IKE SWISS ARMY. T HE Swiss Army has had the good
fortune to win the approval of the Germans and the French, who have both strong reasons for knowing what it is and what it is worth. Nor is it surprising that each, after due considera- tion, should have come to a like conclusion. For Switzer- land has practically shown how much, under definite conditions of a peculiar kind, can be done with small means. It is a poor country, taken as a whole ; it has a relatively small population ; it stands upon a federal basis, the growth of ages ; yet, if need were, some two hundred thousand soldiers, who are now barely visible even to the inquiring traveller, would be instantly found in the field. We say " soldiers," for, although they are called militia and have not had any long, continuous training, still the men who make up the total are adepts, because at no period of their lives, except during infancy, have they been exempt from instruction and discipline.
The Swiss have no regular army composed of troops on foot for two or three years ; but they have military insti- tutions forming part of every-day existence, and they profit by them so well from youth to age, and have such simple practical arrangements, that a well-articulated army seems at a signal to spring from the ground in marching order,—what is more, does march and man- oeuvre, and would fight, if need were, after the fashion of their valiant forefathers. It is a triumphant example of genuine economy in the generation, organisation, and application of force to produce the greatest results by the smallest means.
How is it done ? Military service is obligatory, a grievance in most countries, but not in Switzerland, which is the only place where young fellows complain when they are not included in the list of fit and proper men. The annual batches of recruits are drilled for a little more than six weeks, which sounds shocking until we know that they come up to the rendezvous ready prepared by training of all kinds, including shooting,—training which they have received in youth and adolescence in their cantons and communes. Even children at school win prizes for marks- manship. The consequence is that the recruit reaches the drill-ground in a condition to fall in, and his time there is occupied only in necessary work. The subsequent exercises occur at biennial periods of sixteen days until he has served for ten years, when he falls into another category. The artillery is a favourite service, and the numbers on the roll are greatly in excess of the nominal establishment. The cavalry, on the other hand, falls below the maximum wanted,—chiefly because the cavalier must find his own horse, but partly because there are not enough recruits apt for the arm and able to comply with the regulation. Nevertheless, it has been found practicable to muster nearly three thousand, and to horse the abundant guns. It might be assumed that neither squadrons nor batteries so raised and maintained could manoeuvre ; yet the testi- mony of experts is that they can both do so, the horsemen working fairly well with the other troops, and the gunners showing punctuality, precision, and mobility. The weak point in this militia army lies in the officers—not at all in the permanent directing bodies, which are admirable—but in the battalions and squadrons. Even the big armies, however, find it hard work to make the supply approximate to the demand. The really noticeable thing is, that when assembled in divisions for grand manoeuvres, all arms show so much excellence. Perhaps, apart from the fact that the Swiss have been soldiers for centuries, so that the special aptitudes are in the blood, the true reason is to be found in the fixed resolve of this eminently practical poly- glot nation never to sacrifice quality to quantity,—a risk which the makers of armies reckoned by the million always must and do run. It should be observed that necessity has obliged the Swiss to admit a larger amount of centralisa- tion into their system than formerly seemed compatible with their time-tried federalism. The Cantons it is which have had to cede powers and control, and the question now is mooted whether or not it shall be carried further, so as to throw the entire responsibility, together with the authority which it implies, upon the Federal Government. Considering that with the means available so much has been well done, perhaps it would be better to leave well alone, since what would be gained in efficiency, gauged by a German standard, might and probably would trench on the spirit now animating the whole mass. But that is for the Swiss to determine. The voluntary element in the com- pulsory system now goes for a vast deal. The people take a pride in their duty to the State, and consequently co- operate heartily with the central authority. Those who serve are eager to serve, and those who do not or cannot serve are willing to pay the military tax. So long as the national spirit suffers no decay, so long as a good central staff is maintained and efficient instructors and inspectors are appointed, the fine results we see will be produced. It is the confidence reposed in all, the spirit of intelligent obedience, the keen perception of duty, that enables the ruling powers to entrust every man with his clothing, equipment, and weapons. Practically, therefore, as all are prepared, a Swiss army is mobilised as if by magic, for the order to assemble at once brings all the troops into the field. How great the gain of that is, let those say who have looked a little into the rapid mobilisa- tion of the best armies. Of course, even when each soldier turns out with all he needs, the thing could not be done collectively without not only excellent, but excellently maintained pre-arrangements. And we are assured by competent judges that these exist. As long ago as 1870, four divisions were placed on the Rhine frontier within three days. That could only be accomplished by alacrity and good-will on all sides. In a time of stress, the so- called Elite, the younger troops, would be out at once, and in no long time the Landwehr would follow. " If there were a war," said a hale old mountaineer of sixty, who has three strapping sons in the Elite, " I should be there myself." The boy of ten who wins his school shooting prize, and the veteran of threescore, each feels the national impulse to maintain " the neutrality and independence " of their country. That is one grand practical effect of the Swiss system, which, unhappily. is not available for any other country on this side the Atlantic, because no other exists under similar conditions.
It is not necessary to speak of the fighting qualities of the Switzer : the history of Europe speaks for them. The vital question is,—Can a Militia, so trained and officered, perform what is required of soldiers in modern war ? According to appearances, there is every reason to believe that they can. A French officer who attended the late summer operations does not stint his admiration either of the system or its results, so far as they can be judged from peace manoeuvres. The very aspect of the troops and their bearing impresses military observers with a conviction that " they can be trusted in a crisis or moment of danger." One of them says, " It is a soldier's instinct to know this," and that he has never known it fail. In fact, the whole- some spirit of battle is instinctive in a people which has defended itself for ages. It is notorious also that they are good marchers. They can go far, if not fast, and if the young soldiers tire on the flat roads, a defect which experience would cure, they rarely grow weary on their steep and rugged hills. In addition, they are admirable marksmen, and, the rules of the service being rigidly applied, retain in action the habit of steadiness and accuracy which they acquire almost from the .cradle. It is not merely in strictly military firing that so many excel, but in the style of shooting which is said to have made the Boers so formidable. Troops which can march strongly, shoot straight, manoeuvre well, and are imbued with the patriotism and enduring energy of their race, have posses- sion of the qualities required in war. Besides this, their pioneers are prompt and solid in the construction of those field-works which arms of precision have made needful in pitched battles, and more needful than ever in defensive actions of few against many. Their infantry armament, geod now, will be still better when the new magazine-rifle is substituted for that which they possessed many years before any other State troops ; and they have plenty of ex- cellent guns. After the national spirit which informs the system and alone renders it practicable, we must place the downright soldierly conduct of the superior staff, which has long and untiringly acted upon sound business prin- ciples in the management of the truly wonderful product, alike cheap and effective, which they inspire and direct. The Swiss Army is not a piece of military perfection ; but it is the most superb Militia ever seen, as those, if any, who meddle with it will find to their cost.
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