Changes to the Army 1790-1918

Question 1

When did the Government put the McNeill Tuloch Report into action?

Answer 1

• Beginning of 1855 the government sent diplomat John McNeill and Colonel Alexander Tulloch to the Black Sea area
• They were to report on how the campaign was being managed with a focus on the commissariat

Question 2

What were the two stages in which the McNeill Tuloch Report was issued?

Answer 2

• First stage in June 1855, focused on the conditions of the common soldier with focus on diet and supply of food
• Second stage in January 1856, with a focus on the supply of equipment and update on the medical situation

Question 3

What were the findings of the McNeill Tulloch report? (Focus 1)

Answer 3

• Majority of casualties in the Crimea were due to disease not enemy action
• The poor health of troops could be attribute to the lack of fresh food such as vegetables
• Army was not applying their unit with their full daily rations
• Camp kettles were misplaced meaning that the soldiers often had to cook fro themselves in their mess tins and
• Ordinary soldiers were still attending to their duties despite poor health

Question 4

What divisions were particularly badly supplied that the McNeill Tulloch report uncovered?

Answer 4

The 4th and Light divisions were particularly badly supplied

Question 5

What incident did the McNeill Tulloch report that showed poor performance at the supply base of Balaklava?

Answer 5

• Admiral Boxer was slow to distribute the support;ies the army brought in to the frontline troops
• Notable Lime Juice Incident Dec 10th 1854 unpacked at Balaklava but not distributed to the troops until Feb 1855
• This was vital to prevent scurvy

Question 6

What were findings of the McNeill-Tulloch report (Focus 2)?

Answer 6

• Lack of feed for the horses, 40% died during 1854-55
• Communication between the supply officer and army command was poor, the commander in chief had little knowledge of the day to day situation
• Soldiers were having to shed their knapsacks to enable the to move more quickly
• Replacement clothing was arriving slowly at the front line

Question 7

What was issued as a direct result of the McNeill-Tulloch report?

Answer 7

A Royal Warrant issued in October 1858

Question 8

What happened as a result of the Royal Warrant in October 1858?

Answer 8

• Reform of the commissariat with more of its operations being controlled directly by the army
• This meant that the army began to take responsibility for its ancillary services necessary to its function
• Stopped the assumption from army leaders that the army was simply a fighting force and the rest is to be sorted out by civilian forces
• Supplies also began to be taken ‘in house’ showing an increased sense of responsibility

Question 9

What is the main consequence of the McNeill Tuloch Report?

Answer 9

• Shift in control of the army
• The Govt now played a more central role in the management of the army
• The army command had shifted and were more responsible for their shortcomings

Question 10

What period were Cardwell’s Reforms made and what international situation had influenced this?

Answer 10

1968-74 After the Crimean War
- The Prussian Army had defeated the Danes, Austrian and French
- They were well organised, well equipped and well supplied and their system of reservists had meant that they put 400,000 on the girls against Austria

Question 11

What were the main issues facing Cardwell?

Answer 11

• The BA had not been reformed for a long time due to winning colonial wars and the Duke of Wellington being commander in chief until 1852
• Recruitment was an issue, army service was 12 years and discipline was harsh; young men could make way more money just being a factory worker with better conditions
• The purchase system meant that people could buy promotions rather than being based on merit, the average farmer made £30-40 and the cheapest rank was £450 (Only available to the wealthy)
• In the Napoleonic it could be said these young men were still good, but the Crimean war had revealed the systems flaws

Question 12

What did Cardwell Reform and what did he change?

Answer 12

• He made changes to the professional army
• The reservist, militia and yeomanry units remained the same

Question 13

How did Cardwell make the army more appealing for a young men?

Answer 13

• Flogging banned in 1868, Branding abolished in 1871
• 1870 issue to abolish bounty money for new recruits so sergeants would no longer benefit and are less likely to trick them into the joining the army
• 1871 Purchasing of commissions abolished
• Self-Governing dominions of Canada, Australia and New Zealand were given responsibility for their own security and to raise their own troops - this allowed 26,000 servicemen to return to Britain in 1971

Question 14

How did Cardwell get Parliament to give more funding for the army and why did they do this?

Answer 14

• 1870 he got Parliament to vote in an extra £2 million to pay for another 20,000 troops - the Liberal Gov wanted to match Prussian strength
• Novel by George Chesney argued Britain feared an invasion from a ‘German speaking army’
• They moved back to a regional regimental system like the Prussian model as it was built on localised regiments based on the geographical area

Question 15

What did Cardwell do to change the Army Enlistment system?

Answer 15

• Army Enlistment Act of 1870
• Changed the condition of the army, rather than serving 12 years they could now serve 6 in the regulars and 6 in the reserves
• Whilst in reserve they would receive 4 pence a day and have to attend a short period of training every year
• In the event of war they would serve for the period of war or till the end of their service period
• After 12 years of service they could negotiate their position with the army and after 21 years a pension as given

Question 16

How did Cardwell put an end to general service?

Answer 16

• Regulation of the Forces Act 1871
• Wanted to link each regiment with an area rather than being able to serve in any part of the army
• Provided for each foot regiment, each assigned to a geographical area and there would be one battalion overseas, one at home
• Home battalion would serve as a reinforcement and the two could switch places and two reservist battalions linked to the regiment would undertake training with the home battalion
• Led to soldiers potentially now serving half their time in their local area

Question 17

What was the overall effect of Cardwell’s reforms?

Answer 17

• BA in 1870’s still behaved as it did in the past due to the deep ingrained culture of the army
• Recruitment problem had been fixed by the 1870’s due to the British Economy slowing down and economic prosperity of the mid 19th century had come to an end
• Unemployment had grown so people wanted the security of an army position anyways
• 1870’s the army was not overstretched at all - short campaign in South Africa, war with Afghanistan which was fought with colonial troops
• 1890’s the bounty money was reintroduced to be paid to the soldier when under pressure in North Africa and India

Question 18

What conditions of the soldier did Cardwell Reforms not fix?

Answer 18

• Soldiers pay was extremely low, a private expert could earn the same as a rural labourers but less than a manual worker in the city
• 3/4 of a soldiers pay would be claimed by the army as ‘stoppages’ which was money to pay for the food, fuel and clothing used by the soldier
• Soldiering was not attractive, only good for the security

Question 19

What was the impact on Cardwell’s reforms due to a conservative government re-elected in 1874?

Answer 19

• The structure of a meritocracy remained on paper
• In practice however the social strata of the army had remained
• Advantages of a wealthy background, e.g private education, uni degree, meant that upper classes were still the choice of soldier for the army
• Social divide was apparent, only in WW1 did everyone get involved including the lower classes

Question 20

What era did Haldane’s Army Reforms take place in?

Answer 20

• 1905-12
• Warfare was changing in nature, technology and the traditional infantry, cavalry and artillery needed to be diversified with units of specific purpose

Question 21

How did Haldane reorganise the structure of BA?

Answer 21

• Reorganised it into two parts
• The Expeditionary Force (a fully professional force) which would be used for deployment overseas
• The Territorial Forces (part time volunteers) which would be used for home defence - Territorial Reserve Act 1907 made it so old differences between yeomanry and militia was abolished and brought under one

Question 22

What were features of Haldane’s Territorial Force?

Answer 22

• Developed its own support services, e.g supplies, medicals, engineers etc
• Sept 1913 they had 236,000 men

Question 23

What were features of the BEF under Haldane?

Answer 23

• Determined by the budget of £28 million
• It’s strength would be 6 infantry division’s with all their support units with one heavy cavalry division and two light cavalry brigade organised into three corps
• The Army had a specific purpose and surplus units were disbanded, e.g the ones in colonies such as Egypt that were outdated

Question 24

What was Haldane’s OTC?

Answer 24

• Combined cadet groups which trained the youth to be army officers and combined them to form the national OTC (Officer Training Corps) with a division
• Upper division at universities and lower divisions at schools
• Corps was organised by the War Office and by 1914 there was 20,000 schoolboys and 5,000 undergraduate students

Question 25

How did Haldane fix British overseas units having little coordination with the British Army?

Answer 25

• During the Second Boer War overseas units had little coordination with British General staff and did their own thing
• To fix this Haldane made sure all local units were reorganised in line with the BEF, this was done under the Imperial General Stagg who oversaw all strategic matters of the Empire
• All local units were given the right to Veto in line with their own governments to maintain support for Br