British Army (Post 1945) Research Papers (original) (raw)

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• • by Leonard F W Leader
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  • Ireland, Northern Ireland, Contingency Planning, British Army (Post 1945)

This article examines the murder of two British Army corporals by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in March 1988. In doing so it reveals much about the micro dynamics of the political violence which occurred during the... more

This article examines the murder of two British Army corporals by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in March 1988. In doing so it reveals much about the micro dynamics of the political violence which occurred during the Northern Ireland conflict. The central theoretical contention of the article is that most human beings are not particularly good at violence, and for the most part, irrespective of motive, can only participate in such actions when they have what is defined as attacker advantage. The attacker advantage principle stipulates that on most occasions when most humans feel it necessary or choose to resort to offensive violence, they do so on the premise of having the advantage, or a perceived advantage, over their intended target.

• • by Aaron Edwards
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  • Political Violence and Terrorism, British Army (Post 1945), Northern Ireland and the Troubles, Irish Republican Army

This author wrote his doctorate thesis on post-conflict army reconstruction, submitting it in 2011. Continued research on the subject in the intervening seven years indicates that his theoretical propositions can be refined and improved.... more

This author wrote his doctorate thesis on post-conflict army reconstruction, submitting it in 2011. Continued research on the subject in the intervening seven years indicates that his theoretical propositions can be refined and improved. This article examines refinements to the model, and then applies those refinements in detail to the Afghan case. In so doing, it shifts the focus from potentially altruistic state-building to a case that was driven by pure national-strategic interests. Issues surrounding the liberal peace ideology dominate recent army reconstruction in conflict-affected states. The liberal peace underpinning is of supreme importance, so much so that in many discussions, it is internalised and accepted virtually without thought. This paper will advance the body of knowledge by establishing, for the first time, a theoretical basis for the widespread failure of army reconstruction in Afghanistan. The empirical basis builds on extensive previous research by other scholars. The resulting model can also be applied to better explain outcomes in other similar cases.

• • by Colin D Robinson
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  • Afghanistan, History of Afghanistan, Liberal Peacebuilding, Afghanistan's history

This article is about the late Brigadier John Humphrey Montagu (1919-2014) and his Kukri (Khukuri) knifes. I´ve focused on his military career (Part 1) and the two Kukri knifes (Part 2) he acquired during his service in India and the Far... more

This article is about the late Brigadier John Humphrey Montagu (1919-2014) and his Kukri (Khukuri) knifes. I´ve focused on his military career (Part 1) and the two Kukri knifes (Part 2) he acquired during his service in India and the Far East between 1939-1968.
John Humphrey Montagu rarely spoke about his military career though he had served almost 30 years in the Army, with the Gurkhas across half the world, with distinction. The late Brigadier Montagu followed his father into the Army and joined the Armed Forces at a time when the sun never set over the British Empire, prior to the 2nd World War (WW2). He was commissioned into the Duke of Cornwall´s Light Infantry in 1939 and during WW2 served in the 8th Gurkha Rifles on the frontiers of India and Burma. After the War and Indian Independence he served a short period in Royal Army Service Corps and 7th Gurkha Rifles, before transferring to 10th Princess Mary`s Own Gurkha Rifles.
He saw the British Empire at its height and over the years how it crumbled and former colonies became independent sovereign nations by the time he retired. During 30 years he served in WW2, Indian Independence, Malayan Emergency, Borneo Confrontation and Hong Kong.

• • by vk kunwor
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  • History, Military History, Cultural Studies, Cultural Heritage
• • by Brian Drohan
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  • Insurgency/Counterinsurgency(COIN), History of Military Technology, Non-Lethal Weapons, Counterinsurgency

The historiography of Northern Ireland is dominated by the violent Troubles that broke out in 1968 and continued for the following thirty years. The intensity and duration of the conflict were exceptional in the context of modern Irish... more

The historiography of Northern Ireland is dominated by the violent Troubles that broke out in 1968 and continued for the following thirty years. The intensity and duration of the conflict
were exceptional in the context of modern Irish history, and the conflict has attracted intensive academic attention across a wide range of disciplines. It became, as was sometimes caustically remarked, the most intensively studied conflict of them all, providing a highly developed and easily accessible English-speaking research site for the study of organized violence.

• • by Niall O Dochartaigh
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  • Northern Ireland: Unionism & Loyalism, Northern Irish Politics, Modern Ireland, Ireland

This is a personal narrative and not a theses or a research paper sold at zero profit and in pure public interest. This is a very personal firsthand account of British Army operations as I saw as a consultant working in Afghanistan from... more

This is a personal narrative and not a theses or a research paper sold at zero profit and in pure public interest. This is a very personal firsthand account of British Army operations as I saw as a consultant working in Afghanistan from 29 June 2004 till to date. If you attempt to read the vast available data and literature on British Afghan war , you will end up clueless , mentally disoriented and spiritually exhausted and drained. This is so because most writers have a vested agenda or have not seen things directly. This narrative is based on the following experiences :-- A close and direct association with Afghanistan as descendant of a family that migrated from Afghanistan in early nineteenth century but maintained contact with Afghanistan.My grandfathers brother served as doctor with Afghan Royal family from 1929 to 1945.My uncle served as a First Secretary in Pakistan Embassy from 1969 to 1971. As a Pakistan Army officer I saw Afghan war closely from 1981 to 1994. And finally as a consultant permanently stationed in Afghanistan from 29 June 1994 till todate I saw the ongoing Afghan war closely. Helmand was my area of operations as I was General manager of RDA an Afghan American NGO building clinics in Khanishin , Garmser , Nad I Ali , Musa Qila etc for the US firm Louis Burger.

• • by Agha H Amin
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  • Decision Making, Leadership, Afghanistan, British Army (Post 1945)
• • by Angel Carlos Perez Aguayo
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  • Victorian Studies, British History, British Imperial and Colonial History (1600 - ), Historia
• • by Brian Drohan
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  • Cold War, British Imperial and Colonial History (1600 - ), History of Imperialism, Cold War history

A brief biography of General Sir James Steele (1894-1975), war veteran, Aide-de-Camp to King George VI. On the 40th anniversary of his death.

• • by Mark R W McKinty
  • •
  • Second World War, First World War, British Army (First World War), British Army (Second World War)

Using Operation Panther’s Claw as a case study, Nick Reynolds identifies tactical and operational combat lessons from the Helmand campaign that are relevant to warfighting at scale. Future conflicts will be hybrid, will include an... more

Using Operation Panther’s Claw as a case study, Nick Reynolds identifies tactical and operational combat lessons from the Helmand campaign that are relevant to warfighting at scale. Future conflicts will be hybrid, will include an asymmetric threat, and are more likely to occur in complex or urban terrain. British forces will have to fight dispersed and in depth. They must be capable of retaining mobility, must have a high level of organic lethality to compensate for the difficulties with establishing mutual support, and be prepared to fight intermingled with regular and irregular enemy forces as operational penetration will be inevitable.

• • by Nick Reynolds
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  • Military History, Strategy (Military Science), War Studies, Afghanistan
• • by Aaron Edwards
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  • Political Violence and Terrorism, Commemoration and Memory, British Army (Post 1945), Northern Ireland and the Troubles
• • by Roberto Muñoz Bolaños
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  • Military History, Contemporary History, Cold War, Secret Services
• • by Aleksander Glogowski
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  • British Army (Post 1945), Gurkhas

The 2016 White Paper[1], concerning the development of German defensive interests, defined an inter-European military coalition to be at the centre of Germany's role within the European Union (EU). The opinions of young officer cadets in... more

The 2016 White Paper[1], concerning the development of German defensive interests, defined an inter-European military coalition to be at the centre of Germany's role within the European Union (EU). The opinions of young officer cadets in the United Kingdom and Germany, however, were highly divergent in relation to a European defence alliance. The results of a study carried out in 2014 with 755 officer cadets from the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and the Military Officer School (Offizierschule des Heeres) in Dresden did not only reflect the Euro-skeptic position of the British people (which reached its peak in 2016 with " Brexit "), but also the German soldiers' sceptical position in regards to a Europeanisation of military matters.

• • by Sarah Katharina Kayß
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  • European Studies, European Security and Defence Policy, Military and Politics, Defence

The British campaign in Northern Ireland remains one of the most controversial actions in recent history. This new book by Aaron Edwards considers the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of what become the longest ever campaign... more

The British campaign in Northern Ireland remains one of the most controversial actions in recent history. This new book by Aaron Edwards considers the strategic, operational and tactical aspects of what become the longest ever campaign embarked upon by British troops. The 38-year campaign, codenamed Operation Banner, went through a number of phases. It began as a peacekeeping operation, morphed into a counter-insurgency operation and ending as a policing and counter-terrorism force. Banner was massive in scale. No less than 10,000 troops were on active service throughout the campaign and at one point as many as 30,000 men and women were deployed on Ulster's streets. Drawing on extensive new research, this book presents an authoritative introduction to the 'Troubles', providing a strategic analysis of the successes and failures of the campaign.

• • by Aaron Edwards
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  • Military History, Irish History, Counterterrorism (CT), Counterinsurgency
• • by Paolo Palumbo
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  • Terrorism, Political Violence and Terrorism, British Army (Post 1945), Northern Ireland and the Troubles
• • by John Blaxland
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  • Cold War International Relations, Korean War, Australian Army, British Army (Post 1945)

In a decade overshadowed by centenaries it is perhaps inevitable that fiftieth anniversaries are somewhat neglected, particularly south of the Border, where the more recent Troubles are often regarded as less relevant to the story of... more

In a decade overshadowed by centenaries it is perhaps inevitable that fiftieth anniversaries are somewhat neglected, particularly south of the Border, where the more recent Troubles are often regarded as less relevant to the story of nation building, or even as too problematic and recent to be addressed in a historical context. Yet, as the President of Ireland Michael D Higgins said on the recent Centenary of the Sack of Balbriggan, 'If forgiveness and forgetting did not exist, we would be trapped in the past where every previous action would be irrevocable and where the present is dominated, burdened even, by preceding events and memories.' This article argues that truth recovery is better than either oblivion or keeping score.

• • by Padraig Yeates
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  • Irish Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Oral history, Northern Ireland: Unionism & Loyalism

During an excavation on the Rotenbreite near Borgentreich, Kr. Höxter, it was possible to document and analyze a disposal pit of a military unit. The findings show that a British unit camped at this hill for a short time. Primary the... more

During an excavation on the Rotenbreite near Borgentreich, Kr. Höxter, it was possible to document and analyze a disposal pit of a military unit. The findings show that a British unit camped at this hill for a short time. Primary the inventory of findings consists of ca. 340 tins and in addition of a spoon and a plate belonging to the war department plus e. g. german and scandinavian beer- and colabottles. By means of the findings it is possible to date the feature into the 60s/70s of the 20.th century with a terminus post quem of 1968. Because the British barrack in Borgentreich was abandoned at this time, there has to be another explanation for the presence of British troops. Presumably the soldiers participated in the manoeuvre "Marsh Mallow" in 1969.
In this manoeuvre 10 000 soldiers from different nations trained under a British command in the regions Niedersachsen and Nordrhein-Westfalen.
After abandoning the camp, the waste was partial burnt and afterwards buried.
The pit delivers insight into the military course of life of British soldiers who were garrisoned in Germany (British Army of the Rhine/Rhine Garrison). Besides it shows how the British troops were supplied and how they complemented their rations with foreign, e. g. german and scandinavian, products.

• • by Tobias Schade and +2
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  • Globalization, Cold War, Contemporary Archaeology, Archaeology of the Contemporary Past
• • by Peter Speiser
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  • Anglo-German relations, British Army (Post 1945), Occupation History
• • by Aaron Edwards
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  • Military History, Tactics (Military Science), Middle East Studies, Insurgency/Counterinsurgency(COIN)
• • by Michelle Jones
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  • Military Veterans, British Army (Post 1945)
• • by James Worrall
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  • Legitimacy and Authority, Legitimacy, Political Legitimacy, State Building

This article examines the murder of two British Army corporals by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in March 1988. In doing so it reveals much about the micro dynamics of the political violence which occurred during the... more

This article examines the murder of two British Army corporals by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA) in March 1988. In doing so it reveals much about the micro dynamics of the political violence which occurred during the Northern Ireland conflict. The central theoretical contention of the article is that most human beings are not particularly good at violence, and for the most part, irrespective of motive, can only participate in such actions when they have what is defined as attacker advantage. The attacker advantage principle stipulates that on most occasions when most humans feel it necessary or choose to resort to offensive violence, they do so on the premise of having the advantage, or a perceived advantage, over their intended target.

• • by MARTIN Mccleery
  • •
  • Political Violence and Terrorism, British Army (Post 1945), Northern Ireland and the Troubles, Critical Military Studies