A,—4a

52

It remains to suggest a means by which these interchanges can be most conveniently arranged. It is suggested the following procedure will meet the case, viz. :— "In the first instance, the Chief of the Local Headquarters Section concerned, under the authority of his Government, should communicate with the Chief of the Imperial General Staff at the War Office informing him of the needs of the Dominion Forces in regard to the officer required for interchange, the rates of pay, duties of the appointment, and when and where required. The Chief of the Imperial General Staff will then send the names of suitable officers, who are available, to the Chief of the Local Headquarters Section. The latter must then arrange the matter with his Minister, and a formal application for the services of the officer selected by the Minister should then go forward from the Government of the Dominion to the Colonial Office. In the same manner, when the Chief of the Imperial General Staff is desirous of obtaining the services of an officer of the local forces for employment in a General Staff appointment in the Home Regular Army, he should communicate with the Chief of the Local Headquarters Section concerned, who, with the concurrence of his Minister, would submit the names of suitable officers who are available to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. The latter would then apply, through the Colonial Office, for the services of the selected officer to the Government of the Dominion concerned. As pointed out, however, in paragraph 5 (1) of Part 111. of the " Proposals for so organizing the Military Forces of the Empire as to insure their effective Co-operation in the event of War," equality of interchange cannot be expected until the military education and higher staff training of the officers of the local forces have been assimilated to those of the officers of the Home Regular Army. A procedure based on similar lines will be applicable when the Government of a Dominion desires to obtain the services of a general staff officer either of the Indian Army, or of another Dominion, in exchange for one of her own officers.

APPENDIX E.

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM, WITH TABLES, SHOWING GENERALLY THE PROPOSED ORGANIZATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF THE DUTIES OF THE IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF. 1. Table I. shows broadly the organization and principal duties of the General Staff at Imperial Headquarters in Peace. All questions, which affect the war organization, training, equipment, and fighting efficiency of the army in general, are initiated by, or submitted to, the Department of the Chief of the General Staff. If these questions involve principles, or are otherwise of importance, the views of the three Directors are obtained by means of personal interviews, conferences, and minutes, and these, whether unanimous or not, are referred to the Chief of the General Staff for his decision and approval. The decision thus reached represents the official view of the General Staff, and serves as a foundation on which the other Departments in the War Office base their administrative policy. 2. Table 11. shows the distribution of Staff Duties in war at General Headquarters of the forces in the field. It should be noted that Field Service Regulations, Part 11., lay down that the authority of the Commander-in-Chief of the forces in the field is to be exercised through his Chief of the General Staff, who is his responsible adviser on everything that affects military operations. In the case of a smaller formation this adviser is the senior officer of the General Staff. Although charged with the general co-ordination of staff work at General Headquarters, the Chief of the General Staff is not concerned with the detailed working of the Adjutant-General's and Quartermaster-General's branches of the Staff. 3. Table 111. shows the organization in war of the General Staff for the Headquarters of an Army, i.e., a Group of two or more Divisions. 4. Table IV. shows graphically how the system of command in the field is built up, and the manner in which responsibility is decentralized amongst subordinate commanders. _ 5. Table V. has been drawn up with a view to showing in tabular form the duties which would fall to Local Headquarters Sections of the Imperial General Staff under the scheme which was foreshadowed in the paper submitting the proposals for the formation of an Imperial General Staff to the self-governing Dominions. It has been generally agreed that questions affecting the Empire as a whole should be decided by the Central Body at Imperial Headquarters. The functions which have therefore been allotted to the Local Headquarters Sections are confined to the study of local needs and local possibilities, and to the supervision of the application of general principles under local conditions.