ARMY

(Fr.) Lit. men in arms. A body of men organised and disciplined for military service, commanded by a chief or leader, with subordinate officers in regular gradation, and supported both in time of peace and war for the preservation of internal quiet and defence against foreign aggre ion. An army is generally divided into a certain number of corps, each consisting of brigades, regiments, battalions, and squadrons. When in the field it is formed into lines: the first is called the vanguard, the second, the main body; the third, the rear-guard or body of reserve. The middle of each line is occupied by the foot; the cavalry forms the right and left wing of each line, and sometimes squadrons of horse are placed in the intervals between the battalions. In the history of armies we may distinguish those of three different periods: 1. The ancient armies, which, from the time of Sesostris downwards, underwent a series of progre ive improvements under the Persians, Greeks, and Cart hag in i ans, till they finally reached a high degree of perfection ARQUEBUSE. under the Romans. 2. Those of the middle ages, the offspring of the feudal system, which, however well calculated to keep alive a spirit of ferocity, opposed a fomidable barrier to the revival of the military art, from their contempt of discipline and utter lawle ne . 3. Those that have existed since the invention of gunpowder and the establishment of standing armies. Since the use of gunpowder there have been seven principal periods in the history of the military art. The first extends from the early part of the fourteenth to the end of the fiiTteenth century. The second begins with the campaign of Charles VIII. in Italy, and extends to the commencement of the wars in the Netherlands, comprising the wars of the French, Germans, and Spaniards in Italy. The third period comprehends the great war of independence, waged by the Netherlands, in order to shake off the yoke of Spain, and extends from ises to the general suspension of hostilities in 1609. The fourth period comprises the celebrated Thirty Years' War, and extends from 1618 to 1C48. The fifth period comprehends the wars of the French in Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands, as well as the Northern and Turkish wars, and embraces the space of 90 years, viz. from 1648 to 1738. The sixth period includes the three Silesian wars, viz. from the beginning of the first Silesian war in 1740, to the breaking out of the French Revolution in 1792- During these several periods many improvements took place in the composition and discipline of armies; but these were destined to be far surpa ed 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 the political condition of the people, a consideration of their character belongs to the history of these various nations, to which we must refer the reader. The British army, like those of the 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 recruited by conscrip. tion, 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, witli rare exceptions, only attainable, with or without purchase, as a favour from the commander-in chief. I n addition to the officers attached to each separate regiment, the superintendence of the Avhole army in its various departments and ramifications is" entrusted to a commander-in-chief, a secretary at war, a master-general of the ordnance, a paymaster-general of the forces, an adjutant-general, and a quartermaster-general. There are, besides, a board of general officers for the clothing of the army, an inspector of army colours, commi ioners of the military college, and commi ioners of the military asylum. (For an account of armies in general, vide Encyc. Brit. art. Army; of the British army, MCulloch's British Statistics; of the Ru ian, Italian, and French armies, Tanski, Oudinot, and Daniel.) [s. 102]