Composition of a Brigade Headquarters

[FROGSMILE]

8 hours ago, sheldrake said:

In The Gambardier, Mark Severn (Frank Lushington) comments that the French thought the British had too many generals. Jobs carried out by a Colonel in the French Army were performed by a Brigadier General in the British Army. 

 

The British still have too many generals.  And too many Admirals for that matter.  To have more officers of one and two star rank than tank regiments or ships is risible, but then again, plus ça change!

Edited 26 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Wexflyer]

I am surprised at the lack of an artillery liaison officer. Wasn't artillery the dominant factor during the Great War (in general).

[FROGSMILE]

34 minutes ago, Wexflyer said:

I am surprised at the lack of an artillery liaison officer. Wasn't artillery the dominant factor during the Great War (in general).

At brigade level the BC of the supporting battery worked direct to the HQ just as the infantry battalions did, and when required a forward observer was sent forward from the battery.  It was at Division and Corps that greater liaison was exercised.  It should be borne in mind that brigades rarely worked independently of divisions (when they did special arrangement was made) and were just an integral part of the divisional effort.  As the war went on the artillery support was coordinated at an increasingly higher level in order to exploit mass effect.

Edited 26 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[PhilB]

3 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

The British still have too many generals.  And too many Admirals for that matter.  To have more officers of one and two star rank than tank regiments or ships is risible, but then again, plus ça change!

Is there an official, if unconvincing, explanation for that state of affairs?

[FROGSMILE]

18 minutes ago, PhilB said:

Is there an official, if unconvincing, explanation for that state of affairs?

Not that I’m aware of, no.  Turkeys and Christmas comes to mind though...

[PhilB]

Probably something that infects all publicly funded organisations?

[FROGSMILE]

48 minutes ago, PhilB said:

Probably something that infects all publicly funded organisations?

Perhaps, but personally I think that the three Armed Services are in much need of a root and branch reform, of a similar scale and scope to those carried out by Haldane in 1908 and Cardwell/Childers in 1874/1881.  The trouble is that back then there was an empire whose dynamism and central focus in the nation’s prosperity compelled change and gave it impetus.  Nowadays the perceived threat is asymmetric and often seen as more to do with espionage, subterfuge, cyberspace and outer space.  There are also no votes in Defence, so there is no really motivational imperative.  I suspect that change will only follow from an existential threat, and even then it might only involve tinkering around the edges based on whatever is seen as the nearest crocodile to the canoe.

Edited 26 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[PhilB]

Just to clarify, can you confirm what the "same badges of rank" were? I can`t quite see where the difference between a crown and two pips and a crown and three pips came in!

[Skipman]

You can download World War I (1914-1918) (35.2 MB ZIP) from this page Click

 

Below is the codes relating to the relevant file

 

 

914BQAD War Establishment Headquarters British Infantry Brigade 1 January 1914

Edited 29 June , 2020 by Skipman

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

I think  you might have posted that in the wrong thread Mike?

@Skipman

Edited 29 June , 2020 by Dai Bach y Sowldiwr

[Skipman]

5 minutes ago, Dai Bach y Sowldiwr said:

I think  you might have posted that in the wrong thread Mike?

@Skipman

 

I thought someone was looking for the Establishment of a Brigade HQ, this resource gives some, for example

 

"914BQAD War Establishment Headquarters British Infantry Brigade 1 January 1914"

 

It may be that the one required is in there?

 

Mike

[Muerrisch]

It might just be!

Many thanks.

[FROGSMILE]

Perhaps all the redundant (superfluous) information could be trimmed off then.....

Edited 29 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Dai Bach y Sowldiwr]

1 hour ago, Skipman said:

I thought someone was looking for the Establishment of a Brigade HQ, this resource gives some, for example

"914BQAD War Establishment Headquarters British Infantry Brigade 1 January 1914"

It may be that the one required is in there?

Ah.

I see.

Thanks.

[Muerrisch]

49 minutes ago, FROGSMILE said:

Perhaps all the redundant (superfluous) information could be trimmed off then.....

One man's meat is another man's poison.

[FROGSMILE]

2 minutes ago, Muerrisch said:

One man's meat is another man's poison.

 

And I could accept that if the meat was served on a plate of the right course.

Edited 29 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Skipman]

2 hours ago, FROGSMILE said:

Perhaps all the redundant (superfluous) information could be trimmed off then.....

 

 

Edited 29 June , 2020 by Skipman

[Skipman]

Just now, Muerrisch said:

Maybe so, but you will find that the entire list [for which I personally am very grateful] occupies much less bandwidth than a single photograph.

 

I trust my Hansard quotes and Times quotes were of interest?

 

 

Bon appétit

 

Mike

[Muerrisch]

Just now, Skipman said:

 

 

Bon appétit

 

Mike

Message sent

[FROGSMILE]

14 minutes ago, Muerrisch said:

I trust my Hansard quotes and Times quotes were of interest?

 

Yes they were, especially the newspaper articles (I've seen the Hansard a few times).

 

NB.  As for the "bandwidth of photographs", it's not to do with that its to do with tediously trawl reading through utter irrelevance.

Edited 29 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Ron Clifton]

1 hour ago, FROGSMILE said:

Perhaps all the redundant (superfluous) information could be trimmed off then.....

Please don't!!

 

I was aware of the site but not quite how comprehensive it is, and it will enable me to fill in some gaps in my own databases.

 

Ron

[FROGSMILE]

3 minutes ago, Ron Clifton said:

Please don't!!

 

I was aware of the site but not quite how comprehensive it is, and it will enable me to fill in some gaps in my own databases.

 

Rone,

 

Right, but can't you go to the site itself to do that?  The Nafziger compiled list of ORBATs is well known and has been linked on the FIBIWiki website for some years.  There is a link there to the entire list.  It was frequently referred to in the VWF.

Edited 29 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE

[Skipman]

1 hour ago, FROGSMILE said:

 

 it's not to do with that its to do with tediously trawl reading through utter irrelevance.

 

 

Edited 29 June , 2020 by Skipman

[Muerrisch]

Please leave it, I have sufficient patience.

[FROGSMILE]

6 minutes ago, Skipman said:

 

Report it to Mods, it they agree with you, they can take it down. It's no big deal to me, I thought it might be useful?

 

Mike

 

Yes Mike, useful in another place.  It would have been great if you'd simply copied and pasted the relevant establishment and its reference number.  I'd have been the first to thank you, but to post a long list that was, apart from the Bde HQ reference, irrelevant to this thread, was pointless.  It would have been the act of but a moment to make a separate thread with an accurate title and I'm sure that a great many would have been drawn to it by its title and gained something worthwhile.  As it stands it just clogs the thread.  I've no intention of reporting anything to Mods, not my style, never has been, never will be.

Edited 29 June , 2020 by FROGSMILE