The Esher Report turns Boer War failure into Army reform

The Boer War exposed operational, logistical, and organizational failures in the Army and War Office. The Esher Report recommended an Army Council modeled on the Board of Admiralty, a General Staff, and a Chief of the General Staff to replace the commander-in-chief of the forces. A stronger War Office would provide more civilian administrative support. Samuel Pepys illustrates the Navy's much older tradition of senior civil servants supporting naval administration. These recommendations borrowed from the Admiralty and adapted its practices to the Army's needs. In this comparison, reform let the Army move ahead of the Navy in formal staff organization during the first decade of the twentieth century.