Military Institutions.
One of the most important points of the military policy of a state is the nature of its military institutions. A good army commanded by a general of ordinary capacity may accomplish great feats; a bad army with a good general may do equally well; but an army will certainly do a great deal more if its own superiority and that of the general be combined.
Twelve essential conditions concur in making a perfect army:—
- To have a good recruiting-system;
- A good organization;
- A well-organized system of national reserves;
- Good instruction of officers and men in drill and internal duties as well as those of a campaign;
- A strict but not humiliating discipline, and a spirit of subordination and punctuality, based on conviction rather than on the formalities of the service;
- A well-digested system of rewards, suitable to excite emulation;
- The special arms of engineering and artillery to be well instructed;
- An armament superior, if possible, to that of the enemy, both as to defensive and offensive arms;
- A general staff capable of applying these elements, and having an organization calculated to advance the theoretical and