Territorial Army

Plans for Co-ordination.

It has been stated in Parliament that the territorial army is to be the basis of expansion of the British fighting forces in the event of a national war, although the exact method of such expansion has not yet been definitely an nounced. There is a handicap in the fact that the unit of organ isation of the army is the division while the existing organisation of territorial army associations does not coincide with this.

Associations to-day are f ormed on the basis of local administra tive areas with the county as the unit, but this is hardly ideal from the military point of view. The territorial army is actually made up of individual citizens recruited in the main from the larger centres of population. The main centres of population in many cases do not coincide with the county boundaries and communi cations whether by road or rail give a community of interest be tween towns which in many cases are situated in different coun ties. The old pride of "county" even has largely given place to the pride of town.

In view of the impending changes in military organisation, it may well be asked whether this would not be an opportune time to consider the question of the redistribution of the responsibilities of associations to make them coincide with the military distribu tion. Such a change would undoubtedly be a great advantage in the event of a general mobilization and the expansion that would be necessary. The division might be the main area, with, in widely extended areas, a brigade area as the minimum unit of administra tion. This would permit, by the amalgamation of offices, the pay ment of salaries adequate to ensure only first class men being ap pointed, and would tend to prevent the confusion and duplication that frequently occurred at the outbreak of the World War.

Territorial Associations

consist of representatives of local authorities, co-opted members, and military members. The latter form the majority and must be serving or have served with the territorial army or its predecessor. To ensure a full appreciation of current problems the military members should be nominated by the units through the ordinary military channels, the repre sentative members already being nominated by the units they represent.

Mechanism.

No study of the territorial army to-day can be complete without considering the influence that the advent of mechanization is likely to exert. The territorial army would ben efit by mechanization and would improve in efficiency in a greater degree than even the regular. Life to-day is centred round indus

try and at their daily work men are brought into continual con tact with machines, whilst in their leisure the car and motor bi cycle are almost universally used; this means that a portion of the training required is already in the possession of the potential recruit and experience has shown that mechanical units attract a high class of recruit.

Training.

Although during the war and since the value of the territorial army has been acknowledged, in some quarters the view still lingers that the territorial army is not equal to the task required and that the territorial soldier cannot rise to the higher commands. This view is contradicted by history with its numer ous examples of the success of armies composed of and com manded by citizen soldiers. There is no race in which the indi vidual takes more quickly to the work of war than the people of the British Empire, and if the mistakes, under-valuation, and fric tion of the past are not to be repeated it is essential that the liaison between the regular and territorial armies should become more complete.

Liaison will not be complete until the two are in reality, not merely in name, branches of one army. To this end all avenues must be explored.

Distinction in Character.

With a sympathetic co-operation between the professional and amateur soldier the territorial army can undoubtedly attain and maintain such a state of efficiency that in the event of a fresh national emergency, the country will have a second line on which full military reliance can be placed. But it is well to emphasize that the only territorial soldier who is of value is the one who joins because soldiering appeals to him.

Much of the regular army's life is devoted to duties and cere monial which have no place on the battlefield; all such work is unnecessary and even irritating to the territorial soldier who has joined for the "pure" soldiering life, and is anxious to learn. And as, at the same time, the annual training is usually his annual holi day, he does not view with satisfaction unnecessary restrictions such as evening passes out of camp, the surveillance of pickets and regimental police, and curfew—like "lights out" at an hour reminiscent of a schoolboy's bedtime. Experience, indeed, has shown that with the citizen soldier discipline is improved by the removal of restrictions which impair his self-respect and serve no practical purpose. (J. BR.)