Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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Summary British War - Army, Navy and Technological reforms across the period
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Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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PEARSON (PEARSON)
Written by a Cambridge Law student with an A* at history A-level.
Outlines army reforms (including Duke of York, Cardwell and Haldane reforms), navy reforms (including Pitt and Middleton, Graham's and Fisher's reforms), recruitment (including impressment, continuous service and conscription), t...
Unit 35.2 - The British experience of warfare, c1790-1918
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Across period
ARMY REFORMS
Duke of York reforms (1795-1820)
- Improved conditions in army
Difficulty attracting sufficient recruits so rarely had more than 115,000 men
o soldier’s pay very poor + half deducted for food
o army disciplinary code severe + soldiers could be flogged for many
crimes and misdemeanours
o most barracks overcrowded + unsanitary
Ration + barracks improved and penal code made less brutal (damaged
morale + did not act as deterrent) reduced strain of running large
demoralised force
- Improved centralisation of training for both soldiers and officers to increase cohesion
between different forces and also overall quality of armed forces
Previously different leadership + tactical methods but standard drills +
manoeuvres introduced to allow men to be trained quickly + for soldiers from
different units to fight better together, increasing cohesion
Also created Sandhurst military academy to ensure standard and uniform
training for officers
- Reformed commission system
Previously officers without military experience or aptitude could buy
commissions, resulting in poor quality officers in corps
Number of free commissions based on merit increased + certain ranks could
no longer be bought without military experience (max position = colonel)
inexperienced officers could not access positions of power
- Set ground for further reforms
Quality of service
Commissions
McNeill Tulloch report 1855 (outlined logistical failures in Crimean war) set foundations for
greater gov control of army
Cardwell reforms (1868 – 74)
, - Abolition of flogging + other harsh disciplinary measures during peacetime
imperative to attract good quality recruits by giving the reassurance that a
private soldier’s life was better than mere penal servitude
flogging retained as a punishment on active service + abolished 1880
- Troops withdrawn from self-governing colonies
Economically impractical to keep soldiers in British colonies all across the
world + colonies encouraged to raise own local forces
By 1871, 26,000 British troops withdrawn from overseas territories +
returned to Britain
- Abolished sale of commissions 1871, preventing wealthy but inexperienced figures
from becoming major leaders in the military + therefore improved the quality of
commanders
Many officers’ (eg divisional commanders) position previously based on
money + social status, esp due to system of buying commissions only two
had commanded more than one battalion in battle + youngest (Duke of
Cambridge) had never been in a battle
- Reformed war office to prevent infighting + bickering between various departments,
for example by abolishing the separate administration of the Reserves + Volunteers
Previously military administration had very cumbersome structure which split
many relatively small and interlapping roles which created rivalry + inertia, eg
Commander in chief saw to appointments + promotions and Adjutant-general
saw to recruitment + pay
- Army Enlistment Act 1870 aimed to create a class of reserves which could be recalled
to serve in case of a national emergency + produced an immediate increase in the
army’s strength
In previous system, soldiers forced to enlist for over 10 years, discouraging
many from enlisting as this was an exceedingly long time system produced
army of experienced soldiers, but no reserves of well trained and healthy
mean (which was seen as a necessity after the lessons learnt from the
Franco-Prussia war)
The Act introduced the idea of “short service”, allowing a soldier to choose to
spend time in reserves (rather than the regulars) would be paid fourpence
a day in return for a short period of training each year + an obligation to
serve when called up + usually soldiers enlisted for six years (shorter, more
appealing timeframe)
Haldane reforms (1905-12)
- Reorganised British army into two parts
Expeditionary force
o Fully professional force deployed overseas (six infantry divisions, one
heavy cavalry division + two light cavalry brigades)
, o Some units merged + others disbanded + all surplus units disbanded (for
example in overseas garrisons in colonies like Egypt
Territorial force
o Consisted of part time volunteer units for home defence during war (incl
militia, reservists who trained with regular army)
o Allocated own support services (supply, medical, engineer + artillery
units) so could be used independently from army
o Had 236,000 men Sep 1913
- Massively increased centralisation of training by creating Officer Training Corps
Previously ad hoc cadet groups set up at public schools + universities to teach
skills needed to become army officer
Haldane combined them, separated them into two divisions (upper for
universities + lower for schools) + put them under control of War Office by
1914, 20,000 schoolboys + 5,000 undergraduate students had enrolled into
OTC
- Created Imperial General Staff
Oversaw all strategic matters in British Empire, reorganising all local units (eg
South African Army, Indian Army, Australian + New Zealand army corps etc)
along lines of British expeditionary force
Very important as dominion troops played major parts in efforts of British
Empire in both world wars, and in wars fought by British local forces
generally took little notice of British generals + did own thing (eg in Boer war,
Canadian scouts who fought for British took little notice of British generals +
baulked at discipline)
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