ARMY

(Fr.) Lit. men in arms. A body of men orii. I disciplined for military service, commanded: or leader, with subordinate officers In gradation, and supported both in time of peace and war for i of internal quiet and defence against toreigu aggre ion. An army is generally divided into a cerIng of brigai li Whir, in [he field, it is formed into tinea: the first is called the vanguard,the second, the third, the rear-guard or body of reserve. i. ich line is occupied by the foot: the cavalry forms Hi. 'i wing dof in each the Intervals line, and between some time*the In the history of armies we may distinguish: three different periods: l. The ancient armies, which, from the time of BeaosUis downwards, underrovements under the Persians, Greeks, and Cart hag in i ans, till they finally e of perfection under the Romans, of the middle ages, the offspring of the feudal which, however well calculated to keep alive a spirit or ferocity, opposed a formidable barrier to the revival of the military art, from their contempt of discipline and utter law I that have existed since the: of gunpowder and the establishment of standing the use of gunpowder there have been seven principal periods in the history of the militaiy art. The ursl i the early part of the fourteenth to; the fifteenth century. The second begins with laign of Charles VIII. in Italy, and extends to the commencement nf the wars in the Netherlands, comprising III" wars of the French, Germans, and Spaniards in.■Is the great war of independence, waged b mis. in order to shake off the yc nd extends from 1668 to th< l he fourth period corn rated Thirty Years' War, and extends from The fifth period comprehends the wars of I■ rmany, ond the Netherlands, as well - rthern and Turkish wars, and embraces the space is, via. from lols to 17:m. The sixth period inian wars, viz. from the beginning of ii war in 1740, to the breaking out of the Preach Revolution in 1793. During these several periods provements took place in the composition and discipline of armies; but these were destined to be far I in the seventh and last period, which embraces the military systems and establishments of our own times. In the organisation of the Continental armies great uniformity prevails; but as these are inseparably connected with leal condition of the people, a consideration of their ' lions nations, to which we must refer the reader. The British army, like ■ Ihe Continent, is divided into cavalry, infantry, and artillery, and these again Into regiments and battalions; but in Its composition and organisation an entirely different principle is adopted. While the Continental armies are 1 by conscription, and every officer must have Served as a private or a cadet, or have acquired some knowledge of the military art in a preparatory establishment, the ranks of the British army are supplied by voluntary enlistment, and commi ions are, with rare excepily attainable, with or without purchase, as a favour commander-in-chief. In addition to the officers attached to each separate resiment, the superintendence of the whole army in its various departments and ramifications is entrusted to a commander-in-chief, a secretary at war. a ral of the ordnance, a paymaster-general of the forces, an adjutant-general, and a quartermaster-general. There are, besides, a board of genera] officers lothtngof the army, an inspector of army colours, of the military college, and commi ioners. asylum. (For an account of armies in «m. yc. Brit. art. Army; of the British army. h'a British Statistics; of the Ru ian, Italian, and French ar ■■ ies. Tanski, Oudinot, and Daniel.) [s. 103]