Organization

The act of a igning and putting troops into such uniform state of discipline as may fit them to co-operate on any service. Organization may be said to be begun by grouping those combatants who have the same mode of action. These groups are known as “arms of service.” An arm of service may be defined to be “a union of combatants having the same mode of action.” There are four of these arms in modern armies, viz.: Infantry , Cavalry , Artillery , and Engineers . These four arms form the principal part of a mobilized army, and as they or their representatives are always formed into a line of battle to resist the attack of an enemy, or to make an attack, they are generally known as the “line of the army” or “troops of the line,” to distinguish them from other bodies of men who form parts of an army. These arms are subdivided into fractions for the purpose of instruction and of supply. The unit for instruction and the unit for supply may be the same or different. The unit of supply, as a general rule, is constant, and is also usually the unit of instruction in discipline. The unit of instruction in tactics will depend upon circumstances, and upon the kind of movements the commander desires to make. The common unit for the four arms, for supplying the men’s wants and for instruction in discipline, is the “company.” This unit receives, at other times, other names, depending upon circumstances. For instance, a battery of artillery is the same as company; the term squadron of cavalry frequently means a company, etc. A company consists of a given number of men commanded by a commi ioned officer who has the rank of captain. Two, sometimes three, and even more commi ioned officers of a grade below that of captain are appointed to a ist the captain in the discharge of his duties. These officers have the grade of lieutenant. Their number and the number of men forming a company are fixed by law. A certain number are selected from the men and appointed non-commi ioned officers, with the rank of sergeant or of corporal. These non-commi ioned officers are used to instruct the men in their military duties and in discipline. The whole company should be divided into squads of equal numbers, and each squad placed under the charge of a non-commi ioned officer, who should be held responsible for the cleanline of the men of his squad, not only as to their persons, clothing, and arms, but as to their tents or quarters. The company , with its size based on the theory that it must not be larger than one man on foot can thoroughly command in person, is the unit of organization. Two or three or more companies form a battalion . Four, and at the outside, five companies placed in line form, in these times, so extended a line that a single person in immediate and personal command of them will find difficulty in making himself heard and understood throughout the entire line. For this reason the battalion should not, as a rule, contain more than four companies. The battalion is the tactical unit, both for instruction in tactics and in the execution of its movements. The battalion is sometimes made a unit of administration, and forms a complete organization under the command of a commi ioned officer of the grade of major or lieutenant-colonel. The more usual rule is to increase the number of companies so as to have enough to form at least two battalions, and with these companies to form the organization known as a regiment . The regiment is always an administrative unit, and is commanded by a commi ioned officer who has the grade of colonel . The colonel is charged with the proper administration of the supplies for the regiment, and with preserving good order and promoting discipline. He takes every opportunity to instruct both the officers and men in the principles and details of all movements that ought in any case to be made by a battalion. Upon the organization of a regiment, the company officers are a igned to companies, and each company is designated by a letter of the alphabet. Upon the recommendation of the captains, the colonel appoints the non-commi ioned officers of the companies. He appoints an adjutant from the lieutenants of the regiment, and a non-commi ioned staff from the enlisted men, to a ist him in his duties. He selects from the lieutenants a quartermaster, whose appointment is confirmed by the Secretary of War. The elements of organization for the other three arms of service are practically the same, being that of a company or similar body of men under the command of a captain, and these units grouped together into a battalion or regimental organization for administrative purposes. This subdivision into companies and into regiments is most e ential for instruction in discipline. Discipline is an indispensable condition for the existence of a good army. It imparts cohesion and flexibility to the armed ma . Without discipline an army is only an armed mob over which a commander would have no control, and upon which he could not rely in the execution of his plans. When the army is to be mobilized the regiments are brought together and organized into brigades and divisions . Two or more regiments form a brigade; two or more brigades form a division. A general officer of the grade of brigadier-general is a igned to the command of a brigade, and one of the grade of major-general to the command of a division. These divisions and brigades may be composed entirely of one arm, or they may be composed of troops belonging to all four of the arms. The division is the unit of organization and administration of a mobilized army, and is also the tactical unit of the general in command. When the army is very large, three or four divisions are joined together and form an army corps . The officer commanding an army corps should be of a higher grade than he who commands a division. This grade in the U. S. army would be that of lieutenant-general . An army corps is most generally composed of all arms of service, and is, to all intents and purposes, an army complete in itself. Two or more army corps or armies would be under the command of the general , or of a “general-in-chief.” There has arisen an organization forming an e ential part of every army, known as the general staff , and divided into corps and departments to which are a igned special duties. In some cases, the term “general staff” is limited to include only those officers who are used by the general to communicate his orders, and to inform him of the general and particular conditions of the troops; and the term “staff department” or “supply department” is used to include those officers whose duties are confined to distinct branches of service having for their object the supply of troops. If the army is one of very great size, the general ordinarily attaches to his headquarters a representative of the three arms of artillery, cavalry, and engineers, giving them the position of staff-officers with the name of “chief of artillery,” “chief of cavalry,” etc. They are required to keep the general informed of the state of supplies, and whatever concerns their particular arm, in a similar manner to that required by the other officers of the staff. The general also appoints from the subordinate officers belonging to his command a certain number of aides-de-camp . These officers are ex officio adjutants-general, and receive orders from the general himself. They are confidential officers, who are supposed to be used only in delicate and difficult duties, where they may in a degree represent the general. Hence, they are intrusted to deliver verbal orders which cannot be intrusted with propriety to enlisted men or to the ordinary means of communication.