British Army

Formation

Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell

Lord General Thomas Fairfax, the first commander of the New Model Army

Until the English Civil War, England never had a standing army with professional officers and careerist corporals and sergeants. It relied on militia organised by local officials or private forces mobilised by the nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe.^[19] From the later Middle Ages until the English Civil War, when a foreign expeditionary force was needed, such as the one that Henry V of England took to France and that fought at the Battle of Agincourt (1415), the army, a professional one, was raised for the duration of the expedition.^[20]

During the English Civil War, the members of the Long Parliament realised that the use of county militia organised into regional associations (such as the Eastern Association), often commanded by local members of parliament (both from the House of Commons and the House of Lords), while more than able to hold their own in the regions which Parliamentarians controlled, were unlikely to win the war. So Parliament initiated two actions. The Self-denying Ordinance forbade members of parliament (with the notable exception of Oliver Cromwell) from serving as officers in the Parliamentary armies. This created a distinction between the civilians in Parliament, who tended to be Presbyterian and conciliatory to the Royalists in nature, and a corps of professional officers, who tended to be Independent (Congregational) in theology, to whom they reported. The second action was legislation for the creation of a Parliamentary-funded army, commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax, which became known as the New Model Army (originally new-modelled Army).^[21]

While this proved to be a war-winning formula, the New Model Army, being organised and politically active, went on to dominate the politics of the Interregnum and by 1660 was widely disliked. The New Model Army was paid off and disbanded at the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660. For many decades the alleged excesses of the New Model Army under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell were used as propaganda (and still feature in Irish folklore) and the Whig element recoiled from allowing a standing army.^[22] The militia acts of 1661 and 1662 prevented local authorities from calling up militia and oppressing their own local opponents. Calling up the militia was possible only if the king and local elites agreed to do so.^[23]

Charles II and his Cavalier supporters favoured a new army under royal control, and immediately after the Restoration began working on its establishment.^[24] The first English Army regiments, including elements of the disbanded New Model Army, were formed between November 1660 and January 1661^[25] and became a standing military force for England (financed by Parliament).^[26][27] The Royal Scots and Irish Armies were financed by the parliaments of Scotland and Ireland.^[28] Parliamentary control was established by the Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689, although the monarch continued to influence aspects of army administration until at least the end of the nineteenth century.^[29]

After the Restoration Charles II pulled together four regiments of infantry and cavalry, calling them his guards, at a cost of £122,000 from his general budget. This became the foundation of the permanent English Army. By 1685 it had grown to 7,500 soldiers in marching regiments, and 1,400 men permanently stationed in garrisons. A rebellion in 1685 allowed James II to raise the forces to 20,000 men. There were 37,000 in 1678 when England played a role in the closing stage of the Franco-Dutch War. After William and Mary's accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring James II (Mary's father).^[30] In 1689, William III expanded the army to 74,000, and then to 94,000 in 1694. Parliament was very nervous and reduced the cadre to 7000 in 1697. Scotland and Ireland had theoretically separate military establishments, but they were unofficially merged with the English force.^[31][32]

John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, was one of the first generals in the British Army and fought in the War of the Spanish Succession.

By the time of the 1707 Acts of Union, many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command and stationed in the Netherlands for the War of the Spanish Succession. Although all the regiments were now part of the new British military establishment,^[3] they remained under the old operational-command structure and retained much of the institutional ethos, customs and traditions of the standing armies created shortly after the restoration of the monarchy 47 years earlier. The order of seniority of the most-senior British Army line regiments is based on that of the English army. Although technically the Scots Royal Regiment of Foot was raised in 1633 and is the oldest Regiment of the Line,^[33] Scottish and Irish regiments were only allowed to take a rank in the English army on the date of their arrival in England (or the date when they were first placed on the English establishment). In 1694, a board of general officers was convened to decide the rank of English, Irish and Scots regiments serving in the Netherlands; the regiment which became known as the Scots Greys were designated the 4th Dragoons because there were three English regiments raised prior to 1688 when the Scots Greys were first placed in the English establishment. In 1713, when a new board of general officers was convened to decide the rank of several regiments, the seniority of the Scots Greys was reassessed and based on their June 1685 entry into England. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, and the Scots Greys eventually received the British Army rank of 2nd Dragoons.^[34]

British Empire (1700–1914)

After 1700, British continental policy was to contain expansion by competing powers such as France and Spain. Although Spain was the dominant global power during the previous two centuries and the chief threat to England's early transatlantic ambitions, its influence was now waning. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession^[35] and the Napoleonic Wars.^[36]

Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as vital to the rise of the British Empire, the British Army played an important role in the formation of colonies, protectorates and dominions in the Americas, Africa, Asia, India and Australasia.^[37] British soldiers captured strategically important territories, and the army was involved in wars to secure the empire's borders and support friendly governments. Among these actions were the Seven Years' War,^[38] the American Revolutionary War,^[39] the Napoleonic Wars,^[36] the First and Second Opium Wars,^[40] the Boxer Rebellion,^[41] the New Zealand Wars,^[42] the Australian frontier wars,^[43] the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857,^[44] the first and second Boer Wars,^[45] the Fenian raids,^[46] the Irish War of Independence,^[47] interventions in Afghanistan (intended to maintain a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire)^[48] and the Crimean War (to keep the Russian Empire at a safe distance by aiding Turkey).^[49] Like the English Army, the British Army fought the kingdoms of Spain, France (including the Empire of France) and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years' War^[38] and suppressed a Native American uprising in Pontiac's War.^[50] The British Army was defeated in the American Revolutionary War, losing the Thirteen Colonies but retaining The Canadas and The Maritimes as British North America, including Bermuda (originally part of Virginia, and which had been strongly sympathetic to the rebels early in the war).^[51]

Halifax, Nova Scotia and Bermuda were to become Imperial fortresses (although Bermuda, being safer from attack over water and impervious to attack overland, quickly became the most important in British North America), along with Malta and Gibraltar, providing bases for Royal Navy squadrons to control the oceans, and heavily garrisoned by the British Army both for defence of the bases and to provide military forces to work with the navy in amphibious operations throughout their regions.^{[52][53][54][55][56]}

The Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher's triumph over Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo

The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars, participating in a number of campaigns in Europe (including continuous deployment in the Peninsular War), the Caribbean, North Africa and North America. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world; at its peak in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian armies under the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815.^[57]

The English were involved politically and militarily in Ireland since receiving the Lordship of Ireland from the pope in 1171. The campaign of English republican Protector Oliver Cromwell involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns (most notably Drogheda and Wexford) which supported the Royalists during the English Civil War. The English Army (and the subsequent British Army) remained in Ireland primarily to suppress Irish revolts or disorder. In addition to its conflict with Irish nationalists, it was faced with the prospect of battling Anglo-Irish and Ulster Scots in Ireland who were angered by unfavourable taxation of Irish produce imported into Britain. With other Irish groups, they raised a volunteer army and threatened to emulate the American colonists if their conditions were not met. Learning from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution. The British Army fought Irish rebels—Protestant and Catholic—primarily in Ulster and Leinster (Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen) in the 1798 rebellion.^[58]

In the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift, a small British force repelled an attack by overwhelming Zulu forces; eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for its defence.

In addition to battling the armies of other European empires (and its former colonies, the United States, in the American War of 1812),^[59] the British Army fought the Chinese in the First and Second Opium Wars^[40] and the Boxer Rebellion,^[41] Māori tribes in the first of the New Zealand Wars,^[42] Nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula's forces and British East India Company mutineers in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857,^[45] the Boers in the first and second Boer Wars,^[45] Irish Fenians in Canada during the Fenian raids^[46] and Irish separatists in the Anglo-Irish War.^[40] The increasing demands of imperial expansion and the inadequacy and inefficiency of the underfunded British Army, Militia, Ordnance Military Corps, Yeomanry and Volunteer Force after the Napoleonic Wars led to series of reforms following the failures of the Crimean War.^[60]

Inspired by the successes of the Prussian Army (which relied on short-term conscription of all eligible young men to maintain a large reserve of recently discharged soldiers, ready to be recalled on the outbreak of war to immediately bring the small peacetime regular army up to strength), the Regular Reserve of the British Army was originally created in 1859 by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert, and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act, 1867. Prior to this, a soldier was generally enlisted into the British Army for a 21-year engagement, following which (should he survive so long) he was discharged as a Pensioner. Pensioners were sometimes still employed on garrison duties, as were younger soldiers no longer deemed fit for expeditionary service who were generally organised in invalid units or returned to the regimental depot for home service. The cost of paying pensioners, and the obligation the government was under to continue to employ invalids as well as soldiers deemed by their commanding officers as detriments to their units were motivations to change this system. The long period of engagement also discouraged many potential recruits. The long service enlistments were consequently replaced with short service enlistments, with undesirable soldiers not permitted to re-engage on the completion of their first engagement. The size of the army also fluctuated greatly, increasing in war time, and drastically shrinking with peace. Battalions posted on garrison duty overseas were allowed an increase on their normal peacetime establishment, which resulted in their having surplus men on their return to a Home station. Consequently, soldiers engaging on short term enlistments were enabled to serve several years with the colours and the remainder in the Regular Reserve, remaining liable for recall to the colours if required. Among the other benefits, this thereby enabled the British Army to have a ready pool of recently trained men to draw upon in an emergency. The name of the Regular Reserve (which for a time was divided into a First Class and a Second Class) has resulted in confusion with the Reserve Forces, which were the pre-existing part-time, local-service home-defence forces that were auxiliary to the British Army (or Regular Force), but not originally part of it: the Yeomanry, Militia (or Constitutional Force) and Volunteer Force. These were consequently also referred to as Auxiliary Forces or Local Forces.^[61]

The late-19th-century Cardwell and Childers Reforms gave the army its modern shape and redefined its regimental system.^[62] The 1907 Haldane Reforms created the Territorial Force as the army's volunteer reserve component, merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia and Yeomanry.^[63]

World Wars (1914–1945)

British First World War Mark I tank; the guidance wheels behind the main body were later scrapped as unnecessary. Armoured vehicles of the era required considerable infantry and artillery support. (Photo by Ernest Brooks)

Led by their piper, men of the 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (part of the 46th (Highland) Brigade), advance through Normandy during Operation Epsom on 26 June 1944

Great Britain was challenged by other powers, primarily the German Empire and Nazi Germany, during the 20th century. A century earlier it vied with Napoleonic France for global pre-eminence, and Hanoverian Britain's natural allies were the kingdoms and principalities of northern Germany. By the middle of the 19th century, Britain and France were allies in preventing Russia's appropriation of the Ottoman Empire, although the fear of French invasion led shortly afterwards to the creation of the Volunteer Force. By the first decade of the 20th century, the United Kingdom was allied with France (by the Entente Cordiale) and Russia (which had a secret agreement with France for mutual support in a war against the Prussian-led German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire).^[64]

When the First World War broke out in August 1914 the British Army sent the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), consisting mainly of regular army troops, to France and Belgium.^[65] The fighting bogged down into static trench warfare for the remainder of the war. In 1915 the army created the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to invade the Ottoman Empire via Gallipoli, an unsuccessful attempt to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia.^[66]

The First World War was the most devastating in British military history, with nearly 800,000 men killed and over two million wounded. Early in the war, the BEF was virtually destroyed and was replaced first by volunteers and then by a conscript force. Major battles included those at the Somme and Passchendaele.^[67] Advances in technology saw the advent of the tank^[68] (and the creation of the Royal Tank Regiment) and advances in aircraft design (and the creation of the Royal Flying Corps) which would be decisive in future battles.^[69] Trench warfare dominated Western Front strategy for most of the war, and the use of chemical weapons (disabling and poison gases) added to the devastation.^[70]

The Second World War broke out in September 1939 with the Soviet and German Army's invasion of Poland.^[71] British assurances to the Poles led the British Empire to declare war on Germany. As in the First World War, a relatively small BEF was sent to France^[71] but then hastily evacuated from Dunkirk as the German forces swept through the Low Countries and across France in May 1940.^[72]

After the British Army recovered from its earlier defeats, it defeated the Germans and Italians at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in 1942–1943 and helped drive them from Africa. It then fought through Italy^[73] and, with the help of American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Free French forces,^[74] and took part in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944; nearly half the Allied soldiers were British.^[75] In the Far East, the British Army rallied against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign and regained the British Far Eastern colonial possessions.^[76]

Postcolonial era (1945–2000)

1945 Order of Precedence of the British Army

After the Second World War the British Army was significantly reduced in size, although National Service continued until 1960.^[77] This period saw decolonisation begin with the partition and independence of India and Pakistan, followed by the independence of British colonies in Africa and Asia.

The Corps Warrant, which is the official list of which bodies of the British Military (not to be confused with naval) Forces were to be considered Corps of the British Army for the purposes of the Army Act, the Reserve Forces Act, 1882, and the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, had not been updated since 1926 (Army Order 49 of 1926), although amendments had been made up to and including Army Order 67 of 1950. A new Corps Warrant was declared in 1951.

Although the British Army was a major participant in Korea in the early 1950s^[77] and Suez in 1956,^[78] during this period Britain's role in world events was reduced and the army was downsized.^[79] The British Army of the Rhine, consisting of I (BR) Corps, remained in Germany as a bulwark against Soviet invasion.^[80] The Cold War continued, with significant technological advances in warfare, and the army saw the introduction of new weapons systems.^[81] Despite the decline of the British Empire, the army was engaged in Aden,^[82] Indonesia, Cyprus,^[82] Kenya^[82] and Malaya.^[83] In 1982, the British Army and the Royal Marines helped liberate the Falkland Islands during the conflict with Argentina after that country's invasion of the British territory.^[84]

In the three decades following 1969, the army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland's Operation Banner to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland) in their conflict with republican paramilitary groups.^[85] The locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment was formed, becoming home-service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992 before it was disbanded in 2006. Over 700 soldiers were killed during the Troubles. Following the 1994–1996 IRA ceasefires and since 1997, demilitarisation has been part of the peace process and the military presence has been reduced.^[86] On 25 June 2007 the 2nd Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment left the army complex in Bessbrook, County Armagh, ending the longest operation in British Army history.^[87]

Persian Gulf War

Wrecked and abandoned vehicles along the Highway of Death

The British Army contributed 50,000 troops to the coalition which fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War,^[88] and British forces controlled Kuwait after its liberation. Forty-seven British military personnel died during the war.^[89]

Balkan conflicts

The army was deployed to former Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially part of the United Nations Protection Force,^[90] in 1995 its command was transferred to the Implementation Force (IFOR) and then to the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR);^[91] the commitment rose to over 10,000 troops. In 1999, British forces under SFOR command were sent to Kosovo and the contingent increased to 19,000 troops.^[92] Between early 1993 and June 2010, 72 British military personnel died during operations in the former Yugoslavian countries of Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia.^[93]

The Troubles

Although there have been permanent garrisons in Northern Ireland throughout its history, the British Army was deployed as a peacekeeping force from 1969 to 2007 in Operation Banner.^[94] Initially, this was (in the wake of unionist attacks on nationalist communities in Derry^[95] and Belfast)^[96] to prevent further loyalist attacks on Catholic communities; it developed into support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) against the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA).^[97] Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement, there was a gradual reduction in the number of soldiers deployed.^[98] In 2005, after the PIRA declared a ceasefire, the British Army dismantled posts, withdrew many troops and restored troop levels to those of a peacetime garrison.^[99]

Operation Banner ended at midnight on 31 July 2007 after about 38 years of continuous deployment, the longest in British Army history.^[100] According to an internal document released in 2007, the British Army had failed to defeat the IRA but made it impossible for them to win by violence. Operation Helvetic replaced Operation Banner in 2007, maintaining fewer service personnel in a more-benign environment.^[100][101] Of the 300,000 troops who served in Northern Ireland since 1969, there were 763 British military personnel killed^[102] and 306 killed by the British military, mostly civilians.^[103] An estimated 100 soldiers committed suicide during Operation Banner or soon afterwards and a similar number died in accidents. A total of 6,116 were wounded.^[104]

Sierra Leone

The British Army deployed to Sierra Leone for Operation Palliser in 1999, under United Nations resolutions, to aid the government in quelling violent uprisings by militiamen. British troops also provided support during the 2014 West African Ebola virus epidemic.^[105]

Recent history (2000–present)

War in Afghanistan

Royal Anglian Regiment in Helmand Province

In November 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom with the United States, the United Kingdom deployed forces in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in Operation Herrick.^[106] The 3rd Division were sent to Kabul to assist in the liberation of the capital and defeat Taliban forces in the mountains. In 2006 the British Army began concentrating on fighting Taliban forces and bringing security to Helmand Province, with about 9,500 British troops (including marines, airmen and sailors) deployed at its peak^[107]—the second-largest force after that of the US.^[108] In December 2012 Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the combat mission would end in 2014, and troop numbers gradually fell as the Afghan National Army took over the brunt of the fighting. Between 2001 and 26 April 2014 a total of 453 British military personnel died in Afghan operations.^[109] Operation Herrick ended with the handover of Camp Bastion on 26 October 2014,^[110] but the British Army maintains a deployment in Afghanistan as part of Operation Toral.^[111]

Following an announcement by the US Government of the end of their operations in the Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence announced in April 2021 that British forces would withdraw from the country by 11 September 2021.^[112] It was later reported that all UK troops would be out by early July.^[113] Following the collapse of the Afghan Army, and the completion of the withdrawal of civilians, all British troops had left by the end of August 2021.^[114]

Iraq War

British soldiers from the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers battlegroup engage Iraqi positions with an 81mm mortar south of Basra

In 2003, the United Kingdom was a major contributor to the invasion of Iraq, sending a force of over 46,000 military personnel. The British Army controlled southern Iraq, and maintained a peace-keeping presence in Basra.^[115] All British troops were withdrawn from Iraq by 30 April 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to extend their mandate.^[116] One hundred and seventy-nine British military personnel died in Iraqi operations.^[93] The British Armed Forces returned to Iraq in 2014 as part of Operation Shader to counter the Islamic State (ISIL).^[117]

Recent military aid

The British Army maintains a standing liability to support the civil authorities in certain circumstances, usually in either niche capabilities (e.g. explosive ordnance removal) or in general support of the civil authorities when their capacity is exceeded.^[118][119] In recent years this has been seen as army personnel supporting the civil authorities in the face of the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak, the 2002 firefighters strike, widespread flooding in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014, Operation Temperer following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and, most recently, Operation Rescript during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[120][121]

Eastern Europe

Since 2016, the British Army has maintained a presence in Eastern Europe in support of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence strategy which responded to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea. The British Army leads a multinational armoured battlegroup in Estonia under Operation Cabrit and contributes troops to another military battle group in Poland.^[122]

Between 2015 and 2022, the British Army deployed Short Term Training Teams (STTTs) to Ukraine under Operation Orbital to help train the Armed Forces of Ukraine against further Russian aggression.^[123] This operation was succeeded by Operation Interflex in July 2022.^[124]

Discover more about History related topics

History of the British Army

History of the British Army

The history of the British Army spans over three and a half centuries since its founding in 1660 and involves numerous European wars, colonial wars and world wars. From the late 17th century until the mid-20th century, the United Kingdom was the greatest economic and imperial power in the world, and although this dominance was principally achieved through the strength of the Royal Navy (RN), the British Army played a significant role.

Lord Protector

Lord Protector

Lord Protector was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes used to refer to holders of other temporary posts; for example, a regent acting for the absent monarch.

English Civil War

English Civil War

The English Civil War is a generic term for a series of civil wars between Royalists and Parliamentarians in England and Wales from 1642 to 1652. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, they consist of the First English Civil War, the Second English Civil War, and the Third English Civil War. The latter is now usually known as the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652), since most of the fighting took place in Scotland, while the Royalists consisted almost entirely of Scots Covenanters and English exiles, with no significant rising in England.

Militia (English)

Militia (English)

The Militia of England were the principal military reserve forces of the Kingdom of England from the 10th-18th century.

Henry V of England

Henry V of England

Henry V, also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the Hundred Years' War against France made England one of the strongest military powers in Europe. Immortalised in Shakespeare's "Henriad" plays, Henry is known and celebrated as one of the greatest warrior-kings of medieval England.

Battle of Agincourt

Battle of Agincourt

The Battle of Agincourt was an English victory in the Hundred Years' War. It took place on 25 October 1415 near Azincourt, in northern France. The unexpected English victory against the numerically superior French army boosted English morale and prestige, crippled France, and started a new period of English dominance in the war that would last for 14 years until France defeated England in the Siege of Orléans in 1429.

Long Parliament

Long Parliament

The Long Parliament was an English Parliament which lasted from 1640 until 1660. It followed the fiasco of the Short Parliament, which had convened for only three weeks during the spring of 1640 after an 11-year parliamentary absence. In September 1640, King Charles I issued writs summoning a parliament to convene on 3 November 1640. He intended it to pass financial bills, a step made necessary by the costs of the Bishops' Wars in Scotland. The Long Parliament received its name from the fact that, by Act of Parliament, it stipulated it could be dissolved only with agreement of the members; and those members did not agree to its dissolution until 16 March 1660, after the English Civil War and near the close of the Interregnum.

Eastern Association

Eastern Association

The Eastern Association of counties was an administrative organisation set up by Parliament in the early years of the First English Civil War. Its main function was to finance and support an army which became a mainstay of the Parliamentarian military effort until early 1645, when many of its units were incorporated into the New Model Army.

New Model Army

New Model Army

The New Model Army was a standing army formed in 1645 by the Parliamentarians during the First English Civil War, then disbanded after the Stuart Restoration in 1660. It differed from other armies employed in the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms in that members were liable for service anywhere in the country, rather than being limited to a single area or garrison. To establish a professional officer corps, the army's leaders were prohibited from having seats in either the House of Lords or House of Commons. This was to encourage their separation from the political or religious factions among the Parliamentarians.

Interregnum (England)

Interregnum (England)

The Interregnum was the period between the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649 and the arrival of his son Charles II in London on 29 May 1660 which marked the start of the Restoration. During the Interregnum, England was under various forms of republican government.

Charles II of England

Charles II of England

Charles II was King of Scotland from 1649 until 1651, and King of England, Scotland and Ireland from the 1660 Restoration of the monarchy until his death in 1685.

Cavalier

Cavalier

The term "Cavalier" was first used by Roundheads as a term of abuse for the wealthier royalist supporters of King Charles I and his son Charles II of England during the English Civil War, the Interregnum, and the Restoration. It was later adopted by the Royalists themselves. Although it referred originally to political and social attitudes and behaviour, of which clothing was a very small part, it has subsequently become strongly identified with the fashionable clothing of the court at the time. Prince Rupert, commander of much of Charles I's cavalry, is often considered to be an archetypal Cavalier.

Personnel

The Blues and Royals Trooping the Colour in 2013

The British Army has been a volunteer force since national service ended during the 1960s.^[77] Since the creation of the part-time, reserve Territorial Force in 1908 (renamed the Army Reserve in 2014), the full-time British Army has been known as the Regular Army. In July 2020 there were just over 78,800 Regulars, with a target strength of 82,000, and just over 30,000 Army Reservists, with a target strength of 30,000.^[125] All former Regular Army personnel may also be recalled to duty in exceptional circumstances during the 6-year period following completion of their Regular service, which creates an additional force known as the Regular Reserve.^[126]

The table below illustrates British Army personnel figures from 1710 to 2020.

British Army strength[142][143]
(1707–1810)			(1810–1921)			(1930– Present)
Year	Regular Army		Year	Regular Army		Year	Regular Army	Army Reserve	Total
1710	68,000		1820	93,000		1930	188,000		—
1720	20,000		1830	89,000		1945	2,930,000	Included in Regular	3,120,000
1730	17,000		1838	89,000		1950	364,000	83,000	447,000
1740	46,000		1840	94,000		1960	258,000	120,000	387,000
1750	79,000		1850	99,000		1970	174,000	80,000	256,000
1760	65,000		1860	236,000		1980	159,000	63,000	222,000
1770	24,000		1870	185,000		1990	153,000	73,000	226,000
1780	35,000		1880	165,000		2000	110,000	45,000	155,000
1790	17,000		1890	210,000		2010	109,000	29,000	142,000
1800	80,000		1900	302,000		2015	87,000	25,000	119,000
1810	99,000		1918	3,838,000		2020	79,000	30,000	116,000

Discover more about Modern army related topics

Blues and Royals

Blues and Royals

The Blues and Royals (RHG/D) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, part of the Household Cavalry Regiment. The Colonel of the Regiment is Anne, Princess Royal. It is the second-most senior regiment in the British Army.

Trooping the Colour

Trooping the Colour

Trooping the Colour is a ceremony performed every year in London, United Kingdom, by regiments of the British Army. Similar events are held in other countries of the Commonwealth. Trooping the Colour has been a tradition of British infantry regiments since the 17th century, and since 1748 has marked the official birthday of the British sovereign, although its roots go back much earlier.

Territorial Force

Territorial Force

The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry into a unified auxiliary, commanded by the War Office and administered by local County Territorial Associations. The Territorial Force was designed to reinforce the regular army in expeditionary operations abroad, but because of political opposition it was assigned to home defence. Members were liable for service anywhere in the UK and could not be compelled to serve overseas. In the first two months of the First World War, territorials volunteered for foreign service in significant numbers, allowing territorial units to be deployed abroad. They saw their first action on the Western Front during the initial German offensive of 1914, and the force filled the gap between the near destruction of the regular army that year and the arrival of the New Army in 1915. Territorial units were deployed to Gallipoli in 1915 and, following the failure of that campaign, provided the bulk of the British contribution to allied forces in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. By the war's end, the Territorial Force had fielded twenty-three infantry divisions and two mounted divisions on foreign soil. It was demobilised after the war and reconstituted in 1921 as the Territorial Army.

Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014.

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in Northwestern Europe that comprised the entirety of the British Isles between 1801 and 1922. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland into a unified state. The establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922 led to the remainder later being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in 1927.

Infantry

The British Army's basic weapon is the 5.56 mm L85A2 or L85A3 assault rifle, with some specialist personnel using the L22A2 carbine variant (pilots and some tank crew). The weapon was traditionally equipped with either iron sights or an optical SUSAT, although other optical sights have been subsequently purchased to supplement these.^[144] The weapon can be enhanced further utilising the Picatinny rail with attachments such as the L17A2 under-barrel grenade launcher.^[145]

Some soldiers are equipped with the 7.62mm L129A1 sharpshooter rifle,^[146] which in 2018 formally replaced the L86A2 Light Support Weapon. Support fire is provided by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG),^[147] and indirect fire is provided by L16 81mm mortars. Sniper rifles include the L118A1 7.62 mm, L115A3 and the AW50F, all manufactured by Accuracy International.^[148] The British Army utilises the Glock 17 as its side arm.^[145]

Armour

The army's main battle tank is the Challenger 2.^[149][150] It is supported by the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle as the primary infantry fighting vehicle^[151] and the many variants of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) and Bulldog.^[152] Light armoured units often utilise the Supacat "Jackal" MWMIK and Coyote for reconnaissance and fire support.^[153]

Artillery

The army has three main artillery systems: the Multi Launch Rocket System (MLRS), the AS-90 and the L118 light gun.^[154] The MLRS, first used in Operation Granby, has an 85-kilometre (53 mi) range.^[155] The AS-90 is a 155 mm self-propelled armoured gun with a 24-kilometre (15 mi) range.^[156] The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed gun.^[157] To identify artillery targets, the army operates weapon locators such as the MAMBA Radar and utilises artillery sound ranging.^[158] For air defence it uses the new Sky Sabre system, which in 2021 replaced the Rapier.^[159] It also deploys the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Starstreak HVM (high-velocity missile) launched by a single soldier or from a vehicle-mounted launcher.^[160]

Protected mobility

Where armour is not required or mobility and speed are favoured the British Army utilises protected patrol vehicles, such as the Panther variant of the Iveco LMV, the Foxhound, and variants of the Cougar family (such as the Ridgeback, Husky and Mastiff).^[161] For day-to-day utility work the army commonly uses the Land Rover Wolf, which is based on the Land Rover Defender.^[162]

Engineers, utility and signals

Specialist engineering vehicles include bomb-disposal robots and the modern variants of the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers, including the Titan bridge-layer, Trojan Armoured-engineer vehicle, Terrier Armoured Digger and Python Minefield Breaching System.^[163] Day-to-day utility work uses a series of support vehicles, including six-, nine- and fifteen-tonne trucks (often called "Bedfords", after a historic utility vehicle), heavy-equipment transporters (HET), close-support tankers, quad bikes and ambulances.^[164][165] Tactical communication uses the Bowman radio system, and operational or strategic communication is controlled by the Royal Corps of Signals.^[166]

Aviation

The Army Air Corps (AAC) provides direct aviation support, with the Royal Air Force providing support helicopters. The primary attack helicopter is the Westland WAH-64 Apache, a licence-built, modified version of the US AH-64 Apache which replaced the Westland Lynx AH7 in the anti-tank role.^[167] Other helicopters include the Westland Gazelle (a light surveillance aircraft),^[168] the Bell 212 (in jungle "hot and high" environments)^[169] and the AgustaWestland AW159 Wildcat, a dedicated intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) helicopter.^[170] The Eurocopter AS 365N Dauphin is used for special operations aviation.^[171] The army operates two unmanned aerial vehicles ('UAV's) in a surveillance role: the small Lockheed Martin Desert Hawk III and the larger Thales Watchkeeper WK450.^[172][173]

• 

  Warrior IFV

• 

  AS-90

• 

  Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS)

• 

  AgustaWestland Apache

• 

  L85A2 assault rifle

• 

  Challenger 2

Discover more about Equipment related topics

List of equipment of the British Army

List of equipment of the British Army

This is a list of equipment of the British Army currently in use. It includes small arms, combat vehicles, aircraft, watercraft, artillery and transport vehicles. The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of British Armed Forces. Since the end of the Cold War, the British Army has been deployed to a number of conflict zones, often as part of an expeditionary force, a coalition force or part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation.

SA80

SA80

The SA80 is a British family of 5.56×45mm NATO service weapons used by the British Army. The L85 Rifle variant has been the standard issue service rifle of the British Armed Forces since 1987, replacing the L1A1 Self-Loading Rifle. The first prototypes were created in 1976, with production of the A1 variant starting in 1985 and ending in 1994. The A2 variant came to be as the result of a significant upgrade in the early 2000s by Heckler & Koch and remains in service as of 2020. The A3 variant was first issued in 2018 with several new improvements.

Iron sights

Iron sights

Iron sights are a system of physical alignment markers used as a sighting device to assist the accurate aiming of ranged weapons, or less commonly as a primitive finder sight for optical telescopes. The earliest sighting device, it relies completely on the viewer's naked eye, and is distinctly different to optical sights such as telescopic sights, reflector (reflex) sights, holographic sights and laser sights, which make use of optical manipulation and/or active illumination, as well as the newer optoelectronics, which use digital imaging and even incorporate augmented reality.

SUSAT

SUSAT

The Sight Unit Small Arms, Trilux, or SUSAT, is a 4× telescopic sight, with tritium-powered illumination utilised at dusk or dawn. The full name of the current model is the SUSAT L9A1. The sight is not designed as a sniper sight, but is rather intended to be mounted on a variety of rifles and to be used by all infantrymen. A similar device is the Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight.

Picatinny rail

Picatinny rail

The Picatinny rail, or Pic rail for short, also known as a MIL-STD-1913 rail, 1913 rail or STANAG 2324 rail (cancelled), is a rail integration system that provides a mounting platform for firearm accessories. It was originally used for mounting of scopes atop the receivers of larger caliber rifles.

L16 81mm mortar

L16 81mm mortar

The L16 81mm mortar is a British standard mortar used by the Canadian Army, British Army, and many other armed forces. It originated as a joint design by the UK and Canada. The version produced and used by Australia is named the F2 81mm Mortar; that used by the U.S. armed forces is known as the M252.

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

Accuracy International Arctic Warfare

The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare rifle is a bolt-action sniper rifle designed and manufactured by the British company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in the 1980s. The rifles have some features that improve performance in very cold conditions without impairing operation in less extreme conditions.

Accuracy International

Accuracy International

Accuracy International is a British firearms manufacturer based in Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. The company produces the Accuracy International Arctic Warfare series of precision sniper rifles. The company was established in 1978 by British Olympic shooting gold medallist Malcolm Cooper, MBE (1947–2001), Sarah Cooper, Martin Kay, and the designers of the weapons, Dave Walls and David Caig. The founders were professional international or national sport shooters. Accuracy International's sniper rifles are used internationally in military units and police departments.

Glock

Glock

Glock is a brand of polymer-framed, short recoil-operated, locked-breech semi-automatic pistols designed and produced by Austrian manufacturer Glock Ges.m.b.H.

Main battle tank

Main battle tank

A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank, is a tank that fills the role of armor-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more powerful engines, better suspension systems and lighter composite armor allowed for the design of a tank that had the firepower of a super-heavy tank, the armor protection of a heavy tank, and the mobility of a light tank, in a package with the weight of a medium tank. The first designated MBT was the British Chieftain tank, which during its development in the 1950's was re-designed as an MBT: "Chieftain, which until then had been called Medium Gun Tank No 2, was renamed the Main Battle Tank". Through the 1960s and 1970s, the MBT replaced almost all other types of tanks, leaving only some specialist roles to be filled by lighter designs or other types of armored fighting vehicles.

Challenger 2

Challenger 2

The FV4034 Challenger 2 is a third generation British main battle tank (MBT) in service with the armies of the United Kingdom and Oman.

Infantry fighting vehicle

Infantry fighting vehicle

An infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), also known as a mechanized infantry combat vehicle (MICV), is a type of armoured fighting vehicle used to carry infantry into battle and provide direct-fire support. The 1990 Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe defines an infantry fighting vehicle as "an armoured combat vehicle which is designed and equipped primarily to transport a combat infantry squad, and which is armed with an integral or organic cannon of at least 20 millimeters calibre and sometimes an antitank missile launcher". IFVs often serve both as the principal weapons system and as the mode of transport for a mechanized infantry unit.

Low-intensity operations

Permanent overseas postings

Discover more about Current deployments related topics

Cyprus

Cyprus

Cyprus, officially the Republic of Cyprus, is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. It is geographically in Western Asia, but its cultural ties and geopolitics are overwhelmingly Southeastern European. Cyprus is the third-largest and third-most populous island in the Mediterranean. It is located north of Egypt, east of Greece, south of Turkey, and west of Lebanon and Syria. Its capital and largest city is Nicosia. The northeast portion of the island is de facto governed by the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Estonia

Estonia

Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Lake Peipus and Russia. The territory of Estonia consists of the mainland, the larger islands of Saaremaa and Hiiumaa, and over 2,200 other islands and islets on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea, covering a total area of 45,339 square kilometres (17,505 sq mi). The capital city Tallinn and Tartu are the two largest urban areas of the country. The Estonian language is the autochthonous and the official language of Estonia; it is the first language of the majority of its population, as well as the world's second most spoken Finnic language.

Africa

Africa

Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both aspects. At about 30.3 million km2 including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surface area. With 1.4 billion people as of 2021, it accounts for about 18% of the world's human population. Africa's population is the youngest amongst all the continents; the median age in 2012 was 19.7, when the worldwide median age was 30.4. Despite a wide range of natural resources, Africa is the least wealthy continent per capita and second-least wealthy by total wealth, behind Oceania. Scholars have attributed this to different factors including geography, climate, tribalism, colonialism, the Cold War, neocolonialism, lack of democracy, and corruption. Despite this low concentration of wealth, recent economic expansion and the large and young population make Africa an important economic market in the broader global context.

Belize

Belize

Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a water boundary with Honduras to the southeast. It has an area of 22,970 square kilometres (8,867 sq mi) and a population of 441,471 (2022). Its mainland is about 290 km (180 mi) long and 110 km (68 mi) wide. It is the least populated and least densely populated country in Central America. Its population growth rate of 1.87% per year is the second-highest in the region and one of the highest in the Western Hemisphere. Its capital is Belmopan, and its largest city is the namesake city of Belize City. Belize is often thought of as a Caribbean country in Central America because it has a history similar to that of English-speaking Caribbean nations. Belize's institutions and official language reflect its history as a British colony.

British Army Training and Support Unit Belize

British Army Training and Support Unit Belize

British Army Training Support Unit Belize (BATSUB), the successor of the former British Forces Belize, is the name given to the current British Army Garrison in Belize. The garrison is used primarily for jungle warfare training, with access to over 5,000 square miles of jungle terrain, provided by the Government of Belize.

Bermuda

Bermuda

Bermuda is a British Overseas Territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. The Bermuda archipelago consists of 181 islands with a total land area of 54 km2 (21 sq mi). The closest land outside the territory is in the US state of North Carolina, approximately 1,035 km (643 mi) to the northwest.

Bermuda Garrison

Bermuda Garrison

The Bermuda Garrison was the military establishment maintained on the British Overseas Territory and Imperial fortress of Bermuda by the regular British Army and its local militia and voluntary reserves from 1701 to 1957. The garrison evolved from an independent company, to a company of Royal Garrison Battalion during the American War of Independence, and a steadily growing and diversifying force of artillery and infantry with various supporting corps from the French Revolution onwards. During the American War of Independence, the garrison in Bermuda fell under the military Commander-in-Chief of America. Subsequently, it was part of the Nova Scotia Command until 1868, and was an independent Bermuda Command from then 'til its closure in 1957.

Board of Ordnance

Board of Ordnance

The Board of Ordnance was a British government body. Established in the Tudor period, it had its headquarters in the Tower of London. Its primary responsibilities were 'to act as custodian of the lands, depots and forts required for the defence of the realm and its overseas possessions, and as the supplier of munitions and equipment to both the Army and the Navy'. The Board also maintained and directed the Artillery and Engineer corps, which it founded in the 18th century. By the 19th century, the Board of Ordnance was second in size only to HM Treasury among government departments. The Board lasted until 1855, at which point it was disbanded.

Bermuda Militia Artillery

Bermuda Militia Artillery

The Bermuda Militia Artillery was a unit of part-time soldiers organised in 1895 as a reserve for the Royal Garrison Artillery detachment of the Regular Army garrison in Bermuda. Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies were intended to man coastal batteries in times of war, which were manned by under-strength numbers of regular army gunners in peace time. The unit was embodied during both world wars, fulfilling its role within the garrison, and also sending contingents overseas to more active theatres of the wars.

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps

Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps

The Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps (BVRC) was created in 1894 as a reserve for the Regular Army infantry component of the Bermuda Garrison. Renamed the Bermuda Rifles in 1951, it was amalgamated into the Bermuda Regiment in 1965.

Bermuda Volunteer Engineers

Bermuda Volunteer Engineers

The Bermuda Volunteer Engineers was a part-time unit created between the two world wars to replace the Regular Royal Engineers detachment, which was withdrawn from the Bermuda Garrison in 1928.

General Service Corps

General Service Corps

The General Service Corps (GSC) is a corps of the British Army.

Army Headquarters is located in Andover, Hampshire, and is responsible for providing forces at operational readiness for employment by the Permanent Joint Headquarters.^[11] The command structure is hierarchical, with overall command residing with the Chief of the General Staff (CGS), who is immediately subordinate to The Chief of Defence Staff, the head of the British Armed Services. The CGS is supported by the Deputy Chief of the General Staff. Army Headquarters is further organised into two subordinate commands, Field Army and Home Command, each commanded by a lieutenant general.^[188] These two Commands serve distinct purposes and are divided into a structure of divisions and brigades, which themselves consist of a complex mix of smaller units such as Battalions. British Army units are either full-time 'Regular' units, or part-time Army Reserve units.^[189]

Field Army

Led by Commander Field Army, the Field Army is responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. The Field Army comprises^[188]

• 1st (United Kingdom) Division
• 3rd (United Kingdom) Division which is the United Kingdom's strategic land warfare asset
• 6th (United Kingdom) Division
• 16 Air Assault Brigade is the British Army's Air Assault formation^[190]
• Land Warfare Centre (United Kingdom) which is responsible for driving adaptation in order to deliver success on operations.

Home Command

Home Command is the British Army's supporting command; a generating, recruiting and training force that supports the Field Army and delivers UK resilience.^[188] It comprises

• Army Personnel Centre, which deals with personnel issues and liaises with outside agencies.^[191]
• Army Personnel Services Group, which supports personnel administration^[188]
• HQ Army Recruiting and Initial Training Command, which is responsible for all recruiting and training of Officers and Soldiers.^[188]
• London District Command, which is the main headquarters for all British Army units within the M25 corridor of London. It also provides for London's ceremonial events as well as supporting operational deployments overseas.^[192]
• Regional Command, which enables the delivery of a secure home front that sustains the Army, notably helping to coordinate the British Army's support to the civil authorities, overseeing the British Army's Welfare Service, and delivering the British Army's civil engagement mission.^[193]
• Standing Joint Command, which coordinates defence's contribution to UK resilience operations in support of other government departments.^[194]

Special Forces

SAS cap badge

The British Army contributes two of the three special forces formations to the United Kingdom Special Forces directorate: the Special Air Service (SAS) and Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR).^[195] The SAS consists of one regular and two reserve regiments.^[196] The regular regiment, 22 SAS, has its headquarters at Stirling Lines, Credenhill, Herefordshire. It consists of 5 squadrons (A, B, D, G and Reserve) and a training wing.^[197] 22 SAS is supported by 2 reserve regiments, 21 SAS and 23 SAS, which collectively form the Special Air Service (Reserve) (SAS [R]), who in 2020 were transferred back under the command of Director of Special Forces after previously being under the command of the 1st Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Brigade.^[198] The SRR, formed in 2005, performs close reconnaissance and special surveillance tasks.^[195] The Special Forces Support Group, under the operational control of the Director of Special Forces, provides operational manoeuvring support to the United Kingdom Special Forces.^[199]

Colonial units

1939 Dominion and Colonial Regiments

The British Army historically included many units from what are now separate Commonwealth realms. When the English Empire was established in North America (including Bermuda), and the West Indies in the early 17th century there was no standing English Army, only the Militia, Yeomanry, and Royal bodyguards, of which the Militia, as the primary home-defence force, was immediately extended to the colonies. Colonial militias defended colonies single-handedly at first against indigenous peoples and European competitors. Once the standing English Army, later the British Army, came into existence and began to garrison the colonies, the colonial militias fought side by side with it in a number of wars, including the Seven Years' War. Some of the colonial militias rebelled during the American War of Independence. The militia fought alongside the regular British Army (and native allies) in defending British North America from their former countrymen during the War of 1812.^[200]

Royal Bermuda Regiment soldier with an L85A2 at USMC Camp Lejeune in 2018

Locally raised units in strategically located Imperial fortress colonies (including: Nova Scotia before the Canadian Confederation; Bermuda – which was treated as part of The Maritimes under the Commander-in-Chief at Nova Scotia until Canadian Confederation; Gibraltar; and Malta) and the Channel Islands were generally maintained from army funds and more fully integrated into the British Army as evident from their appearances in British Army lists, unlike units such as the King's African Rifles.^[201]

The larger colonies (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa, etc.) mostly achieved Commonwealth Dominion status before or after the First World War and were granted full legislative independence in 1931. While remaining within the British Empire, this placed their governments on a par with the British government, and hence their military units comprised separate armies (e.g. the Australian Army), although Canada retained the term "militia" for its military forces until the Second World War. From the 1940s, these dominions and many colonies chose full independence, usually becoming Commonwealth realms (as member states of the Commonwealth are known today).^[202][203]

Units raised in self-governing and Crown colonies (those without local elected Legislatures, as was the case with British Hong Kong) that are part of the British realm remain under British Government control. As the territorial governments are delegated responsibility only for internal government, the UK Government, as the government of the Sovereign state, retains responsibility for national security and the defence of the fourteen remaining British Overseas Territories, of which six have locally raised regiments:

• 

  Falkland Islands Defence Force on parade in June 2013

• 

  Detachment of the Falkland Islands Defence Force in ceremonial dress

• 

  John Fitzgerald Kennedy, escorted by Governor and Commander-in-Chief of Bermuda, Major-General Sir JA Gascoigne, KCMG, KCVO, CB, DSO, DL, and Major JA Marsh, DSO, the Officer Commanding the Bermuda Militia Artillery, inspects a Bermuda Rifles guard in 1961, four years before the units amalgamated

• 

  WO1 Herman Eve, RSM of the Royal Bermuda Regiment in 1992^[210]

• 

  Bandsmen of the Royal Bermuda Regiment

• 

  Royal Bermuda Regiment on parade

• 

  Changing of the guard, Royal Gibraltar Regiment (2012)

• 

  Royal Gibraltar Regiment in London, April 2012

Levels of Command

The structure of the British Army beneath the level of Divisions and Brigades is also hierarchical and command is based on rank. The table below details how many units within the British Army are structured, although there can be considerable variation between individual units:^[188]

Whilst many units are organised as Battalions or Regiments administratively, the most common fighting unit is the combined arms unit known as a Battlegroup. This is formed around a combat unit and supported by units (or sub-units) from other capabilities. An example of a battlegroup would be two companies of armoured infantry (e.g. from the 1st Battalion of the Mercian Regiment), one squadron of heavy armour (e.g. A Squadron of the Royal Tank Regiment), a company of engineers (e.g. B Company of the 22nd Engineer Regiment), a Battery of artillery (e.g. D Battery of the 1st Regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery) and smaller attachments from medical, logistic and intelligence units. Typically organised and commanded by a battlegroup headquarters and named after the unit which provided the most combat units, in this example, it would be the 1 Mercian Battlegroup. This creates a self-sustaining mixed formation of armour, infantry, artillery, engineers and support units, commanded by a lieutenant colonel.^[211]

Discover more about Structure related topics

Army Headquarters (United Kingdom)

Army Headquarters (United Kingdom)

Army Headquarters is a British Army organisation based at Marlborough Lines, Hampshire. The equivalent in the Royal Navy is Navy Command Headquarters at Portsmouth, and the equivalent in the Royal Air Force is Headquarters Air Command at High Wycombe.

Andover, Hampshire

Andover, Hampshire

Andover is a town in the English county of Hampshire. The town is on the River Anton, a major tributary of the Test, and is situated alongside the major A303 trunk road at the eastern end of Salisbury Plain, 18 miles (29 km) west of the town of Basingstoke, both major rail stops. It is 14 miles (23 km) NNW of the city of Winchester, 35 miles (56 km) north of the city of Southampton and 65 miles (105 km) WSW of London. Andover is twinned with the towns of Redon in France, Goch in Germany, and Andover, Massachusetts in the United States.

Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)

Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)

The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) has been the title of the professional head of the British Army since 1964. The CGS is a member of both the Chiefs of Staff Committee and the Army Board. Prior to 1964, the title was Chief of the Imperial General Staff (CIGS). Since 1959, the post has been immediately subordinate to the Chief of the Defence Staff, the post held by the professional head of the British Armed Forces.

Deputy Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)

Deputy Chief of the General Staff (United Kingdom)

Deputy Chief of the General Staff (DCGS) is the title of the deputy to the Chief of the General Staff, the professional head of the British Army. From 1942 until 1968 the Deputy Chief was the third-ranking member of the General Staff, subordinate the Chief and Vice Chief. As of September 2015, the role of Deputy CGS is to be "responsible for representing the Army Top Level Budget (TLB) within Head Office and outwards to relevant TLBs and dependencies, provides oversight of the Army Operating Model and provides overall personnel policy direction as the Principal Personnel Officer (PPO)."

Field Army (United Kingdom)

Field Army (United Kingdom)

The Field Army is a command of the British Army responsible for generating and preparing forces for current and contingency operations. Commander Field Army reports to the Chief of the General Staff.

Division (military)

Division (military)

A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 6,000 and 25,000 soldiers.

Brigade

Brigade

A brigade is a major tactical military formation that typically comprises three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment. Two or more brigades may constitute a division.

Battalion

Battalion

A battalion is a military unit, typically consisting of 300 to 1,000 soldiers commanded by a lieutenant colonel, and subdivided into a number of companies. In some countries, battalions are exclusively infantry, while in others battalions are unit-level organizations.

Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014.

1st (United Kingdom) Division

1st (United Kingdom) Division

The 1st Division is an active infantry division of the British Army. It has been formed and disestablished numerous times between 1809 and the present. In its original incarnation, as the 1st Division, it took part in the Peninsular War before being disbanded in 1814, only to be re-formed the following year for service in the War of the Seventh Coalition and fought at the Battle of Waterloo. It remained active, as part of the British occuaption of France, until it was disbanded in 1818 when the British military withdrew. It was then raised as needed and served in the Crimean War, the Anglo-Zulu War, and the Second Boer War. In 1902, the British Army formed several permanent divisions, which included the 1st Division. It went on to fight in the First World War, made various deployments during the interwar period, and then took part in the Second World War.

3rd (United Kingdom) Division

3rd (United Kingdom) Division

The 3rd Division is a regular army division of the British Army. It was created in 1809 by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army, for service in the Peninsular War, and was known as the Fighting 3rd under Sir Thomas Picton during the Napoleonic Wars. The division fought at the Battle of Waterloo, as well as during the Crimean War and the Second Boer War. As a result of bitter fighting in 1916, during the First World War, the division became referred to as the 3rd (Iron) Division, or the Iron Division or Ironsides. During the Second World War, the division fought in the Battle of France including a rearguard action during the Dunkirk Evacuation, and played a prominent role in the D-Day landings of 6 June 1944. The division was to have been part of a proposed Commonwealth Corps, formed for a planned invasion of Japan in 1945–46, and later served in the British Mandate of Palestine. During the Second World War, the insignia became the "pattern of three" — a black triangle trisected by an inverted red triangle, created by Bernard Montgomery to instil pride in his troops.

6th (United Kingdom) Division

6th (United Kingdom) Division

The 6th Division is an infantry division of the British Army. It was first established by Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington for service in the Peninsular War as part of the Anglo-Portuguese Army and was active for most of the period since, including the First World War and the Second World War. The modern division was reformed on 1 February 2008, as a deployable two star Headquarters for service in Afghanistan during Operation Herrick. The division was officially reformed with a parade and flag presentation at York on 5 August 2008 and then disbanded in April 2011.

One of the most recognisable recruiting posters of the British Army; from World War I, with Lord Kitchener

The British Army primarily recruits from within the United Kingdom, but accept applications from all British citizens. It also accepts applications from Irish citizens and Commonwealth citizens, with certain restrictions.^[212] Since 2018 the British Army has been an equal-opportunity employer (with some legal exceptions due to medical standards), and does not discriminate based on race, religion or sexual orientation.^[213] Applicants for the Regular Army must be a minimum age of 16, although soldiers under 18 may not serve in operations, and the maximum age is 36. Applicants for the Army Reserve must be a minimum of 17 years and 9 months, and a maximum age of 43. Different age limits apply for Officers and those in some specialist roles. Applicants must also meet several other requirements, notably regarding medical health, physical fitness, past-criminal convictions, education, and regarding any tattoos and piercings.^[212]

Soldiers & Officers in the Regular Army now enlist for an initial period of 12 years, with options to extend if they meet certain requirements. Soldiers & Officers are normally required to serve for a minimum of 4 years from date of enlistment and must give 12 months' notice before leaving.^[214]

Oath of allegiance

All soldiers and commissioned officers must take an oath of allegiance upon joining the Army, a process known as attestation. Those who wish to swear by God use the following words:^[9]

I, [soldier's or commissioned officer's name], swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to His Majesty King Charles III, his heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend His Majesty, his heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of His Majesty, his heirs, and successors and of the generals and officers set over me.^[215]

Others replace the words "swear by Almighty God" with "solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm".^[9]

Training

New College buildings at Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Candidates for the Army undergo common training, beginning with initial military training, to bring all personnel to a similar standard in basic military skills, which is known as Phase 1 training. They then undertake further specialist trade-training for their specific Regiment or Corps, known as Phase 2 training. After completing Phase 1 training a soldier is counted against the Army's trained strength, and upon completion of Phase 2 are counted against the Army's fully trained trade strength.^[216]

Soldiers under the age of 17 and 6 months will complete Phase 1 training at the Army Foundation College.^[217] Infantry Soldiers will complete combined Phase 1 & 2 training at the Infantry Training Centre, Catterick, whilst all other Soldiers will attend Phase 1 training at the Army Training Centre Pirbright or Army Training Regiment, Winchester, and then complete Phase 2 training at different locations depending on their specialism.^[216] Officers conduct their initial training at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst (RMAS),^[218] before also completing their Phase 2 training at multiple different locations.^[216]

Discover more about Recruitment related topics

Recruitment in the British Army

Recruitment in the British Army

The British Army came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland. The Army has traditionally relied on volunteer recruits, the only exceptions to this being during the latter part of the First World War until 1919, and then again during the Second World War when conscription was brought in during the war and stayed until 1960.

World War I

World War I

World War I or the First World War, often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. It was fought between two coalitions, the Allies and the Central Powers. Fighting occurred throughout Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Pacific, and parts of Asia. An estimated 9 million soldiers were killed in combat, plus another 23 million wounded, while 5 million civilians died as a result of military action, hunger, and disease. Millions more died as a result of genocide, while the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic was exacerbated by the movement of combatants during the war.

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener

Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener, was a senior British Army officer and colonial administrator. Kitchener came to prominence for his imperial campaigns, his involvement in the Second Boer War, and his central role in the early part of the First World War.

Commonwealth of Nations

Commonwealth of Nations

The Commonwealth of Nations, simply referred to as the Commonwealth, is a political association of 56 member states, the vast majority of which are former territories of the British Empire. The chief institutions of the organisation are the Commonwealth Secretariat, which focuses on intergovernmental aspects, and the Commonwealth Foundation, which focuses on non-governmental relations among member states. Numerous organisations are associated with and operate within the Commonwealth.

God in Abrahamic religions

God in Abrahamic religions

The concept of God in Abrahamic religions is centred on monotheism. The three major monotheistic religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, alongside the Baháʼí Faith, Samaritanism, Druze, and Rastafari, are all regarded as Abrahamic religions due to their shared worship of the God that these traditions claim revealed himself to Abraham. Abrahamic religions share the same distinguishing features:all of their theological traditions are to some extent influenced by the depiction of the God of Israel in the Hebrew Bible; all of them trace their roots to Abraham as a common patriarch.

Charles III

Charles III

Charles III is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales, and at the age of 73, became the oldest person to accede to the British throne, upon the death of his mother, Elizabeth II, on 8 September 2022.

List of British Army installations

List of British Army installations

This is a list of British Army Installations in the United Kingdom and overseas. British overseas bases are concentrated in Cyprus, Brunei, Kenya, the South Atlantic and Germany.

Army Foundation College

Army Foundation College

The Army Foundation College (AFC) is located in Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. It is the only British Army establishment that delivers initial military training to Junior Soldiers.

Infantry Training Centre (British Army)

Infantry Training Centre (British Army)

The Infantry Training Centre (ITC) is a unit of the British Army, administered by HQ School of Infantry and responsible for the basic training and advanced training of soldiers and officers joining the infantry. The unit's headquarters are at Catterick, North Yorkshire.

Army Training Centre Pirbright

Army Training Centre Pirbright

The Army Training Centre Pirbright is an initial training establishment of the British Army, at Pirbright Camp.

Army training regiment

Army training regiment

An Army Training Regiment (ATR) provides Basic Training for elements of the British Army.

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, commonly known simply as Sandhurst, is one of several military academies of the United Kingdom and is the British Army's initial officer training centre. It is located in the town of Sandhurst, Berkshire, though its ceremonial entrance is in Camberley, Surrey, southwest of London. The academy's stated aim is to be "the national centre of excellence for leadership". All British Army officers, including late-entry officers who were previously Warrant Officers, as well as other men and women from overseas, are trained at the academy. Sandhurst is the British Army equivalent of the Britannia Royal Naval College and the Royal Air Force College Cranwell.

The British Army's official flag is the Union Jack. The Army also has a non-ceremonial flag that is often seen flying from military buildings and is used at recruiting and military events and exhibitions.^[219] Traditionally most British Army units had a set of flags, known as the colours—normally a Regimental Colour and a Queen's Colour (the Union Jack). Historically these were carried into battle as a rallying point for the soldiers and were closely guarded. In modern units the colours are often prominently displayed, decorated with battle honours, and act as a focal point for Regimental pride.^[220] A soldier re-joining a regiment (upon recall from the reserve) is described as re-called to the Colours.^[221]

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  Official Army flag

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  Non-ceremonial army flag; "Army", in gold letters, sometimes appears below the badge.

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  Ensign for general use by the Royal Logistic Corps

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  Ensign flown by the Royal Logistic Corps from vessels commanded by commissioned officers

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  Ensign of the Corps of Royal Engineers

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Regulation Colours

Regulation Colours

The Regulation Colours are the standard colours used in the armed forces of the countries falling under the Commonwealth of Nations.

Union Jack

Union Jack

The Union Jack, or Union Flag, is the de facto national flag of the United Kingdom. Although no law has been passed making the Union Flag the official national flag of the United Kingdom, it has effectively become such through precedent. It is sometimes asserted that the term Union Jack properly refers only to naval usage, but this assertion was dismissed by the Flag Institute in 2013 following historical investigations. The flag has official status in Canada, by parliamentary resolution, where it is known as the Royal Union Flag. It is the national flag of all British overseas territories, being localities within the British state, or realm, although local flags have also been authorised for most, usually comprising the blue or red ensign with the Union Flag in the canton and defaced with the distinguishing arms of the territory. These may be flown in place of, or along with the national flag. Governors of British Overseas Territories have their own personal flags, which are the Union Flag with the distinguishing arms of the colony at the centre. The Union Flag also appears in the canton of the flags of several nations and territories that are former British possessions or dominions, as well as in the flag of the US State of Hawaii, which has no such connection.

Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies

Battle honours of the British and Imperial Armies

The following battle honours were awarded to units of the British Army and the armies of British India and the Dominions of the British Empire. From their institution until the end of the Second World War, awards were made by, or in consultation with, the British government, but, since 1945, the individual countries of the former British Empire have awarded battle honours to their forces independently.

Ensign (flag)

Ensign (flag)

An ensign is the national flag flown on a vessel to indicate nationality. The ensign is the largest flag, generally flown at the stern (rear) of the ship while in port. The naval ensign, used on warships, may be different from the civil ensign or the yacht ensign. Large versions of naval ensigns called battle ensigns are used when a warship goes into battle. The ensign differs from the jack, which is flown from a jackstaff at the bow of a vessel.

Royal Logistic Corps

Royal Logistic Corps

The Royal Logistic Corps provides logistic support functions to the British Army. It is the largest Corps in the Army.

Royal Engineers

Royal Engineers

The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, England. The corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world.

British Army officer rank insignia
NATO Code	OF-10	OF-9	OF-8	OF-7	OF-6	OF-5	OF-4	OF-3	OF-2	OF-1		OF(D)
United Kingdom Epaulette rank insignia
Rank title:[222]	Field marshal	General	Lieutenant-general	Major-general	Brigadier	Colonel	Lieutenant colonel	Major	Captain	Lieutenant	Second lieutenant	Officer cadet
Abbreviation:	FM[note 2]	Gen	Lt Gen	Maj Gen	Brig	Col	Lt Col	Maj	Capt	Lt	2Lt	OCdt

British Army other rank insignia
NATO Code	OR-9			OR-8		OR-7	OR-6	OR-5	OR-4	OR-3	OR-2	OR-1
United Kingdom Rank Insignia (View)											No insignia
Rank Title:[223]	Warrant Officer class 1			Warrant Officer class 2		Staff/Colour Sergeant	Sergeant		Corporal	Lance corporal	Private (or equivalent)
Abbreviation:	WO1			WO2		SSgt/CSgt	Sgt		Cpl	LCpl	Pte

Most ranks across the British Army are known by the same name regardless of which Regiment they are in. However, the Household Cavalry call many ranks by different names, the Royal Artillery refer to Corporals as Bombardiers, and Private soldiers are known by a wide variety of titles; notably trooper, gunner, guardsman, sapper, signalman, fusilier, craftsman and rifleman dependant on the Regiment they belong to.^[224] These names do not affect a soldier's pay or role.^[225]

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British Army officer rank insignia

British Army officer rank insignia

Listed in the table below are the insignia—emblems of authority—of the British Army. Badges for field officers were first introduced in 1810 and the insignia was moved to the epaulettes in 1880. On ceremonial or parade uniforms these ranks continue to be worn on the epaulettes, either as cloth slides or as metal clips, although on the modern 'working dress' they are usually worn as a cloth slide on the chest. Although these insignia apply across the British Army there is variation in the precise design and colours used and it can take some time to become familiar with them all.

British Army other ranks rank insignia

British Army other ranks rank insignia

"Other ranks" is the term used to refer to all ranks below officers in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It includes warrant officers, non-commissioned officers ("NCOs") and ordinary soldiers with the rank of private or regimental equivalent. Officers may, in speaking, distinguish themselves from those "in the ranks".

NATO

NATO

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two North American. Established in the aftermath of World War II, the organization implemented the North Atlantic Treaty, signed in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949. NATO is a collective security system: its independent member states agree to defend each other against attacks by third parties. During the Cold War, NATO operated as a check on the perceived threat posed by the Soviet Union. The alliance remained in place after the dissolution of the Soviet Union and has been involved in military operations in the Balkans, the Middle East, South Asia, and Africa. The organization's motto is animus in consulendo liber.

Field marshal (United Kingdom)

Field marshal (United Kingdom)

Field Marshal (FM) has been the highest rank in the British Army since 1736. A five-star rank with NATO code OF-10, it is equivalent to an Admiral of the Fleet in the Royal Navy or a Marshal of the Royal Air Force in the Royal Air Force (RAF). A Field Marshal's insignia consists of two crossed batons surrounded by yellow leaves below St Edward's Crown. Like Marshals of the RAF and Admirals of the Fleet, Field Marshals traditionally remain officers for life, though on half-pay when not in an appointment. The rank has been used sporadically throughout its history and was vacant during parts of the 18th and 19th centuries. After the Second World War, it became standard practice to appoint the Chief of the Imperial General Staff to the rank on his last day in the post. Army officers occupying the post of Chief of the Defence Staff, the professional head of all the British Armed Forces, were usually promoted to the rank upon their appointment.

General (United Kingdom)

General (United Kingdom)

General is the highest rank achievable by serving officers of the British Army. The rank can also be held by Royal Marines officers in tri-service posts, for example, General Sir Gordon Messenger the former Vice-Chief of the Defence Staff. It ranks above lieutenant-general and, in the Army, is subordinate to the rank of field marshal, which is now only awarded as an honorary rank. The rank of general has a NATO-code of OF-9, and is a four-star rank. It is equivalent to a full admiral in the Royal Navy or an air chief marshal in the Royal Air Force.

Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)

Lieutenant-general (United Kingdom)

Lieutenant general, formerly more commonly lieutenant-general, is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. It is the equivalent of a multinational three-star rank; some British lieutenant generals sometimes wear three-star insignia, in addition to their standard insignia, when on multinational operations.

Brigadier (United Kingdom)

Brigadier (United Kingdom)

Brigadier (Brig) is a senior rank in the British Army and the Royal Marines. Brigadier is the superior rank to colonel, and subordinate to major-general. It corresponds to the rank of brigadier general in many other nations.

Colonel (United Kingdom)

Colonel (United Kingdom)

Colonel (Col) is a rank of the British Army and Royal Marines, ranking below brigadier, and above lieutenant colonel. British colonels are not usually field commanders; typically they serve as staff officers between field commands at battalion and brigade level. The insignia is two diamond-shaped pips below a crown. The crown has varied in the past with different monarchs; Elizabeth II's reign used St Edward's Crown. The rank is equivalent to captain in the Royal Navy and group captain in the Royal Air Force.

Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)

Lieutenant colonel (United Kingdom)

Lieutenant colonel, is a rank in the British Army and Royal Marines which is also used in many Commonwealth countries. The rank is superior to major, and subordinate to colonel. The comparable Royal Navy rank is commander, and the comparable rank in the Royal Air Force and many Commonwealth air forces is wing commander.

Major (United Kingdom)

Major (United Kingdom)

Major (Maj) is a military rank which is used by both the British Army and Royal Marines. The rank is superior to captain and subordinate to lieutenant colonel. The insignia for a major is a crown. The equivalent rank in the Royal Navy is lieutenant commander, and squadron leader in the Royal Air Force.

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain (British Army and Royal Marines)

Captain (Capt) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force. The rank of captain in the Royal Navy is considerably more senior and the two ranks should not be confused.

Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)

Lieutenant (British Army and Royal Marines)

Lieutenant is a junior officer rank in the British Army and Royal Marines. It ranks above second lieutenant and below captain and has a NATO ranking code of OF-1 and it is the senior subaltern rank. Unlike some armed forces which use first lieutenant, the British rank is simply lieutenant, with no ordinal attached. The rank is equivalent to that of a flying officer in the Royal Air Force (RAF). Although formerly considered senior to a Royal Navy (RN) sub-lieutenant, the British Army and Royal Navy ranks of lieutenant and sub-lieutenant are now considered to be of equivalent status. The Army rank of lieutenant has always been junior to the Navy's rank of lieutenant.

The oldest of the Reserve Forces was the Militia Force (also referred to as the Constitutional Force),^{[226][227][228][229]} which (in the Kingdom of England, prior to 1707) was originally the main military defensive force (there otherwise were originally only Royal bodyguards, including the Yeomen Warders and the Yeomen of the Guard, with armies raised only temporarily for expeditions overseas), made up of civilians embodied for annual training or emergencies, which had used various schemes of compulsory service during different periods of its long existence. From the 1850s it recruited volunteers who engaged for terms of service. The Militia was originally an all-infantry force, though Militia coastal artillery, field artillery, and engineers units were introduced from the 1850s,^[230] organised at the city or county level, and members were not required to serve outside of their recruitment area, although the area within which militia units in Britain could be posted was increased to anywhere in the Britain during the Eighteenth Century.

Volunteer Force units were also frequently raised during wartime and disbanded upon peace. This was re-established as a permanent (i.e., in war and peace) part of the Reserve Forces in 1859. It differed from the Militia in a number of ways, most particularly in that volunteers did not commit to a term service, and were able to resign with fourteen days notice (except while embodied). As volunteer soldiers were originally expected to fund the cost of their own equipment, few tended to come from the labouring class among whom the Militia primarily recruited.^[231][232]

The Yeomanry Force was made up of mounted units, organised similarly to the Volunteer Force, first raised during the two decades of war with France that followed the French Revolution. As with the Volunteers, members of the Yeomanry were expected to foot much of the cost of their own equipment, including their horses, and the make-up of the units tended to be from more affluent classes.^[233][234]

Although Militia regiments were linked with British Army regiments during the course of the Napoleonic Wars to feed volunteers for service abroad into the regular army, and volunteers from the Reserve Forces served abroad either individually or in contingents, service companies, or battalions in a succession of conflicts from the Crimean War to the Second Boer War, personnel did not normally move between forces unless re-attested as a member of the new force, and units did not normally move from the Reserve Forces to become part of the Regular Forces, or vice versa. There were exceptions, however, as with the New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry, raised in 1803, which became the 104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot when it was transferred to the British Army on 13 September 1810.^[235]

Another type of reserve force was created during the period between the French Revolution and the end of the Napoleonic Wars. Called Fencibles, these were disbanded after the Napoleonic Wars and not raised again, although the Royal Malta Fencible Regiment, later the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery, existed from 1815 until the 1880s when it became the Royal Malta Artillery,^[236] and the Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps was formed in 1846.^[237][238]

The Reserve Forces were raised locally (in Britain, under the control of Lords-Lieutenant of counties, and, in British colonies, under the colonial governors, and members originally were obliged to serve only within their locality (which, in the United Kingdom, originally meant within the county or other recruitment area, but was extended to anywhere in Britain, though not overseas). They have consequently also been referred to as Local Forces. As they were (and in some cases are) considered separate forces from the British Army, though still within the British military, they have also been known as Auxiliary Forces. The Militia and Volunteer units of a colony were generally considered to be separate forces from the Home Militia Force and Volunteer Force in the United Kingdom, and from the Militia Forces and Volunteer Forces of other colonies. Where a colony had more than one Militia or Volunteer unit, they would be grouped as a Militia or Volunteer Force for that colony, such as the Jamaica Volunteer Defence Force. Officers of the Reserve Forces could not sit on Courts Martial of regular forces personnel. The Mutiny Act did not apply to members of the Reserve Forces. The Reserve Forces within the British Isles were increasingly integrated with the British Army through a succession of reforms (beginning with the Cardwell Reforms) of the British military forces over the last two decades of the Nineteenth Century and the early years of the Twentieth Century, whereby the Reserve Forces units mostly lost their own identities and became numbered Militia or Volunteer battalions of regular British Army corps or regiments.^[239]

In 1908, the Yeomanry and Volunteer Force were merged to create the Territorial Force (changed to Territorial Army after the First World War), with terms of service similar to the army and Militia, and the Militia was renamed the Special Reserve,^{[240][241][242]} After the First World War the Special Reserve was renamed the Militia, again, but permanently suspended (although a handful of Militia units survived in the United Kingdom, its colonies, and the Crown Dependencies). Although the Territorial Force was nominally still a separate force from the British Army, by the end of the century, at the latest, any unit wholly or partly funded from Army Funds was considered part of the British Army. Outside the United Kingdom-proper, this was generally only the case for those units in the Channel Islands or the Imperial fortress colonies (Nova Scotia, before Canadian confederation; Bermuda; Gibraltar; and Malta).^{[243][244][245]}

The Bermuda Militia Artillery, Bermuda Militia Infantry, Bermuda Volunteer Engineers, and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps,^[246][230] by example were paid for by the War Office and considered part of the British Army, with their officers appearing in the Army List unlike those of many other colonial units deemed auxiliaries. Today, the British Army is the only Home British military force, including the various other forces it has absorbed, though British military units organised on Territorial Army lines remain in British Overseas Territories that are still not considered formally part of the British Army, with only the Royal Gibraltar Regiment and the Royal Bermuda Regiment (an amalgam of the old Bermuda Militia Artillery and Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps) appearing on the British Army order-of-precedence and in the Army List, as well as on the Corps Warrant (the official list of those British military forces that are considered corps of the British Army).^{[247][248][249][250][251][252][253][254]}

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Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

Army Reserve (United Kingdom)

The Army Reserve is the active-duty volunteer reserve force of the British Army. It is separate from the Regular Reserve whose members are ex-Regular personnel who retain a statutory liability for service. The Army Reserve was known as the Territorial Force from 1908 to 1921, the Territorial Army (TA) from 1921 to 1967, the Territorial and Army Volunteer Reserve (TAVR) from 1967 to 1979, and again the Territorial Army (TA) from 1979 to 2014.

Militia (Great Britain)

Militia (Great Britain)

The Militia of Great Britain were the principal military reserve forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain during the 18th century.

Kingdom of England

Kingdom of England

The Kingdom of England existed on the island of Great Britain from 12 July 927, when it unified from various Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, until 1 May 1707, when it united with Scotland to form the Kingdom of Great Britain.

Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies

Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies

The Militia Artillery units of the United Kingdom and Colonies were military reserve units made up of volunteers who served part-time during peacetime, training to take over responsibility for manning fixed artillery batteries from the regular Royal Artillery during times of war.

Crimean War

Crimean War

The Crimean War was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Sardinia-Piedmont.

104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot

104th (New Brunswick) Regiment of Foot

104th Regiment of Foot was a regiment of the British Army. The regiment had its origins in the New Brunswick Regiment of Fencible Infantry, a unit of fencibles raised for the defence of the colony of New Brunswick in 1803. Recruits were drawn from across British North America, Scotland, Ireland and existing British Army units. The regiment was formally entered into the establishment in 1806 with a strength of around 650 enlisted men but grew to almost 1,100 by 1808. In 1810 the regiment's officers requested that it join the British Army as a regiment of foot. This request was granted on 13 September 1810 and the unit was renamed the 104th Regiment of Foot.

Fencibles

Fencibles

The Fencibles were British regiments raised in the United Kingdom, Isle of Man and in the colonies for defence against the threat of invasion during the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, the French Revolutionary Wars, the Napoleonic Wars and the War of 1812 in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Usually temporary units, composed of local recruits and commanded by Regular Army officers, they were usually confined to garrison and patrol duties, freeing Regular Army units to perform offensive operations. Most fencible regiments had no liability for overseas service.

Royal Malta Fencible Regiment

Royal Malta Fencible Regiment

The Royal Malta Fencible Regiment was an infantry battalion of the British Army which existed from 1815 to 1861 in Malta, then a British colony. The regiment was recruited and organised by Francesco Rivarola in 1815; Rivarola had proved himself loyal to the British Crown in fighting France. In 1861 the regiment was disbanded as an infantry unit and designated as a coastal artillery defence regiment, becoming the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery.

Royal Malta Artillery

Royal Malta Artillery

The Royal Malta Artillery (RMA) was a regular artillery unit of the British Army prior to Malta's independence. It was formed in 1889, having been called the Royal Malta Fencible Artillery from 1861 until 1889.

Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps

Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps

The Royal New Zealand Fencible Corps was formed in 1846, following the conclusion of the Northern War phase of the New Zealand Wars against Hone Heke. The Governor, George Grey, had requested military forces for the defence of the early settlers in New Zealand, and instead of supplying regular military forces the British parliament approved the creation of the Corps. Auckland, which had a population of 2,800 at the time, virtually doubled in size when the fencibles and their families disembarked.

British Overseas Territories

British Overseas Territories

The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former British Empire and do not form part of the United Kingdom itself. The permanently inhabited territories are internally self-governing, with the United Kingdom retaining responsibility for defence and foreign relations. Three of the territories are inhabited, chiefly or only, by a transitory population of military or scientific personnel. All but one of the rest are listed by the UN Special Committee on Decolonization as non-self-governing territories. All fourteen have the British monarch as head of state. These UK government responsibilities are assigned to various departments of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and are subject to change.

Cardwell Reforms

Cardwell Reforms

The Cardwell Reforms were a series of reforms of the British Army undertaken by Secretary of State for War Edward Cardwell between 1868 and 1874 with the support of Liberal prime minister William Ewart Gladstone. Gladstone paid little attention to military affairs but he was keen on efficiency. In 1870, he pushed through Parliament major changes in Army organisation. Germany's stunning triumph over France in the Franco-Prussian War proved that the Prussian system of professional soldiers with up-to-date weapons was far superior to the traditional system of gentlemen-soldiers that Britain used.

The British Army uniform has sixteen categories, ranging from ceremonial uniforms to combat dress to evening wear. No. 8 Dress, the day-to-day uniform, is known as "Personal Clothing System – Combat Uniform" (PCS-CU)^[255] and consists of a Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) windproof smock, a lightweight jacket and trousers with ancillary items such as thermals and waterproofs.^[256] The army has introduced tactical recognition flashes (TRFs); worn on the right arm of a combat uniform, the insignia denotes the wearer's regiment or corps.^[257] In addition to working dress, the army has a number of parade uniforms for ceremonial and non-ceremonial occasions. The most-commonly-seen uniforms are No.1 Dress (full ceremonial, seen at formal occasions such as at the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace) and No.2 Dress (Service Dress), a brown khaki uniform worn for non-ceremonial parades.^[256][258]

Working headdress is typically a beret, whose colour indicates its wearer's type of regiment. Beret colours are:^[259]

• Khaki—Foot Guards, Honourable Artillery Company, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, Royal Anglian Regiment, Royal Welsh, Yorkshire Regiment
• Light grey—Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps
• Brown—King's Royal Hussars, Royal Wessex Yeomanry
• Black—Royal Tank Regiment
• Dark (rifle) green—Royal Dragoon Guards, The Rifles, Royal Gurkha Rifles, Small Arms School Corps
• Maroon—Parachute Regiment
• Beige—Special Air Service
• Sky blue—Army Air Corps
• Cypress green—Intelligence Corps
• Scarlet—Royal Military Police
• Green—Adjutant General's Corps
• Navy blue—All other units, such as the Household Cavalry, Light Dragoons, Queen's Dragoon Guards, Royal Yeomanry, and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers
• Emerald grey—Special Reconnaissance Regiment
• Gun-metal grey—The Ranger Regiment^[260]

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Multi-Terrain Pattern

Multi-Terrain Pattern

The Multi-Terrain Pattern (MTP) is the standard camouflage pattern of the British Armed Forces.

Long underwear

Long underwear

Long underwear, also called long johns or thermal underwear, is a style of two-piece underwear with long legs and long sleeves that is normally worn during cold weather. It is commonly worn by people under their clothes in cold countries.

Raincoat

Raincoat

A raincoat is a waterproof or water-resistant garment worn on the upper body to shield the wearer from rain. The term rain jacket is sometimes used to refer to raincoats with long sleeves that are waist-length. A rain jacket may be combined with a pair of rain pants to make a rainsuit. Rain clothing may also be in one piece, like a boilersuit. Raincoats, like rain ponchos, offer the wearer hands-free protection from the rain and elements; unlike the umbrella.

Khaki

Khaki

The color khaki is a light shade of tan with a slight yellowish tinge.

Headgear

Headgear

Headgear, headwear, or headdress includes any element of clothing which is worn on one's head, including hats, helmets, turbans and many other types. Headgear is worn for many purposes, including protection against the elements, decoration, or for religious or cultural reasons, including social conventions.

Beret

Beret

A beret is a soft, round, flat-crowned cap, usually of woven, hand-knitted wool, crocheted cotton, wool felt, or acrylic fibre.

Honourable Artillery Company

Honourable Artillery Company

The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) is a reserve regiment in the British Army. Incorporated by royal charter in 1537 by King Henry VIII, it is the oldest regiment in the British Army and is considered the second-oldest military unit in the world. Today, it is also a charity whose purpose is to attend to the "better defence of the realm", primarily through supporting the HAC regiment and a detachment of City of London Special Constabulary. The word "artillery" in "Honourable Artillery Company" does not have the current meaning that is generally associated with it, but dates from a time when in the English language that word meant any projectile, including for example arrows shot from a bow. The equivalent form of words in modern English would be either "Honourable Infantry Company" or "Honourable Military Company".

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment

Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is the senior English line infantry regiment of the British Army, second in the line infantry order of precedence to the Royal Regiment of Scotland and part of the Queen's Division.

Royal Anglian Regiment

Royal Anglian Regiment

The Royal Anglian Regiment is an infantry regiment of the British Army. It consists of two Regular battalions and one Reserve battalion. The modern regiment was formed in 1964, making it the oldest of the Line Regiments now operating in the British Army, and can trace its history back to 1685. The regiment was the first of the large infantry regiments and is one of the three regiments of the Queen's Division.

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

Royal Scots Dragoon Guards

The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers and Greys) is a cavalry regiment of the British Army, and the senior Scottish regiment. The regiment, through the Royal Scots Greys, is the oldest surviving Cavalry Regiment of the Line in the British Army. The regiment is based at Waterloo Lines, Leuchars Station, as part of 51st Infantry Brigade and Headquarters Scotland, a light adaptable force brigade.

Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps

Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps

Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps is the nursing branch of the British Army Medical Services.

King's Royal Hussars

King's Royal Hussars

The King's Royal Hussars (KRH) is a Royal Armoured Corps regiment of the British Army formed in 1992. Based at Tidworth it serves as the armoured regiment of the 12th Armoured Brigade Combat Team (ABCT). Under Army 2020 Refine, it is intended to exchange its Challenger 2 tanks for Ajax vehicles.