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British Army

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The British Army is the land armed forces of the United Kingdom. It numbers 99'400 fully trained and professional regulars (as on 1st April 2004).

In contrast to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, the British Army does not include royal in its title, because of its roots as a collection of disparate units. It does still come under the command of the Queen, who is Commander-in-Chief of the UK Armed Forces.

History

The Founding of the Army

The British Army did not exist as a separate entity before the Act of Union of 1707 which united England and Scotland, but its origins date back to the aftermath of the English Civil War. Before the Civil War, the army was raised as required by the King, who would warrant gentlemen to raise companies, this being a direct throwback to the feudal concept of fief where a lord had to raise a certain quota of knights, men at arms and yeomanry. The only difference up to this point in time being that raising companies without a warrant could be considered treasonable (whereas feudal lords could raise their fief to fight each other).

After the Civil War, parliament assumed control of the Army, and standing companies based on Cromwell's New Model Army formed the concept of the first regiments. Cromwell's companies did not yet assume the unique names that came later to be associated with British Army Regiments, instead they would name their companies after psalms or biblical phrases, or were often identified with the gentleman (typically with the rank of Colonel) who had raised the company, eg Monck's Regiment of Foot. (This particular unit is notable because after the end of the Civil War it was barracked in London, and was involved in defending parliament when it voted for the restoration; this unit is now known as the Coldstream Guards.)

With the Restoration of Charles II the concept of standing regiments found favour with the King. As well as retaining some existing loyal standing units, he raised his own, one of the first being the First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, today shortened to the Grenadier Guards. On January 26th, 1661 Charles II issued the warrant that officially founded the British Army.

The oldest surviving regiment in the British Army is the Honourable Artillery Company (given a royal charter in 1537), now a Territorial Army unit. It is not considered the most senior, however, because it fought on the side of Parliament in the Civil War and so doesn't have unbroken service to the crown. This honour instead goes to the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, also now a Territorial Army unit, which was founded in 1539. The oldest surviving regular unit is the Royal Scots, founded in 1633.

The Monarch is head of the Armed Forces and is the only person who can declare war and peace, though these powers are exercised today only on the advice of responsible Ministers. The Bill of Rights of 1689 purports to prevent a standing army in peacetime.

That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law.

No such prohibition applies to the Royal Navy. Parliamentary consent is currently given by the Army and Air Force Acts of 1955 and annual Continuation Orders passed by Parliament.

The Army in the 18th and 19th centuries

Numerous colonial wars including:

The Army and the First World War

File:Vickers machine gun crew.jpg
Vickers machine gun and crew

The British Expeditionary Force, organized by Richard Burdon Haldane, was sent to France at the beginning of World War I. During the war, the Tank Corps and the Royal Flying Corps were formed. Major developments included trench warfare and the tank.

Major Actions

Battle of Mons, Battle of the Somme, Battle of Ypres, Battle of the Marne, etc.

Equipment and Uniform

The standard rifle in this period was the Lee-Enfield Rifle, in its short magazine form (SMLE). Officers and some other ranks were equipped with a Webley Mk IV revolver. Other infantry weapons included the Lewis gun and Vickers machine gun. It was during this period that the Brodie helmet was introduced, giving one of the classic visual attributes of the tommy.

The Army and the Second World War

See British military history of World War II and British Commandos

Major Actions

Battle of France, Battle of Dunkirk, North African Campaign, Italian Campaign, Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, Ardennes Offensive, South-East Asian Theatre

Equipment and Uniform

The standard rifle in this period was the Lee-Enfield Rifle in its No.4 Mk1 form, although equipment shortages after Dunkirk meant many older forms of the Lee-Enfield were brought back into use. Other infantry weapons included the Bren gun, Thompson submachine gun, Sten gun and Vickers machine gun. The Brodie helmet continued to be standard issue.

Cold War

In the aftermath of WWII, the Army concentrated most of its combat firepower in Germany. For the first time in its history, it maintained the bulk of its forces in continental Europe in peacetime, after they ceased being an army of occupation. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was formed to control British formations in West Germany. It varied in size during its lifetime, but for a good proportion of the time, it consisted of four divisions, with about 55,000 men in total. Another unusual feature of the formation was that it had a British corps headquarters permanently established in peacetime as a manoeuvre formation. This was I Corps. Usually in peacetime there are not enough British formations in one place to merit this level of headquarters being established.

The BAOR lasted until 1993, when it was disbanded as part of the Options for Change defence cuts. The Army has not completely pulled out of Germany. 1st Armoured Division is still based in the country as part of British Forces Germany.

Major Actions

Equipment and Uniform

The standard rifle in this period was initially the Lee-Enfield family of rifles, but these were replaced in the 1950s with the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR)

Modern British Army

Since 1962, when the last period of conscription (National Service) ended, the army has been a wholly professional force of volunteers. About one quarter of the Army is provided by the part-time members of the Territorial Army.

Major Actions & Deployments

  • Northern Ireland

The British Army is currently serving in Northern Ireland in the 'military aid to the civil authorities' capacity. As the troubles have lessened recently, the army presence in the region has been intentionally reduced both to ease any remaining tensions and to relieve personnel for duties elsewhere.

  • First Gulf War
  • Sierra Leone

After initial combat operations to quell anti-government militia activity, the army has remained to train, equip and support government forces. During combat with the militia, several soldiers and officers where kidnapped and held by the West Side Boys in a stronghold surrounded by dense jungle and swamps. The Parachute Regiment and the SAS mounted a rescue mission via boat and helicopter. One member of HM forces died. However, the action was executed with textbook precision and all hostages were released.

  • Bosnia
  • Kosovo
  • Afghanistan

British forces were part of the spearhead group that initiated actions in Afghanistan that was implemented in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In the aftermath of the invasion British forces remain in the capital Kabul as a protection force for the new government as part of a NATO multi-national force. Smaller groups also operate in Northern territories to work with tribal leaders in an attempt to end violence and drug trafficking.

  • 2003 Iraqi War (Operation Telic)

The British Army is also based in a variety of locations, in varying degrees of strength.

  • In Brunei, the British provide a Gurkha battalion, supported by a small garrison unit and a Bell 212 flight from the Army Air Corps.
  • In Canada the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is based in Alberta. A small permanent staff is based as part of BATUS. The vast and uninhabited BATUS provides large-scale armoured and mechanised training for 6 regiments annually, exercises lasting for approximately 6-weeks.
  • In Germany, the garrison force there represents the largest overseas contingent of the British Army, with roughly about 25,000 soldiers stationed there and a considerable amount of equipment based there.

Equipment and Uniform

See Modern equipment and uniform of the British Army

Structure and Personnel

Ranks

The various ranks, in descending order, are as follows (note that certain rank titles in the British Army are usually hyphenated):

Officers

Soldiers

Structure of the British Army

See Structure of the British Army.

Notable units of the British Army, past and present

Land units of the British Armed Forces which are not part of the British Army include;


Famous members of the British Army


See also

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