ARMY AND NAVY. V. THE MACHINERY OF IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1909, Page 11

ARMY AND NAVY. V. THE MACHINERY OF IMPERIAL DEFENCE.

By Major E. ff. W. Lascelles. [The fourth of a series of articles on this Important subject appeared in the Evening Post on the 27th October, 1909.] THE WAE OFFICE AND COLONIAL MILITARY ADMINISTRATIONS. Although it was expressly recognised by the recently concluded imperial Defence Conference thafc each self-govern-ing dominion and colony must be alone responsible for the administration and command of its forces, and tliHt no suggestion of Imperial control was constitutionally possible, it was, nevertheless, decided that complete co-ordina-tion as regards methods of organisation, training, administration, and other important matters was necessary. If the forces of the Empire are to be enabled to act as one homogeneous whole in the hour of emergency, the necessity for this co-ordination is most palpable, for if organisation in business brings wealth, it is the secret of success m war. PREPARATION FOR WAR. Preparation for war — that_ is, organisation — must be carried out in peace ; the days of "muddling through" are past. Napier, in his history of the Peninsular War, says: — "War tries the strength of the military framework ; it is in peace the framework must be formed." The framework of colonial systems must be modelled, so far as i local circumstances permit, upon that of the Mother Country— that is to say, ' the organisation must be similar, | but as to whether the men are obtained by compulsory or voluntary enlistment is a, matter for each self-governing community to decide for themselves. It will, therefore, bo of interest to consider briefly the system of administration and command of the army. ARMY COUNCIL. Tho defects revealed by the South African War resulted, some time after the conclusion of hostilities, in the appointment of the War Office (Reconstruction) Committee. This committee, after exhaustive enquh'y, recommended that for the administration of the army an Army Council should be established, modelled upon the .lines of the Board of Admiralty — a body whose administration of the naval forces had for many \ years been eminently satisfactory. The old office of commander-in-chief was therefore abolished in 1904, and replaced by the Army Council. This council is to administer, not to command ; ths executive command being vested in general officers . outside the War Office. ~ This Army Council consists of the Secretary of State icr War for the time being, four military members, and two Civil members, willi the Permanent TJnder-Secretary of State j as secretary. Since tho creation of the Army Council, Canada, Australia, a.ud New Zealand have, following in the footsteps of the United Kingdom, established anakgous bodies for the pur- { posB of .administering their forces, the ' distribution of duties being similar to j that pursued in regard to the Army , Council This distribution is as fol- j lotts, : — j A. The' Secretary for State for War is J responsible to the drown and 'Par- i liament for the business of the Army ' Council, and all submissions to tbo i Crown in regard to military questions. , B. First Military Member— Chief of the ' ' General Stati' — Operations of war, military policy in all its brandies, ' war staff duties, intelligence, plans of ! operations, training, military educa- j tion, higher education. C. Second Military Member — the Adju- '" lant General — Personnel, recruiting, pay, discipline, rewards, peace regulations, mobilisation, medical services, i army schools, auxiliary forces. j D. Third Military Member — The Quartermaster G-eneral — •■Transport and supply, clothing, remounts, equipment, and ordnance stores. i E. Fourth Military Member— The Mas- ' ter-General of Ordnance — Armament, fortification, ordnance factories, barrack maintenance. F. Civil Member — Parliamentary Un-der-Secretary of State — Civil business other than finance, barrack construction, chaplains' department. G. Civil Member— The Financial Member — Finance, auditing, accounting, • estimates. The secretary to the council, who is net a member of the body, is charged with the interior economy of the War Office, and the preparation of all official communications of the council, and tho signing of the Army Orders. The Inspector-General (not in the ' Army Council) inspects all branches ot the forces, and reports to the council on their condition, and generally upon all that affects the readiness of the force for war. ) SPECIAL DUTIES OF DIRECTORS, j Subordinate to tho various members of the Army Council are the various i directors, each chaigdd wibb special duties — those under the Chief of the General Staff, for example, being the Director of Military Operations, Director of Staff Duties^and Director of Military Training. The Director o c Military" Operations is in intimate touch with the colonies, for to his directorate falls the duty of the collection and collation of intelligence, necessitating constant communication with colonial headquarters stalls. In his office may be found complete information in regard to the colonies on all matters of military interest— troops, arms, transports, harbours, supplies, roads, railways.-, heliographs, and the thousand and one^ points upon which j information is necessary in framing war1 like plans. As has already been pointed out, there now exists no Commander-in-Chief of the Army as a whole, but the executive's command falls 1o officers designated General Officers Commanding-in-Chief, who are appointed to the various commands, and aro responsible to the Army Council for the efficiency, training, * and x administration of their respective commands ; tho chain of command descending from them through General Officers Commanding Divisions, thence to Brigadier-Generals Commanding Brigades ; f lorti these latter to officers commanding regiments of cavaJry and battalions of infantry, and finally reaching the leaders of tactical units — the commanders of batteries, squadrons, and companies. WORK DESCRIBED. As has been pointed out in discussing the duties of the General Staff, the work to be performed by the staff of an army is of two kinds — that pertaining tt> ths planning and carrying out of "military operations, and that concerned with the movement, supply, discipline, etc., or purely administrative duties. It will be seen that to different members of tho Army Council fall these different duties, while in the commands the distribution is of a similar nature, general staff and administrative staiT duties falling to the lot of officers specially appointed for each purpose. PERFECTING ORGANISATION AND TRAINING. Those conversant with the past history of the British military system are aware that vast strides towards perfecting the organisation and training of the regular and Indian forces for war haye

been made in the last few years — that the territorial auxiliary forces of the United Kingdom now enjoy for the first, time in their history the benefit of an organisation rendering them complete in themselves for war, and necessitating m> drawing upon the regular forces on the outbrealt of hostilities, to enable the second line always to take the field for home defence. While these improve--I ments have been effected in India and the Motherland, progress in the oversea dominions has also been made. Canada possesses, perhaps, the most efficient of the colonial systems ; the Commonwealth of Australia now bids fair to outstrip all the younger nations ; while in New Zealand it appears to be recognised that some improvement on the system at present in vogue is necessary. SOUND SYSTEM NECESSARY. To the majority of tho people of the outlying Dominions — particularly those who possess no land frontier marching | with that of a possible foe — the necessity for a sound military system cannot be expected to appeal with the same force as to a people whose potential enemy stands practically on the further side of a chalk-line. To those who fail to realise the necessity for a thoroughly sound system, it must be pointed out that the sole purpose of tho maintenance of an army is for war ; to ensure efficiency an armed force must be organised in peace in units, and trained under the officers who will Itnd in war. Without a sound system this is impossible ; it means in peace sheer and utter waste of money, and in war chaos, defeat, and destruction.