The Admiralty Staff organization necessarily differed somewhat from that at the War Office, because during the war the Admiralty in a sense combined, so far as Naval operations were concerned, the functions both of the War Office and of General Headquarters in France. This was due primarily to the fact that intelligence was necessarily centred at the Admiralty, and, secondly, because the Admiralty acted in a sense as Commander-in-Chief of all the forces working in the vicinity of the British Isles. It was not possible for the Commander-in-Chief of the Grand Fleet to assume this function, since he could not be provided with the necessary knowledge without great delay being caused, and, further, when he was at sea the other commands would be without a head. The Admiralty therefore necessarily assumed the duty, whilst supplying each command with all the information required for operations. The general lines of the Staff organizations at the War Office and at General Headquarters in France are here given for the sake of comparison with the Naval Staff organization.
1.—The British War Office.
The approximate organization is shown as concisely as possible in the following diagram:
CHIEF OF IMPERIAL GENERAL STAFF
Director of Staff Duties.
Staff duties Organization and training.
War Organization of forces.
General questions of training.
Signals and communications.
Director of Military Operations.
Operations on all fronts.
Director of Military Intelligence.
Intelligence.
Espionage.
The Press.
The other important departments of the War Office on the administration side are those of the Adjutant-General and the Quartermaster-General, the former dealing with all questions relating to the personnel of the Army under the various headings of organization, mobilization, pay and discipline, and the latter with all questions of supply and transport.
A Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff was attached to the Chief of the Imperial General Staff. His main duty was to act as a liaison between the General Staff and the administrative departments of the War Office.
The whole organization of the British War Office is, of course, under the direction and control of the Secretary of State for War.
2.—The Staff Organization at General Headquarters in France.
FIELD MARSHAL
COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF.
Chief of the General Staff
G.S. (a) (Operations) Plans and Execution Intelligence.
G.S. (b) (Staff Duties) War Organizations and
Establishments Liason between G.S. (a) and
Administrative Services.
Adjutant General (Personnel, Discipline, etc.)
Quartermaster General (Transport and Supply, etc.)
ATTACHED TO GENERAL HEADQUARTERS.
(BUT NOT STAFF OFFICERS.)
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Artillery Adviser Engineer-in-Chief. Inspector of
(Advises Chief of Advises as in case of Training.
General Stall on Artillery.
Artillery matters
and operations).
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Advises Administrative
Departments as
necessary.
N.B.—The Inspector of Training works in consultation with the Chief of the General Staff.