army Flashcards
1
Q
what was recruitment like?
A
- 1793 - 40k men
- no conscription, no press gangs
- all soldiers were volunteers
- difficult to find requisite manpower
- recruiting parties toured the country
- got men drunk, slipped a shilling into their pockets, then swore they enlisted
2
Q
what was pay like?
A
- paid less than farm workers
- offered food, shelter, drink + loot
- bounty of £40
3
Q
what were the rules on marriage?
A
- allowed but not encouraged
- families were housed in communal barrack rooms
- only a few wives were allowed to accompany their husbands on active service overseas, had to draw lots
4
Q
what was the death rate/
A
- 1794 - almost 20k died on active service
- next 2 years - 40k discharged due to wounds
- 16-24k casualties every year between 1793 and 1815
5
Q
where did recruits come from
A
- poor families, considered to be same level as common criminals
- some were criminals who chose the army over prison
- duke of wellington said army was composed of the scum of the earth
6
Q
what was the impact of foreign recruits?
A
- many hanoverians fled to britain and joined kgl after napoleon occupied hanover in 1803
- by 1813 - 52k foreigners in the army, approx 20% of the whole force
7
Q
what was army discipline like?
A
- brutal, mostly used flogging
- 25-1200 strokes, up to 700 lashes was common
- done in front of entire regiment
- some officers (eg moore) thought soldiers should be treated with dignity, wellington did not
8
Q
what impact did the militia have?
A
- made up 1/5 of land forces, used solely for home defence
- could get a £25 bounty, most soldiers preferred to be there than the army
- volunteered for regular service after french invasion scare in 1805
- 1807-12 - 74k men transferred from milita to regular service
9
Q
how was the army structured?
A
- battalion/regiments of 900-2k men
- commanded by a lieutenant-colonel with 2 majors
- each company (80-100 men) was led by a captain with 2 lieutenants or ensigns
- 2/3/4 battalions conbined into a brigade led by a commander or major general
- 2 or more brigades formed a division led by a general
10
Q
what was the true nature of the purchase system?
A
- vacancies were first offered to most senior officer of the below rank, then offered to the next and so on
- commissions were not purchased in the royal artillery or royal engineers - only promotion by seniority
- duke of york initiated reform so that officers had to serve 2 years before purchasing captaincy and 6 before becoming a major
- less then 1/5 of officers were promoted by purchase during peninsular war
- by 1808 purchase system stopped at rank of lieutenant colonel
11
Q
what was the purchase system?
A
- many officers were sons of rich fathers who bought them an ensigns commission
- they then bought successive promotions as vacancies appeared
- commissions were bought/sold like property
12
Q
who were officers?
A
- 1814 - 10k officers
- mostly came from professional classes
13
Q
what was the artillery?
A
- divided into horse/foot artillery
- received thorough training, but limited the rate at which artillery corps could be expanded
- lack of trained gunners but enough industrial resources to produce artillery
14
Q
what types of guns were there?
A
- british batteries had 6 guns - 5 cannon, 1 howitzer
- cannon - flat trajectory
- howitzer - used to shoot projectiles on top of the enemy
15
Q
what types of projectiles were there?
A
- guns could hit a target at 1000 yards
- most common was a round shot
- canister - 300 yards
- shrapnel shell - 700 yards
16
Q
what other contributions were there to weaponry?
A
- congreaves rockets - not accurate and unpopular
- heavy artillery - short of heavy guns, so difficult to undertake sieges
- not enough engineers - only a few hundred
- royal waggon train for movement of supplies, neglected by gov
17
Q
what was the cavalry?
A
- 20 regiments, meant to be just over 900 men each, but 650 in reality
- heavy and light cavalry
- carried carbines
- wellington unimpressed by quality/intelligence, thought they saw it like fox hunting
18
Q
what was the infantry?
A
- 103 regiments, each usually went into war with around 550 men
19
Q
what was the uniform?
A
red coats, some scottish regiments wore kilts and and bonnets
20
Q
what formations were there?
A
- british infantry stood shoulder to shoulder in lines, 2 ranks deep
- french attacked in columns, 170 wide and 24 deep, but only first 2 ranks could fire effectively
- battalions formed into squared when attacked by cavalry, which rarely broke the squares
