British Armed Forces

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The armed forces of the United Kingdom are known as the British Armed Forces or Her Majesty'sArmed Forces, sometimes legally the armed forces of the Crown. Their Commander-in-Chief is theBritish monarch, Queen Elizabeth II and they are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry ofDefence.

The British Armed Forces are charged with protecting the United Kingdom and its overseas territories,promoting Britain's wider security interests, and supporting international peacekeeping efforts. They areactive and regular participants in NATO and other coalition operations.

History

British military history is long, complex and greatly influential in world history, especially since the17th Century. Important conflicts in which the British took part include the Seven Years' War and theNapoleonic Wars of the 18th Century/early 19th Century, the Crimean War of the mid 19th Century, andthe First and Second World Wars of the 20th Century. The British Empire, which reached its apogee inthe 1920s, was the largest empire in history; a quarter of the world's population were subjects of theBritish Crown and it controlled a quarter of the world's total land area. Since the end of the SecondWorld War, British forces have continued to be very active and bases remain spread out across the globein places such as Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Gibraltar, Brunei and the Falkland Islands.

The current structure of defence management in the United Kingdom was set in place in 1964 when themodern day Ministry of Defence (MoD) was created (an earlier form had existed since 1940). The MoDassumed the roles of the Admiralty, the War Office and the Air Ministry.

Current strength

The United Kingdom fields one of the most powerful, technologically advanced and comprehensivearmed forces in the World. Its global power projection capabilities are deemed second only to those ofthe United States Military. The UK has the 2nd to 4th highest military expenditure in the world(depending on source), despite only having the 28th highest number of troops. It is also the secondlargest spender on military science, engineering and technology. Despite Britain's wide rangingcapabilities, recent defence policy has a stated assumption that any large operation would be undertakenas part of a coalition. Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, Iraq (Granby, Desert Fox and Telic) may all betaken as precedent - indeed the last large scale military action in which the British armed forces foughtalone was the Falklands War of 1982.

The Royal Navy is the second largest navy in the world in terms of gross tonnage, with 90commissioned ships. The Naval Service (which comprises the Royal Navy and Royal Marines) had astrength of 35,470 in July 2006 and is charged with custody of the United Kingdom's independentstrategic nuclear deterrent consisting of four Trident missile submarines, while the Royal Marinesprovide commando units for amphibious assault and for specialist reinforcement forces in and beyondthe NATO area.

The British Army had a reported strength of 100,010 in July 2006 and as of 2006 9.0% of the regularArmed Forces were women. The Royal Air Force had a strength of 45,210. This puts the total number ofregular Armed Forces personnel at 180,690 (not including civilians). This number is supported by

reserve forces, including over 35,000 from the Territorial Army. The total number of serving personnel,including reserve forces, is therefore in the region of 225,000 (taking into account Navy, Marines andAir Force reserves).

Branches

Naval Serviceo Royal Navyo Royal Marines British Armyo Territorial Army Royal Air Force

British ArmyThe British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being withunification of the governments and armed forces of Scotland and England into the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated existing English and Scottish regiments, andwas controlled from London. As of 2006, the British Army includes roughly 107,730 active membersand 38,460 Territorial Army members, and is considered one of the most disciplined, well-trained, andtechnologically advanced forces of its kind. The British Army is deployed in many of the world's warzones as part of a fighting force and in United Nations peacekeeping forces.

From around 1763 until at least 1914, the United Kingdom was the dominant military and economicpower of the world. The British Empire expanded in this time to include colonies, protectorates, andDominions throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia, and while the Royal Navy is widelyregarded as having been vital for the rise of Empire, the British Army played important roles incolonisation, including garrisoning the colonies, capturing strategically important territories andparticipating in actions to pacify colonial borders, support allied governments, and suppress Britain'srivals. Among these actions were the Seven Years' War, the American War of Independence, theNapoleonic Wars, the First and Second Opium Wars, the Boxer Rebellion, the New Zealand Wars, theIndian Mutiny, the First and Second Boer Wars, the Fenian raids, the Anglo-Irish War, serialinterventions into Afghanistan, the Crimean War, World War I, World War II, the Falklands War, thetwo Gulf Wars - Operation Granby and Operation Telic - and the Iraq War.

In contrast to the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Royal Air Force, the British Army does not include"Royal" in its title, because of its roots as a collection of disparate units, many of which do bear the"Royal" prefix.

History

The Battle of Waterloo, one of the greatest victories in British military history

The British Army came into being with the merger of the Scottish Army and the English Army,following the unification of the two countries' parliaments and the creation of the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain in 1707. Although England had made many earlier claims to sovereignty in Scotland, there

had been no unified British state prior to that time (other than a brief period during which the Romanprovince of Britain had achieved political independence-although even that had failed to establishcomplete control over the north of the island). The new British Army incorporated existing English andScottish regiments, and was controlled from London.

From roughly 1763 until at least 1914, the United Kingdom was the dominant military and economicpower of the world. The British Empire expanded in this time to include colonies, protectorates, andDominions throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Although the Royal Navy is widelyregarded as having been vital for the rise of Empire, and British dominance of the world, the BritishArmy played important roles in colonisation. First, the British Army provided garrisons for the colonies,protecting them against foreign powers and hostile natives. Second, the troops also helped capturestrategically important territories for the British, allowing the British Empire to expand throughout theglobe. The Army also involved itself in numerous wars meant to pacify the borders, or to prop-upfriendly governments, and thereby keep other, competitive, empires away from the British Empire'sborders. Notable amongst these were its serial interventions into Afghanistan, which were meant tomaintain a friendly buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire. Keeping the RussianEmpire at a safe distance was also one of Britain's motivations for coming to Turkey's aid in theCrimean War.

As had its predecessor, the English Army, in building the Empire, the British Army fought Spain,France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. It also battled manyNative American nations and groups, including the many disgruntled former allies who launchedPontiac's War in response to the wave of British settlers that flooded over the Appalachians followingthe defeat of France in the Seven Years' War. The British Government's attempt to mollify the Nativesby delineating the Appalachians as the westward limit for European settlement was the primarymotivator of the American colonies in launching the secessionist American War of Independence. TheBritish Army fought American colonists and their Native and French allies in that war.

The British army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars in which the army served from Spainacross to Europe to North Africa in the South. The British Army finally came to defeat Napoleon at oneof Britain's greatest military victories at the battle of Waterloo.

The Battle of Rorke's Drift in which 11 VC's were awarded to British troops

Under Oliver Cromwell, the English Army had been active in the re-conquest, and the settlement, ofIreland since the 1650s. It (and subsequently, the British Army) have been almost continuously involvedin Ireland ever since, primarily in suppressing numerous native revolts and guerilla and terroristcampaigns. It was faced with the prospect of battling British settlers in Ireland, who had raised their ownvolunteer army and threatened to emulate the American colonists if their conditions (primarilyconcerning freedom of trade) were not met, but the British Government acceded to these demands. TheBritish Army still found itself fighting Irish rebels (Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen) in the unrelated,Napoleon-supported 1798 rebellion.

In addition to battling the armies of other European Empires' (and of its former colonies, the UnitedStates, in the American War of 1812,) in the battle for global supremacy, the British Army fought theChinese in the First and Second Opium Wars, and the Boxer Rebellion; Mori tribes in the first of theNew Zealand Wars; Indian princely forces and British East India Company mutineers in the IndianMutiny; the Boers in the First and Second Boer Wars; Irish Fenians in Canada during the Fenian raids;and Irish separatists in the Anglo-Irish War.

Following William and Mary's accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the GrandAlliance primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Mary's father, James II. Following the 1707union of England and Scotland, and then the 1801 creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain andIreland, British foreign policy, on the continent, was to contain expansion by its competitor powers suchas France and Spain. The territorial ambitions of the French led to the War of the Spanish Successionand the Napoleonic Wars. Russian activity led to the Crimean War.

British Mark One Tank during World War I

Great Britain's dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, notablyGermany. The UK was allied with France (by the Entente Cordiale) and Russia, and when war broke outin 1914, the British Army sent the British Expeditionary Force to France and Belgium to preventGermany from occupying these countries. The War would be the most devastating in British militaryhistory, with near 800,000 men killed and over 2 million wounded. In the early part of the war, theprofessional force of the BEF was decimated and, by turns, a volunteer (and then conscripted) forcereplaced it. Major battles included the Battle of the Somme. Advances in technology saw British adventof the tank and advances in aircraft design which were to be decisive in future battles. Trench warfaredominated strategy, and the use of chemical and poison gases added to the devastation.

In 1939, World War II broke out with the German invasion of Poland. British assurances to the Polishled the British Empire to declare war on Germany. Again an Expeditionary Force was sent to France,only to be hastily evacuated as the German forces swept through the Low Countries and across France in1940. Only the Dunkirk evacuations saved the entire Expeditionary Force from capture. Later, however,the British would have success defeating the Italians and Germans at the Battle of El Alamein in NorthAfrica, and in the D-Day invasions of Normandy. In the Far East, the British Army battled the Japanesein Burma. World War II saw the British army develop its Commando units including the Special AirService. During the war the British army was one of the major fighting forces on the side of the allies.

After the end of World War II, the British Empire declined with the independence of India, and othercolonies in Africa and Asia. Accordingly the strength of the British military was reduced, in recognitionof Britain's reduced role in world affairs. However, a large deployment of British troops remained inGermany, facing the threat of Soviet invasion. The Cold War saw massive technological advances inwarfare, and the Army saw more technological advanced weapons systems installed.

Despite the decline of the British Empire, the Army was still deployed around the world, fighting in theKorean War, the Suez crisis of 1956, and colonial wars in Oman and Malaysia. In 1982 the BritishArmy, alongside the Royal Marines, helped to recapture the Falkland Islands during the Falklands Waragainst Argentina.

In the three decades following 1969, the Army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland, to support theRoyal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland) in their conflict with loyalistand republican paramilitary groups. This is called Operation Banner. The locally-recruited UlsterDefence Regiment was formed, later becoming the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992. Over 700 soldierswere killed during the Troubles. Following the IRA ceasefires between 1994 and 1996 and since 1997,demilitarisation has taken place as part of the peace process, much reducing the military presence in thearea.

Recent conflicts

Gulf War

The ending of the Cold War saw a 40% cut in manpower. Despite this, the Army has been deployed inan increasingly global role. In 1991, the United Kingdom was the second largest contributor (after theUSA) to the coalition force that fought Iraq in the Gulf War. The nation supplied just under 50,000personnel and was the nation put in control of Kuwait after it was liberated.

Balkans conflicts

The British Army was deployed to Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially this force formed part of the UnitedNations Protection Force. In 1995 command was transferred to IFOR and then to SFOR. Currentlytroops are under the command of EUFOR. Over 10,000 troops were sent. In 1999 British forces underthe command of SFOR were sent to Kosovo during the conflict there. Command was subsequentlytransferred to KFOR.

Afghanistan

In 2001 The Parachute Regiment were deployed in Kabul, Afghanistan to assist in the liberation of thetroubled capital. Royal Marines Commandos also swept the Afghan mountains but this force is part ofthe Royal Navy. The British Armed forces are currently in charge of UN forces in the nation. TheBritish Army is today concentrating on fighting Taliban forces and bringing security to Helmandprovince under NATO control

Iraq War

In 2003, the United Kingdom was the only other major contributor to the United States-led invasion ofIraq. There was great disagreement amongst the populace but the government voted for the war, with theresult of sending over 10,000 army personnel to the region. The British Army is still the major coalitionpresence in the city of Basra and the Southern regions of Iraq.

Northern Ireland

The British Army has been deployed in this troubled part of the UK under Operation Banner since 1969in support of the RUC and now the PSNI. There has been a reduction in the number of troops deployedin Northern Ireland since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998. In 2005, after the IRAannounced an end to armed conflict in Northern Ireland, it was revealed that the British Army woulddismantle posts in the province and withdraw many troops and restore troop levels to that of a peacetime garrison. Officially Operation Banner will end on 1 August 2007, making it the longest militaryoperation in the history of the British Army, at 35-years-old.

The legend of Tommy Atkins

The nickname for a British soldier for several centuries was 'Tommy Atkins' or 'Tommy' for short.Present day soldiers are called 'Toms' or just 'Tom' within the services. Outside the services soldiers aregenerally known as 'Squaddies'. The British Army magazine Soldier has a regular cartoon strip, 'Tom',featuring the everyday life of a British soldier. Officers in the army are generally known (behind theirbacks) as 'Ruperts' by the Other ranks.

Today's Army

The Challenger 2 the British Army's Main Battle Tank

Statistics

British Army statistics

Personnel (Regular Army) 107,730

Personnel (Territorial Army) 38,460

Main Battle Tanks 386 Challenger 2

Infantry fighting vehicles 667 Warrior (789 purchased)

APCs and reconnaissance vehicles 3,2304,000+

Land Rover Wolf 15,000

Pinzgauer 2,000

Utility Trucks 2,300

Artillery pieces and mortar 2,896

Air Defence 337

Aircraft 300+

Current deployments

'High Intensity' Operations

Country Dates Deployment Details

Afghanistan 2001 5,000 troops

British troops have been based in Afghanistan sincethe US-led invasion there in 2001. Currently, underOperation Herrick, the Army maintains a battalion inKabul and most of a brigade in the southern provinceof Helmand.

Iraq 2003 8,500 troops

As part of Operation Telic (Gulf War 2), the BritishArmy participated in the invasion of Iraq. Followingthe decision for continued security operations, the UKcommands the Multi-National Division (South-East)with a headquarters unit, National Support Element,and a combat brigade (at the moment 7 ArmouredBrigade), along with troops from Italy, Norway,Romania, Denmark, the Netherlands, Czech Republic,Portugal, and Lithuania. A large number of TerritorialArmy soldiers have been used for a variety of tasks,both as individuals serving and as formed units.

'Low Intensity' Operations

Country Dates Deployment Details

Bosnia 1995 One light-role infantrybattalion (on rotation)

British troops are based in Bosnia aspeacekeepers under UN Security Councilresolutions.

Cyprus 1960

Two resident infantrybattalions, RoyalEngineers, 16 FlightArmy Air Corps and JointService Signals Unit atAyios Nikolaos as a part

The UK retains two Sovereign Base Areasin Cyprus after the island's independence.The bases serve as forward bases fordeployment in the Middle East. Britishforces are also deployed separately with

of British Forces Cyprus UN forces.

FalklandIslands 1982

An infantry companygroup and an EngineersSquadron

Constant occupation since 1833, exceptbrief period in 1982 when Argentinainvaded. Previously a platoon-sized RoyalMarines Naval Party served as garrison.After 1982 the garrison was enlarged, andbolstered with an RAF base.

Gibraltar 1704 One infantry battalion

British Army garrison is provided by anindigenous regiment, the Royal GibraltarRegiment, which has been on the Armyregular establishment since the last Britishregiment left in 1991.

Kosovo 1999 3,500 troops

After the Kosovo War in 1999, the BritishArmy led the NATO deployment inKosovo to restore peace to the province.Since then, the UK has withdrawn someforces, as other nations provided troops.

Rest of theMiddle

East1990 3,700 troops

Since the Gulf War 1 in 1991, the UK hashad a considerable military presence in theMiddle East. Besides Iraq, there are alsoan additional 3,500 troops in Saudi Arabiaand Kuwait, as well as regular trainingmissions in Oman.

SierraLeone 1999 around 100

The British Army were deployed to SierraLeone, a former British colony, in 1999 toaid the government in quelling violentuprisings by militiamen, under UnitedNations resolutions. Troops remain in theregion to provide military support andtraining to the Sierra Leone government.

NorthernIreland 1969 11,000 troops

Operation Banner is the army's back-uprole first to the Royal Ulster Constabularyand then to the Police Service of Northern

Ireland. Re-deployed in large numbersfrom 14 August 1969 after civil disorder.They were initially welcomed by thenationalist community as protectors butmost eventually came to oppose theirpresence especially after OperationDemetrius (internment) and BloodySunday, when members of the ParachuteRegiment shot dead 14 civilians. Thearmy became involved in a conflict withthe PIRA, smaller republican splintergroups and loyalist terrorists. 763 soldiershave been killed in Northern Ireland since1969, mostly in Belfast and Armagh.Counter-terrorist experience in NorthernIreland later proved useful in Iraq.Operation Banner will end on the 1August 2007.

Training Operations

Country Dates Deployment Details

Belize 1981

British Army Trainingand Support UnitBelize and 25 FlightArmy Air Corps

British troops have been based in Belize sincethe country gained independence from the UKin 1981. Until 1994 Belize's neighbour,Guatemala claimed the territory, and Britishtroops were based in Belize to provide adeterrent force

Brunei 1962

One battalion from theRoyal Gurkha Rifles,British Garrison,Training Team Brunei(TTB) and 7 FlightArmy Air Corps

A Gurkha battalion has been maintained inBrunei since the troubles in 1962 at therequest of Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddin III. TheTraining Team Brunei is the Army's junglewarfare school, while the small number ofgarrison troops support the battalion. 7 FlightArmy Air Corps supports both the Gurkhabattalion and the TTB.

Canada 1972 British Army TrainingUnit SuffieldTraining centre in the Alberta prairie. Regularexercises every year.

Germany 1945

1st (UK) ArmouredDivision as part ofBritish ForcesGermany

British forces remained in Germany after theend of World War II. Forces declinedconsiderably after the end of the Cold War,although the lack of accommodation in theUK means forces will continue to be based inGermany.

KenyaBritish Army Trainingand Liaison StaffKenya

The Army has a training centre in Kenya,under agreement with the Kenyangovernment. It provides training facilities forthree infantry battalions per year

Equipment

The basic infantry weapons of the British Army is the SA80 assault rifle family, with several variantssuch as the L86A2 Light Support Weapons and the short stock variant, issued to tank crews. The generalissue sidearm is the Browning L9A1, though a search is currently underway to find a replacement for theL9A1. Indirect fire is provided by the Minimi machine gun, 51 and 81mm Mortar, the L7 GPMG, aswell as the RGGS, mounted under the barrel of the SA80 rifle. Sniper rifles used include theL96A1 7.62mm, the L115A1 and the AW50F, all produced by Accuracy International. In addition, someunits use the L82A1 .50 calibre Barrett sniper rifle.

The British Army commonly uses the Land Rover Wolf and Land Rover Defender, with the Challenger2 as its Main Battle Tank. The Warrior Infantry Fighting Vehicle is the primary APC, although manyvariants of the Combat Vehicle Reconnaissance (Tracked) are used, as well as the Saxon APC andFV430 series.

The Army uses three main artillery systems; the MLRS, which debuted in Operation Granby and has arange of 30;nbsp;km, the AS-90, a self-propeeled howitzer, and the L118, a 105 mm towed gun-howitzer, used primarily by lighter units as well as the Royal Marines

The Rapier FSC Missile System is the Army's primary battlefield air defense system, widely deployedsince the Falklands War, and the Starstreak HVM is an anti-aircraft missile, launched either by a singlesoldier or from a vehicle mounted launcher. The Starstreak is the British equivalent of the AmericanFIM-92 Stinger

The Army Air Corps (AAC) provide direct support for the Army, although the RAF also assist in thisrole. The primary attack helicopter is the Westland WAH-64 Apache, a license built modified version ofthe AH-64 Apache that will replace the Westland Lynx in an anti tank role. The Westland Lynxperforms several roles including tactical transport, armed escort, reconnaissance and evacuation as wellas anti-tank warfare; it can carry eight TOW missiles. The Bell 212 is used as a utility and transporthelicopter, with a crew of two and a transport capacity of twelve troops. The Westland Gazellehelicopter is a light helicopter primarily used for battlefield scouting and control of artillery and aircraft.The Britten-Norman Islander is a light aircraft used for airborne reconnaissance and command, primarilyin Northern Ireland.

Firearms

L85A2 5.56mm IWL86A2 5.56mm LSW

L110A1 5.56mm SAWL9A1 Browning

L7A2 7.62mm GPMGL96A1 7.62mm

L115A1 8.6mm LRR

Armour

FV4043 Challenger 2 MBTWarrior IFV

CVR(T)FV432 APC

Artillery

AS-90 155mm Self-Propelled GunMLRS

L118 Light GunRapier FSC Missile System

Starstreak HVML121 Field Howitzer

Aircraft

Apache AH.Mk.1Gazelle AH.Mk.1Lynx AH.Mk.7

Bell 212Britten-Norman Islander

Agusta A109

Logistics

DROPSLand Rover (TUL/TUM)

ATMP

Electronics & Comms

MSTARBowmanSkynet 5

Spyglass Thermal ImagerCobra Artillery Location Radar

Formation and structure

The structure of the British Army is complex, due to the different origins of its various constituent parts.It is broadly split into the Regular Army (full-time soldiers and units) and the Territorial Army (part-time soldiers and units).

In terms of its military structure it has two parallel organisations, one administrative and oneoperational.

Administrative:

Corps, which is a grouping by common function, such as Royal Corps of Signals.

Divisions administrating all military units, both Regular and TA, within a geographical area.

Brigade in a non fighting capacity

Regiment, which is a grouping of battalions most commonly found in the Infantry. It is also the correctname for the Corps sized grouping of Artillery regiments.

Operational: The three major commands are Land Command, Headquarters Adjutant General, andHeadquarters Northern Ireland.

Corps made up of two or more Divisions (now unlikely to be used due to the size of the British Army.)

Division made up of two or three Brigades with an HQ element and support troops. Commanded by aGeneral

Brigade made up of three Battalions an HQ element and associated support troops. Commanded by aBrigadier

Battalion of about 700 soldiers, made up of five companies commanded by a Lieutenant-Colonel

or:

Battlegroup. This is a mixed formation of armour, infantry, artillery, engineers and support units, andits structure is task specific. It is formed around the core of either an armoured regiment or infantrybattalion, and has other units added or removed from it as necessary. A battlegroup will typically consistof between 600 and 700 soldiers under the command of a Lt. Colonel.

Company of about 100 soldiers, typically in three platoons, commanded by a Major.

Platoon of about 30 soldiers, commanded by a Second Lieutenant or Lieutenant.

Section of about 8 to 10 soldiers, commanded by a Corporal.

A number of element of the British Army use alternative terms for Battalion, Company and Platoon.These include the Royal Armoured Corps,Royal Corps of Engineers, Royal Logistics Corps, and theRoyal Corps of Signals who use Regiment, Squadron and Troop. The Royal Regiment of Artillery areunique in using the term Regiment in place of both Corps and Battalion, they also replace Company withBattery and Platoon with Troop.

Aerial components

The British Army is heavily in co-operation with the Royal Air Force for air support but the army alsohas its own Army Air Corps.

The AAC has in its arsenal:

- Westland Apache Helicopters

- Westland Lynx Helicopters

- Westland Gazelle Helicopters

- Bell 212 Helicopters

- Britten-Norman Islander Aircraft

- Agusta A109

Special forces

The British army contributes two of the three special forces formations within the United KingdomSpecial Forces Command; the Special Air Service Regiment and the Special Reconnaissance Regiment.

The largest and most famous formation is the The Special Air Service Regiment. Formed in 1941, theSAS is seen by many as the role model for every other special force in the world.

The SAS comprises one regular Regiment and two Territorial Army Regiments and is headquartered atDuke of York Barracks, London.

The regular regiment, 22 SAS Regiment has its headquarters and depot are located in Hereford andconsists of five squadrons: A, B, D, G and Reserve and a training wing. The regiment has battlespaceroles in deep reconnaissance, target identification and indication and target destruction and denial. In itsCounter Terrorism role it is seen as one of the prime anti-terrorist, hostage rescue and target captureunits in the world

The two reserve SAS regiments; 21 SAS Regiment and 23 SAS Regiment have a more limited role,focusing on the battlespace rather than Counter Terrorism.

The Special Reconnaissance Regiment (SRR) which was formed in 2005, from existing assets, toundertake close reconnaissance and surveillance tasks.

Formed around 1st Battalion the Parachute Regiment, with attached Royal Marines and Royal Air Forceasssets, the Special Forces Support Group are under the Operational Control of Director Special Forcesto provide Infantry support to the elements of United Kingdom Special Forces

Recruitment

The Army mainly recruits within the United Kingdom, and normally has a recruitment target of around25,000 soldiers per year. Low unemployment in Britain has resulted in the Army having difficulty inmeeting its target, and in the early years of the 21st century there has been a marked increase in thenumber of recruits from other (mostly Commonwealth) countries, who as of mid-2004 comprisedapproximately 7.5% of the Army's total strength. By 2005 this number had risen to almost 10%. Therewere 6,460 foreign soldiers from 54 countries in the Army (not counting over 3,000 Nepalese Gurkhas).After Nepal, the nation with most citizens in the British Army is Fiji, with 1,965, followed by Jamaicawith 975; soldiers also come from more prosperous countries such as Australia and South Africa (650)(However, recent proposals by the South African government may in future bar South African citizensfrom serving within the militaries of foreign states. The British government has appealed against thismove). The Caribbean island of St Lucia, which has a population of just over 150,000, provides 220soldiers.

There has been a strong and continuing tradition of recruiting from Ireland including what is now theRepublic of Ireland. Almost 150,000 Irish soldiers fought in the First World War; 49,000 died. Morethan 60,000 Irishmen, more than from Northern Ireland, also saw action in the Second World War; liketheir compatriots in the Great War, all were volunteers. There were more than 400 men serving from theRepublic in 2003.

Oath of allegiance

All soldiers must take an oath of allegiance upon joining the Army, a process known as "attestation".Those who believe in God use the following words:

I swear by Almighty God that I will be faithful and bear true allegianceto Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, her heirs and successors and that Iwill as in duty bound honestly and faithfully defend Her Majesty, herheirs and successors in person, crown and dignity against all enemiesand will observe and obey all orders of Her Majesty, her heirs andsuccessors and of the generals and officers set over me. [1]

Others replace the words "swear by Almighty God" with "solemnly, sincerely and truly declare andaffirm".

Flags and ensigns

Flag Ratio: 3:5. The official flag of the Army.

The non-ceremonial flag of the British Army. Sometimes the word "Army" in gold letters appearsbelow the badge.

The British Army does not have its own specific ensign, unlike the Royal Navy, which uses the WhiteEnsign, and the RAF, which uses the Royal Air Force Ensign. Instead, the Army has different flags andensigns, for the entire army and the different regiments and corps. The official flag of the Army as awhole is the Union Flag, flown in ratio 3:5. A non-ceremonial flag also exists, which is used atrecruiting events, military events and exhibitions. Whilst at war, the Union Flag is always used, and thisflag represents the Army on the Cenotaph in Whitehall, London (the UK's memorial to war dead). ABritish Army ensign also exists for vessels commanded by a commissioned officer, the Blue Ensigndefaced with the Army badge. However, there are currently no commissioned vessels in the Army.

Each line regiment (except the Rifle Regiments) also has its own flags, known as the Colours - theRegimental Colour and the Queen's Colour. These colours have been taken into battle in the past andserve as a great sense of pride to the regiment. There is great variation in the different regimentalcolours. Typically the colour has the regiment's badge in the centre.

Royal Navy and RAF infantry units

The other services have their own infantry-like units which are not part of the British Army. The RoyalMarines are amphibious light infantry forming part of the Royal Navy, and the Royal Air Force has theRAF Regiment used for airfield defence and force protection duties.

Overseas Territories Military Units

Numerous military units were raised historically in British territories, including self-governing andCrown colonies, and protectorates. Few of these have appeared on the Army List, and their relationshipto the British Army has been ambiguous. Whereas Dominions, such as Canada and Australia, raisedtheir own armies, Crown possessions (like the Channel Islands), and colonies (now called OverseasTerritories) were, and are, legally part of the UK, and their defence remains the responsibility of theNational (ie., United Kingdom) government. All military forces of overseas territories are, therefore,

under the direct command of the UK Government, via the local Governor and Commander-In-Chief.Many of the units in colonies, or former colonies, were also actually formed at the behest of the UKGovernment as it sought to reduce the deployment of the British Army on garrison around the world atthe latter end of the 19th Century. Today, three overseas territories retain locally-raised military units,Bermuda, Gibraltar, and the Falkland Islands. The units are patterned on the British Army, are subject toreview by the Ministry Of Defence, and are ultimately under the control of the UK Government, not thelocal governments of the Territories (though day-to-day control may be delegated to Ministers of theterritorial governments). Despite this, the units may have no tasking or funding from the MOD, and aregenerally raised under acts of the territorial assemblies.

Structure of the British ArmyAt the top level, the structure of the British Army is headed by two main administrative top-levelbudgets - Land Command and the Adjutant-General. These are responsible for providing operationalcapability to the Permanent Joint Headquarters, which is responsible for the command of all operations.There are also two other significant headquarters, Headquarters Northern Ireland, and British ForcesCyprus.

The command structure forms a hierarchy. Formations (divisions, and brigades) control groupings ofunits. Major Units are battalion- or regiment-sized units. Minor Units are smaller units, which mayeither be independent or part of a battalion or regiment. Units may be either Regular (full-time) orTerritorial Army (part-time volunteers).

The naming conventions of units differ across the army for historical reasons - for example, an infantrybattalion is equivalent to a cavalry regiment. An infantry regiment is an administrative and ceremonialorganisation only, and can include several battalions.

Formations

Land Command

Land Command, headquartered at Wilton, has two main subdivisions, Field Army and Regional Forces.Commander Field Army commands 1 Division, 3 Division, Theatre Troops, and Director GeneralTraining Support. Commander Regional Forces, currently Lieutenant General John McColl CBE DSO,commands 2, 4, and 5 Divisions, plus London District and United Kingdom Support Command(Germany).

Commander-in-Chief Land Command (CINCLAND) is also the Standing Joint Commander (UK) orSJC(UK), responsible for overall command to Military Aid to the Civil Authorities within the UnitedKingdom (excluding Northern Ireland). (IJDP 2)

Corps

In operational terms, a corps is a formation of two or more divisions - it could include upwards of fiftythousand personnel.

Although the British Army has the capability of forming a corps using its two available ReadyDivisions, it would be unlikely to deploy an all-British corps; instead, it would most likely deploy one ofits two divisions to serve as part of a larger multinational force. It does however provide much of theheadquarters and framework for the multinational NATO formation, the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps.

The word corps is also used for some large administrative groupings by common function - for example,the Infantry Corps.

Divisions

A division is a formation of (usually) three or four brigades - around twenty thousand personnel.

The British Army has two main Deployable Divisions, which can deploy their headquarters and trainedformations immediately to operations.

1st (UK) Armoured Division 3rd (UK) Mechanised Division,

The three remaining divisional headquarters (referred to as Regenerative Divisions), plus the LondonDistrict and Northern Ireland HQ, act as regional commands in the UK itself and train subordinateformations and units under their command for UK and overseas operations; the divisions would only berequired to generate field formations in the event of a general war. These Divisions are:

2nd Division - (Scotland and the North of England) 4th Division (East Midlands, South and East England) 5th Division (Wales, West Midlands and South West England)

A further two regional headquarters exist - Headquarters Northern Ireland and London District, atthe Divisional level .

Although the security situation in Northern Ireland has eased greatly in recent years and the BritishArmy's presence there has been reduced, Headquarters Northern Ireland remains in being for the present.It contains the Territorial Army British 107 (Ulster) Brigade, which has no Internal Security role, plusBritish 8th Infantry Brigade and British 39th Infantry Brigade.

London District's most public concern is the administration of ceremonial units and provision ofgarrisons for such installations as the Tower of London. However, its primary responsibility is tomaintain units directly for the defence of the capital. 56 (London) Brigade was disbanded in 1993.

Brigades

A brigade usually includes three or four battalion-sized units - around 5000 personnel. See LandCommand for details of specific brigades within the divisions. However it should be noted that 3Commando Brigade, Royal Marines, is an additional deployable formation, outside the operationalcontrol of the Army but containing a number of army units.

When deployed on operations, the primary tactical formation is the battlegroup. This is a mixedformation formed around the core of one unit (either an armoured regiment or infantry battalion), witharmour, infantry, artillery, engineers etc attached as needed. On operations, a brigade could be expectedto be able to deploy up to three seperate battlegroups.

Key

o 1) Armoured Regimento 2) Armoured Infantry Battaliono 3) Artillery Regimento 4) Army Air Corps Detachmento 5) Provost Unito 6) Royal Logistic Corps Squadrono 7) Engineer Squadrono 8) Javelin Air Defence Batteryo 9) Long-Range Anti-Tank Guided Weapons Troopo 10) Mechanised Infantry Battalion

Administrative Formations

United Kingdom Special Forces 1 Armoured Reconnaissance Brigade 1 Artillery Brigade 7 Air Defence Brigade 12 (Air Support) Engineer Brigade 29 (Corps Support) Engineer Brigade 101 Logistics Brigade (3rd Mechanised Division) 102 Logistics Brigade (1st Armoured Division) 104 Logistic Support Brigade (PJHQ) 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigade 11 Signal Brigade

Order of Precedence

For the purposes of parading, the British Army is listed according to an order of precedence. This is theorder in which the various corps of the army parade, from right to left, with the unit at the extreme rightbeing highest.

The Household Cavalry have the highest precedence, apart from the Royal Horse Artillery when itparades with its guns.

Arms and Services

Combat Arms

The Combat Arms are the "teeth" of the British Army - the infantry and armoured units which haveresponsibility for closing with and killing the enemy.

Royal Armoured Corps

The regiments of line cavalry and the Royal Tank Regiment are grouped together as the RoyalArmoured Corps. These units operate either as armoured regiments with main battle tanks, or asformation reconnaissance units. The Household Cavalry is a separate corps formed of two regiments.One of these, the Household Cavalry Regiment, forms the fifth formation reconnaissance regiment.

Armoured Regiments Formation ReconnaissanceRegimentsThe Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniersand Greys) The Household Cavalry Regiment

The Royal Dragoon Guards 1st The Queen's Dragoon Guards

The Queen's Royal Hussars (Queen's Own andRoyal Irish)

9th/12th Royal Lancers (Prince ofWales's)

The King's Royal Hussars The Light Dragoons2nd Royal Tank Regiment The Queen's Royal Lancers

1st Royal Tank Regiment operates in a dual role; two squadrons serve in the NBC role as part of theJoint CBRN Regiment, while the other two are main battle tank training squadrons that serve as part ofthe Combined Arms Training Battlegroup at the Land Warfare Centre at Warminster.

Infantry

As of 2006, the Infantry is divided for administrative purposes into divisions. These are not the same asthe divisions that are sent into combat, which are a mixture of infantry, armoured and support units. Itshould be noted that the formar Scottish Division is now called The Royal Regiment of Scotland, as itcontains 5 battalions, but only one Regiment. Instead they are groupings of regiments based on eithergeographical location or historical connection. Infantry battalions operate in one of five main roles:

Armoured Infantry Mechanised Infantry Air Assault Infantry Light Infantry Public Duties

Under the arms plot system, a battalion would normally spend between two and six years in one role,before re-training for another. However, plans are currently in place to phase out the arms plot system,and in future to have battalions specialise in individual roles.

GuardsDivision

RoyalRegiment ofScotland

King'sDivision

Prince ofWales'Division

Queen'sDivision Light Division

1st Bn,GrenadierGuards

The RoyalScotsBorderers,(1st Bn, TheRoyalRegiment ofScotland)

1st, 2nd &3rd Bn, TheDuke ofLancaster'sRegiment(King'sLancashireandBorder)[2]

1st Bn, The22nd (Cheshire)Regiment

1st & 2nd Bn,The Princessof Wales'sRoyalRegiment(Queen's andRoyalHampshires)

1st Bn, TheDevonshire andDorset LightInfantry

1st Bn,ColdstreamGuards

The RoyalHighlandFusiliers(2nd Bn, TheRoyalRegiment ofScotland)

1st, 2nd &3rd Bn TheYorkshireRegiment(14th/15th,19th and33rd/76thFoot)

1st & 2nd Bn,The RoyalWelsh

1st & 2nd Bn,The RoyalRegiment ofFusiliers

1st & 2nd Bn,The LightInfantry

1st Bn,ScotsGuards

The BlackWatch (3rdBn, TheRoyalRegiment ofScotland)

1st Bn, TheWorcestershireand SherwoodForestersRegiment(29th/45thFoot)

1st & 2nd Bn,The RoyalAnglianRegiment

1st Bn, TheRoyalGloucestershire,Berkshire andWiltshire LightInfantry

1st Bn,IrishGuards

TheHighlanders(4th Bn, TheRoyalRegiment ofScotland)

1st Bn, TheStaffordshireRegiment (ThePrince ofWales's)

1st & 2nd Bn,The Royal GreenJackets

1st Bn,WelshGuards

The ArgyllandSutherlandHighlanders(5th Bn, TheRoyalRegiment of

Scotland)

1st July 2006 - March 2007

There are three further infantry units in the regular army that are not grouped in the various infantrydivisions:

1st Bn, The Royal Irish Regiment (27th Inniskillings, 83rd, 87th & The UlsterDefence Regiment) 2nd & 3rd Bn, The Parachute Regiment 1st & 2nd Bn, The Royal Gurkha Rifles

The Royal Gibraltar Regiment can also be considered part of the infantry, although its primaryresponsibility is the home defence of Gibraltar.

Royal Irish Regiment

The Royal Irish Regiment shares the status of the largest infantry regiment in the British Army with theParachute Regiment. The Royal Irish has a total of four battalions. The 1st Battalion, as has beenstated, is a general service battalion that is part of the main body of infantry. However, the 2nd, 3rd and4th Battalions are home service battalions, purely for service in Northern Ireland.

2nd Bn, Royal Irish Regiment (Belfast and Antrim) 3rd Bn, Royal Irish Regiment (Down, Armagh and Tyrone) 4th Bn, Royal Irish Regiment (Fermanagh and Londonderry)

With the announcement of the IRA ceasefire in 2005 came the end of military support to the police inNorthern Ireland, and a normalisation of the army's presence in the province. This has led to theannouncement that the three home service battalions will be disbanded with the end of Operation Bannerin August 2007.

Brigade of Gurkhas

The Royal Gurkha Rifles is the largest part of the Brigade of Gurkhas, which also has its own supportarms. These units are affiliated to the equivalent British units, but have their own unique cap badges.

Support units of the Brigade of Gurkhaso Queen's Gurkha Engineers: The Queen's Gurkha Engineers consists of: 69 Field Squadron, 36 Engineer Regiment, Royal Engineers 70 Field Support Squadron, 36 Engineer Regiment, Royal

Engineerso Queen's Gurkha Signals: The Queen's Gurkha Signals consists of: 246 Gurkha Signal Squadron, 2 Signal Regiment, Royal Signals 250 Gurkha Signal Squadron, 30 Signal Regiment, Royal Signalso Queen's Own Gurkha Logistic Regiment: The Queen's Own Gurkha

Logistic Regiment consists of:

- 28 Transport Squadron, 10 Transport Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps

- 94 Stores Squadron, 9 Supply Regiment, Royal Logistic Corps.

Special Forces

Special Air Service Regiment - The regular army's special forces unit, 22 SASRegiment is a battalion sized formation and considered as infantry. Special Reconnaissance Regiment - A tri-service element of the United Kingdom

Special Forces alongside the SAS and Special Boat Service. Special Forces Support Group - A tri-service unit formed around 1st Battalion,

Parachute Regiment and enhanced with personnel from Combat Support Services, theRoyal Marines and RAF Regiment. SFSG is designed to provide support to SpecialForces operations.

Combat Support Arms

The Combat Support Arms include the artillery, engineer, signals and aviation units. Their role is todirectly support the Combat Arms in combat.

Royal Regiment of Artillery

The Royal Artillery, despite its name, is a corps sub-divided into 16 regiments. Of these, four retain thename, cap badge and traditions of the Royal Horse Artillery. The sixteen regiments are divided intoseven specialities:

HomeDefence

AirDefence

GeneralSupport(MLRS)

CloseSupport(AS90)

CloseSupport(L118 LightGun)

Surveillanceand TargetAcquisition

Training

King'sTroop,RHA

12Regiment,RA

39Regiment,RA

1Regiment,RHA

7 (Para)Regiment,RHA

5 Regiment,RA

14Regiment,RA

16Regiment,RA

3Regiment,RHA

29 (Cdo)Regiment,RA

32 Regiment,RA

47Regiment,RA

4Regiment,RA

40Regiment,RA

19Regiment,RA

26Regiment,RA

Corps of Royal Engineers

Engineering support for the army is provided by the Royal Engineers, of which there are a total of 15regiments in the regular army. Of these, 25 Engineer Regiment is a field regiment dedicated to service inNorthern Ireland, 33 Engineer Regiment is an Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit, and 42 EngineerRegiment is a dedicated Geographic unit. The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME), also hastwo regiments, which are the parent units for recruits to the RSME:

1 RSME Regiment - Construction Engineer School 3 RSME Regiment - Combat Engineer School

The remainder are field regiments attached to various deployable formations:

21 Engineer Regiment - 4th Armoured Brigade 22 Engineer Regiment - 1st Mechanised Brigade 23 Engineer Regiment - 16th Air Assault Brigade 24 Engineer Regiment - 3 Commando Brigade (Forming 2007) 26 Engineer Regiment - 12th Mechanised Brigade 28 Engineer Regiment - British 1st Armoured Division 32 Engineer Regiment - 7th Armoured Brigade 35 Engineer Regiment - 20th Armoured Brigade 36 Engineer Regiment - British 3rd Infantry Division 38 Engineer Regiment - 19th Light Brigade

In addition, there are a number of independent squadrons in the Royal Engineers:

59 Independent Commando Squadron - 59 Squadron is the engineers unitassigned to 3 Commando Brigade. This will form part of 24 Engineer Regiment on itsformation. 62 Cyprus Squadron - 62 Squadron provides the engineering support for British

Forces in Cyprus. Within the structure of the Royal Engineers are two squadrons that are cap-

badged as the Queen's Gurkha Engineers, manned predominantly by Gurkhas.

The operational structure of the Royal Engineers also includes two specialist support groups:

12 (Air Support) Engineer Group - this is organised to provide support to airborneforces, and is composed of both regular and TA units. Regular units assigned to 12Engineer Group include:

o 39 Engineer Regiment - engineering support to the RAFo Works Group, RE (Airfields) - infrastructure support to the RAFo 529 Specialist Team Royal Engineers

170 (Infrastructure Support) Engineer Group - formerly known as the MilitaryWorks Force, this has responsibility for both permanent and temporary infrastructuredevelopment in several areas, including water, fuel, communications and utilities:

o HQ 170 Engineer Group, REo 62 Works Group, RE - Water Infrastructureo 63 Works Group, RE - Utilities Infrastructureo 64 Works Group, RE - Fuel Infrastructure

Royal Corps of Signals

In the British Army, communications below brigade level are maintained by individual units. Forformations of Brigade level and above, communications and ICT are provided by the Royal Signals,which has a total of ten regiments, and 13 separate squadrons:

Regimentso 1 (UK) Armoured Division HQ and Signal Regimento 2 Signal Regiment - 11 Signal Brigadeo 3 (UK) Division HQ and Signal Regimento 7 Signal Regiment - 1 Signal Brigade (Allied Rapid Reaction Corps)o 10 Signal Regiment - 2 (National Communications) Signal Brigadeo 11 Signal Regiment - Royal School of Signals (Training)o 14 Signal Regiment - 11 Signal Brigade (Electronic Warfare)o 15 Signal Regiment - HQ Northern Irelando 16 Signal Regiment - 1 Signal Brigadeo 18 Signal Regiment - UK Special Forceso 21 Signal Regiment - Joint Helicopter Commando 22 Signal Regiment (Forming 2007)o 30 Signal Regiment - 11 Signal Brigade Squadronso 200 Signal Squadron - 20 Armoured Brigadeo 204 Signal Squadron - 4 Armoured Brigadeo 207 Signal Squadron - 7 Armoured Brigadeo 209 Signal Squadron - 19 Light Brigadeo 213 Signal Squadron - 39 Infantry Brigade (NI)o 215 Signal Squadron - 1 Mechanised Brigadeo 216 Signal Squadron - 16 Air Assault Brigadeo 218 Signal Squadron - 8 Infantry Brigade (NI)o 228 Signal Squadron - 12 Mechanised Brigadeo 261 Signal Squadron - 101 Logistic Brigadeo 262 Signal Squadron - 102 Logistic Brigadeo 628 (UK) Signal Troop - Allied Forces North (AFNORTH)o Cyprus Communications Unit Within the structure of the Royal Signals are two squadrons that are cap-badged

as the Queen's Gurkha Signals, manned predominantly by Gurkhas.

Army Air Corps

The Army Air Corps provides the battlefield support element of the army's aviation needs (the heavytransport element comes from the helicopters of the RAF, while the amphibious element is provided bythe FAA). The AAC has six regiments, and a number of independent squadrons and flights:

1 Regiment, AAC - 1st (Armoured) Division. 2 Regiment, AAC - Training Regiment 3 Regiment, AAC - Attack Regiment - 16 Air Assault Brigade 4 Regiment, AAC - Attack Regiment - 16 Air Assault Brigade 5 Regiment, AAC - Northern Ireland 9 Regiment, AAC - Attack Regiment - 16 Air Assault Brigade

657 Squadron, AAC 7 Flight - Aviation support to British Forces in Brunei 8 Flight - Aviation support for the SAS 12 Flight - Part of 1 Regiment, AAC 25 Flight - Aviation support to British Forces in Belize

Intelligence Corps

The Intelligence Corps is the army's main tool for the gathering and collating of intelligence, and for theorganisation of the army's counter-intelligence apparatus.

1 Military Intelligence Battalion 2 Military Intelligence Battalion 4 Military Intelligence Battalion 15 (UK) Psychological Operations Group

Joint CBRN Regiment

The Joint CBRN Regiment is a specialised corps of the army tasked with defence against nuclear,biological, radiological and chemical weapons. The regiment is a joint Army/RAF unit, made up of thefollowing regular units:

1st Royal Tank Regiment No 27 Squadron, Royal Air Force Regiment

Combat Service Support Arms

The Combat Service Support Arms have the role of providing the services necessary for sustaining theArmy.

Royal Logistic Corps

The Royal Logistic Corps is the largest single corps in the British Army, and is responsible for thesupply and movement of material to all units. Within the corps there are 21 separate regiments:

1 Logistic Support Regiment 12 Logistic Support Regiment

2 Logistic Support Regiment 13 Air Assault Support Regiment3 Logistic Support Regiment ARRC Support Battalion4 Logistic Support Regiment 17 Port and Maritime Regiment

6 Supply Regiment 21 Logistic Support Regiment7 Transport Regiment 23 Pioneer Regiment8 Transport Regiment 24 Postal Courier and Movement Regiment

9 Supply Regiment 27 Transport Regiment10 Transport Regiment, QOGLR 29 Postal Courier and Movement Regiment11 Explosive Ordnance Disposal Regiment5 Training Regiment 25 Training Support Regiment

There are also a number of other regular army units:

20 Logistic Support Squadron (London District) 44 Support Squadron (Royal Military Academy Sandhurst) 89 Postal and Courier Unit (SHAPE) 105 Logistic Support Squadron (BATUS) 132 Aviation Supply Squadron (16 Air Assault Brigade) Cyprus Service Support Unit (British Forces Cyprus)

Corps of Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

The Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers have responsibility for the maintenance of all of theBritish Army's equipment. Almost every unit will have REME tradesmen attached normally designatedas a "Light Aid Detachment (LAD)" or "Workshop (Wksp)". The corps provides detachments to eachformation of brigade level and higher from its total of seven battalions:

1st Battalion, REME - 4 Armoured Brigade 2nd Battalion, REME - 7 Armoured Brigade 3rd Battalion, REME - 20 Armoured Brigade 4th Battalion, REME - 12 Mechanised Brigade 5th Battalion, REME - 19 Light Brigade 6th Battalion, REME - 1 Mechanised Brigade 7th Battalion, REME - 16 Air Assault Brigade

Other Services

Army Medical Serviceso Royal Army Medical Corps - The Royal Army Medical Corps has a total

of five regiments in the regular army: 1 Close Support Medical Regiment - 1st Armoured Division 3 Close Support Medical Regiment - 3rd Mechanised Division 4 General Support Medical Regiment - 101 Logisitc Brigade 5 General Support Medical Regiment - 102 Logistic Brigade 16 Close Support Medical Regiment - 16 Air Assault Brigadeo Royal Army Dental Corpso Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corpso Royal Army Veterinary Corps Adjutant General's Corps - The Adjutant General's Corps, unlike the Army

Medical Services, is a single corps; however, three of the units that wereamalgamated to form it were permitted to retain their own cap badges:

o Corps of Royal Military Police - While the majority of the AdjutantGeneral's Corps forms part of other operational units, the Royal Military Police isformed into two regular regiments. In addition, there are regular provost companies inthe TA regiments of the RMP, plus a single independent air assault trained company: 1 Regiment, Royal Military Police 3 Regiment, Royal Military Police 160 Provost Company - 4 RMP 101 Provost Company - 5 RMP 114 Provost Company - 5 RMP 156 Provost Companyo Military Provost Staff Corpso Army Legal Corps

Royal Army Chaplains' Department Army Physical Training Corps Small Arms School Corps Corps of Army Music

Training

There are two phases in the training for recruits into the army:

Phase 1: the initial phase features the basic training for all new recruits. There aretwo main strands, one for officers and one for other ranks.

o Officers: Prospective officers first attend the Regular CommissionsBoard to determine whether they are suited to become officers. Once they pass theRCB, they attend the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, where they undergo basictraining, not just in the elements of soldiering, but also leadership. TheCommissioning Course, which is the standard course for new officers, lasts 44

weeks. However, there are also short course for those with professional qualificationsjoining one of the services (Medicine, Law etc) that provides basic military training.

o Soldiers: Prospective ordinary soldiers (other than the infantry) attendeither one of four Army Training Regiments or the Army Foundation College: Army Foundation College, Harrogate ATR Bassingbourn ATR Lichfield ATR Pirbright ATR Winchester

Here they undergo basic training, learning how to become soldiers. The basic course is the ArmyDevelopment Course, which lasts for 20 weeks.

Once new recruits have passed their initial courses, either at RMAS or an ATR, then they move to Phase2 Training.

Phase 2: the second phase involves the new officer or soldier choosing whichbranch of the service they wish to specialise in, and then undergoing the specifictraining. This is with one of the specialist schools located around the country:

o Infantry Training Centre (see below) - the ITC is responsible for bothPhase 1 and Phase 2 infantry training for soldiers. Officers undergo their Phase 1training at Sandhurst.

o Armour Centreo Royal School of Artilleryo School of Army Aviationo Royal School of Military Engineeringo Royal School of Signalso Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Training Groupo Defence Logistic Support Training Groupo Defence Medical Services Training Centreo AGC Training Groupo Royal Military School of Music

Infantry Training Centre

As of 2001, infantry training is undertaken as a single 24 week course at the Infantry Training Centre atCatterick Garrison, as opposed to being divided into Phase 1 and Phase 2 training. The ITC is dividedinto four separate battalions; these are divided into companies, each of which are responsible for one ofthe infantry's administrative divisions:

1st Battalion, Infantry Training Centreo Queen's Division Companyo King's Division Companyo Light Division Company 2nd Battalion, Infantry Training Centreo Scottish Division Company

o Prince of Wales's Division Companyo Somme Company 3rd Battalion, Infantry Training Centreo Guards Division Companyo Parachute Regiment Companyo Gurkha Companyo Gurkha Language Wing 4th Battalion, Infantry Training Centreo HQ Companyo Williams Companyo Hook Companyo Army School of Ceremonialo Army School of Bagpipe Music & Highland Drumso Gym EL Wing

Units of the Territorial Army

Armour (TA)

The four armoured regiments of the Territorial Army operate in two roles - provision of crewreplacements for armoured and NBC regiments, and formation reconnaissance:

Royal Yeomanry Royal Mercian and Lancastrian Yeomanry Royal Wessex Yeomanry Queen's Own Yeomanry

Infantry (TA)

The 1999 reorganisation of the Territorial Army saw a number of new, multi-cap badge battalions takethe place of the old territorial battalions of regular regiments. However, starting in 2006, these regimentswill be replaced by a number of single cap-badged battalions attached to the new large infantryregiments:

3rd Battalion, The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment 4th Battalion, The Parachute Regiment 51st Highland, 7th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 52nd Lowland, 6th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland 4th Battalion, Yorkshire Regiment 3rd Battalion, Royal Anglian Regiment 4th Battalion, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The London Regiment The Rifle Volunteers Royal Irish Rangers

Royal Rifle Volunteers 3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh 5th Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers West Midlands Regiment 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artist's) 23rd Special Air Service Regiment

A further infantry unit, not officially on the British Army list but still technically a British unit, is TheBermuda Regiment. This is a territorial infantry battalion which is responsible for the internal security ofBermuda.

Royal Artillery (TA)

Air Defence General Support(MLRS)Close Support(Light Gun)

Surveillance and TargetAcquisition

104 Regiment,RA(V)

101 Regiment,RA(V)

100 Regiment,RA(V)

Honourable ArtilleryCompany

105 Regiment,RA(V)

103 Regiment,RA(V)

106 Regiment,RA(V)

Note: The Honourable Artillery Company does not come under the RoyalArtillery's order of battle, but is instead a separate regiment.

Royal Engineers (TA)

71 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) - Air Support Regiment 73 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) - Air Support Regiment 75 Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) - Field Regiment 101 (City of London) Engineer Regiment (Volunteers) - Explosive Ordnance

Disposal Regiment Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers (Militia) - Field Regiment 131 Independent Commando Squadron (Volunteers) - Commando Support 135 Independent Geographic Squadron (Volunteers) - Topography 65 Works Group, RE (Volunteers) - Communications Infrastructure

Note: Although the Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineers is part of the Royal Engineers order ofbattle, it is a separate regiment with its own cap badge, regimental colours and traditions.

Royal Signals (TA)

31 (City of London) Signal Regiment 32 (Scottish) Signal Regiment

33 (Lancashire and Cheshire) Signal Regiment 34 (Northern) Signal Regiment 35 (South Midlands) Signal Regiment 36 (Eastern) Signal Regiment 37 (Wessex and Welsh) Signal Regiment 38 (City of Sheffield) Signal Regiment 39 (Skinners) Signal Regiment 40 (Ulster) Signal Regiment 71 (Yeomanry) Signal Regiment

Intelligence Corps (TA)

3 (Volunteer) Military Intelligence Battalion (Strategic Intelligence) 5 (Volunteer) Military Intelligence Battalion (Tactical Intelligence)

Army Air Corps (TA)

6 Regiment, Army Air Corps (Volunteers) 7 Regiment, Army Air Corps (Volunteers)

Services (TA)

In addition to the combat units, there are Territorial Army units in:

Adjutant General's Corpso 4 Regiment, Royal Military Policeo 5 Regiment, Royal Military Police Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineerso 101 Battalion (V), REMEo 102 Battalion (V), REMEo 103 Battalion (V), REMEo 104 Battalion (V), REME Royal Logistic Corpso 87 Postal and Courier Regimento 88 Postal and Courier Regimento 150 (Northumbrian) Transport Regimento 151 (Greater London) Logisitic Support Regimento 152 (Ulster) Transport Regimento 155 Transport Regimento 156 (North-West) Transport Regimento 157 (Wales and Midlands) Logistic Support Regimento The Scottish Transport Regimento 158 (Royal Anglian) Transport Regimento 159 Logistic Support Regimento 160 Transport Regimento 162 Movement Control Regiment

o 163 Movement Control Regimento 165 Port Regimento 166 Supply Regimento 168 Pioneer Regimento Catering Support Regimento 383 Commando Petroleum Troopo 395 Air Despatch Troop Army Medical Serviceso 144 Field Ambulanceo 152 Ambulance Regimento 201 (Northern) Field Hospitalo 202 (Midlands) Field Hospitalo 203 (Welsh) Field Hospitalo 204 (North Irish) Field Hospitalo 205 (Scottish) Field Hospitalo 207 (Manchester) Field Hospitalo 208 (Liverpool) Field Hospitalo 212 (Yorkshire) Field Hospitalo 220 (1st Home Counties) Field Ambulanceo 222 (East Midlands) Field Ambulanceo 243 (The Wessex) Field Hospitalo 253 (North Irish) Field Ambulanceo 254 (City of Cambridge) Field Ambulanceo 256 (City of London) Field Hospitalo 306 Field Hospitalo 335 Medical Evacuation Regimento First Aid Nursing Yeomanry

Ceremonial Units

Although the majority of the British Army performs both operational and ceremonial roles, there aresome units that are purely ceremonial. These are manned by fully trained soldiers who are periodicallytransferred from operational units.

Queen's Guard/Queen's Life Guard

The following are units of the regular army that most regularly mount the guard at Buckingham Palace,Horse Guards and Windsor Castle:

Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment Nijmegen Company, Grenadier Guards No 7 Company, Coldstream Guards F Company, Scots Guards

Gun Salutes

The following are units that provide gun salutes in various parts of London:

King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery Honourable Artillery Company

Sovereign's Bodyguard

The following are not part of the army, but perform the ceremonial role of Sovereign's Bodyguard.They tend to be made up of retired officers and NCOs:

Her Majesty's Bodyguard of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms Queen's Bodyguard of the Yeomen of the Guard Royal Company of Archers, the Queen's Bodyguard in Scotland

One of the significant duties that all of the above units (with the exception of the King's Troop and theHonourable Artillery Company) perform is to guard the catafalque upon which the coffin of a statefuneral rests in Westminster Hall.

Others

Yeomen Warders of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower ofLondon: This corps provides the ceremonial guard at the Tower of London, withresponsibility for guarding any prisoners housed in the fortress, and ensuring thesecurity of the crown jewels. The most notable ceremony that the Yeoman Wardersparticipate in is the Ceremony of the Keys. However, they also form a guard ofhonour in the annexe of Westminster Abbey at the coronation service. Military Knights of Windsor: This is a small formation of retired army officers,

who receive a pension and accommodation at Windsor Castle. They lead theprocession of the Garter Knights on Garter Day. High Constables of Holyroodhouse: This is the ceremonial guard of the Palace of

Holyroodhouse, which parades whenever the Sovereign is in Edinburgh. In-Pensioners of the Royal Hospital: While not strictly speaking a corps, the In-

Pensioners of the Royal Hospital, Chelsea form a significant part of the army'sheritage and history, and often take part in major occasions, especially those ofremembrance. Atholl Highlanders: A further ceremonial unit is the Atholl Highlanders. This is

unique in that it is the only legal private army in Europe; instead of being in theservice of the Crown, it is in the service of the Duke of Atholl.

Restructuring

In July 2004, the Government announced its proposals for restructuring of the armed forces. The mainpoints concerning the army included:

Cutting four infantry battalions (three English and one Scottish) with theremaining single battalion regiments of the Scottish Division, King's Division andPrince of Wales's Division amalgamating. These will see either one regiment of fouror more battalions, or two regiments of between two and three battalions in eachdivision. One armoured regiment being re-roled as force reconnaissance, with seven

Challenger 2 squadrons being cut. One heavy artillery regiment being re-roled as light artillery, with six AS-90

batteries being cut. A reduction in the number of Ground Based Air Defence units, with the

disbandment of the RAF Regiment squadrons, and a reduction in the size of the RoyalArtillery batteries.

On 16 December 2004, Geoff Hoon announced restructuring plans. The new operational structure of thearmy will feature:

Two Armoured Brigades - these will be 7 Armoured Brigade and 20 ArmouredBrigade. Three Mechanised Brigades - these will be 1 Mechanised Brigade and 12

Mechanised Brigade, to be joined by the current 4 Armoured Brigade, which willconvert to mechanised by 2006. One Light Role Brigade - this will see 19 Mechanised Brigade convert to the light

role, beginning at the start of 2005. One Air Assault Brigade - 16 Air Assault Brigade.

Rumours were also confirmed, with the restructuring of the infantry along the large regiment lines. Thisinvolved the Royal Scots and the King's Own Scottish Borderers amalgamating into a single battalion onthe 1st August 2006, after the two regiments had formed single battalions of the Royal Regiment ofScotland in March 2006, with battalions retaining their former titles. The regiments of the King'sDivision and the Prince of Wales's Division will also merge, with one battalion lost from the King'sDivision, and two from the Prince of Wales's. Thus, each will have one regiment of three battalions andone regiment of two battalions.

The restructuring will be as follows:

Royal Armoured Corps restructuring

In 2005, the Queen's Royal Lancers will begin conversion from the Armoured role, equipped withChallenger 2, to the Formation Reconnaissance role, equipped with Scimitar.

Royal Artillery restructuring

In 2005, 40 Regiment, Royal Artillery will begin conversion to the L118 Light Gun from the AS-90.

Royal Engineers restructuring

Engineering support for 3 Commando Brigade to be expanded to a full regiment with the establishmentof 24 Commando Engineer Regiment. This brings it into line with the other brigade sized formations.

Royal Signals restructuring

Establishment of a new signals regiment, 22 Signal Regiment.

Infantry restructuring

The arms plot is to be abolished, with all infantry battalions given a set role and (for armoured andmechanised battalions) location. In order that officers and soldiers can keep up the various skills gainedthrough each of the distinct roles, all single battalion regiments (with the exception of the Guardsregiments and the Royal Irish Regiment) will be amalgamated into large regiments. It is planned thateach division will have a total of five battalions - of these, one will be armoured infantry, one will bemechanised infantry and the remainder light infantry.

Guards Division

Although there will remain five single battalion Guards regiments, operationallythese will conform to the new structure, with each battalion being given a specificrole (1 armoured infantry, 2 light infantry, 2 public duties). Operationally therefore,the Guards will be a single large regiment. The London Regiment will be transferredto the Guards Division, and become the Guards TA battalion.

Scottish Division

Royal Scots and King's Own Scottish Borderers to amalgamate into a singlebattalion. The combined Royal Scots/KOSB to merge with the Royal HighlandFusiliers, Black Watch, Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders and The Highlanders intothe Royal Regiment of Scotland.

o The Royal Scots Borderers (1st Bn, Royal Regiment of Scotland)o The Royal Highland Fusiliers (2nd Bn, Royal Regiment of Scotland)o The Black Watch (3rd Bn, Royal Regiment of Scotland)o The Highlanders (4th Bn, Royal Regiment of Scotland)o The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders (5th Bn, Royal Regiment of

Scotland) The 52nd Lowland Regiment with form the 6th Bn, and the 51st Highland the 7th.

Prince of Wales's Division

The breakup of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment hasbeen cancelled. It will merge directly with the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment toform 1st Battalion, The Light Infantry.

The Staffordshire Regiment, 22nd (Cheshire) Regiment and Worcestershire andSherwood Foresters Regiment to merge into the Mercian Regiment.

o 1st Bn, Mercian Regiment (Cheshires)o 2nd Bn, Mercian Regiment (Worcesters and Foresters)o 3rd Bn, Mercian Regiment (Staffords) A 4th Bn will be formed from the TA West Midlands Regiment and the Cheshires

element of the Kings and Cheshire Regiment The Royal Welch Fusiliers and Royal Regiment of Wales to merge into the Royal

Welsh.o 1st Bn, Royal Welsh (Royal Welch Fusiliers)o 2nd Bn, Royal Welsh (Royal Regiment of Wales) The TA Royal Welsh Regiment will become 3rd Battalion, Royal Welsh

King's Division

The King's Own Royal Border Regiment, King's Regiment and Queen'sLancashire Regiment to merge into the Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King'sLancashire and Border).

o 1st Bn, Duke of Lancaster's Regimento 2nd Bn, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment 4th Bn, Duke of Lancaster's Regiment will be formed from the Kings Regiment

elements of the TA Kings and Cheshire Regiment and Lancastrian and CumbrianVolunteers Regiment. The Duke of Wellington's Regiment, Prince of Wales's Own Regiment of

Yorkshire and the Green Howards to merge into the Yorkshire Regiment (14th/15th,19th and 33rd/76th Foot).

o 1st Bn, Yorkshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's Own)o 2nd Bn, Yorkshire Regiment (Green Howards)o 3rd Bn, Yorkshire Regiment (Duke of Wellington's) 4th Bn, Yorkshire Regiment will be formed from the TA East and West Riding

Regiment and the Green Howards elements of the Tyne Tees Regiment.

Queen's Division

The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment (Queen's and Royal Hampshires), RoyalRegiment of Fusiliers and the Royal Anglian Regiment are unaffected. The RRF and R ANGLIAN gain a Territorial Army Battalion. The Tyne-Tees

Regiment will be the 5th Bn, RRF and the East of England Regiment will become the3rd Bn R ANGLIAN.

Light Division

As of November 2005, in a change to the original plans, a new large regiment willbe created from the merger of the The Light Infantry, the Royal Green Jackets, theRoyal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment and the Devonshire andDorset Regiment and will be called The Rifles.

1st Bn, The Rifles (from the merger of the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire andWiltshire Regiment and the Devonshire and Dorset Regiment) 2nd Bn, The Rifles (redesignated of 1st Bn, The Royal Green Jackets) 3rd Bn, The Rifles (redesignation of 2nd Bn, The Light Infantry) 4th Bn, The Rifles (redesignation of 2nd Bn, The Royal Green Jackets) 5th Bn, The Rifles (redesignation of 1st Bn, The Light Infantry) 6th (V) Bn, The Rifles (formed from the majority of The Rifle Volunteers) 7th (V) Bn, The Rifles (formed from the majority of the Royal Rifle Volunteers)

[The Parachute Regiment

1st Battalion, the Parachute Regiment remains in the infantry order of battle roledto form the core of the Special Forces Support Group in support of United KingdomSpecial Forces. Battalion strength is reduced to 450 men, with the remainderdistributed among the remaining two battalions. 2nd and 3rd Battalions, the Parachute Regiment remain unaffected. 4th Battalion will conform it the new TA infantry structure but is otherwise

unaffected.

Royal Irish Regiment

In order to retain an 'infantry footprint' in Northern Ireland, the Royal IrishRegiment will retain its single general service battalion. The Royal Irish Rangers will become TA battalion of the R IRISH. With the announcement by the Provisional IRA that they will cease armed

conflict, the three home service battalions will be disbanded.

Royal Gurkha Rifles

The Royal Gurkha Rifles remain unaffected by the changes to the infantrystructure.

Special Forces

Special Forces Support Group has been formed around a core of 1 PARAsupplemented by a Squadron of RAF Regiment and a company of Royal Marines.SFSG provides infantry support of Special Forces Operations falls under thecommand of Director Special Forces. Administered as a regiment the SFSG is basedat RAF St Athan.

Territorial Army

With the exception of the Royal Gurkha Rifles, every infantry regiment willreceive one Territorial Army battalion, with the exception of the Royal Regiment ofScotland and The Rifles, which will receive two. The Guards Division will gain anaffiliated TA battalion.

Bands

The British Army has 29 military bands of varying strength. The seven bands ofthe Household Division each have 49 musicians, whereas the other bands each have35 musicians. All bands can play in many different formats, but primarily as amarching band or a concert band.

Brief comment

While the Government maintains that regimental traditions will remain through the addition of subtitlesto battalions, it should be noted that in the reforms of the 1960s, which brought the likes of the Queen'sRegiment, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, Royal Green Jackets and Light Infantry, the individualregiments that made them up also retained their individual titles for only a brief period, before thesewere removed to promote the harmonisation of the new regiments.

The government has also announced that the concept of arms plotting will be ended; however, since theannouncement of reorganisation, it has been revealed that light infantry battalions will continue to berotated, to prevent units staying in unpopular postings (Cyprus, Northern Ireland, public duties etc) fortoo long.

New Infantry Structure and Order of Precedence

Regular Army

GuardsDivision

ScottishDivision

King'sDivision

Prince ofWales'Division

Queen'sDivision

LightDivision

1st Bn,GrenadierGuards

1st, 2nd, 3rd,4th & 5th Bn,RoyalRegiment ofScotland

1st & 2nd Bn,Duke ofLancaster'sRegiment

1st & 2ndBn, RoyalWelsh

1st & 2nd Bn,Princess ofWales's RoyalRegiment

1st, 2nd,3rd, 4th &5th Bn, TheRifles

1st Bn,ColdstreamGuards

1st, 2nd & 3rdBn, YorkshireRegiment

1st, 2nd &3rd Bn,MercianRegiment

1st & 2nd Bn,RoyalRegiment ofFusiliers

1st Bn, ScotsGuards

1st & 2nd Bn,Royal AnglianRegiment

1st Bn, IrishGuards1st Bn,WelshGuards

1st Bn, Royal Irish Regiment 1st & 2nd Bn, Royal Gurkha Rifles 2nd & 3rd Bn, Parachute Regiment 22nd SAS Regiment 1st Bn, Parachute Regiment/JSFG Royal Gibraltar Regiment

Territorial Army

GuardsDivision

ScottishDivision King's Division

Prince ofWales'Division

Queen'sDivision

LightDivision

LondonRegiment

6th & 7th Bn,RoyalRegiment ofScotland

3rd Bn, King'sLancashire andBorder Regiment

3rd Bn,RoyalWelsh

3rd Bn,Princess ofWales's RoyalRegiment

6th & 7thBn, TheRifles

4th Bn,YorkshireRegiment

4th Bn,MercianRegiment

5th Bn, RoyalRegiment ofFusiliers3rd Bn, RoyalAnglianRegiment

Royal Irish Rangers 4th Bn, Parachute Regiment 21st and 23rd SAS Regiment

Territorial ArmyThe Territorial Army (TA) is a part of the British Army, the land armed forces of the United Kingdom,and composed mostly of part-time soldiers paid at the same rate, while engaged on military activities, astheir Regular equivalents. It forms about a quarter of the strength of the Army. Its original purpose washome defence, but it is being restructured and reconceptualized to focus on providing support for theRegular army.

Territorial soldiers, or Territorials, are volunteers, not conscripts or a militia, and often undergo militarytraining in their spare time. They normally have a day job and often need to take leave or resign their jobif called up for military service. Some employers, such as the public service, have military leave to allowthese soldiers to be deployed without losing their full time job.

It was created in 1908, when the War Office took over and reorganised the previously civilian-administered Volunteer Army, folding its remaining Militia and Yeomanry units into it.

World War I and earlier

The Territorial Force was originally formed by the Secretary of State for War, Richard Burdon Haldane,following the passage of the "Territorial and Reserve Forces Bill", which combined and re-organised theold Volunteer Army with the remaining units of militia and yeomanry, on August 2, 1907 and contained14 infantry divisions, each administered by a County Association. There were also 14 mountedyeomanry brigades.

The use of the word territorial signified that the volunteers who served with the force were under noobligation to serve overseas in 1910, when asked to nominate for Imperial Service overseas in theevent of mobililzation, less than 10% of the Force chose to do so. In August 1914, after the outbreak ofWorld War I, Territorial units were given the option of serving in France and by August 25 in excess of70 battalions had volunteered. This question over the availability of Territorial divisions for overseasservice was one of Lord Kitchener's motivations for raising the New Army separately.

The original divisions of the Territorial Army were:

East Anglian Division East Lancashire Division Highland Division Home Counties Division (broken up in India, December 1914) Lowland Division 1st London Division 2nd London Division North Midland Division Northumbrian Division South Midland Division

West Lancashire Division West Riding Division Welsh Division Wessex Division

The divisions were assigned numbers in April 1915 so that, for example, the 'East Anglian Division'became the 54th Division.

Territorial Force battalion numbers were prefixed with '1', for instance the 1/5th Battalion, the EastSurrey Regiment. A second line of Territorial units were raised by the respective County Associations inAugust and September of 1914. These battalion and division names were prefixed with '2' to distinguishfrom the originals. For instance, the second line 'Wessex Division' was originally called the '2nd WessexDivision' (later the 45th Division) and the second line battalion for the 1/5th East Surreys was the 2/5thEast Surreys. When a first line battalion was sent overseas, a third line battalion, prefixed with '3', wasraised thus enabling the second line battalion to be released for overseas service as well. By the end ofthe war 692 Territorial Force battalions had been raised. In total, nine second line divisions were raised.No complete divisions of third line battalions were raised.

The second line Territorial Force divisions were:

45th (2nd Wessex) Division 57th (2nd West Lancashire) Division 58th (2/1st London) Division 59th (2nd North Midland) Division 60th (2/2nd London) Division 61st (2nd South Midland) Division 62nd (2nd West Riding) Division 63rd (2nd Northumbrian) Division (broken up in July 1916) 64th (2nd Highland) Division (lost territorial association early 1918) 65th (2nd Lowland) Division (broken up 18 March 1918) 66th (2nd East Lancashire) Division 67th (2nd Home Counties) Division (lost territorial association early 1918) 68th (2nd Welsh) Division (lost territorial association early 1918) 69th (2nd East Anglian) Division (lost territorial association early 1918)

Also considered divisions of the Territorial Force were:

71st - 73rd Divisions which were formed late 1916 as Home Service divisions.All broken up early 1918 74th (Yeomanry) Division, formed early 1917 from dismounted Yeomanry 75th Division, formed early 1917 from various Territorial Force and Indian Army

battalions

Territorial units initially saw service in Egypt and India and other Empire garrisons such as Gibraltar,thereby releasing regular units for service in France and enabling the formation of an additional fiveregular army divisions (for a total of eleven) by early 1915. The first Territorial division to join the

fighting on the Western Front was the 46th Division in March 1915. The 42nd and 52nd divisions weresent to Gallipoli as reinforcements for the Helles front in May and June of 1915.

As the war progressed and casualties mounted, the distinctive character of Territorial units was dilutedby the inclusion of conscript and New Army drafts. Following the Armistice all units of the TerritorialForce were gradually disembodied.

Interwar and World War II

New recruiting started in early 1920, and the Territorial Force was reconstituted 7 February 1920. On 1October 1920 the Territorial Force was renamed the Territorial Army. The 1st Line divisions (that werecreated in 1907 or 1908) were reconstituted in that year. The 2nd Line was reconstituted in April 1939 inreaction to the declaration of war.[1] When the 2nd Line was reformed they were a little different fromtheir WWI predecessors. They had slightly different names and the regiments assigned were different.

List of TA Divisions, World War II

The Territorial Army armoured and infantry divisions during World War II were:

o 1st Line: 1st Cavalry Division (1st Line Yeomanry) 10th Armoured Division (1st Line Yeomanry) 42nd (East Lancashire) Infantry Division 43rd (Wessex) Infantry Division 44th (Home Counties) Infantry Division 48th (South Midland) Infantry Division 49th (West Riding) Infantry Division 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division 51st (Highland) Infantry Division 52nd (Lowland) Infantry Division 53rd (Welsh) Division 54th (East Anglian) Infantry Division 55th (West Lancashire) Infantry Division 56th (London) Infantry Division

o 2nd Line

9th (Highland) Infantry Division 12th (Eastern) Infantry Division 15th (Scottish) Infantry Division 18th (East Anglian) Infantry Division 23rd (Northumbrian) Division

38th (Welsh) Infantry Division 45th (Wessex) Infantry Division 46th (West Riding) Infantry Division 47th (London) Infantry Division 59th (Staffordshire) Infantry Division 61st (South Midland) Infantry Division 66th (East Lancashire) Infantry Division

Postwar

The TA kept its former role of supplying complete divisions to the regular Army for twelve years afterWW II. The manoeuvre divisions established or restablished in 1947 were:

42nd Infantry Division 43rd Infantry Division 44th Infantry Division 49th (West Riding & North Midland) Armoured Division 50th Infantry Division 51st/52nd (Scottish) Division 53rd Infantry Division 56th (London) Armoured Division

It also furnished much of the anti-aircraft cover for the United Kingdom during that period. However, asthe 1950s drew to a close, British forces contracted dramatically as the end of conscription in 1960 camein sight. The TA was thus re-roled into its modern form. Instead of supplying complete combatdivisions, its function was to round out regular formations by supplying units of up to battalion size(including infantry and light artillery, but not tracked armour), and supply extra support functions suchas engineers, medical units and military police.

After the Strategic Defence Review of 1998, the TA's size was further reduced. As of 2006 it has anauthorised strength of 42,000 though recruiting difficulties put the actual strength of the TA below thatfigure (manning is currently at approx 82% which equates to 34 000).

TA soldiers have seen service in almost every conflict the UK has been involved with since 1945.However, they served in particularly large numbers in three conflicts. The Korean War and Suez Crisiswere during the 1950s, when the UK still had an imperial role. However, in 2003, 9,500 reservists, thevast majority of them from the TA, were mobilised to take part in Operation Telic, the invasion of Iraq.Given the current state of world politics and security, it seems inconceivable that the TA will not seefurther extensive service during the remainder of the early part of the 21st century.

Present-day units

Royal Armoured Corps

Royal Yeomanry

Ro