The Conception and Implementation of Field Service Regulations in the British Army, 1900–1915

In 1914, the British Army was organized and trained in compliance with Field Service Regulations (FSR). Douglas Haig stated that “a steady adherence” to their “principles,” had enabled success on the Western Front. Despite its impact on the British Army from 1902, however, FSR has been widely disregarded or misrepresented, partly due to a misconceived belief that Haig embodied these principles. Haig played no part in establishing FSR and did not, from 1909, reform his command and tactical principles in line with it. If Haig had adhered to the principles he extolled in 1918, the British Army of 1916 would have been in better shape.