if one should take the trouble to enquire of the chef at any leading hotel as to whether he had undergone military service as a conscript, the answer would in nineteen cases out of twenty be in the affirmative, and probably the full nineteen out of every twenty would also reply in the affirmative if asked whether they were frenchmen. it would be enlightening for the average englishman to make such enquiries, for by that means he would realise to a far greater extent than in any other way, the universality of the french army. comprehension of the fact that virtually every man of the french nation is capable of taking his place in the ranks of some regiment without undergoing some form of preliminary training, is impossible to the english mind until concrete examples of the effect of this are confronted.
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 rouge lives well, for cooking is an art indigenous 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 monotonous menus, "stews" 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 concoctions 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 deductions 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 ration, 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 varied and nutrient diet. the sergeants 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 considerably 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 judgment 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 lighting 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 sufficiently sustaining meal. within a quarter of an hour of the arrival of an infantry regiment in camp, the kettles are boiling and the coffee is made; the slabs 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 compartments; these travelling meat safes form a recent innovation, and have been found thoroughly satisfactory in that they increase the fresh food supplies of the troops.
a point worthy 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 compensate 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 rations 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 supervision entailed 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-being 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 regiments, 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 squad turns out for drill nominally 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. stereotype 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 fatigues alternate, and there are but short intervals 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 cavalry 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 condemned, 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 porous class of material which swells and becomes waterproof 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 allotted, and the medical service of the french army as a whole, though only a modern growth, is equal to that of any other continental 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 invader, it is only to be expected that medical provision will at times be found hardly or only just adequate for unprecedented 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, scouts, 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 scouting, 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 applied in their own army, more especially with regard to fortifications, defensive positions, siege warfare, 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 futile 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.
