A summary of Changes in organising the military. Taken from classroom notes, lectures, "The British experience of warfare, c" & the official Edexcel AS/A-Level History textbook.
Changes in organizing the military
How the armed forces are organised
The army
• First formed in 17th Century & organized by the government and paid for by
tax
• For most of this period, army is secondary to the Navy
• Divided into 4 wings:
Infantry Cavalry Artillery Ancillary
Regiment Regiment Regiment Medical
Battalion Battery Commissariat
Brigade Engineers
• Was an army of volunteers up to 1916 – contrasting to Allies & opponents
• Infantry are deployed in a battalion (400-1000 men)
‣ Regiments would have 2 battalions
• A company was 100-120 men, a platoon was 25 men & a section was 10 men
• Artillery was divided into batteries (6-8 guns) & were deployed as needed
• Brigade = infantry battalion + cavalry regiment
‣ Multiple brigades = division (12-18000 men)
• Corps system adopted in WW1 – 2 or more divisions
The Royal Navy
• Single unit known as a vessel & each vessel would have a home port
• Known as ‘His’ or ‘Her’ Majesty – HMS & manned by a captain
• Ships are organized into fotillas – then organized into a feet (named after
area)
• Ships were graded on size
• Primarily manned by volunteers & could conscript men through press gangs
Battleshi Cruiser Destroye Frigate Sloop Corvete Brig
p r
WHY WAS IT THOUGHT NECESSARY TO CHANGE THE ARMY
DURING THE YEARS 1790-1918?
Improving the organization of the army
The regimental system
• Seen as a strength & a weakness, if army is too decentralized
• Industrialisation meant wages were rising, so being a soldier was less
favourable
• Prospect of colonial service, turned people away
• After shock from Boer War, British army professionalises – adopts meritocracy
• The purchase of ranks crippled the army, which had been going since the
18th Century – trying to remove this system was difcult
Improving the way the army was supplied
Munitions
• British army used Brown Bess muskets at the Battle of Waterloo
• Moved from muzzle-loading to breach-loading which double the rate of fre,
but also the amount of ammo needed
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