Size of the British Army

[uk 75]

Yet again we have a General telling us we need a larger Army and one based on the Continent.

Ever since the end of the Second World War Britain has wrestled with the balance between its own national commitments at home and overseas and the wider need to defend in a coalition against Communism and then Terrorism.

Since the radical decision in the late 50s to end a conscript army in favour of reliance on the Nuclear Deterrent we have seen general war on the Continent as something to be avoided rather than actually fought.

Keeping the Rhine Army until the 90s was part of our commitment to avoiding having to use our own deterrent by acting as a credible first line of defence to Soviet forces in Eastern Europe.

Mr Putin seems to have put this issue back on the table.

 

[Thorvic]

Another Cold War relic of a General sabre rattling, has Germany asked for us to keep our troops in Germany, are they willing to pay for them or replace them with their own force level increase ?. Nope its just fighting tooth and nail to justify the Army size and role when it finally comes back to blighty and settles into domestic garrison duty for the first time in quite a few centuries. I don't recall the General standing his ground to keep the RAF up to strength to provide air support to his troops or the navy warship force levels as both of those are needed for Cold War stand offs.

 

[Rickshaw]

The British Army has been trying to avoid continental commitments for centuries. It has been trapped into them by circumstance but would always prefer not to, if it can avoid it at all. Britain became a maritime power for a reason, something it seems many British people have forgotten. Perhaps it's time for the RN to reassert it's dominance in the triad?

 

[Triton]

I never understood why it was known as the British Army rather than the Royal Army.

 

[J.A.W.]

Because - its tradition dates from the New Model Army of King-Buster Oliver Cromwell..