Colonel of a Regiment.—A general officer placed at the head of a regiment as reward of long and meritorious services. An honorary distinction merely. The Prince of Wales is Colonel of the 10th Hussars.
Column.—Formation of troops several ranks in depth and of any length of front, disposed so as to move in regular succession. Sometimes the name column is given to a body of troops which is in effect a small army.
Combatant.—As distinct from noncombatant officers such as chaplains and surgeons.
Commandant.—The chief of the Boer commando.
Commandeer.—To call out on service.
Commander.—Naval officer ranking next below a captain. He receives the title of captain socially, and ranks with a colonel in the army.
Commander-in-Chief.—Highest Staff appointment in the army. He acts in conjunction with the Secretary of War. There is a local Commander-in-Chief over the Indian forces, and also over those in Ireland. All these officers in their different posts supervise the training, discipline, and appointments, &c., of the army.
Commando.—An irregular regiment of mounted Boers.
Commissariat.—An organisation responsible for collecting food, forage, and necessaries for troops in cantonments or in the field. The duties, divided into (1) transport, (2) supply, are carried out by the Army Service Corps. The difficulties of securing and carrying food in an enemy’s country are very great. Owing to this difficulty the First Crusade never got beyond Hungary. In the Ashantee War the Fantees were so afraid of the Ashantees that they refused to carry the food or baggage of the army, and the duty devolved on the West India Regiments.
Commission.—Warrant signed by the sovereign authorising the officer to exercise command in the army. The purchase of commissions was abolished in 1871. They are now given to candidates after passing the prescribed examination before the Civil Service examiners, when they are sent to Sandhurst or Woolwich Academies for further instruction, chiefly of military nature. Quantities of “irregulars” and volunteers have now been given commissions as reward for practical service in the field.