Britain's reserve system retained experience as well as potential manpower. Effective officers, NCOs, and other soldiers could return when new units needed leaders who had already seen a battlefield. New junior officers still entered the force, but the intention was to surround them with experienced personnel. A novice lieutenant needed to listen to capable corporals rather than assume rank alone supplied practical knowledge. John Bull recommends accounts by less senior officers to understand those relationships, preferably written before later public disputes reshaped memories of command.
Notable Point · 1:32:55-1:35:39
Reserves supplied experience for a rapidly expanding army
Keeping experienced soldiers in the reserve helped fill command roles when Britain's small regular army expanded.