WARS and Global ConflictsFrom the first Global Conflict onwardsWARS 1914: The first truly global conflict was World War I where more than 70,000,000 personnel were mobilised. It was intended to be "The War To End All Wars". By the end of four years of fighting, four major imperial powers had been crushed and there were more than seventeen milllion combatents killed or missing world-wide. There were also more than twenty million wounded. Harry Patch was the last 'Tommy' to survive the 1914-1918 conflict which involved 6,211,922 British Troops. By 1918, 886,342 of our soldiers were killed and 1,665,749 were wounded. In total Britain and her glorious Allies of the Commonwealth had 1,114,914 military personnel killed and another 2,090,212 wounded. There were more than 111,000 known civillians killed but nobody knows the real total of British civilians killed or wounded. On the 11th day of the 11th month each year we hold Remembrance Services all over the Country of Britain and in many other parts of the world. Various sayings from the troops in that great war are spoken out loud and clear. Here are a couple of the most popular verses: "If I should die, think only this of me; That there is some corner of a foreign field that is forever England." "When you go home tell them; for your tomorrow we gave our today."
The value to be free of tyranny is priceless; there are so many good people who have fought and died for freedom. But there are many others waiting in the wings to take their place on the list of honour. As the Great Winston Churchill said: "Long live the cause for Freedom" I am sure that it will march on well into the future.
WARS 1939: In World War II the Fascist, Adolf Hitler wanted control of Europe and the Countries of the wider world that were close by. Another Fascist, Benito Mussolini was dreaming of making Italy a "New Roman Empire". China was brutally putting down internal dissent. Japan had ambitions and was determined to rule the whole of Asia. Britain's Empire was huge but it was spread out too far and wide to be effective against any one of these powerful nations. It was the Nazi German Forces who led and ignited these four huge powers into aggressive action in 1939. By the end of six years of horrific warfare in 1945, 70 million people had been killed world wide. The British Forces involved were 5,896,000 out of those 357,116 were killed and over 370,000 were wounded. WARS 1941: On 7th December 1941, Japan launched a surprise air attack on the American Fleet at Pearl Harbour, Hawaii. Immediately the Japanese Army began a swift conquest of South East Asia. Following the Japanese conquests in 1941-1942 British, Commonwealth and American forces began a campaign to liberate Burma, the Phillipines, New Guinea and key Pacific islands. The campaign involved opposed landings and fierce jungle fighting. 40 Commando Spearhead WW II
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War Memories
WARS 1945: On 9th May 1945, the entire world rejoiced that the Second World War was finally over. Victory celebrations took place in Moscow, London, Warsaw, Berlin, Paris, Prague, many other cities and towns across Europe in every country that was affected by this terrible conflict. WARS 1946: Memories of World War II were starting to fade as countries started to rebuild their lives. Trust was fading and a Cold War was starting to build-up between East and West. Countries were clasping the land they had captured from the Germans for their own control. WARS 1948: Malaya, known as the Malyan Emergency. In 1948 peace in Malaya was threatened by Chinese communists who wanted to seize part of the country and set up their own government. 1950 ~ 1952 these terrorists, trained by the British to fight the Japanese during World War II, now attacked trains and ambushed planters and workers on the rubber plantations to achieve their aim. British Forces, including the Royal Marine Commandos, were sent to Malaya to help the local police restore peace. These terrorists were defeated by the skilful use of jungle patrols and by building defended villages in order to protect the civilian population. The patrols laid ambushes and carried out search operations to destroy terrorist food and weapons caches. Success depended on good inteligence and communications to direct patrols operating deep in the jungle for days on end. These tactics paid off and by 1960 the terrorist threat in Malaya was effectively brought to an end. The conflict lasted for twelve years, over 40,000 troops from from Britain, Australia and New Zealand were involved 30,000 plus were British. Some 519 British and Commonwealth personnel were killed with over 2,000 wounded. Jungle Warfare
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WARS 1949: China, The Yangize Incident. The frigate H.M.S. Amethyst steamed up the Yangtze River to relieve the guard ship H.M.S. Consort to evacuate the British citizens caught up in the Communist advance that was sweeping through all of China. H.M.S. Amethyst made a dash for freedom with the loss of 46 lives and over 50 other sailors and marines were wounded. WARS 1950: Korea. After World War II the Korean peninsula was politically devided in two at the 38th Parrallel. Then in June 1950 North Korea invaded the South. The United States of America and the United Nations went to their aid while China came out on the side of North Korea. An Armistice in July 1953 saw the creation of a demilitartised buffer zone between the two sides. Nearly two million combatents had died the British Forces involved were 63,000 with 1,109 killed and a further 2,672 were wounded. WARS 1951: Egypt, The Canal Zone Emergency. The Egyptian government tore up a 1936 treaty and ordered its police and army to start harassing British troops based in Egypt. It escalated into three years of serious terrorist activity against British Personnel. The British Forces involved were 70,000 where 181 were killed and over 300 were maimed or wounded. WARS 1952: Kenya, Mau Mau Uprising. Kenya was a British Colony where the Kenyan tribes revolted against British rule. Although the revolt was put down successfully, it hastened Kenya's independency and encouraged other African countries to rebel against colonial rule. The British Forces involved were 10,000 where 12 were killed and over 50 were wounded. WARS 1955: Cyprus, The Cyprus Emergency. The Greek Cypriot Leader Arcbishop Makarios and Clonel George Grivas tried to force the incorporation of British Controlled Cyprus into Greece by terrorist activity and bombings. After four years it ended with Cyprus becoming independent. The British Forces involved were 37,000 with 371 being killed and over 500 being wounded or maimed for life. WARS 1956: Suez Canal. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 to link the Mediterranean and the Red Sea to allow access to the Indian Ocean for crucial military and economical reasons. When President Nassar nationalised the Suez Canal in 1956.
British Prime Minister Anthoney Eden, decided on a military solution along with France and Israel. Militarily the invasion from 29th October to the 22nd December 1956, was a success, from the 45,000 involved there were 16 British killed and 96 wounded. But politically it was a disaster for Britain and they had to withdraw to make way for a United Nations peacekeeping force.
A revolt inspired by the Indonesians, against the Sultan of Brunei was put down by British forces, during which members of 42 Commando Royal Marines carried out a daring raid to rescue the Governor of Limbang, Brunei, and his staff who were taken hostage and were to be executed at dawn of the next morning if their demands were not met. All of the hostages were freed with the loss of 6 Commandos killed in action. Total British Forces used in Brunei was Approximately 4,000. 42 Commando RM 40 Commando RM brushfirefilms.com WARS 1962: Indonesian-Confrontation. Attempts by Indonesia to destabalise British-backed Malaysia led to Britain's most secret war ever. Operations against Indonesians in Borneo were mounted from a series of patrol bases built along the border, mainly on high ground, and supported by helicopters and artillery. From these bases, patrols left to ambush and counter-attack the indonesians. British expert jungle warfare tactics meant that losses were light. Confrontation was eventually ended by an action taken by 42 Commando Royal Marines, 5 days march into Indonesia from the Sarawak Border of the Lundu district. The British strategy proved so effective that by 1966 the Confrontation was over. British Forces involved 15,000 those killed 62 with 127 wounded. 42 Commando Confrontation The Secret War 40 Commando Sibu WARS 1962: The Dhofar Rebellion. This was a tribal insurgency against British supported Sultan of Muscat & Oman. It ended after 13 years with defeat for the rebels but led to a reformed, modernised Oman. British Forces involved 500 with 24 being killed and another 55 wounded. WARS 1963: The Aden Emergency. After 150 good years of British Rule, Harold Wilson's Government messed-up saying in their wisdom: "I'm Backing Britain" while all of the time they were doing the opposite by cutting back. Things turned for the worse where they no-longer wanted British rule. They rebelled in minor ways at first, then as their confidence grew they became more powerful and the British had to depart fighting from the beaches in 1967. British Forces involved were over 30,000 with 68 being killed and over 300 maimed or ingured. WARS 1969: OPERATION BANNER was the longest military conflict fought by the British and it lasted for 38 years from 1969 to 2007. Troops were sent to Northern Ireland to restore law and order after three days of sectarian rioting at the Battle of the Bogside in Derry in August 1969. At first they were welcomed by the Nationalists and Loyalists alike as peace-keepers. But as troubles spread and got worse they were increasingly targeted by the Irish Republican paramilitary groups including the IRA.
At the height of the Troubles more than 21,000 British Armed Forces were deployed in Northern Ireland. Over the course of the whole conflict the UK Force involved was over 300,000 military personnel with 763 British military personnel being killed and 6,100 injured. More than 1,800 civilians lost their lives, the
numbers of civilians injured are not known.
Margaret Thatcher's Government dispatched a naval taskforce to reclaim the territory. After an amphibious landing British troops marched huge distances and fought heroically against entrenched positions to win victory. By the time of the Argentine surrender on June 14th of the same year the war had claimed 258 british lives and another 777 military personnel were wounded. Falkland Islands War Synopsis 1 Falkland Islands War Synopsis 2 WARS 1990: Gulf War I. Operation Desert Storm, launched in responce to the 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq's Saddam Hussein, began with an aerial bombardment using smart bombs guided in by beacons placed by the SBS from January 17th 1991, followed-up with a devastating ground assault. Coalition forces stopped their advance short of the capital, Baghdad, when Iraq accepted set UN conditions. Sixteen British soldiers died in the ground assault, nine by US friendly fire, and 47 of our forces died in the campaign, with over 4,000 wounded. WARS 1992: Bosnia-Herzegovina. The death in 1980 of communist leader President Tito led to the weakening of the Yugoslav federation. When Croatia and Bosnia declared independence in the early 1990's Serbian minorities in the two countries were opposed. War broke out in 1992 raging-on until 1995, when a peace deal was signed. But afterwards British troops continued suffering casualties while on peacekeeping duties. British forces involved were over 2,400 they had 55 killed and over 100 wounded. WARS 1999: Kosovo. Serbian repression of ethnic Albanians in their Kosovo province led to armed resistance which intensified in 1998. Serbian forces responded with brutal offensives which resulted in 850,000 refugees fleeing the country. Efforts to install a peacekeeping force failed and Nato had to bomb Serbian forces into some kind of submission. But the struggle is still ongoing and peace is very fragile. Over 19,000 british forces were involved with 17 being killed and over 50 being wounded. WARS 2000: Sierra Leone. Operation Palliser saw British Forces successfully go to the aid of the government and the British and UN civilians in Sierra Leone. Rebel activity had escalated and was threatening the capital of Freetown. British Forces involved were 200 where one was killed and less than 10 were wounded.
It was strongly believed that weapons of mass destruction were ready to be launched against Isreal and that Al-Qaeda was operating freely, it was also in responce to the 11th September terrorist attacks on the United States of America. The aim was to find Osama Bin Laden and other Al-Qaeda leaders and to remove the Taliban regime which supported them. An initial aerial bombardment in support of ground forces of the Afghanistan Northern Alliance, followed by the insertion of American, British and Canadian infantry, who succeeded in removing the Taliban from power. But since 2006 the Taliban has been behind an increasingly deadly insurgency. Britain's Operation Herrick has seen UK forces deployed in the Taliban stronghold of Helmand Province. The Taliban tactic of planting more and more improvised explosive devices (IEDs) has caused hundreds of deaths and many more ingured, with a lot of personnel maimed for the rest of their life. 42 Commando Helmand
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WARS 2003: Gulf War II. Operation Iraqi Freedom was launched on March 19th 2003, with a huge aerial bombardment and then the invasion, of Iraq by a multi-national force led by troops from America and Britain. The main reason was fears Iraq had weapons of mass destruction that threatened the US and Britain's allies in the region. The other intention was a change of regime - Saddam Hussein's brutal reign had led to appalling human rights abuses, mass murders and support for Palestinian suiside bombers. Britain suffered 33 military casualties from the start of the assault to the end of the major battles. But the unrest which followed the initial victory led to regular violence against coalition forces. Up to April 2009, when Britain formally ended combat operation our military had suffered 179 deaths and 5,500 wounded in Iraq. WARS 2010: It has been 65 years since the capitulation of Nazi Germany, and many who witnessed these events are no longer with us. But we – their descendants – are here, and we must honour the memory of our forefathers and recall their heroism at a time of desperate suffering. We will always remember those of every nationality who gave their lives for our freedom – whether Russian, British, American, French or German. For Russian people, celebrating this day transcends geographical and political borders, beyond the boundaries of Russia and the former Soviet Union. We live in different places and have different lifestyles – but no matter where we find ourselves, 9th May should always remain as important as any holy day. On this day, we must express our gratitude and bow our heads in respect to those brave soldiers who fought and contributed to the greatest victory the World has ever witnessed. We must also remember a veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable 'To My Queen And Country' for an amount "up to and including my life." That is Honour, many fought for our freedom never to return to the lands they desired so much to come back too! WARS: watch this space, there will be no comments while a conflict is in process.
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