Water supply / War Office.

Date:
1922
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Water supply / War Office. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    21/502 (page 13)
    that a period of position warfare ensues, followed by a deliberate attack and successful advance. It is necessary, however, to read each chapter in conjunction with the remainder, since so many varieties of conditions may occur, each merging into the other. 2. Special technical staff. 1. The provision of water for the enormous concentrations of troops and horses occurring In modern warfare will usually demand a special engineer organization. The details of and methods to be adopted by this organization must be settled according to the hydrological conditions of the country encountered. The engineer organization formed for this purpose must be solely concerned with water supply work. It will carry out all work required in the development of supplies, and be responsible for the purity of the water up to the time it reaches the consumer; it will control all methods of distribution that may be adopted, such as transport by motor lorry, &e. Water supply practice in the field 1s governed to such a great extent by natural hydrological conditions, that it is only by a specialized applica- tion of personnel and material that really efficient results can be obtained. The development of a working system requires the establishment of a standard practice, and this can best be secured by unified control of specialized personnel definitely allotted for water supply work. 2. While this principle is extremely important, it must be remembered that it is impossible to maintain and employ in peace-time a special water supply organization. When it is apparent that important water supply operations are likely to be required for a campaign, the requisite organi- zation must be worked out. This must be done on broad and far-seeing lines ; an adequate and competent executive staff must be appointed, and efficient personnel and materiel provided. Although in small campaigns the amount of water supply work required may not initially appear to justify the development of a special water supply organization, the situation must be carefully watched so that operations may not be hindered by lack of it at some later date. Under some conditicns, indeed, it may be neces- sary to devote almost the whole of the available engineers to water supply work, when the units concerned are virtually converted into water supply units. 3. The organization of the office of an Engineer-in-chief with a force in the field provides for a chief water engineer’s branch to deal with the general technical control of all water supply work, both for the field army and on the L. of C.; and attached to the staff of the C.H. of each army, and L. of C., and of ‘the O.E. of each corps there will be a water engineer specially qualified to assist the C.E. in the design and supervision of water engineering work. These officers will assist the C.R.Es. of divisions and districts with their technical advice, and, where circumstances require it, a field engineer may be posted to the staff of the C.R.E. specially to deal with water engineering work. All work in connection with water supply will be under the technical control of the K.-in-C., C.Es., and C.R.Hs., in the same way as other engineering work.