Second report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the effect of the present system of knapsacks and accoutrements on the health of the infantry soldier.

  • Great Britain. Committee appointed to inquire into the effect of the present system of knapsacks and accoutrements on the health of the infantry soldier.
Date:
1867
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Second report of the Committee appointed to enquire into the effect of the present system of knapsacks and accoutrements on the health of the infantry soldier. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Second Report of the Committee appointed to Inquire into the Effect of the present System of Accoutrements and Knapsacks on the Health of the Infantry Soldier. Sib, To the Right Honourable the Secretary of State for War. In our first report on the effect produced on the health of the infantry soldier by the present system of carrying the ammunition and kit we showed that serious injury to health and considerable inconvenience and discomfort are produced by the present regulation system. We advised that a change should be made, and that experiments should be instituted to determine the best arrangement. After examining the plans in use in the armies of Europe and America, and a great number of others proposed by different inventors, we selected four systems for trial, viz.,— 1. A plan devised by Colonel Sir T. Troubridge, Bart. 2. A plan devised by Lieut.-Colonel Carter. 3. The Prussian regulation system. 4. A modification of the Prussian system arranged by ourselves. We have already reported to you that on trial in London by the Grenadier Guards, at Aldershot, and at Colchester, defects were found in all these plans, and the reports of the trials already furnished, and which are given in the appendix, will prove that some other arrangement had to be sought. As soon as we learnt that these four systems were unlikely to meet with approval, we recommenced the consideration of the question. In the meantime events had occurred which had an important bearing on our conclusions. In the first place the Bohemian and Italian campaigns of 1866 had again shown how necessary it is not to overload the infantry soldier. Even the Prussian knapsack, the best in Europe, did not answer the expectations conceived of it. We need not discuss a matter notorious to all the world, but may state without fear of dispute that the conditions of modern war demand that the marching powers and endurance of the soldier must not be lessened by unnecessary weight or by a defective mode of carryin Cceteris paribus the army that is least weighted and that can move with the greatest rapidity must have the advantage. In the second place the introduction of the breech-loading system, and the rapidity of fire that can be thereby obtained, has rendered it most desirable to supply to each man a larger quantity of ammunition. But ammunition is very heavy, and thus the two requirements of lessening weight and increasing supply of ammunition are in direct opposition. Under these circumstances it has been supposed by some that the difficulty might be solved by doing away with the soldier’s kit in time of war; that is to say, either by leaving him entirely without a kit while on active service or by carrying it for him. We are not able to agree with either of these suggestions. To leave the soldier without some articles of his kit on active service would not only deprive him of comfort, but would be injurious to his health; while the attempt to carry his war kit for him would be simply impracticable nine times out of ten. We need not point out the difficulty which an army under any circumstances in war time must experience in providing transport for its indispensable stores and its daily supplies of food, forage, ammunition, &c. It might, therefore, often be impossible to find conveyance for the field kits which would have to keep up with the troops. Suppose, however, that carts for carrying them could be provided and attached to regiments, it is obvious that in the countless uncertainties and difficulties of active war these carts might not always be able to keep up. It is needless to enumerate the various contingencies that might occur to leave the troops^ without their kits at the moment when they might most need them. In short, it seems to us beyond all question that a man should himself carry the few articles of kit he really wants in the field, and no more. Reference to first report. Trials made of certain knapsacks. Reconsidera¬ tion of the question. Ideas sug¬ gested by the German War. Breech-load¬ ing system, and the quantity of ammunition required to he carried. Public opinion re¬ specting soldiers’ equipment. Opinion of the Com¬ mittee. The question of carrying the field kits on carts. 17585. A