The Haldane Reforms were a series of far-ranging reforms of the British Army made from 1906 to 1912, and named after the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane. They were the first major reforms since the "Childers Reforms" of the early 1880s, and were made in the light of lessons newly learned in the Second Boer War.
The major element of the reforms was the creation of an expeditionary force, specifically prepared and trained for intervening in a major war. This had existed before, but it had not been well-prepared for overseas service; the newly organised force was to have a permanent peacetime organisation and a full complement of supporting troops. At the same time, the reserve forces were restructured and expanded so as to ensure that overseas forces could be expanded, supplied with new recruits and to provide for home defence. The Volunteer Force and the Yeomanry were reorganised into a new Territorial Force and the Militia was formed into the Special Reserve; these latter two reforms were grouped together in the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907. To encourage the development of military skills, an Officer Training Corps was established in public schools and universities. Taken together these measures were designed to bring the Army and wider public closer together, to deliver Haldane's vision of a 'nation in arms'.Campbell, p. 270 Military strategy was revitalised by a new Imperial General Staff, which would ensure a common doctrine and common strategic aims among the various military forces of the British Empire, including the Dominions as well as British India. Finally, the Regular Army itself would be reformed by the development of a new operational and training doctrine, laid down in Douglas Haig's new Field Service Pocket Book.
The outbreak of the First World War in August 1914 saw the bulk of the changes put to the test; the Expeditionary Force was quickly sent to the Continent, whilst the Territorial Force and Reserves were mobilised and several divisions deployed, as Haldane had envisaged, to provide a second line.
Background
In the middle of the 19th century, the British Army had seen two major operations in close succession – the Crimean War and the Indian Mutiny – and it had become apparent that the existing organisation of the forces was not sufficient for large-scale modern warfare.Sheppard, p. 215 The first wave of reforms was from 1858 to 1860. This period saw the creation of the Staff College, which helped to turn officers in the upper reaches of the Army into professional soldiers; the transformation of the old East India Company army into the Indian Army to better control the forces in India; and the creation of the Volunteer Force to help with home defence whilst the Regular Army was overseas.Sheppard, pp. 216–7
The second wave was from 1868 to 1872, comprising a collection of administrative changes popularly known as the "Cardwell Reforms" after the then Secretary of State for War, Edward Cardwell. The purchase of commissions by officers was abolished, and recruits were now taken on for a short enlistment in a specified regiment or corps rather than the (unpopular) system of twenty-one-year general service enlistments. These measures at a stroke increased the quality of the manpower of the Army, and provided for a trained and efficient reserve of veterans which could be recalled to the colours in an emergency. A further part of the reforms was the reorganisation of the regimental system, linking "territorial" (line) regiments in paired regimental depots with a territory-based recruiting area for simplified recruitment and training and bringing volunteer regiments into the regimental structure.Sheppard, pp. 217–8
The third set of reforms was the "Childers Reforms" (again named after the Secretary of State who carried them out) of the early 1880s, which carried through the Cardwell regimental reorganisations to their logical end by completing the amalgamation of linked regiments into single two-battalion regiments along with the local units of militia and volunteers.Sheppard, p. 218
The result of these reforms was to provide a sizeable, well-trained force in the British Isles, which could be sent overseas in time of crisis, with a system of reservists and home-service volunteers to support it. On the outbreak of the South African War in October 1899, Britain was able rapidly to assemble and effect the biggest deployment of British troops since the Crimea, eventually involving half a million soldiers, including volunteers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Nevertheless, the system immediately began to show some strain; by the end of the first year of fighting, the Regular Reserve and the Militia Reserve had been entirely exhausted.Dunlop, p. 79 (Regular reservists were members of the Regular Army who had retired from the active-duty portion of their service but remained available for callout. The Militia Reserve was a pool of individuals within the Militia, who accepted an overseas service liability, numbering over 31,000 on the eve of the South African War).Dunlop p51 Various novel measures, including the extensive use of auxiliary forces, were experimented with for the remainder of the war; the Militia provided garrison units to free up regulars,Dunlop, pp. 90–1 the Volunteers sent service companies to be attached to regular battalions,Dunlop, pp. 97–102 and the Imperial Yeomanry was created to supply much-needed mounted infantry.Dunlop, pp. 104–8 Substantial detachments, mainly auxiliary forces, were provided by the dominions, with soldiers from Canada, Australia and New Zealand as well as South Africa itself.Perry, pp. 126, 149, 175 and 187
A number of half-hearted attempts were made at reform during the war and in its immediate aftermath, but with little effect. Two important Royal Commissions were established in 1902 – the Esher Committee and the Norfolk Commissionnamed after the Duke of Norfolk – and reported in 1904. The Esher Report called for wide-ranging reforms in the administration of the Army and the War Office, whilst the Norfolk Commission, which had studied the auxiliary forces, declared them "unfit for service" and recommended various practical reforms alongside the much more sensational suggestion of universal military service.Sheppard, p. 292 Some of these reforms were instituted under the Conservative Secretary of State for War, Hugh Arnold-Forster, in 1904–5, but the broad thrust of his reform plans were strongly opposed.Dunlop, pp. 179–83, 193–4 Attempts to reorganise the home forces into six Army Corps had begun, but only one of these had actually been organised, and even that lacked many of its support units and staff.Dunlop, pp. 158–60
Haldane's reforms The Balfour government collapsed in December 1905, and Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman became Prime Minister, leading a minority Liberal government. Richard Haldane was appointed Secretary of State for War, an almost accidental selection – he himself had been aiming to be Lord Chancellor, whilst Campbell-Bannerman offered him the post of Attorney-General, then the Home Office, and had offered the War Office to two other men before Haldane offered to take it. Despite this inauspicious beginning, he would become, in the words of Douglas Haig, "the greatest Secretary of State for War England has ever had".Dunlop, pp. 231–2 Haldane took the post with well hidden preconceived ideas as to the role of the Army having realised that the reform-weary Generals in the War Office, after St John Brodrick, would not want another Secretary of State for War who was intent on changing things yet again. Haldane's success was that he got the Generals on side having gained their trust and respect, then expunged the War Office of those officers who did not support his reforms and with the support of Lord Esher, Maj.-Gen. Haig and Colonel Ellison, finally designed and implemented a set of reforms that would go some way to preparing the British Army for the opening salvos of the First World War.
Creation of an Expeditionary Force
After a brief hiatus during the 1906 general election, which the Liberals won by a landslide, obtaining a majority of 126 seats in the House of Commons, Haldane turned his attention to the Tangier Crisis, which had almost brought France and Germany to war in December. Sir Edward Grey, the Foreign Secretary, had privately agreed to commit the Army to the aid of France, if attacked, and Haldane began to consider how best to accomplish this.Dunlop, pp. 236–41 He quickly concluded that there was a need for a regular expeditionary force, specifically prepared and trained for use as a continental intervention force.Dunlop, p. 243 The question now became how to provide this force, and after a short period Haldane settled on a strength of six infantry divisions and their supporting units. They would need to be organised in peacetime and prepared to mobilise in the United Kingdom, as they would be committed into action as soon as they reached the Continent.Dunlop, p. 245
As the Army was now geared to a specific purpose, it could be reorganised to fit this role; any elements which did not fit could be discarded to help pay for the changes;Dunlop, p. 251 this was to include the disbandment of ten infantry battalions and a number of surplus artillery batteries, and the withdrawal of some overseas garrisons.Dunlop, pp. 255–257. The disbanded battalions would be the 3rd Battalions of the Coldstream Guards and 3rd Scots Guards, and the 3rd and 4th Battalions of the Northumberland Fusiliers, the Royal Warwickshire Regiment, the Lancashire Fusiliers, and the Manchester Regiment. These eight line battalions were all recent creations, and an average of 150 men under nominal strength. The Army at home was reorganised into six divisions by a Special Army Order dated 1 January 1907, with one "heavy" four-brigade Cavalry Division and two mounted brigades for reconnaissance, along with some Army troops.Dunlop, pp. 261–2. Two divisions were based at Aldershot, one in the Eastern Command, two in Ireland, and one in Southern Command. In February 1907, Haldane announced the coming year's spending estimates; despite the creation of the new force, the disbanded units and other minor efficiencies had managed to reduce overall spending by two to three million pounds.Dunlop, pp. 264–5. The actual figure was a year-on-year decrease of £2,036,000. Coupled with this, however, Haldane had organised matters so that all Army funding would now be paid for in that year's Estimates, rather than with money borrowed during the year, so the total spending reductions were perhaps a million more.
Creation of the Territorial Force