Crimean War- The condition of the army, navy, and civil service

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What was the main system of officer promotion during the war?
Commissions purchases
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What percentage of Crimean officers purchased their commissions?
75%
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What were the main problems in command?
Officers old and inexperienced
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Where did some officers get experience before the war?
Colonial disputes against non-industrialised forces
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Who made up most of the officer class in the war?
Military families, the landed gentry, minor aristocracy
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Why were there no significant reforms in the army between 1815 and 1833?
Britain won the French wars, so the army was considered to be invincible
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Who contributed to the lack of reform before the Crimean War?
Wellington, who saw reform as just decreasing military spending
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Why was it hard to challenge Wellington's conservative military policy?
Government not involved in military matters, could lose job
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What was the role of the secretary of state for war?
Organise military policy
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What was the role of the secretary of state at war?
Organise legal and financial issues surrounding war
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What was the role of the commander-in-chief?
Organise discipline, promotion, and appointments
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What was the role of the adjutant-general?
Organise discipline, recruitment, pay, arms, and clothing`
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What was the role of the quartermaster-general?
Organise transport, barracks, and camps
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What was the role of the home secretary in war?
Organise the militia and yeomanry
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What was the role of the ordnance board? (2)
Supplies of weapons and ammo, train engineers and artillery units
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What did giving the same job to different people result in? (3)
Rivalry, conflicting orders, delay
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What was the problem of giving one person many roles?
Impossible to complete all roles effectively, so important matters were sidelined
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What was the problem with poor communication between government departments?
Conflicting or delayed orders
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What was the minimum service time for infantry at the start of the war?
21 years
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What was the minimum service time for cavalry at the start of the war?
24 years
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What did long service time in the army result in? (2)
Colonial elopement, and lack of volunteers
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What problems discouraged men from joining the army?
Long service times, overcrowded barracks, poor pay, flogging, disease, poor training
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What change was made to flogging between the French Wars and the Crimean War?
Reduced to 50 lashes
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How many deaths were there in the army from 1839-53?
Around 58,000
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What new weapon was used in the Crimean War?
The Minie rifle
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What was the advantage of the Minie rifle over the Brown Bess musket?
Shattered upon impact due to grooves, so caused more damage, greater range and accuracy due to rifling, 8x fire rate of Brown Bess
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What other gun was used in the Crimea which was similar to the Minie but with greater range and a faster fire rate?
The Enfield caplock
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What led to high casualties during the Crimean War?
Improved weapons, but outdated tactics
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What type of guns did the Russians have?
Smooth bore
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What features of the French Army made it more effective than the British Army?
Larger force, younger officers, increased reforms, more meritocratic, no purchase system, better supply system
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How were men promoted in the French army?
Merit, seniority, and favour
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What were the features of the Russian Army?
Huge army, conscript serfs, low morale, little training, poor treatment, better training in cavalry and artillery
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What were the features of the Ottoman Army?
Large army, poor training, poor equipment, conscription, smooth bore muskets
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What was the role of the navy in the Crimean War?
Supply, threatened St Petersberg, reduced Russian trade
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What was the condition of the Royal Navy in 1853?
Strongest in the world, more modernisation due to steam power
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How did steam power affect the navy between the French Wars and the Crimean War?
Paddle steamers developed, then screw propellors, hybrid ships could move faster
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What created demand for increased development of the navy from 1815-53?
Competition with the French
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Why were steam ships used rarely?
Huge coal consumption, lack of development meant they were unreliable, so admiralty didn't invest in them
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Who introduced naval reforms from 1830-34?
James Graham
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What were the impacts of the Graham Reforms?
Improved administration of the navy, reduced nepotism, bribery and corruption, improved living conditions on ships
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What percentage of Crimean officers purchased their commissions?

Back

75%

Card 3

Front

What were the main problems in command?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Where did some officers get experience before the war?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Who made up most of the officer class in the war?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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