ARMY
ORGANISATION
Over the
years the British Army has changed the way it organises and deploys itself many
times but several common threads remain. It was the two World Wars which saw
the organisation at its zenith. By the 21st century the Army had
become much more integrated both with our allies armed forces and with the
other service arms and presented itself as a highly professional medium for
executing governmental and national objectives. We can see several distinct
phases in terms of organisation: First
the era of militias and essentially private armies which lasted from the time
of Alfred to the Restoration. There followed a period up to the Cardwell
reforms of 1881 of semi-autonomous regiments run on lines which emphasised the
class divide. This was followed by a relatively short period during which the
Army came to grips with technology and modern warfare. The era of the two world
wars and the period up to Suez saw the Army reach its zenith in terms of size
and organisation and the final half century has seen it shrink dramatically in
size while at the same time taking on global responsibilities for peacekeeping
and counter-terrorism with weapon systems of awesome power and complexity when
the need is for the individual squaddie, and lots of him, highly trained and
professional and needing diplomatic skills which would have been beyond
professional diplomats in times gone by.
This
section is about how the army was organised during these five periods and how
it was deployed by the powers that be. Examples are from the
Military Ranks and Units
We begin by
looking at the different types of units of the army to provide a framework and
some common threads of reference. We start with three quite separate groups of
people:-
The Strategists who decide what conflicts to engage in,
which units to deploy and who is to command those units. They will engage in
both diplomatic and covert operations and develop the broad strategies to be
followed. For the purpose of this section we will say no more.
The Operational Units These are the units that are
deployed to perform the duties decided upon by the strategists. Using WW1
concepts we see:-
A Theatre of
Operations In WW1
there were theatres such as The Western Front,
An Army Commanded by a General composed
of two to four Corps with its own Headquarters
A Corps Commanded by a Lieutenant General
composed of two to six Divisions assigned as required for the task in hand -
with its own permanent Headquarters
A Division Commanded by a Major General
composed of two to four Brigades plus other supporting units and essentially a
permanent formation with units joining and leaving on a relatively long term
cycle.
A Brigade Commanded by a Brigadier General
(the title General was dropped after WW1) composed of two to four Battalions
plus other supporting units
A Battalion Commanded by a Lieutenant Colonel
made up of a number of companies. In early days there were 8 to a battalion
and after 1914 there were 4. There is also an HQ company which includes support
units such as medical and transport and attached personnel from logistics
units.
A Company Commanded by a Captain, although
one company in a battalion may be commanded by a Major who also acts as second
in command to the Battalion. There are
further subdivisions of a company: sections, squads etc.
The Regiments These provide a home for the soldier and
form the core of the soldiers loyalties. They train recruits, look after the soldiers
welfare and their families. Their key role is to equip units for deployment on
operations. They fall into four categories
Cavalry at one time they were the men who
fought on horseback and were subdivided into Lancers, Hussars and Dragoons depending
upon their weaponry and role. Their operational unit is the Squadron which is
considerably smaller than a Battalion. Nowadays they are equipped with tanks
and other armoured vehicles rather than horses.
Artillery the units that deploy the heavy guns
to support operations. At one time there were three types the Garrison
Artillery who man the very heavy guns known as howitzers; the Field Artillery
who man the medium guns and the Horse Artillery who man the mobile guns.
Nowadays they are all part of the Royal Artillery. Their operational units are
known as Batteries.
Infantry the units that fight on foot.
Their operational units are known as Battalions although in recent times
individual companies are often deployed as independent units. For many years it
was the custom for a regiment to have two fighting battalions one for
deployment on home duties and in preparation for an Expeditionary Force and one
to be deployed overseas to garrison the Empire and be in place to engage in
colonial wars.
Logistics these are the corps that provide
the back up for the troops on deployment. They provide engineering, pay, postal
services, medical services, transport, ordnance and other supplies etc etc.
They may be deployed as a unit for attachment to a Battalion, Brigade or
Division and sometimes as free-standing units. For many of the Corps, men are
deployed as individuals and often develop a considerable rapport with the units
to which they are attached.
Some
further classifications of units need to be mentioned.
The Militia each county was supposed to form
a militia of trained men who could be called up for active service should the
need arise. They provided men for ceremonial duties in and around their
counties and were used to suppress rebellion and discontent in other parts of
the country. In the Crimean War they were often deployed overseas to provide
garrisons and release regular troops for combat. In 1881 under the Cardwell
reforms they became the 3rd reserve Battalion of their county
regiment. Click for further details of the Berkshire
Militia.
The Territorials these were developed to provide
defence for the country against the threat of invasion but in many
circumstances were prepared to serve overseas. Nowadays they tend to be seen as
part time soldiers with specialist skills and training and are more closely
integrated into the rest of the army than heretofor. From 1908 their infantry
became the 4th or 5th Battalion of their county regiment
and their cavalry known as Yeomanry. Click for further details of the Berkshire Territorials
The Volunteers These were men who were prepared
to give up some of their time to engage in military training. They would
usually be among the first to volunteer for active service in times of danger
and in 1908 they were converted to Territorials. In the First World War they
were re-introduced to provide training for men who were either not of military
age, were in reserved occupations or were not fit for active service, the idea
being that they could be deployed as a last resort in the case of invasion. In
World War Two they developed into the Home Guard.
Militias and Private Armies
Semi-autonomous Regiments
The genesis of the modern army
World Wars
Peacekeeping and
counter-terrorism
H16