Organization: How Armies are Formed for War - Hubert Foster

The Ordnance Services are controlled by the Director of Ordnance Stores and his Deputy, under the Inspector-General of Communications, each with two Ordnance Officers as assistants. The organization consists of Ordnance Depôt units—10 at the Base, 7 at Railhead, and 2 at each Advanced Base—which form Ordnance Depôts at those places. Each unit consists of 2 Officers and 69 clerks, storemen, and artificers, with as much civil labour as may be required.

ARRANGEMENTS FOR AMMUNITION SUPPLY

The main duty of the Ordnance Services is forwarding ammunition to the front, where it is taken over by the Fighting Units, at places called the Refilling Points, which are generally about a day’s march in rear of the fighting line. One Auxiliary Transport Company of 100 wagons is allotted per Division for carrying ammunition to these points. To ensure an adequate supply at the front demands careful organization and good administration of the Ordnance Services, as ammunition is expended at uncertain dates, and in amounts which cannot be forecast.

The amount provided for the Field Force is as follows:

GUN AMMUNITION

1,000 rounds per Field or Horse Artillery gun; 500 per Howitzer and Heavy gun. About half of this is carried by the Fighting Troops; the rest is in Ordnance charge on the L. of C.

SMALL-ARM AMMUNITION

For each Rifle:
Carried by the soldier:
Infantry	150	rounds.
Cavalry and Mounted Infantry	100	”
Artillery and Engineers	50	”
In Regimental Reserve	100	rounds.
In the Field Artillery Brigade Ammunition Column	100	”
In Divisional Ammunition Col.	100	”
Total, per rifle:
Infantry	450	”
Cavalry and Mounted Infantry	400	”
For Machine Guns:
With each gun	3,500	rounds.
In Regimental Reserve, per gun:
Cavalry and Mounted Infantry	16,000	”
Infantry	8,000	”
With the Brigade Ammunition Column, per gun	10,000	”
With Divisional Ammunition Column, per gun	10,000	”
For each Pistol:
On the man	12	rounds.
In Regimental Reserve	12	”
In Brigade Ammunition Column	12	”

With regard to the amount of ammunition required in the field, it should be noted that the quantity of Gun Ammunition that may be expended with quick-firing guns is very great. In Manchuria, both Russian and Japanese Batteries have been known to fire 500 rounds per gun in one day. The amount of Gun Ammunition carried in the French Army is 2,000 rounds per gun—i.e. 500 rounds with Batteries and Ammunition Columns, and 500 in the Army Ammunition Park, the Army Park, and in depôts on the L. of C., respectively.

As to Rifle Ammunition, the Japanese found that the 270 rounds carried by each man ran out, and they consider that each man should have 350 rounds available with his Regiment, and 150 more in Ammunition Columns. This makes a total of 500 with the Fighting Troops, which the British allowance of 450 nearly approximates.