The point with regard to the chefs is in connection with the way in which the French Army has its food cooked and served. The pantalon rouge3 lives well, for cooking is an art indigenous4 to France, and the very best cooks of France practise their art on their comrades of the barrack-room, while there are few companies or squadrons in the French Army that do not contain at least one professional chef. The British Army suffers at times from monotonous6 menus, "stews7" alternating with "roast" until a meat-pie would be a joy, and any variety of diet would be welcome. But in the French Army, given materials corresponding in any way to the needs of the soldier, there is no lack of variety in the food. There are two ways of cooking a potato in the British Army to twenty in the French service; the British soldiers get eggs served in two or three ways, but the conscript cook of the French Army can cook an egg in a way that disguises it to such an extent that a hen would disown it—and there are many ways of doing this. Soup precedes the more solid course of the French soldier's meal, and there are savoury dishes and concoctions8 which to the British soldier would be but mystery. The French cook is an artist at all times, and his art is no less evident during his conscript days than before and after.
Sweet dishes are rare, and the taste of the soldier lies more in the matter of savouries. In addition to the regular provisions made for the troops, there are many men, who, in their spare time, cook dishes to suit their own fancies. The "messing allowance" of the British service is a thing unknown, for the French soldier's limited pay is pay pure and simple, and is not sufficient in amount to admit of deductions9 of this nature. Much is often made of the fact that the rate of pay in the British Army is far higher than that of any conscript force, but against this it must be said that, so far as the French conscript is concerned, the Government provides in kind for practically all his necessities, leaving the total of his pay—small as that is—as his own pocket money. The bread ration10, for instance, is larger in the French than in the British Army, and the French Government provides, free of cost, all necessary articles for a varied11 and nutrient12 diet. The sergeants13 in the French Army contribute to a slight extent toward the cost of their messing, but then it must be borne in mind that all non-commissioned officers of the French Army are re-engaged men on a considerably14 higher rate of pay than that allowed to a conscript during his first two years. Among the rank and file, mess books are kept for the companies or squadrons of each unit, and usually these mess books are placed in the hands of corporals, who eat with the men, and thus benefit from their own good judgment15 in the matter of choosing provisions to the value allowed by the mess book, and equally they suffer for their own mistakes.
With a view to the possible disorganisation under war conditions of arrangements for cooking food by the company or squadron, the French soldier is taught and encouraged to cook and prepare his own food on the field. During the man?uvre period, the arrival of French troops in camp is marked by the lighting16 of fires, at which men cook their own food, and officers supervise this business in order to make certain that no man goes to sleep for the night without having first had a sufficiently17 sustaining meal. Within a quarter of an hour of the arrival of an infantry18 regiment in camp, the kettles are boiling and the coffee is made; the slabs19 of compressed soup, which form a feature of the culinary service of the army, are broken up and dissolved, and bread and meat are issued to form the solid part of the day's meal. Motor-driven vans travel with the army, filled with quarters of fresh meat hung in dust-proof compartments20; these travelling meat safes form a recent innovation, and have been found thoroughly21 satisfactory in that they increase the fresh food supplies of the troops.
A point worthy22 of note in connection with the arrangements for the supply of food is that in the French Army the principal meal of the day falls at the end of the day's work, both in barracks and in camp. In the British service the principal meal is taken at midday, with the result that, so far as official meals are concerned, the soldier gets nothing but a light tea between the dinner of one day and the breakfast of the next, and he has to buy his own supper to compensate23 for this. In the French Army men are provided with coffee before turning out for the first parade in the morning; at ten o'clock soup is served; at two o'clock or thereabouts, according to the nature of work on which men are engaged, another light meal is provided, and then with the end of the day comes a two or three course meal which corresponds in quantity and nutrient value—though not in the manner of its cooking—to the midday dinner of the British soldier. By this means the French soldier is relieved of the necessity of buying any supper, and his official rations24 of food are, in the majority of cases, amply sufficient for his needs without his having recourse to his own pocket.
Although, as has been stated, the mess books are controlled by corporals, this by no means forms the total of the supervision25 entailed26 on French military cooking and provisions. The senior officers of the regiment are especially charged with the supervision of these details of internal economy; the officer of the week is a frequent visitor of the cook-houses of his regiment, and surprise visits are made to the dining-tables of the men in order to make sure that no cause for complaint exists with regard to the quantity or quality of provisions supplied. The adjudants also are concerned in the efficiency of the cooks, and the provision of proper meals for the non-commissioned officers, while, since these latter have a share in paying for the goods supplied, they have also a voice in matters of choice and cookery. On the whole, bearing in mind the quality of French cookery and the fact that that cookery is as much in evidence in the French Army as out of it, it may be said that the French soldier fares rather better than the man serving in the British Army in this all-important matter of food and its preparation.
In other matters of internal economy, officers manifest an unceasing interest in the well-being27 and comfort of their men. The canteens of the French Army are under the direct supervision of senior officers, and thus such supplies as men may purchase individually in the way of food, drink, or cleaning materials, are always up to the required standard of quality. The matter of laundrywork is also in the care of officers of the various regiments28, and altogether the comfort and well-being of the men are matters for which officers are held responsible to a greater extent than in the British service, where, with regards to some things, departments rather than men are made responsible.
The conduct of drill and routine, directly under the supervision of the commanding officer of each regiment, are managed differently from drill and routine in the British service. For instance, British soldiers go out to drill for an hour, and at the conclusion of that hour, whatever has happened, the parade is dismissed; the French squad5 turns out for drill nominally29 for an hour—assuming that as the period taken for illustration—but in reality the drill lasts until the superiors are satisfied that the men have done what they set out to do. Stereotype30 is not compatible with the methods of the French Army, but efficiency counts before set rules, and the object of training is always efficiency, without regard to former practices. Slaves to custom do not exist; custom itself does not exist, except in so far as it is essential to the performance of duties, and the maintenance of efficiency.
It should be borne in mind that this difference in the ways of two armies, French and English, is rendered necessary by the basis on which the armies are founded. The British Army is based on a voluntary system, and the lowest stated period of service is three years. The French Army is based on conscription, which does away with all idea of selection, and the stated period during which men can be compelled to train is two years only—or rather it was two years only up to a short time before the army changed from peace strength and conditions to a war footing. Under the two years' system, men must be kept at work all the time in order to teach them the whole of their work; drill and fatigues31 alternate, and there are but short intervals32 between; one of the rules of the French Army is that the conscript shall be made to work all the time, and another rule that must be borne in mind in connection with this is that each man shall be provided with sufficient food of a suitable nature to enable him to do his work, at no cost to himself.
The rules of the army provide that during all man?uvre periods conscripts shall endure active service conditions. Pipeclay and polish disappear, and no "parade movements" are indulged in. There are no stage effects, and a cavalry33 leader who on man?uvres indulged his men in a charge that would not be really useful under war conditions would get a severe reprimand, if not a more substantial punishment. All unnecessary show is condemned34, and the French Army on man?uvres is made to understand that its work is genuine preparation for the rough business of active service. Another point worthy of note is that, during man?uvre periods, full use is made of all available buildings for purposes of sleep and shelter, just as would be done in time of war, and straw is used to supplement the coverings carried, when the nights are cold. The bulky and ungainly-looking great-coat of the French soldier is practically sufficient for covering when in camp, since it is extremely warm, and is manufactured from a porous35 class of material which swells36 and becomes waterproof37 in even a slight shower. It has been long since realised in the French Army that individual comfort makes for collective efficiency, and, though discipline is exceedingly strict, yet this is counterbalanced by the way in which the well-being of the men is studied.
To each regiment two doctors are allotted38, and the medical service of the French Army as a whole, though only a modern growth, is equal to that of any other continental39 nation. The French Red Cross Society is but little more than forty years old, but the facility with which the nation as a whole, adopts and adapts all things to its use, has been well manifested here, for the Red Cross service of the French Army gives place to none in the matter of efficiency. In such a time as the present, when every resource of the nation is strained in coping with a ruthless invader40, it is only to be expected that medical provision will at times be found hardly or only just adequate for unprecedented41 demands, but the medical service for the army has risen to the occasion in just as heroic fashion as has the nation as a whole.
In the matter of making each regiment as self-contained as possible, the French Army is about equal with the British. In a French regiment, signallers, scouts42, and others are trained from the ranks of the regiment itself to undertake the special duties imposed on each of these branches of military activity. In the matter of scouting43, and in such things as taking cover, trench-digging, the use of extended formations, etc., the French Army has benefited largely by the British war in South Africa, of which the lessons were studied quite as keenly as in the British Army itself, and the training of men was modified on experience thus gained by others. Again, French officers attached to the Russian and Japanese staff in the Russo-Japanese war brought back much practical knowledge which was applied44 in their own army, more especially with regard to fortifications, defensive45 positions, siege warfare46, and the work of armies in close contact and in large masses. It may be said as a whole, with regard to the working of the army, that France has never hesitated to adapt the lessons taught by others to her own use, while there can be no doubt that the lessons learned from the failure of such armies as Napoleon the futile47 forced into action in 1870 have been taken to heart and applied, with a view to fitness for the struggle that is not yet ended.
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1
enquire
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| v.打听，询问；调查，查问 | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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rouge
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| n.胭脂，口红唇膏；v.(在…上)擦口红 | |
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indigenous
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| adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的 | |
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squad
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| n.班，小队，小团体；vt.把…编成班或小组 | |
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6
monotonous
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| adj.单调的，一成不变的，使人厌倦的 | |
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stews
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| n.炖煮的菜肴( stew的名词复数 )；烦恼，焦虑v.炖( stew的第三人称单数 )；煨；思考；担忧 | |
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concoctions
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| n.编造，捏造，混合物( concoction的名词复数 ) | |
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9
deductions
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| 扣除( deduction的名词复数 )； 结论； 扣除的量； 推演 | |
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ration
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| n.定量(pl.)给养，口粮；vt.定量供应 | |
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varied
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| adj.多样的，多变化的 | |
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nutrient
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| adj.营养的，滋养的；n.营养物，营养品 | |
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13
sergeants
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| 警官( sergeant的名词复数 )； （美国警察）警佐； （英国警察）巡佐； 陆军（或空军）中士 | |
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considerably
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| adv.极大地；相当大地；在很大程度上 | |
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judgment
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| n.审判；判断力，识别力，看法，意见 | |
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lighting
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| n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光 | |
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sufficiently
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| adv.足够地，充分地 | |
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infantry
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| n.[总称]步兵(部队) | |
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slabs
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| n.厚板，平板，厚片( slab的名词复数 )；厚胶片 | |
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compartments
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| n.间隔( compartment的名词复数 )；（列车车厢的）隔间；（家具或设备等的）分隔间；隔层 | |
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thoroughly
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| adv.完全地，彻底地，十足地 | |
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worthy
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| adj.(of)值得的，配得上的；有价值的 | |
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compensate
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| vt.补偿，赔偿；酬报 vi.弥补；补偿；抵消 | |
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rations
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| 定量( ration的名词复数 )； 配给量； 正常量； 合理的量 | |
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supervision
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| n.监督，管理 | |
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entailed
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| 使…成为必要( entail的过去式和过去分词 )； 需要； 限定继承； 使必需 | |
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well-being
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| n.安康，安乐，幸福 | |
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regiments
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| （军队的）团( regiment的名词复数 )； 大量的人或物 | |
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29
nominally
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| 在名义上，表面地； 应名儿 | |
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30
stereotype
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| n.固定的形象，陈规，老套，旧框框 | |
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31
fatigues
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| n.疲劳( fatigue的名词复数 )；杂役；厌倦；（士兵穿的）工作服 | |
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32
intervals
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| n.[军事]间隔( interval的名词复数 )；间隔时间；[数学]区间；（戏剧、电影或音乐会的）幕间休息 | |
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cavalry
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| n.骑兵；轻装甲部队 | |
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34
condemned
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| adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词 | |
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porous
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| adj.可渗透的，多孔的 | |
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swells
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| 增强( swell的第三人称单数 )； 肿胀； （使）凸出； 充满（激情） | |
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waterproof
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| n.防水材料；adj.防水的；v.使...能防水 | |
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allotted
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| 分配，拨给，摊派( allot的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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continental
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| adj.大陆的，大陆性的，欧洲大陆的 | |
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invader
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| n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者 | |
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unprecedented
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| adj.无前例的，新奇的 | |
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42
scouts
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| 侦察员[机，舰]( scout的名词复数 )； 童子军； 搜索； 童子军成员 | |
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43
scouting
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| 守候活动，童子军的活动 | |
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44
applied
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| adj.应用的；v.应用，适用 | |
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45
defensive
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| adj.防御的；防卫的；防守的 | |
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46
warfare
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| n.战争(状态)；斗争；冲突 | |
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47
futile
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| adj.无效的，无用的，无希望的 | |
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