 In early January, the reinforcements to be sent out included one service company of volunteers for each regular battalion, one complete volunteer battalion, and seven militia battalions.A large number of battalions of the Militia, which had volunteered for overseas service, were eventually sent out of the country during the war; sixty, with around 46,000 men, went to South Africa, whilst eight more served in colonial garrisons.They were employed mainly on lines of communication, and regarded as second-line troops of low quality; this was unsurprising, as they were strongly deficient in officers and heavily composed of men of 18 and 19, who would have been regarded as too young by the regular Army.