Posted on 02/15/2003 5:17:33 PM PST by NP-INCOMPLETE
The following is a general listing of wars fought by Great Britain in the last 2000 years. This is part II of my five part series on the military histories of the Great Powers.
43 AD Roman Invasion- Lost celts slaughtered by legions of Emporor Claudius
60 AD Boudica Rebellion- Lost Single Roman Legion slaughtered 60,000 british celts
600 AD Anglo-Saxon Invasion- Won Celts eliminated by modern inhabitants of Britain(Legend of Arthur born of that era).
1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.
1200 AD Expansion- Won took over Scotland, Ireland and Wales after decades of warfare, refined longbow technology was the decisive factor of victory.
1337 AD Hundred Years War- Won (Mostly) English Longbowmen slaughtered the French nobility in a series of one-sided battles. War ended with the English in control of Normandy and Castile.
1455 AD War of the Roses- Won Three decades of civil war between the houses of York and Lancaster
1588 AD Spanish Invasion- Won British fleet crushed the Spanish Armada, Britain becomes the dominant naval power of Europe.
1642 AD English Civil War- Won(Barely) British beat themselves
1689 AD French And Indian Wars- Won British forces crushed the French defense in Canada and took over Montreal
1751 AD Conquest of India- Won British forces conquors the Indian Subcontinent. Chandernagore, the last major Indian stronghold taken during the Battle of Plassy.
1756 AD War if the West Indies- Won British Navy takes control of the West Indies
1776 AD American Revolutionary War- Lost British defeated by their own colonists.
1793 AD Napoleonic Wars- Won, Duke of Wellington destroyed Napoleon's armies at the Battle of Warterloo.
1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.
1846 AD Opium War- Won British Naval forces easily crushed the Chinese Navy and took Hong Kong.
1854 AD Crimean War- Won British wins a land war against Russia and takes over the Crimean region and Svestapol from the Russian Empire.
1862 AD Second Opium War- Won British forces take control of Shanghai and portions of the Chinese Coast from the Chinese Empire.
1863 AD Mau Mau Wars- Won British forces sacks Timbuktu, and takes over Eastern africa.
1872 AD Ashanti Wars- Won British forces takes over most of the Ivory Coast
1879 AD Zulu War- Won British forces suffered several defeats but eventually wiped out 70% of the Zulu population and took over southern Africa.
1881 AD Busato Wars- Won British forces takes over central Africa.
1899 AD Anglo-Boer War- Won British forces slaughtered the Dutch settlers and took control of Rhodesia and the northern portion of South Africa.
1900 AD Boxer Rebellion- Won British forces along with 11 other nations destroyed China's rebellion, gained control of China's coastal region from Shanghai to Hong Kong.
1914 AD World War I- Won British forces fought off the German submarine campaign and destroyed the Ottoman Empire. Gained control of Iraq, Iran, Trans-Jordan, Arabia, and Eygpt.
1938 AD World War II- Won(Barely) Britain won with the aid of the U.S but suffered such losses that it did not have the resources to maintain its Empire.
1982 AD Falklands War- Won(Barely) Britain takes back control of the Falklands after losing 8 capital Ships due to the Exocet missiles of the Argentine airforce.
1991 AD Persian Gulf War- Won Britan fought alongside the U.S.
That is it folks.
Invasion won, granted. But "Celts eliminated"? Perhaps clarification is needed.
The (non-Celt?) Picts completely disappeared long ago, culturally and linguistically. The (Celt) Cornish have more recently disappeared culturally and almost completely linguistically. But the (Celt) Manx, Welsh and Gaels are still there -- fighting assimilation (as are the Breton Celts), but still there.
Agus tha Ga\idhlig beo\ fhathast!
Ever wonder where Hitler got the idea it was all right to be racist, commit genocide, and try to take over the world? Look no farther than the glorious British Empire!
Excuse me, but to compare the war we fought against the Zulus to the concentration camps is an unwarranted slur. Given the fact that our brave lads, a quarter of our army, are about to go into battle at your side, one would expect you to be a little more polite.
Do try.
Ivan
On the 25th of August 1896 Sultan Hamad died and his cousin Hamoud was declared as his successor by the acting British Consul, Sir Basil Cave. This appointment was not met with agreement by Khaled, another cousin of Hamad who, as the son of Barghash, considered that he had the rightful claim to the accession. By the time that Cave reached the royal palace Beit el Sahel, the doors were barred. Khaled had gained access through a broken window, along with around 2000 supporters and had proclaimed himself Sultan, raising the Zanzibar flag.
The British authorities refused to recognise Khaled's claim and tension rose as a potentially explosive stand-off ensued. Cave had marines from the three British ships in the harbour stationed around the town, evacuating Europeans to the British Consulate under heavy guard, where they gathered excitedly on the roof to watch the drama unfold.
The night passed off without event and the following morning two further ships arrived in Zanzibar harbour to reinforce the fleet. At dawn Rear Admiral Rawson turned his guns on the palace and issued Khaled with an ultimatum. Either he was to surrender and walk out to the customs shed by 9.00am or the fleet would open fire.
At 8.00am Khaled sent a message asking for talks, but his request was curtly turned down. As the seconds ticked by the sweat must have stood out on the brows of all involved. At 9.02am the fleet opened fire a barrage of shells on the palace and when the dust settled the building was in ruins, with up to 500 bodies strewn amongst the rubble. At 9.40am, the flag was lowered as Khaled surrendered, escaping through the maze of streets to seek sanctuary at the German consulate. From there he escaped to Mombasa, where he lived out his life in exile.
The battle is officially listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the shortest war in history.
Britain declared war on Germany in September of 1939 ... shortly after German forces attacked Poland. The U.S. didn't enter the war in Europe until December 1941, immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. The war of 1812 is another matter ... if you read Canadian and British history books ... they won the war. Just a matter of whose side your on ...
Ivan
Ooh. That's gonna leave a mark!
Ooh. That's gonna leave a mark!
Compare this to the sorry record of the frogs.
My response was to Britain's involvement with WWII ... which began in September 1939.
I believe that many of the Britons escaped to Brittany, the coast of France.
1066 AD Norman-Invasion- Lost Last Saxon king Harold shot in the eye by a barbed arrow in the Battle Hastings. William the Norman takes over the country.
A Frenchman wins! Well maybe, he may have been descended from a Viking.
1200 AD Expansion- Won took over Scotland, Ireland and Wales after decades of warfare, refined longbow technology was the decisive factor of victory.
I recall the Union was made in 1606. The English won some wars but their homosexual king had his ass kicked at Bannockburn by Robert Bruce, another Frenchman I believe.
1337 AD Hundred Years War- Won (Mostly) English Longbowmen slaughtered the French nobility in a series of one-sided battles. War ended with the English in control of Normandy and Castile.
Since the Normans were in charge of England, this really is the French winning against the French. Amazing.
1588 AD Spanish Invasion- Won British fleet crushed the Spanish Armada, Britain becomes the dominant naval power of Europe.
I thought a storm sunk most of the Amada with some help from English ships.
1689 AD French and Indian Wars- Won British forces crushed the French defense in Canada and took over Montreal
Too bad they did not enforce the speaking of English.
1776 AD American Revolutionary War- Lost British defeated by their own colonists.
The British army was made up with a disproportionate amount of homosexuals compared to the Americans probably because more homosexuals stayed in the old country fearing the rigors of frontier life. You have to see that scene in Barry Lyndon with the two soldiers skinny dipping to appreciate the possibility. As much as it may hurt, the English are on the cutting edge of the effeminate man.
1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.
No. By Americans.
1982 AD Falklands War- Won(Barely) Britain takes back control of the Falklands after losing 8 capital Ships due to the Exocet missiles of the Argentine air force.
That was a cute war, but the fireworks were dismal.
1991 AD Persian Gulf War- Won Britain fought alongside the U.S.
By then they were more like an elite air wing of the US Air Force.
In 1688, King James was replaced in a bloodless coup d'etat by the usurper William of Orange. The King, however, fled to Ireland, where there was something (but not much) of a war -- Battle of the Boyne, and all that. You can count this as a "win."
From 1740 through 1745, England was involved in the War of the Austrian Succession. You can count this as a "win" despite the embarrassment administered by the Irish Brigade at Fontenoy.
In 1745, Prince Charles Edward Stuart (of blessed memory as "Bonnie Prince Charlie") led a legitimist revolt against the Hannoverian usurper, culminating in the unfortunate battle of Culloden, where an Anglo-German army aided by lowlanders and led by the Duke of Cumberland (aka "Stinking Billy") defeated the Scots and commenced a campaign of cultural ethnic cleansing starting with a Sonderaktion along the road to Inverness. Another "win."
From 1754 through 1762, England was involved in the Seven Years' War, known in America as the French and Indian War. That's when Canada was conquered. Another win, although the Duke of Cumberland (still unaccustomed to fighting against soldiers), actually surrendered to the French in 1757. His agreement was repudiated by King George II, under public pressure. And the British forces were eventually led to victory by Ferdinand of Brunswick.
Wolfe defeated Montcalm , 1759 at Quebec .You're a little early.
1812 AD War of 1812- Lost, British again defeated by their own colonists.
If this is the War of 1812-14, Won, English resisted annexation of Canada . Yeah, I know . The US won the Battle of New Orleans, but the war was over. The Treaty of Ghent preserving the status quo. And England, having defeated and exiled Napoleon, now had a surplus of sailors. It's available on line, An 1811 editorial ( if I remember correctly ) in a New England paper stating the fact that of the previous years US $45 million export trade , $37 million was with England. And asks why on earth declare war to invade Canada ? The US did, not knowing England had already rescinded the offensive Orders in Council
Actually tied at 1-all, there were two Northman invasions in 1066. One in the South by Duke William of Normandy, and an earlier one in the North by King Harald Hardrada of Norway, who lost.
Let’s not overlook the rather different outcome of the prelude to Culloden.
As I recall, there is a little tune "Johnny Cope, are ye wakin' yet?" Appropriate for a reveille, I should think.
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