ARMY ORGANIZATION--ENGINEERS.
_Engineers_.--The term _engineer_ is derived from the unclassical Latin
word _ingenium_, which was applied both to a _machine_ and the _mind_ or
_skill_ of the person who devised or constructed it.
It was Philip Augustus, say the French writers, who first introduced
engineers (_engigneurs_, or _engignours_, as they were called) into
France, and restored the art of sieges. The engineers of that age were
seldom charged with the construction of works of military defence, but,
like Archimedes at Syracuse, and Longinus at Palmyra, they directed
their attention principally to devising implements of war and the most
effective manner of using them. Engines of war were at that time divided
between the _engigneurs_ and the _artilliers_; the former being charged
with the heavier machines, and the latter with the smaller weapons used
for throwing projectiles. After the invention of gunpowder, the old
battering-rams, cranes, helipoles, &c., disappeared, and with them the
_engigneurs_, or masters of engines. The new inventions were united with
the few old projectile machines that remained in the artillery, and the
engineers were for a time left almost without employment. The revival of
the art of fortification was very slow, and the modern system scarcely
began to be developed till near the sixteenth century.
We must omit for the present giving even an outline of the history of
military engineering, and pass to the troops of this arm, as
constituting an essential element of an army organization. The subject
of fortification, and the history of its various changes, will be
examined in the next chapter.
The engineers, in modern army organization, constitute the fourth arm of
service, as, compared with artillery, their relative numbers are about
as two to three. They are divided in the same manner as the artillery,
viz.:--1st, the staff; 2d, guards, or fort-keepers; 3d, artificers; and
4th, the troops.
I. The officers constituting the staff of this corps are charged in time
of peace with planning, constructing, and repairing all fortifications
and other defensive works; the construction and preparation of all
military materials, and stores connected with this arm; and (in our
service) with the disbursements of money connected with these
operations: in time of war they are charged with the attack and defence
of military works, the laying out and construction of field defences,
redoubts, intrenchments, roads, &c.; in the attack they form a part of
the vanguard, to remove obstructions; and in retreat they form a part
of the rear-guard, to erect obstacles, destroy roads, bridges, &c., so
as to retard an enemy's pursuit.
From the important character of these duties as connected with the means
essential to a national defence, and the vast amount of money expended
in these operations, it is evident that a high order of acquirements
should be deemed necessary to qualify one to perform the duties of a
military engineer. This officer requires a knowledge of chemistry, to
guide his choice of materials for mortars, cements, and mastics; of
mineralogy and geology, for selecting stone; of botany, for timber and
the means of preventing its decay; of mathematics, in laying out his
work and calculating the thickness and stability of his walls,
embankments, &c.; of mechanical philosophy, in constructing his
machinery; of military engineering, in his plans of fortifications; and
of all the higher branches of military science, in selecting positions
for these works, such that they shall have the proper relations to the
means of national defence, and to the grand operations of armies in the
field. The avenues to appointment to this corps are guarded, in most
European armies, with special care, to prevent the influence of money,
politics, or family connections; and in our own army it is now specified
by law of Congress, that the vacancies shall be filled only from the
most distinguished graduates of the military academy. Formerly our
service suffered most severely from the employment of incompetent
persons, introduced through political influence from civil life, and
foreign charlatans, the refuse of European armies. Many of our earlier
military works (as will be mentioned hereafter) were modelled upon
systems for a long time discarded by the profession in Europe, and even
some of those which have been constructed within the last thirty years
are made of such wretched materials and workmanship, that they are
already crumbling into ruins. While the existing laws and regulations
seem well calculated to prevent the recurrence of similar abuses and
errors, it nevertheless can be shown that the organization of this arm
of our service requires modifications and extensions to give it the
requisite degree of efficiency, and to economize the public
expenditures.
The wars of Louis XIV. first led to a regular military organization, and
a regular system of defence. In these wars the engineers received great
development, and have ever since occupied a prominent position as parts
of an army organization. We therefore find in all the great sieges and
battles of this era a large and continually increasing number of
engineers and engineer troops, this force being gradually augmented as
the true principles of war became better understood, and as the wants of
the service required. Even in the earliest of these battles we find the
engineers taking a prominent and distinguished part. In the war of 1688,
twenty-four engineers were killed and wounded at the siege of
Philipsbourg, eighteen at Namur, eight at Huy, ten at Charleroi, eight
at Ath, thirty at Barcelona, &c. Such losses were good proofs of the
usefulness of these officers, and before this war was closed, their
number was increased to six hundred; and in 1706 the army contained
eight brigades of engineers and four companies of miners.
The engineer corps being partially disbanded in the early part of the
French Revolution, great difficulty was experienced in reorganizing it
and in finding competent men to supply the places of those who had been
driven into exile or sacrificed during the reign of terror. Energy and
activity, combined with republican zeal, could supply the place of skill
in the other arms, but the science of the engineer could not be acquired
in a day.
In 1799, the staff of the engineer corps consisted of four hundred and
forty-nine officers, without including the general officers, commanding
departments, or those connected with the engineer troops. The same
organization was continued in 1804. The engineer staff of the French
army now numbers four hundred and thirty-two officers. We have in our
service forty-three engineer officers, for staff duty, who are now
engaged in the construction and repairs of some sixty or seventy
fortifications, and other works of a civil and military character.
II. _Engineer Guards_, or _Fort-Keepers_, are a class of men charged
with the general care of forts, and all public property deposited in the
several engineer dépôts and garrisons, and in the public works during
their construction.
There are five hundred and fifty of these "_gardes du Genie_" in the
French army, who rank next the sub-lieutenants of engineers, and are
assimilated with the sub-lieutenants of infantry in the hospitals,
marches, &c. _In our service we have no engineer guards or
fort-keepers._
This defect in our organization has been the cause of serious
inconvenience, and the consequent waste of public property. The expense
of hiring civil agents for this purpose has more than trebled the cost
of supporting a suitable number of non-commissioned guards to maintain
the good order and efficiency of our forts, in the absence of engineer
officers, and to preserve and keep in repair the military implements and
stores connected with this department of the army. It has already been
shown that we have fifty-eight of these guards for the artillery
service, and it really seems somewhat singular that the engineers, with
a much greater amount of public property in their charge, are allowed no
assistants of this kind.
III. _Engineer artificers_ are a class of men employed in the practical
operations of constructing forts and other military defences, and in
making and repairing all the implements used by the engineer troops in
the operations of sapping and mining, in crossing rivers, in
constructing field-defences, and in the attack and defence of
fieldworks.
As very few new fortifications are now required in France, the services
of engineer artificers are less necessary and important than in our
service, where large sums of money are annually expended upon military
defences, There are, however, in the French army a corps of engineer
artificers, consisting of eight officers and a cadre of fifty-four
non-commissioned officers, with a variable number of privates, organized
into two companies. _But in our army we have no regular engineer
artificers!_ In our artillery service we have three hundred and thirty
enlisted artillery artificers. If these are useful and necessary to the
artillery service, which no one doubts, for still stronger reasons would
it be advantageous to the public service to employ at least an equal
number of enlisted engineer artificers on our fortifications; for the
annual expenditure of public money is here much greater than in the
corresponding branch of the artillery service.
IV. _Engineer troops_ are divided into three classes--1st, _sappers and
pioneers_; 2d, _miners_; and 3d, _pontoniers_.
In the French army of 1799, there were four battalions of sappers,
consisting of 120 officers and 7,092 men. In 1804, Napoleon organized
five battalions of these troops, consisting of 165 officers and 8,865
men. Even this number was found insufficient in his campaigns in Germany
and Spain, and he was obliged to organize an additional number of
sappers from the Italian and French auxiliaries. The pioneers were then
partly attached to other branches of the service. There is, at present,
in the French army a considerable number of sappers or pioneers detached
for the service of the infantry regiments, three companies of
_sapeurs-conducteurs_, and forty-two companies of _sapeurs_. In the
French army of 1799, there were six companies of miners, consisting of
24 officers and 576 men. In 1804, Napoleon increased these troops to
nine companies, containing 36 officers and 864 men. The present French
peace establishment contains six companies of miners, organized much the
same as under Napoleon. In the French army of 1799 there were two
regiments of pontoniers, of 38 officers and 960 men. But this number was
found too small in the remaining campaigns, and the deficiency was
temporarily supplied by organizing sailors for these duties. In the
present French army organization, there are eleven companies of
pontoniers, forming a regiment of sixty-three officers.
_We have in our service no sappers, miners, or pontoniers_, and, in case
of war, would be found without the means of executing any military
works, or performing any military operation which would require engineer
troops.
In the preliminary stages of army organization under Louis XIV.,
infantry troops were detailed as sappers, and instructed in these duties
by the engineers. This irregularity of service soon caused difficulties
and losses, and the evils springing from it were so great, that Vauban
urged the propriety of a separate organization. In 1670 he officially
recommended to the king to establish a regiment of twelve hundred
sappers and _ouvriers_, and in a subsequent report on the value of these
troops, used the following language: "They would be useful in peace as
well as in war, and would be the means of saving much in all
fortifications where they should be employed. In fact, I have not the
least doubt that they would save annually to the king much more than
their pay. I assert all I have said on this subject with as much
confidence as if I had seen the result; and I can, with the same
certainty, add, that this small troop will be the means of saving large
numbers of good engineers and brave officers and soldiers, from the
stern necessity to which we are reduced of exposing, almost always, the
laborers and those who support them; which necessity would not arise
had we at command a sufficient number of this kind of workmen well
instructed. To such a degree have I felt the necessity of sappers, at
every siege at which I have been present, that I have always had reason
to repent of not having more urgently solicited the creation of this
company."
Such are the views of the greatest of military engineers, a man who
fought one hundred and forty battles, conducted fifty-eight sieges, and
built or repaired three hundred fortifications. His anticipations of the
usefulness of engineer troops were fully realized, and they have ever
since received the most careful attention, and now form, as has just
been shown, one of the most important and efficient arms in the French
service. The fortifications constructed by the engineers, as organized
by Vauban, have ever since constituted one of the principal elements of
the French military power.
In the wars of Napoleon there are innumerable instances in illustration
of the delays and disasters attending the operations of armies not
supplied with engineer troops; and, on the other hand, the advantages
resulting from their services when properly organized and instructed. We
have already pointed out the influence which the fortifications in the
hands of the French exerted on the results of these wars, and the fatal
consequences to the Allies of neglecting these works of national
defence. Every student of military history will immediately call to mind
the influence of Savona, Coni, Mondovi, Ceva, Govi, Alessandria,
Tortona, Pizzighitone, Peschiera, Mantua, Palma-Nuova, Osopo,
Klagenfurth, &c., in the campaigns of 1796-7; of Genoa, Port Bard, the
fortifications of the Var, Ulm, Ingoldstadt, &c., in 1800; of Milan,
Turin, Mantua, Roco d'Aufo, Genoa, Alessandria, &c., in 1805; the
importance of Kehl, Cassel, Wesel, &c., to the French in 1806, and the
fatal consequences to the Prussians in that campaign, of their total
and culpable neglect of their own fortifications.
All military historians speak of the influence of fortifications in the
Peninsular campaigns: those which had been given up to Napoleon previous
to the opening of hostilities, contributed very much to the success of
his arms, while those which were retained by Spain and her allies,
contributed in an equal degree to hamper and embarrass his operations.
Some of these, like Saragossa and Tarragona, with their broken walls and
defective armaments, kept the enemy in check some sixty days each, and
did much to weaken the French power in the Peninsula.
Temporary or field-fortifications also had an important influence here.
The lines of Torres-Vedras, the field-works of Ronda, the intrenched
camps of the Pyrenees, Bayonne, Toulouse, &c., are examples under this
head. In fact, field-works played a most important part in all of
Napoleon's wars. We might mention the redoubt of Montenotte, the
intrenchments at Milesimo, the batteries of Lobau, the field-defences of
Hougomont, La Haye-Sainte, and Papelotte at Waterloo, and numerous other
cases equally striking. Just before the battle of Waterloo, Wellington
employed some eighteen thousand peasants and two thousand horses, under
the direction of British officers of engineers. In speaking of these
defences, Colonel Pasley says: "It may be easily conceived that to have
directed such a great body of workmen to proper advantage, by means of a
few officers of engineers, would have been impossible, but for the
system adopted of subdividing the various works among the
non-commissioned officers and privates of the engineer troops, each of
whom was made responsible for laying out the details of his own portion,
and for the direction of a party of from twenty to one hundred men, or
even more, according to circumstances."
But to return to the Peninsular war. These campaigns exhibit in strong
colors the advantages derived, on the one side, from a well-organized
engineer corps, and the losses, delays, and defects suffered on the
other, until the defects of the organization were remedied. Napoleon
entered Spain with a well-appointed army, and soon, through strategy and
well-directed force, gained possession of the important fortresses of
the Peninsula; seizing in this way the strategic routes and important
geographical points, he was enabled to retain possession of the country
for eight years, in spite of the numerous forces arrayed against him,
the absence of himself and his best generals in Germany, and the great
inefficiency of Joseph and of many of his generals. These fortifications
were old, and of strength inferior to modern works of defence, but it
required years and the expenditure of millions in blood and treasure to
expel from the country those who had possession of them.
For the first five years of this war the English struggled with a most
imperfect army organization.[37] When "the first serious siege," says
Napier, was undertaken by the British army, "to the discredit of the
English government, no army was ever so ill provided with the means of
prosecuting such an enterprise. The engineer officers were exceedingly
zealous; and many of them were well versed in the theory of their
business. But the ablest trembled when reflecting on their utter
destitution of all that belonged to real service. Without a corps of
sappers and miners, without a single private who knew how to carry on an
approach under fire, they were compelled to attack fortresses defended
by the most warlike, practised, and scientific troops of the age."
[Footnote 37: In a letter dated February 11th, 1812, Wellington wrote
to the Secretary of State as follows:--"I would beg leave to suggest to
your lordship the expediency of adding to the engineer establishment a
corps of sappers and miners. It is inconceivable with what disadvantages
we undertake any thing like a siege for want of assistance of this
description. There is no French _corps d'armée_ which has not a
battalion of sappers and a company of miners; but we are obliged to
depend for assistance of this description upon the regiments of the
line; and although the men are brave and willing, they want the
knowledge and training which are necessary. Many casualties among them
consequently occur, and much valuable time is lost at the most critical
period of the siege."]
"The best officers and finest soldiers were obliged to sacrifice
themselves in a lamentable manner, to compensate for the negligence and
incapacity of a government, always ready to plunge the nation into war,
without the slightest care of what was necessary to obtain success. The
sieges carried on by the British in Spain were a succession of
butcheries; because the commonest materials, and the means necessary to
their art, were denied the engineers." Colonel J.T. Jones writes in
nearly the same terms of the early sieges in the Peninsula, and with
respect to the siege of Badajos, adds in express terms, that "a body of
sappers and miners, and the necessary fascines and gabions, would have
rendered the reduction of the work certain."[38] Soon after this siege a
body of engineer troops arrived from England, but their number was
insufficient, and Wellington, having learned by sad experience the
importance of engineer troops, ordered a body of two hundred volunteers
to be detached from the line, "and daily instructed in the practice of
sapping, making and laying fascines and gabions, and the construction of
batteries, &c." The siege of Ciudad Rodrigo, which immediately followed
this organization, was conducted with greater skill and success than any
other till nearly the close of the war; and all military writers have
attributed this result to the greater efficiency of the engineer force
engaged in the siege. This arm was now gradually increased, and the last
year of the war the engineer force with the English army in the field
consisted of seventy-seven officers, seven assistant-engineers and
surveyors, four surgeons and assistants, one thousand six hundred and
forty-six sappers, miners, artificers, &c., one thousand three hundred
and forty horses and one hundred and sixty carriages.
[Footnote 38: Colonel Pasley states that only _one and a half yards of
excavation_, per man, was executed _in a whole night_, by the untrained
troops in the Peninsular war; whereas an instructed sapper can easily
accomplish this _in twenty minutes_, and that it has been done by one of
his most skilful sappers, at Chatham, _in seven minutes!_]
During all this time the French furnished their armies in Spain with
well-organized engineer forces. We have endeavored to form a comparison
of the number of French engineers and artillerists employed on these
peninsular sieges. But from the loose manner in which these details are
usually given by historians, it is almost impossible to distinguish
between the two. Both are not unfrequently given under the same head,
and when a distinction is apparently kept up, only the engineer _staff_
is mentioned under the head of engineers--the sappers, miners,
artificers, the train, &c., all being put down as artillery. In the
following table we have endeavored to arrange them as is done in our own
army. The trains of both arms are left out, for frequently that of one
arm performed the duties of the other. Moreover, in our service a
portion of these duties of engineer and artillery trains is performed by
the quartermaster's department. For those who wish to know the exact
organization of the French engineer train, we give it as it existed in
1811, viz.:--seven troops, each troop consisting of three officers, one
hundred and forty-one non-commissioned officers and privates, two
hundred and fifty horses, and fifty wagons, conveying five thousand two
hundred and seventy intrenching tools, one thousand seven hundred
cutting tools, one thousand eight hundred and two artificers' tools, two
hundred and fifty-three miners' tools, and eight thousand three hundred
and eighteen kilogrammes' weight of machinery and stores, each article
being made to a particular pattern. The pioneers in Spain acted
sometimes with one arm and sometimes with the other, and we have
assigned them accordingly in the table. The pontoniers, however, in our
service are included with the engineers; we have therefore put them, in
our table, in the same column with the engineers.
_____________________________________________________________________
| Engineer |Artillery staff,| Total | Total of
|staff, sappers,| horse and foot | of | artillery
| miners, | artillery, |engineers, |staff, horse
| pontoniers, | ouvriers, and | sappers, | and foot
|and pioneers. | pioneers. | miners, |artillery,
Name of Siege. |________________________________|pontoniers,|ouvriers,
| | | | | and | and
|Offic. | Men. |Offic. | Men. | pioneers. | pioneers.
_______________|_______|_______|_______|________|___________|____________
Saragossa, | 86 | 1189 | 90 | 1276 | 1275 | 1360
Rosas, | 21 | 211 | -- | -- | 232 | 461
Girona, | 54 | 603 | 62 | 1299 | 657 | 1361
Astorga, | 7 | 91 | 17 | 427 | 98 | 444
Lerida, | 15 | 316 | 11 | 208 | 331 | 219
Meguinenza, | 31 | 278 | -- | -- | 312 | 136
1st Ciudad | | | | | |
Rodrigo, | 34 | 441 | -- | -- | 475 | 1019
Almeida, | 34 | 489 | -- | -- | 523 | 1019
Tortosa, | 43 | 429 | 32 | 381 | 472 | 413
Tarragona, | 50 | 681 | 46 | 701 | 731 | 747
Olivensa, | 10 | 106 | -- | -- | 116 | 186
1st Badajos, | 25 | 707 | 41 | 699 | 732 | 740
Tarifa, | 12 | 235 | 17 | 148 | 247 | 165
Peniscola, | 13 | 138 | 9 | 183 | 151 | 192
2d Ciudad | | | | | |
Rodrigo, | 3 | 12 | 8 | 160 | 15 | 168
2d Badajos, | 9 | 256 | -- | -- | 265 | 268
Burgos, | 4 | 124 | 3 | 126 | 128 | 129
Castio Udiales, | 5 | 68 | 8 | 197 | 73 | 205
St. Sebastian, | 13 | 248 | 7 | 166 | 261 | 173
________________|_______|_______|_______|________|___________|____________
From this table it appears that the ratio of the two arms at these
sieges, making the comparison on the basis of our own organization, is
about the same as for the present French army in Algeria, or a little
more than five of engineers to six of artillery.
Thus far we have spoken of the field-operations of engineer troops in
connection with fortifications, alluding only incidentally to the use of
military bridges and the passage of rivers. In the early wars of the
French Revolution the want of pontoniers was severely felt, and from the
deficiency of this branch of service, the operations of the French
generals were on several occasions very much restricted. The evil was
afterwards remedied in a great degree by the introduction of several
battalions of ponioniers in the regular army organization. On many
occasions, during his wars, did Napoleon feel and acknowledge the
importance of these troops; but on none, perhaps, was this importance
more clearly shown than in the passage of the Beresina during his
retreat from Moscow with the wreck of his army. The Russians had cut the
bridge of Borisow and taken position in great strength on the right bank
of the river, both at this point and below; the French, wearied with
long and difficult marches, destitute of artillery, provisions, and
military stores, with a wide and deep river in front, and a powerful
enemy on their flank and rear, benumbed by the rigors of a merciless
climate, and dispirited by defeat--every thing seemed to promise their
total destruction. "General Eblé," says an English general officer, in
his remarks on this retreat, "who, from the beginning of the campaign,
had made all the arrangements for the equipment and construction of
military bridges, was specially charged with the important duty of
providing for the passage of this river; and he discharged that duty
with a degree of forecast and ability to which certainly Napoleon owed
his escape and the wreck of his army its safety. General Eblé had begun
to prepare, at Smolensko, for the difficulties which he foresaw in this
operation. He formed, with every care, a train sufficient for the
transport of all the tools and stores that might be required; and,
further to provide against casualties and accidents, every man belonging
to the companies of pontoniers was obliged to carry from Smolensko a
tool or implement of some kind, and a proportion of nails: and fortunate
was it for the army that he did so; for such was the difficulty in
getting through the carriages containing stores, that only two
forge-wagons and six caissons of tools and nails could be preserved. To
these the general added a quantity of iron-work taken from the wheels of
carriages that were abandoned on the march. Much was sacrificed to bring
off these valuable materials for making clamps and fastenings, but, as
Segur observes, that exertion '_sauva l'armée_.'"
But it is not always in the possession of a thing that we are most
likely to appreciate its utility; the evils and inconveniences resulting
from the want of it not unfrequently impress us most powerfully with its
importance and the advantages to be derived from its possession. A few
examples of this nature, drawn from military history, may be
instructive. We need not go back to the disastrous passage of the
Vistula by Charles XII., the failure of Marlborough to pass the Dyle,
and Eugene to cross the Adda in 1705, nor of the three unsuccessful
attempts of Charles of Lorraine to cross the Rhine in 1743. The wars
following the French Revolution are sufficiently replete with useful
instruction on this subject.[39]
[Footnote 39: Before recurring to these, it might be useful to give one
example, as it is often referred to, in the campaign of 1702. It was
deemed important for the success of the campaign to attack the Prince of
Baden in his camp at Friedlingen. Accordingly, a bridge was thrown
across the Rhine at Huningen, the passage effected, and the victory
gained. But Villars was several times on the point of losing all for
want of a sufficient ponton equipage. Having but a _single_ bridge, the
passage was necessarily slow; the artillery and stores were frequently
interrupted by the infantry hurrying to the field of battle; disorder
ensued, and the whole movement was retarded; Villars could bring only a
small part of his artillery into action, and towards the close of the
battle the infantry were in want of ammunition: moreover, the whole
operation had nearly failed from the attempt of the enemy to destroy
this bridge, but the skill of the French pontoniers saved it. We here
remark, 1st, the passage secured to Villars an important victory; 2d,
from having an inefficient bridge-equipage his whole army was placed in
great peril, and the operation had nearly failed; 3d, if the Prince of
Baden had possessed a skilful corps to oppose that of Villars, this
single bridge would have been destroyed, and the army cut to pieces;
4th, the skill of the little corps of French pontoniers saved the
bridge, and of consequence, the army.]
In 1794 so great was the disorder in the direction of affairs, that the
boats of the bridges across the Wahal and the Rhine were disposed of for
commercial purposes; and in the beginning of 1795, says Jomini, "the
conquerors of Belgium and Holland had not even a bridge equipage, at a
time too when the success of the campaign depended solely on the means
of crossing a river." A few boats were procured from the Wahal and the
Meuse, and others manufactured in the forests of the Moselle; but "these
operations consumed precious time, and _four months_ thus passed away in
preparations." Even after other things were all ready, the army was
obliged to wait thirty days for the arrival of boats for ponton bridges;
during this delay the Austrians strengthened their position, and with
very little exertion they might easily have prevented the passage.
In 1796, profiting by the errors of the former campaigns, the French
collected more suitable bridge equipages, and the two armies passed the
Rhine at Neuweid and Kehl without loss or delay. The latter of these
passages has often been referred to as a model for such operations, and
certainly does credit to the general who directed it. But Moreau's
bridge equipage having been destroyed during this disastrous campaign,
his operations the following year were considerably delayed in preparing
a new one, and even then he was under the necessity of seizing all
private boats that could be found within reach; but the difficulty of
collecting and using boats of all sizes and descriptions was so great as
entirely to defeat his plan of surprising the enemy on the opposite
bank of the river. The necessity of co-operating with Hoche admitted of
no further delay, and he was now obliged to force his passage in the
open day, and in face of the enemy. Undertaken under such circumstances,
"the enterprise was extremely sanguinary, and at one time very
doubtful;" and had it failed, "Moreau's army would have been ruined for
the campaign."
Napoleon's celebrated passage of the Po, at Placentia, shows plainly how
important it is for a general to possess the means of crossing rivers.
"I felt the importance of hastening the enterprise in order not to allow
the enemy time to prevent it. But the Po, which is a river as wide and
deep as the Rhine, is a barrier difficult to be overcome. We had no
means of constructing a bridge, and were obliged to content ourselves
with the means of embarkation found at Placentia and its environs.
Lannes, chief of brigade, crossed in the first boats, with the advanced
guard. The Austrians had only ten squadrons on the other side, and these
were easily overcome. The passage was now continued without
interruption, but very slowly. _If I had had a good ponton-equipage, the
fate of the enemy's army had been sealed; but the necessity of passing
the river by successive embarkations saved it."_
In the campaign of 1799, the Archduke attempted to pass the Aar, and
attacked the French on the opposite side, but for want of suitable
equipage his operation was delayed till the enemy had collected
sufficient forces to intercept the passage; he was now obliged to enter
into a stipulation for a suspension of hostilities, and to withdraw his
bridges.
The operations of the French in the campaign of 1800, led to the most
glorious results, but their execution was attended with the greatest
difficulties. The passage of the Alps was greatly facilitated by the
ability of the chief engineer, Marescot, and the skill of the troops
under his command; and the facility of passing rivers afforded Napoleon
by his pontoniers, had an important influence upon the success of the
campaign. "The army of the reserve had many companies of pontoniers and
sappers; the pontons of course could not be taken across the St.
Bernard, but the pontoniers soon found materials on the Po and Tesin for
constructing bridge equipages." Moreau's army in the same year profited
well by his pontoniers, in the passages of the Inn, the Salza, the
Traun, the Alza, &c., and in the pursuit of the Austrian army--a pursuit
that has but a single parallel example in modern history.
The facility with which Napoleon crossed rivers, made forced marches,
constructed redoubts, fortified depots, and grasped the great strategic
points of the enemy in the campaign of 1805, resulted from the skilful
organization of his army, and the efficiency given to the forces
employed in these important operations. The engineer staff of the French
army at this period, consisted of four hundred and forty-nine officers,
and there were four battalions of sappers, of one hundred and twenty
officers and seven thousand and ninety-two men; six companies of miners,
of twenty-four officers and five hundred and seventy-six men; and two
regiments of pontoniers, of thirty-eight officers and nine hundred and
sixty men. On the contrary, the enemy's neglect of these things is one
of the most striking of the many faults of the war, and his ill-directed
efforts to destroy the great wooden bridge across the Danube, and the
successful operations of the French sappers in securing it, formed one
of the principal turning points in the campaign.
The same organization enabled the French to perform their wonderfully
rapid and decisive movements in the Prussian campaign of 1806, and the
northern operations of 1807.
In 1809, Napoleon's army crossed, with the most wonderful rapidity, the
Inn, the Salza, the Traun, and other rivers emptying into the Danube,
and reached Vienna before the wonder-stricken Austrians could prepare
for its defence. It was then necessary for the French to effect a
passage of the Danube, which was much swollen by recent rains and the
melting snow of the mountains. Considering the depth and width of the
river, the positions of the enemy, and his preparations to oppose a
passage, with the disastrous consequences that would result to the
French from any failure in its execution; taking all these things into
consideration, Jomini pronounced it "one of the most hazardous and
difficult of all the operations of War." Here the fate of the army
depended, apparently, upon the skill and efficiency of the engineers and
pontoniers, and nobly did they discharge the trust reposed in them. When
the pontons failed, tressel-bridges were substituted, and even
fifty-four enormous boats were put in requisition. So skilfully were
these operations conducted, that Napoleon's immense army crossed over in
safety, directly in the face of a superior enemy, and the same day
fought the memorable battle of Esling. Forced to retire before numbers
vastly superior to his own, Napoleon concentrated his forces on the
island of Lobau, and intrenched his position. Surrounded by the broad
and deep channel of the Danube, and watched by numerous and skilful
enemies, it required the most constant activity and the greatest good
fortune to effect a passage. Here the skill and efficiency of the
engineers shone conspicuously; a number of bridges were thrown across
the river in the face of the Austrians, and against obstacles almost
insurmountable; the whole French army passed in safety, and soon put the
finishing stroke to that brilliant campaign. So high an estimate did
Napoleon attach to the construction of these bridges, that, when the
passage was completed, he offered to place Bertrand, the constructing
engineer, though of comparatively low rank, at the head of the French
_corps du genie_.
On many occasions during the retreat in 1812-13, from the Beresina to
the left of the Rhine, across the Niemen, the Vistula, the Oder, the
Elbe, and the numerous other rivers which divide that immense country,
the French derived vast advantages from the experience and skill of
their engineers and pontoniers, several times whole corps escaping
through their means from the grasp of their pursuers. When, however, the
disasters of this retreat had absorbed most of the material of the army,
and had sadly thinned the ranks of men of skill and experience, they
sustained many severe, and, in other circumstances, unnecessary losses.
Of this character we may mention the passage of the Elster by the bridge
of Lindnau, where, through the ignorance and carelessness of those
charged with the mines, and through the want of suitable bridge
arrangements, thousands of brave men were buried in the muddy waters of
this small river. So sensibly did Napoleon feel this want of bridge
equipages, in the winter of 1813-14, that he addressed to his minister
of war, on this subject, the following remarkable words: "If I had had
pontons, I should have already annihilated the army of Schwartzenberg,
and closed the war; I should have taken from him eight or ten thousand
wagons, and his entire army in detail; but for want of the proper means
I could not pass the Seine." Again, on the 2d of March he wrote: "If I
had had a bridge equipage this morning, Blücher's army had been lost."
Whoever will examine the details of the operations of this campaign,
will be convinced of the full force of these remarks.
In Spain in 1808, Sir John Moore, in order to assist the native forces,
had penetrated so near the army of Napoleon, that retreat became
exceedingly difficult, and he was several times on the point of being
lost. The English army was at this time very deficient in engineer
troops, and Moore suffered much for want of miners to destroy bridges,
and pontoniers to construct new ones. In order to cover his retreat and
impede the advance of the French, the commander-in-chief, says Napier,
"directed several bridges to be destroyed, but the engineers [for want
of miners and miner's tools] failed of success in every attempt."
In Soult's retreat, in 1809, he crossed the Duero at Oporto, and
destroyed the bridges so as to cut off the pursuit of Wellington. But
while Soult, deceived by treachery in his own corps, neglected to guard
the river with proper vigilance, Wellington collected boats at different
points, crossed over his army, surprised the French, and, had it not
been for the singular delay and indecision of General Murray, would most
certainly have forced the entire army to capitulate; as it was, his
operation produced a decided influence on the campaign, and effected the
safety of Beresford's corps. Soult destroyed his artillery and baggage,
and hastily retreated through the mountain passes; but his army was
again arrested at the river Cavado, and placed on the very brink of
destruction, when the brave and skilful Dulong succeeded in effecting a
passage at the Ponte Nova; the same daring officer opened, on the same
day, a way for the further escape of the French across the Misarella by
the Saltador.
In the pursuit of Massena, in 1810, it was important to the English to
cross the Guadiana, and attack the French before Badajos could be put in
a state of defence. Beresford was directed by Wellington to pass this
river at Jerumina, where the Portuguese had promised to furnish pontons;
but they neglected to fulfil their engagement, and the army had to wait
till Capt. Squire, an able and efficient officer of engineers, could
construct other means for effecting a passage. Every thing was done
that genius could devise and industry execute; nevertheless, the
operations of the army were greatly delayed--"_a delay,_" says the
historian, "_that may be considered as the principal cause of those long
and bloody operations which afterwards detained Lord Wellington more
than a year on the frontiers of Portugal._"
We might prolong these remarks by discussing the passages of the Ceira
and Alva, and their influence on the pursuit of Massena; Wellington's
passage of the Tagus, and his retreat from Burgos in 1812; the passage
of the Adour and Garonne in 1814; and the failure of the mines to blow
up the bridges of Saltador, Alcantara, &c.; but a sufficient number of
examples, it is believed, has already been adduced to show the advantage
of maintaining a properly organized and instructed body of sappers,
miners, and pontoniers, and the fatal results attending the want of such
troops, as a component part of an army organization.
It has already been remarked that the infantry of an army must always
form the basis of the apportionment; and by the general rule laid down
by military writers, the cavalry should be from one-fourth to one-sixth
of the infantry, according to the character of the war; the artillery
about two-thirds of the cavalry, or one-seventh of the infantry; and the
engineers from one-half to three-fourths of the artillery,--say about
two-thirds. The staff and administrative corps must vary according to
the nature of the organization, and the character of the theatre of war.
The former ought to be from two to five in a thousand, and the latter
from twenty-five to seventy-five,[40] as a general rule. These ratios
would give for a good army organization;
Staff, about ................................... 5
Administrative service--pay, medical, commissary,
quarter-master, &c. .............................65
Infantry, ......................................650
Cavalry, .......................................130
Artillery, ......................................90
Engineers, ......................................60
-----
Total, ...................1,000
In a broken country, and against savage and undisciplined foes, like the
Indians in this country, the natives opposed to the English in India, to
the French in Algeria, or to the Russians in Circassia, the cavalry,
artillery, and engineers would be diminished, and the infantry and
administrative corps proportionably increased; the former because light
troops are always preferable against an undisciplined foe, and the
latter because of the difficulty of moving and procuring supplies in new
and uncultivated countries. The French forces in Algeria, in 1844,
amounted to about sixty thousand men, in the following proportion:--
Staff, ...................................4.7
Administrative, &c., ...................112.3
Infantry, ..............................687.3
Cavalry, ................................86.6
Artillery, ..............................61.2
Engineers, ..............................47.9
---------
1000 men.
[Footnote 40: This supposes the teamsters, wagon-masters,
hospital-servants, &c., to be enlisted men, and not persons hired for
the occasion as is done in our army.]
In small peace establishments the relative proportion of infantry and
cavalry should be much less than when prepared for the field, because
troops for these two arms can be much more readily formed in case of
emergency, than for those which require more scientific information, and
technical skill and instruction. The staff and engineers are evidently
the most difficult to be formed in case of war, and next to these the
artillery and administrative corps.
In this country we can maintain, in time of peace, only the framework of
an army, looking to our citizen soldiery to form, in case of need, the
great mass of our military force. This is the starting point in our
military system, and the basis of our army organization. Let us see
whether this principle is carried out in practice.
For every thousand men in our present organization[41] we have,
For the staff, 2
Administrative, 20[42]
Infantry, 513
Cavalry, 150
Artillery, 310
Engineers, 5
----
1000
[Footnote 41: These numbers are the real rather than the _nominal_
proportions, many of our officers being called _staff_, who properly
belong to one of the other classes.]
[Footnote 42: Much of the administrative duty in our army is done by
unenlisted men, or by soldiers detached from their companies. Where such
is the case, the ratio of this branch of the service ought to be no
higher than is represented above.]
We see from this table, that while our artillery is nearly six times as
numerous as in ordinary armies, our staff is less by one-half, and our
engineers not more than one-half what ought to be their proportion in a
war establishment. To this excess of artillery over infantry and cavalry
in our army in time of peace there is no objection, inasmuch as the
latter could be more easily expanded in case of war than the artillery.
But for a still stronger reason our staff and engineers should also be
proportionally increased, instead of being vastly diminished, as is
actually the case.
Experience in the first campaigns of the American Revolution strongly
impressed on the mind of Washington the absolute necessity of forming a
regular and systematic army organization. But so difficult was it to
obtain properly instructed engineers, that he was obliged to seek his
engineer officers in the ranks of foreign adventurers, and to make
drafts from the other arms of service, and have them regularly
instructed in the duties of engineer troops, and commanded by the
officers of this corps. An order, in his own handwriting, giving the
details of this temporary arrangement, is dated March 30th, 1779. Until
men are enlisted for the purpose, companies of sappers and miners shall
be formed by drafts from the line. "The duties of the companies of
sappers and miners," he continues, "shall be under the direction of the
engineers, to construct field-works of every kind, and all works
necessary for the attack or defence of places, as circumstances may
require. On a march in the vicinity of an enemy, a detachment of the
companies of sappers and miners shall be stationed at the head of the
column, directly after the vanguard, for the purpose of opening and
mending the roads, and removing obstructions," &c. &c.
The great difficulties encountered by Washington in instructing his
inexperienced forces in the more difficult branches of the art, made him
the more earnest, in after years, to impress on us how important it was
for us _In peace to prepare for war._ The preparation here meant is not
the keeping up, in time of peace, of a large standing army, ever ready
to take the field; but rather the formation of a small body, educated
and practised in all the scientific and difficult parts of the
profession; a body which shall serve as the _cadre_ or framework of a
large army, capable of imparting to the new and inexperienced soldiers
of the republic that skill and efficiency which has been acquired by
practice. How far have we accomplished this object, and what will be the
probable operations in case of another contest with a European power?
New and inexperienced troops will be called into the field to oppose a
veteran and disciplined army. From these troops we shall expect all the
bravery and energy resulting from ardent patriotism and an enthusiastic
love of liberty. But we cannot here expect much discipline, military
skill, or knowledge of the several branches of the military art. The
peaceful habits of our citizens tend but little to the cultivation of
the military character. How, then, are we to oppose the hostile force?
Must human blood be substituted for skill and preparation, and dead
bodies of our citizens serve as epaulements against the inroads of the
enemy? To some extent, we fear it must be the case; but not entirely so,
for government has not altogether neglected to make preparation for such
an event. Fortifications have been planned or erected on the most
important and exposed positions; military materials and munitions have
been collected in the public arsenals; a military school has been
organized to instruct in the military sciences; there are regularly kept
up small bodies of infantry and cavalry, weak in numbers, but capable of
soon making good soldiers of a population so well versed as ours is in
the use of the musket and the horse; an artillery force, proportionally
much larger, is also regularly maintained, with a sufficient number of
men and officers to organize and make good artillery-men of citizens
already partially acquainted with the use of the cannon. But an
acquaintance with infantry, cavalry, and artillery duties is not the
only practical knowledge requisite in war. In the practical operations
of an army in the field, rivers are to be crossed, bridges suddenly
erected and suddenly destroyed, fieldworks constructed and defended,
batteries captured and destroyed; fortifications are to be put in order
and defended, or to be besieged and recaptured; trenches must be opened,
mines sprung, batteries established, breaches made and stormed;
trous-de-loup, abattis, palisades, gabions, fascines, and numerous other
military implements and machinery are to be constructed. Have our
citizens a knowledge of these things, or have we provided in our
military establishment for a body of men instructed and practised in
this branch of the military art, and capable of imparting to an army the
necessary efficiency for this service? Unfortunately this question must
be answered in the negative; and it is greatly to be feared that the
future historian will have to say of us, as Napier has said of the
English:--"_The best officers and soldiers were obliged to sacrifice
themselves in a lamentable manner, to compensate for the negligence and
incapacity of a government always ready to plunge the nation into a war,
without the slightest care of what was necessary to obtain success.
Their sieges were a succession of butcheries; because the commonest
materials, and the means necessary to their art, were denied the
engineers_."[43]
[Footnote 43: The subjects discussed in this chapter are also treated by
most authors on Military Organization and Military History, and by the
several writers on Military Engineering. Allent, Vauban, Cormontaigne,
Rocquancourt, Pasley, Douglas, Jones, Belmas, Napier, Gay de Vernon, may
be referred to with advantage. Pasley, Douglas, Jones, and Napier, speak
in the strongest terms of the importance of engineer troops in the
active operations of a war, and of the absolute necessity of organizing
this force in time of peace. A list of books of reference on Military
Engineering will be given at the close of the following chapters.
While these pages are passing through the press, Congress has authorized
the President to raise _one company_ of engineer troops! This number is
altogether too small to be of any use in time of war.]