ARMY STAFFS. The general command ing a large body of troops must have assistants to generally supervise the fighting forces under his command. These assistants form his "staff.* To a certain extent an arbitrary rule decides what portion of the latter is designated as "gen eral staff.' In some armies all the staff belongs to the general staff, but a necessity has univer sally been felt of having a distinct portion of the staff entrusted with planning and carrying out the movements of armies in the field, and generally distinguished by some special name.
The enormous numerical strength of modern armies, and the way they must be organized to meet the constantly changing requirements of war, render an immense amount of detail neces sary in carrying out military operations even under apparently similar circumstances of time and place. Thus the higher leaders and com manders necessarily require the permanent sup port of specially selected and trained officers. But there is another case in which this neces sity of assistance is felt, and which is more intimately connected with the handling of troops in action, viz., the reconnaissance of the ground and of the positions and movements of the enemy, and the observation of the state of affairs in an engagement, at a point removed from the personal observation of the general commanding.
It is now considered of the duty of the general staff to be invariably watching over the military efficiency and material welfare of the troops. On every large staff all branches of the service are represented by certain indi viduals or heads of departments, and it is naturally their duty, in the first place, to see to the proper efficiency of their respective branches or departments; but being often ignorant of the general military situation, or not rightly understanding sudden changes in the state of affairs, they are unable to carry out what is expected from them. The general staff is consequently called upon to act as a directing and explaining body toward these individuals by keeping itself in constant communication with them, the chief of the general staff being at the same time regarded, in a general way, as head of the whole staff.
Officers of the general staff are invested with no military command. But even without
having any command they can make themselves extremely useful in an engagement by carrying out any special and important duties that may be entrusted to them by the general command ing, in addition to devoting themselves to their general duties. Their usefulness in this respect will be found to depend not only on their fit ness and ability, but on their tact and discre tion as well, in rightly appreciating the position they hold, both as regards general and troops. The conditions to fulfil this, however, are not entirely one-sided. Troops very soon find out, especially in war, whether the duties of the general staff are in good hands.
The duties of the general staff in war are: 1. Working out all arrangements necessary for quarters, precautions against surprise, move ments and battle; 2. Communicating the neces sary orders, either verbally or in writing, at the right time and place, and in sufficient de tail; 3. Obtaining, collecting and compiling in order all information concerning the nature and the military character of the theatre of war; 4. Collecting and estimating the value of in formation received concerning the enemy's forces; 5. Watching over the fighting condition of the troops, and being constantly informed of their efficiency in every respect; 6. Keeping journals and diaries, drawing up reports on engagements, and collecting important materials, to afterward form a history of the war.
General staff officers have to take, as a basis for carrying out their duties in all the branches that have been assigned them, the wish and determination of the general in com mand, in which, however, initiative on their part is by no means excluded, but rather in vited. A general staff officer cannot excuse himself for any neglect on his part on the plea that no order on the subject had been given him by his general. He should only consider himself freed from responsibility when his sug gestion has been declined by the general. This gives rise to no small amount of constant re sponsibility, which rests anything but lightly on the shoulders of the general staff in war, and which obliges it to be devoted to an untiring energy.