aroused a national spirit which was capable of any sacrifices. The
civilian became eager to be trained to fight against the oppressor of
his country; and when Prussia rose in 1813, the armies she poured into
the field were no longer professional, but national armies, imperfectly
trained and organized, but animated by a spirit which more than
compensated for these defects. At the close of the war her rulers, with
far-seeing sagacity, at once devoted themselves to organize on a
permanent footing the system which had sprung up under the necessities
and enthusiasm of the moment. Universal compulsory service, and a three
years' term in the ranks, with further periods in the reserve and
_Landwehr_, were then introduced; and though variations have
subsequently been made in the distribution of time, the principles were
substantially the same as those now in force. By the law of 1814 the
periods of service were fixed at three years in the army, two in the
reserve and fourteen in the _Landwehr_, and the annual contingent at
40,000 men. As the population increased, it was felt that the service
was unequally distributed, pressing unnecessarily heavily on some, while
others escaped altogether. Further, the experiences of Bronnzell and
Olmutz in 1850, and of 1859, when Prussia armed in anticipation of a war
with France, aroused great doubts as to the efficiency of the
_Landwehr_, which then formed the bulk of Prussia's forces, and of whom
many had been as long as ten years away from the colours. At this time
the French remark that the Prussian army was "a sort of militia" was by
no means untrue. Accordingly, by the law of 1860 the annual contingent
was fixed at 63,000, the period in the reserve was increased from two to
four years, and that in the _Landwehr_ reduced from fourteen to five.
The total armed force thus remained nearly the same (12 contingents of
63,000, in place of 19 of 40,000), but the army and its reserves were
more than doubled (increased from 5 X 40,000 to 7 X 63,000) while the
_Landwehr_ was proportionately reduced.
This change was not effected without great opposition, and led to a
prolonged struggle between the king, guided by Bismarck, and the
parliament. It required the victories of 1866 and 1870, and the position
thereby won for Prussia, to reconcile the nation to the new law. The
military alliance (1866) of Prussia with the other German states gave
place in 1871 to the union of all the armies into the German army as it
is to-day. Some retained their old peculiarities of uniform, and even
more than this was allowed to Bavaria and to Saxony, but the whole army,
which has been increased year by year to its present strength, is
modelled on the Prussian part of it. The Prussian army corps are the
Guard, and the line numbered I. to XI., and XV. to XVIII.