ABSTRACT
The role of contractors as suppliers of armies is not new. Contractors have played a part in war throughout the ages, supplying men and material so that armies, navies and, in recent times, air forces, can wage war. The English Ordnance Department for example, which was responsible for supplying the Army in the field, no doubt using contractors for this purpose, traces its history further back than the Army. It can thus be seen that the history of military logistics predates the history of most armies. Should we be surprised by this fact? After all, what army can fight without supplies?1 The point is, the contractors who used to supply the armies of Europe were different to the mercenaries who made up their ranks. As organisations, logistical contractors differ from mercenaries and PSCs. While the state has tried to marginalise mercenary activity since the end of the eighteenth century, contractors have continued to be an important part of the military system, responsible for supplying armies in the field. Today however, it is not so easy to separate the two organisations. This is more so now that contractors are using PSCs to protect their assets. During the seventeenth and eighteenth century, if a contractor’s convoy needed to be protected from the possibility of an enemy attack, the general for whom the contractor was working would despatch soldiers to protect him and his stores. Today, he is more likely to inform the contractor that he is responsible for his own protection; thus the increasing reliance by contractors on PSCs for security in places such as Iraq and Afghanistan. Some companies have even chosen to work in both areas, supplying equipment/manpower services and armed contractors to the military. Even so, it is important to understand that a distinction exists between these two groups. The following chapter discusses them separately in the context of a transformation in how militaries organise logistical support in war. Mercenaries, on the other hand, were used by every prince of Europe to wage war before the establishment of the nation state. Even after the creation of the levée en masse during the French Revolution and the rise of conscript armies, some states still sought to employ mercenary forces. In 1854, for example, the British government hired 16,500 German, Italian and Swiss mercenaries to fight
in the Crimean War, though they never actually saw any fighting since the war ended before they reached the theatre of battle.2 Nor was Britain alone in this. Germans were recruited for the War of Greek Independence in 1823 and in 1830, and several thousand mercenaries fought in the dynastic struggles in Portugal and Spain. Foreign mercenaries also operated outside Europe, fighting in Bolívar’s War of Independence and for Brazil in its war with Argentina. These are only a few examples of countries that were willing to employ mercenaries during this period.3
