[First World War Indian Army briefing.] Typescript of 'Lecture by Colonel Tyrrell, Southern Army. | "RAPID APPRECIATIONS"'. [With references to Douglas Haig, militarism, 'Universal Peace'

Duplicated typescript. 5pp., foolscap 8vo. On five leaves, pinned together. In good condition, on lightly aged and worn paper. Apparently typed up from shorthand notes of the lecture. A couple of manuscript notes were added before the item was duplicated (including the words 'Seize the object' on p.3). A reference to the response by 'Roland' to Frederick Scott Oliver's 'Ordeal of Battle' fixes the earliest date of publication at 1916. A surprising piece: combining an openness to new military ideas with an old-fashioned militarism. Tyrrell attempts to explain a meaning of the word 'Appreciation' accepted now, but novel at the time of writing. He begins the piece with 'one or two words which have no reference to my lecture. You hear a great deal now-a-days about the question of War - What is going to happen after the War? The great idea of universal peace and a certain amount of talk as to what is going to happen to the Army etc. I have noticed that it is talked about by certain officers and large party [sic] at home that this great idea is impossible and that we shall not require universal service, & if we have an army at all - we shall go back to the bad system we had before the War. The question of Universal Peace is as old as the Bible. With regard to Universal Peace and no War, there is the question as to whether it would be a good thing or not. But any rate there is a great difference of opinion as to whether it is a good thing that nations should have universal peace, that the youth of the nations should be trained to bear arms and know how to use them, or whether it is a bad thing and leads to what some call militarism.' He recommends 'two books, or rather one is a lecture and the other a book' which will 'combat the wrong ideas when they are preached [...] At present I know you have no time to read beyond the necessary reading for your course. However you may have a long journey to travel on your way back and you may have a certain amount of time to read them. One is called "Ordeal by Battle" by Oliver ? with a review written against it by a person who holds a different opinion. I do not remember his name. [i.e. 'Roland' (pseudonym), 'The future of Militarism: An Examination of F. Scott Oliver's "Ordeal by Battle"', 1916]. The other thing I should like you to read which goes rather interestingly into the question as to whether war is "an unnecessary evil" is "Lecture for War" in Ruskins' [sic] "Crown of Wild Olive"'. Tyrrell now turns to his subject, 'Rapid Appreciations in the Field', dividing his lecture into four parts: '(1). What is an Appreciation. | (2) Why is an appreciation necessary, & What is its value. | (3) When is an appreciation necessary. | (4) How to make an appreciation.' The first part reads as follows: '(1) WHAT IS AN APPRECIATION. Well it is explained to you in your Training & Manoeuvre Regulations, Sec 14. It sounds rather an alarming thing - appreciation of a situation. I was very much alarmed the first time I heard it. I did not quite know what it meant. It is quite possible to find brief and simple words to explain what it means. Appreciation of a situation is a method of arriving at a decision as to the best course to adopt in a certain given circumstance after a careful consideration of the known or surmisedd factors bearing on the situation. Well that is a fairly good explanation but you can put it in more briefly than that. Appreciation of a situation means deciding surmising factors bearing on the situation.' The second part contains an interesting reference, presenting Haig in an unusually positive light: 'When Sir Douglas Haig came out as Inspector General of Cavalry on his first tour as usual he had schemes drawn up for Senior Officers. When these were issued they were just looked at and put away in their pockets and they went away to play bridge, etc. Turning up in the morning, the first thing Sir Douglas asked for was an appreciation. Of course they did not have one, and in many cases they did not have an idea as to what he wanted. I point this out to you to show that there was an opinion that war was a matter of chance and something quite different to games or business as regards careful thought and consideration beforehand.' The second half of the document consists of 'a method of appreciating a situation & of marshalling your thoughts', under five headings: 'Your Orders', 'Enemy', 'Own Troops', 'Ground' and 'Decision as to what you are going to do'. A final 'EXAMPLE' reads, with 'Komdhna' added in manuscript before duplication: 'One squadron enemy cavalry reported to have camped at ALANDI (N.4) last night and it is believed that an attempt to destroy the FITZGERALD Bridge at YEROWDA (N.13) is intended AAA. Push on and protect the bridge AAA. Regtl Report Centre BHAMBURDA (K 14) AAA 1st Infantry Bde arrives POONA tonight AAA Report direct to 1st Inf. Bde after 6 p.m. at Report Centre ARSENAL (K. 15).' There are several candidates for authorship of the piece, but the most likely one features in the following report from The Times, 2 January 1906: 'Lieut-Gen. Francis Hardinge Tyrrell, who becomes the colonel of the 74th Punjabis, is a former Madras officer who served in Abyssinia in 1867-68, and is favourably known as a writer on Oriental subjects. The 74th Punjabis is the modern name of what used to be the old 14th Madras Infantry, [...]'. No reference to the present item has been discovered, and it is not present in the Imperial War Museum collection.