Board of War (Themiclesia)

The Board of War (臺中錄室, de-trjung-rjuk-stjit) was a Themiclesian an advisory organization similar to a military staff introduced by the Lord of Rjai-lang in 1837 as War Secretary. It is the predecessor of the Consolidated Staff that came into existence in 1922 as a result of the Army Acts. It was never formally abolished but has fallen into disuse since that time.

Membership

The Board of War consists of a number of civilian and military officers accredited by the War Secretary to discuss military affairs. Since many civilian officials were involved, it is not a modern military staff in sensu stricto. At the point of its establishment, many high-ranking civil servants were familiar with military thought through the Army Academy founded in 1813, and they were expected to act as officers when the militias were mustered. Professional military officers in the modern sense existed in the navy and certain army units but were not the norm across the nation. After successive Liberal reforms, most military officers were no longer expecting civilian careers after service by the end of the 19th century.

According to the constitutive rescripts, the ex-officio civil members of the Board were:

• Master of the Horse
• Marshal of Passes
• Marshals of Royal Guards (5)
• Gallery Marshal
• Capital Marshal
• Prefectural Marshals (around 21)

The non-civil members of the Board were:

• Leaders of statutory units, regardless of size
• Any officer at the 1,000-bushel rank or above, with responsibility over militias or standing units

Additionally, the War Secretary could appoint anyone he deemed able to give valuable information to the Board, though in practice this was limited to officers. Since membership on the Board was for life, not every member will be active; there are cases of board members only appearing once or twice for meetings over their entire tenures. This is also true for military officers who later take up civilian careers, which may prevent their regular appearance in the Board.

Organization

The Board of War was only loosely-organized by statute and evolved into a self-regulating and standing body after the 1870s. Legally, every member was a peer in their capacity as board member; in practice, informal hierarchies arose with respect to the reputation, record, and connections of each member. The Board supplanted the documentarian tradition of Themiclesian administration and was assessed a considerable innovation for its time. Previously, most military decisions were made with thorough reference to literature—the government was unlikely to create new policies at a high level if precedent existed.

The War Secretary fixed opening and prorogation dates for sessions of the Board, whose frequency depended on the preference of the War Secretary and simultaneous defensive needs. By custom, the Board always sat between the seventh and eighth months of the administrative year to discuss the military funding, since the budget was presented to Parliament on the fifteenth day of the eighth month, by convention. During the Battle of Liang, the Board was in session and not prorogued until 1868, almost a full year since it was convoked. At the Board's opening, the War Secretary issues edicts (in the Emperor's name) to its members, presenting a list of topics he wishes to be advised upon; however, the Board could also discuss others topics, after the mandatory ones were complete. It had several committees, likely inspired by Casaterran military staffs, for budget, purchasing, technology, transport, and diplomacy, with others appointed ad hoc. The Board did not always come to a conclusion and could present primary and countervailing opinions.

Since the early Board was in session for only a few weeks a year, most members currently in office found no trouble to attend; however, sessions became more frequent under reformist War Secretaries, leaving officers little time to tend to affairs in their own units. This was problematic for the South Army, whose base of operations is five days by coach away from Kien-k'ang, where the Board sat; in response, petty officers were appointed to take charge in the meantime. The problem was severer for the small ethnic units in the Themiclesian East, many of whom could not function without their commanders; however, if they failed to attend, budgets often fell short of requested figures. The common solution was to appoint deputies, but in some units the deputies stayed behind, while in others they attended the Board. Most units appointed reputable and eloquent officers to present their views, and success in the Board, in return, boosted the their careers.

In the 1860s and 70s, the Board met from three to four months a year. The Lord of Sng'rja, as Prime Minister, altered the rules of the Board so that new questions could be put to it while in session. The staff at the Ministry of War, responsible for the co-ordination of the forces, lost a considerable degree of power once the Board began to interfere with current problems and routine work. Some historians read this as a battle between the documentarian tradition, which emphasized decision-making by a distant, neutral third-party, and the deliberative tradition, which reposed faith in discussions by involved, experienced parties. Authorities also note this should not be read as a distinction between operation and administration, as the War Secretary usually did not define the jurisdiction of either.

In 1910, the sessional aspect of the Board was abolished. The members of the standing committees were ordered to sit permanently, though their salaries were still paid out from their home units. Some authors name this reformed body the Military Senate, though the actual name of the body has not changed. While some 430 military offices and units nominally reported to the War Secretary, custom dictated that reports and requests should be forwarded to the Board of War as well.

Deprecation

On Jan. 1, 1923, most non-civil Board members were seconded away to form the Consolidated Staff for the Consolidated Army, envisioned by the Liberals to become the sole army of the nation. However, while the Consolidated Army grew to become the primary army of the nation, the militias and territorial units were retained apart from it. In consequence of conscription in 1936, it was debated if conscripts should join professional soldiers in the Consolidated Army or form another force; if the latter occurred, the Board was likely to be revived.

Premises

A reading room used as a committee room 1850 – 1889

A corridor in the peristyle that housed the Board, built around 1870

The Board of War originally sat wherever the War Secretary instructed, as accommodations were provided at public expense. No later than 1850, its sessions were moved into the Army Academy's campus, using its rooms and halls as meeting grounds. The Academy permitted this especially, since the officers were almost all alumni and could live at their old communities. However, towards the end of the century when meetings became longer and more frequent, it acquired its own accommodations just off the Academy's limits, while meetings still occurred on campus.

Civilian-military relationships

Since Themiclesia's military leadership comprised of both professional and civilians officers, there was no civilian-military dichotomy in the modern sense. Some forces may share a closer view with civilian leadership at times than other forces.  Nevertheless, the institutionalization of the Board has come at the expense of the power of junior ministers in the Ministry of War. This did not become a major problem during Liberal governments, since reformist ministers intended to groom a stable military leadership, while Conservatives disliked such an idea. Nevertheless, no open conflict occurred since the Board's opinions were consultative and not binding on the War Secretary...

See also

• Themiclesia