Pathological Responses to Accounting Controls: The British Commissariat in the Crimea 1854-1856

It has become widely recognised that the plight of the British Army in the Crimea (1854-6) was due primarily to unpreparedness. This had been induced by the pursuit of extreme economy In military spending by consecutive governments In the 'great peace' following the Napoleonic Wars. What has not been realised sufficiently, however, is that the consequences of this s trident economy were profoundly compounded by the system of military accounting and financial control administered by the Treasury. Thus, it was the inflexibility of the system of financial control which accentuated and which was directly responsible for the continued difficulties of the army in the Crimea.