THE BRITISH ARMY.

Timaru Herald, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 12871, 5 January 1906, Page 6

THE BRITISH ARMY.

A GENERAL STAFF ADOPTED. A General Staff is. to be formed for ti British Army. This is the result of a decision arrived at by ./the Army Council,, and on November it was endorsed by the Secretary, of {state for War in an epoch-making manute rhe necessity for a General Staff was earnestly enforced in the memorable report issued by the Esher Committee last vear Lord Esher, Sir John Fisher, and* Sir GeorgeS. Clarke in that report strongly advocated the formation of a Generaf "staff They shewed t b.f during -he S.nra AT-caa.Ts-ar grave defects in organisation were djscosed owing to the absence of a trained General Staff. They attached extreme importance to the' constitution.-of such a staff, with; defined functions in penes and in war' educated for its special duties, drawing to itself the pick of the brains of the Armr and. working continuously to improve the standard of their preparedness for war: These recommendations nave borne fruit) in this minuter The minute is notable for its candour. It admits that icontinurty of pokey m Army administration is impossible without well-ordered thought. The minute proceeds:—

in ■£> f "* the past; every officer in the Army has his own opinion on everv miht«ry subject, the net residt bein- that there are almost as many opinions tuT there are officers. Hence the advice tendered to the Secretary of State by his responsible mihtary adviser is the individual advice and opinion of the officer tendering it, and it. is carefully balanced, opinion; a collective body of experts. Thus, coi£ tamity of thought, of purpose, and of ■*& :tHm, are wholly impossible, and in their place we find disjointed and unconnected plans. ■ M true military opinion does'or can exist. j

In constituting the General Steffi -the following conclusions of the Aimv Council are to be. observed:

«S?T S ° f I the Geaeral Sh,ff should be selected on their own individual qualificl tions, and not on account of anv appointSev m^ C L th T m % h ° ldhs S> <>r>cr which tney may be selected. list of officers should at present be

Appointments should be for four years date ? GVei 7 four ears 'the SSff li . J & ? fe a PP oi to the General X". of tthe retention of an

e The possession of a Staff Collegs certifi- • cate, though most desirable, should not be ;- »n absolute sine qua non for being placed 0 on the General Staff list. 't Administrative experience will be a ralnt able but not an indispensable qualification, n The objects to be kept in view in forming i- a General Staff are: t 1. To gather the ablest men in the Army e together, and by some system of advancee ment and promotion, to make sure that the & fortnr.es of 't-he Army are always in ihoir 0 hands. * • > ■& By means of these m-m. to form a i school of military thought, which shall be r abreast., or ahead, of that of anv other t? army. d The memorandum points out that the :- officers of the General Staff should be the > ablest and most energetic officers of the t Atmy. and should bo in the prime of life. '• Their duties may be defined as the duties e of war and training for war." j 5 The eligibility of an officer for tie Gcn--11 «ral Staff is not to be affected by his Armv rank. 1 The General Staff will not form a separate corps. \ Officers will be selected on their own individual qualification, and not on account of ;• any appointment which they are holdinc, or •for which they may "be selected. The" list of selected officers will at present be small. j The Chief of the General Staff will have . absolute power over all the officers of the . General Staff. He will be as free as possible 3 from office routine, but nfiist be the sole . adviser of the Secretary of State on all } " matters of strategy or.'of military operaT tions: He will remain a member of the 5 Committee of Imperial Defence. i The reward for good service on the Gen- - eral Staff will be accelerated promotion. . Such promotion will be given -as a matter of - course to all officers who. having been • placed on the General Staff list, have completed a term of employment and are con- ■ sidered sufficiently meritorious to be re- • tained upon the list for further emplor- ■ ment. As to the principle of accelerated pro- ' motion, Mr Arnold-Forster says: "The strict regimental system of our : Army interposes obstacles in the case of cavalry and infantry, which do not arise j in the case of other branches of the service, or in foreign armies. These obstacles cannot be ignored. The system of ' brevet,' up ;to the rant of lieutenant-colonel, and substantive promotion above that rank, is likely to be the best solution of this difficult problem. "Hitherto, the whole tendency of our military education has been, to segregate military of the various arms. I cannot help hoping that progress may eventually be made in the direction of interchangeabiUty." The present chief of the General Staff is General Sir Neville Lyttelton. . . ——■——