battalions each, provides the bulk of the army. Infantry is formed into
regiments for recruiting and territorial distribution purposes, but the
battalion is the actual unit both for fighting and administration. In many
cases the Army List gives the name of an officer holding the appointment of
colonel of the regiment: this is in all cases a purely honorary appointment
and entails no duties or responsibilities. An infantry battalion is
commanded by a lieutenant-colonel and consists of 32 officers and 1000
other ranks. Both in peace and war a battalion is divided into
head-quarters and four companies, each of the latter having six officers,
including the company commander, who is a major or senior captain.
Subalterns command platoons. For recruiting purposes for infantry of the
line the country is divided into Regimental Districts, in which are located
the depots of the regiment concerned: these depots are commanded by a
senior officer of one of the battalions of the regiment with the necessary
staff for training purposes. Recruits are usually first trained at the
depot and later transferred to the battalion requiring them. The Regimental
Districts are again combined into larger districts in which are situated
the Record Offices dealing with the regiments of the district. The
denomination of the district dealing with any particular regiment is shown
in the Army List in brackets. The principles of interior organization are
the same throughout the army, and as they can be best illustrated with the
example of an infantry battalion a short description of this organization
follows. Owing to the continual growth of military science, the improvement
in arms and means of destruction generally, and the confusion and noise
inseparable from a modern battle, the size of the personally-controlled
unit has gradually decreased till, in the present day, in the British army,
it is accepted as an axiom that no larger number of men than six can be
conveniently controlled in battle by one man. In former days companies,
battalions, and even larger formations were both controlled and received
their executive orders direct from their commanders--and to such an extent
was this carried that Fortescue, in his _History of the British Army_,
notes that Marlborough was in the habit of putting his whole army through
the platoon exercise by means of flags and bugle-calls. This, of course,
was not actually in face of the enemy, but the principle is the same. The
stress of modern war now makes individual control of large bodies
impossible, and the British army is therefore organized both for peace and
war in a series of units of ever-increasing size, each under its own
commander, who is responsible to his immediate superior for the well-being,
training, and leading of his command. Taking the infantry organization as
an example, we find that in the lowest stage, that of the 'section', the
command is both personal and direct, in that the corporal controls and
commands the six men composing his fighting unit personally and directly by
word of mouth. In peace-time, and for administrative and training purposes,
the section may reach to ten men, who live, work, and play together. In the
next stage--that of the 'platoon', consisting of four sections--we find the
control is rather less personal and direct, in that the platoon commander,
a subaltern, controls his command largely through his subordinates, the
section commanders. A further stage is that of the 'company', which
consists of four platoons and company head-quarters. A company is commanded
by a major or senior captain, has a captain as second-in-command, and a
company sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant to assist in running it.
Here again the control is less direct though still personal. The next stage
is the amalgamation of companies into a battalion, consisting of a
head-quarters and four companies. Battalion head-quarters consist of a
lieutenant-colonel commanding, a major second-in-command, an adjutant, and
a quartermaster. Certain other officers, when required, and the regimental
sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant, and various other ranks make up
the total of some 130. The commanding officer of a battalion is directly
responsible for the well-being of his command, for its training,
discipline, equipment, and general efficiency. In carrying on his duties he
works through his company commanders, and with the assistance of the
regimental staff mentioned above, so that we have a direct chain of command
and responsibility from the corporal commanding a section of six to ten men
through platoons and companies to the lieutenant-colonel commanding a
battalion of some thousand men. A detail of armament made possible by the
enormous increase of machine-guns necessitated during the war is
interesting. Thirty-two Lewis-guns are now provided for each infantry
battalion, and are distributed to alternate sections in a platoon. Thus in
each platoon two sections are known as rifle sections and two as Lewis-gun
sections, and these arms are normally used by the respective sections; but
men of all sections are trained in the use of both rifle and Lewis-gun.
When we come to formations larger than a battalion, we find the system of
control and command becoming less and less personal and direct, as in all
such formations the commander works to a less or greater extent through his
staff. Roughly speaking, the staff is of two divisions, the one consisting
of the general staff branch and the other of the branch of the adjutant and
quartermaster-general. Again speaking very generally, the general staff is
charged with duties bearing directly on military operations, while officers
of the adjutant and quartermaster-general's branch deal more with
administrative questions. Officers of the general staff are known as
general staff officers, while those of the other branch are called, for
example, assistant or deputy-assistant adjutant or quartermaster-general,
according to their several duties.
The formation in which distinct and separate units are first collected
under one superior commander is known as a brigade. This, according to
present establishment, consists of three battalions and a trench-mortar
battery, the whole under a general officer called a brigadier-general,
assisted by a staff of two officers--a brigade-major and a staff-captain.
Since March, 1920, however, the title of brigadier-general has been altered
to 'colonel-commandant'. The strength of a brigade is something over 3000
of all ranks. In a division, which is the next highest formation, and which
is commanded by a major-general with a staff of three general staff
officers and three officers belonging to the A.G. and Q.M.G. branch, we
find the first appearance of a mixed force. It is not a force of 'all
arms', as cavalry is not included, but, in addition to infantry (three
brigades), it has a considerable strength in artillery, besides engineers
and the necessary administrative troops. Two or more divisions, together
with a cavalry regiment and certain other troops, form an 'army corps', and
two or more corps go to make up an 'army'. These are not at present
peace-time formations of the British army.
Of the administrative troops and services already mentioned, the Royal Army
Service Corps provides for the material wants of the army both in the way
of food and transport. It is organized in companies designated by numerals.
The Royal Army Medical Corps provides the personnel and organization for
the medical and sanitary services of the army. In peace-time this service
is organized on a garrison basis, hospitals being established where
required for the use of all troops in that particular garrison. For war
purposes medical officers are still attached to regiments, and in addition
the corps provides the personnel and organization necessary for field
ambulances, casualty clearing-stations, hospital trains and ships, and
various classes of fixed hospitals. The corps is organized in numbered
companies, and the rank and file are trained in first aid and ambulance
duties generally. It is administered by a director-general of Army Medical
Services with the rank of lieutenant-general, who is an officer of the
adjutant-general's department.
The other departments and administrative services of the army consist of
the Royal Army Ordnance Corps, dealing generally with munitions of war; the
Army Pay Department; the Royal Army Chaplains' Department; and the Royal
Army Veterinary Corps, of which the functions are sufficiently designated
by their title. In addition, there are manufacturing establishments at
Woolwich Arsenal and elsewhere.
The Army Reserve consists of men who have completed their term of colour
service, or service with a unit, and have thus passed into civil life,
though still remaining liable for a period of years to be recalled to the
colours if mobilization is ordered.
The Special Reserve was formed under the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act
of 1907 out of the old militia. It consists generally of one battalion to
each regiment of infantry, and is numbered consecutively with regular
battalions of the regiment. It will, in the future, probably be again known
as the Militia.
The Royal Marines--artillery and infantry, or the 'blue' and the 'red'
marines, Kipling's "soldier and sailor too"--are not part of the army
proper, as they are administered entirely by the Admiralty. They are,
however, amenable to the Army Act when serving ashore. The term of service
is for twelve years, which may be extended to make up twenty-one. Men may
be transferred to or from the army at their own request.
The Territorial Force, or, as it is to be called in future, the Territorial
Army, is raised entirely on a county or territorial basis. It was
originally created by the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act of 1907 out of
a nucleus of the old yeomanry and volunteers. It is raised and administered
by County Associations in each county and principal city. These
associations consist of a president, chairman, military representative, and
co-opted members. The administration of the Territorial Army is carried out
by the County Associations in accordance with schemes provided by the Army
Council, while all questions of training are reserved to the War Office.
The Territorial Army consists of all arms, including machine-gun corps and
the necessary administrative services: its full war establishment is fixed
at approximately 345,000 of all ranks, though, for the present, only some
60 per cent of them are to be enlisted. The rejuvenated Territorial Army is
to be in all respects a true second line of imperial defence,
self-contained and self-supporting, while the regular army and its special
reserve of militia battalions form the first line. Defence entails a
certain amount of offence to bring it to a successful issue: it has
therefore been decided that the new Territorial Army will not be relegated
merely to the duty of guarding the country from invasion, but will, in a
national emergency, be entitled to take its place under its own
organization in the fighting line in any part of the world where its
services may be required. This will entail enlistment for general service,
but the interest of the force and of individuals composing it are
safeguarded by the proviso that before the Territorial Army can be ordered
out of the country an Act authorizing the movement be passed by Parliament.
It is further provided that the Territorial Army will on no account be
called on to supply drafts for regular regiments, and that in case fresh
regiments have to be raised on the lines of the New Army, the machinery of
the Territorial Army will be used to organize them. Enlistment will be for
three or four years, according to whether a man has served during the
European War (1914-8) or not; age limits are normally between 18 and 38.
The army is to be organized in one cavalry (yeomanry) division of 12
regiments, and 14 infantry divisions each under a selected general officer,
either regular or territorial. Pay and allowances during training periods
will be as in the regular army, and in addition certain bounties will be
obtainable. Training periods will be fifteen days in camp annually, besides
a minimum number of drills and a musketry course. On completion of colour
service a man will pass to the Territorial Reserve.
The New Army, consisting of the 'service battalions' of existing regiments,
is a product of the war. When, on the outbreak of war, many new regiments
were rapidly raised, they were affiliated to regular regiments with
consecutive numbers after the territorial battalions, and this organization
was continued and extended to cope with the personnel obtained under the
Military Service Acts.
Educational establishments connected with the army include the Staff
College, the Royal Military College at Sandhurst, and the Royal Military
Academy at Woolwich. At the Staff College officers obtain a course of
instruction and study to fit them for service on the staff of the army. At
Sandhurst, where the course of instruction is two years, some 700 gentlemen
cadets are trained for commissions in the guards, cavalry, and infantry of
the line, and the Indian army. At Woolwich gentlemen cadets desirous of
entering the Royal Artillery or the Royal Engineers receive their training.
In addition to these there are schools of gunnery and engineering, the
Small Arms School at Hythe, the School of Physical Training at Aldershot,
and many others: while, for sons and orphans of soldiers, there are the
Duke of York's Royal Military School and the Royal Hibernian School. The
Royal Hospital, Chelsea, and the Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin, are
institutions for the care of old and distressed soldiers. In every garrison
there are garrison schools for soldiers under fully qualified army
schoolmasters, while in the future there is likely to be a very great
increase in educational facilities of all kinds for the rank and file of
the army. The training of the British army for war now embraces a variety
of subjects, and at the Royal Military College and Academy the gentlemen
cadets are not only taught the principles and practice of their future
profession, but are also instructed in the methods of imparting their
knowledge to others. For example, the course of training at the Royal
Military College embraces drill and weapon training--under which head is
included musketry (both theory and practice) and bayonet work--physical
training, and riding. As part of the physical-training course they receive
instruction as to the best methods of organizing regimental
assaults-at-arms and sports. Among the more academic subjects are military
history and tactics, field sketching and topography, field engineering,
military law and administration, and elementary hygiene. A great deal of
practical work is done, and the course of two years is designed to fit a
young officer, on joining his regiment, to undertake the entire charge and
training of his troop or platoon. At the Royal Military Academy extra
subjects, such as artillery work and more advanced engineering, are also
taught.
As to the soldier's training generally, drill is insisted on as an aid to
discipline, which it undoubtedly is, and exact performance of the various
movements ordered is expected. In other branches of training more
individuality is allowed, and the days when the bayonet-exercise was
performed by a battalion to the music of the regimental band having passed,
considerable latitude as to positions and execution is permitted in this
particular branch, attention being principally concentrated on inculcating
the 'offensive spirit'. The modern soldier also learns how to use a
Lewis-gun, to throw or fire a grenade, what to do in case of a gas attack,
the rudiments of field engineering, and how to keep himself healthy.
In addition to the more generally-known units of the army there are certain
corps which, though raised in the colonies, still form part of the army,
and which are administered by the imperial authorities. Under this head are
the Royal Malta Artillery (local service); the West India Regiment (two
battalions) and the West African Regiment, both for general service and
both administered by the War Office. Among other colonial corps maintained
by the imperial Government, though not forming part of the regular army,
are the West African Frontier Force (Nigeria) and the King's African Rifles
(East Africa). Both these are administered by the Colonial Office.
_Dominions._--The military forces of the self-governing dominions are
raised and organized under the laws of such dominions.
Those of the Commonwealth of Australia are organized on a system of
compulsory military training for all males between the ages of twelve and
twenty-six. In the earlier stages boys are trained in cadet corps, from
which they pass to the Citizen Army, and from there, having attained the
age of twenty-six, to recognized rifle clubs. The annual period of training
in the Citizen Army is sixteen days. When the scheme is in full working
order this force will consist of twenty-three 4-battalion brigades of
infantry, twenty-three regiments of light horse, fifty-six 4-gun batteries,
and the necessary complement of engineers and administrative troops. During
the war this organization was in abeyance, and regiments were raised as
required for overseas service, and, though proposals for conscription were
negatived, the commonwealth still managed to send some 330,000 men to the
various theatres of war out of 417,000 raised. The casualties, killed,
wounded, and missing, were 210,724.
The Commonwealth also maintains a small permanent force of trained
professional soldiers.
The New Zealand forces are also organized on the principle of universal
training for all males. The details differ somewhat from those in favour in
Australia, but the principle is the same, i.e. that every male should be
trained for home defence. Boys of from twelve to eighteen years of age are
trained in cadet corps, from which they pass to regiments of the
Territorial Force, and from twenty-five to thirty belong to the reserve.
Cadets do annually a specified number of drills, while the territorial
training extends to seven clear days, a musketry course, and certain drills
every year. For the purposes of the war, conscription was introduced in
1916, and 220,000 men were raised between 1914 and 1918, out of which the
casualties were nearly 57,000.
Canada, unlike Australia and New Zealand, has no system of graduated
military training. The military forces of the dominion are organized as a
militia under a Minister of Militia and Defence working with a Council.
This militia is recruited by voluntary enlistment, and, on the outbreak of
war, consisted of a permanent force of 3000 and some 60,000 men who had
received militia training. This made possible the rapid dispatch to France
of a division which, by 1916, had increased to a corps of four divisions
and a cavalry brigade. Like the Mother Country and New Zealand, Canada
introduced conscription in 1917, and during the war raised nearly 641,000
men and suffered 206,149 casualties, of which 56,110 were killed, 149,733
wounded, and 306 missing.
The Union of South Africa divides its military forces into the permanent
force and the citizen force. There is also a coast-defence force. The
permanent force consists of the five regiments of the South African Mounted
Rifles. South Africa's greatest military effort during the war was directed
towards German South-West and East Africa, but some 27,000 men were
enlisted for and sent to Europe out of a total number of 136,000 raised.
This total does not include coloured troops. The casualties were 18,000.
In other self-governing portions of the Empire troops were raised as
required, and in the West and East African colonies the existing formations
of native troops were considerably increased for service in suitable
portions of the various theatres of war. The official statement of troops
raised shows under the heading of 'other colonies' 134,837, including
coloured troops from South Africa and the West Indies. The casualties among
them amounted to 7519.
_The Army in India._--The military forces in India consist of those units
of British cavalry, artillery, and infantry temporarily serving in the
country, and the Indian army proper, consisting of regiments recruited from
among the native inhabitants and normally serving there. Enlistment is
voluntary and for general service, one of the promises made by a man on
enrolment being "to go wherever ordered by land and sea and not to allow
caste usages to interfere with his duties as a soldier". The Indian army,
as a disciplined and organized force, dates from the years between 1748 and
1758. In 1748 Major Stringer Lawrence arrived in Madras with a commission
from the Company as commander-in-chief. His first act was to form the
existing European independent companies into regiments; his second to raise
certain native independent companies. In 1758 he formed these companies in
their turn into battalions, which he designated 'coast sepoys', and which
still exist under their present names of the 61st Pioneers and following
numbers. His system was extended to the other presidencies, and at the
period of the mutiny, in 1857, the native army in India consisted of some
230,000 regular troops, besides irregulars. When the post-mutiny
reconstruction took place, the army was reorganized on an irregular basis
instead of as regular regiments on the British model. According to this new
system, the number of British officers in a regiment was considerably
reduced; native officers were given command of troops and companies, while
the British officer's command became the squadron, or wing. Native
artillery, with the exception of certain mountain batteries, was abolished,
and cavalry was reconstituted on the Silladar system, whereby, in
consideration of a larger monthly pay than was given to the infantry sepoy,
the trooper, or sowar, provided his own horse and sword. The system thus
introduced virtually remains to the present day, though it has been
modified and improved to suit later conditions. The infantry officer's
command has decreased from the wing of four companies to the double company
of two, and it is now known as a company and is organized in four platoons
on the British service model, platoons being commanded by Indian officers.
Of late years the number of British officers with an Indian regiment has
been increased to twelve, and at the present time a committee is sitting in
India to deliberate on the future construction of the army. It is therefore
impossible to give details of its future strength. This, just before the
war, was some 160,000, organized in 38 regiments of cavalry, the corps of
guides, 3 regiments of sappers and miners, 118 regiments of infantry of 1
battalion each, and 10 regiments of Gurkhas of 2 battalions each. There
were also 13 mountain batteries. The 'Imperial Service Troops', of which
many contingents took part in the war, are raised, paid, and maintained by
princes and chiefs as a contribution to the defence of the country, while
their training is supervised by British inspecting officers. The 'Indian
Defence Force', which has lately replaced the volunteers, and in which
service is compulsory for Europeans, is available for home defence only.
During the war India, by voluntary enlistment, provided 1,401,350 men. Of
these many new regiments were formed, and second, third, and fourth
battalions added to existing regiments. Casualties were very nearly
114,000, including some 48,000 killed. Native Indian officers of cavalry
are known as ressaldars, ressaiders, and jemadars, while those of the
infantry are called subadars and jemadars. In each regiment the senior
Indian officer is called ressaldar or subadar-major.