When it was over

[ollydot]

Was reading a book last night about discipline and morale etc. It mentioned that by the end of the war most of the regular soldiers were casualties, which made me start thinking - what was the state of the regualr army just after the war. What was recruitment like etc? Recruitm,ent into the armed forces is low just now presumably because of the various engagements, so would young men have shied away from joining up in case another war happened or what??

[armourersergeant]

Strangely I was thinking about this the other night. Given that the old army died in 1914/15 the make up of the army and the phrases like 'glad when we get back to proper soldiering' certainly at battalion level was never quiet to return surely. The post war regular army must have been heavily made up of 'new' army soldiers who decided to stay on.

I wonder if anyone has done a study on the amount of regulars to new army by 1920 say?

regards

Arm

[truthergw]

I'd be interested in figures as well. I suspect that war weariness would have pushed those new army men who remained, to get back to homes and families. Presumably older married conscripts would be right on their heels. I think men who stayed on after the war, may well have been young single conscripts who had no trade or skilled job to return to. The type of man in fact, that the forces had relied on since standing armies came into being. I admit, I have not a scrap of evidence, just a gut feeling.

[IanA]

I have not studied this problem either but, if the army reverted to its pre-war size, there would be the personnel from very many battalions to shrink into just two, or perhaps three. Many of the old army did survive and there were enough regular army officers left that the survivors lost their temporary rank and found themselves quite low down in the pecking order again. General Jack stayed on but reverted to a major.

[Audax]

In 1918, three and half million men were under arms. By 1920 there were 370,000 and by 1927 about 207,000. So within 12 months of the amristice the military machine of Great Britain was almost entirely dismantled. The Britsh Army continued to fight a war of ambush and assasination in Ireland until 1922. It also supported the civil power in India. British Forces also saw action in North Russia.

New rates of pay for all ranks were introduced in 1922

RSMs and other WO1s Daily 14s 0d

down to

Private /Gunner/ Trooper 2s 0d

Boys 1s 0d

Army Order 133 announced that 16 Cavalry Regiments would be put into pairs to form 8 new regiments and that six Irish Infantry Regiments would be disbanded. The 1st and 2nd Regiments of the Life Guards of the Household Cavalry combined to form a single Regiment.

Redundant officers of amalgated cavalry regiments were given the option of tranferrring to other regiments were there were vacancies or resigning.

[PhilB]

The Britsh Army continued to fight a war of ambush and assasination in Ireland until 1922.

I assume that wasn`t the official title?

[ollydot]

Thinking further on the same lines, what would the calibre of the officers left have been, and before I'm deluged with yucky remarks, this is a generalisation arising out of the book I've just read. Officers who for whatever reason couldn't continue at the front were sent back to organise training etc. Isn't it most likely that these were the officers who survived and a goodly number of them appeared to be really inefficient in a war zone. Also, think of the sheer fatigue of those who had continued to serve at the front and post-traumatic stress etc etc. How did the army manage to continue?? There must have been massive change. And factor into that all the admin to do with the after effects of the war..

[dutchbarge]

With jobs scarce the Army, if you could stay in, or get in, was three squares and a cot. Something not guaranteed on civvie street. Cheers, Bill