Organization: How Armies are Formed for War

by Hubert Foster

Organization of the Division

One of the most important improvements in the British organization is that a Division is formed of three Infantry Brigades, instead of the two nearly universal in foreign armies. This change has often been recommended by foreign military experts, notably by von der Golz in his “Nation in Arms.” It is economical in Divisional Staff, and increases the importance and efficiency of the Divisional Command. It provides 12 Battalions for a Division, as in Germany, but without the insertion of an extra link—the Regiment—in the chain of Command. The almost universal organization of Infantry in foreign armies in Army Corps of 2 Divisions, Divisions of 2 Brigades, and Brigades of 2 Regiments, must be considered, for reasons already stated, a faulty one. The British Divisional organization, both in Infantry and Cavalry, is undoubtedly superior.