Portugal created a Military Telegraph Corps in 1810, having a field telegraph company since 1884;
The German Empire and France had no telegraph troops in peacetime until the late 19th century.
The British Army had, in peacetime, one telegraph battalion of two divisions, of which one was permanently equipped and ready for war, whilst the other was allocated to the national civil telegraph administration. This formed part of the Royal Engineers until 1920, when it was established as a separate branch - the Royal Corps of Signals.
Italy had three telegraph units, comprising two companies each, and which belonged to the 3rd Engineer Regiment;
Russia had 17 wartime (field) telegraph parks, which were part of their sapper brigades. The parks were operated in co-ordination with Field Army Corps-level units of the Imperial Army's Signal Corps. These Signal Corps units in each Army Corps consisted of two signals divisions (8 infantry regiments in 4 brigades), one signals battalion (between one and three sapper telegraph companies) and one of the aforementioned field engineering department parks stocked with 20 telegraphs, 193 telegraphs and 333 cable lines. The Signal Corps had been established as a separate Army branch in 1912.
Telegraph Battalion No. 2 was subordinated to the III Corps and 1st Inspectorate of the Telegraph Corps. Peacetime locations were Frankfurt an der Oder and Cottbus. Day of formation was 25 March 1899.
Telegraph Battalion No. 3 was subordinated to the VIII Corps and the 2nd Telegraph Corps Inspectorate. Its year of formation was 1899 and its peacetime locations were in Coblenz the former Boelcke Barracks and, from 1914, Darmstadt as well.
The battalion was established on 1 October 1907 and was subordinated to the XIV Corps and 2nd Inspectorate of the Telegraph Corps. Peacetime locations were Karlsruhe and Freiburg.
The battalion was established on 1 October 1912 and was subordinated to the VII Corps and the 1st Inspectorate of the Telegraph Corps. Peacetime location was Danzig.
At the beginning of the First World War additional signal elements were established from the 9 telegraph battalions and 8 fortress signal companies that belonged to the transport troops. Due to the tactical changeover to trench warfare, from 1915 all telegraph units were renamed as army signal units (‚‘Armee-Fernsprechabteilungen‘‘) and were divided into elements that operated the existing communications network and elements responsible for the maintenance of communications and construction of new communication links.
In trench warfare, cable communications were often cut by the continual barrage of enemy fire. As a result, carrier pigeons and signal dogs were often used. In addition, special optical signal sections were established.
