STAFF, MILITARY. In the British empire this consists, under the sovereign and the general commanding-in-chief, of those general, field, and regimental officers to whom is confided the care of providing the means of rendering the military force of the nation efficient, of main taining discipline an the army, and regulating the duties in every branch of the service.
Besides the commander-in-chief, his military secretaries and aides de-camp, the general staff consists of the adjutant and quartermaster generals, with their respective deputies, assistants, and deputy-assis tants, a deputy, assistant, and deputy-assistant adjutant-general for the royal artillery, and a deputy and assistant-adjutant-general for the royal engineers ; the director-general of the medical department, and the chaplain-general of the forces. The staff of the ordnance depart ment consisted formerly of the master-general and licutenant-genoral, with their deputies and assistants: the inspector-general of fortifica tions, and the director-general of artillery, &c. The duties connected with the Ordnance having been transferred to the War Department, the office of master-general has been abolished, and the staff made a part of the War Office. The head-quarters for the general staff are in London. There are also, for the several military districts into which Great Britain is divided, inspecting field-officers, assistant adjutants general, and majors of brigade, together with the officers attached to the recruiting service. The head-quarters for Scotland are at Edin burgh. For Ireland, besides the lord-lieutenant and his aides-do-camp, the chiefs of the staff consist of a deputy-adjutant and a deputy quartermaater-general, with their assistants. Their head-quarters are at Dublin ; and there are, besides, the several officers for the military districts of that part of the empire. Lastly, in each of the colonies there is a staff graduated in accordance with the general staff of the army, and consisting of the general commanding, his aides-de-camp, military secretaries, and majors of brigade, an inspecting field-officer, a deputy-adjutant, and a deputy-quartermaster-general.
The adjutant-general of the army is charged with the duty of recruiting, clothing, and arming the troops, superiutending their discipline, granting leave of absence, and discharging the men when the period of their service is expired. To the quartermaster-general is confided the duty of regulating the marches of the troop, providing the supplies of provisions, and assigning the quarters, or places of encampment.
All military commanders of territories or of bodies of troops in Great Britain, Ireland, or in foreign stations, transmit periodically to the adjutant-general of the army circumstantial accounts of the state of the territory and of the troops which they command ; and the reports are regularly submitted to the general commanding-in-chief.
The staff of a regiment consists of the adjutant, quartermaster, pay master, chaplain, and surgeon.
The first establishment of a permanent military staff (Etat majeur, as it was called) was made in Franco in 1783, about the conclusion of the Revolutionary war between Great Britain and the United States of America. The officers who held the highest rank in it were con sidered as assistant-quartermaster-generals, and their deputies as captains. The first duties consisted in collecting the reports, the orders, and instructions which had formerly passed between the generals of the French armies and the minister of war, together with the plans of the ground on which the most important actions had taken place ; and from these documents it was endeavoured to acquire a knowledge of the causes of success or:defeat as far as these depended on the dispositions of the troops and the nature of the ground. The persons who were allowed to enter the department of the tat majeur were such as, to a knowledge of the general theory of military tactics, added that of topographical surveying, and who were skilful in the art of representing on a plan the features of ground so as to present to the eye at once a view of its capabilities as a military position, and of the facilities which it might afford for the march of troops with their artillery and stores.