It was somewhere in the middle of my love of England and my amazement at some of the things that has made it great that I realized how important military history is to a culture. You might think that as a female never having been in the military, this seems a bit incongruous, but I assure you it isn’t.
One of the first battles that caught my attention was actually led by a woman. In 60 AD, Boudicca brought indigenous tribes together in revolt against a roman dictatorship. Ultimately defeated, Boudicca’s presence in British history is nevertheless a turning point. Why? It showed that the Romans weren’t completely invincible (having won several battles against them). It also set British history on a Roman path for the next 400 years.
There were so many of these battles that it’s hard to keep up with them all! The Battle of Hastings in 1066 which, of course, set England’s destiny until 1154 when power was given over to the Angevins (the first Plantagenets). The most famous of the Plantagenet kings was arguably Richard III or his cousin, Henry VII. Or perhaps even Henry V who took France at the Battle of Agincourt in October of 1415. His sudden death prevented a complete victory and his heir apparent never really ruled France. Subsequent infighting meant many bloody years of struggle for the throne of England.
You can’t talk about British history without discussing the Wars of the Roses. These were a series of battles fought over the throne of England between 1455 and 1487. The decisive battle was the Battle of Bosworth where Richard III was killed leaving Henry VII to found the Tudor dynasty.
In 1588, Queen Elizabeth faced the mightiest navy the world has ever seen, the Spanish Armada, and defeated it. Who knows what fate would have befallen England had she failed!
In 1642, yet another struggle began between Royalist forces loyal to Charles I and Parliamentary forces. These battles were led by a Puritan gentleman named Thomas Cromwell who eventually defeated the Royalists in 1645. In fact, Charles I was beheaded and Cromwell named Lord Protector of England! This experiment didn’t last long, however, and ultimately the son of Charles I was crowned (with very limited power).
The pesky Scots decided to rise up against the English and nearly made it to London in the mid 1700s. The Jacobites were supporters of King James II of Scotland as heir to the British throne, and his son (Bonnie Prince Charlie) claimed his right to it through a series of battles known as the Jacobite Rebellion. The Jacobites were very successful and headed south to take London getting as far as Derby before a deception turned them back. They were told a large army awaited them at the gates of London – one they couldn’t possibly defeat. Against the Prince’s will, the army turned back to Scotland where they were chased down and slaughtered at the Battle of Culloden in 1746.
The British were a bloodthirsty lot. These horrible battles ensued from century to century and generation to generation. I would mention the American Revolution, but that’s common knowledge to my American readers. The last of those battles was fought at Yorktown in 1781.
Troops were again on the march when Napoleon rose up in France creating the proving ground for two of that century’s greatest warriors: Horatio Lord Nelson and the Duke of Wellington.
Nelson is most famous for fighting the Battle of Trafalgar where he defeated the French and Spanish fleets in 1805. He defeated his enemy, but it cost him his life. As for Wellington? He fought one of the most hotly contested battles in history at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. In one charge alone, 50,000 men lay slain on the battlefield. The cost was high, but so were the stakes. In the end, Wellington was triumphant and Napoleon banished to the Island of Elba where he died six years later.
There were so many battles fought for South Africa and India. In Egypt and the Sudan. Then World War I brought its tragedies and triumphs… including the loss of a generation of British soldiers at the Battle of the Somme.
But it’s not until WWII that the British faced their most terrifying enemy since Napoleon: Adolph Hitler.
At the worst of those years of terror, Europe lay devastated by the attacks and ensuing conflagration inspired by a megalomaniac. A whole generation of Jews was nearly wiped out. France, Belgium, the Netherlands… all fell. And Hitler’s greedy eye now turned to Britain.
The pride of Hitler’s forces was the imposing Luftwaffe or air force. Its planes were far superior to the English Spitfires and there were more of them. In addition, Hitler’s military had developed missiles that could be launched from mainland Europe to the British Isles. The Blitz, or bombing of London, devastated the city and killed thousands. It was then the Luftwaffe was turned against the smoldering wreckage of Britain. But, it was also here that, as Churchill so aptly put it, Britain faced its finest hour. The small Spitfires had one thing going for them: agility. They could turn more quickly and react more quickly than the German Messerchmitts.
Many other things led to the end of the second world war, but the Battle of Britain was made memorial by the undying courage of the Royal Air Force against a much more powerful German enemy.
Britain lost some of its luster in the ensuing years. Peace didn’t necessarily bring happiness or a sense of national pride to the British. In the post war years, Churchill often fell prey to depression and lost himself in his painting and cigars.
The next Battle for Britain was such a small thing in comparison to those wars that had gone on before. In 1982, Argentina took over the British island of the Falklands and Prime Minister Thatcher was having none of it! Every floating vessel (including the Queen Mary!) was put to sail and sent to Argentina. It lasted only ten weeks, but took a toll of 907 young men. The Argentinians were kicked back to Buenos Aires with their tales between their legs!
Today, British military forces are stationed throughout the world to include Afghanistan, Iraq, Bahrain, Cypress, and even the Falklands. The major battle it faces today comes from within its own borders as the issue of Brexit is still cause for major division of the populace. My personal opinion is that when Britain voted for Brexit, it voted to believe in itself as a nation again. Many of the young cried out that the older generation had voted for Brexit and were at the root of the problem. To them, I would say: perhaps those older remember a time that you don't. A time when Britain was strong. They believe it can be again, and without being dictated to by a foreign country.
Britain's grip as a world power has slipped significantly, but if history is any judge, I wouldn’t ever count the British out completely. As the country who once ruled a quarter of the world, they still have the attention of recognized leaders around the planet and the respect of at least one blogging American.
Oorah, Blighty. Oorah.
