Britain: An official handbook > 1956

DEFENCE
107
THE ARMY
The control of the Army is vested in the Army Council, of which the Secretary of
State for War is president. The other civilian members of the Council are the
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for War and Financial Secretary of the
War Office, who performs parliamentary duties, and the Permanent Under¬
secretary of State for War, a civil servant who acts as secretary to the Council. The
military members of the Army Council comprise the Chief of the Imperial General
Staff, who is also a member of the Chiefs of Staff Committee; the Vice-Chief of the
Imperial General Staff, who is responsible for strategic policy and plans, operations
and intelligence, and is also a member of the Vice-Chiefs of Staff Committee; the
Deputy Chief of the Imperial General Staff, responsible for war organization,
equipment, weapons and training; the A.djutant-General to the Forces, responsible
for manpower, personnel, discipline, medical services, welfare, education, and the
women’s services; and the Quartermaster-General to the Forces, responsible for
supplies, transport, and works services.
Disposition
In 1954 the heavy burden of the Army’s commitments all over the world was for
the first time for years slightly eased. The withdrawal of Allied troops from Trieste
and Austria, the reduction in the size of the British Commonwealth Division in
Korea and the redeployment of the British forces in the Middle East, following the
agreement with Egypt on withdrawal from the Canal Zone, released some troops
for use in building up a strategic reserve within the United Kingdom.
Nevertheless commitments remain heavy. As a contribution to the defence forces
of NATO and the Western European Union, the United Kingdom has undertaken,
subject to certain understandings, to maintain its forces on the mainland of Europe
at their existing strength. The British Army of the Rhine, which forms part of the
NATO Northern Army Group, consists of four divisions, three of them armoured.
In the Federation of Malaya, since 1948 United Kingdom forces have been heavily
engaged—together with Malayan, Gurkha and Colonial troops—in operations
against Communist terrorists. In 1955 arrangements were made for forces from
Australia and New Zealand to join the United Kingdom and other forces in opera¬
tion in Malaya. In Kenya, security forces have been making such steady progress
in overcoming the threat to order from Mau Mau terrorists that in the autumn of
1955 it became possible to reduce their strength from 11 to 8 battalions (3 United
Kingdom and 5 African). The Middle East Land Forces, which include one armoured
division, are now stationed mainly in Cyprus and Libya. In addition, there are
garrisons in Gibraltar, Malta, Akaba, Hong Kong and the West Indies.
Equipment
During the first years of the rearmament programme, attention was concentrated
on the production of tanks and other armoured vehicles, infantry weapons, and
engineers’ and signal equipment.
The Army is now fully equipped with a range of new wheeled-vehicles and with
the Centurion tank, which has also been supplied to allied countries. The heavy gun
tank, the Conqueror, is now undergoing Service trials. Complementary to the
Centurion, it is larger and more powerfully armed. Its suspension is of a new and
improved design.
Other weapons taking an important place in the current production programme
include the L.70 light anti-aircraft gun, the FN self-loading rifle on which large-
scale field trials are being carried out, and a new sub-machine gun. A comprehensive