Rank \ formation hierarchy

[Barry Hayter]

Anybody got a good outline \ www link which diagramatically outlines the composition of the British Army during WW1. i.e. King at the top (I assume) and the various divions and Companys beneath incl ranks?

Don't expect this would be available detailing actual named battalions etc but a generic structure would be hugely useful to my understanding of where soldiers \ Officers fit into the picture. I love reading other peoples posts about relatives but as a novice I struggle sometimes to visualise where such a person slots into the equation.

[Dave_59]

Army - Corps - Division - Brigade - Battalion - Company i think this is the basic structure, im sure someone will go into more detail. If you go to the main site (long long trail) there is a detailed explanation of this.

dave

[Hoplophile]

Fear not, you have much company in your confusion. The hierarchy of the British Army in World War I was particularly complicated, with many instances of the same word having two or three very different meanings. To further complicate matters, the hierarchy changes slightly in the course of the war.

In the hope of shedding a bit of light on this issue, I will provide my view of the hierarchy of the British Expeditionary Force in the summer of 1915.

The King (de jure commander of all military forces)

The Secretary of State for War (Kitchener) (de facto commander of all military forces)

The Field Marshal Commanding the (British) Expeditionary Force (French)

(The headquarters of the Expeditionary Force was called the 'General Headquarters' - 'GHQ'.)

A numbered army (e.g. First Army, Second Army), commanded by a general or lieutenant general

A numbered army corps (e.g. I Corps, II Corps), commanded by a lieutenant general

A numbered infantry division (e.g. 1st Division, 2nd Division), commanded by a major general

A brigadier-general's command (e.g. an infantry brigade or the divisional artillery of an infantry division)

A lieutenant-colonel's command (e.g. an infantry battalion or a field artillery brigade)

(Note how an 'artillery brigade' is not the equivalent of an 'infantry brigade')

The command of a major or captain (e.g. an infantry company or field artillery battery)

A lieutenant's command (e.g an infantry platoon or field artillery section)

The command of a non-commissioned officer (e.g. an infantry section or individual gun crew)

[truthergw]

Fear not, you have much company in your confusion. The hierarchy of the British Army in World War I was particularly complicated, with many instances of the same word having two or three very different meanings. To further complicate matters, the hierarchy changes slightly in the course of the war.

In the hope of shedding a bit of light on this issue, I will provide my view of the hierarchy of the British Expeditionary Force in the summer of 1915.

.........................

Bruce has shown you what you asked for. I will add a bit which sometimes confuses people. Where does a Regiment figure here? A Regiment was a Unit for recruiting and training. It was often, but by no means always , locally based. It consisted of several battalions. Some would be regular, dating from before the war. Some TF, again from before the war and originally intended as a local reserve. They went off to the war very quickly. The innovation for the Great War was the New Army battalions. I have described, in a very cursory manner, the infantry regiment. There were service corps and artillery and Guards and Royal Marines and enough complications and contradictions to keep all of us happily arguing the toss for many years to come.

[Barry Hayter]

That's spot on ... many thanks indeed ... I'll pop that into a visio doc and away I go ... will really make things easier.

[Clive Maier]

I made this diagram some years ago when I was trying to understand the structure.

[Barry Hayter]

That's just what I need ... perfect.

Can you enlighten as to what the numbers represent? i.e. 38500 on Corps. Numbers of soldiers etc?

[Clive Maier]

Yes, personnel totals.