Army structure. The British army: you can reduce further Service in the British army
British ground forces
The British Army is the largest branch of the Royal Armed Forces. They number 102 thousand people and are designed to solve a wide range of tasks in the conduct of hostilities both according to national plans and as part of the combined armed forces of NATO, the European Union response forces and other multinational formations, as well as to participate in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. In addition, units and subunits of the ground forces can be involved in assisting civil authorities in localizing the impact of man-made and natural disasters, as well as in eliminating their consequences.
Structure of the British Army
The country's ground forces consist of regular troops and a reserve. According to their mission, regular troops are subdivided into mobile forces, a joint helicopter command, as well as a command for training and improving the combat capabilities of ground forces.
Maneuvering forces(field army) are the most combat-ready component of the ground forces. They are intended for action outside the metropolis according to national plans and as part of multinational groupings. Formations and units of the field army are staffed by 85-95%, weapons and military equipment - by 100%.
Joint Helicopter Command includes all helicopter units and units of the national armed forces, as well as the 16th air assault brigade. Its main task is to ensure the mobility of ground forces units during various operations and combat support for their use.
Combat Capabilities Training and Improvement Command It is intended mainly for the organization of recruitment, training, comprehensive support and combat training. It includes: recruitment and initial training centers, training centers vocational training and training grounds, the military academy of the ground forces (Sandhurst), units of logistic support of the ground forces.
According to their functional purpose, the ground forces of Great Britain are divided into the following types of troops: motorized infantry, armored units, army aviation, artillery and air defense units, engineering troops, rear troops of the ground forces, as well as military police and military medical service of the ground forces.
In total, the ground forces are armed with 345 tanks; PA guns - 266, MLRS - 42 and mortars - 2,563; ATGM - 900; missile launchers - 253; armored combat vehicles - 2,603; combat helicopters - 294 units.
Currently, there are 36 battalions in the British regular troops: mechanized (they are armed with the Warrior infantry fighting vehicle); motorized infantry (armored personnel carriers "Saxon" and "Spartan"); light and airborne.
The combat capabilities of the ground forces of the United Kingdom are represented by 11 armored regiments of regular troops (weapons are Challenger 2 main battle tanks), as well as 15 artillery and air defense regiments (AS 90 self-propelled howitzers, transportable 105-mm howitzers, GMLRS multiple launch rocket systems, air defense systems "Sgarstrik" and "Rapier", UAV "Hermes").
Five army aviation regiments provide ground support on the battlefield. They are armed with Apache, Lynx, Gazelle, Chinook and Puma helicopters.
Corps of Engineers represented by 14 shelves equipped with special machinery and equipment. In addition, the ground forces include 12 communications regiments, 17 regiments logistic support and eight battalions of the military medical service.
Units of the ground forces of Great Britain, according to the existing system of maintaining combat readiness, do not have places of permanent deployment. In practice, this means carrying out the redeployment of battalions to training centers with a frequency of 2-2.5 years. The retraining period takes about 12 months. Thus, out of 36 infantry battalions of regular troops, five to seven units are not capable of fulfilling their tasks in full.
Ground forces reserve consists of a regular reserve and an organized reserve (according to English terminology- territorial army).
Regular reserve includes former regular troops who are periodically involved in retraining and, in case of mobilization, can be called up for military service.
Territorial Army (TA) consists of military personnel who have signed a contract for service in the reserve. TA is designed to solve the following main tasks: training of personnel and the formation of units as a component of regular troops performing combat missions to protect national and allied interests outside the country; resupplying with trained personnel of cadre units and subunits of regular troops on the territory of the country, as well as replenishing losses incurred during the conduct of hostilities; development of relations with the civilian population and local authorities in order to provide assistance in emergency situations and popularize service in armed forces Great Britain.
The territorial army is made up of contract reservists and has two tank, 14 infantry and one reconnaissance mechanized battalion, five artillery and two regiments of army aviation, as well as units and subunits of combat and logistics support (10 engineering battalions, 11 communications regiments and 16 logistic regiments), in which reservists receive military training.
In addition, a component of the territorial army is the reaction force (about 7 thousand people), designed to participate, together with the police and special services, in conducting anti-terrorist operations on the territory of the country, assisting civilian authorities in eliminating the consequences of large-scale terrorist acts of various nature (including using means of mass destruction), man-made disasters and natural disasters.
In peacetime, 6-7% of the total number of reservists are periodically involved. With the start of the war in Iraq, this figure increased to 15%.
According to the current historical tradition, which appeared as a result of the military reform carried out in 1881, which adopted the so-called Cardwell system, there are regiments in the British Armed Forces - territorial recruitment centers with their own names. These parts can be classified on a territorial basis ("Guards", "Scottish", "Queens", "Kings", "Prince of Wales", "Light").
These formations perform exclusively administrative functions and are not intended to solve operational problems. Each center staffs several regular army battalions that bear its name.
Governing bodies. The direct command of the ground forces is carried out by the chief of staff of the ground forces (Andover, Hampshire). He is responsible for organizing the daily activities of regular troops and reserve components, preparing and conducting the defense of the mother country, assisting civilian authorities in maintaining public order and in dealing with the consequences of man-made accidents and natural disasters. He is also responsible for the comprehensive provision of subordinate units with weapons and military equipment, the allocation of troops to the coalition groups of NATO, the EU and their transfer.
Troops are led by the chief of staff of the ground forces through the commander of the ground forces (army) and the adjutant general. The commander of the ground forces, in turn, reports to the commanders of the maneuver forces, the joint helicopter command and the command of training and improving the combat capabilities of the ground forces.
The 1st Armored Division (deployed in Germany) and the 3rd Mechanized Division, as well as the Ground Forces Support and Supply Command (theatre of war troops), are subordinate to the commander of the maneuver forces (field army), which is responsible for directing units and units of combat and logistics support.
The Commander of the Joint Helicopter Command is in charge of the Troop Support Helicopter Command, the 16th Separate Air Assault Brigade (in operational terms), as well as separate helicopter squadrons and army aviation units stationed outside the metropolis.
The commander of the forces for training and improvement is entrusted with the responsibility for the comprehensive organization of the service of personnel, as well as for providing him with all types of allowances. In addition, his subordinates carry out the selection of soldiers and officers for retraining and advanced training, organize educational processes in military educational institutions and set tasks for the development of doctrinal and conceptual views on the development of ground forces in research centers.
The adjutant general manages units and personnel that perform such auxiliary functions in the ground forces as financial, pension and medical support, military service, legal protection, and psychological assistance. The regional forces, the command of personnel, the service of military chaplains, the legal service and the military police are subordinate to him.
The 2nd, 4th and 5th motorized infantry divisions, units and units of the London Military District, the British Forces Support Command in Germany, the organized reserve and the cadet corps are subordinate to the commander of the regional forces.
The personnel command is engaged in the recruitment of personnel, the conclusion of primary contracts, the initial military training of recruits in the training centers of the ground forces.
The procedure for the preparation and passage of military service by officers, sergeants and enlisted personnel of the British Armed Forces is regulated by numerous guiding documents, the main of which are: "Royal Law on the British Armed Forces", "Manual on the order of service for officers in the British Armed Forces", "Manual for commanders on leadership personnel", "Overview of the training system for personnel of military educational institutions in the UK".
To enter the military service, persons who have reached the established age must first apply in writing or orally to the information point or to civil liaison officers. educational institutions receive the necessary forms and documents to fill out, as well as promotional literature. In addition, visits to training centers of combat arms (forces) and services are organized for them. After that, they are sent to the selection committee (existing with each type of aircraft), where they undergo an interview, tests, a military medical examination and a physical endurance test for three days. Based on the test results, the selection committees offer candidates a branch of service (service), conclude a contract and distribute them to military educational institutions and training centers.
The process of preparing for service in the chosen specialty includes three stages.
The first stage (lasting up to 14 weeks on average) involves training in the basic disciplines necessary for each soldier. With recruits, classes are held in physical and fire training, the study of legislation, the development of psychological stability. Enlisted personnel undergo initial military training at the Basington and Harrogate training regiments, as well as at the Catterick Army Training Center, and candidates for officer rank - at the place of basic training - at Sandhurst School.
The purpose of the second stage is the acquisition of professional knowledge and skills in accordance with the specialty. Ordinary composition, passed the course a young fighter is sent to one of the training centers (TC). Cadets of military colleges and schools who have undergone full combined arms training on the basis of their educational institution and received an officer's rank upon graduation also undergo final professional training at the training center.
UC graduates are sent to serve in units and subunits of military branches, where for at least six months, together with their unit, they work out issues of combat coordination.
Throughout the entire period of service in the active army, the military personnel of the British Armed Forces periodically undergo retraining at the training center or at courses at the military college in accordance with their specialty or before being assigned to another position (the third stage of training). In this case, the duration of retraining can reach several months.
An important stage in the training of specialists in the interests of the Ministry of Defense is the practical development of acquired knowledge and skills in the field. For these purposes, a network of training grounds for various purposes is on the balance sheet of the military department.
For the quartering of formations and units of the ground forces at the points of deployment, the UK uses military camps. The basis of the barracks fund is military camps with a capacity of about 2 thousand people, each of which provides accommodation for one or three units of the regiment (battalion) type of regular staff.
Campuses of the ground forces are geographically located, as a rule, near settlements, railways and highways and have a developed infrastructure. On the territory of most of them there are headquarters and one-two-, three-story barracks buildings, one or two or more parks of equipment, parking areas, communication centers, radio relay stations, helipads and other structures.
Storage and maintenance of weapons are carried out in equipment parks equipped with garages (boxes), repair shops and open areas.
An important factor in attracting specialists to active military service in the ground forces, as well as increasing the motivation of military personnel to continue their service, is the availability of a decent housing stock. Thus, the command of the ground forces believes that it is necessary to modernize the housing stock, but the completion of work is expected no earlier than 2020. Particular attention is paid to the formation of "supergarrisons" (more than 5 thousand military personnel) with modern infrastructure. It is planned to soon form "super-garrisons" in the following areas of the country: Salisbury Plain, Aldershot, Colchester and Catterick/York. First of all, it is planned to redeploy brigades of the command of the mobile forces of the ground forces to these garrisons. Until that moment, in accordance with the Program for the modernization of the personnel accommodation system, it is planned to maintain the existing housing stock at the required level.
Operational and combat training ground forces of Great Britain is carried out according to the national, joint plans of the Armed Forces of the NATO member countries and general plans OBP Alliance. The main forms of operational training for joint commands and national staffs are command and staff exercises, command and control exercises, military special and mobilization exercises, drills and combat readiness checks.
According to the plans of the Allied Commands of NATO, the combat training of the units of the ground forces of Great Britain is aimed mainly at preparing troops (forces) for participation in multinational groupings in limited (local and regional) military conflicts of varying intensity.
During the exercises, the main attention is paid to the issues of transferring participants to a high degree of combat readiness, transferring units to the operational area, organizing stable radio communications, coherent actions of military personnel in units, as well as interaction with direct support aircraft and helicopters. In addition, measures are being worked out to search for and evacuate victims on the ground, to decontaminate, decontaminate and sanitize the area, weapons and military equipment and personnel.
In the interest of participating in the EU response force, the combat training of units of the UK ground forces is aimed at conducting multinational operations to provide assistance in the event of emergencies and natural disasters.
During the exercises, the following issues are worked out: the creation of a joint grouping of units of the armed forces of the participating countries; conducting search operations by aviation forces when performing single and group flights; the implementation of the evacuation of the civilian population in the event of a crisis; organization and provision of first aid to victims; coordinating the actions of heterogeneous search and rescue forces; interaction with civil departments and services, governmental and non-governmental organizations; organization of management and communication.
The combat training of units of the ground forces of Great Britain according to joint plans with the armed forces of other states is carried out within the framework of the concept of a common EU policy in the field of security and defense. During the exercise, the issues of forming search and rescue units, working out methods of using aviation in search and rescue operations, organizing interaction between search and rescue units of different nationalities during joint operations, conducting search and rescue operations at night, organizing interaction, management and communications.
According to the national plans, the combat training of the British ground forces is aimed at improving the methods of using troops (forces) in armed conflicts of varying intensity, as well as in the course of anti-terrorist, peacekeeping, humanitarian, environmental and search and rescue operations.
The training of personnel of subunits to conduct combat operations in various conditions of the situation is carried out within the framework of standard tactical exercises and, as a rule, culminates in the organization of a complex operational-tactical event. The following issues are worked out during the exercises: bringing participants to a higher degree of readiness; loading units special purpose in helicopters; the rise of army aviation into the air; formation in battle formations and exit to designated areas, reconnaissance of the situation; providing combat cover during the landing of special forces; planning and conducting anti-terrorist, anti-sabotage and sabotage operations in the area of oil platforms (rigs) in the North Sea; ensuring the safety of operations, including at night; management of the activities of aviation and ground forces units from ground-based OS; ensuring stable radio communications.
Thus, in the process of operational and combat training of the ground forces of Great Britain, about 40 types of exercises are conducted annually. Such intensity ensures the improvement of the skills of command personnel and staffs in managing subordinate formations and units in various conditions of the situation and makes it possible to maintain the combat readiness of ground forces units at a high level.
Prospects for the development of the British ground forces
In October 2010, the UK Government developed and presented to Parliament a concept paper under the general title of UK Security in an Age of Uncertainty. They consider the issues of the state and prospects for the development of the country's armed forces, reflect the main tasks and determine the directions for reforming the national ground forces.According to these documents, the ground forces are entrusted with the following tasks:
– participation in peacekeeping and humanitarian operations;
– conducting short-term operations of a limited scale;
– participation in large-scale operations as part of national and coalition groupings of heterogeneous forces (troops);
- protection of the metropolis and overseas territories of Great Britain.
In order to increase the effectiveness of solving the above tasks, a large-scale reform of the structure of the British ground forces is planned. As part of it, it is planned to form a mobile expeditionary force responsible modern requirements conducting combat operations and balanced in terms of combat capabilities. It is assumed that a significant increase in the capabilities of the units of the ground forces of the United Kingdom will be achieved by changing the organizational structure of the regular and reserve components, modernizing tactical, operational and strategic command and control systems, as well as equipping the troops with promising types of weapons and military equipment.
First of all, it is planned to reduce the management bodies of the divisional level. Probably, one of the divisional headquarters of the mobile troops will be used as a command and control body at the operational-tactical level. The other headquarters of the division will be used as a reserve command and control body. This provides for the possibility of rapid deployment as an additional control body for national and coalition contingents of troops in the conduct of hostilities.
In order to increase the combat readiness and mobility of units, the regular forces of the ground forces are planned to be transferred to a brigade structure. In this regard, it is planned to form five multi-purpose teams of up to 6.5 thousand people each, formed on a modular basis. The specific composition of the brigades, which will include mechanized, light infantry, artillery units and units of combat, technical and logistics support, will be determined depending on the tasks to be solved. At the same time, armored units will also be attached to them as they optimally combine the firepower and mobility necessary for performing certain tasks. In addition, the 16th air assault brigade will remain unchanged in the ground forces. One of the multipurpose brigades and the 16th Air Assault Brigade will be maintained at a high degree of combat readiness to deal with suddenly emerging tasks.
By 2015, the number of regular ground forces is planned to be reduced by 7,000 people. It is also expected to reduce the number of types of heavy weapons. In particular, the number of main battle tanks will be reduced by 40% (to 210 units), 155-mm self-propelled artillery guns - by 35% (to 87 units).
In accordance with the plan for the construction of the British Armed Forces, by 2015, the light infantry battalions of the ground forces, which form the basis of the expeditionary forces, will be armed with mobile highly protected automotive and light armored vehicles (armored vehicles Pinzgauer, Mastiff, Jackal, Coyote) , "Panther" and light armored command and staff vehicles FCLV). In this regard, the ground forces continue the process of withdrawing surplus weapons and military equipment with their subsequent sale to third countries, disposal and equipment from one category to another (in BBM-like).
The reorganization will also affect the regional forces of the ground forces. Instead of three headquarters of regional divisions and the London Military District, a command of regional forces will be created, and the number of headquarters of regional brigades will be reduced from ten to eight.
The ground forces will maintain a presence in Gibraltar, Cyprus, the Falkland Islands, and training centers in Canada, Kenya and Brunei. The military base of the British troops in Germany will be closed, and all units from its territory are planned to be withdrawn by 2020.
Taking into account the experience of the war in Iraq, programs will be carried out to re-equip the troops with new communication and combat control systems Bowman, Kormoran and Falcon, respectively, at the tactical, operational and strategic levels.
Work will continue on programs to create a 155-mm light self-propelled artillery mount LIMAWS and a light armored command vehicle FCLV. In addition, it is planned to adopt new-generation Javelin anti-tank missile systems to replace obsolete Milan ATGMs, high-precision long-range weapons - guided artillery shells with a firing range of up to 60 km and create tactical missiles with a launch range of up to 150 km. The capabilities of army aviation will increase - 12 new helicopters will be delivered and 21 transport Chinooks will be modernized; AW-159 Wild Cat multi-purpose helicopters were put into service by 2015 and 22 Lynx AN.9 attack helicopters were upgraded; the service life of Puma helicopters has been extended until 2022.
In order to increase the firepower of the artillery of the ground forces, it is planned to adopt a guided multiple launch rocket system (GMLRS - Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System), capable of delivering strikes with guided munitions (Loitering Munitions) at a distance of up to 70 km.
The adoption of new armored vehicles of medium tonnage, including engineering vehicles "Terrier" and reconnaissance "Scout", as well as multifunctional auxiliary vehicles FRES UV, which should further form the basis of the fleet of light armored vehicles of the British Army, will increase the mobility of units and provide the ability to their transportation over long distances.
Reducing the number of heavy armored vehicles (Challenger-2 tanks, Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, AS 90 self-propelled guns) will save money on the introduction of new advanced models of equipment.
The combat capabilities of the units will help improve the accuracy of weapons based on intelligence obtained using the Watchkiper UAV; the presence of portable and mounted on vehicles reconnaissance complexes and devices; the use of mobile reconnaissance systems to ensure the security of forward operating bases, systems for protecting personnel from non-directional (accidental) fire (artillery and mortar).
In the future, by 2020, the UK ground forces will have the ability to conduct the following operations:
- small scale (up to 2 thousand military personnel) for a limited time;
- medium-scale (up to 6,500 military personnel) to stabilize the situation with the support of the Air Force and Navy;
- long-term large-scale maneuvering forces (up to 30 thousand military personnel) with the formation of a marching headquarters for commanding the forces of the British Armed Forces or multinational forces at the theater level.
Thus, according to British military experts, the new structure of the country's ground forces will be the most suitable for solving current and future tasks.
The British Army dates back to 1707, when the new state of Great Britain arose as a result of the union of Scotland and England. The management of the army was concentrated in the hands of the War Department in London, and after 1964 - in the Ministry of Defense of Great Britain (Ministry Of Defense).
The British Army is considered regular and consists of active forces and the reserve Territorial Army, which was created in 1908. Parts of the modern British Army are located around the world and carry out various missions of the UN Security Council and as an Expeditionary Force in Kosovo, Germany, Cyprus, Afghanistan and other parts of the planet.
All members of the army swear allegiance to their monarch, as he is the commander-in-chief of the British Army. However, the "Bill of Rights" adopted in 1689 gives Parliament the power to govern the army in peacetime. Therefore, in the British Parliament every year there is a procedure to approve the further fate of the army for the next year.
Unlike the Royal Navy, the Royal Air Force and the Royal Marines, the British Army does not have the prefix "Royal", however, many infantry regiments from its composition were honored to carry the prefix "Royal" in their name, as some of the officer posts were held by members of the Royal Family .
The professional head of the British Army is the Chief of the General Staff. His current position is occupied by General Sir Peter Voll.
The main branches of the British Army:
- British infantry units form 17 infantry regiments, which consist of 36 regular battalions and 14 territorial ones.
- Air Force
- British Army Intelligence Corps
- Royal Regiment of Artillery
- Royal Armored Corps
- Royal Corps of Engineers
Historically, the possession of a strong and numerous army was extremely important for the British Empire. This was due to the need to maintain order and control over the colonies. In the post-war period, from about the 60s. In the 20th century, Britain loses control of virtually all of its colonies as a result of national uprisings and wars of independence in those countries. As the overall world picture changes, so does the British Army. Its number is declining, as is the very approach to its formation.
The British Army today is a fully professional army. Its advanced units are currently participating in the military conflict in Afghanistan. The withdrawal of the British contingent from Afghanistan is scheduled to be completed in 2014.
The categories below contain materials related to the British Army and the British Armed Forces in general. Despite the fact that the "British Army" is a ground part of the armed forces, in this section we publish some notes about units that are not directly related to the ground forces, however, like conventional infantry, capable of participating in ground operations. For example, the marines formally belong to the fleet, but their main task is ground operations, albeit with landings from the sea.
Apparently, because of the "connected" state structure Great Britain, its armed forces have several names. Most often, the British Army bears the name of the British Armed Forces, there are also the names of the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom, the British Armed Forces, and Her Majesty's Armed Forces or simply the Royal Armed Forces.
The last name is generally accepted. All this most powerful fighting machine of England is controlled by a woman, her command at the present time belongs to Queen Elizabeth II. In addition, the army has its own "prime minister" in the person of the current commander.
Therefore, the direct command of the armed forces of England is carried out by the Chief of the General Staff, General Sir Peter Wall. The department that directly deals with military affairs is Department of the Defense Council of the Ministry of Defense of England.
The daily task of the British military is to protect all territories belonging to the United Kingdom. In addition, the army participates in various operations conducted under the auspices of the UN or NATO, which includes the UK.
At the end of the last century, the participation of Her Majesty's troops in matters of regulation was added to these duties. political issues European Union.
For these purposes, the British army sends troops with a total number of up to 12.5 thousand soldiers.
History of the British Army
The historical record shows that British army originates in 1707. It was at this time that England and Scotland united, and immediately after all the relevant documents were signed by both sides, it was decided to create the British Armed Forces, which subsequently covered themselves with military glory.
With its centuries-old experience and excellent traditions, the army of the United Kingdom owes its participation in the wars that took place both on the territory of Europe and in the numerous overseas colonies of the British Empire.
This includes such epochal battles as the battles within the framework of the Seven Years' War, the Napoleonic Wars, the Crimean War, as well as during the First and Second Opium Wars, which England waged against China.
The British military went to protect state interests even when it was necessary to suppress uprisings, as well as unrest among the civilian population. Especially often such methods of military influence were used against Irish terrorists.
According to a long established tradition, the British army consists of both naval and land forces, as well as an air fleet..
The British war machine reached its peak in the 1920s. Then the British Empire was the most extensive country in territorial terms, which was known to human civilization. Then England owned a fourth of the earth's land, and every third inhabitant of our planet was among the British subjects!
Participation in armed conflicts
British servicemen have participated in wars and military conflicts on various continents, and from war to war, the professionalism of Her Majesty's Armed Forces has become higher and higher.
The British military participated in the suppression of the Chinese uprising, the Boer War, as well as in both world wars. As you know, after the Bolsheviks seized power in Russia, the British army fought against the USSR, although, for the sake of justice, it should be noted that military intervention of those years ended for the British in complete defeat.
In September 1945, British soldiers landed on the shores of Malaysia, when part of the population of this country demanded independence with secession from the British Empire.
In 1949, British troops joined NATO.. During the period 1950-1953, Her Majesty's troops took part in the Korean War. atomic weapons was first adopted by the British military in 1952, in this regard, England became the third power, losing the palm to Russia and the United States.
In 1956, British troops took part in stabilizing the crisis that arose in the Suez Canal area., and in 1964 a unified structure of the British Defense Department was created, which included the naval, air and land forces of Her Majesty.
In 1982, the baptism of fire of the British troops in the Falkland Islands took place, and 1991 - in the Persian Gulf.
1999 was the year of the participation of the British military in the Yugoslav company, where they fought against the Serbs as part of the NATO corps and earned the impartial status of aggressors.
Unfortunately, there are also many other cases in history when military personnel pay for the incompetent actions of top politicians. Sometimes at the cost of their own blood.
The beginning of the 21st century was marked for the military of England by participation in the Afghan company. As part of the so-called ISAF forces, the British contingent (the second largest in the region, after the American troops) is trying to contribute to the process of stabilizing the world's most unruly territory.
Interestingly, about a century ago, the same British military prudently left Afghanistan, considering efforts to establish stability in the region futile.
As part of NATO forces, British military units invaded Iraq, however, one of the first Britain announced the withdrawal of its troops from this country. The next region where the intervention of the British was required, as part of the NATO bloc, was Libya.
In 2013, the British army took part in Mali (Operation Serval), at the level of logistics. Prime Minister James Cameron responded categorically to the French government's call for help: England would not use military force in this operation!
Small but advanced
The English army is small in size (it ranks 28th) - it consists of 180 thousand people.
Nevertheless, all over the world it is the British army that is considered the most advanced and armed with the latest science and technology.
The military spending of this Great Britain is the second largest among other world powers. The English fleet is also considered the second largest (91 ships with crews and marines have a total of 35,470 people).
The ground army resource is about 100 thousand people, the flight units include 45210 people. Women in the British army - about 9 percent.
The composition of the British infantry includes armored, artillery troops, corps of engineers and communications, intelligence and logistics, as well as special unit where priests serve. There are lawyers, teachers and even personnel officers in the British troops.
A separate story requires the elite of the British army - Gurkas. These Nepalese highlanders have been fighting under Her Majesty's banner since the 19th century. Britain still uses the services of these fearless warriors. Nepalese warriors make up the infantry, engineering and transport troops of England, they even have their own orchestra. The headquarters of the Gurks is located in Waltshire.
Video about the elite of the British Army - Gurkov:
In accordance with military doctrines, the construction of the armed forces of the capitalist states was also carried out.
British Armed Forces consisted of ground forces (army), naval (navy and naval aviation) and air forces. The regular armed forces were staffed by volunteers aged 18 to 25 years. In July 1939, a law on compulsory military service came into force in the metropolis, according to which all men who had reached the age of twenty had to serve for six months in the regular army, after which they were enrolled in the territorial army for three and a half years ( E. Sheppard. A Short History of the British Army. London, 1950, p. 373-375.). The dominions of Great Britain had their own national armed forces, which also consisted of three types and were staffed by volunteers. In the most important strategic points and bases of the empire, there were British units that performed police functions. All other parts of the English Empire contained colonial troops from local residents, which the government could use outside their territories. Data on the strength of the British armed forces by their types are given in table 15.
The king was nominally considered the supreme commander of the armed forces of the British Empire, in fact they were led by the Prime Minister of Great Britain, who headed the committee of imperial defense.
With regard to the dominions, the committee limited itself to general instructions on the development of the armed forces. The order of construction of armed forces of the colonies was completely determined by him. All decisions on this issue in the colonies were carried out by the respective ministers of war (army, navy and air force) through the governors general of the colonies, and in India - through the viceroy.
Proceeding from the general military doctrine, the main attention in the development of the armed forces was given to the fleet and the air force.
By the beginning of World War II, the British fleet consisted of 15 battleships and battlecruisers, 7 aircraft carriers, 64 cruisers, 184 destroyers, 45 minesweepers and coastal defense ships, 58 submarines ( Encyclopedia Britannica. Vol. 23. Chicago-London, 1973, p. 780 C.). Some ships, including 2 battleships, were reconstructed, 4 obsolete battleships could only be used for escort service. Coastal Command Aviation had 232 combat aircraft, grouped into 17 squadrons ( D. Butler. Big strategy. September 1939 - June 1941, page 46.); about 500 aircraft were on aircraft carriers and 490 in reserve ( PRO. Cab., 23/97, p. 126.).
Organizationally, the British fleet included the fleet of the mother country, the Mediterranean, the eastern and the reserve. In addition, there were fleets and formations of ships in the dominions. As part of the fleets, the ships were consolidated into squadrons of battleships, cruisers, aircraft carriers, fleets of destroyers and submarines.
Most of the mother country's fleet was based at Scapa Flow, and some of its ships were at the Humber and Portland naval bases. The West Indian station operated in the Western Atlantic (4 cruisers), and the South Atlantic station (8 cruisers) operated in the South Atlantic. The Mediterranean Fleet was based in Gibraltar and Alexandria, the Eastern Fleet was stationed mainly in Singapore. A detachment of light forces operated in the Red Sea. In addition, there was an East Chinese station (4 cruisers) in the waters of China.
The military leadership of Great Britain believed that superiority over the fleets of Germany and Italy in large surface ships would ensure the safety of sea communications, and expected to overcome the possible threat from German submarines with the help of new means of detecting them, which were introduced on the ships of the British fleet. The plans of the British Admiralty took into account that if Japan entered the war, the British fleet, located in the Far East, would be much weaker than the enemy fleet.
After the revision of the "air doctrine" in connection with the emergence of new views on the use of aviation in the late 30s, the rearmament and reorganization of the air force began. In 1936, three commands were organized in their composition: fighter, bomber and coastal ( R. Higham. Armed Forces in Peacetime. Britain, 1918-1940, p. 179.). In November 1938, Plan M was approved in Great Britain, according to which it was supposed to have 163 squadrons (2549 first-line combat aircraft) in the metropolis in the coming years, and 49 squadrons (636 aircraft) at overseas bases ( D. Butler. Big strategy. September 1939 - June 1941, page 53.).
However, Plan M could not be fully implemented, and by the beginning of the Second World War, there were 78 squadrons in the metropolis (1456 combat aircraft, including 536 bombers). About 2 thousand cars were in reserve ( R. Higham. Armed Forces in Peacetime. Britain, 1918-1940, p. 188.). The Overseas Air Force had 34 squadrons (435 aircraft), of which 19 squadrons were based in the Middle East, 7 in India and 8 in Malaya ( Ibidem; D. Richards, X. Conders. British Air Force in World War II 1939-1945. Translation from English. M., 1963, p. 45.). Bomber Command had only 17 squadrons of Whitleys, Wellingtons and Hampdens, 10 squadrons of Blenheims and 12 squadrons of obsolete Battles. By the beginning of the war, most of the fighter aviation was armed with quite modern Spitfire, Hurricane and Blenheim aircraft ( R. Bigham. Armed Forces in Peacetime. Britain, 1918-1940, p. 188.). But in general, in terms of the number and training of the flight crew, the British aviation was somewhat inferior to the German one.
The country's air defense plan was approved in 1938. The overall direction of air defense was carried out by a committee headed by the prime minister. The head of the air defense of the metropolis was the commander of fighter aircraft, to whom all air defense systems were operationally subordinate.
The territory of the British Isles was divided into four air defense areas: the first area covered the southeastern part of the country, the second - the southwest, the third - the central, the fourth - the northern part of the country and Scotland. In organizational terms, the air defense troops were reduced to three divisions (with the exception of fighter aircraft). One air defense division defended London, the other - the cities located in the center and in the north of the country, the third - the cities of Scotland.
The ground forces were subdivided into regular, territorial armies and reserves. Their basis was the regular army, which included all types of troops. The territorial army was a kind of reserve of the first stage and was recruited at the expense of persons who had mainly served in the regular army. The reserve consisted of demobilized officers and persons who had served in the territorial army.
In 1936, the British government began a radical reorganization of the ground forces. The focus of their construction was on motorization. The creation of the first motorized and armored units and formations began ( E Sheppard. A Short History of the British Army, p. 373-375.).
The lack of a clearly developed theory and tactics for the use of armored forces in combat operations led to the fact that before the war the British army was armed with the most diverse types of tanks in terms of their tactical and technical data. Even at the beginning of 1939, the General Staff could not finally decide what kind of tanks the army needed: it was believed that light vehicles were needed for colonial wars, and heavy vehicles for sending to France, slow-moving, well-armored ones for infantry support, and for mobile warfare - light cruiser tanks ( S. Barnett. Britain and Her Army 1509-1970, p. 419.). Nevertheless, by the beginning of the war, the process of motorization of regular army formations was basically completed.
The territorial army, which was also entrusted with the task of air defense of the metropolis, also underwent a radical reorganization. For this purpose, 7 divisions were allocated from its composition ( ). On March 29, 1939, the British government decided to increase the number of territorial divisions from 13 to 26, as a result of which the total number of divisions of the ground forces increased to 32 (of which 6 were regular) ( S. Barnett. Britain and Her Army. 1509-1970, p. 420.). In fact, by the beginning of the war, Great Britain had 9 regular and 16 territorial divisions, 8 infantry, 2 cavalry and 9 tank brigades ( Calculated from: H. Joslen. Orders of Battle of the Seconal World War 1939-1945. Vol. I-II. London, 1960.). Territorial divisions were hastily transferred to regular states. India had seven regular divisions and a significant number of independent brigades; Canada, the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand and the Union of South Africa - several separate brigades each.
An English infantry division in 1939 consisted of a headquarters, three infantry brigades, a mechanized regiment, three field regiments, an anti-tank artillery regiment, three anti-tank companies, and support and maintenance units. The total number of personnel was 14.5 thousand people, of which 500 officers. The division was armed with 140 armored personnel carriers, 28 light tanks, 156 tractors, 147 guns, 810 trucks, 644 light and 56 heavy machine guns, 126 mortars, 10,222 rifles, 361 anti-tank rifles and other equipment ( H. Joslen. Orders of Battle of the Second World War 1939-1945, vol. I, p. 131.).
The organization of higher formations and associations of the British ground forces by the beginning of the war had not yet finally taken shape. Due to the lack of officers, weapons, military equipment and equipment, the British did not begin to deploy corps and armies. To assist France in repelling possible aggression from Germany, the command of the British Expeditionary Forces was created, to which the divisions scheduled for dispatch to the European continent were subordinate, as well as the command of the British Armed Forces in the Near and Middle East, at the disposal of which were allocated two infantry and one armored divisions (not yet fully manned) ( E Sheppard. A Short History of the British Army, p. 375.). The main forces of the ground forces on the eve of the war were stationed in the metropolis.
All the calculations of the British command were based on the assumption that if Germany undertook a war against France, military operations would proceed slowly. In accordance with this, the first British infantry divisions were supposed to arrive in France only 33 days after the announcement of mobilization, two armored divisions - after 8 months, and subsequently 2-3 divisions with an interval of 6-8 months.
According to Field Marshal Montgomery, at the end of August 1939, the British ground forces were allegedly completely unprepared for large-scale military operations: they experienced a shortage of tanks, guns, had weak anti-tank artillery, imperfect communications, poor logistics, and were insufficiently trained ( The War on Land. The British Army in World War II. New York, 1970, p. 6-7.).
However, in reality, despite many omissions and shortcomings in the organization and equipment of its armed forces, Great Britain had, at the beginning of the war, large naval and air forces and some ground forces in the mother country, sufficient reserves in the empire. This allowed her, together with France and Poland, to successfully wage an armed struggle against Nazi Germany.
French Armed Forces consisted of three types: land army, air force and navy. Their organization and construction were based on official military doctrine.
In accordance with the law "On the organization of the nation in times of war" of July 11, 1938, all supreme political and military power was concentrated in the hands of the government. To solve the fundamental issues of preparing the country for war, the supreme council of national defense was reorganized, which included all members of the cabinet of ministers, Marshal Petain and the chief of the general staff, General Gamelin, and, with the right of an advisory vote, the commanders-in-chief of the branches of the armed forces and the chief of staff of the colonial troops.
AT war time to direct the armed forces in all theaters of military operations, it was planned to create a military committee. The chairman of the committee and the supreme commander was the President of the Republic.
On the eve of the Second World War, there were ministries in France: national defense, army, aviation and navy. The ministries of national defense and the army had a single governing body - the general staff, other ministries - the main headquarters of the branches of the armed forces. The chief of the general staff was at the same time the commander of the ground forces located in the metropolis and colonies.
The commanders of aviation and the navy did not report to the chief of the general staff; he only coordinated the actions of the aviation and navy with the actions of the ground forces.
According to the law "On the organization of the nation in times of war", the territory of France was divided into three fronts: northeast, southeast and the Pyrenees. The commanders of these fronts reported directly to the Chief of the General Staff ( Les evenements survenus en France de 1933 a 1945. Annexes, t. III, p. 811.).
There were 20 military districts in the country, each with 1-2 personnel divisions. In case of war, the mobilization plan provided for the deployment of 80-100 divisions of type "A" and "B" on the basis of these formations ( Division "A" was staffed by 75 percent of the personnel, the rest were reservists of young ages. Equipped mainly with modern weapons, it had a high combat capability. Division "B" consisted of 45 percent of the personnel and replenished to the norm at the expense of reservists of older ages. The armament was mostly obsolete. The combat effectiveness of such a division was low.).
The armed forces were recruited on the basis of universal military service. In 1936, the term of service was increased from one year to two, for sailors and soldiers of the colonial troops it remained the same - three years. After the introduction of a two-year service life, the French armed forces had about 700 thousand people of variable composition. In case of war, up to 6 million reservists could be mobilized. However, the contingents, from which, according to the plan, it was supposed to form numerous units and formations, did not undergo thorough combat training. Until the mid-20s, retraining military reserve was not carried out at all. Later, they began to be called up for training camps, which, however, were too short, and the number of called-up reservists was clearly insufficient. As a result, the reserve formations did not have high military-technical and tactical training, which had a negative impact on their combat capability.
The French armed forces in peacetime numbered over 1 million people, including in the ground forces - 865 thousand (550 thousand - the metropolitan army, 199 thousand - expeditionary forces and 116 thousand - colonial formations), in the air force - 50 thousand, navy - 90 thousand people.
By the end of August 1939, after a series of extraordinary appeals, the number of armed forces increased to 2,674 thousand people (2,438 thousand in the ground forces, 110 thousand in the air force and 126 thousand in the navy ) ( M. Gamelin. Servir. Le prologue du drama, p. 448.). The land army consisted of 108 divisions, including 1 tank, 2 mechanized, 5 cavalry and 13 divisions of fortress areas. The tank and 8 infantry divisions were not yet fully equipped by the time France entered the war.
France had 14,428 guns (excluding railway platforms and fortress artillery) ( Archives nationales de France. Cour de Riom. W 11 . Serie XIX, cartone 48, doc. 9.); in the land army, there were 3100 tanks ( "Revue d" histoire de la deuxieme guerre mondiale", 1964, No. 53, p. 5.), most of them were in 39 separate tank battalions ( J. Boucher. Armored weapons in war. Translation from French. M., 1956, pp. 83-86.).
The infantry divisions of both types ("A" and "B") had the same organization: three infantry and two artillery (light and medium artillery) regiments, an anti-tank division, units and subunits of support and maintenance ( Ibid., pp. 86-87.). In total, the division had 17.8 thousand people, 62 75-mm and 155-mm guns, 8 47-mm anti-tank guns and 52 25-mm universal guns.
Light mechanized divisions were reorganized in 1932 from cavalry formations. Each of them had tank and motorized brigades, reconnaissance and artillery regiments, support and maintenance units and subunits, 11,000 personnel, 174 tanks, and 105 armored vehicles (mostly obsolete designs).
The cavalry division consisted of two brigades (cavalry and light mechanized) and an artillery regiment. In total, there were 11.7 thousand people, 22 tanks and 36 armored vehicles ( La campagne de France. Mai - juin 1940, p. 21.).
The serious shortcomings in the French army in technical equipment significantly reduced its combat effectiveness. Although the armament for the most part met modern requirements, many weapons remained from the First World War. The artillery was represented mainly by a 75 mm gun, which was significantly inferior to the German 105 mm howitzer. The French heavy and high powered artillery was numerous and outgunned the corresponding German artillery.
The French Air Force, including naval aviation, consisted of 3335 combat aircraft. By the beginning of the war, their armament and organization were still in their infancy. Supreme association The Air Force was mixed air army(there were three in total), consisting of a bomber division and several fighter brigades. In the French Air Force, fighters accounted for 36 percent, scouts for 25 percent, and bombers for 39 percent of the total aircraft fleet. The leadership of the French air force, in contrast to the German, was decentralized. Each army corps, army and front had its own aviation, which was based on airfields located in the rear areas of military formations and associations.
France possessed a significant navy, ranked fourth among the fleets of the capitalist countries. It included 7 battleships, 1 aircraft carrier, 19 cruisers, 32 destroyers, 38 destroyers, 26 minesweepers and 77 submarines ( R. Auphan, J. Mordal. La Marine Francaise pendant la seconde guerre mondiale. Paris, 1958, p. 481 - 511.).
Thus, by the beginning of the Second World War, France had significant armed forces, sufficiently equipped with military equipment and weapons, including modern ones. However, as a result of a policy that sought to direct aggression towards the Soviet Union and the betrayal of the national interests of France by its ruling circles, as well as due to serious shortcomings in the preparation of the country for war, the French armed forces inevitably had to face great difficulties in the fight against a strong enemy.
The armed forces of the United States of America consisted of the army and the navy. The Air Force was part of the Army.
The Supreme Commander was the President of the United States, who led the armed forces through the War and Navy Departments. The armed forces were recruited on a voluntary basis.
population american army in 1939 was only 544.7 thousand people, of which 190 thousand were in the regular army, 200 thousand in the national guard and 154.7 thousand in the navy ( The Information Please Almanac, 1950. New York, 1951, p. 206; R. Weigley. History of the United States Army, p. 419.). The military-political leadership believed that, being at a sufficient distance from possible theaters of military operations, the United States would have time, if necessary, to quickly deploy its armed forces to the required number and enter the war at a decisive moment.
In accordance with the military doctrine of the United States, the main attention in the development of the armed forces was given to the navy, mainly powerful battleships and aircraft carriers. By the start of World War II naval forces The United States had more than 300 warships, including 15 battleships, 5 aircraft carriers, 36 cruisers, 181 destroyers, 99 submarines, 7 gunboats and 26 minesweepers ( W. Churchill. The Second World War. Vol. I. The Gathering Storm. New York, 1961, p. 617.). The fleet also had a large number of auxiliary ships for various purposes. However, many destroyers and submarines were obsolete.
In organizational terms, before the Second World War, the ships were consolidated into two fleets - the Pacific and the Atlantic, in which there were formations of battleships, aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers, submarines, auxiliary and amphibious forces. The structure of naval aviation included about 300 aircraft.
The main forces of the navy were based in Norfolk (the coast of the Atlantic Ocean), San Diego (the coast Pacific Ocean) and Pearl Harbor (Hawaii).
The US Navy was basically ready to carry out the tasks assigned to them in the defense of the American continent and to ensure the transfer of ground forces for landings on other continents.
The few ground forces consisted of the regular army, the national guard and organized reserves. The units and formations of the regular army were more prepared. The National Guard was a militia army of individual states, designed primarily to maintain internal order and was not subordinate to the federal government. The organized reserves consisted of reserve officers and persons who had served certain period in the regular army.
On the eve of World War II, the regular army had only three fully and six partially manned infantry divisions, two cavalry divisions, an independent armored brigade and several independent infantry brigades ( M. Kreidberg, M. Henry. History of Military Mobilization in the United States Army, 1775-1945. Washington, 1955, p. 548-552.). There were 17 divisions in the National Guard. These military formations and units were combined into four armies stationed in the continental part of the country. Small garrisons of ground forces were located in Alaska, Hawaii and other Pacific islands.
In December 1936, a directive from the chief of staff of the ground forces announced the start of the development of a "plan for the mobilization of covering forces", which was completed by 1939. The plan provided for the deployment within 90 days from the date of the announcement of the mobilization of 730,000 well-equipped ground forces. Then, in a short time, the army must deploy up to 1 million people. Until 1940, all calculations for the production of weapons for the army were based on this number of ground forces ( R. Smith. The Army and Economic Mobilization, p. 54, 127 - 128.).
In the 1930s, the American army was armed mainly with light tanks. Only in 1939, taking into account the lessons of the war in Spain, did the Americans begin to create medium tanks ( R. Weigley. History of the United States Army, p. 411.).
The general leadership of aviation, which was part of the ground forces, was carried out by the Minister of War through his assistant for aviation, and operational management through the general staff. On the eve of the war, the army air force had 1,576 combat aircraft. Since the beginning of World War II, the US Congress has allocated additional funds for the development of aircraft construction. Aircraft production was planned to be increased to 5500 aircraft per year ( The War Reports of General of the Army G. Marshall, Chief of the Staff; General of the Army H. Arnold, Commanding General, Army Air Forces; Fleet Admiral E. King, Commander-in-Chief, United States Fleet and Chief of Naval Operations. Philadelphia-New-York, 1947, p. 308; The Army Almanac. Washington, 1950, p. 214.). At the same time, it was planned to train 20 thousand pilots, navigators and shooters. Air bases were built at an accelerated pace in Panama, Alaska, Puerto Rico and the Hawaiian Islands.
The air forces of the army were divided into tactical and defense of the continent. In their construction, the main attention was paid to strategic aviation, while the importance of tactical aviation was underestimated. By the beginning of the war, the United States had a good heavy bomber B-17 ("flying fortress"), but did not have equal fighters and attack aircraft necessary to support the ground forces ( R. Weigley. History of the United States Army, p. 414.). In terms of the quantity and quality of military equipment and weapons, American aviation was generally inferior to the British and German.
For the purposes of air defense, the territory of the United States was divided into four districts, in which the air force commander of these districts, subordinate to the commander of the Army Air Forces, was entrusted with ensuring the interaction of fighter aircraft, anti-aircraft artillery, air warning service and air barrage balloons.
Thus, the state of the US armed forces in 1939 basically corresponded to the requirements imposed on them by the military-political leadership. However, significant funds and time were needed to implement the plans for the deployment of the armed forces outlined by the American government.
Polish Armed Forces consisted of the ground forces and the navy. According to the constitution of 1935, the president was the supreme commander in chief, but in fact the armed forces, like all power in the country, after the death of Pilsudski were in the hands of the military and political dictator, the general inspector of the armed forces, Marshal E. Rydz-Smigly.
The army and navy were recruited on the basis of the law on universal conscription adopted on April 9, 1938. As of June 1, 1939, the armed forces of Poland numbered 439,718 people, of which 418,474 were in the ground forces, 12,170 in aviation and military navy - 9074 people ( This number does not include parts of the Border Guard Corps. The border troops consisted of regiments and brigades. In May 1939 they numbered 25,372. Calculated on the basis of monthly reports on the actual state of the Polish Armed Forces: Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe. Departament Dowodztwa Ogolnego MS Wojsk., t. 4393. L. dz. 8838/tj. z dn. 14.8.1939; Akta Departamentu Art. MS Wojsk., t. 11, Akta gisz, t. 287-667, 960.). The number of trained reserves reached 1.5 million people ( W. Iwanowski. Wysilek Zbrojny Narodu Polskiego w czasie II Wojny Swiatowej. T. I. Warszawa, 1961, str. 66.).
AT social relations The vast majority of the Polish army (about 70 percent) consisted of peasants with a small stratum of workers. Up to 30-40 percent were representatives of national minorities (Ukrainians, Belarusians, Lithuanians and others). The recruitment system for the armed forces had a pronounced class character and was designed to make them an obedient weapon in the struggle against the revolutionary movement and in the war against the Soviet socialist state.
The ruling circles of Poland for a long time educated the army in a spirit of hostility towards Soviet Union and the working people of Poland itself. The troops were often used to suppress the revolutionary uprisings of the masses of Poland, the national liberation movement of Belarusians, Ukrainians and Lithuanians. Separate garrisons had special units specially designed for these purposes ( S. Rowecki. Walki uliczne. Warszawa, 1928, str. 286.).
The Polish bourgeoisie counted on a carefully thought-out system of indoctrination of personnel to ensure the reliability of their armed forces, to protect them from the penetration of revolutionary ideas and sentiments.
The system of training and education of soldiers and officers was aimed at smoothing out the existing contradictions between the social composition of the army and its purpose, isolating the soldiers from the masses, distracting them from politics, dulling class consciousness and turning them into blind executors of the will of the ruling classes. Declaring the army out of politics, military leadership forbade soldiers and officers to be members of political parties, to participate in rallies, meetings and other social and political events and campaigns ( See art. 55 § I Dekretu about sluzbie wojskowej oficerow. Warzawa, 1937.). The reactionary government mercilessly persecuted military personnel for participating in revolutionary movement and persistently instilled in them the need, supposedly established by God and religion, to defend the bourgeois-landlord system of Poland, blindly obeying its laws.
The main organizing force of the Polish army was the officers and non-commissioned officers. The officer corps was almost entirely selected from persons belonging to the ruling and privileged strata and classes. The leading role in the army among the Polish officers belonged to Pilsudchik, mostly former legionnaires. In 1939, out of 100 generals, 64 were legionnaires, more than 80 percent of the positions of army inspectors and commanders of corps districts were staffed by Pilsudski's associates ( P. Stawecki. Nastepcy commandanta. Warszawa, 1969, str. 76.). The most important command positions in the army were occupied by people whose military knowledge did not go beyond the experience of the anti-Soviet war of 1920. It was Pilsudchiki who were the most outspoken bearers of the bourgeois-landlord ideology and policy of the reactionary regime in the army.
Since the Polish military doctrine viewed the future war as predominantly continental, the main role in it, and consequently in the development of the armed forces, was assigned to the ground forces. The ground forces included infantry, cavalry, border guard corps, and aviation.
The ground forces were based on infantry divisions, distributed over corps districts ( The corps districts, which were military-administrative units in peacetime, were disbanded during the war.). The infantry division consisted of three infantry regiments, a light regiment and a heavy artillery battalion, support and maintenance units. It numbered up to 16 thousand people. Compared to the German infantry division, it did not have enough artillery (42-48 guns and 18-20 mortars, mostly of obsolete designs). The division had 27 37 mm anti-tank guns, significantly fewer than in the German division. The air defense was also weak - only four 40-mm anti-aircraft guns.
Polish military theory considered the cavalry as the main means of maneuvering to achieve decisive goals. The cavalry was supposed to make up for the lack of technical vehicles in the army. It was she, the "Queen of the Army", who was entrusted with the task of breaking the enemy's will to resist, paralyzing him psychologically, and weakening morale.
All cavalry formations were consolidated into 11 brigades; the staff strength of each brigade was 3427 people. Unlike infantry divisions, the staffing of cavalry brigades during the war period remained almost the same as in peacetime. The strike force of the cavalry brigade was small: its firepower was equal to the strength of the fire volley of one Polish infantry regiment (T. Rawski, Z. Stupor, J. Zamojski. Wojna Wyzwolencza Narodu Polskiego w latach 1939-1945, str. 104.).
The armored forces included: motorized brigade(formed in 1937), three separate battalions light tanks, several separate reconnaissance tank and armored car companies, as well as units of armored trains.
The motorized brigade consisted of two regiments, anti-tank and reconnaissance battalions, as well as service units. It numbered about 2800 people. The brigade was armed with 157 machine guns, 34 guns and mortars, 13 reconnaissance tanks ( E. Kozlowski. Wojsko Polskie 1936-1939, str. 172.). For the duration of the war, the brigade was reinforced by a tank battalion from the reserve of the main command and other units.
In total, in the Polish armed forces in July 1939, there were 887 light tanks and tankettes, 100 armored vehicles, 10 armored trains ( Centralne Archiwum Wojskowe, Akta DDO MS Wojsk., t. 27.). The main part of the tank fleet, according to its tactical and technical data, was unsuitable for effective use in combat conditions.
Military aviation consisted of six aviation regiments, two separate aeronautical battalions and two naval aviation divisions. In total, by the beginning of the war, there were 824 combat aircraft of all types in the air fleet ( E. Kozlowski. Wojsko Polskie 1936-1939, str. 238; Mala Encyklopedia Wojskowa. T. 2. Warszawa, 1970, str. 693-694.), most of them were inferior to the aircraft of the main European states in their flight performance. In 1939, Polish-made elk-type bombers with higher flying qualities entered service, but by the beginning of the war there were only 44 of them in the troops.
Aviation was intended primarily to escort infantry and tanks in battle and cavalry in its raids. However, in all cases, the role of army aviation was reduced mainly to shallow reconnaissance of the enemy, and in some cases - to bombing attacks on his troops. The use of aviation for independent operations was not actually envisaged. The capabilities of bomber aircraft were underestimated, they were not given due attention ( See A. Kurowski for the general directive of the Chief of Staff on the use of aviation. Lotnictwo Polish w 1939 Warszawa, 1962, str. 333-335.).
The naval forces were subdivided into the navy (ships) and coastal defense. They included 4 destroyers, 5 submarines, a mine layer, 6 minesweepers and 8 coastal defense battalions armed with 42 field and 26 anti-aircraft guns ( A. Rzepniewski. Obrona Wybrzeza w 1939 r. Warszawa, 1970, str. 134-143, 241-242; M. Porwit. To omentarze do historii polskich dziatan obronnych 1939 roku. Cz. I. Warszawa, 1969, str. 65.).
The fleet was not ready to perform tasks in the war against Nazi Germany. It lacked vessels for operations in coastal waters, there were no escort ships. In shipbuilding, the main attention was paid to the construction of expensive heavy ships. The Polish command did not attach much importance to the problem of defending bases from land and air.
Conducted by the main headquarters in 1935-1936. An analysis of the combat effectiveness of the army in comparison with the armies of the USSR, Germany and France showed that the Polish armed forces were at the level of 1914 and lagged far behind in all key indicators.
The plan for the modernization and development of the army developed in Poland, designed for six years (1936-1942), provided for a significant strengthening of the main types of armed forces, the expansion of the country's industrial and raw material base, the construction of defensive structures, etc. ( Z. Landau, J. Tomaszewski. Zarys historii gospodarczej Polski 1918-1939. Warszawa, 1960, str. 166-191; Zeszyty science. wap. Seria economiczna. Warszawa, 1970, no. 13, str. 158-165.). However, the absence of a pre-established unified concept for the development and modernization of the army ultimately led to the implementation of only individual measures of this plan.
During the first three years of the implementation of this plan, there was only a slight quantitative change in the armament and equipment of the army, but the proportions of the combat arms remained the same. All types of weapons and military equipment, with the exception of the materiel of the navy, were largely worn out and obsolete. There were not enough aircraft, tanks, field artillery and small arms.
Thus, the size and organizational structure of the army, its weapons, the system of recruitment, training and education of personnel did not meet the requirements of preparing the country for defense in the conditions of the impending war.
On the eve of the Second World War, the most aggressive grouping of imperialist states (Germany, Italy, Japan) adopted the doctrine of total "blitzkrieg" war. This doctrine provided for the mobilization of all the resources of the state and the infliction of sudden lightning strikes on the front and rear of the enemy in order to achieve victory in the shortest possible time. The early militarization of the economy and all public life, the use of surprise in treacherous attacks, bestial cruelty, the establishment of a "new order" in the world, and colonial slavery for the vanquished were placed at the service of this strategy.
Another grouping of capitalist states (England, France, USA, Poland), which had a huge economic potential, was guided by military doctrines that were more inclined towards a strategy of attrition. As a result, the economic and financial possibilities of Britain, France and the USA were not used to train the armed forces to the same extent as was done in the countries of the fascist bloc.
The fascist German war machine turned out to be much better prepared for the Second World War. Hitler's army, which received high professional training and had an experienced, carefully selected command staff, equipped with the latest military equipment and weapons for that time, posed a mortal threat to humanity.
The British Army has a special place in NATO. First of all, due to the high political activity of this country in the international arena. The British Armed Forces have been involved in almost every major armed conflict on the planet since 1945. And the rich imperial past to this day positions the Royal Navy as the second in the world, after the American one. At one time up to 2/3 of the British Army was placed under Alliance command. However, over the past time in the UK there have been major changes. They also touched its armed forces.
Formally, at the moment, the total strength of the British army, including aviation and navy, is about 200 thousand people: including 113 thousand in the ground forces, 52 thousand in the air force and 43 thousand people in the navy . However, the country is currently undergoing a large-scale military reform, the attitude towards which is ambiguous even among the British themselves. Back in the early 90s of the twentieth century, the British Armed Forces had 1.2 thousand tanks, 3.2 thousand armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 700 artillery systems and almost 850 combat aircraft. But the optimization of the composition and cost of maintaining the British army, begun in 2010, has fundamentally reduced these figures.
In November 2010, the UK published a new national security strategy. The set of documents bears the unifying name " A strong Britain in an age of uncertainty". It formulates the main promising threats that the country will face for the period up to 2020 - 2030. The main message is the idea that after the collapse of the USSR, the likelihood of any " big war"completely disappeared. In connection with this, 16 other threats came to the fore, among which the first degree of significance includes: international terrorism, cyber attacks, national-level disasters, natural hazards, pandemics and crises in international relations.
The last point is the most curious, since, at first glance, it directly contradicts the original basic message of the document. However, the entire national security strategy is presented in the newfangled style of streamlined, outwardly loud, but rather meaningless formulations inside. They are designed to clearly exaggerate the real meaning of the concepts involved. So, for example, a crisis in international relations actually means only a local military conflict of low intensity, in which the UK will take part only as part of coalition forces. The main regions in which the use of British military force is possible are the strip from West Africa to Southeast Asia. The main type of adversary is non-state militias. An advanced industrialized country with a modern high-tech army is not considered as an enemy even theoretically. Consequently, military construction is being carried out in accordance with ideas about the composition and nature of future threats.
British Army Lieutenant General Nick Carter
Based on the mentioned national security strategy, two fundamental documents were developed that became the basis for further military development in the country: "On Strategic Defense and Security" and the Army 2020 Reform Plan of the Armed Forces, authored by Lieutenant General Nick Carter. Formally, at the moment, "Army 2020" is still only at the stage of discussion in the national parliament, but events have already begun in the country that suspiciously coincide in composition and nature with what General Carter presented to the House of Lords. Therefore, the program will be adopted and the prospects of the British armed forces should be further assessed on its basis.
British ground forces
Since November 1, 2011, the following structure of the High Command of the Ground Forces has been operating in the UK. Chief of the General Staff ( Chief of the General Staff or CGS for short) commands the Army Headquarters, located in the city of Andover. His duties include military planning in peacetime and wartime. Commander of the Ground Forces (Commander Land Forces) exercises direct command of all UK ground forces, including helicopter units and the reservist component. The organization of interaction between them, as well as with the Ministry of Defense of the country, is entrusted to the General's Adjutant ( Assistant Chief of the General Staff). It's not a title, it's a position. The issues of combat training and provision of the army are in charge of the Commander for the Training and Development of the Armed Forces ( Commander Force Development and Training).According to the top military and political leadership of the UK, such a structure should improve feedback and mutual understanding with the Ministry of Defense, as well as other government structures. It is believed that it is more efficient and less costly in the current geopolitical and economic conditions.
According to the Army 2020 plan, all UK land units are reduced to two basic components: high intensity units ( Reaction Division) and adaptive parts ( Adaptive Division).
High intensity parts include:
The 1st Armored Division, which forms the basis of the so-called British Rhine Army, stationed in Germany with headquarters in the city of Herford. Officially, the division consists of the 7th and 20th Armored Brigades, the 4th, 6th, 11th and 12th Infantry, the 1st Artillery Brigade, the 39th Royal Artillery Regiment and the 22nd Regiment connections. Once upon a time, BRA was the backbone of the entire Northern Group NATO troops in Europe, but those days are long gone. At the moment, the division has 70-75% of the regular strength in terms of personnel and no more than 80% in terms of standard equipment. Although she is still in Europe, but half of her current headcount(in total, the 1st btd has 20 thousand people) will be returned to the metropolis before the end of 2015, and the entire division will return to the Islands by 2020. As the British Prime Minister said, more than 65 years have passed since the war in Europe, cold war ended more than 20 years ago, and there is "no need" to keep expensive troops in Germany.
7th Armored Brigade Commander Brigadier James Woodham
3rd Division (3rd Division) consisting of: 1st, 4th and 12th mechanized brigades, as well as the 19th "light" brigade). To date, this is the most combat-ready and completed formation of the British army.
The 16th Air Assault Brigade, despite its name, consists of: the 5th Airborne and the 24th Air Brigade. The brigade was created in 1999 in accordance with the program of reorganization of ground units in order to obtain the most highly mobile tool. Its specialization is the landing of light infantry in the form of airborne assaults with the support of helicopter units. The staff strength of the brigade is 8 thousand people.
Burgundy beret - distinguishing feature British paratroopers
3rd Brigade marines(up to 3 thousand commandos) consisting of: 40th, 42nd, 45th battalions of marines, 1st battalion Rifle Regiment, the 43rd anti-sabotage battalion of the marines, the 29th artillery regiment (two batteries of L115 howitzers), the 24th engineer regiment, and the logistics regiment.
In the future, one division will be formed from two divisions, of a kind of unified composition, including three "standard" mechanized brigades. Why the British focus on "standard" will be discussed below. For now, it is worth noting that a standard brigade should consist of two motorized infantry battalions (about 400 - 460 people each on modernized Warrior BMPs), a tank regiment (about 600 people, 56 Challenger II MBTs), a medium reconnaissance regiment (about 500 people on promising Scout armored vehicles SV) and a mobile motorized infantry regiment (about 700 people on promising FRES UV armored personnel carriers). The division provides for the presence of a separate artillery and engineering regiments, as well as a logistics regiment. The artillery regiment (769 people) consists of a command and headquarters, a headquarters battery, two batteries of 155-mm M109 howitzers with 6 guns each, and an anti-tank battery (30 Swingfire ATGM launchers). In fact, this part is only called a regiment. In terms of armament, it is simply an artillery battalion, reinforced by a company of anti-tank weapons, if you count by the old Soviet standards.
True to its name, high-intensity units are designed to "rapidly respond to global threats" and conduct "high-intensity" combat operations. The total number of this component is approximately 55 thousand soldiers, sergeants and officers.
Royal Irish Regiment in Iraq
The adaptive units include seven infantry brigades stationed in the UK. In the future, these brigades are also supposed to be brought to a "standard form" consisting of: 2 - 4 infantry battalions on light armored vehicles and MRAP vehicles, as well as several (up to 3) "light cavalry" or armored reconnaissance squadrons on light wheeled armored vehicles. But this moment is highly doubtful in view of the specifics of the organization and traditions of the British army.
The adaptive units will include the Territorial Army and reservists. It is assumed that as a result of the reforms, part of the regular military will be fired and replaced by reservists, whose number is expected to be raised to 30 thousand people. True, it is not yet clear how London intends to resolve the issue with employers who are not too ready to release employees to serve in the Army Reserve, since the period of absence of an employee from the workplace can be up to one year. Again, there is the problem of the quality of the reservists. According to the British Ministry of Defense, at the moment only 1 out of 19 reservists is able to serve in army conditions. The military expresses the hope that by 2020-2025 London will be able to achieve a level "at least like in the US National Guard", where every tenth reservist is capable of serving in army conditions. But whether it will be possible to achieve this is a big question.
British reservists
The task of the adaptive units is to conduct counterinsurgency and soft power operations.
The future status of the Joint Helicopter Command is not entirely clear. Formally, it includes the 16th Air Assault Brigade, already mentioned above, the Troop Support Helicopter Command (two regiments of AH-64 Apache attack helicopters) and helicopter units abroad. Organizationally, the UWC is part of the Ground Forces, but the 16th brigade belongs to the Reaction Division, and the rest of the units are part of the Adaptiv Division.
Also, the documents do not mention the 17th Gurkha Brigade (the former 17th Gurkha Infantry Division), consisting of a training company and five infantry battalions, a communications regiment and an automobile regiment. It is only known that after the transfer of Hong Kong to China, the Gurkha brigade stationed there was transferred to the UK. Its number was reduced to 2.5 thousand people. Of the five battalions, two remained, the support units were also severely cut. But where the brigade was included further is currently unknown. It is logical to assume its use as part of adaptive parts.
Her Majesty's Gurkhas as part of the British Expeditionary Force in Afghanistan, Gilnand Province
Ensuring the combat operations of both components will be carried out by the Forse Troop And Logistics Support Command, which is subordinate to up to eight different brigades: artillery, reconnaissance, engineering, medical, communications (two) and logistics (also two).
No less mysterious is the further fate of individual regiments of British artillery. At the moment, there are 10 of them, with different composition, different weapons and differing in numbers. It is assumed that they will be brought into a new artillery brigade and subordinated to Forse Troop And Logistics Support. But so far, we can more or less confidently talk about the preservation in the future of only three artillery regiments transferred to the new unified states: three batteries of six 155-mm AS-90 self-propelled guns, one M270 MLRS MLRS battery and two platoons of Exactor Mk2 missile systems. It is assumed that such a structure will provide the ability to solve fire missions at ranges up to 300 km. Starting from 45 km and further - targets are hit by MLRS with conventional and special long-range missiles, and up to 25 - 30 km - they are covered with cannon artillery and Exactor missile systems.
British Army Palace Cavalry
A separate complexity of the British army are its traditions.