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Midrash and Multiplicity Pirke De Rabbi Eliezer and the
Renewal of Rabbinic Interpretive Culture Studia Judaica
48 1st Edition Steven Daniel Sacks Digital Instant
Download
Author(s): Steven Daniel Sacks
ISBN(s): 9783110212822, 311021282X
Edition: 1
File Details: PDF, 1.55 MB
Year: 2009
Language: english
 STEVEN DANIEL SACKS
MIDRASH AND MULTIPLICITY

≥
 S TUDIA JUDAICA
F OR SC H U NGE N Z U R W I S S E N S C H A F T
D E S JUDE N T U M S

B E G RÜ N D E T VON
E. L. E H R L I CH

H E R AU S G E G E B E N VON
G. S T E M B E RG E R

BAN D XLVIII

WA LT E R D E G R U Y T E R · B E R L I N · N E W YO R K
MIDRASH AND MULTIPLICITY

P IR KE DE -R AB BI EL IE ZE R AND THE RENEWAL

OF RAB BI NI C I NT ERPR ET IVE CULTURE

BY
S TE VE N DAN IE L S ACKS

WA LT E R D E G R U Y T E R · B E R L I N · N E W YO R K
 앪
앝 Printed on acid-free paper which falls within the guidelines of the ANSI
to ensure permanence and durability.

ISBN 978-3-11-020922-8
ISSN 0585-5306

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쑔 Copyright 2009 by Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG, D-10785 Berlin
All rights reserved, including those of translation into foreign languages. No part of this book
may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical,
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sion in writing from the publisher.
Printed in Germany
Cover Design: Christopher Schneider, Laufen
 ‫לאבי‬

‫‪Barry Aubrey Sacks‬‬

‫כעבור סופה ואין רשע‬

‫וצדיק יסוד עולם‬
‫)משלי י‪:‬כה(‬
 Acknowledgements

The author of this work is greatly indebted to many who have moved this
project from conception to the present form, but only has the pleasure to list
few here. The inspiration for this work originated under the tutelage of
Professor Michael Fishbane, who illuminated the beauty and complexity of
midrash for me, and remains my paradigm as a scholar. I am also eternally
grateful for the guidance of Professor Jonathan Z. Smith, and cannot duly
express my gratitude to him for his kindness and attention to detail throughout
my efforts. Professor Lewis Barth was instrumental with his early support for
this project, and his extraordinary hospitality. Similarly, I owe my deepest
thanks to Professors Rivka Ulmer and Carol Bakhos for their criticism and
support for this project. My colleagues, Professors Joseph Molleur and Ahmed
Souaiaia are a paradigm of kindness and support, and for all things I owe them
my deepest gratitude. I would also like to acknowledge the diligent efforts of
my assistant, Alyssa McMullin, who prepared the indices in this work with
great patience. Finally, and not least, I would like to acknowledge the support
of my family, who have made all things possible.

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 their original rôle is that of acting in defence of their mountain passes. The
Alpine companies are placed in summer as near as possible to the particular
mountain passes whose defence is assigned to them, and are stationed for
only half the year in the towns as winter quarters.
Their duty is carried out with a particular object in view, and consists
mostly in shooting, skirmishing, constant marches over mountain paths,
reconnaissance duty and patrolling, and in minor tactics.
The whole of the Italian Infantry is at this moment armed (until the
alteration of their former weapon, the single-loader Vetterli, is completed)
with an excellent repeating rifle, the Vitali. Particular attention is paid to
musketry instruction, and facilities for shooting are given and encouraged by
the holding of National Rifle Meetings at stated times. At these meetings, any
soldier on furlough is allowed to compete, with his Service rifle.
The Cavalry of the Italian Army, on account of the scarcity of useful horses,
and the mountainous character of the land, is weak in comparison with the
Cavalry of other European armies.
It consists of 24 regiments, each of 6 squadrons and an Ersatz-cadre; i.e.,
10 Lancer regiments and 14 regiments of Light Cavalry (Cavalleggieri).
The Light Cavalry are armed with a long curved sword, and the Lancers
with a lance. In addition to these weapons, the whole of the Cavalry is armed
with a rifled breech-loading carbine.
The Field Artillery consists of 24 regiments, each of 8 batteries; there are
also 6 Horse Artillery and 9 Mountain batteries. It can put in the field in war-
time 1,196 guns. The heavy batteries are armed with 3·54-inch breech-
loaders; the Light and Horse Artillery batteries with 2·76-inch breech-loaders.
The mountain guns, for the transport of each of which three horses or mules
are provided, are of 2·95-inch calibre, of steel-bronze, and mounted on
wooden carriages.
The Garrison Artillery consists of 5 regiments; the Siege-train of 2 parts—
each of 200 guns.
s The Engineers consist of 4 regiments, including a Railway and Telegraph
Company, a Pontoon and a Bridging Troop.
The Artillery and Engineers provide their own Train.
12 Commissariat companies are told off for service in the depôts.
 The men of the Field Artillery and Engineers carry a revolver besides a
sword; Garrison Artillerymen are armed with a breech-loading carbine.
There is also a Corps closely
connected with the Army which
deserves mention, namely, the
Gendarmes, or “Carabinieri Reali,”
whose strength amounts to 543
officers, 22,487 Foot Gendarmes, and
11 legions of Mounted Gendarmes.
Formerly many a story was told of
the fights between the Carabinieri and
the banditti. Nowadays, both the
robbers and the old Carabinieri have
disappeared, and the present
Carabinieri Reali form an excellent
Corps, whose duty it is to maintain
peace and good order in the country. Carbineer.
In war-time a battalion of them is
sent with each Army Corps. They have then to provide orderlies for the Staff,
as well as to act as Military Police.
The whole kingdom is divided into twelve Army Corps Districts.
In peace-time the Army Corps vary in strength. In war, each Army Corps
consists of 2 Divisions, the Division numbering 2 Brigades (each brigade
consisting of 2 regiments of Infantry), and an Artillery Division of 3 batteries.
Besides these, each Army Corps has 1 regiment of Bersaglieri, 1 or 2 Artillery
Divisions, each of 4 batteries, 1 regiment of Cavalry, 2 companies of
Engineers, with bridging-train, and 1 battalion of Carabinieri, forming
altogether 27 battalions of Infantry, 5 or 6 squadrons of Cavalry, 12 to 16
batteries of Artillery, and 2 companies of Engineers, etc.—total, about 29,000
men and 112 guns.
The Alpini are not included in the Corps organisation.
The Landwehr consists of 48 regiments of Infantry, 18 battalions of
Bersaglieri, 22 Alpine Companies, 61 batteries of Artillery, and 35 companies
of Engineers. It is formed into twelve divisions in time of war.
 Besides the above, there are 342 battalions, 30 Engineer companies, and
100 companies of Foot Artillery of the Landsturm, for garrison purpose. In
peace-time depôts for the Landwehr and Landsturm are not organised:
preparations are however being made for instituting them.
In this manner is organised the Army which has now for about ten years
proudly taken its place alongside the proved and war-tried armies of the
senior Powers. Anyone accustomed to English or German troops, such as the
Brigade of Guards in Hyde Park, or the German Foot-Guards at Potsdam, will
find much that is strange on seeing the Italian Army, resulting from the
peculiarity of race. He will miss the upright bearing, the regular movements
and the steady drill of the Infantry, and the well-groomed and glossy horses
of the Cavalry; but he will be pleased with the picturesque uniforms of the
Army, the extremely smart appearance and active movements of the
Bersaglieri, with their waving green plumes, and with the martial and
powerful bearing of the Alpini, with their upright plumes in their head-dress;
and he will find that the cry of “Evviva il Re Umberto” sounds just as loud and
strong here as our own English “God save the Queen.” The impression that he
will take away with him will be that the like spirit of the ancient Romans has
not been lost in their descendants, and that the young kingdom of Italy is
well prepared to throw her Army as a decisive weight on to the side of victory
in some future European war.

ADDENDUM TO ITALY

P. 43. Additional troops have lately been raised for service in Africa. They
consist of—
1 Regiment African Rifles (4 battalions),
1 Regiment Native African Infantry (4 battalions),
1 Battalion African Bersaglieri,
1 Squadron Native Cavalry,
3 Batteries African Mountain Artillery.
These are all for service at Massowah.
Italy. [LHS]
Italy. [RHS]
 FRANCE.

The next on the list is France, our nearest continental neighbour, who for a
long time was the foremost of European Military Powers. In the disastrous
war of 1870 she lost this position entirely, and has ever since then been
making the most strenuous exertions to regain something of her old strength
by thorough revision and reorganisation of her Army.
The laws of 1872 and 1873 were passed
with a view to this object, and by them
Universal Conscription was introduced, as in
Germany. On economical grounds, all able-
bodied conscripts were divided into two
classes, the first of which serves five years
with the Colours, and the second only one
year.
After his five years’ active service (or one
year, as the case may be) the soldier goes
for four (or eight) years to the Active
Reserve. Thereafter he enters the Territorial
Army for five years, and the Territorial Army
Reserve for a subsequent six years, making
Officer of Mountain Artillery. twenty years in all. The Active Army and its
Reserve form the Army of the 1st Line, and
the Territorial Army and its Reserve the Army of the 2nd Line.
The institution of one-year Volunteers covers a much larger area than in the
German Army. The main point looked to in a would-be one-year Volunteer is
whether he can pay his 1,500 francs; the scientific and educational
certificates required from such candidates in Germany are quite a secondary
consideration in France.
France was not content with following the German model when she re-
constituted her Army, but endeavoured to organise a system whereby an
enormous number of trained soldiers should be turned out in the shortest
possible time—something like the “levée en masse” which took place at the
time of the French Revolution in 1793. This has been the aim of successive
war ministers since 1871. It seems to have been brought to a conclusive issue
by the law of the 15th July, 1889, which for severity and harshness appears to
surpass any military sacrifices and duties ever demanded of any people.
France. I. [LHS]
 France. I. [RHS]

The main points of this law are as follows:—

 1. Extension of liability to service from twenty to twenty-five years.
2. Change from five years’ to three years’ service with the Colours.
3. Abolition of all exemptions from service; even the only sons of widows,
the eldest sons of orphans, and those whose brothers are already serving,
must serve one year, and may be sent away at its conclusion; if, however,
they have not given satisfaction in the ranks, they may be kept on for another
two years. Candidates for the higher professions and theological students will
have to serve for one year, the latter to serve as bearers during active service.
4. One-year Volunteers to be drawn exclusively from students of science,
and from a few moderately high schools.
5. Payment of a military tax by all, and an extra one by those who are unfit
for service, and by any who are conscribed for less than three years.
A final point is given to this law by stating that no one is to accept a
governmental or departmental office without having previously served for five
years in either Army or Navy, and during two of these years to have served in
the capacity of either officer or non-commissioned officer.
The war-strength of France was, before the passing of this law, and
according to French sources:—
Army of the 1st Line 2,051,458 men.
Army of the 2nd Line 2,057,196 men.
————
Total 4,108,654 men.
It is almost impossible to calculate, from the new law, what her strength
will be exactly, but it appears to be nearly equal to that of the three Powers
together who form the Triple Alliance!
Whether this law has been promulgated in view of an approaching war, or
whether it will be carried out in all its Spartan severity throughout the present
peace—and long may it last!—is a question only to be determined by the
future. In either case the spirit of self-sacrifice which has prompted the
French to lay the heavy burden on themselves is much to be admired. The
mainspring of this spirit appears, however, to be more the frantic effort to get
back the country’s former military prestige than pure patriotism.
The peace-strength of France is no criterion by which to measure the forces
that she could put in the field in case of war.
 The Infantry consists of—
162 Line Regiments, each of 3 battalions—486 battalions.
4 Zouave Regiments, each of 4 battalions—16 battalions.
4 Algerian Rifle Regiments (Turcos) 4 battalions—16 battalions.
2 Regiments of the Foreign Legion, 4 battalions—8 battalions.
30 Battalions of Rifles (Chasseurs)—30 battalions.
5 Battalions of African Light Infantry (Zéphyrs)—5 battalions.
Grand total, 561 battalions.
The magazine rifle of the French
Infantry, introduced in 1887, and called
after its inventor, Colonel Lebel, director of
the Normal School of Musketry at Chalons,
is certainly equal to both the German and
Austrian magazine rifles in shooting and
general value. As regards the powder for
its cartridges, the composition of which[19]
remains a secret up till now, the inventor
has claimed that its use will revolutionise
Infantry tactics. According to French
accounts, the powder is both noiseless
and smokeless. If this were the case, no
Hospital Orderly. Surgeon. doubt it would produce changes in the
mode of fighting, and surprises would be
greatly facilitated thereby. Last year, however, experiments were made at the
German Artillery School and at the Manœuvres with an almost identical
powder, the results of which proved that the advantages of the French
powder were greatly exaggerated. The report of the rifle is distinctly heard,
and is little, if at all, less loud than that of the old powder. The smoke, it is
true, is very much less, but is still quite visible on a still day, its colour being a
transparent dull blue. The new powder, therefore, certainly possesses
advantages, but these will be of little account when all armies—as seems very
probable in the near future—come to use the same powder.
The Lebel rifle is apparently being superseded by a new rifle, that invented
by Captain Pralon, and it is said that the Rifle battalions will shortly be armed
with it. The uniform of the French Infantry is the same as it has been for the
last forty years, the main features in field-order being the long blue-grey
great-coat, red képi and loose red trousers. The full dress is shako and
double-breasted dark-blue tunic. The Rifle battalions wear blue-grey trousers.
The foreign troops, chiefly African, form a remarkable feature in the French
Army; they consist of Zouaves, Turcos, Foreign Legion, and Spahis, and take
the field with the French troops against any Power, civilised or otherwise.
The Zouaves were originally an Arab tribe, whom the French conquered and
forced to pay tribute. Their dress is picturesque, consisting of an open blue
jacket, red sash, loose red knickerbockers, and white gaiters, their head-gear
being a red fez with or without a white turban. At the present time, there are
but few Africans amongst them, the greater portion being Frenchmen, pure
and simple.
France. II. [LHS]
France. II. [RHS]
 The Turcos are natives of Algeria and Tunis, induced to enlist by a bounty
of £16. Their dress is similar to that of the Zouaves, excepting that their
knickerbockers are blue, or white, instead of red.
Both Zouaves and Turcos have many attributes of good Light Infantry. The
former are renowned for their energy and activity in the attack, and the latter
for their stalking and crawling powers. As long as there is a prospect of
victory, these troops are full of élan and courage, but a defeat takes much of
their spirit out of them.
Another peculiar body of troops are the five
battalions of Zéphyrs Light African Infantry. They
consist of very bad characters who are sent to the
Corps as a punishment for their crimes. They
garrison different districts in Algeria, as a rule the
most unpleasant ones, and though formerly never
employed in Europe, will now be allowed to do so
in future wars.
The Foreign Legion, numbering 5,000 men,
consists of foreigners voluntarily enlisted for five
years. They do not have a happy time of it.
The Cavalry, with the latest additions to it, is
composed of 79 regiments of 5 squadrons each
Officer of Mountain Rifles.
(including a depôt-squadron), and 4 regiments of
Spahis of 6 squadrons each—total, 419 squadrons. They consist of—
12 Regiments of Cuirassiers,
28 ” ” Dragoons,
21 ” ” Chasseurs à Cheval,
12 ” ” Hussars,
6 ” ” Chasseurs d’Afrique,
4 ” ” Spahis.
Total, 83 regiments.
The whole of the Cavalry is armed with the cut-and-thrust sword. Lances
there are none. The Cuirassiers carry a revolver, the other regiments a
carbine. The cuirass is still worn in Cuirassier regiments.
 The French horse is not by a long way as
lasting or as fit for service as the German
(i.e., Lithuanian and Hanoverian) horse. Nor
is the French Cavalry soldier a good groom.
The Chasseurs d’Afrique and the Spahis,
mounted on Arabian stallions, form
exceptions to this rule. The Spahis are for
the most part natives of Africa, officered by
Frenchmen. Their whole appearance
produces a novel impression, dressed as
they are in their Oriental attire of blue
jacket and baggy breeches, long red-leather
riding-boots, with the white burnous slung
Railway Troop. over their shoulders, and mounted on their
sinewy little horses, which they guide at will
with a mere turn of the wrist. It is a strange sight to see these children of the
desert at their games, tearing along with wild war-shrieks and waving their
long guns frantically over their heads, each man and horse straining every
muscle to be first in the race.
The Field Artillery consists of 19 brigades (one to each Army Corps), each
of 2 regiments. One of these regiments has 12, the other 11 batteries,
including between them 3 batteries of Horse Artillery, so that each Army
Corps has 23 batteries. Each battery has 6 guns, fully-horsed even in peace-
time. Besides these, some mountain batteries are going to be formed, but
only in case of need.
The Artillery is armed with an excellent (3·53-in.) gun, on the De Bange
system. It was entirely re-armed with these after the 1870–71 campaign, and
at an enormous cost.
The Garrison Artillery, 16 battalions of 6 batteries each, is also armed with
first-rate new guns.
s Of Engineers there are 4 regiments, each of 5 battalions. An independent
Railway Regiment has lately been formed.
The Corps of Gendarmerie, numbering as many as 25,000 men, is more or
less connected with the Army, for though in peace-time it is employed on
police-duty, in war-time it would be formed into as many Field Divisions of
military police as would be required for keeping order in rear of the Army. The
Garde-Républicaine of Paris (Cavalry and Infantry), is a branch of the
Gendarmerie, and not of the Army, and the Regiment of Sapeurs-Pompiers,
though militarily organised, is in reality only the Fire Brigade.
The Train consists of 19 squadrons of 5
companies each.
Besides the above troops, there are military corps
organised for Postal and Telegraph service in the
field; also a Balloon Corps, a Carrier-pigeon Corps,
a Cyclist Corps, and a Dog-training Corps.
There are numerous schools in France intended
either for military education or further military
instruction. Chief amongst them is the Military
School of St. Cyr, into which 400 candidates are
admitted every year as cadets, after a competitive
examination. The course lasts for two years, and
the cadets are then sent as 2nd lieutenants to the
Trumpeter of the Paris
Infantry and Cavalry. The Polytechnic School in Mounted Garde Républicaine.
Paris sends 250 cadets annually under like
conditions to the Artillery and Engineers. In the time of Napoleon I., a great
many of the officers, including some of his most famous marshals, rose from
the ranks; and even now a very large proportion of them come from the same
source.
The whole of France is divided for administrative and organising purposes
into 18 Regions, in each of which an Army Corps is quartered. The 19th Corps
is in Algeria.
Each Army Corps comprises 2 Infantry Divisions, each of 2 brigades of 2
regiments each, besides a battalion of Rifles, a brigade of Cavalry (2
regiments), and a brigade of Artillery.
On reviewing the size and organisation of the French Army, we cannot help
being struck by the fact that, besides being exceedingly numerous, it is well
organised, well armed, and endowed with a proper warlike spirit. Although
not “the best in the world,” as every Frenchman will tell you, the French
soldier is possessed of many excellent and soldier-like qualities. One cannot
form one’s judgment by the extremely slack and unsmart appearance of the
men, both as regards physique and uniform. The “Piou-piou,” as the Infantry
soldier is called by his fellow-countrymen, who lounges about with his képi
well on the back of his head and his hands deep in his baggy trouser-pockets,
does certainly not present a soldier-like appearance, but all the same he is an
active and handy man on service, and on the field of battle advances pluckily
through a murderous fire, with little thought of danger or alarm.

Chasseur d’Afrique.
If we now come to the question why, with an Army which has given such
numerous proofs in many campaigns of its valour and excellence, France has
not kept up her prestige, the answer is to be found, not in the morale of the
Army, but in that of France herself, a country in which the spirit of order and
subjection, and that stern devotion to duty which is the foundation of all
discipline, have never taken root. Ambition and desire of conquest form the
motive-power of many great and glorious deeds, and are certainly not
wanting in the French character. Higher than these, however, stands the
feeling of duty which keeps a man at his post through all hardships and perils,
without a thought for his own gain or loss, simply because he has learned to
subject his will to a higher one. On this foundation can be raised a discipline
which permits of no loosening of the bonds of training and order even in
times of disaster, and which keeps up the spirit of the Army and faith in its
final success even under the heaviest blows of misfortune. This feeling cannot
be learnt in a three years’, nor five years’, nor even twenty-five years’ service,
if it is not ingrained and actually born in the national character and national
system of education. Without these main features even universal conscription
itself will not be successful, and the recent Draconian law in France, although
it may bring forth vast masses of armed men, will not produce that feeling of
combined action and willingness to follow their leaders to the death which is
so characteristic of nations in whom the military spirit is thoroughly
implanted.
France is well-armed for attack as well as defence; for attack, by means of
the great armed masses which she can throw into the enemy country at the
first declaration of war, in conjunction with the troops she has had stationed
on her frontier during peace-time; and for defence by means of a defensive
system on a vast scale, the outer line of which consists of frontier-fortresses
and stop-gap forts from the Swiss to the Belgian frontier, from Belfort, over
the Vosges ridge to Epinal, now a strong fortress, Toul and Verdun, on the
right bank of the Meuse. Behind this first line of defence a second one has
been built, consisting of entrenched camps between forty and fifty miles
apart, and reaching from Langres to Rheims. There are, in fact, but few roads
into France which are not covered by the fire of some fortress or other. The
central point of the whole of this vast defensive system is the huge fortress of
Paris, which, with her circle of protecting forts surrounding her on a fifteen-
mile radius, is more like a fortified province than a fortress.
The secret of victory, however, does not lie in vast armaments like these. “It
is the spirit which forms the body” and brings into subjection the material
powers for its own objects. War is not only a combat of material forces; it is
in a higher sense a combat of cultured forces. Let us, therefore, remember
that the best preparation for trial by combat does not lie in continual striving
to over-reach another in material and brute force, but in the striving after a
more complete development of warlike skill.

ADDENDUM TO FRANCE.
 Pp. 46, 47. Now that the new law has come into force, July 1890, the terms
of service have been entirely changed. As the law now stands, seven-tenths
of the annual contingent of recruits have to serve for 3 years, and three-
tenths for 1 year. After his colour-service, a man joins the Active Reserve for 7
(or 9) years, then the Territorial Army for 6 years, and after that the Territorial
Reserve for 9 years more—total 25 years.
312,000 youths reach the military age (20) every year. Of these only
174,000 are required for colour-service. The effect of the new law will be that
by 1915 a.d. there will be no fewer than 3,500,000 of Frenchmen properly
trained as soldiers and ready to take the field, and 60,000 trained men per
annum will have been added to the army!
N.B.—The war-strength of over 4,000,000 given on page 47 includes all
men, old and young, who have ever received any military training, and is
therefore hardly a just estimate of the French fighting-strength. The latest
trustworthy estimates put it at 2,790,000 men.
P. 49. The Cavalry is now, or will be very shortly, composed of 92 regiments
of 5 squadrons, and 4 regiments of Spahis of 6 squadrons each—total, 484
squadrons.
They consist of
14 Regiments of Cuirassiers,
34 ” ” Dragoons,
22 ” ” Chasseurs à Cheval,
14 ” ” Hussars,
8 ” ” Chasseurs d’Afrique,
4 ” ” Spahis.
Total, 96 regiments.
P. 49. 12 Mountain Batteries are being formed. There are, in addition to the
numbers given, 12 batteries in Corsica, Algeria, and Tunis.
 RUSSIA.

Russia is situated, from a military point of view, quite differently to any other
European country, for of the whole Russian Empire only about a quarter lies
in Europe. This quarter, it is true, is larger than the rest of all Europe put
together, but it contains only a third of the population. Although by far the
greater part of her dominions lies in another continent, Russia has had a
pretty large finger in the European pie, and will in the future, no doubt, often
mix herself up in European politics. Her policy, if it can be called so, is to try
to influence Western questions in such a manner as eventually to bring all
Slav races under her rule.
Russia has therefore organised her Army on an European footing, and
chiefly on the German model. In 1874 she brought in Universal Conscription,
from which, however, the upper classes, i.e., the nobility, the clergy, and
officials, are exempt. The actual Colour service lasts six years; after that the
soldier is sent for nine years more to the Reserve, which can be called out to
reinforce the Standing Army. During the rest of his time, i.e., up to his
twentieth year of service he belongs to the Opoltschenie—a body of men
similar to the German Landsturm.
The number of able-bodied young men who
annually attain the requisite age, 21 years,
comes to about 800,000. Of these only 225,000
are conscribed, and the requisite number for the
Army are selected from these by lot; the
remainder are sent to the Opoltschenie. The
latter body, therefore, consists of a huge mass of
men, but mostly untrained. There is no middle
body of men, like the German Landwehr, in the
Russian Army.
The Regular Army is divided into four bodies,
according to the respective duties required from
Infantry (heavy marching order). them. They are the Field Forces, Reserve Forces,
Ersatz Forces, and Local Forces.
The Field Forces are intended to be the first to take the field in case of war.
Their Infantry consists of 192 regiments of 4 battalions each, and 58½ Rifle
battalions, as follows:—
12 Regiments of the Guard.
16 Regiments of Grenadiers.
164 Regiments of Infantry of the Line.
4 Rifle Battalions of the Guard.
54½ Rifle Battalions of the Line.
The Guard Regiments enjoy many privileges denied to the rest, and their
officers rank one step higher in the Army.
Many alterations in the uniform have
been made by the present Czar. The
dark green colour has been preserved,
but the cut of the tunic has been altered
from that of the Prussian tunic to a loose
double-breasted jacket fastened with
hook and eye, and with no buttons. The
head-gear is a round fur-cap, white in
the case of Generals and Staff-officers,
and black in all others. The soldier has
little to do in the way of metal-polishing,
it is true, but still the eye misses the
accustomed glint which one usually
associates with a military uniform. The
Regiments of the Guard and Grenadiers
Cossack of the Guard.
have special distinguishing marks on
their uniform.
The Infantry rifle is a useful breech-loader with bayonet, on the system of
the American General Berdan. Regarding the question of magazine-rifles, the
Government has not yet made up its mind; so that, for the present at all
events, Russia is rather behindhand in the matter.
 The Cavalry of the Field Forces consists of:—
Guard Cavalry:—
4 Regiments of Cuirassiers,
2 ” ” Dragoons,
2 ” ” Hussars,
2 ” ” Lancers,
and 46 regiments of Dragoons of the Line.
The Cuirassier regiments have 4, the remainder 6 squadrons each. Besides
the above, there is a Division (2 squadrons) of Crimean Tartar Cavalry, which
would be expanded in case of war to a regiment.
The uniform of the Guard Cavalry, as can be seen by our plates, is very
brilliant compared with that of the Dragoons of the Line. The whole Cavalry is
armed with a light and slightly-curved sabre, called a “Shashka,” which is
worn on a narrow band over the right shoulder. The front-ranks of the
Cuirassiers and Lancers carry lances on garrison-duty and on full-dress
occasions, but these would not be taken on service. The Dragoons carry a
rifle, somewhat shorter than that of the Infantry, the bayonet of which is
worn on the “Shashka”-scabbard; other Cavalry regiments carry the Berdan
carbine.
The Field Artillery consists of:—
3 Brigades of Guard Field Artillery,
4 Brigades of Grenadier Field Artillery,
44 Brigades of Field Artillery of the Line.
Each brigade numbering 6 batteries.
The Horse Artillery consists of 1 Brigade of Guard Artillery, and 23 batteries
of Horse Artillery of the Line; besides the above, there are two Mounted
Mountain Batteries.
The Field Batteries have 8 guns, only 4 of which are horsed in peace-time.
A Horse Artillery Battery always has 6 fully-horsed guns.
The matériel consists of excellent steel-guns, mostly from Krupp works in
Essen, the bore of the heavy field-guns being 4·16 inches, and that of the
light ones 3·39 inches.
s The Engineers consist of 17 battalions of Sappers (including 1 Guard and 1
Grenadier Battalion), and a few independent companies, 8 battalions of
Pontonniers, 9 Railway battalions, 6 Field-parks, 16 Military Telegraph-parks,
and 2 Siege-parks.
There is no Train; it is formed in war-time by taking men from the Cavalry
Reserves. Hence it would appear that the mobility and manœuvring power of
the Army in the field would not be very great.
During peace-time the Reserve forces, which would have to complete the
Army to war strength on its taking the field, and the Ersatz forces, whose
duty it would be to fill up gaps caused by death, wounds, disease, etc., during
the war, are only represented by depôt-cadres.
To the Local forces belong 50½ battalions of Garrison Artillery, distributed
amongst the fortresses of the country, besides 32 Line battalions, quartered in
Asiatic Russia for garrison duties; they may, however, if necessary, be
employed on Active Service. To these forces also belong the “Instruction
troops,” which practise new regulations, tactical and otherwise, as they are
brought out, and experimentalise with new arms and equipment when
necessary. The Corps of Gendarmes and the Frontier Guards may also be said
to form part of the Local forces.
The Field Forces are in peace-time divided into 19 Army Corps (including
the Guard Corps and the Grenadier Corps); 2 to 3 Infantry Divisions, and 1
Cavalry Division, with their Artillery, form an Army Corps. The Infantry
Division numbers 2 Infantry Brigades, each of 2 regiments and 1 brigade of
Field Artillery. A Cavalry Division numbers in the same way 2 brigades of 2
regiments each; besides 2 batteries of Horse Artillery.
The peace-strength of the Regular Army comes to something like 700,000
men and 1,538 field-guns, and the war-strength to 1,800,000 men and 3,260
guns.
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