HISTORY – THE BRITISH EXPERIENCE OF WARFARE REVISION
BREADTH ONE: Changes in organising the military
Introduction
The Army
Modern British army formed 17th century – organised by government, paid through taxation
Traditionally volunteers, except WW1
3 fighting arms – infantry, cavalry & artillery + support services (engineers. Medical, commissariat)
Each soldier belongs to a regiment (which had its own headquarters, staff & colours/flag – rich history)
Infantry fight in battalions (400-1000men) which divide into companies then platoons
Cavalry regiments often fought together - occasionally split to squadrons
Artillery either Royal Artillery Regiment or Royal Horse Artillery Regiment – battery their tactical unit
During war, these were combined to make larger formations. (Battalions & cavalry regiments = brigades), then from 1970 joint
brigades = divisions. Britain adopted the French Corps system in WW1 (two+ divisions)
The Royal Navy
Simpler – remains the same today
Traditionally volunteers, permitted to conscript men sometimes
Basic units = Ships (given his/her majesty titles & training facilities) –
Ship has a nominal homeport (similar purpose as regiments in the army)
Ships organised into flotillas, then into a fleet (named after what sea)
British Priorities:
To 1795, primarily a naval power
18th and 19th century - maintain the European balance of power. (Protecting their trade routes & creating wider trading
networks. Little need for a full time army - permanent standing army was expensive& worrying during peace time)
1792, 250,000+ serving in the Royal Navy / 40,000 served in the army.
State of the British Army 1795
No Conscription Families allowed to live in the communal barracks
Soldiers paid less than farm workers (‘bounty’ of £40 upon Army discipline harsh (flogging common – 25, 1200 lashes)
registering / being housed/fed an attractive prospect)
Many recruited from lowest echelons of society Active Militia – paid more than regular army, preferred place
An escape from prison / Jails cleared to increase army size Large recruitment of foreign soldiers (KGL – lots of Europeans)
Commissions – Wealth mattered more than talent High Death Rate
The Grand old Duke of York – Commander in Chief 1795
- Stamped out worst excess of purchase schemes
- Free commissions increased (men with talent)
- Established Sandhurst (military college)
- Standardised tactical drills (trained more quickly & units together)
- Created light infantry regiments (95th Rifle Brigade)
Why was it necessary to change the army?
- Experienced a peacetime lull post French wars, then a steady expansion latter 19th century
Improving Organisation - The Regimental System
,- In peacetime, the regimental system they adopted was fit for purpose, serviceman given a home barracks / administered
effectively (cavalry posted as whole/infantry individually)
- Problem = Attracting new recruits
(Military career overlooked by new manual labour factory jobs paying better)
(Being posted in unpopular regiments in the tropics a put off)
(Criminality associated with the army)
- Problem = bastion of privilege
(Purchasing of rank since 18th century)
Meritocracy gained favour with liberals & accelerated when wars revealed the army was not the force it had once been.
(Prussian army success showed poor British leadership)
Improving Supplies – Munitions
Battle of Waterloo – Infantry in long lines, volley fired Brown Bess muskets / Cavalry galloped with swords / Artillery fired solid
round shot / canister.
- Through the century – muskets replaced by rifles… eventually breech loading (by WW1 could operate an array of support
weapons – mortars/machine guns/ tanks post 1916)
- Cavalry changed little BUT Artillery experimenting with high explosive shells (not metal balls)
- New weapons needed more ammunition (Brown Bess musket = 3 bullets a minute for an expert, barrel became so foul with
burnt powder too) – Cavalry fired even fewer
- Fire weapons improved… breech loading rifles needed special bullets in cartridges & quicker firing rate. Steel cannons firing
explosive shells & quicker firing rate.
Improvement in weapon design meant It was no longer possible for the army to make its own munitions
Food & Clothing
- Resembled a group of tramps (poor state of uniform & footwear) – Their dye ran; so they would take the French’s when
they died.. Officers equipped themselves
- French wars, Britain didn’t live off the land, saw benefits on keeping good terms with locals
- Food could be purchased by quartermasters staff BUT mainly transported by Navy (Wellington’s campaign – further inland,
resources were stretched)
Crimean War – little had changed, men in deplorable conditions (clothes/shape etc, worsened by supply inefficiency.),
biggest threat cold/hunger/disease. (Mix of human error & other factors: Weather, state of roads)
“Dregs out of their society” “Instinct for comfort” “Battle shy” “If the sons of better off had been conscripted, beatings
would have been outlawed” – French Soldier describing British Army, 1854.
The Expanding British Empire
1815 = Canada, West indies Islands & Parts of India (plus small staging posts)
End of 19th century = Virtually all India & Large part of Africa & New Asian Possessions
- This expansion = higher need to send armed forces to far flung areas, needed its own professional service
(couldn’t be on an ad hoc basis)
MCNEILL-TULLOCH REPORT
Crimea & It’s Problems
Britain & France trying to bolster Ottoman Empire & check Russian aggression. Limited campaign in Balkans & full-scale
invasion of Crimean peninsula. First months of war was battle then drawn out siege of city.
Report issued 2 stages - June 1855 - condition of common soldier (e.g. diet) & January 1856 – supply of equipment (&medical)
FINDINGS:
Deaths result of disease not enemy
Poor Health because no fresh food (vegetables)
Some units not getting full ration (4th Division)
, Kettles mislaid, not replaced (mess tins) / wood for fire short
Attending duties in spite of poor health
Officers = good example & caring
Slow distribution of supplies (lime juice (scurvy), distributed two months post arrival) (replacement clothing)
Lack of feed for horses (death rate)
Poor communication (supply officer & army command)
Short of medicine & medical supplies
RECCOMENDATION = ORGANISATION / SUPPLY DISTRIBUTION / DIET
organisation & supply procedures to change / The supplies were there but distribution was slow / Nutritious diet needed / Rum
ration replaced by dark beer (iron)
Changes partly a result of this report.
- MAIN = shift of control from army to government (Wellington key in keeping politicians away, NOW the failings meant
government had more power)
- Royal warrant October 1858 (professional reform of the commissariat) – lessened divide (e.g. in charge of ancillary services
– necessary for its function)
Before it was a fighting army force VS civilian extra support split
- Complex process began to be taken ‘in-house’
- Improvement to military medicine (aided by Florence Nightingale & William Russell)
The report caused a scandal – Exposed Crimea & official statistics which could not be ignored OR downplayed
- Criticised army leadership SO Board of Enquiry (Chelsea board) set up to whitewash report (individuals – Sir Richard Airey –
had campaigns to clear their names)
CARDWELL’S ARMY REFORMS, 1868-74
CONTEXT
Crimea revealed weaknesses:
- Post 1856, concern shifted from Europe to British Empire
(Army fit for purpose = small colonial wars) BUT 1868 Empire expansion meant better army needed
ENTER WILLIAM GLADSTONE *1868 election* Liberal government
- Reforming manifesto, passed some of the most important legislation (1870 Education Act)
- Changing strategic situation in Europe / Prussian army sweeping through
Modern, professional, well organised/equipped
400,000 plus RESERVISTS (VS Britain 100,000, almost no reservists)
Problems facing Cardwell:
1. Generals did not want change, beaten Napoleon therefore best in Europe (Wellington) (hence little change from McNeill)
2. Promotion system – European armies based it on merit, Britain based on purchasing rank (wealthy only)
Cheapest £450, farmers earned £30-£40 a year PRG
Officers protested this system worked *Wellington/Hill etc. led Britain to victory in French wars* Crimea showed the
opposite
3. Recruitment: major concern (economic prosperity = army not a good prospect / factory better, flogging/branding, 12 years)
The reforms:
Organisation of army & social structure
- Reorganised war office; clear divisions of duties
- Army Enlistment Short Service Act –6 years overseas/6 years reserve
- 21 years = pension
- Regulation of the forces (1871) – abolished general service, men could choose regiment
- Localisation Act (1872) – 66 local regiment districts, stationed where they live (following Prussians) (2 batallions = 1 sea/1
home)
- Purchasing of commissions abolished – a meritocracy
