1.
United Kingdom
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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.
Elizabeth II
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Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
3.
British Army
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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
4.
Volunteer Reserves (United Kingdom)
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The Volunteer Reserves are the British Armed Forces voluntary and part-time military reserve force. Unlike the Regular Reserve, the Volunteer Reserves do not consist of personnel who remain liable to be re-called for military service. Instead, the Volunteer Reserves consists of volunteers who routinely undergo training. The Volunteer Reserves serve under a fixed-term reserve contract and provide highly trained military personnel integrated with their Regular counterparts, for example, almost every major military operation has seen the deployment of Army Reservists alongside the Regular British Army. Volunteer Reserves are allowed to use the post-nominal letters VR after 10 years of service, the Volunteer Reserves also includes the armed forces University Service Units. The Volunteer Reserves primarily consist of four elements, each being a part of their parent service and liable for military operations. uk MoD – reserves and cadet strengths
5.
War flag
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A war flag, also known as a military flag or a battle flag, is a variant of a national flag for use by a countrys military forces when on land. The nautical equivalent is a naval ensign, under the strictest sense of the term, few countries today currently have proper war flags, most preferring to use instead their state flag or standard national flag for this purpose. And either victory, or else a grave, field signs were used in early warfare at least since the Bronze Age. The word standard itself is from an Old Frankish term for a field sign, the use of flags as field signs apparently emerges in Asia, during the Iron Age, possibly in either China or India. Early field signs that include, but are not limited to a flag, are also called vexilloid or flag-like, the Roman Vexillum itself is also flag-like in the sense that it was suspended from a horizontal crossbar as opposed to a simple flagpole. Use of simple flags as military ensigns becomes common during the medieval period, the maritime flag also develops in the medieval period. The medieval Japanese Sashimono carried by foot-soldiers are a parallel development, some medieval free cities or communes did not have coats of arms, and used war flags that were not derived from a coat of arms. Thus, the city of Lucerne used a flag as a field sign from the mid 13th century. Colours, standards and guidons Wise, Terence Military flags of the world, FIAV Flag Information Symbols at Flags of the World
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British Armed Forces
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They also promote Britains wider interests, support international peacekeeping efforts, and provide humanitarian aid. Repeatedly emerging victorious from conflicts has allowed Britain to establish itself as one of the leading military. The Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces is the British monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, the UK Parliament approves the continued existence of the armed forces by passing an Armed Forces Act at least once every five years, as required by the Bill of Rights 1689. The armed forces are managed by the Defence Council of the Ministry of Defence, with the Acts of Union 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. Britain feared that Russian expansionism in the region would eventually threaten the Empire in India and this ultimately led to British involvement in the Crimean War against the Russian Empire. The beginning of the twentieth century served to reduce tensions between Britain and the Russian Empire, partly due to the emergence of a unified German Empire. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Central Powers, the end of the German Empire, the Treaty of Versailles, once again tensions accumulated in European relations, and following Germanys invasion of Poland in September 1939, the Second World War began. The conflict was the most widespread in British history, with British Empire and Commonwealth troops fighting in campaigns from Europe and North Africa, to the Middle East, approximately 390,000 British Empire and Commonwealth troops lost their lives. Allied victory resulted in the defeat of the Axis powers and the establishment of the United Nations, reflecting Britains new role in the world and the escalation of the Cold War, the country became a founding member of the NATO military alliance in 1949. By the mid-1970s, the forces had reconfigured to focus on the responsibilities allocated to them by NATO. While NATO obligations took increased prominence, Britain nonetheless found itself engaged in a number of low-intensity conflicts, however the Dhofar Rebellion and The Troubles emerged as the primary operational concerns of the armed forces. Perhaps the most important conflict during the Cold War, at least in the context of British defence policy, was the Falklands War. Since the end of the Cold War, an international role for the armed forces has been pursued, with re-structuring to deliver a greater focus on expeditionary warfare. In addition to the campaign, the British Army has trained and supplied allies on the ground. Figures released by the Ministry of Defence on 31 March 2016 show that 7,185 British Armed Forces personnel have lost their lives in medal earning theatres since the end of the Second World War. As Sovereign and head of state, Queen Elizabeth II is Head of the Armed Forces, the Queen, however, remains the ultimate authority of the military, with officers and personnel swearing allegiance to the monarch. It has been claimed that this includes the power to prevent unconstitutional use of the armed forces, responsibility for the management of the forces is delegated to a number of committees, the Defence Council, Chiefs of Staff Committee, Defence Management Board and three single-service boards. The Defence Council, composed of representatives of the services
7.
Structure of the British Army
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The structure of the British Army is broadly similar to that of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force, with a single command based at Andover known as Army Headquarters. As the top-level budget holder, this organisation is responsible for providing forces at operational readiness for employment by the Permanent Joint Headquarters, the command structure is hierarchical with divisions and brigades controlling groupings of units from an administrative perspective. Major Units are regiment or battalion-sized with minor units being either company sized sub-units or platoons, all units within the service are either Regular or Army Reserve, or a combination with sub-units of each type. Naming conventions of units differ for traditional British historical reasons, creating a significant opportunity for confusion, an infantry regiment is an administrative and ceremonial organisation only, and may include several battalions. For operational tasks, a group will be formed around a combat unit. An example would be a squadron of tanks attached to an infantry battle group, together with a reconnaissance troop, artillery battery. Since the 1957 Defence Review, the structure of the Army has consistently shrunk, however, the 2015 Review indicated no change from the personnel number targets set in 2010. Through a major army reorganisation effective 1 November 2011, the Chief of the General Staff took direct command of the Army through a new structure, based at Andover and known as Army Headquarters. Reporting to the Chief of the General Staff are, the Commander Land Forces, the Adjutant-General, the Commander Land Forces commands 1st Division, 3rd Division and Theatre Troops. He also commands the garrisons in the mainland UK through HQ Support Command based in Aldershot, the Chief of the General Staff is the Standing Joint Commander, responsible for overall command of Military Aid to Civil Power within mainland United Kingdom. A command is a formation that handles a specific task or region. Previously the Army had regional commands in the UK, including Aldershot Command, Eastern Command, Northern Command, Scottish Command, Southern Command, in addition, there were functional commands, such as Anti-Aircraft Command, and overseas commands, such as Middle East Command. Gradually, these were consolidated into a command in the UK, Headquarters UK Land Forces. Eventually, both were merged into Land Command, from 1995, UK commands and later districts were replaced by regenerative divisions. 2nd Division, 4th Division, 5th Division and London District acted as regional commands within the UK reporting to Commander Regional Forces, scotland District was absorbed by 2nd Division in 2000. 2nd, 4th and 5th Divisions were replaced by Support Command on 1 November 2011, London District includes many units with significant ceremonial roles. The guard at Horse Guards is normally drawn from the Household Cavalry Mounted Regiment, the Honourable Artillery Company carries out public duties in the City of London. The HAC and the Kings Troop, Royal Horse Artillery provide gun salutes in London, a corps, in the sense of a field fighting formation, is a formation of two or more divisions, potentially 50,000 personnel or more
8.
Army Headquarters (United Kingdom)
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Army Headquarters is a British Army command formation based at Andover. The equivalent in the Royal Navy is Navy Command Headquarters at Portsmouth, until 31 October 2011, British Army forces were commanded by a four star named Commander-in-Chief, Land Forces. Under a major army reorganisation effective 1 November 2011 the Chief of the General Staff took direct command of the Army through a new structure known as Army Headquarters. Army Headquarters, which started to take responsibility for more than 2,000 military, the British Army is now commanded by the Chief of the General Staff
9.
British Forces Germany
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British Forces Germany, is the name for British Armed Forces service personnel and civilians based in Germany. It was first established following the Second World War as the British Army of the Rhine, although much smaller than BAOR, it is still the largest concentration of British armed forces permanently stationed outside the United Kingdom. With the end of the Cold War and the Options for Change defence review in the early 1990s, since the 1990s, the British presence has centred on the 1st Armoured Division, and supporting elements. With restructuring under the Army 2020 change programme and with units rebasing, following the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, the permanent deployment will end by 2020. As of 2015, there are 5,200 troops still in Germany, the British presence was estimated to have been contributing 1.5 billion Euros annually to the German economy in 2004. Following a further spending review, one brigade was withdrawn and Osnabrück Garrison closed in 2009, administrative support for British service personnel in Germany and across Continental Europe was delegated to United Kingdom Support Command. The four Army garrisons in Germany were under the administrative control of UKSC. The General Officer Commanding UKSC also functioned as head of the British Forces Liaison Organisation, HQ British Forces Germany was formed in January 2012 replacing the United Kingdom Support Command and the Germany Support Group. The two central garrisons - Gütersloh and Paderborn - combined to form a single super garrison called Westfalen Garrison in April 2014. With the departure of Major General John Henderson in March 2015, in summer 2015, a further brigade was withdrawn and Bergen-Hohne Garrison closed leaving a minimal presence in the state of Lower Saxony and just one brigade in North Rhine-Westphalia. British Forces Germany is concentrated in North Rhine-Westphalia, the HQ is located at Bielefeld and 20th Armoured Infantry Brigade is located at Westfalen Garrison. Under the 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review, permanent deployment will end by 2019, the British Forces Broadcasting Service radio services are widely available on FM across north-western Germany. The British Army Germany rugby union team plays games against emerging rugby nations like Belgium, Denmark, Netherlands, Germany. During the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, the IRA targeted personnel in Germany between 1988 and 1990, the attacks resulted in the deaths of 9 people, including three civilians, and many wounded. As a result, vehicles owned by personnel ceased to have registration plates. The British Garrison Berlin 1945-1994, nowhere to go
10.
British Forces Cyprus
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BFC is a tri-service command, with all three services based on the island reporting to it. On 1 March 1961 the Southern Group of Middle East Air Force became Near East Air Force and was based in Cyprus, by 1962 the title British Forces in Cyprus was in official use. British Forces Cyprus retains the right to use 13 retained sites with the remaining 27 having been returned to Cyprus after the Ministry of Defence no longer required them, episkopi is the current command center of British Forces Cyprus. The commander of the Sovereign Base Areas/British Forces Cyprus is a two-star appointment, consequently, the Chief of Staff British Forces Cyprus is a one-star appointment from the opposite service of the commander. Episkopi Cantonment is home to the Sovereign Base Areas Administration, the authority in the territory. The 2nd Battalion Yorkshire Regiment will be stationed there in 2013 and these are both Foxhound-mounted infantry battalions. The British Contingent numbers 278, and consists of three parts, HQ BRITCON - responsible for the administration and support of the British Contingent. Force Military Police Unit- the FMPU is commanded by a major of the Royal Military Police, UN Roulement Regiment - the URR has responsibility for patrolling Sector 2 of the Green Line in Nicosia. Between October 2008 and April 2009, this role was filled by 32 Signal Regiment Group and they are not currently in use by British Forces Cyprus because the UK does not acknowledge the Government of Northern Cyprus. The two British enclaves in the Republic of Cyprus, act as platforms for the projection of British military assets in the Eastern Mediterranean, the enclaves serve as centres for regional communications monitoring from the eastern Mediterranean through the Middle East to Iran. Facilities within the areas also support British military activities on retained sites in the Republic of Cyprus
11.
Military of the Falkland Islands
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The Falkland Islands are a British overseas territory and, as such, rely on the UK for the guarantee of their security. They are headed by the Commander of the British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the base was opened in 1985, and became fully operational in 1986. The Falkland Islands maintains its own part-time volunteer force, the Falkland Islands Defence Force, the FIDF is now a company-strength light infantry force with a permanent training Warrant Officer seconded from the Royal Marines. The FIDF operates in a number of roles and is integrated into the defence scheme for the islands. The FIDF has been trained by the Royal Navy to operate Oerlikon 20 mm cannon, in addition, an Ice Patrol Ship, HMS Protector, is on station close to Antarctica for six months of the year. The warship and RFA vessel carry out the Atlantic Patrol Task mission, the Type 42 destroyer HMS Edinburgh took over the South Atlantic Patrol Task in October 2006, replacing HMS Southampton. Prior to Southamptons deployment in August 2005, the role was filled by HMS Cardiff, as of February 2010, the on-station warship was the Type 42 destroyer HMS York. In late April 2010, HMS York was relieved by the Type 23 frigate HMS Portland, in August 2010, HMS Portland was relieved by the Type 42 destroyer HMS Gloucester. On 21 April 2011, HMS York arrived at the East Cove Military Port in the Falkland Islands, October 2011 saw the arrival of the Type 23 frigate HMS Montrose, generating a statement from UNASUR. The Type 45 Guided Missile Destroyer HMS Dauntless replaced HMS Montrose as of April 2012, in early August 2013, HMS Richmond was deployed to be the ship for the Royal Navys Atlantic Patrol. HMS Portland was again deployed in January 2014, the Falkland Islands Patrol ship is a River class patrol vessel, which replaced the previous Castle class patrol vessel. In 2007, HMS Clyde relieved HMS Dumbarton Castle and HMS Leeds Castle and it is planned that she will stay permanently in the South Atlantic until 2018. The Royal Navy also has Trafalgar and Astute class nuclear submarines that it can deploy to the area, the threat from submarines to hostile ships was demonstrated during the Falklands War when HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser ARA General Belgrano. The Royal Navys submarines also carry BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles, which have a range of 1,500 miles, the Sun newspaper has speculated that a Swiftsure class attack submarine, HMS Sceptre, was sent to the islands in March 2010. In February 2012, a Trafalgar -class nuclear submarine may have deployed to the Falkland Islands. The British Army maintains a garrison on the Falkland Islands based at Mount Pleasant, the total deployment is about 1,200 personnel made up of a roulement infantry company, an engineer squadron, a signals unit, a logistics group and supporting services. The British Army contributes to the Joint Service Explosive Ordnance Disposal group in the Falkland Islands, providing 33 Engineer Regiment and this has been reduced to a team of 11 personnel. RAF Mount Pleasant was built in 1985 with the capability of accepting large trans-Atlantic aircraft such as the Lockheed TriStar, the TriStar was purchased mainly for the UK-Falklands route, until their entry into service, the UK used leased 747s and 767s
12.
British Forces Brunei
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British Forces Brunei is the name given to the British Armed Forces presence in Brunei. Since the handover ceremony of Hong Kong in 1997, the garrison in Brunei is the only remaining British military base in the Far East. The BFB garrison came about in 1959, when British troops were moved there from Singapore to quell a revolt against Sultan Omar Ali Saifuddien III. From there, British forces have been involved in conflicts, including helping to quell the Brunei Revolt of 1962. Since Bruneis independence in 1984, forces have been stationed there at the request of the current Sultan, the forces stationed in Brunei are available to assist the Sultan, but are also available for deployment overseas with other elements of the British Armed Forces if needed. As recompense, the Sultan pays to help support the British presence, BFB is located at Seria and is centred on a light infantry battalion, which will be one of the two battalions of the Royal Gurkha Rifles. The infantry battalion is supported by a number of garrison troops who are permanently stationed in Brunei. The garrison counts approximately 900 personnel, the Hornbill School, operated by Service Childrens Education, is a primary school for children of services personnel. Camp Gonsalves – United States Marine Corps equivalent jungle warfare training site, list of British Army installations The British Army in Brunei - official MoD website
13.
British Army officer rank insignia
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Listed in the table below are the insignia—emblems of authority—of the British Army. Badges for field officers were first introduced in 1810 and the insignia was moved to the epaulettes in 1880, although these insignia apply across the British Army there is variation is the precise design and colours used and it can take some time to become familiar with them all. Those in the ranks of Captain, Lieutenant and Second Lieutenant are often referred to as Subalterns and those of Brigadier, Colonel, Lt. Colonel and Major are considered to be of Field Officers. All above these are considered to be of General officer rank, of interest is the British pronunciation of Lieutenant which is a corruption of the standard french pronunciation and can cause confusion when working with soldiers from other nations. Before 1767, there were no definite badges for Field Marshals, in 1767, the British Army issued an order to distinguish Field Marshals and different graded General officers by the combination of chevron-shaped ess pattern laces on the sleeve. Field Marshal, Evenly spaced six laces, Lieutenant General, Six laces in threes. Major General, Four laces in twos, during the Napoleonic wars, Field Marshals wore oak-leaf embroidered collar and cuff, and shoulder cord instead of previous pattern. It was continued till the end of 1830, at the beginning of 1831, new rank distinction was ordered for Field Marshals and General officers. Field Marshal, Cross baton and wreath designed device was on epaulettes, General, Cross baton and sword with crown designed device on the epaulettes and buttons were evenly spaced. Lieutenant General, Cross baton and sword with crown designed device on the epaulettes, Major General, Cross baton and sword with crown designed device on the epaulettes and buttons were in twos. Brigadier General, No device on the epaulettes and buttons were in two, after the Crimean War, War Office ordered different rank badges for British General, staff and Regimental officers. It was the first complete set of badges to be used by the British Army. Field Marshal, Two rows of one inch wide oak-leaf designed lace on the collar with crossed baton above the wreath in silver, General, Two rows of one inch wide oak-leaf designed lace on the collar with Crown and star in silver. Lieutenant General, Two rows of one inch wide oak-leaf designed lace on the collar with Crown in silver, Major General, Two rows of one inch wide oak-leaf designed lace on the collar with Star in silver. Brigadier General, Two rows of half inch wide staff pattern lace on the collar with Crown, in 1868, Brigadier Generals were ordered to wear the same collar as other General officers, but no device in the collar. In 1880, War Office ordered to move rank badges from collar to shoulder, Field Marshal, Crossed batons above the wreath of oak-leaf. On the top of the wreath a crown, General, Crossed baton and sword with Crown and star. Lieutenant General, Crossed baton and sword with Crown, Major General, Crossed baton and sword with Star
14.
British Army Other Ranks rank insignia
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The term used to refer to all ranks below officers is other ranks. It includes warrant officers, non-commissioned officers and ordinary soldiers with the rank of private or regimental equivalent, officers may, in speaking, distinguish themselves from those in the ranks. Royal Artillery other ranks include Gunner instead of Private, and Lance Bombardier and Bombardier instead of Lance Corporal and Corporal and they are allowed privileges normally reserved for Sergeants in the British Army. The Household Cavalry maintains the old tradition of having no rank of sergeant. This is allegedly because the word sergeant is descended from servant, similarly, warrant officer appointments are different, with, for example, regimental corporal major being used in place of regimental sergeant major. Uniquely, non-commissioned officers and warrant officers of the Household Cavalry do not wear any insignia on their dress uniforms. Rank is indicated by a system of aiguillettes, in several cavalry regiments including the 1st The Queens Dragoon Guards and the Queens Royal Hussars, NCOs holding the rank of lance corporal wear two stripes. Full corporals are distinguished by the addition of a cypher above their two stripes in dress uniforms, staff sergeants in an appointment as squadron quartermaster sergeant in the cavalry, sometimes wear four stripes with a crown and are referred to as sergeant major. The term mister is confined to WO2s, the chevrons worn by many non-commissioned officers are based on heraldic devices and their current use for NCOs originates from the time of the Napoleonic Wars in 1802. As today, sergeants wore three chevrons, point downwards, on the arm, and corporals wore two, with sergeant-majors and quarter-master-sergeants then having four. The infantry rank of sergeant was created in 1813 as a reward for senior sergeants with one allowed per company. He was allowed to wear a badge consisting of a regimental colour supported by two crossed swords, the Royal Artillery had the special rank of bombardier below the corporal, and both he and the acting bombardier wore one chevron. The Royal Engineers and Army Ordnance Corps also had a rank of second corporal. On full-dress tunics, badges in white or gold lace were worn only on the right arm, in February 1918 the acting bombardier was renamed lance-bombardier, and the full bombardier gained a second chevron in 1920 replacing the rank of corporal in the RA. Second corporals also disappeared at that time, the pre-war infantry rank of colour sergeant had generally given way to the ranks of company sergeant-major and quartermaster-sergeant in 1914 when the four-company organisation was introduced. Note the designation of warrant officer classes was in Roman rather than Arabic numerals until the half of the 20th century. In their case, however, the crown was surrounded by a wreath, there were also certain senior grades of warrant officer, peculiar to the specialist branches, which ranked above regimental sergeant-majors. These were the conductors of the Army Ordnance Corps and the first-class staff sergeant-majors of the Army Service Corps and they also wore a large crown, surrounded by a wreath, on the lower arm, although in 1918 this was replaced by the Royal Arms within a wreath
15.
British military rifles
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The origins of the modern British military rifle are within its predecessor the Brown Bess musket. While a musket was largely inaccurate over 80 yards, due to a lack of rifling, the use in volley or in mass firing by troops meant that rate of fire took precedence over accuracy. Early rifles were non-standard and frequently used adaptations from components of the Brown Bess and it was not until the late 19th century that the rifle fully supplanted the musket as the primary weapon of the infantryman. Civilian rifles had on occasions been used by marksmen during the English Civil War. In the 1750s, a few German rifles were used by British light infantry regiments in the French, in January 1776,1,000 rifles were ordered to be built for the British Army. A pattern by gunsmith William Grice, based on German rifles in use by the British Army, was approved for issue as the Pattern 1776 Infantry Rifle. The barrel is 30.5 inches with hook breech in.62 calibre, eight hundred were delivered through four Birmingham producers, William Grice, Mathias Barker, Galton & Sons and Bejamin Willets. Two hundred more were obtained from Hannover and this weapon was issued to the light company of each regiment in the British Army during the American Revolution, these were probably present at most battles in the conflict. Also in 1776, Major Patrick Ferguson patented his breech-loading Ferguson rifle, the Baker rifle was a muzzle-loading flintlock weapon used by the British Army in the Napoleonic Wars, notably by the 95th Rifles and the 5th Battalion, 60th Regiment of Foot. This rifle was a weapon for its day with reported kills being taken at 100 to 300 yards away. The rifle was in service in the British Army until the 1840s, the Mexican Army under Santa Anna used British Baker Rifles during the 1836 Texas-Mexican War. The Brunswick rifle was a.704 calibre muzzle-loading percussion rifle manufactured for the British Army at the Royal Small Arms Factory at Enfield in the early 19th century. The weapon was introduced to replace the Baker rifle and weighed from over 9 and 10 pounds without its bayonet attached, depending on the pattern. The weapon was difficult to load but remained in production for about 50 years and was used in both the United Kingdom and assorted colonies and outposts throughout the world, the Brunswick had a two-groove barrel designed to accept a belted round ball. There are four variants of the British Brunswick Rifle. The first rifle produced in whole to a set pattern at Enfield was the Baker rifle, Brunswick rifles were also produced there, but prior to 1851, rifles were considered speciality weapons and served alongside the muskets which were issued to regular troops. Relatively few of these were produced since a new design was adopted two years. The rifle used the lock and bayonet mount from the Pattern 1842, the new Minie ammunition allowed much faster loading so that rifles were no longer slower to load than smoothbore muskets
16.
History of the British Army
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The history of the British Army spans over three and a half centuries since its founding in 1660 and involves numerous European wars, colonial wars and world wars. As of 2015, there were 92,000 professionals in the army and 20,480 Volunteer Reserves. Britain has generally maintained only a regular army during peacetme, expanding this as required in time of war. The British Army has been involved in international conflicts, including the Napoleonic Wars. Historically, it contributed to the expansion and retention of the British Empire, the British Army has long been at the forefront of new military developments. It was the first in the world to develop and deploy the tank, at the same time the British Army emphasises the continuity and longevity of several of its institutions and military tradition. The English Army was first established as a military force in 1660. In 1707 many regiments of the English and Scottish armies were combined under one operational command. Stuart Asquith argues for roots before 1660, Many authorities quote the Restoration of 1660 as the date of our modern British Army. While this may be true as far as continuity of identity is concerned. The evidence of history shows that the creation of an efficient military machine and its proving on the battlefield and it was on the fields of Naseby, Dunbar and Dunes that the foundations of the British professional army were laid. The New Model Army was the first full-time professional army raised within the three kingdoms of England, Ireland and Scotland and it was created in 1645 by the English Long Parliament and it proved supreme in field. At the end of the First Civil War the New Model Army survived attempts by Parliament to disband it, winston Churchill described its prowess thus, The Story of the Second English Civil War is short and simple. Having survived Parliaments attempts to disband it, the New Model Army prospered as an institution during the Interregnum and it was disbanded in 1660 with the restoration of the monarchy under Charles II. At his restoration Charles II sought to create a standing army made up of some former Royalist. For political expediency he also included elements of the New Model Army. The whole force consisted of two corps of horse and five or six of infantry and it is, however, on this narrow and solid basis that the structure of the English army was gradually erected. The horse consisted of two regiments the Life Guards, and The Blues, formed by Lord Oxford, out of some of the best New Model Army horse regiments, the foot regiments were Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, the Royal Scots, and the Second Queens Royals
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Timeline of the British Army
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This timeline covers the main wars, battles and engagements and related issues for the Scottish, English and British Army, from 1537 to the present. See also Timeline of British diplomatic history and this body was known by a variety of names since, but today is called the Honourable Artillery Company, and is the oldest regiment in continuous service in the British Army. 1539 The Royal Monmouthshire Royal Engineer Regiment is first mustered before becoming a force for the county of Monmouth. When the new Police was formed in the 19th Century, the regiment switched to the Royal Engineers Reserve, and becoming the senior regiment of the Reserve Army and depending on the source the oldest Regiment of the British Army. They fled to England and reformed as The Holland Regiment in the British Army, the unit is now part of the Princess Of Waless Royal Regiment. 1633 – The Royal Regiment of Foot is placed on the Scottish Establishment,1650 – George Moncks Regiment is formed, becoming the oldest infantry regiment in continuous service in the British Army but not under the monarch. 1656 – Lord Wentworths Regiment is formed, later becoming the most senior regiment in the British Army because of the long serving loyalty to the monarch during the English Civil War. 26 January 1661 – King Charles II issues warrant, becoming the acknowledged beginning of the British Army and this concerned an assemblage of English regiments and Scottish regiments brought south with Charles II. The British Army would not exist, however, for another 46 years,1 October 1661 – The Tangier Regiment is formed, later The Princess of Waless Royal Regiment, the most senior English infantry regiment in the British Army. 1684 – The English withdraw from the Colony of Tangier,1688 – The War of the Grand Alliance begins. 1702 – War of the Spanish Succession begins,1707 – Kingdom of Great Britain is formed. Scottish and English armies merged to create the British Army,1722 – Royal Regiment of Artillery is formed. 1742 – War of the Austrian Succession begins,1743 – Battle of Dettingen, King George II becomes the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle. 1751 – A numerical system is introduced into the Army, such as 1st Regiment of Foot, 2nd Regiment of Foot,1759 - Battle of Minden, the Duke of Brunswick leads an Anglo-German army against the French. 1759 – British forces, led by General James Wolfe, take French Quebec,1775 – American War of Independence begins.17 June – Battle of Bunker Hill 1776 – British victory at the Battle of Long Island. 1777 - British victory at the Battle of Brandywine,1777 – British defeat at the Battle of Saratoga. 1781 – British defeat at the Siege of Yorktown,1793 – War on revolutionary France declared 1795 – Capture of Ceylon. 1796 – slave forces in Haiti led by Toussaint Louverture British Forces defeated 1798 – Large-scale rebellion in Ireland,1801 – The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is formed
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Recruitment in the British Army
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The British Army came into being with the unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1754. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had existed in England and Scotland. The army was small by the government during peacetime, mainly due to the fear that the army would be unduly influenced by the Crown or used to depose the government. The Bill of Rights of 1689 specifies that Parliamentary authority is needed to maintain an army in peacetime. For much of the 18th century, the army was recruited in a variety of places. These mercenaries were hired out by other rulers on contracted terms, other regiments were formed of volunteers such as French Huguenots. By 1709, during the War of the Spanish Succession, the British Army totalled 150,000 men, the rest of the army consisted of natives of the British Isles who, apart from the officers, were mainly recruited from the poorest sections of society. Each regiment was responsible for the recruitment of its own troops and this was emphasized by a popular play of the time called The Recruiting Officer. Other powers were given by the British government to allow the enlistment of vagrants. The armys recruiting methods and treatment of its soldiers would remain the same for the rest of the 18th century, during the American Revolutionary War, a policy similar to the Navys Press Gangs was introduced. Two acts were passed, the Recruiting Act 1778 and the Recruiting Act 1779, for some men this would have been for being drunk and disorderly. The chief advantages of these acts was in the number of volunteers brought in under the apprehension of impressment, to avoid impressment, some recruits incapacitated themselves by cutting off the thumb and forefinger of the right hand. Both acts were repealed in 1780, the British Government also released criminals and debtors from prison on the condition they joined the army. Three entire regiments during the American Revolution were raised from this early release programme, of the Volunteer recruits, some would find they had been enticed to take the Kings shilling under false pretenses and many men would find they had signed to a lifetime in the army. After the defeat of Great Britain by the American revolutionaries, the British Army fell into dereliction, morale and discipline were low, the Army was neglected as never before and its total strength in 1793 stood at 40,000 men. The United Kingdoms struggle with France during the Napoleonic wars required the British Army to expand rapidly, ordinary recruiting methods failed to supply the number of men required to fill the Army ranks. The main methods used for recruiting were, private individuals were recruited for their own interests, volunteers from the militia, generals called for conscription for the first time in British History, although this was never enacted for the regular army. Competition from civilian occupations was intense and highlighted in the disparity in pay, where a private could earn 7s per week in 1806, however soldiers would expect to supplement this meagre income with promotion and loot on campaign
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Secretary of State for War
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The position of Secretary of State for War, commonly called War Secretary, was a British cabinet-level position, first held by Henry Dundas. In 1801 the post became that of Secretary of State for War, the position was re-instated in 1854. In 1946, with the creation of a cabinet-level Minister of Defence separate from the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for War ceased to be a cabinet position. On 1 April 1964, with the creation of the Secretary of State for Defence position, in charge of a new united Ministry of Defence, for 1801–1854 see Secretary of State for War and the Colonies
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Richard Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane
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Richard Burdon Haldane, 1st Viscount Haldane KT OM PC KC FRS FSA FBA was an influential Scottish Liberal and later Labour imperialist politician, lawyer and philosopher. He was Secretary of State for War between 1905 and 1912 during which time the Haldane Reforms were implemented, raised to the peerage as Viscount Haldane in 1911, he was Lord Chancellor between 1912 and 1915, when he was forced to resign because of his German sympathies. He later joined the Labour Party and once served as Lord Chancellor in 1924 in the first ever Labour administration. Apart from his legal and political careers, Haldane was also a writer on philosophy. Haldane was born at 17 Charlotte Square, Edinburgh, the son of Robert Haldane and his wife Mary Elizabeth, B. S. Haldane and Naomi Mitchison. After studying law in London, he was called to the Bar by Lincolns Inn, in 1879 and he was taken on at 5 New Square Chambers by Lord Davey in 1882 as the junior. Haldanes practice was a specialism in conveyancing, a skill for pleadings at appeal and tribunal cases, bringing cases to the privy council. By 1890 he had taken silk, a Queens Counsel, by 1905 he was earning £20,000 per annum at the Bar. He became a bencher at Lincolns Inn in 1893, amongst his early friends was Edmund Gosse, the scholarly librarian at the inns law library, whose help made Haldane well known for being fully prepared in court and parliamentary briefs. Haldane was deep thinker, a breed, a philosopher-politician. During his stay at Göttingen he expanded an interest in the German philosophers, Schopenauer, a cousin, the Whig politician Lord Camperdown encouraged the young barrister into standing as a Liberal at the General Election of 1880. Although not elected that year Haldane joined the Eighty Club, the Eighty Club was a political dining and discussion club originally formed in 1879. Membership was restricted to Liberals under the age of forty, in 1881 Haldane met H. H. Asquith, and they soon became firm friends often meeting the Blue Post Public house on Cork street. They were founders of the Albert Grey committee, named after Earl Grey, regularly discussing burning social issues, in November 1885 Haldane was elected Liberal Member of Parliament for Haddingtonshire, a seat he held until 1911. The philosopher-politician wrote several articles for the advanced and progressive Contemporary Review, in October 1888, The Liberal Creed was published summarising his belief in the direction of New Liberalism. In the 1890 article The Eight Hours Question Haldane rejected the idea of the eight-hour day, in 1888, he courted Emma Valentine Ferguson, sister of his Liberal party friend, Ronald Munro-Ferguson, she broke off the engagement and subsequently lampooned him in her novel Betsy in 1892. Haldane became firmly ensconced in the Imperialist wing of Liberalism, led by Sir Edward Grey, Haldane added the preface to L T Hobhouses The Labour Movement in 1893. Sadly Emma Ferguson died insane in 1897 and he had pathos in his personality, remarked Webb, a successful lawyer tinged with socialism
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Territorial and Reserve Forces Act 1907
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This reorganisation formed a major part of the Haldane Reforms, named after the creator of the Act, Richard Haldane. A number of attempts at reform under the Conservative government of 1901-1905 had failed to any lasting changes to the system. With the Liberal victory in December 1905, Haldane was appointed as Secretary of State for War and he decided on a regular Expeditionary Force and an auxiliary Territorial Force, which would be liable for home defence, with an expanded reserve for the Regular Army. After some examination of the best way to implement this, Haldane put forward a bill in the winter of 1906. It was put before the Commons on 4 March, then debated in late March and throughout April, in 1899, with the outbreak of the South African War, the British Army was committed to its first large-scale overseas deployment since the 1850s. The intervening period had seen extensive redevelopments of the Regular Army, in the early 1880s, the next step was taken by the Childers Reforms, which formally amalgamated the regiments into a single two-battalion unit along with the militia and volunteers. The regular units were supported by their own reserves, discussed above, thirty to forty percent of recruits were young men who passed into the Regular Army, and only twenty percent served their full six-year service. Recruits to the force were usually personally wealthy, providing their own horses and uniforms, training requirements were low, with an annual eight-day camp. The third arm was the Volunteers, mainly drawn from small businessmen, artisans, there were some engineer and medical units, but no service corps. The reforms had ensured that a force of regular troops was based in the United Kingdom for service as an expeditionary force, over. However, once the decision was taken to send a corps-size field force to fight in the South African War, the system began to show a strain. In some units, this meant reservists made up over 50% of the battalion strength and this was the end of the planned mobilisation, no thought had been given pre-war to mobilising the Militia, Yeomanry or Volunteers as formed units for foreign service. 43,000 reservists had been sent overseas with the regular forces—out of a total of 80, on 16 December, the first request was sent from South Africa for auxiliary troops, and a commitment was made to send a considerable force of militia and picked yeomanry and volunteers. In early January, the reinforcements to be sent out included one company of volunteers for each regular battalion, one complete volunteer battalion. Sir Ian Hamilton commented that the men from the Militia Reserve who were in regular battalions were quite excellent, every commanding officer I asked about them said they were first class men. The Militia battalions that had come out, had lost many of their officers and they had also been somewhat short of officers to start with. That was what they were best suited for under the circumstances and they were employed as integral companies of the regular battalions, and were well regarded in the field. The Yeomanry, likewise, were not employed as complete units, whilst the initial request for auxiliaries had called for 8,000 irregulars
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Volunteer Force
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The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated with the British Army after the Childers Reforms in 1881, most of the regiments of the present Territorial Army Infantry, Artillery, Engineers and Signals units are directly descended from Volunteer Force units. During the Crimean War, the War Office had been forced to send militia, the situation had been complicated by the fact that both auxiliary forces were under the control of the Home Office until 1855. Tensions rose between the United Kingdom and France following the Orsini affair, an attempt on Emperor Napoleon III on 14 January 1858. It emerged that the assassin, Felice Orsini had travelled to England to have the bombs used in the attack manufactured in Birmingham. On 29 April 1859 war broke out between France and the Austrian Empire, and there were fears that Britain might be caught up in a wider European conflict. Volunteer corps were to be raised under the provisions of the Volunteer Act 1804, alfred Tennyson captured the spirit of the time by publishing his poem Riflemen Form in The Times on 9 May 1859. As a basis for the units, many communities had rifle clubs for the enjoyment of the sport of shooting, Corps were only to be formed on the recommendation of the county’s lord-lieutenant. The force was liable to be called out “in case of invasion, or of appearance of an enemy in force on the coast, or in case of rebellion arising in either of these emergencies. ”While under arms volunteers were subject to military law and were entitled to be billeted. Members were not permitted to quit the force during actual military service, members were to be returned as “effective” if they had attended eight days drill and exercise in four months, or 24 days within a year. The members of the corps were to provide their own arms and equipment, Volunteers were also permitted to choose the design of their uniforms, subject to the lord-lieutenant’s approval. Although volunteers were to pay for their own firearms, they were to be provided under the superintendence of the War Office, the number of officers and private men in each county and corps was to be settled by the war office, based on the lord-lieutenant’s recommendation. Originally corps were to consist of approximately 100 all ranks under the command of a captain, the purpose of the rifle corps was to harass the invading enemy’s flanks, while artillery corps were to man coastal guns and forts. Although not mentioned in the letter, engineer corps were also formed. Stretcher-bearers attached to the rifle corps subsequently formed volunteer medical detachments affiliated to the Army Medical Corps, in a handful of counties, units of light horse or mounted rifles were formed. Two volunteer units whose services had been accepted by Queen Victoria during the early 1850s became the two senior rifle corps of the new force and these were the 1st Rifle Volunteer Corps who became the 1st Devonshire Rifle Volunteers and the Victoria Rifles who became the 1st Middlesex Rifle Volunteers. An order of precedence was established for other counties, depending upon the date of establishment of the first corps in the county. The most senior artillery corps was the 1st Northumberland formed at Tynemouth on August 2,1859, some also compared the initiative, small unit tactics and marksmanship principles of rifle regiments of the Napoleonic Wars compared with the linear tactics of the standing army
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Yeomanry
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Yeomanry is a designation used by a number of units or sub-units of the British Army Reserve, descended from volunteer cavalry regiments. Today, Yeomanry units serve in a variety of different military roles, in the 1790s, the threat of invasion of the Kingdom of Great Britain was high, after the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte. To improve the defences, volunteer regiments were raised in many counties from yeomen. These regiments became known collectively as the Yeomanry, members of the yeomanry were not obliged to serve overseas without their individual consent. In 1827 it was decided for reasons to reduce the number of yeomanry regiments. A number of independent troops were also dissolved, following these reductions the yeomanry establishment was fixed at 22 corps receiving allowances and a further 16 serving without pay. During the 1830s the number of yeomanry units fluctuated, reflecting the level of civil unrest in any region at any particular time. The Irish Yeomanry, which had played a role in suppressing the rebellion of 1798, was completely disbanded in 1838. For the next thirty years the Yeomanry Force was retained as a line of support for the regular cavalry within Britain. Recruiting difficulties led to serious consideration being given to the disbandment of the force in 1870. These included requirements that individual yeomanry troopers attend a number of drills per year in return for a permanent duty allowance. While these reforms improved the professionalism of the Yeomanry Force, numbers remained low, in 1876 the role of the Yeomanry Force was fixed as that of light cavalry. These supernumerary units were now abolished, during the Second Boer War companies of Imperial Yeomanry were formed to serve overseas from volunteers from the Yeomanry. In 1901 all yeomanry regiments were redesignated as Imperial Yeomanry, in 1908 the Imperial Yeomanry was merged with the Volunteer Force to form the Territorial Force, of which it became the cavalry arm. The Imperial title was dropped at the same time, on the eve of World War I in 1914 there were 55 Yeomanry regiments, each of four squadrons instead of the three of the regular cavalry. Upon embodiment these regiments were brought together to form mounted brigades or allocated as divisional cavalry. For purposes of recruitment and administration the Yeomanry were linked to counties or regions. Some of the still in existence in 1914 dated back to those created in the 1790s while others had been created during a period of expansion following on the Boer War
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Militia
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For instance, the members of some U. S. Army National Guard units are considered professional soldiers, as they are trained to maintain the same standards as their full-time counterparts. Militias thus can be military or paramilitary, depending on the instance, some of the contexts in which the term militia is used include, Forces engaged in defense activity or service, to protect a community, its territory, property, and laws. The entire able-bodied population of a community, town, county, or state, a subset of these who may be legally penalized for failing to respond to a call-up. A subset of these who actually respond to a call-up, regardless of legal obligation, a private, non-government force, not necessarily directly supported or sanctioned by its government. An irregular armed force enabling its leader to exercise military, economic, an official reserve army, composed of citizen soldiers. Called by various names in different countries, such as the Army Reserve, National Guard, the national police forces in several former communist states such as the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact countries, but also in the non-aligned SFR Yugoslavia. The term was inherited in Russia and other former CIS countries, in France the equivalent term Milice has become tainted due to its use by notorious collaborators with Nazi Germany. A select militia is composed of a small, non-representative portion of the population, as regular military forces were insufficient to counter the British attackers, Santiago de Liniers drafted all males in the city capable of bearing arms into the military. These recruits included the peoples, who ranked low down in the social hierarchy. With these reinforcements, the British armies were twice defeated, the militias became a strong factor in the politics of the city afterwards, as a springboard from which the criollos could manifest their political ambitions. They were a key element in the success of the May Revolution, a decree by Mariano Moreno derogated the system of promotions involving criollos, allowing instead their promotion on military merit. The Argentine Civil War was waged by militias again, as both federalists and unitarians drafted common people into their ranks as part of ongoing conflicts and these irregular armies were organized at a provincial level, and assembled as leagues depending on political pacts. This system had declined by the 1870s, mainly due to the establishment of the modern Argentine Army, provincial militias were outlawed and decimated by the new army throughout the presidential terms of Mitre, Sarmiento, Avellaneda and Roca. Armenian militia also played a role in the Georgia-Abkhazia War of 1992–1993, in the Colony of New South Wales Governor Lachlan Macquarie proposed a colonial militia but the idea was rejected. Governor Ralph Darling felt a mounted force was more efficient than a militia. A military volunteer movement attracted wide interest during the Crimean War, following Federation, the various military reserve forces of the Commonwealth of Australia became the Citizen Military Force. In the beginning, members didnt have uniforms and often paraded in business attire and they were given instruction on guerrilla warfare, and later the private organization was taken over by the Australian Government and became part of the Australian Military Forces. After World War I, multiple militias formed as soldiers returned home to their villages, only to many of them occupied by Slovene
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Constable
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A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions, a constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other persons may be granted powers of a constable without holding the title of constable, historically, the title comes from the Latin comes stabuli and originated from the Roman Empire, originally, the constable was the officer responsible for keeping the horses of a lord or monarch. The title was imported to the monarchies of medieval Europe, and in many developed into a high military rank. However, in the Channel Islands a constable is an elected office-holder at the parish level, historically, a constable could also refer to a castellan, the officer charged with the defense of a castle. Even today, there is a Constable of the Tower of London, an equivalent position is that of Marshal, which derives from Old High German marah horse and schalh servant, and originally meant stable keeper, which has a similar etymology. The position of constable originated from the Roman Empire, by the 5th century AD the Count of the Stable was responsible for the keeping of horses at the imperial court. The West European term constable itself was adopted, via the Normans, as konostaulos in the Komnenian and Palaiologan periods, in most medieval nations, the constable was the highest-ranking officer of the army, and was responsible for the overseeing of martial law. The Constable of France, under the French monarchy, was the First Officer of the Crown of France and was responsible for commanding the army. His symbol of office was a held by a hand issuing out of a cloud. Some constables were prominent military commanders in the period, such as Bertrand du Guesclin who served from 1370 to 1380. Some authorities place the origins of constables in England earlier, attributing the creation of the office during the reign of King Alfred, the term was also used at the local level within the feudal system however, describing an officer appointed to keep order. He has record as to matters of fact, not matters of judgment, in Bractons time, anyone seeing a misdeed was empowered to make an arrest. The role of the constable in Bractons description was as the eyes and ears of the court, finding evidence, by extension, the constable was also the strong arm of the court, marking the basic role of the constable that continues into the present-day. In 1285, King Edward I of England passed the Statute of Winchester, together these led to all counties having various constabularies of full-time professionals. The lowest rank of the forces and constabularies is constable. Specific legislation for the Royal Parks of London continued the office of Parks Constable. However, the Royal Parks Constabulary was disbanded in 2001, the Kew Constabulary are sworn in under the same legislation and remain as the holders of the office of Parks Constable
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Bailiff
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A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian, a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly, another official sometimes referred to as a bailiff was the vogt, see Vogt and Vogt. In the Holy Roman Empire a similar function was performed by the Amtmann, Bailiff was the term used by the Normans for what the Saxons had called a reeve, the officer responsible for executing the decisions of a court. The duty of the bailiff would thus include serving summonses and orders, the district within which the bailiff operated was called his bailiwick, even to the present day. Bailiffs were outsiders and free men, that is, they were not usually from the bailiwick they were responsible for. Throughout Norman England, the Saxon and Norman populations gradually mixed, primarily then, bailiff referred to the officer executing the decisions of manorial courts, and the hundred courts. Likewise, in Scotland a bailie was the officer of a barony. With the introduction of Justices of the Peace, magistrates courts acquired their own bailiffs, historically, courts were not always concerned with legal matters, and often decided administrative matters for the area within their jurisdiction. A bailiff of a manor, therefore, would oversee the manors lands and buildings, collect its rents, manage its accounts. In the 19th century, the functions of courts were mostly replaced by the creation of elected local authorities. Nevertheless, the bailiff is retained as a title by the chief officers of various towns and the keepers of royal castles, such as the High Bailiff of Westminster. In Scotland, bailie now refers to an officer corresponding to an English alderman. The high court acquired the sheriffs, the county court the bailiffs, to avoid confusion with their underlings, the County Courts Act 1888 renamed bailifs as High Bailiffs. This act also formally acknowledged the High Bailiffs right to appoint under-bailiffs as he wished, the High Bailiff gradually became a purely ceremonial role, the courts clerk liaising with under-bailiffs directly. The Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888 enacts that no person may act as an under-bailiff to levy any distress for rent, unless he is authorized by a county court judge to act as an under-bailiff. The County Courts Act 1888 restricted the hours an under-bailiff could execute a possession warrant and it also limited the ability to bring a legal complaint against a bailiff, six days notice now had to be given. In the Channel Islands the bailiff is the first civil officer in each of the two bailiwicks and he is appointed by the Crown, and holds office until retirement. He presides as a judge in the court, and takes the opinions of the jurats, he also presides over the states
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Peterloo Massacre
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The end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815 had resulted in periods of famine and chronic unemployment, exacerbated by the introduction of the first of the Corn Laws. By the beginning of 1819, the pressure generated by economic conditions. In response, the Manchester Patriotic Union, a group agitating for parliamentary reform, shortly after the meeting began local magistrates called on the military authorities to arrest Hunt and several others on the hustings with him, and to disperse the crowd. Cavalry charged into the crowd with sabres drawn, and in the confusion,15 people were killed. The massacre was given the name Peterloo in a comparison to the Battle of Waterloo. Historian Robert Poole has called the Peterloo Massacre one of the moments of its age. It also led directly to the foundation of The Manchester Guardian, in a survey conducted by The Guardian in 2006, Peterloo came second to the Putney Debates as the event from radical British history that most deserved a proper monument or a memorial. Peterloo is commemorated by a close to the site, a replacement for an earlier one that was criticised as being inadequate as it did not reflect the scale of the massacre. In 1819, Lancashire was represented by two Members of Parliament, by comparison, more than half of all MPs were returned by a total of just 154 owners of rotten or closed boroughs. These inequalities in political representation led to calls for reform, after the end of the Napoleonic Wars in 1815, a brief boom in textile manufacture was followed by periods of chronic economic depression, particularly among textile weavers and spinners. Weavers who could have expected to earn 15 shillings for a week in 1803. The industrialists, who were cutting wages without offering relief, blamed market forces generated by the aftershocks of the Napoleonic Wars. Exacerbating matters were the Corn Laws, the first of which was passed in 1815, economic conditions in 1817 led to a group who became known as Blanketeers to organise a march from Manchester to London so they could petition the Prince Regent for parliamentary reform. A crowd of 25,000 including 5,000 men who intended to march gathered in St Peters Fields, after the magistrates read the Riot Act, the crowd was dispersed by the Kings Dragoon Guards. The ringleaders were arrested and subsequently released when charges against them were not forthcoming. By the beginning of 1819 pressure generated by economic conditions was at its peak and had enhanced the appeal of political radicalism among the cotton loom weavers of south Lancashire. In January 1819, a crowd of about 10,000 gathered at St Peters Fields to hear the radical orator Henry Hunt, the meeting, conducted in the presence of the cavalry, passed off without incident. Possessing no power to prevent the meetings the magistrates admitted they were at a loss as to how to stem the doctrines being disseminated, against this background, a great assembly was organised by the Manchester Patriotic Union formed by radicals from the Manchester Observer
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Militia (United Kingdom)
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The Militia of the United Kingdom were the military reserve forces of the United Kingdom after the Union in 1801 of the former Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland. The militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the Territorial, for the period before the creation of the United Kingdom, in the home countries and their colonies, see Militia. A separate voluntary Local Militia was created in 1808 before being disbanded in 1816 By 1813 the British Army was experiencing a shortage of manpower to maintain their battalions at full strength. Some consideration was given to recruiting foreign nationals, however on 4 November 1813 a bill was introduced to parliament to allow Militia volunteers to serve in Europe. In the event only three battalions were raised and these were sent to serve under Henry Bayly arriving in Bordeaux on 12 April 1814, although muster rolls were prepared as late as 1820, the element of compulsion was abandoned, and the militia was transformed into a volunteer force. It was intended to be seen as an alternative to the army, men would volunteer and undertake basic training for several months at an army depot. Thereafter, they would return to life, but report for regular periods of military training. In return, they would receive pay and a financial retainer. Of course, many saw the camp as the equivalent of a paid holiday. The militia thus appealed to agricultural labourers, colliers and the like, men in casual occupations, until 1861 the militia were an entirely infantry force, but in that year a number of county regiments were converted to artillery. In 1877 the militia of Anglesey and Monmouthshire were converted to engineers, typically, an English, Welsh or Scottish regiment would have two militia battalions and Irish regiments three. The militia must not be confused with the units created in a wave of enthusiasm in the second half of the nineteenth century. In contrast with the Volunteer Force, and the similar Yeomanry Cavalry, the militia was transformed into the Special Reserve by the military reforms of Haldane in the reforming post 1906 Liberal government. In 1908 the militia battalions were redesignated as reserve and a number were amalgamated or disbanded. Numbered Territorial Force battalions, ranking after the Special Reserve, were formed from the units at the same time. Altogether,101 infantry battalions,33 artillery regiments and two regiments of special reservists were formed. Upon mobilisation, the reserve units would be formed at the depot. The original militiamen soon disappeared, and the battalions became training units pure, the Special Reserve reverted to its militia designation in 1921, then to Supplementary Reserve in 1924, though the units were effectively placed in suspended animation until disbanded in 1953
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Total war
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In the mid-19th century, scholars identified total war as a separate class of warfare. One can trace back the phrase to the publication in 1935 of the World War I memoir of German General Erich Ludendorff, Der totale Krieg. Some authors extend the back as far as classic work of Carl von Clausewitz, On War, as absoluter Krieg, however. Total war also describes the French guerre à outrance during the Franco-Prussian War, United States Air Force General Curtis LeMay updated the concept for the nuclear age. In 1949, he first proposed that a war in the nuclear age would consist of delivering the entire nuclear arsenal in a single overwhelming blow. Utilizing every means available to ones enemy and any of their interests is an obvious strategy. Although cities had been sacked before, the nature and scale of these campaigns stand out. During the Middle Ages, destruction under the Mongol Empire in the 13th century effectively exemplified total war, both sides directed their actions not solely against warrior-combatants but against the people as a whole. Indeed, the taking of a scalp of a woman or child was considered honorable because it signified that the taker had dared to enter the very heart of the enemys territory. The French Revolutionary Wars introduced some of the first concepts of total war, the fledgling republic found itself threatened by a powerful coalition of European nations. The only solution, in the eyes of the Jacobin government, was to pour the entire nations resources into an unprecedented war effort—this was the advent of the en masse. The following decree of the National Convention on August 23,1793 demonstrates the immensity of the French war effort, the wars merged into the Napoleonic Wars of the First French Empire from ca. In the Russian campaign of 1812 the Russians resorted to destroying infrastructure and agriculture in their retreat in order to hamper the French, the Taiping Rebellion was one of the deadliest wars in history. About 20 million people died, many due to disease and famine and it followed the secession of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom from the Qing Empire. Almost every citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom was given military training, during the American Civil War, Union Army General Philip Sheridans stripping of the Shenandoah Valley, beginning on September 21,1864 and continuing for two weeks, was considered total war. Its purpose was to eliminate food and supplies vital to the Souths military operations, sheridan took the opportunity when he realized opposing forces had become too weak to resist his army. Union Army General William Tecumseh Shermans March to the Sea in November and December 1864 destroyed the resources required for the South to make war, General Ulysses S. Grant and President Abraham Lincoln initially opposed the plan until Sherman convinced them of its necessity. Scholars taking issue with the notion that Sherman was employing total war include Noah Andre Trudeau, Trudeau believes that Shermans goals and methods do not meet the definition of total war and to suggest as much is to misread Shermans intentions and to misunderstand the results of what happened
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World War II
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World War II, also known as the Second World War, was a global war that lasted from 1939 to 1945, although related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the worlds countries—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing alliances, the Allies and the Axis. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust and the bombing of industrial and population centres. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history, from late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with Italy and Japan. Under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact of August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, Poland, Finland, Romania and the Baltic states. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States and European colonies in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Japan lost the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France, while the Soviet Union regained all of its territorial losses and invaded Germany and its allies. During 1944 and 1945 the Japanese suffered major reverses in mainland Asia in South Central China and Burma, while the Allies crippled the Japanese Navy, thus ended the war in Asia, cementing the total victory of the Allies. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world, the United Nations was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—the United States, the Soviet Union, China, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 46 years. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia, most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Europe, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities, the start of the war in Europe is generally held to be 1 September 1939, beginning with the German invasion of Poland, Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later. The dates for the beginning of war in the Pacific include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or even the Japanese invasion of Manchuria on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor, who held that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously and this article uses the conventional dating. Other starting dates sometimes used for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939, the exact date of the wars end is also not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 14 August 1945, rather than the formal surrender of Japan
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National Health Service
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The National Health Service is the name of the public health services of England, Scotland and Wales, and is commonly used to refer to those of Northern Ireland. They were established together as one of the social reforms following the Second World War on the founding principles of being comprehensive, universal. Today, each provides a range of health services, the vast majority of which are free for people ordinarily resident in the United Kingdom. Taken together, the four National Health Services in 2015-16 employed around 1.6 million people with a budget of £136.7 billion. For non-residents, the NHS is free at the time of use, for general practitioner, the NHS began on the Appointed Day of 5 July 1948. This put into practice Westminster legislation for England and Wales from 1946 and Scotland from 1947, when Clement Attlees Labour Party won the 1945 election he appointed Aneurin Bevan as Health Minister. Bevan then embarked upon what the historian of the NHS, Charles Webster. Three years after the founding of the NHS, Bevan resigned from the Labour government in opposition to the introduction of charges for the provision of dentures and glasses, the following year, Winston Churchills Conservative government introduced prescription charges. These charges were the first of many controversies over reforms to the NHS throughout its history, each of the UKs four nations have their own separate NHS, each with its own history. From its earliest days, the history of the NHS has shown its place in British society reflected and debated in film, TV, cartoons. However, some functions might be performed by one health service on behalf of another. There have been issues about cross-border payments, taken together, the four National Health Services in 2015-16 employed around 1.6 million people with a combined budget of £136.7 billion. In 2014 the total health sector workforce across the UK was 2,165,043 and this broke down into 1,789,586 in England,198,368 in Scotland,110,292 in Wales and 66,797 in Northern Ireland. The NHS is free at the time of use, for general practitioner and emergency treatment not including admission to hospital, people with the right to medical care in European Economic Area nations are also entitled to free treatment by using the European Health Insurance Card. Those from other countries with which the UK has reciprocal arrangements also qualify for free treatment, people not ordinarily resident in the UK are in general not entitled to free hospital treatment, with some exceptions such as refugees. People not ordinarily resident may be subject to an interview to establish their eligibility, patients who do not qualify for free treatment are asked to pay in advance, or to sign a written undertaking to pay, except for emergency treatment. The provision of treatment to non-UK-residents, formerly interpreted liberally, has been increasingly restricted. As of 2016 the surcharge was £200 per year, with exemptions and reductions in some cases, the systems are 98. 8% funded from general taxation and National Insurance contributions, plus small amounts from patient charges for some services
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Infantry
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Infantry is the general branch of an army that engages in military combat on foot. As the troops who engage with the enemy in close-ranged combat, infantry units bear the largest brunt of warfare, Infantry can enter and maneuver in terrain that is inaccessible to military vehicles and employ crew-served infantry weapons that provide greater and more sustained firepower. In English, the 16th-century term Infantry describes soldiers who walk to the battlefield, and there engage, fight, the term arose in Sixteenth-Century Spain, which boasted one of the first professional standing armies seen in Europe since the days of Rome. It was common to appoint royal princes to military commands, and the men under them became known as Infanteria. in the Canadian Army, the role of the infantry is to close with, and destroy the enemy. In the U. S. Army, the closes with the enemy, by means of fire and maneuver, in order to destroy or capture him, or to repel his assault by fire, close combat. In the U. S. Marine Corps, the role of the infantry is to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy fire and maneuver. Beginning with the Napoleonic Wars of the early 19th century, artillery has become a dominant force on the battlefield. Since World War I, combat aircraft and armoured vehicles have become dominant. In 20th and 21st century warfare, infantry functions most effectively as part of a combined arms team including artillery, armour, Infantry relies on organized formations to be employed in battle. These have evolved over time, but remain a key element to effective infantry development and deployment, until the end of the 19th century, infantry units were for the most part employed in close formations up until contact with the enemy. This allowed commanders to control of the unit, especially while maneuvering. The development of guns and other weapons with increased firepower forced infantry units to disperse in order to make them less vulnerable to such weapons. This decentralization of command was made possible by improved communications equipment, among the various subtypes of infantry is Medium infantry. This refers to infantry which are heavily armed and armored than heavy infantry. In the early period, medium infantry were largely eliminated due to discontinued use of body armour up until the 20th century. In the United States Army, Stryker Infantry is considered Medium Infantry, since they are heavier than light infantry, Infantry doctrine is the concise expression of how infantry forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements. It is a guide to action, not a set of hard, doctrine provides a very common frame of reference across the military forces, allowing the infantry to function cooperatively in what are now called combined arms operations. Doctrine helps standardise operations, facilitating readiness by establishing common ways of accomplishing infantry tasks, doctrine links theory, history, experimentation, and practice
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Division (military)
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A division is a large military unit or formation, usually consisting of between 10,000 and 20,000 soldiers. Infantry divisions during the World Wars ranged between 10,000 and 30,000 in nominal strength, in most armies, a division is composed of several regiments or brigades, in turn, several divisions typically make up a corps. In the West, the first general to think of organising an army into smaller units was Maurice de Saxe, Marshal General of France. He died at the age of 54, without having implemented his idea, victor-François de Broglie put the ideas into practice. He conducted successful practical experiments of the system in the Seven Years War. The first war in which the system was used systematically was the French Revolutionary War. It made the more flexible and easy to manoeuvre. Under Napoleon, the divisions were grouped together into corps, because of their increasing size, napoleons military success spread the divisional and corps system all over Europe, by the end of the Napoleonic Wars, all armies in Europe had adopted it. In modern times, most military forces have standardized their divisional structures, the peak use of the division as the primary combat unit occurred during World War II, when the belligerents deployed over a thousand divisions. With technological advances since then, the power of each division has increased. Divisions are often formed to organize units of a particular type together with support units to allow independent operations. In more recent times, divisions have mainly been organized as combined arms units with subordinate units representing various combat arms, in this case, the division often retains the name of a more specialized division, and may still be tasked with a primary role suited to that specialization. For the most part, large cavalry units did not remain after World War II, in general, two new types of cavalry were developed, air cavalry or airmobile, relying on helicopter mobility, and armored cavalry, based on an autonomous armored formation. The former was pioneered by the 11th Air Assault Division, formed on 1 February 1963 at Fort Benning, on 29 June 1965 the division was renamed as the 1st Cavalry Division, before its departure for the Vietnam War. After the end of the Vietnam War, the 1st Cavalry Division was reorganised and re-equipped with tanks, the development of the tank during World War I prompted some nations to experiment with forming them into division-size units. Many did this the way as they did cavalry divisions, by merely replacing cavalry with AFVs. This proved unwieldy in combat, as the units had many tanks, instead, a more balanced approach was taken by adjusting the number of tank, infantry, artillery, and support units. A panzer division was a division of the Wehrmacht and the Waffen-SS of Germany during World War II
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Brigade
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A brigade is a major tactical military formation that is typically composed of three to six battalions plus supporting elements. It is roughly equivalent to an enlarged or reinforced regiment, two or more brigades may constitute a division. Brigades formed into divisions are usually infantry or armored, in addition to combat units, they may include combat support units or sub-units, such as artillery and engineers, and logistic units or sub-units. Historically, such brigades have sometimes been called brigade-groups, on operations, a brigade may comprise both organic elements and attached elements, including some temporarily attached for a specific task. Brigades may also be specialized and comprise battalions of a branch, for example cavalry, mechanized, armored, artillery, air defence, aviation, engineers. Some brigades are classified as independent or separate and operate independently from the division structure. The typical NATO standard brigade consists of approximately 3,200 to 5,500 troops, however, in Switzerland and Austria, the numbers could go as high as 11,000 troops. The Soviet Union, its forerunners and successors, mostly use regiment instead of brigade, a brigades commander is commonly a major general, brigadier general, brigadier or colonel. In some armies, the commander is rated as a General Officer, the brigade commander has a self-contained headquarters and staff. Some brigades may also have a deputy commander, the headquarters has a nucleus of staff officers and support that can vary in size depending on the type of brigade. On operations, additional specialist elements may be attached, the headquarters will usually have its own communications unit. In some gendarmerie forces, brigades are the organizational unit. The brigade as a military unit came about starting in the 15th century when the British army, as such a field army became larger, the number of subordinate commanders became unmanageable for the officer in general command of said army, usually a major general, to effectively command. In order to streamline command relationships, as well as effect some modicum of control, especially in regard to combined arms operations. The terms origin is found in two French roots, which together, meant roughly those who fight, the so-called brigada was a well-mixed unit, comprising infantry, cavalry and normally also artillery, designated for a special task. The size of such brigada ranged from a company of up to two regiments. The brigada was the forerunner of the battalion task force, battle group. The brigade was improved as a unit by the Swedish king Gustavus Adolphus
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Lord Lieutenant
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The Lord-Lieutenant is the British monarchs personal representative in each county of the United Kingdom. Historically, the Lord-Lieutenant was responsible for organising the militia but it is today a largely ceremonial position. Lieutenants were first appointed to a number of English counties by King Henry VIII in the 1540s and he raised and was responsible for the efficiency of the local militia units of the county, and afterwards of the yeomanry, and volunteers. He was commander of forces, whose officers he appointed. Lieutenancies soon became more organised, probably in the reign of his successor King Edward VI, however, it was not until the threat of invasion by the forces of Spain in 1585 that lieutenants were appointed to all counties and counties corporate and became in effect permanent. Although not explicitly stated, from that date lieutenants were appointed to counties at large, the origin of this anomaly may have lain in the former palatine status of Pembrokeshire. The City of London was uniquely given a commission of lieutenancy, an Act to make the Militia of this Kingdom more useful was passed by the Parliament of Ireland in 1715. The lieutenants were empowered to embody militia regiments, in 1921, with the establishment of Northern Ireland, lord-lieutenants continued to be appointed through the Governor of Northern Ireland to the six counties and two county boroughs. By the Militia Act 1797, the lieutenants appointed for the Counties, Stewartries, Cities, the Lord Provosts of Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, and Dundee are, by virtue of office, also the Lord-Lieutenant of their respective city. The Militia Act 1802 provided for the appointment of lieutenants to Lieutenants for the Counties, Ridings, and Places in England and Wales, and gave them command of the county militia. In the case of towns or cities which were counties of themselves, the Militia Act 1882 revested the jurisdiction of the lieutenants in the crown. Counties for lieutenancy purposes were also redefined as a county at large, the text of the letters patent appointing lieutenants under the act stated they were to be. Haverfordwest was permitted to retain a lieutenant while the Tower Hamlets, from 1889 lieutenancy counties in England and Wales were to correspond to groupings of administrative counties and county boroughs established by the Local Government Act 1888. The creation of a new County of London also led to the ending of the Tower Hamlets lieutenancy, the Act also extinguished the lieutenancy of the Cinque Ports. Section 69 of the Local Government Act 1898 realigned the lieutenancy counties with the new counties created by the Act. The one exception was County Tipperary, which administered by two county councils, was to remain united for lieutenancy. In contrast to the legislation in England and Wales, each county borough was to have its own lieutenant, and those counties corporate not made county boroughs were abolished. The effect of this was to create a lieutenant for the county boroughs of Belfast and Londonderry, the office of lieutenant was honorary, and held during the royal pleasure, but virtually for life
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County council
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A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has different meanings in different countries. County councils were formed in the late 19th century, in the various constituent countries of the United Kingdom councils had different powers and different memberships. Following local government reforms in the 1970s, county councils no longer exist in Scotland or Northern Ireland, in England they generally form the top level in a two-tier system of administration, in Wales they are unitary authorities. In England county councils were introduced in 1889, and reformed in 1974, since the mid-1990s a series of local government reorganisations has reduced the number of county councils as unitary authorities have been established in a number of areas. Until the 1990s they also ran colleges of education and the careers services. That decade also saw the privatisation of some services, such as highway maintenance, cleaning. County councils were created by the Local Government Act 1888, largely taking over the functions of the unelected county courts of quarter sessions. County councils consisted of councillors, directly elected by the electorate, there was one county alderman for every three councillors. The first elections to the councils were held at various dates in January 1889, and they served as provisional or shadow councils until 1 April, elections of all councillors and half of the aldermen took place every three years thereafter. The areas over which the councils had authority were designated as administrative counties, the writ of the county councils did not extend everywhere, large towns and some historic counties corporate were constituted county boroughs by the same act. County borough councils were independent of the council for the county in which they were geographically situated, the new system was a major modernisation, which reflected the increasing range of functions carried out by local government in late Victorian Britain. A major accretion of powers took place when education was added to county council responsibilities in 1902, County councils were responsible for more strategic services in a region, with smaller urban district councils and rural district councils responsible for other activities. The Local Government Act 1929 considerably increased the powers of county councils, in 1965 there was a reduction in the number of county councils. The London Government Act 1963 abolished those of London and Middlesex, Greater London was declared to be an area and not to lie in any county. The Local Government Act 1972 completely reorganised local authorities in England, County boroughs were abolished and the whole of England was placed in a two-tier arrangement with county councils and district councils. In the six largest conurbations metropolitan county councils, with increased powers, were created, the post of county alderman was abolished, and the entire council was thereafter directly elected every four years. In 1986 the six county councils were abolished, with their functions transferred to the metropolitan boroughs
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County borough
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County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control. They were abolished by the Local Government Act 1972 in England and Wales, in the Republic of Ireland they remain in existence but have been renamed cities under the provisions of the Local Government Act 2001. The Local Government Act 1994 re-introduced the term for certain areas in Wales. Scotland did not have county boroughs but instead counties of cities and these were abolished on 16 May 1975. All four Scottish cities of the time — Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh, there was an additional category of large burgh in the Scottish system, which were responsible for all services apart from police, education and fire. Some cities and towns were already independent counties corporate, and most were to become county boroughs, the Local Government Act 1888 as eventually passed required a population of over 50,000 except in the case of existing counties corporate. This resulted in 61 county boroughs in England and two in Wales, several exceptions were allowed, mainly for historic towns, Bath, Dudley and Oxford were all under the 50,000 limit in the 1901 census. Various new county boroughs were constituted in the decades as more boroughs reached the 50,000 minimum. The granting of county status was the subject of much disagreement between the large municipal boroughs and the county councils. County boroughs to be constituted in this era were a bag, including some towns that would continue to expand such as Bournemouth. Other towns such as Burton upon Trent and Dewsbury were not to increase in population much past 50,000, the threshold was raised to 100,000 by the Local Government Act 1958. The viability of the county borough of Merthyr Tydfil came into question in the 1930s. Due to a decline in the industries of the town, by 1932 more than half the male population was unemployed. At the same time the population of the borough was lower than when it had created in 1908. A royal commission was appointed in May 1935 to investigate whether the status of Merthyr Tydfil as a county borough should be continued. In the event county borough status was retained by the town, after the Second World War the creation of new county boroughs in England and Wales was effectively suspended, pending a local government review. The policy in the paper also ruled out the creation of new county boroughs in Middlesex owing to its special problems, the Local Government Boundary Commission was appointed on 26 October 1945, under the chairmanship of Sir Malcolm Trustram Eve, delivering its report in 1947. The report envisaged the creation of 47 two-tiered new counties,21 one-tiered new counties and 63 new county boroughs, although the Commissions did not complete their work before being dissolved, a handful of new county boroughs were constituted between 1964 and 1968
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Officer (armed forces)
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An officer is a member of an armed force or uniformed service who holds a position of authority. In this sense, officers are not enlisted, but hold appointments from their government that typically remain in force indefinitely unless resigned, the proportion of officers varies greatly. Officers typically make up between an eighth and a fifth of modern armed forces personnel, in 2013, officers were the senior 17% of the British armed forces, and the senior 13. 7% of the French armed forces. In 2012, officers made up about 18% of the German armed forces, historically, however, armed forces have generally had much lower proportions of officers. During the First World War, fewer than 5% of British soldiers were officers, in the early twentieth century, the Spanish army had the highest proportion of officers of any European army, at 12. 5%. Within a nations armed forces, armies tend to have a proportion of officers. For example,13. 9% of British army personnel and 22. 2% of the RAF personnel were officers in 2013, having officers is one requirement for combatant status under the laws of war, though these officers need not have obtained an official commission or warrant. Commissioned officers are typically the only persons, in an armed forces environment, a superior officer is an officer with a higher rank than another officer, who is a subordinate officer relative to the superior. Non-commissioned officers in positions of authority can be said to have control or charge rather than command per se, many advanced militaries require university degrees as a prerequisite for commissioning, even from the enlisted ranks. In the Israel Defense Forces, a university degree is a requirement for an officer to advance to the rank of lieutenant colonel, the IDF often sponsors the studies for its majors, while aircrew and naval officers obtain academic degrees as a part of their training programmes. In the United Kingdom, there are three routes of entry for British Armed Forces officers, the first, and primary route are those who receive their commission directly into the officer grades following completion at their relevant military academy. The third route is similar to the second, in that they convert from an enlisted to a commission, but these are taken from the highest ranks of SNCOs. LE officers, whilst holding the same Queens Commission, generally work in different roles from the DE officers, in the infantry, a number of Warrant Officer Class 1s are commissioned as LE officers. For Royal Navy and Royal Air Force officer candidates, a 30-week period at Britannia Royal Naval College or a 30-week period at RAF College Cranwell, Royal Marines officers receive their training in the Command Wing of the Commando Training Centre Royal Marines during a grueling 15-month course. The courses consist of not only tactical and combat training, but also leadership, management, etiquette, until the Cardwell Reforms of 1871, commissions in the British Army were purchased by officers. The Royal Navy, however, operated on a more meritocratic, or at least socially mobile, AOCS also also included the embedded Aviation Reserve Officer Candidate and Naval Aviation Cadet programs. NAVCADs were personnel who held associates degrees, but lacked bachelors degrees, nAVCADs would complete the entire AOCS program, but would not be commissioned until completion of flight training and receiving their wings. After their initial tour, they would be assigned to a college or university full-time for no more than two years in order to complete their bachelors degree
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World War I
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World War I, also known as the First World War, the Great War, or the War to End All Wars, was a global war originating in Europe that lasted from 28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918. More than 70 million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilised in one of the largest wars in history and it was one of the deadliest conflicts in history, and paved the way for major political changes, including revolutions in many of the nations involved. The war drew in all the worlds great powers, assembled in two opposing alliances, the Allies versus the Central Powers of Germany and Austria-Hungary. These alliances were reorganised and expanded as more nations entered the war, Italy, Japan, the trigger for the war was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by Yugoslav nationalist Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. This set off a crisis when Austria-Hungary delivered an ultimatum to the Kingdom of Serbia. Within weeks, the powers were at war and the conflict soon spread around the world. On 25 July Russia began mobilisation and on 28 July, the Austro-Hungarians declared war on Serbia, Germany presented an ultimatum to Russia to demobilise, and when this was refused, declared war on Russia on 1 August. Germany then invaded neutral Belgium and Luxembourg before moving towards France, after the German march on Paris was halted, what became known as the Western Front settled into a battle of attrition, with a trench line that changed little until 1917. On the Eastern Front, the Russian army was successful against the Austro-Hungarians, in November 1914, the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers, opening fronts in the Caucasus, Mesopotamia and the Sinai. In 1915, Italy joined the Allies and Bulgaria joined the Central Powers, Romania joined the Allies in 1916, after a stunning German offensive along the Western Front in the spring of 1918, the Allies rallied and drove back the Germans in a series of successful offensives. By the end of the war or soon after, the German Empire, Russian Empire, Austro-Hungarian Empire, national borders were redrawn, with several independent nations restored or created, and Germanys colonies were parceled out among the victors. During the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, the Big Four imposed their terms in a series of treaties, the League of Nations was formed with the aim of preventing any repetition of such a conflict. This effort failed, and economic depression, renewed nationalism, weakened successor states, and feelings of humiliation eventually contributed to World War II. From the time of its start until the approach of World War II, at the time, it was also sometimes called the war to end war or the war to end all wars due to its then-unparalleled scale and devastation. In Canada, Macleans magazine in October 1914 wrote, Some wars name themselves, during the interwar period, the war was most often called the World War and the Great War in English-speaking countries. Will become the first world war in the sense of the word. These began in 1815, with the Holy Alliance between Prussia, Russia, and Austria, when Germany was united in 1871, Prussia became part of the new German nation. Soon after, in October 1873, German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck negotiated the League of the Three Emperors between the monarchs of Austria-Hungary, Russia and Germany
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France
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France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
United Kingdom
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