MAINSPRING OF THE TRENCHES

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2458, 11 May 1915, Page 7

MAINSPRING OF THE TRENCHES

■ —: —<) AT BRITISH HEADQUARTERS SYSTEM THAT BRINGS SUCCESS SECRET AGENTS' DEPARTMENT (By G. Valentine Williams, "Daily Mail" Correspondent.) It is related. that at one of the blackest stages of tho retreat from Mons, Sir John French astonished his ontourago by announcing, after a long morning s work at his headquarters, but he thought he would go for a stroll. And, picking up a walking-stick, the Field-Marshal calmly, walked forth to take the air as unconcernedly as though he wore going to stroll down to the War Office through tho park. That the British Commander-in-Chief should have been able to freo himself momentarily from the enormous responsibilities of those days of stress is not only a remarkable instance of his mental detachment, of which I have already written, but it is also a most striking tribute to his absolute confidence in tho perfect organisation of the British Army, without which even the undying heroism of the British troops would have availed nothing against tho systematised f-rijrhtfulness of the Bocho. Sir John l'rench knows better than anybody else how admirably organised the British Army machine is. He devoted his whole life'to it when, emerging in a blaze of glory from the South African War, he was not content to rost upon his laurels, but embarked upon a long spell of silent, unostentatious hard work, the fruits of which are seen in the marvellously efficient Army under his command to-uav. A number of gimcracky little bourgeois houses in the quiet little place from which I pen these lines are the power-houses m which the driving torce of our Army in the field is generated. In (depressing little drawingrooms adorned with dyed grasses, wax fruits, and large family photographs, framed in funereal black, amia red plush and gilt ornaments, m sordid untenanted habitations, whero the wallpaper is discoloured with age, and rats rattle merrily behind tho wamscots. in tawdry Salles des Fetes, in convents and in schoolrooms, the brain of the Army is working ceaselessly, untiringly, by day and by night. Staff's Simple Dinners. Between tho hours of 7.30 and 8 in tho evening tho officers come round to the different messes. There is no cafe loafing, no pre-prandial cocktails, no champagne orgies dear to tho heart of the Hun. Dinner is, like everything else a strictly business function. Tlio fare is rigidly simple, the drinks whisky or the thin white or red wines ot the country. • Orderlies in khaki act as mess waiters. One is struck by the uutnber of young men of, senior rank at these messes. The most complete democracy exists. Nobody puts on "side," for this is a business Army, where everyone has his particular job and where tboro is no reason that lustre should attach to one officer more than another. The table talk is very bright, principally "shop," of course, but very largely also about life in England. The latest jokes about the war from the English papers are lovingly dwelt on, and the artist (I am afraid I do not remember his name) who drew for "Punch" the sketch of the German family indulging in its morning hate against England would feel that his labours were amply repaid if ho know how much his clever satire was appreciated at G.H.Q. (the universal abbreviation here for General Headquarters). At General Headquarters are assembled the C-ommander-in-Chief and his personal staff, the General Staff, the Adjutant-General Staff, and the Quar-termaster-General Staff. Strictly spoaking, the functions' of the Com-mander-in-Chief are to lay down and elaborate the strategical plans of the Army, tho tactical execution of which, however, is the affair of the commandors of the armies. They in turn relegate part of their, responsibility to the commanders of the army corps, who in turn transmit the orders, still with a certain measure of liberty of action, to tho divisional commanders, from whom, by way of tho brigade commanders, the regiments receive their orders for the operation to. be undertaken. "0' r ana "I." The Genoral Staff, presided over by the Chief of the General Staff, is divided into two sections, Operations and Intelligence, known respectively as "0" and "I." "Operations" attends to the transmission of orders and the sifting and examination and intercommunication of reports, etc., of-all kinds from the armies, and also between the British and Allied armies. The Intelligence, is divided into four subdivisions. "1 a," as the first subdivision is known, collects all possible information about the enemy, his strength, the disposition of his forces, reinforcements, casualties, etc- This is work of supreme importance, and in the British Army, by means of officers thoroughly conversant not only with the Gorman language but also with the German Army, it is carried on with surpassing ability and with splendid results. The examination of Srisoners plays a large part in their aily duties, a matter requiring considerable tact "lb" is the secret service dealing with spies, controlling the reports from the secret agents, and watcliing espionage by the enemy. "Ic" is the Map section, where 1 spent a fascinating morning watching the construction of maps of the enemy's positions. I was also shown how photography can come to the aid of the commander in the field, whioh it would not be discreet to mention here. "Id" is the Censorship section. The Adjutant-General is assisted by two Deputy-Adjutant-Generals (D.A.G.), one of whom is in charge of the Administrative section, .the other of tho section devoted to Military Discipline. The Administrative section deals with the supply of men to the armies, among other tilings, and attends to everything appertaining to the verification, classification, and publication of casualties. The day's casualties from all along the line are sent in punctually at tho same hour every evening, thus enabling the department to make tho necessary arrangements for filling up tho gaps. When military action of any kinj is planned, naturally the Adjutant-General is the first person to be consulted in order that ho may make his dispositions for having the troops ready in sufficientnumber for the work that is afoot. The other department of the A.G.'s Office has charge of everything appertaining ; to the military discipline of the Army, a matter of no small importance in tho ( present war, when thousands of our ' troops are the guests of tho Fiencli. The Comfort Department. 1 Chroniclers have noted that on Marl- I borough's march from the Mouse to tho Danube general admiration was excited J bf the extraordinary provision made . for tho comfort of tho men. History has repeated itself in this.war, and tho splendid efficiency of the Army Ser- | vice Corps has been ono of the features < of the campaign. The Quartermaster- ( General has charge of the Army supplies of all sorts. He has under him I a Director of Supplies, a- Director of ' Transport, a Director of Army Ordnance, and a Director of Medical Ser- { vices, each responsible to him for the department in their charge, ] Th« amount of faresittht, usuuued to^

feed an immense army serving oil foreign soil may 1)0 imagined, yot so ixvrfefit are the arrangomcnts of the Quar-termaster-Gonoral's Department that, ovon during the. groat and glorious retreat from lions, when tlio troops woro constantly oil tlio move, tho moil never lackod anything. Tho Director of Supplies is kept daily posted on tho number of men to be i'od. Each day tho amount of rations required is sent up from tho supply baso to tho nearest, railhead, whero it is mot by tho mechanical transport and convoyed to the distributing centre, where tlio icgimeutal liorse transports cart it up to tlio iiring lino. The same procedure is followed with regard to ammunition. Every dav telegrams como pouring in from the different divisions, giving tho exact amount of ammunition oxpended, so that tho department knows exactly how much to order up from tho base. An important part of tho department's duties conccrns requisitioning and billetting. There js a Claims Oliico at General Headquarters, whither tlio farmers and peasants of the region ocoupied by the British troops send in their requisition receipts. Officers are provided with special -requisition forms clearly printed in French and English, contained in a book, whioh as a preface has some conciso hints as to what an officer may and may not do when requisitioning from tho civil population. The Royal Army Medical Corps has now many motor-ambulanco convoys, each with fifty ambulance cars and repairing outfits, cars for officers, and motor-c.vciists attached to tho Army in the field. When a man is wounded ho is taken to the regimental aid post, which is just behind the firing line, where tho regimental doctor, assisted by a corporal and livo Rod Cross orderlies, attends to him. Ho is then sent down by horse ambulance to the field hospital, • whence he is removed by motor-ambu-lance to the casualty clearing station. , The Director of Medical Services in the Quartermaster-General's Department at General Headquarters receives telegrams from all tho clearing hospitals informing' him how many cases aro readv for removal to the baso hospital, so that the requisite arrangements can be made for hospital trains, motor-am-bulances, etc. The severest strain was put upon the medical service during the retreat from Mons,, when it was impossible to instal anything more than temporary clearing stations, any building, however unsuitable, beiug used for the purpose. In those days room for the wounded and a roof to cover them were all the doctors could expect to get. The service has now gradually organised itself, like so many other things in our wonderful Army, and oarries out its functions speedily and satisfactorily. With the aid of a special telegraph and telephone office installed by the Sig- . nailing Corps of tho Royal Enginoors in a grimy house at General Headquarters, all these services aro working with the smoothness of a well-oiled machine. This brief and imperfect sketch cannot possibly do justice to the marvellous completeness and efficiency of the organisation of our Army in the field. The elasticity of the system enabling it to adapt itself to every emergency as it arises, even to such revolutionary changes as the winter has brought into modem war, and the extraordinary devotion of everyone concerned down to the humblest orderly have evolved a whole that will justly claim its part in the triumphs past and future of our Army in' the field.