Читать книгу Organization: How Armies are Formed for War - Hubert Foster - Страница 7
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In the British Field Service Regulations of 1909, Part ii., chap. ii., par. 1, it is stated that the main object of War Organization is to provide the Commander-in-Chief of the Forces in the Field with the means of exerting the required influence over the work and action of every individual. This, it is pointed out, will ensure the “combination and unity of effort directed towards a definite object,” on which mainly depends the successful issue of military operations. In other words, the primary object of War Organization is to facilitate Command—that is, to ensure that every man in the force acts promptly in response to the will of the Commander.
A secondary object of War Organization is to facilitate Administration, or the supply of each individual in the Force with all that he requires to make it possible for him not only to live, but to move and fight. If a Force be ill-organized the process of supply will be slow, uncertain, and incomplete, the spirit and health of the men cannot fail to suffer, and the efficiency of the Force as a fighting body to be reduced.
Both these objects of Organization—Command and Administration—are, however, really inseparable. The channels through which they act are identical, and the Authority which commands is necessarily responsible for the Administration which enables his Orders to be carried out. Solicitude for the well-being of the soldier is one of the most certain means for obtaining influence over him, and may be called the main lever for exercising Command. Some further consideration of the psychological factors of Command, which are essentially germane to the study of Organization, will be found in Part V. of this work.
Definition of Organization
The word “Organization”—literally, providing a body with organs—has been more elaborately defined, by Herbert Spencer, as “the bringing of independent bodies into independent relations with each other, so as to form a single organic whole in which they all work together.” He goes on to explain this as follows: “In considering the evolution of living forms we find simple, homogeneous, and non-coherent elements developing into a complex, heterogeneous, and coherent whole, an organism controlled by unity of purpose, and comprising a number of functional parts, which work together in mutual dependence for the common good.” This definition applies closely to the organization of military bodies. The elements are represented by the individual soldiers, the functional parts by the units, while in the Army we see the living organism.
Just as in nature no mere assemblage of cells, or even of functional parts, can form a living organism, so no collection of individuals, however efficient—or of small units, however perfect—can in any true sense be called an Army. It might have the appearance of a real military force, but it would only be suited to peace. The means by which it can be made fit for war is Organization, without which it would be little better than an armed mob—inert, or at best irregular and spasmodic in its movements. An ill-organized army is not capable of co-ordinated or of sustained action, owing to the difficulty of either directing its movements or supplying its wants.
The Chain of Command
It is obvious that a Commander of a Military Force cannot deal personally and directly with all those under his command, but only with a limited number of subordinate commanders. Each of the latter in his turn conveys his will to his own subordinates, and this gradually broadening system, called the Chain of Command, is carried on, till every individual of the Force receives his Orders. These Orders are founded on the original directions of the Commander-in-Chief, with modifications and details added by each lower authority in the chain, so as to suit the special circumstances of his own Command.
This principle combines unity of control with decentralization of command and devolution of responsibility. In no other way can ready and effective co-operation of all fractions of the force to a common end be ensured.
Units or Formations of Troops
The method, generally speaking, of War Organization is to provide the links in the chain of Command by a systematic arrangement, in suitable groups, of the various troops composing the Army. The smallest groups, or Units, are combined in larger ones, and these again are built up into more complex bodies, and so on, until the whole Army is formed in a small number of large bodies, whose Commanders receive direct orders from the Supreme Commander.
For want of a general name for these bodies it is usual to speak of them all as Formations. The term Units, which is often used, properly applies only to the elementary groups. The largest Formations are conveniently styled the Subordinate Commands of the Army.
Each category of Formations forms a step in the pyramid of organization, in which the lowest layer is formed by the Units, the top layer by the Subordinate Commands, and the apex by the Supreme Commander. The Commanders of each Formation, from the largest to the smallest, form the successive links in the chain of Command.
All Formations should have such a strength and composition as to be in the best relation and proportion to each other, and to the larger groups which they help to build up. Every Formation should be formed of at least three subordinate Units. This gives the Commander of the whole due importance over his Subordinate Commanders, and ensures his retaining an adequate Command whenever he wishes to detach one of his Units. This would not be the case were there only two Units in the whole, for, if one were detached, the Commander of the whole would be left exercising Command only over the other Unit, already adequately commanded. The Superior Commander would then be superfluous, and harmfully interfering with his subordinate. A Formation with three or more Units can be readily broken up when desired, without affecting the principles of Command, and is therefore more flexible and efficient than one with only two Units. Emphasis is laid on this point by Clausewitz in his classic work “On War.”
It is the purpose of the next few chapters to describe the Units and Formations constituted in modern armies. But, in order to explain the reasons which have dictated their strength and composition, it is necessary first to describe the various kinds of Troops which go to make up an Army, and their respective methods of fighting, and functions in war. Organization exists to facilitate fighting, and cannot be explained without some discussion of Tactics.
