THE BRITISH EX
OF WARF
The Crime
, THE CRIMEAN WA
THE BRITISH EXP
WARFARE SE
FIRST EDIT
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, BRITISH OFFICERS
While there were signs of growing professionalism among sections
of the officer corps, actual experience of command was necessarily
The 26,000 strong British Army that sailed for the Crimea in September confined to colonial wars and many officers had seen no active
1854, compromising five infantry divisions and one cavalry division was service at all. The system of buying commissions ensured that
described by The Times as ‘the finest army that has ever left these wealth often triumphed ability. In 1814-15 the greatly enlarged
shores’. But its dashing appearance served only to camouflage British Army had been led by men mainly from the professional
problems in command and organisation. In many respects the army had classes. However, by 1854, the much smaller army was led by
been neglected since 1815, not altogether surprisingly given four officers drawn principally from the landed gentry and from families
decades of European peace. with a military tradition. While most had a high sense of honour and
duty, some joined the army because it provided them with a
INFLUENCE OF WELLINGTON fashionable and not too strenuous existence.
The army after 1815 was essentially run by the military high command
without govt. interference. The fact that the army had triumphed in the
Peninsular and at Waterloo, and also performed well in campaigns
against Non-European forces, strengthened the forces of conservatism PROBLEM WITH MANPOWER
and complacency – both within the army and politically. Wellington was
The army rarely had more than 115,000 men. Soldiers
Commander-in-Chief in 1827-1828 and again in 1842-52. Even when
served 21 years in the infantry or 24 years in the
not in that position he exercised massive authority over military affairs.
cavalry. Long service overseas exacted a heavy toll in
Although not entirely opposed to new ideas, he took the view that what
human life and health, particularly in the tropic stations.
had served the army well in the past was the surest guarantee of
Between 1839 and 1853 there were 58,139 deaths, the
continuing success. He also believed that calls for reform were really no
vast majority from disease. The army also had difficulty
more than demands for further cuts in military spending. (The army
attracting sufficient recruits. This was largely because
budget had decline from £43 million in 1815 to £9.5 million in the 40s.)
of the conditions of service.
LORD RAGLAN
65 year old Lord Raglan was appointed to command the British DIVISIONAL COMMAND
expeditionary force. He served on Wellington’s staff in the Peninsula and The quality of British military command was a cause for some concern. Only one
had subsequently been Wellington’s military secretary. No one doubted of Raglan’s five infantry divisional commanders was under 60, and he, the Duke of
Raglan’s administrative ability or bravery. At Waterloo, his right elbow had Cambridge, was the queen’s 37 year old cousin who had not seen action before.
been shattered by a musket ball and he had let the surgeon amputate his The Chief Engineer, Sir John Burgoyne, was 72. Only two of the infantry divisional
arm without a murmur. He also had personal qualities: diplomacy, loyalty commanders had led anything larger than a battalion into action.
to subordinates and devotion to duty. Unfortunately, he had not seen
active service since 1815 and had never commanded an army
MILITARY ADMINISTRATION
The military administration in 1854 was a shambles. Such a cumbersome structure produced rivalries, procrastination and inertia.
Periodically, ministers discussed plans for reform. But successive cabinets were too timid to override the hostility of Wellington and other
senior officers to any change that would diminish the commander-in-chief’s authority or subject the army to greater political control.
, Promotion from the ranks was The French expeditionary force,
commonplace and the officers were In 1854, the Russian army was over
which initially consisted of 40,000
more professional than their British a million strong.
infantry, plus artillery and cavalry,
equivalents. soon grew to 120,000.
It’s conscripted rank and
file suffered worse
conditions of service
French divisional commanders were than their British
notably younger than their British counterparts.
equivalents.
Most Russian officers were
from the landowning class and
many took their military duties
The most striking area of lightly.
French superiority was in
organisation and supply
Poorly Led
Poorly Trained
On paper, the Ottoman
army was 700,000 strong.
When in reality this was
only around half.
Poorly Supplied
Poorly Equipped
