The third section deals with England, France, Italy, Belgium, Holland, Switzerland, Spain, Por tugal, America, and Asia exclusive of Russian Asia. The fourth section covers the subject of fortifications and fortresses and technical en gineering affairs. The fifth class is a military historical section, and the sixth has charge of all railway questions. Each section is in charge of the chief of section, whose staff varies according to the work in hand. All general officers must have served on the general staff, an important essential being that they most have held regi mental command. In order that otlicers of other corps or arms of service may be eligible for the rank of general officer, every major in the general staff, independent of the arm of the service to which he belongs, is assigned for a period to the command of a battalion of infantry.
In Prance the general staff is not a permanent organization, but is composed of officers tem porarily assigned from the line. It is directly under the Minister of War as chief, and com prises the military household of the President, the special staff of the military governments of Paris and Lyons. the staff of the army corps, divisions, and brigades, the staffs of the fortifi cation commands, the staffs of the marshals of France, the military attaches abroad, and the staffs of the artillery and engineer commands. The general staff of the army is under the chief, who has three brigadier-generals as assistants, and comprises four military bureaus (one for organization and mobilization, one for studying foreign armies, one for military operations and education, and one for railroads), and five sec tions (one for personal matters relating to the general staff, one for materiel, one for Algiers and Tunis, one for history, and one for land survey). The general staff together with the
Ministry of War administers the affairs of the army. The War 'Ministry is subdivided into bureaus corresponding to the sections of the Ger man greater general staff. The army staff itself is under a general of division, called the chief of staff, who is himself assisted by three other superior officers with their subordinates. The staff has its own sections, bureaus, and special services, and is occupied with the organization and mobilization details of the army, the pro curation of information regarding that of for eign armies, instruction, railways.
In the Italian. army system the general staff constitutes the second division of the war uni versity and has in charge the preparations for war. It is subdivided into divisions and sec tions which are known as the 'office in charge of the Eastern or the Austro-Italian frontiers.' the `office in charge of the Western o• Swiss and French frontiers,' etc. The staff has charge of the arehives, geography department, information, intendance, transport. and the Turin War Acad emy. The chief of staff in time of war is also chief of the intelligence department.
in Russia the higher general staff is not prac tically an independent organization, as is the German Grosser Genera!stab, but instead acts entirely under the Ministry of War, which lat ter consists of various branches. The general staff has to do principally with army organiza tion, mamenvres, camps, fortifications, promo tions, rewards, equipment, remounts, geography, and topography, home and foreign, transport, literature, etc. When it happens that the Czar is not an active military leader the War Min istry is dominated by the Minister or some con spicuous and concededly able general officer, who is also a member of the council of war.