The Army Manoeuvres of 1912 was the last military exercise of its kind conducted by the British Army before the outbreak of the First World War. (The Army Manoeuvres of 1913 were on a much smaller scale.) In the manoeuvres, Sir James Grierson decisively beat Douglas Haig, calling into question Haig's abilities as a field commander. J. E. B. Seely, the Secretary of State for War had invited General Foch, a Russian delegation under Grand Duke Nicholas, and the Ministers for Defence of Canada (Sam Hughes) and South Africa (Jan Smuts). King George V arranged to visit the battlefield. Scenario The forces of an imaginary country (Red) had crossed the frontier dividing Red from Britain (Blue) between Wells-next-the-Sea and Hunstanton. Red forces were pushing south as quickly as possible. Blue had ordered a general mobilisation and its prime goal was to stop Red forces entering London: Blue forces were based around Cambridge. Time was of the essence for both sides. The Chief Umpire was Sir John French, who was based in Cambridge. Forces The forces were nearly equal in size. Each consisted of a cavalry division, two infantry divisions, army troops, two aeroplane flights, and an airship. (The airships were Gamma and Delta.) Red Army Commander: Lieutenant-General Douglas Haig Cavalry: Major-General Edmund Allenby 1st Division: Major-General Samuel Lomax 2nd Division: Major-General Henry Lawson Blue Army Commander: Lieutenant-General James Grierson Cavalry: Colonel Charles Briggs 3rd Division: Major-General Henry Rawlinson 4th Division: Major-General Thomas D'Oyly Snow Organisational strength However, despite the near equality of the forces on paper, the odds were in Haig's favour, as his forces were cohesive, with superior organisation and training, whilst Grierson's were more of a scratch team. The Staff of the Red Army were the Aldershot command, who were accustomed to working together. In contrast, the Blue Staff were drawn from all commands except Aldershot. The Red cavalry was a division of regular cavalry, while the Blue cavalry was a disparate group of two brigades drawing on the Household Cavalry, Scots Greys, Yeomanry, and Cyclists. The Red infantry was the Aldershot divisions. The Blue infantry came from the Southern Command (3rd Division) and Eastern Command (4th Division and Territorials). Also as the 'invader' Haig had the initiative. Progress of the manoeuvres 16 September 1912 The Blue cavalry was pushed forward to the line Gog Magog—Rivey Hill. Grierson issued orders to his aircraft pilots to locate the enemy