"There are four Divisions, at present, in an Army Corps," replies
Cocon; "the number changes, sometimes it is three, sometimes five. Just
now, it's four. And each of our Divisions," continues the mathematical
one, whom our squad glories in owning, "includes three R.I.--regiments
of infantry; two B.C.P.--battalions of chasseurs pied; one
R.T.I.--regiment of territorial infantry--without counting the special
regiments, Artillery, Engineers, Transport, etc., and not counting
either Headquarters of the D.I. and the departments not brigaded but
attached directly to the D.I. A regiment of the line of three
battalions occupies four trains, one for H.Q., the machine-gun company,
and the C.H.R. (compagnie hors rang [note 2]), and one to each
battalion. All the troops won't entrain here. They'll entrain in
echelons along the line according to the position of the quarters and
the period of reliefs."
"I'm tired," says Tulacque. "We don't get enough solids to eat, mark
you. We stand up because it's the fashion, but we've no longer either
force or freshness."
"I've been getting information," Cocon goes on; "the troops--the real
troops--will only entrain as from midnight. They are still mustered
here and there in the villages ten kilometers round about. All the
departments of the Army Corps will first set off, and the
E.N.E.--elements non endivisionnes," Cocon obligingly explains, "that
is, attached directly to the A.C. Among the E.N.E. you won't see the
Balloon Department nor the Squadron--they're too big goods, and they
navigate on their own, with their staff and officers and hospitals. The
chasseurs regiment is another of these E.N.E."
"There's no regiment of chasseurs," says Barque, thoughtlessly, "it's
battalions. One says 'such and such a battalion of chasseurs.'"
We can see Cocon shrugging his shoulders in the shadows, and his
glasses cast a scornful gleam. "Think so, duck-neb? Then I'll tell you,
since you're so clever, there are two--foot chasseurs and horse
chasseurs."
"Gad! I forgot the horsemen," says Barque.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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