1.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
2.
British Army
–
The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom. As of 2017 the British Army comprises just over 80,000 trained Regular, or full-time, personnel and just over 26,500 trained Reserve, or part-time personnel. Therefore, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the Army by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, day to day the Army comes under administration of the Ministry of Defence and is commanded by the Chief of the General Staff. Repeatedly emerging victorious from these decisive wars allowed Britain to influence world events with its policies and establish itself as one of the leading military. In 1660 the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were restored under Charles II, Charles favoured the foundation of a new army under royal control and began work towards its establishment by August 1660. The Royal Scots Army and the Irish Army were financed by the Parliament of Scotland, the order of seniority of the most senior line regiments in the British Army is based on the order of seniority in the English army. At that time there was only one English regiment of dragoons, after William and Marys accession to the throne, England involved itself in the War of the Grand Alliance, primarily to prevent a French invasion restoring Marys father, James II. Spain, in the two centuries, had been the dominant global power, and the chief threat to Englands early transatlantic ambitions. The territorial ambitions of the French, however, led to the War of the Spanish Succession and the Napoleonic Wars. From the time of the end of the Seven Years War in 1763, Great Britain was the naval power. As had its predecessor, the English Army, the British Army fought the Kingdoms of Spain, France, and the Netherlands for supremacy in North America and the West Indies. With native and provincial assistance, the Army conquered New France in the North American theatre of the Seven Years War, the British Army suffered defeat in the American War of Independence, losing the Thirteen Colonies but holding on to Canada. The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars and served in campaigns across Europe. The war between the British and the First French Empire of Napoleon Bonaparte stretched around the world and 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, the English had been involved, both politically and militarily, in Ireland since being given the Lordship of Ireland by the Pope in 1171. The campaign of the English republican Protector, Oliver Cromwell, involved uncompromising treatment of the Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War, the English Army stayed in Ireland primarily to suppress numerous Irish revolts and campaigns for independence. Having learnt from their experience in America, the British government sought a political solution, the British Army found itself fighting Irish rebels, both Protestant and Catholic, primarily in Ulster and Leinster in the 1798 rebellion. The Haldane Reforms of 1907 formally created the Territorial Force as the Armys volunteer reserve component by merging and reorganising the Volunteer Force, Militia, Great Britains dominance of the world had been challenged by numerous other powers, in the 20th century, most notably Germany
3.
Royal Armoured Corps
–
The Royal Armoured Corps provides the armour capability of the British Army, with vehicles such as the Challenger 2 Tank and the Scimitar Reconnaissance Vehicle. It was created as an association of armoured regiments, both the Royal Tank Regiment and those converted from old horse cavalry regiments. Today it comprises fourteen regiments - ten Regular and four Yeomanry, the RAC was created on 4 April 1939, just before World War II started, by combining regiments from the cavalry of the line which had mechanised with the Royal Tank Corps. As the war went on and other cavalry and Territorial Army Yeomanry units became mechanised. A significant number of infantry battalions converted to the armoured role as RAC regiments. In addition, the RAC created its own training and support regiments, finally, in 1944, the RAC absorbed the regiments of the Reconnaissance Corps. The Royal Armoured Corps is divided into regiments which operate main battle tanks, those in vehicles. Of these, three regiments are designated Dragoon Guards, two as Hussars, one as Lancers and one as Dragoons, the remaining regiment is the Royal Tank Regiment. In the regular army, there are three armoured regiments, three armoured regiments and three light cavalry regiments. In the army reserve, there is one armoured regiment and three cavalry regiments. Through this, operational and training cycles are aligned, resources shared, in the Royal Armoured Corps this manifests with each yeomanry unit being paired with a regular unit of the same role. Thus, The 1st Queens Dragoon Guards is paired with Royal Yeomanry, the Scots Dragoon Guards are paired with the Scottish & North Irish Yeomanry. The Light Dragoons with the Queens Own Yeomanry, the Royal Wessex Yeomanry, uniquely as the lone armoured reserve regiment, is paired with the Kings Royal Hussars, the Queens Royal Hussars and the Royal Tank Regiment. Regiments of the Royal Armoured Corps are based in the UK and this was formed in 2014 by the amalgamation of the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, and the Light Cavalry Band. The Band of the Royal Armoured Corps is stationed at Catterick, additonally the Royal Yeomanry operates an Army Reserve Band, which, alongside the bands of the Household Division, and The Honourable Artilley Regimental Band, form the state bands. The reorganisation of the Army announced in 2004 led to significant changes to the Royal Armoured Corps, reorganisation that began in 2003 would see three armoured regiments removed from Germany to the UK, with one re-roled as an FR regiment. In addition, three Challenger 2 squadrons will be converted to Interim Medium Armour Squadrons, while each FR regiment will gain a Command and these proposals were intended to reduce the size of the army to around 82,000. Armoured regiments would consist of Type 56 regiments, each with three Sabre Squadrons and a command and recce squadron, jackal regiments will be part of the Adaptable Force, comprising three Sabre Squadrons
4.
Anne, Princess Royal
–
Anne, Princess Royal, KG KT GCVO GCStJ QSO GCL CD is the second child and only daughter of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. At the time of her birth, she was third in the line of succession, behind her mother – then Princess Elizabeth – and elder brother and she rose to second after her mothers accession, but is currently 12th in line. Anne is known for her work, and is patron of over 200 organisations. Princess Anne has held the title of Princess Royal since 1987 and is its seventh holder, Anne was married to Captain Mark Phillips in 1973, they divorced in 1992. They have two children and three grandchildren, in 1992, within months of her divorce, Anne married Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence, whom she had met while he served as her mothers equerry between 1986 and 1989. Anne was born at Clarence House on 15 August 1950 at 11,50 am, as the child and only daughter of Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh. She was the grandchild of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Anne was baptised in the Music Room of Buckingham Palace on 21 October 1950, by Archbishop of York, after the death of George VI, Annes mother ascended the throne as Queen Elizabeth II. Given her young age at the time, she did not attend the coronation, the Company was active until 1963, when Anne went to boarding school. Anne enrolled at Benenden School in 1963, in 1968 she left school with six GCE O-Levels and two A-Levels. In the next couple of years, Anne started dating, in 1970 her first boyfriend was Andrew Parker Bowles, who later became the first husband of Camilla Shand. Following the wedding, Anne and her husband lived at Gatcombe Park and he was made acting captain by the start of 1974 when he was appointed a personal aide-de-camp to Queen Elizabeth II. By 1989, however, Princess Anne and Mark Phillips announced their intention to separate, the couple divorced on 23 April 1992. The Queen had offered Phillips an earldom on his wedding day, the couple had two children, Peter Phillips and Zara Phillips. As female-line descendants of royalty, the children have no title despite being the grandchildren of a monarch, Anne became a grandmother on 29 December 2010 when Peter and his wife Autumn had a daughter, Savannah. On 29 March 2012, the couple had daughter, Isla. Annes third granddaughter, Mia Grace, was born on 17 January 2014 to Zara and her husband Mike Tindall. As Princess Anne and Mark Phillips were returning to Buckingham Palace on 20 March 1974, from a charity event on Pall Mall, the driver of the Escort, Ian Ball, jumped out and began firing a pistol
5.
Chieftain (tank)
–
The FV4201 Chieftain was the main battle tank of the United Kingdom during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It was the most formidable main battle tank in the world at the time of its introduction in 1966 with the most powerful main gun and this was further improved while in service with Chobham armour upgrades. A development of the Centurion, the Chieftain introduced the supine position to British design enabling a heavily sloped hull with reduced height. A new powerpack and improved transmission gave it higher speed than the Centurion despite being due to major upgrades to armour protection. It remained in service until replaced by the Challenger 1 which shared a number of the Chieftains features. The Chieftain was a development of the successful cruiser line of tanks that had emerged at the end of the Second World War. Its predecessor the Centurion main battle tank is considered to be one of the most successful of post-war MBT designs. However, the introduction of the Soviet IS-3 heavy tank along with Soviet T-54/T-55 forced the introduction of their own Conqueror heavy tank armed with a 120 mm gun. A single design combining the firepower of the Conquerors 120 mm gun with the mobility, Leyland, who had been involved in the Centurion tank had built their own prototypes of a new tank design in 1956 and these led to a War Office specification for a new tank. The General Staff specification drew on the experience of Centurion tanks in the Korean War as well as that of the Conqueror tank, the tank was expected to be able to engage the enemy at long range, from defensive positions, and be proof against medium artillery. To this end the gun was to have an angle of depression than the 8 degrees of Conqueror. The tank was expected to achieve a rate of 10 rounds per minute in the first minute. The first few prototypes were provided for troop trials from 1959 which identified a number of changes, improvements to address engine vibration and cooling resulted in redesign of the rear hull. This increased the weight to nearly 50 tons and accordingly the suspension was strengthened. Track pads had to be fitted to protect roads from damage, the design was accepted in the early 1960s. Britain and Israel had collaborated on the development in its latter stages with a view to Israel purchasing, two prototypes were delivered as part of a four-year trial. However, it was decided not to sell the marque to the Israelis. In 1957, NATO had specified that its forces should use multi-fuel engines, the early BL Engine delivered around 450 bhp to the sprocket, which meant a top road speed of around 25 mph and cross country performance was limited
6.
West Berlin
–
West Berlin was an enclave which comprised the western part of the city of Berlin during the Cold War. It was formally controlled by the Western Allies and formed a de facto part of West Germany, and was entirely surrounded by the Soviet-controlled East Berlin and East Germany. West Berlin had great significance during the Cold War, as it was widely considered by westerners as an island of freedom. A wealthy city, West Berlin was noted for its liberal and cosmopolitan character. With about two million inhabitants, West Berlin had the biggest population of any city in Cold War Germany and it was 100 miles east of the Inner German border and only accessible by land from West Germany by narrow rail and highway corridors. It consisted of the American, British, and French occupation sectors established in 1945 and was de facto part of West Germany and it had a special and unique legal status because its administration was formally conducted by the Western Allies. East Berlin, de jure occupied and administered by the Soviet Union, was the de facto capital of East Germany, the Berlin Wall, built in 1961, physically divided West Berlin from its East German surroundings until it fell in 1989. The Potsdam Agreement established the framework for the occupation of Germany in the wake of World War II. The territory of Germany, as it existed in 1937, would be reduced by most of Eastern Germany thus creating the former territories of Germany. The remaining territory would be divided into four zones, each administered by one of the allied countries, according to the agreement, the occupation of Berlin would end only as a result of a quadripartite agreement. The Western Allies were guaranteed three air corridors to their sectors of Berlin, and the Soviets also informally allowed road, at first, this arrangement was intended to be only a temporary administrative structure, with all parties declaring that Germany and Berlin would soon be reunited. However, as the relations between the allies and the Soviet Union soured and the Cold War began, the joint administration of Germany. Soon, Soviet-occupied Berlin and western-occupied Berlin had separate city administrations, in 1948, the Soviets tried to force the Western Allies out of Berlin by imposing a land blockade on the western sectors—the Berlin Blockade. The West responded by using its air corridors for supplying their part of the city with food, in May 1949, the Soviets lifted the blockade, and West Berlin as a separate city with its own jurisdiction was maintained. Following the Berlin Blockade, normal contacts between East and West Berlin resumed, however, in cases this proved only temporary. In 1952, the East German government began sealing its borders, as a direct result the electrical grids were separated and phone lines were cut. However, the culmination of the schism did not occur until 1961 with the construction of the Berlin Wall. From the legal theory followed by the Western Allies, the occupation of most of Germany ended in 1949 with the declaration of the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic
7.
14th King's Hussars
–
The 14th Kings Hussars was a cavalry regiment in the British Army, first raised in 1715. It saw service for two centuries, including the First World War, before being amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th Kings Hussars in 1922 and it took part in the Battle of Preston in November 1715 after which it escorted some of the rebels to Lancaster Gaol. The regiment was sent to Ireland in 1717 and remained there until 1742, the regiment returned to Ireland in 1747 and it was formally renamed as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons in 1751. The regiment was renamed for Princess Frederica in 1798 as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons, the regiment was dispatched to Lisbon in December 1808 to join Sir Arthur Wellesleys Army which was engaged in the Peninsular War. The regiment fought at the Second Battle of Porto in May 1809 during which one of the French brigade commanders, the regiment advanced into France performing a supporting role at the Battle of Orthez in February 1814 and at the Battle of Toulouse in April 1814. The regiment served in Ireland between January 1816 and June 1819 and between April 1825 and March 1828. The regiment was renamed in July 1830, to mark the coronation of William IV as the 14th Regiment of Dragoons and it was dispatched to India in May 1841. The regiment marched from Kirkee in the west of the country to Ambala in the north of the country through the winter of 1845 during the First Anglo-Sikh War. The commanding officer of the regiment, Colonel William Havelock, led a charge, apparently without orders, Havelock and his leading troopers were surrounded and cut down. After a further charge failed, Brigadier Charles Cureton, the commander of the division to which the troops belonged, galloped up. Cureton himself was killed by musket fire. The regiment were routed at the Battle of Chillianwala in January 1849 and it also took part in an expedition under Lieutenant-General Sir James Outram against Persia in spring 1857 during the Anglo-Persian War. The regiment returned to India in May 1857 and took part in the Central Indian campaign during 1858 in the stages of the Indian Rebellion. Major James Leith was awarded the Victoria Cross during this campaign, the title of the regiment was simplified in August 1861 to the 14th Hussars. The regiment arrived in South Africa in January 1900 and took part in the relief of Kimberley in February 1900 during the Second Boer War. The regiment, which was serving in Mhow in India as part of the Meerut Cavalry Brigade in the Meerut Divisional Area at the start of the First World War landed in Mesopotamia in November 1915. It was involved in most of the actions during the Mesopotamian campaign before moving to Persia in May 1918, the regiment retitled as the 14th Kings Hussars in January 1921 and was amalgamated with the 20th Hussars to form the 14th/20th Kings Hussars in October 1922. James OHara, 2nd Baron Tyrawley 14th Regiment of Dragoons 1752–1757, John Campbell, 5th Duke of Argyll 1765–1772, Gen. Charles FitzRoy, 1st Baron Southampton 1772–1773, Lt-Gen
United Kingdom
British Army
