British Army timeline ********************* 1500–1599 1537 The Overseers of the Fraternity (or Guild) of St George received a Royal Charter from Henry VIII on 25 August, when Letters Patent were received authorising them to establish a perpetual corporation for the defence of the realm to be known as the Fraternity or Guild of Artillery of Longbows, Crossbows and Handgonnes. This body was known by a variety of names since, but today is called the Honourable Artillery Company, and is the oldest regiment in continuous service in the British Army. 1600–1699 1633 The Royal Regiment of Foot (later the Royal Scots) is placed on the Scottish Establishment, later becoming the oldest infantry regiment in continuous service in the British Army. 1650 George Monck's Regiment is formed (later the Coldstream Guards). 1656 Lord Wentworth's Regiment is formed (later the Grenadier Guards). 1661 26 January King Charles II issues warrant, becoming the acknowledged beginning of the British Army. This concerned an assemblage of English regiments and Scottish regiments brought south with Charles II. The British Army would not exist, however, for another 46 years, as Scotland and England remained two independent states, each with its own Army. 1661 The Scots Regiment of Foot Guards is formed (later the Scots Guards). 1661 1 October The Tangier Regiment is formed (later The Queen's Royal Regiment (West Surrey), and became the most senior English infantry regiment in the British Army. 1684 The English withdraw from the Colony of Tangier. 1688 The War of the Grand Alliance begins. 1700–1799 1702 War of the Spanish Succession begins. 1707 Kingdom of Great Britain is formed. Scottish and English armies merged to create the British Army. 1722 Royal Regiment of Artillery is formed. 1742 War of the Austrian Succession begins. 1743 Battle of Dettingen, King George II becomes the last British monarch to lead his troops into battle. 1746 Battle of Culloden, The British Army, made from Scottish and English soldiers and led by the Duke of Cumberland, fights the last major battle on British mainland soil against French supported Scottish rebel Jacobites. 1751 A numerical system is introduced into the Army, such as 1st Regiment of Foot, 2nd Regiment of Foot, etc. 1755 Seven Years' War begins. 1759 Battle of Minden, the Duke of Brunswick leads an Anglo-German army against the French. 1759 British forces, led by General James Wolfe, take French Quebec. 1775 American War of Independence begins. 1775 17 June Battle of Bunker Hill 1776 British victory at the Battle of Long Island. 1777 British victory at the Battle of Brandywine. 1777 British defeat at the Battle of Saratoga. 1781 British defeat at the Siege of Yorktown. 1793 War on revolutionary France declared 1795 Capture of Ceylon. 1796 slave forces in Haiti led by Toussaint L'ouverture British Forces defeated 1798 Large-scale rebellion in Ireland. 1799 Capture of Seringapatam. 1800–1898 1801 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland is formed. French Revolutionary Wars (A campaign to expel a French invasion force in Egypt). 1803 The Napoleonic Wars begin. 1803 Second Anglo-Maratha War begins, ends 1805 1 September Battle of Aligarh 11 September Battle of Delhi 23 September Battle of Assaye 1 November Battle of Laswari 28 November Battle of Argaon 15 December Battle of Gawilghur 1806 Seizure of the Cape of Good Hope. An abortive (initially unauthorised) invasion of Spanish South America begins. 1808 The Peninsular War begins. 16 January Battle of Corunna 1810 24 July Battle of the Côa 25 July Siege of Almeida (1810) 27 September Battle of Bussaco 1811 19 February Battle of the Gebora 3 April Battle of Sabugal 14 April Siege of Almeida (1811) 3 May Battle of Fuentes de Onoro 16 May Battle of Albuera 25 May Battle of Usagre 28 October Battle of Arroyo dos Molinos 1812 The War of 1812 against the United States begins. 7 January Siege of Ciudad Rodrigo 16 March Battle of Badajoz (1812) 11 April Battle of Villagarcia 11 June Battle of Maguilla 22 July Battle of Salamanca 23 July Battle of Garcia Hernandez 11 August Battle of Majadahonda 19 September Siege of Burgos 23 October Battle of Venta del Pozo 1813 21 June Battle of Vitoria 7 July Siege of San Sebastián 25 July Battle of the Pyrenees 25 July Battle of Roncesvalles (1813) 25 July Battle of Maya 28 July Battle of Sorauren 7 October Battle of the Bidassoa (1813) 10 November Battle of Nivelle 9 December Battle of the Nive 1814 The Gurkha War begins. 15 February Battle of Garris 27 February Battle of Orthez 10 April Battle of Toulouse (1814) 14 April Battle of Bayonne 1815 8 January Battle of New Orleans 16 June Battle of Quatre Bras 18 June The Battle of Waterloo takes place, ending in defeat for the French. 1819 16 August The Peterloo Massacre takes place. 1839 First Anglo-Afghan War begins ends 1842 23 July Battle of Ghazni September Siege of Kahun 1842 6 January Battle of Gandamak 15 January Massacre of Elphinstone's Army August Battle of Kabul (1842) 1854 The Crimean War begins; ends in 1856. 19 September The Siege of Sevastopol begins. 20 September The Battle of Alma takes place. 25 October The Battle of Balaklava takes place; Charge of the Light Brigade. 5 November The Battle of Inkerman takes place. 1855 8 September The siege of Sevastopol ends. 1857 The Indian Mutiny begins. 30 May Indian rebels begin the Siege of Delhi, Siege of Lucknow 5 June Siege of Cawnpore begins 8 June Battle of Badli-ki-Serai, Siege of Delhi 30 June Siege of Lucknow begins, Battle of Chinhat 25 August Battle of Najafgarh 11 October Battle of Agra 19 November Second Battle of Cawnpore 1858 Central India Campaign (1858) 1 March Capture of Lucknow 1859 Due to fear of invasion by France, a volunteer movement begins, known as the Volunteer Rifle Corps. 1870 The Army withdraws from Australia and New Zealand. 1871 The Army adopts the Martini-Henry rifle, replacing the Snider. Abolition of the purchase of commission. 1878 Second Anglo-Afghan War begins, ends 1880 21 November Battle of Ali Masjid 15 December Siege of the Sherpur Cantonment 1879 The Anglo-Zulu War takes place. 22 January British force defeated at Battle of Isandlwana. The defence of Rorke's Drift begins; eleven Victoria Crosses would be gained in the process. 1880 19 April Battle of Ahmed Khel 27 July Battle of Maiwand 1 September Battle of Kandahar 20 December First Boer War begins ends 23 March 1888 20 December Action at Bronkhorstspruit takes place 1881 Sudan Campaign begins, ends 1889 28 January Battle of Laing's Nek 1 July General Order 70, the culmination of the Cardwell-Childers reforms of the Army's organisation, came into effect. 1884 13 March Battle of Tamai 22 March Battle of Tofrek 1885 January Battle of Abu Klea 28 January General Charles George Gordon is killed by Mahommed Ahmed (the self proclaimed Mahdi) after his siege of Khartoum; British relief force arrives two days later. 8 February Battle of Schuinshoogte 10 February Battle of Kirbekan 27 February Battle of Majuba Hill 30 December Battle of Ginnis 1889 The Maxim machine gun is introduced. 3 August Battle of Toski 1896 7 June Battle of Ferkeh 1898 8 April Battle of Atbara 2 September Battle of Omdurman 24 November Battle of Umm Diwaykarat 1899–1918 Second Boer War 1899 11 October War is declared. 20 October The first major battle of the war takes place at Talana Hill. December "Black Week", in which the Army suffered a series of defeats, takes place. 1900 28 February The Siege of Ladysmith is lifted. 1 April The Irish Guards is formed in honour of the Irish regiments in the Boer War. 17 May The Siege of Mafeking comes to an end. 1902 31 May War ends with the signing of the Treaty of Vereeniging. 1905 The 5th Battalion, The Royal Garrison Regiment is the last British battalion to leave Canada. 1908 The Territorial Force (later Army) is formed. 1911 1 April Following an order issued on 28 February, the Air Battalion Royal Engineers is formed. 1912 The Vickers machine gun is introduced into the Army; it remains in service until 1968. 13 May The Air Battalion Royal Engineers becomes the Royal Flying Corps. It remains part of the Army. First World War 1914 4 August Britain declares war on Germany. August British Expeditionary Force begins to deploy to France. 19 October The First Battle of Ypres begins; last major action of 1914. 1915 26 February The Welsh Guards becomes the last Foot Guards regiment to be formed. 25 April Landings at Helles, Gallipoli. 10 August Landings at Suvla Bay, Gallipoli. 22 October The Machine Gun Corps is formed. 1916 April The Easter Rising in Dublin takes place . 1 July The First Day of the Somme begins; about 60,000 casualties are incurred, 20,000 of whom had been killed. 1917 28 July The Heavy Branch of the Machine Gun Corps is split off to form the Tank Corps (later the Royal Tank Regiment). 8 November About 200 men of the Warwickshire Yeomanry and Worcestershire Yeomanry charge with sabres drawn and defeat an Ottoman battery and a large group of Ottoman infantry at Huj. It was one of the last cavalry charges by the British Army. 20 November The Battle of Cambrai begins; sees the first large-scale use of tanks. December The Capture of Jerusalem takes place. 1918 11 November The First World War ends with the signing of the Armistice. 1918–1939 1919 January Anglo-Irish War begins; British forces combat guerilla operations by the IRA (Irish Republican Army). 1919 British Army takes part in Allied intervention during Russian Civil War. 1922 31 July 1922 Six Irish regiments (5 infantry and one cavalry) are disbanded due to the establishment of the Irish Free State. 1922 5 August The Royal Corps of Signals is formed. 1929 The British Army of the Rhine in Germany is withdrawn. 1935 Abyssinian Crisis takes place; Army deploys substantial reinforcements to Africa and the Middle East. 1936 uprising in Palestine begins. 1939 4 April The Royal Armoured Corps is formed. 1939–1945 Second World War 1939 3 September Britain enters the Second World War when it declares war, along with its Allies, on Nazi Germany. September ritish Expeditionary Force begins to land in France. 1940 17 May The Local Defence Volunteers (later the Home Guard) is formed. 20 May In France, British armoured units counter-attack at Arras. 26 May The Dunkirk evacuation begins; over 330,000 British and French soldiers are evacuated by 4 June. 22 June The Parachute Corps (later The Parachute Regiment) is formed. 1941 April 1941 Germany invades Crete; Army and Commonwealth forces eventually evacuated by Royal Navy. 25 December 1941 The garrison at Hong Kong surrenders to the Japanese. 15 February 1942 Singapore garrison surrenders to Japanese forces. 23 October 1942 Second Battle of El Alamein takes place; Montgomery's British Eighth Army defeats the Afrika Korps in offensive. 1943 The Allied invasion of Sicily begins. Invasion of Italian mainland begins. 1944 March The Japanese launch their offensive against India; battles of Imphal and Kohima takes place. 1 April The Special Air Service Regiment is formed to administer existing SAS units. 6 June in airborne operations prior to D-Day landings, Pegasus and Horsa Bridges are taken by D Company, 2nd Ox & Bucks, and the Merville gun battery is destroyed by the 9th Parachute Battalion. 6 June 1944 The D-Day landings take place; British Army lands at Gold and Sword; some British units allocated to Canadian beach at Juno. 18 July 1944 Allied armoured offensive, Operation Goodwood, begins. September 1944 Operation Market Garden takes place. 1945 24 March 1945 Airborne crossing of the Rhine, Operation Varsity, takes place. 8 May 1945 VE Day. 2 September 1945 Formal surrender of Japan. 1945–1990 1948 1 January Four Gurkha regiments are transferred from the Indian Army to the British Army, forming the Brigade of Gurkhas. 28 February 1948 The 1st Battalion, The Somerset Light Infantry (Prince Albert's) becomes the last British regiment to leave India. The Malayan Emergency begins. The Army withdraws from Palestine. 1949 1 January 1949 National Service, the new name for conscription, is introduced. 1 February 1949 The Women's Royal Army Corps is formed. 1950 The Korean War begins. 22 April 1951 The Battle of the Imjin River takes place. 1952 The Mau Mau uprising in Kenya begins. 1953 The Army withdraws its garrison from Bermuda. 1954 The last troops leave Trieste, having been there since 1945 as part of British Forces Element Trieste. 1955 Occupying troops leave upon Austrian independence. June 1956 Last British troops leave the Suez Canal Zone, Egypt. 31 October 1956 Operation Musketeer, the invasion of Suez begins. 5 November 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment dropped at El Gamil airfield. 6 November Amphibious landings take place; Army Centurion tanks land in support. 1957 The Sandys Review of the armed forces takes place. 1 September 1957 The Army Air Corps is formed. 1961 Army deploys troops to Kuwait after its request for British to deter invasion by Iraq. 1962 The Brunei uprising takes place. 1963 Last National Serviceman is discharged from the Army. 1967 Withdrawal from Aden after a period of time known as the Aden Emergency. 1968 The only year in the century when the British Army lost no soldiers in action. Northern Ireland 1969 August British troops deployed to Northern Ireland to assist in stopping sectarian violence. It is the beginning of "The Troubles". 1980 5 May 1980 Special Air Service ends the Iranian Embassy siege. Falklands War 1982 2 April 1982 Falklands War begins. 28 May 2nd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment (2 Para) defeat Argentinians at Goose Green. 8 June Bombing of RFA's Sir Galahad, Sir Tristram kills 48, including 32 Welsh Guards. 12 June 3 Para defeats the Argentinians at Mount Longdon. 14 June 2 Para takes Wireless Ridge. 14 June 2nd Battalion, Scots Guards defeat Argentinians at Mount Tumbledown. 14 June Falkland Islands are liberated upon the surrender of Argentinian forces. 1990–present The Gulf War 1991 The Gulf War begins; Army contributes 28,000 troops. 1991 The last British Army regiment leaves Gibraltar. The Gibraltar Regiment is subsequently placed on the Army's regular establishment. 1992 6 April 1992 the WRAC was disbanded and its members integrated into various British Army units. 1 October 1992 I (BR) Corps is disbanded and replaced by Headquarters Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps. Bosnia 1993 British forces deployed to Bosnia as part of UNPROFOR. 1994 31 March 1994 The British Army of the Rhine is disbanded and replaced by British Forces Germany. The main force of the Army garrison in Belize is withdrawn; small detachment remains as part of British Army Training and Support Unit Belize. 1994 1st Battalion, The Queen's Lancashire Regiment becomes the last British battalion to leave Berlin. 1997 30 June 1997 1st Battalion, The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment) becomes the last British unit to leave Hong Kong. 1998 The Strategic Defence Review white paper is published. Kosovo 1999 Kosovo War begins. 2000 2 PARA arrived in Freetown, Sierra Leone to evacuate British, Commonwealth and EU citizens. 2001 The Army deploys to the Republic of Macedonia. Afghanistan 2001 7 October 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins. The SAS was, initially, the main Army contribution. December 2001 Major-General John McColl takes command of ISAF in Afghanistan. Iraq 2003 20 March 2003 The US-led invasion of Iraq begins. 27 March 2003 The largest tank engagement by the British Army since WWII takes place; 14 Challenger 2 tanks of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards destroy 14 Iraqi T-55s. 6 April 2003 British forces, led by 7 Armoured Brigade (known as 'The Desert Rats') enter Iraq's second city of Basra. 2004 The defence white paper "Delivering Security in a Changing World" is published. 2005 March Private Johnson Beharry of the 1st Battalion, Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment is awarded the Victoria Cross for his actions in Iraq in 2004. 6 April 2005 The Special Reconnaissance Regiment became operational. en.wikipedia.org