The Duties and Organization of the §taff.

LECTURE NO. 3.

(Compiled largely from; Bulletin of Military Notes No.

II, Sec. Div. Gen. Staff; Staffs of Various Armies, A. G. 0.

No. XXII : Duties of the General Staff, by Von Schellendorf; Report of Committees I to 97 EL of R. 3rd Sess.

42 Congress ; The F’ield $ ervice Regulations U. S. Army;

The Army Regulations 1904; Organization and Tactics, Col.

A. I,. Wagner. The Organization of the German Army,

General T. Schwan, U. S. A.)

The saying that this is a day of specialists is already

trite, but to apply the principle of the specialist, to use each

man in the capacity in which he has the greatest aptitude, to

subdivide all work and to keep supervision of all things

through a series of subordinates, that is, to have a fixed line

of responsibility and authority is the means that makes possible the formation of the enormous business combinations of

today. The time when one man can handle all the details

of a large business has passed and. this is, more than any

other has ever been, an age of organization.

The,growth of armies has kept pace with that of civil

business and the of today must be handled by the

same methods that are pursued by great commercial corporations. Some nations have recognized this fact sooner than

others and we see, as a result, the great differences that exist

between the armies of nations that in wealth and resources

seem to be practically equal, and it will be an anomaly if this

nation, the home and nursery of the modern ?I’rust” is the

last of all to apply to the management of her army, the principles that have made possible the handling of those vast:

concerns.
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The commander of an army has such manifold and importafit duties, s!o great and ‘onerous are his responsibilities,

that he can not even think of doing any of the actual work

himself, if he does not wish to involve himself in minor details, and run the risk of missing some great opportunity.

To attend to all duties that, while not suitable for the attention of the Commanding General, are still of vital importance to the welfare and ultimate success of the army, he

must have a corps of assistants in whom he has implicit confidence and to whom he can intrust the working out of all

minor details, while his nlind is left free to lay out the great

general plans and to observe general results.

This corps of assistants is the staff of the army and upon

its personnel and proper orgahization depends to a very

great degree the efficiency of that army.

No one questions the personal bravery and skill with

arms that there was in every one of the men that hurled

themselves at Kitchener’s troops at Omudurman, but bravery and skill alone were of no avail against the trained

troops of Great Britain; and for just that same reason one

thousand regiments, each perfectly trained in itself, but

without an army organization would be but little better than

so many men and would be annihilated if pitted against onehalf their number formed into such an organized body as

was the German Army in 1871.

The staff of an army may be divided into two classes,

the Military -Staff and the Administrative Staff, and their

duties into those of peace and war. The Military Staff

consists of the General Staff, the Adjutants Genefal, the

Aides de Camp, the Engineers, the Chief of Artillery, the

>$ignal Officers, and the Inspectors General. The Administratic staE consists of the Judge Advocates, the Sanitary

and Medical Departments, the Quartermasters, the Commissaries of Subsistence, and the Paymasters.
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The general duty of all staff officers is, to relieve the

Commanding General of all details and leave him free to

form and carry out all plans of campaigns and to fight the

battles, for the result of which he alone is responsible. To

accomplish this object, they must keep absolutely informed

upon all subjects affecting their departments, they must

sift, condense and arrange all facts relating thereto for presentation to the Commanding General. He will issue orders

which are general in form and the staff officer must work

out all details of movements, dispositions, and supply, and

give all orders necessary for the proper execution of his

plans. In addition they will keep records and make accurate

reports of all that comes within their departments and combine these for the final information of their commander.

In the performance of these duties the officers must

have the confidence of their commander and those of the

supply departments, in particular, full and free communication with the chiefs of their departments so that their requisitions will be made in season and so that the chiefs may

arrange to supply the army in such a manner as to avoid the

necessity of supplying one at the expense of another or of

competing with one another in the same market for the

same supplies.

In their advisory capacity they will keep the commander informed at all times as to the capacity of their respective

departments. In their executive capacity they will so conduct the affairs of their departments as to anticipate so far

as possible the needs of the army and keep the soldiers sup-

-plied at all times with all necessary articles, keeping well in

mind the fact that the failure of any one’ supply may, at

some time, mean the defeat of an otherwise victorious

army.

Upon the Military Staff falls the duty of issuing the

orders and transmitting the same, the selection of the roads,

the arrangement of the troops in the column of march, the
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hours of marching, halting, and camping, and of so combining

the elements that different bodies or parts of the same body

will not in any way interfere with each other on the march.

They have charge of the disposition of the different arms on

the field of battle, the arrangement of the reserves, the selection of the lines of advance and retreat, the general positions of the artillery, the ground to be fortified and the kind

of fortifications to be used, and in fact all arrangements for

the march and combat not attended to by the commanding

officer, that are not in the domain of minor tactics.

THE PRUSSIAN STAFF.

The Prussian Staff is the oldest of modern times and

their system, especially that of their General Staff has been

followed by so many nations in the forming of their staffs

that a short account of it will not b,e out of place.

Prussia has always been a military state and whatever

has been considered essential for the efficiency of her staff

has been incorporated therein and this staff, today, is the

crystalization of the ideas on staff formation of the best

minds that the Prussian army has had for over a century

and a half.

This staff is divided into the General Staff and the various administrative, supply, and inspection staffs, and those

of the Royal households. The chief of the General Staff is

the head of all the staff of the army and while he has no

specific duties assigned to him he is responsible for the working of the entire staff .and of the army.

‘I’HE: GF,NI3RAL, S’I’Al?l?.

The General Staff is divided into the Great General

Staff and the General Staff with troops. The former is

charged with the formulation of all plans and schemes and

the latter has the execution of such plans and schemes with

the troops.
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The Great General Staff is divided into nine sections:

‘d’he central section deals with the personnel of the General

Staff, and the organization and financial affairs thereof ;

the first and third sections deal with the military events,

improvements, and all matters of organization, training,

armament, and recruiting of the armies of the various nations in whom Germany is interested, or in whom it is supposed that she might become interested. The second se&

tion deals with the same points in regard to Germany herself. The fourth section deals with fortifications, fortresses,

and technical engineer matters. The fifth section deals with

military history, and has charge of the library and the

records. The railway section has charge of the military

use of railroads. The geographical and statistical

section has charge of the collection of military geographical

data of European territory that may become a theatre of war.

The section that was formerly called “The Auxiliary Establishment,” is now incorporated with the Great General Staff

and constitutes the section of the “National Survey.”

THE: S)I'ApJ? Ol? THE: E:MPE:RROR.

This system contemplates that the supreme command

of the armies in the field will be exercised by the Emperor

and under him, for a staff, are the War Minister, the Military

Cabinet Staff, and the Chief of the General Staff. The

presence of the War Minister insures the complete co-operation of the War Department, in Berlin, with the staff in the

field.

As stated before, the. head of the army staff is the Chief

of the General Staff and his first assistant is the Quartermaster General whose duties, like those of his chief, are not

defined, but who must be working in sympathy with the

chief and must be capable of taking his place if, for any

reason, the chief is incapacitated.

The General Staff at the headquarters of the Commander-in-chief is divided into three sections ; the first deals with
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the ordres de bat&Zle of the German army, the second

with railways and other communications, the third with the

Intelligence Department and the ordres de bafaille of the

enemy’s forces, etc. In order to have co-operation with the

Artillery and the Engineers the Insp,ectors General of these

two arms are also on the headquarters staff of the Commander-in-chief.

The commandant of the headquarters escort is also on

this staff and gets his orders from the Chief of the General

Staff, and is responsible for the police and guard of the

headquarters.

The duties of the above staff officers explain themselves with the exception of the second section of the general staff of the Commander-in-Chief’s headquarters. The

Inspector General of Communications and Railwavs has

charge of this section and has under him, for a staff, the

following officers : The Chief of the Field Railway Service,

the Commissary General of the Forces in the Field, the Director General of the Military Medical Department, the

Director General of the Military Telegraphs, and the Field

Postmaster General.

The duties comprised in the second section are: (I)

The forwarding of personnel and material of all description

from home to the forces in the field. (2) The sending or

bringing home all men, horses or material that are to be sent

to the rear. (3) The quartering and subsisting and providing for all men and horses that are moving along the line of

communications. (4) The protecting and maintaining the

line of communications, i. e., the railways, the telegraph, the

telephones, the postal communications, and the control of the

military police of their districts. (5) The organization and

administration of the government of the enemy’s country

that is occupied, if no other provision has been made. for

the same.
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THE STAPE‘ OI? AN ARMY.

The field forces are divided into armies and the staff of

each army is made up of a Chief of the General Stafi, the

Quartermaster General, the Adj utantur, the Generals of

Artillery and Engineers, the Com,missariat, the Inspector of

Communications, .and the Commandant of the army headquarters escort.

The Chief of the General Staff is head of the entire

staff, unless a General of the Artillery or Engineers is his

senior, in which case that particular staff officer is directly

under the army commander. The general staff has charge

of the operations, the intelligence, the wdres de bataille, the

railways and telegraph.

The Quartermaster General is assistant and substitute

for the Chief of the General Staff and has charge of the

postal service.

The Adjutantur has charge of the issuing of the orders,

the records, the recruits, the remounts, details, appointments, etc.

The Generals of the Artillery and Engineers have the

general supervision of the officers and the troops of their

respective corps and co-operate with the Chief of Staff in

the performance of such duties.

The Commissariat attends to the collection and

bution of supplies, and in this he is under the chief

staff, but in the question of pay and accounts he

dependent.

distriof the 1.is inThe Inspector of Communications is the representative

of the Inspector General of Communications on his part of

the communications and is responsible to the latter as well as

to the immediate army commander.

The Commandant of the army headquarters escort has
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charge of the military police, the guarding of the headquarters, and the Gendarmerie.

The Surgeon General of the army has charge of the

medical and hospital -arrangements and of the Volunteer

aid societies.

THE) STAPI? Ol? AN ARMY CORPS.

The staff of an army corps in the field consists of a Chief

of the General Staff, the Adjutantur, the Corps Judge Advocate, the Corps Field Commissary, the Corps Surgeon

General, the Commander of the headquarters escort, and the

Chief of the field gendarmerie, and the Field Postmaster.

The duties of these staff officers are in general similar to

those of the staff of the army though on a smaller scale. The

Commander of the Artillery and Engineers are in direct

communication with the commander of the corps, but cooperate with the chief of the general staff on all points.

THE: STAKE+ 0E' A DIVISION.

The division staff is considerably smaller than a corps

staff. The general staff is represented by an officer, but he

is not a chief of the general staff, his duties are to see to the

execution and not to the making of, plans. The rest of the staff

are the Adjutantur, the Field Commissary and Commissariat

Department, a Field Postmaster, a Division Surgeon, a Division Judge Advocate and two Field Divisional Chaplains.

It is advantageous to have the General Staff officer one of

such rank that he will be the chief of the staff by virtue of

his rank alone.

THE: ARMY CORPS STAE’E’ IN PLACE.

In time of peace the unit of the German army is the

army corps. The staff at the headquarters is divided into

four sections. The first section is the General Staff and its

head, the Chief of the General Staff, is the head of the Corps

Staff. This section is directly responsible for the dealing

with marches, quarters, and the movements of the troops,
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the drills and maneuvers, mobilization, roads, railways, telegraphs, frontier and political questions, deserters, strength,

condition and distribution of the neighboring foreign armies, bridging, pontons, engineering and artillery matters,

armament of fortressess, maps and intelligence department.

The second section is the Adjutantur. In addition to

the duties of personal aides to the generals that they serve

with, these adjutants are charged with the performance of

office duties, the daily countersigns, garrison and guard duties, the promotions, leaves, rewards, punishments, recruiting, invaliding, remount, military police, pensions, ammunition and armament.

The third section, the Judge Advocate, is charged with

the legal advising of the commanding general, legacies,

debts, and confinements to fortresses.

The fourth section has charge of the Commissary, Medical and Religious matters. These include: first, the treasury

and general accounts, supply, pay, barracks, clothing, and

lodgings, under the Corps Commissary ; second, retirements,

furloughs, pensions, and hospitals, under the Corps Surgeon; and, third, the Chaplain has control of the religious

matters.

THE DIVISION STAEW DUTIES IN PEAC!&

The staff of a division is practically the same in peace

that it is in war. The peace duties bear the same relation to

those of the staff of an army corps as do the war duties.

PROMOTION AND SIQ,~CTION.

The staff serving with troops is composed of two parts,

the officers and the military officials. The officers are the

General Staff, the Adjutantur and the Medical Officers.

The remainder of the staff that in our army are called

Quartermasters, Commissaries of Subsistence, Paymasters,

Judge Advocates, Chaplains, and Veterinaries, make up

the Intendantur and while some’of them have pay, uniform,
IO

etc., the same as officers yet they are not considered as such.

The greater portion of all staff officers of the Prussian

army come’ from the graduates of the War Academy. After

an officer graduates from this school he is sent back to his

regiment for service. In a few months about fifteen per cent

of them are orclered to the General Staff for duty for one

year. Especially efficient officers who are not from the War

Academy are also eligible for this detail. At the end of the

year the best ones are chosen to fill whatever vacancies

may exist and they hold the position, normally, for three

years. At the expiration of this period they are sent back

to their regiments for duty and at the end of two years more

they are eligible for another tour in the general staff, if their

services have been so valuable that their re-detail ic; asked

for by the general staff. This alternation of staff and regimental duties is kept up as long as an officer is in the army .

and operates to have for staff officers men who are perfectly

familiar with the details of duty with troops and in having

many officers with the troops that are competent to do staff

duty. The Adj utantur is composed of officers who have not

been considered quite good enough for the general stag, but

who are the next best in the army. They are detailed alternately with troops and on the staff as is the general

staff.

The officials are appointed, some from the officers of

the army, some from civil life, and some from the best of the

non-commissioned stafr’ of the administrative departments

to which they belong. They must pass examinations before

being appointed and they do not have the regimental dutvr’

with troops that is required of the staff o%cers. The Intendantur at the War Department are c,iv2 officials.

THE BRITISH STAFF SYSTEM.

The British war department and stag system have, I

within the last year, been entirely changed and as they have

not followed the German system I will give a short de-
II

scription of their method, as the Boer War, when .England

had over 250,000 men in the field, gave them an excellent

opportunity to .find out where reforms could be made.

The army is under the control of an Army Council and

in contrast with the German system there is a decided decentralization of stafi power. The general idea is to have an

army where the duties will be as nearly as possible the same

in peace as they are in war.

THE: ARMY COUNCIL

There is no commander in chief in peace and the idea

of the Army Council is to decentralize the many duties that

formerly rested in that officer and put them under several

heads, and, by subdividing the work and putting most of

the administrative work out into the division and brigade

districts, to relieve the heads of the various staff

departments from much routine work and leave them

the time necessary to consider questions of real importance, to exercise forethought and initiative, and to separate questions of policy from. those of mere routine.

This Army Council is composed of seven members with

the Secretary of State for War for the President. He has

the general direction and supervision of all business and is

directly responsible to the Crown and to Parliament. There

are four Military Member,,c the first of whom is the Chief of

the General Staff of the Army ; the second, the Adjutant General ; the third, the Quartermaster General ; and the fourth is

the Master General of Ordnance. There are two other

civilian members, one is called the Civil Member, and the

other, the Finance Member.

The Chief of the General Staff has charge of the military policy and the military intelligence, strategy, war operations and organization, war staff duties, supervision of the

training, military history, higher education, war regulations,

and telegraphy and signalling. His assistants are the Di-
I2

rector of Military Operations, the Director of Staff Duties,

and the Director of Military Training. The first has charge

. of the intelligence department, the secret service, mappmg,

the strategical distribution of the regular army, and schemes

of offense, and of Imperial defense (outside of the Islands).

The second has charge of the appointments to and the

instruction of the General Staff, appointments of high sta-E

at the staff College and Cadet Schools, and the instruction

and examinations at the same, regu-lations governing the

granting of commissions, professional education and examinations for promotion, and examinations in foreign languages, publications of war literature, military history and

the staff libraries.

The third has charge of the home defense, plans ,for concentration, reconnaissance of the kingdom, study of defense

schemes in Great Britain, instruction and training of the

forces in the United Kingdom, maneuvers, concentration for

maneuvers, funds for maneuvers and training, and course

of instruction and appointments of the high staff at the

schools of training, telegraphing and signalling.

The Adjutant General has charge of the raising and

organizing of the military forces, the maintenance of the

army abroad in officers and men, the distribution of the

units, the regulations for the placing of the army on a war

footing, personal questions, discipline, ceremonial matters,

and administrative arrangements connected with the training, education, and selection of its own officers. IIe is assisted

in this work by a Director of Recruiting and Organization, a

Director of Personal Services, a Director General of Army

Medical Service, a Director of Auxiliary Forces, and a Judge

Advocate.

The Quartermaster General has charge of the organization of all transport, remount, ancl supply services ; he settles

the reserves of food, clothing, equipment, general stores,

and materials, to be held in depots, garrisons, and mobili-
zation stores, and the scales of such articles to be in the possession of the troops ; he holds and issues all military stores ;

he administers the transport, remount, railway, supply

veterinary, and postal services ; and he has charge of the

distribution of ordnance and ordnance supplies. He selects

his own officers. He is assisted by a Director of Transport

and Remounts, a Director of Movement and Quarterings, a

Director of Supplies and Clothing, and a Director of Equipment and Ordnance Stores.

The Master General of Ordnance has charge of all

questions of armament, including lights, mines, and all accessories. He decides upon the sites, design, and

arm,ament of coast defenses ; the settling of reserves of arms

of all kinds, and of ammunition; the pattern, provision,

and inspection of guns, small arms, and Royal Engineer and

Artillery vehicles, and technical stores. He controls the.

technical committees on war materials, exercises direction

and financial control over the manufacturing departments

(except clothing), and investigates inventions that affect the

army. He is also charged with construction and maintenance of fortifications, buildings and target ranges ; with the

administration of the Royal Engineer staff on such works;

and of the technical inspection staff; with the purchase of

guns, ammunition, and stores and with all technical questions affecting the Artillery and Engineers generally. He

administers the ordnance college, and advises as to technical

instruction at schools of military engineering. He is assisted

by a Director of Artillery, a Naval Advisor, and a Director

of Fortifications and Works.

The Civil Member has charge of the barracks and noneffective services and is assisted by the Director of Barrack

construction, and a chief accountant, and the chaplains.

The Finance Member is in charge of all questions of

finance and is assisted by the Directors of the Army Finance

and their assistants.
An Inspector General of the Forces is appointed to

serve for five years and under him is the inspection department, an independent department subject only to the Army

Council to whom it makes reports upon actual facts, without

expressing any opinions as to policy. These inspectors have

nothing to do with persuading the authorities to increase the

total estimates and therefore the recommendations are without interest or bias. They are the eyes and ears of the

Army Council and of the Secretary of State for War.

The Army Council has entire joint administration and

supervision of the army. The army is divided into territorial divisions and the command of each is under a Commanding General in Chief under whom are division and brigade districts, with their proper commanders. These division

and brigade districts are the administrative units and only

in exceptional cases will an administrative question be

brought up to the higher authorities. The division of duties

of the different parts of the staff in the Ar.my Council is carried down through the army and good results are expected

therefrom, especially considering that the war and peace

duties are almost identical.

THE FIELD ARMY STAFF.

In the field the staff of the General Commanding in

Chief are the Chief of the General Staff, the Adjutant General, the Quartermaster General, the Director of Finance, the

Aides de Camp, the Military Secretary and possibly an Inspector General of Communications.

The Chief of the General Staff has charge of

the operations of war, the intelligence department, the selection of lines of communications, and advice as to their

garrisons, the framing of orders regarding moves of men

and materials, the selecting of camps and bivouacs, the organization higher than the units, the telegraphing and signalling.
The Adjutant General has charge of the supply of the

officers and’men, the raising of forces locally, the organization and mobilization of improvised units, the hospital and

sanitary arrangements, and the ‘supply of medical stores, the

accommodation and rest camps, the’control of the press and

the press correspondents, the casualties, and invaliding; the

military, martial, and international law ; the chaplains, and

the provost marshals and the police measures.

The Quartermaster General has charge of the transport of men and materials and all supplies (except medical) ;

the railways, the remount, the postal services ; the embarkations and landings, where they are not operations of war.

The Director of Finance is charged with giving the

Commander any financial advice that he may need and with

the examinations of accounts and with the cash payments.

Promotions in the field are dealt with by the Military

Secretary to the Commander as are also rewards, honors

and appointments, other than staff appointments.

The Co,mmanding Officers of Artillery and Engineers

are not on the staff of the General Commanding in Chief, but

as commanders of these troops they can deal with him directly and not through any staff omcer. Of course they cooperate with the Chief of the General Staff for the accomplishment of the desired ends.

It will be noticed that there is not the great amount of

power, and responsibility resting in the Chief of the General

Stag of the British army that there is in that same office in

the C&man army. Here the Adjutant General, the Quartermaster General, the Master General of Ordnance, and the

Finance, and Civil Members of the Army Council are equal

and independent in the performance of their duties, and on

the staff of the commanding general in chief, the corresponding staff officers are responsible to the general direct and do

not work through the Chief of the General Staff.
The General Commanding the I,ine of Communications

would receive his orders from the Commanding General in

Chief through the staff officer directly concerned. In case

that there were two or more lines o.f communications there

might have to be an Inspector General of Communi.cations

on the staff of the commanding general in chief, to secure

harmonious working of the combined lines.

The staffs of the divisional districts will be administrative, only, and will be representative of the second and third

military members of the Army Council, the difference between this and the military staff of the territorial division or

corps staff being emphasized. There is a civil branch in

the division district that keeps the accounts and gives such

financial advice as ma,y be desired.

All questions of personnel (other than officers) and of

recruiting are dealt with in the brigade districts while the

division districts deal with mobilization arrangements, target ranges and training grounds, construction and maintenance of barracks, lands, supplies, local transport, remounts,

hospitals, stores, posting of officers, and appointment of

adjutants and quartermasters.

S3XXTION 05 STAPI?.

The British staff is entirely a detail staff and

officers are appointed to the staff departments solely upon

the recommendation of the head of the department into

which they are to serve.

Promotions above the grade of Captain are to be by selection and this selection is made by a board composed of

the Inspector General and Commanding Generals in Chief

who act upon all officers except those of the General Staff

who are to be centrally supervised and administered.

All details except that of the Inspector General are to

be for four years and must in all cases be followed by one

year’s service with troops before the same officer is again

available for staff duty.
Details to the General Staff are in general to be made

from the graduates of the Staff College, after passing an examination and serving a probationary period .of three

months in the General Staff.

STAFF OF THE U. S. ARMY.

The present staff of the United States Army is the outgrowth of the experience gained in the Civil War and of the

observation of the Prussian staff system. After the close of

that war in 1873 there was a movement made to change

the, then existing, staff departments and to revise the entire

staff system. The opinions of the various general officers

that were then living, who had served in the Civil War, were

obtained by the Committee of Congress, that had the matter in hand, with the view of incorporating the concensus of

opinion into a bill reorganizing the staff.

Our present staff system reflects the opinions of the majority of these officers and, though the change has been slow,

we have now the main points that were held to be the

most important for an efficient staff.

There has always been considerable discussion relative

to the consolidation of different staff departments, especially

the supply departments, intd a single large one called the

Supply Department. The question was investigated at this

time and it was decided that the saving in cost of such a

combination would be very little, that in time of war they

would be separate in duties even if not in name, and that

the great concentration of work might result in a breakdown when the crisis was at hand, whereas, “The present division of duties is the result of long experience and very

recently in the struggle against rebellion was found to work ”

successfully in the widest theatre of action.” Summing

up all the reasons advanced to support such a consolidation

the committee decided that “The advantages thus to be

gained cannot be denied but are deemed of less importance
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than those the present system affords with its division of

labor and its distribution of responsibility.”

The present departments were in existence at this time

with the exception of the General Staff, the Military Secretary’s Department, and the Signal Corps.

There was a general expression that there ought to be a

General Staff and that the officers of the staff department

ought to serve with troops lTnore than they had in the past,

and a considerable number of the generals were in favor of

a detailed staff.

We have today all these features in’ the staff of our

army and would seem to now have a staff that in the opinion of those officers, experienced in the handling of the U. S.

Army, best corresponds to the needs of our army.

In time of peace our staff system consists of the following departments : The General Staff, the Military Secretary’s, the Engineer’s, the Ordnance, the Signal, the Inspector General’s, the Quartermaster’s, the Subsistence, the Medical, the Judge Advocate General’s, and the Paymaster?.

The head of all these, the President’s representative, and so

far as the army is concerned its chief, is the Chief of the

General Staff. The President is the constitutional head of

, the army of the United States and though in time of war it

is hardly likely that he would exercise the command of the

armies in the field yet it would be within his right to do so.

The President is represented in his dealings with the army

by the Secretary of War, although it is proper for him to

deal directly with his Chief of Staff, if he so desires. w

In peace time the Chief of Staff of the army is the head

of the whole staff and is by law charged with the duty of

supervision under the Secretary of War of all troops of the

line and the various staff departments.
The General Staff of the U. S. Army is divided into

the War Department General Staff and the General $ta@

with Troops. The former is divided into three divisions, the

first of which has charge of the organization, discipline and

armament of the army, the mobilization, the preparation of

plans of operations, and many of the functions of the former

Adjutant General’s Department and Inspector General’s Department. This section also deals with the promotion of

officers of the Infantry and Cavalry.

The second division deals with

rangement of military information

attaches.

the collection and arand with the foreign

The third division deals with the scientific and technical branches of the army and with military education. This

division also deals with the work of the Engineers, the Artillery, Ordnance, and the coast defenses and with the promotions in branches not handled by the first division.

The General Staff with troops consists of those officers

of the General Staff serving with commanders of armies,

corps, divisions, and with separate brigades, territorial divisions and departments.

GENJ-%AL( DUTIES OJ? THE: GEN$RA.I, $l?Al?l?.

The regulations assign the following duties to the General Staff:

They will investigate and report on the efficiency and

the state of preparedness of the army, in connection therewith considering and reporting on the organization, distribution, equipment, armament and training of the military

forces. They consider proposed legislation for the army,

transportation, communications, quarters and supplies ; they

prepare projects for maneuvers, revise estimates, advise as

to disbursements, exarcise supervision as to inspections, mil-
2 0

itary education and instruction, examinations for appointments and promotions of officers, ef5ciency records, details

and assignments, orders and instructions for the efYiciency of the army.

They prepare important orders and correspondence embodying the orders or instructions of the President or the

Secretary of War; they review reports of examining and retiring boards.

The General Staff Corps if further charged with the

preparation of plans for the national defense the mobilization of the military forces, the study of the possible theatres

of war, of strategy in general, the collection of military information of foreign countries and of our own, the preparation of plans of campaign, the reports of campaigns, battles,

engagements and ‘expeditions and technical histories of

military operations of the United States.

MIIJ’I’ARY SECRETARY’S DEPARtI’MZN’I’.

The Military Secretary’s Department is charged with

all duties pertaining to the command, discipline, and administration of the existing military establishments ; all communications with troops, the issuing of all orders, the recruiting service, prisbners, all records and pensions, and

historical records.

CORPS OI;‘ ENGINEEJRS.

The Corps of Engineers is charged with the surveying

and reconnaissance for military purposes, laying out and

selecting camp sites, making plans and estimates and constructing and repairing all fortifications and’ their accessories, the control of the Engineer troops, and th\e supply of

engineer material to the other arms. In addition it is

charged with a great deal of civil work under the War

Department.
21

SIGNAL, CORPS

The Signal Corps is charged with the control of the

signal troops and officers, military cables, telegraphs and

telephones and the wireless telegraphy installations, the

preparation of the field material and train, and the supply

of signal material and supplies to the other arms.

ORDNANCE: DEPARTME)NT.

The Ordnance Department is charged with the duty of

procuring and distributing all ordnance and ordnance stores,

including cannon, and artillery vehicles, and equipments ;

service and maneuver apparatus and machines for the artillery, small arms ammunition, accounterments and horse

ecluipments for the artillery and the cavalry.

SUBSISTENCE: DEPARTMENT.

The Subisistence Department supplies all the subsistence for the army and in addition it keeps certain other authorized articles for sale to the army.

QUARTERMASTER’S DEPARTMZNT.

The Quartermaster’s Department is charged with the

duty of furnishing, transportation of every character needed

for the movement of men or matserial of war, public animals

and their forage, wagons, wagon supplies, and harness for the

Quartermaster’s Department. It furnishes clothing, camp

and garrison equipage, builds *roads, and all buildings (except engineer buildings), builds or charters ships and boats,

docks and wharves for militgry purposes, and all other matters that are not assigned to any other department.

INSPEXTOR GI?,NJ3RAI,S DEPARTMENT.

The Inspector Generals of the army are charged with

the duty of making inspections with regard to the conduct,

discipline, and efficiency of the officers and troops ; the con-
22

dition and kind of supplies, arms and equipment ; ,znd of

the expenditures of public m.oneys.

JUDGE ADVOCATE: GZNERAI,‘S DEPARTMENT.

This department is charged with ren.dering legal opinions when they are properly called upon to do so, and with

the court martial records of the army.

MeDICAlL, DZPARTMENT.

The Medical Department of the army is charged with

the sanitary condition of the army. It gives advice as to

the location of camps and posts and the questions of water

supply, water purification, and the disposal of wastes. It

has charge of the sick and wounded, the physical examinations of officers and troops, the management and control

of the hospitals, the recruiting and control of the hospital

corps, the female nurses, and the furnishing of all medical

supplies for the army, except for the public animals.

THE: PAYMASTBR’S DEPARTMl!$NT.

This department is charged with the payment of the

army and with such other financial duties as may be assigned

to it.

ARMY ADMINISTRATION IN PEACE.

The territory of the United States is divided into divisions and these divisions into departments for administration in time of peace. The divisions are normal$. commanded by Major Generals and ,the departments by Brigadier Generals. The idea of this subdivision is to have practically all administrative work finished in the departments

and thus leave the Division Commander free to exercise the

higher functions of command. An idea of the duties pertaining to each is given by an inspection of the staffs of. the

commanding generals.
23

DIVISION STAE’E’.

The division commander’s staff is composed of officers

of the following departments in addition to the authorized’

aides : The General Staff, the Military Secretary’s, the Inspector General’s, the Corps of Engineers.

D@PARTMI$NT STAE‘I?.

The Department Staff consists of the General’s Aides,

and of officers of the following staff departments; the Military Secretary’s, the Judge Advocate General’s, the Quarterm.aster’s, the Subsistence, the Medical, and the Pay, and

when necessary an officer from the Engineers, the Ordnance,

and the Signal Corps.

The staff officers enumerated above perform the duties

assigned to their respective departments of the War Department that may arise within the limits of the command

to which they are attached.

STAFF DUTIES IN THE U. S. ARMY IN THE:

FIEl;D.

The commanders of Army Corps and of separate armies are selected by the President. When two or more are

combined under the direction of one commander, such comrnancler will be designated as the Commanding General in

Chief and in case of his death or disability, or of the death

or disability of an army or corps commander, the next in

rank in such army or corps shall exercise the command until the will of the President is known.

In all commands larger than a brigade and in all separate forces under the command of a general oficer the

staff service is under an officer of the General Staff who is

designated as Chief of Staff.
24

THE: STAl?E‘ Ol? AN ARMY.

The Military Staff of an Army Commander is in addition to his personal Aides, the Chief of Staff, other General

Staff Officers, the Adjutants General (Military Secretary’s

Department), the Inspectors General, the Chiefs of Artillery,

Cavalry, and Engineers, the Provost Marshal. General and

the Commandant of the Army Headquarters Escort:

The Administrative Staff consists of the Chief Quartermaster, the Chief Commissary, the Chief Surgeon, the

Chief Ordnance Officer, the Judge Advocate and the Chief

Mustering Officer.

In addition to the adove if there were more than a single line of communications there would probably have to be

an Inspector General of Communications to insure the harmonious working of the several lines to a common cud.

The Commanding Officer, his staff and the personnel

,

attached thereto, constitute the headquarters of the military

command.

THE: CHIEF OF‘ STAPP.

The Chief of Staff should have the complete confidence

of his commanding officer and a considerable degree of independence in the discharge of his ordinary duties. He

organizes and supervises the operations of the staff departments, and regulates the details therof by means of orders

issued in the name of the commanding general. On matters outside of the ordinary routine, the wishes and directions of the commanding general must in every case form

the basis for the action of the Chief of, Staff. It is his duty

to bring to the notice of the general all matters requiring his

attention and when called upon to do so will indicate the

action that he deems desirable or necessary.

After working out the necessary details, the Chief of

Staff converts the ideas and decisions of the Comlnanding
General into orders or instructions, conveys them to the

trogps and sees that they are executed. In the performance

of these duties he is assisted by such officers as may be necessary from the General Staff, the NIilitary Secretary’s Department ancl the Inspector General’s Department.

He elaborates arrangements for explorations and protection ; for marching, fighting, camping, or quartering the

troops ; he establishes a service of information concerning

the theatre of war, and of the enemy’s forces ; he collects

important materials for the reports of operations and subsequent history of the war and exercises a general supervision over the records and returns and the supply of suitable maps.

He should be informed at all times as to the state oi

supplies, the strength and armament, the equipment, health,

marching powers and moral of the troops and be prepared

to render a report thereon. He issues the instructions to

the Provost Marshal and to the Commanding General of the

Base and Line of Communications and draws up orders for

raids, special reconnaissances, and detached services. He

administers through the Intelligence Officer the intelligence

service which comprises within its limits the field post office,

the secret service, the subject of reconnaissance and i-he collection, preparation and distribution of military information,

including maps and sketches, and he performs such other

functions as may be assigned to him by the Commanding

General.

THE cr31g:E’ E:NGINE~R.

The Chief Engineer of an army is a staf? officer and

exercises a general supervision over all the engineer operations in the body to which he is attached, but will not exercise command of the Engineer troops ; he will make such inspections as may be directed by the Commanding General

and will submit his recommendations to the Chief of Staff.
26

His duties in general ,are as follows : He shall furnish

such information as may be desired by his general, he may

be called upon to assist in the selection of the lines of attack

or of positions of defense, he supervises the location and

design of the more important works in the field; and may

be charged with their construction; and, unless some other

officer is specially detailed .for that duty, he is in general

charge of the engineering features of all siege operations.

He executes all demolitions and to him may be assigned the

selection and preparation of perman ent camps and all

duties requiring a knowledge of engineering. The

regulations assign to him the duty of intelligence and reconnoissance officer which duties would, of course, be exercised

under the Chief of Staff.

THE CHIFJ? SIGNAL, OJ?E’IC~R.

In addition to the duties that the Signal Corps has in

time of peace the Chief Signal Officer is in command of the

Signal Corps troops of the armv. w Orders affecting these

troops will be issued through him and he will be responsible

that they are fully instructed, and supplied and that they perform their duties. The Signal Corps is responsible for the

location, construction and maintenance of its lines.

The duties pertaining to the other members of the

staff are practically the same as they have in peace time, but

are increased greatly in volume and are exercised in the

field instead of in garrison. While the Commanding General will issue general orders about the subject of supplies

and their distribution, yet the methods of carrying out these

orders are left to the chiefs of the various staff departments

and they are responsible that the supplies are on hand when

needed and that they are obtained and issued according to

the regulations. Staff officers in the field wili keep their departments well informed as to their present and prospective

needs as regards men or supplies, and will make such sug-
27

gestions as they think will tend to increase the efficiency

of their service.

MUSTI3RING OIi’E’ICXR.

There will be attached to each unit larger than a brigade

and to separate brigades, a mustering officer whose duties

are to make all musters into and out of the service and to

exercise such supervision of the muster and pay rolls as will

insure their uniformity, accuracy and completeness.

COMMANDANT OP THE) HEADQUARTERS I$:$CORT.

The Commandant of the Headquarters Escort is in

charge of the headquarters guard and has authority to establish, arrange and command the headquarters camp, and

to place the posts and guards. He has charge of the headquarters train and in conjunction with the Provost Marshal

preserves order at the headquarters.

PROVOST MARSHAL, GIi$w@RAI,.

The Provost Marshal General is attached to the headquarters of the army. He will have the command of such

forces as m.ay be necessary to preserve the proper police

throughout the army and &t the line of the communications.

He protects the inhabitantes of the conquered country from

violence, he keeps complete information of all non-military

persons attached to, or following the army, he arrests and

brings up stragglers and fugitives from the battle-fields and

takes charge of all prisoners and deserters. He receives

his orders from the Chief of Staff.

BASES AND LINEiS Ol? COMMUNICATIONS,

Under general instructions from the War Department

a base will be selected and equipped and a service line of

communications will be organized for each territorial army

or expeditionary force before it takes the field. A general

officer will be placed in command of this system and will
28

have such of the following assistants as may be necessary:

A commander of the base, a chief of transportati.on, a chief

of the railway service, a chief of transport by water, a chief

commissary, a chief ordnance officer, a chief paymaster, a

chief surgeon, a chief of telephone and telegraph service

and a provost marshal. The necessary troops and personnel will be placed at the disposal of this general and he will

keep in touch with the army in the field and with the War

Department.

CHIEE’S Ol? AR%‘II,L,~RY AND CAVALRY.

“The Chief of Artillery is in general charge of the artillery material of the army, he is artillery inspector, and is

the principal assistant to the commanding general in every

thing that pertains to that arm. He may exercise command

if the artillery of two or more corps combined.”

“The Chief of Cavalry should be in active command of

the cavalry belonging to the army, and though on the staff

of the commanding general he should never be tied down to

the headquarters of the army.” He should be to a certain

degree an independent commander but the wisdom of too

much of this freedom will be gravely questioned by a student

of military affairs who remembers the story of the ci,vil war

and the many cases of semi-independent cavalry absent at the

very moment when most needed.

The following table gives the staff of an army corps.

The duties of the various staff officers dif?er only in degree

from’ the duties of the corresponding staff officers of an army.

STAE’E‘ Ol? AN ARMY CORPS.

Chief of Stag, Colonel of the General Staff.

Assistants to Chief of Staff, Majors or Captains.

Adjutant General, Lt. Colonel Mil. Secy. Dept.

Chief Engineer, Lt. Colonel, Engineers.

Inspector General, Lt. Colonel. Inspector’s Dept.
29

I Chief Quartermaster, Lt. Colonel, Q. M. Dept.

I Judge Advocate, Lt. Colonel J. A. Genl. Dept.

I Chief Surgeon, Lt. Colonel Medical Dept.

I Chief Signal Officer, Lt. Colonel Signal Corps.

I Chief Ordnance Oficer, Lt. Colonel Ordnance Dept.

I Chief Commissary, Lt. Colonel Subsistence Dept.

I Asst. Adjutant General, Captain Mii. Secy. Dept.

3 Aides de Camp, Captains or Lieutenants.

I Chief of Artillery, Brigadier General.

I Provost Marshal, Field Officer.

I Mustering Officer, Field OEcer.

STAE‘P Ol? A DIVISION.

The staff of a division is composed of the same staff

officers as that of a corps with the exception of the two

assistants to the Chief of Staff, the assistant Adjutant General and the Chief of Artillery. The officers are generally a

grade lower in rank than those of the corps.

STAEY? Ol? A BRIGADS.

The brigade staff consists of an Adjutant General, a

Quartermaster, a Commissary each with the rank of Captain,

a Brigade Surgeon

of the General who

with rank of Major, and the two aides

are Lieutenants.

MCTHOD OI;‘ SEI,ECTING STAE‘E‘ Ol?E’ICERS.

We have in our army a mixed system of selection for

the staff. The General Staff is entirely a detail staff all of

whom, except the Chief of Staff, are appointed upon the recommendation of five general officers of the line, not more

than two of whom shall be on the general staff.

The Corps of Engineers and the Medical Department

are permanent in their personnel. The former gets its appointees from the graduates of the U. S. Military Academy,

the latter gets its junior officers from civil life, after passing

entrance examinations. The rest of the staff of the army is
30

today partly a detail and partly a permanent staff. The personnel of each department that was in the department, at

the time of the passage of the bill creating the detail staff

system, remains in the same department and is promoted in

that department as vacancies occur, but all vacancies caused

by the promotion from the lowest grade are filled by detail

from the line of the army. The names of several suitable

officers are submitted by the head of the department to the

General Staff and

is nominated and

ments are for four

tail on staff duty

the staff again in

with troops. The

the one considered most efficient by them

appointed to the detail. Such appointyears and after the end of a four year’s deof any sort that officer can not serve on

any capacity until he has been two years

chiefs of the staff departments are chosen

by the President and hold the office for four years.

The choice of the personal staff of a general oEcer is

left to that officer subject to the regulations regarding two

years’ service with trqops in each six years.

(6The considerations that .should be borne in mind in the

formation of an army are undoubtedly numerous, but the

very first in importance are the employment of the troops in

battle, and the best means of moving them - on the line of

march and of bringing them into battle. In immediate connection with this comes the question of the certainty of the

transmission of orders. Questions of supply, clothing,

equipment, medical matters, etc., all, in fact, that we are

accustomed to class under the head of administrative matters are matters of secondary consideration.” But we must

bear in mind that if the army is not properlv fed, clothed,

equipped and cared for, when we reach the field,

there will be no army to fight. Therefore, until actually on the field of battle the first consideration should be to

have the army so well equipped and supplied that when the

fighting begins there will be no need for administrative
31

considerations and that tactical considerations

control each move.

will

. “To adju.st and to perfect the subtle and intricate machinery by which the masses of. soldiers are fed, clothed,

armed, moved, inspired with courage and carried through a

victorious battle is, after all, wrapped up in the perfection of

staff organization. Take the best field officers, take the best

soldiers, take a good cause, take all the natural advantages

of situation, and take away from the general the indispensible aid that he must have in an efficient staff and neither

courage, good conduct, nor skill in the line, can redeem a

large army from the character of a mob.”

NOV. 30, 1904.

W-LL3[AM P+ CONNO-R, . , , Captain Corps of Engineers.
32

RE,FERENCES :

THE DUTIES OF THE GENERAL STAFF, General

Bronsart von Schellendorf. Translated by W. H. H.

Hare, Lt. Col. R. E. Hodges Figgis & Co., 104 Grafton St., Dublin. $1.25.

ORGANIZATION AND TACTICS, Col. A. I,. Wagner,

U. S. Army. Hudson-Kimberly & Co., Kansas City,

MO.

THE BRAIN OF AN ARMY, Spenser Wilkinson; Archibald Constable & Co., Westminster.

FIELD SERVICE REGUL,ATIONS U. S. ARMY.

ARMY REGULATIONS U. S. ARMY, 1904.

BUI,I,ETIN OF MII,ITARY NOTES NO. II, Second

Division General Staff U. S. Army.

STAFFS OF VARIOUS ARMIES, A. G. 0; No. XXII.

REPORTS OF COMMITTEES NOS. I TO 97 H. OF

R. 3RD SESS. 42ND CONGRESS.

ELEMENTS OF THE ART OF WAR, James 34ercur,

Co1 U. S. A. ; J. A. Wiley & Son,

THE GERMAN ARR/IIY, A. G. 0. No. II, General Thisden Schwan, U. S. A.
“M/ha tevel arguments may be dra-wn from particular examples, superficially viewed, a thorough examination of the subject will evince that the art of war

is both comprehensive and complicated; that it

demands much previous study, and that the possession of it in its most approved and perfect state is

always ot great moment to the security of a nation.”

WASHINGTON’S LAST ANNUAL MESSAGE.