ABSTRACT
In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870, General Paul Bronsart von Schellendorff, a senior Prussian staff officer, produced his highly influential work The Duties of the General Staff.1 This detailed the purpose and duties of the staff officer as a part of the command function. Von Schellendorff underlined the critical role of the general staff within the modern army organisation when he pointed out:
These ‘assistants’ were the officers of the general staff who not only converted the ideas of the General into orders but also acted as his ‘devoted and confidential counsellors’.3 In von Schellendorff’s opinion, the performance of the staff was keenly felt throughout a military formation. He observed: ‘Troops very soon find out, especially in war, whether the duties of the General Staff are in good hands.’4 Prussia led the way in developing a modern professional staff organisation. Sir Michael Howard described the creation of the Prussian general staff as ‘perhaps the great military innovation of the nineteenth century’.5 As warfare became more complex and armies grew in size, the value of an efficient, educated and professional staff became increasingly apparent. The role and impact of the staff was aptly described by the French General Buat:
This chapter traces the evolution of the staff function within the British army, the duties it entailed and how officers were trained for the role. To set staff duties in context, an overview has been provided of how the staff function developed from the early nineteenth century until the outbreak of the First World War. The development of the British staff is weighed against progress made by the French and German staffs during this period. Two documents are key to understanding the British staff system. The Field Service Regulations of 1909 (Part II) and the 1912 Staff Manual laid out how staff officers were expected to operate as part of the command function. They outline the duties of the staff and form an essential guide to the expectations that were placed upon them.
