beginning- of the century, had been abandoned or become antiquated.
By recent votes, the works in this place have been brought into an
effective condition, suitable to the times. Since 1895, the entrance
to the Trondhjem Fjord at Agdenes, and to Bergen have been fortified,
and the fortress at Kristiansand begun. There are also batteries
and submarine defences at several of the towns on the Kristiania
Fjord, and a torpedo defence is prepared in several places in the
«skjærgaard», which is so excellently adapted for them. Far north,
at Varda, there is an old fortification, Vard0hus, which is kept
up as a fortress. The old fortresses at Trondhjem and Bergen,
Akershns in Kristiania, Fredriksten and Kongsvinger, are also kept
up, but have no special garrison. For the defence on the landside
of the capital, which is by far the most important stratégie point,
there are a few fieldworks, at various passages over the Glommen.
Arms and Equipment. The infantry line and landvern are armed
with a Norwegian rifle, the K r a g - J h r g e h s e h , a *6.5 mm. magazine
rifle for smokeless powder. Some of the rifles have been manufactured
abroad, but they are now made at the royal manufactory
of arms at Kongsberg. The ammunition is procured from the royal
cartridge and powder factory at Kaufos, west of Lake Mjesen. The
landstorm at present have a magazine rifle of an older Norwegian
pattern, the Jarmann, 10.15 mm. I t is intended to supply the
infantry and cavalry with some H o t c h k i s s mitrailleuses which are
procured for one of the opbuds. The artillery field-batteries have
8.4 cm. D e B a h g e guns, but new quick-firing 7.5 cm. guns are
being procured. The mountain batteries have 6.5 cm. light guns.
The coast artillery, of course, have guns of the most varied calibre
and construction, but the majority of them have been procured
within the last 5 years, and are very effective. The engineers,
sanitary corps and train have procured, in the main, new material
of late years, when, on the whole, great energy has been expended
on the development of the means of defence. As regards personal
equipment, it may be stated that the infantry are to have Icelandic
jerseys, sleeping:bags, and bags to carry on their backs, instead of
capes and knapsacks.
Morses for the line and some of the landvern are procured
by levying, from farms in the eastern and Trondhjem districts,
which are bound to keep an approved, trained horse on hire to the
state during exercising, for sale in time of war. A supplementary
arrangement for stationing horses belonging to the state is begun.
Whatever other horses may be needed in mobilisation are procured
by requisition:
Strength. The annual number of recruits to the army, including
Tromso diocese, is about 11,000 (76 per cent of those
examined are fit for service- in the line). With the annual
supply in the 5 southern brigade districts, and after calculating the
natural retirements subsequently, the present organised corps commands
will be able to be raised with full force and sufficient reserves
in all the opbuds, without including the recruiting-year class.
(When the landstorm opbud, in 1902, has all its year-classes, it
will take its reserves from the landstorm reinforcements). Norway
will thus be able to raise systematically by a mobilisation:
1. A line army of about 26,000 men that according to law can
be employed abroad;
2. A militia army _of more than 25,000 men -4fi the landvern;
together a field force of 51,000 men, about 2.5 per cent of
the population;
3. A second ban of the militia, the landstorm, 25,000, chiefly for
local defence;
4. Coast artillery, 4500;
Altogether about 80,000 men to defend their own land.
Of regular officers there are at present about 800, and about
700 «conscripted». The number of the latter will gradually be
increased considerably. Non-commissioned officers (regularly appointed)
number about 2200 and those serving as «vemepligtige»
1600 (the number .of the conscripted non-commissioned officers
will, however, gradually be more than doubled).
An amount is voted annually for the mobilisation of different
troops, in order to test their readiness for war.
Higher military units than the brigade have not yet been
raised in time of peace. A major-general has the command in each
of the 5 brigade districts.
Besides the regular army, it is intended to utilise the volunteer
rifle corps for the defence of the country. These number about
30,000 members, of whom about 20,000 are not on the army-list.
The rifle corps members possess about 15,000 rifles of the army
pattern. In case of war, the volunteer riflemen will probably,
according to a motion put forward, be provided with uniform
marks, and be placed under the command of the army. Of late
years, the rifle corps have received a grant from the state for