Page:EB1922 - Volume 30.djvu/242

206 ordnance was responsible for armaments, the manufacture of ammunition and for the Fortifications and Works Department.

In the organization of the armies in the field a partitioning of responsibilities similar to that arranged among military members of the Council was adhered to though some modification was necessary because the staff in the field was organized under three principal staff officers only: The chief of the general staff, the adjutant-general, and the quartermaster-general; the master-general of the ordnance had no direct representation at G.H.Q. The major portion of the latter's duties in the field came under the control of the quartermaster-general, while the engineer-in-chief (a special field appointment) absorbed such of the duties of the director of fortifications and works as were required in the field. The quartermaster-general in the field controlled the paymaster-in-chief, and had the assistance of the financial adviser to the commander-in-chief, while the adjutant- general in the field controlled the Chaplains Department. It is noteworthy that it was not until April 1917 that the director- general of movements and railways was appointed to the Army Council, involving the removal of these duties from the quarter- master-general's control; a'similar change was effected simul- taneously in the field armies by the addition to the commander- in-chief's staff of an inspector-general of transportation, inde- pendent of the quartermaster-general. Similarly, the appoint- ment of a surveyor-general of supply, anticipated by that of an additional civil member of Council to supervise army contracts in Dec. 1914, took, for coordination purposes, from the control of the quartermaster-general, the master-general of the ord- nance and the finance member, such functions as related to the commercial side of the business of supplying the army.

The military departments concerned retained responsibility for design, specification and testing as well as for research and ex- perimental work. The director of army contracts was brought under the surveyor-general of supply, and later there was added the direc- torate of army priority which absorbed the branch known as " Al- lies' Munitions Requirements " from the Department of the Civil Member. A director of wool textile production was added in Dec. 1917, and in Feb. 1918 the Army Salvage Branch developed and was placed jointly under the quartermaster-general and the surveyor- general of supply. The only other appointment of interest is that of the military secretary. This office has always existed ; at one time it was under the direct control of the commander-in-chief and later under the Secretary of State for War. The exact functions have varied from time to time. Broadly speaking, the branch, both in the War Office and at a G.H.Q. in the field, dealt with appoint- ments and promotions of officers, and with honours and rewards for all ranks. Other changes which removed certain duties and responsibilities from the Army Council to newly formed ministries were effected by the creation of the Ministry of Munitions (June 1915), the Ministry of Pensions (Feb. 1917), and the Ministry of National Service (Oct. 1917). Thus, on its formation, the Ministry of Munitions took over responsibility for the supply of munitions, leaving the question of design to the War Office. About June 1915, however, the Ministry of Munitions became responsible for design in so far as part of chemical warfare and trench warfare was con- cerned, and in the following Oct. it took over responsibility for design in other directions. The director of artillery became indeed nothing more than the military representative of the War Office and the Front, responsible for making demands affecting both design and supply on the Ministry of Munitions.

In the original design for the British armies in the field, the inspector-general of communications held the status of a com- mander, but by a process of gradual absorption he eventually passed, except for defence duties on the lines of communication, under the command of the adjutant-general (for reinforcements and casualties) and the quartermaster-general (for supply and maintenance).

It is unnecessary to describe in detail the organization of army headquarters in India, but it should be said that, so far as Indian army troops cooperating with British troops in the various theatres were concerned, the system of command and administration was generally similar to that described above, the chief difference being that in India the medical, ordnance and military works branches were each of them independent branches, working directly under the commander-in-chief. As for the dominions, Crown colonies and protectorates other than India, it had been unanimously agreed at the Imperial Conference of 1909 that the organization of all the forces of the Empire should be assimilated as far as possible. In Canada there existed a permanent militia and an active militia, each serving on a three-year term of engagement. They were organized as 7 mounted brigades, 10 brigades of field artillery, 23 infantry brigades, with the necessary ancillary services. In Australia a Military Training Act had been passed, rendering liable for service

in time of emergency all males between the ages of 1 8 and 60, and imposing compulsory training in the militia on all males between the ages of 18 and 26. The permanent force comprised only three field, batteries, 13 companies of garrison artillery, with certain engineers and a nucleus of departmental services. This force, serving on a five-year engagement, and the militia forces, serving on a three- year term, were organized in both mounted and infantry brigades with establishments similar to those of the British army. In 1913-4 the militia comprised 23 mounted regiments, 22 batteries of field artillery and 50 battalions of infantry, with proportionate ancillary services. In New Zealand all males between the ages of 17 and 55 were liable for service in time of war, those between 18 and 25 under- going training and those between 25 and 30 passing to the reserve: The permanent force (sufficient only for instructional purposes) serving on an eight-year engagement, and the territorial force, on a seven-year engagement, consisted of 12 mounted regiments, 9 batteries of field artillery, 9 batteries of garrison artillery and 16 battalions of infantry with the necessary ancillary services. In the Union of South Africa the permanent force on a five-year engage- ment consisted of five mounted regiments and five batteries of artillery. There were also a small coast -defence force and an active citizen force, serving on a four-year engagement, comprising nine mounted regiments, four dismounted regiments, three batteries of field artillery, 12 battalions of infantry and the necessary ancillary services. No other colony or protectorate maintained a force of any appreciable size, but all had some force of armed police or volunteers in some sort of military organization. In certain of the protectorates, such as East Africa, Nyassaland, Somaliland, Uganda, Gambia, Gold Coast, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, permanent coloured troops, officered by officers seconded from the regular army, were maintained for local service. In all the dominion forces the armament was in the main identical with that of the British army, the only important exception being that Canada in lieu of the Lee-Enfield -303 rifle had the Ross of the same calibre. The latter was discarded early in the war.

Forces Available. Until the end of the ipth century the British forces, always limited by the expense entailed, were maintained for the following purposes: (a) Garrisons of trained troops for the outlying colonies and protectorates (including India); (b) a force available for the prosecution of punitive expeditions, or for the maintenance of order in those colonies and protectorates or on their frontiers; (c) the first-line defence of the United Kingdom in the event of invasion. The South African War, however, of 1899-1902 proved such a severe strain on home military resources that assistance offered by the self- governing dominions was gratefully accepted; and the rendering of this assistance marks a definite and important step forward in the military organization of the Empire as a whole. Owing to the trend of European politics at the beginning of the 2oth century, the purposes for which the military forces were main- tained underwent a definite change, and the organization still limited by the costliness of a purely voluntary system of service was subjected to a series of reforms based on the following possible requirements: (a) a small striking force capable of taking the field in Europe at short notice; (b) garrisons for colonies and protectorates (including India) and reinforcements for the prosecution of punitive and other campaigns in connexion there- with; (c) the defence of the United Kingdom against invasion during the possible absence of the striking force referred to above. This change in policy, due to the possibility of inter- vention in a European war, involved the absorption in the striking force of the whole of the regular forces serving at home, and thus the provision of additional organized forces adequate for defence against invasion became a vital necessity.

During the years 1910 to 1914, therefore, military effort was concentrated on the organization of this small striking force of regulars (which received the title of " Expeditionary Force ") and of the Home Defence Force of territorial troops. The focussing, at the outbreak of war, of the whole regular military energy and experience on a small expeditionary force, and the consequent neglect of preparations to make use of the untrained masses of the male population capable of bearing arms, led, however, to a temporary paralysis of the powers of expansion. The regular expeditionary force was permanently organized in its field formations of divisions; and up to the outbreak of the World War no higher formations, such as army corps and armies, had been definitely organized, although the staffs and head- quarter units for a general headquarters and two armies (or