164-669: The Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment was a specialist expeditionary unit of the British armed forces . Personnel of the Joint CBRN Regiment were trained in the detection, identification and monitoring of nuclear , biological and chemical weapons. In 1994, the Royal Yeomanry , a regiment of the Territorial Army , was re-designated from its reconnaissance role to operate as
328-645: A blue-water navy was vital for global power projection; Tirpitz had his books translated into German, while Wilhelm made them required reading for his advisors and senior military personnel. However, it was also an emotional decision, driven by Wilhelm's simultaneous admiration for the Royal Navy and desire to surpass it. Bismarck thought that the British would not interfere in Europe, as long as its maritime supremacy remained secure, but his dismissal in 1890 led to
492-592: A grenade at the Archduke's car and injured two of his aides. The other assassins were also unsuccessful. An hour later, as Ferdinand was returning from visiting the injured officers in hospital, his car took a wrong turn into a street where Gavrilo Princip was standing. He fired two pistol shots, fatally wounding Ferdinand and his wife Sophie . According to historian Zbyněk Zeman , in Vienna "the event almost failed to make any impression whatsoever. On 28 and 29 June,
656-540: A guerrilla warfare campaign and only surrendered two weeks after the armistice took effect in Europe. Before the war, Germany had attempted to use Indian nationalism and pan-Islamism to its advantage, a policy continued post-1914 by instigating uprisings in India , while the Niedermayer–Hentig Expedition urged Afghanistan to join the war on the side of Central Powers. However, contrary to British fears of
820-630: A "statutory liability for service" and are liable to be recalled (under Section 52 of the Reserve Forces Act (RFA) 1996) for duty during wartime, which is known as the Regular Reserve . MoD publications since April 2013 no longer report the entire strength of the Regular Reserve, instead they only give a figure for Regular Reserves who serve under a fixed-term reserve contract. These contracts are similar in nature to those of
984-842: A Royal Air Force outpost at Al Udeid Air Base which serves as the operational headquarters for No. 83 Expeditionary Air Group and its operations across the Middle East. A large Royal Navy Naval Support Facility (NSF) is located in Bahrain, established in 2016 it marks the British return East of Suez. In support of the Five Power Defence Arrangements (FPDA), the United Kingdom retains a naval repair and logistics support facility at Sembawang wharf , Singapore. Other overseas military installations include; British Forces Brunei , British Forces Germany ,
1148-685: A base, without repair or refit capabilities, in 1951 and finally closed in 1995, following the Cold War (United States and Canadian bases in Bermuda closed in the same period), leaving only the Royal Bermuda Regiment and the Bermuda Sea Cadet Corps there today. Malta became independent in 1964, and the last British armed forces personnel were removed from the former colony in 1979. Gibraltar continues to be used by
1312-408: A change in policy and an Anglo-German naval arms race began. Despite the vast sums spent by Tirpitz, the launch of HMS Dreadnought in 1906 gave the British a technological advantage. Ultimately, the race diverted huge resources into creating a German navy large enough to antagonise Britain, but not defeat it; in 1911, Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg acknowledged defeat, leading to
1476-658: 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 , which comprised the St. Andrew Rifle Corps (or Kingston Infantry Volunteers ),
1640-613: A direct threat. The 1908–1909 Bosnian Crisis began when Austria annexed the former Ottoman territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina , which it had occupied since 1878. Timed to coincide with the Bulgarian Declaration of Independence from the Ottoman Empire, this unilateral action was denounced by the European powers, but accepted as there was no consensus on how to resolve the situation. Some historians see this as
1804-721: A dual role of Armoured Cavalry and Mounted Ceremonial on Horse Guards in London, and for state occasions. The Royal Air Force has a large operational fleet that fulfils various roles, consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft . Frontline aircraft are controlled by Air Command , which is organised into five groups defined by function: 1 Group (Air Combat), 2 Group (Air Support), 11 Group (Air and Space operations), 22 Group (training aircraft and ground facilities) and 38 Group (Royal Air Force's Engineering, Logistics, Communications and Medical Operations units). In addition 83 Expeditionary Air Group directs formations in
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#17327940736141968-935: A field artillery regiment based in Plymouth, and 24 Commando Regiment Royal Engineers . The Commando Logistic Regiment consists of personnel from the Army, Royal Marines, and Royal Navy. The British Army is the land force of the British Armed Forces, and is made up of the Regular Army and the part-time Army Reserve . The Army is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff , a four-star general within Army Headquarters , based at Andover . Deployable combat formations are; The Infantry of
2132-471: A gap between the German armies as they closed on Paris. The French army, reinforced by the British expeditionary corps, seized this opportunity to counter-attack and pushed the German army 40 to 80 km back. Both armies were then so exhausted that no decisive move could be implemented, so they settled in trenches, with the vain hope of breaking through as soon as they could build local superiority. In 1911,
2296-418: A joint force it involves all three armed Services: a land component composed of formations at national brigade level, maritime and air components with their associated Headquarters, together with logistics and support functions. The Royal Navy is a technologically sophisticated naval force, and as of May 2024 consists of 66 commissioned ships with an additional 13 support vessels of various types operated by
2460-688: A long string of Anglo-Spanish and Anglo-Dutch wars, as well as a series of "world wars" with France, such as; the Seven Years' War (1756–1763), the French Revolutionary Wars (1792–1802) and the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815). During the Napoleonic wars, the Royal Navy victory at Trafalgar (1805) under the command of Horatio Nelson (aboard HMS Victory ) marked the culmination of British maritime supremacy, and left
2624-454: A military satellite communications system, Skynet , initially in large part to support East of Suez bases and deployments. Since 2015 Skynet has offered near global coverage. The British Armed Forces place significant importance in the ability to conduct expeditionary warfare . While the armed forces are expeditionary in nature, it maintains a core of "high readiness" forces trained and equipped to deploy at very short notice, these include;
2788-667: A permanent member on the United Nations Security Council , a founding and leading member of NATO and party to the AUKUS security pact and the Five Power Defence Arrangements . Overseas garrisons and training facilities are maintained at Ascension Island , Bahrain , Belize , Bermuda , British Indian Ocean Territory , Brunei , Canada , Cyprus , the Falkland Islands , Germany , Gibraltar , Kenya , Montserrat , Nepal , Qatar , Singapore and
2952-548: A possibility. This was accentuated by British and Russian support for France against Germany during the 1911 Agadir Crisis . German economic and industrial strength continued to expand rapidly post-1871. Backed by Wilhelm II, Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz sought to use this growth to build an Imperial German Navy , that could compete with the British Royal Navy . This policy was based on the work of US naval author Alfred Thayer Mahan , who argued that possession of
3116-784: A reserve capability. On 21 July 2005, the name of the unit was changed from the Joint Nuclear Biological and Chemical Regiment (JNBCR) to the Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment (JCBRNR). Elements of the Joint CBRN Regiment have since operated in this role in Kuwait and Iraq (on Operation Telic , in which the Royal Yeomanry squadrons combined into a single unit named Y Squadron) and Afghanistan . The regiment contributed to operations world-wide during every year of its formation. It
3280-834: A revolt in India, the outbreak of the war saw a reduction in nationalist activity. Leaders from the Indian National Congress and other groups believed support for the British war effort would hasten Indian Home Rule , a promise allegedly made explicit in 1917 by Edwin Montagu , the Secretary of State for India . In 1914, the British Indian Army was larger than the British Army itself, and between 1914 and 1918 an estimated 1.3 million Indian soldiers and labourers served in Europe, Africa, and
3444-516: A significant escalation, ending any chance of Austria cooperating with Russia in the Balkans, while also damaging diplomatic relations between Serbia and Italy. Tensions increased after the 1911–1912 Italo-Turkish War demonstrated Ottoman weakness and led to the formation of the Balkan League , an alliance of Serbia, Bulgaria, Montenegro , and Greece . The League quickly overran most of
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#17327940736143608-535: A single fleet since the abolition of the Eastern and Western fleets in 1971. The recently built Type 45 destroyers are stealthy and technologically advanced air-defence destroyers. The Royal Navy has commissioned two Queen Elizabeth -class aircraft carriers, embarking an air-group including the advanced fifth-generation multi-role fighter, the F-35B Lightning . A submarine service has existed within
3772-663: A strategic competition in what became known as The Great Game for supremacy in Central Asia . Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India. In response, Britain undertook a number of pre-emptive actions against perceived Russian ambitions, including the First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842), the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878–1880) and
3936-478: A war on two fronts; the Schlieffen Plan envisaged using 80% of the army to defeat France, then switching to Russia. Since this required them to move quickly, mobilization orders were issued that afternoon. Once the German ultimatum to Russia expired on the morning of 1 August, the two countries were at war. At a meeting on 29 July, the British cabinet had narrowly decided its obligations to Belgium under
4100-402: A weak Ottoman government, rather than an ambitious Slav power like Bulgaria . Russia had ambitions in northeastern Anatolia while its clients had overlapping claims in the Balkans. These competing interests divided Russian policy-makers and added to regional instability. Austrian statesmen viewed the Balkans as essential for the continued existence of their Empire and saw Serbian expansion as
4264-455: A whole, the Somme offensive led to an estimated 420,000 British casualties, along with 200,000 French and 500,000 Germans. The diseases that emerged in the trenches were a major killer on both sides. The living conditions led to disease and infection, such as trench foot , lice , typhus , trench fever , and the ' Spanish flu '. At the start of the war, German cruisers were scattered across
4428-661: A £178 billion investment over ten years in new equipment and capabilities. On 8 March 2023 Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced a further £5bn in defence spending with a long-term goal of an increased spending to 2.5% of GDP. The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear weapon states under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and maintains an independent nuclear deterrent , currently consisting of four Vanguard -class ballistic missile submarines , UGM-133 Trident II submarine-launched ballistic missiles , and 160 operational thermonuclear warheads . This
4592-586: Is assisted by the Minister of State for the Armed Forces , Minister for Defence Procurement , and Minister for Veterans' Affairs. Responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees: the Defence Council , Chiefs of Staff Committee , Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of senior representatives of the services and
4756-722: Is known as Trident in both public and political discourse (with nomenclature taken after the UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missile). Trident is operated by the Royal Navy Submarine Service , charged with delivering a 'Continuous At-Sea Deterrent' (CASD) capability, whereby one of the Vanguard -class strategic submarines is always on patrol. According to the British Government, since the introduction of Polaris (Trident's predecessor) in
4920-508: Is known, however, that from 1908 to 1913, military spending by the six major European powers increased by over 50% in real terms. The years before 1914 were marked by a series of crises in the Balkans, as other powers sought to benefit from the Ottoman decline. While Pan-Slavic and Orthodox Russia considered itself the protector of Serbia and other Slav states, they preferred the strategically vital Bosporus straits to be controlled by
5084-574: The Schutzkorps was established, and carried out the persecution of Serbs. The assassination initiated the July Crisis, a month of diplomatic manoeuvring between Austria-Hungary, Germany, Russia, France and Britain. Believing that Serbian intelligence helped organise Franz Ferdinand's murder, Austrian officials wanted to use the opportunity to end their interference in Bosnia and saw war as
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5248-641: The World War . In August 1914, the magazine The Independent wrote "This is the Great War. It names itself". In October 1914, the Canadian magazine Maclean's similarly wrote, "Some wars name themselves. This is the Great War." Contemporary Europeans also referred to it as " the war to end war " and it was also described as "the war to end all wars" due to their perception of its unparalleled scale, devastation, and loss of life. The first recorded use of
5412-571: The Allied Rapid Reaction Corps and other NATO operations. In 2010, the governments of the United Kingdom and France signed the Lancaster House Treaties which committed both governments to the creation of a Franco-British Combined Joint Expeditionary Force . It is envisaged as a deployable joint force, for use in a wide range of crisis scenarios, up to and including high intensity combat operations. As
5576-695: The Australian Naval and Military Expeditionary Force landed on the island of New Britain , then part of German New Guinea . On 28 October, the German cruiser SMS Emden sank the Russian cruiser Zhemchug in the Battle of Penang . Japan declared war on Germany before seizing territories in the Pacific, which later became the South Seas Mandate , as well as German Treaty ports on
5740-627: The British Army , the UK's principal land warfare branch; and the Royal Air Force , a technologically sophisticated air force with a diverse operational fleet consisting of both fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. The British Armed Forces include standing forces, Regular Reserve , Volunteer Reserves and Sponsored Reserves . King Charles III , sovereign of the United Kingdom , is the Head of
5904-887: The British Army Training Unit Kenya , British Army Training Unit Suffield in Canada, British Army Training and Support Unit Belize , and British Gurkhas Nepal . Some British Overseas Territories also maintain locally raised units and regiments; The Royal Bermuda Regiment , the Falkland Islands Defence Force , the Royal Gibraltar Regiment , the Royal Montserrat Defence Force , the Cayman Islands Regiment , and
6068-550: The British Expeditionary Force , or of a mixture of British Army, Indian Army, or Imperial auxiliary units, such as the Malakand Field Force (this is similarly to the naval use of the term task force ). In this usage, force is used to describe a self-reliant body able to act without external support, at least within the parameters of the task or objective for which it is employed. During
6232-531: The British expedition to Tibet (1903–1904). During this period, Britain also sought to maintain the balance of power in Europe, particularly against Russian expansionism, who at the expense of the waning Ottoman Empire had ambitions to "carve up the European part of Turkey". This ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War (1854–1856) against the Russian Empire. The beginning of
6396-479: The British military in NBC defence and assistance. In 2005, the name of the regiment was changed following the addition of radiological weapons to its remit, and the NBC (Nuclear, Biological, Chemical) designation changed to CBRN. There were five regular squadrons; four from the 1st Royal Tank Regiment and one ( No. 27 Squadron ) from the RAF Regiment . Two squadrons ( A and W ) from the Royal Yeomanry and, from March 2004, 2623 Squadron RAF Regiment provided
6560-442: The COVID-19 pandemic ; the armed forces' support to the latter falls under Operation Rescript , described as the UK's "biggest ever homeland military operation in peacetime" by the Ministry of Defence. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. King Charles III , sovereign of
6724-434: The Crimean War , the First World War and the Second World War . Britain's victories in most of these wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of the world's leading military and economic powers. The British Armed Forces consist of: the Royal Navy , a blue-water navy with a fleet of 66 commissioned ships, together with the Royal Marines , a highly specialised amphibious light infantry force;
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6888-441: The First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War , was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers . Fighting took place mainly in Europe and the Middle East , as well as in parts of Africa and the Asia-Pacific , and in Europe was characterised by trench warfare ; the widespread use of artillery , machine guns, and chemical weapons (gas); and
7052-487: The Jamaica Corps of Scouts , and the Jamaica Reserve Regiment , but not the Jamaica Militia Artillery . In smaller colonies with a single militia or volunteer unit, that single unit would still be considered to be listed within a force, or in some case might be named a force rather than a regiment or corps, such as is the case for the Falkland Islands Defence Force and the Royal Montserrat Defence Force . The militia, yeomanry and volunteer forces collectively were known as
7216-452: The Joint Expeditionary Force (Maritime) (Royal Navy), UK Commando Force (Royal Marines), and 16 Air Assault Brigade (British Army). Frequently, these forces will act as part of a larger tri-service effort, under the direction of Permanent Joint Headquarters , or along with like-minded allies under the Joint Expeditionary Force . Similarly, under the auspices of NATO , such expeditionary forces are designed to meet Britain's obligations to
7380-424: The Military intervention against ISIL (2014–present). Britain's military intervention against Islamic State was expanded following a parliamentary vote to launch a bombing campaign over Syria ; an extension of the bombing campaign requested by the Iraqi government against the same group. In addition to the aerial campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground and the Special Air Service ,
7544-409: The Reserve Force Act 1867 ) were increasingly integrated with the British Army through a succession of reforms over the last two decades of the 19th century (in 1871, command of the Auxiliary Forces in the British Isles was taken from the Lords-Lieutenant of counties and transferred to the War Office , though colonial governors retained control of their militia and volunteer forces, and by the end of
7708-399: The Royal Dragoon Guards , currently operate the Warrior IFV on an interim basis, until Ajax reaches full operating capability . There are six Light Cavalry regiments (three Regular + three Reserve) equipped with the Jackal 2 and Coyote TSV , tasked with providing reconnaissance and fire support. The Household Cavalry , made up of the Life Guards and the Blues and Royals , operate in
7872-507: The Royal Fleet Auxiliary . Command of deployable assets is exercised by the Fleet Commander of the Naval Service . Personnel matters are the responsibility of the Second Sea Lord /Commander-in-Chief Naval Home Command, an appointment usually held by a vice-admiral. The Surface Fleet consists of aircraft carriers , amphibious warfare ships , destroyers , frigates , patrol vessels , mine-countermeasure vessels , and other miscellaneous vessels. The Surface Fleet has been structured around
8036-448: The Royal Flying Corps of the British Army, by contrast, were separated from their parent forces in 1918 and amalgamated to form a new force, the Royal Air Force , which would have complete responsibility for naval, military and strategic aviation until the Second World War ). Naval forces included the Royal Navy , the Waterguard (subsequently HM Coastguard ), and Sea Fencibles and River Fencibles formed as and when required for
8200-412: The Royal Navy Reserve (created under the Naval Reserve Act 1859 ) and Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve (created in 1903). The British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to the naval forces) historically was divided into a number of military forces , of which the British Army (also referred to historically as the 'Regular Army' and the 'Regular Force')
8364-591: The Rüstungswende or 'armaments turning point', when he switched expenditure from the navy to the army. This decision was not driven by a reduction in political tensions but by German concern over Russia's quick recovery from its defeat in the Russo-Japanese War and subsequent 1905 Russian Revolution . Economic reforms led to a significant post-1908 expansion of railways and transportation infrastructure, particularly in its western border regions. Since Germany and Austria-Hungary relied on faster mobilisation to compensate for their numerical inferiority compared to Russia,
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#17327940736148528-491: The Special Boat Service , and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment (British special forces) has carried out various missions on the ground in both Syria and Iraq. The armed forces have also been called upon to assist with national emergencies through the provisions of the military aid to the civil authorities (MACA) mechanism. This has seen the armed forces assist government departments and civil authorities responding to flooding, food shortages, wildfires, terrorist attacks and
8692-489: The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , the United Kingdom is in sixth place in the world's military spending list in 2023. For comparison: Great Britain spends more in absolute terms than Germany, Ukraine, France or Japan, similar to Saudi Arabia, but less than India, Russia, China or the United States. In September 2011, according to Professor Malcolm Chalmers of the Royal United Services Institute , current "planned levels of defence spending should be enough for
8856-431: The Suez Crisis (1956). Reflecting Britain's new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War (1947–1991), the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. Defence Reviews , such as those in 1957 and 1966 , announced significant reductions in conventional forces, the pursuement of a doctrine based on nuclear deterrence , and a permanent military withdrawal east of Suez . By
9020-451: The Turks and Caicos Regiment . Though their primary mission is "home defence", individuals have volunteered for operational duties. The Royal Bermuda Regiment is an amalgam of the Bermuda Militia Artillery (which had been part of the Royal Regiment of Artillery ) and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps , raised in the 1890s as Imperial forces funded by the War Office as part of the British Army, and both antecedent units sent contingents to
9184-405: The United States . With the Acts of Union 1707 , the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain . There were originally several naval and several military regular and reserve forces , although most of these were consolidated into the Royal Navy or the British Army during the 19th and 20th Centuries (the Royal Naval Air Service and
9348-403: The United States entered the war on the Allied side following Germany's resumption of unrestricted submarine warfare against Atlantic shipping. Later that year, the Bolsheviks seized power in the Russian October Revolution , and Soviet Russia signed an armistice with the Central Powers in December, followed by a separate peace in March 1918. That month, Germany launched an offensive in
9512-423: The hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, destroyers could potentially successfully attack a submerged submarine. Convoys slowed the flow of supplies since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled; the solution was an extensive program of building new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at
9676-416: The reserve forces , auxiliary forces , or local forces . Officers of these forces could not sit on courts martial of regular forces personnel. The Mutiny Act did not apply to members of the Reserve Forces. The other regular military force that existed alongside the British Army was the Board of Ordnance , which included the Ordnance Military Corps (made up of the Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, and
9840-442: The tank . After the First Battle of the Marne in September 1914, Allied and German forces unsuccessfully tried to outflank each other, a series of manoeuvres later known as the " Race to the Sea ". By the end of 1914, the opposing forces confronted each other along an uninterrupted line of entrenched positions from the Channel to the Swiss border. Since the Germans were normally able to choose where to stand, they generally held
10004-588: The 1839 Treaty of London did not require it to oppose a German invasion with military force; however, Prime Minister Asquith and his senior Cabinet ministers were already committed to supporting France, the Royal Navy had been mobilised, and public opinion was strongly in favour of intervention. On 31 July, Britain sent notes to Germany and France, asking them to respect Belgian neutrality; France pledged to do so, but Germany did not reply. Aware of German plans to attack through Belgium, French Commander-in-Chief Joseph Joffre asked his government for permission to cross
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#173279407361410168-431: The 1879 Dual Alliance , which became the Triple Alliance when Italy joined in 1882. For Bismarck, the purpose of these agreements was to isolate France by ensuring the three Empires resolve any disputes between themselves. In 1887, Bismarck set up the Reinsurance Treaty , a secret agreement between Germany and Russia to remain neutral if either were attacked by France or Austria-Hungary. For Bismarck, peace with Russia
10332-441: The 1913 Treaty of London , which had created an independent Albania while enlarging the territories of Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro and Greece. However, disputes between the victors sparked the 33-day Second Balkan War , when Bulgaria attacked Serbia and Greece on 16 June 1913; it was defeated, losing most of Macedonia to Serbia and Greece, and Southern Dobruja to Romania. The result was that even countries which benefited from
10496-443: The 1960s, from April 1969 "the Royal Navy's ballistic missile boats have not missed a single day on patrol", giving what the Defence Council described in 1980 as a deterrent "effectively invulnerable to pre-emptive attack". As of 2015, it has been British Government policy for the Vanguard -class strategic submarines to carry no more than 40 nuclear warheads, delivered by eight UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles. In contrast with
10660-426: The 1st Battalion Royal Yorkshire Regiment , within the 7th Light Mechanised Brigade Combat Team , operate the Foxhound protected mobility vehicle; Armoured Infantry (to become Heavy Mechanised Infantry under Future Soldier ), such as the 1st Battalion Royal Regiment of Fusiliers , within the 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade Combat Team , operate the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle (IFV), but will be equipped with
10824-411: The Armed Forces , with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to him. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has vested de facto executive authority, by the exercise of royal prerogative , in the Prime Minister and the secretary of state for defence . The Prime Minister (acting with the Cabinet ) makes the key decisions on the use of the armed forces. The UK Parliament approves
10988-442: The Army List. Confusingly, and similarly to the dual meaning of the word Corps in the British Army (by example, the 1st Battalion of the King's Royal Rifle Corps was in 1914 part of the 6th Brigade that was part of the 2nd Infantry Division , which was itself part of 1st Army Corps ), the British Army sometimes also used the term expeditionary force or field force to describe a body made up of British Army units, most notably
11152-431: The Atlantic and its connected seas. As, until the end of the First World War, it was presumed the only navies that might prove a threat were all of countries on, or off, the Atlantic, no Imperial fortress was established in the Pacific or Indian Oceans, to which power would be extended from Bermuda and Malta following the completion of the Panama and Suez canals. Local-service military reserve units were raised in some of
11316-409: The Austrians and Serbs clashed at the battles of the Cer and Kolubara ; over the next two weeks, Austrian attacks were repulsed with heavy losses. As a result, Austria had to keep sizeable forces on the Serbian front, weakening their efforts against Russia. Serbia's victory against Austria-Hungary in the 1914 invasion has been called one of the major upset victories of the twentieth century. In 1915,
11480-593: The Austrians briefly occupied the Serbian capital, Belgrade . A Serbian counter-attack in the Battle of Kolubara succeeded in driving them from the country by the end of 1914. For the first 10 months of 1915, Austria-Hungary used most of its military reserves to fight Italy. German and Austro-Hungarian diplomats scored a coup by persuading Bulgaria to join the attack on Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian provinces of Slovenia , Croatia and Bosnia provided troops for Austria-Hungary. Montenegro allied itself with Serbia. Bulgaria declared war on Serbia on 14 October 1915 and joined in
11644-493: The Balkan Wars, such as Serbia and Greece, felt cheated of their "rightful gains", while for Austria it demonstrated the apparent indifference with which other powers viewed their concerns, including Germany. This complex mix of resentment, nationalism and insecurity helps explain why the pre-1914 Balkans became known as the " powder keg of Europe ". On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , heir presumptive to Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria , visited Sarajevo ,
11808-423: The British Army has a strength of 48 battalions (32 regular and 16 reserve), structured under 17 unique regiments. These battalions are trained and equipped for specific roles within their respective Brigade Combat Teams (BCT); Light Infantry , such as the famous 1st Battalion Grenadier Guards , within the 4th Light Brigade Combat Team , fight on foot without armoured vehicles; Light Mechanised Infantry , such as
11972-459: The British Army." The Royal Armoured Corps provides the armoured capability of the British Army. The Royal Tank Regiment , Queen's Royal Hussars and Royal Wessex Yeomanry (of the Army Reserve ) operate Challenger 2 main battle tanks, which are being upgraded to Challenger 3 , and are part of 3rd (UK) Division 's Armoured Brigade Combat Teams. Armoured Cavalry regiments, such as
12136-521: The Central Powers. However, the pro-German King Constantine I dismissed the pro-Allied government of Eleftherios Venizelos before the Allied expeditionary force arrived. The Macedonian front was at first mostly static. French and Serbian forces retook limited areas of Macedonia by recapturing Bitola on 19 November 1916 following the costly Monastir offensive , which brought stabilisation of
12300-649: The Chinese Shandong peninsula at Tsingtao . After Vienna refused to withdraw its cruiser SMS Kaiserin Elisabeth from Tsingtao, Japan declared war on Austria-Hungary, and the ship was sunk in November 1914. Within a few months, Allied forces had seized all German territories in the Pacific, leaving only isolated commerce raiders and a few holdouts in New Guinea. Some of the first clashes of
12464-485: The Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War (1982). Since the end of the Cold War , an increasingly international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare and power projection . This entailed the armed forces often constituting a major component in peacekeeping and humanitarian missions under
12628-551: The Eastern Atlantic and North Sea . While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, including a spate of insurgencies against colonial occupation. However the Dhofar Rebellion (1962–1976) and The Troubles (1969–1998) emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during
12792-480: The Falkland Islands ( British Forces South Atlantic Islands ) and Diego Garcia ( British Forces British Indian Ocean Territories ). While not a PJOB, Ascension Island (another BOT) is home to the airbase RAF Ascension Island , notable for use as a staging post during the 1982 Falklands War , the territory is also the site of a joint UK-US signals intelligence facility. Qatar is home to RAF Al Udeid ,
12956-736: The First World War, by 1933 fascism had given rise to Nazi Germany , which under the leadership of Adolf Hitler re-militarised in defiance of the Treaty of Versailles. Once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germany's invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began (1939–1945). The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to
13120-623: The German High Seas Fleet was confined to port. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain. The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond
13284-640: The German Army increased in size from 1908 to 1914, he changed the allocation of forces between the two wings to 70:30. He also considered Dutch neutrality essential for German trade and cancelled the incursion into the Netherlands, which meant any delays in Belgium threatened the viability of the plan. Historian Richard Holmes argues that these changes meant the right wing was not strong enough to achieve decisive success. The initial German advance in
13448-804: The German right wing would sweep through the Netherlands and Belgium , then swing south, encircling Paris and trapping the French army against the Swiss border. The plan's creator, Alfred von Schlieffen , head of the German General Staff from 1891 to 1906, estimated that this would take six weeks, after which the German army would transfer to the East and defeat the Russians. The plan was substantially modified by his successor, Helmuth von Moltke
13612-481: The Germans bled heavily as well, with anywhere from 700,000 to 975,000 casualties between the two combatants. Verdun became a symbol of French determination and self-sacrifice. The Battle of the Somme was an Anglo-French offensive from July to November 1916. The opening day on 1 July 1916 was the bloodiest single day in the history of the British Army , which suffered 57,500 casualties, including 19,200 dead. As
13776-678: The Imperial fortresses (notably Bermuda and Malta), which could be embodied for full time service in war time to reinforce the regular garrisons, and these were funded by the War Office as part of the British Army. After the First World War, the growing belligerence and naval power of the Japanese Empire led to the construction of the Singapore Naval Base. The regular British Armed Forces otherwise were distributed around
13940-819: The Middle East and the 38 Group combines the expeditionary combat support and combat service support units of the RAF. Deployable formations consist of Expeditionary Air Wings and squadrons —the basic unit of the Air Force. Independent flights are deployed to facilities in Brunei, the Falkland Islands, Iraq, and the United States. The Royal Air Force operates multi-role and single-role fighters, reconnaissance and patrol aircraft, tankers, transports, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and various types of training aircraft. First World War World War I or
14104-702: The Middle East and the Far East . Approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops died. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations (replacing the League of nations). Post–Second World War economic and political decline, as well as changing attitudes in British society and government, were reflected by the armed forces' contracting global role, and later epitomised by its political defeat during
14268-628: The Middle East. In all, 140,000 soldiers served on the Western Front and nearly 700,000 in the Middle East, with 47,746 killed and 65,126 wounded. The suffering engendered by the war, as well as the failure of the British government to grant self-government to India afterward, bred disillusionment, resulting in the campaign for full independence led by Mahatma Gandhi . Pre-war military tactics that had emphasised open warfare and individual riflemen proved obsolete when confronted with conditions prevailing in 1914. Technological advances allowed
14432-816: The Militia Artillery integrating within Royal Artillery territorial divisions in 1882 and 1889, and becoming parts of the Royal Field Artillery or Royal Garrison Artillery in 1902 (though retaining their traditional corps names), but was not merged into the Territorial Force when it was created in 1908 (by the merger of the Yeomanry and Volunteer Force). The Militia was instead renamed the Special Reserve , and
14596-482: The Ministry of Defence, provides the "formal legal basis for the conduct of defence". The three constituent single-service committees ( Admiralty Board , Army Board and Air Force Board ) are chaired by the secretary of state for defence. The chief of the defence staff (CDS) is the senior-most officer of the armed forces and is an appointment that can be held by an admiral , air chief marshal or general . Before
14760-645: The Navy in a position of uncontested hegemony at sea. By 1815 and the conclusion of the Napoleonic Wars, Britain had risen to become the world's dominant great power and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, known as Pax Britannica . With Britain's old rivals no-longer a threat, the 19th century saw the emergence of a new rival, the Russian Empire , and
14924-876: The Ottoman Empire , which disturbed the long-standing balance of power in Europe, as well as economic competition between nations triggered by industrialisation and imperialism . Growing tensions between the great powers and in the Balkans reached a breaking point on 28 June 1914, when a Bosnian Serb named Gavrilo Princip assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand , heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary held Serbia responsible, and declared war on 28 July. After Russia mobilised in Serbia's defence, Germany declared war on Russia and France , who had an alliance . The United Kingdom entered after Germany invaded Belgium , whose neutrality it guaranteed, and
15088-728: The Ottomans joined the Central Powers in November. Germany's strategy in 1914 was to quickly defeat France, then to transfer its forces to the east, but its advance was halted in September , and by the end of the year the Western Front consisted of a continuous line of trenches stretching from the English Channel to Switzerland. The Eastern Front was more dynamic, but neither side gained a decisive advantage, despite costly offensives. Italy , Bulgaria , Romania , Greece and others joined in from 1915 onward. In April 1917,
15252-613: The Ottomans' territory in the Balkans during the 1912–1913 First Balkan War , much to the surprise of outside observers. The Serbian capture of ports on the Adriatic resulted in partial Austrian mobilisation, starting on 21 November 1912, including units along the Russian border in Galicia . The Russian government decided not to mobilise in response, unprepared to precipitate a war. The Great Powers sought to re-assert control through
15416-669: The Royal Navy and will maintain Britain's nuclear-powered submarine fleet capabilities for decades to come. The Royal Marines are the Royal Navy's amphibious troops. Consisting of a single manoeuvre brigade (UK Commando Force) and various independent units, the Royal Marines specialise in amphibious , arctic , and mountain warfare . Contained within UK Commando Force are three attached army units; 383 Commando Petroleum Troop RLC, 29th Commando Regiment Royal Artillery ,
15580-485: The Royal Navy for more than 100 years. The Submarine Service 's four Vanguard -class nuclear-powered submarines carry Trident II ballistic missiles , forming the United Kingdom's nuclear deterrent . Seven Astute -class nuclear-powered fleet (attack) submarines have been ordered, with five completed and two under construction. The Astute class are the most advanced and largest fleet submarines ever built for
15744-584: The Royal Sappers and Miners), as well as the originally-civilian Commissariat Stores and transport departments, as well as barracks departments, ordnance factories and various other functions supporting the various naval and military forces. The English Army, subsequently the British Army once Scottish regiments were moved onto its establishment following the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England,
15908-775: The Royal Tank Regiment formed up with one squadron, Falcon Squadron, dedicated towards CBRN, and brought the FUCHS vehicles back into service in 2016. Military of the United Kingdom The British Armed Forces are the military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom , its Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies . They also promote the UK's wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts and provide humanitarian aid . Since
16072-613: The Russian Stavka agreed with the French to attack Germany within fifteen days of mobilisation, ten days before the Germans had anticipated, although it meant the two Russian armies that entered East Prussia on 17 August did so without many of their support elements. By the end of 1914, German troops held strong defensive positions inside France, controlled the bulk of France's domestic coalfields, and inflicted 230,000 more casualties than it lost itself. However, communications problems and questionable command decisions cost Germany
16236-650: The Serbian retreat toward the Adriatic coast in the Battle of Mojkovac on 6–7 January 1916, but ultimately the Austrians also conquered Montenegro. The surviving Serbian soldiers were evacuated to Greece. After the conquest, Serbia was divided between Austro-Hungary and Bulgaria. In late 1915, a Franco-British force landed at Salonica in Greece to offer assistance and to pressure its government to declare war against
16400-741: The UGM-133 Trident II ballistic missiles and modernise the infrastructure associated with the CASD. Former weapons of mass destruction possessed by the United Kingdom include both biological and chemical weapons . These were renounced in 1956 and subsequently destroyed. The British Armed Forces historically relied on four Imperial fortress colonies (Bermuda, Gibraltar, Halifax and its environs in Nova Scotia, and Malta), where dockyards were established, naval squadrons based, soldiers garrisoned, and naval and military stores stockpiled. These acted as lynchpins in maintaining British naval supremacy on
16564-455: The United Kingdom , is the Head of the Armed Forces , with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to him. Long-standing constitutional convention, however, has de facto vested military authority and associated royal prerogative powers in the prime minister and the secretary of state for defence , with the former (acting with the support of the Cabinet ) making the key decisions on
16728-422: The United Kingdom to maintain its position as one of the world's top military powers, as well as being one of NATO-Europe's top military powers. Its edge – not least its qualitative edge – in relation to rising Asian powers seems set to erode, but will remain significant well into the 2020s, and possibly beyond." The Strategic Defence and Security Review 2015 committed to spending 2% of GDP on defence and announced
16892-630: The United Kingdom's first dedicated nuclear, biological and chemical (NBC) defence unit. Following the 1998 Strategic Defence Review , the NBC role was transferred to a newly formed joint regiment consisting of units from both the British Army and Royal Air Force. Formed on 1 April 1999 as the Joint NBC Regiment , from a stated recommendation in the Strategic Defence Review for an operational unit to support deployed forces of
17056-1104: The Volunteer Reserve. The distribution of personnel between the services and categories of service on 1 July 2023 was as follows: On 1 April 2024, most personnel in the UK Regular Forces were stationed in the United Kingdom (around 96%). Of the 5,700 personnel stationed overseas, around two thirds were in Europe (66%), while 14% were stationed in North America, 6% in North Africa and the Middle East, 6% in Asia and 5% in Sub-Saharan Africa. 1,230 personnel were distributed across several regions in Germany, primarily North Rhine-Westphalia as part of British Army Germany . However, up to 750 of these were Locally Engaged Civilians. According to
17220-571: The West was very successful. By the end of August, the Allied left, which included the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), was in full retreat , and the French offensive in Alsace-Lorraine was a disastrous failure, with casualties exceeding 260,000. German planning provided broad strategic instructions while allowing army commanders considerable freedom in carrying them out at the front, but von Kluck used this freedom to disobey orders, opening
17384-714: The Western Front during the First World War. They also sent contingents that served in North-Western Europe, and Italy and North Africa during the Second World War. The Royal Gibraltar Regiment mobilised section-sized units for attachment to British regiments deployed during the Iraq War . The Isle of Man , a Crown dependency hosts a multi-capability recruiting and training unit of the British Army Reserve . Since 1969 Britain has had
17548-485: The Younger . Under Schlieffen, 85% of German forces in the west were assigned to the right wing, with the remainder holding along the frontier. By keeping his left-wing deliberately weak, he hoped to lure the French into an offensive into the "lost provinces" of Alsace-Lorraine , which was the strategy envisaged by their Plan XVII . However, Moltke grew concerned that the French might push too hard on his left flank and as
17712-446: The aggressor, German Chancellor Bethmann Hollweg delayed the commencement of war preparations until 31 July. That afternoon, the Russian government were handed a note requiring them to "cease all war measures against Germany and Austria-Hungary" within 12 hours. A further German demand for neutrality was refused by the French who ordered general mobilization but delayed declaring war. The German General Staff had long assumed they faced
17876-474: The attack by the Austro-Hungarian army under Mackensen's army of 250,000 that was already underway. Serbia was conquered in a little more than a month, as the Central Powers, now including Bulgaria, sent in 600,000 troops in total. The Serbian army, fighting on two fronts and facing certain defeat, retreated into northern Albania . The Serbs suffered defeat in the Battle of Kosovo . Montenegro covered
18040-751: The auspices of the United Nations, NATO, and other multinational operations, including: peacekeeping responsibilities in the Balkans and Cyprus , the 2000 intervention in Sierra Leone and participation in the UN-mandated no-fly zone over Libya (2011). Post- 9/11 , the armed forces became heavily committed to the War on Terror (2001–present), with lengthy campaigns in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and Iraq (2003–2009), and more recently as part of
18204-477: The best way of achieving this. However, the Foreign Ministry had no solid proof of Serbian involvement. On 23 July, Austria delivered an ultimatum to Serbia, listing ten demands made intentionally unacceptable to provide an excuse for starting hostilities. Serbia ordered general mobilization on 25 July, but accepted all the terms, except for those empowering Austrian representatives to suppress "subversive elements" inside Serbia, and take part in
18368-483: The border and pre-empt such a move. To avoid violating Belgian neutrality, he was told any advance could come only after a German invasion. Instead, the French cabinet ordered its Army to withdraw 10 km behind the German frontier, to avoid provoking war. On 2 August, Germany occupied Luxembourg and exchanged fire with French units when German patrols entered French territory; on 3 August, they declared war on France and demanded free passage across Belgium, which
18532-427: The campaign saw the first use of anti-aircraft warfare after an Austrian plane was shot down with ground-to-air fire, as well as the first medical evacuation by the Serbian army. Upon mobilisation, in accordance with the Schlieffen Plan , 80% of the German Army was located on the Western Front, with the remainder acting as a screening force in the East. Rather than a direct attack across their shared frontier,
18696-525: The capital of the recently annexed Bosnia and Herzegovina . Cvjetko Popović , Gavrilo Princip , Nedeljko Čabrinović , Trifko Grabež , Vaso Čubrilović ( Bosnian Serbs ) and Muhamed Mehmedbašić (from the Bosniaks community), from the movement known as Young Bosnia , took up positions along the Archduke's motorcade route, to assassinate him. Supplied with arms by extremists within the Serbian Black Hand intelligence organisation, they hoped his death would free Bosnia from Austrian rule. Čabrinović threw
18860-452: The century, at the latest, any unit wholly or partly funded from Army funds was considered part of the British Army) and the early years of the 20th century, whereby the Reserve Forces units mostly lost their own identities and became numbered Territorial Force sub-units of regular British Army corps or regiments (the Home Militia had followed this path, with the Militia Infantry units becoming numbered battalions of British Army regiments, and
19024-466: The chance of a decisive outcome, while it had failed to achieve the primary objective of avoiding a long, two-front war. As was apparent to several German leaders, this amounted to a strategic defeat; shortly after the First Battle of the Marne , Crown Prince Wilhelm told an American reporter "We have lost the war. It will go on for a long time but lost it is already." On 30 August 1914, New Zealand occupied German Samoa (now Samoa ). On 11 September,
19188-400: The colonial Governors as defence is not a competency that has been delegated to local governments). Under the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation alliance, and with the steady reduction of both the British Empire and the British Armed Forces over the decades that followed the Second World War, the significance of the three remaining Imperial fortresses (military control of Halifax having passed to
19352-407: The colony's coast from the 17th century to the 19th century (when all of the batteries were taken over by the regular Royal Artillery). The militia system was extended to a number of English (subsequently British ) colonies, beginning with Virginia and Bermuda . In some colonies, Troops of Horse or other mounted units similar to the Yeomanry were also created. The militia and volunteer units of
19516-440: The continued existence of the British Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689 . Only a "standing army" requires reapproval by Parliament; the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines and any other forces are not included in the requirement. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council . The United Kingdom is one of five recognised nuclear powers ,
19680-414: The cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol. Faced with Russia in the east, Austria-Hungary could spare only one-third of its army to attack Serbia. After suffering heavy losses,
19844-483: The country to conduct operations worldwide. The majority of Britain's permanent military installations are located on British Overseas Territories (BOTs) or former colonies which retain close diplomatic ties with the United Kingdom, and located in areas of strategic importance. The most significant of these are the "Permanent Joint Operating Bases" (PJOBs), located on the four overseas territories of Cyprus ( British Forces Cyprus ), Gibraltar ( British Forces Gibraltar ),
20008-415: The creation of new independent states, including Poland , Finland , the Baltic states , Czechoslovakia , and Yugoslavia . The League of Nations was established to maintain world peace, but its failure to manage instability during the interwar period contributed to the outbreak of World War II in 1939. Before World War II , the events of 1914–1918 were generally known as the Great War or simply
20172-449: The creation of strong defensive systems largely impervious to massed infantry advances, such as barbed wire , machine guns and above all far more powerful artillery , which dominated the battlefield and made crossing open ground extremely difficult. Both sides struggled to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, technology enabled the production of new offensive weapons, such as gas warfare and
20336-818: The crowds listened to music and drank wine, as if nothing had happened." Nevertheless, the impact of the murder of the heir to the throne was significant, and has been described by historian Christopher Clark as a "9/11 effect, a terrorist event charged with historic meaning, transforming the political chemistry in Vienna". Austro-Hungarian authorities encouraged subsequent anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo . Violent actions against ethnic Serbs were also organised outside Sarajevo, in other cities in Austro-Hungarian-controlled Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia. Austro-Hungarian authorities in Bosnia and Herzegovina imprisoned approximately 5,500 prominent Serbs, 700 to 2,200 of whom died in prison. A further 460 Serbs were sentenced to death. A predominantly Bosniak special militia known as
20500-467: The duration of emergencies. The Merchant Navy and offshore fishing boat crews were also important manpower reserves to the armed naval forces (any seaman was liable to impressment , with many so conscripted especially during the two decades of conflict from the French Revolution until the end of the Napoleonic Wars, and from 1835 registered on the Register of Seamen to identify them as a potential resource), and many of their seamen would serve part time in
20664-420: The expansion of the French colonial empire . In 1873, Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors , which included Austria-Hungary , Russia and Germany. After the 1877–1878 Russo-Turkish War , the League was dissolved due to Austrian concerns over the expansion of Russian influence in the Balkans , an area they considered to be of vital strategic interest. Germany and Austria-Hungary then formed
20828-400: The first time on the Western Front. Several types of gas soon became widely used by both sides and though it never proved a decisive, battle-winning weapon, it became one of the most feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. In February 1916, the Germans attacked French defensive positions at the Battle of Verdun , lasting until December 1916. Casualties were greater for the French, but
20992-402: The formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707 (later succeeded by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland , and finally by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ), the British Armed Forces have seen action in most major wars involving the world's great powers , including the Seven Years' War , the American War of Independence , the Napoleonic Wars ,
21156-486: The front. Serbian and French troops finally made a breakthrough in September 1918 in the Vardar offensive , after most German and Austro-Hungarian troops had been withdrawn. The Bulgarians were defeated at the Battle of Dobro Pole , and by 25 September British and French troops had crossed the border into Bulgaria proper as the Bulgarian army collapsed. Bulgaria capitulated four days later, on 29 September 1918. The German high command responded by despatching troops to hold
21320-524: The general staff for the Army and the chief of the air staff for the Royal Air Force . As of 1 July 2023 the British Armed Forces are a professional force with a total strength of 185,980 personnel, consisting of 140,300 UK Regulars and 4,140 Gurkhas , 33,210 Volunteer Reserves and 8,330 "Other Personnel". As a percentage breakdown of UK Service Personnel, 77.1% are UK Regulars and Gurkhas, 18.8% are Volunteer Reserves and 4.1% are composed of Other Personnel. In addition, all ex-Regular personnel retain
21484-408: The globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping . These were systematically hunted down by the Royal Navy, though not before causing considerable damage. One of the most successful was the SMS Emden , part of the German East Asia Squadron stationed at Qingdao , which seized or sank 15 merchantmen, a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. Most of the squadron
21648-421: The high ground, while their trenches tended to be better built; those constructed by the French and English were initially considered "temporary", only needed until an offensive would destroy the German defences. Both sides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances. On 22 April 1915, at the Second Battle of Ypres , the Germans (violating the Hague Convention ) used chlorine gas for
21812-420: The hostilities of the First World War (1914–1918), in what is recognised today, as the most devastating war in British military history, with nearly 800,000 men killed and over 2 million wounded. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers , the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles and the establishment of the League of Nations . Although Germany had been defeated during
21976-435: The introductions of tanks and aircraft . World War I was one of the deadliest conflicts in history , resulting in an estimated 10 million military dead and more than 20 million wounded , plus some 10 million civilian dead from causes including genocide . The movement of large numbers of people was a major factor in the deadly Spanish flu pandemic. The causes of World War I included the rise of Germany and decline of
22140-422: The investigation and trial of Serbians linked to the assassination. Claiming this amounted to rejection, Austria broke off diplomatic relations and ordered partial mobilisation the next day; on 28 July, they declared war on Serbia and began shelling Belgrade . Russia ordered general mobilization in support of Serbia on 30 July. Anxious to ensure backing from the SPD political opposition by presenting Russia as
22304-402: The later half of the 17th century, and in particular, throughout the 18th century, British foreign policy sought to contain the expansion of rival European powers through military, diplomatic and commercial means, especially of its chief competitors Spain , the Netherlands , and France . This saw Britain engage in a number of intense conflicts over colonial possessions and world trade, including
22468-421: The mid-1970s, the armed forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. The British Army of the Rhine and RAF Germany consequently represented the largest and most important overseas commitments that the armed forces had during this period, while the Royal Navy developed an anti-submarine warfare specialisation, with a particular focus on countering Soviet submarines in
22632-424: The new Boxer mechanised infantry vehicle from 2024. The four battalions of the Parachute Regiment , forming 16 Air Assault Brigade Combat Team and part of Special Forces Support Group , are the British Army's elite airborne infanteers, held at high readiness and specialising in rapid deployment by parachute and helicopter, widely regarded as the "fittest, most aggressive, resilient and disciplined regiment in
22796-419: The new Dominion government following the 1867 Confederation of Canada , and naval control transferred in 1905 to what was to become the Royal Canadian Navy ) rapidly faded. The Bermuda-based North America and West Indies Station was abolished in 1956, and the last regular army units removed from the Bermuda Command in 1957 (leaving only two part-time reserve units), with the naval dockyard in Bermuda reduced to
22960-409: The ocean, even to neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The Battle of Jutland in May/June 1916 was the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. The clash was indecisive, though the Germans inflicted more damage than they received; thereafter the bulk of
23124-402: The other recognised nuclear weapon states, the United Kingdom operates only a submarine-based delivery system, having decommissioned its tactical WE.177 free-fall bombs in 1998. The House of Commons voted on 18 July 2016 in favour of replacing the Vanguard -class submarines with a new generation of Dreadnought -class submarines . The programme will also contribute to extending the life of
23288-402: The practice was discontinued in the 1990s, those who were appointed to the position of CDS had been elevated to the most senior rank in their respective service. The CDS, along with the permanent under secretary, are the principal military advisers to the secretary of state. All three services have their own respective professional chiefs; the First Sea Lord for the Royal Navy , the chief of
23452-681: The protection of the " cruiser rules ", which demanded warning and movement of crews to "a place of safety" (a standard that lifeboats did not meet). Finally, in early 1917, Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare , realising the Americans would eventually enter the war. Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the United States could transport a large army overseas, but, after initial successes, eventually failed to do so. The U-boat threat lessened in 1917, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys , escorted by destroyers . This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after
23616-406: The regular British Armed Forces, though the naval and military establishment in the colony (now termed a British Overseas Territory ) has been reduced to several Royal Naval patrol craft, the locally raised Royal Gibraltar Regiment , and a Royal Air Force Station without aircraft based on it. The British Armed Forces today maintain a number of overseas garrisons and military facilities which enable
23780-424: The regular army and the forces it absorbed, though British military units organised on Territorial 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
23944-415: The term First World War was in September 1914 by German biologist and philosopher Ernst Haeckel who stated, "There is no doubt that the course and character of the feared 'European War' ... will become the first world war in the full sense of the word." For much of the 19th century, the major European powers maintained a tenuous balance of power , known as the Concert of Europe . After 1848, this
24108-584: The threat posed by the closing of this gap was more important than competing with the Royal Navy. After Germany expanded its standing army by 170,000 troops in 1913, France extended compulsory military service from two to three years; similar measures were taken by the Balkan powers and Italy, which led to increased expenditure by the Ottomans and Austria-Hungary. Absolute figures are difficult to calculate due to differences in categorising expenditure since they often omit civilian infrastructure projects like railways which had logistical importance and military use. It
24272-476: The twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire . The era brought about an Anglo-German naval arms race which encouraged significant advancements in maritime technology (e.g. Dreadnoughts , torpedoes and submarines ), and in 1906, Britain had determined that its only likely naval enemy was Germany. The accumulated tensions in European relations finally broke out into
24436-419: The use of the armed forces. The sovereign retains the power to prevent the unconstitutional use of the armed forces, including that of its nuclear arsenal . The Ministry of Defence is the government department charged with formulating and executing defence policy. It currently employs 56,860 civilian staff members as of 1 October 2015. The department is administered by the secretary of state for defence who
24600-429: The war ended with the Armistice of 11 November 1918 . The Paris Peace Conference of 1919–1920 imposed settlements on the defeated powers, most notably the Treaty of Versailles , by which Germany lost significant territories, was disarmed, and was required to pay large war reparations to the Allies. The dissolution of the Russian, German, Austro-Hungarian, and Ottoman Empires redrew national boundaries and resulted in
24764-413: The war involved British, French, and German colonial forces in Africa. On 6–7 August, French and British troops invaded the German protectorates of Togoland and Kamerun . On 10 August, German forces in South-West Africa attacked South Africa; sporadic and fierce fighting continued for the rest of the war. The German colonial forces in German East Africa , led by Colonel Paul von Lettow-Vorbeck , fought
24928-418: The west , which despite initial successes left the German Army exhausted and demoralised. A successful Allied counter-offensive from August 1918 caused a collapse of the German front line. By early November, Bulgaria, the Ottoman Empire and Austria-Hungary had each signed armistices with the Allies, leaving Germany isolated. Facing a revolution at home , Kaiser Wilhelm II abdicated on 9 November, and
25092-436: The world where required to guard against invasion or rebellion, reinforced in some colonies by locally raised reserve forces. In colonies where there was no strategic requirement, regular forces were rarely stationed, with local governments encouraged to maintain and fund military reserve units as contributions to their own defence (although these units were ultimately under the control of the national, i.e. British, Government via
25256-672: Was a mounted force that could be mobilised in times of war or emergency. Volunteer Force units were also frequently raised during wartime, which did not rely on compulsory service and hence attracted recruits keen to avoid the Militia. These were seen as a useful way to add to military strength economically during wartime, but otherwise as a drain on the Militia and so were not normally maintained in peacetime, although in Bermuda prominent propertied men were still appointed Captains of Forts , taking charge of maintaining and commanding fortified coastal artillery batteries and manned by volunteers (reinforced in wartime by embodied militiamen), defending
25420-403: Was challenged by Britain's withdrawal into so-called splendid isolation , the decline of the Ottoman Empire , New Imperialism , and the rise of Prussia under Otto von Bismarck . Victory in the 1870–1871 Franco-Prussian War allowed Bismarck to consolidate a German Empire . Post-1871, the primary aim of French policy was to avenge this defeat, but by the early 1890s, this had switched to
25584-416: Was disbanded on 16 Dec 2011 as a result of the 2010 UK Strategic Defence and Security Review , with capabilities being transferred into the newly formed Defence CBRN Wing, formed by 26 and 27 Sqns RAF Regiment and 2623 Sqn RAuxAF Regiment. The FUCHS armoured vehicle was retired at this point. The 1st Royal Tank Regiment then became divisional troops within 3rd Mechanised Division . Nevertheless, in 2014,
25748-572: Was only one. The oldest of these organisations was the Militia Force (also referred to as the Constitutional Force ), which (in the Kingdom of England ) 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, and had used various schemes of compulsory service during different periods of its long existence. The Militia
25912-407: Was originally a separate force from these, but absorbed the Ordnance Military Corps and various previously civilian departments after the Board of Ordnance was abolished in 1855. The Reserve Forces (which referred to the Home Yeomanry, Militia and Volunteer Forces before the 1859 creation of the British Army Regular Reserve by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert , and re-organised under
26076-405: Was originally an all infantry force, 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 18th century, and Militia coastal artillery , field artillery, and engineers units were introduced from the 1850s. The Yeomanry
26240-440: Was permanently suspended after the First World War (although a handful of Militia units survived in the United Kingdom, its colonies, and the Crown Dependencies). Unlike the Home, Imperial Fortress and Crown Dependency Militia and Volunteer units and forces that continued to exist after the First World War, although parts of the British military, most were not considered parts of the British Army unless they received Army funds (as
26404-654: Was refused. Early on the morning of 4 August, the Germans invaded, and Albert I of Belgium called for assistance under the Treaty of London . Britain sent Germany an ultimatum demanding they withdraw from Belgium; when this expired at midnight, without a response, the two empires were at war. Germany promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but those had never been tested in exercises. Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Beginning on 12 August,
26568-600: Was returning to Germany when it sank two British armoured cruisers at the Battle of Coronel in November 1914, before being virtually destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December. The SMS Dresden escaped with a few auxiliaries, but after the Battle of Más a Tierra , these too were either destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany . This proved effective in cutting off vital supplies, though it violated accepted international law. Britain also mined international waters which closed off entire sections of
26732-433: Was the case for the Bermuda Militia Artillery and the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps ), which was generally only the case for those in the Channel Islands or the Imperial Fortress colonies (Nova Scotia, before Canadian confederation , Bermuda, Gibraltar, and Malta). Today, the British Army is the only Home British military force (unless the Army Cadet Force and the Combined Cadet Force are considered), including both
26896-586: Was the foundation of German foreign policy but in 1890, he was forced to retire by Wilhelm II . The latter was persuaded not to renew the Reinsurance Treaty by his new Chancellor , Leo von Caprivi . This gave France an opening to agree the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894, which was then followed by the 1904 Entente Cordiale with Britain. The Triple Entente was completed by the 1907 Anglo-Russian Convention . While not formal alliances, by settling long-standing colonial disputes in Asia and Africa, British support for France or Russia in any future conflict became
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