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The British Army is the land armed forces of the United Kingdom. It numbers 99,400 fully trained and professional regulars (as of April 2004).
In contrast to the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force, the British Army does not include royal in its title, because of its roots as a collection of disparate units. It does still come under the command of the British monarch, who is Commander-in-Chief of the UK Armed Forces.
History
The Founding of the Army The British Army did not exist as a single, distinct entity before the Act of Union of 1707 which united England and Scotland, but its origins date back to the aftermath of the English Civil War. Before the Civil War, England had no standing army - units were raised as required by the King, who would warrant gentlemen to raise companies. This was a development of the feudal concept of fief (in which a lord was obligated to raise a certain quota of knights, men at arms and yeomanry) under greater control of the King - raising companies without a warrant could be considered treasonable, whereas feudal lords could raise their fief to fight each other.
After the Civil War, parliament assumed control of the Army, and standing companies based on Cromwell's New Model Army formed the concept of the first regiments. Cromwell's companies did not yet assume the unique names that came later to be associated with British Army Regiments, instead they would name their companies after psalms or biblical phrases, or were often identified with the gentleman (typically with the rank of Colonel) who had raised the company, eg Monck's Regiment of Foot. (now known as the Coldstream Guards.)
With the Restoration of Charles II the concept of standing regiments found favour with the King. As well as retaining some existing loyal standing units, he raised his own, one of the first being the First or Grenadier Regiment of Foot Guards, today shortened to the Grenadier Guards. On January 26th, 1661 Charles II issued the warrant that officially founded the British Army.
The oldest surviving regiment in the British Army is the Honourable Artillery Company (given a royal charter in 1537), now a Territorial Army unit. It is not considered the most senior, however, because it fought on the side of Parliament in the Civil War and so doesn't have unbroken service to the crown. This honour instead goes to the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers, also now a Territorial Army unit, which was founded in 1539. The oldest surviving regular unit is the Royal Scots, founded in 1633.
The Monarch is the formal head of the Armed Forces and is the only person who can declare war and peace, though these powers are exercised today only on the advice of responsible Ministers. The Bill of Rights of 1689 prevents a standing army in peacetime without the consent of Parliament.
- That the raising or keeping a standing army within the kingdom in time of peace, unless it be with consent of Parliament, is against law.
No such prohibition applies to the Royal Navy. Parliamentary consent is currently given by the Army and Royal Air Force Acts of 1955 and annual Continuation Orders passed by Parliament.
The Army in the 18th and 19th centuries Numerous colonial wars including:
The Army and the First World War Vickers machine gun and crew See World War I.
The British Expeditionary Force, organized by Richard Burdon Haldane, was sent to France at the beginning of World War I. During the war, the Tank Corps and the Royal Flying Corps were formed. Major developments included trench warfare and the tank.
Major Actions Battle of Mons, Battle of the Somme, Ypres, Marne, etc.
Equipment and Uniform The standard rifle in this period was the Lee-Enfield Rifle, in its short magazine form (SMLE). Officers and some other ranks were equipped with a Webley Mk IV revolver. Other infantry weapons included the Lewis gun and Vickers machine gun. It was during this period that the Brodie helmet was introduced, giving one of the classic visual attributes of the British "Tommy".
The Army and the Second World War See British military history of World War II and British Commandos
Major Actions Battle of France, Battle of Dunkirk, North African Campaign, Italian Campaign, Operation Overlord, Operation Market Garden, Ardennes Offensive, South-East Asian Theatre
Equipment and Uniform The standard rifle in this period was the Lee-Enfield Rifle in its No.4 Mk1 form, although equipment shortages after Dunkirk meant many older forms of the Lee-Enfield were brought back into use. Other infantry weapons included the Bren gun, Thompson submachine gun, Sten gun and Vickers machine gun. The Brodie helmet continued to be standard issue.
Cold War In the aftermath of WWII, the Army concentrated most of its combat firepower in Germany. For the first time in its history, it maintained the bulk of its forces in continental Europe in peacetime, after they ceased being an army of occupation. The British Army of the Rhine (BAOR) was formed to control British formations in West Germany. It varied in size during its lifetime, but for a good proportion of the time, it consisted of four divisions, with about 55,000 men in total. Another unusual feature of the formation was that it had a British corps headquarters permanently established in peacetime as a manoeuvre formation. This was I Corps. Usually in peacetime there are not enough British formations in one place to merit this level of headquarters being established.
The BAOR lasted until 1993, when it was disbanded as part of the Options for Change defence cuts. The Army has not completely pulled out of Germany. 1st Armoured Division is still based in the country as part of British Forces Germany.
Major Actions
Equipment and Uniform The standard rifle in this period was initially the Lee-Enfield family of rifles, but these were replaced in the 1950s with the L1A1 Self Loading Rifle (SLR)
Modern British Army Since 1962, when the last period of conscription (National Service) ended, the army has been a wholly professional force of volunteers. About one quarter of the Army is provided by the part-time members of the Territorial Army.
Major Actions & Deployments The British Army has been serving in Northern Ireland in the 'military aid to the civil authorities' capacity for over thirty years. Their presence has been controversial among some on both sides of the Irish border. In particular, allegations of collusion with Protestant terrorists have been common, although these were more often levelled at the home regiment, the UDR, now the RIR. Since the IRA ceasefire, the army presence in the region has been intentionally reduced both to ease any remaining tensions and to relieve personnel for duties elsewhere. After initial combat operations to quell anti-government militia activity, the army has remained to train, equip and support government forces. During combat with the militia, several soldiers and officers were kidnapped and held by the West Side Boys in a stronghold surrounded by dense jungle and swamps. The Parachute Regiment and the SAS mounted a rescue mission via boat and helicopter. One member of HM forces died. However, the action was executed with textbook precision and all hostages were released. British forces were part of the spearhead group that initiated actions in Afghanistan that was implemented in response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. In the aftermath of the invasion British forces remain in the capital Kabul as a protection force for the new government as part of a NATO multi-national force. Smaller groups also operate in Northern territories to work with tribal leaders in an attempt to end violence and drug trafficking. The British Army is also based in a variety of locations, in varying degrees of strength. - In Brunei, the British provide a Gurkha battalion, supported by a small garrison unit and a Bell 212 flight from the Army Air Corps.
- In Canada the British Army Training Unit Suffield (BATUS) is based in Alberta. A small permanent staff is based as part of BATUS. The vast and uninhabited BATUS provides large-scale armoured and mechanised training for 6 regiments annually, exercises lasting for approximately 6-weeks.
- In Germany, the garrison force there represents the largest overseas contingent of the British Army, with roughly about 25,000 soldiers stationed there and a considerable amount of equipment based there.
Equipment and Uniform See Modern equipment and uniform of the British Army
Structure and Personnel
Ranks The various ranks, in descending order, are as follows (note that certain rank titles in the British Army are usually hyphenated):
Officers
Soldiers
Structure of the British Army See Structure of the British Army.
Oath of Allegiance All soldiers must take the Oath of Allegiance on joining the Army. Those who believe in God use the following words: - I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegiance to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and that I will as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, her heirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemies and will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, her heirs and successors and of the generals and officers set over me. [1] (http://www.army.mod.uk/servingsoldier/usefulinfo/valuesgeneral/adp5milcov/ss_hrpers_values_adp5_3_w.html#selfless)
Others replace the words "swear by Almighty God" with "solemnly, sincerely and truly declare and affirm".
See also
Units Land units of the British Armed Forces which are not part of the British Army include;
Members of the British Army
External links - British Army Website (http://www.army.mod.uk/)
- The British Army in the Great War (http://www.1914-1918.net/)
- The Army Rumour Service - an unoffical site for news, gossip and discussion. (http://www.arrse.co.uk/)
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