The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps (known as the CTC , Camel Corps or Camel Transport ) were a group of Egyptian camel drivers who supported the British Army in Egypt during the First World War 's Sinai and Palestine Campaign . The work done by the 170,000 men of the Corps helped British war operations in the Sinai desert and in Palestine and Syria by transporting supplies to the troops in extreme geographic and weather conditions.
128-687: The Egyptian Labour Corps (also known as the ELC or Labour Corps ) was a group of Egyptian labourers who worked for the British Army in Egypt during the First World War 's Sinai and Palestine Campaign . Egypt had historically been part of the Ottoman Empire for hundreds of years. However, starting in the late nineteenth century, British influence in the country began to expand as
256-779: 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
384-577: A Catholic) during his brief controversial reign, off the throne and into exile. England then involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance on the Continent, primarily to prevent a possible French Catholic monarch organizing invasion restoring the exiled James II (Queen Mary's father and still a Roman Catholic ). Later in 1689, William III to solidify his and Mary's hold on the monarchy, expanded
512-542: A bit and noticed that they were concealing weapons. Suddenly a great handsome black devil about 6ft 4ins high ... came threateningly forward and I covered him with my revolver: to my disgust I found it was choked with sand and would not revolve, so I whacked him twice over the head with the butt end. ... Then I invited any other 'gentlemen' who did not want to march out to come forward, but they all assured me they only wanted to fill their bottles and to work. I don't think there would have been any further trouble, but my NCO came on
640-707: A deployment in Afghanistan as part of Operation Toral . 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. It was later reported that all UK troops would be out by early July. Following the collapse of the Afghan Army, and the completion of
768-487: A good lot and very much attached to me. However, I was awakened before five by angry mutterings outside my tent and when I went out I found about 150 fanatics surrounding it. I ordered them to fill their water bottles, draw their extra rations and saddle up, but their head man explained that whatever happened they would drawn neither water nor rations nor load up nor march out on their feast day and they demanded their pay and discharge. I parleyed and ordered without effect for
896-408: A huge affair, hundreds of camels loaded with stores and fantasses of water, & pack mules loaded with ammunition... I had been instructed to stay with 125 H.Q. but to report to my officer in the morning. I was unable to find him so of course I went with the rest, thinking that I would see something exciting, never dreaming of the horrors to go through. I marched with the rest & all went well while
1024-631: A land that was so inhospitable to Europeans. The great value of this service was also acknowledged by General Allenby in his Despatch of 16 December 1917 where he mentions their steadiness under fire and devotion to duty. Early in the conflict, volunteers for the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, often from extremely poor villages, like those in the Egyptian Labour Corps were given a daily inducement of 7 Piastres (one shilling and six pence) and rations. Later it
1152-606: 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
1280-575: A long drink & it was delicious. I could have gone on drinking for ever." On 6 August, the eve of the Greater Bairam (celebrating the end of the Islamic year) the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps at Romani was ordered to move out at dawn to toil eastward. In the morning 150 men (most of whom were past the end of their contracts and entitled to be discharged) refused orders to fill their water bottles, draw their extra rations and saddle up. One man
1408-632: A month and the pipeline construction eventually caught up with the railway at El Arish in February 1917. At this time General Harry Chauvel ordered aerial counter-attacks on German and Ottoman positions to stop as retaliation against German aerial attacks on the Egyptian Labour Corps, which stopped the railway gangs from continuing the strategically vital railway on to Rafah . Under the supervision of administrative officers of corps, divisions and sanitary sections, troops worked alongside
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#17327754501941536-578: A multinational armoured battlegroup in Estonia under Operation Cabrit and contributes troops to another military battle group in Poland . As part of the NATO plans, Britain has committed a full mechanized infantry brigade to be on a high state of readiness to defend Estonia. Between 2015 and 2022, the British Army deployed Short Term Training Teams (STTTs) to Ukraine under Operation Orbital to help train
1664-447: A number of NCOs and the usual attendant details – saddlers, ambulance, vets, batmen, orderlies etc. Ordered to march in mid summer during the middle of the day the sand burnt and cracked the camel drivers' feet. Half didn't have a water bottle and they fainted with thirst, heat and weariness, falling out or plodding on blindly. About 10,000 Egyptian Camel Transport Corps camels concentrated at Romani as well as innumerable troops prior to
1792-746: A number of dead camels and some human remains. The saddles were of the, to me, well known CTC type. Shells of all types, including the mighty missiles fired by our monitors, were lying about, and thousands of shrapnel bullets on the sand." Sections of the Camel Transport Corps took part in operations to Bir el Maghara in the interior of the Sinai Peninsula. The Column formed of 800 Australian Light Horse, 400 City of London Yeomanry, 600 Mounted Camelry and 4,500 Transport Camels, also 200 Camels for Army Medical Corps work moved out from Bayoud on 13 October 1916. The provision of water for
1920-605: A part of the British Armed Forces along with the Naval Service and the Royal Air Force . As of 1 July 2024, the British Army comprises 74,296 regular full-time personnel, 4,244 Gurkhas , 25,934 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,612 "other personnel", for a total of 109,086. The British Army traces back to 1707 and the formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined
2048-818: A safe distance by aiding the Ottoman Empire ). Like the English Army , the British Army fought the kingdoms of Spain, France (including the First French Empire ) and the Netherlands ( Dutch Republic ) for supremacy in North America and the West Indies . With native and provincial and colonial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the French and Indian War (North American theatre) of
2176-522: A series of support vehicles, including six-, nine- and fifteen-tonne MAN trucks, Oshkosh heavy-equipment transporters (HET), close-support tankers, quad bikes and ambulances. Tactical communication uses the Bowman radio system, and operational or strategic communication is controlled by the Royal Corps of Signals . Egyptian Camel Transport Corps Britain had occupied Egypt and controlled
2304-468: A subaltern commanding officer and two junior officers. Three to six of these companies formed a Camp under an officer commanding Egyptian Labour Corps of an Area. The officers were at first drawn from Arabic speaking Anglo-Egyptians and afterwards NCOs and privates were recruited from British units and trained in Arabic . Their level of proficiency was recognised by a special rate of extra duty pay. Supervision
2432-512: A target strength of 82,000, and just over 30,000 Army Reservists , with a target strength of 30,000. 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 . The table below illustrates British Army personnel figures from 1710 to 2024. The British Army's basic weapon
2560-660: 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 . In addition to battling the armies of other European empires (and its former colonies,
2688-843: A war against the Prussian -led German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire ). 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 . 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
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#17327754501942816-656: Is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff . At its inception, being composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, the British Army was one of two Regular Forces (there were also separate Reserve Forces ) within the British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces), with the other having been
2944-648: Is based on that of the earlier English army. Although technically the Scots Royal Regiment of Foot was raised in 1633 and is the oldest Regiment of the Line, 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
3072-713: Is provided by L16 81mm mortars . Sniper rifles include the L118A1 7.62 mm, L115A3 and the AW50F , all manufactured by Accuracy International . The British Army utilises the Glock 17 as its side arm. Anti tank guided weapons include the Javelin , the medium range anti-tank guided weapon replacement for Milan , with overfly and direct attack modes of operation, and the NLAW . The Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon ( NLAW )
3200-514: 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. The weapon can be enhanced further utilising the Picatinny rail with attachments such as
3328-591: Is the first, non-expert, short-range, anti-tank missile that rapidly knocks out any main battle tank in just one shot by striking it from above. The army's main battle tank is the Challenger 2 , which is being upgraded to Challenger 3 . It is supported by the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle as the primary infantry fighting vehicle , (which will soon be replaced by the Boxer 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle ) and
3456-670: 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
3584-598: The ASC . They laid the pipelines, built the railway embankments and helped lay the track, loaded and unloaded the trains, manned the surf boats , stowed or discharged the cargoes of surf boats from supply and store ships, and were employed everywhere on conservancy duties. The corps constructed the duplication of the Zagazig to Ismailia section of the railway from Cairo to the Suez Canal , built metalled roads out into
3712-729: The Americas , Africa , Asia , India and Australasia . British soldiers captured strategically important sites and territories, with the army involved in wars to secure the empire's borders, internal safety and support friendly governments and princes. Among these actions were the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the First and Second Opium Wars ,
3840-683: The Anglo-Irish War . 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 . Inspired by the successes of the Prussian Army (which relied on short-term conscription of all eligible young men to maintain
3968-690: The Armed Forces of Ukraine against further Russian aggression. This operation was succeeded by Operation Interflex in July 2022. The British Army has been a volunteer force since national service ended during the 1960s. 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
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4096-1013: The Boxer Rebellion , the New Zealand Wars , the Australian frontier wars , the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the first and second Boer Wars , the Fenian raids , the Irish War of Independence , interventions in Afghanistan (intended to maintain a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire ) and the Crimean War (to keep the Russian Empire to the north on the Black Sea at
4224-741: The Bulldog armoured personnel carrier . Light armoured units often utilise the Supacat "Jackal" MWMIK and Coyote tactical support vehicle for reconnaissance and fire support. The army has three main artillery systems: the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), the AS-90 and the L118 light gun . The MLRS, first used in Operation Granby , has an 85-kilometre (53 mi) standard range, or with
4352-477: The Far East , the British Army rallied against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign and regained the British Far Eastern colonial possessions. After the Second World War the British Army was significantly reduced in size, although National Service continued until 1960. 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
4480-442: The Islamic State (ISIL). 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. 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 ,
4608-445: The L17A2 under-barrel grenade launcher. In 2023, the Army Special Operations Brigade , which includes the Ranger Regiment , began using the L403A1 , an AR-pattern rifle also used by the Royal Marines . Some soldiers are equipped with the 7.62mm L129A1 sharpshooter rifle , which in 2018 formally replaced the L86A2 Light Support Weapon. Support fire is provided by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), and indirect fire
4736-437: The Netherlands for the War of the Spanish Succession . Although all the regiments were now part of the new British military establishment, 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
4864-413: The Ordnance Military Corps (made up of the Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers , and the Royal Sappers and Miners ) of the Board of Ordnance , which along with the originally civilian Commissariat Department , stores and supply departments, as well as barracks and other departments, were absorbed into the British Army when the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855. Various other civilian departments of
4992-424: The Ottoman Empire via Gallipoli , an unsuccessful attempt to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia . 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
5120-441: The PrSM , up to 500 km. The AS-90 is a 155 mm self-propelled armoured gun with a 24-kilometre (15 mi) range. The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed gun, which is typically towed by a Pinzgauer all-terrain vehicle. To identify artillery targets, the army operates the TAIPAN artillery detection radar and utilises artillery sound ranging . For air defence it uses the new Sky Sabre system, which in 2021 replaced
5248-418: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , there was a gradual reduction in the number of soldiers deployed. 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. Operation Banner ended at midnight on 31 July 2007 after about 38 years of continuous deployment,
Egyptian Labour Corps - Misplaced Pages Continue
5376-422: The Rapier . It also deploys the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Starstreak HVM (high-velocity missile) launched by a single soldier or from a Stormer HVM vehicle-mounted launcher. 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
5504-450: The Sinai desert and laid water pipelines. About 100 miles (200 km) of railway, road and pipelines were laid in a few weeks for the forward defence of the Suez Canal before it was extended eastwards into the Sinai. They also assisted in horse and camel hospitals, and travelled to Akaba to assist Lawrence in his work for the Arab Revolt . Beside the pipelines and the railway, hundreds of miles of wire netting roads were laid across
5632-499: The Sultans of Egypt proved increasingly incapable of managing the country's financial affairs and start to borrow heavily from foreign financiers, including British businessmen. Eventually, the British conquered Egypt and established a protectorate over the country , bring Egypt ( de facto ) into the British Empire . As part of this protectorate, the British promised to defend Egypt from Ottoman, African and European incursions and never to request their aid in future conflicts. However,
5760-437: The Territorial Force as the army's volunteer reserve component, merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia and Yeomanry. 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
5888-458: The 127th Brigade, composed of the Manchester regiments in the 42nd Division. However, before they arrived a tragedy was unfolding; McPherson "mounted many ... jaded infantrymen, and some of the natives on our already burdened and tired camels, but many of these riders had to give place to poor chaps in extremis. These lay about the battlefield, many in the attitudes of death, but for the most part unwounded and simply dying of thirst and fatigue in
6016-453: 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 . Since 2016, the British Army has maintained a presence in the Baltic States in support of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence strategy which responded to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea . The British Army leads
6144-608: The 2014 West African Ebola virus epidemic . 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 . 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 —the second-largest force after that of
6272-420: The American colonial rebels early in the war). 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 in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea for Royal Navy squadrons to control
6400-658: The Australians, 49 were eventually commissioned and six became company commanders, so the Anzac and Imperial/Australian Mounted Divisions had a strong national component in their supporting camel transport. In 1917 the Camel Transport Corps consisted of 35,000 camels, organized in 2,000 strong camel companies. They worked as Corps level transport, or in convoys, transporting supplies and stores from railhead to corps and divisions and to brigades, regiments and battalions suffering 9 per cent casualties during that year. From December, 1915, to demobilization in 1919, some 72,500 camels were employed and 170,000 Egyptian drivers passed through
6528-408: The British Army was deployed as a peacekeeping force from 1969 to 2007 in Operation Banner . Initially, this was (in the wake of unionist attacks on nationalist communities in Derry and Belfast ) 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
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#17327754501946656-486: 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. The English were involved politically and militarily in Ireland. The campaign of English republican Protector Oliver Cromwell involved uncompromising treatment of
6784-439: The British military, mostly civilians. 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. 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
6912-485: The British quickly realised that they desperately needed the support of Egyptian labour in a land which was so inhospitable to Europeans, and so started to recruit labourers among the Egyptian populace. Companies of the Egyptian Labour Corps were supplied to work on construction of railways and roads. They worked to manage sanitation, were employed as stevedores and on wharf construction. They loaded and unloaded lighters, carried stores for supply depots and loaded lorries for
7040-518: The Corps. Of these 222 were killed in action and 1,458 were wounded while 4,010 died of disease, 78 went missing and 66 were taken prisoner. During the Sinai Campaign, camels were used to carry the ambulance equipment of surgical instruments, splints, drugs, dressings, food, and tents, often marching independently of the rest of the ambulance; but despite their slow rate of marching, were rarely late arriving. Mobile columns attached to each light horse regiment, were established in June 1916 and attached to
7168-460: The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps by a seal being attached to their wrists. Initially the periods of service appear to have started as quite short term but became very long term as their importance was recognised and the difficulty of finding more recruits increased. By the first half of 1918 riots, blamed on bad recruitment methods employed to find more workers for the Egyptian Labour Corps, began to occur. Sir Reginald Wingate acknowledged on 8 May,
7296-447: The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps, large enough to carry the water forward in support the attack force. Preparations were not complete until 20 December, but in the meantime the enemy had abandoned the town. The CTC also participated in the First Transjordan attack on Amman (1918) . Supplies of rations and forage were carried by the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps during the advance and retirement of Shea's, augmenting supplies carried by
7424-489: The Egyptian Camel Transport Corps: "On August 9th I was again scouting. I then went to meet a camel convoy and acted as their escort to guide them to our position. ... We had no water or rations for two days and I was terribly thirsty." McPherson describes Bir el Abd: "The place must have seen bloody fighting, and a succession of occupation, for English, Turkish and German accoutrements and bloodstained tunics were mixed up everywhere. Soon after emerging we came across
7552-438: The Egyptian Labour Corps in the fight against pests in the Jordan Valley . This involved, among other strategies, draining swamps, and constructing hard horse standings. Near Jericho in 1918 a 600-strong company of the Egyptian Labour Corps worked for two months to suppress mosquitoes breeding in the overflow from the Ain es Sultan spring. This was carried out by Egyptian agents who visited villages in their sub-district under
7680-411: The Egyptian government after invading the country during the 19th century. At the beginning of the war, Britain set up the Protectorate of Egypt and imposed Martial Law, giving a solemn pledge to defend Egypt and not call on the Egyptian people to aid them in the conflict. However, the British quickly came to realise they desperately needed the support of Egyptian labour, camel drivers and their camels in
7808-485: The English 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 ('Roundheads") controlled, were unlikely to win the war. So Parliament initiated two actions. The Self-denying Ordinance forbade members of Parliament (with
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#17327754501947936-404: 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 and, with the help of American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Free French forces, was the principal organiser and participant in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944; nearly half the Allied soldiers were British. In
8064-494: 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
8192-434: The Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army . Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief , since both the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for the Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army . The army
8320-440: The Mudirs, Mamours and Omdas might prove effective. The meeting felt this corvée system would be supported by the Sultan and his Ministers and could be introduced without causing discontent among the general population. Enclosed are copies of a letter from me to the W.O. [War Office], and the cabled reply. The Egyptian native personnel referred to are subject only to the Army Act. Flogging is, therefore, illegal. Everyone who knows
8448-430: The Recruiting Depot the recruit was issued with blankets and an overcoat and at the corps or service depot he was disinfected, given clothes and equipment. In the Egyptian Labour Corps the pay was 5 P.T. per day while the other corps and services paid 6 P.T. per day plus clothing and rations. These men were most often from extremely poor villagers and the daily inducement of 7 piastres (1 shilling and 6 pence) and rations
8576-458: The Ridgeback, Husky and Mastiff). For day-to-day utility work the army commonly uses the Land Rover Wolf , which is based on the Land Rover Defender . Specialist engineering vehicles include bomb-disposal robots such as the T7 Multi-Mission Robotic System and the modern variants of the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers , including the Titan bridge-layer, Trojan armoured engineer vehicle, Terrier armoured digger . Day-to-day utility work uses
8704-416: 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. 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
8832-473: The Somme and Passchendaele . Advances in technology saw the advent of the tank (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. 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. The Second World War broke out in September 1939 with
8960-411: The Soviet and German Army 's invasion of Poland . 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 but then hastily evacuated from Dunkirk as the German forces swept through the Low Countries and across France in May 1940. After the British Army recovered from its earlier defeats, it defeated
9088-404: 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. 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. The British Army contributed 50,000 troops to
9216-595: The US. 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. Operation Herrick ended with the handover of Camp Bastion on 26 October 2014, but the British Army maintained
9344-846: The United States, in the American War of 1812 ), the British Army fought the Chinese in the First and Second Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion , Māori tribes in the first of the New Zealand Wars, Nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula's forces and British East India Company mutineers in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the Boers in the first and second Boer Wars, Irish Fenians in Canada during the Fenian raids and Irish separatists in
9472-529: The Worcester Regiment of 5th Mounted Division, when they came under fire: "on reaching the exposed summit we were greeted with a few shells; one 'coalbox' falling between our lines getting a camel and slightly hurting its rider. There was a bit of stampede ... I pointed out [to the Egyptian camel drivers] that I should be obliged to use my revolver on the first who deserted or disobeyed and that
9600-669: The ambulance section of these columns were 19 camels and drivers allocated for transporting water and equipment and an additional 44 camels and drivers. Camels take long slow strides with an irregular swaying movement (they can't be hurried) and led by a driver travelled at an average speed of 2.5 miles per hour (4 km/h), fully loaded with two casualties or two fantasses containing 10 to 15 imperial gallons (50 to 70 L) of water. They may have to travel as far as 25 miles (40 km) accompanied by flies and camel smells and grunts. As all wheeled vehicles had been left at Kantara, nothing but sections of Camel Transport Corps accompanied all
9728-642: The army saw the introduction of new weapons systems. Despite the decline of the British Empire, the army was engaged in Aden , Indonesia , Cyprus , Kenya and Malaya . 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. In the three decades following 1969,
9856-699: 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. 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
9984-409: The attack. Until more camel transport was accumulated at Romani and Pelusium for the distribution of supplies and drinking water from railhead, the firepower of the main defences could only be increased by moving up the machine gun companies of 53 and 54 Divisions. On the first day of battle, 4 August 1916 McPherson and his section of Egyptian Camel Transport Corps was attempting to deliver water to
10112-483: The attacking force was the most difficult, but most vital element in the preparation for the attack on El Arish as from Mazar to El Arish there was no water and the Turkish defences at El Arish covered all the water in that area. So operations had to wait until the middle of December when the pipe–line had advanced sufficiently for water to be stored at Maadan (kilo. 128) and for the concentration of camels and drivers of
10240-520: The board were absorbed into the War Office . The British Army has seen action in major wars between the world's great powers , including the Seven Years' War , the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the Crimean War and the First and Second World Wars . Britain's victories in most of these decisive wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of
10368-467: The burning sand under a fiery sun. Many were tied apathetic and helpless on the camels." Private Robert Bethel, also involved with transporting water and provisions to the fighting men, was serving in the Army Service Corps in support of the 42nd Division's 125th Brigade. He describes his involvement on 5 August 1916: "then at 4.30 in the afternoon our Camel caravan moved off, & it was
10496-530: The camel corps had less to do with the Egyptian camel drivers who were often familiar with camel care and control, being mainly concerned with the problems the Australian and British officers and NCOs, who had transferred from the Army Service Corps and other AIF units, had in dealing with the animals. During this time, one or more of these men were regularly sent to hospitals with camel bites. Of
10624-666: The chief threat to England's early trans-Atlantic colonial ambitions, its influence was now waning. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the later Napoleonic Wars . 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
10752-788: The coalition which fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War , and British forces controlled Kuwait after its liberation. Forty-seven British military personnel died during the war. The army was deployed to former Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially part of the United Nations Protection Force , in 1995 its command was transferred to the Implementation Force (IFOR) and then to the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR);
10880-545: 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
11008-470: 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. Between early 1993 and June 2010, 72 British military personnel died during operations in the former Yugoslavian countries of Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Although there have been permanent garrisons in Northern Ireland throughout its history,
11136-438: 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
11264-431: The country [Egypt] considers power of flogging to be necessary. The general behaviour of the Egyptian Labour Corps is very good; but there are now and then cases for the lash. Do you think that it could be specially legalised ...? General Allenby letter to Robertson of 4 December 1917 By 1917 the Egyptian Labour Corps had over 55,000 labourers, mainly organized into companies with 12 gangs forming one company. The gang
11392-478: The desert. That is the third we have helped in during the last few days. They have to take them to pieces and pack the bits on camels. The camel that gets the engine does not appreciate it! When they come down in the desert they sometimes have to walk as much as thirty miles back to our lines." On 21 July, the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps marched out for Romani with 2000 camels, 20 riding dromedaries, 12,000 natives, O.C., Adjutant, 5 Sectional OCs including McPherson,
11520-442: The direction of a district recruiting officer who was assisted by a medical officer. These two officers inspected and examined all recruits and the agent was paid P.T. 5 for each recruit who passed. Each successful recruit could choose between Camel Transport , Horse Transport, Labour, Remount and Veterinary corps and services. The recruits enlisted for six months and were given an advance of English £3/-/- to provide for dependents. At
11648-500: The disbanded New Model Army , were formed between November 1660 and January 1661 and became a standing military force for England (financed by Parliament ). The Royal Scots and Irish Armies were financed by the parliaments of Scotland and Ireland . 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
11776-511: The end of the 19th century. After the Restoration, King 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 number 7,500 soldiers in marching regiments, and 1,400 men permanently stationed in garrisons. A Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 allowed successor King James II to raise
11904-476: The feast, even had they been allowed light duty and permitted to feast and keep up their traditional ceremonies, but to have to march out at dawn eastward to toil and perhaps death was more than their patient hearts could bear. Trouble began in some companies under orders overnight, but my men took the order in silence, and I hoped a little coaxing and pressure in the morning and the lure of extra rations and new water bottles would be sufficient with them as they were
12032-470: The forces to 20,000 men. There were 37,000 in 1678, when England played a role in the closing stage of the cross-channel Franco-Dutch War . After Protestant dual Monarchs William III , formerly William of the Dutch House of Orange , and his wife Mary II's joint accession to the throne after a short constitutional crisis with Parliament sending Mary's father, predecessor King James II, (who remained
12160-538: The importance of their service was recognised. The members of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps transported supplies to the fighting troops, from one end of the Sinai and Palestine Campaign to the other; from the desert of the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula to the northern Levant (now Syria). They saw service transporting supplies of all kinds across the flooded plain north of Gaza and Beersheba, up into
12288-659: The importance to General Edmund Allenby of keeping the Egyptian Labour Corps and the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps at full strength. At first Wingate contemplated "some form of compulsory service" but such a step would not be supported by the Sultan of Egypt and cause deep resentment throughout the country. A meeting at the Residency, in Cairo, decided that requisitioning labour from the villages through
12416-491: The longest in British Army history. 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. Of the 300,000 troops who served in Northern Ireland since 1969, there were 763 British military personnel killed and 306 killed by
12544-421: The men were lost, didn’t know where their battalions were & were hardly strong enough to pull one leg after the other, so they stood watching the water being issued, & looking half mad, seeing the water trickling into the bottles & being unable to have a drink. It was awful. The native camel-drivers were in a similar position, they had no water, and no food & were continually asking for it. Then I had
12672-605: 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
12800-405: The morning was cool, but as soon as the sun got up, & beat down on us it was awful, & still we marched on mile after mile. Each man had only a water bottle full & about 9.30 or ten am a lot of them had drunk it all, then the trouble began. As we marched men were dropping down right & left, absolutely exhausted, & as we passed, bringing up the rear, they would keep asking for water;
12928-503: The new English army to 74,000, and then a few years later to 94,000 in 1694. Parliament was very nervous and reduced the cadre to 70,000 in 1697. Scotland and Ireland had theoretically separate military establishments, but they were unofficially merged with the English Crown force. 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
13056-576: The nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe. From the later Middle Ages until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 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. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the members of
13184-603: The notable exception of Oliver Cromwell , then a member of parliament and future Lord Protector) 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 ("Cavaliers") in nature, and a corps of professional officers, who tended to be Independent ( Congregational ) in theology. The second action
13312-681: The oceans and trade routes, and heavily garrisoned by the British Army both for defence of the bases and to provide mobile military forces to work with the Navy in amphibious operations throughout their regions. 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
13440-740: The parallel Seven Years' War and suppressed a Native / Indian North Americans uprising in Pontiac's War around the Great Lakes . The British Army was defeated in the American Revolutionary War , losing the Thirteen Colonies but retaining The Canadas and The Maritimes as in British North America , including Bermuda (originally part of the Colony of Virginia , and which had been originally strongly sympathetic to
13568-578: The patrols across Sinai as on Monday 29 May 1916, when a patrol by the New Zealand Mounted Rifle Brigade was accompanied by 850 camels carrying water, food and ammunition when they rode out from Etmaler. The drivers and camels of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps were also called on in the Sinai to transport aeroplanes. General Harry Chauvel describes how this was done: "We also rescued an aeroplane which had come down in
13696-466: The poor devils looking pitiful, lying there unable to walk & not a drop of water to wet their lips, there was no R.A.M.C. to follow & pick up the bad cases or give them a drink ... At last we halted about 11.30 & our party filled our bottles, and as we were doing so stragglers were coming & asking, nay almost crying for water, but the officer in charge couldn’t give them any, & told them to find their own unit & draw water from them, but
13824-536: 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 . The late-19th-century Cardwell and Childers Reforms gave the army its modern shape and redefined its regimental system . The 1907 Haldane Reforms created
13952-440: The problems which developed among his section of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps when the terms of employment were changed and resulting unrest was dealt with. "My two hundred natives were nearly all past the end of their contracts and entitled to discharge, and they believed that they had been brought back from Nighiliat [Negiliat] for that purpose and for payment. It would have been hard enough to have been kept at Romani during
14080-529: 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
14208-668: The rest [of his subordinates] would use their rifles if necessary. They swore that they would stick with me and obey, whatever happened, and I may as well say at once that they behaved splendidly through stirring and sometimes trying times. The way to Hod Nagur Ali where the Worcesters were supposed to be, lay over many similar ridges, but a higher ridge to the North ... were such that no camels would be put at them under normal circumstances, but luckily I had trained my animals to beeline marching, and circumstances were anything but normal, and it
14336-491: The return of a king. 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. King Charles II and his " Cavalier " / Royalist supporters favoured a new army under royal control, and immediately after the Restoration of 1660 to 1661 began working on its establishment. The first English Army regiments, including elements of
14464-489: The rocky inhospitable Judean Hills towards Jerusalem in late 1917, down the precipitous tracks to Jericho in the Jordan Valley, up into the even less hospitable hills of Moab towards Es Salt and Amman and also followed on the great victorious advance northwards in 1918, carrying ammunition, water and all types of stores for the men and horses of the fighting units at the front, and carried the wounded back. Training of
14592-501: The sand and pegged down, and great reservoirs, to hold huge quantities of water supplied by filters at a rate of 500,000 imperial gallons (2,000 m) a day, were constructed. At the beginning of December 1916, the Egyptian Expeditionary Force had a strength of 150,000 British, Australian and New Zealand and 6,000 Indian troops, and 13,000 Egyptian labourers. Rail was laid at the rate of 15 miles (24 km)
14720-486: The scene and several bodies of British troops, and the two hundred natives were divided up amongst three Brigades (seven Batteries) of Artillery, two Field Companies of Engineers, the Glasgow Yeomanry, a Mobile Veterinary Section, a Machine Gun and a Wire Line Section, these being the units of the 1/52nd Division to which I was attached." Bostock with the 3rd Light Horse Brigade Scouts near Bir el Abd, guided in
14848-482: The service of the Egyptian Labour Corps was acknowledged by Edmund Allenby in his despatch of 16 December 1917 where he mentions the great value and importance of their service, their steadiness under fire and devotion to duty under difficult conditions. British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies ,
14976-594: The troops and sent up to the troops fighting at Amman in March 1918 with the help of some pack-horses. By 1 May 1918 during the Second Transjordan attack on Shunet Nimrin and Es Salt Allenby wrote to the British War Office regarding difficulties he was having in recruitment for the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps. "I have sent to you, today, an official letter – on the subject of enlistments for
15104-714: The withdrawal of civilians, all British troops had left by the end of August 2021. 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 . All British troops were withdrawn from Iraq by 30 April 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to extend their mandate. One hundred and seventy-nine British military personnel died in Iraqi operations. The British Armed Forces returned to Iraq in 2014 as part of Operation Shader to counter
15232-624: The world's leading military and economic powers. 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. Until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , neither England or Scotland had had a standing army with professional officers and career corporals and sergeants. England relied on militia organised by local officials or private forces mobilised by
15360-578: Was declared in 1951. Although the British Army was a major participant in Korea in the early 1950s and Suez in 1956, during this period Britain's role in world events was reduced and the army was downsized. The British Army of the Rhine , consisting of I (BR) Corps , remained in Germany as a bulwark against Soviet invasion. The Cold War continued, with significant technological advances in warfare, and
15488-425: Was hit about the head with the butt of a pistol and the dissenters were separated into small groups. They were divided up amongst three brigades of artillery, two field companies of engineers, the Glasgow Yeomanry, a Mobile Veterinary Section, a Machine Gun and Wire Line section; all units of the 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division. Ordered to follow the troops attempting to cut off the enemy retreat, McPherson describes
15616-595: 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 phrased "new-modelled Army"). 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
15744-535: Was necessary to utilize the already imposed British military authority over all Egyptian officials and civilians. Then the Muidir, Lord Lieutenant or Omdah, mayors of Egyptian towns, for a consideration organised press gangs and the necessary native armed guards to keep the forced labour at work. Members of the Egyptian Camel Transport Corps were 'sealed' by a seal attached to their wrists for periods that appear to have started as quite short term but became quite extended as
15872-603: Was paid off and disbanded at the later Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 with the accession of King Charles II . For many decades the alleged excesses of the New Model Army under the Protectorate / Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell were used as propaganda (and still feature in Irish folklore) and the Whig Party element recoiled from allowing a standing army to continue with the agreed-upon rights and privileges under
16000-573: Was provided by the reis of each gang and by civilian foremen who were paid from English £1/10/- to English £15/-/- per month. These civilian foremen were graded as 'NCO Foremen' provided with a uniform and treated as acting Non-commissioned officers of the ELC. It was found to be 'practicable and advisable' to recruit different companies from different parts of Egypt and new gangs could be trained in particular types of work required to ensure efficient and rapid handling of stores and materiel. The great value of
16128-543: Was really wonderful how they took the slopes. ... [On finding the Worcesters] it was sad to see how the men drunk with blood and mad with thirst wasted the precious stuff in their eagerness to drink, and their officers seemed powerless to keep discipline at this stage. McPherson and his section of Egyptian Camel Transport Corps was also involved the next day, in the pursuit on 5 August. At 10 am his 200 camels moved out from Pelusium Station, this time to supply water to
16256-429: Was the working unit consisting of 50 men with a headman, often all belonging to one home village. These men often sang while they worked and this was thought to be an indication that they were happy, but one Egyptian chant sung by the workers was, "Kam Lehloh, Kam Yaum?" which translates as "How many days, how many nights?" The Egyptian Labour Corps was described in February 1918 as organised into companies of 600 men with
16384-436: Was very attractive to them. When money and food were not enough, military authority under the terms of the protectorate was imposed over all Egyptian officials and civilians. Then the Muidir, Lord Lieutenant or Omdah, mayors of Egyptian towns would organise press gangs and the necessary number of armed guards to watch over the labourers. It is also probable that members of the Egyptian Labour Corps were 'sealed' like members of
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