Mainly as a result of developments in mechanization since the war it has been decided to effect certain changes in the British staff organization at general headquarters. This will now consist of a Chief of the General Staff, a deputy Adjutant-General, deputy Quartermaster General and deputy Master General of the Ord nance. Thus there will be now four principal staff officers instead of three, and each, as formerly, has the right of direct access to the commander-in-chief in matters relating to the respective branches, the work of the staff as a whole being co-ordinated, as necessary, by a deputy Chief of the General Staff. The cause and effect of these changes are briefly as follows. The four military members of the Army Council are the Chief of the Imperial Staff, the Adjutant General, Quartermaster General and Master General of the Ordnance : of these the Chief of the Imperial General Staff has the peculiar responsibility of adviser to His Majesty's Govern ment in all matters affecting the military policy of the British Empire, and in this capacity he cannot be represented at general headquarters in the field; there is therefore a Chief of the General Staff at these headquarters, and the other three military members are represented by deputies, who deal directly with their chiefs on the Army Council in departmental matters. The addition of a deputy Master General of the Ordnance is principally due to the demands of mechanization. At the War Office responsibilities in connection with maintenance are divided between the Quarter master General and the Master General of the Ordnance : in the field, however, there has hitherto been no representative of the latter at general headquarters : consequently the whole responsi bility for maintenance has rested with the Quartermaster General in addition to that of movement. Though this centralization has certain advantages, it now tends through the increasing demands of mechanization to exceed the scope of a single principal staff officer and his branch. A further advantage of having a repre sentative of the Master General of the Ordnance at general head quarters in war is that he acts as the link between the field army and the Ministry of Munitions or other body dealing with research and experiment at home. Following on these changes a certain re
allotment of duties as between the Quartermaster General and the Master General of Ordnance at the War Office has been effected. The re-allotment of duties leaves the control of all transport by sea, rail, road and inland water under the Quartermaster General. The division of responsibility in the matter of maintenance places under the Quartermaster General the provision of accommodation, remounts, supplies of food, forage, fuel and petrol, and respon sibility for all duties in connection with engineer services and bar rack construction ; while the Master General of Ordnance is responsible for providing clothing and equipment, guns, ammuni tion and vehicles of all types.
The air forces of the Great Powers, except Britain, France and Italy, are an integral part of the navy and the army and are administered as an arm of the service and not as a separate serv ice ; therefore there is no special air staff organization. In the British air force the work of the staff is controlled by three princi pal staff officers dealing respectively with air, personnel and equip ment. Each of these officers has the right of direct access to the commander, the co-ordination of their work being vested in the senior air staff officer. The staff is assisted by advisers, whose specialized technical knowledge is at their disposal.
See Bronsart von Schellendorf, Duties of the General Staff (1875 76) ; H. Spenser Wilkinson, The Brain of an Army (1895) ; British Field Service Regulations Part 1.; W. R. Robertson, Soldiers and Statesmen (5926) ; F. B. Maurice, Governments and War (1926) ; A. R. Godwin-Austen, The Staff and the Staff College (1927) ; W. G. Lindsell, A and Q or Military Administration in War (1928) ; Official report of the Dardanelles Commission (1917-19) ; J. H. Boraston and G. A. B. Dewar, Sir Douglas Haig's Command (1922) ; J. F. C. Fuller, The Foundations of the Science of War (1926) ; J. von Falkenhayn, G.H.Q., 1914-16, and its critical decisions (1919) ; E. Ludendorff, My Memoirs (1919) ; J. de Pierrefeu, G. Q. G. (192o, Eng. trans., 1924).