In 1889, Major General Bevan Edwards surveyed the military forces of the colonies and recommended that the colonies should combine their military forces and recommending the creation of a unified force of between 30,000 and 40,000 men, which would be organised into standard brigades consisting of foot and mounted infantry, engineers and artillery that could be rapidly mobilised through the establishment of defensive agreements between the colonies. For the most part up until that time colonial defensive strategy had revolved around the principle of static defence by infantry forces supported by coastal artillery, however, Edwards argued that through co-operative measures such as the standardisation of equipment and training, unification of command and improvements in railway and telegraph communications, "efficient defence" would be possible.