The first have the rank of an officer and wear uniform, but are not commissioned. The second are comprised largely of men who have the rank of noncommissioned officers. The third are civilians. The German territory is divided into 22 army-corps districts, in which are stationed as a rule the troops comprising army corps. The commanding general of an army commands both the corps and the territory in which it is stationed. In addition, the commanding generals of army corps have considerable administrative authority formerly reserved for the war ministry. There is a corps intendant on the staff of each commanding general of an army corps, who acts as consulting or advising agent to the general in all administrative matters. The functions of the intendance resemble those of our pay, subsistence, and quartermaster's departments. The intendance is the intermediate authority between the war ministry and special subordinate supply departments. The intendants have a double relation: First, to the war ministry, and, secondly, to the troops and their commanders. Each army corps intendance is divided into five sections, corresponding very nearly to the first four sections of the department of administration of the war ministry. The fifth is the hospital section. The functions of the corps intendance includes the appointment of paymasters, the purchase of breadstuffs, the supervision of granaries and bakeries, the personal affairs of the officers of the supply departments, the procurement of the cloth and other articles needed for the clothing and equipment of the troops, as well as of the land, buildings, and utensils required for their comfort and shelter, the supervision of the administration of barracks and hospitals, cooperation in the administration of funds and property pertaining to the system of military education and training, to the technical institutes (artillery workshops, depots, etc.) of the artillery and engineer systems, and to the remount depots, affairs relating to the mobilization of the corps administrative departments, and to pensions; compensation to municipal authorities on account of quarters, subsistence, forage, and transportation furnished to troops; the military economic affairs of staffs, troops, nonregimental officers, and officials of the corps not attached to divisions, or who are not allotted to the divisional intendance. A chief constructor is assigned to each corps intendant, to whom all matters relating to building operations required to be dealt with by an expert are referred by the intendant to his immediate superior. The chief of each division (an intendance counselor or intendance assessor) is assisted by a number of clerks graded as intendance secretaries or assistant secretaries and intendance registrars or assistant registrars and ordinary clerks. An intendance is also attached to each divisional headquarters which is subordinate to that of the corps, and occupies toward the division commander the same relation that exists between the corps intendance and the commanding general. The sphere of duty of the division intendance includes matters relating to the pay, commutation of quarters, and travel allowances of divisional troops, nonregimental officers, and officials; the examination and settlement of property and money accounts, including the holding of unexpected inspections of the disbursing offices pertaining to the divisional troops; matters relating to the clothing and equipment of such troops; participation in the biennial musters; the subsistence of troops and reservists. As regards the relation between commanding officers and the intendance, the following system prevails in the German army: The intendance is in general a responsible administrative organ in itself, but in the end it is bound by the decisions of the commander, and the intendants are therefore his subordinates. This makes military command paramount, and insures unity of action by giving to the commander the deciding voice in the event of disagreement between himself and the intendance, and enabling him to assume the responsibility in a particular case. Even though the responsibility be thus assumed by the commander, the intendance should inform the war ministry of cases of disagreement for his further protection, and to bring about, in case of need, a decision of principle. There is also an intendance of military institutions at Berlin, organized as an army corps intendance, but subordinated exclusively to the minister. Its sphere of action comprises the administrative surveillance of authorities and institutions specially established at Berlin, the pay of officers without troops, the administrative supervision of the central administration of the ministry, and of the establishments depending directly therefrom. The ration allowed consists of 750 grams of bread per diem, and an allowance of money amounting to 16 pfennig, which is furnished for the following: Three pfennig for breakfast, 3 pfennig for lard for the noon and evening meal. and 10 pfennig for vegetables. The department furnishes the bread and contracts are made for providing fresh meat. In each battalion there is a commission appointed consisting of one officer, one noncommissioned officer as accountant, and several other noncommissioned officers and soldiers. Money for purchasing provisions is paid in advance, and record is kept by the accountant of the amount expended, and, monthly, this book of accounts of expenditures is forwarded to the pay branch, where it is properly audited. The cooking in barracks is done in large boilers capable of cooking food for 250 men, and a small roasting oven which is used usually only on Sundays for cooking meats. Each man when the call for dinner is sounded brings his bowl, receives his portion from the cook, and after having purchased such beer as he desires (from the canteen), goes to the mess room to eat his meal. Cooking is done for each battalion by one noncommissioned officer, who has two or three assistants detailed to help him. No extra compensation is given to cooks, but they get their rations without any deduction from their pay. In addition, there is in each barracks in time of peace a sergeants' mess, where a woman is employed to do the cooking (usually the wife of the sergeant in charge of the mess), who receives all meals free and pay of about 30 marks per month. In the field each man does his own cooking in the can which he carries attached to his knapsack. Some cavalry and artillery organizations are provided with large kettles which they carry in their wagon trains. The bread furnished the troops in garrison is provided from about 89 different bakeries located throughout the empire. In the field bread is provided from field-bakery columns attached to each army corps. A bakery column consists of two sections, each of 10 ovens, and one wagon is allowed for each oven, with one additional for each section, making 20 ovens and 24 wagons for each fieldbakery column. In the German army the wagon train is a separate branch and is immediately under the control of the commanding general of the corps; therefore, at each one of the headquarters of the 23 corps, including the garde corps, there are train depots. The officials of the intendance in each army corps, and those stationed in Berlin in connection with the great general staff, work out plans of supply during supposititious war campaigns, very similar to the method described by Col. Von François, who was formerly chief of staff of the fourth army corps, in his book, entitled " Supply Service in the Field." Respectfully submitted: The SECRETARY OF WAR. HENRY G. SHARPE, |