Every appliance may, however, be wanting on certain occasions in war—it matters not—the French soldiers are taught how to mount a wall without any instrument whatever—with their feet and the hands and the fingers alone. Bullets and cannon balls leave holes and indentations in the hardest walls—these are represented on the walls of the Gymnasium—and thus they practice this last resort of the resolute and determined besiegers. If there be no holes—no points d’appui for the ascent—what then? Why, then they build a pyramid of men—four men stand as a base, two or four more perch themselves on the shoulders of these, and then one mounts to the top on the shoulders of the latter by way of apex!
They have adopted all the fetes of the trapèze, as performed by acrobats. These tend to strengthen the arms and promote that self-reliance and confidence which are the prime elements of a good soldier. Some of their swinging leaps with the trapèze were prodigious, from one end of the long gymnasium to the other, where they alighted, and caught on the top of the wall, and descended to the ground, with hands and fingers, by mimic bullet holes, as before described.
Flying leaps on and over a wooden horse are practiced in every possible direction, and the French cavalry are required to be able to leap on their horses from the rear while galloping, and to leap over a hedge or barrier together with the horses, but on foot, holding the reins! It is impossible to believe that very many can do this; but that is the aim, and the higher the aim the greater the effort, and something worth having is sure to be done, even if we fail of the highest attainment.
[The most laborious] of the practices is probably that of carrying, at the top of their speed, all the implements of war, fascines, sand-bags, gabions, projectiles, &c., whose weight is progressively increased from twenty to fifty pounds. They must also practice carrying ladders, beams, caissons, dragging gun-carriages, &c., and they are equally habituated to carry rapidly and skillfully the wounded from the field of battle, by placing men on litters, or any substitute at hand, in the gymnasium.
Sword exercise, bayonet exercise, boxing and fencing are also taught, but only the rudiments. In the regiments and battalions they have more opportunities of perfecting themselves in these accomplishments.
Such is a succinct account of the military gymnastics of the French. The 300 various fetes and practices have only one object in view, preparation for the possible and probable casualties of war, but they have, meanwhile, the positive and immediate effect of giving the men the utmost freedom of motion, aplomb, self-reliance, and that very useful self-estimate in the soldier, namely, that he is superior to every other in the world. It will take a vast deal to knock that conceit out of him.
[REMARKS ON FRENCH MILITARY EDUCATION.]
The English Commissioners in their Report on “The best Mode of Reorganizing the [English] System of Training Officers for the Scientific Corps, together with an Account of Foreign and other Military Education,” close with the following general remarks on French Military Education:—
The following summary may close our account of French Military Education.