Military History of Great Britain( a quick summary)

ME ^ | 12/15/2003 | ME

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

The following is a general listing of wars fought by Great Britain in the last 2000 years. This is part II of my five part series on the military histories of the Great Powers.

43 AD Roman Invasion- Lost celts slaughtered by legions of Emporor Claudius

60 AD Boudica Rebellion- Lost Single Roman Legion slaughtered 60,000 british celts

600 AD Anglo-Saxon Invasion- Won Celts eliminated by modern inhabitants of Britain(Legend of Arthur born of that era).

1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.

1200 AD Expansion- Won took over Scotland, Ireland and Wales after decades of warfare, refined longbow technology was the decisive factor of victory.

1337 AD Hundred Years War- Won (Mostly) English Longbowmen slaughtered the French nobility in a series of one-sided battles. War ended with the English in control of Normandy and Castile.

1455 AD War of the Roses- Won Three decades of civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster

1588 AD Spanish Invasion- Won British fleet crushed the Spanish Armada, Britain becomes the dominant naval power of Europe.

1642 AD English Civil War- Won(Barely) British beat themselves

1689 AD French And Indian Wars- Won British forces crushed the French defense in Canada and took over Montreal

1751 AD Conquest of India- Won British forces conquors the Indian Subcontinent. Chandernagore, the last major Indian stronghold taken during the Battle of Plassy.

1756 AD War if the West Indies- Won British Navy takes control of the West Indies

1776 AD American Revolutionary War- Lost British defeated by their own colonists.

1793 AD Napoleonic Wars- Won, Duke of Wellington destroyed Napoleon's armies at the Battle of Warterloo.

1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.

1846 AD Opium War- Won British Naval forces easily crushed the Chinese Navy and took Hong Kong.

1854 AD Crimean War- Won British wins a land war against Russia and takes over the Crimean region and Svestapol from the Russian Empire.

1862 AD Second Opium War- Won British forces take control of Shanghai and portions of the Chinese Coast from the Chinese Empire.

1863 AD Mau Mau Wars- Won British forces sacks Timbuktu, and takes over Eastern africa.

1872 AD Ashanti Wars- Won British forces takes over most of the Ivory Coast

1879 AD Zulu War- Won British forces suffered several defeats but eventually wiped out 70% of the Zulu population and took over southern Africa.

1881 AD Busato Wars- Won British forces takes over central Africa.

1899 AD Anglo-Boer War- Won British forces slaughtered the Dutch settlers and took control of Rhodesia and the northern portion of South Africa.

1900 AD Boxer Rebellion- Won British forces along with 11 other nations destroyed China's rebellion, gained control of China's coastal region from Shanghai to Hong Kong.

1914 AD World War I- Won British forces fought off the German submarine campaign and destroyed the Ottoman Empire. Gained control of Iraq, Iran, Trans-Jordan, Arabia, and Eygpt.

1938 AD World War II- Won(Barely) Britain won with the aid of the U.S but suffered such losses that it did not have the resources to maintain its Empire.

1982 AD Falklands War- Won(Barely) Britain takes back control of the Falklands after losing 8 capital Ships due to the Exocet missiles of the Argentine airforce.

1991 AD Persian Gulf War- Won Britan fought alongside the U.S.

That is it folks.

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

1938 Was when Japan launched its attack on China proper from Manchuria, and also when Hitler took over Chechslovakia.

[Tailback]

I'd say war of 1812 was more of a tie. American colonists wanted Canada but ended up with status quo. The American Army lost most battles but had a staggeringly one sided victory at New Orleans. Ironically the war was already over and the combatants didn't know it yet.

[Riley]

1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.

Ooh. That's gonna leave a mark!

[Riley]

1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.

Ooh. That's gonna leave a mark!

[Riley]

D'OH!

[spitz]

Yeah right. Much better that the British empire never existed, then all those we ‘enslaved’ would have developed into peaceful, prosperous nations with city streets lined with gold. Mugabe in Zimbabwe has done wonders for his country now he’s thrown the oppressive shackles of the white man.

And the Maori in New Zealand would still be eating each other and living in a stone-age culture.

[LibKill]

The Brits won most of these.

Compare this to the sorry record of the frogs.

Click Here. (Will open in new window.)

[BluH2o]

1938 Was when Japan launched its attack on China proper from Manchuria, and also when Hitler took over Chechslovakia.

My response was to Britain's involvement with WWII ... which began in September 1939.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

600 AD Anglo-Saxon Invasion- Won Celts eliminated by modern inhabitants of Britain (Legend of Arthur born of that era).

I believe that many of the Britons escaped to Brittany, the coast of France.

1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.

A Frenchman wins! Well maybe, he may have been descended from a Viking.

1200 AD Expansion- Won took over Scotland, Ireland and Wales after decades of warfare, refined longbow technology was the decisive factor of victory.

I recall the Union was made in 1606. The English won some wars but their homosexual king had his ass kicked at Bannockburn by Robert Bruce, another Frenchman I believe.

1337 AD Hundred Years War- Won (Mostly) English Longbowmen slaughtered the French nobility in a series of one-sided battles. War ended with the English in control of Normandy and Castile.

Since the Normans were in charge of England, this really is the French winning against the French. Amazing.

1588 AD Spanish Invasion- Won British fleet crushed the Spanish Armada, Britain becomes the dominant naval power of Europe.

I thought a storm sunk most of the Amada with some help from English ships.

1689 AD French and Indian Wars- Won British forces crushed the French defense in Canada and took over Montreal

Too bad they did not enforce the speaking of English.

1776 AD American Revolutionary War- Lost British defeated by their own colonists.

The British army was made up with a disproportionate amount of homosexuals compared to the Americans probably because more homosexuals stayed in the old country fearing the rigors of frontier life. You have to see that scene in Barry Lyndon with the two soldiers skinny dipping to appreciate the possibility. As much as it may hurt, the English are on the cutting edge of the effeminate man.

1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.

No. By Americans.

1982 AD Falklands War- Won(Barely) Britain takes back control of the Falklands after losing 8 capital Ships due to the Exocet missiles of the Argentine air force.

That was a cute war, but the fireworks were dismal.

1991 AD Persian Gulf War- Won Britain fought alongside the U.S.

By then they were more like an elite air wing of the US Air Force.

[Goetz_von_Berlichingen]

Suggested modifications . . .

In 1688, King James was replaced in a bloodless coup d'etat by the usurper William of Orange. The King, however, fled to Ireland, where there was something (but not much) of a war -- Battle of the Boyne, and all that. You can count this as a "win."

From 1740 through 1745, England was involved in the War of the Austrian Succession. You can count this as a "win" despite the embarrassment administered by the Irish Brigade at Fontenoy.

In 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (of blessed memory as "Bonnie Prince Charlie") led a legitimist revolt against the Hannoverian usurper, culminating in the unfortunate battle of Culloden, where an Anglo-German army aided by lowlanders and led by the Duke of Cumberland (aka "Stinking Billy") defeated the Scots and commenced a campaign of cultural ethnic cleansing starting with a Sonderaktion along the road to Inverness. Another "win."

From 1754 through 1762, England was involved in the Seven Years' War, known in America as the French and Indian War. That's when Canada was conquered. Another win, although the Duke of Cumberland (still unaccustomed to fighting against soldiers), actually surrendered to the French in 1757. His agreement was repudiated by King George II, under public pressure. And the British forces were eventually led to victory by Ferdinand of Brunswick.

[Snowyman]

1689 AD French And Indian Wars- Won British forces crushed the French defense in Canada and took over Montreal

Wolfe defeated Montcalm , 1759 at Quebec .You're a little early.

1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.

If this is the War of 1812-14, Won, English resisted annexation of Canada . Yeah, I know . The US won the Battle of New Orleans, but the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent preserving the status quo. And England, having defeated and exiled Napoleon, now had a surplus of sailors. It's available on line, An 1811 editorial ( if I remember correctly ) in a New England paper stating the fact that of the previous years US $45 million export trade , $37 million was with England. And asks why on earth declare war to invade Canada ? The US did, not knowing England had already rescinded the offensive Orders in Council

[BluH2o]

Seems to me we're missing one very important British battle
which occurred in 1805 ... the Battle of Trafalgar (off the coast of Spain near Gibraltar). The British defeated an armada of Spanish & French naval vessels in what is considered the greatest naval battle in history. Lord Nelson, the great British admiral who was killed in this battle, was transported back to Britain in a large keg of British grog ... which is entirely fitting for a sailor.

[NP-INCOMPLETE]

Hey all, if you enjoyed this post, follow this link to part I Military History of China

[Tailback]

RE: War of 1812 See my post #22 Beat you too it but you were far more informative. You wouldn't happen to know the stats on the battle of New Orleans would you? I just remember they were terribly one sided.

[nkycincinnatikid]

Ivan , pray tell us of the compassionate nature of the camps in which the wives and children of those dutchmen were starved.

[Blackyce]

The War of 1812 was definitely a tie. The US motivation for war wasnt to annex Canada. Remember, they invaded us before we set foot in Canada. Invading Canada was sort of one of those "while we're at it kind of things"

The war was about control of the seas more than any other issue. Most obviously the whole impressment issue(Some 10,000 Americans kidnapped and forced into service), but also the attempts at blockades during the Napoleonic wars, and the sanctioned privateering(piracy) of American ships. Also the British were stirring up trouble between the US and the Indians.

[Snowyman]

The British lost at least 300 men on the battlefield, many of the more than 1200 wounded would die later or be maimed for life. The US casualties amounted to only 13 killed and 52 wounded or missing. The Americans took 500 prisoners,

Personally I think the The Battle of Chateauguay (1813) was as one sided , but at the time even de Sallaberry , perhaps one of the greatest officers Quebec ever produced, didn't know it He wrote to his father, The enemy's force consisted of all his troops, about 7,000 men and 5 pieces of cannon, 300 cavalry. The action lasted four hours, and it ended in the enemy being obliged to return to his former position five miles back, leaving many of his dead and wounded behind and a great number of his men scattered in the woods, also many drums, 150 firelocks and baggage. The number of my men engaged did not exceed three hundred. The rest were in reserve in the lines I had constructed. Our killed and wounded were only 24 including officers,there were none but Canadians amongst us.

[Blackyce]

Reading my post I have decided that it wasnt even a tie, since we achieved our main goals with regards to impressment. We also won outright possesion of Spanish Florida, after Spain let Britain use it as a naval base.

[Snowyman]

The Treaty of Ghent doesn't even mention the impressment. By 1814 Napoleon had been defeated, been exiled and England now had unemployed sailors and was turning her attention to the US conflict.. The Orders in Council had been rescinded even before the war was declared. The US had attempted to invade Canada at least 4 times and failed. . The Treaty did offer peace with honour and at the same time:

While the British and Americans were negotiating a settlement, Federalist delegates selected by the legislatures of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire gathered in Hartford, Connecticut, in a meeting that symbolized opposition to "Mr. Madison's war." New England had managed to trade with the enemy throughout the conflict, and some areas actually prospered from this commerce. Nevertheless, the Federalists claimed that the war was ruining the economy. Some delegates to the convention advocated secession from the Union,but the majority agreed on a series of constitutional amendments to limit Republican influence, including prohibiting embargoes lasting more than 60 days and forbidding successive presidents from the same state. By the time messengers from the Hartford Convention reached Washington, D.C., however, they found the war had ended. The Hartford Convention stamped the Federalists with a stigma of disloyalty from which they never recovered.



James Madison succeeded Jefferson as president in 1809. Relations with Great Britain grew worse, and the two countries moved rapidly toward war. The president laid before Congress a detailed report, showing several thousand instances in which the British had impressed American citizens.

In addition, northwestern settlers had suffered from attacks by Indians whom they believed had been incited by British agents in Canada. This led many Americans to favor conquest of Canada. Success in such an endeavor would eliminate British influence among the Indians and open up new lands for colonization. The desire to conquer Canada, coupled with deep resentment over impressment of sailors, generated war fervor, and in 1812 the United States declared war on Britain.

http://odur.let.rug.nl/~usa/H/1994/ch4_p11.htm

[weikel]

They were until the civilian press in Britain found out. Kitchener was deliberately starving the Boers even women and children( yes it was definitely deliberate if you wish Ill provide links but you can do a google yourself).