British Army

The Battle of Waterloo one of the greatest victories in British military history, in part by the sound tactics of the commander, the Duke of Wellington.

Regiments' flags in Saint Sepulchre-without-Newgate, London

The British Army is the army of the British Armed Forces, the military of the United Kingdom. The British Army came into being with unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707.^[1]^[2] The new British Army included regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963, it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence. Around a quarter of soldiers in the British Army are in the Infantry.^[3]

Under Oliver Cromwell, the English Army was active in the conquest and settlement of Ireland since the 1650s. The Cromwellian campaign was characterised by its uncompromising treatment of Irish towns that had supported the Royalists during the English Civil War.

Since the Seven Years' War ebded in 1763, the British have been one of the leading military and economic powers of the world. The British Empire expanded to include colonies, protectorates, and dominions throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as having been vital for the rise of the empire and British dominance of the world, the British Army also played important roles in colonisation.

The British Army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars by serving in Spain and the rest of Europe and in North Africa. The war between the British and the French Empires stretched around the world. The British Army finally came to defeat Napoleon at one of Britain's greatest military victories at the Battle of Waterloo.

British Army Media

Flag of the United Kingdom (3-5)
The Army Flag (non-ceremonial): is authorized to be flown at any Army or inter-Service events of a non ceremonial nature, at Army headquarters and recruiting offices. The Army Flag is not to be flown as the principal flag denoting Army participation at any international event where the Union Flag should be flown (Ministry of Defence (1996).
Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell
Lord General Thomas Fairfax, the first commander of the New Model Army
John Churchill, 1st Duke of Marlborough, was one of the first generals in the British Army and fought in the War of the Spanish Succession.
The Duke of Wellington and Field Marshal von Blücher's triumph over Napoleon Bonaparte at the Battle of Waterloo
In the 1879 Battle of Rorke's Drift, a small British force repelled an attack by overwhelming Zulu forces; eleven Victoria Crosses were awarded for its defence.
British First World War Mark I tank; the guidance wheels behind the main body were later scrapped as unnecessary. Armoured vehicles of the era required considerable infantry and artillery support. (Photo by Ernest Brooks)
Led by their piper, men of the 7th Battalion, Seaforth Highlanders (part of the 46th (Highland) Brigade), advance through Normandy during Operation Epsom on 26 June 1944