THE GENERAL STAFF
The purpose of the Commander is to defeat his enemy, and in endeavouring to effect this object he has two main pre-occupations:
1. To watch the movements and forecast the plans of the enemy.
2. To make his own plans, and to decide on the movements and distribution of his forces required to carry them out.
In order that the Commander may devote his whole attention to these vital matters, he should be as far as possible relieved from details, and these fall within the province of his General Staff.
We thus see that the main duties of the General Staff should correspond to those laid down for the General, and may be summed up under the following heads:
1. Intelligence, to enable the Commander to watch the enemy’s movements, and make his plans.
2. Operations, by which his plans are carried out.
Each of these headings comprises an immense amount of detailed work, which cannot be here dwelt on further than to indicate its general scope.
1. Intelligence means collecting information about the enemy and the theatre of war, from every possible source, and arranging for its transmission to Head-Quarters, to be examined and collated, and then laid before the Commander. This subject also includes everything connected with maps and topographical information, as well as Press Censorship, and provision of interpreters and guides.
2. Operations include:
(a) Working out details of dispositions and movements of troops, as to their units and numbers, with especial attention to place and time, and attention to the security of the troops in movement and at rest.
(b) Embodying the Commander’s plans in clear and concise “Operation Orders.”
(c) Transmitting these Orders with certainty and despatch.
(d) Watching, and ensuring, their due execution.
The services of Inter-communication must be carried on under the control of the General Staff, so as to ensure the rapid transmission of Information to, and Orders from, Head-Quarters.