencing, | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fourth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ecclesiastical History, | 8 | 1
Infinitesimal Calculus, | 8 | 4
Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2
Fortification, | 8 | 3
War in Detail, | 8 | 2
Modern History, History of the Country, | 8 | 3
German Language, | 8 | 3
Topographical Drawing, | 3 | 2
Military Accounts, | 8 | 1
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
Fencing, | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fifth Year, General Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics | 8 | 1
Physical Mechanics | 8 | 3
Topography | 8 | 2
Art of War | 5 | 2
Artillery | 6 | 2
Landscape Drawing | 3 | 2
German Language | 8 | 2
Italian Literature | 4 | 2
French Literature | 5 | 1
Army Regulations | 4 | 2
Gymnastics | 8 | 2
Fencing | 8 | 2
Riding | 8 | 3
Military Accounts | 8 | 2
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Fifth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics, | 8 | 1
Calculus, | 8 | 4
Physics, | 8 | 3
Topography, | 8 | 2
Art of War, | 5 | 2
Artillery, | 6 | 2
Landscape Drawing, | 8 | 2
German Language, | 8 | 2
Descriptive Geometry, 2nd Part, | 6 | 2
Gymnastics, | 8 | 2
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
----------------------------------------+-----+-------
PUPIL SUB-LIEUTENANTS.
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Sixth Year, Special Services. | M | W
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
Ethics, | 8 | 1
Rational Mechanics, | 8 | 6
Analysis, | 2 | 6
Chemistry, | 8 | 3
Architectural Drawing, | 8 | 2
German Language, | 8 | 2
Gymnastics, | 2 | 1
Fencing, | 8 | 2
Riding, | 8 | 3
----------------------------------------+-----+-----
GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.
From 5 to 5½, Rising, Dressing, &c.
“ 5½ to 7 A.M., Study.
“ 7 to 8, Chapel, Breakfast, and Recreation.
“ 8 to 9¼, School of Science and Literature.
“ 9¼ to 9½, Recreation.
“ 9½ to 11, School of Science and Literature.
“ 11 to 12, School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics, Dancing, &c.
“ 12 to 1¾, Dinner and Recreation.
“ 1¾ to 2¾, P.M., School of Fencing, Riding, Gymnastics,
Dancing, &c.
“ 2¾ to 3, Recreation.
“ 3 to 4½, School of Science and Literature.
“ 4½ to 4¾, Recreation.
“ 4¾ to 5¼, Military Exercises.
“ 5¼ to 5½, Recreation.
“ 5½ to 7½, Study.
“ 7½ to 8½, Chapel, Supper, Dormitory.
III. ARTILLERY AND ENGINEER SCHOOL AT TURIN.
The _Artillery and Engineer School_ (_Scuola Complementaria_,) which is
established in a large building in one of the suburbs of Turin, is a
School of Application, intended to complete the special education of the
Young Officers of the Artillery and Engineers, which the Cadets of those
Corps have previously entered upon during their four last years in the
_Accademia Militare_. Its course of studies occupies nominally two
years, but really only eighteen months, after which the final
examinations begin, and the pupils receive leave of absence. The
Students do not live in barracks here, but the Inspector of the School
seemed to think it desirable that they should do so. The exercises of
the day commence, at eight o’clock every morning, with an hour’s riding.
A lecture then follows, which lasts for an hour and a half, from nine
till half-past ten. The rest of the morning is left free till twelve
o’clock, when the pupils return to the school till three, and where they
study together in large classes in the same room; they have afterwards
some military exercises till five, and are then free for the evening.
The number of pupils at the school is twenty; from ten to fifteen for
the Artillery, the rest for the Engineers. The subjects of study will
show what difference exists in the studies of the two Corps, and we were
told that very little preference was shown in the choice of the Students
for one over the other. The Engineers do not appear to be at all
employed in civil works; indeed, the Government does not allow them to
be so, as there are sufficient fortifications in the kingdom of Sardinia
to afford them constant employment. The pay of the two Corps is equal,
and is very little above that of the Infantry, and the same as that of
the Cavalry. The Artillery and Engineers (the _Armi dotti_) appear to be
decidedly the favorite and aristocratic corps of the Sardinian army.
They rarely enter the Staff Corps, and the reason assigned for this is
their unwillingness to quit their own arm of the service. The position
of the pupils on entering the Corps is fixed by the Final Examination
alone, and is not influenced by marks previously given for industry and
application during the course, as is the case in some of the French and
German schools--at the Polytechnic, for instance, and at Znaim. The only
value of a high position in the Final Examination is that it gives
seniority in the Corps.
The direction of the school is intrusted to a Field Officer of
Artillery, assisted by two Captains, one from the Artillery, and the
other from the Engineers. His authority extends to instruction and
discipline.
The scientific instruction is given by professors (effective and
supplementary) and by Officers belonging to the various Artillery
divisions and establishments, who, together, constitute a Council of
Instruction, of which the Director is President.
The examinations to which the Officer Students are subjected are held by
a Commission, nominated by the Secretary of War.
_Regulations respecting the Professors, &c._
The Professors and Instructors are personally responsible for the
teaching of the subjects contained in the programmes and regulation for
the discipline of the students in School, for the daily drawing up of
the notes and execution of the drawings, and for the constant presence
of the students during the time of the instructions and lectures.
The Military Professors and Instructors will maintain constantly among
the students the spirit of subordination and military discipline in all
its force.
The Professors not possessed of military rank, when reproof is not
sufficient to keep the students to their duty, will report the matter to
the Director and to the Captains attached to the direction of the
School, in order that more vigorous measures may be adopted.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will satisfy
themselves that the students have finished the notes preceding it, and
the regulated tasks and drawings.
The Professors will also have the power of visiting with arrest
students who are negligent in the execution of the notes and tasks, and
those who exhibit a constant indisposition to work, reporting it to the
Director of the School.
When the lectures are upon difficult subjects, it is the duty of the
Professors sometimes to visit the students during the hours of study,
for the purpose of explaining difficulties.
At the beginning of every lecture, the Professors will dictate to the
students a summary of the lesson which they are about to explain.
At the commencement of their course of lectures, they will point out
to the students the books and treatises to be followed.
At fixed intervals, as they shall judge it most convenient, the
Professors will suspend the course of their lectures to satisfy
themselves by questions of the attention given and the progress made by
the students.
At the opening of their course, the Professors will notify to the
Director of the School the hours which suit their engagements best for
the giving of the lectures; these hours will be subsequently maintained
unchanged throughout the duration of their course. These hours can only
be selected out of those fixed in the general time table.
In case of any lectures having to take place out of the lecture-rooms
of the School, they will give notice in time to the Director.
If they should consider any change in the programme necessary, they
will give notice in writing to the Director of the School, so that he
may be able to submit their propositions to the General Commandant.
The Instructors will exact of the students, in the execution of the
practical instructions and in the explanation of them, a demeanor
perfectly military, and a tone of voice appropriate to the circumstance.
All the students, without exception, should render themselves capable of
executing the practical tasks and explanations now mentioned with the
greatest perfection.
The Professors, as well as Instructors, in concluding their course of
lectures, will transmit to the Director of the School a statement
showing the degree of instruction acquired by the students, and their
conduct in School; the credit for the instruction and for conduct will
be given by means of two distinct integral numbers, selected from two to
ten.
_Duration of the Course and Subjects._
The course of the Complementary School will be terminated in a year
and a half.
The students belonging to two successive promotions will participate
in the same instructions during the last six months of the first course,
and the first six of the second course.
The subjects which will be taught to the Officer-students of the
Complementary School are,--
_a._ Mineralogy and metallurgy.
_b._ Introduction to applied mechanics, and application of mechanics
to machinery.
_c._ Theory of the combustion of powder; of the movement inside the
bore; of the resistance of ordnance; of the volume, weight, and
center of gravity of ordnance; projectiles.
_d._ Use of artillery in war, construction of batteries, service in
the field.
_e._ Permanent fortification.
_f._ _Course of construction and of military and civil }
architecture_. }
_g._ _Topography._ }
_h._ _Geodesy._ }
{ For Engineer-Officers only. }
_i._ Military bridges and passage of water.
_l._ Classified nomenclature, and drawing of artillery materials.
_m._ Manufacture of powder, fire-works, arms, ordnance.
_Practical Instructions._
Practical instruction will be given every day to the students of the
Complementary School.
The object of this instruction is to render the Officers themselves
familiar with the execution of the operations, and with the proper
method of instructing Non-commissioned Officers and soldiers of
Artillery.
These instructions, which will be, as far as possible, executed and
explained by the Officers of the School, will consist of--
Gymnastics.
Riding, according to the regulations in force.
The pack of the infantry soldier, armament, infantry instruction.
Classified nomenclature of the various parts of horse furniture,
convenient adaptation of them; pack of the cavalry soldier.
Principles of the physiology of the horse, and of veterinary
science; care of horses.
Nomenclature and use of the field, mountain, siege, garrison, and
coast material.
Lading of field and siege carriages, and mountain mules.
Service of field, mountain, siege, garrison, and coast artillery.
Driving and sectional drill, battery and brigade drill.
Regulations for marches, encampments.
Charges and compositions in use in the field, in sieges, and in
garrisons.
Judging distance drill, practice; remedies applied to materials in
the field.
IV. THE STAFF SCHOOL.
The Staff School at Turin has only existed since the year 1850.
Previously to that time the Staff was supplied by picked scholars from
the _Accademia Militare_.
The whole Staff Corps of the Sardinian Army only consists of thirty-six
Officers, viz., twenty-four Captains, and twelve of higher rank; no one
of a lower rank than Captain being admitted even as attached to the
corps, a regulation which appeared to be considered inconvenient.
Officers are required to have served four years before their admission,
as is the case in the Austrian Staff Schools, and they must not have
exceeded their twenty-eighth year. Again, as in Austria, the Officers on
leaving the school are ranged strictly in the order of merit, as tested
by a final examination; and the ablest obtain appointments to the Staff
in the same order. The Sardinian School has, however, some
peculiarities, partly arising from the higher position which the Special
Arms (_Armi dotti_) of Artillery and Engineers hold in Sardinia than in
Austria or Prussia. The method of admission is as follows:--
An Officer requests his Colonel to recommend him for admission to the
Staff School. Great caution seems to be observed in giving this
recommendation; but having obtained it, an Officer has no further
difficulty in entering the School. In consequence of the small numbers
of the Staff Corps, the demand for entrance is not very great, and there
is accordingly no competitive examination. The numbers in the School
have, during the first five years of existence, varied greatly--from
fourteen or sixteen to four or six. A year (or rather eleven months) is
the time occupied by the studies; the first six months being given to
theory, the last five to practice. The time thus occupied lasts from ten
till three in the afternoon.
The amount of knowledge required for admission into the School is
stated, in the “Note” of Colonel Petitti, to be an acquaintance with
Geometry and Algebra, as far as Equations of the Second Degree.
The practical work consists in the usual surveys of countries, plans,
&c. The young Officers are taken by the Inspecting Colonel of the School
into the country, and worked hard for four or five months. There have
hitherto been only places for one or two of these Officers on the Staff
at the end of the year, and these (as has been already mentioned) have
always been the most distinguished pupils of the School. The rest become
teachers in the regimental schools. Officers leaving the Staff School do
not appear to have a right to a step immediately (as in Austria) by
virtue of their having been at the School; but the Sardinian system of
making all the appointments above the rank of Major by selection gives
them a prospect of advancement. Examinations are held in the School
every three months, at which the Professors give marks of proficiency;
these are combined with those obtained in the final examinations in
determining the position of the pupils.
The Professors in the Staff School are all military men. The building is
very good, and, although small, contains a library, instruments, museum,
and all the apparatus for maps.
Among the conditions which must be met favorably to be admitted to the
Royal Staff Corps are the following:--
_Physique:_--
If the constitution is robust, sufficiently strong, or weak.
If the sight is good, acute, or short.
_Intellectual Qualities:_--
If the intelligence is prompt, clear, reflective, and the mind orderly
or confused.
If he is ready of speech, or uncommunicative.
_Moral Qualities:_--
If he is honorable, and of a good disposition, with much or little
expansion of character.
If of conciliatory or rough manners.
If peaceable, quick, or irascible.
If active, resolute, authoritative, timid, or feeble.
_Education:_--
What degree of instruction he has arrived at in mathematics, in the
theory and practice of surveying.
What ability in plan-sketching and topographical drawing.
If he cultivates any other branch of knowledge connected or
unconnected with the Institute itself, and what.
If he is master of the Italian and French languages, so as to speak
and write them with facility and correctness.
If he is acquainted with, and if he can speak, other languages.
If he is addicted to study.
_Conduct:_--
If his behavior is dignified, as becomes a soldier and a citizen.
If he enjoys the good-will of his superiors, the esteem of his
comrades and inferiors.
_Mode of discharging his Duty:_--
If he discharges his duty with exactness and zeal, or remissly and
ill.
_Particular Aptitude:_--
If he is more especially fitted for the duties of the surveying,
topographical, or military branch of the service.
If he has shown aptitude for teaching.
If he is adapted for progress in the Corps, or in the Infantry or
Cavalry services.
_Miscellaneous Information:_--
N.B.--Under this head will be inserted those notices which, finding no
place under the preceding heads, contribute towards a fuller information
respecting those Staff Officers who, in consequence of circumstances and
duties special and unconnected with the service of the corps, may afford
ground for special mention.
V. REGIMENTAL SCHOOLS OF IVREA AND PINEROL.
The requirement of professional study from Officers after entrance into
the Army is a point almost peculiar to the Sardinian service. The
_principle_ of the Prussian Division School is, indeed, almost the same
as that of the two Schools we are about to describe; but the examination
for which the Division Schools prepare is a qualification for obtaining
a commission, and not (like that of the Sardinian Schools) for
subsequent promotion. And this difference is partly owing to an obvious
cause, the slowness of promotion in the Prussian Service. If the
Division Schools and their examination were placed before the promotion
to a Captaincy, the candidates attending the School would be in most
cases nearly forty years of age.
Some instruction in Topography is given to the Officers of every
Regiment in the Sardinian Army, under the direction of the Chief of the
Staff of the Division. Care is taken to render the teaching uniform
throughout the Army, and it may be considered as a preparation for the
more systematic instruction given in the Schools of Ivrea and Pinerol.
The former of these is intended for the Infantry; the latter for the
Cavalry. Every Officer, excepting those of the Special Arms, must have
passed a year of study in one or other of these Schools, as well as a
subsequent examination, before he can obtain a Captaincy.
The studies are mainly practical, as may be seen from the “Prospectus of
Instruction” annexed. Topography, Field Fortification, and Secondary
Operations are the only branches of Military Science in which
instruction is given; and upon these much care appears to be bestowed.
One-third of the Officers of the Sardinian Army are promoted, as has
been mentioned, from the ranks. Accordingly, a class has been recently
added to the School of Ivrea, intended exclusively for the Education of
those Non-commissioned Officers who aspire to a Commission. This class
is to be common to Infantry and Cavalry.
The following extracts from the Regulations of the Minister of War, will
exhibit the practical character of instruction in this class of schools.
_Prospectus of Instruction to be given to Lieutenants in the Military
School of Infantry_.
Soldiers’ Drill, Squad, Company, Battalion, and Chasseur ditto, &c.
Fencing with the Bayonet.
Exercise of the various Arms, &c.
Musketry Practice.
Regulations of Discipline, Garrison and Field Regulations,
Army Accounts.
Secondary Operations of War.
Topography.
Field Fortification.
_School of Topography._
It is decided that such instruction [in Topography,] shall take place
from the commencement of March till the end of July.
This will be obligatory on Officers who have not passed the age of
thirty years.
Those Corps, however, who may think that they can thus employ themselves
in the winter also for the hour or so which may remain over after the
other occupations of the Officers, shall have the power of establishing,
from the beginning of November, a school, in which drawing and other
preliminary acquirements may be taught.
This School will be attended especially by beginners and the less
educated, who will thus be able better to profit at the beginning of
March by the lectures given to the Officers more advanced in this study.
The Schools will be instituted for regiments or brigades, according as
the General commanding the Division shall determine, upon the report of
the Chief of the Staff, regard being had to the Director who can be
assigned to them and the opportunities afforded by the situation.
In cases, however, where it may be convenient, they can institute
Divisional Schools as well, which will be attended by the Officers of
the different corps already more advanced in the study.
There they will be exercised, by direction of the Chief of the Staff, in
the various subjects taught in the School, especially in the application
upon sketches of themes of secondary operations of war, and will be
taken into the field to execute surveys on the spot with the instruments
and by the eye.
In this case, in the Regimental Schools, the less educated officers will
be trained under the direction of Officers who have given proof of
sufficient capacity.
The Officers of the Detachments of Cavalry or of the Rifles, for whom it
may not be convenient to establish separate schools, will attend those
schools of their garrison to which they are assigned by the General
Commandant of the Division upon the proposition of the Chief of the
Staff.
Inasmuch as this Ministry is careful to provide the Schools of
Topography with the instruments necessary for the practical training
upon the ground, it makes known henceforward the implements with which
they must be provided, at the charge of the Treasury, in cases where
they do not already possess them, viz.:--
Small tables, with desks. Seats or stools. Slate, with stand. 2 pieces
of Indian ink. 2 ditto of French blue. 2 ditto of gum. 2 tablets of
carded wool. 1 case of mathematical instruments. 2 plane rulers of one
metre each, besides some rulers of various dimensions, the necessary
paper for themes, &c. 2 pen-knives. Some pencils. 1 paper of steel pens
for drawing. Half a bundle of crows’-quills. Chalk for the slate, and
sponge. Inkstand, with ordinary ink. 2 crayons (_coulé_) of No. 2. 2
ditto of No. 4. 2 pieces of Indian rubber.
GENERAL SYLLABUS OF INSTRUCTION FOR THE INFANTRY OF THE LINE.
_Months of November, December, January, February and March._
Recruits will be kept separate from the seniors during these five
months in all the instructions (except the drills.)
They will be instructed progressively once a day in soldiers’ and
squad drill.
They will attend daily the gymnastic exercise and the school of
reading and writing.
N.B. As they shall progress by degrees in the various branches of
instruction, they will take their part in the service, at first on duty
where arms are not required, and afterwards with their arms, as much as
possible always upon public holidays.
Seniors will have to attend the school of reading, writing,
arithmetic, and gymnastics daily.
The recruits as well as the seniors will be prepared for the practice
range, during the months of February and March, by aiming at the butt
and firing at the candle.
The Officers, especially the juniors, will be encouraged to exercise
themselves in gymnastics, and to frequent the School of Topography.
The Captains will be taught riding as much as possible where they are
in garrison with Cavalry.
In the months of February and March the Officers will be further
prepared in the appropriate theory, with a view to the instruction of
the following months, and all without exception will have to practice
firing with the rifle.
_April and May._
There will be no further distinction made between the recruits and
seniors.
They will pass successively through soldiers’, squad, and company
drill, bayonet exercise, and rifle practice at the butt.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics, will
be continued at least for the lower classes.
The Captains will give instruction to their companies, especially in
bad weather, on the subject of packing necessaries, and on the general
behavior of the soldier under different circumstances on and off duty,
showing them also the manner of making reports in a few clear and
concise words.
The Officers will be prepared by the appropriate theoretical training
for the instruction of the following months.
The School of Topography will be continued as much as possible for the
Officers who desire to attend it.
_June, July, August._
They will pass successively through battalion drill and regimental and
brigade manœuvres.
The rifle practice at the butt will be continued.
The _Chasseur_ exercise will be taught.
The swimming school will proceed with the utmost possible activity.
The school of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and gymnastics will be
continued at least for the lowest classes, as much at least as the
instructions in other subjects, and especially swimming, permit.
The Generals of Brigade will explain theoretically to the superior
Officers and Captains, and these latter to their own companies, the
nature of service in the field.
_September._
By frequent marches instruction will be given in field service,
practical in its nature, and separate for every arm.
Manœuvres and evolutions appropriate to the ground will be gone
through.
The troops will be disposed for the defense of a village or a
position, of a stream, or the like.
_October._
The instruction in the field will continue as much as possible, and
especially in the garrisons where troops of different arms are
quartered, one part of the force can be opposed to the other, and, where
the service of the place permits it, by calling in the assistance of the
National Guard, the garrison will be able entirely or in part to absent
itself for two or three days.
GENERAL RULES RELATING TO THE INSTRUCTIONS.
1. As far as is possible the soldiers should receive at least two
lessons in the day.
2. In the months of April, May, June, July, and August, the drill in
the _place d’ armes_ will take place only once a day, the other will be
in the barrack or the neighborhood.
3. The Officers should give the instructions themselves, and should
never appear as idle spectators before the soldier.
The subalterns will themselves conduct the soldiers’ and squad drill,
and the bayonet exercise.
The Captains will be careful to instruct their own companies. At the
rifle practice all the Officers of the Company should be present and
interest themselves for the good working of so important a subject of
instruction.
4. During recreation times, and in all those kinds of instruction
which do not require silence and immobility, the Officers will be
careful to converse with their inferiors, and to study their character
and qualities, praising and encouraging the good to do well, and
visiting with words of blame more or less severe those who are
ill-regulated in their conduct.
5. In order to interrupt as little as possible the course of the
instructions, the Colonels and Generals of Brigade will avail themselves
of the festivals accurately to review the men before and after mass.
6. In forts the Infantry will be exercised at the service of guns
according to the directions which will be given to the Officers of
Artillery commanding in them.
7. Some Non-commissioned Officers in every regiment will be trained as
the carpenters for making cartridges.
8. In the interior of the barracks the men will be encouraged to amuse
themselves, and be gay, rather than to loiter about in idleness. It will
be most advantageous to introduce singing to music, as was done in the
camp of 1846.
9. In the month of August, Staff Officers will be dispatched to the
principal garrisons who, being attached to Generals of Brigade and
Division, will prepare with them the projects and plans for the field
instructions of the months of September and October. These Staff
Officers are further particularly charged to study the environs, and to
point out in reports for that purpose the most important military
positions, and the mode of occupying them.
10. Appropriate instructions concerning the rules to be observed in
the rifle schools, concerning the swimming school, and the exercises in
the field, will be forwarded at the proper time.
VI. SCHOOL OF ARTILLERY IN THE ARSENAL.
Men, who are destined to work in the arsenal, receive here practical
instruction in their art. The arsenal contains, 1st, a chemical and
metallurgical laboratory, in which analysis, &c., are performed; 2d, a
mineralogical collection, containing 1100 specimens of minerals, and
many models of crystalization, besides a complete collection of
specimens from the territory of Genoa; 3d, a collection of philosophical
apparatus, containing 600 different machines and instruments, partly
from Puxy and Dumotier of Paris, and partly from Zest and Brabante of
Turin; 4th, a library containing the best books on Mathematics, Natural
Philosophy, Astronomy, Geology, Geography, &c.; 5th, a foundry of
cannon, which includes the foundry properly so called, the atelier of
modelers, the hall of models, the ateliers of trepans and of engravers;
6th, the lithographic establishment; 7th, the machine shop; 8th, a
manufacture of all kinds of arms for the army and navy; 9th, the atelier
of bombardiers; 10th the manufacture of gunpowder, and refinery of
saltpetre; 11th, a forge for gun-barrels.
SCHOOL OF NAUTICAL INSTRUCTION AT GENOA.
The course of instruction in the Nautical Institute at Genoa
embraces:--I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation; II. Mechanics and Steam
Engine; III. Maritime and Commercial Law; IV. Geography and Meteorology.
_I. Nautical Astronomy and Navigation._
_Introduction:_ 1. Nautical art in general; different sciences
attached; need of varied knowledge for captains; special applications of
mathematics to navigation. 2. Method to be pursued in carrying on
nautical studies.
_Plane Navigation:_ 3. Figure and dimensions of the earth; equations
in equal spheres of a circle traced on the same. 4. Methods for
determining the course of the ship; the compass. 5. Demonstrations of
the principles on which the solution of problems of navigation rest,
reduction tables. 6. Given two of the four quantities, how to find the
other two in determining the position of a ship. 7. Reduction of a
straight course; degree of confidence to be placed in results.
8. Maritime charts; how constructed; resolution of problems.
_Nautical Astronomy._ 9. Elementary notions of astronomy; special
objects in teaching this science to seaman. 10. Astronomical tables in
use among different nations, and how to use them. 11. Instruments for
reflexion, and principles of construction; verification, rectification,
and use of the sextant, octant, and artificial horizon; corrections to
be made on the heights and angular distances observed; depression;
refraction; parallax, semi-diameter. 12. Examination of the principal
problems relative to the measure and transformation of time. 13. The
chronometer; absolute state of the chronometer; diurnal variations;
comparison; use of chronometers. 14. Compass; its construction and
verification; determination of the declivity; tables of deviation;
correction bars. 15. Different methods for determining the latitude and
longitude at sea. 16. The tides, their fundamental theory; calculations
regarding them. 17. Hydrographic charts; topographical instruments, and
different projections.
_II. Mechanics and Steam Engine._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity for the use of mechanics and physics for
the shipmaster, naval constructor and machinist. 2. Method of giving
such instruction to seamen.
_Mechanics:_--Motion considered geometrically; composition;
decomposition. 3. Transformation of motion. 4. Force; composition and
decomposition of force; equilibrium. 5. Center of gravity, and how to
find it; application of the same, on the theory of the ship. 6. Theory
of simple machines; principal machines. 7. Principle of force. 8. Blows.
9. Resistance of materials; experimental elements of resistance, and
elasticity of the principal substances in use in naval construction.
10. Mechanic of fluids; demonstrations of its principal theorems;
application of the same to the stability of the ship.
_Steam Engines:_--11. General notions on steam; mechanical element of
heat; thermometers; tension; expansion; condensation of steam. 12. Steam
engines generally; examination and description of its organs, and its
different forms and applications. 13. Marine steam engines, and
different systems on which they are constructed. 14. The boilers and
their different types. 15. Combustibles and their different kinds.
16. Different systems of propulsion. 17. Mixed Navigation.
18. Historical summary of the origin and progress of machine and steam
power.
_III. Maritime and Commercial Law._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity of general culture to shipmasters; study
of the native tongue; foreign languages; history; methods of gaining
such instruction. 2. Necessity of the study of public maritime and
special law, and commercial law; method of giving such instruction.
_International Public Maritime Law:_ 3. The sea, and the laws by which
it is governed; freedom of the sea; restrictions to this principle.
4. International maritime jurisdiction; treaties; reciprocity; consular
agents. 5. War, embargoes and reprisals; letters of marque; capture;
neutrality; blockade; contraband of war. 6. The latest modifications.
_Internal Public Maritime Law:_ Territorial sea; harbors and shores;
administrative division of the boundaries of states, and docks. 9. Laws
applicable to wooden and iron ships, sailing and steamships.
10. Nationality of the ship. 11. Law applicable to the _personel_ of
seamen. 12. Customs, laws, sanitary and police, as regards navigation.
13. Wrecks and recovery. 14. Maritime crimes and penal mercantile
jurisdiction.
_Private Commercial Maritime Law:_ 15. Ownership of ships; privileges
of ships. 16. Contract of freight; insurance and bottomry bonds;
averages; jettison and abandonment. 17. Duties and responsibilities of
the master toward the freighterer, the shipper, the crew, and the
passengers. 18. Legal relations arising from commercial operations;
bills of exchange; partnership and agency.
_IV. Geography and Meteorology._
_Introduction:_ 1. Necessity of this knowledge to seamen. 2. Relations
between geography and meteorology. 3. Historical development.
4. Fundamental principles of geography, astronomy, and mathematics, and
methods of instruction.
_Physical Geography and Meteorology:_ 5. Fundamental principles of
geology; physical configuration of the earth; forces which determine the
formation of continents and islands; extension of lines, &c.
6. Description of different parts of the globe. 7. Physical geography of
the sea; its extensions, divisions, depths, soundings, temperature,
phosphorescence, colors, tides, currents, storms. 8. Descriptive
hydrography--oceans, their divisions and dependencies; the rivers and
lakes in different parts of the globe. 9. The atmosphere--its extension,
temperature, and the thermometer; different thermometric scales;
atmospheric density and pressure; the barometer--different barometric
scales; the winds--general, periodical, variable; hurricanes; storms;
law of storms; watery luminaries and electric meteors; signs and
forecasts of the weather. 10. Magnetism--magnetic action; declension of
the magnetic needle; the compass. 11. Geographical distribution of
minerals, plants, and animals, utilized by man. 12. Man as a
geographical modifying agent.
_Political Description:_ Statistical and commercial geography.
13. Divisions, population, wealth, finances, commerce, and other
statistical data of different states, in different divisions of the
globe.
[Errata for Part V (Italy and Sardinia):
_Italy was unified immediately before the first (1862) edition
of the book. The arrangement of this section generally reflects
pre-unification systems._
[The actual strength of the Italian army ...]
Three regiments of train corps (24 companies)
_opening ( missing_
[GENERAL TIME TABLE FOR SCHOOL DAYS.]
_part of this list is printed out of sequence, with the lines
for 3 and 4¾ placed after those for 5¼ and later_]
* * * * *