British Army

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The Battle of Waterloo one of the greatest victories in British military history, in part due to the sound tactics of their Commander, the Duke of Wellington, and Emperor Napoleon's temperament, which was influenced by the knowledge that even if he won the battle, he was still outnumbered at least three-to-one by his numerous enemies.

The British Army is the land armed forces branch of the British Armed Forces. It came into being with unification of the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England and Scotland and was administered by the War Office from London. Since 1963 it has been managed by the Ministry of Defence.

History[change | change source]

From roughly 1763 the United Kingdom has been one of the leading military and economic powers of the world. The British Empire expanded in this time to include colonies, protectorates, and Dominions throughout the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. Although the Royal Navy is widely regarded as having been vital for the rise of Empire, and British dominance of the world, the British Army played important roles in colonisation.

The British army was heavily involved in the Napoleonic Wars in which the army served in Spain, across Europe, and in North Africa. The war between the British and French Empires stretched around the world. The British Army finally came to defeat Napoleon at one of Britain's greatest military victories at the battle of Waterloo.

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

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