|
The British Military works under the direct supervision of the Defence Council of Britain's Ministry of Defence. There are separate categorizations of British Military namely British Army, Royal Navy, Royal Air Force and Royal Marines. The Military of Britain has been deployed in many wars as an independent force as well as a coalition force. On many occasions, it has been a part of the peacekeeping forces of United Nations.
According to the statistics revealed by the British Army, the regular army personnels count to an excess of 100,000. The territorial army is estimated to be nearly 38,500. The British Military has a possession of 667 infantry fighting vehicles, 386 Challenger 2 Battle Tanks, an excess of 300 aircrafts.
The British military was formed in 1707, by combining the regiments of England and Scotland, following the unification of the nations. Some of the early achievements of the British military were in the Napoleonic wars and the American war of independence. With the increase of Britain's dominion throughout the eighteenth and the early nineteenth century, the role of the British military became all the more important. They were often posted to maintain peace in the British colonies that were distributed all over the world.
The Second World War saw the direct involvement of the British military. The British army defeated the German and the Italian forces, as well as the Japanese forces in the Far East comprehensively, that paved the way for the victory of the Allied Forces in the war. Soon after the closure of the World War II, many former British colonies became independent. The British military then focused its attention towards technological development, in the stormy times of the Cold War. Many troops were placed in Germany in order to curb Soviet aggression. The Falkland Wars saw the British forces coming head to head with the Argentinian army.
In the First Gulf War from 1990 to 1991, the US military troops were largely assisted by the British Military in the conquest to liberate Kuwait. The war ended with the expulsion of Palestinian forces from Kuwait. The other major war in which the US and British Military forces took joint action was the Iraq War in 2003. Nearly 45,000 army personnels were sent by the British Military to fight this war.
Initially, the War Office in London controlled the operations of the British Military. However in the present days, this responsibility has been taken over by the Ministry of Defence and Defence Council of Britain. The history of British Military reveals that the maximum time of operation taken for a single campaign by the forces is the Operation Banner. This campaign initiated in 1969 and continued for 38 years till August 1, 2007.
The British Army is always in the process of enhancing its effectiveness and strength. There are recruiting and training sessions through which the required men and women are included in the army for serving the country. The British army looks after the welfare of the soldiers after retirement also.
A number of army museums have been established in major cities of Britain to display the rich heritage of the army. These museums include The Imperial War Museum, National Army Museum. Not only the history of the army is revealed here, but also an account of the soldiers' lives can be explored by a visit to these museums.
|
