Picture No | 10582881 |
Date | 1918 |
Description | The Army Takes Over A Chateau - And The Staff Moves In! |
Details |
The Army Takes Over A Chateau - And The Staff Moves In!~~~~A picture that plays to popularly accepted stereotypes shows hundreds of soldiers, busy preparing a French chateau as an HQ, only for a solitary, albeit substantial, general(and his dog) to move in. The term 'chateau generalship' has sprung out of the lexicon of world War I, suggesting that those in command were out of touch with what was happening on the front line, often several miles away. In truth, brigades and divisions needed headquarters; big houses, and often chateaux, were a practical choice. Some regimental soldiers had an aversion to staff officers, nicknamed 'Red Tabs' or 'Brass Hats'. One officer in the Royal Irish Rifles remarked that the red tabs on staff uniforms were 'the insignia of hopeless inefficiency.'
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Source | R. O. E. Prancer, The Bystander, 8th May 1918. |
Credit | (c) Illustrated London News/Mary Evans |
Restrictions |
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