The United Kingdom

Officers were forced to purchase their rank in the British military. This led to highly skilled vets being forced to submit to a British lord who had far more cash and wasn't nearly as skilled the art of war.

Infantry

On the outbreak of the Crimean War the army was poorly equiped with most regiments using the minié rifled musket which was introduced in 1851 for all infantry regiments. It was soon superseded by the Enfield Rifle (although at the start of the war some units still had the old Brown Bess musket). Most infantry wore scarlet coatees, with greatcoats for cold weather. White cotton dress was used for summer wear in hot climates, particularly in India. The highland regiments wore elements of traditional Scottish highland dress, such as the kilt. The Rifle regiments (the King's Royal Rifle Corps and the Rifle Brigade) wore dark green (almost black) uniforms.

Cavalry

In the British Army, the distinction between light cavalry (Light Dragoons, Hussars and Lancers) for reconnaissance and heavy cavalry (Household Cavalry, Dragoon Guards and Dragoons) for shock effect on the battlefield was blurred, chiefly because both branches used the same type of mount, which was better suited for the charge than prolonged hard service.

The four regiments of Lancers had been introduced in the aftermath of the Napoleonic Wars, in emulation of the French and other continental armies. Three of them were converted from light dragoon regiments and one was raised to replace a disbanded Irish regiment of dragoons. They copied the Polish style of dress used by Uhlans. The lances were made of ash. Later, bamboo lances were used; these were apparently unique to the British and Indian armies.

Except for the Royal Horse Guards (the "Blues"), heavy cavalry wore red uniforms. The light cavalry had worn blue jackets or pelisses during the Napoleonic Wars. An attempt had been made in the 1820s to impose red uniforms on them, but (apart from the 16th Lancers, also known as the "Scarlet Lancers") they had reverted to blue dress.

Artillery

The artillery was still administered by the Board of Ordnance rather than the War Office. The Horse troops and Field batteries were equipped with 9-pounder and 12-pounder muzzle-loading smoothbore cannon respectively. The Field Artillery also possessed some heavy batteries of 18-pounder guns which had good range and accuracy for the period, but which were heavy and difficult to move, and also heavy siege mortars. Gunners wore blue uniforms. The Royal Horse Artillery uniforms had braid and trimmings similar to those of light cavalry uniforms.

Engineers

The other bodies of soldiers controlled by the Board of Ordnance were the Royal Engineers, which in 1837 was still a corps of specialist officers, and the Royal Sappers and Miners, composed of soldiers and non-commissioned officers who undertook siege work and other construction.

Commissariat

Supplies and transport were provided by the Commissariat, which was actually subordinate to the Treasury rather than the War Office. The Commissariat consisted mainly of officers and some non-commissioned officers, and generally hired transport and drivers locally. Supplies could also be obtained locally, but in theatres where these were short, they were purchased from contractors in Britain or the East India Company, and dispatched by ship to ports close to where required.

• In 1868, he abolished flogging and other harsh disciplinary measures in the Army during peace time. This action was opposed by nearly every senior officer, who used the opinions of the Duke of Wellington to validate their objections. Yet it was imperative to attract good quality recruits by ensuring the private soldier's life was better than a kind of penal servitude. Flogging was retained as a punishment on active service, on the pretext that extraordinary powers of punishment might be required in the field, until finally abolished in 1880.
  
  In 1869, troops were withdrawn from self-governing colonies, which were encouraged to raise their own local forces. This scattering of troops over far-flung colonies was likewise a Wellingtonian policy. Its initial motives had been to avoid the traditional British suspicion of a standing army (led by the Whigs). The policy was a failure on economic practicality, and also prevented training at any level above that of battalion. By 1871, 26,000 British troops had been withdrawn from overseas territories and returned to Great Britain.
  
  1870 saw the abolition of bounty money for recruits, and the setting out of guidelines for the swift discharge of known bad characters from both army and navy.
  
  The Army Enlistment Act of 1870 allowed a soldier to choose to spend time in the reserves rather than the regulars and be paid fourpence a day, in return for a short period of training each year and an obligation to serve when called up. Men now enlisted for a maximum term of twelve years, but usually for six. The minimum length of service varied, but on discharge a soldier would now remain with the reserves for the remainder of the twelve-year term.
  
  The Regulation of the Forces Act 1871 was passed as one of Cardwell's localisation scheme. The country was divided into 66 Brigade Districts (later renamed Regimental Districts), based on county boundaries and population density. All line infantry regiments would now consist of two battalions, sharing a depot and associated recruiting area. One battalion would serve overseas, while the other was stationed at home for training. The militia of that area then (usually) became the third battalion.

Other Reforms

Branding was banned from the military and the sales of commisions was banned. Soldiers now earned their ranks rather than buy them.