Conclusion

Abstract

This work concludes that the War Office had a consistent vision of what they wanted from the armies of the empire, a vision embodied in an imperial army project. The aim of the project was to create a system that would allow combinations of military forces from across the empire in time of war. It endured four-plus decades and two global wars because the conditions that compelled it endured. The population of Great Britain was always small relative to most other great powers and there were always more actual or potential military commitments than the British Army could meet. Neither the dominions nor India could be told what to do, but, because their armies were organized and equipped on British lines, they were useful and effective when their governments decided to join in imperial war efforts, as they did so massively during the two world wars.