Читать книгу Kelly Miller's History of the World War for Human Rights - Kelly Miller - Страница 157

In 1881 the established peace strength was increased by thirty-four battalions of infantry, forty batteries of field artillery and other forces, and in 1886 Bismarck, recognizing the power of Prussianism and its military influence, was compelled to dissolve the Reichstag, but after the election in 1887 thirty-one other battalions and twenty-four batteries were added. Two complete army corps were added in 1890, and in 1893 the color service, or length of time when reservists were subject to duty under colors only, was decreased by two years, bringing the peace strength up to more than half a million and the reservists up to 4,000,000. Step by step the strength of the military force was increased until after the adoption of the law of 1913, when provision was made for 699 battalions of infantry; 633 batteries of field artillery; 44 battalions of engineers; 55 battalions of garrison artillery; 31 battalions of communications and 26 battalions of train troops—a grand total of 870,000 actually in service in peace strength.

The German Empire is composed of twenty-six states—Prussia, Bavaria, Wurttemberg, Baden, Saxony, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Sterlitz, Oldenburg, Brunswick, Saxe-Weimer-Eisnach, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Altenburg, Waldeck, Lippe, Schaumburg-Lippe, Reuss (elder line), Reuss (younger line), Anhalt, Schwarz-Rudolstadt, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, Hamburg, Bremen, Lubeck and Reichsland—the Alsace-Lorraine. The area is less than that of the State of Texas while the population according to the most recent statistics is about 65,000,000.

Every male person between the ages of eighteen and forty-five is liable for military service. Reservists under the rules in force when the war started were subject to two musters annually and two periods of training not to exceed eight weeks in duration.