The Army lost almost 1350 experienced officers in the last six months of 2007 in an exodus sparked by overstretch, underfunding and equipment shortages, The Herald can reveal.

Many of those who voted with their feet were key middle-ranking captains and majors, although the list also included the commanding officer of a parachute battalion which had just returned from six months of heavy fighting in Afghanistan.

The exit rate for those resigning their commissions was more than double that of the previous 12 months and is understood to be causing alarm among senior commanders.

Since the Iraq invasion in 2003, Defence Analytical Service Agency tables show 5790 officers have quit, while only 4500 have joined. Many of these are still in training.

Figures obtained by The Herald also show the Territorial Army, a vital source of manpower to plug gaps in the regular Army, has managed to recruit and retain only 677 of the 1290 junior officers it needs since 2003.

News of the haemorrhage of the field officers follows accusations by five distinguished former chiefs of the defence staff last month that Prime Minister Gordon Brown was treating the armed forces with contempt.

One in 10 of Britain's soldiers is in breach of "harmony guidelines" established by the Ministry of Defence to limit maximum time service personnel spend away from home and family.

Despite government denials the forces are operating beyond capacity to cope with simultaneous wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, almost 10,000 soldiers are currently exceeding service limits.

Guidelines say a soldier should do no more than 415 days away in any 30-month period. Latest MoD statistics state 10.3% of the Army is over that limit - amounting to 9935 troops from an overall force of fewer than 100,000.

An MoD statement said: "Retention initiatives are proving successful - more than 2000 soldiers have recently signed up to the Infantry Financial Retention Initiative to stay in the Army for an additional two years.

"The latest quarterly manning report showed there had been a 4.3% increase - 810 people - in the number of new recruits who have joined the forces in the 12 months to September 30, 2007."

The figures come a day after the Army was accused of subjecting potential recruits to a "misleading" picture of life in the forces by glamorising warfare. Claims made by the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust were dismissed by the MoD as inaccurate.