Changes in Organising the Military

Britain generally had a strong adversion to a permanent army as there was little land threat
Following the Restoration, an army was put in place as Charles II was weak
By 1700, the army was paid for by taxation

1790s - 1815

Getting rid of the worst parts of the purchasing stystem (officers had to serve for 2 years before buying captaincy)
Established a Military College and a school for cadets (became teh Royal ilitary College Sandhurst)
Standardised tactical drills and manoevres
Created light infantry units. They were trained in shooting and fought at the rear or the front line

1855

After the Battle of Waterloo, the focus was on down-sizing the Army
The Crimean war showed that the army wasn't fit for purpouse. The press was showing weaknesses
The government was alarmed by the reports coming from the war. In February 1855, Sir John McNeill and Colonel Alexander Tulloch were sent to the Black Sea to write a report on the campaign

Disease was the main case of death (80%)
The poor health was linked to lack of fresh food
Not all units recieved food and fierwood
Soldiers were still carrying out their duties despite being in poor health
Most officers were providing a good example but were unable to care for their men
The army was slow to distribute supplies
Communication between supply officers and the army leadership was bad

A Royal warrant was issued in October 1858 - ensured the Commisaiat was reformed
The Army now had to take greater responsibilitu for medical and transport services
Clearly placed the blame on army leadership
Saw the control of the army move from the Army High Command to the Government

1868-1874

After 1856, the focus was on the Empire and colonies so army reforms werent seen as neccessary
After 1868, a larger army and navy were needed to control and protect the colonies
In 1868, Edward Cardwell was appointed as Secretary of State for War with the responsibility to reform the army

Recruitment was a huge concern as the industrial revolution meant that there was nearly full employment
The minimum term for a soldier was 12 years during which they could be sent to any part of the British Empire
The purchase system of promotions was causing issues

Flogging and branding of soldiers during peacetime was banned from 1868
Bounty money was banned in 1870
The self governing dominions were expected to raise their own army and be responsible for their own security
Cardwell secured a parliment vote that gave him an extra £200 million for 20,000 extra troops
He reorganised the War Office and established clear duties and responsibilities
Abolished the purchase system in 1871
issued the Army Enlistment Act in 1870 (men could now enlist for 6 years and another 6 as a reserve)
Regulation of the Forces Act introduced in 1871, linked every regiment with a geographical area such as a county

1906-12

They were significant reforms that happened between the Boer War and the First World war
Some historians consider them to be a continuation of Cardwell's reforms
They were a series of wide ranging reforms. The first major reforms since Childers reforms in 1881
Made after findings from the Esher Report and the Second Boer War

Haldane's reforms reorganised the army into 2 parts
The British Expeditionary Force was fully professional and for deployment overseas in a major war
The size of it was limited by its £28 million budget
The Territorial Force was for home defence, made out of part time voulenteers
Established in 1907 and had its own support services (supple, medical, engineer, artillery)
Able to be used independently from the army
By the end of 1913, there were nearly 240,000 members

The supply of skilled officers during wartime was forseen as a potential problem
The Officer Training Corps was established to teach boys and young men the skills to become an officer
It targeted mainly universities and fee paying schools
By 1914, there was 20,000 schoolboys and 5000 undergraduate students

Created to improve strategic matters in the Empire
It aimed to serve as a common link between the national forces for better consistency

They were supported by a training doctrine - Douglas Haig's new Field Service Pocket Book (ensured consistency)
WW1 tested the new changed and they were successful
The Expeditionary Forces was sent to Europe and there were 100,000 Territorial soldiers in France and Belgium

Dockyards were supervised to make sure there was less waste and corruption
A coppering programme began in Middleton
New docks were made at Portsmouth and Plymouth
Massive stocks of timber and rope were built up
Gunnery was developed to increase effectiveness and tested thoroughly

The same level of protection from the navy wasn't needed after the French wars but they still needed to protect trade routes and ensure that the abolition of the slave trade was being enforced
They chose to withdraw most of the battleships. By 1817, there were only 13 (there used to be over 100)
The Navy focused on smaller frigates

Initially people in the navy were wary of new technology
In 1830, the first operational steamships (HMS Medusa and Gladiator) were created
They were vulnerable as they had a paddle in the middle, preventing a full broadside
In the 1850s they began creating steam powered battleships with a screw propeller and sails
The first steam powered battleship with no sails was released in 1873 - HMS Devastation

The steam engines on the ships meant that they were heavier and designs needed to change. They chose to change to iron. Initially, they just coated woodenships with iron (ironclads) but the first fully iron warship was the HMS Warrior in 1860. The change to iron ships was related to the development inweapons. Armstron’s artillery had to be mounted to the deck. Iron ships were more protected than wooden ships

1832

When he took over the navy, there were only a few ships so he began a programme of refitting and rebuilding. This included the steam powered ships. He also throught that gunnery on ships had been neglected since Trafalgar, so he set up a permanent gunnery school in Portsmouth and excersises to improve their skills

He was in charge of HMS Excellent
Made the drills simpler and standardised the system for naval gunnery so that seamen on all ships used the same methods of operating their guns
This caused HMS Excellent to have a reputation for professionalism

After the reduction of the ships, there was a large number of officers without commissions
In 1830, over 800 names were on that list
Captains on the list would be on half pay but they can also be promoted and move up the rank without ever going to sea
This caused aggravation so Graham introduced a regulation that set out a minimul amount of years that an officer had to serve in order to move up the ranks
It didn't resuce the navy list but it brought a level of professionalism to higher ranks

Graham's most important reform was the abolition fo the Naval Office and Victualling Board and placing their role under the control of the Navy
It sped up the process
Under the new system, five principal officers would be in charge of a certain responsibility
As all five departments were based at the Admiralty, there was better communication and no rivalry like there used to be
Graham also gave the Navy control of the dockyards and victualling yards and experienced people were placed in charge of them

1904-1910

Britain relied heavily on imported food; the Navy protected the trade routes
In 1889, the Naval Defence Act formally adopted the two power standard
This was maintainable in the 19th century but Gerany began to become stronger
Fisher believed that the way to keep peace was to maintian its superior position, so he oversaw a ship building programme
Fisher reformed officer training which ensured that all officers followed the same programme and trained together until they were 22
He brought in officers with high level skills and created a navigation school and the post of Inspector of Target Practice

The government wnated to see cuts to defence spending so Fisher sold 90 ships and put 64 into reserve
Fisher accepted tht reequipping the navy might see it fall behind the two power standard
He also created the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve
British fleets across the world were reduced as many areas weren't a threat. They focused on monitoring Germany

The Japanese victory over Russia in 1904-05 showed that British future naval encounters would have to be won by long range gunnery and it would be vital to have the biggest guns in large numbers
Fisher began a programme to build them and also believed that the best way to ensure supremacy would be with submarines that would remove the need for battleships

Fisher launched the HMS Dreadnought in 1906
It made every other warship in the world obsolete
It was armed with ten 12 inch gums which could fire shells to a range of 10 miles
After it was released, the Anglo-German naval race began

He revised ship design and dealt with budget restraints
They had an immediate effect on the Navy
They were wide ranging and successful