British military history
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
Duke 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.
Prehistoric and ancient period
*
Roman conquest of Britain (43)
Mediæval period
*
Battle of Aylesford (455) Anglo-Saxons
*
Battle of Ellandun*
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 Ashingdon (1016)
**
Battle of Fulford (1066)
**
Battle of Stamford Bridge (1066)
*
Norman Conquest of England (1066)
*
Rebellion of 1088 - civil war
*
Revolt of 1173-1174 - civil war
*
Third Crusade (1189-1192)
* Richard I's war in France
*
Welsh Uprising (1211)
*
Battle of Bouvines (1214) - loss of Normandy
*
First Barons' War (1215–1217) - civil war
* Henry III's war in France
*
Second Barons' War (1264–1267) - civil war
*
Welsh Uprising (1282) - civil war
* Edward I's war in France
*
The First War of Scottish Independence (1296–1328)
* Edward II's war in France
*
The Second War of Scottish Independence (1332–1357)
*
Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) against France
** War of Edward III (1337 to 1360) - victory
** War of Charles the Wise (1369 to 1396) - defeat
** War of Henry V (1415 to 1422) - victory
** War of Charles the Victorious (1428 to 1453) - defeat
*
Wars of the Roses (1455–1485) -
Richard III was the last English king to die in combat - civil war
Early Colonial period
*
Italian Wars (1494 – 1559)
*
Cornish Rebellion (1497)
*
Anglo-Scottish Wars (1513; 1544-1551)
*
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) - North America
*
Second Anglo-Powhatan War (1622) - North America
*
Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651) - civil war
**
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)
**
Third English Civil War (1650–1651)
**
Cromwellian conquest of Ireland (1649)
*
Third Anglo-Powhatan War (1644) - North America
*
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) - North America
*
Virginia Rebellion (1676)
*
Monmouth Rebellion (1685) - civil war
*
Nine Years War (1688–1697) - England, Spain, Germany, Portugal and Holland v France
**
King William's War (1688–1697) - North America
*
Jacobite Rebellions (1689-91; 1715-16; 1719; 1745-46) - Civil War
** 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) - Great Britain, Germany, Portugal and Holland v France and Spain
**
Queen Anne's War (1702–1713)
*
War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) - Great Britain, France, Austria and Holland v Italy and Spain
*
War of Jenkins' Ear (1739–1742) - Great Britain v Spain
*
War of the Austrian Succession (1740–1748) - Great Britain, Austria and Holland v France and Germany
**
King George's War (1740–1748)
*
Seven Years' War (1756–1763) - the first "world war"
**
French and Indian War (1756–1763) - Great Britain and Germany v Austria, France, Russia, Sweden, Spain and Portugal
**
Anglo-Cherokee War (1759–1763) - North America
*
Pontiac's Rebellion (1763–1766) - North America
*
First Anglo-Mysore War (1766–1769) - India
Colonial Period
*
American War of Independence (1775–1783) - North America
*
First Anglo-Maratha War (1775–1782) - India
*
Fourth Anglo-Dutch War (1780–1784)
*
Second Anglo-Mysore War (1780–1784) - India
*
Third Anglo-Mysore War (1789–1792) - India
*
French Revolutionary Wars (1793–1802) - Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia, Germany v France
**
War of the First Coalition (1793–1797)
**
War of the Second Coalition (1798–1801)
*
Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (1798–1799) - India
*
Irish Rebellion (1798)
*
Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) - Great Britain, Germany, Austria, Sweden and Russia v France.
**
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) - India
*
Second Anglo-Maratha War (1803–1805) - India
*
Vellore Mutiny (1806) - India
*
Anglo-Dutch Java War (1810–1811)
*
British-American War (1812–1815)
*
Anglo-Nepalese War (1814–1816)
*
Second Kandian War (1815) - India
*
Third Anglo-Maratha War (1817–1818) - India
*
First Anglo-Burmese War (1823–1826)
*
Upper Canada Rebellion (1837)
*
Lower Canada Rebellion (1837)
*
First Anglo-Afghan War (1839–1842)
*
First Opium War (1839–1842) - Great Britain v China
*
First Anglo-Sikh War (1845–1846) - India
*
New Zealand Wars (1845–1872)
*
Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848–1849) - India
*
Second Anglo-Burmese War (1852)
*
Crimean War (1854–1856) - Great Britain and France v Russia
*
Second Opium War (1856–1860) - Great Britain and France v China
*
Indian Rebellion (1857)
*
Pig War (1859) - Great Britain v USA
*
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) - Great Britain, Austria-Hungary, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and USA v China
*
Anglo-Aro war (1901-1902) - Nigeria
Modern Period
*
World War I (1914–1918) - Great Britain, France, Italy, Russia, United States v Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria and Turkey
*
Easter Rising (1916) - Ireland
*
Russian Civil War (1918–1922)
*
Third Anglo-Afghan War (1919)
*
Anglo-Irish War (1919–1921)
*
The Pacific War (1937–1945) Britain, USA and China v Japan
*
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–Present)
*
Iraq War and
Iraqi insurgency (2003–Present)
Roman & ancient
*
Hadrian's Wall AD 122
*
Antonine Wall AD 142
Mediæval
* Castles in the UK
**
Castles in England**
Castles in Northern Ireland**
Castles in Scotland**
Castles in Wales1600s
*
The Royal CitadelGeorgian & Victorian
*
Fort Bovisand*
Crownhill Fort*
Martello towers
*
Picklecombe Fort*
Fort GeorgeWorld 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 LineSee main article: British Armed Forces*
Royal Navy**
Royal Marines**
Royal Fleet Auxiliary*
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)
**
Joint Services School for LinguistsScottish military alliances
*Auld Alliance (
1295-
1560)
The Auld Alliance refers to a treaty of mutual defence concluded between France and Scotland in October 1295. It was renewed in 1326 in the
Treaty of Corbeil and at several points thereafter. It provides for assistance if either of the parties to the treaty is attacked by a third nation. Though no third party nation is named, the treaty was most often invoked against England. In the early 1330s the French king
Philip VI offered active military support to his ally during the
Second War of Scottish Independence, amongst other things providing a refuge for the infant
David II. In
1346 David, who had returned home in 1341, invaded England to take the pressure off the French, recently defeated at the
Battle of Crecy, only to be defeated himself at the
Battle of Neville's Cross. In
1421, at the
Battle of Baugé, French and Scots forces defeated an English army, their first such reverse in open battle during the
Hundred Years War. In
1429 Scots came to the aid of Joan of Arc in the relief of Orléans; many went on to form the Garde Écossaise, the bodyguard of the French monarchy. Many Scottish mercenaries chose to settle in France, although they continued to consider themselves "Scots". In 1513
Louis XII, under threat from
Henry VIII, asked
James IV to launch a diversionary attack on northern England. James complied, only to meet defeat and death at the
Battle of Flodden. The alliance was finally ended by the 1560
Treaty of Edinburgh. By this time the Scots saw the Catholic French as a greater threat to their liberty than their fellow Protestants in England.
English military alliances
*
Anglo-Portuguese alliance (
1386-)
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). This treaty largely influenced the British
Iberia Peninsular War. The last time that this treaty affected British history was during the 1982 Falklands War when 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 (1508â€"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 (1511â€"13). The Kingdom Scotland briefly took part in the war as an ally of France.
*
Triple Alliance (
1668)
The Triple Alliance of 1668 consisted of England, Sweden, and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands). It was formed to halt the expansion of Louis XIV's France in the War of Devolution.
*
Grand Alliance (
1689 - 1697)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 Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands), the Palatinate of the Rhine, Portugal, Saxony, Spain and Sweden. 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
*
Anglo-Portuguese alliance (
1704-)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). This treaty largely influenced the British Iberia Peninsular War. The last time that this treaty affected British history was during the 1982 Falklands War when the facilities of the Azores were again offered to the British Royal Navy.
*
Triple Alliance (1717)The Triple Alliance was an agreement between United Kingdom, France and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands), against Spain.
*
Triple Alliance (1788)The Triple Alliance of 1788 was an alliance between Great Britain, Prussia and the Republic of the United Provinces (the Netherlands) against France.
*
Anglo-Japanese Alliance (1902)The Anglo-Japanese Alliance was signed in London on January 30, 1902 by
Lord Lansdowne (British foreign secretary) and
Hayashi Tadasu (Japanese minister in London). The alliance was renewed and extended twice, in 1905 and 1911 before its demise in 1921. It officially terminated on August 17, 1923. This alliance helped the British contain Russia and helped Britain's navy by providing coaling stations and repair facilities.
*
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.
*
NATO (
1949-)
*
Western European Union (
1954-)
*
Five Power Defence Arrangement (
1971-)
*
British Armed Forces*
Pax Britannica*
History of Britain**
History of the United Kingdom**
British Empire*
UK topics**
The United Kingdom and weapons of mass destruction**
History of the British Army**
History of the Royal Navy*
List of battles (geographic)*
List of wars*
British military rank insignia
