Armies of The World~Great Britain

The British Army has a long history of fighting on every corner of the world in order to control its global empire. In this page we will go over some of the wars that Great Britain has part taken in.

## William the Conqueror

This page will begin in the year 1066 when William the 1st of Normandy (B.K.A. William the Conqueror) invaded the British islands and was crowned King of England on Christmas Day of that year. His forces were successful in the Battle of Hastings. With the crowning of William, the British Army was formally founded.

## The Barons' Wars

Beginning in 1215, the English Army would begin its rivalry with Scotland (Northern Britain) and France as there was a fight for the throne of the Kingdom after King John failed in the numerous wars that he had over the French King Phillip the 3rd, this battle of succession would last for around 2 years until the Treaty of Lambeth was signed which gave Britain back to the Barons and out of the French. There was a second Barons War which took place from 1264 to 1267 ad saw the imprisonment of King John's son Henry the 3rd.

## Hundred Years War

In 1337, Britain's rival, France wanted to rout the English from its territory, thus beginning the Hundred Years War, the English Army fought France in a series of wars which lasted for over 100 years, within that time span, the English Army seen heroes of the French Army such as Joan of Arc and Giles de Rais. In the end however (in 1453) England would lose to France and seceded its territories in continental Europe.

## War of the Roses

Around 2 years after losing in the Hundred Years War, there would be another conflict for the succession of the English Throne, this is the War of the Roses a series of civil wars in England where it saw the end of certain royal families such as the Lancaster and York families. The English armies would be split by their respective royal families during this 30 year period of civil wars. In the end (in 1487) the wars would end, and England would be ruled by the infamous House of Tudor where it would see the reigns of Henry the 7th and his son Henry the 8th.

## Anglo-Spanish War

Without a formal declaration of war, England goes to war over Spain in 1585, the English Army was at first successful, but then started to run into trouble in the battles to come. The war would end in 1604 with no side gaining the advantage over the other.

## War of the 3 Kingdoms

By 1639, there was another war in Britain, this time it's over the 3 separate kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland. These series of conflicts over the next 14 years would see the English Army fighting over the Scottish Army as well as the Irish Army. The English Army would suffer 5,000 casualties in these series of conflicts but England would be successful in annexing both Scotland and Ireland, but wont fully integrating the 2 kingdoms, at least not until the beginning of the 18th century.

## French and Indian War

Great Britain was officially established in 1707 as England and Scotland formally united. With this, Britain would go on to establish colonies around the world. However, the British Army would face problems with not just local tribes but other colonists. In North America, tensions were mounting between Britain and its long time rival; France, and by 1754 war would break out as a series of mishaps would happen that would trigger a war. The British Army would fight the French in North America as well as some warring Native American Tribes that fought on both sides. Spain than declared war on Britain and aided the French, but it wasn't enough, Britain would go on to win the war and they have gained almost all of France's territories in North America as well as gaining Florida from Spain. From this war is when the British Army gained the reputation of being the best army in the world.

## American Revolution

Beginning in 1775 just outside Boston, a group of rag-tag soldiers went up against a small British force that can outclass and outgun the rebels, but at the towns of Lexington and Concord the rebels were able to hold their own until they were defending a place in Boston called Bunker Hill where the rebels also held their own, but retreated due to a lack of ammunition, allowing the British to take the hill. After the Americans declare independence from Britain (thus the United States) the British were still determined to take back the colonies. They first land in the harbors of New York, and the British took the city after months of battles, though the British Army may be nearly impossible to beat in normal combat, the American Militias decide to fight the British unconventionally by going into the forests of New York State and even set up road blocks to slow the British advance, Britain's problems came to a head in Saratoga when British general John Burgoyne surrendered to the Americans. Little do the British know that as the war went on, the Americans were getting better at attacking the British and even getting better training. Despite this, the war would go on for another 5 years, until another British general Charles Cornwallis surrendered to the Americans, but the war wouldn't be over until 1783 when the Treaty of Paris was agreed upon, and Britain ended their ambition in America.

## Napoleonic Wars

After Napoleon Bonaparte declared himself Emperor of France, he began his conquest of Europe. The British aid the European Coalitions against Napoleon, because of this the British have been a big, painful thorn on Napoleon's side, and it showed in 1815 when the British (led by Arthur Wellesley later to be known as the Duke of Wellington) would aid the 7th Coalition at the Battle of Waterloo, the British have won against the once mighty French Army and ended the Napoleonic Wars.

## War of 1812

In 1812, and with the British interfering with American shipping interests as well as America wanting Canada, the 2 nations declare war on each other. The British would answer back when the Americans would take and burn Toronto by taking and burning Detroit and eventually Washington DC (though a Tornado would save DC), though the war would last 3 years, and in the end no side had gained territory.

## Anglo-Afghan Wars

As the British took over India and Pakistan they also had their eyes on the Afghan nomadic tribes. The British invaded in 1838 and were faced with heavy resistance in the deserts of what would be known as Afghanistan in the end (in 1842) the British retreated from the nomadic regions of Afghanistan. But there would be another war between Britain and Afghanistan by 1878 when the British invaded again and this time the British were victorious.

## Crimean War

In 1853, the British along with the French agreed to help the Ottoman Empire fight its long time rival; the Russian Empire for control of the island of Crimea. With around 98,000 troops, the British were determined to help out the Ottoman Empire to defeat the Russians, the war would last for 3 years until the Russians were defeated, giving the Crimea to the Ottomans.

## Opium Wars

During the 18th century, the British were trading with the Qing Dynasty in a wide span of goods, one of them however was a drug called Opium, and when the Qing Dynasty began a crackdown on the drug, the British didn't like it and once an incident occurred (the Battle of the Chuenpee) this sparked the first Opium War, the British were able to defeat the Qing easily with their massive firepower, and negotiated treaties with the Dynasty to open up more Chinese cities for trade. The Second Opium War was more about the contract negotiations, and the British (as well as the French, the Russians, and the Americans) wanting more, and the Qing Dynasty refusing to give in which led to war. The British along with the french, the Russians, and the Americans were able to (again) defeat the Qing Dynasty who were forced to negotiate more treaties.

## Boer Wars

While still colonizing parts of the world, the British ventured deep into Southern Africa. But like the United States before it, South Africa wanted independence. This conflict would go on for just 3 months, but the British Army would be dealt a severe blow as the Boers would win and the establishment of an independent government. The British would try again in the Second Boer War and this war would last for over 2 years, but the British would get their revenge and comitted horrible atrocities against women and children to get what they want.

## World War 1

In 1914, World War 1 broke out, the British weren't enthusiastic in joining the war alongside the French, until Germany invaded neutral Belgium, and then they sent troops to fight alongside the French. For the next few years, the war was at a stalemate with Trench Warfare being used on a large scale. The British would suffer 58,000 casualties on the first day of the Battle of the Somme which is considered by some to be the bloodiest day in the history of the British military. By 1918, the British along with the French, and the Americans were able to break through German lines and eventually win the war.

## World War 2

Declaring war when Nazi Germany invaded Poland in 1939, the British first invaded Norway to keep the Nazis from taking the iron ore from the nation, they would fail and then sent troops to France to defend it from invasion, but the Blitzkrieg proved too strong for them as they were forced to retreat to Dunkirk in a last ditch effort to escape. The first break for the British is when they defended their home islands from the Nazis during the Battle of Britain. The British also fought the Nazis in North Africa, but were (at first) pushed back until they met the Nazis in El Alamein where they defeated the Nazis. The British were able to help the Americans as they joined the war, and the British helped them after their defeat at Kasserine Pass. The British along with the Americans were able to invade Italy and eventually Nazi occupied France and took the war back to Germany who surrendered in May of 1945.

## Malayan Emergency

As more and more countries around the world wanting independence from Britain, the British try to hold onto their own territories. In 1948, in the country named Malaysia was being overtaken by the Communist party, and the British will try to suppress this uprising. This war was surprisingly long for the British, but they were able to suppress the communist uprising despite it taking 12 years and 1,000 British casualties.

## Falkland War

During Britain's colonial era, they were also able to take a small set of Islands known as the Falkland islands. For centuries there has been a debate on who owned the islands, the British, or the South American Country of Argentina, and on April 2, 1982 Argentina tried to take the islands by force, this forced Britain's hand in sending troops to defend the island, perhaps try to retake it from Argentina. This 2 month long conflict saw only 255 British Casualties, but they were able to retake the Falkland Islands which also helped Britain's financial crisis.

## Gulf War

As Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, the British were the first to respond to defend the country called Operation: Desert Shield, but as the United States got involved in the conflict, the British were more than glad to help as they used their latest in war technology.

## War on Terror

As the United States declared war on Al-Quaeda after the terror attacks on American soil. The British who are America's closest allies also sent troops to help out the Americans, it wouldn't be long until the British would also send troops to Iraq for Operation: Iraqi Freedom. But as the 2010s came, and America was slowly (but surely) leaving the middle east, the British followed them.

That'll do it for this page, don't forget to check out my Games and Movies wikis too. Until next time, this is JohnnyOTGS signing out.