Literary and Historical Notes.

THE GRANATIERI DI

SARDEGNA.

THE TALE OF A FAMOUS REGIMENT.

summary, which gives the action it describes

DURING the summer of 1918 the Italian authorities held a sports meeting in Rome, to which representatives of the Allied Armies in Italy were invited. Although the British Italian Expeditionary Force consisted of but three divisions the invitation was eagerly accepted; and we entered fairly strong team, including a very fine tug-of-war team from the Gordon Highlanders. While in Rome our men were

lodged at the barracks of the Italian Grenadier Brigade. I had the good fortune to accompany them as interpreter and was able, in consequence, to make a closer acquaintance with the very fine Italian Brigade which was extending to us its hospitality. During our stay in the barracks the Colonel of Grenadiers found out my interest in history and, before we left, gave me as a parting present the history of his regiment, which Major Guerrini of the Grenadiers had recently published.

Of all the tasks of an historian a regimental history is, perhaps, the most difficult. A series of disconnected character sketches and battle episodes, which is all that many regimental histories are, does not present an adequate picture of a Regiment's corporate life, or, without a large amount of more or less irrelevant explanation, a true estimate of the regiment's work in peace and war.

An adequate, detailed and continuous history, on the other hand tends to become so bulky and tedious as to deter the ordinary lay reader, and, owing to its length, it is easy to lose the thread. Major Guerrini, however, has solved the problem in a most felicitous manner and has produced a work of singular charm.

His book is divided into two parts. In the first part the organic development of the regiment is sketched, but the narrative is lightened by the description of various quaint customs and the drill of past days. The second part consists of a short description of the various actions in which the regiment took part, in chronological order. Each chapter contains an admirable little

It is impossible in a short essay to do justice either to Major Guerrini's book or to the gallant regiment whose history he chronicles. I shall content myself, therefore, by giving the briefest outline of the origin and evolution of the Granatieri and a short account of some of the more typical feats of the regiment at each stage of its development.

Before the middle of the seventeenth century the Duke of Savoy, like most other Princes, had no regular troops of his own. There was a national militia which was called out in time of war and was dismissed at the conclusion of peace. Garrison duties and the maintenance of order in peace time were carried out by a few regiments of professional soldiers, not necessarily the Duke's subjects, raised by their colonels who received their pay and that of their men from the Ducal Treasury. These regiments also formed the backbone of the army in time of war.

In 1659 Charles Emmanuel II took the opportunity of the conclusion of the Treaty of the Pyrenees to carry out a scheme which he had long been revolving in his mind; the formation of a few national, professional regiments of his own.. He took advantage of the advent of peace and the general demobilization to retain some picked soldiers of the disbanded regiments to form the nucleus of the new_army. The first of the new corps was the Regiment of Guards, the ancestor of the Granatieri. One hundred and seventy-one old soldiers belonging to four veteran Companies of the regiment of M. de Marolles and one company of the Regiment of M. de Blanc Rocher, who had greatly distinguished themselves at the siege

of Trino, were selected to form the nucleus of the new corps; and in April, 1659, was issued the order for the enrolment of recruits who were needed to bring the regiment up to strength.

In the same month of April, 1659, patents appointing various officers were issued; M. de Marolles became Colonel and M. de Blanc Rocher Lieutenant-Colonel. Ten years later the epic twenty years' siege of Candia by the Turks came to an end. The survivors of the troops sent by the Duke to help the Venetians were incorporated, on their return, in the Regiment of Guards and formed one of its companies. Thus from its very birth the Guards' Regiment was a corps d' élite, proud of itself and of its privileges.

These privileges were indeed many. The soldiers were more highly paid than the rest of the army. A document dated 15 Feb., 1657 fixed the pay of a Guardsman at 5 soldi instead of 4, as in the case of the rest of the army, the pay of the officers being similarly higher than that in other regiments. Captains ranked above lieutenant-colonels of other regiments, ensigns above all other lieutenants. Transfer to the Guards was regarded as promotion even if the transferred officer did not rise in rank.

The officers under their Colonel were responsible for recruiting and the tactical leadership in battle. They were, therefore, mostly nobles. This meant, of course, that they were amateurs; and the technical instruction of the troops was entrusted to a few old professional soldiers, the major, the sergeant-major, the adjutant and a few others, who were not necessarily native Piedmontese.

The men were volunteers; and the difficulties of maintaining an army on this basis were as great then as now. Every effort was, therefore, made to attract recruits. On re-enlistment after the expiration of his term of service the soldier received an increase of one-third of his previous pay. Officers on leave were regarded as on recruiting duty, the length of their leave being materially affected by the number of recruits they sent in.

The men were nearly all Piedmontese, the Regiment of Savoia being reserved for the Savoyards. A curious feature of the time was the practice of adopting noms de guerre, the only restriction being that no two soldiers in the same Company were to bear

the same name. Some of the noms de guerre, like Turin,' Astesan," were derived from the soldier's birthplace. Others were more fanciful, like "Belhumeur," "Prêt à boire." The most popular were Gelsomin,' of whom in 1697 there was one in each of the ten companies of the Regiment; "Passepartout," of whom there were nine in the Regiment; "L'Eveillé," "La Liberté,' 'La Verdure,' "La Fortune," "La Violette" of whom there were eight. The soldiers lived in barracks, but were allowed to ply private trades after retreat. They were divided into camerate, or messes, of three or more men, who messed together in barracks; a rule which was enforced to prevent rascally innkeepers and contractors exploiting the soldiers. Only one soldier out of each camerata was, according to standing orders, to be detailed for any particular duty at one time, so that at least two-thirds of the regiment were always present in case of necessity, a wise precau| tion in those unsettled times.

The camerata was the administrative unit

of the regiment. The Regulations were very similar to those in force in an average British unit of the present day. Arms and uniform must be kept bright and in good condition; the hair must be kept short; quarters to be clean and tidy and to be inspected daily, etc. The administrative and disciplinary duties of the officers and N.C.O.'s also closely resembled those of the present day. An officer for instance had to pay his men, know personally every man of his command and visit his sick in hospitala very necessary precaution, for, as there were then no military hospitals, sick soldiers were sent to civil hospitals, where such unremunerative patients were often very badly treated. Deserving officers and soldiers were given the curious privilege of a

place " and a half, two and even three places on the pay roll, drawing pay corresponding to the number of places they occupied. These addition places were, however, granted not in their own, but in a different regiment, so that we find officers of the regiment of Savoia who drew also the pay of a private in the Guards and vice versa. There is in existence a regimental order dating from the early eighteenth century, to the effect that the regiment, which had been route marching for some days, were to put on clean linen (which was usually only done on Sundays) and have a special clean up for the occasion of their

march into the fortress of Cuneo. Regular Colonels evidently have not changed much since those days!

Though the internal administration of the regiment in those days was, as we have seen, excellent, the training was defective. Too much time and trouble were spent on numerous inspections and guardmounting, while evolutions and field training were almost wholly neglected. Parades were held only very occasionally and then only two evolutions were practised, besides the ordinary small-arm manual drill. There was for many years no relation between the administrative and the tactical organisation of a regiment. Nowadays the men of the same Company and the same Platoon not only live and mess together but fight together under the leaders who train them and look

after them in peace time. Then, as we have seen, the men were divided into Companies and camerate; but for drill purposes and on the day of battle the whole regiment was drawn up in a single mass varying in depth from four to eight ranks, which was then arbitrarily divided into four equal parts. At a drill parade the officers fell out; the sergeant-major and the N.C.O. then took charge and carried out such evolutions as were performed in those days. On the day of battle officers and N.C.O.'s were simply spaced out evenly along the front and rear respectively of the array.

An

officer can only seldom, therefore, in action have found himself at the head of the men of his own Company.

Charles Emmanuel's successor, Victor Amedeo II, one of the greatest men of his time, introduced an innovation which was to have a vital influence over the history of the Guards. In imitation of the French Army special soldiers, viz., Grenadiers, were introduced. In 1678 we find an entry in the Guards' paysheet to the effect that the Grenadier Bianchi was to receive 400 lire. He was evidently a picked soldier with special duties, probably the manufacture of bombs and the training of the privates who were to throw them. Three years later, in a similar entry, the Grenadier Faccio has become "Chief Grenadier," evidently the head of a section of specialists. It was not long before each battalion in the army had a company of Grenadiers. These became picked troops, chosen for forlorn hopes and difficult enterprises. They led the storming, parties and formed up at the corners of the squares to repel cavalry. Frequently

Another of Victor Amedeo's innovations was the introduction of second battalions in

his Army; and the Guards' Regiment formed no exception.

The Regiment's first experiences of active service were most inauspicious. In a little war against Genoa the Duke's soldiers met irregular troops in strong positions and the enemy commander was a genius. The result was defeat. The expeditions against the Vaudois, carried out at the bidding of the French King, were more successful but distasteful both to the Duke and his troops. It was not until the last ten years of the seventeenth century that the Guards made their début in European grand warfare.

The French King, taking advantage of two long minorities, had gradually extended his hold over the Duke of Savoy's dominions until he came to regard them as French territory. When the war of the League of Augsburg broke out, Louis XIV ordered the Duke to receive a French garrison in Turin. Victor Amedeo chose this occasion to reconquer his independence, joined William III's league and sent back a defiant answer. The Guards were commanded at that time by Count Parella, one of those fine soldiers whose personality and influence is felt far beyond their own Regiment or their own time. The luck of the Guards did not change, but their conduct in the pitched battles of Staffarda and Marsaglia established their reputation as one of the finest regiments in Europe. At Marsaglia Parella's charge at the head of his 1st Battalion broke up the French attack and gave the Allies a great opportunity for gaining a decisive victory. Unfortunately the foreign generals of the Duke's polyglot army refused to move until the situation had been thoroughly thrashed out by a Council of war, and this when face to face with Catinat! They talked for 1 hours and came to a decision just as their men were being struck by the French Marshal's

second attack. The battle was lost; and it was only thanks to the great stand of Parella's 2nd battalion that the army succeeded in effecting its retreat.

As might be expected considerable changes were introduced as a result of the war. The old drill had proved too antiquated and inadequate; and in those days close order drill was the best training for war and not merely the best method for inculcating steadiness and discipline. By the time that the war of the Spanish Succession

had broken out the formations had become

far more flexible. For drill the regiment was now drawn up uniformly in four ranks. For fighting purposes, the formation was thinned out to three ranks by means of a rapid and simple movement. Still more significant is the attention paid to fire tactics. For purposes of manoeuvre the regiment was now divided into twelve platoons, which became the fire units, an innovation of the greatest importance, as it gave much greater scope to a skilful commander in the use of the chief fighting instrument at his command, viz.: fire power. The musketry regulations were very carefully thought out. The drums gave the signal for the salvos, which were carried out as follows. First the two platoons on the extreme right discharged their muskets; then the two platoons on the extreme left, then the two next on the right, and so on in turn. The result of this arrangement gave the commander a reserve of fire in hand, i.c., a number of platoons with muskets loaded and ready for use at any particular time. Similarly the delivery of the salvos was carefully regulated, so as to cover an advance or a retreat. In fact the modern principles of fire and movement were already recognised. Pipeclay was discarded and show was sacrificed to efficiency in battle. The camps were carefully laid out enable the soldiers to fall in in their proper places for battle in the minimum space of time; it might be said that the tents were in battle order. The men who drew up the Piedmontese drill-book give proof of great sagacity and an enlightened spirit; in fact the principles they adopted were in several respects in advance of their time. For instance, fifty years before Minden and 150 years before the thin red line," the normal formation for infantry to meet a cavalry charge was, according to the Piedmontese experts, not by special formations, which had to be adopted in a hurry at the

to

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m. 17.

m. 19.

Regi

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of

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