Volunteers of sufficient education who bear their own expense are furloughed at the end of one year's service. School teachers, clergymen, apothecaries and medical students and certain others enjoy reductions of service.
Members of the annual. contingents in ex cess of the number required for training with the colors in peace time are placed in the Ersatz reserve, from which are drawn the first reserves necessary on mobilization.
Officers and Officers. — The officers of the German army enjoy a dis tinguished social position, though not forming a special social caste, and are drawn from the higher grades of society, that is the nobility, sons of officers, officials, owners of estates, etc. The corps of officers is recruited in two ways (1) through volunteers now called Fahnen junker, who join the ranks with a view of obtaining commissions and (2) through assign ment of cadets from preparatory schools. All officers before being commissioned as second lieutenants of a regiment must be accepted by a vote of the officers of that regiment. Officers of reserve are recruited from former one-year volunteers or from retired officers. Officers of the Landwehr are taken from officers of the reserves, from officers who have left the stand ing army and from one-year volunteers and non-commissioned officers who on discharge are recommended for these positions. Officers at disposal may be recalled to active service on mobilization. The officers of the German army are divided into grades as follows: (1) Generals, including field marshals, colonel-generals, generals of infantry, cavalry or artillery, lieutenant-generals and major generals.
(2) Field officers: Colonels, lieutenant colonels and majors.
(3) Captains, first and second class.
(4) Subalterns: First lieutenants and sec ond lieutenants.
The non-commissioned officers are divided into two general classes. The first class are quasi-officers, wear officers' swords and cor respond to our non-commissioned officers of the staff corps, first sergeants and quarter master sergeants and include candidates for a commission ( Fihn riche) .
The second class correspond to our sergeants, corporals and lance corporals (Gef reite).
Numbers The peace strength (1900), was as follows: Officers, 23,844; non commissioned• officers, 80,556; privates, lance corporals, etc., 495,500; volunteers (one year service), 9,000; total 608,900.
In 1913 this total was 620,000 and at the be ginning of 1914, 810,000. The total number of trained men available (excluding Land sturm) is over 3,000,000. The number of men in the Ersatz Reserve and Landsturm is about 4,800,000, of whom 800,000 have been trained.
Men of the Reserve and Landwehr are called out from time to time for brief periods of train ing in accordance with the orders of the emperor.
In time of war the army is divided into (1) field troops, (2) field reserve troops, (3) Land wehr troops, (4) Depot troops and (5) Land sturm troops.
The field troops consist of the standing army filled up by the reserves, the field reserve troops consist of the first levy of the Landwehr to which some officers and men are assigned from the active army. The Landwehr troops are formed from the second levy of the Landwehr and they usually serve on the line of the com munications. Depot troops are formed from the Ersatz Reserve and recruits. The Land sturm is for home defense and is called out by Imperial proclamation when required.
The troops of the German army in times of peace (1909) are as follows: These are combined into army corps, which are assigned to territorial district with head quarters, as follows: Guard Corps, Berlin: I. East Prussia. Kenigs- XII. Saxony, Dresden.
berg. XIII. Wfirttemberg, Stun II. Pomerania, Stettin. gart.
III. Brandenberg, Berlin. XIV. Baden, Karlsruhe.
IV. Prussian Saxony, Meg- XV. Alsace, Strassburg.
deburg. XVI. Lorraine, Metz.
V. Lower Silesia, Posen. XVII. West Prussia, Dant VI. Silesia, Breslau.
VII. Westphalia, Minister. XVIII. Hesse-Nassau, VIII. Rhineland. Coblenz. Prankfort-on-theViii. Rhineland. Coblenz. Prankfort-on-the- rx. Schleswig-Holstein and Main.
Mecklenburg, Al- XIX. Saxony, Leipzig. tone.
X. Hanover. Oldenburg, I. Bavarian, Munich.