The _administration_ of the L. of C. is vested in an Officer styled the _Inspector-General of Communications_, who has command over all the Administrative Services on the L. of C., controls their working, and regulates the traffic on the L. of C. He has a Staff, to which are attached the Heads of the Administrative Services, or their representatives. The L. of C. consists essentially of one or more _Advanced Bases_ close in rear of the Army, a _Railhead_ (beyond which railway service is not organized), various intermediate _Sections_, or _Posts_, as required, and, most important of all, the _Base_, at the end farthest from the front, and nearest home. The sections may be conterminous with the sections of defence. For each of these portions of the L. of C. there is an Administrative Commandant in charge of its interior economy, and responsible for forwarding the traffic on the L. of C. through his section. Each of the Administrative Services will now be discussed in detail; those which are in part with the Fighting Troops at the front being described in this chapter, those which are entirely on the L. of C. in the next. 1. SERVICE OF INTER-COMMUNICATION It is only in the armies of England and the United States that a complete system of inter-communication between all parts of the Army has been organized. Such a system has not been fully developed in foreign armies, but its necessity is more than ever pressing, owing to the wide dispersion of forces in war, and the need for rapid transmission of _Information_ as to the enemy’s movements from the Front to Head-Quarters, and of _Orders_ from the several Head-Quarters to the Troops. The means of communication in war are: _Electric_: _i.e._ Telegraph, telephone, wireless. _Visual_: _i.e._ Flag, lamp, or heliograph. _Manual_: _i.e._ Orderlies (mounted, bicycle, or foot); a system of relay posts served by despatch riders; motor cars or motor cycles. _Balloons, aeroplanes, and kites_. Balloons were first used by the French at the Battle of Fleurus in 1794, and are being experimented on by many nations at present. There will be six balloons, of which three can be worked at one time, with the British Army of six Divisions, and probably two balloons to each German Army Corps. The whole system of inter-communication in the British Expeditionary Force is under the _Director of Army Signals_, who is at General Head-Quarters, in close connection with the General Staff. Communication Units are provided for General Head-Quarters and Divisions, and also on the L. of C., as follows: Cavalry Division: 1 Wireless Telegraph Company. Infantry Division: 1 Telegraph Company. General Head-Quarters: 2 Cable Telegraph Companies; 2 Air-line Companies; 3 Balloon Companies. Lines of Communication: 2 Telegraph Companies. The following are the details of the communication provided by these units, and of their composition: WIRELESS TELEGRAPH COMPANY