141-801: The Surrey Yeomanry was a unit of the British Army first formed as volunteer cavalry in 1794. It was reformed in 1901 and saw varied service in the First World War . During the interwar period, it converted to artillery and during the Second World War one of its regiments distinguished itself during the retreat to Dunkirk , saw action during the Second Battle of El Alamein , and also saw service in Sicily and Italy . Its other regiment served in East Africa ,
282-527: A tram line for much of the first half of the twentieth century, from 1906 until 1952. On 5 July that year the last tram made a ceremonial journey across the bridge. Since the removal of Rennie's New London Bridge in 1967 it is the oldest road structure which crosses the Thames in central London. On 22 March 2017, a terrorist attack started on the bridge and continued into Bridge Street and Old Palace Yard . Five people – three pedestrians, one police officer, and
423-620: A ' Pals battalion ' of Kitchener's Army , in 41st Division (the DoLOY squadrons were posted to a battalion of the Manchester Regiment ). On 7 October Maj Thesiger was promoted to command the battalion, later transferring to the 10th (Service) Bn (Kent County), Royal West Kent Regiment . 41st Division went to the Italian Front in November, then returned to France in early 1918 and fought through
564-779: A 21-year engagement, following which (should he survive so long) he was discharged as a Pensioner. Pensioners were sometimes still employed on garrison duties, as were younger soldiers no longer deemed fit for expeditionary service who were generally organised in invalid units or returned to the regimental depot for home service. The cost of paying pensioners, and the obligation the government was under to continue to employ invalids as well as soldiers deemed by their commanding officers as detriments to their units were motivations to change this system. The long period of engagement also discouraged many potential recruits. The long service enlistments were consequently replaced with short service enlistments, with undesirable soldiers not permitted to re-engage on
705-562: A Catholic) during his brief controversial reign, off the throne and into exile. England then involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance on the Continent, primarily to prevent a possible French Catholic monarch organizing invasion restoring the exiled James II (Queen Mary's father and still a Roman Catholic ). Later in 1689, William III to solidify his and Mary's hold on the monarchy, expanded
846-771: A Light Aid Detachment (LAD) of the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers . The regiment did a spell as depot regiment at the School of Artillery at Larkhill Camp and was later stationed at Sturminster Marshall , the Isle of Wight , and Wimborne Minster . At the beginning of May 1942 the regiment came under direct War Office control preparatory to proceeding overseas. 98th (S&SY) Field Regiment landed in Egypt where on 19 September 1942 it joined 10th Armoured Division in Eighth Army . It
987-679: A deployment in Afghanistan as part of Operation Toral . Following an announcement by the US Government of the end of their operations in the Afghanistan, the Ministry of Defence announced in April 2021 that British forces would withdraw from the country by 11 September 2021. It was later reported that all UK troops would be out by early July. Following the collapse of the Afghan Army, and the completion of
1128-496: A divisional structure the Army field regiments had a difficult time, having to fend for themselves. 98th (S&SY) Field Rgt attached itself to 44th (HC) Division, but got caught in a traffic jam at Saint-Jans-Cappel on 29 May and the gunners were forced to destroy and abandon their guns and vehicles before proceeding on foot to the beaches for evacuation. On arrival in England the regiment
1269-651: A force of Volunteer Yeoman Cavalry ( Yeomanry ) that could be called on by the King to defend the country against invasion or by the Lord Lieutenant to subdue any civil disorder within the county. Four Troops of Yeomanry were raised in Surrey on 9 May 1794, and were formed into a regiment in 1797 under the command of Lord Leslie (later 13th Earl of Rothes ). Its headquarters was at Clapham and it recruited from London and its suburbs, many of those in its ranks being men of standing in
1410-585: A large reserve of recently discharged soldiers, ready to be recalled on the outbreak of war to immediately bring the small peacetime regular army up to strength), the Regular Reserve of the British Army was originally created in 1859 by Secretary of State for War Sidney Herbert , and re-organised under the Reserve Force Act 1867 . Prior to this, a soldier was generally enlisted into the British Army for
1551-565: A multinational armoured battlegroup in Estonia under Operation Cabrit and contributes troops to another military battle group in Poland . As part of the NATO plans, Britain has committed a full mechanized infantry brigade to be on a high state of readiness to defend Estonia. Between 2015 and 2022, the British Army deployed Short Term Training Teams (STTTs) to Ukraine under Operation Orbital to help train
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#17332698747681692-547: A number of returning IY veterans formed a permanent regiment in the county on 30 April 1901, which was granted the title Surrey Imperial Yeomanry (The Princess of Wales's) in June 1902. (It changed the subtitle to (Queen Mary's Regiment) after the accession of the Prince and Princess of Wales as King George V and Queen Mary in 1910.) Recruiting from London and Surrey, it was organised as follows: The Imperial Yeomanry were subsumed into
1833-785: A safe distance by aiding the Ottoman Empire ). Like the English Army , the British Army fought the kingdoms of Spain, France (including the First French Empire ) and the Netherlands ( Dutch Republic ) for supremacy in North America and the West Indies . With native and provincial and colonial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the French and Indian War (North American theatre) of
1974-518: A series of support vehicles, including six-, nine- and fifteen-tonne MAN trucks, Oshkosh heavy-equipment transporters (HET), close-support tankers, quad bikes and ambulances. Tactical communication uses the Bowman radio system, and operational or strategic communication is controlled by the Royal Corps of Signals . Westminster Bridge Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over
2115-661: A single sequence; the brigade was numbered as 16th Mounted Brigade and joined a new 4th Mounted Division in the Manningtree area. In July 1916, 4th Mounted Division became 2nd Cyclist Division and the regiment was converted to a cyclist unit in 7th Cyclist Brigade at Woodbridge . In November 1916 the division was broken up and the regiment was merged with the 2/1st Sussex Yeomanry to form 8th (Surrey and Sussex) Yeomanry Cyclist Regiment in 3rd Cyclist Brigade at Ipswich . In March 1917 it resumed its identity as 2/1st Surrey Yeomanry at Ipswich, and by July had moved back to
2256-607: A string of defeats during Black Week in early December 1899, the British government realised that it would need more troops than just the regular army to fight the Second Boer War , especially mounted troops. The Imperial Yeomanry (IY) was accordingly organised as county service companies of volunteers, recruited both from the Yeomanry and from civilians, and was equipped to operate as Mounted infantry . While no Surrey units were formed,
2397-505: A target strength of 82,000, and just over 30,000 Army Reservists , with a target strength of 30,000. All former Regular Army personnel may also be recalled to duty in exceptional circumstances during the 6-year period following completion of their Regular service, which creates an additional force known as the Regular Reserve . The table below illustrates British Army personnel figures from 1710 to 2024. The British Army's basic weapon
2538-506: A variety of terms of service (the Wandsworth Cavalry were restricted to 10 miles (16 km) around Wandsworth) and in some cases they were mixed units of cavalry troops and infantry companies. By 1806 the Yeomanry and Volunteers were grouped under 'inspecting field officers ', Surrey having three such 'divisions': Lt-Col Jackson Lt-Col Hardy Lt-Col Addenbrooke Lieutenant-Cols Jackson and Hardy's cavalry units, together with
2679-591: A volunteer army and threatened to emulate the American colonists if their conditions were not met. Learning from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution. The British Army fought Irish rebels—Protestant and Catholic—primarily in Ulster and Leinster ( Wolfe Tone's United Irishmen ) in the 1798 rebellion . In addition to battling the armies of other European empires (and its former colonies,
2820-793: A war against the Prussian -led German Empire and the Austro-Hungarian Empire ). When the First World War broke out in August 1914 the British Army sent the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), consisting mainly of regular army troops, to France and Belgium . The fighting bogged down into static trench warfare for the remainder of the war. In 1915 the army created the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force to invade
2961-575: Is based on that of the earlier English army. Although technically the Scots Royal Regiment of Foot was raised in 1633 and is the oldest Regiment of the Line, Scottish and Irish regiments were only allowed to take a rank in the English army on the date of their arrival in England (or the date when they were first placed on the English establishment). In 1694, a board of general officers was convened to decide
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#17332698747683102-692: Is provided by L16 81mm mortars . Sniper rifles include the L118A1 7.62 mm, L115A3 and the AW50F , all manufactured by Accuracy International . The British Army utilises the Glock 17 as its side arm. Anti tank guided weapons include the Javelin , the medium range anti-tank guided weapon replacement for Milan , with overfly and direct attack modes of operation, and the NLAW . The Next-generation Light Anti-tank Weapon ( NLAW )
3243-553: Is the Hungerford Bridge & Golden Jubilee Bridges and upstream is Lambeth Bridge . Westminster Bridge was designated a Grade II* listed structure in 1981. For over 600 years (at least 1129–1729), the nearest Thames bridge to London Bridge was at Kingston . From late Tudor times congestion in trading hours at London Bridge (for road goods and carriages from Kent , Essex , much of Surrey , Middlesex and beyond) often amounted to more than an hour. A bridge at Westminster
3384-505: Is the 5.56 mm L85A2 or L85A3 assault rifle, with some specialist personnel using the L22A2 carbine variant (pilots and some tank crew). The weapon was traditionally equipped with either iron sights or an optical SUSAT , although other optical sights have been subsequently purchased to supplement these. The weapon can be enhanced further utilising the Picatinny rail with attachments such as
3525-576: Is the first, non-expert, short-range, anti-tank missile that rapidly knocks out any main battle tank in just one shot by striking it from above. The army's main battle tank is the Challenger 2 , which is being upgraded to Challenger 3 . It is supported by the Warrior tracked armoured vehicle as the primary infantry fighting vehicle , (which will soon be replaced by the Boxer 8x8 armoured fighting vehicle ) and
3666-643: Is the official list of which bodies of the British Military (not to be confused with naval ) Forces were to be considered Corps of the British Army for the purposes of the Army Act , the Reserve Forces Act, 1882, and the Territorial and Reserve Forces Act, 1907, had not been updated since 1926 (Army Order 49 of 1926), although amendments had been made up to and including Army Order 67 of 1950. A new Corps Warrant
3807-688: Is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom , British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies , a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Naval Service and the Royal Air Force . As of 1 July 2024, the British Army comprises 74,296 regular full-time personnel, 4,244 Gurkhas , 25,934 volunteer reserve personnel and 4,612 "other personnel", for a total of 109,086. The British Army traces back to 1707 and
3948-641: The 3rd Reserve Cavalry Regiment at Canterbury . Early in 1917 it was absorbed in the 1st Reserve Cavalry Regiment at The Curragh. In February 1920 The Surrey Yeomanry (Queen Mary's Regiment) (TF) was reformed, Headquarters once again opened at 73 King's Avenue, Clapham, London. With the South-Eastern Mounted Brigade (TF) having been disbanded, the Surrey Yeomanry was reformed as an Army Troops unit within Eastern Command. In November 1921
4089-698: The Americas , Africa , Asia , India and Australasia . British soldiers captured strategically important sites and territories, with the army involved in wars to secure the empire's borders, internal safety and support friendly governments and princes. Among these actions were the French and Indian War / Seven Years' War, the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the First and Second Opium Wars ,
4230-656: The Anglo-Irish War . The increasing demands of imperial expansion and the inadequacy and inefficiency of the underfunded British Army, Militia , Ordnance Military Corps, Yeomanry and Volunteer Force after the Napoleonic Wars led to series of reforms following the failures of the Crimean War . Inspired by the successes of the Prussian Army (which relied on short-term conscription of all eligible young men to maintain
4371-668: The Armed Forces of Ukraine against further Russian aggression. This operation was succeeded by Operation Interflex in July 2022. The British Army has been a volunteer force since national service ended during the 1960s. Since the creation of the part-time, reserve Territorial Force in 1908 (renamed the Army Reserve in 2014), the full-time British Army has been known as the Regular Army. In July 2020 there were just over 78,800 Regulars, with
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4512-664: The Battle of Loos . 28th Division was sent to Marseille a month before 27th Division and sailed first to Alexandria , B Sqn arriving on 11 November. It was then shipped to Salonika, arriving on 2 December. Thereafter its experiences were similar to A Sqn with 27th Division. On 27 December B Sqn rejoined A Sqn in XVI Corps Cavalry Regiment. ( see above ). C Squadron joined 29th Division in Warwickshire in January 1915. The division
4653-407: The Berkshire Yeomanry , formed a brigade under Brigadier-General Prince. Lieutenant-Col Addenbrooke's cavalry units were included with the Lambeth and Southwark Volunteer Infantry in an infantry brigade under Brig-Gen Layard. Enthusiasm for the Volunteers waned as the likelihood of invasion decreased. By 1812 the cavalry Troops of the Lambeth, Richmond, and Southwark Volunteers had disappeared from
4794-411: The Boxer Rebellion , the New Zealand Wars , the Australian frontier wars , the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the first and second Boer Wars , the Fenian raids , the Irish War of Independence , interventions in Afghanistan (intended to maintain a buffer state between British India and the Russian Empire ) and the Crimean War (to keep the Russian Empire to the north on the Black Sea at
4935-416: The Bulldog armoured personnel carrier . Light armoured units often utilise the Supacat "Jackal" MWMIK and Coyote tactical support vehicle for reconnaissance and fire support. The army has three main artillery systems: the M270 multiple launch rocket system (MLRS), the AS-90 and the L118 light gun . The MLRS, first used in Operation Granby , has an 85-kilometre (53 mi) standard range, or with
5076-453: The City of London . The troops were distributed as follows: In the spring of 1798 the threat of invasion seemed more acute, and the government encouraged the formation of local armed associations of cavalry and infantry for purely local defence. Although their terms of service were more limited, there was little difference between the Volunteer Cavalry and the Yeomanry. The following cavalry units were on parade when King George III reviewed
5217-409: The Duke of Lancaster's Own Yeomanry (DoLOY) at Beaucourt to form III Corps Cavalry Regiment. III Corps was heavily engaged in the Battle of the Somme throughout the summer of 1916. From its camp at Dernancourt the squadron sent a party to hold the 'remains' of a trench on the First day of the Somme (1 July) until the area was taken over the artillery four days later. As the battle continued,
5358-428: The Elephant & Castle in Southwark . By the mid-19th century the bridge was subsiding badly and expensive to maintain. The current bridge was designed by Thomas Page and opened on 24 May 1862. With a length of 820 feet (250 m) and a width of 85 feet (26 m), it is a seven-arch, cast-iron bridge with Gothic detailing by Charles Barry (the architect of the Palace of Westminster ). The bridge carried
5499-477: The Far East , the British Army rallied against the Japanese in the Burma Campaign and regained the British Far Eastern colonial possessions. After the Second World War the British Army was significantly reduced in size, although National Service continued until 1960. This period saw decolonisation begin with the partition and independence of India and Pakistan, followed by the independence of British colonies in Africa and Asia. The Corps Warrant , which
5640-401: The German invasion of the Low Countries , so the BEF followed the pre-arranged Plan D and advanced into Belgium to take up defences along the River Dyle . 98th (S&SY) Field Rgt was with I Corps on the Dyle Line by 15 May 1940. However, the Panzers of the Wehrmacht's Army Group A had broken through the Ardennes and threatened the BEF's flank, so on 16 May it began to withdraw to
5781-456: The German spring offensive and the final Allied Hundred Days Offensive . The 2nd Line regiment was formed at Clapham in September 1914 and moved to Dorking . By May 1915 it was at Maresfield , in September at Wrotham and in the winter of 1915–16 it was at Hastings , possibly in 1/1st South Western Mounted Brigade which became 2/1st Southern Mounted Brigade . On 31 March 1916, the remaining Mounted Brigades were ordered to be numbered in
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5922-442: The Islamic State (ISIL). The British Army maintains a standing liability to support the civil authorities in certain circumstances, usually in either niche capabilities (e.g. explosive ordnance removal) or in general support of the civil authorities when their capacity is exceeded. In recent years this has been seen as army personnel supporting the civil authorities in the face of the 2001 United Kingdom foot-and-mouth outbreak ,
6063-445: The L17A2 under-barrel grenade launcher. In 2023, the Army Special Operations Brigade , which includes the Ranger Regiment , began using the L403A1 , an AR-pattern rifle also used by the Royal Marines . Some soldiers are equipped with the 7.62mm L129A1 sharpshooter rifle , which in 2018 formally replaced the L86A2 Light Support Weapon. Support fire is provided by the L7 general-purpose machine gun (GPMG), and indirect fire
6204-463: The London and Westminster Light Horse provided pickets on Westminster Bridge during crowd trouble in support of Queen Caroline when she was excluded from George IV 's coronation in 1820. However, by 1824 all but four troops had disappeared in Surrey, and the whole regiment was disbanded in 1828. A new Corps of Surrey Yeomanry was raised at Clapham on 12 December 1831 becoming the Surrey Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry in 1832. However, this too
6345-437: The Netherlands for the War of the Spanish Succession . Although all the regiments were now part of the new British military establishment, they remained under the old operational-command structure and retained much of the institutional ethos, customs and traditions of the standing armies created shortly after the Restoration of the Monarchy 47 years earlier. The order of seniority of the most-senior British Army line regiments
6486-418: The Nile Delta , and on 29 December 98th (S&SY) Fd Rgt came under Middle East Forces . In Egypt it re-equipped with M7 Priest 105mm self-propelled (SP) guns. 98th (S&SY) Field Regiment rejoined Eighth Army for the Allied invasion of Sicily (Operation Husky) in July 1943. The landings began on 10 July. On 13 July a Commando and paratroop attack ( Operation Fustian ) had seized Primosole Bridge over
6627-424: The Ottoman Empire via Gallipoli , an unsuccessful attempt to capture Constantinople and secure a sea route to Russia . The First World War was the most devastating in British military history , with nearly 800,000 men killed and over two million wounded. Early in the war, the BEF was virtually destroyed and was replaced first by volunteers and then by a conscript force. Major battles included those at
6768-441: The PrSM , up to 500 km. The AS-90 is a 155 mm self-propelled armoured gun with a 24-kilometre (15 mi) range. The L118 light gun is a 105 mm towed gun, which is typically towed by a Pinzgauer all-terrain vehicle. To identify artillery targets, the army operates the TAIPAN artillery detection radar and utilises artillery sound ranging . For air defence it uses the new Sky Sabre system, which in 2021 replaced
6909-418: The Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Under the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , there was a gradual reduction in the number of soldiers deployed. In 2005, after the PIRA declared a ceasefire, the British Army dismantled posts, withdrew many troops and restored troop levels to those of a peacetime garrison. Operation Banner ended at midnight on 31 July 2007 after about 38 years of continuous deployment,
7050-422: The Rapier . It also deploys the Very Short-Range Air Defence (VSHORAD) Starstreak HVM (high-velocity missile) launched by a single soldier or from a Stormer HVM vehicle-mounted launcher. Where armour is not required or mobility and speed are favoured the British Army utilises protected patrol vehicles, such as the Panther variant of the Iveco LMV , the Foxhound , and variants of the Cougar family (such as
7191-402: The River Escaut . The regiment was with I Corps on the Escaut Line by 21 May 1940. By now the enemy was in the BEF's rear. To hold the line of the Aire Canal north of Saint-Omer the BEF organised a scratch force of rear elements ('Polforce'), and on 22 May 392 Bty was hastily sent to join the defenders on the Canal Line. The battery only had seven 18-pounders, so each was sent to cover one of
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#17332698747687332-403: The River Thames in London , linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side. The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the House of Commons which is on the side of the Palace of Westminster nearest to the bridge, but a natural shade similar to verdigris . This is in contrast to Lambeth Bridge , which is red, the same colour as
7473-404: The Siege of Tobruk , and in Iraq and Persia. The regiment's lineage is maintained today by 2 (Surrey Yeomanry) Field Troop, 579 Field Squadron (EOD) , part of 101 (London) Engineer Regiment ( Explosive Ordnance Disposal ) (Volunteers). After Britain was drawn into the French Revolutionary Wars , Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger proposed on 14 March 1794 that the counties should form
7614-437: The Territorial Force as the army's volunteer reserve component, merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia and Yeomanry. Great Britain was challenged by other powers, primarily the German Empire and Nazi Germany , during the 20th century. A century earlier it vied with Napoleonic France for global pre-eminence, and Hanoverian Britain's natural allies were the kingdoms and principalities of northern Germany . By
7755-507: The Third Battle of Doiran on 28 September without success. But by 22 September the Bulgarian front was crumbling, and XVI Corps HQ with its attached troops took over the left flank of the British Salonika Army (BSA) to continue the pursuit. On 24 September the Surrey Yeomanry were attached to 65th Brigade as the advanced guard of 22nd Division . The Yeomanry led the advance through rugged country and were shelled by several batteries, which forced them to dismount and continue on foot. Eventually
7896-439: The formation of the united Kingdom of Great Britain which joined the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into a single state and, with that, united the English Army and the Scots Army as the British Army . Members of the British Army swear allegiance to the monarch as their commander-in-chief , since both the English Bill of Rights of 1689 and Scottish Claim of Right Act 1689 require parliamentary consent for
8037-434: The 'Woodcock' and 'Snipe' objectives, but because of the confusion on the objectives the artillery plan had to be very simple, and communication between brigade HQ and the guns broke down. The infantry took serious casualties and dug in short of their objectives. 10th Armoured Division was withdrawn into reserve, but after the battle it took part in the pursuit to Mersa Matruh . After Matruh, 10th Armoured Division withdrew to
8178-453: The 2002 firefighters strike, widespread flooding in 2005, 2007, 2009, 2013 and 2014, Operation Temperer following the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017 and, most recently, Operation Rescript during the COVID-19 pandemic . Since 2016, the British Army has maintained a presence in the Baltic States in support of the NATO Enhanced Forward Presence strategy which responded to the 2014 Russian annexation of Crimea . The British Army leads
8319-608: The 2014 West African Ebola virus epidemic . In November 2001, as part of Operation Enduring Freedom with the United States, the United Kingdom deployed forces in Afghanistan to topple the Taliban in Operation Herrick . The 3rd Division were sent to Kabul to assist in the liberation of the capital and defeat Taliban forces in the mountains. In 2006 the British Army began concentrating on fighting Taliban forces and bringing security to Helmand Province , with about 9,500 British troops (including marines, airmen and sailors) deployed at its peak —the second-largest force after that of
8460-420: The American colonial rebels early in the war). Halifax, Nova Scotia and Bermuda were to become Imperial fortresses (although Bermuda, being safer from attack over water and impervious to attack overland, quickly became the most important in British North America), along with Malta and Gibraltar , providing bases in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea for Royal Navy squadrons to control
8601-408: The British Army was deployed as a peacekeeping force from 1969 to 2007 in Operation Banner . Initially, this was (in the wake of unionist attacks on nationalist communities in Derry and Belfast ) to prevent further loyalist attacks on Catholic communities; it developed into support of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) and its successor, the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) against
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#17332698747688742-486: The British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world; at its peak in 1813, the regular army contained over 250,000 men. A coalition of Anglo-Dutch and Prussian armies under the Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher finally defeated Napoleon at Waterloo in 1815. The English were involved politically and militarily in Ireland. The campaign of English republican Protector Oliver Cromwell involved uncompromising treatment of
8883-439: The British military, mostly civilians. An estimated 100 soldiers committed suicide during Operation Banner or soon afterwards and a similar number died in accidents. A total of 6,116 were wounded. Sierra Leone The British Army deployed to Sierra Leone for Operation Palliser in 1999, under United Nations resolutions, to aid the government in quelling violent uprisings by militiamen. British troops also provided support during
9024-473: The Bulgarian side of the river in October as its winter line: the open right flank was to be covered by constant patrolling by the Surrey and Derbyshire Yeomanry. This was carried out in a snowstorm on the night of 14 October, including a second raid on Homondos. The Struma Front remained relatively quiet until June 1918 when XVI Corps was relieved by Greek troops and moved to the Lake Doiran sector. The final Allied offensive began in September, with XVI attacking at
9165-432: The Crown to maintain a peacetime standing army . The army is administered by the Ministry of Defence and commanded by the Chief of the General Staff . At its inception, being composed primarily of cavalry and infantry, the British Army was one of two Regular Forces (there were also separate Reserve Forces ) within the British military (those parts of the British Armed Forces tasked with land warfare, as opposed to
9306-485: The English Long Parliament realised that the use of county militia organised into regional associations (such as the Eastern Association ), often commanded by local members of Parliament (both from the House of Commons and the House of Lords), while more than able to hold their own in the regions which Parliamentarians ('Roundheads") controlled, were unlikely to win the war. So Parliament initiated two actions. The Self-denying Ordinance forbade members of Parliament (with
9447-521: The Fossa Bottaceto, south of Catania , by 6th and 9th Bns DLI and the tanks of 3rd County of London Yeomanry (Sharpshooters) . The guns fired a concentration for 30 minutes before Zero (which was at 01.00), then barrages and concentrations as required. The operation bogged down in close country and an attempt to restart it the next night broke down when the artillery was directed to fire on the Bottaceto itself, while German troops were still in position in front of it. British Army The British Army
9588-429: The German attack on St Eloi on 14–15 March. In April 27 Division moved north as the BEF took over defence of the Ypres Salient . The division played a minor role in the Second Battle of Ypres beginning on 22 April, but on 3 May it had to swing back a little to conform with a withdrawal in the rest of the Salient. In these new positions the division came under heavy attack in the Battle of Frezenberg Ridge (8–13 May) and
9729-404: The Germans and Italians at the Second Battle of El Alamein in North Africa in 1942–1943 and helped drive them from Africa. It then fought through Italy and, with the help of American, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, Indian and Free French forces, was the principal organiser and participant in the D-Day invasion of Normandy on 6 June 1944; nearly half the Allied soldiers were British. In
9870-494: The Irish towns (most notably Drogheda and Wexford ) which supported the Royalists during the English Civil War . The English Army (and the subsequent British Army) remained in Ireland primarily to suppress Irish revolts or disorder. In addition to its conflict with Irish nationalists, it was faced with the prospect of battling Anglo-Irish and Ulster Scots in Ireland who were angered by unfavourable taxation of Irish produce imported into Britain. With other Irish groups, they raised
10011-458: The Ridgeback, Husky and Mastiff). For day-to-day utility work the army commonly uses the Land Rover Wolf , which is based on the Land Rover Defender . Specialist engineering vehicles include bomb-disposal robots such as the T7 Multi-Mission Robotic System and the modern variants of the Armoured Vehicle Royal Engineers , including the Titan bridge-layer, Trojan armoured engineer vehicle, Terrier armoured digger . Day-to-day utility work uses
10152-470: The Scots Greys was reassessed and based on their June 1685 entry into England. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, and the Scots Greys eventually received the British Army rank of 2nd Dragoons. After 1700, British continental policy was to contain expansion by competing powers such as France and Spain. Although Spain was the dominant global power during the previous two centuries and
10293-700: The Simeto river and prevented its demolition, but had been unable to retain possession of the bridge. Early on 15 July the SP guns of 98th (S&SY) and 24th Fd Rgts were brought up to support 50th (Northumbrian) Infantry Division and 4th Armoured Brigade in their renewed attempts to gain a bridgehead. Aided by a heavy barrage, three battalions of the Durham Light Infantry (DLI) forced their way across. The regiment came into action again on 17 July, together with six other field and medium regiments, in support of an attack on
10434-694: The Somme and Passchendaele . Advances in technology saw the advent of the tank (and the creation of the Royal Tank Regiment ) and advances in aircraft design (and the creation of the Royal Flying Corps ) which would be decisive in future battles. Trench warfare dominated Western Front strategy for most of the war, and the use of chemical weapons (disabling and poison gases) added to the devastation. The Second World War broke out in September 1939 with
10575-716: The Soviet and German Army 's invasion of Poland . British assurances to the Poles led the British Empire to declare war on Germany . As in the First World War, a relatively small BEF was sent to France but then hastily evacuated from Dunkirk as the German forces swept through the Low Countries and across France in May 1940. After the British Army recovered from its earlier defeats, it defeated
10716-565: The Struma valley became unsupportable, so XVI Corps withdrew behind the river, leaving the Bulgarian side as a wide No man's land patrolled daily by the Surrey Yeomanry and 1/1st Derbyshire Yeomanry with the corps cyclists. On 22 July a squadron of the Surreys supported 1st Bn Royal Scots in a successful dawn raid on Homondos, four miles over the river. At the end of the fever season XVI Corps reoccupied
10857-606: The Surrey Yeomanry and Volunteers on Wimbledon Common on 4 July 1799: Left Wing Right Wing Total cavalry – 676 The Volunteers were disbanded when hostilities ended in 1802 with the Treaty of Amiens . When the Peace of Amiens broke down and the war was resumed in 1803, the Volunteers were quickly re-established in larger numbers, some units being reformed (sometimes with a different name), others being newly formed. They still had
10998-540: The Surrey Yeomanry squadron was ordered forward to cross the Somme and discover where the Germans were. Next day its patrols skirmished with German rearguards at Vermand , suffering a few casualties. It then held a line around Bernes until relieved on 24 March, remaining at Vraignes thereafter under occasional shellfire. The squadron underwent training in April before relieving D Sqn DoLOY attached to 48th (South Midland) Division , later 42nd (East Lancashire) Division , manning
11139-538: The Sussex detachments rejoined), and in October at Huyton , Lancashire. Detachments of gunners were sent out to man roadblocks and static guns. Part of 391 Bty was at Barford in the outer defences of Birmingham with Hotchkiss 6-pounders , the rest at Tarvin on airfield defence. 392 Battery was in detachments from Maryport to Speke with weapons ranging from obsolete 6-pounders to 1913-vintage 13-pounders . In December 1940
11280-529: The Territorial Force was renamed as The Territorial Army. However, the post-war reorganisations of the Territorials made most of its Yeomanry Cavalry Regiments surplus to requirements and in early 1922 it was announced that the Surrey Yeomanry would convert to Royal Field Artillery and provide two batteries to an existing Brigade, 98th (Sussex Yeomanry) Army Brigade, RFA (TF). This had been formed in 1920 by
11421-556: The Troubles . Following the 1994–1996 IRA ceasefires and since 1997, demilitarisation has been part of the peace process and the military presence has been reduced. On 25 June 2007 the 2nd Battalion of the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment left the army complex in Bessbrook , County Armagh , ending the longest operation in British Army history. The British Army contributed 50,000 troops to
11562-579: The US. In December 2012 Prime Minister David Cameron announced that the combat mission would end in 2014, and troop numbers gradually fell as the Afghan National Army took over the brunt of the fighting. Between 2001 and 26 April 2014 a total of 453 British military personnel died in Afghan operations. Operation Herrick ended with the handover of Camp Bastion on 26 October 2014, but the British Army maintained
11703-970: The United States, in the American War of 1812 ), the British Army fought the Chinese in the First and Second Opium Wars and the Boxer Rebellion , Māori tribes in the first of the New Zealand Wars, Nawab Shiraj-ud-Daula's forces and British East India Company mutineers in the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 , the Boers in the first and second Boer Wars, Irish Fenians in Canada during the Fenian raids and Irish separatists in
11844-554: The War Office ordered the doubling of the Territorial Army and this enabled the regiment to shed its two surplus batteries. The Sussex Yeomanry Batteries were withdrawn and formed into a duplicate regiment, 144th (Sussex Yeomanry) Army Field Regiment, RA (TA), leaving the original regiment comprising Headquarters, 391st and 392nd Field Batteries. The regiment mobilised at Worthing under Lt-Col G.A. Ledingham, MC , TD , who had been
11985-475: The Western Front 15–18 January 1915 and went into the line alongside 27th Division in V Corps . Under the command of Maj G.O. Borwick, the squadron's experiences were similar to A Sqn, providing mounted police patrols, conducting night-time anti-sniper sweeps, and fatigue parties for sandbag filling and trench digging (while their horses got fatter, the war diary complained). It also provided burial parties during
12126-516: The Woodbridge area. In May 1918, the regiment moved with 3rd Cyclist Brigade to Ireland. It was stationed at Athlone and Galway ; there was no further change before the end of the war. It was disbanded at The Curragh on 3 February 1920, when its remaining personnel were drafted to 5th and 6th Divisions . The 3rd Line regiment was formed in February 1915 at Clapham and in June it was affiliated to
12267-477: The Yeomanry and cyclists gave covering fire while the engineers blew the charges on a second bridge before the party withdrew. The British kept up these raids during the Allied Monastir Offensive in October. On 11 October 1st Battalion York and Lancaster Regiment attempted to drive the enemy out of Bairakli Jum'a; it was supported by A Sqn, an armoured car and two sections of field artillery. The attack
12408-559: The army saw the introduction of new weapons systems. Despite the decline of the British Empire, the army was engaged in Aden , Indonesia , Cyprus , Kenya and Malaya . In 1982, the British Army and the Royal Marines helped liberate the Falkland Islands during the conflict with Argentina after that country's invasion of the British territory. In the three decades following 1969,
12549-664: The army was heavily deployed in Northern Ireland 's Operation Banner to support the Royal Ulster Constabulary (later the Police Service of Northern Ireland ) in their conflict with republican paramilitary groups. The locally recruited Ulster Defence Regiment was formed, becoming home-service battalions of the Royal Irish Regiment in 1992 before it was disbanded in 2006. Over 700 soldiers were killed during
12690-451: The bridges against the advancing 1st Panzer Division : The RA regimental historian wrote: 'Seldom have two troops of field guns done so much to hold off an armoured division for so long. The delay they caused was vital and saved many Allied lives'. The regiment then fell back into the 'pocket' round Dunkirk from which the BEF was preparing evacuation ( Operation Dynamo ). Without the support of
12831-642: The chief threat to England's early trans-Atlantic colonial ambitions, its influence was now waning. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the later Napoleonic Wars . Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as vital to the rise of the British Empire , the British Army played an important role in the formation of colonies, protectorates and dominions in
12972-745: The coalition which fought Iraq in the Persian Gulf War , and British forces controlled Kuwait after its liberation. Forty-seven British military personnel died during the war. The army was deployed to former Yugoslavia in 1992. Initially part of the United Nations Protection Force , in 1995 its command was transferred to the Implementation Force (IFOR) and then to the Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR);
13113-531: The colours and the remainder in the Regular Reserve, remaining liable for recall to the colours if required. Among the other benefits, this thereby enabled the British Army to have a ready pool of recently trained men to draw upon in an emergency. The name of the Regular Reserve (which for a time was divided into a First Class and a Second Class ) has resulted in confusion with the Reserve Forces , which were
13254-565: The command of Lt-Col Sir John Humphery, one of the Sheriffs of the City of London , who had been commanding officer since 15 May 1912. The regiment immediately went with SE Mounted Bde to its war station in Kent . On the outbreak of war, TF units were invited to volunteer for Overseas Service. On 31 August, the formation of a reserve or 2nd Line unit was authorised for each 1st Line unit where 60 per cent or more of
13395-513: The commanding officer (CO) since 1937, and it joined I Corps of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in France by 27 September 1939. Its guns were First World War-era vintage 18-pounders , some handed over by 1st and 2nd Regiments Royal Horse Artillery who were receiving more modern guns, and 98th also took over vehicles from its sister regiment, 144th. On 10 May 1940, the Phoney War ended with
13536-462: The commitment rose to over 10,000 troops. In 1999, British forces under SFOR command were sent to Kosovo and the contingent increased to 19,000 troops. Between early 1993 and June 2010, 72 British military personnel died during operations in the former Yugoslavian countries of Bosnia, Kosovo and Macedonia. Although there have been permanent garrisons in Northern Ireland throughout its history,
13677-438: The completion of their first engagement. The size of the army also fluctuated greatly, increasing in war time, and drastically shrinking with peace. Battalions posted on garrison duty overseas were allowed an increase on their normal peacetime establishment, which resulted in their having surplus men on their return to a Home station. Consequently, soldiers engaging on short term enlistments were enabled to serve several years with
13818-486: The conversion to Artillery of the Sussex Yeomanry and comprised Headquarters and 389th (Sussex Yeomanry) Battery at Brighton and 390th (Sussex Yeomanry) Battery at Chichester. The Surrey Yeomanry would then form 391st (Surrey Yeomanry) and 392nd (Surrey Yeomanry) (Howitzer) Batteries, both at Clapham. As a result of this merger, the brigade was redesignated as 98th (Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry) Brigade, RFA (TA) . The unit
13959-496: The disbanded New Model Army , were formed between November 1660 and January 1661 and became a standing military force for England (financed by Parliament ). The Royal Scots and Irish Armies were financed by the parliaments of Scotland and Ireland . Parliamentary control was established by the Bill of Rights 1689 and Claim of Right Act 1689 , although the monarch continued to influence aspects of army administration until at least
14100-505: The end of the 19th century. After the Restoration, King Charles II pulled together four regiments of infantry and cavalry, calling them his guards, at a cost of £122,000 from his general budget. This became the foundation of the permanent English Army. By 1685, it had grown to number 7,500 soldiers in marching regiments, and 1,400 men permanently stationed in garrisons. A Monmouth Rebellion in 1685 allowed successor King James II to raise
14241-580: The expanding West End to the developing South London as well as goods and carriages from the more estuarine counties and the East Sussex and Kentish ports. Without the bridge, traffic to and from the greater West End would have to negotiate streets often as congested as London Bridge , principally the Strand/Fleet Street and New Oxford Street/Holborn. Roads on both sides of the river were also built and improved, including Charing Cross Road and around
14382-569: The first TF units to join the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on the Western Front . 27th Division went into the line at St Eloi south of Ypres on the nights of 5/6 and 6/7 January 1915. The conditions were miserable, and mounted troops could play little part in Trench warfare . Under the command of Maj C.A. Calvert, A Squadron's usual work was road patrols and providing orderlies to headquarters, though they took part in anti-sniper stalking during
14523-677: The force had been evacuated from Gallipoli, C Sqn was sent back to Egypt in February 1916 and was stationed at scattered locations. On 1 March it was concentrated and sailed to Marseille aboard the Nessian with 29th Division, landing on 11 March and going to the Western Front. Under the command of Maj R. Bonsor, the squadron underwent training with new equipment used on the Western Front, including respirators and hand grenades , then went into billets at Acheux , providing working parties. It briefly (11–19 May) served with XV Corps Cavalry Regiment at Heilly , then on 19 May it joined C and D Squadrons of
14664-464: The forces to 20,000 men. There were 37,000 in 1678, when England played a role in the closing stage of the cross-channel Franco-Dutch War . After Protestant dual Monarchs William III , formerly William of the Dutch House of Orange , and his wife Mary II's joint accession to the throne after a short constitutional crisis with Parliament sending Mary's father, predecessor King James II, (who remained
14805-511: The front line at Villers-Faucon . It returned to Roisel in mid-May. On 1 July 1917, III Corps Cavalry Regiment was ordered to be dismounted and sent for infantry training; all the horses had been sent away by 24 July. The Surrey Yeomanry squadron was rejoined by Maj the Hon Eric Thesiger , a prewar officer of the regiment. In September 1917 it was drafted into 10th (Service) Bn (Battersea), Queen's (Royal West Surrey Regiment) , originally
14946-601: The lists, and the returns show no 'effective' men for the Croydon, Guildford, Wandsworth or Wimbledon corps. Only the Surrey Yeomanry (184 troopers and 60 riflemen), the Clapham Legion (27 troopers and 114 infantry) and the Egham & Godley Volunteers (40 troopers) were still effective. The Volunteers were stood down in 1814, while some of the Yeomanry continued for internal security in the years after Waterloo . The Surrey Yeomanry and
15087-488: The longest in British Army history. According to an internal document released in 2007, the British Army had failed to defeat the IRA but made it impossible for them to win by violence. Operation Helvetic replaced Operation Banner in 2007, maintaining fewer service personnel in a more-benign environment. Of the 300,000 troops who served in Northern Ireland since 1969, there were 763 British military personnel killed and 306 killed by
15228-462: The men had volunteered for Overseas Service. The titles of these 2nd Line units would be the same as the original, but distinguished by a '2/' prefix, and they took in the many volunteers coming forward. In this way duplicate battalions, brigades and divisions were created, mirroring those TF formations being sent overseas. Later 3rd Line units were formed to provide reinforcement drafts to the 1st and 2nd lines. In November–December 1/1st Surrey Yeomanry
15369-583: The middle of the 19th century, Britain and France were allies in preventing Russia's appropriation of the Ottoman Empire , although the fear of French invasion led shortly afterwards to the creation of the Volunteer Force. By the first decade of the 20th century, the United Kingdom was allied with France (by the Entente Cordiale ) and Russia (which had a secret agreement with France for mutual support in
15510-671: The naval forces), with the other having been the Ordnance Military Corps (made up of the Royal Artillery , Royal Engineers , and the Royal Sappers and Miners ) of the Board of Ordnance , which along with the originally civilian Commissariat Department , stores and supply departments, as well as barracks and other departments, were absorbed into the British Army when the Board of Ordnance
15651-506: The new Territorial Force (TF) under the Haldane Reforms of 1908. Like the other yeomanry regiments the 'Imperial' part of the title was dropped, and the Surrey Yeomanry (QMR) was organised as follows: Equipped and trained as Lancers , the Surrey Yeomanry was attached for field training to the TF's South Eastern Mounted Brigade . When the regiment was mobilised on 4 August 1914, it was under
15792-496: The new English army to 74,000, and then a few years later to 94,000 in 1694. Parliament was very nervous and reduced the cadre to 70,000 in 1697. Scotland and Ireland had theoretically separate military establishments, but they were unofficially merged with the English Crown force. By the time of the 1707 Acts of Union , many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command and stationed in
15933-513: The nobility, or on hired mercenaries from Europe. From the later Middle Ages until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, when a foreign expeditionary force was needed, such as the one that Henry V of England took to France and that fought at the Battle of Agincourt (1415), the army, a professional one, was raised for the duration of the expedition. During the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the members of
16074-585: The notable exception of Oliver Cromwell , then a member of parliament and future Lord Protector) from serving as officers in the Parliamentary armies. This created a distinction between the civilians in Parliament, who tended to be Presbyterian and conciliatory to the Royalists ("Cavaliers") in nature, and a corps of professional officers, who tended to be Independent ( Congregational ) in theology. The second action
16215-458: The oceans and trade routes, and heavily garrisoned by the British Army both for defence of the bases and to provide mobile military forces to work with the Navy in amphibious operations throughout their regions. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars , participating in a number of campaigns in Europe (including continuous deployment in the Peninsular War ), the Caribbean , North Africa and North America . The war between
16356-436: The parallel Seven Years' War and suppressed a Native / Indian North Americans uprising in Pontiac's War around the Great Lakes . The British Army was defeated in the American Revolutionary War , losing the Thirteen Colonies but retaining The Canadas and The Maritimes as in British North America , including Bermuda (originally part of the Colony of Virginia , and which had been originally strongly sympathetic to
16497-415: The population growth by removing the buildings on London Bridge and widening it in 1760–63. With Putney Bridge, the bridge paved the way for four others within three decades: Blackfriars Bridge (1769, built by the City), Kew Bridge (1759), Battersea Bridge (1773), and Richmond Bridge (1777) by which date roads and vehicles were improved and fewer regular goods transported by water. The bridge assisted
16638-481: The pre-existing part-time, local-service home-defence forces that were auxiliary to the British Army (or Regular Force ), but not originally part of it: the Yeomanry , Militia (or Constitutional Force ) and Volunteer Force . These were consequently also referred to as Auxiliary Forces or Local Forces . The late-19th-century Cardwell and Childers Reforms gave the army its modern shape and redefined its regimental system . The 1907 Haldane Reforms created
16779-410: The rank of English, Irish and Scots regiments serving in the Netherlands; the regiment which became known as the Scots Greys were designated the 4th Dragoons because there were three English regiments raised prior to 1688 when the Scots Greys were first placed in the English establishment. In 1713, when a new board of general officers was convened to decide the rank of several regiments, the seniority of
16920-556: The regiment had to give up the pursuit with its horses completely exhausted and without water.Next day it continued in support of the infantry until they too became exhausted. The Armistice of Salonica ended the fighting with Bulgaria on 30 September. The BSA then began advancing across Bulgaria to open a new front against the Turkish Army , but the Turks signed the Armistice of Mudros on 30 October. B Squadron joined 28th Division at Magdalen Hill Camp on 22 December immediately after 27th Division had vacated it. The division embarked for
17061-433: The regiment went to Portsmouth in Southern Command , where it joined V Corps . When field regiments were reorganised on a three-battery basis, 98th (S&SY) Fd Rgt formed 471 Bty in January 1941, armed with four French 75mm guns , while 391 and 392 Btys each had two of the new 25-pounders . By April 1941 the regiment was fully equipped with 24 x 25-pounders. It also gained an attached Royal Corps of Signals section and
17202-491: The return of a king. The militia acts of 1661 and 1662 prevented local authorities from calling up militia and oppressing their own local opponents. Calling up the militia was possible only if the king and local elites agreed to do so. King Charles II and his " Cavalier " / Royalist supporters favoured a new army under royal control, and immediately after the Restoration of 1660 to 1661 began working on its establishment. The first English Army regiments, including elements of
17343-441: The seats in the House of Lords and is on the opposite side of the Houses of Parliament . In 2005–2007, it underwent a complete refurbishment, including replacing the iron fascias and repainting the whole bridge. It links the Palace of Westminster on the west side of the river with County Hall and the London Eye on the east and was the finishing point during the early years of the London Marathon . The next bridge downstream
17484-416: The squadron began sending two dismounted Troops at a time to do front line trench duty with Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry . On 15 November 27th Division began entraining for Marseille , where it embarked for Salonika and finished arriving on 13 February 1916. It went into the line in the Rendina Gorge between Lake Beshik and the sea. In July the Allies began an advance, and on 28 July A Sqn
17625-433: The squadron was at Bavelincourt , sending Troops to be attached to different divisions as despatch riders or to the military police for traffic control. In the winter the men helped with pack horses getting supplies up to the line. At the end of January 1917 the regiment moved to Ailly-sur-Somme , then on to Warfusée . In March the German Army began withdrawing to the Hindenburg Line ( Operation Alberich ) and on 20 March
17766-611: The withdrawal of civilians, all British troops had left by the end of August 2021. In 2003, the United Kingdom was a major contributor to the invasion of Iraq , sending a force of over 46,000 military personnel. The British Army controlled southern Iraq, and maintained a peace-keeping presence in Basra . All British troops were withdrawn from Iraq by 30 April 2009, after the Iraqi government refused to extend their mandate. One hundred and seventy-nine British military personnel died in Iraqi operations. The British Armed Forces returned to Iraq in 2014 as part of Operation Shader to counter
17907-519: The world's leading military and economic powers. Since the end of the Cold War , the British Army has been deployed to a number of conflict zones, often as part of an expeditionary force , a coalition force or part of a United Nations peacekeeping operation. Until the Wars of the Three Kingdoms , neither England or Scotland had had a standing army with professional officers and career corporals and sergeants. England relied on militia organised by local officials or private forces mobilised by
18048-464: Was abolished in 1855. Various other civilian departments of the board were absorbed into the War Office . The British Army has seen action in major wars between the world's great powers , including the Seven Years' War , the American Revolutionary War , the Napoleonic Wars , the Crimean War and the First and Second World Wars . Britain's victories in most of these decisive wars allowed it to influence world events and establish itself as one of
18189-471: Was among the 'Army Troops' administered by 44th (Home Counties) Divisional Area . A reorganisation of TA Field Forces was announced in February 1938, and as part of this the brigade redesignated 98th (Surrey and Sussex Yeomanry, Queen Mary's) Army Field Regiment, RA (TA) . It was ordered to reorganise and reduce to two batteries, in line with the new establishment for TA Field Artillery, but this reorganisation did not immediately come into effect. In March 1939
18330-420: Was declared in 1951. Although the British Army was a major participant in Korea in the early 1950s and Suez in 1956, during this period Britain's role in world events was reduced and the army was downsized. The British Army of the Rhine , consisting of I (BR) Corps , remained in Germany as a bulwark against Soviet invasion. The Cold War continued, with significant technological advances in warfare, and
18471-423: Was equipped with 24 x 25-pounders with Stuart light tanks as observation posts (OPs). On the second night of the Second Battle of El Alamein (24/25 October), 10th Armoured Division advanced with strong artillery support from its own regiments and several others, but the tanks could not keep up with the barrage and struggled up to Miteirya Ridge. On 27/28 October the division's lorried infantry brigade attacked
18612-400: Was finally disbanded in 1848. During the enthusiasm for the Rifle Volunteer Movement in the 1860s, a 1st Surrey Mounted Rifle Volunteer Corps was formed at Clapham on 2 April 1860, chiefly composed of foxhunters. It was redesignated the 1st Surrey Light Horse Volunteer Corps in February 1861, but although it held a fundraising Grand Ball in February 1867, it disbanded in 1868. Following
18753-499: Was held up by machine gun fire from the Gipsy village on the outskirts of Bairakli Jum'a and the infantry withdrew with serious casualties after being threatened by flank attacks. However, 27th Division continued active patrolling and raids on the Bulgarian side of the Struma. On 27 December 1916 A and B Sqn ( see below ) were withdrawn from their respective divisions and 1/1st Surrey Yeomanry reformed as XVI Corps ' cavalry regiment. By June 1917 casualties from malaria among troops in
18894-486: Was in action again at the Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge (23–4 May) when the Germans carried out a gas attack . The squadron's role was to guide supply wagons and reinforcements to and from the line. Other duties included making a dugout for the divisional commander, and working parties spent much of the summer erecting barbed wire in front of the British subsidiary line. It also instructed the newly arrived Westmorland and Cumberland Yeomanry in its duties. From late August
19035-409: Was legislation for the creation of a Parliamentary-funded army, commanded by Lord General Thomas Fairfax , which became known as the New Model Army (originally phrased "new-modelled Army"). While this proved to be a war-winning formula, the New Model Army, being organised and politically active, went on to dominate the politics of the Interregnum and by 1660 was widely disliked. The New Model Army
19176-432: Was paid off and disbanded at the later Restoration of the monarchy in 1660 with the accession of King Charles II . For many decades the alleged excesses of the New Model Army under the Protectorate / Commonwealth under Oliver Cromwell were used as propaganda (and still feature in Irish folklore) and the Whig Party element recoiled from allowing a standing army to continue with the agreed-upon rights and privileges under
19317-519: Was proposed in 1664, but opposed by the Corporation of London and the watermen . Further opposition held sway in 1722. However an intervening bridge (albeit in timber) was built at Putney in 1729 and the scheme received parliamentary approval in 1736. Financed by private capital, lotteries and grants, Westminster Bridge was built between 1739–1750, under the supervision of the Swiss engineer Charles Labelye . The bridge opened on 18 November 1750. The City of London responded to Westminster Bridge and
19458-438: Was sent ahead of 27th Division to take over the vital Neohori bridge from the neutral Greeks . By 3 August the division was positioned along the Struma and building defences for the bridge. On the afternoon of 20 August a party drawn from A Sqn, the divisional cyclists and some Royal Engineers went out from the bridgehead and next morning blew up a bridge on the Salonika– Constantinople railway. A Bulgarian force arrived, but
19599-464: Was sent to Okehampton Camp , and then to join a scratch '1st Infantry Brigade' formed by the Royal Artillery at Bourne, Lincolnshire . Detachments were sent to the Sussex coast on anti-invasion duties manning 12-pounder and 4-inch naval guns mounted on Albion and Scammell lorries. By July the rest of the regiment was manning tradesmen's vans and an old Rolls-Royce car, first at Hall Green , Birmingham , then Ince Blundell , Lancashire , (where
19740-419: Was split up to provide a divisional cavalry squadron to each of the three new infantry divisions being formed from battalions brought back from India and other Imperial posts. On 21 November 1914 the squadron joined 27th Division at Magdalen Hill Camp, just outside Winchester . The division began embarking at Southampton on 19 December, and the squadron landed at Le Havre on 22 December, making it one of
19881-399: Was then sent to Avonmouth Docks , where C Sqn embarked on 17 March, arriving at Alexandria on 2 April. The squadron was left in Egypt while the rest of 29th Division took part in the Gallipoli campaign . Then on 26 June it was landed at the island of Imbros , the offshore base for the Gallipoli operations, where it served with General Headquarters, Mediterranean Expeditionary Force . After
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