is conceivable that he became somewhat
prejudiced against this category of the land forces at the start on
finding that they were unable to perform the very duty for which they
were supposed to exist--that of home defence. Something may,
therefore, perhaps be said here on this point.

Mobilization means producing the force concerned, at its full war
establishment and composed of officers and men who at least have some
pretence to military training. It is, moreover, supposed to be
completed at very short notice. Owing to their being territorial and
to officers and other ranks living in their territorial districts, the
Territorial Forces ought to have been mobilized more rapidly by some
hours than the Expeditionary Force, and I believe that, in so far as
collecting what personnel there was available is concerned, the
Territorial Forces beat the Expeditionary Force. But the ranks of the
Territorials had never filled in pre-war days, and there were
practically no organized reserves. The war establishment was roughly
315,000 of all ranks; but at the beginning of August the strength was
only about 270,000, and this, be it remembered, included a proportion
of totally untrained individuals, as well as sick, absentees, and so
forth. To have mobilized these troops properly, the number of officers
and men on the books at the start and before the order came ought to
have amounted to at least 350,000.

The consequence of this shortage was that, at the very moment when the
Government and the country were on the first occasion for a century
confronted by a really grave and complex military situation, at the
very moment when there was a scare as to German projects of an
immediate invasion, that category of our land forces which was
especially earmarked for the defence of the British Isles was not in a
position to perform its functions. The Sixth Division, properly
forming part of the Expeditionary Force, had to be fetched over from
Ireland to East Anglia to bolster up the Territorials, and Sir J.
French was deprived of its use for six weeks at a very critical time.
The ranks of the Territorial Forces filled up very rapidly _after_
mobilization, but from the home defence point of view that was too
late. We required our home defence army to be ready at once, so that
the overseas army could be despatched complete to the Continent
without _arriere pensee_. Its failure at the critical moment may have
somewhat influenced Lord Kitchener in