Cardwell Reforms facts for kids

Edward Cardwell, 1st Viscount Cardwell

The Cardwell Reforms were big changes made to the British Army. They happened between 1868 and 1874. Edward Cardwell, who was in charge of the War Department, led these changes. He had the support of the Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone wanted the army to be more efficient.

A major reason for these changes was the Franco-Prussian War. In 1870, the German Empire easily beat the French. This showed that the Prussian system, with its trained professional soldiers and modern weapons, was much better than Britain's old system.

The reforms weren't completely new ideas. Many had been discussed for years. Gladstone and Cardwell used this moment to make them happen. The main goals were to give the War Office more control. They also wanted to stop officers from having to buy their jobs. And they aimed to create a strong reserve army in Britain. This was done by having soldiers serve for shorter times. Ending the system of buying officer jobs was a big deal. Many officers' families had spent a lot of money on these positions. The government decided to pay back the officers for their lost money.

Why the Army Needed Changes
First Steps for Reform
New Rules for Joining the Army
Linking Regiments to Local Areas
Other Changes
Garnet Wolseley's Role
How the Reforms Were Seen
See also
- Further Reforms of the British Army

Why the Army Needed Changes

Before 1870, several groups looked into how to improve the army. One big issue was that officers had to buy their ranks. For example, a captain's job cost about £2,400. A promotion to Lieutenant Colonel could cost £7,000. This meant that only rich people could become officers. Other parts of the army, like the artillery, chose officers based on skill and education.

Britain learned hard lessons from wars like the Crimean War. Sending just 25,000 soldiers to Crimea almost used up all of Britain's trained troops. The Indian Mutiny also showed that Britain needed more soldiers ready to fight. Many senior officers, called "die-hards," didn't want any changes. The Commander-in-Chief of the Forces, Prince George, Duke of Cambridge, was one of them. He was Queen Victoria's cousin and liked the old ways.

In 1870, Parliament agreed to add 20,000 more men to the army. They also approved two million pounds for military spending. Around this time, a popular story called The Battle of Dorking came out. It suggested that Britain could be invaded by Germany. This made people worry and pushed for army changes.

Edward Cardwell wanted to make the British military stronger and better. It was a tough job. Even after the hard lessons of the Crimea, many important needs were still not met. People thought British officers were gentlemen and good at sports. But they often lacked military knowledge. The success of the Prussian army finally made Britain realize it needed to change.

First Steps for Reform

Cardwell started with three important changes:

In 1868, he stopped flogging (whipping) and other harsh punishments in the army during peacetime. Senior officers didn't like this. But Cardwell wanted to attract good recruits. He wanted a soldier's life to be better than being in prison. Flogging was still allowed during wartime until 1881.
In 1869, British troops were pulled out of self-governing colonies. These colonies were encouraged to create their own local armies. Before this, British troops were spread out all over the world. This made it hard to train them properly. By 1871, 26,000 British soldiers came back to Great Britain from overseas.
In 1870, Cardwell stopped giving bounty money to new recruits. He also set rules for quickly removing bad soldiers from the army and navy.

New Rules for Joining the Army

Cardwell's first big law for army reform was the Army Enlistment (Short Service) Act 1870. This law was discussed in the House of Commons in 1870.

Before this, men joined the army for 21 years, almost for life. This, along with flogging, made army life seem like a prison. In 1847, the time was shortened to 10 years, then 12. But this was still too long. After their service, soldiers could leave without a pension or sign up again. Many chose to re-enlist because they knew no other job.

The old system created an army of experienced soldiers. But it didn't create a group of reserves. These reserves could be called up in an emergency. The Franco-Prussian War showed how important it was to have a strong army reserve. These reserves needed to be well-trained and healthy. Many British soldiers served overseas, often in hot places like India. When they returned to Britain, they were often not in good health.

In 1867, a "First Class Army Reserve" was created. It was supposed to have 20,000 men. But by 1868, it only had 2,033. The "Second Class Army Reserve" was for retired soldiers. The First Class Reserve could serve overseas in war. The Second Class Reserve was for defending Britain at home.

Cardwell introduced the idea of "short service." The 1870 Act allowed soldiers to spend time in the reserves instead of always being active. They would get paid a small amount each day. In return, they would train a bit each year and agree to serve if called up. Men now joined for a maximum of 12 years. The time spent on active duty varied. For infantry, it was six years. After leaving active service, a soldier would stay in the reserves for the rest of his 12-year term.

Some people in Parliament and senior army officers didn't like short-term enlistment. Even the Queen was said to have signed the law "reluctantly." But the system worked well. It quickly made the army stronger. Most soldiers moved into the reserve after their first enlistment. By 1900, there were about 80,000 trained reservists. They were still young and ready to be called up quickly if needed.

Linking Regiments to Local Areas

Cardwell then passed the Regulation of the Forces Act 1871. Before this, soldiers joined for "General Service." This meant they could be sent to any regiment, anywhere. This made army life even harder. As early as 1829, Lord Palmerston had said that people preferred to join a certain regiment. They liked it if it was connected to their home county or friends.

Under Cardwell's plan, Britain was divided into 66 "Brigade Districts." These were based on county lines and how many people lived there. Each infantry regiment would now have two battalions. They would share a training base, called a depot, and a local area for finding new recruits. One battalion would serve overseas. The other would stay home for training. The local militia (a citizen army) usually became the third battalion.

The oldest 25 regiments already had two battalions. But most other regiments had only one. Many regiments were combined to create two-battalion regiments. This was a complex process. It involved many discussions about old traditions. These changes were fully completed later, during the Childers Reforms of 1881.

Other Changes

Besides his two main laws, Cardwell also made other changes. He used special orders called Orders in Council.

An order in 1871 stopped some old punishments, like branding soldiers.
The sale of commissions was completely stopped. Also, the lower officer ranks of cavalry Cornet and infantry Ensign were replaced with Second Lieutenant. (Some old traditions, like using "Cornet" for Second Lieutenants in certain cavalry units, still exist today.)
Units serving at home (including places like Gibraltar and Malta) and overseas now had the same number of authorized soldiers. Before, overseas units had more soldiers because of losses from disease. This meant home units were often short of men. With the same numbers, home units could now form a strong expeditionary force (a force sent to fight abroad).

Cardwell also improved how the War Office was run. He stopped different departments from arguing. He also combined the separate groups that managed the Reserves and Volunteers. He gave Canada, Australia, and New Zealand more control over their own defense. Small British army groups in these places were replaced by local forces.

Garnet Wolseley's Role

Colonel (later Field Marshal Lord) Garnet Wolseley was a key military advisor to Cardwell. He helped a lot with the army reforms. As he became more important, Wolseley kept pushing for the main idea of the reforms. This was to have a way to quickly make the army much bigger in wartime. This meant having regular reserves from short service. It also meant having a stronger militia that was part of the new local regiment system.

Wolseley was chosen to lead the Ashanti expedition in 1873. When he returned, he worked to build up strong volunteer reserve forces. He fought against senior military leaders who opposed him. Wolseley always supported the volunteer reserves. He said that all British Army reforms since 1860 started with the volunteers.

Later, in 1880, Wolseley still found that many people didn't like the short service system. He used his public fame to argue for it. He reminded people how the army almost disappeared during the Siege of Sevastopol because of the old long-service system. The large army needed for the start of the Second Boer War in 1899 was mainly put together using Cardwell's reserve system, which Wolseley had helped build. By using regular reservists and volunteer reserves, Britain could send its largest army ever abroad.

How the Reforms Were Seen

These reforms helped turn the British forces into a strong army for the British Empire. Cardwell left office in 1874 when the government changed. But his reforms stayed in place. The regular army tried to get rid of them, but they failed.

The Reserve Force Act of 1867 hadn't worked well. It didn't get enough reserves because the pay was too low. To fix this, their pay was doubled. This change, along with the new rules in the 1870 Army Enlistment Act, worked very well. It helped fill the reserve numbers.

Most historians say the Cardwell reforms were very important for making the British army modern. They point out that the Duke of Cambridge stopped many other changes. For example, he blocked the idea of a general staff system, which the successful Prussian army used.

However, some historians think the reforms didn't go far enough. They say no department was set up to plan the army's purpose and strategy. This was because politicians and soldiers didn't think Britain would ever fight a large European war again.