Ben Barry
Over the past half century, the British Army has been shaped by shifting strategic demands and repeated operational tests. Its combat capability expanded during the Cold War as planners prepared for conflict with the Soviet Union, before being proven — and strained — in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Gulf War, the Balkans, Sierra Leone, Afghanistan and Iraq. These campaigns reveal how Britain’s land forces adapted, and what was lost along the way.
Writing in the Spectator last month, the military historian Allan Mallinson wondered ‘how many people appreciate what a remarkably capable army we had — and how incapable that Army has become?’
In my book The Rise and Fall of the British Army, 1975-2025, I explain how the Army’s fighting power increased during the 1980s. General Sir Nigel Bagnall encouraged tactical innovation and a revolution in doctrine for armoured manoeuvre warfare. The Thatcher government’s rising defence budget funded new weapons, including Challenger tanks and Warrior infantry fighting vehicles, sustained military salaries and increased the size of the reserves in the Territorial Army.
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