British Army Hierarchies

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The British Army in the First World War era had an anomalous and complex structure. It will probably need its own semantic structures that are not analogous to those of other nationalities.

Units, Formations and Regiments

The British Army had two hierarchies:

  • Administrative
  • Tactical

These were separate at higher levels but overlapped at lower levels.

  • Regiments/Corps were administrative. Their member units served in many different formations at the same time.
  • Formations were tactical. Their member units could be from different regiments, of different types, and even of different nationalities.
  • Units were tactical and administrative at the same time.


Administrative Hierarchy

  • Arm (infantry, cavalry, artillery etc. See The Long Long Trail: Constitution of Military Forces
  • Record Office
  • Regiment/Corps
  • (some odd ones between regiment and unit that only apply in some cases)
    • Regimental Identity (needs to be treated as a distinct level for artillery and yeomanry; same as unit for regular cavalry; same as regiment/corps for most others)
    • Territorial Area (significant admin level for Territorial Royal Engineers but not for infantry; other arms may vary)
  • Units (see below)

Formation Hierarchy

This is a typical hierarchy based on the Western Front, but there were all sorts of non-standard formations in other theatres, especially in Africa and Asia.

  • General Headquarters (usually one per theatre; sometimes synonymous with Expeditionary Force, sometimes not)
    • Lines of Communication (under GHQ in each theatre)
  • Army (not used in every theatre)
  • Corps
  • Division
  • Brigade (infantry, cavalry or tank, but not artillery)

Units could be direct members of any level of formation. Above Brigade level this was in groups known as Divisional Troops, Corps Troops, Army Troops, or GHQ Troops (these groups were integral to the formation and didn't change identity so might not be worth representing as objects in their own right).

Unit Hierarchy

  • Infantry Battalion; Cavalry Regiment; Field Artillery Brigade
  • Infantry Company; Cavalry Squadron; Field Artillery Battery
  • Infantry Platoon; Cavalry Troop; Field Artillery Section

Garrison Artillery and Horse Artillery were often in independent batteries directly attached to a formation with no artillery brigade above them.

A Royal Engineers Company was a similar size to an Infantry Company but for many types of engineers was the largest unit, attached directly to a formation.

Cavalry or Yeomanry Squadrons could be attached directly to an infantry division, separately from their parent regiments.


Regulars and Territorials

Every unit of the British Army could be classed as one of:

  • Regular Army:
    • Pre-war
    • Kitchener's New Armies
  • Territorial Force (including Yeomanry)
  • Special Reserve

These classifications apply at unit level and don't follow the admin hierarchy: most infantry regiments contained battalions of all types.

Except for Special Reserve, they can also apply to formations at Brigade and Division level, but are usually meaningless at higher levels.


Examples

Infantry Battalion

Administrative hierarchy:

  • Arm: Infantry
  • Record Office: Lichfield
  • Regiment/Corps: Lincolnshire Regiment
  • Unit: 1/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
  • Unit: B Company
  • Unit: 5 Platoon

Same battalion's tactical hierarchy, 1 July 1916 (sources: gommecourt.co.uk; WO 95/2691):

  • Formation: General Headquarters, British Expeditionary Force (ie Western Front)
  • Formation: Third Army
  • Formation: VII Corps
  • Formation: 46th Division
  • Formation: 138th Infantry Brigade
  • Unit: 1/5th Battalion Lincolnshire Regiment
  • Unit: B Company
  • Unit: 5 Platoon

Regular Cavalry

Administrative hierarchy:

  • Arm: Cavalry
  • Record Office: Cavalry Canterbury
  • Regiment/Corps: Corps of Dragoons
  • Unit: 7th Dragoon Guards
  • Unit: B Squadron

Same regiment's tactical hierarchy, 14 July 1916 (source: David Kenyon's PhD thesis, pp. 50-56):

  • Formation: General Headquarters, British Expeditionary Force (ie Western Front)
  • Formation: Fourth Army
  • Formation: XIII Corps
  • Formation: 2nd Indian Cavalry Division
  • Formation: Secunderabad Cavalry Brigade
  • Unit: 7th Dragoon Guards
  • Unit: B Squadron

The cavalry divisions on the Western Front were sometimes part of a tactical formation called Cavalry Corps, which should not be confused with the administrative corps of Dragoons, Hussars and Lancers.