British military history
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British military history is a long and varied topic, extending from the prehistoric and ancient historic period, through the Roman invasions of Julius Cæsar and Claudius and subsequent Roman occupation; warfare in the Mediaeval period, including the invasions of the Saxons and the Vikings in the Early Middle Ages, the Norman Conquest, and wars against France; through the Early Modern period, wars against Spain and France, and the English Civil War, and the beginnings of the colonial British Empire in India, the USA and Canada; and into the Modern period with the wars of Marlborough and against Napoleon, the Crimean War and into the 20th century with the Boer War, World War I and World War II, the Cold War the Korean War; and, most recently, Northern Ireland, the Falklands War and military operations in the Balkans and the Middle East.
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List of British military encounters
Prehistoric and ancient period
Mediæval period
- Viking invasions (793–1066)
- Raid on Lindisfarne (793)
- Campaign of Alfred the Great (871–899)
- Battle of Edington (878)
- Battle of Cannington (878)
- Battle of Fulford (1066)
- Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)
- Norman Conquest of England (1066) - last successful invasion of England by a foreign force
- Rebellion of 1088
- Revolt of 1173-1174
- Third Crusade (1189)
- Welsh Uprising (1211)
- Battle of Bouvines (1214) - loss of Normandy
- First Barons' War (1215–1217)
- Second Barons' War (1264–1267)
- Welsh Uprising (1282)
- The First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1306)
- The Second War of Scottish Independence (1332–1357)
- Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453)
- Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) - Richard III was the last English king to die in combat
Early Colonial period
- Italian Wars (1494 – 1559)
- Cornish Rebellion (1497)
- Anglo-Scottish Wars (1513 – 1547)
- Loss of Calais (1558) - then England's last continental possession
- Anglo-Spanish War (1585-1604)
- Nine Years War (1594–1603)
- Eighty Years' War (1598–1648)
- First Anglo-Powhatan War (1609–1613)
- Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622)
- Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651)
- First Bishops' War (1639)
- Second Bishops' War (1640)
- Irish Rebellion (1641)
- First English Civil War (1642–1646)
- The Confederate’s War (1642-1648)
- Scottish Civil War (1644–1647)
- Second English Civil War (1648–1649)
- Third English Civil War (1649–1651)
- Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649)
- Third Anglo-Powhatan War (1644)
- First Anglo-Dutch War (1652–1654)
- Anglo-Spanish War (1654–1660)
- Second Anglo-Dutch War (1665–1667)
- War of Devolution (1667–1668)
- Third Anglo-Dutch War (1672–1674)
- King Philip's War (1675–1676)
- Virginia Rebellion (1676)
- Monmouth Rebellion (1685)
- Nine Years War (1688–1697)
- King William's War (1688–1697)
- Jacobite Rebellions (1689–1746)
- Clifton Moor, near Penrith (1745) - last battle on English soil
- Battle of Culloden (1746) - last battle in Great Britain
- Battle of the Boyne (1690) - last battle between two rival claimants for the throne
- Williamite war in Ireland (1688–1691)
- War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1713)
- Queen Anne's War (1702–1713)
- War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720)
- War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1742)
- War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748)
- King George's War (1740–1748)
- Seven Years' War (1756–1763) - the first "world war"
- French and Indian War (1756–1763)
- Anglo-Cherokee War (1759–1763)
- Pontiac's Rebellion (1763–1766)
- First Anglo-Mysore War (1766–1769)
Colonial Period
- American War of Independence (1775–1783)
- First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782)
- Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784)
- Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784)
- Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789–1792)
- French Revolutionary Wars (1793–1802)
- War of the First Coalition (1793–1797)
- War of the Second Coalition (1798–1801)
- Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798–1799)
- Irish Rebellion (1798)
- Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815)
- South American War (1806–1807)
- Anglo-Turkish War (1807–1809)
- Anglo-Russian War (1807–1812)
- Gunboat War (1807–1814)
- Peninsular War (1808–1814)
- First Kandian War (1803–1804)
- Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805)
- Vellore Mutiny (1806)
- Anglo-Dutch Java War (1810–1811)
- British-American War (1812–1815)
- Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816)
- Second Kandian War (1815)
- Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818)
- Peterloo Massacre (1819)
- First Anglo-Burmese War (1823–1826)
- War of the Two Brothers (1828–1834)
- First Carlist War (1833–1839)
- Upper Canada Rebellion (1837)
- Lower Canada Rebellion (1837)
- First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
- First Opium War (1839–1842)
- First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846)
- New Zealand Wars (1845–1872)
- Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849)
- Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852)
- Crimean War (1854–1856)
- Second Opium War (1856–1860)
- Indian Rebellion (1857)
- Pig War (1859)
- Anglo-Bhutanese War (1865)
- Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878-1880)
- Anglo-Zulu War (1879)
- First Boer War (1880–1881)
- Gun War (1880–1881)
- Third Anglo-Burmese War (1885–1887)
- Anglo-Zanzibar War (1896)
- Second Boer War (1899–1902)
- Boxer Rebellion (1900)
- Anglo-Aro war (1901-1902)
Modern Period
- World War I (1914–1918)
- Easter Rising (1916)
- Russian Civil War (1918–1922)
- Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
- Anglo-Irish War (1919–1921)
- Turkish War of Independence (1919–1923)
- The Pacific War (1937–1945)
- World War II (1939–1945)
- Anglo-Iraqi War (1941)
- Greek Civil War (1941–1949)
- Cold War (1945–1991)
- Malayan Emergency (1948–1960)
- Korean War (1950–1953)
- Mau Mau Uprising (1952–1960)
- Cyprus Emergency (1955–1959)
- Suez Crisis (1956)
- Brunei Uprising (1962)
- Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation (1962–1966)
- Aden Emergency (1963–1967)
- Northern Ireland Troubles (1969-mid 1990s)
- Cod War Confrontation (1975–1976)
- Falklands War (1982)
- The First Gulf War (1990–1991)
- The Bosnian War (1995–1996)
- The Kosovo War (1999)
- Sierra Leone Civil War (2000)
21st century
- The Afghanistan War (2001–2002)
- Iraq War (2003)
- Iraqi insurgency (2003–Present)
List of fortifications in Britain
Roman & ancient
- Hadrian's Wall AD 122
- Antonine Wall AD 142
Mediæval
- Castles in the UK
1600s
Georgian & Victorian
World War II Stop Lines
- Avon Stop Line
- Colchester Stop Line
- GHQ Line
- Outer London Defence Ring
- Ringwood West Line
- Salisbury West Stop Line
- Taunton Stop Line
List of British military institutions
See main article: British Armed Forces
- Royal Navy
- Royal Scottish Navy (until 1707)
- British Army
- New Model Army (1645)
- Territorial Army (1907)
- Kitchener's Army (1914)
- Auxiliary Units (1940s)
- Home Guard (1940s)
- Royal Air Force
- Royal Ordnance Factory
- National Service (1949 - 1960)
List of British military alliances
Scottish military alliances
The Auld Alliance was a military alliance between the countries of France, Norway, and Scotland. Though Norway never invoked the treaty, the Scots and the French did. The treaty stated that if any of the three nations was to be attacked by a third party, that the other two nations that belonged to the treaty would invade the aggressor. The effects of this military alliance happened many times in history. In 1336, at the beginning of the Hundred Years' War, the French king Philip VI provided military support for David II, who fled to France after being deposed by Edward III of England. The Auld Alliance can also be said to have inflamed the English invasion of Scotland, starting the First War of Scottish Independence. In 1346, under the terms of the Auld Alliance, Scotland invaded England in the interests of France. In 1421, at the Battle of Baugé, French and Scots forces dealt a crushing defeat to the English, for which the Scots were richly rewarded. In addition, in 1429 Scots came to the aid of Joan of Arc in her famous relief of Orléans; many went on to form the Garde Écossaise, the fiercely-loyal bodyguard of the French monarchy. Many Scottish mercenaries chose to settle in France, although they continued to consider themselves "Scots". However, when Scotland considered itself Protestant by the Treaty of Edinburgh, the treaty was considered void, since France was still Roman Catholic.
English military alliances
The Anglo-Portuguese, signed in 1373, Alliance between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force. Many times in history, this alliance has served England(and later Britain) because it was the stronger country, but also Portugal whenever it was the stronger country. This treaty largely influenced the British Iberia Peninsular War. The last time that this treaty effected British history was during the 1982 Falklands War the facilities of the Azores were again offered to the British Royal Navy.
- Holy League (1510 to 1513)
The War of the League of Cambrai (1508–16), sometimes known as the War of the Holy League and by several other names, was a major conflict in the Italian Wars. The Kingdom of England participated in the alliance of the Holy League against France (1511–13). The Kingdom Scotland was part of the Franco-Venetian alliance (1513–16), while the Kingdom of England was against it.
The Triple Alliance of 1668 consisted of England, Sweden, and the United Provinces. It was formed to halt the expansion of Louis XIV's France in the War of Devolution.
- Grand Alliance (1689 - ?)
The Grand Alliance (known, prior to 1689, as the League of Augsburg) was a European coalition, consisting (at various times) of Austria, Bavaria, Brandenburg, England, the Holy Roman Empire, the Netherlands, the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Saxony, Spain, Sweden, and the United Provinces. The league was named the 'Grand Alliance' after England had joined it. The primary reason for the League's creation was to defend the Palatinate from France. This organization fought the War of the Grand Alliance against France from 1688 to 1697.
British military alliances
The Anglo-Portuguese, signed in 1373, Alliance between England (succeeded by the United Kingdom) and Portugal is the oldest alliance in the world which is still in force. Many times in history, this alliance has served England(and later Britain) because it was the stronger country, but also Portugal whenever it was the stronger country. This treaty largely influenced the British Iberia Peninsular War. The last time that this treaty effected British history was during the 1982 Falklands War the facilities of the Azores were again offered to the British Royal Navy.
The Triple Alliance was an agreement between United Kingdom, France and the Netherlands, against Spain, to prevent Spain from becoming a superpower in Europe.
The Triple Alliance of 1788 was an alliance between Great Britain, Prussia and the United Provinces against France. The alliance was formed to keep France from becoming a superpower in Europe by taking over the Dutch colonies.
- Entente Cordiale (1904)
The Entente Cordiale (French for "friendly understanding") is a series of agreements signed on April 8, 1904, between the United Kingdom and France. It resolved differences concerning influence and control in various countries including Egypt, Morocco, Madagascar, Newfoundland, Siam (Thailand), West and Central Africa. The agreement also acknowledged the right of free passage through the Suez Canal. The year after its signing, Britain's sympathetic attitude toward France's position in Morocco helped to ward off a challenge from Germany to the status quo in the North African kingdom (the Tangier Crisis). The agreement also paved the way for the diplomatic and military cooperation that preceded World War I.
- Triple Entente (1908)
The Triple Entente was the alliance formed in 1907 between the United Kingdom, France and Russia after the signing of the Anglo-Russian Entente. France and Britain had already signed the Entente Cordiale in 1904, and France had signed the Franco-Russian Alliance in 1894. This alliance brought Britain into World War I.
See also
- Pax Britannica
- History of Britain
- UK topics
- List of battles (geographic)
- List of wars
- British military rank insignia